[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Jan. 11


IRAQ:

Saddam asked lawyers not to plead for his life hours before execution


Hours before Saddam Hussain's execution, the ousted Iraqi leader asked his
attorneys not to plead for his life and accused the United States and Iran
of collaborating to hang him, according to a copy of his will.

As part of Saddam's final wishes, he gave his chief lawyer Khalil Al
Dulaimi the right to "decide whatever is related to me except appealing
for the life of Saddam Hussain to any of the presidents, kings, Arabs or
foreigners," read a copy of the will obtained.

Saddam dictated his will to Al Dulaimi during a meeting that also included
his co-defendants, according to a copy of the will that was faxed to the
agency from another Saddam lawyer, Ameen Al Deeb. Al Deeb said the meeting
took place 24 hours before Saddam's December 30 execution.

Al Deeb said he was not present at the meeting, and numerous attempts to
reach Al Dulaimi went unanswered. Attempts to reach other defence
attorneys for Saddam also were not successful.

In the will, Saddam said he believed "American and Safavid intentions are
behind these decisions" to execute him. Safavid refers to the Persian
(Iranian) dynasty that ruled Iran from the late 1400s to the 1720s and
converted the country from the Sunni to Shiite sect. He also asked to be
buried in either Awja, his birthplace, or in Ramadi, the capital of the
Anbar province where many of the Sunni insurgents are fighting.

According to the will, Saddam said that he left the final decision to his
daughter Raghad, who lives in exile in the Jordanian capital, Amman.

But before his execution and the will meeting, al-Dulaimi on December 28
urged international and legal organisations including the Arab League and
United Nations to 'rapidly prevent' the Americans from handing Saddam to
the Iraqis for his execution.

(source: Associated Press)

************

Chemical Ali admits executions of Kurds


Saddam Hussein's cousin told a court trying him for genocide on Thursday
he had ordered troops to "execute" all those who ignored government orders
to leave villages during a military operation against Kurds in 1988.

"Yes, I gave my instructions to consider these villages as prohibited
areas and I gave orders to the troops to catch anyone they find there and
execute them after investigating them," said Ali Hassan al-Majeed, known
as "Chemical Ali."

Majeed, on trial with five other former senior Baath party officials for
their roles in the 1988 Anfal (Spoil of War) military campaign, spoke out
after prosecutors played tapes they said were of him talking about the
need to purge "Kurdish saboteurs" from villages.

"The saboteurs are depending on the scattered villages to get support,
ammunition and tips," a voice which prosecutors identified as Majeed's was
heard on the audiotape.

Majeed, considered the main enforcer of a campaign in which prosecutors
say 180,000 people were killed, many of them gassed, then asked the judge
for his right to reply.

Looking calm, Majeed, who faces a possible death sentence if found guilty,
stood up from the front-row seat in the dock once occupied by Saddam in
the heavily fortified courtroom and said:

"I'm responsible for the displacement and I took this decision on my own,
without going back to the High Military Command or the Baath Party
commander. I say that before your court and before God."

Saddam, who was hanged after an earlier trial for crimes against humanity,
was also a defendant in the Anfal trial. The judge formally dropped
genocide charges against Saddam after his December 30 execution, but
proceedings against the others continue.

During Anfal, thousands of villages declared "prohibited areas" were razed
and bombed as part of a scorched-earth campaign. Thousands of villagers
were forced to flee.

Majeed, who had shaved the white stubble he sported during his last court
appearance on Monday in a sign of mourning for Saddam, referred once to
his cousin and former leader with the words "martyr, have mercy on his
soul".

In another tape, he is heard saying he had received a letter from veteran
Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani offering concessions on condition that
Saddam's military stop destroying villages.

Talabani is now Iraq's president.

The defendants have said Anfal had legitimate military targets -- Kurdish
guerrillas in northern Kurdistan who had sided with Iran during the last
stage of the Iraq-Iran war.

The judge adjourned the trial until January 23.

(source: Reuters)






PERU:

Peruvian Congress shoots down death penalty proposal


The majority of the Peruvian Congress decided not to proceed with the
initiative designed to modify the Peruvian Penal Code and give authorities
the power to sentence convicted terrorists to death.

In a rapid and surprise vote, 49 congressmen and women voted against the
initiative while 26 where in favor of permitting executions to convicted
terrorists.

The bill was expected to be submitted to the Justice and Constitutional
Commissions for further evaluation and in depth debate before the
unexpected vote took place.

As a result of the lighting-fast decision, congressman Javier Velsquez
asked the Peruvian parliament to reconsider its vote. However Velsquez's
petition was also shot down by the majority of the Peruvian congress.

The president of the Constitutional Commission Aurelio Pastor, who comes
from the same political party as the Peruvian President and sponsor of the
bill APRA, lamented the hasty decision made by his colleagues.

Additionally, Peruvian Prime Minister Jorge Del Castillo declared that
congress's decision to stop the initiative is not a political loss for his
APRA party.

He indicated that President Garcia was elected for his views on the death
penalty and that Garcia did what he could to get the initiative passed.

"The President and his administration did not fail the people. The
majority of the parliament thought differently. We respect their
democratic decision. Those are the rules of a democracy, sometimes you win
and sometimes you lose," stated Del Castillo.

Though the initiative is not dead yet, it cannot be brought to the
Peruvian parliament until early next year, when, according to Aurelio
Pastor, it will be difficult to resurrect support for the bill.

(source: Living in Peru)






TAIWAN:

Justice ministry to solicit views on scrapping death penalty


The Ministry of Justice said yesterday that it will solicit views from all
sectors of society this year on the issue of whether to abrogate capital
punishment.

Chang Chi-yun, director of the ministry's Department of Prevention,
Rehabilitation and Protection, said the ministry will conduct public
hearings, seminars as well as campus debates to invite the public to think
about and debate the issue.

In addition, the ministry is not ruling out the possibility of holding
another survey to learn the views of the public on the issue, Chang added,
noting that surveys on the issue have not been conducted for a long time.

He noted that President Chen Shui-bian said in 2000 that he wanted to
scrap the death penalty and that the ministry's policy to eventually
abrogate it remains unchanged.

Chang said he has met with members of groups in support of the abrogation
as well as family members of victims who are against the scrapping to
learn more about their views.

The ministry also held a seminar on phasing out capital punishment for the
first time last year, with the participants fully expressing their views,
Chang said. He noted that currently, the concept of getting even is still
prevalent in Taiwan and that the abrogation of the death penalty will have
to await "a maturing of society."

The ministry hopes that the public can think seriously about the right to
life through inter-school debates like the one held last year, he said.

The ministry will also hold public hearings in northern, central and
southern Taiwan this year, inviting people from all walks of life to
participate.

In addition, the ministry will commission the Crime Research Center under
National Chung Cheng University to study the issue.

(source: China Post)






JAMAICA:

Restore the death penalty


The Editor, Sir:

I am writing this letter to address the Prime Minister, the Minister of
National Security and the Commissioner of Police, with tears in my eyes
for the innocent people that are getting killed each day in Jamaica. I was
astounded when I read the Gleaner, realising the senseless killings that
took place in just the beginning of 2007.

I know what it is to put your life on the line, having spent 10 years of
active duty in the U.S. navy. The recent attacks on police officers and
their families is a total disregard for law and order. My condolence goes
out to the families.

My question to all the above individuals is: what are your plans to combat
the escalating crime problem that is creating havoc for the people of
Jamaica? Perhaps your administration might consider reinstating capital
punishment. Please, please do something, madam Prime Minister.

I am, etc.,

HEZEKIAH WILLIAMS

USS Mount Whitney LCC20

Via Go-Jamaica

(source: Letter to the Editor, Jamaica Gleaner)






INDONESIA:

Lawyer abandons death-row Bali bombersFrom correspondents in Bali


LAST ditch appeal hearings for 3 Bali bombers on death row ended abruptly
today when their lawyer abandoned them during proceedings in Bali's
Denpasar District Court.

The fate of the 3 is now in the hands of Indonesia's Supreme Court, which
will rule on their appeal against their death sentences.

The so-called "smiling assassin'' Amrozi, his brother Ali Ghufron, alias
Mukhlas, and Imam Samudra are fighting to escape the firing squad.

They were sentenced to death over their roles in the 2002 Bali bombings in
Bali's popular Kuta tourist district, which killed 202 people, including
88 Australians.

Their lawyer Fahmi Bachmid had been fighting to have court hearings in
Denpasar relocated from Bali to Java, close to where the 3 are imprisoned.

But Mr Bachmid walked out of the court after the judges said the hearings
must proceed in Denpasar today.

The judges said they would now send their recommendations on the appeal to
the Supreme Court, which can either dismiss it, reduce or reaffirm the
mens' sentences, or return the matter to the district court for a fresh
trial.

"The case is closed, we will send the dossier to the Supreme Court because
the authority to decide is in the hands of the Supreme Court,'' judge
Daniel Palltin said.

"Because he left the courtroom he is the one who has abandoned his
client.''

(source: The Herald Sun)



ETHIOPIA:

Ethiopia's ex-ruler Mengistu sentenced to life


An Ethiopian court spared former dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam from the
death penalty on Thursday, sentencing him to life in prison for genocide
during his brutal 17-year reign.

Mengistu, now nearing 70, is unlikely to serve any prison time because he
is exiled in Zimbabwe and the government there said it would not extradite
him.

After a 12-year trial, Mengistu was found guilty in absentia last month of
killing thousands of people during his years in power, which began with
ousting Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974 and included war, brutal purges and
famine.

"Considering the age of the accused ... and the state of their health ...
the court has rejected the prosecution's call for the death penalty and
passed life imprisonment," a panel of judges told the court in Addis
Ababa.

"The court also decided that passing the death sentence on people who are
aged and suffering from sickness could not be considered as jurisprudence
but rather as a vendetta."

Mengistu fled to Zimbabwe in 1991 after he was toppled by guerrillas led
by now Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

Zimbabwe's acting Minister of Information and Publicity Paul Mangwana said
the sentence "does not change anything."

"He still remains our guest. We do not have any request for extradition as
far as I know," he added.

Some in Ethiopia criticised the sentence.

"As a Christian, I forgive, but as an Ethiopian and a victim of the Derg's
nightmarish rule, I will never forget it," said Mulugeta Asrat, whose
father was a top official killed by Mengistu's junta, the Derg.

"Today's sentence makes a mockery of justice. Mengistu no doubt will be
opening a bottle in Zimbabwe."

TORTURE, EXECUTIONS

73 others stood trial in Addis Ababa in the case with Mengistu, including
former Prime Minister Fikre Selassie Wogderesse and former Vice-President
Fissiha Desta. All were found guilty, except for 1 in the trial that begun
in 1994.

14 of the accused have died since proceedings began in 1992, while 25,
including Mengistu, are in exile.

The grey-haired, mainly former military officers smiled when the
sentences, ranging from 25 years to life, were passed.

In the 1977-78 "Red Terror" campaign, the most notorious of Mengistu's
purges, suspected opponents were executed by garrotting or shooting.
Bodies were tossed into the streets.

Mengistu's most prominent alleged victim was Emperor Haile Selassie, said
to have been strangled in bed and secretly buried under a latrine in his
palace.

According to the Ethiopian court ruling, Mengistu's government directly
killed more than 2,000 people, including 60 top officials, ministers and
royal family members executed by firing squad. About 2,400 people were
tortured, the court said.

Witnesses told the court family members who went to morgues to collect
bodies of loved ones were asked to pay for bullets that killed them. One
said soldiers who killed his father cut his head off and offered it for
auction at a market.

An Argentine forensic expert said some remains exhumed from mass graves
showed victims were killed by garrotting. Evidence at the trial included
signed execution orders and videos of torture sessions.

Ethiopia defines genocide as intent to wipe out political and not just
ethnic groups.

For months in 1984, Mengistu denied that famine was ravaging Ethiopia's
north and aid workers have recalled how he flew in planeloads of whisky to
celebrate the anniversary of his revolution. One million people starved to
death.

(source: Reuters)

*******************

Mengistu narrowly misses death penalty ruling


In Addis Ababa, an Ethiopian court sentenced former Marxist ruler Mengistu
Haile Mariam to life in prison for genocide on Thursday, but the former
dictator is exiled safe from the punishment in Zimbabwe.

After a 12-year trial, Mengistu was found guilty in absentia of killing
thousands of people during a 17-year reign which began with Emperor Haile
Selassie's ouster in 1974 and included war, brutal purges and famine.

He lives a lavishly reclusive life in Zimbabwe whose government says it
will not extradite him.

"Considering the age of the accused ... and the state of their health ...
the court has rejected the prosecution's call for the death penalty and
passed life imprisonment," the court said.

(source: IOL)