[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

July 15



INDIA:

Yakub Memon and 23 other mercy pleas rejected by President Pranab Mukherjee 
---- The 1993 Bombay serial blasts convict Yakub Abdul Razak Memon is likely to 
be hanged on July 30 depending on his curative petition in the Supreme Court. 
Earlier in April 2014, President Pranab Mukherjee had rejected Memon's mercy 
petition.


President Mukherjee has till now rejected 24 pleas, including Memon's, for 
clemency since he assumed presidential powers on July 25, 2012. Here are the 
mercy petitions he has rejected.

1. Ajmal Kasab

President Pranab Mukherjee's 1st rejection of mercy plea was that of 26/11 
terrorist Ajmal Kasab's on November 5, 2012.

2. Saibanna Ningappa Natikar

That was followed by Natikar's mercy plea on January 4, 2013, who was convicted 
for murdering his wife and 18-month-old daughter.

3. Afzal Guru

The Parliament attack convict's clemency plea was turned down on February 3, 
2013.

4. Simon, Gnanaprakash, Madaiah and Bilavandran

The 4 Veerappan aides were sentenced to death for killing 22 people, including 
policemen, in a landmine blast in 1993. Their mercy plea was rejected on 
February 8, 2013.

5. Suresh and Ramji

The duo from Uttar Pradesh were convicted for killing 5 members of their 
brother's family. The President rejected their mercy plea on February 8, 2013.

6. Gurmeet Singh

Singh's mercy plea was rejected on March 1, 2013. The mass murderer from Uttar 
Pradesh was convicted for killing 13 members of a family on August 17, 1986.

7. Jafar Ali

Ali was convicted for killing his wife and 5 daughters in 2002. His mercy plea 
was rejected onMarch 14, 2013.

8. Dharampal

Dharampal was initially convicted for raping a girl in Sonepat in 1991. Later, 
on parole in 1993, he also bludgeoned the girl's parents, a sister and 2 
brothers to death while they were sleeping in their home.

9. Praveen Kumar

Praveen Kumar's mercy plea was rejected on March 26, 2013. He was convicted for 
the murder of 4 members of a family in 1994 in Karnataka.

10. Sundar Singh

Singh, convicted for rape and murder in 1989 in Uttarakhand, had his plea of 
clemency rejected on March 31, 2013.

11. BA Umesh

The former CRPF constable was arrested for the rape and murder of Jayashree 
Maradi Subbaiah, 37, and sentenced to death by a fast-track court in 2006. His 
mercy plea was rejected on May 12, 2013.

12. Sonia and Sanjeev

Sonia, the daughter of a former Haryana MLA, and her husband Sanjeev drugged 
and killed 8 of her family in Hisar in 2001, including her parents. Their mercy 
plea was rejected on June 29, 2013.

13. Maganlal Barela

Hailing from Madhya Pradesh, Maganlal was found guilty of beheading his 5 
daughters, aged between 1 to 8 years, with an axe in 2010. His mercy plea was 
rejected on July 16, 2013, and was hanged on August 08, 2013.

14. Shivu and Jadeswamy

The duo from Karnataka was convicted for brutally raping and murdering an 
18-year-old girl on October 15, 2001. The Supreme Court upheld high court's 
decision of rejecting their appeal and confirmed death penalty in November 
2005. The President, further, rejected their mercy plea on July 27, 2013.

15. Ajay Kumar Pal

Pal, who was a domestic help of an Indian Forest Service officer in Ranchi, had 
been convicted for the murder of the officer's wife, their son, 2 other 
children who were visiting the family, and another help. His mercy plea was 
rejected on October 27, 2013.

16. Yakub Abdul Razak Memon

The 1993 Bombay blasts convict, who is scheduled to executed this month end, 
had his mercy plea rejected by the President on April 11, 2014.

17. Sonu Sardar

Sardar was convicted for the murder of 5 members of a family in Chhattisgarh in 
November 2004 on the eyewitness account of a 10-year-old girl who escaped. On 
May 5, 2014, his mercy plea was rejected.

18. Holiram Bordoloi

Bordoloi was convicted for killing 3 persons, including a 6-year-old, in 1996. 
The Supreme Court confirmed his death sentence while noting that "the dragging 
of Nagarmol Bordoloi by Holiram to his house and then cutting him into pieces 
in broad daylight in the presence of bystanders" was a particularly aggravating 
circumstance. His mercy plea was rejected on July 5, 2014.

19. Renukabai and Seema

The 2 sisters from Maharashtra were arrested for the kidnap of 13 children and 
the murder of 9, along with their mother and accomplice Kiran Shinde. The 
bodies of these children were found on railway tracks, with their heads 
smashed, strangulated, thrashed with iron rods. The mother died in 1997 and 
Shinde turned an approver in the case. The mercy plea of the 2 sisters, who 
were given death sentences, was rejected on July 7, 2014.

20. Jagdish

Jagdish was convicted for murdering his wife and his children, 4 daughters and 
a son, all aged between one and 16 years, in Madhya Pradesh.On July 7, 2014, 
his mercy plea was rejected.

21. Surinder Koli

The 42-year-old domestic help was sentenced to death in the case of abduction, 
abuse and murder of several minors in Noida's Nithari village. Convicted of 
rape, murder and cannibalism during 2005-2006, Koli's mercy plea was rejected 
on July 20, 2014.

22. Rajendra Prahladrao Wasnik

Wasnik was convicted for raping and murdering a 3-year-old girl in the village 
of Asra in Maharashtra. His mercy plea was rejected on July 31, 2014.

23. MA Antony

Anthony was sentenced to death for murdering six members of a family in 
January, 2001. His mercy plea was rejected on January 27 this year.

24. Shiwaji Shankar Alhat

The former school teacher was given a death sentence for the brutal rape and 
murder of a minor girl in January 2002. The President rejected his plea of 
clemency on March 16 this year.

(source: India Today)






TAIWAN:

Death penalty sought in schoolgirl slaying


The suspect was found fit to stand trial over the May 29 attack and prosecutors 
are seeking the maximum penalty, which the victim's family supports

Kung Chung-an, accused of the murder of an 8-year-old girl who was assaulted on 
a Taipei school campus, should be put to death, prosecutors said as they filed 
homicide charges against him yesterday.

Kung, 29, was accused of entering Wenhua Elementary School in Taipei's Beitou 
District on May 29 and slicing the throat of a student surnamed Liu, who died 
in hospital the following day.

When Kung was taken to Taipei Veterans General Hospital to be examined by 
psychiatrists and questioned by prosecutors, he spoke of suffering mental 
illness and hearing voices, officials said.

Medical assessments found that Kung was fit to stand trial and was not affected 
by psychological disorders at the time of the incident and did not suffer from 
any physical or mental illness, Shilin District Prosecutors' Office 
spokesperson Su Pei-yu said.

According to the prosecutors' statement, Kung killed the girl in an act of 
extreme cruelty by slashing her throat, traumatizing her family and causing 
pervasive fear in society.

"As the medical assessment indicated no reason for reducing Kung's punishment, 
the court is asking for the maximum penalty, a death sentence, along with 
deprivation of his civil rights for life, to maintain law and order," Su said.

While being questioned by prosecutors, Kung reportedly confessed to the 
killing, saying he could not deal with the stress and social pressure of not 
being able to find a regular job and having no girlfriend, while his relatives 
cast aspersions on his life.

Kung's lawyer requested leniency, saying that the defendant had turned himself 
in.

After the alleged incident, Kung washed his hands, called police to report the 
crime and waited on a staircase for officers to arrive, the lawyer said.

Su said prosecutors did not agree that Kung had turned himself in because 
calling the police was part of his plan and it was not an act of remorse.

The victim's father, speaking through his lawyer, last night said: "I hope Kung 
can take responsibility for his action. My wish is to see the law carried out 
and that is the death sentence. I do not want to see another tragedy like this 
again."

(source: Taipei Times)






ETHIOPIA:

Release of man from Britain detained in Ethiopia demanded by UN


A new opinion from experts at the UN Human Rights Council orders the Ethiopian 
government to release and compensate Andargachew 'Andy' Tsege, from London, who 
was abducted at a Yemeni airport and rendered to Ethiopia in June 2014.

Mr Tsege - a prominent critic of rights abuses in Ethiopia - has been held for 
the past year in an undisclosed location, and has been prevented from having 
contact with a lawyer, his family and British consular officials.

The Ethiopian authorities have aired several videos of Mr Tsege in detention in 
which he appears gaunt and disoriented, sparking fears that he is being 
tortured. Mr Tsege has not been informed of any charges against him in the year 
since he was rendered, but appears to face a death sentence handed down in 
absentia in 2009 in relation to his political activities.

The opinion of the Human Rights Council experts finds that Mr Tsege is being 
detained "on the basis of his political convictions" and should be freed 
without delay. It adds there is "reliable evidence" that he is being physically 
abused, and that his rendition to Ethiopia involved "several violations of 
international law."

The intervention follows the publication of a recent letter to Ethiopian 
diplomats from the UN's human rights Special Rapporteurs, in which they 
expressed "grave concern" over Mr Tsege's rendition and torture.

Though the UK Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond, said recently that Mr Tsege's 
detention "risked undermining" the UK's relationship with Ethiopia, he has thus 
far failed to ask for Mr Tsege's return, instead focusing (unsuccessfully) on 
securing 'consular access' and 'due process'. 
(http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/21578)

However, internal Foreign Office emails recently obtained by the human rights 
organisation Reprieve - which is assisting Mr Tsege's family - show UK 
diplomats privately discussing how Mr Tsege faces a "real risk of torture", and 
saying no legal basis has been provided for his detention. More recent 
correspondence reveals a Foreign Office view that the Ethiopian government is 
being "obdurate".

Several MPs have raised Mr Tsege's case in Parliament over the past few days, 
with one asking "what steps the Government plans to take to ensure Mr Tsege's 
return home."

Maya Foa, head of the death penalty team at Reprieve, said: "It's been over a 
year since Andy Tsege was forcibly taken to Ethiopia, in a kidnapping operation 
that UK officials admit was unlawful. Sentenced to death in absentia for the 
'crime' of his political opinions, he has now been held in solitary confinement 
- itself a form of torture - for 13 months.

"He has been denied proper consular access, 'interrogated' for months on end, 
paraded on Ethiopian State television, and refused any meaningful contact with 
the outside world or his family in London. The UN is right to be taking action 
and demanding Andy's immediate release from his unlawful detention.

"The UK's refusal to do the same is an unacceptable abdication of 
responsibility to one of its citizens. Philip Hammond should do what's right 
for this British father of 3, and request his release immediately."

* Reprieve http://www.reprieve.org.uk/

(source: ekklesia.co.uk)