[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Nov. 28



CHINA----execution

China executes Taiwan spy suspect


China on Friday executed a scientist accused of passing information to
Taiwan, triggering condemnation from his family and several countries
including the United States.

Wo Weihan, a 59-year-old medical scientist, was put to death on Friday
morning, his daughter Ran Chen -- an Austrian citizen married to an
American -- said.

"We are deeply shocked, saddened, disappointed and outraged," Chen and her
sister Di said in a statement emailed to AFP.

"My father was put to death, so was our hope in the Chinese justice
system."

The United States confirmed the execution had taken place and issued a
strongly-worded statement denouncing the killing.

"We are deeply disturbed and dismayed by reports that the Chinese
government has carried out the death penalty against Wo Weihan," US
embassy spokeswoman Susan Stevenson told AFP.

Wo, a Chinese citizen who previously lived in Austria, was detained in
early 2005.

He was accused of leaking state secrets and Chen said one charge listed in
court documents said he might have talked about senior leaders' health --
an act punishable by death in China.

The case drew worldwide attention, with Austrian President Heinz Fischer
and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appealing directly to Beijing
to spare him.

Austria's foreign minister on Friday called the execution a "premeditated
affront" to the European Union by China.

"The fact that this execution comes precisely on the day of dialogue
between the EU and China on human rights shows the lack of consideration
and the harshness with which this case has been handled," said Ursula
Plassnik.

"This behaviour must in this regard be considered as a premeditated
affront by the entire EU."

Chen saw her father for the 1st time in 4 years -- and for the last time
-- on Thursday morning, but Di was unable to meet him.

"Because he did not know about a looming execution, he was hopeful and did
not leave any final words or a will with our family," Chen said in the
statement.

"We, the family, were not allowed to say goodbye. We were also denied the
most fundamental and universal right of information about what was
happening with our father."

China on Thursday had warned it would not give Wo special treatment.

"Wo Weihan is a Chinese citizen who broke Chinese law," foreign ministry
spokesman Qin Gang told reporters.

"We can't give privileges to Wo Weihan because he has foreign relatives."

A spokesman for the ministry, who refused to be named, on Friday said he
had nothing to add to Qin's comments.

The United States said Wo's arrest and trial had fallen short of
international standards for due process.

"Reportedly Mr Wo did not have access to legal counsel until after the
prosecuting officials completed their investigation," Stevenson said.

"His confession was coerced and the charges against him were
questionable."

(source: Agence France-Presse)

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

U.S. Condemns China's Reported Execution of Scientist Wo Weihan


The U.S. condemned Chinas reported execution of Wo Weihan, a scientist
accused of passing secrets to Taiwan.


"We are deeply disturbed and dismayed by reports that the Chinese
government has carried out the death penalty against Wo," Susan Stevenson,
a U.S. embassy spokeswoman, said by phone. The execution occurred today,
AFP and the Associated Press both reported, citing Wo's daughter. A China
Foreign Ministry press officer declined to comment on the reports.

Rights group Amnesty International earlier this week called on the Chinese
authorities to halt Wo's execution, claiming the 59-year-old didnt receive
a fair trial. Wo was sentenced to death in May 2007 after being found
guilty of discussing the health of senior Chinese leaders among other
charges, the London-based group said.

According to the verdict, Wo confessed to the charges while in detention,
Amnesty said. Wo's family said he confessed in the absence of a lawyer and
that he later recanted, raising doubts about his treatment in detention,
according the rights group.

In 1999, China executed a general and colonel after they tried to sell the
locations of China's missiles to Taiwan's intelligence services for $1.6
million.

China and Taiwan have been administered separately since 1949, when the
Kuomintang government fled across the Taiwan Strait to escape Mao Zedongs
Communist forces.

China executes more people each year than any other nation in the world,
according to Amnesty. In 2007, Amnesty recorded 470 executions in China,
based on publicly available reports.

(source: Bloomberg News)

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

Ant aphrodisiac conman executed


China has executed the leader of a bogus scheme for breeding ants to make
aphrodisiacs that conned investors out of 3 billion yuan ($439 million),
the official Xinhua news agency said on Thursday.

Wang Zhendong was executed on Wednesday in the northeastern province of
Liaoning, Xinhua cited an unnamed local official as saying.

The fictitious ant-breeding project that Wang fronted features prominently
in posters and other government educational materials warning of the risks
of pyramid schemes and other investment schemes that sound too good to be
true.

Wang promised investors in the fictitious project returns of 35 to 60 %,
Xinhua said. The ants were to be used for making liquor, herbal remedies
and aphrodisiacs.

One investor committed suicide after realizing he had been duped, while
many others suffered from depression, Xinhua said.

(source: Reuters)