[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

July 16



CHINA:

Sick man sentenced to death for injuring 20 in NE China


A very ill man in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province received death 
penalty for injuring 20 people with a knife, a statement issued by a local 
court said on Thursday.

Li Huaqiang, who suffers myasthenia gravis, went on the rampage in 2014 to take 
revenge on society, deeming that he was unfairly treated, said the statement 
from the Intermediate People's Court in Daqing City.

On Sept. 30, Li attacked 14 diners at a KFC outlet in Daqing and later injured 
6 others at a Mcdonald's, where he was subdued by staff and diners.

The knife attack left 7 people seriously wounded, said the statement.

The court ruling, handed out on Tuesday, ordered Li to pay 1 million yuan 
(163,500 U.S. dollars) to the injured as compensation.

(source: Xinhua)






INDIA:

1993 Blasts: Yakub's fate rests with Supreme Court decision


Yakub Memon could be the 1st and lone accused to be executed in the 1993 serial 
bomb blasts case if he fails to get any relief from the Supreme Court on his 
curative petition.

Legal experts are, however, divided on whether Memon has the option of filing a 
mercy petition after rejection of his curative petition or not. But there is no 
stay on his execution by the apex court and hence for now there is still a 
chance that he will be executed as per schedule.

According to sources, the special Tada court judge G.A. Sanap had already 
signed Memon's death warrant way back on April 29. The black warrant (death 
warrant) was dispatched on April 30, according to which the date of execution 
was July 30, 2015.

The Tada court had issued Memon's execution warrant for the 1st time when he 
was sentenced to death along with 11 others. All the 12 people challenged their 
conviction and subsequent sentence in the Supreme Court.

During the hearing Mohammed Iqbal died and the apex court commuted the death 
sentence of 10 others to life in 2013 and now Memon is the only accused facing 
the death penalty.

The 10 convicts whose death sentence was commuted to life term were - Abdul 
Gani Ismail Turk, Parvez Nazir Ahmed Shaikh, Mushtaq Tarani, Asghar Mukadam, 
Shahnawaz Qureshi, Shoaib Ghansar, Firoze Amani Malki, Zakir Hussain, Abdul 
Akhtar Khan and Farooq Pawale.

Advocate Farhana Shah, who appeared for several accused as a defence lawyer in 
the 1993 blasts case said, "Even if Memon's curative petition is rejected, he 
can file a mercy petition." She also said that there is no direct evidence 
against him and "after the lapse of so many years, it is too harsh to give him 
death penalty".

According to senior counsel Mahesh Jethmalani, Memon would not have the option 
of filing a mercy petition once again after it has been rejected once. On the 
other hand, former Justice B.G. Kolse Patil said, "In the criminal system, one 
neither prevents an accused from filing any petition on humanitarian or any 
other ground nor can one stop the Supreme Court from deciding on this 
petition." He said that Memon could file a mercy or any other petition even 
after rejection of the curative petition and it is up to the apex court to 
decide whether to entertain it or not.

When contacted, retired Justice Pramod Dattatraya Kode said since the matter is 
pending before the apex court, he would not make any comment. Justice Kode 
conducted the trial in the 1993 bomb blasts case, which went on for 14 years 
before pronouncement of judgment. "When any matter is before Supreme Court for 
consideration, nobody should express an opinion about it," said Justice Kode.

A 3-judge bench led by Justice Anil R. Dave dismissed the review petition by 
Memon after holding there was no ground to interfere with the judgment to hand 
out capital punishment to him. Later, President Pranab Mukherjee had also 
rejected his mercy petition after which Memon had filed a curative petition 
which is pending before the court.

(source: Asian Age)

***********

Sensational 8-Year-Old Safia Case: Prime Accused Gets Death


Kasargod District Sessions Court on Thursday awarded death penalty to the prime 
accused in the sensational murder of 14-year-old girl Safia.

Goa-based civil contractor K C Hamsa (52), his wife Maimoona (46) and helper M 
Abdulla (48) were found guilty by the court for brutally killing Safia on 15, 
December, 2006. The court termed it as a 'rarest of the rare case'.

Hamsa was given death sentence under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) 302, 201 and 
361, while his wife was awarded a prison term of 6 years for child labour and 
for giving false information under IPC 201 and 361. Their helper Abdulla was 
accused of hiding information and was given 3 years of jail term.

Hamsa will also have to pay a fine of 10 lakh, out of which 8 lakh will be 
given to Safia's parents Moidu and Ayesha. Also, Maimoona was asked to pay a 
fine of 5,000 and Abdulla 3,000.

14-year-old chopped to pieces alive

Sofia, a native of Ayyankeri in Coorg was brought to Kasargod and then to Goa 
as a domestic help by Hamsa. He chopped the girl's body into three pieces and 
buried it at a dam construction site in Mollem, Goa.

Though the local police failed to crack the case, investigation launched by a 
team of Crime Branch officers found vital clues using scientific evidence as 
there weren't any eye-witnesses.

During the investigation, officers recovered Safia's skull and clothes and it 
was found that the 14-year-old was chopped into pieces when she was alive.

(source: International Business Times)

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

Death penalty for Kerala man who murdered teenage maid----Girl was murdered in 
Goa, chopped into pieces and her body concealed under a construction site


9 years after a 13-year-old girl was murdered by a man who had hired her as a 
maid in Kerala's northern district of Kasaragod, a court on Thursday awarded 
the death penalty to the killer.

K.C. Hamsa, 52, the 1st accused convicted in the case, was also slapped with a 
fine of Rs1 million (Dh57,830) by the judge, M.J. Sakthidharan for killing the 
teenage girl, Safiya.

Of the amount, Rs800,000 has to be given to Safiya's parents, Moidu and Ayesha 
of Kudagu in neighbouring Karnataka state.

Hamsa's wife Mymoona, 46, the 3rd accused in the case was awarded 3 years' 
imprisonment and a fine of Rs10,000.

M. Abdulla, 48, the brother-in-law of Hamsa's brother, and 4th accused in the 
case, was given a 3-year jail sentence and a fine of Rs5,000.

The court discharged Moidu Haji, 59, who arranged the employment of the teenage 
girl as a maid in Hamsa's house, and A. Gopalakrishnan, 57, who was posted as 
an assistant sub-inspector of police in Kasaragod and accused of attempting to 
scuttle the case, for want of sufficient evidence of their roles in the case.

Hamsa had initially kept Safiya at his residence in Kasaragod. He then took her 
to his house in Goa, from where the girl went missing. A case was registered in 
December 2006 after Safiya's father who went to take his daughter back home 
from Goa, was told she was missing.

For nearly 2 years, the case made little progress, until the crime branch made 
critical breakthroughs in investigations. Detailed investigations revealed that 
the girl was murdered in Goa and that her body was chopped into pieces, put 
into plastic bags and concealed under a construction site for a check-dam in 
the state.

The case was unique because there were no witnesses and the court had to rely 
on scientific evidence. Hamsa was arrested in July, 2008 and the skeletal 
remains of Safiya were unearthed within a week.

The case attracted statewide attention when local residents accused the police 
of negligence in investigating the case because the deceased girl hailed from a 
poor family. An action committee was also set up by local residents to demand 
effective investigations into the case.

(source: Gulf News)






ZIMBABWE:

Death Row Inmate Gets Life Term


Death-row inmate Shylet Sibanda, yesterday withdrew her constitutional 
application seeking to quash a death sentence imposed on her and have it 
replaced with an appropriate punishment in line with the new Constitution as 
her sentence had already been commuted to life imprisonment.

The new Constitution spares all women, men under 21 at the time of the crime 
and those over 70 from the death penalty.

It also outlaws the imposition of the death penalty as a mandatory punishment.

Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku, leading the full constitutional bench 
accepted the move by Sibanda's lawyer Advocate Fadzayi Mahere, to withdraw the 
application because it was overtaken by events.

"The matter is struck off the roll," said Chief Justice Chidyausiku.

Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association (ZWLA) had brought the application to the 
Constitutional Court on behalf of Sibanda, on death row for 4 years, and 
Rosemary Margaret Khumalo on death row for 15 years.

Khumalo died at Chikurubi Maximum Prison at the age of 69.

(source: The Herald)






PHILIPPINES/MALAYSIA:

Pardon sought for Pinoy couple convicted for drug trafficking in Malaysia


The Philippine government has been working to secure a pardon, based on 
humanitarian grounds, for the Filipino couple sentenced to death for drug 
trafficking in Sabah, Malaysia.

"Upon affirmation of the guilty verdict by the Federal Court, Malaysia's 
highest court, letters of appeal for the grant of clemency or pardon were sent 
to the relevant authorities," the Philippine embassy in Kuala Lumpur said in a 
statement.

Timhar and Nurie Ong were arrested in August 2005 for drug trafficking. 
Authorities found 333.66 grams of shabu hidden in a shoe box during a raid in a 
hotel in Kota Kinabalu.

The couple claimed that the prohibited drugs were left with them by a Filipina 
they met at the airport.

President Benigno Aquino III first sent a letter of appeal to the Agong 
(Malaysian King) and to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in September, 
2010. A 2nd letter of appeal followed in 2012 sent to the Governor of Sabah by 
Philippine Ambassador J. Eduardo Malaya.

The embassy said the appeals are currently under consideration by the Sabah 
Pardon Board. The grant of clemency or pardon is purely discretionary on the 
part of the Pardon Board, and in most cases, given only after lengthy 
imprisonment.

The couple was convicted of drug smuggling and sentenced to life imprisonment 
by the High Court of Sabah and Sarawak in November 2006, but the prosecutor 
appealed the penalty, which is allowed by Malaysian law.

The sentence was then raised to death penalty in October 2009 by the Putrajaya 
Court of Appeal. The Federal Court affirmed the death penalty in April 2010. 
They were assisted by legal counsel during the proceedings.

"There has been reluctance by local authorities to carry out the death penalty 
or undertake execution in recent years, particularly for drug trafficking 
offenders. There are no indications at this time that the death penalty will be 
carried out against the couple Ong anytime soon," the embassy added.

The DFA reiterated its appeal to Filipinos to be aware of modus operandi of 
drug trafficking syndicates anywhere in the world, and to not fall victim to 
them, as it carries the death penalty in most cases, including in Malaysia.

(source: Coconuts)






BANGLADESH:

Death penalty for Patuakhali war criminal Forkan Mollik


Justice Obaidul Hassan, chief of ICT-2, announced the verdict for the war 
criminal from Patuakhali on Thursday morning.

Among the 5 charges against him, he has been sentenced to death for 2 charges - 
rape of women and murder of civilians at Mirjaganj.

He got life imprisonment in 1 and was acquitted in the other 2 charges.

The prosecution could not prove that Mollik was a member of local Razakar unit, 
said Justice Hassan.

"But such failure ipso facto does not make him a low level offender."

It is proven that Mollik was a close and notorious associate of local Razakars, 
which was a 'pack of beasts', said Justice Hassan.

"We got the verdict we wanted. A man who was directly involved in crimes 
against humanity during the Liberation War has received what he deserves," said 
prosecutor Mokhlesur Rahman Badal.

"The court observed that he (Mollik) willingly committed these crimes, 
especially on Hindus.

"He raped women which is one of the most heinous crimes. We're satisfied with 
the tribunal's verdict," he said.

Meanwhile, Mollik's lawyer Abdus Salam said, 2 of those who were shown as 
victims by the prosecution said he was innocent.

"But we still respect the tribunal's decision."

"He studied up to 5th grade and works as a day labourer, he does not have the 
ability to file an appeal. I've fought his case without any fee. But we still 
insisted that there should be an appeal."

Mollik was brought to the tribunal from Dhaka Central Prison in a prison van 
around 8am, said DMP Senior Assistant Commissioner SM Imanul.

"He was put in the tribunal's lockup at 8:55am."

One Abdul Hamid filed a case against Mollik with Mirjaganj police on July 21, 
2009. His trial began at a Patuakhali court on February 2010.

The 64-year-old was found guilty in preliminary investigations and the case was 
transferred to the ICT-2.

Detective Branch detained Mollik from Barisal's Rupatali Bus Stand on June 25, 
2014.

Shown arrested for war crimes, he was sent to prison on July 3.

ICT-2 took the charges into cognisance on Dec 2 and started his trial on Dec 
18.

14 prosecution witnesses including the investigating officer have testified 
while defence produced four witnesses.

Crime and punishment

Charge-1 (Not guilty)

Forkan Mollik, on Aug 12, 1971 accompanied armed Razakars and Pakistani troops 
on agunboat to Mirjaganj's Subidkhali bazaar.

They detained Hafij Uddin Khalifa, supporting freedom fighters, along with 
Awami League leader Abdul Kader Jomadder. The men were later gunned down and 
their bodies dumped into the river.

They also went to pick up Debndra Nath Sarker, a doctor, from his house.

Mollik identified Sarker who was shot dead by the tropps.He then bayonetted to 
death Sarker's wife Biva Rani who tried to save her husband.

Sentence - Acquitted

Charge-2 (Not guilty)

Mollik on Aug 15 August, 1971 accompanied armed Razakars who apprehended 3 
brothers, Ramani Kundu, Shyam Sundar Kundu and Sunil Kundu from their houses at 
Subidkhali bazaar.

The Razakars brought them back to their camp, an old hospital building. The 
Hindu detainees were forced to convert to Islam. The experience compelled the 
victims to run away for fear of their life.

Sentence - Acquitted

Charge-3 (Guilty)

On Aug 17, 1971, Mollik, with other Razakar men, raided the house of Ram 
Krishna Saha at Subidkhali bazaar. They dragged his 16-year-old unmarried girl 
Golapi Rani Saha to Jugibari and raped her until she lost consciousness.

Dumped close to her home, she died the next day.

Sentence - Death by hanging

Charge-4 (Guilty)

Mollik, on Aug 20, 1971, led his accomplices to attack the house of Lalit 
Karmakar at Subidkhali bazaar. They picked up his daughter Shova Rani and 
daughter-in-law 'Sushama' and took them to the Razakar camp.

They were gang raped and dumped in front of their house, a day later. The 
family along with the victims fled to India.

Sentence - Prison until death

Charge-5 (Guilty)

On Aug 22 and Aug 25, 1971, Mollik accompanied a group of armed Razakar 
commanders, members and Pakistani occupation army for an attack on Kakakrbunia 
bazaar.

They destroyed the village and killed one Sanad Kumar Haldar in indiscriminate 
firing. They detained Moslem Haldar and Sundar Gazi.

The men then attacked the house of Selim Haldar and Hatem Ali, dragging out 
Aleya Begum, the newly married daughter of Hatem Ali.

Mollik shot Hatem Ali dead, detained Aleya Begum and took her to the Pakistani 
army's gunboat anchored near the bazaar.

They continued their carnage and attacked the house of Majibur Rahman Mridha, 
tortured Mosharaf Mridha and then killed Elemuddin.

The group then attacked the Hindu Parha. They left village Kakarbunia with the 
loot from the households and Aleya Begum.

Begum was taken to Patuakhali circuit house where she was locked in a room 
along with 20-25 young girls captured earlier.

She was sexually violated by Pakistani army men who took her to a another room. 
Mollik and his accomplices raped her the next day. On Aug 25, the victim was 
dumped in front of her house.

Sentence - Death by hanging

(source: bdnews24.com)