The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein has called on the Maldives authorities to maintain the moratorium on death penalty .

The government of the island since 1954 has replaced the death penalty with life imprisonment. However, the Supreme Court of the country last November deprived the President of his authorities in cases when the relatives of the  victims demanded to implement a death penalty . Furthermore, in June the authorities allowed to realize a death penalty through lethal injection and the gallow .

As the spokesman of the UN Human Rights’ Department told vengeance is not a substitute for justice. At this moment there are 17 people from Maldives are waiting for their executed, concluded Ravina Samdasani Human Rights Department .