[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

July 27



IRAN:

A Death Sentence Issued after Consent of the Complainants


The images below are evidences that show the procedure of issuing an execution 
sentence for Ehsan Shah Qasemi, who has been charged with murder of a "Nahi e 
Monkar", (Vice Preventer), and has been sentenced to death. The images show 
that the death time was 3 years after the conflict and the person who had been 
beaten up, had already signed a formal consent and had received some money as 
well, as compensation or treatment expenses.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), 
Ehsan Shah Qasemi and his friends had a conflict with a member of "Basij", 
called Ali Khalili, in July 2011, after he gave them a warning as a "Vice 
Preventer" and then in the fighting, Ehsan Shah Qasim knifed Ali Khalili.

Ali Khalili was hospitalized for some time and had couple of surgeries and was 
discharged from hospital, but he died three years later, in April 2014.

Ali Khalili and his family in the case of the conflict gave consent to Ehsan 
Shah Qasemi, but after his death again that case began to flow and Ehsan Shah 
Qasemi was charged with murder. Iran's chief coroner announced that his death 
(Ali Khalili) is not unconnected to being stabbed.

Amnesty International also issued a statement condemning the execution of Ehsan 
Shah Qasemi and stated that Ehsan Shah Qasemi has not had a good and fair trial 
and access to a lawyer of his choice and, in principle, he had been tried once 
and was forgiven.

After the death of Ali Khalili, a group called him as a "martyr of enjoining 
good and forbidding wrong".

Ehsan Shah Qasemi is now in Rajai Shahr prison awaiting for Ali Khalili 
family's consent, or execution to take over.

(source: Human Rights Activists News Agency)






SUDAN:

Attorneys for South Sudanese Pastors Facing Execution Make Final Appeal for 
Justice


Attorneys for 2 South Sudanese pastors facing the death penalty made their 
closing arguments on Thursday (July 23) before a judge who appears to favor the 
prosecution, sources said.

Defense lawyers concluded their case at Khartoum Bahri Court with the assertion 
that agents from the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) 
illegally arrested Yat Michael on Dec. 14, 2014 and Peter Yein Reith on Jan. 
11.

"Justice requires that you don't judge [arrest] simply because you doubt 
[suspect] them without any concrete evidence," 1 lawyer said.

Michael, 49, was arrested after delivering a message of encouragement to a 
North Khartoum church in the face of a government-aided take-over of the 
congregation's property. The 36-year-old Reith was arrested after submitting a 
letter from leaders of their denomination, the South Sudan Presbyterian 
Evangelical Church (SSPEC), inquiring about the whereabouts of Michael.

During their trial a NISS official accused the pastors of collecting 
information for a human rights group. The charges, including espionage and 
promoting hatred among or against sects, were formed months after authorities 
arrested them.

"The judge in the last hearing seemed to be supporting the prosecution," said a 
source who requested anonymity. "The whole issue is politically motivated, and 
the 2 pastors are innocent, but the lawyers asked the judge to respect laws and 
the constitution and not aid NISS in violation of the constitution."

The charge of spying (Article 53 of the Sudanese Penal Code) is punishable by 
death, life imprisonment or prison and confiscation of property. The charge of 
promoting hatred among or against sects (Article 64) is punishable by up to 2 
years in prison.

The pastors are also charged with undermining the constitutional system 
(Article 50), punishable by death, life imprisonment, or imprisonment and 
confiscation of property; disclosure and obtaining information and official 
documents (Article 55), punishable by 2 years in prison or a fine; 
blasphemy/insulting religious creeds (Article 125), punishable by 1 year of 
imprisonment or a fine or no more than 40 lashes; disturbance of the public 
peace (Article 69), punishable by 6 months of prison, or a fine or no more than 
20 lashes; and joint acts in execution of a criminal conspiracy (Article 21). 
NISS has presented as evidence maps and other easily accessible documents taken 
from their confiscated laptops, as well as a NISS study guide that the pastors 
say was not on their computers when they were arrested. During their trial, the 
defense presented an IT expert who testified about how easy it would be for 
others to plant the documents on their computers without their knowledge, 
according to Middle East Concern (MEC).

A retired general also testified that the documents used as evidence against 
the pastors are in the public domain and are not related to military or other 
state secrets as the prosecution has alleged, according to MEC.

The defense attorney on Thursday told the judge that Michael did not violate 
Sudanese law - specifically, "insulting religious creeds" - while preaching at 
Khartoum Bahri Evangelical Church, as he was just carrying out his duty as a 
pastor.

"To urge believers to be zealous for their church is not an insult against 
God," the attorney said.

The defense team asserted that the 2 pastors were illegally detained for a long 
period without trial.

"This is illegal and against the Bill of Rights called for in Sudan's 
constitution," they stated in a filing with the court.

The lawyers called on the court to respect the constitution rather than 
excessive powers granted to NISS to arrest and detain any person at length 
without trial. NISS is manned by hard-line Islamists who are given broad powers 
to arrest Christians, black Africans, South Sudanese and other people lowly 
regarded in the country that President Omar al-Bashir has pledged will be fully 
Arabic and Islamic.

The defense stated that the court should drop charges against the 2 church 
leaders due to a critical lack of physical evidence.

"These charges are built on sand," they concluded in their filing.

A verdict is expected at a hearing on Aug. 5.

The Khartoum Bahri Evangelical Church that Michael had encouraged in December 
was the subject of government harassment, arrests and demolition of part of its 
worship center as Muslim investors tried to take it over. Police in North 
Khartoum on Dec. 2 beat and arrested 38 Christians from the church that Michael 
encouraged and fined most of them. They were released later that night.

On Oct. 5, 2013, Sudan's police and security forces broke through the church 
fence, beat and arrested Christians in the compound and asserted parts of the 
property belonged to a Muslim investor accompanying them. As Muslims nearby 
shouted, "Allahu Akbar [God is greater]," plainclothes police and personnel 
from NISS broke onto the property aboard a truck and 2 Land Cruisers. After 
beating several Christians who were in the compound, they arrested some of 
them; they were all released later that day.

Harassment, arrests and persecution of Christians have intensified since the 
secession of South Sudan in July 2011, when Bashir vowed to adopt a stricter 
version of sharia (Islamic law) and recognize only Islamic culture and the 
Arabic language. The Sudanese Minister of Guidance and Endowments announced in 
April 2013 that no new licenses would be granted for building new churches in 
Sudan, citing a decrease in the South Sudanese population.

Sudan since 2012 has expelled foreign Christians and bulldozed church buildings 
on the pretext that they belonged to South Sudanese. Besides raiding Christian 
bookstores and arresting Christians, authorities threatened to kill South 
Sudanese Christians who do not leave or cooperate with them in their effort to 
find other Christians (see Morning Star News).

Sudan fought a civil war with the south Sudanese from 1983 to 2005, and in June 
2011, shortly before the secession of South Sudan the following month, the 
government began fighting a rebel group in the Nuba Mountains that has its 
roots in South Sudan.

Due to its treatment of Christians and other human rights violations, Sudan has 
been designated a Country of Particular Concern by the U.S. State Department 
since 1999, and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom 
recommended the country remain on the list in its 2015 report.

Sudan ranked 6th on Christian support organization Open Doors' 2015 World Watch 
List of 50 countries where Christians face most persecution, moving up from 
11th place the previous year.

(source: Christian News)






INDIA:

APJ Abdul Kalam: The man who wanted death penalty to go, dies


Former president APJ Abul Kalam Azad did not favour the death penalty like his 
predecessor. But unlike his predecessor, he himself heard to the government and 
the people.


A defence scientist and a Bharat Ratna before he was elevated as President, 
India's bachelor president had spoken out against death penalty on at least on 
3 occasions while in office and sent back nearly 50 cases of capital sentences 
back for reconsideration.

The only mercy plea that he rejected was from Dhannajay Chatterji, a lift 
operator convicted of rape and killing a young girl in Kolkata, in 2004. Kalam 
indicated later that he had done so reluctantly.

During his tenure at Rashtrapati Bhavan, Kalam became the only President to 
send back petitions from 50 death row prisoners to the government in 2005, 
listing out reasons why the UPA government should consider clemency in each 
case.

When the home ministry decided to reject his advice in all the cases, he 
decided against rejecting any more mercy petitions. Many of them were later 
granted mercy when the Centre reconsidered the petitions in UPA II.

A decade later, Kalam volunteered to respond to a law commission consultation 
paper on the death penalty. Speaking from his experience at Rashtrapati Bhavan, 
Kalam recalled the outcome of the study by the President's office to examine 
the mercy petitions. "This study revealed to my surprise that almost all the 
cases which were pending had a social and economic bias," the former President 
said.

It is a question that Kalam had raised publicly in office too.

The book "Capital Punishment: A Hazard to a Sustainable Criminal Justice 
System?" points how Kalam digressed from the prepared text at a lecture 
delivered at Hyderabad's National Policy Academy in October 2005. He 
rhetorically asked why there were only poor people on death row.

A few days later, he again stressed on the need for a comprehensive policy on 
the death penalty after all aspects relating to it and mercy petitions were 
discussed in Parliament.

(source: Hindustan Times)

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

CLMC demands abolition of death penalty----"Stop the vengeful execution of 
Yakub Memon", the NGO says


The Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee (CLMC) on Monday came out strongly 
condemning the decision of the Indian government authorities stating that it 
explicitly disagrees with judiciary on the death penalty to Yakub Memon, who 
has undergone trial under a draconian law TADA and convicted by the TADA court.

"This Committee strongly believes that draconian laws are made only to target 
politically weak communities, especially Muslim community. Earlier, as it has 
happened with Afzal Guru and now the same is being repeated with Yakub Memon. 
This Committee strongly believes that the death penalty is cruel, inhuman and 
degrading and this Committee is opposed to its use, everywhere in the world, 
for whatever may be the cause, it is unjust, unreasonable and can never be 
acceptable to a civilized society," Lateef Mohammed Khan, general secretary, 
CLMC, said in a statement here.

"Memon has surrendered himself with a hope that he will get justice, but the 
injustice which is happening to him and previously with Afzal Guru is exposing 
the fact that India is under 'Hindutva Raj'," the statement said, adding, "It 
is a matter of grave concern that under these circumstances and present trend 
of killing in fake encounter and hanging, the people of politically weak 
community i.e. Muslims, are feeling insecure and have a threat that they may be 
targeted at any time in the name of terrorists."

"Muslims are forced to think that sacrificing Muslims lives has become 
necessary to satisfy the 'Parliamentary democracy' and 'majoritarian people' 
wishes!!" he said.

"In India it is exposed that death penalty is used against people who have been 
tortured into confessing, it is part of a shady criminal justice system and it 
is used in unfair or politically motivated trials," Khan alleged. The Indian 
system is becoming so prejudiced that if there is any Muslim standing a trial, 
he is conceived as a terrorist and deserve capital punishment. And if any 
person from other community stands on trial with similar charges, how much ever 
dangerous he or she may be, they are perceived to be nationalist and the trial 
will go soft and at the end any punishment against them will be out of 
question. "This double standard of justice will be great threat to peace, 
security and life and liberty of marginalized sections of India," he further 
added.

"It is a matter of fact that Yakub Memon is a victim of nexus of corrupt 
Parliamentary system of India and compromised criminal justice system. He has 
become a scapegoat for despicable politically motivated intentions. Manmohan 
Singh led UPA government hanged Afzal Guru to satisfy the 'collective 
conscience of people' with a clear intention to please the Hindutva vote bank 
for shrewd political calculations. Now Modi led NDA government is on same 
stride selecting Memon and trying to hang him as it is required to divert the 
attention of masses from the scams and failure of government's sham promise of 
'Ache din'," the statement claimed.

The Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee went further to appeal to the people 
to raise the voice to abolish the death penalty. The death penalty is an 
irrevocable error, because "all legal systems do make mistakes, as long as it 
exists many innocent lives will be at the gallows."

"We demand the Government to withdraw its decision to hang Memon because if 
this execution sees the light of the day, it will be nothing but hanging of 
justice in this nation," Khan added.

(source: twocircles.net)






PAKISTAN:

Pakistan must extend death penalty moratorium


In the week ahead, hangings are to resume in Pakistan as the federal 
government's monthlong moratorium on executions has expired with the end of 
Ramadan. The hangings should not resume and the government should urgently 
reinstate its moratorium on all executions.

That would not only be the principled thing to do, but also a humane and moral 
stance - given the gross irregularities that have almost come to define a 
broken criminal justice system.

Even then, the death penalty does not have a place in a modern and democratic 
society. But advocates of the death penalty here tend to rely on 2 lines of 
defense.

First, there are occasions when there is reasonable doubt that the accused has 
committed the crime.

In such scenarios, the broader failures of the criminal justice system should 
not be used to shield criminals, according to the pro-death penalty camp.

Second, what about the victims' families - do they not deserve justice for 
their relatives, in the cases where the death penalty is handed down for 
murder? Both those arguments are specious, however.

To begin with, to deny the death penalty to any convict is not the same as 
setting him free.

At no point does opposing the death penalty translate into setting criminals 
free - death-row convicts ought to remain in jail until a system is in place to 
determine fairly and impartially if any of them deserve to be released at some 
point before their natural lives come to an end.

A life spent behind bars, cut off from society and deprived of one's freedom, 
is a significant and, where applicable, a deterrent-inducing punishment.

That also helps address the issue of the rights of the victims' families - 
there is certainly punishment involved where a murder has been convicted, but a 
punishment determined by the state and not based on bloody notions of vengeance 
and retributive justice. That, though, is only a lopsided debate.

The criminal justice system is not about merely the exceptions and the 
perceived rights of some individuals - it is about the totality of society and 
balancing multiple needs in the most sensible way possible.

In Pakistan, where the criminal justice system routinely convicts roughly 10 % 
of the accused, there is extreme disparity in the kind of legal representation 
rich and poor accused can access.

It is well-known that the prison population is skewed toward the less well-off 
segments of society.

Therefore, even when courts find beyond reasonable doubt that an accused is 
guilty of a crime that attracts the death penalty, there is a great deal of 
doubt about whether the legal representation of the accused put forward the 
best possible defense.

Finally, there is the tragic reality that a wide range of crimes attract the 
death penalty in Pakistan - not just terrorism, murder and extreme sexual 
violence. Extending the death-penalty moratorium is necessary.

(source: Editorial, Dawn)






GLOBAL:

Death Penalty 2015: The Good and the Bad


The first 6 months of 2015 have seen starkly contrasting developments on the 
death penalty. While the bad news has been very bad, the good news has been 
very good.

THE BAD

1. Indonesia resumed executions.

The year began on a tragic note when Indonesia, ignoring pleas from around the 
world, put 6 people to death for drug trafficking. The executions were the 1st 
in Indonesia since 2013.

2. Pakistan may soon be counted among the world's top executioners.

Pakistan is edging closer to membership of the unenviable club of the world's 
top executioners (China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and USA). At least 150 people 
have been put to death since a freeze on executions was lifted in December 
2014, following a Taliban attack on a school in Peshawar.

3. Indonesia and Pakistan used crime and terrorism as an excuse to bring back 
executions.

Both Indonesia and Pakistan justified bringing back the death penalty by 
claiming it is an effective response to crime and terrorism. But there is no 
evidence to show that the death penalty is more effective at addressing crime 
than a prison term, nor does abolition lead to a sharp increase in crime, as 
some fear.

4. Iran looks set to surpass its execution figures for 2014.

Iran has so far this year executed nearly 700 people - many of these executions 
were not officially acknowledged. In 2014, Amnesty recorded at least 743 
executions in Iran over 12 months. That the country put more than 600 people to 
death just 6 months into this year is deeply troubling.

5. Saudi Arabia has already executed more people than it did in 2014.

Amnesty has recorded 102 executions in Saudi Arabia so far this year, exceeding 
the total number of executions (at least 90) for 2014. Almost 1/2 of these 
executions were for drug-related offences.

THE GOOD

1. 3 countries abolished the death penalty in the first 3 months of 2015.

In January Madagascar abolished the death penalty for all crimes. Fiji followed 
suit in February. And in March, the South American State of Suriname also 
removed the death penalty from its legal books. The abolition of the death 
penalty in 3 countries in the space of 3 months gives further momentum to a 
trend that has been evident for decades - the world is consigning capital 
punishment to history.

2. Another 3 countries are close to abolishing the death penalty.

The Mongolian Parliament is considering a draft penal code abolishing the death 
penalty. Burkina Faso and South Korea are also considering similar draft laws.

3. The trend towards abolition in the USA is picking up steam.

1 more US state, Nebraska, has abolished the death penalty, becoming the 19th 
abolitionist state in the USA. And in February, Pennsylvania's governor 
announced a suspension of all executions.

4. Those countries that execute are in the minority.

Over the last 5 years, the average number of countries that have carried out 
executions each year stands at 22.

5. More than 1/2 the world's countries have abolished the death penalty.

In total, 101 countries have completely abolished the death penalty - that's 
more than 1/2 the countries in the world. Another 33 countries are abolitionist 
in practice - meaning they have not executed anyone for at least 10 years and 
have a long-standing policy of not executing. Despite the sharp rise in 
executions in some countries, abolitionist countries still represent the clear 
global majority.

(source: Amnesty International)