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The WCC general secretary, Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser, appealed to the governor of Florida (USA), Jeb Bush, to exercise clemency in the case of Lionel Tate, who on March 9th, 2001, was sentenced to life in prison without parole for a crime committed when he was 12 years old. Raiser endorsed a similar request from Anglican bishops of the Episcopal Church in Florida, and pointed out that the punishment "is not only harsh but also fails to take into consideration his tender age".

Cf. Press Release, PR-03-12 of 19 March 2003

Cf Press Release PR-03-13, 19 March 2003

"I told Islamic leaders they should thank the churches and Christians in Europe and the US for their stand on military violence against a Muslim country," said the foreign minister of Pakistan, Mr Mehmood Kasuri, to World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser during a March 8 meeting between the ecumenical leader and Pakistan government officials.

Cf. WCC Press Update, Up-03-07 of 5 March 2003

Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), will be visiting four Asian countries from 26 February to 9 March. Laos, Thailand, Myanmar (formerly Burma), and Pakistan will be receiving their first official visit from a WCC general secretary. The visit will assure Christian communities living in a minority situation that they have the support of the worldwide ecumenical family.

The World Council of Churches' Commission of Churches on International Affairs (WCC/CCIA) has today sent a letter to George Ryan, the former governor of Illinois, regarding his decision to commute the death sentences of all the prisoners on death row in the State of Illinois.

Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser

Cf. WCC Press Release, PR-02-28, of 1 November 2002

by Philip Jenks

cf. WCC Press Release, UP-01-37, of 29 October 2001