The last execution in Europe
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The death penalty had been abolished in all European Union (EU) member states and most European countries. Europe, as a region, has made significant progress in abolishing the death penalty over the years. The European continent has largely become a stronghold of anti-death penalty sentiment and human rights advocacy.
The last execution on the European continent was carried out in Belarus. Belarus is not a member of the European Union, and it retained the death penalty for certain crimes, despite widespread international criticism. Belarus was often referred to as the “last executioner in Europe” due to its continued use of the death penalty.
The European Union, the Council of Europe, and various human rights organizations had consistently called upon Belarus to abolish the death penalty and implement reforms in its legal system.
Below is the map of Europe created by jakubmarian.com that illustrating the year and method of the most recent execution.
Here is a more comprehensive map displaying both the method and the year of the most recent execution during peacetime in Europe.
European countries can be broadly categorized into two groups: abolitionist countries that have abolished the death penalty for all crimes and retentionist countries that still have the death penalty in their legal systems but do not actively use it. For example, Russia, Ukraine, and some other Eastern European countries fall into the retentionist category.
Public opinion on the death penalty varies across Europe. While many European citizens and governments support the abolition of the death penalty, some retentionist countries maintain the death penalty due to popular support or political reasons. In 2017, most of the citizens of some countries (Turkey, Belarus, Romania, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Serbia) supported the imposition of the death penalty.
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