[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

September 28



VIETNAM:

3 drug traffickers arrested in northern Vietnam



Police of Vietnam's northern Son La province said on Friday they detained 3 
local men on Thursday when they were transporting 10 cakes of heroin.

The trio included Hang A Giong, 38, Hang A Ho, 34, and Hang A Ly, 29, all from 
Son La's Muong La district. The provincial police were further investigating 
the case.

According to the Vietnamese law, those convicted of smuggling over 600 grams of 
heroin or more than 2.5 kg of methamphetamine are punishable by death. Making 
or trading 100 grams of heroin or 300 grams of other illegal drugs also faces 
death penalty.

(source: xinhuanet.com)








INDONESIA:

Bengkalis court sentences 2 drug traffickers to death



A group of activists ask President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to postpone the 
execution of death row inmate Merri Utami in a peaceful rally on Jl.Pahlawan in 
Semarang, Central Java, on Thursday. The President was also called on to grant 
the clemency request Merri had filed.

The Bengkalis District Court in Riau sentenced 2 people to death on Wednesday 
after they were found guilty of violating the Narcotics Law by transporting 10 
kilograms of powdered methamphetamine.

According to court documents, the police arrested 38-year-old M. Hanafi of 
Batubara, North Sumatra, and Riko Fernando of Pekanbaru, Riau, after they were 
caught transporting pressed methamphetamine powder last December during a raid 
in Siak Kecil district, Bengkalis regency, Riau.

Both Hanafi and Riko claimed that they were instructed by a Lampung Prison 
inmate to deliver the meth packages from Dumai, Riau, to Lampung for Rp 130 
million (US$8,700). However, they had only received Rp 4 million as transport 
money.

They said they had no idea where the packages of meth had come from as they 
were only ordered to pick up the packages from Dumai.

The prosecutor from the Bengkalis District Attorney's Office demanded the 
defendants receive capital punishment as per the 2009 Narcotics Law.

"They have worsened the drug trafficking problem in the country," presiding 
judge Sutarno said.

Their lawyer, Farizal, said they were still considering whether to file an 
appeal for the sentence.

In response, prosecutor Agrin Nico Reval said they would also consider the 
possibility of an appeal.

"If the defendants decide to go forward with the appeal, we are ready to file 
one too," he said.

(source: The Jakarta Post)








IRAN:

Kurdish member of Iran’s Guards sentenced to death on espionage charges



A rights group on Thursday confirmed an Iranian Kurdish (Rojhilati) member of 
the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was handed a capital punishment 
sentence in August on charges of association with opposition groups to Tehran.

Arsalan Khodkam, nearly forty days ago, was "sentenced to death by the Military 
Prosecutor Office's 23rd branch on charges of espionage and cooperation with 
the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan [PDKI],' according to a report by 
Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, an entity that logs human rights 
violations involving Kurds in Iran.

The report explains that Khodkam, 50, was from the Kurdistan Province's city of 
Mahabad and was a Peshmerga in the PDKI in his youth. But, in the early 
nineties, he turned himself in and shortly after, joined the ranks of the IRGC.

Mahabad security forces arrested him in March and have since held him in Urmia 
Central Prison.

On Aug. 20, the Second Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Urmia condemned 
Mohyeddin Ebrahimi to death on charges of membership in the Kurdistan 
Democratic Party of Iran (KDP-I), another group that separated from the 
aforementioned one after internal disputes in 2006.

In late-2017, Ebrahimi was shot at a checkpoint in Oshnavieh in Iran while 
working as a Kulbar - a Kurdish term for individuals who smuggle small amounts 
of goods between the Iran-Kurdistan Region border.

The Islamic Regime is notorious for the number of executions per capita it 
carries out every year. Recent cases that garnered international attention were 
that of Ramin Hossein Panahi and 2 cousins, Loghman and Zanyar Moradi, who were 
executed on Sep. 8. In total, 6 Kurdish political prisoners were killed since 
then.

On the same day at the executions, Iran carried out a cross-border missile 
attack on the headquarters of the KDP-I and PDKI in the Kurdistan Region's town 
of Koya, killing 15 people and injuring 42 others.

(source: kurdistan24.net)

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

2 Political Prisoners Sentenced to Death



The Revolutionary Court of Urmia city in Iran sentenced Mohiaddin Ebrahimi, a 
political prisoner, to death. Moreover, the Supreme Court accepted the death 
sentence of Arsalan Khodkam, another political prisoner at the same Urmia 
prison.

According to a close source, Mohiaddin Ebrahimi was sentenced to death on the 
charge of "cooperation with Kurdish opposition parties" at Branch 2 of the 
Revolutionary Court of Urmia.

Mohiaddin Ebrahimi, 43, was arrested by the Revolutionary guards on November 3, 
2017. He was wounded at the time of the arrest. He was also sentenced to 3 
years for insulting the judge. He is currently held at ward 12 of Urmia Prison 
which is dedicated to political prisoners.

Moreover, the death sentence of Arsalan Khodkam was accepted by the Supreme 
Court and he was assigned a public defender. The authorities did not permit 
Arsalan to have a Lawyer of his won choice.

Khodkam had 6 hearings at the Revolutionary Court of Urmia and his case was 
sent to Branch 32 of the military court of Urmia while no sentences were issued 
for him. Eventually, 35 days ago, the military court sentenced him to death on 
the charge of "espionage and cooperation with opposition parties" without 
appointing a public defender for him.

Arsalan Khodkam is currently held at ward 3 of Urmia central Prison which is 
dedicated to general offences.

(source: Iran Human Rights)



INDIA:

Jharkhand: 2 Naxals awarded death penalty for murdering 6 police personnel



A court in Dumka, Jharkhand on Wednesday, sentenced 2 Naxalites to death for 
killing a superintendent of police and 5 other policemen in Dumka district 5 
years ago.

Ahead of the judgement, adequate security arrangements were made in the court. 
The duo was brought to the court amid tight security.

Additional session judge, Mohd Taufiqul Hassan had on 6th September convicted 
the 2 Maoists, namely, Sanatan Baski and Sukhlal Murmu alias Pravir Da and 
acquited 5 others due to lack of evidence. These 2 convicts were awarded 
capital punishment today.

Sukhlal Murmu alias Pravir Da is a resident of Badwadih village of Giridih 
district. While Sanatan Baski is a resident of Chirudih village in Dumka 
district.

Additional Public Prosecutor, Surendra Prasad Sinha, stated that the duo had 
killed the then Pakur Superintendent of Police Amarjeet Balihar and 5 other 
policemen in an onslaught near Kathikund while they were returning to Pakur 
after attending a meeting with the deputy inspector general of police Priya 
Dubey, in Dumka on 2nd July 2013.

Sinha added that Pravir Da, a member of the outfit's Special Area Committee 
(Bihar and Jharkhand), is serving life term since August 9, 2016, in connection 
with another murder case.

In a similar case last year a court in Munger district of Bihar had awarded 
death sentence to 5 Maoists for an attack in which 2 Central Reserve Police 
Force personnel were killed in 2014, retaliating to which the Maoist guerrillas 
at a "Jan Adalat" (kangaroo court) in Bihar had 2 days later pronounced death 
penalty for the Additional Sessions Judge, Jyoti Swarup Srivastava, who had 
awarded the death sentence to their 5 colleagues.

(source: opindia.com)








PAKISTAN:

COAS confirms death sentences of 11 hardcore terrorists: ISPR



Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa on Friday confirmed death 
sentences awarded to 11 hardcore terrorists, according to the army's media 
wing.

The convicts were involved in heinous offences related to terrorism, including 
attacking armed forces, law enforcement agencies, destruction of an educational 
institution and killing of innocent civilians, said the Inter-Services Public 
Relations (ISPR).

The convicted terrorists were involved in the killing of 69 people - 49 
civilians and 20 uniform persons - and injuring 148 others.

Arms and explosives had also been recovered from their possession. A special 
military court had awarded death sentence to these convicts, added ISPR. The 
court also awarded imprisonment to 4 convicts.

The convict was a member of a proscribed organisation. He abetted terrorist 
commander Jamshed by designing and preparing a Vehicle Borne Improvised 
Explosive Device for a terrorist attack at Suikarno Chowk, Khyber Bazar, 
Peshawar. The blast resulted in the death of 48 people and injuries to 109 
others.

The convict confessed his offences before a judicial magistrate and the trial 
court. He was awarded the death penalty.

He is a member of a proscribed organisation. The convict was involved in 
attacking armed forces and LEA personnel. He had participated in the killing of 
Lieutenant Umar Javed, Subedar Mohammad Mohsin, Havildar Amir Mohammad along 
with three other soldiers and injuring 14 others.

The convict confessed his offences before a judicial magistrate and the trial 
court. He was awarded the death sentence.

He is a member of a proscribed organisation. He abetted terrorist Shina Fiaz 
Ullah, a suicide bomber, to attack Saddar Police Station Kohat. Constable 
Khurshid Ahmed, Constable Mohammad Noor, and Constable Fayaz ul Husnain had 
lost their lives in the attack. The blast had also affected 5 others. The 
convict confessed his offences before a judicial magistrate and the trial 
court. He was awarded the death sentence.

The convict was a member of a proscribed organisation. He was involved in 
attacking armed forces and LEAs. He was held responsible for the death of 
Havildar Musaver Khan, Sepoy Sohail Iqbal, Constable Fazal Malik in terrorist 
attacks.

He was also found in possession of firearms. The convict confessed his offences 
before a judicial magistrate and the trial court. He was awarded the death 
sentence.

The convict was a member of a proscribed organisation. He was involved in 
attacking personnel of the armed forces, killing Havildar Mohammad Yar and 2 
soldiers.

The convict confessed his offences before a judicial magistrate and the trial 
court. He was awarded the death sentence.

He is a member of a proscribed organisation. He was held responsible for 
attacking the armed forces of Pakistan. He had killed Sepoy Mohammad Rafique 
and injured Major Mohammad Akmal Hayat along with 9 other soldiers.

The convict confessed his offences before a judicial magistrate and the trial 
court. He was awarded the death sentence.

The convict is a member of a proscribed organisation. He was involved in the 
destruction of the Rubicon College Gulibagh (Swat) and attacking the armed 
forces of Pakistan. He was held responsible for the death of Sepoy Asif Mehmood 
and injuries to Major Abdul Qayyum along with 2 soldiers.

He was also found in possession of firearms and explosives. The convict 
confessed his offences before a judicial magistrate and the trial court. He was 
awarded the death sentence.

The convict was a member of a proscribed organisation. He was involved in 
attacking LEAs, killing Police Constable Mushtaq Ahmed, and injuring 2 other 
police officials and a civilian.

The convict confessed his offences before a judicial magistrate and the trial 
court. He was awarded the death sentence.

The convict is a member of a proscribed organisation. He was found involved in 
attacking the personnel of armed forces. He was held responsible for the death 
of Sepoy Asal Jan and injuries to another soldier.

The convict confessed his offences before a judicial magistrate and the trial 
court. He was awarded the death sentence.

The convict was a member of a proscribed organisation. He was held responsible 
for attacking LEAs, which resulted in the death of Police Constable Manzoor 
Khan and injuries to another official.

The convict confessed his offences before a judicial magistrate and the trial 
court. He was awarded the death sentence.

The convict is a member of a proscribed organisation. He was involved in 
killing a civilian, Abdul Rehman, a member of a village defence committee. The 
convict confessed his offences before a judicial magistrate and the trial 
court. He was awarded the death sentence.

(source: dawn.com)








CHINA----execution

School Attacker Who Killed Nine Children Executed By Firing Squad



A Chinese man who killed nine school children in a stabbing spree has been 
executed by firing squad.

Reuters reported that Zhao Zewei, 28, was killed in Mizhi county in the 
northwestern province of Shaanxi on Thursday, having been sentenced to death in 
July.

On April 27, Zhao launched a knife attack on his former middle school in 
Shaanxi killing nine children and wounding another 12. He was charged with 
homicide and executed after the sentence was approved by China’s supreme court.

Reuters cited a statement released by the Yulin City Intermediate Court 
explaining Zhao attacked the school because he was angry at his own 
misfortunes. Zhao was reportedly bullied during his time at the school, and 
retained a grudge against the institution.

He reportedly planned to attack former classmates who had led the bullying, but 
unable to find them, he chose instead to attack current students at the school, 
the Xinhua news agency reported.

Zhao armed himself with 3 knives and headed to the school, waiting outside for 
students to finish their lessons and travel home. As they emerged, he rushed at 
the children and attacked. The court's statement said Zhao's "despicable" 
crimes were committed using an especially cruel method, justifying the death 
penalty.

Footage released by Sina News showed Zhao being led to the execution ground in 
shrubland close to a road in Mizhi county. Dozens of locals gathered to watch 
from a distance as police secured the area.

Zhao's execution is one of several recent high-profile death sentences in 
China. Last week, a nanny in the eastern state of Hangzhou was executed for 
setting a fire in her employers' apartment, which killed the whole family of 4. 
Mo Huanjing said she planned to extinguish the fire and gain credit for saving 
the family, hoping to be rewarded financially and pay off her gambling debts.

And in June, 2 alleged drug dealers were executed in front of hundreds of 
spectators in Haikou, a city on the island province of Hainan. The men were 
taken to the execution ground to await the sentence, and killed as soon as it 
was received. Many of those watching were children brought on a trip by their 
school to watch the sentence carried out.

China does not release figures for how many people it executes each year, but 
it believed to be the most prolific user of the death penalty worldwide. Human 
rights groups say China executes more prisoners each year than all other 
countries in the world combined.

(source: newsweek.com)








GAZA STRIP:

EU Missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah condemn death sentences issued in Gaza



The European Union Representative and the EU Heads of Mission in Jerusalem and 
Ramallah condemned on Thursday the death sentences issued in the Gaza Strip on 
9 September against 2 Palestinians convicted of murder.

A statement by the Missions said the EU considers capital punishment to be 
"cruel and inhuman" and therefore "abolition of the death penalty contributes 
to the protection of human dignity and the progressive development of human 
rights."

They called on the "de facto authorities in Gaza" to "refrain from carrying out 
any executions of prisoners and comply with the moratorium on executions put in 
place by the Palestinian Authority, pending the abolition of the death penalty 
in line with the global trend and following the signing of the Second Optional 
Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights."

Gaza courts issued 2 separate death sentences on September 9 against 2 people 
convicted of murder in Gaza City and Khan Younis in the south, in addition to 2 
life terms in the Khan Younis case for murdering a money changer in 2013.

This is the fourth death sentence issued in Gaza since 2018, according to the 
Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human Rights, which also said that 204 death 
sentences, not including the latest 2, were issued since the inception of the 
Palestinian Authority in 1994, 174 of them in the Gaza Strip, including 116 
issued by the de facto Hamas authority since its takeover of the coastal 
enclave in 2007, and 30 in the West Bank.

It said 41 sentences were executed since 1994, among them 39 in Gaza, of which 
28 were executed by Hamas without the ratification of President Mahmoud Abbas 
as required by law, and 2 in West Bank.

(source: Palestinian News Agency)








TRINIDAD & TOBAGO:

Amend capital punishment law



THE EDITOR: Our last hanging was July 1999, 20 years ago. At the end of 2017 
there were 31 people under sentence of death in prison. How close are we really 
to hanging a convicted person? I don't think we would be hanging anyone again 
in TT.

Can legislation dealing with capital punishment be amended as murder is defined 
as unlawful killing of another with the intent to kill (death by hanging).

If the intention was to cause grievous bodily harm and the victim dies in the 
process, why not sentence the defendant to a term of imprisonment based on the 
victim's life expectancy?

Therefore, if the victim was 57 years old, the defendant would have to serve a 
minimum of 23 years. If the victim was within 5 years of his life expectancy, 
the term of imprisonment would be the difference of the victim's life 
expectancy plus the difference of the defendant's life expectancy - 80 years.

We will still have hanging on our law books.

ANDREW MORRIS via e-mail

(source: Letter to the Editor, newsday.co.tt)