By Martin Banks - 1st July 2011
We now need to tighten up EU law too
Sarah Ludford
ALDE deputy Sarah Ludford has urged her colleagues to sign a parliamentary 'written declaration' prohibiting the export of lethal injection drugs from the EU for use in executions.
Ludford, who is vice-chair of parliament's delegation to the US, said, "The EU has always been against the death penalty, and is the international leader in the effort to abolish this cruel and inhuman form of punishment across the globe."
"But this is being seriously undermined by the use of EU drugs as part of the process of executions in the United States.
"This complicity in killing people through capital punishment must end."
"The welcome decision by the UK's LibDem business secretary Vince Cable to introduce export controls on these drugs is a first."
"We now need to tighten up EU law too, while always ensuring that the drugs can still be sold for medical purposes," said Ludford, who is the UK Liberal Democrat European justice and human rights spokeswoman.
As part of her campaign she cites the case of Rais Bhuiyan, a US citizen of Bangladeshi origin, who was shot at and blinded 'because he looked like a Muslim' shortly after 9/11, but survived.
His attacker, who shot and killed two other people, has since been sentenced to the death penalty.
Rais is now campaigning to save his attacker's life because, says Ludford, he believes that fighting killing with more killing is not the answer.
Ludford will highlight the issue at a seminar in Strasbourg next Tuesday.
This will examine how Europe may stop drugs – both those manufactured in the EU and manufactured by EU-owned companies elsewhere – from being used in executions such as in the USA.
Her co-hosts are Portuguese MEP Ana Gomes and Simon Busuttil, a Maltese EPP deputy.
Speakers include Bhuiyan, now an anti death penalty campaigner, and lethal injection investigator at human rights NGO Reprieve, Maya Foa.
The seminar has been organised with Reprieve and Amnesty International.
