Rights groups urge Bangladesh to abolish death penalty following drug trafficking case involving Botswana national – JURIST

Seven international rights groups (including Amnesty International, ADPAN, CPJP, the Botswana Human Rights Centre, Eleos Justice, the International Federation for Human Rights and Odhikar) issued a joint statement on Wednesday urging the Bangladeshi government to abolish the death penalty. This statement follows the death sentence handed down to Lesedi Molapisi by a Dhaka court on May 28, 2024. Molapisi, a Botswana national, was arrested in possession of more than three kilograms of heroin at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in January 2022. An appeal of this decision has been filed.

The Narcotics Control Act, passed in 1990 and amended in 2018, allows for the death penalty or life imprisonment for anyone in possession of more than 25 grams of heroin. The groups argue that the death penalty is a harsh and excessive punishment for drug possession, which is a nonviolent crime. Furthermore, by being a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which has been interpreted as allowing the death penalty only in serious cases involving intentional homicide, Bangladesh formally does not have the right to impose the death penalty as punishment for drug possession.

While these main arguments sought interim measures, the groups' statement called for a moratorium on evictions and unequivocally supported the eventual abolition of the death penalty:

The global community clearly supports measures to abolish the death penalty, as demonstrated by the 112 fully abolitionist countries and more than two-thirds (144) of the countries that are abolitionist in law and practice. The Bangladesh government should abolish the death penalty for drug offenses and commute the sentences of those currently on death row for drug offenses as an important first step. Furthermore, the government should ensure that anyone charged with an offense resulting in death has meaningful access to justice through adequate funding for competent legal representation, including funding to obtain expert evidence if necessary. Additionally, they should follow the global trend toward abolishing the death penalty, starting with declaring a moratorium on executions.

Meanwhile, the organizations have urged the government to use its powers under sections 401 and 402 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to commute the death sentence handed down to Molapisi.