[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

November 18




UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:

Man given death penalty after killing colleague with iron bar--Worker attacked 
victim during argument at breakfast time


A man has been sentenced to death for killing a colleague with an iron bar 
after arguing at breakfast in Ajman.

The 30-year-old Arab man launched a brutal assault on his Asian colleague in 
front of 15 fellow workers after lashing out in a fit of rage, Al Bayan 
newspaper reported.

Ajman Criminal Court was told that during a workers' breakfast period, the 
killer and the victim got into a heated row over work issues, leading to the 
accused hurling abuse before he grabbed an iron bar and struck the man on the 
back of the head.

Police and the ambulance service were alerted and the man was taken to 
hospital, where he died as a result of severe head injuries.

The assailant was found guilty of murder and handed the death penalty.

(source: thenatnional.ae)





IRAQ:

In Iraq, bloody tribal custom now classed as ‘terrorism’----The practice of 
‘warning’ competing tribes via shootings, including in residential areas, 
threatens to undermine state agencies


A bloody, age-old custom used by Iraq’s powerful tribes to mete out justice has 
come under fire, with authorities classifying it as a “terrorist act” 
punishable by death.

For centuries, Iraqi clans have used their own system to resolve disputes, with 
tribal dignitaries bringing together opposing sides to mediate in de facto 
“hearings.”

If one side failed to attend such a meeting, the rival clan would fire on the 
absentee’s home or that of fellow tribesmen, a practice known as the “degga 
ashairiya” or “tribal warning.”

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But in an age when Iraq’s vast rural areas and built-up cities alike are 
flooded with weapons outside state control, the “degga” may be deadlier than 
ever.

A recent dispute between 2 young men in a tea shop in the capital’s eastern 
district of Sadr City escalated to near-fatal proportions, leaving a 
40-year-old policeman with a broken hip and severely damaged abdomen.

His cousin Abu Tayba said the policeman was “wounded in a stray bullet during a 
‘degga’ on a nearby home.”

“Weeks after the incident, he’s still in the hospital, hovering between life 
and death,” Tayba told AFP.

Even in Baghdad, disputes often involve machine guns and rocket-propelled 
grenades, the city’s military command warned a top Iraqi court recently.

That body, the country’s Superior Magistrate Council, issued a decision last 
week classifying “deggas” as “terrorist acts” — and therefore warranting the 
death penalty — because of their impact on public safety.

A few days later, it announced it would take legal action against three people 
accused of targeting a home in Al-Adhamiyah, north of Baghdad, with the deadly 
custom.

‘Iraq is like a jungle’

In Iraq, a country of 39 million people, clan origin and family name can carry 
weight in securing a job, finding romance, and gathering political support.

They can also interfere in the work of the state, as tribal structures in some 
areas can be more powerful than government institutions.

Last year, Iraq’s tribes and the ministries of interior and justice pledged to 
work closer together to impose the law, but “deggas” seem to have hindered such 
cooperation.

Raed al-Fraiji, the head of a tribal council in the southern province of Basra, 
told AFP the warnings have become commonplace.

“This happens every day. Yesterday it happened twice. The day before, three 
times,” he said.

“2 months ago, a domestic dispute between a husband and wife turned into an 
armed attack on the husband’s home. The exchange of fire killed 1 person and 
wounded 3.”

Fraiji said tribal influence and practices were growing because the state was 
seen as unreliable.

“For an Iraqi citizen, the law has become weak. Meanwhile, tribes impose 
themselves by force.”

“Iraq is like a jungle — so a citizen will turn to a tribe to find solutions to 
their problems.”

The country has been ravaged by years of conflict since the US-led invasion in 
2003 that removed strongman Saddam Hussein and led to the rise of militias.

A decade later, the Islamic State jihadist group overran much of Iraq and was 
only ousted from its urban strongholds across the country late last year.

Taking on tribes

Years of instability have left many of Iraq’s communities flush with weapons 
and largely out of the state’s reach, contributing to a preference for tribal 
mediation methods.

“The government is responsible for the increase in tribal conflict and of 
‘degga’ cases,” said Adnan al-Khazaali, a tribal leader in Baghdad’s Sadr City.

“Most of the young men today are armed and even the security forces cannot 
stand in their way.”

Tribal leaders and government officials alike are clinging to the hope that the 
new ruling could change things.

“These incidents are continually happening, and are often causing casualties,” 
interior ministry spokesman Saad Maan told AFP.

“Court rulings and their implementation,” Maan said, could be the only way to 
secure peace.

Back in Basra, the head of the local human rights commission estimated around a 
dozen people were wounded or killed in “deggas” last year.

“These incidents threatens social peace,” said Mahdi al-Tamimi.

“It’s sad and worrying, and cannot be eliminated without a solid and effective 
law.”

But Fraiji, known in Basra for his relatively progressive views, feared the 
court’s ruling would not be enough to take on Iraq’s powerful clans.

“The decision will only remain ink on paper if the security forces do not 
enforce it on the tribes,” he said.

(source: Agence France-Presse)






CHINA:

A Former Judge Recounts Mass Executions in China----Zhong Jinhua witnessed 
shootings, botched lethal injections, and organ harvesting


In this narrative essay, Zhong Jinhua, a former judge and lawyer in Wenzhou, 
southeastern China, shares his harrowing experiences as a witness to mass 
executions, as well as organ harvesting from death row prisoners during his 
14-year-long career. Zhong spent five years as a judge in criminal trials, 
where he “dealt with death row prisoners almost every day.” His writing has 
been edited for clarity.

Whether it be China, America, or anywhere else in the world, serving justice in 
court and donning a judge’s robes is an honor to which many law practitioners 
aspire, myself included. With hard work and some luck, I got a position at the 
Wenzhou Intermediate People’s Court after graduated from law school in July 
1994. After serving as a legal clerk in the criminal division at a court of the 
first instance for over three years, I was appointed judge, a job I would hold 
for 14 years. In July 2008, I finally had enough and resigned to become a 
lawyer.

Throughout my 14 years in court, the nine years I spent in the criminal 
division were the most difficult to forget. I was the legal clerk for 3 years 
and then the criminal trial judge for another 5 years. I dealt
with death row prisoners almost every day, and every month I had to witness a 
bloody execution on site. Here I want to lay bare the memories that haunt my 
brain, and hopefully, in doing so, banish the nightmare that has for years 
bedeviled my heart.

At the beginning, when I saw death row prisoners bound, their identities 
verified, and their sentences carried out, I thought it was simply a matter of 
punishing the wicked and maintaining justice, which is, after all, a judge’s 
mission. But as time went on and the number of executions I saw increased, I 
witnessed some brutal and unimaginably horrifying scenes that shook me to the 
core. My views gradually shifted. It became increasingly difficult for me to 
handle it emotionally and I was wracked with nightmares.

The first mental shock came around 1996 to 1997, at the “Snow Mountain” 
execution ground in Wenzhou. It made a strong impression, for one because it 
was one of the largest executions by firing squad I have ever seen, with 26 
prisoners executed; and because many of them were members of 2 gangs in my 
hometown, Wenzhou’s Cangnan County, called the Refrigeration Plant Gang and the 
Xu Haiou Gang. It was at the height of another “strike hard” crackdown against 
criminal activities across China, and as an economically developed region in 
the southeast coast, Wenzhou had to play its part.

On the day of the execution, Snow Mountain was filled with Chinese armed police 
and public security officers. That afternoon, loads of death row criminals 
escorted by fully armed police arrived in military and police vehicles from all 
over the country. The prisoners were then moved to a wall of sandbags, against 
which they were made to kneel known in a row. Each of the armed police officers 
had a semi-automatic rifle that had been loaded in advance. They pressed the 
muzzles of their rifles against the prisoners’ backs, right around the heart.

I was still new to the court, recording minutes at trials, court panel 
hearings, and executions. It was horrifying to see such scenes for the 1st 
time, but remembering the duties entrusted to me by the government, I carefully 
counted all the prisoners from left to right, then back from right to left — 
they were 26 in total.

The commander gave the order to shoot, and the air filled with the thunderous 
report of gunfire. The prisoners fell one after another, their blood 
splattering everywhere. I began to see stars, and found it hard to stand 
straight. I rubbed my face and head with my hands in an effort to calm myself. 
Crematory staff soon came and pulled the bodies away on a flatbed cart.

Serving as a judge, I couldn’t tell whether I was a defender of justice, or 
simply a murderer made legitimate by the veil of law.
— Zhong Jinhua, Chinese judge

The scenes at the execution ground have always reminded me of the anti-Japanese 
war films that I saw when I was young, where Japanese soldiers gunned down 
Chinese en masse. It also made me think of the slaughterhouse where butchers 
threw dead pigs on flatbeds to be carted off. It’s hard to pinpoint the exact 
sentiment; my heart felt very heavy.

The 2nd memory that made a deep impression on me was an incident with an 
executioner from the Armed Police. I can’t recall the exact time or place, but 
it most likely happened after I became a judge.

I’m not sure who is tasked with executing death row prisoners in other regions 
of China, but here in Wenzhou, it normally is done by the Armed Police at the 
respective detention center. There were fewer prisoners than the previous time, 
but not by much. Right when everyone had taken their positions, we noticed that 
one guy’s arms and legs were trembling terribly. It was probably his 1st time 
carrying out an execution. The commander walked straight up to him and ordered 
him to stop shaking, but he couldn’t help himself. The commander scolded him 
severely and gave the order to open fire.

But when the shots were fired, the prisoner kneeling right before the trembling 
armed policeman did not fall. He got up slowly and turned his mud-smeared face 
to look at him. The guard was so scared that he let out a loud cry and threw 
his gun up in the air, then began dancing like mad. Everyone was stunned. The 
commander quickly rushed up to the prisoner, kicked him to the ground, then 
shot him twice with his handgun. I don’t know what happened to that 
executioner, whether he was disciplined or if he had mental scars from the 
incident, but the look of terror on his face will be with me forever.

Once, on a hot summer afternoon, I saw the execution of a female prisoner, a 
young woman sentenced to death by the Wenzhou Intermediate People’s Court for 
her involvement in the smuggling of over 200 grams of heroin. The Supreme 
People’s Court had approved the execution. I remember the whole process because 
I was tasked with verifying her identity. The drug dealer, clothed in a long 
white dress, was shrieking and crying desperately all the way from the 
detention center. She kept calling “heaven” and “mother.” Her 2 hands, tightly 
cuffed behind her back, had turned dark purple, and she was shaking 
uncontrollably. The instant she was made to kneel down, she suddenly let out a 
piercing scream: “Heaven! Mother! Heaven! Mother!” It was an unbearable thing 
to witness.

The gunshot rang out, and she in her long white dress fell to the ground and 
forever stopped crying. The forensic examiner said she was so frightened that 
she soiled herself.

I couldn’t say anything but was overcome by waves of sorrow. Death penalty, how 
I loathe you, how I hate you!

The 4th incident was an accident involving a lethal injection around 2001 or 
2002, also at the Snow Mountain execution site. Lethal injection execution has 
been an execution method, in addition to shooting, since 1997. It was adopted 
in Wenzhou around 2001 or 2002. Lethal injection is supposed to be a more 
humane alternative, reducing the terror that the prisoner feels when facing the 
firing squad.

In this case, however, not only was the pain and fear not reduced, it was made 
even more horrible by the executioner’s negligence.

The executioner wasn’t tasked with the prisoner in case I handled, so by 
regulation it wasn’t necessary for me to be there. But because Wenzhou only 
recently adopted lethal injection, as chief criminal judges we were encouraged 
to observe the execution process and familiarize ourselves with the method.

We 1st arrived at the newly renovated lethal injection observation room, which 
was connected to the execution chamber. The execution table was already in 
place, and a few staff clad in white gowns were moving equipment. A male 
prisoner was brought in. The bailiffs fixed his limbs and his head to different 
parts of the table and attached different injection equipment to. There were 2 
execution buttons. The prisoner was silent and looked stupefied; he was 
paralyzed with fear.

The execution was carried out by a bailiff. Everything was in place, and the 
commander yelled “Ready—Start!” As the bailiff pushed one of the buttons, 
instead of seeing the prisoner go into the anesthetized sleep as planned, he 
suddenly began a violent struggle, bawling as though he were being torn limb 
from limb. Staff and guards tore off the supporting frames and equipment in a 
flurry, and quickly hauled the struggling prisoner outside. They pinned him to 
the ground and shot him in the head.

Later we were informed that the executioner had botched the order and mistook 
the lethal injection button for the anesthesia, leading to the grotesque 
ending. As a regular judge, I didn’t have any power to change anything, all I 
had was silence and despair.

In addition to executions, it also shocked me to see doctors opening up 
prisoners’ bodies to take their organs. I had heard about it before in bits and 
pieces — the harvesting of organs from death row prisoners for organ transplant 
surgery was an “open secret” in Chinese government circles and throughout 
society — but seeing it with my own eyes was a terrible shock.

It was also at the Snow Mountain execution site, though I can’t remember the 
exact time. It was when we were stilling carrying out the executions by firing 
squad. After the execution, I hurried to a nearby outhouse to relieve myself. 
On the way back, I went the wrong direction and entered a small building that 
was apparently being used as a makeshift operating room. The guy lying on the 
operating table was the prisoner who had just been shot dead. He was on his 
back, and there was a large and deep cross shape across his chest, all the way 
to the stomach. On one side, the abdomen was flipped outwards and hung down 
from the edge of the operating table as 2 doctors in white gowns extracted his 
organs. A strong, sickening odor filled the entire room, and I was so repelled 
that I was about to vomit. I turned and ran out of the building, then threw up 
on the grass near the building’s outer wall.

I still feel the urge to vomit whenever I recall that scene. It showed me 
plainly the existence of that “open secret.” I didn’t know who was responsible 
for this behind the scenes and who gave them permission. I was completely in 
the dark on this.

Serving as a judge, I couldn’t tell whether I was a defender of justice, or 
simply a murderer made legitimate by the veil of law.

In October 2003, I was transferred from the criminal division to the judicial 
supervisory division as the presiding judge. I stayed on for 5 years dealing 
with petitioners, miscarriages of justice, and false charges. In July 2008, I 
resigned from my position at the Wenzhou Intermediate People’s Court and left 
the Chinese judiciary for good.

But nightmares continued to haunt me. I often dreamed of being dragged by 
throng of people to the guillotine. I would wake up, breathless and covered 
with sweat, at the precise moment when the blade dropped.

The executions took their toll on my colleagues as well. Once, on the way back 
from the execution grounds, a judge surnamed Zhang passed out and collapsed in 
a rice paddy.

When I was in China working as a criminal law judge, I opted for lenient 
punishment in all cases where it was possible to do so. I would fight tooth and 
nail whenever I had the chance not to give the death sentence. As a result, I 
offended quite a large number of colleagues and supervisors, but I have always 
believed that every law practitioner should consider respect for life and 
liberty as their basic ethical duty. Because everyone only has 1 life!

About the Author

Zhong Jinhua is an exiled Chinese human rights lawyer, former judge, 
freelancer.

>From August 1994 to July 2008, Zhong Jinhua served at the Wenzhou Intermediate 
People’s Court in Zhejiang, China, working as the law clerk in the criminal 
division, presiding judge, and presiding judge for the judicial supervisory 
division.

>From July 2010 to August 2015, Zhong Jinhua worked at the Beijing Yingke Law 
Firm, Capital Equity Legal Group in their Shanghai law firm and Shanghai Junlan 
Law Firm as partner and senior partner, respectively.

On New Year’s Eve at the end of 2011, Zhong made a public announcement on his 
personal Weibo blog calling on Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to lift 
restrictions on political parties, freedom of the press, and democratic 
elections. He also declared that he would quit the Party and organize an 
opposing party to overthrow the CCP’s dictatorship. As a result, he was 
summoned by Chinese authorities and was threatened with arrest. He was also 
dismissed by Dong Dongdong, director of the Beijing Yingke Law Firm. He was 
forced to leave his home for half a month.

During the 709 crackdown in 2015, when hundreds of rights defense lawyers and 
citizens were arrested, Zhong Jinhua was also harassed and “invited to tea” for 
advocating on behalf of rural petitioners and rights defense lawyers. On July 
13, 2015, Chinese police came to his home with orders to arrest him, but he 
escaped thanks to outside pressure and support.

On August 11, 2015, Zhong Jinhua took his wife and 2 children to Shanghai 
Pudong International Airport. After spending 3 hours of custody and going 
through body searches, they were able to board a flight to the United States, 
where they are living in exile today.

(source: The Epoch Times)