[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 9


IRAN----executions

4 prisoners were executed in Qom (south of Tehran)


4 prisoners have been executed in the prison of Qom in the past few days, 
reported the Mehr news agency.

The report which was quoting Mostafa Barzegar, the prosecutor of Qom, said: " 4 
persons convicted of drug trafficking were executed in the prison of Qom during 
the pas days".

The report didn’t identify the prisoners who were executed and no further 
details about the charges and exact day of the execution was provided. (source: 
Iran Human Rights)






IRAQ:

Halt Executions, Abolish Death Penalty


The Iraqi government seems to have given state executioners the green light to 
execute at will. The government needs to declare an immediate moratorium on all 
executions and begin an overhaul of its flawed criminal justice system.

Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch (Washington, DC) – 
Iraqi authorities should halt all executions and abolish the death penalty, 
Human Rights Watch said today. Since the beginning of 2012, Iraq has executed 
at least 65 prisoners, 51 of them in January, and 14 more on February 8, for 
various offenses.

“The Iraqi government seems to have given state executioners the green light to 
execute at will,”said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights 
Watch. “The government needs to declare an immediate moratorium on all 
executions and begin an overhaul of its flawed criminal justice system.”

Human Rights Watch is particularly concerned that Iraqi courts admit as 
evidence confessions obtained under coercion. The government should disclose 
the identities, locations, and status of all prisoners on death row, the crimes 
for which they have been convicted, court records for their being charged, 
tried, and sentenced, and details of any impending executions, Human Rights 
Watch said.

A Justice Ministry official confirmed to Human Rights Watch on February 8 that 
authorities had executed 14 prisoners earlier in the day. “You should expect 
more executions in the coming days and weeks,” the official added.

According to the United Nations, more than 1,200 people are believed to have 
been sentenced to death in Iraq since 2004. The number of prisoners executed 
during that period has not been revealed publicly. Iraqi law authorizes the 
death penalty for close to 50 crimes, including terrorism, kidnapping, and 
murder, but also including such offenses as damage to public property.

Human Rights Watch opposes capital punishment in all circumstances because of 
its inhumane nature and its finality. International human rights law requires 
that, where it has not been abolished, the death penalty be imposed only in 
cases for the most serious crimes in which the judicial system has scrupulously 
complied with fair trial standards, including the rights of the defendant to 
competent defense counsel, to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, and not 
to be compelled to confess guilt.

Criminal trials in Iraq often violate these minimum guarantees, Human Rights 
Watch said. Many defendants are unable to pursue a meaningful defense or to 
challenge evidence against them, and lengthy pretrial detention without 
judicial review is common.

(source: Human Rights Watch)






UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:

17 former death row Indians get six months for illegal alcohol sale


17 Indians who escaped the death penalty last year after being convicted of 
murder were sentenced yesterday to 6 months in jail for illegally selling 
alcohol.

The Sharjah Court of Appeal found the men guilty of bootlegging, but because 
they have already spent 3 years behind bars they will not have to serve any 
time on that charge.

The verdict brought a conclusion to the criminal case against the men but they 
are still behind bars because of a pending civil case against them.

The 17 were convicted of killing a Pakistani man in a bootlegging brawl in 
Sharjah in 2009. They were spared the death sentence after Dh3.4 million in 
blood money was paid to the victim's family last year.

In September last year, the Sharjah Court of Appeal ordered the men to be 
deported and commuted their sentences to 2 years.

But prosecutors appealed against the verdict at the Federal Supreme Court, 
urging it to take into account injuries sustained by 3 other men in the brawl, 
and further charges of possessing and selling alcohol.

The court ordered the appeal court to review only the bootlegging charges. The 
men were not in court for yesterday morning's proceedings.

2 of the 3 men who claimed they were injured in the 2009 brawl have filed a 
Dh1.5 million compensation suit at the Sharjah Court of First Instance. The 
civil case has been adjourned to February 15.

Yesterday, anxious family members and the men's lawyers were hoping the 17 
could return to India soon.

"The prosecution put the travel ban at the behest of the other lawyer," said 
Bindu Suresh Chettur, of the Mohammed Salman Advocates and Legal Consultants, a 
firm appointed by the Indian government to defend the convicted men.

"It is for the prosecution to decide whether to revoke this ban. We are hopeful 
that the accused can go back soon to their country."

Arjinder Singh, brother of Arvinder Singh, one of the jailed men, said: "I am 
confident they will return soon now. This case has been going on for a while 
now and there has been a lot of uncertainty.

"Last time we were very disappointed that they were not released."

Another relative said she was cautiously happy about the verdict.

Ranjit Kaur, the wife of Dharampal Singh, another of the convicted men, said: 
"I am happy but also sceptical about when they will return. It's happened 
before."

(source: The National)