Extrajudicial killing
An extrajudicial killing (or extralegal killing) is the killing of a person without waiting for the result of a state trial. Extrajudicial killings happen in states which either have laws favoring them, or where the state condones the killing. An example might be that someone is suspected of having done something which dishonors the family. Killing the person might be a way to keep the family in good standing (This is known as honor killing). The state might have laws that do not see this as murder, so the killers will not get a harsh sentence, or they will go unpunished altogether.
If forces of the state kill someone this is seen as extrajudicial killing, if none of the following applies:
- Justifiable killing in self-defense
- Killing someone as part of an armed conflict (or a war)
- Legitimate use of force to make someone follow the rule of law
Organisations working against those killings
The United Nations has [an investigator or] a Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.[1] That person has support from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Morris Tidball-Binz became the Special Rapporteur in 2021.[2]
Work is also done by human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.[3][4][5][6][7]
Extrajudicial Killing Media
This painting, The Third of May 1808 by Francisco Goya, depicts the summary execution of Spaniards by French forces after the Dos de Mayo Uprising in Madrid.
Brazilian politician Marielle Franco had been an outspoken critic of extrajudicial killings. She was assassinated in March 2018.
Chilean economist Orlando Letelier was assassinated in Washington, D.C. by Pinochet's secret police in 1976
Protest against the Philippine war on drugs in front of the Philippine Consulate General in New York City, October 2016
Demonstration in Warsaw, reminding about the disappearances of oppositionals in Belarus.
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References
- ↑ Special Rapporteur on executions OHCHR
- ↑ Morris Tidball-Binz OHCHR
- ↑ "El Salvador: The spectre of death squads". www.amnesty.org. Retrieved 2019-04-27.
- ↑ "The Project on Extrajudicial Executions home". www.extrajudicialexecutions.org. Archived from the original on 2011-10-31. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
- ↑ Section, United Nations News Service (28 March 2007). "UN News - UN independent expert on extrajudicial killings urges action on reported incidents".
- ↑ "Dickey: Iraq, Salvador and Death-Squad Democracy – Newsweek The War in Iraq – MSNBC.com". Archived from the original on November 1, 2005. Retrieved 2008-01-04.
- ↑ "Special Forces May Train Assassins, Kidnappers in Iraq – Newsweek The War in Iraq – MSNBC.com". Archived from the original on August 9, 2010. Retrieved 2006-05-12.
