[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 17


IRAN:

Iran secretly executing hundreds of prisoners: UN


Iran's authoritarian regime has been secretly executing hundreds of prisoners, 
according to a new UN report detailing growing rights abuses in the Islamic 
republic.

The mysterious executions at Vakilabad prison in Mashhad in eastern Iran were 
highlighted in a report compiled by Ahmed Shaheed, the new UN special 
rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran.

Shaheed, who assumed responsibility for the mandate on August 1, billed this as 
an interim report cataloging the most recent trends in the human rights 
situation in Iran.

The report details a raft of abuses from freedom of expression to the denial of 
women's rights to the torture of detainees, but perhaps the most shocking data 
was on the skyrocketing rate of executions.

The report, obtained by AFP after first appearing on the Foreign Policy 
website, said 200 officially announced executions had taken place in 2011 with 
at least 83, including those of three political prisoners, in January alone.

"Furthermore, authorities reportedly conducted more than 300 secret executions 
at Vakilabad prison in 2010," the report said.

"Vakilabad officials, in violation of Iranian law, allegedly carried out the 
executions without the knowledge or presence of the inmates' lawyers or 
families and without prior notification to those executed," it said.

"It has also been reported that at least 146 secret executions have taken place 
to date in 2011."

Shaheed also noted that four percent of executions stipulated no charges, 100 
juveniles on death row, and more than 100 executions this year alone for 
drug-related offenses.

Human Rights Watch counted 388 executions in Iran in 2010, while Amnesty 
International put the figure at 252, ranking the Islamic republic second only 
to China in the number of people put to death last year.

Tehran says the death penalty is essential to maintain law and order, and that 
it is applied only after exhaustive judicial proceedings.

Murder, rape, armed robbery, drug trafficking and adultery are among the crimes 
punishable by death in Iran.

(source: Agence France-Presse)






ANTIGUA:

Newlywed murder pair sentenced


2 men who gunned down a British couple on their honeymoon could be about to be 
sentenced to death.

Ben and Catherine Mullany, 31, were both shot on the holiday island of Antigua 
a fortnight after they had tied the knot.

Kaniel Martin, 23, and Avie Howell, 20 were both found guilty of murdering the 
newlyweds - as well as killing a local shopkeeper in almost identical 
circumstances.

The pair - known by the aliases of Sample Dan and Demon - could face the death 
penalty for their crimes - and were due to learn their fate last month.

Despite being brought back to the island's High Court on 2 occasions, a judge 
heard that psychiatric reports had not yet been completed.

Mr and Mrs Mullany's family hope Martin and Howell's sentence will finally be 
dealt with - bringing an end to the protracted legal proceedings which took 3 
years for justice to be served.

University of West England physiotherapy student Mr Mullany and his wife, a 
doctor working at Morriston Hospital, Swansea, died after being shot in the 
head on July 27, 2008.

After gunning down the couple, Martin and Howell stole an inexpensive mobile 
phone, a cheap digital camera and a small quantity of cash.

London Imperial College graduate Mrs Mullany died instantly, while Mr Mullany 
was flown back to Swansea on a life support machine. However, despite the best 
efforts of his wife's colleagues, he died a week after the shooting.

Their killers were finally be brought to justice on the third anniversary of 
the couple's shooting.

(source: Belfast Telegraph)