[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

June 21



PAKISTAN:

5 Britons set to be hanged as Pakistan starts executing thousands of prisoners 
to reduce number on death row



5 British citizens are facing execution for drug offences in Pakistan amid a 
surge of hangings in the country.

The existence of the 5, including 1 woman, was disclosed in the Pakistani 
parliament by interior minister Chaudhry Nisar.

But he did not release further details - even their names, information about 
their crimes or the dates of their trials.

It is thought from the wording of his answer that the 5 may hold both UK and 
Pakistani passports.

A Foreign Office spokesman said it was aware of 2 of the prisoners Mr Nisar 
mentioned.

There are a further 20 Britons who 'potentially' face the death penalty, he 
added, but they had either not yet been sentenced or still had a chance to 
appeal.

A total of 179 prisoners have been put to death in Pakistan since December, and 
there are more than 8,000 prisoners on death row.

Although Pakistan is obliged under the Vienna Convention to notify the British 
Consul whenever a British citizen or dual Pakistani-British national is 
detained, in practice this rarely happens, according to a Foreign Office 
source.

The source said British diplomats had repeatedly raised this problem with the 
Pakistani authorities.

Fears for the 5 have risen due to the surge in executions in recent months.

There had been no hangings since 2008, but Pakistan announced they would resume 
in the wake of the terrorist massacre at a school in Peshawar on December 16 
last year, when 145 people were killed, including 132 children.

At first, the hangings mostly related to prisoners convicted of terrorist 
crimes. They were members of the Taliban, Al Qaeda and the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi 
(LeJ), the organisation behind the 2007 assassination of former prime minister 
Benazir Bhutto.

But a Mail on Sunday analysis of every hanging since the executions resumed 
reveals that although at least 11 men from these groups were hanged up to 
February 3, no members have been executed since.

The only alleged terrorists executed since then were 4 men who hijacked a plane 
in 1998 - they were all members of a provincial separatist group.

On March 10, the government announced it wanted to empty death row, and would 
start hanging prisoners who were neither terrorists nor murderers.

It has kept this promise. Under Pakistani law, the death penalty is available 
for crimes including blasphemy, drug-trafficking, kidnap and rape.

2 legal sources in Islamabad, who asked not to be named, said the reason for 
broadening the scope of executions was a threat from the LeJ leadership.

One source said that he had been told by senior police officers and government 
officials that after the government started to execute LeJ members, ministers 
were warned explicitly that if the hangings continued, politicians, their 
families and friends would become targets for assassination.

By this time, prime minister Nawaz Sharif had promised repeatedly that resuming 
executions should be seen as a 'reflection of the government's seriousness' to 
end terrorist violence.

The government's response, the source said, was to 'start executing everyone 
else instead'.

The 2nd legal source added: 'Various banned organisations threatened the 
government including police, judges and prison authorities to stop executions 
of their members or they would come after them, and it seems these executions 
have stopped.'

Since March, some weeks have seen more than 30 executions, and hangings carried 
out at less than 24 hours' notice - leaving prisoners' families no time to pay 
a final visit.

The execution of Aftab Bahadur, hanged on the basis of a confession to murder 
extracted through torture when he was just 15, provoked outrage around the 
world from human-rights campaigners.

There will be no further hangings in Pakistan until the end of Ramadan in 
mid-July.

(source: Daily Mail)








NIGERIA:

Corrupt Public Officials Should be Put to Death - Anglican Bishop



According to the Anglican Bishop of Wusasa Diocese in Zaria, Kaduna State, Rt. 
Rev. Ali Buba-Lamido, corrupt public officials in the country should be 
sentenced to death.

Speaking on Saturday, he said the death penalty option is the only way to put 
public officers in Nigeria in check.

"If our leaders know that they would be prosecuted if found corrupt they would 
be on their toes to avoid corrupt practices."

He also expressed confidence in the ability of the administration, saying he 
had no doubt that President Muhammdu Buhari would deliver.

On the security situation in the country, the bishop said it was bad for a 
country like Nigeria to have lost up to 11,000 people to Boko Haram.

"However, I am satisfied with the approach taken by the new administration to 
tackle the menace of Boko Haram," he said.

(source: Nigerian Bulletin)








IRAN:

Iranian Writer Sentenced to Death for Apostasy



The Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC) has learned that Hesameddin 
Farzizadeh, a 23-year-old former nuclear physics student, has been sentenced to 
death for apostasy by the Criminal Court of Meshkinshahr in Ardabil province. A 
source with knowledge of the case indicates that Farzizadeh was arrested in a 
raid on his house in November 2014 by plainclothes Ministry of Intelligence 
(MOI) agents and held incommunicado at the MOI facility in the town for several 
days before being transferred to Meshkinshahr Prison, where he has been held 
since. The charge of apostasy stems from a book written by Farzizadeh, entitled 
"From Islam to Islam", in which Farzizadeh examines the history of Shi'a Islam 
and raises questions about certain facets of Shi'a ideology. For instance, in 
his book Farzizadeh reportedly questions the existence of the Twelfth Imam, 
who, according to Shi'a theology, is a messianic figure who is to eventually 
reappear as a latter-day savior of humanity.

Although Iran's criminal code, known as the Islamic Penal Code, does not define 
the crime of apostasy, Article 167 of the Iranian Constitution states that when 
the law is silent on a topic, a judge is to refer to Islamic jurisprudence and 
make a ruling accordingly. Relying on this constitutional provision, the 
Criminal Court of Meshkinshahr has found that Farzizadeh's beliefs, as 
expressed in his writings, constitute apostasy. Under Islamic law, denying the 
fundamentals of Islam may be the basis for the finding that an individual has 
left the faith and therefore become an apostate. The Quran does not prescribe a 
punishment for apostasy, but in such cases Islamic jurists rely on other 
authoritative sources, such as the sayings of the Prophet Mohammad, known as 
the hadith, to argue that apostasy is punishable by death.

In addition to his death sentence, Farzizadeh has also been sentenced to seven 
years of imprisonment and 74 lashes. These sentences rise from charges of 
insulting the Prophet Mohammad, the Shi'a Imams, and Ayatollah Khomeini. 
According to IHRDC's source, local MOI officials also reportedly threatened 
Farzizadeh???s family that his death sentence would be carried out if news of 
the case were to go public. The source also alleges that Farzizadeh has been 
threatened and assaulted in prison in recent weeks.

Charges such as apostasy, which is rarely prosecuted in Iran, and the far more 
common charge of insulting religious figures violate basic principles of 
international human rights law. The International Covenant on Civil and 
Political Rights (ICCPR), which Iran has signed and ratified, guarantees 
freedom of religion as well as the freedom of expression. Article 18 of the 
ICCPR states, "Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience 
and religion. This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion 
or belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with 
others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, 
observance, practice and teaching."

Article 19 of the ICCPR declares, "Everyone shall have the right to freedom of 
expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart 
information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in 
writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his 
choice," a right further confirmed by General Comment 34 on the Article as 
extending to acts including "religious discourse." In addition, Article 6(d) of 
the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance 
and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief likewise establishes that the 
freedom of conscience and religion includes, among others, the right "[t]o 
write, issue and disseminate relevant publications in these areas."

Farzizadeh's sentence does not only violate basic human rights norms. The 
ruling from the Criminal Court of Meshkinshahr appears to violate Iran's 
domestic criminal procedure laws, as well. Under Article 4 of the Law to 
Establish Public and Revolutionary Courts, only Provincial Criminal Courts have 
the jurisdiction to hear capital cases such as apostasy, whereas the 
Meshkinshahr Criminal Court is a county-level judicial body.

(source: Iran Human Rights Documentation Center)








IRAQ:

ISIS executes ex-parliament candidates in Mosul



3 former candidates for Iraqi parliament were arrested and executed by the 
Islamic State on Saturday, according to member of parliament in Baghdad.

Iraqi parliamentarian Salim Joma told Rudaw on Saturday that the Sharia courts 
of ISIS issued death sentences for 3 ex-candidates who stood for office in the 
recent Iraqi parliament election. He said all 3 were arrested and executed in 
the northern district of Mosul city.

"The victims included Salem Badrani, Khalil Naeimy and Farough Shamari. They 
were arrested in their own homes and all shot dead," Joma said.

Since June 10, 2014, ISIS militants have occupied Mosul, the second largest 
city of Iraq. Since the group took over, many former politicians, soldiers and 
police officers have been executed.

(source: rudaw.net)








TAIWAN:

MOJ worries death-row inmates may fake mental illness



The Ministry of Justice is reportedly worried that death-row inmates might 
feign mental illness to escape punishment, due to the MOJ's decision to 
postpone the executions of 2 inmates on the grounds of mental disorder in the 6 
controversial executions that took place on June 5, the United Evening News has 
reported.

The 6 controversial executions were carried out in the aftermath of nationwide 
outrage over the slaying of an 8-year-old schoolgirl. Prior to sentencing, 2 of 
the inmates originally scheduled for execution on June 5 were replaced with 
other inmates, as they were deemed mentally incapacitated.

Before Justice Minister Luo Ying-shay gave the execution order, investigation 
teams had begun preparatory procedures for the executions with the aim of 
ruling out whether the death-row inmates had applied for judicial review, 
extraordinary appeal or retrials. The investigation teams then checked with the 
Presidential Office as to whether the inmates had been pardoned or were 
undergoing amnesty procedures.

Execution warrants were then issued for prisoners who did not have a valid 
reason for avoiding the death penalty.

Heeded Int'l Reports

2 years ago, the MOJ invited international human rights experts to examine 
Taiwan's Human Rights Report.

The experts concluded that Taiwan should not execute inmates with mental or 
intellectual disabilities.

While the recommendation was not binding on the government, the MOJ still 
decided to include mental or intellectual disabilities among the factors that 
could influence a decision not to issue an execution warrant.

According to the Code of Criminal Procedure Article 465, unless ordered by the 
Supreme Court, death-row inmates with mental or intellectual disabilities must 
not be executed until they are declared to be recovered by medical experts.

It was reported that the preparatory procedures for the executions of the6 
death-row inmates began in April, and the killing of the schoolgirl incident 
occurred coincidentally during the final stages of the inspection.

The MOJ investigation team investigated the original 6 inmates who were to be 
executed on June 5, but found that one of them claimed to be suffering from a 
mental illness, while another had undergone treatment with a psychiatrist. The 
MOJ subsequently opted to postpone execution on the 2 inmates and substituted 2 
other death-row inmates to be executed.

Low-profile MOJ

The UEN news report claims that the MOJ has been wary of advertising the fact 
that those suffering from mental or intellectual disabilities could be eligible 
for a postponement of their execution. The UEN claims the MOJ is worried that 
other death-row inmates could feign a disability in order to avoid the death 
penalty.

However, MOJ officials have said that it is not difficult to uncover incidents 
of feigned mental or intellectual illnesses because of advances in medical 
diagnoses. Those who have a verifiable mental or intellectual illness remain 
exempt from the death penalty.

Taxpayers pay for the psychiatric assessment procedures. For example, the New 
Taipei City Prosecutor's Office had to pay approximately NT$300,000 in 
assessment testing fees for MRT murderer Cheng Chieh in last year's MRT 
stabbing incident.

(source: China Post)








BANGLADESH:

Man gets death penalty for killing uncle in Barisal



A Barisal court has sentenced a man to death for killing his uncle 7 years back 
in Barisal's Babuganj.

Barisal District and Sessions Judge Md Anwarul Haq delivered the verdict on 
Sunday.

The convict Shamrat Hawlader, 29, is a fugitive from justice.

The court has also fined him Tk 10,000.

Public Prosecutor Gias Uddin Kabul said Samrat Hawlader used to live in his 
uncle Habibur Rahman's house at the Upazila's Uttar Rahmatpur village with his 
mother since his childhood.

They often used to get into arguments regarding their family land left by his 
grandfather. Habibur Rahman had a shop on the land.

"On May 8, 2008, Hawlader got into a dispute with his uncle regarding removing 
the shop. At one point, he beat up his uncle.

"Injured Rahman was taken to the Barisal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College 
Hospital, where he died the same night."

2 days later, Rahman's son Sarwar Molla filed a case with Babuganj police.

On Jun 26, 2008, the investigation officer SI Monirul Islam pressed charges 
against him in the court.

The court heard 8 witnesses before handing down the maximum penalty, said the 
PP Gias Uddin.

The defendant can appeal to the High Court within 7 days of the verdict, he 
added.

(source: bdnews24.com)

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

Mojaheed decides to seek review of SC verdict



Death row convict Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed has decided to file a petition 
with the Supreme Court seeking a review of its ruling that upheld his death 
penalty for planning and instigating killings of intellectuals and 
professionals in 1971.

Mojaheed gave the instruction to file the review petition when 5 of his lawyers 
met him at Dhaka Central Jail for 30 minutes around 11:25am, his counsel 
Shishir Manir told The Daily Star.

The review petition will be filed in 15 days after getting the full judgement 
of the apex court, said Manir, who along with four other counsels met the 
Jamaat-e-Islami leader.

"He (Mojaheed) told us (lawyers) that he could not understand that the SC has 
sentenced him to death for killing whom," the lawyer said.

Mojaheed is mentally and physically well, he added.

The Jamaat leader hoped that the SC will consider his review prayer and acquit 
him of all the charges, the lawyer added.

On June 16, the Appellate Division upheld the death penalty of Mojaheed for 
planning and instigating the killing of intellectuals and professionals in 
1971.

During the Liberation War in 1971, he was chief of infamous Al-Badr Bahini, one 
of the Pakistani occupation army's auxiliary forces, responsible for abducting, 
torturing and killing freedom fighters, intellectuals and pro-liberation 
people.

This is the 1st time that an ex-minister has been sentenced to death by the SC 
for war crimes. Mojaheed is also the 1st war crimes convict facing death for 
the killing of intellectuals and professionals.

(source: The Daily Star)