[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

July 28



INDIA:

After 5-day trial, MP man gets death penalty for raping minor


A Katni court sentenced a man to death Friday for raping a minor, following a 
trial that lasted just 5 days.

A special court of Additional Sessions Judge Madhuri Raj Lal convicted Rajkumar 
Kol (34), an autorickshaw driver, after finding him guilty under section 376 
(A)(B), introduced under the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance 2018, as well 
as relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

Kol raped the 5-year-old girl on July 4 while taking her to school.

He was arrested on July 7. Police filed the charge sheet on July 12 and the 
hearing in the case started on July 23.

(source: business-standard.com)






EGYPT:

Egypt refers 75 defendants to Mufti for death penalty----The court has set 
September 8 as a date for confirming the verdict


An Egyptian court on Saturday handed down a preliminary death sentence against 
75 defendants in connection with the dispersal of a major protest camp in Cairo 
in 2013, according to a judicial source.

The court referred the defendants to the Grand Mufti, Egypt's top religious 
authority, for consideration of the death penalty against them over charges 
ranging from murder to blocking roads.

Egyptian law requires courts to refer cases to the Mufti for consideration of 
the death penalty ahead of a final verdict although his decision is 
non-binding.

The court has set September 8 as a date for confirming the verdict.

Several Muslim Brotherhood leaders are among the defendants, including Essam 
al-Erian and Mohamed el-Beltagi as well as Islamist clerics Safwat Hegazi and 
Wajdi Ghoneim.

The Egyptian military deposed democratically-elected president Mohamed Morsi in 
a coup in mid-2013 after serving 1 year in power.

In August of the same year, security forces violently cleared a major protest 
camp in support of Morsi in Cairo???s Rabaa al Adawiya Square.

While official estimates put the number of fatalities in the dispersal at 632, 
rights groups say that more than 1,000 have been killed.

Since Morsi's overthrow, Egyptian authorities launched a relentless crackdown 
on dissent, killing hundreds of his supporters and sending thousands behind 
bars.

(source: aa.com.tr)






IRAN----execution

At Least 1 Prisoner Hanged in Urmia


Out of 4 prisoners who were transferred to the solitary confinement on July 25 
for execution, at least 1 was executed at Urmia Central Prison on drug-related 
charges. The execution of 1 prisoner was stopped, and there is no information 
regarding the fate of the 2 other prisoners yet.

According to a close source, on the morning of Friday, July 27, at least 1 
prisoner was executed at Urmia Central Prison on drug-related charges. The 
prisoner was identified as Jahangir Nojavan from ward 15.

A close source told IHR, "Jahangir was arrested on the charge of 5 kilograms of 
drugs but he was also charged with being a drug kingpin, that???s why the court 
reapproved his death sentence. Another prisoner, named Saeed Pourhamzeh, was 
also executed at Urmia Central Prison on the same charge last year."

Jahangir Nojavan was transferred to the solitary confinement along with another 
prisoner on Thursday, July 25. The reports indicate that the execution of the 
other prisoner was stopped for unknown reasons and he returned to his cell.

Moreover, some sources told IHR that 2 more prisoners with drug-related charges 
were also transferred to the solitary confinement from Salmas and Naghdeh 
prisons. These prisoners were also sentenced to death on drug-related charges 
but there is no information regarding their fate.

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

Prisoners Scheduled to Be Executed on Drug-Related Charges


Yesterday, at least 2 prisoners were transferred to the solitary confinement in 
order to be executed on drug-related charges. Some sources stated that the 
number of the prisoners was four.

According to a close source, on the morning of Thursday, at least 2 prisoners, 
sentenced to death on drug-related charges, were transferred to the solitary 
confinement of Urmia Central Prison.

Iran Human Rights had reported the transfer of Jahangir Nojavan from ward 15 to 
the solitary confinement, however, new information shows that another prisoner 
who was sentenced to death on drug-related charges was also transferred to the 
solitary confinement from the "psychotherapy ward" of the prison. The prisoner 
has not been identified yet.

A close source told IHR, "2 more prisoners with drug-related charges were also 
transferred to the solitary confinement from Salmas and Naghdeh prisons in 
order to be executed with the other 2. The number of the death-row prisoners 
may be even more."

The new drug law, which includes a mechanism that leads to a decrease in the 
number of death sentences and reduces the sentence of the death-row prisoners 
and those sentenced to life imprisonment, was enforced on November 14, 2018, 
and drug-related executions were almost stopped ever since. Only one 
drug-related execution has been reported by IHR since the enforcement of the 
new law; however, there is a concern that after the review of the previous 
cases, drug-related executions may start again.

(source for both: Iran Human Rights)






UNITED KINGDOM:

UK waits on legal challenge over death penalty for Isis pair----Home Office to 
suspend cooperation with US until resolution of case brought by suspect's 
mother


The Home Office is to suspend cooperation with the US over the possible 
prosecution of 2 alleged Isis executioners until a legal challenge launched by 
the mother of 1 of the men to quash a decision not to seek assurances over the 
use of the death penalty is resolved, lawyers have said.

The mother of El Shafee Elsheikh has lodged an emergency claim against a 
decision by the UK government to provide evidence to support a prosecution in 
the US against her son and co-accused, Alexanda Kotey, without seeking an 
assurance that the death penalty will not be used against them if convicted.

Elsheikh and Kotey, who were raised in Britain, are alleged to have been part 
of an Isis terror cell, known as "the Beatles", that was behind a series of 
high-profile killings of US and UK citizens in Isis-held territory, including 
the British aid workers Alan Henning and David Haines and the American 
journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff.

The pair, who have been stripped of their British citizenship, were captured in 
February by Syrian Kurdish fighters, prompting sensitive negotiations between 
the UK and the US governments over where they should be prosecuted.

Earlier this week, it emerged that the home secretary, Sajid Javid, had told 
the US attorney general, Jeff Sessions, the UK "does not currently intend to 
request, nor actively encourage" the transfer of Kotey and Elsheikh to Britain 
and there are "strong reasons for not requiring a death penalty assurance in 
this specific case".

Critics have warned the decision to suspend the normal approach of demanding a 
death penalty assurance could put the UK's principled opposition to the death 
penalty in jeopardy.

The Home Office agreed to a short-term pause in its co-operation with US 
authorities - a process known as mutual legal assistance (MLA) - but has 
extended this to the conclusion of legal proceedings brought by Elsheikh's 
mother.

A statement from Birnberg Peirce, the law firm representing the woman, said: 
"It [the UK government] has today undertaken that no further assistance will be 
provided until determination by a court at first instance - or by court order 
or agreement by the parties - of the claim being brought by the mother of El 
Shafee El Sheikh."

The Home Office will already have shared some information with US authorities 
but any further information sharing or discussions related to the prosecution 
will cease until the end of the legal proceedings.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "We have agreed to a short-term pause. The 
government remains committed to bringing these people to justice and we are 
confident we have acted in full accordance of the law and within the 
government's longstanding MLA policy."

The 2 other members of the group alleged to have been involved in the killings 
are Mohammed Emwazi, believed killed in a US airstrike in 2015, and Aine Davis, 
convicted of being a member of a terrorist organisation and jailed for 7 1/2 
years by a court in Silivri, Turkey, in May last year.

Earlier this week, the lawyers representing Elsheikh's mother said their client 
had long made clear her opposition to the actions of Islamic State. "Her 
request is that the norms of internationally accepted due process form the 
basis of any trial of accusations concerning her son," they said.

The firm sent government lawyers detailed grounds as to why they regarded the 
minister's decision as unlawful, setting out an urgent timetable for the case 
to be put before the court and for an application for a full judicial review of 
the minister's decision.

(source: The Guardian)