[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Nov. 5




BELARUS:

Secretary General of Council of Europe: Death penalty is not justice


The Secretary General of Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland has urged the 
Belarusian authorities to establish a moratorium on executions.

A statement on this issue has been made by them in connection with the reports 
that an execution of 26-year-old Homel dweller Alyaksandr Hrunou had been 
carried out, BelaPAN informs.

Thorbjorn Jagland stressed that he was deeply concerned by reports about the 
third execution in Belarus.

"Death penalty is not justice. It contradicts all European values," he noted. 
He urged the authorities of Belarus to establish moratorium on executions 
immediately and replace death sentences [with life sentences].

It had been informed by Belarusian human rights watchdogs that the sentence of 
26-year-old Homel dweller Aleksandr Hrunou had been enforced the day before. It 
is the third execution in Belarus since the beginning of the year. Meanwhile, 
there is no official confirmation of the execution still.

The day before it was also reported that Lukashenka denied pardon to Alyaksandr 
Hrunou. The papers of Hrunou's case returned to Homel regional court with a 
corresponding mark. It was also stated that all the procedural actions related 
to appeal against the death-warrant had been used.

(source: charter97)






CANADA:

Canada Should Reconsider the Death Penalty After Bourque and Bibeau


The 75-year sentence handed down to convicted cop killer Justin Bourque has 
reignited the debate over the death penalty in Canada. Some are satisfied with 
what effectively will be a life sentence without parole for Mr. Bourque. Others 
think it's not enough and would like to see him executed.

Faced with almost daily reports of hideous murders, it's only natural for us to 
wonder if the perpetrators of such crimes deserve to live. And when some on the 
right of the political spectrum call for the re-implementation of the death 
penalty, it easily strikes a chord in many of us who want to rid the world of 
those who would commit such heinous acts.

But is bringing back the death penalty the answer? If we look to the United 
States, the answer is probably no. American studies have shown that the death 
penalty neither deters people from committing murder nor does it have an effect 
on recidivism rates. Those same studies have shown that the death penalty is 
disproportionately imposed on blacks and the poor.

But there's an even more compelling argument against capital punishment, an 
argument that should appeal to liberals and conservatives alike. According to 
one American commentator, the costs involved in executing a convicted murderer 
are several times higher than those incurred in imprisoning him for life. Such 
a finding seems surprising until you realize that someone sentenced to death in 
the U.S. typically languishes for years on death row while waiting for 
countless motions, appeals and clemency requests to wend their way through the 
courts. And there's no reason to think that the Canadian experience would be 
any different.

So what's the solution? The civilized answer would seem to be that the taking 
of a human life under any circumstance is inhumane and that imprisonment for 
life is the preferred option. Such an approach also protects the occasional 
victims of the justice system like Donald Marshall, David Milgaard and Guy Paul 
Morin who, when discovered to be wrongly convicted, can at least be released 
from prison. Finally, eliminating capital punishment would appear to be the 
wiser economic choice as well.

But there are individuals who do deserve the death penalty -- those who have no 
regard for the lives of others and are immune to any attempts at 
rehabilitation. If such a person commits cold-blooded murder, serves his time 
in prison and is released, there's a good chance that he will kill again. 
Society should not and cannot tolerate such an unrepentant killer since he has 
effectively forfeited his right to be a part of humanity.

The issue then becomes how do we distinguish between murderers who can be 
rehabilitated and those who won't or can't? Simple. Let them decide the issue 
themselves. If an individual is convicted of 1st-degree murder, serves his 
prison time, is released and commits 1st-degree murder again, he should face 
the death penalty. That's not to say he must be executed; discretion should be 
left with the judiciary. But in most instances, such a person should be put to 
death.

Such a proposal would be very limited in application. It would only come into 
play where an individual has been twice convicted of 1st-degree murder and only 
then if the judge hearing the case agrees. It would not apply where either 
conviction was for 2nd-degree murder or manslaughter; it would only be used 
against incorrigible, cold-blooded killers. In other words, the death penalty 
would only be imposed in that rare situation where most of us would be able to 
say that the murderer is so beyond redemption that we could pull the switch 
ourselves.

In the case of Justin Borque, the imposition of a lifetime sentence with no 
chance of parole seems to be, in the words of the Eighth Amendment to the U. S. 
Constitution, cruel and unusual punishment. Mr. Borque should have his chance 
at redemption with the caveat that death awaits him if he should ever kill 
again.

(source: David Martin, Huffington Post)






TAIWAN:

Alleged MRT killer had 'fascination with murder'----Cheng Chieh's school 
friends told of his alleged long-held plans to carry out a large-scale public 
murder, while victims' families told of their heartbreak


Court proceedings this week into the Taipei Metro stabbing spree earlier this 
year heard key witnesses testifying that Cheng Chieh had been planning to carry 
out a mass public murder for many years.

1 account came from a man surnamed Lee, who was a junior-high classmate of 
Cheng and said they have maintained contact and remained good friends.

Lee told New Taipei District Court's presiding judge on Tuesday that Cheng had 
made a vow in his junior-high school days to carrying out a public killing. Lee 
said he had tried many times to talk his friend out of the idea.

Family members of Cheng's alleged victims attended the hearing.

Cheng, 21, allegedly went on a stabbing spree on the Taipei MRT's Bannan Line 
on May 21, resulting in four deaths and 24 people injured.

Another witness, a high school friend of Cheng's, said that Cheng 2 years ago 
wrote online: "I will go and kill people on Taipei Metro trains; when it is 
moving, no one can escape. Even if someone that I care for is standing in front 
of me, I will kill him without thinking."

Witnesses testified that Cheng showed no feeling toward fellow human beings and 
had a twisted mind with a fascination for killing.

Witnesses said that Cheng was into playing video combat games and reading 
comics with horror themes, including murder, as well as self-centered 
characters with no regard for human life, saying that these may have been 
contributing factors to Cheng's mental state.

The parents of Chang Cheng-han, one of the people allegedly murdered by Cheng, 
attended the hearing carrying a framed, enlarged photograph of their son. 
Chang, a 26-year-old graduate student, was the youngest of the 4 killed.

Chang's parents cried throughout the hearing. His mother handed a letter to the 
presiding judge, in which she asked the judge to hand down the death penalty, 
as Cheng had shown no remorse.

She said the court and the public should know of the pain felt by the victims' 
families.

"My son met a devil and his life was lost. Who knows the pain and suffering of 
a mother who has lost a son? Yet why is this devil still sitting here, while my 
son can never return home?" she said.

(source: Taipei Times)


SINGAPORE:

Drug trafficking case: Singaporean woman found guilty, Nigerian man acquitted


A Nigerian man facing the death penalty for drug trafficking along with a 
Singaporean woman was acquitted on Wednesday (Nov 5). A High Court judge found 
the woman guilty.

Ilechukwu Uchechuku Chukwudi, 29, and Hamidah Awang, 49, had been charged in 
connection with the smuggling of nearly 2kg of 'Ice' across Woodlands 
Checkpoint on Nov 13, 2011. The drugs were found in the boot of Hamidah's car.

Justice Lee Seiu Kin found Hamidah's account "inconsistent" with the evidence. 
She had claimed she had trusted her lover - a man named Goodman - who 
instructed her to bring a luggage bag out of Singapore, and said she had no 
prior knowledge that it contained drugs.

The judge noted that she had reservations about the bag, stating to authorities 
that her lover had offered her RM1,000 (about S$400) as payment to bring the 
bag with her. Hamidah had also seen the bag cut up and two packets of powdery 
substances taken from it and did not express surprise or shock.

In addition, she had said to the interrogating officer: "I don't want to say 
anything, but just to say I am guilty. I am begging not to receive the death 
penalty because of my children." She later claimed the interpreter had 
translated her statement inaccurately.

The judge said he was satisfied of her guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

However, Justice Lee found that Ilechuwu's account was generally corroborated 
by evidence. The Nigerian had been arrested a day after Hamidah was detained. 
He had passed the bag to Hamidah at a Chinatown budget hotel earlier, and said 
he did not know it contained drugs. He first left the bag in the lobby of the 
hotel, returning 12 minutes later to pick it up. Secondly, after handing the 
bag to Hamidah, he accepted her invitation to bring him out for some food.

Justice Lee said: "This is not consistent with a person who is carrying the bag 
for a drug syndicate as the consequences of the loss of the bag would be very 
severe for him."

(source: Channel News Asia)






SAUDI ARABIA----execution

Saudi beheads Pakistani drug smuggler----The beheading on Wednesday raises to 
64 the number of death sentences carried out in the kingdom in 2014.


Saudi Arabia beheaded a Pakistani on Wednesday for trafficking heroin hidden in 
his stomach into the kingdom, the interior ministry said, the latest in dozens 
of executions this year.

Mohammed Sadiq Hanif was arrested during his attempt to smuggle "a large 
amount" of heroin, the ministry said in a statement carried by the official SPA 
news agency.

Last month, Saudi authorities beheaded 4 Pakistanis convicted of smuggling 
heroin into the kingdom.

The government "is keen on combating narcotics due to their great harm to 
individuals and the society," the interior ministry said.

The beheading Wednesday in the eastern town of Khubar raises to 64 the number 
of death sentences carried out in the kingdom this year, despite international 
concern.

A United Nations independent expert called in September for an immediate 
moratorium on the death penalty in Saudi Arabia.

Christof Heyns, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or 
arbitrary executions, said trials "are by all accounts grossly unfair" and 
defendants are often not allowed a lawyer.

He said confessions were obtained under torture.

(source: The Tribune)






MALAYSIA:

Customs detain man trying to smuggle RM300,000 worth of drugs


Another person has been detained for trying to smuggle in drugs through the 
Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA).

The latest was on Oct 31 when Customs Department personnel detained a 
32-year-old man and seized more than 8kgs of the synthetic drug Ketamine from 
his luggage at the KKIA Terminal 2.

Sabah Customs Department director Datuk Janathan Kandok said Wednesday that the 
man, a local, had arrived on a 3am flight from the Chinese city of Guangdong.

The suspect was supposed to have transited at Kota Kinabalu before taking 
another flight to Kuala Lumpur on the same day.

He said Customs personnel noticed 4 packages inside the suspect's baggage as it 
was being scanned.

Upon opening the bag, they found 4 brown envelopes containing a powder-like 
substance believed to be Ketamine.

He said the drug was believed to have a street value of more than RM300,000.

Janathan said the suspect has been remanded under Section 39B of the Dangerous 
Drug Act 1952 for drug trafficking, which carries the death penalty upon 
conviction.

Since 2012, the Sabah Customs Department has foiled 12 drug smuggling cases 
with a street value exceeding RM5.1mil.

He said they believed major international syndicates have been using airports 
in Kota Kinabalu, Tawau and Sandakan to smuggle drugs.

(source: The Star)






EUROPEAN UNION/BANGLADESH:

'EU not siding with war criminals'


The European Union is not taking sides with the war criminals in Bangladesh by 
issuing statements against death penalty, its new head of delegation in Dhaka 
has said.

Pierre Mayaudon in his first press meet, 2 days after presenting credentials, 
said on Wednesday that abolition of death penalty topped their human rights 
agenda across the world.

"Please don't spread this misconception that EU is taking sides with criminals, 
especially war criminals," he told journalists.

"You know it's obviously not the case," he said, "This issue (issuing 
statement) is not ICT-(International Crimes Tribunal) related issue."

The 28-country bloc called on the Bangladeshi authorities to commute the death 
sentence of the Jamaat-e-Islami chief Matiur Rahman Nizami soon after the 
verdict on Oct 29, reiterating its position against capital punishment.

It evoked sharp reactions from different quarters, including Prime Minister 
Sheikh Hasina who reacted in a press briefing.

Bangladesh's law allows capital punishment.

Asked why the EU issued the statement only after the war crimes verdict, the 
ambassador said they issue statements whenever a case comes to their notice in 
any part of the world.

He said his colleagues in Washington also raised the issue and try to convince 
different states when they execute someone.

"Abolition of death penalty tops the EU human rights agenda and it is not 
directed to Bangladesh only."

"The issue is not ICT-related issue. We have no objection to ICT," Mayaudon 
said to make it "very clear".

"We have objection to death penalty worldwide in whatever cases, whatever 
reasons, and whichever countries. "...It's is not true we take sides," he said, 
replying to a question.

He said they could not react to any case when that did not come to their 
notice.

"You know that the EU as an institute and member states has always been on the 
side of freedom, liberation and human rights worldwide and nobody could argue 
the opposite."

He said the EU acknowledged the ICT.

"We have nothing to say on that provided due process of law was followed in the 
proceedings of the tribunal."

A French diplomat, Mayaudon replaced Irish diplomat William Hanna who left 
Dhaka in September.

He was the deputy head of the EU's Pakistan delegation before his Bangladesh 
mission.

(source: benews24.com)

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

Dhaka jail asked to prepare for Kamaruzzaman execution ---- The Jamaat leader 
to get 7 days since hearing verdict to seek presidential mercy


The authorities of Dhaka Central Jail have been asked to prepare for the 
execution of condemned war criminal Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, the law minister 
said today.

The Jamaat-e-Islami leader will get seven days since hearing the verdict to 
seek presidential mercy, otherwise he will be executed immediately, Anisul Huq 
told The Daily Star this evening.

"Kamaruzzaman has to confess his guilt and seek presidential mercy within 7 
days after hearing his death verdict. Otherwise, the sentence will be executed 
anytime after the 7-day period," he said.

On Monday, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court upheld death penalty for 
Kamaruzzaman, awarded by a special tribunal on May 9 last year, for crimes 
committed against humanity during the Liberation War of 1971.

He was a key organiser of the infamous Al-Badr force responsible for abducting, 
torturing and killing freedom fighters, intellectuals and pro-liberation people 
in 1971.

According to the minister, Kamaruzzaman can be executed on the basis of the 
short order. "Certified copy of the Supreme Court order is needed to implement 
the judgement."

Later, in a presser held at his Gulshan office this evening, the minister said 
that the jail authorities were asked to prepare for the execution of 
Kamaruzzaman. "There has been a previous case where the Appellate Division 
dismissed the appeal review of Quader Mollah. Based on this context, we will 
assume that there is no scope for a review until a full verdict of the 
Appellate Division."

"Unless there is anything otherwise in the full verdict, legally there is no 
scope for review," he said. "And likewise, I have ordered the jail authorities 
to prepare for the execution."

"As far as I know, Kamaruzzaman has heard of the SC verdict. The reasonable 
time period, 7 days as per the jail code, for presidential clemency, will be 
effective from the day he heard about the ruling," the minister said.

"Nothing will be done beyond the law," the minister asserted.

In response to a relevant query, Anisul Huq said there was nothing in the jail 
code corresponding to executing a verdict based on the full verdict of the apex 
court. "There is only the mention of a short order. The jail authorities will 
execute a verdict after receiving the short order."

The comments came at a time when the defence counsel of the Jamaat-e-Islami 
alleged that it would be illegal to execute Kamaruzzaman before the full 
verdict of the apex court.

On the note of concern of the international community over death sentence, the 
minister said his government "will not compromise with anybody over death 
penalty of war criminals."

Meanwhile, Kamaruzzaman was already in Dhaka jail, brought in from Kashimpur 
prison yesterday afternoon - a day after the apex court upheld his death 
penalty.

Today, the family visited Kamaruzzaman in the prison.

(source: The Daily Star)