[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 21




SAUDI ARABIA:

Saudi protester's crucifixion could happen 'at any moment'

The father of a Saudi man sentenced to crucifixion for alleged crimes in 
connection with the Arab Spring protests when he was a teenager fears he will 
only find out about his son's death when it is announced on television.

Mohammed al-Nimr says the family is "extremely worried" after Ali al-Nimr, 20, 
was moved to a prison in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, almost a month ago. They 
have not heard from him since.

Al-Nimr says the Saudi authorities may not even tell them before carrying out 
his son's execution, leaving them to find out publicly, after his death.

"As soon as King Salman signs the execution order, it can be implemented at any 
moment," he told CNN. "Usually the Interior Ministry does not notify anyone 
that they will kill their child ... at a specific time.

"We could at any time turn on the TV or the radio and hear the decision 
announced there."

Ali al-Nimr was 17 and still in high school when he was arrested for taking 
part in protests calling for social and political reforms in Saudi Arabia's 
restive Qatif province in 2012.

A court later convicted him of charges including belonging to a terror cell, 
attacking police with Molotov cocktails, incitement, and stoking sectarianism, 
according to state media.

U.N., rights groups call for man to be spared crucifixion

Reprieve, an NGO which campaigns against the death penalty, says Ali al-Nimr 
was "arrested without a warrant ... held in pre-trial detention for two years 
... tortured and forced to sign a false confession. This was the only evidence 
brought against him."

But his final appeals have been rejected and he now faces beheading, along with 
the additional, rarer punishment of "crucifixion," which would see his body 
placed on public display as a warning to others.

Al-Nimr insists his son has done nothing to deserve such a "harsh and unjust 
verdict" which he says "does not fit the boy, does not fit international law, 
[does not fit] the laws of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

"Even if all the charges against Ali were proven, he still would not deserve to 
be killed, within Saudi law. In my opinion the charges were not proven because 
the trial was flawed," he said.

"Death is still death, but this ugly scenario, and this ugly death, for someone 
who was a child when he was arrested, is something we completely and utterly 
reject."

Al-Nimr says a friend of his son, Dawoud al-Marhoon, who, like Ali, was 17 when 
he was arrested on similar charges, has also had his conviction upheld; he too 
faces beheading -- though not crucifixion.

Ali's father believes the charges against his son were motivated by the fact 
that his brother, Ali's uncle, is the firebrand Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr 
al-Nimr, who has also been condemned to death by a Saudi court.

Lashings, beheadings: Saudi's justice system

"Ali went out in demonstrations just like tens of thousands of people went out 
to protest in the region during the Arab Spring ... But the charges that they 
stuck him with I think were spiteful charges. It was spite against his uncle, 
Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr."

CNN has asked the Saudi government for comment on Ali's case, and that of his 
uncle, but has received no response.

Whatever happens to his son, al-Nimr has appealed to the family's supporters 
not to resort to violence.

"Even if -- God forbid -- something happens to Ali, we don't want anyone to ... 
commit any act that is not peaceful. Our demands remain peaceful and our 
objections have also been peaceful."

U.N. experts and human rights organizations have urged Saudi authorities to 
call off the sentence, on the grounds that Ali al-Nimr was a minor at the time 
of his alleged crimes.

Activists say if Ali is executed it would violate the U.N. Convention on the 
Rights of the Child, to which Saudi Arabia is a party.

The European parliament has passed a resolution calling on the Saudi King "to 
halt the execution of Ali Mohammed al-Nimr and grant a pardon or commute his 
sentence."

And world leaders including France's Francois Hollande have appealed to Saudi 
Arabia -- a key Middle East ally -- to show clemency.

British Opposition Leader Jeremy Corbyn has called on Prime Minister David 
Cameron to take action over the case; after "speaking privately" to authorities 
in Saudi Arabia, Britain's Foreign Secretary said he did not think the 
execution would go ahead.

"I do not expect Mr. al-Nimr to be executed," Philip Hammond told the UK 
parliament on Tuesday.

But Mohammed al-Nimr says his son's fate rests in the King's hands.

"We are of course worried. I am worried and the families of the other prisoners 
in the kingdom are also worried ... I believe the real solution lies in the 
hands of King Salman."

(source: CNN)






SINGAPORE:

Man claims trial for killing ex-lawyer's wife


The trial of Govindasamy Nalliah for the alleged murder of his former lawyer's 
wife, Madam Low Foong Meng, 4 years ago began in the High Court yesterday 
morning. After the murder charge under Section 300 (d) of the Penal Code was 
read out to him, Govindasamy, 70, pleaded not guilty and informed the court 
through a Tamil interpreter that he was claiming trial.

The Section of the Penal Code under which he is charged states that he 
committed an act knowing that it would probably cause death, or bodily injuring 
likely to cause death.

He faces the death penalty, or life imprisonment, if convicted by Judicial 
Commissioner Hoo Sheau Peng.

The prosecution's case is that Govindasamy murdered Madam Low, 56, sometime 
between 9.48am and 11.54am on August 10, 2011, in the office of her husband's 
law firm Rengarajoo & Associates, located on the 6th floor of the Afro Asia 
Building in 63 Robinson Road.

The court heard that Govindasamy owed legal fees to Madam Low's husband, lawyer 
Rengarajoo Balasamy, for representing him in a corruption trial in 2002. The 
amount of outstanding legal fees, including interest, as of July 2011 was 
$38,000.

That month, the lawyer issued a Writ of Seizure and Sale against Govindasamy's 
son and daughter, who had executed an acknowledgement of debt for the 
outstanding fees.

Between July and August 2011, Govindasamy tried to settle the fee dispute with 
Mr Rengarajoo, who gave him a deadline of Aug 10 to make the repayment, failing 
which he would take legal action against the latter's children.

On the morning of Aug 10, Govindasamy went to Mr Rengarajoo's office and waited 
for over an hour for its doors to open.

He entered the office between 9.48am and 9.55am, and negotiated with Madam Low 
over the fee dispute.

Angry they could not come to an agreement, Govindasamy allegedly hit her 
several times on the head with a bicycle chain and padlock. Govindasamy then 
allegedly used a lighter to set some files on a table in the office on fire, 
and watched it spread.

When the fire alarm rang, he purportedly packed the bicycle chain into his 
haversack and left the office, with Madam Low still motionless inside the 
burning unit. Govindasamy was captured leaving the building on CCTV footage at 
about 9.57am.

The police were called at about 10am, and when they arrived at about 10.13am, 
flames from the windows of the office could be seen from the ground floor of 
the building.

Madam Low's charred body was found after the fire was put out. Among other 
witnesses who will be called to the stand are fire and forensic investigators, 
medical experts, Mr Rengarajoo and Govindasamy's family members.

(source: asiaone.com)






PAKISTAN----executions

4 death row convicts hanged in various cities


4 death row prisoners were hanged on early Wednesday morning in the jails of 
Lahore, Bahawalpur, Toba Tek Singh and Dera Ghazi Khan while execution of 2 
convicts was postponed. The dead bodies of the prisoners were handed over to 
their families.

According to details, death row convict Fayaz was executed in the New Central 
Jail Bahawalpur. Fayaz was awarded death sentence for killing his would-be 
son-in-law just before marriage in 1997.

Death row prisoner Qamar Zaman was executed in District Jail Toba Tek Singh. 
Qamar was awarded death penalty for killing a man named Iqbal in 2001.

Another death row prisoner, Saif, was sent to the gallows in District Jail Dera 
Ghazi Khan. Saif was guilty of killing 2 people, including his wife, in the 
name of honour in 1996.

Another murderer, Munir, was hanged in the Kot Lakhpat Jail Lahore. He was 
awarded death sentence in 2003 while execution of 2 other convicts was 
postponed.

(source: Dunya News)






NIGERIA:

Those 295 Nigerians on death row in Asia


Not quite long after the government of Indonesia lined up and shot 8 drug 
convicts, 4 of them from Nigeria, namely: Sylvester Obiekwe Nwolise, Jamiu 
Owolabi Abashin, Okwudili Oyatanze and Martin Anderson last April, reports say 
295 Nigerians are still on the death row across Asia. The Legal Defence and 
Assistance Project (LEDAP), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) with its 
headquarters in Lagos, says roughly "120 Nigerians are facing the death penalty 
in Chinese prisons, over 170 others in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, 
etc., and 5 in Qatar, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia". The group 
says "33 countries and territories retain the death penalty for drug crimes and 
it is estimated conservatively that over 16,500 Nigerians are in prisons abroad 
and nearly 350 of them are facing death penalty".

LEDAP, which revealed the figures to Nigerians on Saturday, October 10, 2015, 
during activities marking the 13th World Day against the use of Death Penalty, 
argued spiritedly that drug offences, for which most of the 295 convicts were 
now trapped in Asia, did not meet the definition of 'most serious' crimes which 
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights prescribed as 
deserving of the death penalty. Chinonye Obiagwu, the National Coordinator of 
LEDAP, said the group filed litigations against over 35 death sentences on 
appeal, out of which 1/2 of the 'culprits' were exonerated; and implored the 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs to track and support Nigerian citizens facing the 
death penalty overseas.

"Most of the Nigerians convicted abroad did not receive fair trials because 
most of them did not have lawyers to defend them. The trials are held in 
languages they do not understand. In most cases, no interpreters are provided; 
and more importantly, consular services are lacking", Obiagwu said. LEDAP, as 
an NGO, has done a good job. Saving over half of 35 Nigerians from the 
hangman's noose in foreign lands is certainly not an easy task, especially when 
weighed against the lack-lustre attitude of Nigerian embassy staff abroad when 
it comes to attending to Nigerian citizens either stranded or in need of their 
services, as repeated complaints in recent years have suggested.

But mounting advocacy for saving Nigerians already sentenced to death abroad, 
without cautioning prospective victims on the varying penalties certain crimes 
attract in certain parts of the world does not appear to us a comprehensive 
approach to saving the situation. We recall, for instance, that the executions 
of last April in Indonesia were carried out in spite of global condemnation and 
rage against the exercise; in addition to loud pleas for clemency for the four 
Nigerians involved by the Nigerian government. Indeed, the Nigerian Foreign 
Affairs Ministry sought a Prisoner Transfer Agreement with Indonesia and 
clemency plea for 12 other Nigerians waiting for execution in that country. But 
notwithstanding the 'excellent' diplomatic relations existing between Nigeria 
and Indonesia, the deed was done; thus buttressing the futility of the FG 
intervention.

One implication of the unfortunate development is that Indonesia views drug 
offences as constituting a part of the 'most serious' offences that deserves 
the death penalty; and the country has been defending its execution of those 
who infract its anti-drug laws with all its strength. It is also instructive 
that notwithstanding Indonesia's unbending use of the death sentence as a vital 
weapon to wage its anti-drugs war, no nation, to public knowledge, has been so 
enraged as to clamp any sanction on the country (Indonesia) beyond the 
withdrawal of envoys. Same goes for the United Nations.

Our thinking, therefore, is that the global community seems conscious of the 
destructive effects of drugs on world citizens, especially youths; and caring 
nations lend tacit support to measures, no matter how harsh they may be, to 
curb the hard drugs trade. We think this is the message LEDAP should 
incorporate in its advocacy to save potentially endangered Nigerians who, out 
of ignorance and desperation for the good life, may swell the ranks of death 
row prisoners in Asia and elsewhere in the future.

As we have argued on this page in the past, the lesson probably not well 
thought at home and, therefore, not understood and appreciated, appears what 
Asian countries are insistent on teaching. When caught on Asian shores, hard 
drug convicts, from whatever part of the globe, including Asian countries, face 
the same punishment - execution. Recall that in addition to the 4 Nigerians 
executed in Indonesia last April were one Indonesian, Zainal Abidin; a 
Brazilian, Rodrigo Gularte; and 2 Australians, Andrew Chan and Myuran 
Sukumaran, numbering eight in all. To be fore warned is to be fore armed.

(source: nationalmirroronline.net)


ZIMBABWE:

ConCourt to hear death row, life sentence constitutionality


The Constitutional Court (ConCourt) will today hear 2 matters in which 
prisoners on death row are challenging the constitutionality of the death 
penalty and life sentences.

The 2 cases were initiated by legal think-tank Veritas.

The matter of Ndlovu versus the Minister of Justice (case CCZ 50/15) involves 2 
applicants who were convicted in separate cases of murder and sentenced to 
death in July 2002 and May 2012 respectively.

"The 2 applicants were convicted before the new Constitution came into 
operation," Veritas said.

The think-tank noted that although the 2 were lawfully sentenced to death, the 
sentence now had to be set aside because the provisions of the Criminal 
Procedure and Evidence Act under which they were sentenced are now inconsistent 
with Section 48 of the new Constitution.

"The provisions of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act, under which the 
condemned were tried and sentenced, are now invalid. The applicants' sentences 
must therefore be commuted to life imprisonment," Veritas said.

The 2nd case of Makoni versus Commissioner-General of Prisons and Correctional 
Service and Another (CCZ 48/2015) involves a prisoner who was convicted of 
murdering his girlfriend in 1995 and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Veritas said the applicant had already served 20 years of his sentence.

"He argues under the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act and the Prisons Act, 
prisoners serving sentences of life imprisonment are not entitled to be 
considered for parole or early release, and must serve 'whole life' sentences 
and be released from prison by death," they said.

"However, he argues the Act violates Section 51 of the Constitution which 
guarantees human dignity, and Section 53, which protects against cruel, inhuman 
or degrading punishment. Giving prisoners no hope of release, however good 
their behaviour in prison and however much they may have reformed, robs them of 
hope and crushes their dignity."

Veritas said it was appropriate that the applicant be considered for parole.

Next week, the ConCourt will also hear death penalty case challenges by Chawira 
and 14 others versus the Minister of Justice and others (CCZ 47/2015) where the 
15 will seek an order that their death sentences be commuted to life 
imprisonment as Section 53 of the Constitution protects everyone, including 
convicted prisoners, against torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment.

(source: Newsday)






INDIA:

This Is The Man In India Who Is Selling States Illegally Imported Execution 
Drugs----When states ran out of execution drugs, they started paying tens of 
thousands of dollars to Chris Harris, a salesman in India with no 
pharmaceutical background.


8,000 miles from the execution chamber at the Nebraska State Penitentiary is 
Salt Lake City - a planned satellite town in Kolkata, the capital city of 
India???s West Bengal state. It's a modern mecca of swanky office complexes, 
colleges, shopping malls, and restaurants. Here, on the 8th floor of a plush 
glass building overlooking a lake, is an office where Nebraska's lethal 
injection drug supplier says he makes his drugs.

A laminated paper sign stuck on the door of room 818 reads "Harris Pharma - 
manufacturer and distribution." The office, with powder-blue walls and a 
frosted glass facade, is one of 61 spaces on the floor rented out to various 
companies.

This is the facility in India where a man named Chris Harris, a salesman 
without a pharmaceutical background, claims his manufacturing and distribution 
business is based. He has sold thousands of vials of execution drugs for 
corrections officials in the U.S. who are desperate to find drugs to carry out 
the death penalty.

An employee who works at the facility, however, said the office is not being 
used to make drugs.

Saurav Bose, a customer relations officer at the office rental company who has 
met Harris twice since he started working here a few months ago, said Harris 
did not manufacture drugs in this rented office.

Harris's office, which was shut on a Tuesday morning when a reporter from 
BuzzFeed News visited, is much like the other ready-to-use, standardized 
workspaces available to rent by Regus - an international firm operating in 900 
cities across the world, including the more well-known Salt Lake City in Utah. 
It appeared highly unlikely that the rented office would accommodate laboratory 
equipment required to manufacture pharmaceutical drugs.

"He comes only 2 to 3 times in a month," Bose said, adding that most of his 
communication with Harris was limited to email. Bose, who described Harris as 
being "fickle" with his visits to the office, said he rarely had any clients or 
other people in the office.

BuzzFeed News identified several such inconsistencies after reviewing thousands 
of pages of court records, emails, and invoices; interviewing his past business 
partners; and visiting the locations in India from which Harris claims to run 
his business.

BuzzFeed News spent more than 4 months trying to talk to Harris over emails, 
via phone calls and during a visit to his office in India. Each time, Harris 
refused to talk.

"Quote me on this. I don't speak to reporters as they always say what is not 
true," Harris told BuzzFeed News when first contacted for comment in June.

After months of reporting on his sale to Nebraska, Harris again declined to 
talk with BuzzFeed News in September, writing, "Do and say what you want. But I 
will never give a reporter 2 min of my time. As all print what they want. Not 
the true story. They need a scandal to get sales and keep they jobs."

BuzzFeed News has been able to confirm four times that Harris sold execution 
drugs illegally to 4 death penalty states, and documents indicate there is 
likely a 5th. His sales follow a typical script: The legal issues are fixed 
this time, don't worry about it. Other states are buying it, too. You aren't 
the only one. You just need to make it a "minimum order" to make it worth the 
while. Payment in advance.

The documents show little effort by states to investigate Harris's 
qualifications or the legalities of importing drugs.

Harris has gotten states to pay tens of thousands of dollars for his drugs, but 
each time, after concerns were raised over the legality of the purchase, the 
drugs have gone unused.

Somehow, states are still falling for it.

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts had a problem. In a few days, the state legislature 
would vote on repealing the death penalty in his state. He needed to convince a 
few of them that the death penalty in Nebraska was salvageable, that the 
state's prior problems with the death penalty were just logistical issues that 
he, a new governor, could fix.

So, on May 14, he announced that he had found a way for Nebraska to get 
execution drugs - something that many states have struggled to find.

"The functionality of the death penalty in Nebraska has been a management issue 
that I have promised to resolve," Gov. Ricketts said, announcing the purchase a 
day before the legislature would vote to advance the repeal. "Through the work 
of [Department of Correctional Services] Director Frakes, the department has 
purchased the drugs that are necessary to carry out the death penalty in 
Nebraska in the near future."

Despite having only 10 men on its death row and no executions in the state for 
more than 15 years, Rickett's Department of Correctional Services placed an 
order to Harris for enough drugs to conduct hundreds of executions. As BuzzFeed 
News reported this summer, Nebraska did so because Harris said he would sell to 
the state only if they agreed to buy a "minimum order" of 1,000 vials.

Nebraska sent Harris a check for $54,400.

The state legislature voted to repeal the death penalty anyway, overriding 
Ricketts' veto, and Ricketts' management has led Nebraska to a stand-off with 
the Food and Drug Administration, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and 
Customs over illegally importing the drugs.

Many reputable drug makers have enacted stringent guidelines that keep their 
products out of the hands of executioners. In turn, states - disregarding 
federal laws on importing drugs - have sometimes turned to foreign suppliers 
like Harris as they've become more desperate to get a hold of lethal drugs. The 
drug Nebraska purchased, sodium thiopental, is an out-of-date anesthetic that 
stopped being used in executions after the sole FDA-approved manufacturer quit 
making it to keep it away from death penalty states.

Other death penalty states have turned to different drugs, but Nebraska had few 
options because the state's protocol calls for sodium thiopental. Changing it 
to a more modern execution drug would have required public meetings, and that 
would take time that Ricketts and his DOC did not have.

Sodium thiopental is not used in the U.S. anymore, but it's still widely used 
in India and in parts of the developing world as an anesthetic. So when Harris 
approached Nebraska in April, it might have seemed like an easy choice for the 
state.

"He told us that if he gets the consignment his life will be made."

"He used to sit at home all day long. How did he manage to sell lethal 
injection drugs to the U.S.?" Pijush Kantibairag wondered aloud, as he sat 
smoking in his 1,050-square-foot apartment in Kasba, a suburban maze of narrow 
lanes and ramshackle buildings in southern Kolkata, nearly eight miles away 
from Harris's office in Salt Lake City.

2 floors above him is Flat C1, where Harris used to live. Kantibairag and 
Harris were neighbors. Harris's flat, however, is now empty and bolted shut. 
Flat C1, a residential apartment, also is one of the office addresses of Harris 
Pharma - the company owned by Harris.

This is Harris's 2nd listed business location - the location he tells the DEA 
and Nebraska that Harris Pharma is based out of. But he hasn't lived here in 
more than 2 years, both his former neighbor and his landlord told BuzzFeed 
News.

Harris lived in the apartment with his 2nd wife, Sanjukta Harris, but left the 
building in 2013 ago without paying 7 months' rent and electricity bills, his 
landlord, Abhijit Majumder, told BuzzFeed News.

Majumder said Harris was behind rent and utility payments. "But on April 14 
[2013] - I still remember the date - he suddenly handed over the keys to the 
caretaker and just left the building," said Majumder, who rents out 2 
apartments in the building but does not reside there. He also claimed some 
items in the apartment were destroyed after Harris left.

Majumdar said that he rented out the flat to Harris for "residential purposes 
only" and was unaware that Harris had registered it as an office. "He told me 
he was a computer professional dealing in software."

Kantibairag, the former neighbor, said Harris told him he manufactured and sold 
"sexual feel drugs" on a website. Kayem Pharmaceuticals, for which Harris was a 
broker during this time, sells drugs to enhance male sexual performance. 
Kantibairag said that Harris never seemed to have money to pay for rent, yet 
spent excessively: "Every day there was a new car outside the building."

While Kantibairag said he was shocked to read the news about Harris's $54,000 
deal with Nebraska, he recalled that Harris had hinted about a business deal 
with the U.S. at a birthday party he hosted on the building's terrace for his 
wife. Kantibairag said Harris bragged to his neighbors about getting a "big 
consignment" from the U.S.

According to Kantibairag, Harris told his guests that America needed lethal 
injection drugs for the death penalty and that he was manufacturing the drugs 
for them.

"He told us that if he gets the consignment his life will be made," Kantibiarag 
said. This was back before Harris had started his own company and was working 
with the Mumbai-based firm Kayem Pharmaceuticals. Kantibiarag said Harris 
showed them his business cards that named him the director.

Majumder said Harris made excuses for not paying the rent, saying he was going 
through "financial losses."

"In February 2013, I told him, 'You must give me rent or otherwise you leave 
the apartment.' He told me he was trying to get the money and to give him some 
time," Majumder said.

But Harris left the apartment 2 months later without informing Majumder, who 
said he didn't file a police complaint because he thought it wasn't worth the 
time and the effort.

"He and his wife stopped answering my calls and his mobile number was later 
disabled," Majumder said.

Using a colloquial Hindi saying, Kantibairag summed up his feelings on Harris: 
"10 paise ki aukat hai, aur 2 lakh ki baat karta hai" - He is worth only 10 
paise (less than a penny), but he talked like he was worth 2 lakh rupees 
(around $3,000).

Harris used to work at a duty-free shop at the Abu Dhabi International Airport, 
and then bounced around to a handful of jobs at call centers, staying for 
roughly a year at each place, according to a copy of his resume.

Harris eventually landed at his 1st drug company: Kayem Pharmaceuticals (now 
named JONAKAYEM Pharma-Formulation) located in Mumbai, India's financial 
capital.

It was during Harris's time at Kayem that he began selling execution drugs. He 
started off by selling to Nebraska in November 2010. Harris sold the state 500 
vials of sodium thiopental for $2,056.

Beyond the issues with the drugs coming from a non-FDA-approved facility, 
Nebraska had another problem. The Department of Correctional Services didn't 
even have a license to import the drug.

In May 2011, the DEA informed Nebraska that the Department of Correctional 
Services would be receiving a "Letter of Admonition," and that it had to hand 
over the drugs. Months later, Nebraska complied, transferring the drugs to the 
DEA.

Kayem's CEO, Navneet Verma, told BuzzFeed News in August that he wasn't aware 
of what Harris was doing at the time.

According to Verma, Harris kept him in the dark for most of it. "He told me, 'I 
will be talking to them directly,'" Verma said.

In spite of his prior business relationship with Harris, Verma said he'd never 
met Harris in person - he was introduced to him online by 2 business 
acquaintances who vouched for Harris's marketing skills. Verma said he was 
looking to get into e-commerce for his pharma products. One of his 
acquaintances told Verma, "In India there is a good guy who can help you in 
marketing your product."

Verma said that he did not employ Harris, but that there was "a commercial 
understanding" between Kayem and him.

In March 2011, South Dakota also ordered drugs from Kayem. South Dakota 
purchased 500 vials, like Nebraska, but this time Kayem raised the price to 
$5,000. Again, the drugs made it into the U.S.

Verma admits he was aware of what was happening by this time. He claims he was 
"under compulsion" to ship the drugs to South Dakota because Harris has already 
finalized the deal with them.

After attorneys representing death row inmates in the state realized where the 
state bought the drugs from, they sued. The drugs eventually expired without 
ever being used.

The relationship soured between Verma and Harris around the time of the South 
Dakota deal, and Harris struck out on his own, starting Harris Pharma in 2011.

Nebraska gave importing drugs from Harris a 2nd shot - this time, with an 
import license. Nebraska purchased another 500 vials, under the new price, 
$5,000, in August 2011.

But Harris had left Kayem, the drug manufacturer. How did he get the drugs? 
According to the manufacturer from whom Harris obtained the drugs, he lied.

A Swiss-based pharmaceutical company, Naari, sent an alarmed letter to Nebraska 
in November 2011 when it discovered Harris had sold its company's drugs to a 
death penalty state. According to Naari, Harris claimed that the drugs would be 
going to Africa.

"The agreement with Mr. Harris was that he would use these vials for 
registration in Zambia," Naari CEO Prithi Kochhar wrote. "Our intention was to 
get the product registered in Zambia and then begin selling it there, since 
sodium thiopental is used very widely as an anaesthetic in the developing 
world."

"Mr. Harris misappropriated our medicines and diverted them from their intended 
purpose and use," Kochhar continued.

Naari, as well as inmates on death row, sued Nebraska over the source of the 
drugs. Once again, the drugs expired without being used.

Records show Harris also gave his sales pitch to Idaho in March 2011.

"I can understand your concern for importing," Harris wrote in an email to 
Idaho Maximum Security Institution Warden Randy Blades. "However, this problem 
[of illegal importation] is being solved. There is a company in the USA who can 
import these products legally and supply to you."

"Other states are doing the same. I am selling to the company in US and you 
would be buying directly from them. They have all the DEA licenses to import 
these kinds of products and distribute it in the US."

Blades responded an hour later, saying that he would like to work through the 
U.S. company, but the sale eventually fell through.

BuzzFeed News identified 2 U.S. companies that worked or offered to work with 
Harris: Caligor Rx and Priority Pharmaceuticals.

One of those companies, Priority Pharmaceuticals, has its own questionable 
regulation history. Priority was disciplined in 2015 by the California Board of 
Pharmacy for violating pharmacy laws, and was accused of "purchasing dangerous 
drugs from ... pharmacies under unauthorized conditions" and committed "acts 
involving moral turpitude, dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or corruption" in 
incidents unrelated to Harris. Priority had to surrender its wholesaler license 
and pay a $70,000 fine.

The other company, Caligor Rx, considered importing the drug for Idaho, 
according to emails BuzzFeed News obtained. The company was also listed as an 
importer of the drug on Nebraska's DEA forms in 2011.

Caligor Rx claimed to have cut off ties with Harris in 2012. Both U.S. 
companies did not respond to repeated requests for comment for this story.

States that purchased drugs from Harris have done little to investigate his 
background and drug-making abilities.

"I have no idea," South Dakota State Penitentiary Warden Douglas Weber said 
when asked in a deposition if he knew if any state officials did any background 
check into Harris or Kayem when he purchased drugs from Harris for his state in 
March 2011.

Attorneys handed Weber pictures of the outside of Kayem and asked him if he had 
ever seen what the facility looked like. He said he had not.

South Dakota officials told BuzzFeed News that the state had Harris's drugs 
tested by a lab in the U.S. and found that the drugs passed the test.

But this latest time - the 3rd time Nebraska has attempted to purchase 
execution drugs from Harris - Harris has claimed he is able to manufacture his 
own drugs. In support of that, he registered his Salt Lake City, India, office 
facility with the FDA, a registration used only for those making or possessing 
drugs, and he has advertised vials of sodium thiopental with his company's logo 
on the label.

"I have supplied Nebraska with Sodium Thiopental in the past," Harris wrote to 
the Department of Correctional Services in April. "I presently have a batch 
being manufactured for 2 States that have placed an order," adding that he will 
will have "a few thousand Vials that will be extra."

In previous sales, Harris was working with Kayem, which had agreements with 
actual drug manufacturers. The only time Harris sold execution drugs once he 
started on his own, he sold another company's drugs. But this time, he's 
touting his company's manufacturing abilities and has sodium thiopental bottles 
with his logo on the label. Given the nature of the Salt Lake City facility he 
registered with the FDA, it still leaves the question: Where is Harris getting 
his drugs now?

Nonetheless, Nebraska DOC Director Scott Frakes responded to Harris' pitch 
enthusiastically, and ultimately purchased a "minimum order" - a thousand vials 
of sodium thiopental and pancuronium bromide.

Harris charged the state $25 per vial of sodium thiopental, about 7 times more 
than what the drug typically costs. In total, the state paid Harris $54,400.

Harris Pharma's facility registered with the FDA is located in Salt Lake City, 
India. At one point, Frakes appears to incorrectly believe the facility is in 
Salt Lake City, Utah.

"Chris, the address on the invoice says Salt Lake City, but it doesn't have the 
street address, or the zip code for Salt Lake City," Frakes wrote in an email 
obtained by BuzzFeed News through freedom of information requests. Harris 
responds that the facility is actually in Kolkata.

Frakes responded 2 minutes later with "Can you call me right now?"

In his emails with Frakes, Harris referenced "other States" that are buying the 
same drugs from him, although he never names the states. An email between a DEA 
regulator and Frakes confirms that another state intended to import the drugs 
from Harris.

DEA Regulator Cathy Gallagher wrote to Frakes that she has been dealing with 
"another state on the same issue," and adds, "You are using the same 
manufacturer in India."

It's unclear which state is being referenced in the email. The DEA did not 
return a request for comment, and many states have secrecy laws that hide the 
identity of their lethal drug suppliers.

The FDA sent a letter to Ohio in June, however, warning the Department of 
Rehabilitation and Correction not to attempt to import sodium thiopental 
illegally. The letter cited only "information received by the agency."

When BuzzFeed News approached the Ohio DRC in June, spokesperson JoEllen Smith 
would say only that Ohio had not communicated with Harris's company, Harris 
Pharma, but did not specifically answer the question of if the state had 
purchased from him directly or indirectly.

In October, Ohio DRC responded to the FDA letter, insisting that the state 
should be able to import the drug. "Contrary to the implication in your letter 
that the importation of sodium thiopental is currently prohibited, there is a 
legal framework for a state, if it so chooses, to import sodium thiopental in 
accordance with" the law, DRC General Counsel Stephen Gray wrote.

He added that "Ohio has no intention of breaking any federal laws or violating 
any court orders in an attempt to procure the legal drugs necessary to carry 
out constitutionally approved and court-ordered death sentences."

Before 2013, the FDA wanted no part in the regulatory battle over execution 
drugs, which is why it allowed shipments of sodium thiopental, including 
Harris's drugs, into the U.S. But death row inmates in other states sued the 
FDA, arguing that the regulator had no right to turn a blind eye to states 
illegally importing the drug.

In a 2013 ruling, a federal judge agreed, ordering the FDA to not allow any 
more shipments of sodium thiopental into the U.S.

In his October letter, Gray argued that "when Ohio has been able to procure the 
drugs necessary to carry out its constitutionally approved method of capital 
punishment via lethal injection, it has a history of doing so humanely and 
efficiently." Ohio's most recent execution took place in January 2014, when 
inmate Dennis McGuire gasped, choked, and clenched his fists in an execution 
that lasted 26 minutes.

When approached with more information about Harris on Monday morning, Smith, 
the DRC spokesperson, would say only that "DRC continues to seek all legal 
means to obtain the drugs necessary to carry out court ordered executions." On 
Monday evening, however, Ohio announced that it was postponing executions until 
2017, citing ongoing problems obtaining execution drugs.

Harris promised delivery to Nebraska within 60 days. It's now been more than 
150 days, and the sodium thiopental still isn't there. The FDA has been 
constant in saying it will not allow the drugs in, and that importing them 
would be illegal.

Harris tried to ship the drugs to Nebraska in late August, but the shipment was 
returned due to "improper or missing paperwork" according to FedEx. The company 
in India that handled the export for Harris said it was because the drug lacked 
FDA approval.

"Our shipment has to clear the U.S. office," Rohit Sharma said. "But they told 
us that it does not have FDA clearance."

Sharma added that he sent the drugs back to the drug distributor, Harris. "He 
will FedEx it from Kolkata," Sharma said.

In a statement, FedEx said it's standard procedure to notify the FDA and 
Customs before importing drugs.

"This shipment was never brought to the United States," a spokesperson said. 
"The paperwork was incorrect in India and it was returned to the shipper. As 
with any international importation of a drug, data about that shipment is 
transmitted to federal agencies in advance, including U.S. Customs and the Food 
and Drug Administration. If the shipment is authorized, we will deliver it to 
the recipient; if it is not, we will return it to the foreign shipper."

Nearly 2 months later, the answer as to what is happening with Chris Harris's 
efforts to import execution drugs is no more clear.

"We can't comment on pending or ongoing investigations," an FDA spokesperson 
told BuzzFeed News this past week. "We can say that sodium thiopental is 
unlawful to import and FDA would refuse its admission into the United States."

The Drug Enforcement Administration's regulatory authority does not apply to 
foreign countries, a spokesperson said, and added that DEA would not be 
conducting an inspection of Harris's facility. Customs and Border Patrol 
declined to comment.

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts still maintains optimism that his state will 
receive the drugs needed to carry out executions. Ohio, on the other hand, has 
called off all executions until 2017.

Through it all, Harris remains an elusive figure in this transcontinental 
spectacle.

"I think you people don't understand English,: Harris told BuzzFeed News on 
Monday, given a final opportunity to respond to the allegations made in this 
story. "I have said I won't waste my time replying to you as you will write 
whatever you want anyways. STOP SENDING ME MAILS."

(source: BuzzFeed.com)






UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:

Death penalty for mason who set 2 co-workers on fire, killing 1---- Reason for 
convict's act still not known


A Pakistani mason was sentenced to death in absentia by a UAE court for setting 
2 co-workers on fire which killed 1 of them.

According to the records, on February 9, while AA and SA were busy in the store 
of a building under construction in Jebel Ali, the accused DA, 32, who is at 
large, poured petrol on them and set them on fire with a lighter.

The worker who survived the fire, SA, 35, Pakistani machine operator, testified 
that he had accompanied victim AA to the store.

"I was in the store with AA and DA. We were all chatting and laughing about 
funny incidents at work. We were enjoying our time together and nothing 
happened that could have triggered DA???s anger. We sat chatting for about an 
hour after which DA left the store.

"15 minutes later, while I was helping AA, the store keeper, in reviewing the 
store's records, I noticed DA entering, holding a middle-size yellow bucket. I 
did not expect anything bad and I turned back to continue helping AA.

"All of a sudden, I felt the blanket that I had wrapped around myself on that 
cold day become wet. I also noticed that the same thing happened to AA's 
blanket. I also smelt petrol. DA pouring the liquid all around the store," 
testified the survivor.

The survivor saw the accused switching on the lighter that he was holding in 
his hand and bringing it close to AA's blanket.

"Very quickly, AA as well as the entire store caught fire. I found myself 
surrounded by flames while AA was screaming. I could not help him as, in a few 
seconds, he had turned into a mass of fire. I rushed to the door, kicked it and 
got out and threw away my blanket that had caught fire," testified SA.

While the accused was setting the place on fire, the survivor heard him saying: 
"You will all die inside."

MA, worker, rushed to the store holding a fire extinguisher and started 
spraying foam on the victim. The victim, who had become a mass of fire, rushed 
out of the store. The fire was extinguished and he was rushed to hospital.

"I don't know why he did that as there were no problems between the accused and 
anyone in the company. The victim's behaviour was also good," he noted.

MA, 35, Pakistani watchman, testified that he rushed with the fire extinguisher 
as he saw a ball of fire rushing out of the store 10 metres away from him. The 
burning man was screaming and asking for help.

The victim fell unconscious after telling the watchman that there is another 
man inside and he must help him. He meant the machine operator who survived.

The victim also told the guard that he does not know why DA did it. "DA poured 
petrol on me and burnt me. I had no problem with him. I have 2 daughters and 
there is another man inside who should be rescued," he told the guard before 
falling unconscious.

The foreman MA, 49, and other workers repeated corroborative testimonies 
regarding what the victim said before falling unconscious.

AH, 39, Egyptian clerk, testified that victim was well-behaved and there were 
no notices about him. He said the victim had no problems with any of the 
workers.

"I was in the office when I heard workers shouting and screaming outside. I 
rushed out and saw that the victim was completely burnt and that fire was 
extinguished. Workers told me that DA had poured petrol on the victim and set 
him on fire when he was in the store," testified the clerk.

MJ, 46, Pakistani bus driver, testified that some workers complained about 
smell of petrol in the bus. "I checked the bus but did not find anything," he 
testified.

Second Lieutenant Ali Juma, who checked the crime scene, testified that it was 
a murder by fire.

"I could not question the victim who remained unconscious for 4 days before he 
died," said the officer.

A forensic doctor reported that the cause of death was burns of different 
degrees all over the body. The most severe burns were on his back.

A fire expert reported that the cause of fire was petrol and a flame that 
started near the door and spread all over the store. He reported about workers' 
uniforms and shoes found in the store.

The convict was prosecuted in absentia for premeditated murder and attempt to 
murder in addition to setting fire to his employer's store.

(source: emiraates 247.com)






ETHIOPIA:

UK Must Use Ethiopia Trade Event to Demand Death-Row Brit's Release


The Foreign Office is hosting a high-level trade event for Ethiopia's Foreign 
Minister, despite the ongoing detention of a British man kidnapped by the 
Ethiopian authorities 16 months ago.

Foreign minister Grant Shapps will share a stage with Ethiopian Foreign 
Minister Tedros Adanhom at the UK Ethiopia Trade Investment Forum, which is 
hosted and supported by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, and 
the Foreign Office (FCO). The event's website says it is "the country's highest 
profile investment outreach on the international stage, to date", and that it 
is is "a unique opportunity" for potential investors to "engage directly with 
the government and senior decision-makers of one of the most topical investment 
destinations in the world."

The event is going ahead amid criticism of the UK government for failing to 
request that Ethiopia release Andargachew 'Andy' Tsege, a British father of 
three who was kidnapped by Ethiopian forces in June 2014 and forcibly taken to 
the country. Mr Tsege is an outspoken critic of the Ethiopian government, and 
was sentenced to death there in absentia in 2009. He has been held largely 
incommunicado since his disappearance, and has been refused regular British 
consular visits, as well as contact with a lawyer and his family in London. The 
UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has demanded the "immediate release of 
Mr Tsege" from Ethiopia, but the UK government has so far limited itself to 
calling for consular access and 'due process' in his case.

Human rights organization Reprieve, which is assisting Andy's family, has asked 
Mr Shapps to use the Ethiopian visit to ask for Andy to be released. In a 
recent letter to Reprieve, Mr Shapps claimed the government "take[s] every 
opportunity" to raise his case with the Ethiopian authorities. The visit comes 
as the UK government faces controversy over trade deals with countries accused 
of human rights abuses. Today it emerged that the Business Secretary, Sajjid 
Javid, had invoked Article 51 of the UN Charter in a letter to Reprieve 
justifying the promotion of British security exports to countries including 
Saudi Arabia.

Commenting, Maya Foa, head of Reprieve's death penalty team, said: "The 
government has already admitted that human rights are 'no longer a priority' - 
for ministers to now take the stage with the Ethiopian Foreign Minister in the 
name of boosting trade sends a further worrying signal. This is a man 
responsible for the kidnapping and ongoing detention of a British father of 
three, Andy Tsege, who awaits the carrying out of an in absentia death 
sentence. Promoting trade with our allies is one thing, but the UK must also 
use its ties with countries like Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia to help victims of 
abuses - including British citizens. The Foreign Office must use its visit from 
Tedros this week to demand Andy's urgent release."

(source: reprieve.org)