[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

July 22




ZIMBABWE:

End the death penalty after 10-year execution hiatus


A 10-year hiatus in executions is a milestone for the protection of the right 
to life and the eventual abolition of the death penalty in Zimbabwe, said 
Amnesty International as the country marked a decade without executions.

Although the country carried out its last execution on 22 July 2005, there are 
still 95 prisoners on death row. Amnesty International is now calling on 
Zimbabwe to declare an official moratorium on executions and totally abolish 
the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.

Zimbabwe's new Constitution, enacted in 2013, abolished mandatory death 
sentences and limited the death penalty to cases of murder "committed in 
aggravating circumstances". It bars death sentences for women and men aged 
under 21 or over 70 at the time of committing the crime.

"The world is moving away from the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading 
punishment. Zimbabwe should permanently dismantle its machinery for execution 
and join the majority of the world's countries by abolishing capital 
punishment."

Background

More than 100 countries around the world have abolished this cruel form of 
punishment and many more countries are abolitionists in practice.

17 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Angola, Burundi, Cape Verde, Cote 
d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritius, Madagascar, Mozambique, 
Namibia, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa and 
Togo have abolished the death penalty for all crimes.

In addition several other African countries have also taken legislative steps 
towards abolishing death penalty for all crimes.

Since June 2015 Burkina Faso has been considering a bill to abolish the death 
penalty. In 2014, Chad's government adopted a draft penal code aimed at 
abolishing the death penalty, and the law is now awaiting a parliamentary 
process.

In the same year, Sierra Leone announced its intention to abolish the death 
penalty.

On 16 July 2015, Zambian President Edgar Lungu commuted the sentences of the 
country's 332 death row prisoners to life imprisonment.

(source: Amnety International)






PAKISTAN:

Pakistan top court stops execution of Christian woman

Pakistan's top court on Wednesday stopped execution of a Christian woman who 
had been on death row since 2010 over blasphemy charges, lawyers said.

Asia Bibi, a 50-year-old, was arrested in Nankana district in central Punjab 
province in 2009 over alleged "insult to Prophet Muhammad." She had, however, 
denied the charges and had told the court that neighbors had leveled charges 
against her over " personal differences."

A local court in Nankana had awarded Asia Bibi's death sentence. She became the 
first non-Muslim lady to get death penalty. A high court had upheld the 
sentence.

Asia, mother of 5 children, had challenged death penalty in the Supreme Court.

A 3-member bench of the apex court stayed the execution and admitted her 
petition for formal hearing, her defence lawyer Saiful Malook said. The court 
sought all record of the case and ruled that she would not be executed until it 
delivers verdict on her appeal.

Malook told the court that the Lahore High Court had "not fulfilled legal 
requirements" while upholding the death penalty of his client.

Asia Bibi was accused of "offering insulting remarks" about the Prophet 
Muhammad during discussions with Muslim women in June 2009.

Denying the charges, she had informed the court that she was" forced to convert 
to Islam"and that she was charged after her refusal.

(source: Xinhua news)






INDIA:

Commute Yakub Memon's death sentence: CPI-M


The CPI-M on Wednesday urged the government to commute the death sentence of 
Mumbai blasts accused Yakub Menon, saying he had chosen to surrender and 
cooperate with Indian authorities.

While describing the 1993 blasts as "a heinous terrorist attack" that killed 
257 innocents, the CPI-M said that Memon's death sentence would not serve the 
interests of justice.

"Yakub Memon was part of the conspiracy. But unlike the main actors, he chose 
to surrender before the Indian authorities and stand trial," the Communist 
Party of India-Marxist said in a statement.

"He also brought his family back to India to stand trial.

"He has provided information to the authorities about the involvement of 
Pakistani personnel in the attack and the shelter given to the terrorists and 
is therefore also the only witness available to the government.

"Yet, he was singled out for the death sentence while the main perpetrators are 
at large," the statement said.

It said it would serve the ends of justice if Yakub Memon's death penalty was 
commuted to life sentence.

"Even those convicted in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case with the death 
sentence have had their sentences commuted to life.

"The CPI-M has been in principle advocating the abolition of the death penalty. 
Hence Yakub Memon's mercy petition, which has been filed, should be accepted," 
it said.

The CPI-M said it was imperative that the criminals responsible for the deadly 
Mumbai attack should be brought to book and punished.

"There is ample evidence that the main culprits have escaped the law with the 
help of agencies across the border.

"Every effort has to be made from all fora available to bring them back to 
India to stand trial and consequent punishment under law."

(source: Zee News)

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

One more reason to scrap death penalty


The National Law University has produced, with help from the Law Commission, a 
seminal report that profiles people who went to the gallows or are on death row 
over the last 15 years. Over 93% of these people are Dalits and Muslims. Around 
75% of prisoners on death row - slated for execution - belong to backward 
classes or minorities. The reason? Most cannot comprehend the charges against 
them and have no money to hire competent defence lawyers. This is a slap on the 
face of Indian democracy.

Death-penatly

Every place in the world that has capital punishment has to come back to one 
basic question: did we string up the right guy? If people have been killed by 
the state because they could not defend themselves adequately, it is a large 
blot on our democratic copybook.

The founding fathers of our Constitution did not foresee this: for them, rights 
and liberties were guaranteed to all Indians. Yet, pernicious forces of caste, 
class and religious domination rule India to this day. It is easy to shrug off 
this fact as accepted reality, but not after being faced with hard facts about 
people sent to the gallows, simply because they were too poor or ignorant to 
defend themselves adequately. In 1978, the great American political 
sociologist, Barrington Moore, wrote a book called Injustice. There he argued 
eloquently, taking examples from India and the rest of the world, that people 
in general, accept hierarchical rule and do not revolt unless there is a great 
disruption of the system. He underlined he was no Marxist, and our policymakers 
must understand his message. As India has to grow, it has to deal with every 
issue with great sensitivity. The incompetence of policing, investigating and 
judicial authorities cannot be covered up with political rhetoric and death 
sentences.

(source: Economic Times)

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

Trial judge who sentenced Yakub Memon to death hails SC ruling


The former TADA court judge P D Kode, who sentenced Yakub Memon to death in 
2007 in the Mumbai serial blasts case, today said he was certain that the 
Supreme Court had dismissed his curative petition on merits.

"I have full faith in the Supreme Court and feel sure that it has decided 
Yakub's case on merits, though I am not not aware of the grounds cited by him 
in the petition," Kode told PTI.

For the apex court, the issue of human rights and liberty is of paramount 
significance and it always ensures that there is no miscarriage of justice, 
said Kode, who retired as a High Court judge sometime ago.

Recalling the marathon trial before the TADA court over which he presided, Kode 
said the investigating agencies - Mumbai police and CBI - had done an excellent 
job in arresting more than 100 accused and filing chargesheet in a record time.

He also appreciated the evidence adduced by the prosecution and said it was an 
excellent job.

"I have vivid memories of the trial which lasted for more than a decade," said 
Kode, who convicted 100 accused in this case.

"During the trial, several political parties came to power in the state. Every 
political party has its own ideology but all of them were unanimous in holding 
that they were opposed to terrorism and would act with a firm hand against 
people doing such acts," the judge said.

Kode had awarded death sentence to 12 accused, including Yakub. All of them 
appealed in the Supreme court, one of them died when the hearing was pending. 
The SC commuted death sentence to life sentence in the case of 10 convicts 
leaving only Yakub to face the death penalty.

(source: Financial Express)






BANGLADESH:

Single war tribunal by next month ---- Merging decision comes as number of 
pending cases drops


The government is likely to merge the 2 war crimes tribunals within August, as 
the number of pending cases has dropped after disposal of 20 major cases.

"The 2 international crimes tribunals will be merged into 1 after their judges 
return to the country from a conference in Argentina," Law Minister Anisul Huq 
told The Daily Star on July 16.

Merging the 2 tribunals is a matter of time, he said without elaborating.

Earlier in March this year, the law minister told this correspondent that there 
was no necessity to keep all 6 High Court judges engaged in the tribunals for 
the remaining cases.

Anisul Huq had also said there was a huge backlog of cases pending with the HC 
and those would be heard and disposed of quickly if some of the tribunal judges 
return to the HC.

A tribunal source said the 6 judges of the 2 tribunals are supposed to attend a 
2-week international conference in Argentina to share their experience of 
holding war crimes trial and come back before the end of August.

The issues regarding their going to Argentina would be finalised within this 
month, the source added.

The Awami League-led government formed the 1st tribunal on March 25, 2010 in 
line with the party's electoral pledge to try people who committed crimes 
against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971.

The government formed a 2nd tribunal on March 22, 2012 to expedite the trial.

The tribunal-1 has so far settled 9 cases filed against nine war criminals, 
while the tribunal-2 adjudicated 11 cases of war crimes committed by 13 people.

The convicts are Abdul Quader Mollah, assistant secretary of Jamaat-e-Islami, 
(death sentence), Ghulam Azam, former chief of Jamaat, (90 years in jail), 
Abdul Alim, former BNP minister, (jail until death), Delawar Hossain Sayedee, 
nayeb-e-ameer of Jamaat, (death sentence), Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, assistant 
secretary of Jamaat, (death sentence), Abdul Kalam Azad, expelled Jamaat 
member, (death sentence), Chowdhury Mueen Uddin, Islami Chhatra Sangha leader 
in 1971, (death sentence), Ashrafuzzaman Khan, Islami Chhatra Sangha leader in 
1971, (death sentence), MA Zahid Hossain Khokon, a BNP leader from Faridpur, 
(death sentence), Abdul Jabbar, former Jatiya Party lawmaker, (jail until 
death), Motiur Rahman Nizami, ameer of Jamaat, (death sentence), Ali Ahsan 
Mohammad Mojaheed, secretary general of Jamaat, (death sentence), Salauddin 
Quader Chowdhury, BNP standing committee member, (death sentence), Abdus 
Subhan, nayeb-e-ameer of Jamaat, (death sentence), ATM Azharul Islam, assistant 
secretary of Jamaat, (death sentence), Mir Quasem Ali, member of Jamaat's 
central executive committee, (death sentence), Syed Mohammad Qaisar, former 
Jatiya Party minister, (death sentence), and Mobarak Hossain, expelled Awami 
League leader, (death sentence), Mahidur Rahman and Ashraf Hossain Chutu, 2 BNP 
supporters from Chapainawabganj (imprisonment till death), Syed Hasan Ali from 
Kishoreganj (death sentence) and Forkan Mallik, BNP supporter from Patuakhali, 
(death sentence).

Ghulam Azam and Abdul Alim died inside jail, while Azad, Mueen, Ashrafuzzaman, 
Khokon and Hasan Ali are still on the run.

Quader Mollah was executed on December 12, 2013, and Kamaruzzaman was executed 
on April 11 this year following the Supreme Court verdicts.

The SC has upheld the death penalty of Mojaheed and jailed Sayedee until his 
death.

The appeals of other convicts, now in custody, are pending with the apex court.

(source: The Daily Star)






UNITED KINGDOM/GLOBAL:

LORDS ORAL QUESTION - DEATH PENALTY: WORLDWIDE ABOLITION


Mon, 20 July 2015 | House of Lords - Oral Question

The following Oral Question was answered in the House of Lords on 20 July 2015.

Question

3 pm

Asked by

Lord Faulkner of Worcester

To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in securing the 
worldwide abolition of the death penalty.

The Earl of Courtown (Con):

My Lords, during the last Parliament, the Government worked with partners, 
notably the Swiss Government and experts such as the Death Penalty Project and 
the all-party parliamentary group, to promote global abolition. This policy was 
successful. In 2014, only 22 countries executed, while 140 were abolitionists. 
We will continue to raise death penalty cases abroad. The Diplomatic Service 
will make the practical and moral cases against the death penalty to 
retentionist countries.

Lord Faulkner of Worcester (Lab):

My Lords, the Government's continued commitment to the abolition of the death 
penalty is very welcome, but the Minister will be aware that some countries 
pose particular problems. Perhaps I may ask particularly about Iran, much in 
the news lately because of the welcome news about the signing of the deal on 
its nuclear programme. Is he aware that, according to Amnesty International, 
around 743 people were executed in Iran last year, most in secret, including 
juvenile offenders, drug offenders and political activists? That is probably 
more per head of the population than in any other country in the world. Can he 
give an assurance that, as UK-Iranian relations develop, Foreign Office 
officials will take every opportunity to demand improvements in Iran???s human 
rights record and that the barbarous use of the death penalty on such a 
grotesque scale comes to an end?

The Earl of Courtown:

The noble Lord, Lord Faulkner, mentions quite horrific figures from Iran. He is 
right about pressure. I hope that the agreement reached only last week will 
open the door to more work that we can carry out. The recent diplomatic 
breakthrough may enable more dialogue, and our diplomatic staff will take 
advantage of any opening possible.

Baroness Stern (CB):

My Lords, I declare an interest as co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary 
Group for the Abolition of the Death Penalty and express appreciation for the 
principled stance that the Government have taken on this matter. The Minister 
will be aware of Lindsay Sandiford, the British grandmother, who is on death 
row in Indonesia for drug trafficking. What are the Government doing to ensure 
that vulnerable British nationals under sentence of death like Lindsay 
Sandiford have effective legal representation?

The Earl of Courtown:

My Lords, the noble Baroness mentions a particular case in Indonesia and legal 
representation. It has been the policy of all Governments in the past not to 
fund legal costs for those in this position, but we will work as hard as we can 
both bilaterally and multilaterally to protect individuals who end up in this 
situation.

Lord Avebury (LD):

My Lords, the coalition Government produced the Strategy for Abolition of the 
Death Penalty 2010-2015, but that does not appear to have been succeeded by 
another strategy covering the years 2015 to 2020. Will that happen? Perhaps I 
may also ask the Minister about the case of Saudi Arabia. The Foreign Office 
website points out that 100 executions have taken place there so far this year 
and that we raise the matter on every possible occasion, bilaterally and 
through the European Union. When we do that, can we concentrate on the 
safeguards developed by the United Nations that are recommended for use in 
death penalty cases, in particular those regarding the ingredients of a fair 
trial?

The Earl of Courtown:

My Lords, the noble Lord mentioned Saudi Arabia. We frequently raise the issue 
of the death penalty with the Saudi authorities both bilaterally at the highest 
levels and through the European Union. The noble Lord also mentioned the 2010 
to 2015 plan. I can tell him that we are still funding projects through the 
Human Rights and Democracy fund in the US, China and south-east Asia, the 
Middle East and north Africa. We provide training for defence lawyers in the 
United States and we have supported a regional organisation in the greater 
Caribbean area, as well as providing support for defence lawyers in the 
Caribbean. We also fund important work to support abolitionists. These works 
are ongoing.

Lord Dubs (Lab):

My Lords, is the Minister aware that we in the All-Party Parliamentary Group 
for the Abolition of the Death Penalty are grateful for the support we get for 
visits we pay to overseas countries? The United States has always been a 
particular difficulty. Is the Minister aware that as recently as 29 June, 2 
judges in the Supreme Court said in a dissenting judgment that they were asking 
for a full briefing on a basic question of whether the death penalty violates 
the constitution? Although it was not a majority view, it was pretty well a 
landmark conclusion. Does the Minister agree that the time has come to push the 
United States a bit further?

The Earl of Courtown:

I think that the noble Lord, Lord Dubs, is correct. The situation in America is 
difficult to believe, but there has been progress. Nebraska has abolished the 
death penalty, while Oregon and Washington State have entered a moratorium. 
Since 2010 we have banned drugs being exported to the United States, which was 
followed by the whole of the EU in 2012.

Baroness Smith of Basildon (Lab):

Further to what has been said about the USA, perhaps I may raise with the noble 
Earl a specific issue which I would ask him to raise with the US authorities 
and perhaps also with our EU partners. Thomas Knight was executed in Florida on 
7 January 2014 for a murder he committed at the age of 23. However, he had been 
on death row for 39 years. There are numerous incidents of young men being held 
on death row for years and years when presumably they are quite different 
people by the time they are executed. I ask the noble Earl to raise this very 
serious issue to ensure that we do not have people on death row for such 
inordinate lengths of time, waiting for their execution.

The Earl of Courtown:

I thank the noble Baroness for bringing that to my attention. Spending that 
length of time on death row is quite inhuman. I will of course raise it with 
officials in the department.

(source: DeHavilland Information Services)