TAIWAN: FIRST EXECUTION SINCE 2020 A SHAMEFUL SETBACK

The execution of Huang Linkai (黃麟凱) was carried out in violation of constitutional and international safeguards on the use of the death penalty, and while an appeal filed by his lawyer to stop the execution was still pending before the courts. This renders his execution unlawful and arbitrary, in violation of the right to life

Responding to the first execution carried out by the Taiwanese authorities since April 2020, E-Ling Chiu, the Director of Amnesty International Taiwan, said:

“This execution is a shocking and cruel development. Taiwan’s Minister of Justice, with a strike of his pen, has undone several years of hard-fought progress towards the abolition of the death penalty. This is a huge setback for human rights in Taiwan.

“The execution of Huang Linkai (黃麟凱) was carried out in violation of constitutional and international safeguards on the use of the death penalty, and while an appeal filed by his lawyer to stop the execution was still pending before the courts. This renders his execution unlawful and arbitrary, in violation of the right to life.

“It is horrifying that the execution was carried out at a few hours’ notice, without the possibility of any last family visits. The death penalty is a cruel and irreversible punishment and the Taiwanese authorities have implemented it in a way that shows an utter disregard for the rights of those affected.

“We urge Taiwan’s government to immediately halt any plans to carry out further executions. Instead, the authorities must immediately change course and establish an official moratorium on executions as the first critical step towards abolition of the death penalty”.

Background

On 16 January, Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙), Taiwan’s Minister of Justice, announced that he had authorized the execution of Huang Linkai, who was convicted of rape and two murders in 2017.

On 20 September 2024, the Constitutional Court of Taiwan issued its decision on a challenge on the constitutionality of the death penalty, recognizing the fundamental flaws that have characterized its use. The Court strengthened human rights protections while finding the death penalty constitutional for serious offences such as murder. It gave the authorities two years to amend the law in order to comply with the judgment.

As part of its decision, the Court ruled that the death penalty be imposed only following unanimous judgments and for such information to be disclosed by the prosecution. At the time that the execution of Huang Linkai was scheduled, his lawyer had not received information confirming that the decision in his case had been unanimous. Additionally, a pre-sentencing social investigation had not been conducted in his case, raising questions on whether the standard set by the Constitutional Court that cases have to be examined through the most stringent process was followed.

Huang Linkai’s lawyer filed an appeal on the evening of 16 January asking for these concerns to be reviewed, but the authorities proceeded with the execution.

Safeguard No.8 of the UN Safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty, adopted by two UN bodies in 1984 without a vote, states that “[c]apital punishment shall not be carried out pending any appeal or other recourse procedure or other proceeding relating to pardon or commutation of the sentence”.

The last execution in Taiwan was carried out on 1 April 2020. As of 31 December 2023, 37 out of the 45 people held on death row had their death sentences finalized and were at risk of execution. As of today, 113 countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes and 144 are abolitionist in law or practice.

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception regardless of the nature or circumstances of the crime; guilt, innocence or other characteristics of the individual; or the method used by the state to carry out the execution.