Turkey Signs European Convention On Human Rights Protocol Lifting Death Penalty

STRASBOURG - Turkey signed the European Convention on Human Rights Protocol no: 6 lifting death penalty on Wednesday.
Numan Hazar, the permanent representative of Turkey at the Council of Europe (COE), signed the protocol on behalf of Turkey at a ceremony which COE Secretary General Walter Schwimmer also attended.
There is no country which did not sign the protocol among 44 member countries to the COE, after Turkey's signing the protocol.
Armenia and the Russian Federation signed the protocol earlier. However, their parliaments have not approved it yet.
Turkey's delaying to sign the protocol have constituted problem between Turkey and the COE for a long time. It was creating important political problems in extradition of suspects who were captured in European countries and who were wanted by Turkey to the country.
Turkey had approved of lifting of death penalty with a reform package which was ratified at the parliament in August.
A few years ago, the COE decided to put annulment of death penalty as a precondition for becoming a member to the council.
COE which exerts great efforts to lift death penalty in Europe has been putting pressure on the U.S. government, which is an observer member of COE, to lift death penalty for a long time.