[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 8



SAUDI ARABIA:

U.S. Quiet on Saudi Arabia's Deplorable Use of Death Penalty


Last week President Obama denounced ISIL in his remarks to the U.N. General 
Assembly for "behead[ing] captives," calling its conduct "an assault on all 
humanity." Meanwhile, the White House and State Department remain quiet as 
Saudi Arabia prepares to execute Ali al-Nimr by beheading and crucifixion.

Ali al-Nimr was only 17 years old when he was arrested in 2012 for peacefully 
protesting for social and political reforms. Despite a vigorous campaign by 
international civil society organizations to secure his release and intense 
media attention, he lost his final appeal on September 17th. Saudi Arabia may 
execute al-Nimr any day now by beheading and then crucifying his body for 
public display.

The Obama Adminstration has not made any public statements on al-Nimr's case 
except to note in the State Department's 2014 Human Rights Report that he was 
sentenced to death for crimes he allegedly committed when he was a legal minor. 
The report also notes al-Nimr's allegations that authorities tortured him to 
obtain a confession.

When asked about al-Nimr's impending execution on September 23, the White House 
press secretary only stated that the United States "regularly raises our 
concerns about the human rights situation inside of Saudi Arabia."

Private diplomacy is inadequate for injustices of this caliber. The U.S. 
government's double standard on beheadings - calling out ISIL but remaining 
quiet when an allied nation does the same - is unjustifiable. Furthermore, this 
stance will weaken the bilateral relationship with Saudi Arabia in the long 
run. The United States has mostly ignored the fact that Saudi Arabia's conduct 
in many ways resembles that of the extremist organizations they are supposed to 
be fighting together.

Earlier this year Human Rights First released a blueprint on how the United 
States can strengthen its relationship with Saudi Arabia, which should be 
rooted in shared respect for the universal values of human rights. President 
Obama should commit to personally raising human rights issues during 
communications with Saudi leaders on a sustained and substantive basis. The 
State Department should publicly and privately raise the cases of Saudi human 
rights defenders and peaceful dissidents in jail or otherwise persecuted as a 
top concern.

Al-Nimr's imminent execution is deplorable - and it's not an isolated case. 
Another Saudi detainee, Dawoud al-Marhoon, was reportedly just sentenced to 
death by beheading for acts committed during the Arab Spring when he was a 
teenager. Like al-Nimr, he was allegedly tortured and forced to sign a 
confession.

As the White House strives to demonstrate leadership on countering violent 
extremism, it must speak out forcefully. As President Obama said at the U.N. 
Leaders Summit, "When human rights are denied and citizens have no opportunity 
to redress their grievances peacefully, it feeds terrorist propaganda that 
justifies violence."


ISRAEL:

MK Magal: Terrorists should be killed


Bayit Yehudi MK Yinon Magal courted controversy, calling for terrorists to be 
killed on Wednesday night.

"It is important to make an effort so that terrorists who carry out attacks are 
not left alive," Magal wrote on Twitter, deleting the tweet later.

On Thursday, Magal clarified to Army Radio that he does not mean terrorists 
should be executed after being arrested, but in a case when one is attacking 
someone and has to be shot to be stopped, he or she should be killed and not 
just "neutralized."

"I'm not saying we should take the law into our hands and lynch people," he 
stated, adding later: "Whoever is trying to kill us should be taken out."

Magal commended the Security Cabinet for changing the rules of engagement to 
allow shooting at people throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails, and said that it 
is security forces' job to protect civilians, and it's better that they do that 
than for civilians to shoot terrorists.

On Wednesday, MK Miki Zohar (Likud) also said killing terrorists is a good 
idea, after police killed a Palestinian terrorist who assaulted a soldier and 
invaded a woman's home in Kiryat Gat, where he resides, saying that if a 
terrorist is killed, he cannot be released in a future prisoner release deal 
and continue attacking Israelis.

Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman said of the same incident that "only 
resolute responses like these will deter potential terrorists and give the 
appropriate punishment."

In July, the Knesset voted down a Yisrael Beytenu bill making it easier to 
sentence terrorists to death with 6 in favor and 94 opposed.

The current law allows the death penalty only in a case of judicial consensus, 
and was only used against Holocaust organizer Adolf Eichmann in 1962.

(source: Jerusalem Post)






NIGERIA:

Nigerians reject death penalty as punishment for corrupt public officials


Nigerians from diverse backgrounds have rejected the suggestion of the 
President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Ayuba Waba, that public 
officials guilty of corruption be killed.

"If capital punishment is introduced and worked elsewhere to eliminate 
corruption, then we are for it," he said at a rally to support the 
anti-corruption fight of President Muhammadu Buhari.

However, Professor of Criminology, Femi Odekunle, observed that death penalty 
could not be enough measure to curb corruption.

According to him, someone who is dead does not know anything and will not feel 
the pulse of the punishment.

He said that death penalty for corruption would only relieve those who are to 
face the punishment of their guilt.

"Let them serve 30 years in prison with hard labour to serve as the consequence 
of their offence; this is the only way corrupt people will bear the burden of 
their corruption and not through death sentence," he said.

In his view, Peter Ameh, the National Chairman of Progressive People's 
Alliance, noted that although corruption had become endemic in Nigeria, death 
penalty might not be only solution to stop it.

"Death penalty cannot prevent people from stealing or from being corrupt, to 
curb corruption in the country, everybody will have to work to create a society 
where people???s rights will be protected," he said.

He urged Nigerians to have change of attitude, insisting that nothing could be 
done to address the issue of corruption without attitudinal change.

The Nigerian Bar Association President, Augustine Alegeh, in his view, observed 
that while other countries were moving away from capital punishment, Nigeria 
should not be drifting towards such outdated law.

He noted that government should evolve pragmatic measures to prevent people 
from looting the treasury.

"The Treasury Single Account is a good measure in the right direction that will 
curb the menace of corruption.

"The international trend is that every country is moving away from capital 
punishment. So, where the world is moving away from, why are we going there?

"In corruption cases, the focus is on recovering of the money. Let us recover 
that money and use it to develop our country and not to kill the man.

"Because, if you kill the man and his family members have the money, have we 
made any progress? So, let us go for what is right," he said.

Sharing similar sentiments, Wahab Shittu, a Lagos-based lawyer, said fighting 
corruption effectively would involve sentencing corrupt public officers to 
long-term imprisonment.

"I don't agree that the consequences of looting should be death penalty, but 
there should rather be long prison terms for corruption, at least a period of 
not less than 25 years, plus the forfeiture of the proceeds of corruption.

"The punishment should not be such that a corrupt person is now deprived the 
right of existence.

"Once someone dies, he's gone and would not even be alive to witness the 
consequences of his action," he said.

In the same vein, Adetokunbo Mumuni, Executive Director of the Socio-Economic 
Rights and Accountability Project, a non-governmental organisation, noted that 
although corruption was a serious crime, recovery of loot rather than death 
penalty should be emphasised.

He stressed that death penalty would not help to stem the tide of corruption in 
the country, adding that he had remained an advocate of abolition of death 
penalty for all kinds of offences.

Mr. Mumuni, however, suggested that the government should concentrate on loot 
recovery and ensure that anyone found guilty of any corruption cases should 
forfeit all his ill-gotten wealth.

Similarly, Olabode Towoju, a Chieftain of the All Progressives Party, said that 
death penalty for corrupt officials was no longer popular globally.

According to him, Nigeria has not developed to the level where it can use death 
penalty as punishment for corruption as most public officers are still involved 
in the politics of bitterness.

"Anyone found to be corrupt should be compelled to forfeit his or her asset and 
should not be allowed to hold public office again," he said.

Mr. Towoju called for the strengthening of the relevant anti-corruption 
agencies in the country and laws that would prohibit any corrupt practices.

He said that no amount of offence would worth sending someone to death because 
such person can come out to be useful to the country after rehabilitation and 
reorientation.

"No one can make or create life except God, so killing anyone because of 
corruption which can be tackled by relevant law is amounting to usurping the 
power of God," he observed.

By and large, concerned citizens observe that although death penalty may 
dissuade potential corrupt officials from engaging in corrupt practices, it may 
not be adequate to end corruption.

They, therefore, urged the government to provide basic infrastructure, good 
welfare package, good salary for its workers and make living meaningful for 
Nigerians, among others, to effectively tackle corruption.

(source: Premiuim Times)