[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 24



INDIA:

Should discuss death penalty,timeframe for execution: Maharashtra CM


Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said with around 300 
persons on the death row, we must ponder whether the capital punishment should 
be retained, and if yes, must determine a timeframe for its execution.

Fadnavis, himself a law graduate, was speaking at a discussion on relevance of 
capital punishment at the State Lawyers Conference organised by the Bar Council 
of Maharashtra and Goa which started on Saturday.

Yakub Memon, the sole convict of 1993 Mumbai blasts case to be sentenced to 
death, was hanged at Nagpur prison in Maharashtra on July 31, 2015.

"Even after the Supreme Court upholds the death punishment, it takes so many 
years to execute it," he said, pointing out that about 300 convicts are on the 
death row in the country at present. It was time we discussed whether the 
capital punishment is needed, and if yes, then what should be the timeframe to 
execute it, he added.

Yakub Memon, the sole convict of 1993 Mumbai blasts case to be sentenced to 
death, was hanged at Nagpur prison in Maharashtra on July 31, 2015.

Former Chief Justice of Orissa High court Bilal Nazki opposed the capital 
punishment. "Are we equipped to know who deserves death and who doesn't," Nazki 
asked.

"When you don't know if you are going to die or not, then it's very painful," 
he said, adding "what does the victim get if the accused is killed".

"We don't have rehabilitation policy regarding the victims of terrorism," 
Justice Nazki pointed out.

Former Supreme Court judge VS Sirpurkar favoured continuance of death penalty. 
"It is a very effective deterrence....If you take away the death sentence then 
the future criminals will turn this country into a jungle," he said.

(soure: ibnlive.com)






THAILAND:

Japanese man arrested for drug, gun possession in Thailand


A Japanese man has been arrested in Thailand for possessing more than 2 
kilograms of an illegal stimulant drug and an unauthorized automatic gun, while 
three others were apprehended for trying to bribe the police into releasing 
him, Thai police said Saturday.

Yutaka Itakura, 34, was arrested in Bangkok on Friday with around 2.3 kg of 
methamphetamine that he tried to sell to an undercover agent working for the 
police. The police also found money worth more than $30,000 in his room.

He is accused of trying to bribe the police into releasing him. 3 other 
Japanese men were also arrested after they came to offer a bribe in exchange 
for Itakura's release.

Itakura has been charged with possessing illicit drugs with intent to sell, 
selling illegal drugs, possessing an unregistered gun and trying to bribe 
police officers. He could face the death penalty if found guilty of the 
drug-related charges.

He is believed to have links with a Japanese gang that runs a drug business in 
Thailand and is also suspected of using Thai women to transport drugs abroad.

The Thai police are coordinating with their Japanese counterparts in an 
investigation to learn how Itakura came to possess the drugs.

The four accused, aged between 34 and 50, were arrested on Friday after a 
tip-off that one of the group was smuggling drugs out of Thailand.

"Our undercover agent bought 2.3 kg of 'ice'" from Itakura in central Bangkok, 
said a police statement Saturday.

The 3 other Japanese nationals offered police around $28,000 to release 
Itakura, the statement said.

Thailand is a known gateway to the lucrative Southeast Asian drugs market.

Seizures of "ice," a form of methamphetamine, have quadrupled across the 
Asia-Pacific region over 5 years, the United Nations said in May.

Much of the increase is down to an explosion in production of the usually less 
pure methamphetamine-laced tablets, known in parts of Asia as "yaba."

(source: Japan Times)






PAKISTAN:

Who are we hanging?


The headlines of newspapers scream that we have reached a 'shameful milestone'. 
We have made people march to the gallows-more than we want to count and believe 
that we have. Pakistan has executed more than 250 people since the lifting of 
the moratorium in December 2014. At the time it was a measure to combat 
terrorism, in wake of ghastly massacre of almost 150 people in a Peshawar 
school. However, that seems to be long forgotten. Now the death penalty is 
focusing on clearing out jails- targeting the mentally ill and physical 
disabled as well.

The story of Abdul Basit echoes the abysmal state of Pakistan's criminal 
justice system and reaffirms that whilst the wealthy and influential escape 
through the loopholes; the poor, disabled, mentally ill, and the most 
vulnerable segments of Pakistan's society, is rushed to the gallows - 
celebrated as an indicator of its success in eradicating terrorism. The state 
is apathetic to the violations of their human dignity, and it has become 
evident in Abdul Basit's case, where despite his permanent disability and 
humiliating conditions of imprisonment, he remains on death row.

Abdul Basit was convicted for the murder of another man during a heated 
altercation in 2009. However, he has always claimed his innocence, asserting 
that he was not the 1st one to offer violence. It was on the basis of evidence 
given by just 2 relatives of the deceased that he was convicted of murder. 
Basit now 44, wakes up every morning to a day that routinely brings him 
humiliation and helplessness. His legs are attached to him like 2 useless 
weights that he cannot move - a constant reminder and remnant of the life he 
used to have and the man he once used to be.

Most people know him simply as the 'paraplegic death row prisoner', but Basit 
is a man who once led a dignified life. He was an administrator at a medical 
college in Faisalabad, who was pleasant and well liked. Like the many prisoners 
I've met have recounted, the grave mistakes they have made are usually 
triggered by small but fateful errors in judgment. For Basit, it was such an 
error that eventually resulted in him being convicted of murder.

In 2010, Abdul Basit was transferred to Central Jail, Faisalabad. Later that 
year, the prisoners in Faisalabad jail rioted against the torturous practices 
of the jail administration especially, the Superintendents. Several prisoners 
died in the riots, and many more injured. The Superintendent was suspended and 
the new Superintendent, confined most of the prisoners to the "punishment wing" 
in Central Jail. For, months, Abdul Basit was held in the filthy and unhygienic 
conditions of the punishment ward where disease is rampant. While there, he 
began complaining of severe headache and an extremely high temperature. His 
family narrated that his headache became so severe that he would scream and 
bang his head against the wall for any form of relief. His anguish was only met 
with apathy by jail authorities despite repeated pleas from his family. It was 
discovered later that based on his symptoms Abdul Basit had contracted 
Tuberculosis (TB) meningitis in prison. Despite the knowledge that TB, if left 
untreated, could result in permanent damage, the jail authorities denied him 
any access to the requisite healthcare and simply confined him to a solitary 
cell to prevent an outbreak. It was only after Abdul Basit succumbed to a month 
of indelible pain and lost consciousness that he was transferred to a hospital.

It was discovered that his condition was so critical, that he fell into a coma 
for 4 weeks. Eventually his family was informed that as a result of neglect and 
a lack of timely treatment he had contracted Tuberculosis (TB) meningitis. Over 
the course of 13 months his condition plummeted - he became paralyzed from the 
waist down and would suffer from long-term consequences of spinal cord 
permanently. Abdul Basit would never be able to walk again, and lost all 
control of his basic bodily functions permanently.

In spite of his pitiful condition, Abdul Basit's execution was scheduled soon 
after his mercy appeal to the President was rejected. His legal counsel filed a 
writ petition pleading, amongst other things, that there is no procedure laid 
out in the Pakistan Prison Rules 1978 to execute a physically disabled 
prisoner. The rules are vividly elaborate as to the procedure to be adopted 
before and during the execution. Rule 356 of jail manual, states that the 
prisoner must "mount the scaffold", after which the executioner will strap his 
legs tightly together. All the while, 2 warders will stand on either side of 
the condemned prisoner holding him by his arms. Once the noose has been placed 
around his neck, "the warders holding the condemned man's arms then withdraw 
and ... the executioner shall carry out the sentence". It is evident, as 
Basit's counsel has argued that the framers of the rules did not envisage that 
a paraplegic would be put up for execution. Whether that was an implied 
exclusion or a mere oversight is not the issue at hand, nor is it a question of 
the morality of hanging a disabled man.

Executions of the mentally ill violate the right to human dignity under the 
Constitution, and are an affront to Pakistan's legal obligations under 
international law. Additionally, Section 84 of the Pakistan Penal Code does not 
allow the state to punish any person suffering from a "disorder of his mental 
capabilities". The fact that officials are prepared to hang Basit, despite 
knowing this, shows they are even prepared to bend Pakistan's law to breaking 
point.

After the Lahore High Court dismissed the Petition in September, another 
warrant for Basit's execution was issued. His counsel filed an appeal against 
the High Court order before the Honorable Supreme Court of Pakistan. While 
disposing the petition, Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan referred to the execution 
stating that "we do not feel chary ... that Judicial Magistrate of Jail ... 
shall comply with the relevant rules". Though the Supreme Court did not stay 
the execution, it made one thing explicitly clear: the jail authorities shall 
comply with the rules while carrying out the execution of the prisoner. This 
put a burden on the Judicial Magistrate to ensure that the procedure dictated 
in the Prison Rules is carried out the way it has been written. Recognizing a 
technical lacuna, the Judicial Magistrate postponed the execution, requesting 
further instructions from the Provincial Government on how to proceed. What the 
Judicial Magistrate was able to understand was that when it comes to the 
implementation of such a procedure, divergence from the rules in lieu of a 
Supreme Court order would be to act in contempt of court. Such a step by the 
authorities, one that protects the human dignity of Basit and the rights of 
other prisoners, has been greatly appreciated by both local and international 
human rights organizations.

It is also important to understand why Basit's counsel has argued so ardently 
based on the risks of hanging a paraplegic man. Those that have studied it 
understand that there is a delicate science behind hanging. The 'long drop 
method' is the only one used for hanging in Pakistan. The objective of this 
method is to cause the 'Hangman's Fracture', i.e. to cause a fracture in the 
vertebrae of the spinal cord, resulting in hyperextension of the head and 
distraction of the neck. This process crushes the spinal cord and rapidly 
induces unconsciousness followed by death. However, in a recent study of such 
fractures suffered by 34 victims, it was found that that only a small 
proportion resulted in the ideal "Hangman's Fracture'. If there is an 
inconsistency in the calculated weight or height, the 'drop' will be 
inaccurate. If the force of downward drop is too little, he will die a slow 
death by strangulation. If the force is too great, his neck will be severed 
from his body. Of course, this study was based on individuals with full 
function of their limbs. If the hanging of even such subjects is risky and has 
a low success rate, how reliable will it be for a man with no power in his 
limbs?

Basit is not the only one. Mentally ill prisoners are stuffed in Pakistan death 
row cells alongside other inmates. These death row cells, measuring 8 by 12 
feet, designed to house not more than 2 prisoners at a time. They currently 
hold on average 6 or more prisoners for over 23 hours a day. Whilst the Medical 
Health Ordinance was enacted in 2001 to provide protection and treatment to 
mentally ill prisoners the law receives little or no implementation 
nation-wide. Pakistan has the world's largest number of death row inmates, with 
more than and it is on course to have 1 of the highest rates of executions in 
the world. The current government should revisit the moratorium over the death 
penalty to put a stop to a blatant violation of human rights.

Abdul Basit's case is surely unique due to his permanent disability. However, 
in many ways, it is the face of the state's executions since the lifting of the 
moratorium on the death penalty - cruel, revengeful and futile in its 
self-proclaimed quest to eradicate terrorism.

(source: The Nation)