[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Aug. 24



INDONESIA:

Dozens of RI nationals on death row for drugs: BNN


The National Narcotics Agency (BNN) has said that there are currently 129 
Indonesian nationals facing the death penalty for their role in drug smuggling.

"The majority of them are migrant workers who were tricked into becoming 
couriers by international drug syndicates and most of them are women," BNN 
chief Anang Iskandar said as quoted by Antara news agency on Sunday.

The BNN has appealed to Indonesian citizens, especially migrant workers in Hong 
Kong and Macau, to remain alert over the danger of drug syndicates in the 
countries in which they work.

"They should not be easily duped. They should be careful when someone wants to 
entrust something to them. Also be very careful with strangers," he said.

Anang earlier warned women in the country to be careful when dating foreigners, 
suggesting they could be tricked into becoming drug mules. He said that many 
Indonesian women were languishing in prisons abroad because they were "easily 
tricked into drug-trafficking". On Sunday, Anang also called on Indonesian 
nationals who use drugs abroad to immediately stop and seek help from an 
Indonesian representative office. The office, he said, could recommend them to 
a rehab center.

"We are cooperating with a number of countries on a bilateral and multilateral 
basis to prevent and eradicate drug abuse, and to unravel international drug 
networks that use Indonesian citizens as mules or consider Indonesia a part of 
their smuggling route," he said.

Anang also said that the demand for drugs in Indonesia remained very high, 
making the country one of the main destinations for drug smuggling.

The BNN estimates that there are more than 4.2 million active drug users in the 
country.

"If one of them consumes 0.2 grams a day, it means 80 kilograms of drugs is 
needed every day to satiate demand, or 2.4 tons per month and 29 tons per 
year," he said.

Indonesian consul general in Hong Kong, Chalief Akbar Tjandraningrat, said 
there were 28 Indonesian citizens currently embroiled in drug cases in Hong 
Kong.

"12 of them are still in detention, while 16 others have been sentenced. In 
Macau the number is 10, and most of them are couriers and most are women," he 
said.

Under President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's administration, the government has 
implemented tougher measures on drug offenders.

Declaring a "drug emergency", President Jokowi has called for the death penalty 
for drug dealers and has rejected clemency pleas from convicted traffickers. 
Despite protests from human rights campaigners and the international community, 
his administration executed 14 convicts - including foreigners of multiple 
nationalities - in January and May of this year.

(source: The Jakarta Post)






MALAYSIA:

Suhakam disappointed with sluggish response from government


The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) is disappointed with the 
sluggish response from the government on its various proposals relating to 
human rights issues.

Among these were its recommended amendments to the Suhakam Act, a report on a 
national inquiry, its convention against torture and the death penalty, as well 
as the proposed National Human Rights Action Plan (NHRAP).

Suhakam vice-chair Datuk Dr Khaw Lake Tee said overall, the respective 
recommendations and reports were submitted, but responses had either been 
"slow" or "unfavourable".

The amendments to the Suhakam Act, in particular, were presented in 
anticipation of the commission's re-accreditation exercise that would take 
place in November this year.

She revealed the commission met with the Attorney-General's office, the police, 
as well as the director-general of the legal department in the Prime Minister's 
Department.

Suhakam, Khaw said, was hoping to convince the accreditation board that it was 
a body that was able to retain its status under its principles.

"We are not sure now what that position is going to be in view of the rejection 
or unfavourable response from the government," she told reporters at a press 
conference today.

Currently in "Grade A", which entitles the commission to speaking rights, 
Suhakam expressed fears of being downgraded to "Grade B", which does not allow 
speaking rights.

"We basically can't go to an international forum and have our views expressed," 
she added of the Grade B status.

Other amendments to the Suhakam Act included the issue of Suhakam's visitation 
to detention centres and consultation on amendments of any laws relating to 
human rights.

It also wants its annual reports to be debated in Parliament. This was 
currently not being done although the reports were given to the house of 
representatives.

Khaw said the act currently gave the commission power to visit detention 
centres, but that was subject to rules and needed authorisation from the 
authorities.

"We asked that Suhakam be given authority to visit without seeking permission 
from authorities. In other words, surprise visits."

On the convention against torture and the death penalty, Khaw said the 
government was urged to review it and also suggested a moratorium on the death 
penalty.

"During the second universal periodic review, one of the comments made by the 
government was that the government was studying the death penalty and in 
particular the mandatory death penalty imposed (on drug traffickers) and that 
the study by the Attorney-General's Chambers will be ready by the end of 2014.

"We are almost at the end of 2015 and we have yet to hear the progress made."

Where the NHRAP was concerned, a draft was submitted to the government in 2006, 
said Khaw, with the government having said in 2010 that it would develop the 
action plan.

"A steering committee was formed but to date, progress has been very slow. We 
regret the lack of progress made and hope this cam be expedited."

(source: The Rakyat Post)






BANGLADESH:

Bangladesh Indicts 10 for Allegedly Beating Boy to Death


A magistrate in northeastern Bangladesh indicted 10 men and issued arrest 
warrants for three alleged fugitives Monday in the beating death of a 
13-year-old boy in a case that stunned a nation used to violent crime because a 
video of him being tortured was posted online.

Magistrate Shahedul Karim made the decision and fixed Aug. 31 for next hearing, 
prosecution counsel Misbahuddin Siraj said.

The boy, Samiul Islam Rajon, died of internal bleeding after being attacked in 
the northeastern city of Sylhet. The attackers allegedly were punishing him for 
stealing a bicycle, an allegation his family and police say is unfounded.

The alleged fugitives include the main suspect, Kamrul Islam, who has been 
detained in Saudi Arabia and is awaiting repatriation. 10 men are behind bars 
after being arrested with the help of local residents, who were said to have 
caught some of the attackers when they tried to dump the body.

The charges in the indictment include murder or helping the alleged attackers. 
Defendants convicted of murder could face the death penalty.

Some of the accused men said they were innocent.

The chilling, 28-minute video went viral online, triggering protests in the 
South Asian country, where such incidents are not rare. His body bore at least 
64 injury marks, according to an autopsy report.

In the cellphone video, the boy is heard screaming in pain and pleading with 
his attackers: "Don't beat me, please, will die, will die." The attackers 
laughed at the boy when he asked for water.

Like many poor children in Bangladesh, Rajon was forced to leave school to work 
to help his family, in his case selling vegetables.

(source: Associated Press)






PAKISTAN:

Is Pakistan bold enough to give sex-offenders the death penalty? ---- LHC 
ordered the offender to pay compensation of Rs0.1 million to the victim and 
another Rs1 million to the child born out of the rape.


A recent verdict of the Lahore High Court (LHC) has laid appropriate emphasis 
on the award of both criminal and civil compensation for rape victims. In the 
contemporary judgment of Nadeem Masood vs The State, Justice Anwarul Haq, while 
invoking Section 376 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), not only sentenced the 
convict to 20 years of imprisonment but also ordered the offender to pay 
compensation of Rs0.1 million to the victim and another one million rupees to 
the child born out of the rape.

This judgement, however, comprises part of the population of less than 5 % of 
Pakistan's rape cases that actually result in a conviction and came to a 
resolve after almost 5 years.

Following the amendment to the controversial Zina Ordinance 1979, and PPC 
through the Protection of Women (Criminal Law) Amendment Act 2006, section 376 
PPC states that,

"(1) Whoever commits rape shall be punished with death or imprisonment of 
either description for a term which shall not be less than 10 years or more 
than 25 years and shall also be liable to fine.

(2) When rape is committed by 2 or more persons in furtherance of common 
intention of all, each of such persons shall be punished with death or 
imprisonment for life."

Despite the laws being extensively revised, no one can safely conclude that the 
modifications have led to a measurable decrease in incidents of rape across 
Pakistan - the Kasur sexual abuse scandal can be cited as supporting evidence 
to this claim. One cannot also place reliance on the reported rape cases 
statistics available as majority of the rape cases go unreported. Experts in 
the field have suggested that reported cases are but the tip of the iceberg and 
actual cases may be significantly higher.

Nevertheless, we can certainly concur that notwithstanding the offence of rape 
being punishable by fine, imprisonment, and even death penalty, the punishments 
would only act as a deterrent to rape if they are consistently and effectively 
enforced over a period of time.

The abovementioned ruling of Nadeem Masood vs The State is a rare case in point 
that not only indemnified the victim, but also the child born as a result of 
the rape with supporting citations from the Hadith and Indian and Bangladeshi 
case precedents - albeit the ballpark figures awarded as compensation must 
undoubtedly be questioned as 'appropriate' or not, as no amount of money can 
underwrite the physical and psychological damage suffered by a rape victim and 
Rs1 million is certainly not enough to raise a child.

The compromised law enforcement for rape victims in Pakistan has generally been 
attributed to its patriarchal set-up and socio-cultural norms which have given 
birth to a complex and rather inaccessible legal and procedural framework for 
seeking justice in such cases. The reluctance to report rape cases is not only 
a consequence of protecting family 'honour' but also the convoluted legal 
procedures involved that ultimately result in delayed, reconciliatory or no 
justice at all - even 'justice delayed is justice denied'.

Judgments such as Nadeem Masood vs The State must be applauded and highlighted 
time and time again in the media. However, such decisions are relatively 
painless wins for Pakistan's law enforcers as these are single individuals 
accused. Where there is more than one accused in a rape case, for example gang 
rapes, the courts have been reluctant to award a sentence, as the prescribed 
penalty is death or imprisonment for life. Take for example the Mukhtaran Mai 
case, where those accused of the gang rape were eventually acquitted. The 
disinclination from judges to apply capital punishment in rape cases has also 
severely handicapped the spirit behind the extortionate punishment, that is, 
prevention of sexual abuse.

Additionally, the wearisome chain of command involved in pursuing a rape case 
(from the police to various authorities to lawyers to judges) in a 
male-dominated culture is itself a discouragement to even initiate a First 
Information Report (FIR). In the absence of expectation of a fair treatment 
from the subordinate hierarchical avenues, the onus lies on the chief 
authority, judges, to implement laws impartially but rigorously.

Many have cited lack of education, sexual frustration, and laws as reasons 
behind a crippled justice available to rape victims. While it could take 
centuries to rid Pakistan (for that matter the world) of patriarchy and high 
testosterone levels in men (pun intended), with the judges having been armed 
with a largely apt technical legal structure for rape laws in Pakistan as an 
aftermath of Protection of Women (Criminal Law) Amendment Act 2006, the ball is 
now in the judges court to enforce an accountable justice system for rape 
victims by taking bold and daring decisions and put into effect punishments 
that reflect the spirit of the law - even if it means a death penalty.

(source: The Express Tribune)

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

The farce of justice


India recently hanged to death Yakub Memon, a chartered accountant, for his 
role the Mumbai bombings in 1993 which took 257 innocent lives. The execution 
took place on July 30, 2 hours after the final decision on Memon's fate was 
taken by the bench which was constituted after 2 Supreme Court judges had 
differing opinions on the matter.

This execution has sparked a fiery public debate on the abolition of the death 
penalty in India. Prominent figures like Salman Khan and Shashi Tharoor who 
vociferously opposed Yakub Memon's hanging were ostracised and labelled as 
unpatriotic or sympathetic to terrorists. Anil Dharkar, a prominent journalist, 
very rightly pointed out the arbitrariness and politics that surrounds the 
death penalty in India by asking how many were prosecuted by the state when 
thousands of Sikhs and Muslims were killed by Hindu mobs in 1984 in Delhi and 
in the 2002 Gujrat riots respectively. The answer is zero. He further 
highlighted how the state rescued those convicted for Rajiv Gandhi's murder for 
the simple reason of them having already spent 22 years in prison. So had Yakub 
Memon but he was not pardoned as the pressure from the public driven by media 
publicity seemed to have influenced the judges of the apex court.

Things are no different, in fact even worse, in Pakistan. After the gruesome 
attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar on December 16, 2014, the public 
was thirsty for revenge and as a knee-jerk reaction the moratorium on the death 
penalty was lifted. The 21st Amendment passed to pave the way for the creation 
of military courts was duly endorsed by the Honorable Supreme Court and 
military courts are now a reality we have to live with for another 2 years.

In India, however, there are certain additional safeguards - at least on paper, 
even if practically little relief is given to people like Yakub Memon. These 
safeguards include a right to the second review of the Supreme Court's appeal 
decision and a mechanism known as 'curative petition' whereby 3 senior-most 
judges of the apex court determine whether any exceptional oversight has led to 
miscarriage of justice and avert or cure it accordingly. Additionally the 
Indian Supreme Court declared that the death penalty be awarded only in the 
"rarest of the rare" cases and this does involve subjectivity and a degree of 
arbitrariness as there is no objective criteria to determine when the threshold 
is passed in this regard, but at least there is a filter which does not happen 
to be the case in Pakistan.

Whether we must jettison the death penalty altogether or not is another debate 
altogether but the history of the criminal justice system of Pakistan is 
replete with instances of miscarriage of justice and gross violations of 
international human rights law. The lifting of the moratorium as a means to 
curb crime and terrorism and to satisfy the desire for revenge is a logically 
flawed and imprudent assertion as there is no statistical data indicating a 
correlation between the death penalty and crime prevention. Second, a state 
policy to be based on emotions of revenge and retribution is absolutely 
ridiculous.

The very purpose of lifting of the moratorium becomes obsolete with the record 
revealed by Reuters stating that of 180 people hanged since December 2014, 
fewer than one in six were linked to militancy. So if we are not executing 
terrorists then who? It is people like Abdul Basit, a paraplegic who went into 
coma for 3 weeks, and was sentenced to death in 2009 and Khizer Hayat who is 
schizophrenic and whose plight is similar to that of Kanizan Bibi who was a 
schizophrenic and despite having spent 26 years in prison was executed. The 
execution of these 2 men has been stayed at the moment.

How can we forget Shafqat Hussain, the case that attracted a lot of media 
attention, a juvenile who was tortured into confessing and despite the 
governments of Sindh and AJK calling for his execution be halted, nothing could 
change his fate. Shafqat's case was similar to that of Aftab Bahadur Masih who 
was executed in June this year and was only 15 years old at the time of 
commission of the offence in 1995 (a juvenile could be awarded a death penalty 
then).

The minimum age for execution was raised to 18 under the Juvenile Justice 
System Ordinance 2000, which has been challenged in the senior courts and whose 
future remains uncertain. It is in gross contravention of both national and 
international law to execute juveniles, and those mentally or physically unfit.

Similarly the police department is inefficient and corrupt and the tactics they 
used to cover up their incompetency include torturing the accused into 
confessing and, if someone has absconded, harassing family members and often 
times arresting and implicating next of kin instead. Another facet of the 
misery of condemned prisoners is what is known as 'double-jeopardy' - despite 
having spent more than 15 years behind bars, the duration equivalent to life 
imprisonment, they are still executed. This goes against the letter and spirit 
of Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code, which provides sentence for murder 
to be either death or life imprisonment and not both.

In a recent Supreme Court judgement in Mohammad Arshad v The State (2015 SCMR 
257), the apex court distinguished this case from the earlier precedent set in 
Hassan and others v The State (PLD 2013 793) and Dilawar Hussain v The State ( 
2013 SCMR 1582), ruling that double jeopardy in itself is not sufficient to 
commute a death sentence. In absence of effective investigation and good legal 
representation, miscarriage of justice is commonplace.

Article 45 of the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan allows 
condemned prisoners a chance to send a mercy petition to the president who has 
the discretionary powers to commute the sentence, but practically speaking such 
petitions are not only refused but also ignored. It is also common knowledge 
that it is the interior ministry that takes decisions on mercy petitions and 
not the president himself. There is lack of clarity in the Prison Rules with 
regard to mercy petitions, and the provision in the constitution itself is 
apparently redundant as hardly any convict is given any relief under this 
provision.

We need to overhaul the criminal justice system as the word 'justice' is more 
of a farce in the present situation where it is predominantly the poor who are 
thrown to the gallows while the rich - like Shahrukh Jatoi - get away 
unpunished by exploiting the non-compoundable status of the offence of murder. 
There is still time and the president of Pakistan can exercise the 
discretionary powers given to him under the constitution to pardon lives of 
Abdul Basit, Khizer Hayat, and many others like them who have been languishing 
in prison for years and there are compelling reasons to commute their 
sentences.

(source: Opinion, Ayesha Siddique Khan; The writer is a barrister based in 
Islambad----The News)

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

The force of law


Pakistan has the misfortune of being periodically bashed by the international 
media. Recently, it has been the uproar over the revival of the death penalty. 
The European Union, UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, called for reimposition of the 
moratorium on executions.

Locally, the HRCP criticised the measure, arguing (without any study/survey) 
that execution of convicts has no nexus with the crime rate in the country. 
Some columnists also cautioned the government to exercise restraint, lest 
innocents get hanged for want of a fair trial.

The moratorium was imposed in 2008 as a condition for getting the GSP Plus 
status with the European Union. Reportedly some 8,000 convicts, proven guilty 
for heinous crimes including terrorism, were languishing in prisons - with 
growing attacks by the Taliban to set them free. In April 2012, in a daring 
assault on the Bannu prison, 400 prisoners were released, followed by another 
audacious attack (in July 2013) at a prison in D I Khan, resulting in the 
release of another 248 hardened criminals. This caused alarm and panic in the 
country: the KP government asked the centre to transfer Dr Shakil Afridi, a 
high-value target (alleged facilitator of the US raid on Bin Laden), from the 
Central Prison Peshawar. There were calls for resumption of executions of 
condemned prisoners.

The government was, however, in a quandary: the moratorium could not be lifted 
without the risk of losing the GSP-Plus status. Public pressure then 
intensified after the horrific incident of APS, Peshawar. The government 
relented and executions resumed.

The global community is divided over the imposition of capital punishment. It 
has abolished or suspended in 140 states but still practised in 63 others. In 
Pakistan, the death penalty is prescribed for various offences, ranging from 
murder, bomb blasts/suicide explosions to narcotic/drugs, gang rape, blasphemy, 
etc. It is in our constitution and sanctioned by the substantive/procedural 
law.

Under the constitution, the right to life is not absolute but qualified; hence 
the state has the right to award capital punishment. There is yet another 
aspect of the death penalty: it is imposed under Islamic law, which carries 
supremacy. The constitution stipulates that any existing law repugnant to the 
injunctions of Islam is invalid (Article 203D), and all such laws must be 
brought in conformity with Islamic injunctions (Article 227).

Islamic law lays stress on the sanctity of life. Says the Quran: "On that 
account: We ordained for the children of Israel that if anyone slew a person - 
unless it be for murder or spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if 
he slew the whole mankind: and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he 
saved the life of the whole mankind" (Sura 5:32).

Thus, Section 302 of the PPC prescribes Qisas as punishment for the offence of 
murder. It is a private right of the heir of the victim and can be compounded 
by Diyat or forgiven without compensation. And whereas the president has the 
power to grant pardon (Article 45 read with Section 402A of the CrPC), such 
power cannot be exercised in respect for the penalty of Qisas without the 
consent of the heirs of the victim (Section 402 of the CrPC). Besides Islam, 
other revealed religions - Judaism and Christianity - also permit capital 
punishment. Israel practises capital punishment for major offences including 
treason and war crimes/crimes against humanity. Some states in the US also 
practise capital punishment.

The insistence of the European Union on abolition of the death penalty is 
unfair, keeping in view the troubling times. Its stance is baffling, for it 
doesn't object as vehemently to the killings of hundreds of thousands of 
innocent people in the illegal/unjustified wars in Iraq, Syria and the drone 
strikes in Pakistan. Capital punishment is awarded to convicts proven guilty 
for the heinous offences of murder, bomb blasts, terrorists' acts, etc.

The European Union has also reminded Pakistan of its obligations under the 
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966. Let it be clarified 
that this convention, far from imposing a total embargo on capital punishment, 
permits it for serious crimes. It however bans the death penalty for children 
under 18; that is fully complied with under the Juvenile Justice System 
Ordinance 2000, which prohibits, inter alia, death sentence to minors below 18 
years of age.

The abolitionists' often-quoted arguments are that the death penalty is cruel, 
inhuman, degrading, and that convicts are likely to suffer 
irreparable/irreversible loss due to a defective criminal justice system, etc 
don't stand to logic, as the same arguments equally apply to the suggested 
alternative punishment of imprisonment for life.

What then is the likely scenario: letting the murderers/terrorists get way and 
relapse into Hobbes' state of nature: "war of every man against every man", 
making "life solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short". Further, the 
counter-narration of pain/suffering inflicted on a victim and his/her family, 
disturbing the social balance in society, flouting the writ of the state, is 
missing from the discourse. It is a cardinal principle of morality and justice 
that the convict gets his just desserts to assuage the angry sentiments of both 
the victim and the community.

The government therefore need not be influenced by such criticism. The 
executions are legal; the moratorium was illegal since executive notification 
cannot override the law. The country is passing through a turbulent period. 
There is no security of life/ property; even highly guarded ministers/political 
leaders are being targeted. There is an escalating trend of violence coupled 
with bomb blasts and suicide explosions by militants/terrorists. In these 
circumstances, the country can ill afford to lower its guard by abolishing the 
death penalty and giving a free hand to militants/terrorists to operate with 
impunity.

After normalcy returns, the government may refer the matter to parliament as it 
requires research and study. The law must be reviewed to restrict the scope of 
anti-terrorism law and ensure that capital punishment is awarded in 
serious/heinous crimes. The law/constitution are not immutable but organic and 
open to reform. The provision of Qisas requires review.

Law, in order to remain relevant, must evolve with the vicissitudes of time, 
emerging realities and socio-economic conditions. Our criminal justice system 
is also in dire need of reform/improvement to prevent the miscarriage of 
justice.

(source: Dr. Faqir Hussain; The writer served as secretary, Law & Justice 
Commission of Pakistan; director general, Federal Judicial Academy; and 
registrar, Supreme Court of Pakistan----The News)






INDIA:

Kidnapping for ransom qualifies for death: SC


The rising incidents of kidnapping and abduction for ransom not only by 
ordinary criminals but even by terrorists necessitate a stringent punishment 
for those indulging in such activities, the Supreme Court has said while 
upholding death sentence under section 364A of IPC. ???The gradual growth of 
the challenges posed by kidnapping and abductions for ransom, not only by 
ordinary criminals for monetary gain or as an organised activity for economic 
gains

but by terrorist organisations is what necessitated the incorporation of 
Section 364A of the IPC and a stringent punishment for those indulging in such 
activities, reports PTI.

"Given the background in which the law was enacted and the concern shown by 
Parliament for the safety and security of the citizens and the unity, 
sovereignty and integrity of the country, the punishment prescribed for those 
committing any act contrary to Section 364A cannot be dubbed as so outrageously 
disproportionate to the nature of the offence as to call for same being 
declared unconstitutional," a 3-judge bench headed by Justice T S Thakur said.

The apex court's verdict came on a petition filed by a convict, who was awarded 
death sentence in a kidnapping-cum -murder case, challenging the constitutional 
validity of section 364A of IPC.

The court made it clear that "situations where the act which the accused is 
charged with is proved to be an act of terrorism threatening the very essence 
of our federal, secular and democratic structure may possibly be the only other 
situation where courts may consider awarding extreme penalty.

"But, short of death in such extreme and rarest of rare cases, imprisonment for 
life for a proved case of kidnapping or abduction will not qualify for being 
described as barbaric or inhuman so as to infringe the right to life guaranteed 
under Article 21 of the Constitution."

(source: Free Press Journal)

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

Panel to submit death penalty report


The Law Commission of India is expected to submit its report on the death 
penalty to the Supreme Court next week making its recommendations as to whether 
capital punishment should be retained or done away with. The report comes days 
after the law panel's consultation process saw a majority opposing the death 
penalty.

The commission is expected to submit its report to the Supreme Court "sometime" 
next week on whether India should continue with the death penalty or abolish 
it. A copy will also be handed over to the Union law and justice minister as 
any call on changes in penal provisions will be taken by Parliament.

The report assumes significance as it comes days after a debate was generated 
over the hanging of Mumbai serial blasts convict Yakub Memon. The commission is 
working overtime to complete the report as its 3-year term is coming to an end 
on August 31.

The Supreme Court, in Santosh Kumar Satishbhushan Bariyar vs Maharashtra and 
Shankar Kisanrao Khade vs Maharashtra, had suggested that the Law Commission 
should study the death penalty in India to "allow for an up-to-date and 
informed discussion and debate on the subject".

In a consultation paper released on May 22 last year, the commission had said 
that at this juncture, an ex-haustive study on the subject would be a useful 
and salutary contribution to the cause of public debate on this issue. Such a 
study will also provide a definitive research-backed orientation to the 
legislators and judges on this very contentious issue, it had said. The 
commission said the study would have to address queries and concerns of courts 
and present an international perspective.

(source: Asian Age)






CHINA:

China Plans to Boost Penalties for Sex With Girls Under 14


Chinese state media say China is planning harsher penalties for men who have 
sex with girls under 14, following public outrage over high-profile offenders 
including teachers.

Under the new law, all such cases would be considered rape because another 
criminal charge that served as a loophole for some offenders would be 
eliminated.

The state-run China News Service said Monday the crime of "prostitution with 
underage girls" would be removed from China's penal code under the revision 
being considered by lawmakers. If the bill is approved, any sex with girls 
under 14 would be considered rape and subject to harsher penalties, including 
death.

The current penalty for prostitution with underage girls is 5 to 15 years in 
jail.

Members of the public and legal scholars have long called for the change.

(source: Associated Press)






ZAMBIA:

3 inmates on death row


The Zambia Prisons Service (ZPS) says there are only three inmates on death 
penalty at Mukobeko Maximum Security Prison in Kabwe after President Lungu 
commuted death sentences of 332 people.

On July 16, President Lungu commuted death sentences of 332 prisoners who were 
on death row to life imprisonment.

ZPS deputy public relations officer Stephen Kagoli said in an interview that 
the condemned prisoners were sentenced to death after the President exercised 
his prerogative of mercy on the 332.

"As of now, we only have 3 inmates on death row countrywide," Mr Kagoli said.

He said the 3 are all male.

The condemned section at Mukobeko has a capacity to accommodate 48 people, but 
the number swelled to 332 as at July 16.

(source: Daily Mail)






IRAN----executions

At Least 3 Prisoners Executed in Northern Iran----2 prisoners charged with 
murder were hanged to death in Rasht's Lakan Prison, one prisoner was hanged in 
Ardebil Central Prison on a drug related charge.


2 prisoners charged with murder (identified as M.M., 37 years old, and A.M., 33 
years old) were hanged to death in Rasht's Lakan Prison on the morning of 
Saturday August 23, reports the Justice Department in the province of Gilan. An 
informed source, who has requested to be annonymous, says there were a total of 
3 prisoners who were hanged to death in Lakan Prison on Saturday. "One of the 
prisoners' names is Asghar Mohammadi," says the source.

In Ardabil Central Prison one prisoner (identified as Hamed Madeh Moghadar) was 
hanged to death on Saturday for possessing more than 580 grams of crystal meth, 
according to the Press Department of Ardebil's Judiciary. The prisoner was 
reportedly issued the death penalty by Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court in 
the province of Ardabil.

(source: Iran Human Rights)






UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:

Indian wife on a mission to save husband on death row in UAE----Convict's wife, 
supported by village, trying to raise blood money


The wife of an Indian convicted to death in the Gulf is running from pillar to 
post to secure blood money in order to free her husband.

Keralites will find the story line familiar - of an award-winning Malayalam 
movie 'Perumazhakaalam' - except that this time it is for real and the man who 
has been accused of murder is in the central prison in Abu Dhabi for killing 
his colleague.

Santosh Prabhakaran from Attingal village in Thiruvananthapuram was arrested in 
July 2011 following the murder of Subin Varghese.

Both men worked for a building maintenance company in the UAE.

A UAE court awarded the death penalty to Santosh and even as his appeal is 
pending before a higher court, his wife, supported by other members from the 
village, is frantically trying to raise enough blood money that could free 
Santosh from the sentence of death.

So far about Rs18 lakh (Dh100,000) has been raised and additional funds have 
been promised by Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.

Speaking to Emirates 24|7, Santosh's wife Sheena says the victim???s family are 
demanding Rs50 lakh (Dh280,000) to issue a mercy petition that could spare 
Santosh's life.

"My family, neighbours and members of the village panchayat have come forward 
to collect money. So far, we have managed about Rs38 lakh (Dh211,111), which 
includes about Rs20 lakh (Dh111,111) promised by the Kerala Chief Minister's 
office," she says.

Meanwhile, the lawyer representing Santosh has appealed against the death 
penalty, which is scheduled for September 7.

Santhosh's brother Satish, who also works in the UAE, has flown to India to try 
and get the mercy petition signed by the victim's parents.

"He landed here this (Sunday) morning. We are planning to pay Rs16 lakh 
[Dh88,888] to Varghese's family and get the mercy petition signed. The 
remaining amount has to be deposited before the court in the UAE before 
September 7. We are trying our best," she added.

Santosh had come to the UAE a month after his wedding. The couple have an 
8-year-old school-going daughter. Varghese is survived by his parents and 2 
sisters.

Sheena is hoping that her story could end the way the director scripted the 
tale of 'Perumazhakalam'. The movie ends on a note where the victim's wife 
signs off on the petition, enabling the freedom of the man who had accidentally 
killed his friend in Saudi Arabia.

(source: emirates247.com)