[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

April 21



SAUDI ARABIA:

President Obama Can Help Save Saudi Youth Facing Beheading----He can save lives 
and help ease religious tensions in the region.


One concrete outcome that President Obama could pursue on his visit to Saudi 
Arabia is saving the lives of three Shia youth sentenced to be executed, most 
likely by beheading, for participating in nonviolent protests. Sparing their 
lives could also help ease the Shia/Sunni tensions that have engulfed the 
region.

Ali al-Nimr, Dawood al-Marhoon, and Abdullah al-Zaher are members of the 
minority Shia community that has, for decades, been demanding equality and full 
civil rights. The Shia represent 10-15 percent of the Saudi population and live 
mainly in the oil-rich Eastern province. Ever since the Saudi state was founded 
in 1932 by forming a pact with the Wahhabi sect of Sunni Islam, the Shia in 
Saudi Arabia have endured state-sponsored discrimination, social 
marginalization, and campaigns of violence waged by anti-Shiite hardliners. 
According to Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human 
Rights Watch, "All the Saudi Shia want is for their government to respect their 
identity and treat them equally. Yet Saudi authorities routinely treat these 
people with scorn and suspicion." The persecution of the three youth is deeply 
sectarian, and reflects the long history of oppression the Shia have faced in 
Saudi Arabia.

Leaked U.S. diplomatic cables in 2008 reported a campaign to close Shia mosques 
and prevent Shia celebrations, as well as ongoing arrests of people trying to 
take part in these celebrations. There is also discrimination in the education 
system. Shia cannot teach religion in public schools and Shia pupils are told 
by Sunni teachers that they are infidels. Saudi textbooks traditionally 
characterize Shiism as a form of heresy worse than Christianity and Judaism. 
Shia cannot become school principals and there are unofficial restrictions on 
the number of Shia admitted to universities.

The discovery of oil in the Eastern Province brought the Shia jobs as skilled 
and semi-skilled workers, but they receive little of the contracting wealth the 
industry generates and they complain that the region does not get its fair 
share of the oil revenue. Shia are also discriminated against in government 
employment, especially in positions that relate to national security, such as 
the military, police, or the security services. There has been only 1 Shia 
minister, appointed by King Abdullah in 2014 as the Minister of State, and only 
a handful of Shia members have been appointed to the 150-seat Shura Council 
that advises the king.

The Sunni-Shia divide, and the resulting persecution of Shia, becomes more open 
and dangerous in times of regional upheaval and heightened tensions with Iran. 
The 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq and the subsequent rise of Iranian influence in 
the region intensified the hostilities. The Saudi government began to view 
dissent among the Shia as part of an Iranian conspiracy to destabilize the 
kingdom.

This was the climate during which the 2011 Shia protests took place, inspired 
by the Arab Spring. The protests began with calls for Shia rights and the 
release of political prisoners, but in the summer of 2012, after at least 16 
people died at the hands of government forces, the demands turned into 
far-reaching calls for a constitutional government and an end to the monarchy.

Ali, Dawood, and Abdullah were among the hundreds arrested during those 
protests. Their grossly unfair trials were based on "confessions," extracted 
under torture, that they attacked police. Dawood was so badly beaten that he 
signed a blank piece of paper; his tormentors later filled in the "crime" 
without even bothering to show it to him.

These young men were sentenced to death for activities that, in the United 
States, are guaranteed by the First Amendment of our Constitution. The fact 
that they were sentenced to death for actions committed as juveniles is all the 
more shocking.

Saudi Arabia is one of the only countries in the world that executes people 
arrested as minors. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which the 
Saudi government is a party, prohibits capital punishment for individuals who 
were under 18 at the time of the alleged crime. So do the International 
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the American Convention on Human 
Rights. While the United States itself still uses the death penalty, in 2005 
the Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty for juveniles was cruel and 
unusual punishment and therefore prohibited by the Constitution.

Aside from the issue of minors, Saudi Arabia is one of the top three 
executioners worldwide, surpassed only by China and Iran. In 2015, Saudi Arabia 
broke its own previous records, executing 158 people. This year, if the current 
rate is maintained, Saudi Arabia will execute about 320 prisoners, almost one a 
day.

If the Saudi government beheads these young men, it will further ignite 
sectarian hatred. On January 2, the government executed a prominent Shia 
cleric, Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr (Ali al-Nimr's uncle), causing outrage among the 
Shia community inside the kingdom and abroad. Sheikh al-Nimr preached 
nonviolence, but was sentenced to death for "inciting sectarian strife" and 
"calling to overthrow the regime," among other vague charges. In Iran, an angry 
mob burned the Saudi Embassy, and the Saudis reacted by cutting off diplomatic 
relations.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said: "Sheikh al-Nimr's 
execution blatantly disregards the right to dissent and the right to religious 
freedom of Shia Muslims in the country and contributes to sectarian discord 
both within Saudi Arabia and in the region. It is long past due for the 
government of Saudi Arabia to honor international standards of justice and 
ensure the religious freedom and equal protection rights of everyone in the 
Kingdom, including its Shia Muslim citizens."

In his Atlantic interview with Jeffrey Goldberg, President Obama rightly 
commented that Saudi Arabia needs to "share" the region with Iran. The same 
would apply internally: the Saudis need to share the nation with their own Shia 
minority. Given the uproar following Sheikh al-Nimr's execution, saving the 
lives of these young men could ease tensions and show the Saudis that the U.S. 
government will no longer close its eyes to their grotesque human rights 
record.

(source: Medea Benjamin is cofounder of the peace group CODEPINK and author of 
a forthcoming book on Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of the Unjust; alternet.org)






MALAYSIA:

Teen murder case set for May 19 mention


The Magistrate Court here fixed May 19 for mention of a case where a security 
guard was charged with the murder of a 17-year-old schoolgirl.

Magistrate Nur Azzuin Abd Moati set the date today pending permission to 
transfer the case to the Penang High Court after the case was brought up.

Tarmizi Yaakob, 20, is accused of murdering the victim on Oct 25, 2015, between 
7.30am and 7.30pm at the Bandar Baru Perda flats in Teluk Kumbar.

The charge under the Penal Code carries the mandatory death penalty upon 
conviction.

DPP Shafiq Mahadi prosecuted while the accused was unrepresented in the murder 
case.

Sessions Court Judge Helmi Ghani earlier had also fixed May 19 for mention and 
case management of 2 rape charges against Tarmizi.

He is accused of raping Intan Suraya at the same date, time and place and faces 
a maximum 20 year prison sentence and whipping upon conviction.

He is also accused of raping a 21-year-old clerk at a home in Teluk Kumbar, 
between 4.30am and 5.30am on Oct 8, 2015.

He claimed trial to the 2 counts of rape and was defended by Sukhindarpal Singh 
while DPP JG Kamini prosecuted the case.

(source: The Sun Daily)






INDONESIA:

Indonesian bishops come to the aid of death-row convict ---- Lawyers say new 
evidence shows that prisoner received unfair trial


The Indonesian Catholic bishops' conference is seeking the repeal the death 
sentence of a Catholic man convicted of drug trafficking. The conference's 
Advocacy and Human Rights Forum, consisting of 11 volunteer lawyers, is 
offering legal aid to a 54-year-old Catholic layman named Christian, who was 
arrested in November 2007 on drug trafficking charges, convicted and sentenced 
to death.

The team asked for a judicial review for the case on March 28, saying that 
there is new evidence to show that the conviction was unfair.

"New evidence shows that the verdict should have led to his release or at least 
a light punishment," Azas Tigor Nainggolan, team coordinator, said at the April 
20 judicial review hearing in West Jakarta District Court.

The prosecution's key witness in the case said he was forced, intimidated and 
tortured by investigators from both the police and the National Narcotics Board 
to testify that he knew Christian as a member of his drug trafficking network, 
he added.

"This is against the standard operating procedure of crime investigations into 
drug-related cases by the National Narcotics Board," Nainggolan said.

His forum has uncovered at least 300 death penalty convictions that were the 
result of unfair trials.

Father Paulus Christian Siswantoko, executive secretary of the bishops' 
Commission for Justice, Peace and Pastoral for Migrant-Itinerant People that is 
working with the team of lawyers, said he believes Christian to be a victim.

"This is the reason why the Indonesian bishops' conference has decided to offer 
legal aid. Moreover, this effort is in accordance with the Catholic Church's 
teaching of rejecting the death penalty," Father Siswantoko told ucanews.com.

He expressed the hope that the case regarding Christian will encourage 
President Joko Widodo to review his policy on the death penalty.

"Christian's case shows how bad our trial system is. The government should 
improve itself before thinking about executions," Father Siswantoko said.

Christian told ucanews.com that his lawyer provided by the National Narcotics 
Board failed to defend him properly and when he was convicted, "my lawyer 
clapped his hands."

Christian says he is looking forward to being back with his family.

The next hearing for his case is scheduled to be held next week.

(source: ucanews.com)

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

4 charged with drug trafficking


3 men and a teenager were charged with drug trafficking at the High Court 
yesterday.

Lee Chen Shian, 39, Sia Yak Kwong, 37, Sia Puong Ping, 49, and a 13-year-old 
boy were charged under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drug Acts 1952, 
punishable under Section 39B(2) of the same act read together with Section 34 
of the Penal Code.

The section provides for the death penalty upon conviction.

The charge said they were caught trafficking Methamphetamine weighing 73.46 
gramme at 12.32pm on Jan 11 at a house in Hua Kiew Road.

Lee is also charged under Section 12(2) of the same Act and punishable under 
Section 12(3) of the same Act for alleged possession of Methamphetamine 
weighing 0.43 gramme.

It carries a fine up to RM100,000 or jail term of not more than 5 years or 
both.

Sia, on the other hand, is facing 2 charges under Section 12(2) of the same Act 
for alleged possession of Ketamine weighing 7.15 g and Methamphetamine weighing 
17.76. Possessing Ketamine is punishable under Section 12(3) of the same Act.

The charge for possessing Methamphetamine is punishable under Section 39A(1)(r) 
of the same Act which provides for a jail term between 2 and 5 years and 
whipping of between 3 and 9 times, on conviction.

The accused are to appear in court again on May 18 for further mention of their 
cases.

(source: theborneopost.com)



UNITED NATIONS:

Countries clash over death penalty at UN drug policy session

The 1st UN special session to address global drug policy in nearly 20 years 
bristled with tension Tuesday over the use of the death penalty for 
drug-related offenses, as countries wrestled over whether to emphasize 
criminalization and punishment or health and human rights.

The outcome document adopted by member states included no criticism of the 
death penalty, saying only that countries should ensure that punishments are 
"proportionate" with the crimes.

"Disproportional penalties ... create vicious cycles of marginalization and 
further crime," Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto told the gathering. He 
also called for the decriminalization of marijuana for medical and scientific 
purposes and said the international community's responses to drug issues is 
"frankly, insufficient."

He said Mexico in the coming days would announce specific drug policies with an 
emphasis on health and human rights.

At least 685 people around the world were executed on drug-related offenses in 
2015, said Chiara Sangiorgio, a death penalty expert with Amnesty 
International. The rights group says 30 countries have laws that punish 
drug-related offenses with the death penalty.

Indonesia, which last year executed 14 people, mostly foreigners, convicted of 
drug-related crimes amid an international outcry, defended its stance Tuesday, 
saying the death penalty is not prohibited under international law.

China, which along with countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran carries out 
executions for drug offenses, signaled little flexibility on its approach.

"Any form of legalization of narcotics should be resolutely opposed," Public 
Security Minister Guo Shengkun told the gathering.

Prior to this week's 3-day meeting, Democratic presidential candidates Hillary 
Clinton and Bernie Sanders, rock star Sting and hundreds of others sent an open 
to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon letter saying the war on drugs has failed. 
It said that for decades, governments have focused resources on repressing drug 
use, resulting in the imprisonment of millions of people, mostly the poor and 
ethnic minorities, and mostly for non-violent offenses

The letter's signers, including former presidents of Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, 
Switzerland and others, joined a growing number of government officials and 
drug policy analysts calling for a shift in global drug policy from emphasizing 
criminalization to health and human rights.

Hundreds of government officials, representatives of non-governmental 
organizations and individuals from civil society are attending the General 
Assembly special session at UN headquarters.

The last special session on the topic in 1998 ended with the lofty but 
unattainable goal of ridding the planet of illegal drugs by 2008.

On the non-medical use of drugs, the outcome document adopted Tuesday says 
countries should "develop and implement countermeasures and supportive public 
health, education and socioeconomic strategies to effectively address and 
counter the non-medical use and misuse of pharmaceuticals that contain narcotic 
drugs and psychotropic substances, while ensuring their availability for 
legitimate purposes."

Last month, The Global Commission on Drug Policy - whose members include former 
presidents of Mexico and Brazil, as well as former UN Secretary-General Kofi 
Annan and Virgin Group founder Richard Branson - said in a statement that 
discussions drafting the outcome document adopted Tuesday relied too heavily on 
an outdated approach that emphasizes criminal justice and prohibition.

The group argued that the emphasis should instead be on alternative approaches 
including abolishing capital punishment for drug-related offenses and a focus 
on treatment.

(source: The Jakarta Post)






TAIWAN:

Nearly 9 out of 10 in Taiwan want to keep death penalty: poll


Out of every 10 people in Taiwan, there are nearly 9 who oppose the idea of 
abolishing capital punishment, mainly because they think such a move would 
undermine public order and deprive the authorities of a deterrent to would-be 
criminals, according to a poll released Thursday.

The survey by the Cabinet's National Development Council (NDC) found that 87.9 
% of Taiwanese want the death penalty to be retained, 4.8 % are against it, and 
7.3 % have no clear position on the issue.

In a statement, the NDC said concern over the deterioration of public order was 
the main reason cited by those who want the death penalty to remain on the law 
books.

They indicated that in the absence of the death penalty, there would be no 
deterrent to potential criminals, the NSC said.

The people who supported the abolition of the death penalty, however, said they 
did not think it was an effective deterrent and that it was a violation of 
human rights, according to the poll.

The government has no right to deprive people of the right of life, those 
people argued.

Asked about the link between capital punishment and public order in Taiwan, 82 
% of the respondents said the death penalty can deter people from committing 
crime, while 10.9 % said the enforcement of capital punishment does not help to 
improve public order.

On the question of whether the death penalty should be replaced with life 
imprisonment with no parole, 68.7 % of the respondents opposed such an idea, 
while 25.3 % supported it.

Among the 3,013 people surveyed, 83.6 % said they agreed to the idea of a law 
revision to allow only the death penalty for serial killers and those who 
murder children. Only 10.3 % of the respondents opposed that idea.

The poll was conducted amid renewed debate over the death penalty after a 
4-year-old girl was decapitated by a 33-year-old man in Taipei on March 28. It 
was the 2nd random, brutal child killing case in Taipei in less than a year.

The NDC conducted the survey April 12-17 via telephone interviews on randomly 
selected people aged 20 and over in Taiwan. It had a confidence level of 95 % 
and a margin of error of plus or minus 1.79 % points.

(source: focustaiwan.tw)






CHINA:

China Sets New Judicial Guidelines for Death Penalty for Corrupt Officials


Officials found guilty of graft involving 3 million yuan could face death 
penalty under the new judicial guidelines.

Chinese officials who will be found guilty of graft involving 3 million yuan 
could face the death penalty under new judicial guidelines, the South China 
Morning Post reported.

The corruption threshold was an increase from the previous 100,000-yuan worth 
of bribe accepted.

Under the new rules, "defendants convicted of 'especially serious' offences of 
graft of between 1.5 million yuan and 3 million yuan . . . could also face the 
death penalty," the article said.

These offences include embezzling money for illegal activities, embezzling 
funds allocated for disaster relief and refusing to hand over funds considered 
illicit.

The new standards were jointly issued by the Supreme People's Court and Supreme 
People's Procuratorate as a replacement to those stipulated in the Criminal Law 
in 1997.

The old rules have been receiving criticisms as they are said to be outdated, 
speaking of inflation and income growth.

For the previous years, China has seen seldom imposition of the death penalty 
among senior corrupt officials. Instead, most of those convicted for graft are 
only suspended for 2 years, which can later be commuted to life imprisonment if 
proven that they committed no additional offences.

Such is the case of Liu Zhijun, former railways minister, who was found to have 
taken 60 million yuan in bribes. In 2013, he was given a suspended death 
sentence, but last year, the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.

Zhou Yongkang, a former security tsar, was also jailed for life after he and 
his family took a whopping 129 million yuan in bribes.

2-year death sentence suspensions may be issued should there be mitigating 
factors, including voluntary return of ill-gotten wealth or confession, 
according to judicial interpretation.

Under the recently issued amendments, there will also be a new threshold for 
the prosecution of officials. Suspects of bribery involving 30,000 yuan are 
likely to face prosecution, while those suspected to have embezzled or received 
10,000 yuan in bribes could also face the court.

Previously, the threshold for an official's criminal prosecution was at least 
5,000 yuan in bribes.

(source: en.yibada.com)






TURKEY:

Survey: 93.5 % of Turks support death penalty for rape


According to a survey conducted by the Ankara-based Objective Research Center 
(ORC), 93.5 % of participants said they would support reintroducing the death 
penalty for crimes such as rape, treason or terrorism.

A previous survey carried out by ORC in March indicated support for such a law 
at 92.6 %.

Turkey abolished the death penalty in 2002, 18 years after Turkey last executed 
a prisoner during the post-1980 coup period. The previous exercise of the death 
penalty was largely confined to periods after military coups, such as the 1961 
hanging of former Prime Minister Adnan Menderes after the military coup in 
1960, and the hanging of three prominent left-wing militants in 1972.

The death penalty was replaced in 2002 by aggravated life imprisonment, or life 
sentence in isolation with restricted access.

Turkey briefly considered the penalty of chemical castration for sex offenders, 
which never passed the stage of draft legislation. Ismail Ok, a lawmaker from 
the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), said at a press conference 
yesterday that he presented a draft proposal to Parliament to enact a law 
stipulating sex offenders be castrated. "If you don't want a repeat of these 
serious crimes against our children and women, we have to implement this," Ok 
said.

(source: Daily Sabah)






EGYPT:

Ensure Fair Trial for 8 Men


see: 
ttp://www.amnestyusa.org/get-involved/take-action-now/egypt-ensure-fair-trial-for-eight-men-ua-9116

(source: Amnesty International)