[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

May 31


PAKISTAN:

2 get death penalty, another life term in murder case



A sessions court awarded death sentences to 2 accused and a life term to 
another for their involvement in a murder case in Jhang. The judgment was 
announced by District and Sessions Judge Azam Soraya.

The prosecution told the court that accused Nabi Bakhsh, Waris, Ghulam Abbas, 
Ismail, Naseem and Usman had gunned down Humayun and his son Ghulam Akbar in 
2013. The local police registered a case against the accused and presented the 
challan before the court.

After hearing the arguments, the judge handed down death sentence to Nabi 
Bakhsh and Waris along with a fine of Rs0.5 million each which would be paid to 
the legal heirs of the deceased.

The court also awarded life sentence to Usman and directed him to pay a fine of 
Rs0.1 million.

Meanwhile, the judge acquitted Ghulam Abbas, Ismail and Naseem in the case 
giving them the benefit of doubt.

Earlier, a sessions court awarded death sentence on 2 counts to an accused for 
his involvement in a double murder case in Faisalabad. The judgment was 
announced by Additional District and Sessions Judge Azfar Sultan Abrar.

Convict Rizwan, a resident of Chak Jhumra, had gunned down his father Iqbal and 
sister Sumera over a domestic dispute. The local police registered a case 
against him and presented the challan before the court.

After hearing the arguments, the judge handed down death sentence to Rizwan 
along with a fine of Rs0.4 million.

(source: The Express Tribune)








INDONESIA:

Pakistani national on death row in Indonesia passes away



Pakistani national on death row in Indonesia Zulfiqar Ali, who was said to have 
been 'wrongly convicted' in a drugs case, passed away on Thursday.

Earlier during the day, Ali was shifted to an Intensive Care Unit and requests 
were being made to shift him to Pakistan.

A Pakistani rights group, the Justice Project Pakistan (JPP) had appealed on 
Indonesia to free Zulfiqar Ali on humanitarian grounds.

The JPP, which opposes capital punishment, had earlier said in a statement 
today that 54-year-old Zulfiqar Ali could soon die after his health 
deteriorated while in a Jakarta prison hospital.

Sarah Belal, executive director at Justice Project Pakistan, said they cannot 
save Ali's life but are trying to help him "die a free man."

There was no immediate response from Indonesia.

Zulfiqar Ali was diagnosed with stage 4 liver cancer in December 2017 and had 
also been suffering from chronic liver cirrhosis and Diabetes Mellitus.

Ali was arrested in November 2004 and later convicted on drug smuggling charges 
which carry the death sentence in Indonesia. The rights group claims his trial 
was unfair and that he was wrongfully convicted.

President Mamnoon Hussain had also asked Indonesia President Joko "Jokowi" 
Widodo to pardon Ali.

(source: The Nation)








IRAN:

Prisoner Might Be Sentenced to Death Based on Qassameh



A woman who is suspected of murdering her husband might be sentenced to death 
based on Qassameh because there is no concrete evidence proving her guilt. 
Qassameh is one of the most vulnerable ways to prove a crime (murder or 
physical injuries) in the Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) and criminal law.

According to the Iranian national broadcasting website Jamejamonline, a woman 
who was arrested on the charge of murdering her husband on March 22, 2015, 
might be sentenced to death based on Qassameh.

The defendant, identified as Tahereh, 34, stated, "When my husband and I got 
into a fight he stabbed himself in the chest and killed himself." However, the 
forensic report rejected the possibility of suicide and specified that the 
victim was stabbed to death by another person.

Tahereh was sentenced to Qisas (retaliation in kind) at the request of the 
victim's mother but the Supreme Court rejected the verdict. Consequently, the 
judges decided that Qassameh should be used in this case.

As a result, the next of kin is required to bring 50 of her male relatives to 
the court to swear an oath that the defendant is guilty, otherwise, the 
defendant should swear an oath and plead not guilty 50 times in order for her 
charges to be dropped. Of note, none of the 50 people are direct witnesses of 
the crime.

It should be noted that a prisoner named Mojtaba Ghiasvand was executed at 
Rajai Shahr Prison based on Qassameh on October 30, 2017.

Qassameh is one of the weakest ways to prove a crime (murder or physical 
injuries) in the Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) and criminal law. It is performed 
when the judge decides that there is not enough evidence of guilt to prove the 
crime but the judge still thinks that the defender is most probably guilty and 
it is based on swearing an oath by 50 people in murder and 25 people in 
unintended manslaughter. It must be noted that the people who swear in Qassameh 
are not usually direct witnesses to the crime.

(source: Iran Human Rights)








SOMALIA:

Court sentences 3 militants to death over bombing



Somali military court on Wednesday sentenced 3 al-Shabab militants to death 
after they were found guilty of being behind the hotel bombing in October last 
year, officials said.

Chairperson of the Military Court, Hassan Ali Nur Shute, said the militants 
admitted to charges of carrying out attack on Nasa-hablod II Hotel in which 
more than 30 people were killed and several others injured.

"The Court heard the cases of 3 terrorist militants in several sessions and 
found them guilty of carrying out attack on Hotel Nasa-hablod II attack on 
October 28, 2017, therefore the court sentenced Farhan Samatar, Abdinasir 
Hassan and Abshir Haji to death," Shute said.

Somali government's military court often gives death penalties against 
al-Shabab militants and some soldiers.

But human rights groups including the UN and the EU have condemned these 
executions.

The EU says it considers the death penalty to be a cruel and inhuman.

(source: thenewsguru.com)








BANGLADESH:

Youth gets death for killing child after rape in Kishoreganj



A youth has been awarded death penalty by Kishoreganj Women and Children 
Repression Prevention court today for raping and murdering a 4-year-old girl.

Judge Kiron Shankar Haldar sentenced Shah Alam, 22,to death in presence of the 
convict, Afzal Hossain,the special public prosecutor of Kishoreganj Women and 
Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-1, told a local correspondent.

The court also awarded him 14 years of imprisonment and fined Tk 40 thousand 
for abducting the child, the PP informed.

On May 26, 2014, the victim, a daughter of Auto-rickshaw driver Noyon Mia and 
Sharmin Akhter, was reportedly abducted by Shah Alam when she was sleeping 
beside her mother at night after her father went out of the home, keeping the 
door open.

Shah Alam later raped and killed the child, according to the case statement. 
Police detained the convict on the next day.

The father of the child filed the case with Sadar Model Police Station after 
the murder.

(source: The Daily Star)








BELARUS:

EU, Council Of Europe Condemn New Executions In Belarus, Call For Moratorium



The European Union and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe 
(PACE) has strongly condemned the reported secret executions of 2 Belarusians 
whose appeals had been rejected by the country's Supreme Court.

"2 new executions in Belarus, of Viktar Liotau and Alyaksey Mikhalenia, have 
reportedly taken place in secret in mid-May 2018," the EU foreign-policy 
chief's spokeswoman, Maja Kocijancic, said in a statement.

In January, the Minsk-based Vyasna (Spring) human rights center said Liotau was 
sentenced to death in September 2017 for murdering his cellmate in a penal 
colony in Hlybokaye, some 160 kilometers north of Minsk.

Mikhalenia was sentenced to death in 2016 for murdering his neighbors, Vyasna 
said, adding that his appeal to the Supreme Court had been rejected.

"The continued application of the death penalty runs counter to [Belarus's] 
stated willingness to engage with the international community, including the 
European Union, on the matter and to consider the introduction of a moratorium 
on its use," Kocijancic said in her statement.

She also voiced concern for the death sentences for murder handed down earlier 
this year to 2 other Belarusians, Vyachaslau Sukharka, and Alyaksandr 
Zhylnikau.

Kocijancic said the sentences were upheld on May 30 by the Supreme Court.

Kocijancic warned that "tangible steps taken by Belarus to respect universal 
human rights, including on the death penalty, are key for shaping the EU's 
future policy towards Belarus," and reaffirmed the EU's strong and unequivocal 
opposition on capital punishment.

Yves Cruchten, general rapporteur of PACE on the abolition of the death 
penalty, and Andrea Rigoni, former PACE rapporteur on Belarus, also condemned 
the executions, saying that "the secrecy surrounding the execution of the death 
penalty in Belarus is a particularly disturbing feature."

Cruchten and Rigoni urged the Belarusian National Assembly to "consider this 
issue as a matter of urgency and move towards a moratorium on the executions 
without further delay."

Amnesty International, in its annual report on the capital punishment around 
the world published last month, noted that it was "particularly concerning" 
that no notification is being given to family members.

"The families of the prisoners only find out about the executions when they go 
to the prison expecting to visit or to leave parcels for the [detained] 
relative," Amnesty said.

Belarus remains the only country in Europe and Central Asia to carry out the 
death penalty.

In 2017, 2 people convicted of rape and murder, Syarhey Vostrykau and Kiryl 
Kazachok, were executed by shooting. The 2 were put to death in secret, in May 
and October, respectively, Amnesty said.

(source: Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty)

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

EU warns Belarus over reports of 'secret' executions----Former Soviet state 
upheld 2 more death sentences on Wednesday.



The EU warned Belarus over reports of "secret" executions on Wednesday, saying 
that the country's continued use of the death penalty would be "key for shaping 
the EU's future policy towards Belarus."

Belarus is the only country in Europe that continues to use capital punishment. 
The European External Action Service, the EU's diplomatic service, said in a 
statement that 2 people had reportedly been secretly executed earlier this 
month, and that the country's Supreme Court had upheld 2 more death sentences 
on Wednesday.

"The continued application of the death penalty runs counter to Belarus' stated 
willingness to engage with the international community, including the European 
Union, on the matter and to consider the introduction of a moratorium on its 
use," the statement said. "Tangible steps taken by Belarus to respect universal 
human rights, including on the death penalty, are key for shaping the EU's 
future policy towards Belarus."

Belarus and the EU concluded negotiations on a bilateral Partnership and 
Cooperation Agreement in 1995, but the EU has still not ratified the pact more 
than 2 decades later, citing Belarus' "lack of commitment to democracy and 
political and civil rights."

The EU says it "strongly and unequivocally" opposes the death penalty for any 
reason, and maintains that its use "violates the inalienable right to life 
enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is a cruel, inhuman 
and degrading punishment.

"Furthermore, the death penalty does not act as a deterrent to crime and any 
error of judgement is impossible to correct."

(source: politico.eu)








TAIWAN:

Ministry vows to review options for death row inmates



The Ministry of Justice yesterday said it would "cautiously" review its options 
for all death row inmates, but would neither abolish the death sentence nor 
turn its back on the spirit of two international treaties that Taiwan has 
signed.

The comments came after 11 murder cases rocked the nation over the past month.

Research shows no direct correlation between upholding the death penalty and 
decreasing homicides, the ministry said, adding that it would "cautiously" 
handle the issue of capital punishment, as Taiwan has signed the International 
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant 
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

While the nation has ratified both treaties, the ministry said that Item 2, 
Article 1 of the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR, which stipulates that 
"each state party shall take all necessary measures to abolish the death 
penalty within its jurisdiction," does not apply to Taiwan, as it is not a 
member of the UN.

However, Taiwan must be extremely cautious in its handling of such issues and 
strive to abide by the spirit of both treaties, the ministry said, adding that 
the nation should also seek to avoid incidents like the Chiang Kuo-ching case.

Chiang was accused of raping and killing a girl surnamed Hsieh in 1996 at Air 
Force Command Headquarters in Taipei and pleaded guilty after being tortured. 
He was executed in 1997 at the age of 21.

On Sept. 13, 2011, a military court exonerated Chiang in a posthumous trial.

The ministry said that it established a task force 6 years ago to examine the 
viability of abolishing capital punishment, but executions continue to be 
carried out.

The latest death row inmate to be executed was Cheng Chieh on May 10, 2016. 
Cheng killed 4 people on May 21, 2014, during a stabbing spree.

No judicial judgement or execution could help solve the social or other 
problems that lead people to commit crimes, Minister of Justice Chiu Taisan 
said.

Significant changes to family life, education, society and even the economy 
over the past few years have significantly affected people's lives, and these 
problems are the root causes of an increase in criminal activity, he said.

The judiciary is on the back end and can only hand out appropriate sentences 
for crimes that have already been committed, he added.

Chiu suggested that a social safety network be established that would involve 
the ministries of the interior, education and labor to tackle the root causes 
of increased criminal activity.

(source: Taipei Times)

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

Indonesian fisherman detained over alleged murder on Taiwanese boat



An Indonesian man suspected of killing a co-worker while at sea on board a 
Taiwanese fishing vessel was detained by prosecutors in Pingtung County on 
Thursday.

The crew member, Abdul Halim, is accused of murdering missing compatriot 
Hariyanto, who was reportedly stabbed and pushed overboard following a fight 
between the 2 men on board the Ming Man Hsiang No. 38 on May 17, the Pingtung 
District Prosecutors Office said.

Following the incident, which occurred in waters near Guam, the Taiwanese 
captain of the Liuqiu-registered fishing boat sought the assistance of a nearby 
Taiwanese fishing vessel to search for the stabbed fisherman, but no body was 
found, according to earlier reports from the Tung Kang Fishermen Association of 
Pingtung County.

The captain, surnamed Ku, then reported the incident to the association and 
Taiwan's Fisheries Agency under the Council of Agriculture.

On Wednesday, the boat was escorted back to Pingtung by a Coast Guard 
Administration (CGA) vessel along with the captain and nine Indonesian crew 
members, after which prosecutors and police investigators boarded the ship to 
collect evidence and question the crew.

According to prosecutors, an application filed to detain Halim was approved by 
Pingtung District Court on Thursday.

The case currently remains under investigation.

If found guilty, the Indonesian national could face the death penalty, life 
imprisonment or jail time of no less than 5 years under Article 271-1 of the 
Criminal Code, prosecutors said.

(source: focustaiwan.tw)