Germany
Death penalty and prisoners' rights · Archive since 1999
Data card
- Legal status
- Abolitionist
- Executions recorded in 2026
- 0
- Executions recorded in 2025
- 0
- First news item in the archive
- JANUARY 1, 1999 · The Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany (1949)...
- News items in the archive
- 120
Source: Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026.
Germany is classified as Abolitionist in the Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026. In 2026 the association recorded 0 executions in the country, against 0 the year before. The archive holds 120 news items on Germany, from 1999 to today.
Latest news
- SEPTEMBER 16, 2002GermanyDEATH PENALTY
Germany said that differences with the US over the...
Germany said that differences with the US over the death penalty would probably prevent it providing evidence to Washington in the case of Ramzi Binalshibh, the al-Qaeda suspect arrested on September 11 in Pakistan
- JUNE 21, 2002GermanyDEATH PENALTY
A young German woman was sentenced to five years in...
A young German woman was sentenced to five years in a Singapore jail after pleading guilty to three drug charges
- MAY 25, 2002GermanyDEATH PENALTY
German officials are negotiating with the Turkish government...
German officials are negotiating with the Turkish government to extradite a Turk who is serving a four-year sentence in Germany for operating a terrorist organisation and calling for the murder of a rival, the German interior minister said
- MAY 11, 2002GermanyDEATH PENALTY
Bundestag [lower house] President Wolfgang Thierse...
Bundestag [lower house] President Wolfgang Thierse (Social Democratic Party of Germany) warned against ignoring human rights standards in prosecuting terrorists
- MAY 3, 2002GermanyDEATH PENALTY
Germany signed Protocol 13 to the European Convention...
Germany signed Protocol 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights, which ensures the abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances
- APRIL 25, 2002GermanyDEATH PENALTY
Germany was a cosponsor and voted for the resolution...
Germany was a cosponsor and voted for the resolution 2002/77 on the death penalty at the 58th UN Commission on Human Rights
- APRIL 9, 2002GermanyDEATH PENALTY
German Justice Minister Herta Daeubler-Gmelin (Social...
German Justice Minister Herta Daeubler-Gmelin (Social Democratic Party of Germany) vehemently rejected criticism of the government's human rights policy towards China
- APRIL 8, 2002GermanyDEATH PENALTY
Prior to the state visit by China's President Jiang...
Prior to the state visit by China's President Jiang Zemin, Greens leader Claudia Roth clearly criticized the human rights situation in China
- APRIL 8, 2002GermanyDEATH PENALTY
Several hundred supporters of the meditation movement...
Several hundred supporters of the meditation movement Falun Gong protested against Chinese President Jiang Zemin's visit to Germany in Berlin
- MARCH 28, 2002GermanyDEATH PENALTY
A 22-year-old German woman escaped the gallows after...
A 22-year-old German woman escaped the gallows after a Singapore court reduced the drug trafficking charge against her
- MARCH 15, 2002GermanyDEATH PENALTY
A 23-year-old German student faces the death penalty...
A 23-year-old German student faces the death penalty after Singapore charged her with trafficking controlled drugs in the city state
- JANUARY 13, 2002GermanyDEATH PENALTY
Germany has issued international arrest warrants for...
Germany has issued international arrest warrants for three alleged accomplices of the September 11 hijackers
- JANUARY 1, 2002GermanyDEATH PENALTY
The Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany at Art
The Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany at Art
- DECEMBER 15, 2001GermanyDEATH PENALTY
Turkish Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk said that...
Turkish Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk said that he cannot give assurances to Germany that Metin Kaplan, would not be executed if Germany decides to extradite him to Turkey
- DECEMBER 12, 2001GermanyDEATH PENALTY
Germany banned an Islamic extremist group, the Cologne-based...
Germany banned an Islamic extremist group, the Cologne-based State of Califat, and warned that similar groups could also be shut down under security laws tightened since terrorist attacks on September 11
- NOVEMBER 22, 2001GermanyDEATH PENALTY
A prominent Islamist in prison in Germany has foregone...
A prominent Islamist in prison in Germany has foregone his privilege of early release, reportedly because he fears deportation to Turkey, where he may face the death sentence
- NOVEMBER 15, 2001GermanyDEATH PENALTY
Eight Western aid workers, locked in Afghan prisons...
Eight Western aid workers, locked in Afghan prisons and fearing for their lives, were freed by anti-Taliban fighters and spirited to safety aboard U
- NOVEMBER 9, 2001GermanyDEATH PENALTY
Australian, US and German special forces may mount...
Australian, US and German special forces may mount a risky operation to rescue the eight western aid workers being held hostage by the Taliban in Afghanistan
- NOVEMBER 9, 2001GermanyDEATH PENALTY
Australian, US and German special forces may mount...
Australian, US and German special forces may mount a risky operation to rescue the eight western aid workers being held hostage by the Taliban in Afghanistan
- NOVEMBER 8, 2001GermanyDEATH PENALTY
Libya, a former state sponsor of terrorism, is backing...
Libya, a former state sponsor of terrorism, is backing the US-led war on terror and trying to free eight Western aid workers on trial for their lives in Afghanistan
- NOVEMBER 5, 2001GermanyDEATH PENALTY
The German foreign ministry said that it was urgently...
The German foreign ministry said that it was urgently trying to contact eight aid workers accused by the Taliban of spreading Christianity among Afghans
- OCTOBER 31, 2001GermanyDEATH PENALTY
The German government said it hoped to deport a Turkish-born...
The German government said it hoped to deport a Turkish-born Islamic fundamentalist leader after he completed his sentence, provided Turkey gives assurances he won't face the death penalty
- OCTOBER 25, 2001GermanyDEATH PENALTY
The German Christian Democratic Konrad Adenauer Fund...
The German Christian Democratic Konrad Adenauer Fund issued a statement saying the organisation had suspended co-operation with the Lithuanian Christian Democrats led by Kazys Bobelis, after its leaders proposed the re-introduction of capital punishment i
- OCTOBER 23, 2001GermanyDEATH PENALTY
Afghanistan's Supreme Court said it cannot hold regular...
Afghanistan's Supreme Court said it cannot hold regular sessions in the trial of eight foreign aid workers accused of promoting Christianity due to chaos amid the U
- OCTOBER 19, 2001GermanyDEATH PENALTY
Taliban judges are expected to issue a verdict next...
Taliban judges are expected to issue a verdict next week in the trial of eight foreigners held in jail in Kabul since August on charges of spreading Christianity, their lawyer said
- OCTOBER 6, 2001GermanyDEATH PENALTY
Western members of the Shelter Now relief organization...
Western members of the Shelter Now relief organization currently held in Afghanistan might be kept by the Taleban as human shields
- OCTOBER 6, 2001GermanyDEATH PENALTY
Berlin and Washington rejected an offer by the Taliban...
Berlin and Washington rejected an offer by the Taliban militia to release aid workers [Georg Taubmann, Silke Duerrkopf, Margrit Stebner and Kati Jelinek] in return for a withdrawal of military threats on Afghanistan [following the September 11 terrorist a
- SEPTEMBER 19, 2001GermanyDEATH PENALTY
September 19; 2001: Chancellor Gerhard Schroder ruled...
September 19; 2001: Chancellor Gerhard Schroder ruled out any "adventures", amid reports that America was asking for Germany's participation in a daring mission to free eight Western aid workers imprisoned in Afghanistan
- JUNE 27, 2001GermanyDEATH PENALTY
The World Court faulted the United States for violating...
The World Court faulted the United States for violating international rights of two German-born brothers executed in 1999 and ordered Washington to reconsider convictions in any similar cases
- JUNE 27, 2001GermanyDEATH PENALTY
The World Court faulted the United States for violating...
The World Court faulted the United States for violating international rights of two German-born brothers executed in 1999 and ordered Washington to reconsider convictions in any similar cases