[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

March 21



IRAN:

Jail, exile and death for young Arab prisoners


The Ahvaz Revolutionary Court has sentenced a number of Arab-minority political 
prisoners to death and imprisonment.

Ahvaz human rights groups report that the prisoners faced “a year of detention 
and torture” before their sentencing. Teh Heydarian, 28; Nasser Heydarian, 21; 
Abbas Heydarian, 24, and Ali Sharifi, 25, all from the Mollashieh 
neighbourhood, were each sentenced to 10 years in jail and execution.

Amir Moavi, 24, has been sentenced to 38 years in jail and Abbas Heydari, 26, 
to 18 years. Both Moavi and Heydari are also exiled to northern Province of 
Mazandaran for the duration of their jail term.

The Mollashieh neighbourhood is located in the southernmost part of Ahvaz, the 
capital of Khuzestan Province in southwest Iran. A mainly Arab neighbourhood, 
Mollashieh is reportedly lacking in recreational, cultural and library 
facilities despite its high population of youth.

The 6 convicted political prisoners were arrested last year after a peaceful 
demonstration in Ahvaz in protest against their “unfavourable and 
discriminatory situation” in Khuzestan province. The protests were met with 
state violence that left 12 dead, 20 wounded and scores arrested.

In the past year, according to human rights reports, three political prisoners 
arrested in the Khuzestan protests have died from abuse and torture in prison.

Reports indicate that another demonstration on January 13 was again met with 
government force, and Human Rights Watch reports that 65 people were arrested.

(source: Radio Zamaneh)






INDONESIA:

Consulate hires lawyer to represent Indonesians charged with crimes carrying 
death penalty


The Indonesian Consulate here has engaged its own lawyer to take up cases 
involving its citizens charged with offences that carry the death penalty.

Indonesian Consul General Djoko Harjanto revealed to The Borneo Post this was 
to ensure that innocent suspects would not be forced to plead guilty to crimes 
they did not commit.

“We cannot imagine when people, especially when they are our own citizens, are 
sent to the gallows for crimes they never committed. But we have reasons to 
believe that this has happened to some of our nationals here in the past.

“So in our effort to protect our people we have engaged our own lawyer in the 
person of Rambir Singh to particularly handle cases involving our people 
charged with offences that carry mandatory death sentence upon conviction,” he 
said.

He said even at present there were a few on-going cases involving Indonesians 
who were charged with murder and drug trafficking, where death penalty would be 
meted upon conviction.

“We are not saying that all who were charged and tried in courts were innocent. 
There must be those who pleaded guilty to charges against them who really 
committed the crimes but we also believe that there were some convicted due to 
circumstances and this is what we don’t want to happen,” he said.

In this regard, Djoko advised his countrymen working abroad to comply with the 
laws and regulations of the country they were in.

“Each time I have the chance to meet with our people who are working in 
Malaysia I will remind them to respect the law here and stay away from any form 
of illegal activity.

“Nevertheless, it is impossible for us to monitor them and see what they are 
doing round the clock but we are trying our best to ensure that our people 
don’t commit whatever crime when coming here to work or on vacation,” he said.

He said the other factor which made it more difficult for the Indonesian 
Consulate here to monitor their people was that many could have entered the 
state illegally.

“This is something that we cannot deny due to the porous borderline between 
Kalimantan and Sarawak. Probably the only way illegal entries can be 
effectively reduced if not stopped completely is when nobody dares to accept or 
hire illegal immigrants.

“But for as long as the demand is there the influx of illegal immigrants will 
continue and there will be no end to it,” he said.

He thus appreciated the move by the Immigration Department to register illegal 
immigrants under the amnesty programme (Program 6P).

“This gives the opportunity to those who have entered Sarawak and searched for 
jobs without valid documents to register themselves and follow the right 
procedures. However, in this programme their employers also have to play a very 
important role.

“They should come forward and register their workers and not hide their illegal 
immigrants just because they want to run away from paying the levy and what 
not,” he added.

Earlier this month, state Immigration Department director Datu Robert Lian said 
the amnesty programme would expire end of this month and thereafter would not 
be further extended.

(source: The Borneo Post)






PHILIPPINES:

PH seeks mercy for 77 Pinoys on death row


The Philippines said on Tuesday that its diplomats had increased their efforts 
to save 77 Filipinos on death row overseas after four of its citizens were 
executed in China last year for drug trafficking.

“We are helping them out. We are making high level representations and making 
sure [that] they have access to legal and consular assistance and trying to get 
their sentences commuted,” Foreign Affairs Department spokesman Raul Hernandez 
said.

Last year, four Filipinos were put to death in China for drug trafficking 
despite the intervention of high-level officials, including an appeal from 
President Benigno Aquino 3rd.

The executions triggered widespread condemnation in the mainly Roman Catholic 
country, which abolished the death penalty in 2006.

Of those facing execution, 42 are detained in China on drugs charges, Hernandez 
said.

6 Filipinos face the death sentence in Malaysia, with five of them also for 
drugs-related offenses while one Filipina convicted for the same reason is 
detained in Indonesia.

There are 27 Filipinos on death row in the Middle East, mostly for murder, 
while another Filipino is facing execution for murder in the United States, the 
department spokesman said.

He did not say when the 77 were due to be executed.

The welfare of Filipinos abroad is a sensitive issue in a country where more 
than 9 million work overseas, many in harsh conditions where they can be 
tricked into acting as drug mules.

(source: Manila Times)