[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

July 13



GERMANY:

German firm probed over suspected illegal shipment of euthanasia drug to US



A German medical firm is suspected of illegally shipping several tons of a 
solution that is used to euthanize animals to the United States. The solution 
contains an ingredient also used to execute prisoners.

The prosecutor's office in the northern town of Oldenburg is investigating 
German veterinary pharmaceutical company VET Pharma Friesoythe GmbH for 
shipping a liquid drug used for euthanizing dogs to the United States 
illegally, according to an investigative report by German public broadcaster 
NDR and Suddeutsche Zeitung (SZ).

The solution in question, called "Beuthanasia-D," contains pentobarbital, which 
is used in lethal injection cocktails. The trade of pentobarbital is highly 
regulated by European Union anti-torture directives and is subject to strict 
export restrictions.

Research by NDR and SZ found that prosecutors are investigating the chief 
executive of VET Pharma on suspicion of a commercial breach of the German 
Foreign Trade and Payments Act. Several other employees are also being 
investigated in the case.

In May, customs officials searched VET Pharma's office in the northern German 
town of Friesoythe, during which they seized data and company documents.

Oldenburg prosecutors confirmed to NDR and SZ that they are currently 
investigating "several responsible persons at a pharmaceutical company," but 
did not provide concrete details on the case, citing ongoing investigations.

Although based in Friesoythe, VET Pharma is owned by US pharmaceutical giant 
Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD).

Beuthanasia-D is used to euthanize dogs by injecting the liquid into their 
veins

Alleged illegal exports

Prosecutors are investigating three shipments of "Beuthanasia-D" that VET 
Pharma sent to the US without a proper export license. The 3 shipments to the 
US took place between November 2017 and January 2018. An additional 2 shipments 
may have also been sent to Japan, once again lacking the required export 
licenses.

A search warrant issued by a district court in Oldenburg states that the 
customs office in the German port city of Bremen was able to prevent a further 
export from taking place on February 2018.

Several VET Pharma employees are also suspected of manipulating export data in 
order to conceal the nature of the shipments in question from the companies 
that were responsible for transporting them.

According to German law, exporting pentobarbital to the US is only permitted 
when the destination of the substance and its intended use is made clear. In 
the past 5 years, Germany's Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control 
hasn't approved any pentobarbital shipments to the US.

Suspicions that the drug had been exported without an export license undermines 
European efforts to abolish the death penalty worldwide, German MEP Barbara 
Lochbihler told NDR and SZ. She's a member of the Greens in the European 
Parliament and was previously the Secretary General of Amnesty International 
Germany.

"We must not look away, rather we must very clearly punish individual cases," 
she said.

Pentobarbital is used in lethal injection cocktails and its export is therefore 
highly regulated by EU anti-torture directives

No evidence of misuse

NDR and SZ research found that the "Beuthanasia-D" solution was sent to VET 
Pharma's affiliate in the US, Intervet Schering-Plough Animal Health. Both 
firms are owned by MSD.

When approached by NDR and SZ for comment, a spokesman for MSD Animal Health 
said the company was "working closely with the authorities in this matter."

As the drug is only authorized in the US as a veterinary drug and is not 
approved for use on humans, the MSD spokesman said he had no reason to believe 
"Beuthanasia-D" had been used for any other purpose. He added that all MSD 
employees were required to abide by the law.

Lethal injection drugs in short supply in US

The trade of pentobarbital has been highly regulated and restricted within the 
European Union since 2011 due to its use in executions.

Many pharmaceutical manufactures in the EU have chosen to ignore supply 
enquiries from US companies for pentobarbital and similar substances to prevent 
their drugs being used on prisoners on death row.

In part due to these restrictions, drugs for lethal injection cocktails in the 
US are in short supply. As a result, many states have either postponed planned 
executions or controversially experimented with untested chemicals.

Capital punishment has been illegal in Germany since 1949. The EU as a whole 
also opposes it.

(source: dw.com)

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

The German medical company VET Pharma Friesoythe GmbH is suspected of having 
illegally delivered several tons of an animal euthanising agent to the USA. The 
active substance contained, pentobarbital, is repeatedly used in US prisons to 
execute people and falls under the EU Torture Directive. It is therefore 
subject to strict export restrictions. According to information from NDR and 
Suddeutsche Zeitung, the public prosecutor's office in Oldenburg is 
investigating the managing director of the company on suspicion of a commercial 
violation of the German foreign trade law. At the end of May, customs 
investigators searched the company's offices in Friesoythe in Lower Saxony and 
Schwabenheim in Rhineland-Palatinate and confiscated data and documents.

Specifically, the public prosecutor assumes that VET Pharma has exported 3 
deliveries of the injection solution "Beuthanasia-D" to the USA since November 
2017 without a corresponding export license. Employees of VET Pharma are said 
to have manipulated export data in order to prevent the responsible transport 
company from noticing the explosive nature of the deliveries. According to a 
search warrant issued by the District Court of Oldenburg, the main customs 
office in Bremen prevented further exports in February 2018. according to US 
customs data, VET Pharma supplied the drugs to a US sister company, Intervet 
Schering-Plough Animal Health. Both companies belong to the US pharmaceutical 
giant Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD). Further deliveries are said to have gone to 
Japan, also in these cases no export license is said to have existed. The 
public prosecutor's office in Oldenburg confirmed preliminary proceedings 
"against several managers of a pharmaceutical company" upon request, but did 
not want to comment on concrete details with reference to the ongoing 
investigations.

"Beuthanasia-D" is used in veterinary medicine to put down dogs. The main 
active ingredient of the product, pentobarbital, is also used in American 
prisons to execute people. The substance has therefore been covered by a 
European anti-torture directive since 2011. According to German law, an export 
to the USA is only permitted if the whereabouts of the product have been 
completely clarified. In the past 5 years, the responsible Federal Office of 
Economics and Export Control has not approved the delivery of the substance to 
the USA. Many pharmaceutical companies ignore delivery requests from the USA 
for such products because they want to prevent their drugs from being used on 
death row. For years now, chemicals that can be used to execute people have 
been scarce on the US market. Many states are therefore postponing death 
sentences or experimenting with unproven chemicals, sometimes with horrific 
results. Again and again, attempts by prisons to illegally purchase suitable 
chemicals are becoming public.

Upon request, a spokesperson for MSD Animal Health announced that they were 
"naturally already working closely with the authorities on this matter". Since 
"Beuthanasia-D" was only authorised as a veterinary medicinal product in the 
USA, there was no reason to believe that the substance had ever been used 
outside veterinary medicine. In all other respects, all MSD employees are 
obliged to comply with the law.

(source: www.ndr.de)








EGYPT:

Egyptian court sentences 11 Brotherhood members to death over killing policemen



An Egyptian court on Thursday sentenced 11 members of the outlawed Muslim 
Brotherhood to death over charges of killing policemen, the state-run Ahram 
newspaper reported.

The case dated back to 2015 when the 11 convicts killed 3 policemen and burnt 
their vehicle.

The court referred the sentence to Grand Mufti, the country's highest Islamic 
official who will give the religious judgment of all preliminary death 
sentences.

The Mufti's opinion is non-binding as it is usually considered a formality, but 
his final opinion could reduce the penalty.

Egypt has been experiencing anti-security attacks since the army-led ouster of 
former Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013, and the ban on his Muslim 
Brotherhood in 2014.

Thousands of extremists have been detained and faced trials. Morsi and some 
prominent figures of his group have received final verdicts that varied from 
death to life sentence over charges of murder, violence and spying.

(source: xinhuanet.com)








PAKISTAN:

Pakistan army chief confirms death penalty of 12 hardcore terrorists



Pakistan's Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Friday confirmed the death 
sentence to another 12 "hardcore terrorists," who were involved in heinous 
offenses related to attacking armed forces, law enforcement agencies, 
destruction of educational institution and killing of innocent civilians, the 
military said.

An army statement said the convicts were also involved in attacking 2 major 
prisons in the cities of Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan in northwest Khyber 
Pakhtunkhwa province in 2012 and 2013 respectively and had freed hundreds of 
militants.

These convicts were tried by special military courts and they all had admitted 
their offenses before the magistrates and the trial court.

The convicts have the right of appeal to the country's president under the law, 
according to the legal experts. However, the president has previously rejected 
all mercy petitions in terrorism-related cases.

It is the 2nd time in less than 2 weeks the army chief has confirmed the death 
penalty to the militants.

On July 2, the army chief had also confirmed death sentences to 12 hardcore 
terrorists.

The army courts were set up after the terrorist attack on an army school in 
December 2014 for the speedy trial of the terrorism-related accused. Nearly 150 
people, almost all students, were killed in the attack.

(source: xinhuanet.com)



THAILAND:

Spaniard loses appeal against death sentence



The Appeal Court on Friday upheld the death sentence for a Spanish man 
convicted of murdering and dismembering the body of a fellow Spaniard 2 years 
ago.

Artur Segarra Princep, 38, was given the death sentence for the premediated 
murder of David Bernat, 41, consultant to a foreign firm. The court also 
ordered him to return more than 730,000 baht he stole from his compatriot to 
his victim's family. He was convicted of premediated murder, kidnapping, body 
concealment, torture and theft. He had entered pleas of not guilty.

Segarra, 38, was taken to the courthouse from Bang Kwang Central Prison on 
Friday to hear the Appeal Court's ruling. The judges upheld the judgement of 
the Criminal Court.

The court was told that between Jan 20 and Jan 26, 2016, Segarra forcibly kept 
his business friend Bernat in a room at PG Condominium Rama IX in Huay Kwang 
district and tortured him into transferring 10 million baht into Segarra's bank 
account. Segarra withdrew about 700,000 baht in cash before killing him in the 
room.

The victim's body was frozen before Segarra dismembered the corpse and dropped 
the bagged pieces in the Chao Phraya River. He fled Thailand to Cambodia, where 
he was arrested in Sihanoukville on Feb 7, 2016. Cambodian authorities handed 
him over to Thai police a day later.

The case drew huge media and public attention. Even after his conviction, 
Segarra has consistently denied the charges through lawyers and friends.

(source: bangkokpost.com)








JAPAN:

What is the Perception of the Death Penalty in Japan?



The Aum Shinrikyo cult released sarin gas in the Tokyo subway system in March 
of 1995, killing 13 people and injuring more than 6,000. The group also carried 
out other murders of those opposed to their activities.

The 63-year-old Matsumoto and 12 other Aum members were sentenced to death for 
their involvement in the series of crimes that left 29 people dead. Half of 
them were executed along with Matsumoto.

Japan and the US are the only G7 countries that have the death penalty. The 
Delegation of the European Union to Japan and ambassadors of European nations 
issued a joint statement in the wake of the executions.

It says they share the suffering of the victims and their families and condemn 
terrorist attacks. However, it also says the death penalty is cruel and 
inhumane and is not an effective crime deterrent.

The statement also says errors are inevitable in any legal system and calls on 
the Japanese government to adopt a moratorium on execution, with a view to 
abolishing it.

Justice Minister Yoko Kamikawa told reporters she signed the order three days 
before the execution. She said that, although extreme caution should be 
exercised when carrying out a death sentence, it should be implemented strictly 
and fairly if the penalty has been finalized.

Kamikawa said courts hand down death sentence only for extremely heinous 
crimes, and only after full deliberation. She added that it was her job to deal 
with the matter in a careful, strict, and fair manner.

Majority Support

A government poll taken a couple years ago found about 80% of respondents 
support the death penalty.

But human rights groups in the country are calling for it to be abolished. And 
they point to how inmates are often only told several hours before they are 
executed as cruel.

The Justice Ministry says there are 116 death row inmates in detention centers 
across Japan.

Critics also raise the issue of Japan detaining inmates for long periods of 
time before executions. For example, Matsumoto and his former followers had 
been held for more than 20 years.

In Japan, executions related to organized crimes are usually not carried out 
while other suspects are at large because the sentenced inmates could serve as 
key witnesses in other trials. That was the case here. Even though the death 
sentences of the 13 members were finalized by 2011, the trials of other members 
dragged out until this January.

In most cases, executions are supposed to be carried out within 6 months. But 
it's ultimately down to the justice minister to decide the timing. It is not 
clear when the remaining 6 members will be executed. This is expected to fuel 
debate among human rights groups in the country and abroad.

In addition, some victims' families and survivors oppose the executions. They 
want the former cult members alive so they can continue to talk about their 
crimes. The families and survivors don't want the memories to fade away.

(source: nhk.or.jp)

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

Capital Punishment in Japan



Japan has carried out executions of 83 death-row inmates since 2000. The 
standards used to decide whom to execute are not clear and seem to reflect the 
particular outlook of the justice minister serving at the time.

Seven leading members of the religious cult Aum Shinrikyo, including its 
founder Matsumoto Chizuo (Asahara Shoko), were executed on July 6, 2018, for 
their roles in masterminding a series of major crimes including the March 1995 
sarin gas attack on Tokyo subway lines that resulted in the deaths of 13 
people. After the last of the Aum-related trials came to an end in January 
2018, 7 of the 13 prisoners at the Tokyo Detention House who had been sentenced 
to death were transferred in March to 5 other detention houses with execution 
facilities around Japan. This was seen as a step toward carrying out their 
sentence. The decision to execute prisoners now is said to have been based on 
the difficulty of doing so in 2019, as the year of the imperial succession, or 
2020, when the Tokyo Olympic Games will take place.

Japan's Code of Criminal Procedure stipulates that the death penalty should be 
implemented within 6 months of the issuing of the sentence, but in fact that is 
almost never the case. From 2000 to July 6, 2018, 83 death sentences have been 
carried out. The shortest time span from sentencing to execution was one year, 
while the longest was 19 years and 5 months. The Ministry of Justice does not 
clarify any of the criteria on which the decision to execute a prisoner is 
based. In fact, it used to not even publicly announce that an execution had 
been carried out. Disclosure of information on executions and the number of 
those executed only began in October 1998, under the direction of Minister of 
Justice Nakamura Shozaburo. In September 2007, the justice minister of the 
time, Hatoyama Kunio, instructed the ministry to also release the names of the 
executed and the place of execution.

Decisions about executions seem to reflect the thoughts and feelings of the 
minister of justice of the time. Sugiura Seiken, upon being appointed to that 
post in October 2005, for instance, openly declared that he would not issue an 
execution order on religious and philosophical grounds. Although he soon 
retracted the statement, amid criticism questioning his right as justice 
minister to refuse to carry out a duty stipulated by law, he did not end up 
signing an execution order during his tenure of roughly 11 months. Contrasting 
with Sugiura's attitude were the cases of those ministers who signed execution 
orders at the rapid pace of one every few months.

Only 9 people were executed from September 2009 to December 2012 under the 
administrations of the Democratic Party of Japan, whose justice ministers 
showed reluctance to carry out the penalty. Chiba Keiko, the DPJ's 1st justice 
minister, was originally opposed to the death penalty and had been one of a 
group of Diet members who called for its abolition. In July 2010, however, she 
signed the order to execute 2 death-row prisoners. Chiba witnessed the 
executions - a first for a Japanese justice minister - and expressed her desire 
that they should serve as an opportunity for a national debate over the death 
penalty. Toward that end, she set up a study group within the ministry to 
consider whether it should continue. In August of the same year, Chiba opened 
to the media for the 1st time the Tokyo Detention House's execution chamber and 
the room it provides for prisoners to meet with religious representatives.

Eda Satsuki, who was appointed justice minister in January 2011 under the DPJ 
government of Prime Minister Kan Naoto, stated at a press conference soon 
afterwards that "capital punishment is a flawed penalty"- although he later 
retracted the statement. In July of that year, Eda expressed his intention to 
not sign any execution orders for the time being since the study group on the 
issue established by Chiba was still meeting. That year no executions were 
carried out. The study group continued to meet under the next justice minister 
as well, but it convened for the last time in March 2012 without reaching any 
final conclusion, merely registering the various opinions expressed on both 
sides of the issue.

When Japan introduced trial by jury in 2009, members of the public became 
involved in capital punishment decisions. In 2017, there were a string of 
executions of prisoners who were petitioning for retrial. And now, most 
recently, criticism has been raised inside and outside Japan of the same-day 
execution of 7 prisoners. This may spark a new debate over abolition of the 
penalty.

(source: nippon.com)

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

Inside Japan's execution chambers where seven doomsday cultists were hanged 
with no warning after waiting 20 years to die at any moment



7 members of a Japanese murderous doomsday cult were hanged suddenly last week 
after more than 20 years on death row.

The group, some of whom met their end in a sterile facility called the 
Detention House, were sentenced to death for carrying out a deadly gas attack 
in 1995.

Alongside the US, Japan is one of the few first world countries that still has 
the death penalty, reports The Sun.

But unlike America Japanese inmates are not afforded the luxury of knowing when 
they will die. Their end could come at any time.

Often, inmates are told of their fate the morning of the execution, sometimes 
even just an hour before.

The Asian nation does not normally kill more than 10 people each year. From 
1977 to 2007 Japan never executed more than 9 people in any 12 month period.

But last week it executed 7 at various facilities across the nation. This 
included the leader and 6 members of Aum Shinrikyo, a cult that released deadly 
sarin gas into the Tokyo subway killing 13.

Leader Shoko Asahara, 63, founded Aum Shinrikyo cult in 1984, and his mix of 
Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity and social disillusionment attracted 
thousands of followers.

They ran sham computer and health-food businesses and collected donations to 
amass wealth to buy land and equipment.

They built an arsenal of chemical, biological and conventional weapons to carry 
out his vision of overthrowing the government to save the world from a doomsday 
he said was coming, which ended in the deadly 1994 attack.

During his 8 years on trial, Asahara rarely spoke and never acknowledged 
responsibility or apologized.

Asahara died by hanging, where the neck is broken by a rope as the body falls 
through a trap door.

3 prison officers simultaneously press buttons to open the trap door so it is 
not clear who is responsible. This is reduce mental stress.

However inmates are not afforded the same luxury.

The UN Committee against Torture has criticised Japan for the psychological 
strain the practice of sudden execution places on inmates and their families.

The Justice Ministry in 2007 started releasing the names and crimes of inmates 
sentenced to death.

Pictures from inside the Detention House show the carpeted floor of the chamber 
and the hooks on the wall indicate where the inmate is chained.

In the centre is the square trap door, the red lines marks the spot where 
convicts stand with the noose around their neck, before it opens below them and 
they plunge to their deaths.

The mechanism is triggered by 1 of 3 wall-mounted push buttons in an adjacent 
room, pressed simultaneously by 3 officers, although none of them is told which 
button is the live one that will cause the prisoner's death.

It is similar to the method used when capital punishment is carried out by a 
firing squad - at least one of which will have a blank cartridge instead of a 
live round, so it is unknown who fired the fatal shot.

In a stark contrast, the grey-tiled room below, into which the body drops, is 
cold and clinical.

In another room, a golden Buddha statue stands in an alcove for final prayers 
before the handcuffed convicts are blindfolded and led to their deaths.

Opposite the execution room is the gallery from where witnesses can view the 
hanging.

Details on executions had previously been strictly limited and opponents of the 
death penalty say the ministry still restricts information.

(source: dailymail.co.uk)

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

EU should mind its own business on capital punishment



As a European, I am writing to apologize to the people of Japan for our 
arrogant and embarrassing habit of interfering in the internal affairs of your 
country. Regarding the recent executions of the convicted perpetrators of the 
1995 sarin attack on the Tokyo subways, the European Union again issued a 
statement calling on Japan to abolish the death penalty. I find these 
unsolicited interventions inappropriate for at least 3 reasons.

First, Japan is a vibrant democracy, with a free and open political debate, and 
a highly educated and well-informed population. Japanese universities conduct 
leading criminological research in Japan and across Asia. The idea that the 
Japanese people and their elected representatives are unable to devise their 
criminal laws without "advice" from the EU seems preposterous.

Second, Japan has a well-functioning criminal justice system, and some of the 
lowest levels of violent crime in the world. Data shows that the Japanese 
people have an exceptionally high degree of confidence in their police, 
prosecution service and judiciary. Europeans should learn from Japan, not 
lecture it.

Third, and perhaps most importantly, the government of Japan would never openly 
express its views on any internal policy of either the EU or its member states. 
Not that there is a shortage of human rights problems in Europe that could be 
commented on, but doing so would be considered improper and disrespectful.

Japan's criminal justice system draws upon norms and values that have evolved 
over a very long time. We Europeans must learn to show respect for the fact 
that people of different cultures have different norms and values. Whether or 
not Japan should retain the death penalty is a debate for the Japanese people 
and not one in which foreign governments should get themselves involved.

MARCUS BALTZER

HONIARA, SOLOMON ISLANDS

(source: Letter to the Editor, Japan TImes)








SUDAN:

Urgent Action



DETAINED RELIGIOUS TEACHER FACES DEATH PENALTY

Matar Younis Ali Hussein, religious teacher who has a visual disability, has 
been formally charged with t3 offences under the 1991 Penal Code. Two of the 
offences put him at risk of facing the death penalty or life imprisonment in 
Sudan. Matar Younis was arrested on 1 April apparently because of his criticism 
of the government's policy in Darfur.???He remains at risk of torture and other 
ill-treatment while in detention.

Write a letter, send an email, call, fax or tweet:

* Calling on the Sudanese authorities to drop the charges and release Matar 
Younis Ali Hussein immediately and unconditionally, as he has been detained 
solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression;

* Calling on them to ensure that, pending his release, Matar Younis Ali Hussein 
is granted regular access to his family and a lawyer of his choice;

* Urging them to ensure that, pending his release, he is not subjected to 
torture and other ill-treatment;

* Calling on them to release all other detainees in Sudan who are detained 
solely for the peaceful exercise of their human rights.

Friendly reminder: If you send an email, please create your own instead of 
forwarding this one!

Contact these two officials by 22 August, 2018:

President

HE Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir

Office of the President

People's Palace

PO Box 281

Khartoum, Sudan

Salutation: Dear President

Ambassador Maowia Osman Khalid

Embassy of the Republic of Sudan

2210 Massachusetts Ave. NW

Washington, DC 20008

Phone: 202 338 8565 I Fax: 1 202 667 2406

Email: sudanembassydc at sudanembassy.org

Salutation: Dear Ambassador

(source: Amnesty International USA)

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

Noura in her own words----Facing public threats of revenge, Sudanese teen Noura 
Hussein continues her fight for freedom



Editors Note: CNN is committed to covering gender inequality wherever it occurs 
in the world. This story is part of As Equals, a year-long series.

The legal team representing Sudanese teenager Noura Hussein, who killed her 
35-year-old husband as he tried to rape her in what she says was self-defense, 
filed an appeal to Sudan's Supreme Court on Thursday to have her sentence 
overturned.

Hussein was on death row for fatally stabbing Abdulrahman Mohamed Hammad until 
two weeks ago, when an appeals court in Sudan reduced her sentence to 5 years 
in jail following an international outcry over her case. The court ordered her 
family to pay 337,000 Sudanese pounds (about $18,600) in "blood money" to the 
man's family.

Her lawyers have also appealed the payment.

Hussein's story has put a spotlight on forced marriage and marital rape in 
Sudan, where the legal age to enter into marriage is 10 and marital rape is not 
a crime. And her initial conviction and sentence -- death by hanging -- 
triggered global outrage, capturing the attention of human-rights groups and 
celebrities like model Naomi Campbell, actress Emma Watson and singer Jidenna.

"We are looking for justice," Nahid Jabralla, director of Khartoum-based human 
rights group SEEMA, which is supporting Hussein, told CNN. "The appeal will 
look for her to be cleared totally of the charges."

But she cautioned that it won't be without a fight. Hammad's family denies 
Hussein's allegations and continues to contest her case. The family is expected 
to file its own appeal calling to reinstate the death penalty.

Hussein's parents forced her to marry Hammad when she was just 15, but allowed 
her to finish school. Three years later, after a formal public wedding, Hussein 
alleges that Hammad raped her as his family held her down. One day later, 
Hussein said, he tried to rape her again, and she stabbed him to death. When 
she went to her parents for support, they turned her over to the police.

The court's decision to commute Hussein's sentence on June 26 was based on her 
version of events. Key to their decision was accepting that she had found a 
knife under her pillow before stabbing her husband, and did not take it from 
the kitchen, as prosecutors originally alleged.

As Hussein fights this reduced sentence, advocacy groups supporting her say 
they're fearful for her safety. Prison authorities are only allowing visits 
from her legal team because of concerns over reprisals.

Hussein's family has been repeatedly threatened and intimidated since she 
killed her husband in 2017. Shortly after the incident, her parents' home was 
burned down. And recently, in an interview with a Sudanese newspaper, Hammad's 
father threatened further revenge if Hussein was pardoned, saying he would seek 
the life of one of her male relatives.

"If this international push for so-called forgiveness for Noura is successful 
then we will seek our vengeance from within Noura's family, and we will take in 
the place of her life the life of a man, because that was taken from us," he 
told Sudanese newspaper al-Tayar.

SEEMA, and other supporting groups, are looking into options for Hussein's 
protection after her possible release.

And they're continuing to campaign for other "Nouras."

SEEMA plans to launch a hashtag alongside Hussein's appeal: #wearemany. 
According to SEEMA program manager Afaf Doleeb, their hope is to use the 
hashtag to highlight the stories of other girls fighting against child marriage 
in Sudan, where more than one in three girls get married before they reach 18.

(source: CNN)








INDIA:

Death Penalty Is A Band-Aid To Pacify Mass Outrage, Not A Way To Stop Crime 
Against Women



The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the capital punishment for the accused in 
the 2012 Delhi gangrape, rejecting the review plea filed by 3 of the 4 accused. 
The apex court asserted that it found no new grounds for a rethink on its May 
2017 decision to award capital punishment to four accused in the brutal rape 
and murder of 23-year-old paramedic that triggered a nationwide outrage.

While the accused still have the option of seeking presidential commutation of 
their capital punishment, women's rights activists and law practitioners have 
once again opposed the practice of awarding capital punishment. Speaking to 
Youth Ki Awaaz, they noted that the certainty of the punishment and not the 
severity will help in deterring offenders.

"I strongly oppose the capital punishment. It's a barbaric practice and doesn't 
change anything on the ground. We saw capital punishment in the Dhananjoy 
Chatterjee (2004) case and still, Nirbhaya happened. And even after Nirbhaya, 
we haven't been able to stop the rapes. There's hardly any evidence that 
capital punishment creates a fear of law among citizens," asserted Advocate 
Deepika Singh Rajawat, the Counsel representing the Kathua rape victim's 
family.

Reiterating Rajawat's opinion, New Delhi-based SC Lawyer and women's rights 
activist Shomona Khanna told Youth Ki Awaaz, "There should be certainty of 
punishment. Such death penalties do not change anything on the ground. There is 
a culture of impunity among the offenders. They know may or may not be caught. 
The case may or may not be reported. And even if the case is reported the 
chances of them getting acquitted are very high. If people believe that capital 
punishment is the way for India to shed the label of the most dangerous country 
for women in the world, then they are sadly mistaken."

These views are further substantiated by the Report No. 262 of the Law 
Commission of India on the death penalty: "After many years of research and 
debate among statisticians, practitioners, and theorists, a worldwide consensus 
has now emerged that there is no evidence to suggest that the death penalty has 
a deterrent effect over and above its alternative - life imprisonment."

The report further adds: "In focusing on the death penalty as the ultimate 
measure of justice to victims, the restorative and rehabilitative aspects of 
justice are lost sight of. Reliance on the death penalty diverts attention from 
other problems ailing the criminal justice system."

The Poor State Of The Criminal Justice System

Despite amendments to laws after the 2012 case, there is no sign that crimes 
against women are abating. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data 
reveals that incidents of child rape have witnessed a sharp spike of 82% from 
2015 to 2016. Delhi alone has witnessed a 31% rise in incidents of rape in the 
last 5 years. Interestingly, these incidents are just the tip of the iceberg as 
many cases of assaults go unreported. Women's rights activists and comparative 
analysis by few media organisations claim that over 90% of crimes against women 
go unreported.

Experts have held the abysmal state of the criminal justice system responsible 
for this regrettable situation. They noted that death penalties in a few cases 
like Nirbhaya that catch media attention act as band-aid measures to pacify the 
collective outrage of the country.

Rajawat, who is currently battling against all odds to get justice in the 
Kathua rape case, highlighted the many difficulties in getting justice in cases 
of crimes against women. "There's underreporting of crimes against women. Even 
after a case is reported, the investigation and subsequent justice is a tedious 
task. Basic provisions like a lady investigating presiding over such cases or 
due legal support to the victims are not followed. Moreover, the police lack 
the sensitivity to deal with such cases. It is very common that witnesses turn 
hostile. Furthermore, to aggravate the situation there's a struggle to get 
justice in the courtroom as more often than not the defence lawyers try to 
strike a compromise. All this together makes getting justice very difficult," 
she noted.

Apart from the underreporting of cases of crime against women and the arduous 
task of seeking justice for the victims, the critically poor rate of conviction 
rate is another issue that needs immediate attention. According to an NCRB 
report, the conviction rate for crimes against women hit record low in 2016. 
While the overall rate of conviction in the country was 46.2%, it was merely 
18.9% for crimes committed against women.

Furthermore, experts highlighted the government's failure to utilise funds 
allocated for the speedy justice in rape and sexual assault cases. Earlier this 
year, an RTI reply revealed that only 30% of the much-hyped Nirbhaya fund, 
running up to 3,100 crores, has been used so far. The Nirbhaya Fund, released 
as an aftermath of the 2012 Delhi gangrape, is dedicated for implementation of 
initiatives aimed at enhancing the safety and security of women in the country

"1-Stop Centres that were supposed to be set up to address the rising cases of 
sexual assaults on women are not in place. The targets haven't been met and 
even the existing centres are in pathetic condition. Unless all these failures 
of systems are addressed we can???t even think of reducing crimes against 
women," Khanna pointed out.

Solution Lies Elsewhere

The government needs to focus on building capacities of the law enforcing 
agencies, introducing gender sensitivity in the education system, creating 
vigilant and quick criminal justice system, and curtailing the culture of 
hatred going on in the country, say law practitioners, activists, and 
theorists.

"Government has simply bulldozed capital punishment ordinance, while there is 
no focus on fixing the inconsistencies in our system. The legislators openly 
make hate speeches that influence the mob mentality. Crimes like lynching and 
rapes are byproducts of such mentality. From education to investigation 
mechanism everything needs to be looked into if we are at all serious to reduce 
crimes against women. Hanging a couple of accused only to silence countrywide 
outrage is an ill-conceived approach," argued Rajawat.

Talking about building capacities of law enforcement agencies, Ravi Kant of NGO 
Shakti Vahini said, "Go 40km beyond Delhi and one can easily see the poor state 
of law enforcement agencies. We need to build capacities. Pump in financial 
resources to beef up our investigating agencies and modernise forensic 
laboratories. Hanging people on gallows wouldn't help."

(source: youthkiawaaz.com)

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

U'khand to bring law to give death penalty to rapists of minor girls



Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat today said the state 
government will bring a legislation in the next session of the state Assembly 
to make a provision for capital punishment for the rapists of minor girls.

The chief minister announced this while addressing the working committee 
meeting of the state BJP at Kashipur in Udham Singh Nagar district.

Rawat said the state government was concerned over the growing incidents of 
crimes against minor girls and stricter laws were needed to check them.

"The state government will ensure that those who perpetrate rape on minor girls 
are sent to the gallows. Efforts are underway to make strict laws in this 
regard so that such crimes are reined in," the chief minister said.

A legislation will be brought in the next session of the state Assembly to make 
an Act in this regard, he said.

Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana have already approved the provision of 
capital punishment for those found guilty of raping girls aged 12 years or 
less.

The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2018, which provides for stringent 
punishment including death penalty for those convicted of raping girls below 
the age of 12 years, will be introduced in the monsoon session of Parliament 
beginning July 18.

Meanwhile, Rawat also asked the party workers to strengthen the organisation at 
the booth level and create awareness among people about the public welfare 
programmes initiated by Narendra Modi government for the success of mission 
2019.

The BJP government has "kept its promise" of giving a corruption-free 
administration, Rawat said.

He said they have to fulfil BJP chief Amit Shah's dream of winning 350 seats in 
the 2019 general elections.

(soruce: Business Standard)








SRI LANKA:

List of drug traffickers with death penalty to be handed to President today



The Ministry of justice says the list of convicted drug traffickers who were 
sentenced with capital punishment is ready to be produced before the President, 
today.

The list has been compiled by the Justice Ministry in accordance with an order 
issued by the President.

President, yesterday (11), stated that he would sign required orders to execute 
capital punishment for convicted drug traffickers who carry out large scale 
drug smuggling operations while in detention.

Reinstating of capital punishment was discussed at length at the Cabinet 
meeting held on Tuesday (10).

Meanwhile, Department of Prisons said that they will discuss with the ministry 
on implementing the death penalty, in the coming few days.

Commissioner General of Prisons Nishan Danasinghe says that there are many 
urgent measures that should be taken in order to implement the death penalty.

As the position of the executioner is currently vacated, the vacancy must be 
filled immediately, he pointed out.

(source: adaderana.lk)

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

Prison Department To Call Applications For Judicial Executioners



The government decided to call for applications to the post of Judicial 
Executioner, which has been vacant since 2015. The decision comes after cabinet 
approval was granted to allow capital punishment for convicted drug 
traffickers.

Prison Media Spokesperson, Thushara Upuldeniya said there are 2 vacanices in 
the post of Judicial Executioner.

Meanwhile, Upuldeniya noted that the equipmemt and the rope used to execute 
death penalty have already been imported and stored at the Prisons Department.

According to Upuldeniya, although measures were taken to recruit people to the 
post twice before, both previous appicants have left after the training period.

At present, there are 13 inmates sentenced to death, over drug offenses.

(source: newsfirst.lk)