Summary execution A summary execution is a variety of execution in which a person is accused of a crime and then immediately killed without benefit of a full and fair trial . This includes show trials , but is usually understood to mean capture , accusation , and execution all conducted during a very short span of time , relative to the severity of the punishment . Summary executions have been practiced by police , military , and paramilitary organizations and are frequently associated with guerrilla warfare , counter - insurgency , terrorism and any other situation which involves a breakdown of the normal procedures for handling accused prisoners ( either civilian or military ) . Civilian jurisdiction . In nearly all civilian jurisdictions today , summary execution is illegal , as it violates the right of the accused to a fair trial before a punishment of death . Almost all constitutions or legal systems based on common law have prohibited execution without the decision and sentence of a competent judge , and the UN ' s International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights has declared the same : In practice , though , extrajudicial killings have been illegally performed by police and domestic forces in various countries and times , sometimes under martial law . It is also performed by armed bands fighting against governments and common citizens . ( See below . ) Military jurisdiction . Under the jurisdiction of military law , summary execution is still illegal in almost all circumstances , as a military tribunal would be the competent judge needed to determine guilt and declare the sentence of death . However , there are certain rare exceptions to this rule in emergencies and warfare where summary execution is legal . Prisoners of war . Major treaties such as the Geneva Convention and Hague Convention , and customary international law from history , protect the rights of captured regular and irregular members of an enemy military , along with civilians from enemy states . Prisoners - of - war must be treated in carefully defined ways which definitively ban summary execution , as the Second Additional Protocol of the Geneva Conventions ( 1977 ) states : Exceptions to prisoners of war status . However , some classes of combatants may not be accorded POW status , though that definition has broadened to cover more classes of combatants over time . In the past , summary execution of pirates , spies , and francs - tireurs have been performed and considered legal under existing international law . Francs - tireurs ( a term originating in the Franco - Prussian War ) are enemy civilians or militia who continue to fight in territory occupied by a warring party and do not wear military uniforms , and may otherwise be known as guerrilla s , partisans , insurgents , etc . Though these soldiers could be legally jailed or executed by most armies a century ago , the experience of WWII influenced nations occupied by foreign forces to change the law to protect this group . Many of the post - war victors , such as France , Poland , and the USSR , had the experience of resistance fighters being summarily executed by the Axis if they were captured . The war also influenced them to make sure that commandos and other special forces who were caught deep behind enemy lines would be protected as POWs , rather than summarily executed as Hitler decreed through his 1942 Commando Order . According to Article 4 of the Third Geneva Convention of 1949 , irregular forces are entitled to prisoner of war status provided that they are commanded by a person responsible for his subordinates , have a fixed distinctive sign recognizable at a distance , carry arms openly , and conduct their operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war . If they do not do meet all of these , they may be considered " francs - tireurs " ( in the original sense of " illegal combatant " ) and punished as criminals in a military jurisdiction , which may include summary execution . Soldiers who are wearing uniforms of the opposing army " after the start of combat " may be considered illegal combatants and subject to summary execution . Many armies have performed this kind of false flag ruse in the past , including both German and US special forces in WWII . However , if soldiers remove their disguises and put on proper insignia " before the start of combat " in such an operation , they are considered legal combatants and must be treated as prisoners - of - war if captured . This distinction was settled in the post - WWII trial of Otto Skorzeny , who led Operation Greif , an infiltration mission in which German commandos wore US uniforms to infiltrate US lines but removed them before actual combat . Under martial law . Within a state ' s policy , martial law may be declared in emergencies such as invasions or insurrections , and in such a case constitutionally - protected rights would be suspended . Depending on a state ' s interpretation of martial law , this may allow police or military forces to decide and carry out punishments that include death on its own citizens , in order to restore lawful authority or for other vital reasons . Note that this would not include killing a suspect who is directly endangering another ' s life , which police can always legally do , but rather , executing a suspect under one ' s control as a punishment . Proving that a summary execution fell under this legal exception would be exceptionally difficult , as one would have to show why a judgment and sentence of death absolutely needed to be meted out on the spot . Hence , these kinds of extraordinary acts are almost always seen as illegal violations of human rights , as can be seen in the recent protests against summary executions passed under martial law in the Philippines . Finally , it is theoretically legal for a military to punish its own soldiers with summary executions in emergency situations that cannot wait for trial by military tribunal , such as desertion in the face of the enemy . Notable cases of summary executions . Soviet Russia . After the overthrow of the Czar , large numbers of officers of the Russian Army were separated from captured troops and executed , even some collaborators that had supported the overthrow of the Czar were executed by the revolutionaries . Nazi Germany . July 20 Plot . In response to the failed plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler on July 20 , 1944 , many of the conspirators ( including the would - be assassin Claus von Stauffenberg ) were arrested , sentenced to death , and executed without any semblance of a fair trial . Approximately 7000 were arrested and around 5000 were executed in total . Many of them were executed after being hauled before the People ' s Court , a kangaroo court that decided in favor of the prosecution so often that being summoned before it was tantamount to a death sentence . Kriegsmarine jurisdiction . On January 30 , 1945 , a male refugee desperate to escape the sinking MV " Wilhelm Gustloff " , refused to accept the precedence of women and children in the ship ' s evacuation . He attempted to force his way onto one of the lifeboats . After ignoring several warnings from those who were restraining him , he was summarily executed by a ship ' s officer . Cuba . On January 12 , 1959 , following the Cuban Revolution , 71 men were executed by the new government and buried in a mass grave . Although some were afforded brief trials , at least nine were executed without trial after Raúl Castro declared that the trials were proceeding too slowly . The execution of one man , Enrique Despaigne , was delayed three hours so it could be filmed by a camera crew . Later that year , after 45 of his opponents were acquitted by the courts , Fidel Castro disregarded the verdicts and ordered the men shot . Vietnam . On February 1 , 1968 , during the Vietnam War , Nguyen Van Lem , a Viet Cong member , was summarily executed by Nguyễn Ngọc Loan , the chief of the national police , in front of Associated Press photographer Eddie Adams , who later won the Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography for the photo . Nguyen Van Lem was captured in Saigon dressed as a civilian . Afghanistan . On November 4 , 2008 , Abdul Salam poured gasoline on civilian contractor Paula Loyd and set her on fire . In retribution , fellow contractor Don Ayala shot and killed Salam , who had been handcuffed . Ayala was charged with second - degree murder ; he pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to five years of probation and a $ 12 , 500 fine . Loyd died in the hospital two months after the event . On December 27 , 2012 , Afghan television broadcast a video showing the summary execution of Mohammed Jan , an Afghan national army soldier , by Taliban forces . Earlier that month , a UN report cited the summary execution of a woman accused of adultery by the Taliban . Philippines . Extrajudicial killings in the Philippines are referred to as " salvage " in Philippine English .