[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Dec. 10


CHINA:

Student claims he poisoned roommate as April Fool's joke


A Chinese medical student has told an appeals court his poisoning of a roommate 
last year was intended as an April Fool's joke rather than murder.

Lin Senhao, a former medical student at Shanghai's Fudan University, appealed 
on Monday against the intentional homicide charge and death penalty handed down 
at a local court in February.

He was convicted of using N-Nitrosodimethylamine, a deadly chemical compound 
from the university's lab, to contaminate a water dispenser in the dorm he 
shared with Huang Yang.

Huang drank from the dispenser on April 1 last year and died of organ failure 2 
weeks later.

Monday's debate, which lasted more than 13 hours at Shanghai High People's 
Court, centered on the immediate cause of the victim's death, as noted coroner 
Hu Zhiqiang suggested Huang had died of Hepatitis B and subsequent organ 
failure.

Hu, who was present at the appeals court at the request of Lin's defense 
attorney, cited clinical records indicating Huang had tested positive for the 
Hepatitis B antibody, which "could not have been directly related to 
poisoning," he argued.

The prosecutor, however, disputed Hu, whose assertions were derived from past 
literature and clinical records, not autopsy findings.

At the appeals court, the previously taciturn Lin spoke out. He insisted he had 
not intended to kill Huang. "It was just a prank for April Fool's Day, and I 
watered down the chemical," he told the Shanghai Higher People's Court.

The court had evidence that Lin searched for information online about the 
chemical several times before adding it to the water dispenser on March 31, 
2013, including information about its smell and taste, as well as symptoms and 
poisoning diagnosis.

Lin did not confess to contaminating the water dispenser until he was 
interrogated by police on April 12.

The poisoning was motivated by Lin's growing discontent with Huang over trivial 
matters after Huang moved into the same dorm in August 2011, according to the 
court verdict handed down in February.

"I am rather hollow, with no ethics or value," said the 28-year-old Lin when he 
was asked to say something to Huang's parents. "If I'm lucky enough to survive 
(the death penalty), I will do everything I can to compensate you. If not, I 
hope you will shake off the shadow and carry on."

Huang's father, Huang Guoqiang, from Sichuan province, insisted Lin deserved 
the death penalty. But Lin's father, Lin Zunyao from Guangdong province, feared 
his son might have been wronged. "I know him well. He's such a good boy. He 
couldn't have meant to kill."

The court said it will announce the verdict soon.

The public was also divided over whether Lin deserves death. While many 
demanded "a life for a life," some also said Chinese courts should use the 
death penalty more sparingly and cautiously.

The poisoning made headlines, prompting national outcry and soul-searching on 
the moral education of Chinese youth. It also brought to the spotlight again 
the case of Zhu Ling, a chemical major at Beijing's Tsinghua University who 
suffered severe brain damage after being poisoned with thallium in 1994.

Zhu's roommate was suspected to be responsible, but charges were never pressed 
and the case remains unsolved.

Huang's case led to discussions surrounding the tragedy of Zhu, forcing Beijing 
police to deny widespread speculation that her roommate's family used their 
influence to hinder the investigation.

(source: Want China Times)

*******************


The Communist Party's top mouthpiece has likened disgraced security tsar Zhou 
Yongkang to past party "traitors", all of whom were executed.

An article released through People's Daily's WeChat account on Wednesday night 
said Zhou's deeds made him "no different from a 'traitor'", a reference that 
prompted speculation that the former member of the innermost Politburo Standing 
Committee could face the death penalty.

The party announced on the weekend that a graft probe had uncovered evidence 
that Zhou had violated political, organisational and confidentiality rules, and 
was involved in corruption.

But many observers were also surprised to see Zhou accused of leaking party and 
state secrets.

The top penalty for leaking state secrets is 7 years but a corruption 
conviction can bring a death sentence.

The People's Daily article cited the examples of Gu Shunzhang, the head of the 
party's intelligence services in the 1920s who defected to then ruling 
Kuomintang in the 1930s.

He was later executed on the orders of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek for 
secretly setting up a new party.

The article also referred to more recent "traitors", citing 3 senior People's 
Liberation Army personnel who sold military intelligence to Taiwan. All 3 were 
executed.

"The word 'traitor' is rarely used in peacetime, but ... corrupt elements who 
betray the party's purpose, violate discipline and tarnish the party's image 
... are no different from 'traitors'," the article read.

Political commentator Johnny Lau Yui-siu said the article might underscore the 
extent of the damage Zhou had done to the party.

"In deciding whether Zhou will get a death sentence, the party needs to assess 
the possible impact on other retired party leaders ... which may affect 
political stability," Lau said.

But Renmin University political scientist Zhang Ming said the term "traitor" 
was supposed to be for defectors, and the article's rhetoric could be a bit 
exaggerated.

"The PLA Daily described [disgraced top general] Xu Caihou as the 'nation's 
evil'. Zhou may not receive a death sentence," Zhang said.

(source: South China Morning Post)






INDIA:

Supreme Court stays Yakub Memon's execution, yet again


The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed the execution of Yakub Abdul Razak Memon, 
the only death row convict in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.

The apex court, while staying the execution, issued notices to STF Maharashtra 
and the CBI on Memon's plea seeking a review of the death verdict. The court 
had stayed the man's execution twice earlier this year, in September and June.

In November, Supreme Court judge Justice UU Lalit recused himself from hearing 
the plea seeking the apex court's order upholding Memon's conviction. The SC 
upheld Memon's death sentence on March 21, 2013. This is the 3rd time in the 
year that Yakub Memon's execution has been stayedThe apex court commuted the 
death penalty granted to 10 others by a special TADA court to life term. About 
Memon, the cpurt said he was the mastermind behind the blasts that killed 257 
dead and left over 700 injured in March 1993.Yakub Memon is the brother of 
Tiger Memon, a proclaimed offender, and a chartered accountant by profession.

(source: oneindia.com)






MADAGASCAR:

Madagascar Abolishes the Death Penalty


Today, on the occasion of the World Human Rights Day, the National Assembly of 
Madagascar adopted a bill that abolishes the death penalty in Madagascar.

In Antananarivo on the 10th of October, the World Day against the Death 
Penalty, during a workshop aimed at spreading awareness about the death penalty 
the President of the National Assembly, via his personal representative, 
expressed his optimism by saying that a bill to abolish the death penalty was 
to be adopted during the current parliamentary session.

This workshop, organized by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human 
Rights and the Ministry of Justice with the support of ACAT Madagascar, FIACAT 
and the World Coalition against the Death Penalty, brought together a wide 
array of activists to discuss the death penalty in Madagascar. Its audience 
included the Representative of the President of the National Assembly, 8 MPs, 
numerous leaders and members of civil society, representatives of UN agencies 
and several representatives of European embassies. In the final statement, 
participants at the workshop welcomed "the steps taken by the National Assembly 
for the development of a bill to abolish the death penalty" and encouraged the 
President of the Assembly "to include it in the agenda of the October 2014 
session".

In light of Madagascar's Universal Periodic Review (UPR), which took place in 
Geneva on the 3rd of November 2014, FIACAT and ACAT Madagascar recommended in 
an alternative report to the United Nations Human Rights Council that the 
Madagascan authorities abolish the death penalty and ratify the Second Optional 
Protocol to the ICCPR.

Therefore, the World Day workshop's final results and the UPR's recommendations 
were followed-up by the members of the National Assembly who adopted the bill 
as early as 10 December 2014.

Madagascar has become the 18th member state of the African Union to have 
abolished the death penalty for all crimes.

(source: Fiacat.org)



KENYA:

'Stripping' matatu crew face death penalty


The matatu driver and tout accused of taking part in the sexual assault of a 
woman in a matatu in Githurai in September have finally been charged and taken 
their pleas.

Nicholas Chege and Meshack Mburu pleaded not guilty to two counts of robbery 
with violence and sexual assault. The robbery charge carries a maximum death 
penalty.

"On the night of September 19 and 20 at Millenium Petrol Station within 
Githurai 44 of Kasarani sub-county in Nairobi county, jointly with others not 
before court unlawfully manipulated your fingers into the genital organs of 
H.E.W (the victim)."

Chege and Mburu took their pleas after Senior Principal Magistrate Lucy Mbugua 
granted a prosecution application to have the complainant identified simply by 
her initials on the charge sheet in order to preserve her dignity.

"But this is not a blanket order," she cautioned. "The trial court will decide 
for itself how it will proceed."

Defence counsel Harrison Kinyanjui objected to the use of the complainant's 
initials saying his client had the right to face their accuser.

"My clients' faces have been plastered all over the media and yet remain 
innocent until proved guilty," he submitted.

Kinyanjui also sought to have the matatu in which the alleged sexual assault 
took place, released to its owner David Irungu. An application that was denied 
by the magistrate after Senior Prosecuting Counsel Duncan Ondimu informed the 
court that the matatu remains a crime scene.

Mbugua is to rule on Thursday morning if Chege and Mburu will be released on 
bail.

Ondimu opposed their release on the grounds that they face the death penalty 
for their crimes. "We intend to seek the maximum penalty."

He also told the court that Mburu had already confessed to the court that his 
phone was used to shoot a video of the sexual assault and that one of the 
accused had been identified in a parade.

In turn, Kinyanjui challenged the reliability of what the complainant told the 
police happened to her on the night of September 19 and 20. "The complainant's 
character is to be impugned," he said.

Under the robbery with violence charge, Chege and Mburu are accused of stealing 
the complainants Samsung Galaxy Grand valued at Sh27,000, 1 bottle of perfume 
valued at Sh1,500, a clutch purse valued at Sh1,000, a make-up kit valued at 
Sh2,000 and Sh10,200 in cash.

(source: Associated Press)






IRAN:

Prisoners hunger strike to demand end to death penalty in Iran


Hundreds of prisoners have been on hunger strike in Iran since December 2 in 
protest at the execution of 11 inmates.

The 538 prisoners are also demanding a halt to group executions and the 
unconditional abolition of capital punishment.

Javad Larijani, the regime's notorious advocate of torture and execution, 
hinted in a December 4 interview with France 24 that some changes may be made 
to capital punishment legislation, although days later regime judiciary 
officials denied any changes would be made and insisted the barbaric and 
medieval sentences would remain in law.

The deputy of the regime's judiciary system said: "The penal code does not 
change. There may be some changes to criminal procedure reforms. But the latter 
part of the law, capital punishment, will not change."

The National Council of Resistance of Iran called on Tuesday 9th of December to 
save the lives of the 31 prisoners on verge of executions in Ghezel Hesar 
Prison.

The increase in the wave of executions in various prisons and cities of the 
country, including the hanging of at least 51 prisoners just in the time span 
of November 24 to December 3 demonstrates the fear of the religious fascism 
from the spread of protests by the Iranian people who are under great pressure 
and is aimed at heightening the atmosphere of terror in the society. Regime's 
officials admit that "security... is the foremost worry for the judicial, 
security and law enforcement systems and they have implemented and shall 
continue to live up to this responsibility."

International community's turning of a blind eye to the tragic situation of 
human rights in Iran has given a free hand to the leaders of the Velayat-e 
faqih regime, famous among the people as the "Godfather of ISIS", to resort to 
any kind of barbarism, including the splashing of acid and knife attacks 
against the innocent women and the wave of group hangings in prisons and 
various cities throughout the country.

Any rapprochement with this anti-human regime should be contingent on the 
respect for human rights, including the suspension of the anti-human punishment 
of hanging.

(source: NCR-Iran)






AUSTRALIA/INDONESIA:

Australian Bali 9 convicts to face firing squad after Indonesian President 
rules out pardoning any drug convicts on death row; Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew 
Chan, from Sydney, are on death row----They have lost all appeals against their 
death sentences in Bali


Bali Nine inmates Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan will be killed by firing 
squad after Indonesia's new president Joko Widodo ruled out issuing pardons for 
any drug convicts on death row.

The 2 Australians, jailed in Kerobokan Prison, applied for clemency from the 
country's former president 2 years ago but it was ignored.

'I will reject clemency request submitted by 64 death convicted of drugs 
cases,' Mr Joko said during a lecture at Gadjah Mada University on Tuesday.

If Mr Joko's comments are taken at face value it means Chan and Sukumaran now 
have no hope for avoiding the death penalty.

According to Indonesian news website Kompas.com, Mr Joko said most of the 
prisoners had 'destroyed the future of the nation'.

He said the rejection of clemency served as 'important shock therapy' for drug 
dealers, traffickers and users.

Mr Joko also revealed during an appearance at a Yogyakarta State University for 
Human Rights Day that the requests for clemency had remain untouched for years 
under his predecessor Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

'I'm asking now, what should I do? For years no decisions have been taken. I 
say now I will issue no pardon for drugs [criminals],' he clarified.

Mr Joko's new policy will condemn Chan, Sukumaran and more than 60 other drug 
prisoners to the firing squad.

The comments come just a week after the president's office announced that five 
convicts would be executed by the end of the month.

Chan and Sukumaran, from Sydney, were arrested in 2005.

Chan was stopped at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali's capital Denpasar 
and Sukumaran was arrested in a room at the Melasti Hotel in Kuta with 3 
others.

According to court testimonies of convicted drug mules, Chan and Sukumaran were 
the co-ringleaders of a heroin smuggling operation from Indonesia to Australia.

Police found 334 g (11.8 oz) of heroin in a suitcase in the room with Sukumaran 
which was allegedly going to be smuggled.

After a criminal trial, on 14 February 2006 Chan and Sukumaran were sentenced 
to execution by firing squad by the Denpasar District Court.

They both pleaded for clemency from former Indonesian President Susilo Bambang 
Yudhoyono before he left office.

In June, Daily Mail Australia reported how Sukumaran had entered a 
self-portrait for consideration for the Archibald Prize from his jail cell in 
Bali - but his painting wasn't considered because he was locked up abroad.

He had hoped to compete for the prestigious art prize that includes $75,000 in 
cash.

Sukumaran turned to art while serving his death row sentence in Bali, while 
Chan has turned to Christianity and hopes to become a pastor if he is released.

The men's friends and family have been running an appeal, pleading for mercy, 
for years.

Brigid Delaney co-founder of the Mercy Campaign, an online petition collecting 
signatures of people appealing for clemency for the men, said that the campaign 
would continue.

'Please visit the Mercy Campaign website and sign our petition if you believe 
that the lives of Myuran and Andrew should be spared.'

Article 14 of the Indonesian Constitution gives the President a broad power to 
grant clemency. It doesn't mean the prisoner walks free from jail; in a death 
penalty case it means the prisoner stays in jail but does not face execution.

The Mercy appeal says: 'Andrew and Myuran have now admitted and apologised for 
their crimes. They are doing their best to better themselves and help those 
around them.

'Andrew and Myuran were convicted of trafficking drugs from Indonesia to 
Australia. They admit they committed that crime. They admit that they were 
selfish and greedy and they have now completely reformed. Their crime was not a 
violent one.

'Andrew and Myuran agree that they deserve punishment. They do not deserve to 
be executed by firing squad.'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Sukumaran's lawyer for comment.

(source: Daily Mail)






CANADA:

There's no justification for the death penalty


Re: Why do Canadians support death penalty? - Dec. 6

I agree completely with the writer who is anti-death penalty.

The death penalty must remain abolished in Canada for two valid reasons: it is 
cruel and unusual punishment, and is sometimes practised against innocent 
people.

The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, Article 3, says everyone has 
the right to life, liberty and security of person. Fortunately for Canadians 
the death penalty was abolished in 1976. In the 1980s, the Liberals declared 
that the government should stand consistently against the death penalty.

About 40 countries of the world practice capital punishment, including the 
Bahamas, China, Indonesia, Tonga, and the United Arab Emirates. In 2013, public 
executions were committed in Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Somalia.

Helen Hansen

Guelph

(source: Letter to the Editor, Guelph Mercury)