The American Embassy in Oslo was asked to meet early today at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a meeting at which Norway asked the US authorities to pardon Mr. Napoleon Beazley, who has been sentenced to death. Mr. Beazley was a minor when he committed the crime.

At the meeting it was emphasized that Norway supports the request by all the EU countries to the Governor of Texas and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to commute the death sentence of Mr. Beazley.

At the same time Norway expressed its concern at the use of the death penalty in the USA. Applying the death penalty to persons who were minors at the time of the crime is particularly serious. Norway has raised the issue of capital punishment with the US authorities on a number of occasions, both bilaterally and in various international fora, most recently during a meeting of the Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in March this year.

It was underlined that Norway is against all forms of capital punishment, because this violates the inherent right to life. This principle is fundamental to our sense of justice. Norway therefore expresses its opposition at regular intervals to the use of such methods of punishment.