(Strasbourg) A ban on the trade of goods and services that may assist torture or death penalty: it has been subscribed to by the European Parliament, gathered for its plenary session in Strasbourg, today, by voting on a legislation with 612 votes for, 11 votes against, and 54 blank votes. “Banning death penalty and torture are key goals in European trade and foreign policies, and the EU companies must by no means concur in such practices. We have made the new legislation stronger and more effective”, Dutch rapporteur Marietje Schaake said before voting. During the negotiations with the member states for the updating of the 2005 “anti-torture legislation”, the European Parliament added rules on marketing and a ban on promotion, so that “selling and buying advertising services online for the banned goods, which have no other practical use but execution or torturing (such as electric chairs, auto-injectors or needle screws), will be illegal”. Such ban also applies to exhibitions and fairs within the EU, where, “so far, despite the ban, some legal loopholes have allowed the exporting, advertising and display of some goods (such as spiked truncheons, spiked shields and thumb-cuffs)”. With the EU Council’s forthcoming go-ahead, the legislation will come into force all over the EU.