Hank Skinner, an American citizen, was arrested on 1 January 1994 in Texas, accused of a triple homicide. He was sentenced to death in March 1995, in the absence of any incriminating evidence and despite the sheriff’s clear intention not to investigate exonerating evidence. 95% of the samples taken from the crime scene were not tested until 2012, following a lengthy legal battle to obtain DNA testing. Between 2010 and 2011, Hank Skinner survived three scheduled executions. On February 16, 2023, he died from an illness in Gavelston, Texas, while still incarcerated and facing a new execution date.

Asserting and living one’s sexual orientation freely is not a crime and should have no place in a penal code. However, in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, legislation continues to penalise homosexuality.

The year 2021 marked the fortieth anniversary of the abolition of the death penalty in France, yet French citizens continue to be sentenced to death abroad.

For several years, people from all over the world have been leaving in their tens of thousands to join the ranks of the Islamic State in the Levant region, particularly in Syria. France is the European country with by far the most nationals leaving for the region. Large numbers have also left from other countries such as the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, Belgium and the UK. Iraq is one of the five states that execute the most people in the world. More than 7,900 people are currently on death row, including eleven French nationals.

ECPM pays particular attention to the situation in Iran, the country that holds the record for the highest number of executions in proportion to its population.

Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a mechanism for monitoring the human rights situation in UN Member States established in 2006. It is a state-led process under the auspices of the UN Human Rights Council.

Sentenced to death in Indonesia in 2007, Serge Atlaoui, a welder from Metz, has lived in fear of execution ever since. In November 2024, France officially requested his repatriation, in response to statements by the Indonesian authorities concerning the possible return of foreign prisoners to their country of origin. This transfer could put an end to almost 20 years of ordeal in Indonesian prisons.