Zambia Repeals Death Penalty, Controversial Defamation Law

President Hakainde Hichilema has announced that the death penalty will be abolished, Kathy Short of Voice of America reports.

This comes seven months after the UN Human Rights Office welcomed government plans to abolish the sentence amid growing calls against the practice. OHCHR Spokesperson Seif Magango said at the time: "We warmly welcome the Zambian President's pledge to abolish the death penalty in the country and work with Parliament to end this cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment."

The declaration comes along with the repeal of Zambia's law against insulting the president, a move welcomed by rights groups. Earlier in 2022, Amnesty International's secretary-general, Agnes Callamard, met with Hichilema in Zambia, urging his government to repeal the defamation law, which had been used to silence critics since its enactment in 1965.

InFocus

President Hakainde Hichilema (file photo).

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