{{Short description|Punishment carried out without legal processes or a trial}} {{distinguish|Non-judicial punishment}} {{multiple issues| {{More footnotes|date=August 2009}} {{original research|date=December 2010}} }}
'''Extrajudicial punishment''' is a [[punishment]] for an alleged crime or offense which is carried out without [[legal process]] or supervision by a [[court]] or [[tribunal]] through a [[legal proceeding]].
==Politically motivated== {{more sources needed section|date=October 2024}} Extrajudicial punishment is often a feature of [[political repression|politically repressive]] regimes, but even self-proclaimed or internationally recognized [[democracies]] have been known to use extrajudicial punishment under certain circumstances.
Although the legal use of [[capital punishment]] is generally decreasing around the world, individuals or groups deemed threatening—or even simply "undesirable"—to a government may nevertheless be targeted for punishment by a regime or its representatives. Such actions typically happen quickly, with security forces acting on a covert basis, performed in such a way as to avoid a massive public outcry and/or international criticism that would reflect badly on the state. Sometimes, the killers are agents outside the government. Criminal organizations, such as [[La Cosa Nostra]], have reportedly been employed for such a purpose.
Another possibility is for uniformed security forces to punish a victim, but under circumstances that make it appear as [[self-defense]] or suicide. The former can be accomplished by planting recently fired weapons near the body, the latter by fabricating evidence suggesting suicide. In such cases, it can be difficult to prove that the perpetrators acted wrongly. Because of the dangers inherent in armed confrontation, even police or soldiers who might strongly prefer to take an enemy alive may still kill to protect themselves or civilians, and potentially cross the line into [[extrajudicial murder]].
A [[forced disappearance]] (or enforced disappearance) occurs when a person is secretly abducted or imprisoned by a [[State (polity)|state]] or [[political organization]] or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organization, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the person's fate and whereabouts, with the intent of placing the victim outside the protection of the law.<ref name="HenckaertsDoswald-Beck2005">{{cite book|author1=Jean-Marie Henckaerts|author2=Louise Doswald-Beck|author3-link=International Committee of the Red Cross|author3=International Committee of the Red Cross |title=Customary International Humanitarian Law: Rules|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9ny1Dv3VNPYC&pg=PA342|year=2005|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-80899-6|page=342}}</ref>
Extrajudicial punishment may be planned and carried out by a particular branch of a state, without informing other branches, or even without having been ordered to commit such acts. Other branches sometimes tacitly approve of the punishment after the fact. They can also genuinely disagree with it, depending on the circumstances, especially when complex intragovernmental or internal policy struggles also exist within a state's policymaking apparatus.
In times of [[war]], [[natural disaster]], [[societal collapse]], or in the absence of an established system of [[criminal justice]], there may be increased incidences of extrajudicial punishment. In such circumstances, police or military personnel may be unofficially authorised to severely punish individuals involved in [[looting]], [[rioting]] and other violent acts, especially if caught ''[[in flagrante delicto]]''. This position is sometimes itself corrupted, resulting in the death of merely ''inconvenient'' persons, that is, relative innocents who are just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
==Around the world==
===Historically===
[[Wyatt Earp]] led a federal posse, in the Earp Vendetta Ride, during the spring of 1882 which was implicated in the murder of four [[outlaw]] "[[Cochise County Cowboys|Cowboys]]" they believed had ambushed his brothers [[Virgil Earp|Virgil]] and [[Morgan Earp]], maiming the former and killing the latter.<ref name=wgbh>{{cite AV media |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/transcript/wyatt-transcript/ |title=WGBH American Experience: Wyatt Earp, Complete Program Transcript |date=January 25, 2010 |number=2 (season 22) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170130081133/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/transcript/wyatt-transcript/ |archive-date=January 30, 2017 }}</ref>
The [[NKVD troika]] and [[Special Council of the NKVD]] are examples from the [[history of the Soviet Union]], where extrajudicial punishment "[[by administrative means]]" was part of the state policy. Other [[Soviet Bloc]] [[secret police]] organizations like the [[East German]] [[Stasi]], [[Romania]]n [[Securitate]] have also used it from time to time.
Most [[Latin America]]n [[dictatorship]]s have regularly instituted extrajudicial killings of their enemies; for one of the better-known examples, see ''[[Operation Condor]].''<ref>{{cite news | url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3821/is_200610/ai_n17195860 | work=Journal of Third World Studies | title=Predatory States. Operation Condor and Covert War in Latin America/When States Kill. Latin America, the U.S., and Technologies of Terror | year=2006 | first=Ruth | last=Stanley | access-date=2007-07-08 | archive-date=2011-06-16 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20110616065735/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3821/is_200610/ai_n17195860/ | url-status=dead }}</ref>
The deaths of the leaders of the [[leftist]] [[urban guerrilla]] group, the [[Red Army Faction]], [[Ulrike Meinhof]], [[Andreas Baader]], [[Gudrun Ensslin]] and [[Jan-Carl Raspe]] in [[West Germany]] are regarded by some of those in the [[Far-left politics|radical left movements]] as extrajudicial killings, a theory partly based on the testimony of [[Irmgard Möller]].
During the [[apartheid]] years (from 1948 until the early 1990s), South Africa's security forces routinely used extrajudicial means, including death squads, to deal with their political opponents.<ref>{{cite web |year=1998 |title=Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa Report, Volume 2 |url=https://www.justice.gov.za/trc/report/finalreport/Volume%202.pdf |access-date=29 March 2026 |publisher=Department of Justice, South Africa |pages=17–24}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ictj.org/sites/default/files/ICTJ-DDR-South-Africa-CaseStudy-2009-English.pdf|title=Transitional Justice and DDR: The case of South Africa.|last=Merwe|first=Hugo van der|date=2009|website=ICTj|access-date=19 December 2019}}</ref> After his release, [[Nelson Mandela]] would refer to these acts as proof of a [[Third Force (South Africa)|Third Force]]. This was denied vehemently by the administration of [[F.W. de Klerk]]. Later the [[Truth and Reconciliation Commission (South Africa)|South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission]], led by Archbishop [[Desmond Tutu]] would find that both military and police agencies such as the [[Civil Cooperation Bureau]] and [[Vlakplaas|C10]] based at [[Vlakplaas]] were guilty of gross [[human rights violations]].
Independent of the TRC's findings, the international community had long condemned the regime; the United Nations had previously adopted the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid in 1973, and the Rome Statute later established apartheid as a crime against humanity under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.<ref>{{cite web |year=1973 |title=International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid |url=https://legal.un.org/avl/ha/cspca/cspca.html |access-date=29 March 2026 |publisher=United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law}}</ref>
===Present day===
From 1957 to 2013, a system of administrative detention in China known as "[[re-education through labor]]" (láodòng jiàoyǎng 劳动教养, abbreviated láojiào 劳教) was used to detain persons for minor crimes such as [[Theft|petty theft]], [[prostitution]], and trafficking illegal drugs for periods of up to four years.<ref>{{cite news |date=28 December 2013 |title=China abolishes re-education through labour |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-25533339 |access-date=29 March 2026 |work=BBC News}}</ref> Re-education through labor sentences were given by the police, rather than through the judicial system.<ref>{{cite web |year=1998 |title=Reeducation Through Labor in China |url=https://www.hrw.org/legacy/campaigns/china-98/laojiao.htm |access-date=29 March 2026 |publisher=Human Rights Watch}}</ref>
In the [[Netherlands]], prosecutors and tax inspectors can procure punishments without due process (''Strafbeschikking''), a practice that has been increasingly criticised by members of the Dutch [[Second Chamber]], such as [[Michiel van Nispen]].<ref name=nrc.nl>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2019/04/10/tweede-kamer-ongeduldig-over-problemen-met-strafbeschikking-a3956474 |title=Tweede Kamer ongeduldig over problemen met strafbeschikking|first1=Derk Stokmans Redacteur Openbaar |last1=Bestuur|first2=Mark Lievisse|last2=Adriaanse Verslaggever|work=NRC |date=April 10, 2019|via=www.nrc.nl}}</ref>
For many years, the [[Jamaican Constabulary Force]] has been noted for its [[extrajudicial]] killings.<ref name=amnesty>{{cite news |url=http://www.amnesty-caribbean.org/Jamaica/AMR3800101/bericht.htm |publisher=[[Amnesty International]] |title=Jamaica:Killings and Violence by Police: How many more Victims? |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090802174925/http://www.amnesty-caribbean.org/Jamaica/AMR3800101/bericht.htm |archive-date=2009-08-02 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3674251.stm |work=[[BBC]] news |title=Jamaica wrestles with police violence | date=2004-05-14 | first=Chris | last=Summers}}</ref> With 140 police killings in a population of 3 million, "Jamaica’s police force [is] among the deadliest in the world".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/peopleandpower/2010/04/2010427122334575952.html|title=Island of music and murder|access-date=18 February 2015}}</ref>
It has been discussed{{who|date=December 2018}} that the [[political abuse of psychiatry|use of psychiatric treatments to reduce unwanted behaviors]] can be seen as extrajudicial punishments, due to many side-effects associated to these treatments.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iaapa.de/zwang2/halmi_english.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100412101709/http://www.iaapa.de/zwang2/halmi_english.htm|title=Coercive psychiatry a torture system|archive-date=12 April 2010|access-date=18 February 2015}}</ref>
The US has been known to employ extrajudicial tactics including [[extraordinary rendition]]. Some critics use the term "torture by proxy" to describe situations in which the [[CIA]]<ref name="NYT-17-Feb-2009"/><ref name="CIA-Background-Memo">"[https://www.aclu.org/torturefoia/released/082409/olcremand/2004olc97.pdf Background Paper on CIA's Combined Use of Interrogation Techniques]". 30 December 2004. Retrieved 2 January 2010.</ref><ref name="Huff-Post-08-28-09">"[https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/28/new-cia-docs-detail-bruta_n_271299.html New CIA Docs Detail Brutal 'Extraordinary Rendition' Process]". ''Huffington Post''. 28 August 2009. Retrieved 2 January 2010.</ref><ref name="ACLU-Fact-Sheet">[https://www.aclu.org/safefree/extraordinaryrendition/22203res20051206.html Fact sheet: Extraordinary rendition], [[American Civil Liberties Union]]. Retrieved 29 March 2007 {{in lang|en}}</ref> and other US agencies have employed [[Extraordinary rendition|rendition]] techniques to transfer suspected terrorists to countries known to utilize [[torture]]. While denied by the US, where it is a crime to transfer anyone to any location for the purpose of torture, critics claim that torture has been employed with the knowledge or acquiescence of US agencies. [[Condoleezza Rice]] (then the [[United States Secretary of State]]) stated:<ref name=rice1>{{cite web|title=Remarks of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Upon Her Departure for Europe, 5 Dec 2005|url=http://2001-2009.state.gov/secretary/rm/2005/57602.htm|publisher=U.S. State Department|access-date=17 August 2012}}</ref>
{{quote|...the United States has not transported anyone, and will not transport anyone, to a country when we believe he will be tortured. Where appropriate, the United States seeks assurances that transferred persons will not be tortured.}}
The CIA has operated secret detention and interrogation centers officially known as black sites.<ref>{{cite web |date=9 December 2014 |title=Committee Study of the Central Intelligence Agency's Detention and Interrogation Program |url=https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/publications/CRPT-113srpt288.pdf |access-date=29 March 2026 |publisher=United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence}}</ref> These were located in countries outside the US, thus evading US domestic laws and legal oversight as they operated outside US jurisdiction.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2005-11-02 |title=CIA Holds Terror Suspects in Secret Prisons |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2005/11/02/cia-holds-terror-suspects-in-secret-prisons/767f0160-cde4-41f2-a691-ba989990039c/ |access-date=2026-03-29 |work=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>
On September 4, 2025, the U.S. Navy killed 11 people in a boat in international waters. President Donald Trump claimed that they were smuggling drugs.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Stewart |first1=Phil |last2=Ali |first2=Idrees |last3=Holland |first3=Steve |last4=Stewart |first4=Phil |last5=Ali |first5=Idrees |date=2025-09-03 |title=US military kills 11 people in strike on alleged drug boat from Venezuela, Trump says |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/us-military-kills-11-people-strike-alleged-drug-boat-venezuela-trump-says-2025-09-03/ |access-date=2025-09-19 |work=Reuters |language=en}}</ref>
===Human rights groups=== Many [[human rights]] organisations like [[Amnesty International]] campaign against extrajudicial punishment.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.extrajudicialexecutions.org/ |title=Project on Extrajudicial Executions<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=2007-07-07 |archive-date=2011-10-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111031004654/http://www.extrajudicialexecutions.org/ |url-status=usurped }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=22046&Cr=rights&Cr1=council|title=UN independent expert on extrajudicial killings urges action on reported incidents<!-- Bot generated title --> |date=28 March 2007 }}</ref><ref>[http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR290151996?open&of=ENG-SLV Document Information | Amnesty International<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070705141416/http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engAMR290151996?open&of=eng-SLV |date=2007-07-05 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6814001/site/newsweek/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20051101220002/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6814001/site/newsweek/|url-status=dead|title=Dickey: Iraq, Salvador and Death-Squad Democracy - Newsweek The War in Iraq - MSNBC.com<!-- Bot generated title -->|archivedate=November 1, 2005}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6802629/site/newsweek/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20050114040831/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6802629/site/newsweek/|url-status=dead|title=Special Forces May Train Assassins, Kidnappers in Iraq - Newsweek The War in Iraq - MSNBC.com<!-- Bot generated title -->|archivedate=January 14, 2005}}</ref>
== See also == {{Div col|colwidth=22em}} * [[Administrative detention]] * [[Arbitrary arrest and detention]] * [[Assassination]] * [[Charivari]] * [[COINTELPRO]] * [[Death squad]]
* [[Extrajudicial prisoners of the United States]] * [[Extrajudicial killing]] * [[Extraordinary rendition]] * [[Frontier justice]] * [[Human rights]] * [[Human Rights Watch]] * [[Law without the state]] * [[Lynching]] * [[Martial law]] * [[Non-judicial punishment]] * [[Outlaw]] * [[Police encounter]] * [[Posse comitatus|Posse]] * [[Presumption of guilt]] * [[Prison rape]] * [[Purge]] * [[State of emergency]] * [[Summary execution]] * [[Targeted killing]] * [[Tarring and feathering]] * [[Terrorism]] * [[Torture]] * [[Vigilante]] * [[Vigilantism in the United States of America]] * [[Whitecapping]] {{div col end}}
==Sources== * {{cite book|last1=Miethe|first1=Terance D.|last2=Lu|first2=Hong|title=Punishment: A Comparative Historical Perspective|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o2ovr4ZzIXsC|year=2005|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-0-521-60516-8}} * {{cite book|author1=Adam Possamai|author2=James T Richardson|author3=Bryan S Turner|title=The Sociology of Shari'a: Case Studies from around the World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u3S1BQAAQBAJ&pg=PA40|date=4 December 2014|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-319-09605-6|pages=40–41}} * {{cite book|title=Collective Punishment|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DnbhJwRtFwUC|publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]]|id=GGKEY:9K4181KYTQU}}
==References== {{reflist|2|refs= <ref name="NYT-17-Feb-2009"> {{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/18/us/politics/18policy.html?pagewanted=all | title = Obama's War on Terror May Resemble Bush's in Some Areas | work = [[The New York Times]] | author = Charlie Savage | date = 17 February 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160813232849/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/18/us/politics/18policy.html?pagewanted=all | archive-date = 2016-08-13 | access-date = 2 January 2010 | url-status = live | author-link = Charlie Savage (author) }} </ref> }}
{{War on Terrorism|state=collapsed}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Extrajudicial Punishment}} [[Category:Capital punishment]] [[Category:Criminal law]] [[Category:Dirty wars]] [[Category:Extrajudicial killings| ]] [[Category:Enforced disappearance]] [[Category:Human rights abuses]] [[Category:Terrorism tactics]]