[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

November 2




GLOBAL:

Countries should heed "clear pro-abolitionist spirit" towards death penalty: 
UNHCR----On Sudan, the Human Rights Committee highlighted its concerns that the 
death penalty is still imposed for crimes other than those involving 
"intentional killing".



Countries should heed the "clear pro-abolitionist spirit" towards the death 
penalty of one of the world's most important treaties, a key UN independent 
human rights panel said on Thursday, while highlighting concerns about 
right-to-life violations in Belarus and Sudan. The Human Rights Committee's 
comments followed its scheduled review of both countries at its 124th session 
in Geneva, which also covered Belize, Bulgaria and Guinea.

The 18-member body of independent experts began work more than four decades ago 
to monitor people's right to life, freedom of expression and freedom of 
conscience – obligations for State signatories to the 1966 International 
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

Together with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural 
Rights (ICESCR), the two Covenants are the cornerstone of an extensive series 
of internationally binding rights treaties.

On Sudan, the Human Rights Committee highlighted its concerns that the death 
penalty is still imposed for crimes other than those involving "intentional 
killing".

Panel member Sarah Cleveland told journalists that this could include a "wide 
range" of offences, such as blasphemy, adultery and same-sex relationships.

"Sudan has a wide range of crimes on the books that are subject to the death 
penalty including crimes which do not qualify as the 'most serious crimes' 
under the Covenant," she said. "It has a mandatory death penalty for a number 
of crimes and it also retains on the books punishments including execution by 
stoning and by crucifixion."

Noting that Sudan had "indicated that they do not apply the latter 2 
punishments", Ms Cleveland explained that the committee had recommended that 
they be removed from the criminal code nonetheless.

On Belarus, the UN panel noted with concern that the death penalty "continues 
to be imposed and enforced", including in 6 cases where the Human Rights 
Committee had requested a stay of execution.

"We intervened and asked them not to execute a person until we have heard his 
allegations about the due process and other violations of his process," said 
panel chair Yuval Shany.

He explained that the Government had said it was examining a move towards the 
abolition of the death penalty, but that a majority of the population was not 
in favour of doing so.

"We already know that 3 out of those 6 persons have been executed despite our 
requests," Mr Shany added. "We do not have information about the fate of the 
other 3, so we are still hoping that they were not executed."

Denying families an execution date, clearly 'inhumane treatment' Among the 
committee's other concerns about Belarus with regard to the Convention was the 
practice of preventing families of condemned prisoners from knowing the date of 
their execution - one of a series of measures which the authorities maintained 
were there to shield relatives.

"The argument from the State has been that these provisions in the Penalties 
Enforcement Code are actually in a way to protect the family," said panel 
member Ilze Brands Kehris. "But it is the view of the Committee and every time 
we have had other countries where we have dealt with this as well, is that the 
traumatic experience of not knowing what has happened to a loved one and not 
knowing the time of even an execution and certainly not being able to then bury 
the body...actually does amount to inhumane treatment."

Beyond its country-specific recommendations, the UN panel also took the 
significant step of issuing updated, detailed guidance on the right to life, 
which is covered in the Covenant under Article 6.

The Committee last published two such documents more than 30 years ago, and 
each of those was only 10 paragraphs long.

The latest version was nearly 4 years in the making and is more than seven 
times as big - reflecting the input of dozens of States and civil society - and 
the impact of modern-day threats to people's civil and political rights, such 
as weaponized drones and environmental degradation.

According to the panel's rules, Member States have two years to report back on 
their progress in implementing its main concluding observations, or 
recommendations.

Asked whether the panel would comment on the case of journalist Jamal 
Khashoggi, who Saudi officials reportedly say was killed in the Saudi Arabian 
consulate in Istanbul, chair Yuval Shany said that the country was not a 
signatory to the Convention.

Turkey was a signatory, however, Mr Shany, explained, before adding that it had 
yet to report back to the Committee, although it was expected to do so next 
year.

At its 125th meeting in March, the panel is due to discuss people's civil and 
political rights in Equatorial Guinea, Mauritania, Nigeria, Tajikistan and 
Trinidad and Tobago.

(source: devdiscourse.com)








SAUDI ARABIA----female execution

Saudi Arabia executes Indonesian maid who killed man she says assaulted 
her----The execution of Tuti Tursilawati has sparked anger from the Indonesian 
government, with the Gulf kingdom implementing the death penalty without prior 
notice



Saudi Arabia is facing renewed international pressure from the Indonesian 
government after it executed an Indonesian female migrant worker without 
informing them.

Tuti Tursilawati was sentenced to death in 2011 for killing her Saudi employer. 
Her execution took place in Taif on Monday and marks the 4th time Saudi 
authorities had failed to inform Indonesia they had carried out the death 
penalty on one of its citizens.

Tursilawati said she acted in "self-defence" and that she killed her Saudi boss 
after he attempted to abuse her sexually. Before her death, Tursilawati's 
family had flown out to Taif in Saudi Arabia to bid farewell to the abuse 
victim.

Following Tursilawati's death, Indonesian President Joko Widodo called Saudi 
foreign minister Adel Jubeir to demand an answer on why his government was not 
informed, according to official reports.

"We have called Saudi Arabia's foreign minister and conveyed our protest," said 
Widodo, according to his cabinet secretary's office.

Indonesia's Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi told a conference in Bali it had 
lodged an official complaint on Tuesday to Saudi Arabia's ambassador to 
Indonesia.

Marsudi added that the death penalty took place despite the Indonesian 
government's attempts to provide "maximum legal assistance" by appealing 
Tursilawati's death sentence in court and sending a letter to King Salman in 
Saudi Arabia.

Tusilawati's death comes amid mounting pressure on Saudi Arabia to answer for 
the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The female migrant worker's was killed almost a week after Jubeir visited 
Indonesia and signed a series of memorandums.

The Saudi foreign minister met with Marsudi and Widodo to discuss relations 
between the two countries. Among the topics discussed was a provision for the 
Saudis to inform Indonesia's consulate before it carried out the death penalty 
against one of its citizens.

The majority of Indonesian female migrant workers head to Saudi Arabia, with an 
estimated 1 million Indonesian women working in Saudi Arabia in 2014, the vast 
majority of them employed as domestic workers. Indonesia, however, placed a 
moratorium on any Indonesian workers going to Saudi Arabia in 2011, after a 
female worker was beheaded for killing her employer. The moratorium was lifted 
in June this year.

The latest agreements signed by the 2 countries attempted to give domestic 
workers in Saudi Arabia better protection, according to Indonesia's foreign 
ministry.

Following Tursilawati's death, rights groups called on Indonesia's government 
to cancel its agreement to send workers to Saudi Arabia.

Wahyu Susilo, from Migrant Care advocacy, told ABC News that Saudi Arabia was 
ignoring the Indonesian government despite attempting to protect its citizens 
in the Gulf kingdom.

"It turned out that Indonesia's request [to protect the rights of migrant 
workers] was ignored by executing Tuti," said Susilo.

In 2014, Human Rights Watch criticised Indonesia's agreements with Saudi Arabia 
and said it lacked clear enforcement mechanisms for workers, who are typically 
isolated in private homes, unaware of their rights and unable to speak Arabic.

"These reforms do not address the long history of workers coming forward with 
complaints, only to be slammed with counter-allegations of theft, witchcraft or 
adultery by their far more influential, well-connected and often wealthy 
employers," Nisha Varia from HRW's women's rights division said.

(source: middleeasteye.net)








MALAYSIA:

The right to life and death in syariah



The right to life is one of the fundamental aspects of human rights.

Without this right, people risk losing other rights such as freedom of 
religion, freedom of speech and opinion, freedom of movement, property 
ownership rights, and many more.

Protecting the right to life is foundational to the building of a civilisation, 
without it, it is impossible to sustain a civilised culture and achieve 
technological advancement.

Hence, jurists and philosophers are unanimous in considering this right to be 
inalienable and non-negotiable.

While the Syariah recognises the right to life of each and every human, it also 
posits that humankind is the prize of God's creation.

Because humans were created by God, a human's right to life ultimately belongs 
to God. For God gives life, and He is the one who takes it back. Therefore, 
human lives are sacred according to the Syariah, and it is a crime to take 
another human’s life without just cause. In this regard, Syariah has prescribed 
retaliation (qisas) that prescribes the death penalty for intentional murder.

The right to life is also ranked as one of the most important objectives of the 
Syariah (Maqasid Syariah). While some Muslim scholars have contended that 
preservation of life should come after the preservation of religion, there are 
many who argued that preservation of life should be prioritised foremost. This 
is based on the argument that without life, man cannot live and preserve the 
religion in the first place. The prohibition of suicide and murder are clearly 
enshrined in the Quran: "... and do not throw [yourselves] with your [own] 
hands into destruction” (Q2:195) and "...whoever kills a believer 
intentionally, his recompense is Hell, wherein he will abide eternally, and 
Allah has become angry with him and has cursed him and has prepared for him a 
great punishment" (Q4:93).

However, Syariah does allow the taking of one's life through the appropriate 
legal processes in pursuit of justice, like in the case of murder. Even so, the 
next-of-kin of the victim is given the option to forgive the murderer by taking 
a diyat (blood money) for the Right of Man (haq al-adami) part, yet the 
authorities may still punish the offender for violation of the Right of God 
(haq Allah) or the community's right. Other Syariah offences that warranted the 
death penalty include adultery committed by married persons (zina muhsan), and 
hirabah (highway robbery and terrorism).

However, over the last two decades, public opinion on the application of the 
death penalty has shifted. The United Nations (UN) through its Human Rights 
Council, for instance, has called for the abolition of the death penalty. 
Consequently, many countries have abolished the death penalty. Until the end of 
2017, 142 countries have abolished the death penalty in their general laws, 
while 106 countries have abolished laws prescribing death sentences for all 
criminal offences.

This shows that the world trend is to eliminate the death penalty.

Even in countries that still uphold the death penalty like Iran and Malaysia, 
there has been a declining trend in its execution.

For example, Malaysia has taken a positive step by amending the Dangerous Drugs 
Act 1952 in 2017 which could lower the mandatory death sentence to life 
imprisonment.

This abolitionist trend, however, poses a challenge to Islamic criminal law due 
to the latter's prescription of death sentences for certain crimes.

For Muslims, there is a moral obligation to remain faithful to the injunctions 
provided by Islamic law.

A Muslim judge cannot simply replace the prescribed punishment with another 
without a strong justification.

However, a judge is allowed to refuse to take up a case, or under certain 
circumstances impose a lighter sentence by means of discretionary laws 
(ta'zir).

Not all death sentences in Islamic law are fixed and irreversible. Punishments 
in Islamic criminal law can be divided into 2 categories:

(i) the right of God, where the crime is committed against God, in which the 
punishment cannot be negotiated; and,

(ii) the right of human beings, where the crime is committed against another 
fellow human being.

For example, under the law of qisas, the next-of-kin can either opt for the 
death sentence or substitute it with diyat (blood money). Additionally, while 
the Islamic laws are considered divine, Syariah does allow withholding its 
injunctions in the case of drought or other extreme exigencies.

>From the above discussion, it can be concluded that the death penalty in 
Islamic criminal law cannot be repealed except in the case of qisas where it 
can be replaced with diyat payment. Despite international pressure to repeal 
death sentences under the Syariah criminal law, it can still be practised 
provided that it does not violate the international law and in accordance with 
Article 6 of the ICCPR 1966 which excludes serious cases.

For hudud crimes involving serious offences such as hirabah (highway robbery 
and terrorism) the application of the death penalty can still be justified. In 
the case of adultery committed between married persons (zina muhsan), the Quran 
prescribes four eye witnesses for proof, which is almost impossible to provide.

Hence, the punishment of zina in almost all cases is reduced to ta'zir, which 
the sentencing judge can determine and quantify.

The only punishment that the Quran provides is 100 lashes of the whip for all 
proven cases of zina. The death punishment for zina is not mentioned in the 
Quran but only found in the tradition (Sunnah).

Abolishing death sentences as provided in the Second Optional Protocol and 
other international laws may be realised in the case of ta’zir (discretionary) 
sentences that prescribe capital punishment.

Abolishing the death penalty for ta'zir offence will not raise any question on 
the issue of right to life from an Islamic perspective.

(source: Commentary;Dr Mohamed Azam Mohamed Adil is associate professor and 
deputy chief executive officer, Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies (IAIS) 
Malaysia----nst.com.my)








PHILIPPINES:

OFW Jennifer Dalquez saved from death row in UAE



After spending almost 4 years in an Abu Dhabi prison, acquitted murder suspect 
Jennifer Dalquez finally boarded her flight to freedom on Thursday night.

She thanked the Philippine government for its effort in saving her from death 
row.

Dalquez will be arriving in Manila on Friday morning on board a Philippine 
Airlines flight, which is also bringing home 86 undocumented Filipinos who 
availed themselves of the 3-month amnesty program of the United Arab Emirates 
(UAE).

Ambassador to the UAE Hjayceelyn Quintana said Dalquez was grateful to the 
Philippine embassy for letting her return home and be reunited with her loved 
ones.

"Jennifer was indeed very thankful for all the assistance, the support, and 
most especially the prayers that she said led to the reversal of the death 
sentence that was meted out on her 3 years ago," Quintana said.

Dalquez, 29, did not have the chance to personally thank Quintana as she was 
escorted directly to the aircraft by UAE authorities.

Dalquez is returning home 3 years after she was found guilty and sentenced to 
death by an Abu Dhabi court for stabbing to death her employer in 2014 after he 
threatened to kill the General Santos native for refusing to have sex with him.

The embassy, through its lawyers, immediately appealed the conviction and 
successfully had it overturned by a local court in 2017. Dalquez was 
subsequently ordered released after completing a 5-year jail term for theft on 
October 25.

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Sarah Lou Arriola 
also welcomed Dalquez's release and repatriation.

"Jennifer's acquittal underscores just how serious the Duterte administration 
is in promoting the rights and protecting the welfare of our people abroad," 
she said.

According to Arriola, the DFA exhausted all legal remedies to spare Dalquez 
from capital punishment.

She said the Office of Migrant Workers Affairs provided Dalquez with a lawyer 
since her case was heard by the Court of First Instance in March 2015.

Embassy representatives were also present during Dalquez's court hearings and 
visited her several times at the Al Ain Central Jail.

Arriola also said the DFA provided Dalquez with financial assistance to cover 
her personal expenses while in detention and also shouldered the cost of the 2 
compassionate visits to Abu Dhabi of her parents. It was also the DFA that 
shouldered the cost of her flight home.

Dalquez also received assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and 
Development (DSWD), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and the 
Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) with Labor Secretary Silvestre 
Bello III providing livelihood for her parents and scholarship to her child 
following his visit to her in 2017.

(source: ABS-CBNNews)




SOUTH SUDAN:

Relief as president pardons 2 prominent death row inmates



Responding to the granting of a presidential pardon to former South Sudanese 
opposition spokesman James Gatdet Dak and South African national William 
Endley, Amnesty International's Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and 
the Great Lakes Joan Nyanyuki said:

"The pardoning of James Gatdet and William Endley comes as a relief to all who 
cherish human rights and abhor the death penalty, but more needs to be done. 
The South Sudanese authorities must commute all death sentences and get on the 
right side of history by abolishing this ultimate cruel form of punishment.

"It, however, remains extremely disturbing that Gatdet, a duly registered 
refugee, was irregularly repatriated to South Sudan by Kenyan authorities, 
putting his life at grave risk. This repatriation must be fully and 
independently investigated, and action taken against those responsible."

It, however, remains extremely disturbing that Gatdet, a duly registered 
refugee, was irregularly repatriated to South Sudan by Kenyan authorities, 
putting his life at grave risk.----Joan Nyanyuki, Amnesty International 
Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes

James Gatdet Dak was the spokesman for the Sudan People's Liberation Army - In 
Opposition (SPLA-IO) led by former Vice-President Riek Machar when he was taken 
from his Nairobi home and deported to South Sudan in November 2016.

"The Kenyan authorities have a duty to ensure the safety of all those in its 
territory, including refugees. It must always uphold their rights under 
international law."

Both James Gatdet Dak and William Endley were pardoned by President Salva Kiir 
on 31 October 2018, as the country held celebrations to mark the latest 
agreement to end almost 5 years of armed conflict in the country. William 
Endley will be deported to his native South Africa, immediately upon being 
released.

(source: Amnesty International)








GAMBIA:

'Should the Death Penalty Be Allowed or Abolished?' NCCE Official On Civic 
Education Awareness Campaign



Ansumana Yabou, Civic Education Officer at the National Council for Civic 
Education (NCCE), on Sunday October 28th 2018, asked the community members of 
Illissa, in Upper Baddibu district and Farafenne, on whether they want the 
death penalty to be allowed or abolished in the new Constitution.

"It depends on you people and those answers should be given to the 
Constitutional Review Commissioners who are preparing to face you soon. Prepare 
to submit your answers to this and other issues you want to be included in the 
new Constitution, when they come to take your contributions and ideas that you 
want to see changed in our national laws," he said.

Yabou made these and other remarks during the ongoing 2 week civic education 
sensitisation conducted by officials from the Constitution Review Commission 
(CRC) and the NCCE. Yabou kept reminding the communities that the 1997 
Constitution is not owned by former president Jammeh but the Gambian people.

For his part, Kunkung Saidy Bayo, NCCE's Senior Programme Officer, said a 
Constitution cannot be made without the contribution of the people it is 
intended for; that the people should come forth and share ideas; that another 
team will be facing them soon to seek their contribution on how and what they 
want to be reviewed in the new Constitution.

A native Illiasa Yaya Jammeh, said they cannot hide their excitement with the 
CRC, and called on his people to listen and take the opportunity with all 
seriousness.

In the same settlement, one Kebba Bah said they are encouraged by the CRC-NCCE 
sensitisation and will be well prepared for the second team; that they are now 
becoming aware with issues and will strongly advice their fellow community 
members to participate fully.

Similarly messages were delivered by the CRC-NCCE officials on the same day, 
when they met the people of Farafenni. Residents of Farafinne Arabo Ansu 
Khanyi, said the Constitutional Review Commission is an important step forward.

"It gives people the opportunity to express themselves and contribute to the 
making of the Constitution. They will give their versions and suggestions so 
that the final end product will be everybody's idea," he said.

Nogoi Secka, a female contributor said they need to be careful with the review 
process, especially when it comes to women affairs; that the contributions and 
ideas we are going to make as a people should be able to protect and take care 
of even "our great grand-children." She applauded the steps taken by the CRC 
and NCCE, to sensitise communities in this important national undertaking.

Similar meetings continue in Lower and Upper Saloum, in the Central River 
Region, on Monday October 29th, in the communities of Kaur Janneh-Kunda, 
Ballangharr Kerr-Nderri, etc.

Subsequent meetings will continue in Buduck and Chamen and other communities in 
the Central and Upper River Region North.

(source: allafrica.com)








INDIA:

Madhya Pradesh High Court commutes rapist's death sentence to life----Touheed 
Shoukat, accused of raping a 3-year-old girl near Chhatarpur in April, was 
awarded the death penalty by the IV additional sessions judge, Chhatarpur, on

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Thursday commuted the death sentence awarded 
to a 19-year-old man charged with raping a minor, observing that it is not 
appropriate to award the death penalty in every case.

Touheed Shoukat, accused of raping a 3-year-old girl near Chhatarpur in April, 
was awarded the death penalty by the IV additional sessions judge, Chhatarpur, 
on August 6 after a speedy trial.

Shoukat’s father did not have money to engage a lawyer to defend his son. The 
court provided him an advocate under free legal aid, but the advocate could not 
even visit the scene of crime, more than 60 km from Chhatarpur, because he did 
not have money.

"To award death sentence, some factors like age of the culprit and manner of 
commission of offence and possibilities of reformation of the accused are 
necessary to be considered," said the division bench of Justices S K Seth and 
Anjuly Palo, while deciding the criminal reference for the confirmation of 
death sentence.

(source: indianexpress.com)








PAKISTAN:

Traders' killer gets death penalty



An anti-terrorism court (ATC) awarded the death sentence to Munawar David, who 
was charged with the murders of 2 traders during a robbery bid. The court twice 
announced the death penalty for David and ordered him to pay Rs2 million as 
penalty. The court ordered that the accused will have to further spend a year 
in jail if the penalty sum is not paid. According to the police, the accused, 
along with his accomplices, tried to snatch gold from the 2 traders in 2013. On 
resistance, the accused opened fire, killing Ayaz and Mukhtar as a result. One 
accused Imam Bakhsh was also killed in the fire and another accused, Imran, 
managed to escape.

Another ATC on Thursday convicted 3 members of a Lyari-based gang on charges 
relating to attack on police personnel, possession of illegal weapons and 
explosive materials. The court awarded 24 years in prison to Saeed alias Kaka 
along with a fine of Rs0.1m and 17 years of imprisonment to Imtiaz Bangali and 
Talha along with a fine of Rs50,000. The accused were arrested within the 
limits of Kalakot Station during a joint operation by the Rangers and police.

Meanwhile, another ATC provided the case file to accused Khalid in the Amal 
murder case. On the next hearing on November 3, the charge-sheet will be 
submitted. The hearing of Amal's murder during robbery was heard before the 
special ATC in Karachi Central Jail. The court also approved the C-class report 
regarding the killing of accused Shehzad during the police encounter. According 
to police, the accused confessed to seven more theft crimes. Accused Khalid 
used to conduct crimes in a rickshaw. He was arrested after the encounter with 
the police while his accomplice Shehzad was killed on the spot. 2 cases are 
registered against Khalid. In this matter, a murder case against 2 police 
personnel is registered in which the police personnel have gained protective 
bail.

(source: The Express Tribune)








THAILAND:

Taiwanese trio in Thailand could face death penalty



3 Taiwanese recently arrested in Thailand on drug-smuggling charges could face 
the death penalty or life imprisonment if found guilty, the Criminal 
Investigation Bureau (CIB) said yesterday.

The 3 men were detained on Tuesday at Chiang Mai International Airport as they 
were allegedly attempting to leave for Taiwan with 200 bricks of heroin, 
weighing a total of 70kg, hidden in 4 suitcases.

The arrest of the men and seizure of the drugs was the result of a cross-border 
effort by a special task force of Thai and Taiwanese investigators, the bureau 
said.

After their arrest, the 3 men reportedly said the heroin would have fetched 
NT$5 million (US$161,676) - 5 times more than they paid for it - in smuggling 
it into Taiwan, the bureau said.

The 3 reportedly had smuggled 7kg of heroin into Taiwan in August, the bureau 
said.

Investigators determined that the 200 bricks of heroin were a "Double UOGlobe" 
brand from the Golden Triangle area of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar, Thai police 
said.

Thai law enforcement, in collaboration with their foreign counterparts, usually 
step up their efforts against drug-smuggling toward the end of the year, which 
is considered the peak season for such smuggling, they said.

(source: Taipei Times)








GERMANY:

German region scraps death penalty, fixing legal quirk



The western German state of Hesse has voted to finally scrap the death penalty, 
referendum results showed Thursday, fixing a historical oddity given that the 
punishment has been illegal for nearly 70 years.

Results from a Sunday referendum showed that 83.2 percent of voters in Hesse, 
home to finance hub Frankfurt, were in favour of changing the state 
constitution written in 1946 that allowed capital punishment.

Just three years later Germany's new post-war constitution, known as the "Basic 
Law of 1949" and which overrides state laws, would abolish the death penalty.

But Hesse never formally amended its local legal code, leaving it the last 
German state where capital punishment was still on the books.

Between 1946 and 1949 Hessian courts twice handed down death sentences, 
according to regional news site Hessenschau, although both were converted to 
prison terms.

The 1st accused was a man convicted of murdering his wife.

The other was Nazi doctor Hans-Bodo Gorgass, found guilty of killing at least 
1,000 people as part of Hitler's "euthanasia" programme.

Hesse now has "a modern constitution adapted to the realities of the 21st 
century," said state premier Volkier Bouffier, a close ally of Chancellor 
Angela Merkel.

The referendum in Hesse coincided with a regional vote that rocked the country 
the next day, when Merkel reacted to heavy losses for her centre-right CDU by 
announcing she would step down as party leader in December.

She added that she intends to stay on as chancellor until her term ends in 
2021.

(source: expatica.com)