[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Nov. 22


TRINIDAD:

Religion is the problem


What if a church group started murdering homosexuals, adulterers, and atheists? 
Nearly everyone would say that these church members were not true Christians. 
Yet the killers could readily cite Biblical authority to justify their 
executions: Leviticus chapter 20, verses 10 and 13, and 24:16.

Confronted with such texts in their holy books, religious believers have 2 
typical responses: (a) that the verses are being taken out of context; or (b) 
that these laws no longer apply. These are not intellectually honest rebuttals. 
In respect to the first claim, believers can never give a context which alters 
the natural meaning of these texts; in respect to the 2nd, this would logically 
mean that their god changes his mind and therefore no text can be taken as 
authoritative.

Of course, Christians don't usually execute sinners nowadays. But apologists 
for Islam like to point out that Christianity of the Middle Ages committed many 
of the same atrocities that Muslim extremists are doing today. This is a 
curious defence, however, since it is an assertion that 2 wrongs make a right. 
But this just shows how religious belief retards moral reasoning.

Consider, for example, this scenario: you are a ruler on a tropical island 
which is not technologically advanced enough to build prisons. Three men have 
robbed a fisherman, murdered him, and stolen his boat. When they are caught, 
you have 3 options for punishment: (1) banish them from the island; (2) execute 
them; (3) stake them to the hot sand on the beach, puncture their eyeballs with 
sharpened sticks, cut off their hands and feet, and let them bleed to death.

Now whether you choose (1) or (2) will depend on whether you support the death 
penalty or not. But most people would not choose the third option, since 
execution by torture is a punishment disproportionate to the crime. Yet, in 
this scenario, all devout Muslims must choose Option#3: for this is exactly 
what the Prophet Muhammad is recorded in the Hadiths as doing and, according to 
Islamic doctrine, his actions are considered a perfect guide on all questions 
of morality and law.

Now, clearly, when Muhammad ordered this punishment 1,400 years ago, that was 
considered justice. In the 21st century, however, the majority of religious 
believers would probably not view such acts as just or even civilised. But what 
has changed? Not the holy texts, obviously. Instead, believers twist and turn 
to avoid the clear meanings of such texts. Even when I cite Sura 4:34 of the 
Q'uran, which instructs men who fear being horned to beat their wives, Muslim 
apologists claim I am misquoting the text.

But why are Muslim believers arguing against a verse in their own holy book 
which they say is God's absolute truth? Even if we accept the argument of 
different interpretations, this would mean that their God has failed in the 
most basic goal of clarity: which would make me a better writer than Allah. The 
fact is, Muslims are embarrassed by this text because wife-beating is 
considered reprehensible in modern society. And that shows that interpretations 
of religious texts are really shaped by secular values. Also, as the British 
philosopher A C Grayling notes in his book The God Argument, 
"Non-fundamentalist religion, by definition depends upon cherry-picking the 
given religion's doctrines, discarding the uncongenial teachings and 
reinterpreting others to make them more comfortable to live with."

This is not to say that holy books are irrelevant. After all, Jainism has 
injunctions which specifically abjure violence, whereas Islam has many texts 
justifying it: that is why Jains generally do not commit suicide with bombs in 
crowded places. But the attitude of religious believers is mainly determined by 
their holy books as interpreted under specific socioeconomic and political 
conditions. So Muslims who are a minority group in any country are relatively 
more tolerant, at least in action, than their counterparts in Muslim majority 
nations. But theirs is not genuine tolerance - ie respect for different 
beliefs, philosophies and lifestyles. After all, not one Muslim leader in T&T 
has ever agreed that homosexuals should have the same rights as heterosexuals 
or that the marriage age for Muslim females should be raised from 12 years old.

All this hinges on a core question of moral philosophy: Is an act good because 
God makes it so or because it is inherently so?

If an act is only good because it is ordained by God, then God could make sex 
with babies morally right. If, however, we assert that such an act could never 
be moral, it means that we are applying a standard of morality without 
reference to God. I have found that believers have a hard time understanding 
the simple logic of this argument. Some of them even insist that "God would 
never make such acts good," without realising that this assertion also means 
that God is constrained by some antecedent moral standard which exists outside 
Himself.

This is why people who base their morals on religion can always justify any 
atrocity, whereas persons whose morality is based on secular ethics never can.

(source: Opinion, Kevin Baldeosingh----The Guardian)






PHILIPPINES:

Death penalty for foreign drug traffickers gets nod


The House committee on dangerous drugs has passed and endorsed for plenary 
approval a bill imposing stiffer penalties, including death, on foreigners 
found guilty of engaging in drug-related activities in the country.

The panel, chaired by Iligan City Rep. Vicente Belmonte Jr., recently approved 
House Bill 1213 principally authored by Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus 
Rodriguez and Abante Mindanao party-list Rep. Maximo Rodriguez Jr.

"The measure allows the imposition of death penalty if prescribed under the 
national laws of the alien offender," the authors said.

The bill is entitled "An Act Adopting the Higher Prescribed Penalty, Including 
Death, of the National Law of An Alien Found Guilty of Trafficking Dangerous 
Drugs and Other Similar Substances, Amending for the Purpose Republic Act 9165, 
Otherwise Known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002."

"This means that the imposition of the penalty for drug offenses as prescribed 
under the national law of the foreigner or the penalty under Republic Act 9165, 
whichever is higher, is the rule to follow," the authors said.

Rodriguez originally introduced the bill during the 15th Congress.

He said the previous measure was approved on 2nd, 3rd and final reading by the 
House during the 15th Congress. But it was not acted upon by the Senate.

The authors noted that in June 2006, RA 9346 was enacted into law prohibiting 
the imposition of death penalty in the Philippines.

"While the rationale for passing the law was clear and noble, there are some 
sectors of society who believe that this law is not just and equitable because 
while foreigners may not be executed in the Philippines for drug trafficking, 
Filipinos who commit drug offenses are executed in other countries with death 
penalty," they said.

Because of the ban on death penalty, an argument against the law states that 
many foreigners are emboldened to establish their drug factories in the country 
because once convicted, they only suffer life imprisonment as opposed to the 
penalties that they may suffer in their own countries which, in some cases, is 
death, like in China.

(source: Philippine Star)






CHINA/NEW ZEALAND:

PM pleas for leniency over death penalty


Prime Minister John Key has asked China's president to consider New Zealand's 
opposition to the death penalty in the case of a Kiwi man facing drug charges 
in China.

Peter Gardner was arrested at Guangzhou airport in November last year, when he 
was found to be carrying nearly 30 kilograms of methamphetamine. If found 
guilty he could face the death penalty.

New Zealand was opposed to the death penalty, and Mr Key said he asked Chinese 
President Xi Jinping to take that into consideration, when the pair met at the 
East Asia Summit in Malaysia yesterday.

"I didn't ask for him to not be treated appropriately. In other words, if he 
has broken the law he needs to be held to account for what is potentially a 
very serious issue with drugs trafficking.

"But what I did say to the Chinese president is New Zealand has a very strong 
view about the death penalty."

Mr Gardner said at his hearing in May that he had been duped by an intermediary 
who headed a large Australian gang.

He holds dual Australian and New Zealand nationality but entered China on his 
New Zealand passport, for what he said was intended to be a pick-up of athletic 
performance enhancing drugs, arranged by the Sydney intermediary.

(source: Radio New Zealand)






BANGLADESH----executions

2 top Bangladesh war criminals hanged


The 2 top Bangladesh war criminals - Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury and Ali Ahsan 
Mohammad Mojaheed - were hanged tonight for committing crimes against humanity 
during the country's liberation war in 1971.

The executions took place at around 12:45 am tonight at the Dhaka Central Jail 
after their appeals, the last resort, seeking Presidential mercy were turned 
down by the head of the state following completion of all legal procedures.

Executed Mojaheed is the secretary general of Jamaat e Islami and was the 
commander of the Al Badr killing squad, an auxiliary force of the Pakistan 
army, which had annihilated scores of Bengali intellectuals in 1971.

Chowdhury, currently the presidium member of Bangladesh Nationalist Party(BNP), 
was convicted by the apex court for crimes against humanity as the key 
collaborator of Pakistan army, some 44 years ago.

Just before the execution, family members of the 2 convicts, who served as 
ministers and in various key positions during Gen H M Ershad and Khaleda Zia's 
tenures, were allowed to meet them amid tightened security around the high 
security prison in Dhaka . The authorities have also deployed, hundreds of 
police, paramilitary Border Guards Bangladesh and elite RAB in hundreds in all 
major towns across the country to prevent possible violence by the supporters 
of the 2 widely known war criminals .

Earlier on Wednesday, a four member appellate division bench led by Chief 
Justice S K Sinha wrapped up the long judicial process which the Sheikh Hasina 
government had initiated in 2010, more then 3 decades after Bangladesh becomes 
an independent through a devastating war in 1971.

In October 2013, a war crimes tribunal found Chowdhury, 66, guilty of 9 out of 
the 23 charges for crimes against humanity, including killing and torture of 
scores of pro-independence people in Chittagong, where he is known as a 
"terror". The apex court on June 16 this year upheld the death penalty of 
Mojaheed, 67, for planning and instigating the killing of secular intellectuals 
and professionals towards the end of the Bangladesh's Liberation War.

The 2 death row convicts have sought presidential clemency on Saturday as the 
last resort to safe their lives.

While the 2 were the 1st such convicts to seek presidential mercy, the other 2 
- Abdul Quader Mollah and Kamaruzzaman -- executed earlier, had declined to do 
so. In seeking the Presidential clemency, they both have acknowledged the 
horrific crimes they perpetrated in 1971 to thwart Bangladesh???s independence 
as the cohorts of the Pakistan army.

The execution took place in the backdrop of a strong defence by Chowdhury's 
party, BNP, led by Khaleda Zia, which claimed their leader was in Pakistan in 
1971, hence did not get justice . Jamaat-e-Islami has claimed their leader did 
not seek presidential mercy.

(source: The Hindu)

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

War criminal Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid buried in Faridpur after execution


The secretary general of the Jamaat-e-Islami and BNP leader Salauddin Quader 
Chowdhury were both hanged at Dhaka Central Jail for the crimes against 
humanity they committed in 1971.

Prison authorities said the executions took place at 12:55am.

An ambulance carrying Mujahid's body left the jail premises for Faridpur at 
2:55am.

It arrived at west Khabashpur in Faridpur district around 6:30am.

He was buried at the premises of Ideal Cadet Madrasa - run by local Jamaat 
activists - around 7:25am following a funeral prayer attended by family members 
and Jamaat activists.

Local residents and journalists were not allowed to enter the madrasa premises 
during the burial.

Mujahid, a minister in Khaleda Zia's coalition Cabinet, planned and executed 
mass murders, including those of intellectuals, scientists, academics and 
journalists in 1971.

On July 17, 2013, the ICT passed the death sentence on him after he was proven 
guilty of the mass killings and torture of Hindus during the Liberation War.

He had appealed against the verdict, but the Supreme Court had upheld the death 
penalty.

His petition to review the sentence was also rejected by the top court.

The only hurdle for the execution was a possible presidential clemency, which 
he sought on Saturday. In the end, the clemency appeal was turned down.

(source: bdnews24.com)

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

The death of conscience ---- Oishee was responsible for murdering her parents, 
but a deeper disease plagues our society


With the rendition of Nur Hossain from India, the media is abuzz with every 
minute detail, from his handover to his appearance before court in Narayanganj. 
It was expected, since he is the principal accused in the gruesome seven-murder 
case in the river port city.

The close relatives of the slain and several people, mainly journalists and 
political commentators, who have been following events since that fatal day in 
April of last year, are raising many questions, and pertinent questions they 
are too. I guess the law will take its course.

However, only a few days ago, another landmark judgment was made -- the death 
penalty for young Oishee, who confessed to killing her parents. With due 
respect to the courts, my personal opinion is that it may prove 
counter-productive in this case.

This was not a run-of-the-mill case of cold-blooded murder -- it was the murder 
of progenitors by the progeny. Someone killing her parents is the rarest of 
events, especially someone as young as Oishee.

There are instances of people murdering a parent or parents or a sibling from 
avarice -- their removal may ease the way to inherit a property of value. Such 
vile crimes do happen in our society. It definitely was not the motive behind 
the gruesome actions of Oishee.

It seems very plausible that Oishee, a drug-addled spoiled kid, on the verge of 
adulthood, had deep-rooted psychological problems.

She should have been given psychiatric help, an attempt at rehabilitation. She 
also needs better representation in the higher courts, since she had already 
complained of coercion and torture during the process of obtaining her 
confessional statement and the question of being still officially underage 
during questioning, persists.

This case also leaves room for introspection into the state of our social 
conscience.

It was reported that Oishee was provided unlimited pocket money by her police 
officer father, some reports put the figure as high as Tk50,000 a month. Now, 
how does a police officer afford such lavish spending? The corruption and 
hypocrisy that have seeped into every tier of the administration and a certain 
section of society are giving rise to monsters.

The memory is still fresh of the rich drunken kid who ran over a number of 
rickshaws, grievously injuring some people in the process. We see an honorable 
MP shooting a village boy in the legs and then getting out on bail, garlands 
around his "honourable" neck.

There are, and will be, many such instances. When a boy or a girl realises the 
wealth of his/her parents are ill-gotten or inconsistent with their 
professions, he/she will no longer remain under the circle of control that 
parents should have over their kids up to a certain age. How can corrupt 
parents give lessons in morality to their children? They can only help open the 
doors of arrogance, apathy, and wanton behaviour for their kids.

Such reckless living has already given rise to a generation of young people who 
live a life of extremes, in their lifestyles as well as in their behaviour 
pattern, which is wholly devoid of any respect for the rights of others.

This generation is quite often into drug and alcohol abuse at a massive scale, 
depravity is a cornerstone of the structure of it, and it naturally leads to 
disillusionment about life and ultimate ruination.

Worse still, once adults, these spoilt brats will continue the cycle of 
immorality and eventually cause the death of conscience of the society, if that 
conscience is still breathing.

Sending Oishee to the gallows means we are just sweeping the dirt under the 
carpet.

Oishee is just a manifestation of the disease that plagues our society, and 
such harsh judgment in one case will not deter others from leading their lives 
unconcerned about the accepted civilised norms of social behaviour, and they 
will remain disrespectful to the law of the land -- a notion will persist that 
money and power can buy all.

The judgment on Oishee is like giving strong medicine to subside a fever, no 
attempts are made at locating and attacking the disease that's causing the 
fever, the disease will go merrily along.

In his satirical play The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Berthold Brecht, the 
playwright, tried to show the rise of Adolf Hitler, in allegory, by chronicling 
a Chicago mobster, Arturo Ui, trying to control the cauliflower racket by 
ruthlessly disposing of the opposition.

At the fall of the monster, Brecht warned: "Do not rejoice in his defeat, you 
men. For though the world has stood up and stopped the bastard, the bitch that 
bore him is in heat again."

(source: Op-Ed, SM Shahrakh----Dhaka Tribune)

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

Nizami's appeal hearing may end by Dec 15: AG


Attorney General Mahbubey Alam today expressed hopes that the Supreme Court 
hearing on the appeal of war criminal Motiur Rahman Nizami against his death 
penalty will be completed by December 15.

Otherwise, the court will have to finish it in January as the apex court will 
go to a 20-day vacation from December 16, the attorney general said while 
talking to reporters at his office this afternoon.

Earlier on November 23 last year, Jamaat-e-Islami chief Motiur Rahman Nizami 
challenged the death penalty awarded to him by a war crimes tribunal for his 
crimes against humanity committed during the Liberation War in 1971.

International Crimes Tribunal-1 on October 29, 2014 handed him the death 
penalty on 5charges of war crimes, including murdering intellectuals. The 
71-year-old was also awarded life term imprisonment on the other 4 charges.

In his appeal Nizami mentioned that the tribunal had failed to consider that he 
was never associated with any auxiliary force controlled by Pakistan army in 
1971, Shishir Manir, a lawyer for Nizami, told The Daily Star last year.

(source: The Daily Star)

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

'Halt execution until disposal of 21 Aug case'


The family of death-row convict Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed on Saturday 
demanded a halt in execution of his death penalty until the 21 August grenade 
attack case is disposed of.

The family told the media that Mojaheed wanted to know the state of the case in 
which he has been implicated as an accused.

Attorney general Mahbubey Alam termed the demand illogical. "If someone is 
convicted and executed in one case, proceedings in all other against him/her 
come to an end automatically," he said when newsmen drew his attention to the 
matter.

Mojaheed's wife Tamanna-e-Jahan addressed a press conference at the Supreme 
Court Bar Association auditorium.

"He (Mojaheed) will want to know in writing from the state about the state of 
the 21 grenade attack case," she said.

Asked if Mojaheed would file mercy petition to the president, his son Ali 
Ahammad Mabrur said his father is "innocent, innocent and innocent (in case of 
crimes against humanity)". "So, he wants to talk to lawyers on grenade attack 
case."

Mojaheed's wife said her husband wanted to fight legally to clear his name from 
the charges of 21 August grenade attack case as his name was included in the 
supplementary charge-sheet.

"He wants to be free from being stigmatised as killer through legal battle," 
she said.

(source: prothom-alo.com)

***********

Man, wife get death for killing brother in Chittagong in 2005


A court has handed down the death penalty to a man and his wife for stabbing 
his elder brother to death in Chittagong a decade ago.

The convicts - Nur Mohammad and Rahima Begum - are on the run.

Chittagong's Public Safety Tribunal Judge Syeda Hosne Ara pronounced the 
verdict on Sunday.

Public Prosecutor Jahangir Alam said the couple had been absconding since they 
secured bail.

The victim is Abul Kalam of Mirsarai Upazila.

Prosecutor Alam said Nur Mohammad had served a jail term in an arson case filed 
by his elder brother Kalam and that this had motivated him to kill Kalam.

"Nur and his wife Rahima hacked Kalam with sharp weapons when he was returning 
home after visiting his sister Salma Khatun on Nov 11, 2005.

"Salma saw the couple dump the body in a nearby pond," the public prosecutor 
added.

Kalam's wife Anowara Begum filed a case with police the same day.

Police pressed charges in court against the 2 on Jan 2, 2006.

The court indicted the couple on May 18, 2010.

(source: bdnews24.com)



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


TWO PRISONERS AT RISK OF IMMINENT EXECUTION

Despite serious fair trial concerns, on 18 November the highest court in 
Bangladesh upheld the death
sentences of Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujaheed and Salauddin Quader Chowdhury. This 
was the last judicial
remedy available to them. They are now at risk of imminent execution unless the 
President commutes
their death sentences to terms of imprisonment.

Click here to view the full Urgent Action in Word or PDF format, including case 
information,
addresses and sample messages.

Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujaheed, Secretary General of the Bangladeshi opposition 
party Jamaat-e-Islami
and former Social Welfare Minister, and Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, former MP 
and senior member of
the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, were sentenced to death by the 
International Crimes
Tribunal (ICT) in 2013 on charges of crimes against humanity and genocide 
during the 1971
Independence War. The ICT, which is a Bangladeshi court set up in 2010, found 
them guilty after
trials that did not meet international standards for fair trial.

In contrast to death sentences imposed by other courts in Bangladesh – which 
can be appealed twice
to the High Court Division and once to the Appellate Division (the highest 
court) – death sentences
by the ICT can be appealed once to the Appellate Division only. The prisoners 
can ask the Appellate
Division for a review of its own decision, and this review is done by the same 
bench that rules on
the appeal. The two prisoners appealed against their death sentences to the 
Appellate Division, but
their convictions were upheld. They then applied for a review, but the 
Appellate Division dismissed
their review petition on 18 November. The review petition at the Appellate 
Division was effectively
their last judicial opportunity to appeal their sentences.

Salauddin Quader Chowdhury's defence team highlighted serious flaws in his 
appeal hearing. In one
instance, the Supreme Court failed to dismiss the statement of a witness known 
as “PW-6”. The
witness testified that a person who could corroborate his statement was dead, 
when in fact the
individual was alive and had even submitted a signed affidavit to the court to 
prove it. Ali Ahsan
Mohammad Mujaheed’s appeal to the Supreme Court failed to dismiss the 
prosecution’s claim that he
had instigated his subordinates to commit human rights abuses, when no 
subordinates had either been
identified or testified on record.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Amnesty International reported that at least 141 men and one woman were 
sentenced to death in
Bangladesh in 2014, with 1,235 people being under sentence of death at the end 
of 2014.

Click here to view the full Urgent Action in Word or PDF format.

Name: Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujaheed and Salauddin Quader Chowdhury
Gender m/f: Male
UA: 262/15 Index: ASA 13/2903/2015 Issue Date: 19 November 2015

Please let us know if you took action so that we can track our impact!

EITHER send a short email to uan at aiusa.org with “UA 262/15” in the subject 
line, and include in the
body of the email the number of letters and/or emails you sent,

OR fill out this short online form to let us know how you took action.

Thank you for taking action! Please check with the AIUSA Urgent Action Office 
if taking action after
the appeals date. If you receive a response from a government official, please 
forward it to us at
uan at aiusa.org or to the Urgent Action Office address below.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Please write immediately in Bangla, English or your own language:
  *  Calling on the Bangladeshi Government to immediately halt the execution of 
Ali Ahsan Mohammad
     Mujaheed and Salauddin Quader Chowdhury;
  *  Urging them to commute the death sentence against Ali Ahsan Mohammad 
Mujaheed and Salauddin
     Quader Chowdhury to terms of imprisonment;
  *  Reminding them that Bangladesh is a state party to the International 
Covenant of Civil and
     Political Rights (ICCPR), which requires states to adhere to the highest 
standards of fair
     trial.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 31 DECEMBER 2015 TO:

President Md. Abdul Hamid President's Office
Bangabhaban, Dhaka,
Bangladesh
Fax: +880 2 9585502 Salutation: Honourable President


Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Prime Minister’s Office
Old Sangshad Bhaban, Tejgaon, Dhaka 1215, Bangladesh
Fax: +880 2 9133722
Email: info at pmo.gov.bd
Salutation: Dear Prime Minister



State Minister
Ministry of Home Affairs
Bangladesh Secretariat, Building-8 (1st & 3rd Floor), Dhaka, Bangladesh
Fax: +880 2 9573711 Email: stateminister at mha.gov.bd
Salutation: Dear Minister

Also send copies to:
Ambassador Mohammad Ziauddin, Embassy of Bangladesh
3510 International Drive NW, Washington DC 20008
Fax: 202 244 2771 -OR- 202 244 7830 I Phone: 202 244 0183 I Email: 
bdoot_pwash at yahoo.com

Please share widely with your networks: http://bit.ly/1NFn1xY

We encourage you to share Urgent Actions with your friends and colleagues! When 
you share with your
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this email to a friend"
link found at the very bottom of this email. Thank you for your activism!

UA Network Office AIUSA │600 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Washington DC 20003
T. 202.509.8193 │ F. 202.509.8193 │E. uan at aiusa.org │amnestyusa.org/urgent




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






LESOTHO:

TWENTY-THREE RISK UNFAIR TRIAL AND DEATH PENALTY


Twenty-three members of the Lesotho army face a court martial on mutiny 
charges. Twenty-one have
been in custody since May and in solitary confinement for over a month. There 
are concerns that
evidence against them was obtained through torture and that they will not 
receive a fair trial. If
found guilty, they face the death penalty.

Click here to view the full Urgent Action in Word or PDF format, including case 
information,
addresses and sample messages.

The head of the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF), Lieutenant-General Maaparankoe 
Mahao, was dismissed
from the army in May after months of political instability. Shortly afterwards, 
approximately 50
soldiers perceived to be loyal to him were arrested. Lawyers representing their 
families brought
legal applications demanding that the detainees be produced in court. During 
court proceedings, many
of the soldiers alleged that they had been tortured and ill-treated. Over half 
of them were later
released with 23 remaining in custody, charged with mutiny. Some of the 
released soldiers have
become ‘accomplice witnesses’, giving evidence against the 23 accused. It is 
believed that their
testimonies were obtained through torture whilst they were in detention.

The soldiers have been held at Maseru Maximum Security Prison since May. Two 
have been released on
bail in the last three months. All 23 are charged with mutiny and face a court 
martial. If
convicted, they could be sentenced to death. They appeared before a court 
martial on 5 October, but
proceedings were suspended. Twenty-one remain detained and since mid-October 
have been in solitary
confinement. Prolonged solitary confinement (in excess of 15 consecutive days) 
amounts to torture or
other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. If they are 
permitted consultations with
their lawyers, these meetings are only allowed for 20 minutes at a time and are 
not private. There
is serious concern for their emotional and physical well-being.

The soldiers challenged their detention and the composition of the court 
martial in the Maseru High
Court. On 5 October, the High Court declared the manner of their continued 
detention unlawful and
ordered their release on “open arrest”, a form of bail. The LDF failed to 
comply with the court
order. The lawyers representing the detainees have also been subjected to 
repeated intimidation and
harassment, including death threats. The court martial is expected to resume 
its work on 1 December.
Given the manner in which the panel was convened and the treatment of the 
detainees and their legal
team to date, there are concerns that they will not receive a fair trial.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Former LDF head Lieutenant-General Maaparankoe Mahao was shot dead in Maseru on 
25 June by soldiers
who went to arrest him in relation to an alleged plot to lead a rebellion in 
the army. He was
dismissed from the army on 21 May. He had challenged his dismissal in court in 
June, shortly before
his killing, arguing that it was illegal. The government claimed that he had 
resisted arrest, but
his family disputed this, insisting it was a carefully planned assassination by 
his former
colleagues in the army. A 10-member Southern African Development Community 
(SADC) Commission of
Inquiry led by Justice Mpaphi Phumaphi of Botswana was set up on 3 July to 
investigate
security-related issues facing Lesotho, including the killing of Maapankoe 
Mahao. The commission was
forced to conclude its work prematurely due to the refusal of the LDF to 
cooperate. It has submitted
its report and the report will be discussed by SADC in late November.

Click here to view the full Urgent Action in Word or PDF format.

Name: Twenty-three soldiers
Gender m/f: m
UA: 263/15 Index: AFR 33/2912/2015 Issue Date: 20 November 2015

Please let us know if you took action so that we can track our impact!

EITHER send a short email to uan at aiusa.org with “UA 263/15” in the subject 
line, and include in the
body of the email the number of letters and/or emails you sent,

OR fill out this short online form to let us know how you took action.

Thank you for taking action! Please check with the AIUSA Urgent Action Office 
if taking action after
the appeals date. If you receive a response from a government official, please 
forward it to us at
uan at aiusa.org or to the Urgent Action Office address below.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Please write immediately in English or your own language:
  *  Expressing your concern that the detainees have been subjected to prolonged 
solitary confinement
     in violation of the prohibition on torture and other ill-treatment, and 
calling on the Lesotho
     authorities to immediately end their solitary confinement and to ensure 
that the detainees are
     treated humanely at all times;
  *  Urging them to ensure that the detainees are allowed adequate time and 
facilities to consult
     with their lawyers in private and that the lawyers are not subjected to 
intimidation or
     harassment;
  *  Calling on them to ensure that trial proceedings conform to international 
law and standards on
     fair trial, in particular that no information obtained as a result of 
torture or other
     ill-treatment or coercion is used as evidence.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 1 JANUARY 2016:

Minister of Defence and National Security
Hon. Tšeliso Mokhosi
Ministry of Defence and National Security
Along Kingsway, Opposite National Library
P/Bag A166
Maseru 100
Email: pglerotholi at gmail.com
Salutation: Dear Honourable Minister

Minister of Justice, Human Rights and Correctional Service
Hon. Moeketse Vincent Malebo
P.O. Box 527,
Maseru 100,
Lesotho
Salutation: Dear Honourable Minister



And copies to:
Prime Minister
Honourable Dr. Pakalitha B. Mosisili
Phase I Government Complex
P.O. Box 527,
Maseru 100,
Lesotho
Fax: +266 22 310 102


Also send copies to:
Ambassador Prof. Eliachim Molapi Sebatane, Embassy of the Kingdom of Lesotho
2511 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington DC 20008
Phone: 1 202 797 5533 I Fax: 1 202 234 6815 I Email: lesothoembassy at verizon.net

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