[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

May 21



SUDAN:

1 year after Meriam Ibrahim's release, 2 Christians face possible death penalty 
in Sudan



Last year, a death penalty sentence slapped on a Sudanese doctor for refusing 
to renounce her Christian faith stirred international outrage and heightened 
calls on the government to increase religious liberty.

Meriam Yahya Ibrahim was released a month later, but now 2 Christian pastors 
have been jailed and they also face a possible death sentence.

The Rev. Michael Yat and the Rev. Peter Yein Reith, both from the South Sudan 
Presbyterian Evangelical Church, have been charged with undermining the 
constitutional system and spying, offenses punishable by death or life 
imprisonment.

The clerics are charged with waging a war against the state and assault on 
religious belief.

"We know they have been arrested, but we don't know where they are being 
detained," said the Rev. Kori Romla Koru, general secretary of the Sudan 
Council of Churches. "We are trying to find them."

Yat was arrested last year after visiting the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical 
Church's Bahri congregation in Khartoum, according to Christian Solidarity 
Worldwide, a charity that works on behalf of persecuted Christians.

The congregation had resisted the takeover of the church by a Muslim 
businessman, who had demolished part of the worship center.

In December, police beat and arrested 38 Christians for worshipping in the 
church.

With Yat's arrest, South Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church sent Reith with 
a letter to the authorities to demand his release. He was arrested on Jan. 11.

Human rights groups have expressed deep concern over the charges, warning that 
the two clerics could face torture.

"It is unacceptable that after enduring extended detentions without charge, the 
men now face extreme and unwarranted charges," said Mervyn Thomas, CSW's chief 
executive, said earlier this month.

Since the separation of Sudan and South Sudan in 2011, Sudan has forced out all 
foreign missionaries, raided churches and arrested and interrogated Christians 
on grounds that they belonged to South Sudan.

(source: Religion News Service)








VIETNAM:

Many Vietnamese lawmakers back abolition of death penalty for 7 crimes ---- The 
proposal that capital punishment be scrapped for seven crimes under the current 
Penal Code has been supported by many Vietnamese legislators.



On the 1st working day of the 9th session of the 13th National Assembly (NA) 
that opened in Hanoi on Wednesday, Minister of Justice Ha Hung Cuong presented 
to the law-making body the proposed amendments to the Penal Code for 
discussion.

1 of them is the abolition of the death penalty for 7 crimes, including 
plundering property, destroying important national security works and/or 
facilities; disobeying orders in the military; surrendering to the enemy, which 
is applicable in the army; undermining peace, provoking aggressive wars; crimes 
against mankind; and war crimes.

Reducing death sentences is Vietnam's major policy that is reflected in recent 
resolutions on justice reform and the practice of criminal legislation, 
Minister Cuong said.

Many members of the NA Justice Committee and other lawmakers have agreed to the 
proposed amendment.

The Radio the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) quoted Nguyen Van Hien, chair of the NA 
Justice Committee, as saying his committee approves of the view that capital 
punishment should alleviated by cutting the number of crimes subject to death 
sentences, promulgating regulations that help minimize the application of the 
death penalty, and extending the list of defendants who are condemned to death 
but do not have their sentence carried out.

Tran Du Lich, deputy head of the delegation of lawmakers from Ho Chi Minh City, 
said that death sentences should be cut down but there should be a regulation 
on crimes subject to life imprisonment without parole.

If the NA approves this proposal, the number of crimes subject to the death 
penalty in Vietnam will be lowered to 15 from the current 22.

A number of deputies said capital punishment should be retained for the charges 
of undermining peace, provoking aggressive wars, crimes against mankind, and 
war crimes, as these top the list of the most serious counts.

Regarding some suggestions on abrogating capital punishment for 2 corruption 
crimes: embezzlement and bribe acceptance, Minister Cuong said the government's 
policy is that the death penalty should be maintained for those convicted of 
corruption as the highest sanction.

"We are uncompromisingly combating corruption. Many measures have been taken 
but they have yet to prove effective. Therefore, a proposal for death sentences 
be scrapped for these 2 crimes, which are the most serious among corruption 
charges, is not appropriate for the time being," the minister underlined.

As for another suggested amendment that defendants aged 70 or older should be 
exempted from capital punishment, Hien said most members of the NA Justice 
Committee have rejected it, VOV reported.

In reality people at this age can committee serious - even extremely serious - 
crimes and they can be the mastermind behind criminal organizations, Hien said.

If the government spares people of such age the death penalty, they could make 
use of the exemption to avoid punishment by law after committing serious 
crimes, he added.

According to the agenda of the 9th session of the NA, the amendments to the 
Penal Code will be discussed in groups of delegates on May 28 and in a plenary 
meeting on June 16.

VnExpress said the amendments will be submitted to the NA for consideration in 
its next session in November 2015.

(source: Tuoi Tre News)

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

Vietnam may stop punishing drug, war crimes by death



The government has proposed abolishing the death penalty for 7 crimes at a 
parliament session in Hanoi on Wednesday.

The crimes are robbery, vandalizing equipment and works significant to national 
security, gross disturbances of public order, surrendering to enemy forces, 
acts of sabotage and waging invasive wars, crimes against humanity, and drug 
trafficking.

The proposal is part of amendments to the Penal Code, which are going to be 
discussed at the ongoing session and voted on in November.

The Vietnamese Penal Code currently recognizes 22 crimes as punishable by 
death. That number was progressively scaled back from the original list issued 
in 1985, following amendments made in 1999 and 2009.

According to Tran Van Do, former vice chief of the Supreme People's Court, 
Vietnam's courts sentence about 200 people to death every year.

Vietnam switched to lethal injection from firing squad in 2011.

Minister of Justice Ha Hung Cuong, who presented the new amendments, said there 
are still controversies around the proposal involving death penalty.

Some people also proposed removing crimes of producing fake food and medicine, 
embezzlement and receiving bribe from the death penalty list.

"The government recognizes that there should be an unyielding fight against 
corruption. Many measures have been taken to no avail."

Removing corruption from the list could lead to misconception that the law is 
lenient to corrupt officials, he said.

Cuong said the government has also proposed life imprisonment without parole 
for the first time in Vietnam's legal system.

(source: Thanh Nien News)








EGYPT/AUSTRIA:

Austria's FM: we reject 'inhuman' capital punishment



"The death penalty is an inhuman deterrent strongly rejected by not only the 
Austrian government but also by the European Union," said Austrian Foreign 
Minister Sebastian Kurz in a press conference held in Cairo Wednesday.

Kurz's comment came days after former President Mohamed Morsi and 105 others 
were sentenced Saturday to death over charges of prison break during the 
January 25 Uprising.

"Egypt is entitled to deal with terrorism, not only against the Islamic State. 
We support the punishment of terrorists but in the framework of fair trials," 
said Kurtz.

Egypt is not only a strategic player in the region but also a strong partner 
against the Islamic State group, said Kurz.

Kurz met with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry Wednesday and discussed 
bilateral political and economic relations.

During the meeting, Kurz assured that the recovery of Egypt's tourism sector is 
directly related to the country's stability.

"Years ago, Austrian tourists visiting Egypt reached 200,000 tourists," he 
said, adding that Egypt is a good place for investments and that the total 
number of Austrian companies investing in Egypt reached 750.

Kurtz will meet with President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi Thursday Kurz, according to 
a Wednesday's presidential statement.

Mass sentences against Morsi and other Muslim Brotherhood defendants sparked 
international criticism of human rights organizations; an issue that was 
slammed by Egypt's government.

German Bundestag President Norbert Lammert, who belongs to German Chancellor 
Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU,) cancelled a meeting with Sisi 
in June, protesting the mass death sentences.

(source: The Cairo Post)


SINGAPORE:

Over 1.2kg of 'Ice' seized, Singaporean arrested----A total of about 1.27kg of 
'Ice', 183g of ketamine, 134g of synthetic cannabis, 257 Erimin-5 tablets and 
seven Ecstasy tablets, worth more than S$239,000, were seized, according to 
CNB.



A suspected drug trafficker believed to be trafficking in an assortment of 
drugs was arrested on Wednesday, the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) said in a 
media release on Thursday (May 21).

A total of about 1.27kg of 'Ice', 183g of ketamine, 134g of synthetic cannabis, 
257 Erimin-5 tablets and seven Ecstasy tablets, worth about S$239,000, were 
seized, according to CNB. It added that the amount of 'Ice' seized could feed 
the abuse habit of 720 'Ice' abusers for a week.

The suspect, a 48-year-old Singaporean, was arrested at Woodlands Checkpoint A 
at about 11.20am on Wednesday. The drugs were seized when CNB officers searched 
his haversack.

"Various implements suspected to be used for making improvised drug smoking 
apparatus were also recovered," said CNB.

The suspect's residence in Holland Close was subsequently raided by CNB 
officers. A "large quantity" of 'Ice' and an assortment of other drugs were 
found and seized, CNB said. Officers also recovered other items such as empty 
plastic sachets, glass apparatus and a digital weighing scale.

Investigations into the drug trafficking activities of the suspect are ongoing. 
If convicted, he may face the death penalty, CNB said.

(source: Channel News Asia)








INDONESIA:

Sergio, Lacanilao's statements seen to boost Veloso's chance to escape death



The statements of the alleged recruiters of Mary Jane Veloso that she had no 
knowledge that she was transporting heroin to Indonesia will boost her chance 
of permanently escaping her death sentence, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima 
said Thursday.

"This is a good development and an indication that we are at the right 
direction, right track ... If it will be proven in the ongoing investigation 
(that she is innocent), this will be a big thing for Mary Jane," de Lima told 
reporters.

"This shows that it was just right to suspend the implementation of the death 
penalty so the truth would first come out," she said.

She said they would immediately inform the Indonesian authorities about the 
affidavits of Maria Cristina Sergio and Julius Lacanilao "for their own 
appreciation."

The Justice Chief said they are hoping to get more information from Sergio and 
Lacanilao during the course of the preliminary investigation.

Edre Olalia, Veloso's lawyer from National Union of People's Lawyers, agreed 
with de Lima's opinion.

"It can be used as a basis by our Indonesian counterparts. In fact, they are 
actually waiting already for the translation from English to Bahasa so they 
will communicate immediately with the attorney general's office about this 
statement," he explained.

But he said they would file a reply to what he called as Sergio's "self-serving 
version of the surrounding circumstances to cover her own complicity."

"We will file reply-affidavits to reiterate the whole unembellished facts as 
they are. Additionally, we shall contest the inexplicable vilification she made 
against Mary Jane's family," he said in a statement.

Sergio, in her 31-page affidavit submitted to the DOJ last Wednesday, said 
Veloso fell prey to 2 "dark skinned, curly-haired men" she identified as Ike 
and John while they were in Malaysia in April 2010 to look for a job.

Sergio said she believes that Veloso was a victim who "was taken advantage of 
because she didn't know any better, was in dire need of a job, and because of 
her tendency to trust people, even strangers."

While saying Veloso was innocent, the alleged recruiters denied the charges 
against them. They said they only helped her in trying to find a job abroad.

(source: Philippine Inquirer)

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

Japanese grandfather gets life term in Indonesia drug case----Indonesia has 
argued need for tough drug trafficking deterrent, but some say harsh penalties 
due to domestic politics



A 73-year-old Japanese man, who says he was deceived into carrying drugs in 
someone else's bag on a flight into Indonesia, was sentenced to life in prison 
Wednesday for smuggling methamphetamine into the country. The case highlights 
the country's strict anti-drug laws, which drew international outcry when they 
resulted in the executions of nine convicts last month.

Masaru Kawada was arrested in November at Minangkabau Airport in West Sumatra's 
capital, Padang, after customs officials found 5.18 pounds of crystal 
methamphetamine in his luggage. Chief state prosecutor Budi Prihalda said they 
had recommended a light sentence of 16 years because of the defendant's age.

But the 3-judge panel that convicted Kawada at the District Court in Pariaman 
said his deed had weakened the government's struggle against drugs, and 
sentenced him to life in prison.

"We found no reason to lighten his sentence," said presiding judge Jon 
Effreddi.

A lawyer for Kawada - who argued that he was tricked by someone who asked him 
to carry a bag and that he did not know he was carrying drugs - said they would 
appeal.

According to court documents, a man identified as Edward Mark met Kawada in 
Japan last November and asked him to travel to Macau, with Mark paying for 
Kawada's tickets and accommodations and giving him $500 in travel expenses. 
While in Macau, Kawada met a Chinese woman who asked him to carry a bag to a 
friend in Padang.

Kawada, who flew to Padang from Macau via Kuala Lumpur, said he had checked the 
bag and did not find anything suspicious. He said he only realized he was 
carrying methamphetamine upon arrival, when customs officials arrested him and 
confiscated the drug.

The grandfather of 2 is believed to be one of the oldest drug smugglers to be 
sentenced in Indonesia, which has extremely strict drug laws and often executes 
smugglers.

The country has executed 14 drug convicts, including 12 foreigners, this year 
amid protests and an international outcry, but Indonesia insists that tough 
punishment is part of its efforts to confront a drug emergency. Indonesian 
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has said the country has 4.5 million people 
addicted to drugs.

But some activists have said such harsh penalties for drug offenses are related 
to domestic politics. Earlier this year Ricky Gunawan, director of the 
Jakarta-based LBH Masyarakat Community Legal Aid Institute, told Al Jazeera 
that there is widespread support for sentencing drug offenders to the death 
penalty.

"In Indonesia, drugs have always been seen as 'evil.' Narcotics ... are often 
labeled as haram," Gunawan said, using a term that means "forbidden" under 
Islam, the majority religion in Indonesia. "The government and law apparatus 
treat this issue as a way to gain popularity or support," he said.

Arrests, convictions and executions are "a way for the government to show that 
they are tough against crimes," Gunawan said.

More than 130 people are on death row in Indonesia, mostly for drug crimes. 
About 1/3 are foreigners.

"Since it is believed that the majority of drugs in Indonesia are imported, the 
government believes that by imposing harsh punishment on traffickers, they 
could reduce or halt the importation of drugs," Yohanes Sulaiman, lecturer in 
international relations and political science at Jakarta's Indonesian Defense 
University, told Deutsche Welle earlier this year.

Jokowi's determination to deal harshly with drug crimes has won him popular 
support at home, despite criticism by some rights groups and international 
leaders.

"We want to send a strong message to drug smugglers that Indonesia is firm and 
serious in tackling the drug problem, and one of the consequences is execution 
if the court sentences them to death," he told Al Jazeera in March.

(source: Al Jazeera)








IRAN----executions

7 People Executed- 2 in Public- and Public Flogging in Iran



7 people were hanged in Iran on Wednesday (May 20) and Tuesday, according to 
the Iranian state media.

5 people were hanged in the Rajaishahr prison of Karaj, Wednesday morning May 
20, reported Iranian state broadcasting. The prisoners were identified as 
"Ardalan", "Ali", "Morteza", "Meysam" and "Behrouz" and were all convicted of 
murder, said the report. Iran Human Rights (IHR) has received unconfirmed 
reports about the execution of 3 other prisoners in the Rajaishahr prison. 
These reports are being investigated.

1 prisoner was hanged in public in the city of Ghochan in northern Iran today. 
The prisoner who was identified as "A. Kh." was convicted of murder 4 years 
ago. He was a drug addict since his childhood, said the report.

Another prisoner was hanged publicly in the city of Minab (Southern Iran) on 
Tuesday May 19. According to Jomhuri-e-Eslami newspaper, the prisoner was 
identified as "Ayoub Torkamani", who was charged with possession and 
trafficking of 10 kilograms and 800 grams of crack, said the report. He was 
arrested 7 years ago.

Iranian state media also reported that the flogging sentence of a man 
identified as "Kamran" was implemented Monday morning May 18 (picture). He was 
convicted of theft. On Sunday the Iranian media reported about amputation 
sentence of another prisoner in Khuzestan province (southwestern Iran).

(source: Iran Human Rights)

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

Prisoner hanged in football field



The Iranian regime henchmen hanged at least 10 prisoners including 1 in public 
in a soccer field on Tuesday.

According to a report by the state-run daily Jomhouri Islami a man was hanged 
in the municipality's soccer field in the city of the Minab. The victim was 
identified as Ayob Torkamani.

The international governing body of football had previously warned Iranian 
regime about executions of prisoners on the football fields.

FIFA had in past sent warning to the regime's officials regarding the 
executions on football fields, a regime official had acknowledged.

Meanwhile, the Iranian regime's judiciary in Arak province announced that on 
Tuesday 4 death row prisoners were hanged in city's main prison.

UN human rights experts have condemned the recent surge in executions in Iran, 
the majority of which are unreported.

United Nations Special Rapporteurs involving the situation of human rights in 
Iran by Ahmed Shaheed and on extrajudicial executions by Christof Heyns have 
condemned the drastic increase in executions since the past few weeks.

In many cases executions have gone unreported by official sources and the names 
of those being executed have not been disclosed to the public.

"When the Iranian government refuses to even acknowledge the full extent of 
executions which have occurred, it shows a callous disregard for both human 
dignity and international human rights law," Mr. Shaheed stressed.

(source: NCR-Iran)








AUSTRALIA:

Adopt New Stratedy to End Death Penalty Abroad



Following the executions of Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran in 
Indonesia, the Australian government should redouble efforts to end the death 
penalty around the world, and overhaul the way it campaigns for global 
abolition, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch opposes the death 
penalty in all circumstances because of its inherent cruelty.

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Human Rights Law Centre, 
Reprieve Australia, Australians Detained Abroad, NSW Council for Civil 
Liberties, Civil Liberties Australia, and Uniting Justice Australia have joined 
forces to launch a new Australian blueprint to end the death penalty.

The Australian government has condemned executions in Indonesia, but it could 
play a larger role opposing the death penalty globally. Australia abolished the 
death penalty in 2010, although the last execution took place in 1967.

"The time is ripe for Australia's foreign ministry to make public a new 
comprehensive policy to end the death penalty worldwide, with specific and 
achievable goals for individual countries," said Elaine Pearson, Australia 
director at Human Rights Watch. "The strategy should include consistent public 
and private diplomatic pressure to end this cruel practice, showing how the 
death penalty has failed to deter crime and been unjustly applied."

The groups' blueprint for change, "Australian Government and the Death Penalty: 
A Way Forward" details 4 steps the government should take to build on the 
current momentum to end the death penalty:

1. Develop a new Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade public strategy 
document aimed at ending the death penalty, everywhere;

2. Use Australia's aid program to support civil society organizations 
campaigning for abolition in countries which retain the death penalty;

3. Join forces with other nations to push for universal adoption of a global 
moratorium on the death penalty; and

4. Put in place stronger legislation so the Australian Federal Police (AFP) is 
required by law not to share information with other law enforcement agencies 
that would potentially result in suspected perpetrators facing the death 
penalty.

The blueprint urges the Australian government to consult widely, including with 
the UK government, which already has a global strategy against the death 
penalty, as well as with advocacy groups in countries retaining the death 
penalty.

The organizations said if Australia wants its opposition to the death penalty 
globally to be credible, it is important that Australian laws consistently 
reflect that opposition. Following the arrests of the so-called Bali 9 in 2005, 
it emerged that the Australian Federal Police (AFP) passed on detailed 
information about the alleged plan to smuggle heroin from Bali, without seeking 
guarantees that the information would not be used by the authorities to 
eventually seek the death penalty against the perpetrators.

Emily Howie, director of advocacy and research at the Human Rights Law Centre, 
said: "If the Bali 9 case happened again tomorrow, nothing would prevent the 
AFP from acting in the same way. Parliament should amend the AFP Act to include 
sufficient safeguards to prevent police sharing information which could lead to 
the death penalty."

"Momentum is building globally for the abolition of the death penalty. In 
recent months, Australian people and the government have spoken out powerfully 
against executions," said Ursula Noye, vice president of Reprieve Australia. 
"The time is right for us to take a lead role, and build a regional coalition 
for abolition. We should make future generations proud."

"The recent executions of 8 men in Indonesia, including Australians Andrew Chan 
and Myuran Sukumaran, was an inhuman and unjust punishment and represents 
exactly why the Australian government must continue to speak out against the 
death penalty whenever it occurs," said Claire Mallinson, national director at 
Amnesty International Australia. "We must now ensure Australia's stance against 
the recent executions is reflected in all government policy. We are asking for 
change across the Australian Government - through diplomacy, our aid program, 
our federal law enforcement agencies."

(source: Human Rights Watch)