[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Dec. 7



BARBADOS:

Celebrating human rights


This Wednesday, December 10, is designated World Human Rights Day and as such 
it is an appropriate time to reflect over the next 2 weeks on the extent to 
which Barbados' human rights record is consistent with the benchmarks and 
traditions which can be identified in any long-standing democracy.

This critique is by no means intended to be comparative. Certainly there is a 
relevance to comparative analysis of human rights issues but there is also a 
danger in the assumption that Barbados is doing well simply because others are 
doing worse. On this occasion the intention is to assess our performance based 
on objective benchmarks, to which we have subscribed as a nation and which we 
therefore agree are not only appropriate ideas to which we ought to aspire, but 
also standards of behaviour which we have pledged before the international 
community to uphold.

The focus therefore is placed on the International Covenant on Civil and 
Political Rights (the Covenant) which Barbados acceded to in 1973 with 
reservations that were deemed necessary to protect some laws from censure. The 
extent to which these reservations may themselves be indicative of areas in 
which we have fallen short of noble objectives is an issue that is best perused 
separately. Notwithstanding, our accession to this covenant as a nation means 
that we have subjected ourselves to a periodic review where both our laws and 
practices are held up to scrutiny by the UN Human Rights Committee.

This is a long process, which includes a phase where local and international 
non-governmental organisations comment on the extent to which we are either a 
"paragon of virtue" or alternatively have "fallen short of the glory" and an 
opportunity for Barbados to respond to criticisms before the committee offers 
its "concluding observations". The last such set of observations were offered 
in 2007 and make interesting reading. Barbados was first chided for the fact 
that it had last reported to this committee in 1991 and therefore 18 years had 
elapsed since the previous report, which was inconsistent with the timeline of 
our reporting obligations. This tardiness speaks volumes about the extent to 
which such matters are a priority for the Government of Barbados.

Substantively, Barbados was commended in 2007 for:

- Adopting the Penal System Reform Act;

- Establishing the Police Complaints Authority;

- Adopting the Evidence Act; and

- Implementing UN basic principles on the use of force and firearms by law 
enforcement officials.

These initiatives reflect a significant effort on the part of Barbados to 
modify its legal and police procedures in the direction of international best 
practice to protect the rights of individuals here. However, the committee also 
commented negatively on several issues which continue to be problematic today, 
7 years since its last intervention. As they prepare for the next review of 
Barbados performance before the committee, non-governmental stakeholders have 
recently raised these outstanding issues again.

Among the more contentions of such issues is the suggestion that Barbados ought 
to abolish the death penalty, but that if we are to retain it, we should at 
least abolish the mandatory death sentence for murder, consistent with article 
6 of the Covenant. In fairness, we have only just recently introduced 
legislation into our Parliament which seeks to abolish the mandatory death 
penalty.

The larger issue is, however, another matter which is buttressed by 
considerable support in the public domain. Sadly, successive governments have 
conspicuously avoided an outright rejection of the death penalty in deference 
to well-known public support, although it is unlikely that a majority of 
parliamentarians or lawyers (if asked) would themselves support it. The issue 
is complex, with imperfections of our justice system which inadvertently 
targets the lower socio-economic groups playing an important role, but there 
has hitherto been a lack of political will to confront public opinion or engage 
in a process of education to encourage greater understanding. It is therefore 
highly likely that for the time being, the abolition of the mandatory death 
sentence in case of murder will be as far as we will go on the issue of the 
abolition of the death penalty.

(source: Peter W. Wickham is a political consultant and a director of Caribbean 
Development Research Services (CADRES); National News)






CHINA:

China's tyrant spy chief faces death for 'leaking state secrets'


China is likely to stage a secret trial for its fallen spy chief, Zhou 
Yongkang, to avoid the disclosure of sensitive information about its dealings 
with foreign intelligence agencies, according to western diplomatic sources.

A midnight announcement on Friday disclosed that Zhou, 71, had been arrested 
and expelled from the Communist party after a 1-year investigation into his 
alleged "disciplinary violations".

The party has hinted that Zhou may face the death penalty. Last Tuesday 200 
high-ranking officials assembled in the Great Hall of the People for the 
screening of a film, The Case of Huang Kegong, about a Long March hero who shot 
dead a girl and was executed for the crime.

The message: no one is above the law. Chinese diplomats abroad have also 
dropped hints that a capital sentence could be handed down.

(source: The Sunday Times)






INDIA:

Convict sentenced to death commits suicide in Belagavi jail


A convict, sentenced to death for rape and murder, committed suicide by hanging 
in Hindalaga prison premises here, a police official said on Sunday.

"Nanajappa Shivananjappa, who was sentenced to death for rape and murder, last 
night committed suicide by hanging himself in the toilet near barrack No. 7 of 
Hindalaga central jail," Belagavi Police Commissioner S Ravi said.

The Second Judicial Magistrate First Class Court at Mysuru had awarded death 
penalty to Shivananjappa (22) who hailed from Yedahalli village in Mysuru, he 
said.

Shivananjappa was brought to Hindalaga jail on February 25 last year after he 
was sentenced to death, he added.

A case of suicide has been registered in Belagavi rural police station, Ravi 
said.

(soure: Deccan Chronicle)






MALAYSIA:

PAS wants death penalty for the traitors


Sabah Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) has proposed the death penalty for 
syndicate members or individuals found guilty of issuing birth certificates or 
MyKads to illegal immigrants if it is serious in solving the problem.

"This is because theirs is an act of treason. They are traitors. They 'sell' 
our State and this nation for their own profit. This new law must apply 
throughout Malaysia because its nature is the same as those offences in Chapter 
VI of the Penal Code, i.e. offences against the State," he said, in a 
statement.

Its Deputy Commissioner II Hamid Ismail said although he is not satisfied with 
the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) findings on illegal immigrants in Sabah, 
Sabahans still need to accept it in order to move forward.

He said all public officers in Sabah irrespective of their posts must be 
instilled with noble moral values and the spirit of love towards Sabah and the 
nation.

"Those who are trustworthy, honest and love God will never 'sell' this State 
and nation. They will also never comply with orders from their corrupt 
superiors that could endanger Sabah.

"Tightening the immigration and registration laws is a good move as suggested 
by some parties, but I think that the new tightened laws will be useless if 
those responsible in enforcing the laws are corrupt," he said.

Hamid also said the State government must act now without waiting for solutions 
from the Federal Government because the immigration and registration laws are 
already in place and need to be enforced.

"Mobilise the personnel in both departments. If the State Government waits, 
nothing will happen. Just see the statements of witnesses during the RCI 
proceeding. They testified that since 1999, they informed Parliament and the 
Deputy Prime Minister and the Prime Minister about the issue but there was no 
positive response from federal.

"This is what happened to Sabah. The Federal Government merely promised 
solution to the problem but didn't do it. It was only near the GE13 that they 
announced the establishment of RCI," he said.

Hamid said in enforcing the law and taking action against illegals, public 
officers must ignore politicians who "stand" between them and the illegal 
immigrants.

District officers told the RCI proceedings about political elements that 
disturbed the demolition process of squatter houses.

(source: Daily Express)






TAIWAN:

Activists hold conference in Taipei to promote the abolition of death penalty

Activists against capital punishment and legal experts from over 10 countries 
gathered at an international conference in Taipei over the weekend to discuss 
Taiwan's progress in putting an end to the death penalty.

Organized by the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty, the two-day 
symposium held at National Taiwan University is to be followed by 3 follow-on 
forums scheduled for today in Greater Taichung, Greater Tainan and Greater 
Kaohsiung.

By continuing to implement capital punishment, the government has violated 2 UN 
covenants that President Ma Ying-jeou signed into law in 2009, the group said, 
referring to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the 
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

The execution of 5 prisoners in April further alienated the nation from global 
human rights standards, the group said.

In contrast, although South Korea still has the death penalty, in effect a 
moratorium has been in practice for the past 16 years, with the last 
state-sanctioned execution carried out in 1997.

Andrew Kim Duck-jin, secretary-general of the Seoul-based Catholic Human Rights 
Committee, said on Saturday that efforts to legally abolish the death penalty 
in South Korea face resistance from the public, which is largely in favor of 
retaining it.

"Although a draft bill to abolish capital punishment was proposed in 
parliament, the bill never made it to the plenary session to a plenary vote, as 
there is still a huge amount of opposition from the public," Kim said.

"Every year three to four people are sentenced to death by [South] Korean 
courts. The number of death sentences has even increased," said Kim, adding 
that legal experts in South Korea are still discussing alternatives modes of 
punishment to the death penalty, such as imprisonment for life.

The moratorium was first enacted when former South Korean president Kim 
Dae-jung was in office, who had at one time been sentenced to death as a 
political prisoner when the nation was governed by an authoritarian regime.

National Taipei University criminology professor Chou Susyan said despite 
results of surveys indicating overwhelming support for the death penalty among 
Taiwanese, there is still room for discussion.

"When you present the public with a concrete alternative, it is certainly 
possible to change public opinion," Chou said.

After a temporary moratorium from 2006 to 2009, Taiwan reimplemented capital 
punishment in 2010, with 4 to 6 executions carried out each year.

(source: Taipei Times)






UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:

Woman who admitted to stabbing American teacher to death inside Abu Dhabi mall 
will face the death penalty as victim's family speaks of their 'devastation and 
horror'----The woman who is charged with killing American teacher Ibolya Ryan 
in Abu Dhabi will face the death penalty


The veiled attacker who stabbed an American teacher to death in an upmarket Abu 
Dhabi mall faces the death penalty after admitting the crime.

Ibolya Ryan, 47, was brutally attacked just hours before the suspect allegedly 
planted a bomb outside the home of an American doctor in the Arab state.

The special needs teacher's family spoke for the 1st time today about how they 
have been left 'devastated and traumatised' by the attack.

Her former husband described the attacker as a 'monster' as he made an 
emotional tribute to his ex-wife.

Writing online last night, he said: 'Rest in peace, our love. Your beauty and 
pure love will live on within us, forever.'

Dala al Hashemi, 38, a Yemen-born Emirati national was arrested Thursday on 
suspicion of murdering the teacher, who had moved to the Middle Eastern country 
in search of a better life following a divorce.

Police believe that the attacker, who lured Mrs Ryan into a conversation by 
pretending to be a vulnerable elderly woman, targeted the teacher because of 
her nationality.

This as shocking new details of Mrs Ryan's final moments have emerged, 
revealing how she had been lured in to a toilet cubicle after the attacker 
asked her for assistance.

The Yemeni allegedly turned on Mrs Ryan once inside the cubicle, stabbing her 
repeatedly with a butcher's knife.

After her attacker fled, the wounded teacher stumbled to the mall's main 
walkway - only yards from a Waitrose supermarket - but collapsed in a pool of 
blood.

Speculation has also been mounting that the attacker may have belonged to a 
terror cell rather than acting as a lone wolf.

During his emotional interview Mr Ryan referenced the 'forces of darkness and 
terrorism that expressed themselves very clearly here in the Middle East'.

In a further development, Mr Ryan revealed that the suspect has admitted the 
crime according to local police.

Discussing the possible conviction of his former wife's alleged attacker, he 
said: 'As far as I can tell so far, it's seems pretty damning evidence and she 
had confessed.'

Mr Ryan said that he had been left traumatised after viewing images released by 
local police after the attack.

The pictures show the blood-stained knife used by the attacker on the restroom 
floor, as well as a trail of blood left by Mrs Ryan as she stumbled for help.

Mr Ryan said: 'Obviously I am totally horrified by what happened. You only need 
to look at the images of that bathroom. I still hope my children haven't seen 
that.

Fighting back tears, he added: 'Those beautiful children that I have...making 
sure that they get the comfort and the sense of their mother and their future.'

'My dear Ibolyah, and I do mean that, will not have died in vain.'

A devastated Mr Ryan also said that he believes the attacker may have belonged 
to a terrorist cell.

UAE police also told ABC News about reports that the suspect was 'not a lone 
wolf' and her house was 'a base of operations'.

'There might be a cell involved, certainly, but after seeing the video of how 
she was captured and what was in her car, she had everything there all for 
herself,' they said.

'She is thought of as a lone wolf. As an American I can easily view that with 
some scepticism. Initially I thought why couldn't it be part of a terrorist 
cell?'

Al Hashemi was arrested in a raid on her house and is also accused of trying to 
bomb an Egyptian-American doctor, said Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed al Nahyan, the 
minister of the interior for the United Arab Emirates, at a press conference on 
Thursday.

As expats living in the country expressed their fears following the incident, 
the US State Department's issued a new warning telling Americans to change 
their routines in case they are also targeted.

It said: 'We suggest that all U.S. citizens be vigilant of their surroundings 
and events unfolding around them.'

Following the couple's 'amicable divorce', Mr Ryan moved to Vienna while his 
former wife relocated to Abu Dhabi for 'better financial and moral 
independence'.

The couple's daughter, 13, went with her father to Europe to attend a boarding 
school while their 11-year-old male twins moved to Abu Dhabi with Mrs Ryan.

The distraught father said that the family had considered moving back to the US 
together after the boys had finished their education in the arab state.

Mrs Ryan's killer may face the death penalty in the country if found guilty of 
her murder, however national laws allow the family of the victim to issue a 
pardon.

The teacher's former husband said that he had still not made up his mind about 
whether he would do this.

'I can't believe I have the power to pardon. That is shocking to me. I don't 
even want that responsibility. But we'll have to wait and see,' he told CNN.

After arriving in the country only days after his wife was targeted due to her 
nationality, he said he felt safe in the Arab state.

He admitted previously being 'fearful' of being an American in the Middle East.

Mr Ryan said in a statement tonight to the government-run Emirates News Agency: 
'When I viewed that video that showed the arrest and the crime scene, I felt 
grateful for capturing such a monster.

'I feel very grateful for what I've seen here. When I got here, I had some 
preconceptions about how the situation would be here.

'But what happened is that my doubts were dispelled. I felt that the forces of 
darkness and terrorism that expressed themselves very clearly here in the 
Middle East will disappear with time, thanks to the forces of good that I saw 
here.'

He also told of the heartbreaking moment his twin sons realised their mother 
had been murdered after waiting for her in the shopping mall as she was being 
attacked.

He told The National they had gone to use the male restrooms in Boutik Mall 
while she went to the women's toilets and had agreed to meet her in a 
coffeeshop afterward.

'They waited there for an hour wondering what had happened,' he said.

'They saw police officers run by at one point but then they just waited for 
her.

'She didn't come and they looked around and couldn't find her so they went 
home, which is just steps away from this mall. They went home and waited for 
her there."

Mr Ryan said he was trying to keep the horrors of what happened that day from 
them.

'They know she was attacked," he said. "I have asked them not to watch that 
video, not to see the scenes of the bathroom and I hope they don't.'

He added he had newfound respect for the UAE government after seeing 'the 
seriousness with which they take everything.'

Mr Ryan said: 'I began to realise how personally they took this attack in this 
society and that they were deeply wounded by it, they were shocked and angered 
by it, that this could happen.'

The Government has pledged to pay the school and university costs for the 3 
children from their 17-year marriage.

'We try to remember what is important,' said Mr Ryan. 'She was just a very 
pure-hearted, beautiful person and would never hurt anybody.

'Everybody loved her, enjoyed her vivaciousness, her very positive outlook on 
life, bubbly personality.

'That was certainly what they will always remember and what everyone 
remembers.'

Ms Ryan came from humble beginnings in a small, rural village in Romania. She 
went on to earn her master's degree in special education and eventually sought 
to live a financially independent life in the UAE.

She will be flown back to be buried in her homeland, where her mother and older 
brother still live.

The thousands of dollars raised through a fundraising campaign will be donated 
to her relatives in Romania.

Mr Ryan added: "My focus has been strictly on the kids. The investigation is 
out of my hands.

'Of course I want the perpetrator captured and whatever was behind her to be 
discovered and wrapped up - of course I want that. That's important for a sense 
of closure, but really, that's out of my hands.'

In a reflection of the concern felt at the top of the government over the 
killing, she said: 'Our UAE society is known for tolerance and harmony among 
all nationalities.

'We are a country that respects and encourages all cultures to live in peace 
and security.'

At the same time, Mrs Ryan's other employers, Footprints Recruitment, has 
launched a campaign asking for funds to educate her children and repatriate her 
body.

'We are hoping to raise as much money as possible to help this family torn 
apart and to ensure that the children have access to the education that she had 
dedicated her life to,' the company said on its website.

'The family is in need of financial assistance to establish an educational 
trust for the children and help with other costs incurred.'

Mrs Ryan, who was Hungarian-born, raised in Romania and trained as a teacher in 
the U.S., was left in a pool of blood after what police said was a 'brawl' in 
the toilets of the upmarket Bourik Mall.

As security guards rushed to the scene of the killing, her attacker calmly got 
in an elevator and walked out into the car park. The assailant left behind the 
weapon, a large kitchen knife.

In the newly-released video, the suspect is then seen heading towards the 
doctor's home with a small black suitcase. A security guard said he saw her 
enter and then leave quickly.

The bomb was spotted when the doctor's son was going to mosque in the evening 
to pray and noticed the strange object in front of the house.

Colonel Rashid Bourshid, head of the criminal investigation department, said: 
'The doctor who was targeted with the bomb, 46-year-old MH, informed the 
security guard about the strange package in front of his door.

'The guard in turn informed the police who rushed to the spot and evacuated the 
site.

'They dismantled the bomb and identified its primitive components that included 
small gas cylinders, a lighter, glue, and nails to cause maximum injuries when 
detonated.'

It set off alarm bells as a woman wearing a niqab and gloves had called at the 
house several days earlier to see if the family was home - then fled at top 
speed before the doctor or his wife could identify her.

She was also seen driving a white SUV with a United Arab Emirates Flag across 
its back window and had tried to disguise the vehicle's license plates.

'Your brothers at the Ministry of Interior and security forces have worked all 
night and day to reach this suspect and to identify her, despite all of her 
attempts to disguise herself,' Sheikh Saif said.

He said the woman was identified in less than 24 hours and arrested in less 
than 48 hours. It is unclear how authorities were able to identify the suspect.

Separate CCTV footage released by authorities earlier this week showed that the 
suspect spent at least an hour apparently waiting in the toilets of the mall.

She entered the mall from the car park at 1.12pm and after apparently asking a 
security guard for directions, headed to the restroom. An hour and a half later 
she is seen leaving the toilets.

Witnesses told MailOnline that they overheard a heated row between two women 
and then heard one threaten to kill the other.

Vithi Cuc, a Vietnamese restaurant worker, was in a toilet cubicle when she 
heard banging sounds from the disabled toilet cubicle next door.

She said: 'Then I heard 1 of them threatening the other saying: 'Sit down or 
I'll kill you'.' I heard one of them try to call out for help. By this time 
there were 3 of us outside the toilet and one of us ran to get security.

'When the female guard arrived they told us to leave the bathroom. I was so 
scared and frightened for her.'

Another witness said he saw a woman bleeding on the floor outside the entrance 
to Waitrose, the upscale British supermarket nearest the toilets in the mall.

Bernadette Ruizo, manager of La Brioche restaurant near the scene of the 
murder, said: 'I heard she was stabbed 5 or 6 times.

'None of us knows exactly what happened as it was so busy in the restaurant. 
There was a crowd around the toilet entrance and I only found out afterwards 
what had happened.'

On the CCTV footage, people on the scene can be seen reacting to the killing. 
One mother with a young child can be seen hurrying him away while security 
guards move towards the corridor.

She then calmly goes down to the parking garage and is last seen moving towards 
cars in it.

In new footage released on Thursday, the suspect can be seen walking towards a 
parking lot of vehicles while dragging a small dark suitcase on wheels, 
although it is not clear when this was taken.

She then apparently drives off in a white SUV draped with the flag.

The victim - who is divorced from the father of the twins, 11, and their older 
daughter, 13 - described herself in an online profile as a teacher at a large 
kindergarten called Al Oula in Abu Dhabi, 35 minutes away from the downtown 
area of the emirate.

She had previously lived in Denver, Colorado, where she worked as a special 
educational needs teacher and took a course in teaching English as a foreign 
language.

She has also worked as an executive assistant at a Colorado technology company, 
an event planner at a Hungarian hotel, a substitute teacher at the American 
International School in Vienna, and a part-time events planner in Abu Dhabi.

She wrote: 'I enjoy learning about other cultures, and as a person I enjoy 
being with others and tend to be an organizer of those around me.

'Also I have high interest in other languages; one of my goals while here in 
the UAE is to gain some proficiency in Arabic.

'I live in Abu Dhabi with my 10-year-old twin boys and I teach in a big KG 
school named Al Oula KG School, 35 minutes away from downtown Abu Dhabi.'

The victim's ex-husband, Paul, was said to be overseas but was flying back to 
comfort his sons.

Mrs Ryan lived in a beachside apartment on Reem Island, where the mall where 
she was murdered is situated. Her ex-husband is believed to currently live in 
Europe.

After her murder, America's embassy in Abu Dhabi issued new security advice to 
US citizens.

In a statement, the embassy said: 'On December 1, a U.S. citizen was killed in 
a public restroom at a shopping mall on Reem Island in Abu Dhabi. The U.S. 
Embassy is working with all the appropriate authorities to seek further 
information.'

It listed extra precautions for US citizens, saying they should avoid crowds 
and places they did not know previously, and 'minimize their profile in 
public'.

The embassy did not say it was linked the murder to the jihadi threat, which 
was highlighted to American citizens at the end of October in a statement on 
the embassy website.

It said: 'The Embassy/Consulate wishes to notify the U.S. citizen community of 
a recent anonymous posting on a Jihadist website that encouraged attacks 
against teachers at American and other international schools in the Middle 
East.

'The Mission is unaware of any specific, credible threat against any American 
or other school or individual in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

'Nonetheless, the Mission is working with local schools identified with the 
United States to review their security posture. U.S. citizens residing in or 
visiting the UAE should remain vigilant regarding their personal security and 
be alert to local security developments.'

Reem Island is a residential, commercial and business development connected to 
Abu Dhabi city centre by a bridge. It was built as the city center became 
over-populated.

It is mostly inhabited by expatriates and boasts the upmarket Boutik Mall, 
which opened in 2011 and has 50 shops and restaurants, including the capital 
city's first Waitrose, the upscale British supermarket chain, Leopold's of 
London and La Brioche.

The mall bridges 2 residential buildings, Sun and Sky towers. Its website says 
it 'offers the best of everything that anyone needs to lead a stylish life.

'Serving the vibrant and cosmopolitan community of Shams Abu Dhabi and beyond, 
Boutik is an oasis of independent retailers, brand outlets, comfortable cafes 
and day-to-day services.

'For busy professionals living and working in the adjoining towers and for 
students at the Sorbonne, it is a welcome social centre and cornerstone of the 
community.'

Although Abu Dhabi is not the largest emirate - Dubai has the biggest 
population - it has an estimated 40,000 American expatriates.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: IS ALLY IN TERROR WAR NOW UNSAFE?

Until now, the United Arab Emirates - and particularly its capital Abu Dhabi, 
and economic powerhouse Dubai - have been regarded as the safest part of the 
Middle East for Westerners.

If Mrs Ryan is a victim of jihadis, she is the 1st American to die as a result 
of Islamic terrorism in the Emirates.

Unlike their larger neighbour, Saudi Arabia, the Emirates have so far managed 
to keep al Qaeda and other Islamic terror groups at bay and maintain close 
alliances with the West.

The UAE is currently home to 1 significant American military unit - the 380th 
Air Expeditionary Wing - and Dubai is used as a transfer point to Afghanistan 
by military personnel.

The Emirates are close allies of the US and its airforce's F-16s were among the 
1st to join the international effort to blast ISIS.

Military authorities proudly published pictures of the country's 1st female 
pilot preparing her aircraft.

But there was a backlash which may be an ominous sign of the tensions inside 
the UAE - which have no functioning democracy and where rapid economic 
expansion has gone hand-in-hand with a conservative legal and social system - 
as the female pilot was threatened on social media.

In fact there have been growing signs in recent months of those tensions. In 
June 7 men were jailed after being arrested the previous year over an alleged 
plot to attack targets in the Emirates.

Since then, embassies have consistently issued security warnings to Westerners 
with the latest today in the wake of Mrs Ryan's murder.

The most specific of all the warnings was that issued in October to teachers by 
the American embassy.

But security experts believe that Islamic militants are likely to target Dubai, 
Abu Dhabi and the other 5 Emirates not just because of their alliances and 
actions against ISIS but because of their economic success and their vast 
non-Muslim populations.

There are are 1.4 million Emiratis and largely open borders mean there are 7.8 
million expatriates.

Among those are an estimated 40,000 Americans, mostly in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, 
and now clearly seen as potential targets by their own embassy.

(source: Daily Mail)






FIJI:

Death penalty to go


Fiji has taken an undertaking during the recent Human Rights Convention in 
Geneva, Switzerland, to remove the death penalty from the Republic of Fiji 
Military Forces (RFMF) Act, says Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.

He made the announcement during the end of the 16th Attorney-General's 
Conference at InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort and Spa yesterday.

"We have given an undertaking that will remove the reference (with the British 
Army Act) and categorically the death penalty won't happen under the military 
law," he said.

"We have also given an undertaking to ratify the Convention against Torture. 
Similarly, we have also recognised that many of the provisions in our 
Constitution go beyond the provisions that exist in some international 
conventions.

"We are very much in sync and perhaps ahead in some of the areas."

Meanwhile, Mr Sayed-Khaiyum also commended the participants of the conference 
on a successful 2-day meet.

"This has been the largest conference with 425 registered participants. Perhaps 
this is a sign of the interesting topics that we had."

He said they had wanted the conference to focus on cutting edge areas of the 
law.

(source: The Fiji Times)