[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

April 3




IRAN:

Another Juvenile Offender in Sanandaj Prison Sentenced to Death


With issuing of another death sentence for a juvenile offender in Sanandaj 
Prison, the number of prisoners who are sentenced to death for an offence they 
have committed while being a juvenile, has rose to 5.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), a 
juvenile offender (K.N) imprisoned at Sanandaj Prison, who at the time of crime 
was 17 years and 9 months old, was sentenced to death by retaliation in kind 
(Qisas) for murder.

1 of K.N's relatives has told HRANA's reporter: "He was born in May 1997. In a 
group brawl, he has killed a person he didn't know at all. He was only 17 years 
and 9 months old when he committed the crime."

He added: "A public lawyer was assigned for him, and was not even sent to 
forensics to be tested for cognitive and psychosocial developments. In October 
2015, after the 1st trial presided by judge Hamed Soltan-Bakhsh at branch 
number 1 of the criminal court of Sanandaj, he has been sentenced to Qisas 
(retaliation in kind), however this sentence was disclosed to him with a delay 
just recently."

It is worth mentioning that there are currently 4 more juvenile offenders 
imprisoned in Sanandaj Prison, who have been arrested and sentenced to death. 
All of these 4 juvenile prisoners have been charged with murder. Below is the 
previously gathered reports of HRANA on the identity and age at the time of 
murder or arrest of these prisoners:

Yousef Mohammadi, born in 1995, age at the time of arrest: 14, sentenced to 
death

Himan Orami-Nejhad, born in 1997, age at the time of arrest: 17 years and 9 
months, year in which the crime was committed: 2011, sentenced to death

Siavash Mahmoudi, born in 1995, age at the time of arrest: 17, sentence to 
death, Note: he has claimed that the murder was the result of a self-defense 
against sexual assault.

Amanj Hosseini (Oveisi), age at the time of arrest: 17, sentenced to death

It should be noted, offenders under 18 are considered as juveniles according to 
human right treaties, and the legal punishment of a juvenile in Iran including 
death penalty for crimes such as brawl, murder, drug trafficking etc., has 
always been a major challenge and violation of human rights In Iran.

Iran???s action is in contrast with its obligation to the international 
covenant on civil and political rights and the United Nations Convention on the 
Rights of the Child. Iran along with Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Sudan are the 
only countries that still continue to execute minors. In recent years Iran's 
judicial system detains the juvenile offenders that are sentenced to death at 
correctional centers and executes them only after they reach the age of 18.

In 2013, after the reforms to the Islamic penal code, the death penalty for 
juvenile offenders is subjected to the offender's ability to understand and 
realize the nature of the committed crime. However recently Fatemeh Salbehi who 
had been sentenced to death for committing murder under the age of 18, was 
reconvicted for murder after the retrial on the grounds that at the time of the 
murder she has been aware of the nature of the crime, and her sentence was 
executed. The execution of Fatemeh Salbehi has once again raised the concerns 
regarding the execution of juvenile offenders in Iran.

(source: HRA News Agency)






AUSTRALIA:

Ben Quilty says he would rather live on Indonesian execution island than with 
kowtowing politicians


Ben Quilty will leave Australia if politicians do not campaign for the 
abolition of the death penalty in countries like China and the United States.

The Archibald Prize-winning artist and Art Gallery of NSW trustee said, with a 
dose of black humour, he would rather live on Indonesia's execution island than 
witness Australian politicians kowtow to countries that kill their citizens.

"Next year is the 50th anniversary of the last person executed in Australia and 
if some politicians don't get up and use a soap box to proclaim that to the 
world, I'm leaving," he said.

Ronald Ryan was hanged in Melbourne in February 1967 for the murder of a prison 
officer during an escape from Pentridge prison in 1965.

Asked where he would settle, Quilty said: "I don't care. I'd rather live on 
Nusa Kambangan than have no politicians stand up for the great parts of what 
we've achieved."

"We haven't executed anyone for 50 years. We have things to be proud of but 
politicians like to kowtow to countries that still execute people, namely China 
and America and no one f***ing says anything."

Quilty was speaking at last month's Art Basel Hong Kong art fair where his 
large-scale autobiographical painting, After Afghanistan, Over the Hills and 
Far Away, priced at $130,000, was sold by Melbourne's Tolarno Galleries to an 
undisclosed buyer.

Quilty said the painting started as a self-portrait "and I guess in a way it 
maps out the last few years of me being alive".

In particular, the painting focuses on Quilty's experiences in Afghanistan, 
which he visited in 2011 as an official war artist, and his involvement in the 
ultimately unsuccessful campaign to save Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran from 
an Indonesian firing squad.

"I'm intrigued and attracted and repulsed at the same time by those 
experiences," he says. "This work references directly the response of young men 
I met in Afghanistan to the way Afghanistan has slipped backwards since they 
pulled out."

Quilty refuses to shy away from controversial topics, with his next show at 
Tolarno in June featuring paintings and a video work of a young Hazara refugee 
and life vests that he found on a beach on the Greek island of Lesbos.

After Afghanistan comprises 4 canvas panels and features an anguished face 
coloured in shades of green and purple floating above the headless figure of a 
naked reclining woman.

Quilty also painted an Afghani kolba or household dwelling under stormy skies.

"This domestic symbol prompted him to consider the implications of the 
Taliban's return to power after the withdrawal of the Australian Defence 
Forces," the catalogue states. "Their resumption of control over Afghan society 
has pushed women back into their previous subservient role."

Pearl Lam Galleries, meanwhile, displayed Quilty's Rorschach work of Nusa 
Kambangan - the Indonesian island where the 2 convicted Australian drug 
smugglers were executed in 2015.

"It's probably not a work I would have shown in Australia because I'm not ready 
really to go into too much conversation about that yet," Quilty says.

A regular in Hong Kong, Quilty says Art Basel and the constellation of other 
art fairs are obvious places for Australian artists to exhibit.

"It's just allowed us artists to be seen for how good we are and I think we mix 
it perfectly well," he says.

(source: Canberra Times)






EGYPT:

Egyptian military court postpones verdict for 28 accused Morsi supporters for 
2nd time----8 of the defendants have received preliminary death sentences on 
violence related charges


An Egyptian military court postponed on Wednesday to April 24 its issuing of a 
verdict in the trial of 28 alleged supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi 
accused of planning attacks on military and police personnel.

In February, the court sentenced eight of the 28 defendants to death. The court 
did not issue sentences for the remaining 20 defendants.

The court referred its initial death penalty verdicts to the Grand Mufti of 
Egypt - the country's leading authority on religious edicts - for a non-binding 
consultation per Egyptian law.

In March, the court postponed issuing a verdict in the case till 3 April 
without stating reasons.

On Sunday, the court was set to confirm or reverse the death sentences and rule 
on 1st-degree sentences for the 20 remaining defendants. However, the judges 
have not disclosed the reason behind the postponement.

The awaited verdicts will be subject to appeal in the military cassation court.

(source: ahramonline.com)






TAIWAN:

Random Killing Aftermath: Poll shows 80 percent back harsher sentences


A large majority of the public favors harsher sentences for people convicted of 
killing children under the age of 12, according to a poll, which showed strong 
support for the death penalty following the decapitation of a four-year-old 
girl on Monday.

A survey conducted by Television Broadcasts Satellite's (TVBS) poll center 
found that 81 percent of respondents supported mandatory death or life in 
prison sentences for murder of a child under 12 years old.

Lawmakers have proposed making the sentences mandatory following the 
decapitation of the girl, surnamed Liu, nicknamed "Little Lightbulb", in 
Taipei's Neihu District.

Broad support for the proposed changes cut across party lines and age groups, 
with 64 % of those surveyed "extremely supportive."

The TVBS poll found that 84 % of respondents supported maintaining the death 
penalty, up 2 % points from a similar survey conducted in June last year. 
Support for abolishing the death penalty fell 3 % points from the previous 
poll.

When asked whether life in prison without parole could serve as an alternative 
to the death penalty, only 27 % agreed, the poll showed.

There was a slight decline in the percentage of those who said that the death 
penalty acts as a deterrent for crime, with 79 % agreeing compared with 85 % 
last year.

The cable network operator's telephone poll was conducted on Wednesday and 
Thursday, with 847 valid samples and a margin of error of 3.4 % points.

In related news, the girl's mother - identified as Claire Wang - said on 
Facebook yesterday that while she "does not support" the death penalty, she 
also "does not agree" with its abolition.

"Often many thoughts and ideas are like religion and politics - rooted in the 
heart. Those who believe will always believe and those who do not never will - 
I only believe in what I've always believed in," she said. "I still believe 
that love is the heart's 1st intention, that society is beautiful and that 
human nature at its root is good."

She asked that people who read her Facebook comments to "forgive" her for 
failing to respond or clarify every comment, adding that she was not "mighty" 
or "extraordinary" and lacked strength, caring only that her family and friends 
understood her.

(source: Taipei Times)






INDIA:

NO MERCY SHOWN TO JYOTIKUMARI RAPISTS


The curtain has been drawn on an effort by the rapists of Jyotikumari Choudhary 
to survive the death sentence confirmed by the Supreme Court. Maharashtra 
Governor, Ch Vidyasagar Rao has turned down their mercy petition last week, it 
is reliably learnt.

The duo, Purushottam Borate and Pradeep Kokade, it may be recalled, had filed a 
mercy petition in mid-2015, inspired by the multiple mercy petitions filed and 
debated upon preceding the hanging of Yakub Memon, convicted for his role in 
the 1993 Mumbai bombings. A senior officer of the Maharashtra state government 
told Mirror, "The Governor rejected it because the state had opposed the mercy 
sought and their crime was heinous."

Borate and Kokade were first given the death penalty by the Pune sessions court 
in March 2012, convicted under sections 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 346 
(kidnapping), 376 (rape) and 302 (murder), among others, of the Indian Penal 
Code (IPC). "There was no ground for the mercy plea to be accepted, given the 
brutality deployed in the case. We are yet to get an official confirmation on 
this, but I am happy with the decision," said special government pleader, 
Ujjwal Nikam, who wrested the conviction from the Pune sessions court.

The death sentence was contested both at the Bombay High Court as well as the 
Supreme Court and both held it up on in September 2012 and April 2015, 
respectively. Subsequently, the two had resigned themselves to the capital 
punishment and had also given in writing that they will not pursue a review 
petition. But the drama that unfolded preceding Yakub Memon's hanging revived 
their hopes and they sought legal aid from the Pune District and Sessions Court 
Authority (PDLSA) in the 2nd week of July. This brought the duty counsel with 
the legal aid cell of Yerwada Central Jail, Atish Landge, into the picture.

"Both Borate and Kokade have filed a mercy petition. If it has been rejected, 
we will approach President, Pranab Mukherjee to accept the plea. The 2 have 
already admitted to their guilt in the petition. They come from a highly 
financially deprived milieu and cannot afford lawyers. Our legal aid cell at 
Yerwada jail is trying to get their capital punishment commuted," Landge 
explained.

Jyotikumari's rape and murder shook the IT industry in Pune, which employs a 
substantial number of women. On November 1, 2007, it was Jyotikumari's last day 
at work at Wipro's BPO. She used to stay in the city with her relatives and 
that night, taking her drop back home, she did not realise when cabby Borate 
picked up his friend, Kokade, and veered away from the regular route. She was 
raped, strangled, her skull smashed with boulders, before the 2 returned to 
pick up of other employees of the same BPO, betraying no reaction about their 
deed.

Jyotikumari's brother-in-law Gaur Sunder, who is following up on the case, 
noted, "Last month, the Talegaon-Dabhade police station received the letter 
from the home department, seeking details and files about the case. The news of 
their plea being denied comes as a relief to the family. We are keen to see the 
2 executed to find justice being done."

(source: punemirror.in)

*****

Citing young age, HC spares youth noose


Deepu was hardly 20 when he murdered his aunt and her 2 children, and he was 
barely 22 when an Ooty court sentenced him to death.

Now, he has escaped the noose after a division bench of the Madras high court 
weighed 'mitigating factors' such as his young age and his unsuccessful bid to 
commit suicide after the murders in 2012. The bench of Justice M Jaichandren 
and Justice S Nagamuthu then commuted the death penalty into one of 
imprisonment for life, but made it clear that Deepu would not be eligible for 
any remission benefits for 20 years.

After his SSLC, Deepu had remained idle at home. Once he tried to misbehave 
with his aunt Radhamani, whose husband and Deepu's father are brothers. The 
misdemeanour was brought to the notice of his father who reprimanded Deepu. 
Since then he had been nursing a grudge against his aunt's family. On January 
10, 2012, he barged into Radhamani's home and stabbed her and her children 
Ramya and Vishnu to death. He then attempted to take his own life but failed.

. On December 16, 2014, a fast track mahila court in the Nilgiris found Deepu 
guilty of triple murder, and sentenced him to death. The high court, however, 
concluded that it was not a rarest of rare case due to several mitigating 
circumstances in favour of the 'adolescent offender.'

The abolition of death penalty is not welcome one as most of the criminals 
after their jail term came out of prison and restart their criminal activities 
without fear.Sathasivan Nagarajan.

"The conviction is based on circumstantial evidence. At the time of occurrence, 
the accused was hardly aged 20 years and he was an adolescent offender. He had 
no bad antecedents. After having committed the crime, killing three people out 
of depression, the accused himself attempted to commit suicide. Now there are a 
lot of chances for his reformation," said the division bench. The trial court 
had gone only by aggravating circumstances, in particular the brutality of the 
crime."

Citing the Supreme Court's observation that generally life sentences should be 
the rule, and death sentence should be an exception, the judges said several 
sections of society too had been demanding abolition of the death penalty. The 
Law Commission had gone to the extent of recommending to the government that 
the death penalty be abolished, except in certain 'rarest of rare' 
circumstances such as cases involving security of the nation. Over a period of 
36 years, dealing with the 'rarest of rare' doctrine, the Supreme Court has 
been endeavouring to impress upon the judiciary as to what exactly are 'rarest 
of rare' cases.

(source: The Times of India)


BANGLADLESH:

Bangladesh Islamist party chief's plea against death term deferred----The 
72-year-old sought review of Supreme Court verdict that confirmed his death 
penalty for 1971 war crimes


The appellate court here has deferred the hearing on a petition of Motiur 
Rahman Nizami, chief of Bangladesh's largest Islamist party, to review the 
Supreme Court verdict upholding his death sentence.

After Nizami's counsel pleaded for more time on Sunday, the Appellate Division 
bench led by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha deferred the hearing by a week.

"We pleaded for 6 weeks, the court gave us 1 week. The matter will be heard 
after that." Nizami's lawyer S.M. Shahjahan told bdnews24.com after the 
hearing.

Nizami, 72-year-old president of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party, filed 
the petition on March 29 for review of the Supreme Court verdict that confirmed 
his death penalty for 1971 war crimes.

In January, the apex court rejected Nizami's appeal to overturn the 
International Crimes Tribunal's 2014 verdict.

As the head of the Jamaat's student wing, Islami Chhatra Sangha, in 1971, 
Nizami commanded the Al Badr, a militia known for its ruthless mass murders, 
rape, looting and the killing of Bengali intellectuals in support of Pakistan's 
campaign to suppress the Bengali freedom struggle.

Review is the last legal recourse for a death-row convict after all other 
judicial options have been exhausted.

On March 16, the death warrant issued by the tribunal was read out to Nizami 
after the Supreme Court published the full copy of its verdict.

Nizami's case is the 6th of the war crimes cases so far to reach the stage of a 
review petition after the publication of the full verdict.

(source: Gulf News)

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

Supreme Court defers hearing Nizami's review petition


The hearing of a petition filed by war crimes convict Motiur Rahman Nizami to 
review the verdict upholding his death sentence has been deferred.

The matter was included in the Supreme Court's cause list for Sunday.

But after Nizami's counsels pleaded for more time on Sunday, the Appellate 
Division bench, led by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, deferred the hearing 
by a week.

"Not this week," said the court.

"We pleaded for 6 weeks; the court gave us 1 week. The matter will be heard 
after that," Nizami's lawyer SM Shahjahan told bdnews24.com after the hearing.

On Mar 29, the Jamaat-e-Islami chief filed the petition seeking review of the 
Supreme Court verdict, which confirmed his death penalty for 1971 war crimes.

The next day, the State moved the Supreme Court's chamber judge to expedite the 
hearing, when it forwarded the matter to a regular appeals bench and fixed 
Sunday for the hearing.

In January this year, the top court rejected Nizami's appeal to overturn the 
International Crimes Tribunal's 2014 verdict.

As the head of the Jamaat's student wing Islami Chhatra Sangha ( in 1971), 
Nizami commanded the Al-Badr, a militia known for its ruthless mass murders, 
rape, loot and the killing of Bengali intellectuals in support of Pakistan's 
campaign to suppress the Bengali freedom struggle.

Review is the last legal recourse for a death-row convict after all other 
judicial options have been exhausted.

The option to seek presidential mercy provides the only remaining hope ahead of 
execution in case the review is rejected.

On Mar 16, the death warrant issued by the tribunal was read out to Nizami 
after the Supreme Court published the full copy of his verdict.

Nizami's case is the 6th of the war crimes cases so far to reach the stage of a 
review petition after the publication of the full verdict.

The 72-year-old is the 3rd former minister facing the gallows for war crimes.

Nizami, industries minister during the BNP-led coalition government from 
2001-06, was also handed the death penalty in 2014 for involvement in arms 
trafficking in Chittagong's sensational 10-truck arms haul case.

(saource: bdnews24.com)