[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

November 24




EGYPT:

Egypt Sentences 17 Islamic Militants to Death for Coptic Christian Church 
Killings



17 Islamic militants were sentenced to death on Thursday for their role in 
multiple church bombings in Egypt that killed scores of Coptic Christians.

It was reported that another 19 defendants were issued life sentences by a 
military court, while 9 others were given 15 years in prison for terror-related 
charges.

Several were found guilty of being involved in a suicide bombing at St. Mark's 
Cathedral in Cairo in December 2016, where 25 people died. Others were found 
guilty of being involved in the twin suicide bombings in churches in Alexandria 
and Tanta on Palm Sunday in April 2017, where 45 were killed.

Coptic Christians, who make up only 10 % of the population, have of continuous 
Islamist attacks in Egypt, some which have been claimed by the Islamic State 
terror group.

Human rights group Amnesty International posited that the verdict on Thursday 
was rushed, and argued that the defendants need a fair hearing before a 
civilian court.

"There can be no justification for the utterly reprehensible attacks which 
targeted worshipers in Coptic Christian churches across Egypt in 2017. There is 
no doubt that the perpetrators of these horrific attacks should be held 
accountable for their crimes. But handing out a mass death sentence after an 
unfair military trial is not justice and will not deter further sectarian 
attacks," said Najia Bounaim, who heads the North African section of the human 
rights group.

"Egypt has a shocking track record of unlawfully trying civilians in its 
notorious military courts and sentencing scores to death after grossly unfair 
mass trials, often based on 'confessions' extracted through torture. Those 
accused of involvement in these heinous crimes must be retried in a civilian 
court in proceedings that comply with international human rights law and fair 
trial standards," Bounaim added.

Coptic Christians have in the past cried out for justice and demanded that the 
Egyptian government does more to protect them from attacks.

Church leaders have opposed previous death sentences, however.

When former president Mohamed Morsi was sentenced to death in May 2015 for his 
role in the killings of Christians at the hands of Muslim radicals, the Coptic 
Catholic Bishop of Assiut spoke out against it.

Anba Kyrillos William said at the time the Church does not compromise on 
defending life, and cannot back the death penalty.

"The Church respects the independence of the judiciary, but believes that life 
is an inviolable right, and remains opposed to the death penalty. The fact is 
that this type of sentence is still contemplated in the Egyptian legal order," 
William at the time.

Anba Angaelos, the General Bishop in the United Kingdom of the Coptic Orthodox 
Church, said in a statement earlier this year when marking the anniversary of 
the attacks that for the families of the victims, the anger and pain remains 
deep.

"As the situation facing Christians and minority groups in the Middle East 
increasingly spirals to new and dangerous levels of exclusion and 
dehumanization, the need is intensified for both the unified Body of Christ 
within the Christian family, and the global community as a whole, to stand in 
solidarity with those suffering, condemn acts of brutality, and provide 
whatever assistance may be needed, while at the same time, explore every 
possible means of healing, rebuilding and restoring of communities and lives," 
Angaelos on his website.

"We continue to hold those suffering great struggles, indignity and the loss of 
precious human life in our prayers, that grace, healing and strength be 
bestowed upon them all at this time. We also pray for those committing these 
atrocities, that they will one day realize the sanctity and dignity granted 
equally by God to every human life," he added.

(source: essexcaller.com)








SOMALIA----execution

Ex-Jubbaland cop executed for Murder



A former member of the Jubbaland armed forces was today executed in Kismayo for 
the killing of a prominent elder.

Abdirizak Omar Abdullahi's date with the hangman came after he was found guilty 
of killing prominent peacemaker Abdirizicak Omar Abdullahi in Kismayo on 27th 
October 2018.

Golo was one of the prominent elders and peacemakers in Jubbaland State and his 
killing drew widespread anger.

It is not the 1st time a Jubbaland military court is sentencing to death 
members of the armed forces for killings.

(source: kismaayo.com)








JAPAN:

Reduce the burden on lay judges



The proceedings of lay judge trials - in which randomly selected citizens join 
professional judges to deliberate on criminal cases - are taking increasingly 
longer to conclude. The average period from the opening of a lay judge trial to 
the ruling, 3.7 days when the system was first introduced in 2009, has 
stretched out to 10.5 days as of September this year. A trial at the Himeji 
branch of the Kobe District Court, in which a man was convicted earlier this 
month of murder and sentenced to life, took a record 207 days to conclude. As 
trials run longer, more people chosen as candidates for lay judges are 
declining to take up the duty. Steps need to be taken to speed up the trial 
process in order to reduce the burden on lay judges.

Under the lay judge system, roughly 120,000 to 130,000 people randomly selected 
from voter lists are annually chosen as candidates for lay judge trials, which 
handle serious crimes such as murder. It was introduced for the purpose of 
reflecting ordinary citizens’ ways of thinking in court rulings. However, the 
ratio of people who decline to take up the duty after being selected as 
candidates has picked up from 53 % in 2009 to 67 % at the end of September. The 
ratio has increased as the average time spent on lay judge trials became 
longer. There are concerns that more people are shying away from the duty in 
light of the growing burden.

For the murder case at the Himeji branch court, more than 70 hearings were held 
- a pace of roughly 4 sessions a week - before the ruling was handed down Nov. 
8. It was a complicated case in which the accused pleaded not guilty to most of 
the charges against him, while the bodies of 2 of the 3 victims were never 
found. As many as 80 witnesses were called in to testify. When the schedule for 
the trial proceedings was revealed, 420 of the 501 lay judge candidates called 
on to show up at court declined to take up the duty, citing pressing work 
obligations. After the trial opened in April, 3 of the 6 lay judges who sat 
alongside the 3 professional judges to handle the case requested to be relieved 
of their duty, which was accepted by the court.

The previous record for longest-running lay judge trial was the case that 
wrapped up in November 2016 at the Nagoya District Court. That one took 160 
days to hand down a life sentence to a man accused of killing 2 women in Gifu 
and Fukui prefectures in 2009 and 2011. The November 2017 ruling by the Kyoto 
District Court on a serial cyanide murder came 135 days after the trial opened. 
For that trial, 431 of the 586 potential lay judges called by the court 
declined. These cases have raised questions as to whether it's appropriate to 
keep citizens tied up in a lay judge trial for extended periods.

Before lay judge trials were instituted in 2009, a system of pre-trial 
proceedings was put in place in which the court, prosecutors and the defense 
counsel of the accused hold talks to narrow down the points to be contested in 
the trial. It was intended to speed up the trial process and avoid placing too 
great a burden on the citizens serving as lay judges. In recent years, the 
pre-trial proceedings have been growing longer - reportedly from an average of 
2.8 months in 2009 to 8.3 months in 2017. The Legal Research and Training 
Institute of the Supreme Court has compiled a report urging courts across the 
country to expedite proceedings by focusing on issues that pertain to the guilt 
or innocence of the accused and their sentencing in the case of the former.

Citizens serving as lay judges sacrifice their work or daily routine as they 
carry out their civic duty - and face the heavy burden of deliberating on 
serious criminal cases and making tough judgments in handing down verdicts, 
possibly including the death penalty. It makes sense to take steps to reduce 
their burden by expediting trial proceedings where possible. More people 
shunning lay judge duty due to the heavy burden might result in distorting the 
composition of the lay judge pool, which would run counter to the purpose of 
the system - to reflect the diverse views of ordinary citizens in judiciary 
decisions. Steps need to be taken to cope with these problems to sustain the 
system.

(source: Editorial, The Japan Times)








INDIA:

SC spares man facing gallows



The Supreme Court has spared the gallows to a man who was convicted in the 
sexual assault-cum-murder case, involving an 8-year-old girl in Pratapgarh, 
Rajasthan, in July 2013.

In September 2016, the Rajasthan High Court ordered the execution of the 
accused, Parhlad, who was convicted in the case of sexual assault and murder of 
the victim. However, a bench, of the Supreme Court consisting Justice NV 
Ramana, Justice Mohan M Shantanagoudar and Justice MR Shah was of the view that 
"there was no evidence of sexual offense and hence the punishment can be 
awarded in the murder case only."

In addition, the bench also examined the medical report of the deceased, which 
did not indicate any attempt of sexual violence. "In our considered opinion, 
this is not a fit case to impose the death penalty on him, inasmuch as the 
appellant (accused) does not have any criminal background, nor is he a habitual 
offender," the bench observed.

Justifying the decision taken by the Court, the bench remarked that "Death 
penalty is awarded in the case of gruesome crime, cold­-blooded murder or 
committed in a diabolical manner." "There is every probability that the accused 
can be reformed and rehabilitated," the three judges added.

As per police reports, the girl was taken away by the maternal uncle (accused) 
on the pretext of giving her chocolates from a shop in 2013. Later, when the 
victim's family realized that their daughter was not at home, they started 
searching for her. Next morning, the family found her body and later an FIR was 
lodged against the man.

(source: business-standard.com)

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

"Her last words were 'burn them alive', she should get justice": Lawyer who 
filed PIL to execute Nirbhaya's rapists



The SC had upheld the Delhi HC's verdict of the death penalty to Nirbhaya's 
rapists in May 2017.

Advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava has filed a PIL in the Supreme Court seeking the 
execution of the death penalty awarded to the convicts in Nirbhaya rape and 
murder case. As per reports, the lawyer has appealed the apex court to issue 
directions to the central government to execute the death penalty awarded to 
all convicts within 2 weeks from the listing of the case.

The apex court has reportedly admitted the PIL. Confirming the report, advocate 
Srivastava has stated that Nirbhaya's last words before she succumbed to her 
injuries were, "Burn them alive". He has added even after 6 long years of 
committing the barbaric act that resulted in the death of the innocent victim, 
the perpetrators are still alive. He has pledged that Nirbhaya should get 
justice before 16 December 2018. The incident had occurred on 16 December 2012.

It is notable here that the Supreme Court had, in July this year, rejected the 
review petition for the death penalty of 3 of the 4 living convicts of the 
Nirbhaya rape and murder case. The court has stated that they will hang. 6 
people, namely Ram Singh, Pawan Gupta, Akshay Singh, Vinay Sharma, Mukesh, and 
an alleged juvenile were convicted of the heinous rape and murder of Delhi 
student Nirbhaya (not her real name) inside a moving bus in the national 
capital.

Ram Singh had committed suicide inside the jail. The alleged juvenile was 
released after a 3-year prison sentence. 1 of the 4 remaining convicts, Akshay 
Singh had not filed a review petition.

Nirbhaya was brutally raped in the most barbaric manner and was left to die on 
the road. She was later sent for treatment to Singapore but had succumbed to 
her injuries. The case had generated widespread public outrage both nationally 
and internationally and has made a huge impact in the psyche of the nation.

The case made a profound impact on the Indian legal system and led to the 
Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, known as the Nirbhaya Act which ensured 
harsher punishment for sexual violence against women. The Supreme Court had in 
May 2017, upheld the death penalty awarded to the convicts by the Delhi HC.

(source: opindia.com)

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

Why gallows? Explain it to convicts: SC----'Cite reasons for rejection of 
appeal'



Appeals against death penalty can be dismissed by the Supreme Court in limine 
(at the very preliminary stage) only after assigning reasons for the decision, 
the apex court has held.

"Special leave petitions filed in cases where death sentence is awarded by the 
courts below, should not be dismissed without giving reasons, at least qua 
death sentence," a 3-judge Bench of Justices A.K. Sikri, Ashok Bhushan and 
Indira Banerjee observed in a recent judgment.

The Bench said the apex court should provide the convict reasons for affirming 
his death sentence even if the apex court dismisses his appeal in limine, after 
concluding that his conviction by the lower courts have been based on evidence 
which is "impeccable, trustworthy, credible and proves the guilt of the accused 
beyond a shadow of doubt."

"It should be by a reasoned order on the aspect of sentence, at least," the 
Supreme Court observed.

The Bench's decision came in a review petition filed by Babasheb Maruti Kamble 
who was condemned to the gallows for murder.

The trial court in Maharashtra awarded him death penalty in September 2013, 
following which he had appealed in the Bombay High Court. The High Court 
confirmed the death sentence in July 2014. Kamble finally moved the Supreme 
Court. On January 6, 2015, the apex court dismissed his appeal in a 2-line 
order which said "Delay condoned. Dismissed."

The Review Bench agreed with the point raised by Kamble's counsel and senior 
advocate Shekhar Naphade that "where conviction is followed by death sentence, 
and the special leave petition is filed against it, it should not be dismissed 
in limine and in case the Supreme Court still finds it fit to do so, some 
reasons need to be recorded."

Of life and death

The Bench said the case before the apex court is one of life and death. The 
need for a reasoned order is all the greater. "When death sentence is rare, 
this court has emphasised time and again that there has to be an independent 
examination by this court also, 'unbound by the findings of the trial court and 
the High Court.' Such an approach is the 'time-honoured practice of this 
court'," the Bench observed.

(source: The Hindu)

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

see: 
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/akola-court-sends-3-to-gallows-for-gruesome-murders/articleshow/66777543.cms

(source: The Times of India)








MALAYSIA:

Trio charged with murder of man at oil palm plantation



3 men were charged at the Magistrate's Court here today with the murder of a 
man at an oil palm plantation last week.

Wong Mun Fai, Tan Chun How, both aged 27, and Ng Yoke Soon, 44, were charged 
with killing Heng Wei Yong, 21, at the entrance of the plantation in Jalan 
Kampung Banjar here, between 12.05am and 12.30am on Nov 15.

They were charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder which carries 
the mandatory death penalty, upon conviction.

The charge was read to the trio before Magistrate Syahdatul Kamilah Zakaria.

However, no plea was recorded.

Nur Azimah Che Ismail appeared for the prosecution, while Wong and Tan were 
represented by counsels Datuk Naran Singh and V. Santhiran respectively. Ng was 
not represented.

The court set Jan 11 for mention pending chemistry and post-mortem reports.

(source: malaymail.com)