[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

May 23



PAKISTAN----executions

4 convicts hanged in jails across Punjab



4 death row convicts were sent to the gallows in jails across Punjab early 
Saturday morning.

A convict named Ehsaan was sentenced to death by an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) 
in 2002 for committing a murder. He was executed today at Lahore's Kot Lakhpat 
Central Jail.

His appeals against the sentence were previously rejected by the apex court and 
President Mamnoon, following which his death warrants were issued by the ATC 2 
days ago.

Separately, Mohammad Saleem - who was a resident of Faisalabad's Millat Colony 
- was sent to the gallows at Faisalabad Central Jail after his death warrants 
were issued by an ATC. Previously, his appeals against the conviction were 
rejected by President Mamnoon Hussain.

He was sentenced to death by a sessions court in Faisalabad in 2004 for 
murdering his cousin.

Meanwhile, a man named Abdul Ghaffar from Muzaffargarh was executed in Multan 
Central Jail for killing 3 individuals - including his wife in 1990. He was 
sentenced to death by a sessions court in Muzaffargarh. Last week, his death 
warrants were sent to the jail administration after which he was hanged today.

A man named Wazir - resident of Mianwali - was hanged in Sahiwal Central Jail 
for committing a murder in Rajanpur in 1991 over a domestic dispute.

In 1996, Wazir had been sentenced to death by a sessions judge in Rajanpur and 
his appeals were rejected by the top courts and President Mamnoon Hussain.

The jail administration received Wazir's death warrants 3 days ago and he was 
hanged this morning.

The ruling PML-N government had lifted the moratorium on the death penalty on 
Dec 17, 2014, in terrorism related cases in the wake of a Taliban attack at the 
Army Public School in Peshawar, which claimed 141 lives, most of them children. 
Later, the government completely reinstated capital punishment for all offences 
that entail the death penalty.

The United Nations, the European Union, Amnesty International and Human Rights 
Watch have urged the government to re-impose the moratorium on the death 
penalty.

(source: Dawn)

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

Court issues death warrants of 2 convicts



District and Sessions Judge (D&SJ) Lahore on Friday issued death warrants of 2 
prisoners convicted in different murder cases.

The judge has ordered to hang prisoners Abdul Khaliq and Shahzad on May 27 at 
Kot Lakhpat Jail.

The court passed the orders while accepting an application filed by Kot Lakhpat 
Jail superintendent for the purpose. The superintendent had requested the court 
to issue death warrants of Abdul Khaliq and Shahzad as their mercy appeals had 
been rejected by President Mamnoon Hussain and Supreme Court of Pakistan.

In 2002, a sessions court awarded death penalty to Abdul Khaliq in a murder 
case registered by Secretariat Police Station for killing Akramullah. Whereas 
another sessions court awarded death penalty to Muhammad Shahzad in a murder 
case registered by Allama Iqbal Town Police Station for killing Azam Khan.

(source: Pakistan Today)








KENYA:

Ali Babitu Kololo



Ali Babitu Kololo is a 35-year-old father of 2 young children from a 
marginalised tribe in northern Kenya. He was tortured into confessing that he 
led Somali kidnappers to a luxury island resort, where the kidnappers abducted 
a British woman and killed her husband.

Despite strong evidence that he is innocent, Ali was sentenced to death in 
2013.

Ali was never accused of being involved in the murder or kidnap itself, but 
under Kenyan law, simply being present when the crime is committed is enough 
for a conviction for robbery with violence, which carries the mandatory death 
penalty.

Following the attack in 2011, the hotel ordered staff and police to pick up 
anyone in the vicinity of the hotel as a suspect. Ali was arrested a few miles 
from the hotel. The British Metropolitan Police flew to Kenya the day after the 
kidnap to assist with the investigation. They reviewed the crime scene, 
interviewed witnesses and took forensic evidence.

When arrested, Ali was beaten and tortured. Officers squeezed and twisted his 
genitals, leaving him with urinary incontinence. Under torture he allegedly 
confessed to leading the pirates to the camp under duress. He immediately 
recanted his confession afterwards, and has maintained his innocence 
throughout.

Having funded and worked alongside the Kenyan police units, the British were no 
doubt well aware of their routine use of torture and mistreatment and Ali's own 
claims were widely reported in local and international press. But, without 
making any steps to investigate Ali's allegations of torture, the senior Met 
police officer relied on the statement provided by Ali under torture to help 
bolster the prosecution's case, giving evidence in court that his 2 statements 
were inconsistent.

Aside from his 'confession,' the only other key evidence against Ali is a 
footprint Kenyan police claim to have found at the scene - yet, at the trial, 
it was found that the shoe in question did not fit Ali, and the arresting 
officer claims that he was barefoot when arrested. The Senior Met police 
officer also relied on this footprint evidence when giving evidence at trial, 
but despite having a designated photographer present when he arrived at the 
scene, no one has been able to produce any evidence of this footprint to date. 
Contrary to the Met police officer claiming to the court that the shoes are 
"predominantly ... worn by Somalians", the shoes in question are common 
throughout this region of Kenya. Ali is not, in any event, Somali.

Ali is illiterate, and was denied an interpreter for his native language 
throughout his trial. He was also denied a lawyer for most of the proceedings, 
so had to try to cross examine all the witnesses, including the senior officer 
from the Metropolitan Police, himself. He was given the Chief Superintendent's 
statement (written, and in English) on the day of the hearing.

Aside from 1 other witness statement, he has never seen any of the other 
witness statements or evidence against him. The Metropolitan Police claim to 
have provided all the evidence they collected, including that which may confirm 
Ali's innocence, to the Kenyan prosecution. But the UK government continues to 
refuse to provide this, or any other information, to Ali or his lawyers.

Neither was Ali able to obtain any expert evidence, such as a medical 
assessment following his torture. By contrast, when the expert medical witness 
for the prosecution was unable to attend the hearing, the Foreign & 
Commonwealth Office stepped in to provide funding. They have refused to provide 
the same assistance to Ali for his appeal.

When sentencing Ali to death, the judge thanked the British police for their 
assistance, which helped secure this outcome.

"If the UK government is serious about its commitment to promoting justice 
overseas, it must right the wrongs and ensure real justice is done."----Maya 
Foa, Director of Reprieve's Death Penalty Team

Reprieve is calling on the UK government to honour their commitment to fight 
against the death penalty, and to right the wrong they committed by supporting 
the prosecution - which resulted in a death sentence for a man who may well be 
innocent. Having seen first hand that Ali was flagrantly denied a fair trial, 
at the very least they should now be ensuring that he receives a fair appeal.

(source: reprieve.org)








SUDAN:

Hundreds march in Sudan against Mursi death sentence



Around 800 protesters marched through Sudan's capital on Friday against a 
court's decision this week to seek the death penalty for Egypt's ousted 
Islamist president Mohamed Mursi.

Sudan's government has up to now declined to comment on the sentence in 
neighboring Egypt, describing it as an internal matter.

But the march organized by the Islamic Movement, a faction of Sudan's ruling 
National Congress Party, suggested some in the ruling elite wanted to send a 
stronger signal against Egypt's crackdown on Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood.

Hundreds of Sudanese, joined by dozens of Egyptians, marched from the Grand 
Mosque following Friday prayers, as police watched on, a Reuters witness said.

Crowds held up pictures of Mursi and other Brotherhood figures, as well as 
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.

They also chanted slogans against Egypt's current President Abdel Fattah 
al-Sisi, who as army chief orchestrated Mursi's ouster following mass protests 
against his rule.

Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir came to power in a bloodless coup in 
1989, backed by the army and Islamists.

But analysts say the government, facing international sanctions over its human 
rights record, has more recently sought to broaden its support across the 
Middle East by publicly distancing itself from the Brotherhood, which is seen 
as a security threat in Egypt and other Arab states.

The Egyptian court's decision has drawn widespread international criticism, 
with Turkey warning of regional turmoil if Mursi is executed.

The ruling against Mursi is not final until June 2. All capital sentences are 
referred to Egypt's top religious authority, the Grand Mufti, for a non-binding 
opinion, and are also subject to legal appeal.

(source: zamanalwsl.net)








EGYPT:

Undaunted by my death sentence



I received with total disbelief the news that on May 16 an Egyptian court had 
sentenced me to death - along with former president Mohamed Morsi, a number of 
his aides and several respected public figures, including renowned scholar Emad 
Shahin. The charges in my case, like Morsi's, are false and entirely political. 
The world knows by now the nature of the Egyptian regime's kangaroo trials of 
political opponents, which international human rights organizations describe as 
a "charade" lacking due process and violating Egyptian and international law.

On Jan. 25, 2011, like millions of other young Egyptians, I participated in 
demonstrations against then-President Hosni Mubarak's authoritarian regime, 
which entrenched corruption and injustice in Egypt for more than 3 decades. We 
camped in Tahrir Square, chanted for freedom and social justice and demanded 
the removal of the only president most of us had known. Our 1st enemy was, and 
still is, tyranny and despotism in all its forms. After the fall of the Mubarak 
regime, I was inspired by the level of political activism, patriotism and 
national pride that united all of us despite our political differences and 
affiliations. I was filled with hope for a better life, and I dreamed of going 
to the ballot box knowing that my vote would count, like most people in 
democratic countries.

I belong to a school of moderate mainstream Islam that believes there is no 
contradiction between Islam and democracy. In fact, Islam stands firmly against 
injustice, violation of human rights and oppression, especially oppression of 
women. I have always believed in democracy and peaceful change, and I have 
defended the human rights of all people. Therefore, I volunteered in Morsi's 
campaign as a coordinator to communicate with foreign media, and I was 
appointed to the same position in the president's office after he was elected 
president in a free and fair vote. This was the only time we Egyptians were 
able to participate in such elections, and it was an incredibly empowering 
moment.

Then came the military coup of July 3, 2013. I did not imagine that my support 
for democracy and my service in the administration of Egypt's 1st 
democratically elected president would land me in jail or be used against me as 
a crime warranting the death penalty.

Now I find myself being prosecuted for everything I aspired to and worked for, 
and for advancing the same values that so many of my fellow Egyptians - of all 
political affiliations - fought and died for.

Though I was sentenced in the so-called Grand Espionage case, the Egyptian 
regime seeks to end my life for no reason other than who I am: an educated, 
politically active and independent woman with mainstream Islamic views. I have 
traveled extensively around the world, utilized my education and training to 
reach out to people from different cultures and religions, built ideological 
bridges and engaged in dialogue with others - for example, as a fellow of the 
U.N. Alliance of Civilizations - and this has earned me the dubious honor of 
being the 1st woman in modern Egyptian history to be sentenced to death for 
political reasons. Clearly, I am from the generation of young Egyptians - women 
and men, liberals, conservatives and leftists, Muslims, Christians and atheists 
- that the regime fears as its No. 1 enemy because we represent the future and 
a hope for change.

It wants to kill the dream of democracy and freedom in the hearts of Egypt's 
young people. It does not want the world to know the truth about what is 
happening in Egypt. But it will not prevail. Something has changed in the 
collective consciousness of the Egyptian people. Even if the regime executes 
thousands, Egyptian youth have a lot more to give. The day will soon come when 
this country will be ruled with justice and equality.

Thankfully, unlike the tens of thousands of innocent Egyptians suffering in 
jails, or those being tortured, killed on the streets or hanged, I am outside 
the country pursuing a graduate degree in public policy in Britain. I have 
decided to take an independent academic and professional path to get the 
experience and skills that will enable me to serve my homeland, Egypt, the 
country where I grew up and that I cherish.

Although it breaks my heart to be separated from my family, friends and loved 
ones, the unjust sentence will not break my will and resolve. On the contrary, 
it will give me strength to keep defending the principles of the Egyptian 
revolution and values I and most Egyptians believe in and aspire to: dignity, 
freedom and justice.

(source: Opinion; Sondos Asem, who was foreign press secretary under former 
Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi, is an independent researcher and graduate 
student at the University of Oxford's Blavatnik School of 
Government----Washington Post)



IRAN:

37 Prisoners Executed in 3 days



>From May 19 to 21, the antihuman clerical regime in Iran executed 37 in prisons 
or on the streets of various cities.

3 prisoners were executed in public in the cities of Qouchan, Minab and Shiraz. 
The execution in Minab was carried out in football field in the town to further 
intensify the atmosphere of fear among the youth. In Shiraz, a prisoner that 
was condemned to death and about to be executed received 111 lashes.

Just on May 20 and 21, 24 prisoners were executed in three group hangings in 
Ghezel Hessar and Gohardasht prisons in Karaj. 8 who were hanged in the early 
morning hours of Thursday, May 21, in Ghezel Hessar Prison were among the 
prisoners who had protested the wave of collective and secret executions in 
this prison on 17 August 2014 in order to stop the execution of a number of 
their cellmates and had clashed with prison guards.

Execution of 9 prisoners in 2 group hangings in prisons in Shiraz and Arak on 
May 19 plus another prisoner in the central prison of Arak are the other crimes 
of this regime in this time span.

The objective of the savage regime of velayat-e faqih that the Iranian people 
call it the Godfather of ISIS is to intensify the atmosphere of terror and 
horror in order to control social protests that have turned into a nightmare 
for the clerical regime.

(source: Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran)

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

Arbitrary Executions Continue-11 Prisoners Transferred for Execution----Only 2 
days after execution of 11 prisoners in Ghezelhesar prison of Karaj, a new 
group of 11 prisoners have been transferred to solitary confinement for 
execution in the same prison. Iran Human Rights calls for international 
reactions.



According to Iran Human Rights' sources 11 prisoners from Ghezelhesar prison of 
Karaj (West of Tehran) have been transferred to solitary confinement for 
execution in the coming days. According to these sources all of the prisoners 
are charged with drug offences. 2 of the prisoners are identified as "Abbas 
Heydari" and "Masoud Zibaei".

IHR reported about the execution of 11 other prisoners in Ghezelhesar prison on 
Thursday May 21. Also these prisoners were convicted of drug-related charges 
and six of the prisoners were identified by name. All together at least 28 
people were executed in different Iranian prisons between Monday and Thursday 
last week.

IHR calls for the international community to react to the execution wave in 
Iran. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson of IHR said: "We are facing a 
gradual mass-execution of the prisoners in Iran. Most of these prisoners are 
subjected to unfair trials and charged with drug offences which are not 
considered as the "most serious" crimes. The international community can not 
remain silent and must react in order to stop these arbitrary executions".

(source: Iran Human Rights)








UNITED ARAB EMIRATES/PHILIPPINES:

OFW sentenced to death in UAE for killing employer



An overseas Filipino worker (OFW) from General Santos City convicted of killing 
her employer has been sentenced to death in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

28-year-old Jennifer Dalquez, according to her mother Rajima, was arrested on 
December 12 last year after she killed her employer who attempted to rape her 
on December 7.

Dalquez stabbed her employer using the same knife he pointed at her.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Dalquez was meted death penalty by 
a trial court in Al Ain on May 20.

Rajima said she last talked to her daughter on Wednesday, where Jennifer 
delivered the sad news about her death penalty.

She said her daughter, who had been working in UAE since 2011, was supposed to 
return home last January.

Ebrahim Zailon, head of DFA - General Santos City, confirmed the death 
sentence.

The Dalquez family is now appealing to the Philippine government for help.

Zailon said the DFA will appeal the case of the Filipina worker.

(source: ABS-CBNNews)








JAMAICA:

Abolishing death penalty not on gov't agenda at this time - Golding



The Justice Minister Senator Mark Golding says the removal of the death penalty 
from Jamaican law is not on the Government's agenda at this time.

Responding to a question from Opposition Senator Marlene Malahoo Forte today, 
Senator Golding said the matter went before Parliament in a conscience vote in 
2008 and the majority of legislators were in favour of keeping the death 
penalty on the books.

Golding argued that having undertaken that process it was not on the 
administration's agenda to change the laws at this time in relation to hanging.

According to the Justice Minister, the number of people convicted of capital 
murder is relatively small with most of them ending up serving life sentences.

During last week's meeting of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, 
several member states of the United Nations recommended that Jamaica abolishes 
the death penalty.

Golding told the Council that the island has had a longstanding de facto 
moratorium on the application of the death penalty.

However, he said no decision has been made by the Government to formally 
abolish the death penalty from the law books.

Arising from the Pratt and Morgan ruling, the sentences of convicts on death 
row for more than 5 years are automatically commuted to life in prison.

(source: Jamaica Gleaner)