View source for Capital punishment in Europe

{{Short description|none}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2018}}
[[Image:Death Penalty laws in Europe.svg|thumb|right|300px|Europe holds the greatest concentration of abolitionist states (blue). Map current as of 2022<br />
{{Legend|#3f9bbb|Abolished for all offences}}
{{legend|#e8aa30|Abolished in practice}}
{{Legend|#cc7662|Retains capital punishment}}
]]

[[Capital punishment]] has been completely abolished in all [[Europe]]an countries except for [[Belarus]] and [[Russia]], the latter of which has a moratorium and has not carried out an execution since September 1996. The complete ban on capital punishment is enshrined in both the [[Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union|Charter of Fundamental Rights]] of the [[European Union]] (EU) and two widely adopted protocols of the [[European Convention on Human Rights]] of the [[Council of Europe]], and is thus considered a central value. Of all modern European countries, [[San Marino]], [[Portugal]], and the [[Netherlands]] were the first to abolish capital punishment, whereas only Belarus still practises capital punishment in some form or another. In 2012, [[Latvia]] became the last EU member state to abolish capital punishment in wartime.<ref name=wco1>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldcoalition.org/International-law-abolition-protocols-ratified-last-month.html|title=International law: abolition protocols ratified last month|website=World Coalition Against the Death Penalty|date=20 March 2012}}</ref>

In [[Russia]], capital punishment has been indefinitely suspended (under [[moratorium (law)|moratorium]]) since 1996.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.deathpenaltyworldwide.org/country-search-post.cfm?country=russian+federation|title=Death Penalty in Russian Federation|website=Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide|access-date=15 April 2019|archive-date=11 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190611095526/http://www.deathpenaltyworldwide.org/country-search-post.cfm?country=Russian+Federation|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Russia">[http://www.lenta.ru/news/2009/11/19/death/ The Constitutional Court forbids death penalty use in Russia], [[Lenta.Ru]], 11 November 2009</ref>

Except for Belarus, which, most recently, carried out one execution in 2022,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://dp.spring96.org/en/news/110810 | title=Condemned prisoner's death date revealed more than a year after the execution | date=17 February 2023 }}</ref> the last execution in a European country occurred in [[Ukraine]] in 1997.{{cn|date=January 2025}}

==Abolition==
{{Further|Capital punishment by country}}

===Legal instruments in Europe===
The [[Council of Europe]] has two main instruments against capital punishment: Protocol 6 and Protocol 13.<ref name="quigley19">{{cite journal |url=https://kb.osu.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/28977c97-5446-4888-ae06-3a7f05eb02b6/content |title=Why Europe Abolished Capital Punishment |journal=Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law |volume=17 |issue=1 |date=2019 |pages=95-129 }}</ref><ref name=behrmann13>Christian Behrmann & Jon Yorke, [http://digitalcommons.pace.edu/pilronline/39/ The European Union and the Abolition of the Death Penalty], 4 Pace Int’l L. Rev. Online Companion 1 (2013)</ref>

[https://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list?module=treaty-detail&treatynum=114 Protocol 6], opened for signing in 1983, which prohibits capital punishment during peacetime has been ratified by all members of the Council of Europe.

[https://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list?module=treaty-detail&treatynum=187 Protocol 13], opened for signing in 2002, prohibits capital punishment in all circumstances. All member states of the Council of Europe have ratified it except Azerbaijan, which have signed but not yet ratified. Still, Azerbaijan had already abolished capital punishment in 1998. [[Armenia]] is the latest country to ratify Protocol 13 in February 2024, having however abolished the death penalty since 2003.<ref>[https://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list?module=signatures-by-treaty&treatynum=187 Protocol 13 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, concerning the abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances CETS No.: 187] Council of Europe</ref>

===The 21st century===
The only country in Europe that continues to execute in the 21st century is Belarus (last execution done in 2022).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://dp.spring96.org/en/news/110810 | title=Condemned prisoner's death date revealed more than a year after the execution | date=17 February 2023 }}</ref>

No member of the Council of Europe has carried out executions in the 21st century. The last execution on the present day territory of the Council of Europe took place in 1997 in Ukraine.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hub.coe.int/what-we-do/human-rights/death-penalty |title=Death Penalty - Совет Европы |access-date=11 February 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140205224923/http://hub.coe.int/what-we-do/human-rights/death-penalty |archive-date=5 February 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.handsoffcain.info/bancadati/schedastato.php?idcontinente=20&nome=ukraine|title=NTC – Bancadati|website=www.handsoffcain.info}}</ref>

===History===
Abolition has been common in European history, but has only been a real trend since the end of the [[Second World War]] when [[human rights]] became a particular priority. The [[Kingdom of Italy]] had abolished the death penalty for civilians with the adoption of the [[Zanardelli Penal Code]] of 1889 (previously it had not been applied in Tuscany alone since 1859, or even earlier, for brief periods starting in 1786), but the [[Kingdom of Italy#Fascist regime (1922–1943)|Fascists]] reintroduced capital punishment in 1926, then expanding its range of cases with the 1930 Penal Code.

The [[European Convention on Human Rights]] was adopted in 1950, but some countries took many years to ratify it. The United Kingdom retained the death penalty for [[high treason]] until 1998; however, this technicality was superseded by the absolute ban on the death penalty in 1976. [[William Joyce]] was the last person to be put to death for high treason in the UK, on 3 January 1946 at [[Wandsworth Prison]].

A moratorium on the death penalty has been in place in Russia since 1 January 2010. According to the 19 November 2009 decision of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, the death penalty shall not be practiced in Russia at any time before the ratification of the above-mentioned protocol. The Constitutional Court has also clarified that the decision is not an extension of the moratorium but the abolition of the capital punishment, since it will be no longer possible to practice it legally.

2009 was the first year that no one was executed anywhere in Europe, however in March 2010, [[Belarus]] executed the last two people on its death row.<ref name="Belarus 2">Phillips, Leigh (30 March 2010) [http://euobserver.com/9/29797 Europe's first ever execution-free year undone by Belarus], [[EU Observer]]</ref>

The European Union has long since been opposed to the death penalty, supporting the European Convention, and its 2000 [[Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union|Charter of Fundamental Rights]] included an absolute ban on the death penalty in all circumstances. The Charter has been made legally binding by the [[Treaty of Lisbon]] as it was fully ratified and became effective on 1 December 2009.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6901353.stm Q&A: The Lisbon Treaty] BBC News</ref> The treaty also has a provision for the EU to join the Council of Europe and accede to the European Convention on Human Rights. The EU has been an active promoter of abolition worldwide and has been promoting a [[United Nations moratorium on the death penalty]]; however some EU member state such as [[Poland]] have opposed such moves.{{Citation needed|date=August 2018}} The only member state to have performed executions in Europe whilst a Member of the EU or EEC is [[France]], last shooting a prisoner in 1963 and last beheading one with the guillotine in 1977. The death penalty was abolished in France in 1981. All other states had effectively abolished Capital Punishment before joining the EU, at least in their metropolitan European Territory. Two hangings were carried out later in 1977 in [[Bermuda]], a Special Territory of the EU as an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom, (after the United Kingdom joined the EC in 1973). Due to later abolition dates in countries that joined later, there have been more recent executions in places that are now part of the EU, the most recent example being [[Latvia]] which shot a prisoner in 1996.

The [[Council of Europe]] has made abolition of the death penalty a prerequisite for membership. As a result, no execution has taken place on the territory of the organisation's member states since 1997. The [[Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe]] continues to monitor the capital punishment issue. The current General Rapporteur on the abolition of the death penalty for the Parliamentary Assembly is German Member of Parliament [[Marina Schuster]].<ref>[http://assembly.coe.int/ASP/NewsManager/EMB_NewsManagerView.asp?ID=8703&L=2 PACE Rapporteurs condemn death sentence handed down in Belarus], Press release of 3 May 2013, [[Council of Europe]].</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|- 
! Country
! Method
! Year of last use (peacetime)
! Abolished (peacetime)
! Year of last use (wartime)
! Abolished (wartime)
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Albania}} [[Capital punishment in Albania|Albania]] || Firing squad, [[hanging]]<ref>{{Cite news|title=Rruga për heqjen e dënimit me vdekje në Shqipëri|work=Dita|url=http://www.gazetadita.al/rruga-per-heqjen-e-denimit-me-vdekje-ne-shqiperi/}}</ref> || 1992<ref>{{Cite news|title=Dënimi i fundit me vdekje në Shqipëri më 1992 (Foto/Video, +18)|work=Telegrafi|url=https://telegrafi.com/denimi-i-fundit-me-vdekje-ne-shqiperi-me-1992-fotovideo-18/}}</ref> || 2000 || ? || 2007
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Andorra}} [[Capital punishment in Andorra|Andorra]] || [[Garrotte]], [[Execution by firing squad|firing squad]] || 1943 || 1990 || ? || 1996?
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Armenia}} [[Capital punishment in Armenia|Armenia]] || [[Execution by shooting|Single shot]] || 1991 || 2003 || ? || 2003<ref name="deathpenalty.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.deathpenalty.org/article.php?id=81 |title=Death Penalty : International Views on the Death Penalty |access-date=6 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106083835/http://www.deathpenalty.org/article.php?id=81 |archive-date=6 November 2012 }}</ref> 
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Austria}} [[Capital punishment in Austria|Austria]] || Hanging || 1950<ref name = endeurope>[http://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/europe.html "The end of capital punishment in Europe"], capitalpunishmentuk.org, accessed 2008-08-08.</ref> || 1950 || ? || 1968?
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Belarus}} [[Capital punishment in Belarus|Belarus]] || Single shot || 2022<ref>{{cite web | url=https://dp.spring96.org/en/news/110810 | title=Condemned prisoner's death date revealed more than a year after the execution | date=17 February 2023 }}</ref> || – || ? || –
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Belgium}} [[Capital punishment in Belgium|Belgium]] || [[Guillotine]], firing squad || 1950 || 1996 || 1950<ref>[http://diplomatie.belgium.be/en/policy/policy_areas/human_rights/specific_issues/death_penalty/ The death penalty: a few notions] Kingdom of Belgium ''Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation'', 2010</ref> || 1996 
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Bosnia and Herzegovina}} [[Capital punishment in Bosnia and Herzegovina|Bosnia and Herzegovina]] || Firing squad || 1977<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.smrtnakazna.rs/sr-latn-rs/Osudjenik.aspx?id=6351 | title=Dušan Prodić | publisher=SPSK | access-date=28 January 2019}}</ref> || 2000 || ? || 2000?
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Bulgaria}} [[Capital punishment in Bulgaria|Bulgaria]] || Firing squad || 1989 || 1998 || ? || 1998? 
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Croatia}} [[Capital punishment in Croatia|Croatia]] || Firing squad || 1987 || 1990 || ? || 1997?
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Cyprus}} [[Capital punishment in Cyprus|Cyprus]] || Hanging || 1962 || 2002 || ? || 2002?
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Czech Republic}} [[Capital punishment in the Czech Republic|Czech Republic]] || Hanging || 1989 || 1990<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.psp.cz/sqw/sbirka.sqw?cz=175&r=1990|title=175/1990 Sb.|website=www.psp.cz|language=cs|access-date=26 April 2017}}</ref> || 1948<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lidskaprava.cz/student/trest-smrti/clanky/historie-trestu-smrti-v-ceskych-zemich|title=Historie trestu smrti v českých zemích – Lidská práva|last=Jaroš|first=Petr|website=www.lidskaprava.cz|access-date=26 April 2017}}</ref> || 1990<ref name="auto"/>
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Denmark}}<math>**</math> [[Capital punishment in Denmark|Denmark]] ||[[Decapitation]], firing squad || 1892 || 1930 || 1950<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ditt.almanet.dk/henrettede.html|title=46 henrettede danskere i tysk tjeneste|website=ditt.almanet.dk|access-date=2019-12-05}}</ref>|| 1994
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Estonia}} [[Capital punishment in Estonia|Estonia]] || Single shot || 1991 || 1998 || ? || 1998?  
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Finland}} [[Capital punishment in Finland|Finland]] || Firing squad, hanging || 1825 || 1949 || 1944 || 1972
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|France}} [[Capital punishment in France|France]] || Guillotine, firing squad || 1977 || 1981<ref>[http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/node/611 America's Deadly Image] Washington Post, 20 February 2001</ref> || 1961 || 1981
|-
| align=left |  {{flagicon|Germany}} [[Capital punishment in Germany|Germany]] || Guillotine, hanging, firing squad || 1951<ref>Capital punishment had been abolished in West Germany by the [[Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany|Basic Law]] in 1949. However, the Allied occupation forces were not subjected to this, so the Americans carried out the last executions on the West German soil after the abolishment of capital punishment. Yvonne Hötzel: ''Debatten um die Todesstrafe in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland von 1949 bis 1990.'' Berlin 2010, [https://books.google.com/books?id=q5uFTYLTzWgC&pg=PA65 pp. 65 ff.]</ref> || 1981 || 1951 || 1987
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Georgia}} [[Capital punishment in Georgia (country)|Georgia]] ||Shooting  || 1995 ||1997|| 1993 || 1997
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Greece}} [[Capital punishment in Greece|Greece]] || Firing squad || 1972 || 1975 || ? || 2004
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Hungary}} [[Capital punishment in Hungary|Hungary]]  || Hanging || 1988 || 1990 || ? || 1990
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Iceland}} [[Capital punishment in Iceland|Iceland]] || Public beheading || 1830 || 1928 || – || 1928
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Ireland}} [[Capital punishment in Ireland|Ireland]] || Hanging || 1954 || 1990 || 1922 || 2002
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Italy}} [[Capital punishment in Italy|Italy]] || Firing squad || 1947 || 1948 || 1947<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.massacritica.eu/la-pena-di-morte/7978/|title=La pena di morte  |website=www.massacritica.eu}}</ref> || 1994
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Kosovo}} [[Capital punishment in Kosovo|Kosovo]] || Firing squad|| 1987<ref name=UN>{{cite web|url=http://smrtnakazna.rs/News/Current/tabid/322/ItemId/1760/language/en-GB/Default.aspx|title=Skazna > News > Current }}</ref>|| 1999<ref>{{Cite web|title=United Nations – UNMIK|url=https://unmik.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/regulations/02english/E1999regs/RE1999_01.htm|access-date=2020-08-14|website=unmik.unmissions.org}}</ref>|| ? || 1999<ref name=UN />
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Latvia}} [[Capital punishment in Latvia|Latvia]]|| Shooting || 1996 || 1999 || ? || 2012
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Liechtenstein}} [[Capital punishment in Liechtenstein|Liechtenstein]] || Public beheading || 1785 || 1989 || ? || 1989
|-
| align=left | {{flag|Lithuania}} || Shooting || 1995 || 1996 || ? || 1998<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.handsoffcain.info/bancadati/schedastato.php?idstato=17000326|title=NTC – Bancadati|website=www.handsoffcain.info}}</ref>
|-
|align=left | {{flagicon|Luxembourg}} [[Luxembourg]] || Hanging, firing squad<ref name="today.rtl.lu" />|| 1948<ref name="today.rtl.lu">{{cite web |title=Dark Luxembourg: "Cruel, inhuman, and degrading": the death penalty in Luxembourg |url=https://today.rtl.lu/culture/exhibitions-and-history/a/1467811.html |website=today.rtl.lu |access-date=16 February 2021 |language=en}}</ref> || 1979<ref name="deathpenalty.org"/>|| 1949<ref name="today.rtl.lu" />|| 1979<ref name="deathpenalty.org"/>
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Malta}} [[Capital punishment in Malta|Malta]] || Hanging || 1943 || 1971 || 1942 || 2000
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Moldova}} [[Moldova]] || ? || None since independence<ref name = hood>Roger Hood and Carolyn Hoyle (2008, 4th ed.). ''The Death Penalty: A Worldwide Perspective'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|0-19-922847-7}}) app. 1.</ref> || 1995<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eu-norway.org/eu/policyareas/foreign_policy/CFSP_statements/Abolition_of_the_death_penalty_in_Moldova/#.Ul8f61NedO4 |title=Abolition of the death penalty in Moldova |access-date=2013-10-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019064909/http://www.eu-norway.org/eu/policyareas/foreign_policy/CFSP_statements/Abolition_of_the_death_penalty_in_Moldova/ |archive-date=2013-10-19 }}</ref> || None since independence<ref name = hood/>|| 2005<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite web|url=http://www.handsoffcain.info/bancadati/schedastato.php?idstato=17000399|title=NTC – Bancadati|website=www.handsoffcain.info}}</ref>
|-
|align=left | {{flagicon|Monaco}} [[Monaco]] || Guillotine || 1929<ref name=NYT64>{{cite news|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/115538228|title=Monaco Ends Death Penalty|date=20 June 1964|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=8 February 2021|id={{ProQuest|115538228}}}}</ref> || 1962 or 1964<ref name=NYT64 /><ref name="ReferenceB">{{cite web|url=http://www.handsoffcain.info/bancadati/schedastato.php?idstato=17000324|title=NTC – Bancadati|website=www.handsoffcain.info}}</ref>|| ?|| 1962 or 1964<ref name="ReferenceB"/><ref name=NYT64 />
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Montenegro}} [[Montenegro]] || Firing squad || 1981<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.smrtnakazna.rs/sr-latn-rs/Osudjenik.aspx?id=6391 | title=Dragiša Ristić | publisher=SPSK | access-date=28 January 2019}}</ref> || 2002 || None since independence || 2002
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Netherlands}} [[Capital punishment in the Netherlands|Netherlands]] || Hanging, firing squad ||  1860 || 1870 || 1952<ref>{{in lang|nl}} [http://www.geschiedenis24.nl/nieuws/2010/maart/De-doodstraf-in-Nederland.html De doodstraf in Nederland: Laatste twee executies in 1952] Geschiedenis 24, 11 March 2010.</ref> || 1983
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|North Macedonia}} [[Capital punishment in North Macedonia|North Macedonia]] || Firing squad || 1988<ref name = endeurope/> || 1991<ref name="handsoffcain.info">{{cite web|url=http://www.handsoffcain.info/bancadati/schedastato.php?idstato=17000169|title=NTC – Bancadati|website=www.handsoffcain.info}}</ref> || ? || 1991<ref name="handsoffcain.info"/>
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Norway}} [[Capital punishment in Norway|Norway]] || Beheading, firing squad || 1876<ref>{{cite web|url=http://digitaltfortalt.no/things/den-siste-halshuggingen/H-DF/DF.1147|title=DEN SISTE HALSHUGGINGEN|website=digitaltfortalt.no}}</ref> || 1902 || 1948<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.executedtoday.com/2014/08/28/1948-ragnar-skancke-the-last-executed-in-norway/|title=1948: Ragnar Skancke, the last executed in Norway|date=28 August 2014}}</ref> || 1979
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Poland}} [[Capital punishment in Poland|Poland]] || Hanging || 1988 || 1997<ref name="handsoffcain.info1">{{cite web|url=http://www.handsoffcain.info/bancadati/schedastato.php?idstato=17000406|title=NTC – Bancadati|website=www.handsoffcain.info}}</ref> || ? || 1997<ref name="handsoffcain.info1"/>
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Portugal}} [[Capital punishment in Portugal|Portugal]] || Hanging, [[Garrote|garrotte]], firing squad || 1846 || 1867 || 1917<ref name = endeurope/> || 1976
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Romania}} [[Capital punishment in Romania|Romania]] || Firing squad || 1989 || 1990 || ? || 1991
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Russia}} [[Capital punishment in Russia|Russia]] || Single shot || 1999 (in [[Chechnya]])<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6aa1213.html|title=Amnesty International Report 1999 - Russian Federation|publisher=Refworld|date=1 January 1999}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://cdn.penalreform.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Eastern-European-research-Death-Penalty-Alternative-Sanctions-ENGLISH-March-2012.pdf|title=The abolition of the death penalty and its alternative sanction in Eastern Europe: Belarus, Russia and Ukraine|publisher=www.penalreform.org|date=2012}}</ref><br />1996 (mainland [[Russia]])<ref name="Russia"/> || –<ref name="Russia"/> || ? || –<ref name="Russia"/>
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|San Marino}} [[Capital punishment in San Marino|San Marino]] || Hanging || 1468<ref name = endeurope/> or 1667<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sanmarinortv.sm/news/cultura-c6/1865-san-marino-decide-completa-abolizione-pena-morte-a108398|title=1865. San Marino decide la completa abolizione della pena di morte|access-date=28 May 2021|date=10 October 2010|website=sanmarinortv.sm|language=it}}</ref> || 1848 || ? || 1865
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Serbia}} [[Capital punishment in Serbia|Serbia]] || Firing squad<ref>{{Cite web|title=smrtnakazna.rs|url=http://www.smrtnakazna.rs/Portals/0/SrbijaPropisi/Uputstvo%20o%20postupku%20izvr_enja%20smrtne%20kazne%20SR%20Srbija%201978.pdf}}</ref> || 1992 || 2002 || ? || 2002 
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Slovakia}} [[Capital punishment in Slovakia|Slovakia]] || Hanging || 1989 || 1990<ref name="ReferenceC">{{cite web|url=http://www.handsoffcain.info/bancadati/schedastato.php?idcontinente=20&nome=slovakia|title=NTC – Bancadati|website=www.handsoffcain.info}}</ref>|| None since independence || 1990<ref name="ReferenceC"/>
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Slovenia}} [[Capital punishment in Slovenia|Slovenia]] || Hanging || 1959<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.smrtnakazna.rs/sr-latn-rs/Osudjenik.aspx?id=6642 | title=Franc Rihtarič | publisher=SPSK | access-date=28 January 2019}}</ref> || 1989 || ? || 1991 
|-
| align=left | {{flag|Spain}} || Garrotte, firing squad || 1975 || 1978 || 1939 || 1995
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Sweden}} [[Capital punishment in Sweden|Sweden]] || Guillotine<math>*</math>, beheading, hanging || 1910 || 1921 || ? || 1973 
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Switzerland}} [[Capital punishment in Switzerland|Switzerland]] || Beheading, firing squad || 1940 || 1942 || 1944<ref name = endeurope/> || 1992 
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Turkey}} [[Capital punishment in Turkey|Turkey]] || Hanging || 1984 || 2002 || 1921<ref>Last wartime executions were carried out during the [[Turkish War of Independence]] at the hands of the [[Independence Tribunals (Turkey)]]. [[Seyid Riza]] and companions were also hanged after the [[Dersim rebellion]]; however, it is not officially considered a war, and they were tried according to the peacetime laws.</ref> || 2004 
|-
|align=left | {{flagicon|Ukraine}} [[Capital punishment in Ukraine|Ukraine]] || Single shot|| 1997<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/ailib/aireport/ar99/eur50.htm |title=Annual Report 1999 – Ukraine |publisher=Amnesty International |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991109075223/http://www.amnesty.org/ailib/aireport/ar99/eur50.htm |archive-date=9 November 1999}}</ref>|| 2000<ref name=bookdpUkr2>[https://books.google.com/books?id=zKsfGi3y3YgC&dq=death+penalty+Ukraine&pg=PA74 The Death Penalty: Beyond Abolition], [[Council of Europe]], 2004, {{ISBN|9287153337}} (page 74)</ref><ref name=bookdpUkr>[https://books.google.com/books?id=kwAjvp2LnjMC&dq=death+penalty+Ukraine&pg=PA197 International Actors, Democratization and the Rule of Law: Anchoring Democracy?], [[Routledge]], 2008, {{ISBN|0415492955}} (page 196 a.f.)</ref>|| ? || 2000<ref name=bookdpUkr2/><ref name=bookdpUkr/>
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Capital punishment in the United Kingdom|United Kingdom]] || Hanging || 1964 || 1965 (suspended) 1969 (abolished) || 1953 || 1998
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|Vatican City}} [[Capital punishment in Vatican City|Vatican City]] || [[Mazzatello]], hanging, beheading, guillotine || 1870 (as [[Papal States]]) || 1969 || ? || 1969
|-
|}
<math>*</math>Only used once, at the very last execution in Sweden
<math>**</math>Abandoned totally in 1930, however reintroduced 1945-1950 for certain collaborations with the occupying Nazi German forces between August 1943 and May 1945. Executions carried out by the police.
==== Former countries ====
{{Expand section|date=January 2021}}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|- 
! Country
! Method
! Year of last use (peacetime)
! Abolished (peacetime)
! Year of last use (wartime)
! Abolished (wartime)
|-
| align="left" | {{flagicon|East Germany}} [[Capital punishment in Germany#After World War II|East Germany]]|| Guillotine, single shot || 1981 || 1987 || 1945 || 1987
|}

==Belarus==
{{main|Capital punishment in Belarus}}
The only European country that executes criminals is [[Belarus]], as that country is not part of the European Convention on Human Rights. Executions in Belarus are carried out by shooting.

==Russia==
{{main|Capital punishment in Russia}}
Capital punishment in Russia has been indefinitely suspended, although it still remains codified in its law. There exists both an implicit [[Moratorium (law)|moratorium]] established by the President [[Yeltsin]] in 1996, and an explicit one, established by the [[Constitutional Court of Russia]] in 1999 and which was most recently reaffirmed in 2009. Russia has not executed anyone in the Russian Federation since August or September 1996<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gazeta.ru/science/2021/08/02_a_13823648.shtml|title=«Фишер», «Удав», «Ученик Чикатило»: кто был последним казненным в России преступником|publisher=[[Gazeta.Ru]]|date=2 August 2021}}</ref> (except one in 1999 in the [[Chechnya|Chechen Republic]], a former limited recognition state). However, Russia was suspended from the Council of Europe in the wake of its [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine|2022 invasion of Ukraine]], and subsequently announced its intention to withdraw from the organization before being effectively expelled, former President and Prime Minister [[Dmitry Medvedev]] endorsed restoring death penalty in Russia.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Times |first=The Moscow |date=2022-03-10 |title=Russia Quits Europe's Rule of Law Body, Sparking Questions Over Death Penalty |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/03/10/russia-quits-europes-rule-of-law-body-sparking-questions-over-death-penalty-a76854 |access-date=2022-03-14 |website=The Moscow Times |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Dmitry Medvedev vows to reintroduce death penalty |url=https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/security/2022/02/dmitry-medvedev-calls-russia-reintroduce-death-penalty |access-date=2022-03-14 |website=The Independent Barents Observer |date=26 February 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

==Bosnia and Herzegovina==
{{main|Capital punishment in Bosnia and Herzegovina}}
The death penalty in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been constitutionally abolished since 1995. However, it was only on 4 October 2019 that the capital punishment was completely erased from the Constitution of [[Republika Srpska]], one of Bosnia and Herzegovina's two entities. While it was still in place, it was endorsed under Article 11 of the Constitution of Republika Srpska.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&nv=1&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=bs&sp=nmt4&tl=en&u=https://www.klix.ba/vijesti/bih/ustavni-sud-bih-ukinuo-smrtnu-kaznu-u-republici-srpskoj/191004135&xid=17259,15700002,15700019,15700186,15700190,15700256,15700259,15700262,15700265,15700271,15700283&usg=ALkJrhhCFcc2l1zMoKy2uedvlVRNbLUKTA|title = Ustavni sud BiH ukinuo smrtnu kaznu u Republici Srpskoj}}</ref>

== Separatist territories and partially recognized jurisdictions ==
In Europe there are also [[List of states with limited recognition|partially unrecognized states]]. In 2006, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe wrote that: <blockquote>While [[Republic of Artsakh|Artsakh]] abolished the death penalty on 1 August 2003, when it decided to implement the Republic of Armenia's new Criminal Code on its territory, the other territories, [[Abkhazia]], [[Transnistria]] and [[South Ossetia]], have not done so, retaining capital punishment in their legislation both in peacetime and in wartime. As South Ossetia decided in 1992 to make Russian legislation applicable on its territory, it has observed a moratorium on executions since 1996. The death penalty is in the Transnistrian Criminal Code which came into force in 2002. In July 1999, de facto President Smirnov ordered a moratorium on executions, and there is said to be only one prisoner on death row in Transnistria.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://assembly.coe.int/ASP/Doc/XrefViewHTML.asp?FileID%3D11376%26Language%3Den |title=Position of the Parliamentary Assembly as regards the Council of Europe member and observer states which have not abolished the death penalty |access-date=2013-10-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019050451/http://assembly.coe.int/ASP/Doc/XrefViewHTML.asp?FileID=11376&Language=en |archive-date=2013-10-19 }}</ref></blockquote> [[Abkhazia]] formalized its moratorium in 2007, moving towards full abolition. On 12 January 2007 the parliament of Abkhazia adopted a law entitled "Moratorium on the Death Penalty", establishing a moratorium on executions during peacetime. Since 1993 the country has had a ''de facto'' moratorium on executions.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur04/002/2007/en/ |title=Commonwealth of Independent States: Belarus - the sole executioner |date=26 September 2007 |access-date=7 October 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Although there have been 10 sentences of death in Abkhazia, these have never been implemented.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unpo.org/article/6148|title=UNPO: The Death Penalty Must Order its Final Meal|website=www.unpo.org|date=2 November 2009 }}</ref>

The [[Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus]] retains the death penalty only for crimes committed under special circumstances (war crimes). See also [[Capital punishment in Cyprus]].

There is no death penalty in [[Kosovo]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/politique-etrangere-de-la-france/droits-de-l-homme/peine-de-mort/la-peine-de-mort-dans-le-monde/carte-interactive-la-peine-de-mort-dans-le-monde/|title=Carte interactive : la peine de mort dans le monde|website=www.diplomatie.gouv.fr}}</ref>

The [[Donetsk People's Republic]] introduced the death penalty in 2014 for cases of treason, espionage, and assassination of political leaders. There had already been accusations of [[extrajudicial execution]] occurring.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/donetsk-separatists-introduce-death-penalty-for-treason/505271.html|title=Donetsk Separatists Introduce Death Penalty for Treason|date=18 August 2014 }}</ref><ref name="euractiv.com">{{Cite web|url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/central-asia/news/belarus-and-ukrainan-rebels-keep-death-penalty-alive-in-europe/ |title=Belarus and Ukrainian rebels keep death penalty alive in Europe |date=April 2015 |access-date=19 March 2021}}</ref>

The [[Luhansk People's Republic]] introduced the death penalty on 26 September 2014 in cases of homosexual rape.<ref name="euractiv.com"/>
==Polling==
Despite the fact that in Europe nearly all nations don't have the capital punishment, polling has found many nations in Europe have majority support for it and its return.

In 2015 a Poll found that 70% of Estonians are in favor of death penalty, this is an increase of support from then 62% in a 2010 poll.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.err.ee/116090/70-percent-of-estonians-support-capital-punishment|title = 70 percent of Estonians support capital punishment|date = 15 June 2015}}</ref>

In 2020, a Ipsos/Sopra Steria survey showed that 55% of the French people support re-introduction of the death penalty. This was an increase.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20200917-new-poll-shows-jump-in-number-of-french-people-in-favour-of-the-death-penalty|title = Massive jump in number of French people in favour of the death penalty - poll|date = 17 September 2020}}</ref>

In April 2021 a poll found that 54% of Britons said they would support reinstating the death penalty for those convicted of terrorism in the United Kingdom. About a quarter (23%) of respondents said they would be opposed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://redfieldandwiltonstrategies.com/slight-increase-in-support-for-death-penalty-for-convicted-terrorists/|title=Slight Increase in Support for Death Penalty for Convicted Terrorists|website=Redfieldandwiltonstrategies.com|date=7 April 2021|access-date=2 March 2022}}</ref>

In Hungary 76%<ref>{{cite web | url=https://dailynewshungary.com/most-hungarians-support-the-reinstatement-of-the-death-penalty/ | title=Most Hungarians support the reinstatement of the death penalty - Daily News Hungary | date=27 October 2020 }}</ref> and Serbia 58%<ref>{{cite web | url=https://n1info.rs/english/news/a533508-more-than-half-of-serbians-support-capital-punishment/ | title=More than half of Serbians support capital punishment | date=10 October 2019 }}</ref> have majority in support for the death penalty.

==See also==
* [[Use of capital punishment by country]]
* [[Capital punishment#Abolitionism|Capital punishment abolitionism]]
* [[European Court of Human Rights]]

==References==
<references /><!--added above External links/Sources by script-assisted edit-->

==External links==
* [https://www.amnesty.org/en/death-penalty/abolitionist-and-retentionist-countries Amnesty International – Abolitionist and Retentionist Countries]
* [https://www.amnesty.org/en/death-penalty/ratification-of-international-treaties Amnesty International – Ratification of International Treaties]
{{capital punishment}}
{{Capital punishment in Europe}}

[[Category:Capital punishment]]
[[Category:Politics of Europe]]
[[Category:Law enforcement in Europe]]
[[Category:Human rights in Europe]]