05 August 2011 :

the 2011 Report on the death penalty worldwide, supervised again this year by Elisabetta Zamparutti, was presented at the headquarters of Hands Off Cain. Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, Education Minister and Transitional Tunisian Government spokesperson Taïeb Baccouche, Senate Vice President Emma Bonino, HOC President Marco Pannella, HOC Secretary Sergio D’Elia, and Elisabetta Zamparutti all participated at the conference. Also present were ambassadors and representatives of numerous foreign embassies. During the conference, Foreign Minister Frattini said: "Regarding Mubarak, Egypt must show courage in avoiding the temptation for revenge" with the death penalty. "I felt sadness seeing the image of Mubarak in a stretcher at the trial. Above all I thought that only one year ago the ex leader was known around the world as a champion in the fight against terrorism.". Frattini invited Egypt to follow the example of Norway, where the extremists were isolated. "The state's answer cannot be revenge and Egypt should avoid handing the death penalty to someone who practised it when he was in power."
Emma Bonino also hoped Mubarak received "a justice that is fair as well as humane." HOC President Marco Pannella said that even if "we are winning the battle regarding the death penalty, we must push forward." Messages from President Napoletano, the presidents of the Chamber and Senate Gianfranco Fini and Renato Schifani, and from the vice president of the Council, Gianni Letta, were then read. The abolition of the death penalty is an objective of 'immense ethical and civic legal value'. Norway is an example to all of 'composure and adherence to democratic freedom', 'wounded by a blind and pointless violence', Napolitano wrote in a message sent to Hands Off Cain. 'Civil freedom, the rule of law and democratic institutions better defend against violent aggression when the answer is to 'teach legal civility and respect for human rights', the President continued. The presidents of the Chamber and Senate and the vice president of the Council Gianni Letta also acknowledged the significant work by Hands Off Cain, and emphasised how stopping the death penalty is an 'absolute imperative'. The protection of the individual is a 'categoric and absolute imperative', Schifani wrote. Fini said it is a 'battle for civility', but there is still a lot of work to do. Gianni Letta explained that the world is still 'horribly stained by capital punishment', but 'in this tragic reality' there are 'also signals that indicate an 'evolution towards a greater respect for human rights', for example what happened in the Arab Spring.