Taiwan’s first ‘shocking and cruel’ execution in five years sparks outcry
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Amnesty International urges Taiwan’s government to immediately halt any plans to carry out further executions. The execution of an inmate on Thursday by Taiwan, marking the first death penalty carried out by the island’s authorities in five years, has sparked condemnation from rights groups.
Death row inmate Huang Linkai, who was convicted of raping and murdering his ex-girlfriend and killing her mother in 2013, was executed at the Taipei detention centre, according to the Ministry of Justice. This marks the first execution order signed by minister of justice Cheng Ming-chien since assuming office in May last year.
In 2017, the Supreme Court upheld Linkai’s death sentence for the murder of his ex-girlfriend and affirmed a life imprisonment sentence without parole for the killing of her mother. Prosecutors, at the time, attributed the double homicide to anger over the breakup and a financial dispute.
On 16 January, the Taiwanese minister of justice authorised the execution of Linkai, despite unresolved concerns about constitutional standards for the death penalty in the country. The constitutional court had earlier acknowledged flaws in its application, mandating reforms by 2026, including unanimous judgments and stringent review processes.
Linkai’s lawyer filed an appeal citing these issues, but the execution proceeded. His execution has upset the European Union and several rights groups across the world who called it “unlawful”. E-Ling Chiu, Amnesty International Taiwan’s director, said the execution was a “huge setback for human rights in Taiwan”.
