[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Rick Halperin
rhalperi at mail.smu.edu
Sat Feb 9 00:10:39 CST 2008
URGENT ACTION APPEAL
- From Amnesty International USA
Note: Please write on behalf of these persons even though you may
not have received the original UA when issued on July 5, 2007. Thanks!
08 February 2008
Further Information on UA 175/07 (05 July 2007) -- Death sentence
SAUDI ARABIA Rizana Nafeek (f), aged 19, Sri Lankan national
A court in Saudi Arabia is reported to be considering Sri
Lankan domestic worker Rizana Nafeek's appeal against her
death sentence. If the sentence is upheld, she could be at
imminent risk of execution. This concern is heightened as
the rate of executions has increased in 2008, with at least
25 people, including three women, executed since 8 January.
At least 158 people, including three women, were executed in
2007.
Rizana Nafeek was sentenced to death on 16 June 2007 for a
murder committed while she was 17 years old. Saudi Arabia is
a state party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child
(CRC), which prohibits the execution of offenders for crimes
committed when they were under 18 years old.
Rizana Nafeek was arrested in May 2005 on charges of
murdering an infant in her care. She had no access to
lawyers either during interrogation or at her trial, and it
is believed that she confessed to the murder during police
questioning, only to later retract her confession.
She apparently told the authorities that she was born in
February 1988, but they seem to have ignored this on the
basis that her passport indicated that she was born in
February 1982. According to information available to Amnesty
International she was not allowed to present her birth
certificate or other evidence of her age.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Saudi Arabia applies the death penalty for a wide range of
offenses. Court proceedings fall far short of international
standards for fair trial, and take place behind closed
doors.
Defendants normally do not have formal representation by a
lawyer, and in many cases are not informed of the progress
of legal proceedings against them. They may be convicted
solely on the basis of confessions obtained under duress,
torture or deception.
Saudi Arabia assured the Committee on the Rights of the
Child (which monitors states' implementation of the CRC) in
January 2006 that no children had been executed in the
country since the CRC came into force in Saudi Arabia in
1997. This is a weaker commitment than is required by the
CRC, which demands that capital punishment not be imposed
for offences committed by persons below 18 years of age, no
matter how old they are when the sentence is actually
carried out.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as
possible:
- noting reports that Rizana Nafeek's appeal against her
death sentence is currently under consideration;
- expressing concern that Rizana Nafeek's birth certificate
gives her date of birth as February 1988, meaning that she
was 17 at the time of her alleged crime;
- pointing out that the execution of juvenile offenders is
prohibited by the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
which Saudi Arabia ratified in 1996;
- calling on the authorities to commute her death sentence
immediately.
APPEALS TO:
His Majesty King Abdullah Bin 'Abdul 'Aziz Al-Saud
The Custodian of the two Holy Mosques
Office of His Majesty the King
Royal Court, Riyadh,
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Fax: (via Ministry of the Interior) 011 966 1 403 1185
Salutation: Your Majesty
His Royal Highness Prince Naif bin 'Abdul 'Aziz Al-Saud
Minister of the Interior
Ministry of the Interior
P.O. Box 2933
Airport Road, Riyadh 11134
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Fax: 011 966 1 403 1185
Salutation: Your Royal Highness
His Royal Highness Prince Saud al-Faisal bin 'Abdul 'Aziz
Al-Saud
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Nasseriya Street
Riyadh 11124
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Fax: 011 966 1 403 0645
Salutation: Your Royal Highness
COPIES TO:
Mr Turki bin Khaled Al-Sudairy
President
Human Rights Commission
PO Box 58889, Riyadh 11515
King Fahad Road, Building No.373
Riyadh
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Fax: 011 966 1 4612061
Ambassador Adel A. Al-Jubeir
Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia
601 New Hampshire Ave. NW
Washington DC 20037
Fax: 1 202 944 3113
Email: info at saudiembassy.net
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Check with the AIUSA Urgent Action office if sending appeals
after 21 March 2008.
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Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots movement
that promotes and defends human rights.
This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept intact, including
contact information and stop action date (if applicable).
Thank you for your help with this appeal.
Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
600 Pennsylvania Ave SE 5th fl
Washington DC 20003
Email: uan at aiusa.org
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: 202.544.0200
Fax: 202.675.8566
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END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
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