Capital punishment in Ukraine

Europe holds the greatest concentration of abolitionist states (blue). Map current as of 2022

Abolished for all offences

Abolished in practice

Retains capital punishment

Capital punishment was abolished in Ukraine in 2000.[1] In 1995 Ukraine entered the Council of Europe and thus was obliged to abolish the death penalty.[1] The Verkhovna Rada introduced amendments to the then-acting Criminal Code in 2000, according to which "death penalty" was withdrawn from the list of official punishments of Ukraine.[1] Ukraine carried out its last execution in 1997 according to Amnesty International.[2]

## History

[edit]

Capital punishment continued to be a legal penalty in Ukraine following the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917. Among the list of known people who were executed by the Ukrainian authorities was Ivan Samosenko.

In October 1995, Ukraine formally committed to abolishing the death penalty.[3] A month later, Ukraine became a member of the Council of Europe, with the abolition of capital punishment being one of the key obligations it undertook with this accession.[4]

Despite this commitment, Ukraine continued to issue death sentences and conduct executions. This led to a warning from the PACE in January 1997, threatening to prevent Ukraine's full participation in the Assembly.[5] In response, Ukraine introduced a moratorium on executions in March 1997 and signed Protocol No. 6 of ECHR. However, continued concerns led to another threat from PACE in 1999 to annul the credentials of the Ukrainian delegation. This pressure ultimately prompted the Parliament to ratify the Protocol with 228 out of 450 deputies voting in favor, just exceeding the required 226.[6][7]

At the request of the People's Deputies of Ukraine, the Constitutional Court ruled the death penalty unconstitutional in December 1999.[4][8] The Verkhovna Rada introduced amendments to the then-acting Criminal Code in April 2000 that withdrew capital punishment from the list of official punishments in Ukraine (in peace and wartime).[1][4][8]

Ukraine was the last Council of Europe member state that used to be part of the Eastern Bloc to abolish the death penalty for peacetime offenses.[4] Latvia, also a former Soviet republic, abolished it for wartime offenses only in 2012.[9]

## Politics

[edit]

National Corps, a Ukrainian far-right political party, supports bringing back the death penalty.

## Reintroduction in Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics

[edit]

The Donetsk People's Republic, a Russian occupied, partially recognized breakaway state in territory internationally recognized as part of Ukraine, introduced the death penalty in 2014 for cases of treason, espionage, and assassination of political leaders. There had already been accusations of extrajudicial executions occurring.[10] The Luhansk People's Republic, which is also a partially recognized secessionist breakaway state in what is widely recognized as Ukrainian territory, has also reintroduced capital punishment.[11]

On June 9, 2022, following the siege of Mariupol during the Russian Invasion of Ukraine, British volunteers to Ukraine Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner, and Moroccan Brahim Saadoun were sentenced to death for "terroristic activities" in a proceeding widely described as a show trial; however, they were later released in a POW exchange between Ukraine and Russian authorities.[12][13]

The Ukrainian government, which does not recognize the independence of these republics, has threatened to prosecute anyone involved in such executions for murder.[14]

## Statistics

[edit]

Amnesty International data from 1996 indicates that Ukraine had the second-highest number of executions globally, surpassed only by China.[15]

Death penalty in Ukraine[16][15] Year | Sentenced | Executed

|
|

1992 | 79 | 103
1993 | 117 | 78
1994 | 143 | 60
1996 | 167 | 167
1997 |  | 13

While executions ceased in 1997, courts continued to hand down death sentences. This led to an increase in the number of people on death row, rising from 250[15] in 1997 to 400[17] in 1999.

Between 1992 and 1995, a total of 339 death sentences were handed down. Of these, 337 were for premeditated murder and 2 were for rape. On average, four death sentences were commuted per year during this period.[16]

## Public Opinion

[edit]

In 1991, 58% of Ukrainians believed that capital punishment was necessary.[18] Support for the death penalty peaked in 2000, the year it was officially abolished, with 72% of the population supporting it. [19]Following its abolition, public support for its restoration has fluctuated. In 2016, only 37% of Ukrainians believed capital punishment was necessary.[18] By 2017, 38% expressed a desire for its restoration,[20] a figure that rose to 51% in 2021.[21]

The NASU Institute of Sociology has published data on public opinion regarding the abolition of the death penalty:[22]

Should the death penalty have been abolished in Ukraine?  | 2002 | 2004 | 2006 | 2008 | 2010 | 2012 | 2014 | 2016

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Yes  | 14.4 | 14.6 | 20.3 | 23.5 | 21.7 | 20.9 | 26.1 | 30.8
Hard to tell  | 18.7 | 22.2 | 24.9 | 25.1 | 28.1 | 22.9 | 27.8 | 26.1
No  | 66.8 | 61.7 | 54.5 | 51.1 | 49.8 | 55.7 | 45.7 | 43.0

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d "Serial killer Onopriyenko dies in Zhytomyr prison". Interfax-Ukraine. 2013-08-28. Archived from the original on 2015-10-19. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
2. ^ "Annual Report 1999 – Ukraine". Amnesty International. Archived from the original on 20 June 2009.
3. ^ "Ukraine: Amnesty International welcomes Ukraine's decision to abolish the death penalty and institute an immediate moratorium on executions". Amnesty International. 17 October 1995. Archived from the original on 12 June 2025. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
4. ^ a b c d Magen, Amichai; Morlino, Leonardo (2008-07-25). International Actors, Democratization and the Rule of Law: Anchoring Democracy?. Routledge. p. 196\. ISBN 978-1-134-05814-3.
5. ^ "Ukraine: Death penalty" (PDF). Amnesty International. 9 September 1997. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 April 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
6. ^ "Death Penalty News: March 2000". Amnesty International. 31 March 2000. Archived from the original on 20 September 2024. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
7. ^ "Про проект Закону про ратифікацію Протоколу №6 до Конвенції про захист прав і основних свобод людини, який стосується скасування смертної кари, 1983 року" [Regarding the Draft Law on the Ratification of Protocol No. 6 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, concerning the Abolition of the Death Penalty, 1983]. Verkhovna Rada (in Ukrainian). 22 February 2000. Archived from the original on 12 June 2025. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
8. ^ a b The Death Penalty: Beyond Abolition. Council of Europe. 2004-01-01. p. 74\. ISBN 978-92-871-5333-3.
9. ^ "Countries That Have Abolished the Death Penalty Since 1976".
10. ^ "Donetsk Separatists Introduce Death Penalty for Treason". The Moscow Times. Reuters. 2014-08-18. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
11. ^ "Belarus and Ukrainan [sic] rebels keep death penalty alive in Europe". April 2015.
12. ^ Roche, Darragh (9 June 2022). "Two British Fighters in Ukraine Sentenced to Death by Pro-Russian Court". Newsweek (published June 9, 2022).
13. ^ "Aiden Aslin among 10 international 'prisoners of war' released by Russian authorities". the Guardian. 2022-09-22. Retrieved 2022-12-18.
14. ^ Removska, Olena (2014-11-04). "Kyiv Authorities Slam Separatist Courts Handing Down Summary Death Sentences". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
15. ^ a b c "Ukraine: Government action needed now to abolish death penalty". Amnesty International. 29 January 1998. Archived from the original on 12 June 2025. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
16. ^ a b "Ukraine: The death penalty: a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment". Amnesty International. 30 June 1995. Archived from the original on 14 February 2025. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
17. ^ "Death Penalty News: March 2000". Amnesty International. 31 March 2000. Archived from the original on 20 September 2024. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
18. ^ a b "Україні – 25: досягнення та поразки" [Ukraine – 25: Achievements and Failures] (in Ukrainian). 2016. Archived from the original on 10 March 2025. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
19. ^ Unnever, James (2010). "Global support for the death penalty". Punishment & Society (12): 473. doi:10.1177/1462474510376586. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
20. ^ "Україна у фокусі: соціологічні виміри" [Ukraine in Focus: Sociological Dimensions]. ratinggroup.ua (in Ukrainian). 26 June 2017. Archived from the original on 22 March 2024. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
21. ^ "Покоління Незалежності: цінності та мотивації" [Generation of Independence: Values and Motivations]. ratinggroup.ua (in Ukrainian). 19 August 2021. Archived from the original on 5 June 2025.
22. ^ "Результати національних щорічних моніторингових опитувань 1992—2016 років" [Results of National Annual Monitoring Surveys 1992—2016] (PDF). NASU Institute of Sociology (in Ukrainian). 29 June 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 May 2024.

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