Sierra Leone
Death penalty and prisoners' rights · Archive since 1999
Data card
- Legal status
- Abolitionist de facto
- Executions recorded in 2026
- 0
- Executions recorded in 2025
- 0
- First news item in the archive
- JANUARY 1, 1999 · Murder, aggravated robbery and treason are capital crimes
- News items in the archive
- 104
Source: Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026.
Sierra Leone is classified as Abolitionist de facto 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 104 news items on Sierra Leone, from 1999 to today.
Latest news
- MAY 28, 2000Sierra LeoneDEATH PENALTY
A 15-year-old boy whose name was given as Kawuta said...
A 15-year-old boy whose name was given as Kawuta said he had witnessed dismemberment, torture and summary executions
- MAY 28, 2000Sierra LeoneDEATH PENALTY
Mohamed Bangura, a former leader of the Sierra Leone...
Mohamed Bangura, a former leader of the Sierra Leone rebel government who fled to Britain, appealed to Jack Straw, the British Home Secretary, not to deport him
- MAY 26, 2000Sierra LeoneDEATH PENALTY
The United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL)...
The United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) said there was evidence that human rights abuses had been committed by both rebels and government forces in the latest round of fighting in the war that began in 1991
- MAY 22, 2000Sierra LeoneDEATH PENALTY
Senior government officials said that Sankoh was to...
Senior government officials said that Sankoh was to face trial for murder and treason-two charges which carry the death penalty in Sierra Leone
- MAY 22, 2000Sierra LeoneDEATH PENALTY
Pierre Sane, secretary-general of London-based Amnesty...
Pierre Sane, secretary-general of London-based Amnesty International, said that Sankoh and other Sierra Leonean alleged war criminals should face trial
- MAY 19, 2000Sierra LeoneDEATH PENALTY
The New York-based Human Rights Watch said that Sankoh,...
The New York-based Human Rights Watch said that Sankoh, who took up arms in 1991, should not be subjected to "mob rule" and that any trial should be fair, and preferably before an international tribunal
- MAY 18, 2000Sierra LeoneDEATH PENALTY
Human Rights Watch expressed concern about credible...
Human Rights Watch expressed concern about credible reports that government-allied forces in Sierra Leone were torturing and executing suspected members of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), a rebel group responsible for brutal abuses against civilians
- MAY 18, 2000Sierra LeoneDEATH PENALTY
On a local radio chat show callers vented their anger...
On a local radio chat show callers vented their anger at the man whose brutal rebel movement had caused so much misery and suffering
- MAY 17, 2000Sierra LeoneDEATH PENALTY
The International Secretariat of OMCT(?) expressed...
The International Secretariat of OMCT(?) expressed concern over the deterioration of the security situation in Sierra Leone and the continuing violation of human rights and humanitarian law by armed parties, particularly against civilians - mostly women a
- MAY 17, 2000Sierra LeoneDEATH PENALTY
Foday Sankoh, the leader of the Revolutionary United...
Foday Sankoh, the leader of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), was captured by pro-government forces
- JANUARY 1, 2000Sierra LeoneDEATH PENALTY
Murder, aggravated robbery and treason are capital crimes
Murder, aggravated robbery and treason are capital crimes
- JULY 7, 1999Sierra LeoneDEATH PENALTY
On July 7, President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah signed a peace...
On July 7, President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah signed a peace deal with Sierra Leone's rebel leader Foday Sankoh in Togo, lifting the death sentence imposed on him for treason and giving the rebels seats in government
- JANUARY 1, 1999Sierra LeoneDEATH PENALTY
Murder, aggravated robbery and treason are capital crimes
Murder, aggravated robbery and treason are capital crimes
- JANUARY 1, 1999Sierra LeoneDEATH PENALTY
The Special Rapporteur on Extrajudical, Summary or...
The Special Rapporteur on Extrajudical, Summary or Arbitrary Executions said that numerous allegations were received concerning such executions committed by armed insurgent groups within the country