[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

July 25


INDIA:

Majority of 1st time offenders get death sentence - Survey report


Death Penalty India recently conducted a survey which revealed that 60% of the 
criminals belong to uneducated poor families who have been given death 
sentence.

There 241 criminals out of 385 who committed crime for the 1st time. The 
members of the survey committee interviewed 373 criminals out of 385. It was 
revealed that 60% of the did not even complete secondary education.

The criminals who are awarded death sentence did not get legal aid. In India, 
there is a system of provide legal aid to the criminals who can't afford to 
appoint defence counsel but it is hardly implemented.

(source: Siasat News)

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

Goa: Rane wants death penalty for drug peddlers


Fearing that the coastal state may turn into an "Udta Goa", Leader of 
Opposition in Assembly, Pratapsinh Rane today recommended death penalty for 
drug peddlers.

Notably, the recently released Bollywood film "Udta Punjab" was based on the 
drug abuse in the northern state.

"I caution you. We have seen 'Udta Punjab' movie, we might have 'Udta Goa' 
considering the situation in the state. We go on blaming people of some foreign 
nationalities, but the consumers are local boys and girls," Rane said, during a 
discussion on budget on the floor of the House today.

"Where do they get the drugs from? This is going on in the hinterland. There 
are people who are growing banana trees and between them grow ganja or opium," 
he pointed out.

"It's terrible. This is happening in many parts outside the state. It kills a 
person. I have moved a resolution before the House saying that give them (drug 
peddler) death penalty because they kill young people. They should be punished 
on the lines of (punishment awarded in) Singapore," Rane said.

"They should not be allowed to kill people. We find these fellows hanging 
around the schools and colleges. There are areas where they hang out," he told 
the House.

(source: Press Trust of India)






INDONESIA:

House members divided on death penalty


President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo should evaluate the effectiveness of the death 
penalty in reducing crimes and be aware that it violates human rights, a 
legislator has said.

"The President needs to know that being decisive does not mean forgetting human 
values," Benny K. Harman, deputy chief of the House of Representatives' 
Commission III overseeing legal affairs, human rights and security, said at the 
House complex in Senayan, Central Jakarta, on Monday.

The Democratic Party politician further said that President Jokowi also needed 
to re-evaluate judicial processes for drug convicts waiting to be executed, to 
ensure the fairness of their legal process.

Attorney General M Prasetyo said earlier that the 3rd round of executions of 
several drug convicts would take place after Idul Fitri on Nusakambangan prison 
island in Cilacap, Central Java.

On Sunday, Merri Utami, a condemned drug convict, was moved to an isolation 
cell in Nusakambangan. Merri was sentenced to death for carrying 1.1 kilograms 
of heroin at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in 2003. The transfer was 
carried out not long after the Supreme Court rejected a 2nd case review request 
filed by the also condemned Freddy Budiman on Friday. Freddy was found guilty 
of smuggling 1.4 million ecstasy pills from China and sentenced to death by the 
West Jakarta District Court in 2012.

Meanwhile, Commission III member Muhammad Syafi'i of the Gerindra Party said 
that the death penalty was still needed as convicts punished with life 
imprisonment could earn remission.

He said criminals like drug dealers had to be executed because the crimes they 
committed threatened the country's future generations.

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

Nusakambangan prisons temporarily halt family visits as executions draw nearer


Visiting rights for family members of all prisoners on Nusakambangan prison 
island in Cilacap, Central Java, have reportedly been temporarily halted.

At Wijayapura Quay in Cilacap, a number of visitors who had come to visit their 
relatives in Nusakambangan were denied passage to the prison island on Monday, 
Kompas.com reported. They left Wijayapura Quay after meeting with officers at 
the crossing point security post.

One of the visitors, Nasiroh, 60, said she wanted to visit her son who is 
currently serving a sentence in Besi Prison. "The officers wouldn't allow me to 
cross to the island. They said family visits to Nusakambangan would be 
temporarily closed for this whole week," said Nasiroh, a resident of Sampang, 
Cilacap. She said none of the officers gave her clear information about the 
reason family visits had been temporary closed.

Information obtained from officials at the Wijayapura Quay reveals that a 
notification about the temporary closure of family visits had been delivered to 
families of prisoners since last week. But families were not given specific 
reasons for the closure, which will be in effect for 1 week starting from 
Monday.

It is suspected that the temporary closure of family visits is related to the 
executions of drug convicts, which will reportedly be conducted in the near 
future.

The closure of visiting time for families of prisoners on Nusakambangan prison 
island has always been conducted ahead the executions of death-row convicts, 
Antara news agency reported.

Merri Utami, a death-row inmate convicted of drug trafficking, has been moved 
to Nusakambangan. The Sukoharjo resident had been serving her sentence at the 
Tangerang Women's Penitentiary in Banten since 2004 before she was moved to 
Nusakambangan under tight security escort at around 4:30 a.m. local time on 
Sunday. Merri was sentenced to death for being caught with 1.1 kilograms of 
heroin at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, in 2003.

(source for both: Jakarta Post)

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

AGO Prepares to Execute Drug Convicts


President Joko Widodo has expressed his support for the Attorney General's 
Office to execute drug convicts. "I have not seen or hear any doubt about it 
[death row] from the President," the presidential spokesman Johan Budi Sapto 
Pribowo told Tempo yesterday, July 24, 2016.

Johan said that death row will continue to be performed as Indonesian legal 
system still has it as one of applicable punishments. Moreover, he believed 
that the AGO as the executioner had made thorough considerations. "Everything 
have been considered," he said. However, Johan said that he has yet to receive 
any information on when the AGO will perform the executions.

The plan to perform the third round of executions of drug convict has 
resurfaced after the Supreme Court last weak rejected a judicial review 
requested by ecstasy baron Freddy Budiman. Another death row convict, Merri 
Utami, was transferred Saturday from Tangerang women's prison, Banten, to Batu 
prison, Nusakambangan, Cilacap, Central Java. "The transfer [was made] upon 
request from the AGO," the correction division head, Banten Ministry of Justice 
and Human Rights, Enny Purwaningsih told Tempo yesterday.

The transfer of Sukoharjo-born women had strongly been linked with death 
penalty because Nusakambangan has no women's prison. In previous round of 
execution, transfer of women death row convict to Nusakambangan were also made 
several days before execution, as experienced by Rani Andriani in the 1st round 
and Mary Jane Veloso-whose execution was cancelled- in the 2nd round last year. 
Mary's transfer was made after the transfer of other death row convicts to 
Nusakambangan on April and May, namely Freddy Budiman, Zulfikar Ali, Suryanto, 
Agus Hadi and Pudjo Lestari.

Attorney General Muhammad Prasetyo and high-officials of the AGO did not 
respond to Tempo's question on the planned executions. However, Prasetyo had 
confirmed Friday that he will continue to perform executions despite pressure 
from watchdog groups to end death penalty. "How many [will be executed]? I'll 
tell you later," Prasetyo said in his office. "I can confirm that there will be 
Indonesian convict."

Central Java Police chief Inspector General Condro Kirono said that his office 
is ready to perform execution if it gets the instruction to do so, even though 
they have yet to receive any notice from the AGO. "Central Java Police is 
ready," he said.

(source: tempo.co)






MALAYSIA:

12 Filipinos found guilty in 2013 Malaysia standoff----9 of these Filpinos are 
also found guilty of warring against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in Lahad Datu, a 
charge punishable by the death penalty or life in prison.


12 Filipinos among a group of 14 accused in the 2013 Lahad Datu intrusion case 
were found guilty by the Malaysian High Court, The Malay Mail Online reported 
on Monday, July 25.

Aside from the 12 Filipinos, a Malaysian was also found guilty by the court.

9 of those convicted were also found guilty of warring against the Yang 
di-Pertuan Agong, a charge punishable by the death penalty or life in prison as 
well as a fine upon conviction. They are Philippine nationals:

--Atik Hussin Abu Bakar, 45

--Basad H. Manuel, 41

--Ismail Yasin, 76

--Virgilio Nemar Patulada alias Mohammad Alam Patulada, 52

--Salib Akhmad Emali, 63

--Al Wazir Osman, 61 --Julham Rashid, 69

--Datu Amir Bahar Hushin Kiram, 53, the son of so-called Sultan Esmail Kiram

Of these 9, the following were also convicted of being members of a terrorist 
group: Datu Amir Bahar Hushin Kiram, Salib Akhmad Emali, Al Wazir Osman, Tani 
Lahaddahi, and Julham Rashid. The punishment for the crime is life imprisonment 
and a fine.

Meanwhile, Malaysian local Abd Hadi Mawan, 52; Philippine national Timhar 
Hadil, 39, and his father Hadil Suhaili, 68 (who died on April 24 while 
detained) were also found guilty of being members of a terror group.

Filipina Norhaida Ibnahi was found guilty of harboring a person she knew was a 
terrorist group member. That offense is punishable by life imprisonment and a 
fine, or 20 years of imprisonment with a fine.

Justice Stephen Chung was expected to sentence the 13 on Tuesday after hearing 
their "plea in mitigation." He was also expected to sentence some of those who 
pleaded guilty in February.

(source: rappler.com)



TURKEY:

'Yes' to death penalty will mean 'No' to EU membership, EU warns Turkey


European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker warned Turkey that talks on 
its accession to the EU would be stopped immediately if it reinstated the death 
penalty.

The European Union may suspend the negotiations with Turkey on accession to the 
EU countries.

According Oxu.Az with reference to Reuters that the due statement came from 
European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker.

According to Juncker, this may happen if a country will restore the death 
penalty.

It should be noted that after the attempted coup in staged in Turkey on July 
17, which was committed by the supporters of the terrorist group FETO lead by 
Fethullah Gulen, there are calls for the resumption of the death penalty for 
the perpetrators of the coup attempt. Turkey abolished the death penalty in 
2004 for compliance with EU requirements.

(source: news.az)

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

EU Has No Right to Blackmail Turkey Over Death Penalty Issue - FM----According 
to the Turkish foreign minister, the EU has no right to give Turkey any 
ultimatums regarding the possible reintroduction of the death penalty.


The European Union has no right to give Turkey any ultimatums regarding the 
possible reintroduction of the death penalty, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu 
said Monday.

"Europe is not the owner of Turkey and we will not accept threats and being 
looked down on. If the EU has any questions, we are ready to discuss them," 
Cavusoglu told Haberturk.

Moreover, Turkey will replace a part of its ambassadors amid the investigation 
of the recent military coup attempt, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said 
Monday.

"There will be layoffs, including at the ambassadorial level," Cavusoglu told 
Haberturk.

(source: Sputnik News)






IRAN----executions

Iran regime hangs 3 in prison; man set to be hanged in public on Monday


Iran's fundamentalist regime on Saturday hanged 3 prisoners in a jail in 
northern Iran. The regime is set to hang a man in public on Monday.

In a statement on Saturday, the regime's judiciary in Gilan Province, northern 
Iran, announced that the 3 prisoners were hanged in the presence of judicial 
officials in the Central Prison of Rasht. They were identified only by their 
initials and ages: F. B., 40; A. M., 32; and H. D., 31.

An unidentified prisoner will be hanged in public in the town of Songhor, 
western Iran, at dawn on Monday, state media reported.

The public execution will take place at the former site of the oil stocks, next 
to the town's power terminal, the state-run Soheil-e Songhor website reported 
on Sunday.

The mullahs' regime hanged another 9 prisoners on Wednesday in the city of 
Karaj, north-west of Tehran.

The regime hanged 18 prisoners last weekend, including 2 cases in public. A 
woman was among those hanged on July 17.

The regime hanged 9 prisoners collectively on July 13 in Gohardasht Prison in 
Karaj.

More than 270 Members of the European Parliament signed a joint statement on 
Iran last month, calling on the European Union to "condition" its relations 
with Tehran to an improvement of human rights.

The MEPs who were from all the EU Member States and from all political groups 
in the Parliament said they are concerned about the rising number of executions 
in Iran after Hassan Rouhani took office as President 3 years ago.

Amnesty International in its April 6 annual Death Penalty report covering the 
2015 period wrote: "Iran put at least 977 people to death in 2015, compared to 
at least 743 the year before."

"Iran alone accounted for 82% of all executions recorded" in the Middle East 
and North Africa, the human rights group said.

There have been more than 2,500 executions during Hassan Rouhani's tenure as 
President. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation 
in Iran in March announced that the number of executions in Iran in 2015 was 
greater than any year in the last 25 years. Rouhani has explicitly endorsed the 
executions as examples of "God's commandments" and "laws of the parliament that 
belong to the people."

(source: NCR-Iran)






SAUDI ARABIA----executions

Saudi executes 2 murder convicts, raises number of death sentences to 107


Saudi Arabia on Monday executed 2 convicted murderers, the interior ministry 
said, raising to 107 the number of death sentences carried out in the kingdom 
this year.

Fahd al-Ishan was convicted of stabbing to death another Saudi citizen, the 
ministry said in a statement on the official SPA news agency. He was executed 
in the northern Jawf region.

Saudi executes Pakistani drug smuggler

Authorities executed another Saudi citizen, Mohammed al-Shahrani, in the 
southwestern region of Assir after he was convicted of shooting dead another 
Saudi national, the ministry said in another statement.

The kingdom on Sunday carried out the death penalty against 4 citizens 
convicted of murder. Most people executed are beheaded with a sword.

Saudi Arabia's growing use of the death penalty has prompted Amnesty 
International to call for an "immediate" moratorium on the practice.

The kingdom imposes the death penalty for offences including murder, drug 
trafficking, armed robbery, rape and apostasy.

The London-based watchdog's Middle East and North Africa head Philip Luther has 
warned that "at this rate, the Kingdom's executioners will soon match or exceed 
the number of people they put to death last year."

Amnesty says the kingdom carried out at least 158 death sentences in 2015, 
making it the third most prolific executioner after Iran and Pakistan. 
Amnesty's figures do not include secretive China.

Murder and drug trafficking cases account for the majority of Saudi executions, 
although 47 people were put to death for "terrorism" offences on a single day 
in January.

(source: The Express Tribune)






BANGLADESH:

Mir Quasem's review hearing Monday


The Supreme Court is likely to hear on Monday the review petition of 
Jamaat-e-Islami leader Mir Quasem Ali against its verdict upholding his death 
penalty for his crimes against humanity during the liberation war in 1971, 
reports news agency UNB.

The review petition has been kept as item no 63 of the Appellate Division's 
cause list for Monday for hearing at the full-member bench, headed by chief 
justice Surendra Kumar Sinha.

On 19 June, Quasem Ali filed a review petition with the Supreme Court against 
its verdict upholding his death penalty for his crimes against humanity during 
the liberation war.

Mir Ahmed Bin Quasem, son of Mir Quasem, submitted the review petition seeking 
the release of the convict in the war crimes case citing 14 grounds.

On 6 June, the International Crimes Tribunal issued the death warrant for the 
Jamaat leader hours after the Supreme Court released the full text of its 
verdict upholding his death penalty.

Earlier on 8 March, the Appellate Division upheld the death penalty for Mir 
Quasem for his crimes against humanity during the liberation war.

The International Crimes Tribunal-2 in a verdict had sentenced Mir Quasem Ali, 
Al-Badr chief in the port city of Chittagong in 1971, to death on 2 November, 
2014.

On 30 November, 2014, Mir Quasem filed an appeal before the SC challenging the 
death penalty.

Among the total 14 charges brought against Mir Quasem for war crimes, the 
tribunal convicted him on 10 counts of charges and acquitted him from 4.

The 64-year-old top Jamaat-e-Islami financier was president of the Chittagong 
city unit of the Islami Chhatra Sangha, the student wing of the party, till 6 
November, 1971.

He was then made general secretary of the East Pakistan Chhatra Sangha.

(source: prothom-alo.com)