[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[jtan]

Happy holidays!

On Thu, Dec 18, 2014 at 3:47 AM, Rick Halperin <rhalperi at smu.edu> wrote:

>
> my postings to this list will resume on Dec. 31
>
>
> Happy Holidays!!
>
> **********
>
>
>
>
> Dec. 17
>
>
>
> PAKISTAN:
>
> Pakistan Reinstates Death Penalty After Attack ---- The PM describes the
> school massacre as a "national tragedy unleashed by savages", as he lifts
> the ban on the death penalty.
>
> Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has reinstated the death penalty in
> terrorism cases after Taliban gunmen killed 132 children and 9 teachers at
> a school in Peshawar.
>
> 3 days of mourning have begun after the country's deadliest terror attack
> which saw 7 gunmen storm the army-run school on Tuesday.
>
> Government spokesman Mohiuddin Wan said Mr Sharif had approved the lifting
> of the ban on death penalties.
>
> He said: "It was decided that this moratorium should be lifted. The prime
> minister approved. Black warrants [execution orders] will be issued within
> a day or 2."
>
> The moratorium on civilian executions had been in place since 2008. 1
> execution has taken place since then.
>
> Despite the ban, hanging has remained a possible sentence in Pakistan and
> judges continued to pass death sentences.
>
> Pakistan has more than 8,000 prisoners on death row, around 10% of whom
> have been convicted of offences labelled "terrorism", according to legal
> aid group Justice Project Pakistan.
>
> Meanwhile, funerals for many of the victims of the massacre have been
> taking place.
>
> Mr Sharif described the attack as a "national tragedy unleashed by
> savages".
>
> "These were my children. This is my loss. This is the nation's loss," he
> said.
>
> Tehreek-e-Taliban insurgents moved from room to room during the 8-hour
> attack.
>
> Pupils were gunned down and some of the female teachers were reportedly
> burned alive.
>
> Teenage survivor Shahrukh Khan, who ducked below his desk with classmates
> when 4 gunmen burst into the room, described how he played dead after being
> shot in both legs.
>
> He said he stuffed his tie into his mouth to stifle his screams.
>
> "I saw a pair of big black boots coming towards me, this guy was probably
> hunting for students hiding beneath the benches," the 15-year-old said.
>
> "The man with big boots kept on looking for students and pumping bullets
> into their bodies. I lay as still as I could and closed my eyes, waiting to
> get shot again.
>
> "My body was shivering. I saw death so close and I will never forget the
> black boots approaching me - I felt as though it was death that was
> approaching me."
>
> People in Peshawar have been posting memorials to friends and loved ones
> killed in the attack.
>
> One written to Mubeen Shah on Facebook reads: "I don't know how to sleep
> today, I don't even know how to stop my tears."
>
> Chief military spokesman General Asim Bajwa that 125 people had been
> wounded in the assault.
>
> The militants said the attack was revenge for a major military offensive
> in the northwest, along the border with Afghanistan.
>
> But even the Taliban militants in Afghanistan condemned the attack as
> "un-Islamic".
>
> Meanwhile, a district government official confirmed a US drone strike in
> eastern Afghanistan killed 11 militants, including four Pakistan Taliban,
> on Tuesday.
>
> (source: Sky News)
>
> ****************************************
>
> Pakistan to end death penalty moratorium in terror cases: PM's office
>
>
>
> Pakistan is to end its moratorium on the death penalty in terror-related
> cases, the prime minister's office announced Dec. 17, a day after Taliban
> militants killed 141 people in an attack on a school.
>
> The assault on the army-run school in the northwestern city of Peshawar,
> the deadliest terror attack in Pakistan's history, has triggered widespread
> revulsion.
>
> Political and military leaders have vowed to wipe out the homegrown
> Islamist insurgency that has killed thousands of ordinary Pakistanis in
> recent years.
>
> "The prime minister has approved abolishment of moratorium on the
> execution of death penalty in terrorism-related cases," an official from
> Sharif's office said.
>
> Hanging remains on the Pakistani statute book and judges continue to pass
> the death sentence, but a de facto moratorium on civilian executions has
> been in place since 2008.
>
> Only 1 person has been executed since then, a soldier convicted by a court
> martial and hanged in November 2012.
>
> Rights campaign group Amnesty International estimates that Pakistan has
> more than 8,000 prisoners on death row, most of whom have exhausted the
> appeals process.
>
> (source: Agence France-Presse)
>
> *************************
>
> JUI-F criticises death penalty moratorium
>
>
>
> JUI-F General Secretary Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidri has said that a
> moratorium on death penalty is encouraging terrorists and has limited
> counter-terrorism actions in the country.
>
> Speaking at a press conference here on Tuesday, Maulana Haidri, who is
> Minister of State for Postal Services, condemned the terrorist attack on a
> school in Peshawar and said the state had no right to suspend the death
> penalty.
>
> "Only a victim's kin has the right to pardon the killer with or without
> taking compensation. This is an Islamic way of justice and being an
> ideological state Pakistan should have Islamic laws," he said.
>
> The JUI-F leader said terrorists did not fear the writ of law only because
> the punishment for heinous crimes like murder and terrorism was practically
> negligible.
>
> "What we need is to hang the culprits involved in terrorist activities,"
> he said, adding: "What is the duty of security and intelligence agencies?
> Reaction to the Zarb-i-Azb military operation was expected. We are in a
> state of war and the preparation should also be up to that level."
>
> He also lashed out at the PTI-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and said:
> "What else can we expect from (Chief Minister) Pervez Khattak and his
> cabinet members who are always found in Islamabad. The KP government is
> busy in sit-ins."
>
> (source: Dawn)
>
> *********************
>
> Black warrants of convicted terrorists to be issued within 48 hours
>
>
>
> Black warrants for terrorists awaiting implementation to their death
> sentence are expected to be issued within the next 48 hours.
>
> The prime minister has approved abolishment of moratorium on the execution
> of death penalty in terrorism-related cases.
>
> Thousands of terrorists have been detained at various jails across
> country. Death penalty would be executed after the black warrants would be
> issued.
>
> It has been years since capital punishment was implemented in Pakistan.
>
> As many as 141 people including 132 school children and 9 staff-members of
> the school were martyred in a terrorist attack on an army-run school in
> Peshawar on Tuesday.
>
> The nation will observe 3-day mourning and Pakistani flag on all official
> buildings will be lowered.
>
> *******************
>
> Death penalty issued to 458 prisoners in Sindh jails
>
>
>
> Supreme Court of Pakistan, Sindh High Court and President Mamnoon Hussain
> have the appeals for death penalty of more than 458 prisoners currently
> housed in the jails of Sindh.
>
> 458 prisoners have been issued death sentence. 378 appeals are filed in
> the Supreme Court. 26 appeals are still pending with President Mamnoon
> Hussain. 47 appeals filed in the Supreme Court of Pakistan are unsettled
> whereas 6 prisoners have been issued black warrants.
>
> However, the criminal proceedings couldn't take place for last several
> years because of the ban on sentence to death.
>
> Following the orders of PM to lift temporary ban on death penalties action
> would be taken against convicted terrorists.
>
> (source for both: Dunya News)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> IRAQ:
>
> 150 women executed after refusing to marry ISIL militants
>
>
>
> At least 150 women who refused to marry militants of the Islamic State of
> Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, were executed in the western Iraqi province
> of Al-Anbar, Iraq's Ministry of Human Rights said.
>
> According to a ministry statement released Tuesday, ISIL militants carried
> out a number of attacks in Fallujah and buried the victims in mass graves
> in one of the city's neighborhoods.
>
> "At least 150 females, including pregnant women, were executed in Fallujah
> by a militant named Abu Anas Al-Libi after they refused to accept jihad
> marriage," the statement said. "Many families were also forced to migrate
> from the province's northern town of Al-Wafa after hundreds of residents
> received death threats."
>
> The ministry said many children died when their families were stranded in
> the desert after leaving their homes.
>
> ISIL controls many areas in Al-Anbar and is attempting to take over
> Ramadi, the province's capital city.
>
> The U.S. is leading an international coalition that has carried out a
> number of airstrikes against ISIL in Iraq and Syria since the militant
> group captured the northern province of Mosul back in June.
>
> (source: Anadolu News Agency)
>
>
>
> ITALY:
>
> Nobel Peace Laureates stand for the UN Moratorium
>
>
>
> On December 14 it was held in Rome a meeting with Nobel Peace Laureates,
> promoted by Hands Off Cain and the Radical Party, in support of the 5th UN
> Resolution for the universal moratorium on executions, on which the General
> Assembly is called to vote on the 18th of December.
>
> The event, sponsored by the Permanent Secretariat of the World Summit of
> Nobel Peace Laureates, was attended by Emma Bonino, Marco Pannella and
> Nobel Peace Laureates Shirin Ebadi and Mairead Corrigan Maguire.
>
> Iranian Shirin Ebadi offered a merciless description of the Mullah regime:
> "It is impossible to reconcile with such regime, until remains the absolute
> power of the Supreme Leader, who lays down the law on political,
> institutional and social matters [...] his power is beyond the President in
> turn, whether him a reformer or a conservative."
>
> "Under the presidency of the 'moderate' Hassan Rohani, executions have
> soared and have been at least 870 this year" Ebadi said, who has denounced
> that "among those executed are also women, children under 18 years, and
> political opponents." "Justice cannot degrade justice in revenge" Mairead
> Corrigan Maguire said, who added that "compassion and tolerance should be
> translated into political action and legal norms [...] The death penalty is
> not only in Iran, it is also in the United States, where they practice it
> not only in the 'legal' form, but also with other lethal means, such as
> drones."
>
> In conclusion, the Northern Irish Nobel appealed to "non-violence as a
> form of struggle for radical changes. We must not be afraid or suffer those
> regimes that deny our values: respect for life and human dignity, the right
> to truth and knowledge."
>
> (source: radicalparty.org)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> PHILIPPINES:
>
> Pope Francis visit makes revival of death penalty unlikely - Santiago
>
>
>
> With the imminent visit of Pope Francis to the Philippines, the proposal
> to revive the death penalty, at least for big-time drug traffickers, is
> unlikely to get off the ground, according to Senator Miriam
> Defensor-Santiago.
>
> Santiago said European countries are expected to also oppose the move.
>
> The proposal for the return of capital punishment came from Sen. Vicente
> Sotto III, who said the longest jail sentence under the country's laws do
> not serve as a deterrent to most criminals, and this was underscored by the
> recent discovery of the luxurious lifestyles of moneyed convicts behind
> bars.
>
> But Santiago said this proposal was sure to meet with resistance,
> especially since the head of the Catholic Church is coming to visit next
> month.
>
> "It will not sit well with the coming visit of the Pope of the Catholic
> Church, which has always been anti-capital punishment," she told reporters.
>
> The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, along with human
> rights groups, had opposed Sotto's proposal to revive the death penalty,
> even if it would be limited to high-level drug traffickers.
>
> "The CBCP and the church for that matter is very consistent that we're not
> going to choose the kind of people we're going to kill," Fr. Jerome
> Secillano, executive secretary of the CBCP's permanent committee on public
> affairs, said in a Senate hearing the other day.
>
> Santiago said European countries have been against the death penalty, and
> had strongly supported earlier moves to repeal the law.
>
> "They tried to persuade us as much as they could," she said.
>
> (source: Philippine Inquirer)
>
> **************
>
> Church opposes proposal to impose death penalty on drug lords
>
>
>
> The Church won't budge.
>
> "Amid mounting calls to reimpose the death penalty against drug lords, the
> Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is standing firm on
> its position to uphold the sanctity of life," reports ANC.
>
> Fr. Francis Lucas, executive director of the CBCP Catholic Media Network,
> summed up the Church's stance on the matter. He said in Filipino, "Life is
> just borrowed. Nobody has the right to take it away, not even the State."
>
> The CBCP doesn't believe that the death penalty deters people from
> committing crimes.
>
> Lucas added, "There must be the hope of returning to the fold. If a person
> is killed, there is no chance for reform. It's the wrong solution to the
> wrong problem. When you sin, there is a social impact. If you kill someone,
> you cannot say that you only affect yourself. You also affect those around
> you, those who love you."
>
> Meanwhile, the report noted that "Senator Vicente Sotto on Tuesday,
> December 16, revived his calls for the reimposition of the death penalty
> after seeing the luxurious lifestyle of drug lords jailed at the national
> penitentiary."
>
> Sotto said in Filipino: "How can you rehabilitate them? They're already in
> prison and yet they continue to operate."
>
> (source: Coconuts Manila)
>
> ****************
>
> Bacolod celebrates Cities for Life
>
>
>
> Bacolod City, being included as one of the Cities for Life all over the
> world, celebrated the 13th International Day of Cities.
>
> Cities for Life is a worldwide coalition of cities against death penalty,
> which to date, already have 1,850 cities listed since it started in 2002
> with 80 city-participants.
>
> Bacolod City Mayor Monico Puentevella with other city officials led the
> unveiling of the marker and candle lighting ceremony December 16 at the
> Bacolod People's House lobby to mark the 2nd year inclusion of Bacolod in
> the Cities for Life - Cities Against Death Penalty, a release from the City
> Information Office said.
>
> Different government agencies, civic organizations, life advocates,
> religious sectors and students from private and public schools in the city
> attended the celebration.
>
> Parole and Probation Administration Regional Director Charito Zamora read
> the short background of Cities for Life while Councilor El Cid Familiaran
> read the resolution authored by Councilor Sonya Verdeflor.
>
> Puentevella and other city officials with civic group leaders signed a
> pledge of commitment against the imposition of death penalty.
>
> Cities for Life are group of cities and municipalities in the country who
> have signified against the imposition of death penalty led by Community of
> Sant' Egidio, an international organization based in Rome, Italy.
>
> (source: news.pia.gov.ph)
>
>
>
>
> IRAN:
>
> UN: Freeze Funding of Iran Counter-Narcotics Efforts ---- Surge in
> Executions for Drug Trafficking
>
>
>
> The United Nations agency charged with combating illicit drug trafficking
> should withdraw its support for counter-narcotics police operations in Iran
> until the death penalty for drug offenses is abolished, 6 rights groups
> said in a letter published today. The groups made the plea after Iran's
> judiciary hanged 18 alleged drug traffickers within 24 hours on December 3,
> 2014, bringing the number of drug offenders executed in the country during
> 2014 to at least 318.
>
> Reprieve, Human Rights Watch, Iran Human Rights, the World Coalition
> Against the Death Penalty, Harm Reduction International and the Abdorrahman
> Boroumand Foundation said the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
> (UNODC) should follow its own human rights guidance and impose "a temporary
> freeze or withdrawal of support" if "following requests for guarantees and
> high-level political intervention, executions for drug related offenses
> continue." The 6 organizations warned the UNODC of "the widening gulf
> between Iran's rhetoric and the realities of its justice system," and
> described the agency's decision to continue funding supply-side
> counter-narcotics efforts in the country as "ineffective if not
> counterproductive."
>
> "As Iran executes alleged drug offenders in ever-greater numbers, it
> beggars belief that the UN sees fit to continue funding Iranian anti-drug
> operations," said Reprieve director Maya Foa. "How many more hangings will
> it take for the UN to open its eyes to the lethal consequences of its
> current approach, and make its counter-narcotics support conditional on an
> end to the death penalty for drug offenses?"
>
> The UN agency's records show it has given more than $15 million to "supply
> control" operations by Iran's Anti-Narcotics Police, funding specialist
> training, intelligence, trucks, body scanners, night vision goggles, drug
> detection dogs, bases, and border patrol offices, the groups said. UNODC
> projects in Iran have come with performance indicators including "an
> increase in drug seizures and an improved capability of intercepting
> smugglers," and an "increase of drug-related sentences."
>
> The United Kingdom, Ireland, and Denmark have all chosen to withdraw their
> support from Iranian counter-narcotics operations administered by the UNODC
> because of concerns that this funding was enabling the execution of alleged
> drug traffickers. When announcing its decision to do so, Denmark publically
> acknowledged that the donations are leading to executions.
>
> The groups had previously written a letter to UN Secretary General Ban
> Ki-Moon in May 2014 on the issue of UNODC counter-narcotics funding in Iran
> and Vietnam. In their letter, the groups expressed concern that UNODC
> continuing support of Iran's counter-narcotics operations was "lending
> legitimacy" to executions of drug offenders. In an August 2014 response,
> UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov responded that his agency sought
> progress through "engagement and dialogue," and that he was "gratified" by
> "potentially favourable developments regarding the application of the death
> penalty in relation to drug offenders in Iran."
>
> Iran's anti-narcotics law imposes a mandatory death sentence for
> manufacturing, trafficking, possession, or trade of five or more kilograms
> of opium and other specified drugs, and 30 or more grams of heroin,
> morphine, or specified synthetic and non-medical psychotropic drugs, such
> as methamphetamines. International law requires countries like Iran that
> retain the death penalty to impose it for only the "most serious crimes,"
> which does not include drug crimes.
>
> Although international law says that all death sentences should be subject
> to appeal, Iran has apparently limited appeals in drug-related cases.
> Figures suggest Iran is executing those charged with drug offenses in
> increasing numbers, despite recent calls for reform by the chair of the
> country's Human Rights Council, Mohammad Javad Larijani, who said there
> were legislative efforts under way to end the death penalty for
> drug-related offenses.
>
> The rights groups are not aware of any pending legislation in parliament
> that would end, or even reduce, the number of executions related to drug
> offenses. On December 16, the Iranian Students' News Agency reported that a
> high ranking official with the country's counter-narcotics agency opposed
> the elimination of the death penalty for drug traffickers, noting that any
> changes in the law would have to be made by the Expediency Council, an
> advisory body to the supreme leader, and not Iran's parliament.
>
> Harm Reduction International and Human Rights Watch previously urged UNODC
> to freeze funding of drug enforcement programs to Iran, and said Iranian
> authorities should move quickly to end the death penalty for drug-related
> offenses. The 2 groups first met UNODC officials in Vienna in 2007 to
> discuss concerns regarding the execution of drug offenders in Iran.
>
> (source: Human Rights Watch)
>
> ********************
>
> Iran's Execution Surge; silence should not be an option
>
> Note: This column is an English translation of an article published in Le
> Temps on December 16, 2014.
>
>
>
> On 18 November, the United Nations General Assembly passed its annual
> resolution raising concern for human rights in the Islamic Republic of
> Iran, including the country's surge in executions. Today Iran is the
> world's leading executioner per capita. Its death penalty practice
> particularly callous and lawless often marked by execution of juvenile
> offenders, public hangings, and gross due process violations.
>
> Not surprisingly, the UN resolution received strong support in amongst
> Francophone nations, where 62 about of 77 states have abolished the death
> penalty by law or in practice. The Central African Republic, Haiti,
> Cameroon, France and others voted in favor the resolution.
>
> Yet, several countries failed to join the international consensus,
> including the Senegal, Rawanda, Lao, Tunisia and Gabon, who actually
> abstained from voting. This silence is disappointing. And, sadly, Comoros
> voted against the resolution despite voting for it last year.
>
> Behind closed doors some diplomats explain that the election of Hassan
> Rouhani to President of the Islamic Republic and improved political
> relations with Iran makes them less inclined to vote on such resolutions.
> Yet all reports indicate that the human rights situation, especially with
> regards to the use of the death penalty, has deteriorated.
>
> Last month's execution of Reyhaneh Jabbari should have alerted everyone to
> this deterioration. Despite repeated and clear international calls for a
> stay of execution, authorities executed Jabbari, a young woman who was
> convicted of murdering a man attempting to sexually assault her. The UN
> Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights quickly condemned this
> execution, raising due process deficiencies. Her conviction was allegedly
> based on confessions made under duress. The court also apparently failed to
> consider any evidence of the attempted sexual assault.
>
> Unfortunately, Jabbari's case is not unique. Since June 2013, when Mr.
> Rouhani assumed office, on average 2 people have been executed every day in
> Iran. That is more than 870 executions in Mr. Rouhani's 1st year in office,
> the highest annual figure in 20 years in Iran. Moreover, these death
> sentences commonly steam from on tortured confessions and trials conducted
> without the presences of a lawyer for the accused.
>
> Though Iran has pledged to respect at least the minimum standards
> regarding the death penalty, the majority of executions are for offenses
> that fall outside the category of "most serious" crimes, needed to justify
> the sentence. According to the UN about 63% of the executions in Iran
> documented since 2011, were for drug-related crimes, which do not meet this
> international criterion. Over the last year, in a few cases it even appears
> individuals have even been executed for peaceful political activism.
>
> Iran has also not yet eliminated the death penalty for juvenile offenders,
> and has so far executed at least 13 juveniles in 2014. In April, Iran
> executed 4 juvenile offenders in four days, one of which was Ebrahim
> Hajati, hanged for a murder he committed when he was 16 years old.
>
> It is a paradox that relations between Iran and the international
> community are improving while the rate of executions in Iran is spiraling
> out of control. If this is the case, should Iranian authorities not be
> expected to be more accountable towards international concerns, not less?
> Instead, when the UN Secretary-General recently expressed dismay at the
> country's execution policies the head of Iran's Judiciary Sadegh Larijani,
> responded, "Who is Mr. Secretary-General to tell us we should stop
> executions?"
>
> Today, it is more important than ever to focus on human rights and put the
> death penalty at top of the agenda in any dialogue with Iran. The UN must
> be the driving voice for reforms that lead to a decrease and finally an
> abolition of the death penalty.
>
> International human rights demands enjoy strong support among the Iranian
> people. Mr. Rouhani was elected on a platform of human rights pledges.
> Public sentiment in Iran is increasingly turning against the use of the
> death penalty, especially executions in public, drug-related sentences, and
> juvenile executions. This shift isn't limited to the human rights defenders
> and the civil society either. Several religious clerics have raised voice
> against certain aspects of the death penalty. It is time, which have ceased
> executing their own citizens should ask, 'do Iranians deserve less rights?'
>
> In late December the UNGA will reconvene for another vote that formally
> adopts the resolution on human rights in Iran. Francophone nations will
> have another chance to remind ordinary Iranians and their government that
> the right to life is an international concern by voting "yes."
>
> (source: Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, Executive Director of Iran Human Right
> (IHR) and member of the Steering Committee of the World Coalition against
> the Death Penalty
>
> Raphael Chenuil-Hazan, Executive Director of Ensemble contre la peine de
> mort (ECPM) and Vice-President of the World Coalition of the Death Penalty
>
> Iran Human Right (IHR) and Ensemble contre la peine de mort (ECPM) are
> members of the international network Impact Iran (impactiran.org)----Iran
> Human Rights)
>
> ***********************
>
> Iran Criticized for Executing Drug Offenders
>
>
>
> 6 international human rights groups have petitioned the United Nations to
> freeze its counternarcotics aid to Iran until that country abolishes the
> death penalty for drug offenses.
>
> In a jointly signed Dec. 12 letter released Wednesday by the groups, they
> argue that the freeze is justified because of "the widening gulf between
> Iran's rhetoric and the realities of the justice system."
>
> Iran executes more prisoners than any other country except China, with 500
> to 625 executed last year, according to United Nations estimates. At least
> 1/2 of the condemned were convicted of drug trafficking.
>
> Yury Fedotov, chief executive of the United Nations Office on Drugs and
> Crime, a Vienna-based agency that has provided millions of dollars to
> Iran's counternarcotics efforts, has been in discussions with Iranian
> officials about the executions, which are at odds with the agency's human
> rights guidelines.
>
> Under international law, Iran and other countries with the death penalty
> are required to impose it only for the "most serious crimes," which do not
> include drug offenses.
>
> Even though some senior Iranian officials have spoken out against capital
> punishment for drug crimes, there have been signs that the pace of
> executions has accelerated this year.
>
> Iran, a conduit for opium trafficking from neighboring Afghanistan, has
> one of the world's harshest drug laws. It imposes mandatory death sentences
> for making, trafficking and possessing specified quantities of opium,
> opiates and other drugs, like methamphetamines.
>
> On Dec. 4, Mohammad Javad Larijani, the secretary of Iran's Human Rights
> Council, said in an interview with the France 24 news channel that "nobody
> is happy" about the number of executions and that he would like to see
> Iran's drug punishment softened. "We are crusading to change this law," he
> said.
>
> Rights groups say in their letter, which is addressed to Mr. Fedotov, that
> a few days before Mr. Larijani's interview, 18 convicted offenders had been
> hanged in Iran, and that this year at least 318 had been put to death, a
> pace that would surpass the 331 drug convicts executed in 2013.
>
> "This increase in the execution rate belies Mr. Larijani's reassuring
> rhetoric and U.N.O.D.C.'s lauding of 'potentially favorable developments'
> on this issue," reads the letter by the groups.
>
> The letter was signed by Human Rights Watch, Reprieve, Iran Human Rights,
> the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, Harm Reduction International
> and the Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation, named after an Iranian lawyer who
> was assassinated in Paris in 1991.
>
> There was no immediate comment from Mr. Fedotov's office about the letter.
> Phone and email messages left with the agency's spokeswoman, Preeta
> Bannerjee, were not immediately returned.
>
> Iran has given mixed messages on capital punishment. When the United
> Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, criticized Iran in March for what
> he called its failure to improve human rights - including the use of
> capital punishment - Mr. Larijani's brother, Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani, the
> chief of the Iranian judiciary, chastised him for the remarks.
>
> (source: New York Times)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> INDONESIA----impending executions
>
> AGO Says Executions Are Set for This Week----Capital Controversy: The
> attorney general and president's tough stance on the death penalty has been
> heavily criticized
>
>
>
> The execution of 5 death-row inmates is likely to be conducted this week,
> an official revealed on Monday, as activists and academics continue to
> condemn the plan.
>
> The Attorney General's Office, which is tasked with carrying out the
> execution, has yet to reveal the identity of the inmates, saying only that
> they are now incarcerated in different prisons across Indonesia.
>
> But AGO spokesman Tony Spontana said "it is almost certain" that there
> will only be 1 venue for the execution of the 5, Nusa Kambangan, an island
> prison located less than a kilometer off the port town of Cilacap on the
> southern coast of Java.
>
> The execution will be carried out by a 10-member firing squad from the
> Central Java Police???s Mobile Brigade Unit (Brimob) and the inmates could
> be executed within this week, Tony said.
>
> On Monday, "the Attorney General [HM Prasetyo] is scheduled to receive
> reports from provincial prosecutors' office chiefs ... whose offices host
> inmates on death row," the spokesman said.
>
> "The reports will include one from the Central Java Prosecutors' Office
> chief. This prosecutors' office actually don't have any inmates scheduled
> for execution [this week] but [will submit a report] because the executions
> will be conducted in Cilacap," Tony added.
>
> He said the attorney general is planning to conduct a visit to Nusa
> Kambangan to inspect preparations for the execution over the next few days.
>
> It is unclear when the 5 inmates are scheduled to arrive at the maximum
> security island prison.
>
> The law says inmates must be informed of their execution 72 hours before
> it is carried out.
>
> Plans for the execution was revealed earlier this month after President
> Joko Widodo denied their petitions for clemency.
>
> Joko, according to the AGO, has pledged to refuse clemencies to drug
> offenders on death row, saying that the government will act tough on
> drug-related offenses.
>
> According to the AGO, there are 136 inmates currently on death row, with
> 64 of them sentenced for drug trafficking, 2 for terrorism and the rest for
> murder and robberies with aggravated assault.
>
> Starting next year, the AGO said it will execute at least 10 death-row
> prisoners in a bid to reduce the backlog.
>
> Capital punishment is a sentencing option for Indonesian judges on several
> convictions, including drug trafficking, murder, sedition and terrorism.
>
> Indonesia resumed executing prisoners last year, under the administration
> of former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
>
> Joko's decision to continue the legacy has sparked wide condemnations from
> local and international nongovernmental organizations, which have long
> pushed the country to end capital punishment.
>
> The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) said
> on Sunday that it will report the Indonesian government to the United
> Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights over the plan.
>
> He added that the executions violated the International Covenant on Civil
> and Political Rights, which Indonesia ratified in 2005.
>
> The agreement limits the sentence of death for "only for the most serious
> crimes, in accordance with the law in effect at the time of the commission
> of the crime."
>
> Senior lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis noted that by resuming the execution of
> prisoners, Indonesia will undermine its own attempts to save the hundreds
> of Indonesian migrant workers on death row abroad, saying that it was
> likely to "create a contradiction."
>
> 3 of the 5 inmates that will be executed this month were involved in drug
> cases, while the remaining 2 will be killed because they committed
> 1st-degree murder.
>
> All 5 are male.
>
> "We agree that [illicit] drugs must be eradicated and that traffickers are
> severely punished. But it doesn't have to be with the death penalty. Life
> in prison or life without parole are also severe punishments," Todung said
> on Monday.
>
> (source: Jakarta Globe)
>
>
>
> SANTA LUCIA:
>
> Saint Lucia Rejects UK Request to Scrap Death Penalty
>
>
>
> The Island's Prime Minister has dismissed the request as 'improper,' with
> the National Security Minister saying the government is not ready to
> consider abolishing capital punishment
>
> Government officials in Saint Lucia have rejected a request by the United
> Kingdom to waive its death penalty, in exchange for assistance in solving
> crime.
>
> Saint Lucia is part of the Commonwealth of Nations which encompasses some
> 53 countries, most of which were former British colonies.
>
> Saint Lucia's Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony has described the UK
> Foreign Office request "improper," while the Island's Foreign Affairs
> Minister Victor La Corbiniere says that as a sovereign state, Saint Lucia
> will decide its position on capital punishment for itself. La Corbiniere
> added that he will not be swayed by the UK or the European Union on this
> matter.
>
> The death penalty is rarely used in Saint Lucia, with the last hanging on
> the island taking place in 1995.
>
> "We will determine whether or not we abolish the death penalty and my
> government is on record as indicating that we are not at this moment going
> to consider the abolition of the death penalty. So that is definitely out,"
> he said.
>
> The island's leading human rights advocate, Attorney-at-Law Mary Francis
> says the time has come to reconsider the national position on the death
> penalty as a human rights issue.
>
> "In Saint Lucia we have a constitution that guarantees fundamental human
> rights and freedoms, but that's only on paper to the extent that we have a
> court system which is not functional, we don't have properly funded
> government legal aid," he said.
>
> When it comes to the death penalty, Saint Lucians are divided. Many young
> women, like Sharon Joseph say the death penalty should remain on the books.
>
> "The reason is that if you do your crime why now ask for mercy?" she asks.
>
> Some older Saint Lucians believe each case should be weighed separately to
> determine the extent of punishment.
>
> The British High Commission in Saint Lucia has said the death penalty has
> no place in the modern world.
>
> Government officials say they are aware that the issue of capital
> punishment is a contentious one and they are in no rush to make a decision
> on the removal of the death penalty from the island's constitution.
>
> (source: telesurtv.net)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> INDIA:
>
> Nirbhaya case: Convicts hopeful of lesser punishment
>
>
>
> More than a year after they were sentenced to death in the Nirbhaya case,
> Mukesh, Akshay, Pawan and Vinay are hopeful that their sentence will be
> reduced to life term. Only Mukesh Singh, who was driving the bus in which
> Nirbhaya was gang-raped and brutalized on the night of December 16, 2012,
> repents that he should not have agreed to the plan. "He keeps telling us
> about his role now and then," said a Tihar Jail official.
>
> Mukesh not only shares a cell with Akshay Thakur in jail 5 but has also
> helped him prepare for his Class X examination. Akshay reads newspapers and
> motivational books to pass time while Mukesh prefers to watch television.
>
> The 2 others, Pawan Gupta and Vinay Sharma, have been lodged in jail 7,
> originally meant for adolescent convicts. According to a Tihar official,
> Pawan and Vinay, love playing volleyball and ludo. "Both are good
> volleyball players and enjoy the game," said the official.
>
> All of them, put under suicide watch since their sentencing, are kept in
> high-security cells of jails 5 and 7 and are not allowed to engage in any
> regular jail work other than cleaning their wards for security reasons.
> Initially, there were safety issues as other inmates were angry about these
> convicts' conduct.
>
> The convicts have been assured by their lawyers that their death penalty
> would be reduced to life imprisonment, said sources. They have been told
> that the death sentence was the result of the public outcry, the sources
> added.
>
> All of them plan to avail of parole if their punishment is reduced to life
> imprisonment and lead a normal life, said another source. While Pawan,
> Vinay and Akshay wish to study further, Mukesh just wants to get out of
> jail, said an official.
>
> (source: The Times of India)
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