[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

July 28



PAKISTAN----executions

2 more murder convicts hanged across jails in Punjab


2 more convicts of murder were hanged at jails across Punjab on Tuesday 
morning.

Akhtar and Karim were hanged at Attock District Jail and Multan Central Jail.

Karim was sentenced to death for murder of a man following a robbery in 2003, 
while Akhtar was sentenced to death for the murder of man in December 1989.

Earlier, Anti Terrorist Court (ATC) on Monday once again issued the death 
warrants of Shafqat Hussain over the murder of 7 year old child.

Shafqat Hussain will be hanged on August in the central jail of Karachi. ATC 
issued the warrants of Shafqat Hussain for the 7th time.

It is pertinent to mention here that death execution of Shafqat Hussain, 
prolonged due to Human Rights commission claim that he was underage at time of 
committing the murder.

Capital punishment was awarded by the Islamabad High Court on May 11, 2015.

In 2004, Shafqat Hussain had killed a 7 years old child after kidnapping him. 
The stay order against the execution of death penalty has been discharged by 
the court

(source: thenewstribe.com)

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

Britain accused of 'funding Pakistan death penalty' through MILLIONS given in 
foreign aid


The Foreign Office has been accused of 'enforcing the death penalty' in 
Pakistan by handing over millions of pounds in aid to the country's drugs law 
enforcers.

Pakistan is the biggest recipient of the Government's 11billion pounds foreign 
aid budget, with the Asian country benefiting from 338million pounds last year.

Anti-death penalty charity Reprieve says at least 13m pounds of that money is 
going to the country's Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF), which it said results in 
many being hanged for drug offences.

The charity wants the release of the Government's human rights checklist, known 
as the Overseas Security and Justice Assistance guidance, which must be 
completed before cash can be granted.

It made a Freedom of Information request for the publication of the secret 
documents but this was refused by the Foreign Office on the grounds it could 
hinder Britain's relations with Pakistan, as well as the work of UK 
Government's secret services.

The charity has made a legal appeal claiming there is a "strong and 
overwhelmingly compelling public interest" in the content of the papers.

Maya Foa, a director at Reprieve, said: "The British public deserves to know 
how much of its money is funding hangings in Pakistan, particularly as the 
country continues its aggressive execution spree."

Currently there are 8,000 on death row in Pakistan, with 23 Britons among those 
awaiting execution for drug offences.

Reprieve said 12.8m pounds given by the Government through the UN Office for 
Drugs and Crime is being used by the ANF to secure convictions, which the 
Pakistan government boasts are at 92 % of all cases.

The fund aims to stop the flow of drugs from neighbouring Afghanistan and has 
seen training given to Pakistan enforcement teams, as well as equipment.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "It remains our longstanding policy to oppose 
the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle.

"The UK and Pakistan have a shared interest in working together to tackle 
organised crime including the trafficking of drugs.

"The British Government is not aware of any case in Pakistan where UK counter 
narcotics cooperation has led to a death penalty sentence. We continue to 
review the situation as we have always done."

(source: express.co.uk)

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

Christian Mother Asia Bibi's Potential Freedom Could Be 'Watershed Moment' for 
All Christian Victims Prosecuted for Blasphemy, Group Says


Imprisoned Christian mother of of five, Asia Bibi, is facing the death penalty 
after being accused of blasphemy in 2009 by angry Muslim women, who were upset 
that she drank from the same drinking water as them.

The potential release of Christian mother of five Asia Bibi, who recently saw 
her death sentence in Pakistan temporarily suspended, could be a "watershed 
moment" for all Christians falsely accused of blasphemy, a watchdog group has 
said.

"This could be a watershed moment as never before has a Christian blasphemy law 
victim had to appeal to the Supreme High Court, the majority are released at 
High Court. However the legal precedent that may be created as a consequence of 
a successful appeal could provide protection to future Christian victims faced 
with cases championed by aggressive, hatred fueled Islamic imams, while actual 
false eyewitnesses fail to appear during any stage of the court process," 
Wilson Chowdhry, president of the British Pakistani Christian Association, told 
The Christian Post on Monday.

"Moreover, a precedent could also limit the type of allegation that will be 
accepted by courts as a potential blasphemy. For instance, Asia Bibi's appeal 
focuses on the question she asked 'My Christ died for me, what did Muhammed do 
for you?' Despite 500 clerics in Pakistan believing the contents of the 
sentence was blasphemous, the majority of liberal imams outside of Pakistan 
believe the question exhibits little that could be construed as a blasphemy," 
Chowdhry added.

Bibi has spent 6 years in prison for that question, which she apparently asked 
of a group of Muslim women who were insulted that she drank from the same water 
supply as them.

After heavy international pressure on Pakistan, the Supreme Court temporarily 
suspended her death sentence last week, when an appeals case against her 
conviction began.

Chowdhry, whose group has been appealing for Bibi's freedom and has started a 
global petition for her cause, told CP that the case is set to be one of the 
most scrutinized legal procedures in Pakistan.

"The important issue that should be broached is how will the nation of Pakistan 
react to the potential release of Asia Bibi," he continued.

"A strong security team is required to protect Asia and her family as 
evidential animosity toward the family is immense. The family will no doubt 
flee Pakistan, most likely escaping to France where they have already been 
given honorary citizenship."

Bibi's family has been threatened by extremists, with clerics offering a bounty 
for her death if she is freed, as reported by Mail Online earlier in July. 
Christians and other religious minorities in Pakistan are often targeted not 
only by the government's blasphemy laws, but also by Islamic mobs who seek to 
take justice into their own hands.

The BPCA president said what will happen to all those who have falsely accused 
and threatened Bibi will also be very important.

"Will they be sentenced for perjury? Will the imam be stripped of his title and 
position and made to face his own court trial? Will any of those that ever 
attacked Asia physically or verbally be punished for their crimes? In a country 
where money rules and injustice is ubiquitous, I very much doubt justice will 
prevail in this situation," Chowdhry said.

"We can but hope that some focus on such matters will materialise, as the 
current impunity for crimes of this nature has to be addressed, and what 
impression counter arrests would make."

Bibi is also suffering from health problems while in prison, among all her 
other concerns, and is having trouble walking, her family has said.

Bibi's husband, Ashiq Masih, has said reports that she is on her death bed have 
been exaggerated, however, and revealed that she has since been treated by 
doctors.

Masih noted that his wife "smiles every time I visit her, she's so strong. 
Whenever we meet she asks for updates in the case. She asks me about the 
lawyer. She is so frustrated. But she has strong belief that she will be 
released."

The Christian mother's family has also been appealing for donations so they can 
visit her more frequently. Currently they are only allowed to see her once 
every 15 days, and have been denied by Pakistani authorities a request to see 
her moved closer to the family in Lahore.

Chowdhry noted that the legal fees for the court case have also risen as they 
have entered the next stage of the Supreme Court appeal, and is hoping the 
international community can help the struggling family.

(source: christianpost.com)

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

The wretched march to the gallows


In many ways Abdul Basit's story is a tale of Pakistan's appalling desertion of 
its prison population. Once a person is pushed through the indomitable prison 
gates, he enters a black hole in the state's consciousness - denied all rights 
and dignity and left at the complete mercy of prison guards who are accorded 
unfettered powers to crush any signs of dissent and maintain order. The reality 
becomes particularly stark when one looks at the flaws inherent in Pakistan's 
criminal justice system. Infested with corruption and incompetence, Pakistan's 
police rely on torture and intimidation to procure damning confessions from the 
poor, mentally ill and socially marginalised to finish off their caseloads. 
Those who enter the dark abyss of our prisons are guilty mainly of being born 
on the wrong side of DHA, Gulberg and Cantt. The state is apathetic to the 
violations of their human dignity, as in its eyes, they always had less of it 
to begin with.

Abdul Basit was convicted for murdering a man during a heated altercation in 
2009. True to standard police practice, the case against him was devoid of any 
proper investigation and comprised primarily of multiple accounts constructed 
by collaboration between the police and the relatives of the deceased. Abdul 
Basit maintained his innocence throughout the trial however he was awarded the 
death sentence and his subsequent appeals to the High Court and Supreme Court 
were rejected.

In 2010, while Abdul Basit was kept at Faisalabad jail, he began complaining of 
severe headache and an extremely high temperature. His family narrate that his 
headache became so severe that he would scream and bang his head against the 
wall for any form of relief. His anguish was only met with apathy by jail 
authorities despite repeated pleas from his family. It was discovered later 
that based on his symptoms Abdul Basit had contracted Tuberculosis (TB) 
meningitis in prison. Despite the knowledge that TB, if left untreated, could 
result in permanent damage, the jail authorities denied him any access to the 
requisite healthcare and simply confined him to a solitary cell to prevent an 
outbreak. It was only after Abdul Basit succumbed to a month of indelible pain 
and lost consciousness that he was transferred to DHQ hospital in Faisalabad.

At the DHQ, it was discovered that his condition had deteriorated so critically 
that he fell into a coma for 3 weeks. Eventually his family was informed that 
as a result of neglect and a lack of timely treatment he had contracted 
Tuberculosis (TB) meningitis. Over the course of thirteen months his condition 
plummeted - he became paralysed from the waist down and would suffer from 
long-term consequences of spinal cord atrophy for the rest of his living 
existence. Abdul Basit will never walk again. He has lost all control of his 
basic bodily functions. Various medical officers have classified his chances of 
recovery as 'minimal'. In 2011, a Medical Board at Services Hospital Lahore 
deemed that management of his medical condition "would be very difficult in 
jail".

However, Abdul Basit remains in prison. His days are spent confined to a cot in 
solitary confinement - no access to people or life outside the 4 walls of his 
death row cell. He is dependent on jail staff for his most basic hygiene, such 
as going to the toilet. He has even been denied access to a wheel chair with 
the result that he suffers from bedsores. He leads an undignified, inhumane and 
unhygienic life - failed by the government, prison system and the criminal 
justice system.

Furthermore, despite his permanent and life changing disability and humiliating 
imprisonment, Abdul Basit faces execution on Wednesday, 29 July. Under Rule 107 
(iv) of the Prison Rules (1978) ill health is a ground for clemency from 
execution. However, the President of Pakistan in January 2013 rejected a 
petition from Abdul Basit's family requesting to commutation of his death 
sentence to life imprisonment on the basis of his disability.

Abdul Basit's case is surely unique due to his permanent disability. However, 
in many ways, it is the face of the state's executions since the lifting of the 
moratorium on the death penalty in December 2014 - cruel, vengeful and futile 
in its self-proclaimed quest to eradicate terrorism. Abdul Basit is not a 
terrorist nor does he pose a violent threat to society. He has already forsaken 
his dignity, freedom and liberty to the flaws of our inequitable justice 
system. Abdul Basit deserves compensation from the state for being subjected to 
the lack of care and discriminatory treatment during his time in prison rather 
than being pushed off to the gallows without any compassion and consideration 
of his permanent disability. However, the state is gearing up to take his life 
on Wednesday - another faceless number in the conveyer belt of civilian 
executions that will supposedly bring us closer to peace and stability.

(source: The Nation)






INDONESIA:

DFA, DOJ officials to meet with Indon execs over Mary Jane Veloso case


Officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and Department of Justice 
(DOJ) are scheduled to meet with their Indonesian counterparts on July 29 to 
discuss developments in the cases filed in the Philippines against the 
recruiters of Mary Jane Veloso, it was learned.

DFA and DOJ official will also discuss with Indonesian officials of the 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Law and Human Rights, and the Attorney 
General's Office the assistance available under the Treaty on Mutual Legal 
Assistance in Criminal Matters Among Like-Minded ASEAN Member Countries (ASEAN 
MLAT), the DFA said in a statement.

DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Jesus Yabes told InterAksyon.com 
this is part of the government's continuous commitment to provide assistance to 
Veloso.

Veloso is the Filipina mother of 2 who is on death row in Indonesia after being 
convicted of drug trafficking. She was saved from the death penalty at the last 
minute in April after President Aquino met with Indonesian President Joko 
Widodo at the ASEAN Leaders' Summit to appeal her case saying that Veloso is a 
victim of human trafficking.

The arrest of Veloso's recruiters, who are now in jail for the offense, was 
part of the evidence the Philippine government presented to Indonesia to 
convince them that she is a victim and not a criminal.

The objective is to get Veloso's clemency, said Yabes. But as of now, Veloso is 
still on death row.

Veloso's other fellow death row inmates, who included 4 from Africa, 3 from 
Australia, and 2 each from Brazil, France, and Indonesia, were executed.

(source: InterAksyon.com)

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

4 nabbed, drugs seized in 2 cases


State Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department (NCID) has nabbed 4 suspects 
and seized drugs worth RM24,000 in 2 arrests under Section 39(B) of the 
Dangerous Drugs Act, 1952.

Its chief Supt Lukas Aket said his men picked up a man and a woman in their 
early 30s during the 1st raid at a residence in BDC here at about 10pm on July 
23.

"The team also seized 60 ecstasy pills, weighing 18.84g, 360 erimin 5 pills 
(97.60g) and ketamin (8.95g). All these are valued at about RM12,000.

"We also confiscated a unit of Toyota Wish that is estimated at around RM70,000 
and cash of RM1,103. The 2 suspects will be remanded until July 31," he told a 
press conference at the Media Centre of Kuching police headquarters at Jalan 
Badruddin here yesterday.

Lukas said the NCID raided another residence in Kota Samarahan near here at 
1.39am on July 25, arresting a man and a woman, both in their 20s, and seizing 
ganja weighing 1,135.2g.

"We estimate the value of the seized ganja to be about RM12,000. The 2 suspects 
will be held on remand until July 31.

"Both cases are being investigated under Section 39(B) of the Dangerous Drugs 
Act, which carries death penalty by hanging if convicted."

>From Jan 1 to July 26 this year, he said the department had seized ganja 
weighing 3350.16g, syabu (1,631.44g - crystal), ketamin (485.58g), ecstasy 
(2,854.15g in powder and 1,109 pills), eramin 5 (1,059 pills) and nospan 
(15,159 pills).

"Of the 4,603 cases over the same period, 137 cases involved supply of drugs 
while 887 were cases of drug possession and the remaining ones were urine cases 
tested positive for drugs."

Of the total number of cases, Lukas said 1,656 had been brought to court, with 
601 cases resulting in convictions.

He added that sentences for the 601 convicted cases involved jail terms between 
two months and 18 years as well as fines of between RM1,500 and RM7,000.

(source: theborneopost.com)






LIBYA:

Libya court sentences Kadhafi son, 8 aides to death


A Libyan court on July 28 sentenced slain dictator Moamar Kadhafi's son Seif 
al-Islam and 8 other defendants to death for crimes during the 2011 uprising.

Former intelligence chief Abdullah Senussi and Kadhafi's last prime minister 
Al-Baghdadi al-Mahmudi were also among those sentenced to death.

Seif al-Islam was not in court because he is held in the southwestern hill town 
of Zintan by militia opposed to the Tripoli authorities.

The trial, which opened in the Libyan capital in April last year, has been 
dogged by criticism from human rights watchdogs and an unresolved dispute with 
the International Criminal Court in The Hague over jurisdiction in the case of 
the Kadhafi son.

The 37 defendants were charged with crimes including murder and complicity in 
incitement to rape during the 2011 uprising that toppled the dictatorship.

The militia holding Seif al-Islam is loyal to the internationally recognised 
government which fled to the remote east last August when a rival militia 
alliance seized the capital and set up its own administration.

Seif al-Islam's sole appearances before the court have been by video link and 
there have been none since May last year.

Most of the other defendants are held in the capital, but some are held in 
Libya's third city Misrata which is loyal to the Tripoli authorities.

The UN Security Council referred the conflict in Libya to the ICC in February 
2011 amid Kadhafi's repression of the popular uprising against his decades-old 
regime at the height of the Arab Spring.

Seif al-Islam is wanted by the Hague-based court on charges of war crimes and 
crimes against humanity.

ICC prosecutors say that as part of his father's "inner circle", he "conceived 
and orchestrated a plan to deter and quell, by all means, the civilian 
demonstrations against Kadhafi's regime".

He has been held in Zintan since his capture in November 2011 despite repeated 
ICC demands for Libya to hand him over for trial.

Charges before the Tripoli court also included kidnapping, plunder, sabotage 
and embezzlement of public funds.

Human rights groups have expressed concerns about the trial, criticising the 
fact that the accused have had only limited access to lawyers and key 
documents.

(source: Hurriyet Daily News)

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

Lawyer labels Gaddafi sentence 'judicially sanctioned execution'


The lawyer representing Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of the slain Libyan leader, 
before the International Criminal Court condemned as a "show trial" the 
proceedings leading up to the death sentence that was passed on him in Tripoli 
on Tuesday.

"The trial has been declared illegal by Libya's own justice minister," said 
British trial lawyer John Jones, who has led efforts to have Gaddafi brought to 
the international tribunal in The Hague, where he would not face the death 
penalty.

"The whole thing is illegitimate from start to finish... It's judicially 
sanctioned execution," he told Reuters.

Gaddafi faces charges at the ICC relating to brutal reprisals meted out to 
protesters taking part in the 2011 revolution that ended his father's 
decades-long rule.

The court, which has no police force of its own, relies on states to cooperate 
voluntarily with its arrest warrants. Life imprisonment is the heaviest penalty 
it can impose.

(source: Channel News Asia)






JAPAN:

Japanese 'haiku' killer sentenced to death


A convicted Japanese murderer who left a haunting "haiku" poem behind after his 
grisly deeds was sentenced to death on Tuesday.

The district court in southwestern Yamaguchi prefecture handed down the 
sentence 2 years after Kosei Homi, 65, was arrested for killing 5 elderly 
residents in a tiny mountain hamlet.

The victims, in their 70s and 80s -- who reportedly represented about 1/3 of 
the community's population --- were battered to death.

Prosecutors acknowledged that Homi suffered from a paranoid mental disorder but 
argued he was competent to stand trial.

Defence lawyers immediately appealed the sentence.

Japan and the United States are the only major advanced industrial nations that 
continue to have capital punishment.

In July 2013 police found 3 corpses in fire-gutted houses and subsequently 
uncovered 2 more bodies in separate homes.

Homi was arrested days later, being spotted dressed only in his underwear in 
mountains near the hamlet.

At Homi's house, a "haiku" poem was stuck to the window, which read: "Setting a 
fire -- smoke gives delight -- to a country fellow."

The haiku is a traditional Japanese form, a 3-line verse of 17 syllables in a 
5-7-5 arrangement. It customarily evokes natural phenomena frequently as a 
metaphor for human emotions.

(source: Agence France-Presse)






IRAN----executions

11 prisoners hanged in Iran - 27 executions in past week


9 prisoners were on Monday hanged collectively in a detention center in the 
city of Karaj, west of Tehran.

Also on Monday 2 other prisoners, identified as Saeid Ganji and Firouz 
Nouri-Majd, were hanged in Iran's notorious Qezelhesar Prison in Karaj.

The hangings bring to at least 27 the number of prisoners that have been 
executed in Iran in the past week.

The 9 prisoners executed at dawn on Monday in the Karaj detention center were 
identified as Omid Mohammadi-Dara, Mostafa Ghafarzadeh, Omidreza Karampour, 
Shahriar Hassan-Zadeh, Hossein Afghan, Yareh Hassan-Zadeh, Sasan Salari, Meysam 
Hosseini-Nejad, and Amanollah Baluch-Zehi.

Faced with escalating popular discontent and unable to respond to the rightful 
demands of the majority of the Iranian people who are living under the poverty 
line, the religious fascism ruling Iran - dubbed the 'godfather of ISIS' by the 
Iranian people - is ramping up suppression.

On Thursday, Amnesty International said that the Iranian regime has executed an 
astonishing 694 people between January 1 and July 15, 2015.

"Iran's staggering execution toll for the 1st half of this year paints a 
sinister picture of the machinery of state carrying out premeditated 
judicially-sanctioned killing on a mass scale," it said.

Since mullah Hasssan Rouhani took office as President, more than 1,800 
prisoners have been executed in Iran.

(source: NCR-Iran)