[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

May 16



IRAN----executions

8 People, Among Them One Afghan Citizen Executed in Iran



The execution wave continues in Iran. At least 45 people have been executed so 
far in May 2015.

1 prisoner was executed in the prison of Mashhad (northeastern Iran) and 7 
people were hanged in the prison of Shiraz (southern Iran).

The Iranian daily newspaper "Khorasan" reported on Thursday May 15, that a 45 
year old man who was convicted of murdering a 26 year old man was hanged in the 
prison of Mashhad. Both the offender and victim were drug addicts said the 
report.

According to unofficial reports from Adelabad prison of Shiraz seven prisoners 
were hanged in this prison. The "Human Right Activists News Agency" (HRANA) 
reported that 4 of the prisoners were convicted of armed robbery and executed 
on Sunday May 11, while 3 were convicted of murder and hanged on May 13. 1 of 
those executed was an Afghan citizen.

These executions have not been announced by the official Iranian media.

(source: Iran Human Rights)








VIETNAM:

Man kills brother, sister-in-law over land dispute, gets death penalty



A court in the southern province of Kien Giang on Friday sentenced a man to 
death and his wife to 20 years in prison for killing his brother and 
sister-in-law.

Danh Hau Phuong, 39, and Vo Thi Nga, 42, had reportedly abused the victims many 
times before.

On September 29 last year, Phuong anh Nga stopped the victims on their way 
home, attacking them with a hammer, a tree branch and stones. Danh Thanh Hau, 
42, and his wife Trieu Thi Li Na, 31, succumbed to severe injuries, forensic 
experts said.

Phuong and Nga stayed at the crime scene and were arrested. They later 
confessed that the 2 couples had conflicts over land inheritance.

Neighbors said that the victims had been insulted and beaten many times before 
the final attack.

Each couple has 3 children. It is unclear at this point who will take care of 
them.

(source: Thanh Nien News)








EGYPT:

Mohamed Morsi sentenced to death: Court hands down death penalty for prison 
break; The deposed Muslim Brotherhood leader is one of more than 100 people to 
be sentenced to death for involvement in prison breaks during the Arab Spring



Egypt's 1st democratically elected president has been sentenced to death as a 
government crackdown against his supporters continues.

Mohamed Morsi was deposed by the military in July 2013 during huge street 
protests against his rule and he has been imprisoned ever since.

The former leader had already been sentenced to 20 years in jail for ordering 
the arrest and torture of protesters but was today condemned for separate 
charges relating to a mass prison break in 2011.

> He was accused of plotting with foreign militants to free Islamists and 
supporters of his Muslim Brotherhood in raids on several jails.

Mr Morsi himself escaped Wadi Natroun prison during the violence, having been 
imprisoned with fellow party leaders days before.

A total of 105 defendants have also been sentenced to death, including around 
70 Palestinians, most of whom had been tried and convicted in absentia.

Judge Shaaban el-Shami announced the death sentence for Mr Morsi at a court in 
Cairo as Muslim Brotherhood supporters chanted "down with military rule".

It has been referred to Egypt's Grand Mufti, a Muslim theologian, for his 
religious opinion. Another court hearing has been set for 2 June. Opponents of 
President Mohammed Morsi light flares in Tahrir Square in Cairo Opponents of 
Mohammed Morsi in protests leading up to the 2013 coup in Cairo

Mr Morsi is expected to appeal the verdict and his supporters claim the charges 
were politically motivated, attempting to legitimise the coup against him.

The former President faces further punishment in a separate case alleging that 
he, along with aides and fellow leaders of his now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood 
party, passed state secrets to foreign groups, including Hamas, in the Occupied 
Palestinian Territories, and Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group.

The court recommended death sentences for 16 other defendants accused of 
espionage in the case and the verdict on Mr Morsi's involvement will be passed 
in June.

The 2011 prison break saw hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood members escape four 
jails in Cairo as armed gangs took advantage of chaos during the Arab Spring.

Turmoil raged in Egypt as tens of thousands of protesters occupied Tahrir 
Square and landmarks in other cities demanding the removal of President Hosni 
Mubarak, who had been in power for 3 decades.

He resigned after weeks of demonstrations and the military took power until Mr 
Morsi was voted in following internationally scrutinised presidential elections 
in 2012.

But protests began building less than a year into his rule after he issued a 
decree extending his powers and in July 2013, the Egyptian Armed Forces 
launched a coup.

Muslim Brotherhood leaders and supporters have since faced numerous charges 
relating to the killing and wounding of anti-government protesters, seeing many 
sentenced to death.

Mr Morsi's predecessor Mubarak was also jailed in connection with the deaths of 
Arab Spring demonstrators but the charges have since been dismissed.

The 87-year-old was jailed for 3 years after a re-trial in a separate 
embezzlement case.

The current Egyptian President, former military chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, 
secured a landslide victory in presidential elections in May 2014.

(source: The Independent)

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

16 Brotherhood leaders face possible death penalty in spy trial----The court 
set June 2 to deliver its final verdict in the case, in which ousted President 
Mohamed Morsi and 34 co-defendants are standing trial



An Egyptian court on Saturday referred 16 leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood to 
the grand mufti, Egypt's top religious authority, to consider death penalty 
against them on espionage charges.

The court set June 2 to deliver its final verdict in the case, in which ousted 
President Mohamed Morsi and 34 co-defendants are standing trial.

The opinion of the mufti is not binding to the court, but Egyptian law makes it 
necessary for judges to seek a religious point of view on any death sentence.

Egyptian authorities accuse Morsi and co-defendants of "conspiring" with 
Palestinian group Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah to carry out "terrorist acts" 
inside Egypt.

Last month, Morsi and 12 co-defendants were sentenced to 20 years in prison 
each for mobilizing supporters in order to "intimidate, detain and torture" 
dozens of anti-Morsi protesters during clashes outside eastern Cairo's 
Ittihadiya presidential palace in December 2012.

Morsi, Egypt's first democratically elected president, was ousted by the 
military in July 2013 - after only 1 year in office - following mass protests 
against his rule.

He currently faces multiple criminal trials on charges that include espionage 
and "insulting the judiciary."

Morsi and his co-defendants insist the charges against them are politically 
motivated.

Since Morsi's ouster, the Egyptian authorities have launched a relentless 
crackdown on dissent that has largely targeted Morsi's Islamist supporters, 
leaving hundreds dead and thousands behind bars.

(source: Anadolu Agency)