[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 8



CANADA:

Big support for death penalty in BC; Angus Reid find 72 % are in favour •Harper 
says he personally favours death penalty but won't reinstate it


Could we see a return of the death penalty? New survey numbers show people in 
this province support its use.

BC is tied with Alberta at 72 % in favour of the death penalty, says Mario 
Canseco with Angus Reid. He says there are two reasons why there's support for 
the death penalty in this province.

"It really has to do with the base that the Conservative party has over here in 
Western Canada. But also, there's a lot of animosity towards specific crimes 
that have been committed lately. We go back to the Robert Pickton case and 
we're now looking forward to 22 or 23 years from now, having that parole 
hearing," he tells us.

Respondents who want to see the death penalty return believe it would serve as 
a deterrent for potential murderers and would save taxpayers' money. Most also 
feel that the capital punishment fits the crime for murder.

Most opponents of the death penalty are concerned over the possibility of 
wrongful convictions leading to executions. Many also believe that even if 
someone has taken a life, it's wrong to take the murderer's own life as 
punishment.

Despite the support, Canseco doesn't think it will become law.

"The last time somebody tried to do something like this was Brian Mulroney back 
in 1987. He had a majority in the House of Commons that was certainly larger 
than the one Stephen Harper has right now. When they let it be a free vote, he 
actually lost it," he explains.

On a national level, 61 % of Canadians asked in an online survey support the 
death penalty for murder in Canada, which was abolished in 1976. When asked to 
choose between 2 possible courses of action to deal with convicted murderers in 
Canada (death penalty of life in jail with no possibility of parole), half of 
respondents perfer life imprisonment.

(source: News 1130)




IRAN:

Judiciary Upholds Death Sentence for Young Kurds


An Iranian court has upheld the death sentence for Zanyar Moradi, who was 
previously convicted of murdering the son of the Marivan Friday Imam. His 
father, Eghbal Moradi, called the sentence illegal in an interview with the 
International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.

“My son and Loghman Moradi [no relation] have been convicted of murdering the 
son of the Marivan Friday Imam, but the victim’s family knows that Zanyar and 
Loghman are not the murderers,” Eghbal Moradi said.

Eghbal Moradi, a member of the Kurdistan Komala Party, fled to Iraqi Kurdistan 
years ago. “My son is a victim of a political game. I myself oppose the regime, 
I went to prison, I was injured, and I don’t live in Iran right now. They want 
to seek revenge on me through my son,” Moradi claimed.

Security forces arrested Zanyar Moradi, 23, and Loghman Moradi, 25, on 22 
December 2009, for the murder of the son of Marivan’s Friday Imam on 5 July 
2009. Judge Salavati of Branch 15 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court tried them 
for charges of “moharebeh” (enmity with God), “corruption on earth,” “acting 
against national security,” and “murder of Marivan Friday Imam’s son,” and 
sentenced them to death. The Appeals Court has now confirmed the death 
sentences for the 2 men.

“When the Intelligence Ministry asked the Marivan Friday Imam, Mr. Shirzad, to 
appear at the Enforcement Unit of the Judiciary to carry out the sentence, he 
refused, saying that he doubts these young men have committed the murder, and 
he has fortunately refused to appear,” Eghbal Moradi said. “But the 
Intelligence Ministry wants to execute these 2 no matter what, even if the main 
plaintiff in the case, the father of the victim, doubts that Zanyar and Loghman 
are the murderers.”

“Unfortunately, my son’s lawyer only participated in that first court session. 
Regardless of how many times Loghman’s family and my relatives have asked him 
to go to court to follow up on the case he has not done anything,” said Zanyar 
Moradi’s father.

The 2 prisoners wrote a letter from prison, stating that they had accepted the 
charge under severe torture and threats of rape. The two prisoners have also 
written a letter to UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran Ahmad 
Shaheed.

“As Zanyar and Loghman said in their letter describing their torture, they were 
tried in a court trial that lasted only a few minutes, and Judge Salavati 
immediately convicted them of ‘corruption on earth’ and sentenced them to 
death. The two suspects were never given a chance to defend themselves or say 
anything. The judge had already decided how to sentence them,” Eghbal Moradi 
told the Campaign.

“We Kurds know that the chain of assassinations that happened in Kurdistan were 
carried out by government elements inside Kurdistan,” Moradi claimed. 
“Government agents and stick-wielding forces murdered the son of the Marivan 
Friday Imam’s son, but they now want to hold these two young men responsible 
for the murder,” he continued.

“Unfortunately, I have no news about my son. Since he was imprisoned he has 
only met with my parents twice for a few minutes. Since he was transferred to 
Rajaee Shahr Prison in Karaj about 25 months ago, he has not been allowed to 
have any visitors. This is why we are very concerned about him, especially when 
he wrote of torture in his letters,” Moradi told the Campaign. “My other 
relatives have repeatedly requested visits with him, but they were told that 
only the immediate family of the prisoner [are allowed to visit with him]. 
Unfortunately, I live with his mother in Iraqi Kurdistan and we are not allowed 
to come to Iran. We only hear about Zanyar through released prisoners of Rajaee 
Shahr Prison or through the media.”

(source: Iran Human Rights)

**********

Statement by 10 prisoners of conscience in ward 350 of Evin prison condemning 
Saeed Malekpour’s death sentence


Letter in protest to Saeed Malekpour’s death sentence----Written by political 
prisoners in ward 350


In the wake of the confirmation of Saeed Malekpour’s death sentence by the 
[Iranian] Supreme Court, statements made by some of the judicial and security 
authorities have further increased the concerns [about the fate of Saeed 
Malekpour]. Saeed Malekpour, a web designer who also rented web space, is 
facing a certain execution sentence after three years of legal limbo, detention 
in prisons [and wards] run by the security organizations, and enduring lengthy 
periods of solitary confinement. The charge against him is directing so-called 
“obscene” websites. However, in a letter he wrote in 2010, he denied this 
accusation, disclosed the tortures he endured during the interrogations, and 
stated how he was forced to make false [self-incriminating] confessions and 
repeat them in front of a camera. He confirmed that he was only designing 
websites and renting web spaces. This latter statement is his real admission 
under normal circumstances while he was in ward 350. After the publication of 
this letter and the interviews given by his wife outside of Iran in which she 
dubbed the case of her husband a political one, Saeed Malekpour was transferred 
back to ward 2-A [under the control of the IRGC] after spending nine months in 
ward 350. He has been imprisoned in ward 2-A since December 2010.

Based on the laws governing due process in the Islamic Republic, all the stages 
of interrogation, detention, investigation and trial for Saeed Malekpour have 
been illegal. During the interrogations- contravene to the existing laws- he 
was subjected to physical and psychological torture. He was stripped and 
threatened with rape; his teeth were pulled with pliers; he was subjected to 
electrical shock by stun guns, he was lashed with cable wires; he was kept in 
solitary confinement for nearly one year (following his arrest); he was tried 
in a closed court session (while according to the Constitution, security and 
political trials have to be public); and was transferred to ward 2-A [solitary 
confinement] after the sentence was announced. He has not been handed in to the 
Iran Prison Organization since December 1, 2010.

No verdict or sentence can be considered legal under such circumstances. As a 
result, we, the undersigned, call the attention of all the awakened consciences 
to the flagrant violation of Saeed Malekpour’s civil and human rights, and 
express our opposition and revulsion of the sentence against Saeed Malekpour. 
Moreover, we would like to explain the following points:

Execution is an inherently inhumane act, because, in our view, no human being 
has the right to take away another human being’s life. Execution has never 
solved the problems Iranian society face. It has been simply used by the ruling 
establishment to avoid the question and the problem. As a result, the problems 
resulting in the death sentences have remained and the crackdowns have not been 
effective or helpful but, on the contrary, they have been catastrophic.

Saeed Malekpour’s death sentence is a political sentence that the regime has 
issued to further control cyber space and terrorize internet users. Such harsh 
sentences for cyber cases are targeting regular citizens who are using the 
Internet in different ways. By resorting to this method, the ruling 
establishment, on one hand, terrorizes non-political Internet users, and on the 
other hand, it is showing muscle and boasting [its ability] to eliminate 
[dissent] by exposing the Iranian society’s political and social climate to the 
option of execution [as an apparatus of fear] . There is a precedent of such 
cases, and in the past years and on various occasions, individuals have been 
executed under such non-political pretexts as drug trafficking while the actual 
case was political.

Under the current circumstance where the Islamic Republic regime still uses the 
option of physical elimination and killing—which have been frequently used in 
the form of either execution or assassination—only public global protest and 
expression of revulsion can be effective. If not, siding with the regime in any 
form, or any lack of minimum social reaction would help the continuation of 
execution by the regime.

We believe that anyone anywhere in the world and in any social condition can 
protest against executions, and at least the illegal executions. Meanwhile 
scholars, writers, and those with access to the media have a greater 
responsibility as they can better get their voices heard.

In the past 2 years in ward 350 of Evin prison, we witnessed several 
executions. We testify that in none of these executions the existing laws of 
the Islamic Republic were observed. In all stages of the procedures [from 
arrest to execution] the law was violated, and the death sentences were 
political [rather than judicial].

(source: Persian2English)