More executions than in the last ten years: according to the latest report by Amnesty International, at least 1,500 people were executed worldwide last year. In addition, there are thousands more in China – the exact number is unknown.

On the International Day Against the Death Penalty, it is time to come together and take a closer look. Daniel Binswanger (Republik) talks to Saghi Gholipour (Free Iran Switzerland), Noemi Grütter (Amnesty International Switzerland), Nick Bell (lifespark) and a representative of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs about the alarming situation of women in Iran, pen pal friendships with prisoners and the situation in Zimbabwe, where the death penalty was abolished last year with the help of Swiss diplomacy. Because even if it may seem otherwise at first glance, even in Zurich we are by no means powerless in the global context.

 

Nick Bell is president of lifespark – movement against the death penalty, an organisation that arranges pen pal friendships with prisoners on death row in the United States. A member of Amnesty International since 1967, he has been committed to human rights for decades and believes in the power of human connection to give hope in difficult situations.

Noemi Grütter is a human rights expert focusing on women's rights, the protection of human rights defenders, sexual and reproductive self-determination, and international justice. She works at Amnesty International Switzerland as a women's rights expert and campaigner for individuals at risk. She is committed to a feminist human rights policy that focuses on dignity, justice, and global solidarity.

Saghi Gholipour is a political scientist and co-founder of the organisation ‘Free Iran Switzerland’. The organisation was formed after the murder of 22-year-old Jina Mahsa Amini by the morality police in September 2022 and calls on Switzerland to work towards a free, secular and democratic Iran. 

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)