[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 8



UNITED NATIONS:

UN rights experts warn death penalty for drug crimes violates int'l law


"Executions for drug crimes amount to a violation of international law and are 
unlawful killings," the United Nations Special Rapporteurs on summary 
executions, Christof Heyns, and on torture, Juan E. Mendez, today reminded 
governments. It is estimated that drug-related sentences could account for 
around 1,000 executions a year worldwide.

"The imposition of death sentences and executions for drug offences 
significantly increases the number of persons around the world caught in a 
system of punishment that is incompatible with fundamental tenets of human 
rights," the experts said, speaking ahead of the 13th World Day Against the 
Death Penalty, observed on 10 October.

They noted that more than 30 states have legal provisions providing the death 
penalty for drug-related crimes, and in certain countries, including Indonesia, 
China, Iran and Saudi Arabia, such cases make up a significant proportion of 
the total number of executions.

"Of particular concern is that these arbitrary sentencing regimes exist in 
several of the very small minority of countries around the world which most 
frequently resort to capital punishment," Special Rapporteur Heyns said.

"Moreover, in many states where the death penalty is used for drug-related 
offences, there is not a system of fair trial."

"The World Day Against the Death Penalty provides an opportunity to reflect on 
another year in which the number of states that have completely moved away from 
capital punishment has increased," Mr. Heyns said.

"However, it also prompts scrutiny of the extent to which a small minority of 
states violate international law by imposing the death penalty for drug 
offences."

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights* prohibits the 
imposition of the death penalty for any but the 'most serious' crimes. The 
Human Rights Committee, the body responsible for the authoritative 
interpretation of the Covenant, has repeatedly made clear that drug offences do 
not meet this threshold, and that only crimes involving intentional killing can 
be 'most serious'.

"Certain states that persistently and openly flout this international standard 
are also acting contrary to an emerging customary norm that the imposition and 
enforcement of the death penalty, in breach of those standards, is a violation 
per se of the prohibition of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment," 
said Special Rapporteur Mendez.

The experts welcomed the fact that international agencies and bodies charged 
with guiding programmes to counter the illicit drug trade have publicly called 
for the abolition of the death penalty for this category of crime.

However, they remained concerned that "international cooperation to combat drug 
crime could, in certain circumstances, inadvertently be contributing to 
unlawful executions." "Abolitionist states must ensure that they are not 
complicit in the use of the death penalty in other States under any 
circumstances, but all States - whatever their stance on the death penalty - 
must refrain from acts that could contribute to an arbitrary execution, 
including any execution for drug offenses," Mr Heyns said.

"International agencies, as well as states providing bilateral technical 
assistance to combat drug crime, must ensure that the programmes to which they 
contribute do not ultimately result in violations of the right to life," the 
Special Rapporteurs stressed.

The 2 Special Rapporteurs reaffirmed that the death penalty has no role to play 
in the 21st century, and even less so in the case of drug-related offences.

"We are looking forward to the time when it will no longer be necessary to have 
a special day on the death penalty; a time when all states have left this form 
of punishment behind them."

(source: The Online Citizen)

*********

Alarming number of countries flout international law by executing for 
drug-related crimes


The death penalty continues to be used as a tool in the so-called "war on 
drugs", with an alarming number of states across the globe executing people 
convicted on drug-related charges, in clear violation of international law, 
Amnesty International said ahead of the World Day against the Death Penalty (10 
October).

At least 11 countries across the globe - including China, Indonesia, Iran, 
Malaysia and Saudi Arabia - have handed down death sentences or executed people 
for drug-related crimes over the past 2 years, while dozens of states maintain 
the death penalty for drug-related offences.

"It's disheartening that so many countries are still clinging to the flawed 
idea that killing people will somehow end addiction or reduce crime. The death 
penalty does nothing to tackle crime or enable people who need help to access 
the treatment for drug addiction," said Chiara Sangiorgio, Amnesty 
International's death penalty expert.

International law restricts the use of the death penalty to the "most serious 
crimes" - generally defined to include only intentional killing. Drug crimes do 
not fall into this category. International law also sets the goal for states to 
move towards abolition of the death penalty.

Yet many states justify the use of the death penalty as a way to tackle drug 
trafficking or problematic drug use. These states are ignoring evidence that a 
response focused on human rights and public health, including prevention of 
substance abuse and access to treatment, has been effective to end drug-related 
deaths and prevent the transmission of infectious diseases. Even in relation to 
violent crime, there is not a shred of evidence that the threat of execution is 
more of a deterrent than any other form of punishment.

In Indonesia, for example, the government under President Joko Widodo vowed to 
use the death penalty to combat a "national drug emergency". 14 people 
convicted of drug-related crimes have been put to death in 2015 so far and the 
government has said it will deny all clemency applications put forward by 
people convicted on drug charges.

"The use of the death penalty for drug-related crimes is far from the only 
concern. Shahrul Izani Suparman, for example, was just 19 years old when he was 
found in possession of more than 200g of cannabis, automatically presumed 
guilty of drug trafficking and later handed a mandatory death sentence in 
Malaysia," said Chiara Sangiorgio.

In many of the countries where the death penalty is imposed for drug-related 
crimes, the injustice is compounded by death sentences being handed down after 
manifestly unfair trials. Defendants are routinely denied access to lawyers, or 
coerced to make "confessions" through torture or other ill-treatment which are 
admitted as evidence, in countries like Indonesia, Iran or Saudi Arabia.

In April 2016 the UN General Assembly, the UN main deliberative body, will 
gather in a Special Session on drugs to discuss the world's drug control 
priorities, including the use of the death penalty for drug-related offences. 
The last time a special session on drugs was held was in 1998.

"The Special Session of the UN General Assembly next year will offer a critical 
opportunity to states to ensure that drug policies at both national and 
international level comply with international human rights law. States must 
once and for all put an end to the use of the death penalty for drug-related 
offences as a 1st step towards its full abolition," Said Chiara Sangiorgio.

Country examples

--China executed more people than the rest of the world put together last year, 
but with death penalty figures treated as a state secret the exact number is 
impossible to determine. Based on the data that able to confirm, people 
convicted on drug-related offences make up a significant proportion of those 
executed. China has made tentative steps to cut down on its use of the death 
penalty in recent years, including by reducing the crimes punishable by death. 
Drug-related crimes, however, continue to attract the death penalty.

--Indonesia has executed 14 people this year, all accused of drug trafficking. 
This has been a regressive step for a country that had looked to be moving to 
end executions just a few years ago, and which has successfully made efforts to 
seek commutations of death sentences for Indonesian citizens on death row in 
other countries. The use of the death penalty in Indonesia is riddled with 
flaws, as suspects are routinely tortured into "confessions" or subjected to 
unfair trials.

--Iran is the world's 2nd-most prolific executioner, 2nd only to China, and the 
country has put thousands of people to death for drug-related crimes over the 
past decades. Iran's extremely harsh drug laws mean that a person can be 
sentenced to death for possessing 30g of heroin or cocaine. More than 700 
executions have been carried out in 2015 alone - many of those executed are 
foreign nationals and people from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds. 
--Drug trafficking in Malaysia carries the mandatory death sentence, and people 
found in possession of certain amounts of illegal substances are automatically 
presumed to be trafficking drugs. Malaysia does not publish information on 
executions, but Amnesty International's monitoring suggests that 1/2 of the 
death sentences imposed in recent years are for drug trafficking convictions.

--Executions for drug-related offenses have skyrocketed in Saudi Arabia over 
the past 3 years. In 2014, almost 1/2 of all 92 people who were known to have 
been put to death were convicted for drug-related crimes. Saudi Arabia's 
justice system lacks the most basic safeguards to ensure the right to a fair 
trial is protected. Often death sentences are imposed after unfair and summary 
proceedings, which are in some cases held in secret.

Background

In 2014 and 2015, Amnesty International recorded executions or death sentences 
for drug-related offences in the following countries: China, Indonesia, Iran, 
Kuwait, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United Arab 
Emirates and Viet Nam.

As of today, drug-related offences, which can include different charges ranging 
from drug trafficking to drug possession, are punishable by death in more than 
30 countries.

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception, 
regardless of the nature or circumstances of the crime; guilt, innocence or 
other characteristics of the individual; or the method used by the state to 
carry out the execution. The death penalty violates the right to life, as 
proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is the ultimate 
cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.

(source: Amnesty International)






SRI LANKA:

Lanka mulls bringing back death penalty


Faced with a resurgence in crime, Sri Lanka's parliament yesterday opened a 
debate on whether to bring back capital punishment, officials said.

President Maithripala Srisena has said he would endorse the decision if 
parliament approves the move.

There have been more than 100 protests in the past 3 weeks advocating the 
return of the death sentence. Public pressure has mounted following a spike in 
crime, including the brutal rape and killing of a 5-year-old girl in March and 
the murder of a 10-year-old boy last month.

Both the ruling party and the opposition appear divided on the issue, with some 
lawmakers saying the death penalty was urgently needed to curb crime while 
others spoke out against it.

Sri Lanka last carried out a death sentence in 1976. People convicted of murder 
and narcotic-related offences are often handed a death sentence, but it is very 
rarely enforced. Some 1,800 inmates sentenced to death are currently in prison.

Under existing laws, the president must sign off on each individual case, after 
which the convicted person is hanged to death.

(source: Gulf Times)






LEBANON:

Prosecution calls for death penalty for 'road rage' killer


The prosecution in Beirut recommended the death penalty Wednesday against a 
detainee who stabbed a Lebanese motorist to death earlierthis year over the 
right of way.

(source: The Daily Star)



INDONESIA:

Lindsay Sandiford: Son has scales of justice tattoo on arm to support Redcar 
mum ---- Lewis Sandiford had the tattoo done while visiting his mum Lindsay in 
Bali, where she is facing the death penalty for smuggling cocaine

A son has had this tattoo printed on his arm to support his Redcar mum who is 
on death row in Bali.

Lindsay Sandiford is facing the death penalty after she was found guilty of 
smuggling cocaine into the Indonesian island.

She is now fundraising to pay for a hearing to appeal against the sentence 
which she says is "unjustly harsh".

She needs to raise 80,000 Australian dollars - 37,415 pounds - and has so far 
raised $50,000.

Last month her son Lewis visited her in Bali and while there got a tattoo on 
his arm in support of his mum. The tattoo shows a set of scales.

The set of scales is the icon used on a website Sandiford set up to help her 
plight for survival.

After the visit, in a message posted to the Facebook page "Justice and fairness 
for Lindsay Sandiford", Lewis said: "I've had a special time with my mum. I 
would like to thank all my mum's friends and supporters for their help, 
kindness and support'.

Sandiford, 58, has assembled a new legal team of "competent Indonesian lawyers 
and experts" to fight her case.

She was caught trying to smuggle 3.8 kilograms of cocaine when she arrived in 
the Indonesian island from Bangkok in 2012.

She was found guilty and sentenced to death by firing squad in January 2013. 
She has since made numerous appeals but so far none has been successful.

Sandiford has complained that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not 
helped her battle, although the Government denies this saying they had offered 
consular support.

She has continuously said she was only carrying the drugs to protect her son, 
whom she said was being threatened.

(source: gazette.co.uk)






SINGAPORE:

Man charged with murder of son, 5


The Belgian expatriate who has been accused of killing his 5-year-old son was 
yesterday remanded for 3 weeks at the medical complex in Changi Prison for 
psychiatric evaluation.

Restrained at the wrists, and escorted by plainclothes policemen, 41-year-old 
Philippe Marcel Guy Graffart arrived at the State Courts in the morning in an 
unmarked police car looking dazed and tired.

He stood expressionless in the dock as the charge of murdering his boy, Keryan 
Gabriel Cedric Graffart, was read out.

No plea was taken from Graffart, who was dressed in a black T-shirt and blue 
shorts. He was observed looking around the public gallery.

None of his family members or friends was in court.

A day before, police had found him with self-inflicted injuries outside Bukit 
Timah Neighbourhood Police Centre just after 5am.

After he was sent to hospital, police went to his 32nd-storey apartment at the 
posh D'Leedon condominium in Leedon Heights. There, they found Keryan dead in a 
bedroom. Hand-shaped bruises were apparently found all over his neck.

According to the charge read to Graffart yesterday, he is accused of killing 
Keryan in the apartment some time between 8.54pm on Monday and 5.29am on 
Tuesday.

A maid who worked for Graffart told The Straits Times that she heard nothing 
strange after she went to bed, until police knocked on the door at around 6am. 
She said that she led the officers to the boy's room, where he was found 
motionless on a bed.

The boy's mother is believed to be working in Singapore.

According to the maid, Keryan would spend a week with his mother, then another 
week with his father. It is believed that Graffart is fighting with his former 
wife for custody of the boy.

He works for the Singapore investment management arm of Nordea, a company that 
describes itself as the largest financial group in northern Europe.

General manager of Nordea Private Banking in Singapore, Mr Kim Osborg Nielsen, 
told The Straits Times that the firm is aware of the case.

He said: "We send our regards to the family and we understand that there are 
investigations. We will follow the course of decisions."

Graffart's Facebook page is peppered with photos of him and his son, who 
recently celebrated his 5th birthday. One picture showed Graffart embracing 
Keryan, dressed in his school uniform and smiling, at the Canadian 
International School.

In a statement, a spokesman for the school said it was deeply saddened to learn 
of Keryan's death. He added: "Our school leaders and counsellors are on hand to 
offer support to all members of our community."

Graffart's case will be heard again on Oct 28.

He faces the death penalty if convicted of murder.

(source: Straits Times)


INDIA:

7 11/7 convicts got life as they didn't pull trigger: Judge


The special MCOCA court that awarded the death sentence to 5 of the 12 convicts 
in the 117 train blasts case has said that they were the most culpable as they 
had taken the final step of planting the bombs that killed and maimed hundreds. 
The judge said that even though all 12 were found guilty of having committed 
offences punishable with death, it would not be justifiable to impose it on the 
7 others.

On September 30, the court sentenced to death the bomb planters: Ehtesham 
Sidduiqui, Asif Khan, Faisal Shaikh, Naved Khan and Kamal Ansari. 3 others 
against whom the prosecution had sought death - Dr Tanveer Ansari, Mohammed 
Ali, and Sajid Ansari - were sentenced to life imprisonment.

"One cannot say with certainty that the remaining 7 accused would have taken 
the last step of pulling the trigger - planting the bombs - or would have 
backed out. One does not know whether they also had been asked to do that work, 
but declined out of fear or because their confidence level was not to the 
extent that it would help them in doing that work," special judge Yatin Shinde 
has said in the judgment, copies of which have been made available a week after 
the sentencing.

The judge said that the alternative option of sentencing the 5 planters to life 
imprisonment was ruled out by the simple fact of the massacre of human beings. 
"These are not simple murders and this is not a simple murder case. It was 
mindless, coldblooded and wanton killing of innocent, defenceless and 
unsuspecting persons. The learned special public prosecutor (Raja Thakare) has 
rightly described the accused as merchants of death."

"It is clear that they (bomb planters) deserve nothing less than the death 
penalty," the judge said.

Refuting defence arguments that the 12 were working at the behest of mastermind 
Azam Chema, the judge said, "The 12 are not foot soldiers. Though the idea of 
the present crime generated from across the border, they formed an independent 
organized crime syndicate on the basis of their background of being members and 
activists o the banned organization SIMI. They did spadework and groundwork 
using their brains."

(source: The Times of India)

**********

'To show mercy would be travesty of justice'


The special MCOCA (Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act) court judge Y.D. 
Shinde in his voluminous 1,839-page judgment in the 2006 train blasts case has 
justified the death penalty awarded to 5 convicts, saying that to show leniency 
or mercy in the case of crime of such magnitude to the accused, who have shown 
no repentance or remorse after exhibiting 'extreme depraved mentality', would 
be a travesty of justice.

It is apparent from the judgment that the confessional statements of the 
accused with circumstantial evidence helped the prosecution prove its case. 
"The cumulative effect of the totality of the circumstances proved by the 
prosecution and a combined reading of the confessional statements of the 
accused give a clear picture and prove the allegations of the prosecution," 
observed the judge. According to the judge some of the defences taken by 
accused also went against them and, in fact, helped the prosecution. "Some of 
the circumstances are brought on record by the accused themselves and they are 
consistent with the case of the prosecution," says the judgment.

Though the accused had brought a lot of things on record to prove their 
innocence, however, they could not pass the test of reliability. According to 
judge, "Whereas if the defence evidence is considered, it does not pass the 
test of reliability and acceptability and does not even show preponderance of 
probabilities."

The court has also rejected the claim of Indian Mujahideen's hand in the 
blasts, "The defence's case that the Indian Mujaheedin is responsible for the 
blasts cannot be accepted for one more reason. It is the alleged known strategy 
of the Indian Mujaheedin to make emails to media houses informing that a bomb 
blast is about to take place.

The involvement of the Indian Mujaheedin in the present case is indicated in 
the confessional statement of Sadiq, only. It was obviously a plan to disorient 
the investigating machinery, which was disclosed after the arrest of Sadiq in 
this case and his subsequent statement under section 164 of the Cr. P. C. How 
much the plan was successful is evident from the manner in which higher ups of 
the police fell prey to it and went public and made irresponsible and 
inconsistent statements."

At a point the judge even observed, "The accused in this case thought that they 
can outsmart the intelligence and investigating agencies and therefore 
developed new stories every time and adopted various tactics. I am, therefore, 
constrained to hold that A1, A3, A4, A12 and A13 deserve only death penalty and 
nothing less than that."

The judgment reads, "It is clear that the mitigating circumstances pleaded by 
all the accused by their nature are not sufficient to displace the aggravating 
circumstances. They pale into insignificance in the light of the aggravating 
circumstances. This case, therefore, without any doubt, falls into the category 
of the 'rarest of rare case'. The aggravating circumstances far outweigh the 
mitigating circumstances even if they are held to be so."

(source: Asian Age)






PAKISTAN:

Pakistan's top court upholds death sentence in blasphemy murder case ---- 
Supreme court says Mumtaz Qadri should be executed for shooting dead Punjab 
governor who backed reform of country???s hardline blasphemy laws


A former police bodyguard revered as a hero by Pakistani conservatives for 
killing a politician who criticised the country's blasphemy laws has had his 
death sentence upheld.

In ordinary circumstances there would never be any doubt about which way the 
supreme court decision would go: Mumtaz Qadri is unrepentent at having shot 
dead Salmaan Taseer, then governor of Punjar, as he left a restaurant in a busy 
Islamabad market in January 2011. But moderates have claimed the ruling is a 
sign of a change in official attitudes towards religious extremism.

In the months before his murder, Taseer had sparked anger among religious 
conservatives by taking up the cause of Asia Bibi, a poor Christian woman who 
had been sentenced to death for allegedly insulting the prophet Muhammad.

Saroop Ijaz, a lawyer and head of Human Rights Watch in Pakistan, hailed the 
upholding of Qadri's conviction for murder as a "brave decision" and "the 1st 
step in introducing some rational discourse on blasphemy".

The only thing now standing between Qadri and execution is an appeal for a 
presidential pardon, which few expect to be granted.

Qadri's execution will likely be seen as a key moment in the dramatic hardening 
of the state's attitude towards extremists following the Taliban massacre of 
more than 130 schoolboys in Peshawar last year, which prompted the government 
to scrap an informal moratorium on the death penalty.

Public support for Qadri was so great that the army chief at the time of the 
murder, Gen Ashfaq Kayani, reportedly told western ambassadors he could not 
publicly condemn Qadri because too many of his soldiers sympathised with the 
killer.

Salman Taseer called Pakistan's blasphemy legislation a 'black law'.

Such was the controversy around Taseer that his family struggled to find a 
mullah to officiate at his funeral. Qadri on the other hand was greeted by 
lawyers at his 1st court hearing with a shower of rose petals.

As with other cases involving Pakistan's notorious blasphemy laws, Bibi was 
convicted on the basis of allegations made by women in her village with whom 
she had been involved in a dispute.

Taseer, a liberal-minded business tycoon from Lahore, visited her in prison, 
campaigned for a presidential pardon and called the country's hardline 
blasphemy legislation - which dates from the 1980s Islamist military 
dictatorship of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq - a "black law".

Qadri enjoys special prison perks and has recorded best-selling albums of 
devotional songs. Last year he was found to have incited a prison guard into 
attempting to kill an elderly British citizen held in the same building for 
alleged blasphemy.

His appeal hearings at the Islamabad high court attracted large crowds of 
banner-waving supporters from the country's majority Barelvis, a community that 
prior to Taseer's killing was seen by many western analysts as a bulwark 
against religious extremism.

Qadri also attracted some of the country's most senior lawyers to his defence 
team, including 2 former judges. But 3 chief justices this week rejected 
arguments that Qadri had the right to take the law into his own hands, or that 
merely criticising blasphemy laws constitutes an insult against Islam.

Legal analysts said it was significant that the supreme court rejected the 
lower court's decision to overturn Qadri's conviction under the country's 
terrorism legislation, which would have reduced the matter to regular statute 
law.

That would have relieved the state of the final decision on whether to execute 
Qadri and led to Taseer's family being pressured to forgive Qadri under 
controversial "blood money" provisions.

Taseer's daughter Sanam said she was against the death penalty in principle but 
that she would welcome the death of Qadri because of the cult-like power he 
enjoys from his prison cell. "He is treated like a king in prison," she said. 
"Women bring him their children for him to teach."

She said the verdict was "wonderful for the country because it shows there is 
rule of law".

Zahid ur Rashidi, a religious scholar and supporter of Qadri, said the 
government should immediately release "our national hero" and introduce strict 
religious law.

"Because the legal system is un-Islamic, young people become desperate and take 
the law into their own hands," he said.

In a country where Islamic extremists once operated with near impunity, in 
recent months the state's attitude towards them has hardened dramatically.

In July Malik Ishaq, former leader of one of Pakistan's most lethal anti-Shia 
terror groups, was killed in an apparently stage-managed police shootout. 
Several notorious clerics have also been arrested.

Mosharraf Zaidi, an analyst who has written angst-laden newspaper columns 
arguing that the Qadri-Taseer case showed the country was failing to confront 
its demons, said "Pakistan in 2015 now feels dramatically different".

"We are not out of the woods yet, but the supreme court decision is a very 
strong sign the state is trying to recover the space it ceded to violent 
extremists," he said.

(source: The Guardian)






IRAN:

Euro-MPs call for end to executions in Iran


More than 100 Euro MPs Urge President of European Parliament to Call for Ending 
Executions in Iran, during his visit to Tehran

On the occasion of the European Day Against Death Penalty, the Friends of a 
Free Iran in the European Parliament (FOFI) which consists of Euro MPs from 
different political groups held a meeting in Strasbourg. They strongly 
condemned the mass executions in Iran under the "moderate" President Hassan 
Rouhani with over 2000 death sentences carried out since he took office 2 years 
ago. They noted that Rouhani himself has defended these executions and has 
stated clearly on Iranian TV that death sentences "are the law of God" and must 
be implemented.

The participants discussed the upcoming visit of President Martin Schulz to 
Iran and initiated a joint letter to him. This letter, already signed by 115 
members of the European Parliament, calls on President Schulz to "to use the 
occasion of this visit to publicly denounce human rights abuses in Iran and 
call for ending public executions." It adds "the European Parliament which 
represents half a billion European citizens with common democratic values has a 
duty to put human rights as a top priority for any expansion of relationship 
with this regime, setting an example for our EU governments."

Gerard Deprez, Chair of Friends of a Free Iran said: "We in Europe are proud to 
have abolished death penalty but our governments are very happy to extend their 
relations with a regime which is world record holder of death penalty. We are 
very critical of frequent visits to Iran by our European ministers to prepare 
trade deals, without mentioning a word on human rights. This is very bad for 
Europe because in the eyes of the people of Iran, it would look as if Europeans 
are just after business and that they do not care about their sufferings."

Several speakers supported the 10-points plan proposed by Iranian opposition 
leader Maryam Rajavi which insists on "abolition of Death Penalty."

The MEPs voiced also concern for Iranian refugees in Iraq. "We are concerned 
about the 2500 Iranians from the main opposition, the PMOI members in camp 
Liberty. They are constantly harassed by Iraqi forces and some Iranian agents 
who have come from Iran to put pressure on these refugees. These agents must 
not be allowed to enter the camp," Deprez stressed.

Ryszard Czarnecki, Vice-President of the European Parliament, added: "It is a 
shock to me that Camp Liberty residents are being held like prisoners and 
subjected to daily abuse by the Iraqi authorities and their Iranian sponsors, 
in the full knowledge of the UN, EU and US, who refuse to lift a finger to help 
or rescue these men and women. We call on the Iraqi government and the US 
government and the UN and EU high representative to respect the rights of the 
Camp Liberty residents and secure their protection and to prevent the Iranian 
agents who pretend to be families of the residents from approaching the camp."

Several MEPs stated that it is very regrettable that the EU, during the course 
of these 2 years of negotiations with Iran, has totally ignored human rights 
and has instead tried to promote only business and trade with the regime.

Office of Gerard Deprez MEP

Chair, Friends of a Free Iran

European Parliament

(source: NCR-Iran)

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

More Than 800 Executions in 2015 as the World Day Against the Death Penalty 
Approaches


On 10 October 2015, the 13th World Day Against the Death Penalty is raising 
awareness around the application of the death penalty for drug-related 
offences, to reduce its use.

As the 13th World Day Against the Death Penalty, approaches on 10. October, 
reports by Iran Human Rights (IHR) show that Iran's use of the death penalty in 
2015 is higher than in more than 25 years.

According to a recent report by IHR, more than 800 people have been executed by 
8. October 2015. More than 500 of those executed were sentenced to death for 
drug-related charges. Reports indicate that most of those executed for drug 
offences in Iran belong to the marginalized groups in the Iranian society. 
Moreover, unfair trials, use of torture to confessions and lack of access to 
lawyer are common practice for drug convicts in Iran. Reports also indicate 
that some of those executed might even be innocent. Mahmood Barati, a school 
teacher who was solely sentenced to death for a false testomony by another drug 
convict, is an example of this practice.

The United Nations' Office for Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) cooperates with Iran in 
the fight against the drug trafficking. Several European countries contribute 
directly or through regional projects to this cooperation. IHR and several 
human rights NGOs have previously called on the UNODC to freeze its 
anti-narcotic cooperation with Iran. Several countries such as Ireland, Denmark 
and UK have ceased their funding of the UNODC project in Iran, in order "not to 
contribute" directly or indirectly to the execution of several hundred people 
every year.

On the occassion of the 13th World Day against the Death penalty, IHR once 
again called on the UNODC and the countries funding the UNODC projects in Iran 
to condition their anti-narcotic cooperation on a moratorium on the death 
penalty for drug offences. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson of IHR 
said: " Iranian authorities have admitted that the executions have not 
contributed to a reduction in the drug crimes. As long as the cooperation 
between UNODC and Iran continues, the UNODC and countries cooperating with Iran 
on law enforcement against the drug trafficking must be held accountable for 
Iran's arbitrary execution of several hundred people for drug offences every 
year".

(source: Iran Human Rights)

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

Executions continue on verge of World Day Against the Death Penalty


The cycle of crime and incessant execution in an Iran under the rule of the 
mullahs even continues to victimize the Iranian people and the youth on the 
verge of the World Day Against the Death Penalty.

On October 7, regime's henchmen hanged three prisoners in Gohardasht (Rajai 
Shahr) Prison. They had been transferred to solitary confinement in preparation 
for their death sentences on Monday. Concurrently, another prisoner was 
transferred to solitary cell in Sanandaj Prison in anticipation of his 
execution.

On October 4 and 6, 2 prisoners were hanged in prisons in Shiraz and Qazvin.

Persistence of the cruel death penalty in various cities even on the verge of 
the World Day Against the Death Penalty demonstrates that this loathed regime 
is in dire need of imposing suppression and savage penalties such as execution 
to cling to power.

The leaders of this regime that are incapable of providing the most basic needs 
of the Iranian people have found no resort to bar expansion of popular protests 
other than resorting to suppression and the death penalty. The regime's leaders 
have repeatedly warned of an uprising by the "army of hungry". On October 6, 
Servati, a parliamentarian, described the critical state of the society by 
saying: "The representatives are facing popular protests in the cities and 
villages where people are unhappy with the unsuitable state of housing and that 
their needs are not met. They hold many gatherings and protests and object to 
the absence of infrastructures."

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