[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Aug. 30



SOUTH KOREA:

Calls grow for abolishing death penalty


The Supreme Court's decision Friday to uphold a death sentence imposed on a 
convicted murderer has reignited the debate on abolishing capital punishment in 
Korea.

The death penalty has not been carried out here since December 30 1997, when 18 
men and five women were hanged in one night.

Calls are mounting to take the death penalty off the statute books because it 
is seen as ineffective in preventing crimes.

The Supreme Court upheld an appeals court verdict on a man who killed the 
parents of his ex-girlfriend.

This was the first time that the death penalty has been upheld in 2 years.

The man, surnamed Jang, 25, disguised himself as a plumber to enter the 
apartment of the woman's parents in Daegu in May last year. He killed the 
parents, then confined and raped his ex-girlfriend who arrived home later the 
same day. She escaped by jumping out of a window of the apartment on the fourth 
floor, sustaining hip injuries.

Jang's sentencing means the number of inmates on death row is now 61.

Confirming the sentence, the court said that Jang deserved harsh punishment 
because the murder was premeditated and the method of killing was cruel.

But in the ruling, it raised questions about the effectiveness of capital 
punishment.

"We know the debate about abolishing the death penalty is gaining momentum and 
a bill for the abolishment of the death penalty is pending at the National 
Assembly," it said in the ruling. "Yet, the Assembly has not made a decision 
about the issue, and the Constitutional Court ruled in favor of it in 2010. So 
the court has no option other than to confirm the death penalty for crimes that 
warrant it."

While the issue has long been controversial, calls to abolish the death penalty 
have become stronger than those to keep it.

In the 2010 ruling, 5 justices of the Constitutional Court ruled that the 
penalty was constitutional, down from 7 in 1996.

On Thursday, Supreme Court justice nominee Lee Ki-taek said, "I hope capital 
punishment will be scrapped and we come up with an alternative."

Lawmakers have also sought to abolish it.

In July, Rep. Yoo Ihn-tae of the main opposition New Politics for Democracy 
(NPAD) party submitted a bill to abolish the death penalty.

This is the Assembly's seventh attempt, and the bill was signed by 171 
lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties. The bill is currently 
under review at the Legislative and Judiciary Committee.

Kim Hee-jin from the Korean chapter of Amnesty International said chances of 
passing the bill are higher this time than before. "Support for the bill is 
stronger this time," Kim said.

Amnesty International is among the proponents of abolishing the death penalty, 
arguing that human life should be respected no matter what a person does.

But those wanting to keep capital punishment argue that harsh laws are still 
needed to maintain social order.

"Not all people are good and we need a system to handle them," Rep. Park 
Min-shik of the ruling Saenuri Party wrote on his blog. "Also, do you know how 
much taxpayers' money is spent keeping them alive? I think we have better ways 
to spend that money."

(source: Korea Times)






CHAD----executions

Chad executes 10 Boko Haram members 1 day after verdict


Chad executed by firing squad 10 members of Boko Haram on Saturday, the 
security minister said, marking the 1st use of the death penalty since the 
country bolstered its anti-terror measures last month.

The 10 men were sentenced to death on Friday after being convicted of crimes 
including murder and the use of explosives. They were killed at around 11 a.m., 
Ahmat Mahamat Bachir, the security minister, said Saturday.

Those killed included Bahna Fanaye, alias Mahamat Moustapha, who Chadian 
officials have described as a leader of the Nigeria-based group.

Chad has vowed to take a leading role in a regional force to fight Boko Haram 
that is also expected to include soldiers from Cameroon, Benin and Niger in 
addition to Nigeria. Boko Haram has targeted Nigeria's neighbors in regular 
attacks this year.

In June and July Chad's capital, N'Djamena, was rocked by a series of suicide 
attacks that killed dozens of people - the 1st such attacks since Boko Haram 
threatened the country earlier this year.

In 1 attack, suicide bombers on motorcycles targeted 2 buildings in the 
capital. In another, a man disguised as a woman wearing a burqa detonated a 
bomb outside the city's main market.

Last September, Chad drew praise from rights groups for a draft penal code that 
abolished capital punishment. The International Federation for Human Rights 
said at the time that the country had observed a moratorium on the death 
penalty since 1991 with the exception of 9 executions that took place in 
November 2003. But anti-terror measures approved by lawmakers last month in 
response to the recent attacks brought the death penalty back.

(source: Associated press)






CHINA:

China Exempts 9 Crimes from Death Penalty

China's top legislature on Saturday adopted amendments to the Criminal Law, 
removing the death penalty for nine crimes, and ruling out commutation for most 
corrupt figures.

The 9 crimes punishable by death include smuggling weapons, ammunition, nuclear 
materials or counterfeit currency; counterfeiting currency; raising funds by 
means of fraud; arranging for or forcing another person to engage in 
prostitution; obstructing a police officer or a person on duty from performing 
his duties; and fabricating rumors to mislead others during wartime.

After removing the death penalty for these crimes, those convicted will face a 
maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

The amendments were voted in by lawmakers at the end of a six-day bimonthly 
session of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee.

The move to limit the use of the death penalty comes in the wake of judicial 
reform pushed forward by the Communist Party of China in recent years to 
gradually reduce the number of crimes subject to the penalty.

It is the second time China has reduced the number of crimes punishable by 
death since the Criminal Law took effect in 1979.

In 2011, the NPC Standing Committee dropped the death penalty for 13 
economic-related non-violent crimes including smuggling cultural relics, gold 
and silver; carrying out fraud related to financial bills; forging or selling 
forged exclusive value-added tax invoices; teaching criminal methods; and 
robbing ancient cultural ruins.

Under the amended Criminal Law, which will take effect on Nov. 1, the number of 
crimes punishable by death is 46.

According to the amendments, criminals convicted on serious corruption charges 
who have received a 2-year suspended death sentence will face life imprisonment 
after the 2 years.

This aims to "safeguard judicial fairness" and prevent "the most corrupt 
criminals from serving shorter prison terms through commutation," according to 
the top legislature.

It targets officials who illegally seek commutation, parole or non-prison 
sentences.

The amendments also impose tougher sentences for assaults on police officers on 
duty and clarify the crime of contempt of court, so as to safeguard judicial 
authority.

Nine lawyers were recently taken under coercive measures, after they used 
Beijing Fengrui law firm as a platform to provoke trouble and disturb social 
order.

According to the current law, lawyers can be disbarred if they are convicted of 
disrupting or interfering with due proceedings or inciting others to raise 
trouble.

The new law adds crimes regarding cyber security, enhancing protection of 
citizens' personal information and ascertaining responsibilities for Internet 
service providers failing to fulfill duties of network security management.

The revised law says that those counterfeiting passports, social security cards 
and driving licenses will also face punishment.

Organizing cheating in exams and bringing civil litigations based on fabricated 
facts to pursue illegitimate interests, are also listed as crimes that are 
punishable by imprisonment up to 7 years.

In its stipulations against terrorism, the revised law adds several items to 
crack down more heavily on terrorism.

Those promoting terrorism and extremism by producing and distributing related 
materials, releasing information, instructing in person or through audio, video 
or information networks will face more than 5 years in prison in serious cases. 
Those who instigate violent terror activities will also face the same 
punishment.

Harsher punishment will also be imposed on those involved in cults. In serious 
cases, the maximum punishment may be extended to life imprisonment, the new law 
says. Previously, the maximum sentence for those found guilty of cult-related 
crimes was 15 years in prison.

(source: CRIEnglish)



IRAN:

Relatives of 30,000 executed PMOI members prevented from remembering massacre


Iran's fundamentalist regime has prevented the families of executed political 
prisoners from commemorating the death of their loved ones on the 27th 
anniversary of their massacre.

Some 30,000 political prisoners, primarily affiliated to the main democratic 
opposition People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran, PMOI (Mujahedin-e Khalq, 
MEK), were executed in the summer of 1988.

On Friday (August 28) relatives of the 30,000 martyrs and other ordinary 
Iranians attempted to gather at the Khavaran Cemetery near Tehran to remember 
their loved ones.

The regime's suppressive forces however prevented the entry of those who had 
intended to gather.

August marks the 27th anniversary of the brutal prison massacre in Iran. In the 
summer of 1988, 1 month after Ruhollah Khomeini was forced to accept a 
cease-fire in his 8-year war with Iraq, the fundamentalist ruler of the 
mullahs' regime ordered a mass execution of all political prisoners affiliated 
with the main opposition group PMOI (MEK).

The brutal prison massacre, which has been described by some international 
human rights lawyers as the greatest crime against humanity that has gone 
unpunished since the 2nd World War, saw the execution of some 30,000 
defenseless prisoners.

Near the end of the Iran-Iraq war, Khomeini who felt that defeat was imminent, 
decided to take his revenge on the political prisoners. He issued a fatwa (or 
religious decree) ordering the massacre of anyone who had not repented and was 
not willing to collaborate fully with the regime.

Khomeini decreed: "Whoever at any stage continues to belong to the Monafeqin 
(PMOI) must be executed. Annihilate the enemies of Islam immediately." He 
added: "Those who are in prisons throughout the country and remain steadfast in 
their support for the PMOI are waging war on God and are condemned to 
execution...It is naive to show mercy to those who wage war on God."

The Iranian regime has never acknowledged these executions, or provided any 
information as to how many prisoners were summarily killed. Young girls, old 
parents, students, workers, and many of those who had already finished their 
sentences prior to 1988 were among those who vanished in the span of a few 
months. Their bodies were dumped into mass graves, including in Khavaran 
Cemetery near Tehran.

Khomeini had assigned an "Amnesty Commission" for prisoners. In reality it was 
a "Death Commission: comprised of the 3 individuals: A representative of the 
Ministry of Intelligence, a religious judge and a prosecutor. Most trials 
lasted for just a few minutes and resembled more of an interrogation session. 
The questions were focused on whether the prisoner still had any allegiances to 
the PMOI (MEK), whose supporters made up more than 90 percent of the prisoners. 
If the prisoners were not willing to collaborate fully with the regime against 
the PMOI (MEK), it was viewed as a sign of sympathy to the organization and the 
sentence was immediate execution. The task of the Death Commission was to 
determine whether a prisoner was an Enemy of God or not. In the case of 
Mojahedin prisoners, that determination was often made after only a single 
question about their party affiliation. Those who said "Mojahedin" rather than 
the derogatory term "Monafeqin" (meaning hypocrites) were sent to the gallows.

None of the perpetrators of the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran 
and none of the regime's senior officials including the Supreme leader, Ali 
Khamenei, have been brought to justice to date.

(source: NCR-Iran)

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

Soheil Arabi's Case Sent Back to the Court of Appeal


Soheil Arabi's case has been sent to equivalent court branch to be tried on 
September 1. Amirsalar Davoodi, Soheil Arabi's lawyer, in an interview with 
HRANA said, "After the death sentence of Soheil Arabi was denied in branch 
number 34 of the Supreme Court, with chief judge Eslami, the file has been sent 
to branch number 10 of penal court and the submission to court has been 
received, dated for September 1".

The death sentence of Sohail Arabi was denied in the Supreme Court in June.

Previously, following publication lies and false accusation by 3 websites of 
Fars News, Jahan News and Dana against Soheil Arabi, and complaint of the 
lawyers, one of these website were charged.

Need to be mentioned, these websites had spread lies against Soheil Arabi, 
which resulted in complaint of Soheil Arabi's family, and after publicizing an 
image from the court's sentence, it became evident that these websites 
publicized false news against this citizen.

Sohail Arabi was accused of Sab-e-Nabi (insulting the prophet), based on a post 
in his Facebook page, which had been a philosophical understanding based on his 
studies. Last November, when the Supreme Court confirmed the death sentence, 
Soheil Arabi was in danger of being executed, but after the efforts of the 
lawyers, the case was sent back to the Supreme Court, and by denial of the 
branch number 34 of the Supreme Court, Soheil Arabi was saved from execution.

The death sentence had been issued, while when a defendant claims that he/she 
stated something by mistake, by force, in impaired or anger condition, or 
without noting the definition or applications of the words, or it has been a 
quotation, it could not be considered as insulting the prophet.

This prisoner is currently kept in ward number 350 of Evin prison and is 
waiting for the final verdict of the court.

(source: Human Rights Activists News Agency)