Sierra Leone - Universal Periodic Review - Death Penalty - October 2025
Country: Sierra Leone
Partners: World Coalition Against the Death Penalty
Issues: Death Penalty, Gender-Based Violence
Mechanism: UN Universal Periodic Review
Report Type: Stakeholder Report
This report addresses Sierra Leone’s compliance with human rights obligations regarding the death penalty, detention conditions, access to justice, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrest and detention, and detention conditions for women. In October 2021, Sierra Leone formally abolished the death penalty.
Sierra Leone’s justice sector is weak, with people in conflict with the law experiencing court delays, lack of access to counsel, and corruption. Detention conditions remain poor, with detained individuals experiencing corporal punishment, overcrowding, unhygienic conditions, lack of adequate food, and lack of sufficient medical care. Authorities sometimes carry out extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and detention, and violence against women in official custody.
