7 August 2016, 21:44 GMT
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The High Court of this Indian Ocean island nation ended its 60-year practice of commuting death sentence last November, ruling that heirs of a murder victim can demand the ultimate punishment.
"The death penalty is not effective in deterring crime. Revenge must never be confused with justice, and the death penalty only serves to compound injustice," High Commissioner, Prince Zeid Raad Al Hussein, said.
Since this June, death row inmates can be executed by hanging or lethal injection. There are currently 17 people on death row in the Maldives, including three who are considered to be at imminent risk of execution, the UN said. The 193-nation organization is a staunch opponent of capital punishment and has been campaigning to abolish its worldwide.
