[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

June 18



BARBADOS:

Tough task to end hanging


THE MAN LEADING the charge to have the mandatory death penalty removed from 
Barbados' statute books isn't expecting it to happen without plenty of 
resistance.

In fact, he isn't sure it could happen at all, but he will give it a try.

Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite has admitted he doesn't believe the Freundel 
Stuart administration would be able to secure the 2/3 majority needed to pass 
the necessary amendment of the Offences Against the Person Act through the 
House of Assembly.

"We have made the commitment to the Inter-American Court that we will abolish 
the mandatory death penalty, and I intend to ensure that it is done. 
Unfortunately, part of the amendment requires a 2/3 majority in the House, and 
we aren't sure that will happen," Brathwaite told the SUNDAY SUN.

(source: nationnews.com)






PAKISTAN:

Pakistan concerned over EU resolution blocking death penalty


India is using every trick in the book to help out its RAW agent Kulbhushan 
Jadhav sentenced to death by a military court in Pakistani on April 10 this 
year over spying and stoking violence in Balochistan and Karachi.

After exhausting nearly all its resources in doing so, New Delhi approached the 
International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the end of April and got a stay over 
the execution of the death penalty in the 3rd week of May.

Now in June, a resolution has been passed by the European Parliament against 
the execution of convicted persons in Pakistan, and India is being seen as 
instigator of the move.

Man gets death penalty in murder case

"A lot of disinformation has been spread by India to hurt the standing of 
Pakistan in the international community," said Attorney-General for Pakistan 
Ashtar Ausaf Ali while talking to The Express Tribune.

"Pakistan is a frontline state suffering from the onslaught of terror and 
disruptive elements from across the borders," said the AGP, adding that the 
human rights action plan was being implemented with full speed.

In response to the European Parliament's resolution, he said, "The law of 
Pakistan on death penalty should be respected by all countries, including the 
European Union."

Bahawalpur court hands down death sentence to man for blasphemous Facebook 
posts

Recently, the European Parliament had expressed 'deep concern' over the 
'alarming rate of executions' based on 'flawed trials' in Pakistan, and 
strongly called on the government to restore the moratorium on the death 
penalty, "with the longer-term objective of full abolition of the death 
penalty."

In its resolution, the European Parliament issued a strong statement calling 
for a ban on the execution of minors and persons with mental disorders. It 
urged the Government of Pakistan to bring the provisions on death penalty in 
national legislation in line with the international law and standards, 
including "a halt to executions for any offence other than intentional 
killing."

Currently, there are 27 crimes that are punishable by death in Pakistan, 
including non-lethal acts such as narcotics and adultery.

Man gets death penalty for killing cousin, niece

Moreover, the EU expressed its dismay over cases of executions reportedly being 
carried out "while appeal mechanisms were still underway."

Last year, 2 brothers on death row were acquitted by the Supreme Court only to 
find out that they had been executed the year before, while their appeals were 
still pending.

It is learnt that the European Parliament's resolution came under discussion in 
the government circles. The AGP, as head of Treaty Implementation Cell, will be 
holding debriefing sessions with the Pakistani ambassador at Brussels in 
Belgium and with envoys in other EU-member countries. Later, the AGP will 
submit a report to the prime minister and cabinet members for consideration.

LHC refuses to hear blasphemy convict's appeal

Meanwhile, Pakistan ratified a number of international human rights treaties - 
including the Convention Against Torture and the International Covenant on 
Civil and Political Rights - to qualify for its GSP Plus status, a preferential 
trade status that had seen Pakistan's exports rise by 22 % to 5.5 billion euros 
in 2014, making it one of the largest countries to reap benefits from the GSP 
Plus status granted to it.

In fact, Pakistani exports under the GSP Plus scheme increased to 6.2 billion 
euros from January to December 2016.

The resolution stated that "the granting of GSP Plus status is conditional and 
that the effective implementation of international conventions is an essential 
requirement under the scheme."

Murder convict gets life term

Failing to comply with these requirements can put these economic advantages at 
risk, and deprive Pakistan???s business community of lucrative trading 
opportunities.

However, it is pertinent to mention that the Supreme Court on April 21, 2015 
had heard a similar case challenging the award of death sentence in 27 
different offences.

The 3-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, had 
dismissed the petition filed by a representative of the Qaumi Watan Party, 
Barrister Zafarullah.

"Regarding the argument that the criminal justice system is unfair and 
unreasonable, and convicts and death punishments lack due process, it is 
suffice to say that this by itself is not a threshold or touchstone for 
striking down any law, rather if there is deficiency in the relevant law, it is 
the duty of parliament to provide for it or correct the law by making the 
necessary amendment."

The court had cited the passage of Article 10-A of the Constitution before 
dismissing the case.

(source: The Express Tribune)






INDIA:

Indian court convicts 6 over deadly Mumbai blasts


An Indian court on Friday convicted 6 men over serial bomb blasts in the 
commercial capital Mumbai more than 2 decades ago that killed hundreds, the 
nation's deadliest attack.

They were found guilty of involvement in a series of coordinated bomb attacks 
that targeted the Mumbai stock exchange, the headquarters of the state airline 
and a popular shopping centre in March 1993, killing 257 people and injuring 
hundreds more.

The attacks were believed to have been staged by Mumbai's Muslim-dominated 
underworld in retaliation for anti-Muslim violence that had killed more than 
1,000 people a few months earlier.

A specially designated court in Mumbai on Friday convicted the 6 for a range of 
offences.

Abu Salem, 1 of the key figures in the attacks, was found guilty of 
transporting weapons from Gujarat to Mumbai ahead of the blasts.

But Judge GA Sanap acquitted all 6 on the most serious charge of waging war 
against the nation.

All 6 were found guilty of offences under the Terrorism and Disruptive 
Activities Act and 5 were also convicted of criminal conspiracy and murder.

A 7th defendant, Abdul Qayyam, was acquitted of all charges.

Those convicted will be sentenced at a later date.

They could face the death penalty under the terrorism act, although Salem is 
expected to be spared execution.

He went on the run after the 1993 attacks and was only extradited from Portugal 
in 2005 after India assured Lisbon that he would not face the death penalty.

Salem is a former associate of Dawood Ibrahim, India's most wanted criminal, 
who allegedly masterminded the 1993 blasts.

These are the latest convictions in a long-running case that at its outset 
involved 189 defendants.

One of the most high profile, Yakub Memon, was executed in 2015 -- a decade 
after he was convicted under controversial anti-terror legislation that is no 
longer on the statute books.

The attack also embroiled Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt, who served time for 
buying weapons from gangsters accused of orchestrating the bombings before 
walking free last year.

(source: dailytimes.com.pk)

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

Before demitting office, President Mukherjee rejects 2 more mercy pleas----A 
month before his tenure comes to an end, President Pranab Mukherjee rejected 
mercy petitions in 2 cases, bringing the total number of mercy pleas turned 
down by him to 30, says a Times of India report


A month before his tenure comes to an end, President Pranab Mukherjee rejected 
mercy petitions in 2 cases, bringing the total number of mercy pleas turned 
down by him to 30, says a Times of India report.

The petitions, in cases of rape and murder, were rejected by him in the last 
week of May.

The 1st case was of rape and murder of a 4-year-old girl in Indore by 3 men in 
2012. The other one pertained to the gangrape and murder of a techie in Pune by 
a cab driver and his compliance. Both the cases were forwarded to the President 
in April and May.

In the Indore case, the 3 convicts were found guilty of kidnapping, raping and 
killing a 4-year-old while she was watching a wedding procession.

In the Pune case, the 2 convicts were awarded death penalty for raping and 
killing a 22-year-old Wipro employee in 2007.

Mukherjee's predecessor Pratibha Patil had granted a record of 30 pardons, over 
90 % of India's total death sentences pardoned ever. Shockingly, 22 of those 
related to brutal multiple murders and gruesome crimes on children.

Article 72 of the Constitution gives the president absolute and unfettered 
power to grant pardon, suspend, remit or commute sentences, even in death 
penalty.

The President is however required to act on the advice of the Council of 
Ministers. Under the existing rules, the view of the Union Ministry of Home 
Affairs (MHA) is taken as the view of the Cabinet and is later forwarded to the 
President in writing. The President can then make a decision.

(source: indiatvnews.com)