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| Papua New Guinea Moves To Repeal Law on Sorcery | |
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| SYDNEY, Australia — The Parliament of Papua New Guinea has voted to repeal the country’s Sorcery Act and to reinstate the death penalty in certain cases to help stem an increase in violence against people accused of practicing black magic. | SYDNEY, Australia — The Parliament of Papua New Guinea has voted to repeal the country’s Sorcery Act and to reinstate the death penalty in certain cases to help stem an increase in violence against people accused of practicing black magic. |
| Such violence is endemic in the South Pacific island nation, and a rise in the number of public killings in the last year has prompted international condemnation and embarrassed the government of Prime Minister Peter O’Neill. | Such violence is endemic in the South Pacific island nation, and a rise in the number of public killings in the last year has prompted international condemnation and embarrassed the government of Prime Minister Peter O’Neill. |
| Last month, he vowed to repeal the 1971 Sorcery Act, which criminalized the practice of sorcery and recognized the accusation of sorcery as a defense in murder cases. He made the pledge after the highly publicized decapitation of an elderly former schoolteacher by a mob whose members accused her of using witchcraft to kill a colleague. | Last month, he vowed to repeal the 1971 Sorcery Act, which criminalized the practice of sorcery and recognized the accusation of sorcery as a defense in murder cases. He made the pledge after the highly publicized decapitation of an elderly former schoolteacher by a mob whose members accused her of using witchcraft to kill a colleague. |
| Under the amendments passed on Tuesday, rape, robbery and murder will be among the crimes that can now draw a death sentence. Although death by hanging has been legal for decades in Papua New Guinea, a former Australian colony, no hangings have been carried out since 1954. A variety of new methods of execution — lethal injection, asphyxiation, firing squad and electrocution — were stipulated as part of the new legislation. | Under the amendments passed on Tuesday, rape, robbery and murder will be among the crimes that can now draw a death sentence. Although death by hanging has been legal for decades in Papua New Guinea, a former Australian colony, no hangings have been carried out since 1954. A variety of new methods of execution — lethal injection, asphyxiation, firing squad and electrocution — were stipulated as part of the new legislation. |
| Daniel Korimbao, a spokesman for Mr. O’Neill, said in a statement that the decision to reinstate capital punishment was difficult but ultimately necessary to combat a culture of lawlessness and violence in the impoverished country. | Daniel Korimbao, a spokesman for Mr. O’Neill, said in a statement that the decision to reinstate capital punishment was difficult but ultimately necessary to combat a culture of lawlessness and violence in the impoverished country. |
| “These are very tough penalties, but they reflect the seriousness of the nature of the crimes and the demand by the community for Parliament to act,” he said. | “These are very tough penalties, but they reflect the seriousness of the nature of the crimes and the demand by the community for Parliament to act,” he said. |
| Papua New Guinea has come under increased international pressure to end a growing trend of vigilante violence against people accused of sorcery. Last July, police officers arrested 29 members of a witch-hunting gang who were killing and cannibalizing people they suspected of being sorcerers. | Papua New Guinea has come under increased international pressure to end a growing trend of vigilante violence against people accused of sorcery. Last July, police officers arrested 29 members of a witch-hunting gang who were killing and cannibalizing people they suspected of being sorcerers. |
| The killing in February of Kepari Leniata, 20, who was stripped, tortured, doused with gasoline and set ablaze, caused an international outcry. The United Nations said it was deeply disturbed by her killing, which was reportedly carried out by relatives of a 6-year-old boy who, they claimed, had been killed by her sorcery. | The killing in February of Kepari Leniata, 20, who was stripped, tortured, doused with gasoline and set ablaze, caused an international outcry. The United Nations said it was deeply disturbed by her killing, which was reportedly carried out by relatives of a 6-year-old boy who, they claimed, had been killed by her sorcery. |
| This month, Mr. O’Neill publicly apologized to women for the high rates of sexual and domestic violence in the country, and he said he supported making crimes like aggravated rape and gang rape punishable by death. | This month, Mr. O’Neill publicly apologized to women for the high rates of sexual and domestic violence in the country, and he said he supported making crimes like aggravated rape and gang rape punishable by death. |
| Amnesty International, which has campaigned loudly against sorcery-related violence in Papua New Guinea, praised the repeal of the Sorcery Act but assailed the reintroduction of the death penalty. | Amnesty International, which has campaigned loudly against sorcery-related violence in Papua New Guinea, praised the repeal of the Sorcery Act but assailed the reintroduction of the death penalty. |
| “Papua New Guinea has taken one step forward in protecting women from violence by repealing the Sorcery Act, but several giant steps back by moving closer to executions,” Isabelle Arradon, a spokeswoman for the group, said in a statement. | “Papua New Guinea has taken one step forward in protecting women from violence by repealing the Sorcery Act, but several giant steps back by moving closer to executions,” Isabelle Arradon, a spokeswoman for the group, said in a statement. |
| “The taking of a life — whether a person is beheaded by villagers or killed by the state — represents an equally abhorrent violation of human rights,” she said. | “The taking of a life — whether a person is beheaded by villagers or killed by the state — represents an equally abhorrent violation of human rights,” she said. |