Around 7 November 2006, an internal news service of the European Parliament has published a survey asking its employees the following: "Saddam Hussein has been sentenced to hanging. Should we continue to ban the death penalty in the EU, even for the worst criminals?"
One thing that can surprise you is this incredible link that was found between Hussein's hanging and EU ban, yeah, whatever. But another surprising thing and a shocking one - how can people working for the EU question the reintroduction of death penalty in Europe? It actually equals to putting a bomb under the foundation that EU was built on.
EU commitment towards the abolition of death penalty was reaffirmed in December 2000 at the European Council Summit in Nice, with the solemn proclamation of the EU Charter on Fundamental Rights that reasserts the right of everyone to life and the prohibition of the death penalty (Article II-2). The Charter also states that no one may be removed, expelled or extradited to a State where there is a serious risk that he or she would be subjected to the death penalty (Article II-19).
You would also be surprised by the results of the survey. Almost 26 % of the people who participated in the survey were actually in favour of death penalty...would be interesting to see how many of them work for instance in the Committee on Human Rights...
