Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Howell of Guildford (Conservative). It was answered on Wednesday, 25 April 2007.

Iraq: Death Penalty

Question: My Lords, although I agree fully with the concerns of the Minister and indeed of the noble Lord, Lord Faulkner, is there not at least a positive sign in that the Iraqi Government have said that the reinstatement of the death penalty, which they introduced themselves, is only temporary during the present hideous security situation, with slaughter on all sides? Ought we not to draw some encouragement from that? Further, does the Minister agree that we should concentrate entirely on ensuring that trials are not rushed, biased or coloured by any kind of rough justice, but are fair and uphold proper due process?

Answer: My Lords, I strongly agree with the tenor of those questions. That is why we are putting resources into the training of the judiciary and of senior lawyers involved in cases of this kind. There are real reasons why we should be optimistic that the period during which the death penalty is being usedto this extent is passing, not least the fact that the President of Iraq is himself opposed to the use of the death penalty. The Prime Minister of Iraq takes a different view, but powerful forces are pulling in the direction of ending the death penalty.

Secondary information