Laos
Foreign Nationals and the Death Penalty
Death Penalty Overview
No executions have been carried out in Laos
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since 1989 (the same year in which the
neighbouring state of Cambodia abolished
the death penalty entirely), making it de facto
abolitionist. Despite this, and whilst up-todate information on the death penalty in Laos
is hard to obtain (FIDH 2016), Amnesty
International estimated there to be at least
315 individuals on death row in 2018, with
courts continuing to impose the death
penalty. After a hiatus in 2021, Laos
sentenced ve individuals to death in 2022
(Amnesty International 2022).
The of cial method of execution is by ring
squad, with a range of offences punishable
by death, including but not limited to:
premeditated murder; terrorism-related
offences; robbery; drug traf cking; drug
possession; treason and spying.
The death penalty is primarily implemented
for drug-related offences and was introduced
in the early 2000s. In 2020, eight of the nine
individuals sentenced to death were for drug
offences.
Whilst the Laotian authorities have not
executed any individuals for over three
decades, there has been very little progress
towards of cial abolition of the death
penalty. Laos have repeatedly announced
their intention to amend the Criminal Code
to limit capital punishment to the ‘most
serious crimes’ - in accordance with
international standards - yet continue to hand
down death sentences for drug-crimes,
which do not meet this threshold of ‘most
serious crimes’. Furthermore, it continues to
resist supporting the UNGA vote for a
moratorium on executions, most recently
abstaining from the vote in 2022.