[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

November 15



IRAN----executions

10 Prisoners Hanged at Rajai-Shahr Prison in 1 Day


10 prisoners were executed at Rajai-Shahr Prison on Wednesday, November 14.

According to the IHR sources, Vahid Mazloumin and Mohammad Esmaeel Ghasemi who 
were hanged on economic corruption charges were among them. 8 others were 
executed on murder charges.

Vahid Mazloumin, dubbed the "sultan of coins" by media, was a trader accused of 
manipulating the currency market. Mohammad Esmaeel Ghasemi was allegedly part 
of Mazloumin's network and had been involved in the sale of gold coins, Mizan 
reported.

Of note, Iran Human Rights (IHR) had strongly condemned the executions for the 
charges of economic corruption. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the Director and 
spokesperson for the organization, said: "The death penalty is an inhumane 
punishment, and the international law prohibits death sentence for economic 
corruption, which is not considered as the most serious crimes. Besides, the 
prisoners were sentenced to death as a result of an unfair trial in an illegal 
Court. The primary purpose of the execution of these 2 people is to create fear 
in society, not to combat corruption. Iranian authorities know that the system, 
with corrupt organs such as the Judiciary and the Supreme leader who has 
absolute power and zero accountability, are the main sources of corruption in 
the country. We call on the Iranian authorities to put an end to the policy of 
using the death penalty as a solution to all its problems".

Among those who were executed on murder charges, IHR could identify four as 
Saman Yamini, Ali Iranshahi, Ali Amindokht and Sam Sagvand.

The Iranian media outlets have not published news related to the aforementioned 
executions on murder charges so far.


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

Man Hanged at Zahedan Prison


A Prisoner was hanged at Zahedan Central Prison on Monday, November 12.

According to IHR sources, Milad Nouri was hanged on the morning of November 12, 
2018. IHR could not yet obtain information about what he was accused of.

Baluchi civil activist, Habibollah Sarbazi, told IHR, “a night before the 
execution, authorities called his family to go to the prison for the last 
meeting. We have heard that he was executed on rebellion charges, but we cannot 
confirm it yet.”

According to the Baluchi Activists’ Campaign, Milad Nouri was a married man 
with 2 children. He was arrested around a year ago by security forces.

The Iranian media outlets have not published news related to the aforementioned 
execution so far.




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

2o Prisoners Executed for Economic Corruption


2 Prisoners were hanged on economic corruption charges in Tehran this morning. 
They had been sentenced to death by the newly established Special Court on the 
Economic Corruption.

Iran Human Rights (IHR) strongly condemns today's executions for the charges of 
economic corruption. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the Director and spokesperson for 
the organization, said: "The death penalty is an inhumane punishment, and the 
international law prohibits death sentence for economic corruption, which is 
not considered as the most serious crimes.

Besides,  the prisoners were sentenced to death as a result of an unfair trial 
in an illegal Court.  The primary purpose of the execution of these 2 people is 
to create fear in society, not to combat corruption. Iranian authorities know 
that the system, with corrupt organs such as the Judiciary and the Supreme 
leader who has absolute power and zero accountability, are the main sources of 
corruption in the country. We call on the Iranian authorities to put an end to 
the policy of using the death penalty as a solution to all its problems".

According to a statement by Tehran Prosecutor's Office, this morning (Tuesday, 
November 14), two prisoners were executed in Tehran. The 2 prisoners were 
sentenced to death on charges of "corruption on earth" through the formation of 
a network of corruption disturbing the country's currency through illicit and 
large-scale smuggling of gold coins.

The prisoners were identified as Vahid Mazloumin and Mohammad Esmaeel Ghasemi.

Vahid Mazloumin, dubbed the "sultan of coins" by media, a trader accused of 
manipulating the currency market, according to Mizan, the news site of the 
Iranian judiciary.

Mazloumin was allegedly caught with two tons of gold coins, according to the 
Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA).

The second man was part of Mazloumin's network and had been involved in the 
sale of gold coins, Mizan reported.

The executions were carried out in the presence of a number of people in 
Tehran, said the report.

The Tehran Prison Statement did not mention the exact location of the two 
prisoners' execution.

Death penalty on the charges of economic corruption in Iran is not 
unprecedented. Mahafari Amir Khosravi was executed on such charges n 2014.

Several people have recently been sentenced to death for economic corruption. 
Among them, Hamid Bagheri Dermiani, sentenced to death in preliminary hearings, 
and Dariush Ebrahimian Bilandi and Younes Baha'd-dini, sentenced to death on 
similar charges in Fars province.

(source for all: Iran Human Rights)

********

2 people executed for corruption after unfair TV show trial


Responding to the news that the Iranian authorities have executed Vahid 
Mazloumin and Mohammad Esmail Ghasemi, 2 men convicted of financial crimes 
after a grossly unfair trial, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North 
Africa Research and Advocacy Director, Philip Luther, said:

“With these abhorrent executions the Iranian authorities have flagrantly 
violated international law and once again displayed their shameless disregard 
for the right to life.

“Use of the death penalty is appalling under any circumstances but it is even 
more horrific given that these men were convicted after a grossly unfair show 
trial that was broadcast on state television. Under international human rights 
law, the death penalty is absolutely forbidden for non-lethal crimes, such as 
financial corruption.

“The shocking manner in which their trial was fast-tracked through Iran’s 
judicial system without allowing them the chance of a proper appeal is yet 
another example of the brazen disregard the Iranian authorities have for 
defendants’ basic due process rights.”

Background

Amid a deepening economic crisis, the Iranian authorities have carried out mass 
arrests of individuals whom they describe as “financially corrupt” and 
“saboteurs of the economy”, convicted them of charges related to financial 
crimes and sentenced some of them to flogging, lengthy prison terms and the 
death penalty after grossly unfair summary trials.

In August, Iran’s Supreme Leader approved a request by the Head of Judiciary to 
set up special courts to deal with crimes involving financial corruption. Since 
then, these courts have sentenced several people to death. Vahid Mazloumin and 
Mohammad Esmail Ghasemi had been accused of manipulating Iran’s gold and 
currency markets and were sentenced to death in September on the charge of 
“spreading corruption on earth”. Dozens of other people have also been 
sentenced to prison terms after convictions on similar charges.

Amnesty International considers that trials before these special courts are 
inherently unfair because defendants are denied access to lawyers of their own 
choosing, have no right to appeal against sentences of imprisonment and are 
given only 10 days within which to appeal death sentences.

(source: Amnesty International)






SAUDI ARABIA:

Saudi Arabia seeks death penalty for Khashoggi murder suspects


Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor announced Thursday that he is seeking the 
death penalty for 5 out of 11 suspects charged in the murder of journalist 
Jamal Khashoggi inside the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul.

The five people facing capital punishment were directly involved in “ordering 
and executing the crime,” Saud al-Mojeb said at a news conference in Riyadh, 
where he also exonerated Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the killing.

“The Public Prosecutor has requested the death penalty for 5 individuals who 
are charged with ordering and committing the crime and for the appropriate 
sentences for the other indicted individuals,” deputy public prosecutor Shaalan 
al-Shaalan said.

He said 11 out of 21 suspects have been indicted and that their cases will be 
referred to court.

Gen. Ahmed al-Assiri, the former deputy chief of Saudi intelligence, had 
ordered a 15-man team on a mission to the Turkish city to force Khashoggi to go 
back to Saudi Arabia, al-Mojeb said.

They were divided into three groups – a negotiating team, an intelligence team 
and a logistical team, he added.

“The head of the negotiating team” that flew to Istanbul had ordered the murder 
of the Washington Post columnist, where he entered the consulate on Oct. 2 to 
pick up documents for his planning marriage.

Khashoggi, 59, a prominent critic of Saudi policy, was killed after a struggle 
by a lethal injection dose, and his body was dismembered and removed from the 
building, al-Shaalan said.

The body parts were then handed over to an agent outside the consulate, he 
said.

The public prosecutor’s office “requested the brotherly Turkish authorities to 
sign a special cooperation mechanism specific to this case in order to provide 
them with the results of the investigation,” according to a statement carried 
on the state SPA news agency.

“The public prosecutor is still awaiting a response to these requests.”

'I'm suffocating': Khashoggi's final words revealed in audio recording

Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Thursday that the 
Saudi actions were “positive but insufficient.”

Cavusoglu, who repeated Turkey’s demand that the 15-man team involved in the 
murder be tried in his country, said the killing was premeditated and that 
equipment was brought into Turkey to dismember the body.

“I want to say that we did not find some of his explanations to be 
satisfactory” and that “those who gave the order, the real perpetrators need to 
be revealed. This process cannot be closed down in this way,” he said.

The minister questioned why Saudi Arabia indicted only 11 out of 18 detained 
suspects. He also said the Saudi prosecutor’s announcement did not reveal where 
Khashoggi’s remains were taken.

Riyadh had offered several contradictory explanations for Khashoggi’s 
disappearance before saying he was killed in a rogue operation and then 
admitting the murder was premeditated.

Turkish officials have accused Prince Mohammed of ordering the murder while 
President Erdogan said the killing was ordered at the “highest levels” of the 
Saudi government.

Turkey also says it has a recording related to the killing which it has shared 
with Western allies. Erdogan said the recordings are “appalling” and shocked a 
Saudi intelligence officer who listened to them.

National Security Adviser John Bolton said earlier this week that the audio 
recording didn’t appear to implicate the crown prince.

The global fallout over the case has tarnished the image of the 33-year-old 
prince, the kingdom’s de facto ruler and heir apparent.

Khashoggi went into self-imposed exile in the US last year after falling out 
with Prince Mohammed.

(source: nypost.com)

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

Indonesians protest death penalty in Saudi Arabia


Indonesian activists held a protest in front of the Saudi Arabian embassy in 
Jakarta demanding that Saudi Arabia abolishes the death penalty.

According to Indonesia's Foreign Ministry, 13 Indonesian workers are on death 
row in Saudi Arabia for alleged crimes ranging from murder to drug trafficking, 
UCA News reported.

Earlier this year, Muhammad Zaini Misrin, 53, who went to Saudi Arabia to work 
as a driver in 2003, was executed after he was found guilty of murdering his 
employer in 2005. Migrant Care, an overseas workers' advocacy group, claimed 
that Misrin did not receive a fair trial and that his execution was a 'gross 
human rights violation'.

In October, Tuti Tursilawati, a domestic worker, was beheaded for killing her 
employer on May 22, 2010. Tursilawati was the 6th Indonesian to be executed in 
Saudi Arabia in the last 5 years.

Indonesian rights groups, former migrant workers and church members have 
protested and appealed to both the Saudi and Indonesian governments to stop the 
practice of executing migrant workers.

In Saudi Arabia, the death penalty is imposed for crimes including murder, 
rape, drug trafficking, adultery and burglary.

(source: menafn.com)




BAHRAIN:

Bahraini courts issued death sentences for 32 anti-regime activists since 2011


The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) has condemned the kingdom’s 
persistence on passing death sentences against anti-regime activists, calling 
the practice an “inhuman punishment” as the ruling Al Khalifah regime presses 
ahead with its heavy clampdown on political dissidents and pro-democracy 
activists in the kingdom.

The center, in a statement released on Tuesday, announced that law courts have 
issued death sentences against 32 opposition figures since 2011, of which 3 
have been carried out, 7 have been comminuted to life
imprisonment and 2 others been appealed.

“All these verdicts have been pronounced following unfair trials, and therefore 
do not comply with the guarantees of fair trials. The BCHR has documented many 
cases in which those sentenced to death have been subjected to torture,” the 
statement read.

The BCHR then called on the Manama regime to reverse all death sentences and 
sign the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and 
Political Rights, which is aiming at the abolition of death penalty.

A Bahraini court has sentenced 4 nationals to death over terror charges.

The center further noted that the Bahraini judiciary has overused death penalty 
in recent years, particularly with regards to freedom of opinion and expression 
in addition to the exercise of political rights.

Moreover, Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei of the London-based Bahrain Institute for Rights 
and Democracy said in a statement that it condemns the death sentences given to 
four dissidents on terrorism-related charges, and calls for their abolition.

“There is no justice in these rulings. Bahraini courts are now making use of 
confessions extracted under torture in order to sentence people to death. The 
revocation of citizenship has become commonplace in Bahrain, which is a 
flagrant violation of international law,” Alwadaei pointed out.

He went on to say that death penalty remains an integral part of the Bahraini 
judicial system, stressing that 18 Bahraini citizens are now on death row and 
all of have been sentenced in political cases.

Thousands of anti-regime protesters have held demonstrations in Bahrain on an 
almost daily basis ever since a popular uprising began in the country in 
mid-February 2011.

Bahraini regime courts have upheld death sentences against 2 anti-regime 
activists.

They are demanding that the Al Khalifah regime relinquish power and allow a 
just system representing all Bahrainis to be established.

Manama has gone to great lengths to clamp down on any sign of dissent. On March 
14, 2011, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were deployed 
to assist Bahrain in its crackdown.

Scores of people have lost their lives and hundreds of others sustained 
injuries or got arrested as a result of the Al Khalifah regime’s crackdown.

On March 5, 2017, Bahrain’s parliament approved the trial of civilians at 
military tribunals in a measure blasted by human rights campaigners as being 
tantamount to imposition of an undeclared martial law countrywide.

Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifah ratified the constitutional amendment 
on April 3 last year.

(source: presstv.com)





MALAYSIA:

Malaysia Considers Banning Death Penalty After Study Says ‘Ineffective 
Deterrent’
<P>
Malaysia is taking the next step in abolishing the death penalty, with the 
cabinet issuing a memorandum to all ministries to gain feedback on the move 
even as it faced opposition among some lawmakers.

The decision to remove capital punishment in all 32 of Malaysia’s laws was made 
at a cabinet meeting on Oct. 10, Liew Vui Keong, a minister in the Prime 
Minister’s Department, told parliament on Tuesday. A study commissioned by the 
government found the death sentence to be an ineffective deterrent, and raised 
the issue of wrongful convictions and human rights.

Public outrage over a death penalty handed to a 29-year-old man convicted of 
possessing, processing and distributing medicinal cannabis oil promoted a 
national debate on capital punishment. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, 93, has 
said the verdict and relevant law should be reviewed in the country, where 
Muslims make up more than half of the population. The cabinet has since reached 
a consensus that capital punishment should not be applied in the case.

Still, the death of a 11-month-old girl from sexual abuse last week has 
prompted some members of the ruling party to call for the decision to be 
revisited. The suspect was tested positive for methamphetamine, which spurred 
Deputy Prime Minister Wan Azizah to tell reporters Tuesday that the government 
needs to study the root cause of drug-related crimes before deciding to end 
capital punishment, the Star reported. Ramkarpal Singh, a lawmaker from the 
ruling coalition, said the death penalty should be retained in "exceptional 
cases, especially gruesome murders" in light of the baby’s death.

Liew told parliament that the decision to abolish the death penalty was made 
for all offenses, including for those convicted of murder. "So far, the 
memorandum from the cabinet is still being circulated to the ministries to take 
into account the views of the public and those on the ground," he said.

The government is looking to replace the punishment with 30 years imprisonment.

(source: bloomberg.com)