國際人權聯盟、台灣人權促進會、人權公約施行監督聯盟
共同聲明
譴責蔡英文總統任內的第二次死刑執行
巴黎，台北， 4月2日2020年：國際人權聯盟以及其會員組織，台灣人權促進會及人權公約施行監督聯盟表示：昨日（4月1日）死刑的執行使我們嚴重懷疑蔡英文總統對人權的承諾，也重挫台灣逐步廢除死刑的進展。
國際人權聯盟秘書長 Adilur Rahman Khan表示：蔡英文總統以令人失望的方式結束第一任的任期。她應該改變方向，立即宣佈將在第二任期內正式暫停執行死刑。
2020年4月1日，現年54歲的翁仁賢在台北看守所被施以槍刑方式執行。翁先生於2016年2月7日除夕夜在桃園市的家庭住宅縱火，致5名家庭成員和一名看護致死，於2017年2月13日一審被判處死刑。 2019年7月10日，最高法院維持對翁先生的死刑判決。
國際人權聯盟、台灣人權促進會以及人權公約施行監督聯盟敦促政府執行國際獨立專家小組於2013年3月提出的建議，加大力度廢除死刑並立即暫停執行死刑。台灣目前仍有39名死刑犯。
人權公約施行監督聯盟執行長黃怡碧表示：法務部曾說必須在社會正義與人權之間取得平衡，這種說法似乎好像只有透過犧牲某些人的權利才能實現社會正義似的，我們絕不同意這種將報復等同於正義的誤導性言論。
本次的執行是蔡總統任內的第二次死刑執行。上一次執行發生在2018年8月31日，當時41歲的李宏基在高雄第二監獄被處決。蔡總統於2016年5月就職，並於2020年1月當選連任。她計劃於2020年5月20日就職。在一封對蔡總統第二任期內應採取行動的人權議題概述信中，國際人權聯盟、台灣人權促進會和人盟約也曾呼籲蔡總統正式暫停執行死刑，對所有現有死刑減刑，並為徹底廢除死刑制定詳細的時間表。
台灣人權促進會秘書長施逸翔說：我們強烈譴責政府不願意停止執行死刑，特別是因為他們完全理解執行死刑不會解決任何問題。
在2019年10月於台北舉行的第40屆年會期間，國際人權聯盟通過了一項議案，譴責在台灣使用死刑。議案還強調了現年60歲的邱和順（Chiou Ho-shun）案，他總共被關押了31年，其中最後的8年是一直在死牢中的。
新聞聯絡人：FIDH 潘儀
FIDH – International Federation for Human Rights
and its member organizations in Taiwan
Taiwan Association for Human Rights (TAHR)
and
Covenants Watch
Joint press release
Taiwan: Second execution under President Tsai condemned
Paris, Taipei, 2 April 2020: Yesterday’s execution of a convicted murderer casts serious doubts on Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen’s commitment to human rights and marks a setback in Taiwan’s efforts to abolish the death penalty, FIDH and its member organizations Taiwan Association for Human Rights (TAHR) and Covenants Watch said today.
“President Tsai ends her first term on a disappointing note. She should reverse course and immediately announce an official moratorium on executions during her second term,” said FIDH Secretary-General Adilur Rahman Khan.
On 1 April 2020, Weng Jen-hsien, 54, was shot by a single executioner at Taipei Prison. Mr. Weng was sentenced to death on 13 February 2017 after being found guilty of burning to death five family members and a caregiver on Lunar New Year’s Eve on 7 February 2016 at the family home in Taoyuan City. On 10 July 2019, the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence against Mr. Weng.
FIDH, TAHR, and Covenants Watch urge the government to implement the recommendations made by the International Group of Independent Experts in March 2013, to intensify its efforts towards the abolition of capital punishment and to immediately introduce a moratorium on executions. There are currently 39 prisoners on death row in Taiwan.
“The Ministry of Justice said that it has to balance social justice and human rights, as if social justice can only be achieved through sacrifice of some people’s rights. We do not agree with this misleading rhetoric of equating vengeance with justice,” said Covenants Watch Chief Executive Officer Yibee Huang.
Mr. Weng’s execution was the second under President Tsai. The previous execution took place on 31 August 2018, when Li Hong-Ji, 41, was executed at Kaohsiung Second Prison. President Tsai took office in May 2016 and was elected to a second term in January 2020. She is scheduled to be inaugurated on 20 May 2020. In a letter that outlined a human rights agenda for President Tsai’s second term, FIDH, TAHR, and Covenants Watch called on Ms. Tsai to establish an official moratorium on executions, the commutation of all death sentences, and the creation of a detailed timeline for the complete abolition of the death penalty.
“We strongly condemn the government’s unwillingness to stop executions, especially because it fully understands that carrying out executions will not solve any problem,” said TAHR Secretary General Yi-Hsiang Shih.
During its 40th Congress in Taipei in October 2019, FIDH adopted a motion condemning the use of the death penalty in Taiwan. The motion also highlighted the case of 60-year-old Chiou Ho-shun, who has been behind bars for 31 years, the last eight of which have been on death row.
FIDH, a founding member of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty (WCADP) and a member of the WCADP Steering Committee, TAHR, and Covenants Watch, reiterate their strong opposition to the death penalty for all crimes and in all circumstances.
Press contact
FIDH: Ms. Pan Yi
