Capital Punishment In The Netherlands
Capital punishment ("doodstraf" in Dutch) in the Netherlands was first abolished in 1870, though only in criminal law, by the Dutch justice minister Van Lilaar. Following the abolition of the death penalty, life imprisonment was made an official punishment in 1878.
Between 1945 and 1952 several war criminals from World War II have been sentenced to death by the Bijzonder Gerechtshof.
In military law, however, capital punishment remained a legal option until 1983, when it was explicitly forbidden in the Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In 1991, all references to the death penalty were removed from Dutch law.
Today the Netherlands operates a clear policy against capital punishment, such as not participating in extradition if the suspect has even the slightest chance of receiving the death penalty.
Read more about Capital Punishment In The Netherlands: Articles, Executed People
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