[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

July 20



INDIA:

Let child rapists be sent to gallows



The Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance, 2018, had addressed the collective cry 
for justice.

The ordinance may provide for a speedy investigation within 2 months and a 
speedy trial within 6 months. But the rigmarole of appeals in higher courts, 
leading right up to Presidential Pardon for convicts on death row, is way too 
time consuming to inspire enough public confidence in the rule of law.

'It struck too close to home'. That has been the chorus after the dastardly 
rape of a child for over 7 months in an apartment complex in Chennai came to 
light. The justifiable outrage has triggered vigilantism by lawyers in the 
court and furious posts on the social media calling for 'instant justice'. At 
the heart of such heinous crimes that are being perpetrated so brazenly and 
with chilling regularity, despite all the knee jerk reaction everytime, is the 
need for deterrence. The Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance, 2018, had addressed 
the collective cry for justice. New sections have been introduced in the Indian 
Penal Code like Section 376 AB which prescribes a minimum punishment of 20 
years rigorous imprisonment and upto the death penalty for raping a child of 
less than twelve years. Section 376 DB IPC carries capital punishment for gang 
rape of a child who is less than 12 years.

There are laws and laws, old and new but where is the deterrence? Those who 
oppose the death sentence on the ground of no proven deterrence, must suggest 
an alternative measure to instil fear of the law. The possibility of 
perpetrators killing their victims due to the death penalty is a real danger to 
be reckoned with. Those who are mindful of the penal consequences, do not 
commit rape, unless they are really hardened criminals. To such beasts, no 
deterrence can work. But to first time offenders, the death penalty is likely 
to weigh on their perverted minds.

The Supreme Court in Mukesh and Another Vs State for NCT of Delhi, better known 
as the Nirbhaya case, held that "the measure of punishment in a given case must 
depend upon the atrocity of the crime; the conduct of the criminal and the 
defenceless and unprotected state of the victim. Justice demands that courts 
should impose punishment fitting to the crime so that the courts reflect public 
abhorrence of the crime." The Court suggested drawing up "a balance-sheet of 
aggravating and mitigating circumstances attending to the commission of the 
offence" and then striking a balance.

In a landmark judgment in Shankar Kisanrao Khade Vs State of Maharashtra, the 
apex court laid down the grounds which weighed with the Court in confirming the 
death penalty. These include the diabolic, brutal, depraved and gruesome nature 
of the crime, public abhorrence that shocks the judicial conscience or of 
society, premeditated perpetration, defenceless state of the victim and the 
menace or threat to society that the accused pose. I have no hesitation in my 
mind that the Chennai child rapists committed a 'rarest of rare' crime that 
calls for the hangman's noose.

The ordinance may provide for a speedy investigation within 2 months and a 
speedy trial within 6 months. But the rigmarole of appeals in higher courts, 
leading right up to Presidential Pardon for convicts on death row, is way too 
time consuming to inspire enough public confidence in the rule of law.

While public anguish is completely understandable, it is important to pin down 
the real accused. Not all those who are named as accused may be guilty. The 
possibility of innocent people being implicated, or some real culprits at 
large, cannot be ruled out. Only a proper trial will establish guilt. India is 
not a banana republic. We gave even a dreaded terrorist like Ajmal Kasab, who 
was caught on camera gunning down innocent people, a fair trial.

And don't forget the right to privacy of the victim. Circulating information 
about the name of the school or apartment complex is an offence under Section 
228 A IPC with a 2 year jail term. Section 23(2) of the Protection of Children 
from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act also shields the identity of victims.

This crime has shattered to smithereens the notion of safety in a gated 
community, with the proverbial fence having eaten the crop. Who will watch the 
watchmen? Under the Private Security Agencies (Regulation) Act, 2005 and the 
Tamil Nadu Private Security Agencies Rules, 2008, no guard must be over 65 
years, be drunk on duty or have criminal antecedents. Unlike background checks 
for maids which is optional but advisable, police clearance for security guards 
is mandatory. If these guards commit a crime on the premises they are posted, 
that constitutes a ground for cancellation of the security agency's licence 
under Section 13 of the Act. But how many of them are registered with the State 
Police? If there is no licence in the 1st place, where's the question of 
cancellation? This is despite the law that makes functioning without a licence 
an offence under Section 4 with imprisonment of upto a year and a fine under 
Section 20(1) of the Private Security Agencies (Regulation) Act.

Going by the pattern and rate of crime, making installation of CCTVs in all new 
residential and commercial buildings - in elevators, common areas and all blind 
spots, mandatory by amending the Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act, 
2016, would be useful. The CCTV rule can be applied to all old buildings too, 
just like rain water harvesting was made compulsory for everyone. Residents 
Welfare Associations can take it up. CCTVs are as important as planting 
saplings or composting garbage. Schools must have a weekly period for 
psychological counselling. Self defence must become a compulsory subject with 
basic legal awareness. I am waiting for the day when a school kid trained in 
martial arts, whacks the daylights out of an abuser.

(source: Sanjay Pinto, Deccan Chronicle)








SOUTH AFRICA:

Let's talk about bringing back the death penalty, says IFP



The IFP says South Africans are becoming more fed up with the scourge of 
violent sexual crimes, particularly against women and children.

As the abuse against children and women escalates in South Africa, the Inkatha 
Freedom Party (IFP) wants the public to discuss whether the time has come to 
bring back the death penalty or not.

The country has been marred by violent attacks on women in recent months, and 
the most notable one is that of Karabo Mokoena who was killed and burned by her 
boyfriend Sandile Mantsoe in Johannesburg.

He is currently serving 32 years behind bars after admitting to putting petrol 
on Mokoena's body and setting it alight.

In a statement released on Friday, IFP chief whip in parliament Narend Singh 
said the party has written to parliament's Joint Constitutional Review 
Committee to request that the matter of whether or not the death penalty should 
be reinstated be "urgently" placed on the committee's agenda for public input 
and discussion.

"An open and frank discussion must be had in our country about this matter as 
South Africans are becoming more and more fed up with the scourge of violent 
and sexual crimes, particularly against women and children.

"Current deterrents to violent crime particularly murder, rape and aggravated 
robbery are to some extent ineffective, and a debate about finding alternative 
solutions at this juncture is a necessary one," Singh said.

He said his party was concerned as crime levels have "drastically increased 
over recent years."

"The IFP has called upon the committee to initiate this debate and discussion 
with the broader South African public. This request has also been filed with 
the office of the Speaker of Parliament, Baleka Mbete MP and the Secretary to 
Parliament. We believe that as a responsible political party we are duty-bound 
to raise such matters of national importance and place them into the public 
discourse for further discussion," he said.

The death penalty was abolished in South Africa in 1990.

According to the Institute of Race Relations, about 4 000 people were hanged in 
the country between 1910 and 1989.

(source: Batandwa Malingo, citizen.co.za)








IRAN----execution

Prisoner Hanged in Mashhad Prison



A prisoner was executed at Mashhad Prison on murder charges.

According to a report by Khorasan Newspaper, on the morning of Monday, July 16, 
a prisoner was executed at Mashhad Prison. The prisoner, identified as 
GholamAli, 41, was convicted of murder during a fight at a wedding.

According to the source, the prisoner was on the run for 5 years and was 
finally arrested and sentenced to death in 2014.

According to Iran Human Rights annual report on the death penalty, 240 of the 
517 execution sentences in 2017 were implemented due to murder charges. There 
is a lack of a classification of murder by degree in Iran which results in 
issuing a death sentence for any kind of murder regardless of intensity and 
intent.

(source: Iran Human Rights)

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

In Anti-Corruption Drive, A Billionaire Will Be 'Definitely' Hanged



The Islamic Republic's Prosecutor-General says the death sentence against 
Iranian billionaire Babak Zanjani will "definitely" be carried out.

Zanjani was arrested in 2013 on charges of embezzling state oil revenues and 
later convicted to be hanged.

The prosecutor, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, also insisted that the judges 
assigned to preside over financial trials, including Babak Zanjani's, are 
primarily concerned with the return of the lost assets to the public treasury.

Zanjani has not yet been executed, Montazeri argued, since the judges are 
seeking ways to force him to return public assets.

But the timing of this announcement coincides with a recent order by the 
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to get tough with corruption, which has played a 
big role in propelling people to stage large protests against the regime.

In 2016, the Islamic Republic's Supreme Court upheld the death sentence against 
Zanjani who worked as a middleman, selling Iranian oil through companies, 
mainly affiliated with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), in the years 
when international sanctions restricted Iran oil exports and banking relations, 
during Ahmadineja's 2nd term, 2009-2013.

Prior to Zanjani's case, Iran's private sector had not played a significant 
role in the country's lucrative oil business.

Under international sanctions, ultraconservative President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, 
with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's blessing, allowed the private sector, as well as 
security organizations such as the police to sell oil in international markets, 
as proxy to the embattled Islamic Republic of Iran.

The result was a total fiasco. The level of corruption and mismanagement 
involved in this enterprise was unprecedented in modern Iranian history. The 
ensuing judicial cases that followed this major attempt to circumvent 
sanctions, continue 5 years after Ahmadinejad left office.

The complicated operation involved money laundering in several countries in 
Central Asia as well as elsewhere including Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, 
Malaysia and even the United States, Radio Farda reported.

Several individuals had to stand trial in Iran, Turkey and the United States 
for just one of the cases. In Iran, billionaire Babak Zanjani who allegedly ran 
a worldwide network of money laundering became the star of the trials, 
overnight.

Babak Zanjani is currently facing the death sentence as the government alleges 
that he has not been able to pay the money he owed to the government as the 
middle man in oil sales. Zanjani allegedly stole $2.7 billion from oil sales 
during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency.

No one knows the real figure or how one person was able to embezzle so much 
money if he did not have collaborators inside the ruling elite.

Babak Zanjani, 42, is presumed as one of the richest men in Iran with an 
estimated fortune of $14 billion in 2013. Reportedly, the business tycoon owned 
70 companies before his arrest.

The Prosecutor-General has described the death sentence against Zanjani as 
"irrevocable", while the billionaire's lawyer, Rassool Koohpayeh, had earlier 
suggested that his client would be able to benefit from Article 114 of the 
Islamic Penal Code, if he returns the public's money.

President Hassan Rouhani's Oil Ministry has accused Zanjani of receiving "1 
million barrels" of oil from Iran's National Oil Company (NIOC) for more than 
$3 billion, but only payed back $190 million, pocketing the rest.

Zanjani's debt was earlier estimated roughly as $1.8 billion. Nevertheless, 
Iran Oil Ministry officials have demanded a compensation for "damages", as 
well. Oil Minister, Bijan Namdar Zangeneh said last Saturday, "Zanjani's total 
debt, including its interests, amounts to $3.5 billion."

Babak Zanjani's assets inside Iran, or 1/5 of his debt, have been confiscated 
and surrendered to the Oil Ministry.

(source: radiofarda.com)








KENYA:

Ruth Kamande gets death penalty for boyfriend's murder



A 24-year-old woman found guilty for killing her boyfriend has been sentenced 
to death.

Giving her ruling on Thursday, Justice Jessie Lesiit said Ruth Wanjiku Kamande 
deliberately stabbed Farid Mohammed 25 times.

Justice Lesiit said that "young people should know it is not cool to kill your 
boyfriend or girlfriend, instead it is cool to walk away from such a 
relationship when it breaks down".

Ruth murdered her boyfriend using a kitchen knife in September 2015.

In mitigation last week, Ruth told the court she has reformed since staying in 
remanded 2 years and 9 months ago, and that she is remorseful.

PAGEANT

Her lawyer Joyner Okonjo said Ruth is now a devout Muslim and has been 
attending a course in theology for the past 1 year.

Ms Okonjo added that her client engaged in various activities at the Lang'ata 
Women Prison, which led to her crowning as Miss Lang'ata beauty in 2016.

The lawyer argued that for one to get such a title factors such as discipline, 
cooperation with the authorities and commitment to reform are considered.

She also said that Ruth had been admitted at Jomo Kenyatta University of 
Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) for a course in Information Technology, but 
her education was discontinued.

LOVE LETTERS

During sentencing, Justice Lesiit dismissed claims that she acted in self 
defence.

She said the stab wounds were not consistent with her allegations that her 
former boyfriend had pinned her down as they fought, observing that the wounds 
were inflicted at intervals and not by a person in a lying position.

The night before the incident, the court heard that she found his old love 
letters and questioned Farid why he was still holding onto them.

He allegedly ignored her and went to sleep only for her to rekindle the 
conversation the following morning.

When neighbours tried to respond to his distress call, they found the door was 
locked.

UNREMORSEFUL

Begging for leniency, Ms Okonjo enumerated some of Ruth's achievements: 
acquiring of 5 certificates, participating in modelling, dancing, poetry and 
scriptwriting.

But State Counsel Evelyn Wanunga said Ruth is not penitent, and should 
therefore be handed the death sentence so that it can be a deterrence.

(source: nation.co.ke)

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

No crime justifies the death sentence



Following Kenya's High Court sentencing of Ruth Kamande to death for killing 
her boyfriend, Amnesty International Kenya's Executive Director, Irungu 
Houghton, said:

"We are concerned that Kenya continues to use this cruel, inhumane and outdated 
mode of punishment. This sentence is a blow to Kenya's progressive record in 
commuting death sentences to terms of imprisonment.

"There isn't any credible evidence that the death penalty deters crime any 
better than other lawful punishments. This death sentence must be commuted 
immediately and Ruth Kamande rehabilitated."

Background

Ruth Kamande was sentenced to death after being found guilty of killing her 
boyfriend in 2015, by stabbing him 25 times.

This death sentence must be commuted immediately and Ruth Kamande 
rehabilitated. ---- Irungu Houghton, Amnesty International Kenya's Executive 
Director

Kenya has made good strides against the use of the death penalty. It has not 
carried out an execution in 30 years, and 2 Presidents have commuted the death 
sentences of entire death row populations in the last 10 years.

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception 
regardless of the nature of the crime, the characteristics of the offender, or 
the method used by the state to kill the prisoner. The death penalty is a 
violation of the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of 
Human Rights. It is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.

(source: Amnesty International)



DONETSK:

Donetsk People's Republic sentenced gang member to death penalty



10 persons appeared before the court.

The prosecution insisted on the death penalty for 4 members of a criminal 
group.

The Supreme Court of the Donetsk People's Republic issued a death sentence to 1 
of the members of a criminal gang that committed robberies, abduction, and 
murder. RIA Novosti reports this with reference to the press service of the 
court.

10 persons appeared before the court. As established by the investigation, all 
of them committed armed raids, traded with stolen goods and murder in 
2014-2015. All the convicts acted under the guise of membership in the public 
organization Cossack Union of the Don Army.

1 of the members of the gang was sentenced to death, 8 got a life sentence, and 
others - to 13 years in colony.

(source: crimerussia.com)








SRI LANKA:

Global Tamil Forum deplores reintroduction of capital punishment for drug 
trafficking in Sri Lanka



The Global Tamil Forum (GTF) deplores reports that the Sri Lankan cabinet 
committee has decided to reintroduce death penalty for those convicted of drug 
trafficking. GTF is deeply concerned that the desire to reintroduce death 
penalty -after a period of more than 40 years of moratorium- fits into an 
emerging pattern in the country where toying with extreme ideas are becoming 
mainstream and acceptable.

Death penalty is an inherently cruel and irreversible punishment, which is 
neither morally defensible nor can be backed up by evidence to have had any 
notable effect on deterring abhorrent crimes. It is ironic the country that did 
not resort to death penalty even during decades of armed conflict now wants to 
resume this barbaric practice.

GTF fully concurs drug abuse is a menace in the society and every possible step 
needs to be taken to root out drug trafficking. Report of drug trafficking from 
the confines of prisons is a failure of the prison system and cannot justify 
capital punishment. Further, in a country where judicial independence and 
capacity is hotly disputed, the risk of miscarriage of justice and wrongful 
execution of an innocent person will be unacceptably high.

Sri Lanka by reintroducing death penalty will be joining a shrinking minority 
of states that persist with this horrific practice. This arbitrary action 
violates Sri Lanka's international commitments, including its repeated votes in 
favour of a moratorium on the implementation of the death penalty at the UN 
General Assembly.

At a time when Sri Lanka's genuineness in fully implementing its commitments 
under the UNHRC Resolution 30(34)-1 is questioned, brazenly abandoning another 
of its long-standing principle is deeply concerning.

Sri Lanka has yet to come to terms with its horrendous past where thousands of 
what is viewed as officially sanctioned illegal executions were a common 
occurrence. For a society that is desensitised to such atrocious crimes, 
reintroducing legal executions may not appear as particularly troubling. And it 
is precisely for this reason that leadership from both the government and 
opposition should put their political differences aside and, with conviction, 
desist from such inhuman practice.

GTF views the reintroduction of death penalty as a regressive step impeding the 
transformation of Sri Lanka into a modern, decent and humane society and is 
appalled by press reports that there is support among some religious leaders in 
favour of this change. In fact, the civil society and religious leaders should 
provide firm and principled guidance in opposing this short-sighted attempt and 
the international community should strongly articulate the negative 
consequences of such action.

GTF calls on the Sri Lankan government to back away from its ill-conceived 
decision. Democracy and respect for human rights, at a minimum, demand it.

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

Death Penalty and Police Power to the Military----Civil Society Concerned with 
Implementing the Death Penalty & Providing Police Powers to the Military



The undersigned civil society activists and groups in Sri Lanka express our 
deep concern about the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers to take steps 
towards implementing the death penalty. The death penalty has not been 
implemented in Sri Lanka since 1976, though it continues to remain as a 
punishment for certain categories of offences. According to media reports the 
Cabinet of Ministers approved a proposal by President Maithripala Sirisena to 
take steps towards implementing the death penalty regarding persons who have 
been sentenced to death for drug offences and "who continue to operate the drug 
racket from their prison cells".

We reiterate the objections made by several stakeholders in stating that;

There is no empirical evidence to support the assertion that the death penalty 
has a deterrent value and that it reduces crime;

Once imposed the death penalty cannot be reversed as such individuals could to 
be punished with death for crimes they did not commit;

Enforcing the death penalty is contrary to Sri Lanka's international 
obligations; and

It is not the way a civilised society deals with crime, especially complicated 
crime in the nature of trafficking narcotics.

In this regard we welcome the observations of the Human Rights Commission of 
Sri Lanka (HRCSL) contained in letter dated 13th July 2018 addressed to 
President Sirisena which echoes the its previous letter to President Sirisena 
in January 2016 requesting him to take steps to abolish the death penalty. We 
urge the President, Prime Minister and the other members of the Cabinet of 
Ministers to seriously consider these recommendations by the HRCSL, which is 
statutorily mandated to advise the government in matters relating to the 
promotion and protection of human rights.

We are also concerned by a proposal reportedly approved by the Cabinet of 
Ministers at its meeting on 10th July 2018 to draft legislation that would 
allow the security forces to exercise some police powers for a period of 2 
years to purportedly help the Police in "eradicating the drug menace in the 
country". The military exercising police powers is unacceptable in a context 
where there is no on-going armed conflict. Military involvement in civilian 
activities has been a problem in post war Sri Lanka and the GoSL since 2010 has 
continuously promised to reduce the role of the military in civilian life. 
Whilst progress in this regard has been slow, this proposal if passed into law 
would be a mistake and a step in the wrong direction. The military's training 
does not equip it to carry out policing functions effectively, as was seen when 
the military was summoned to deal with a protest in Rathupaswala in 2013, 
forcing the military to engage in policing functions can have disastrous 
consequences. Whilst the proposed bill is for a specific period of time, Sri 
Lanka's experience with other similar legislation has shown that these types of 
laws eventually become a permanent fixture in the legal system.

There is no doubt about the need to curb narcotics in Sri Lanka, however the 
response of the GoSL needs to be carefully considered so as not to exacerbate 
existing problems. If the GoSL is serious about dealing with narcotics and drug 
trafficking it needs to among other things, focus on training the Police to 
deal with narcotics related crime and invest in modern equipment and technology 
to help investigations. The GoSL also needs to address the strong perception in 
society that politicians are involved in trafficking narcotics and/or are 
direct beneficiaries of money derived from such activities. Implementing the 
death penalty and using the security forces would do little to solve the 
problem and in the long run would only compound the rule of law problems in Sri 
Lanka.

Signatories:

Individuals

D. Rajani

R.A Ramees

Aaranya Rajasingam

Ainslie Joseph

Anithra Varia

Annouchka Wijesinghe

Anoma Wijewardene

Anushaya Collure

Aritha Wickramasinghe

Asma Rahman Gowthaman

Bishop Kumara Illangasinghe

Bhavani Fonseka

Brito Fernando

Chandra Jayaratne

Chandraguptha Thenuwara

Chulani Kodikara

Cyril Pathiranage

Danesh Casie Chetty

Deekshya Illangasinghe

Daya Somasundaram

P. Saravanamuttu

Selvy Thiruchandran

Faaiz Ameer

J. M. Joseph Jeyaseelan

Sarath Iddamalgoda

Gamini Viyangoda

Godfrey Yogarajah

Iromi Perera

Ishara Danasekara

Jayanta de S Wijeratne

Jayanthi Samaraweera Gunewardena

Jeanne Samuel

Juwairiya Mohideen

Aingkara S. Ratnavale

Lahiru Kithalagama

Lionel Guruge

Luwie Ganeshathasan

Mahaluxmy Kurushanthan

Mario Gomez

Mujeebur Rahman

Nagulan Nesiah

Nigel Nugawela Muthulingam

Prabodha Rathnayaka

Jayadeva Uyangoda

Raisa Wickrematunge

Ramya Chamalie Jirasinghe

Rohana Jayaratne

Rohini Weerasinghe Weerasinghe

Ruki Fernando

P Pushpakanthan

Sakina Moinudeen

Sampath Samarakoon

Sandun Thudugala

Sarah Arumugam

Selvaraj Rajasegar

Senel Wanniarachchi

Shalini Wickramasuriya

Shalomi Daniel

Sharanya Sekaram

Shreen Saroor

Noeline Christine Fernando

Subha Wijesiriwardena

Sumika Perera

Sunethra Bandaranaike

Tanuja Thurairajah

Samuel J. Ponniah

Organisations

Alliance Development Trust

Centre for Human Rights Development

Centre for Policy Alternatives

Families of the Disappeared

Hashtag Generation

INFORM Human Rights Documentation Centre

Institute of Social Development

International Centre for Ethnic Studies

Law and Society Trust

Manawa Shakthi Padanama, Galle

Mannar Women's Development Federation

Muslim Women Development Trust

National Peace Council

Rights Now Collective for DemocracyM

Rural Development Foundation

The Grassrooted Trust

Women's Action Network

Women's Resource Centre

(source for both: Sri Lanka Guardian)