[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

April 1



PAKISTAN:

Pakistan scraps trials before military courts after 4 years



Pakistan scrapped terrorism trials before special military courts after the 
tribunals’ mandate expired on Monday, ending a measure that had been in place 
for over four years to help authorities curb militant attacks, a government 
minister said.

The country resumed military trials for terror suspects in 2015 and lifted a 
moratorium on the death penalty after a Taliban attack in December 2014 on a 
school in Peshawar killed more than 150 people, mostly young students.

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said the courts were re-introduced under 
special circumstances and “performed well.”

“We were near to eliminating terrorism,” he added.

Chaudhry said Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government could not bring the matter 
of extending the courts before parliament, where opposition parties challenge 
his every move. The measure had to be backed by 2/3 of lawmakers in the 
342-seat chamber to pass.

Terrorism cases will now be handled by regular courts, notorious for their 
bureaucracy and slow justice.

Khan came to power after elections last summer, promising to clean house and do 
away with rampant corruption.

He has repeatedly demanded that former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and former 
President Asif Zardari return “looted money.” Sharif is currently serving a 
7-year prison sentence for corruption and Zardari is facing an investigation 
for money laundering.

Zardari’s aide Farhatullah Babar said the opposition Peoples Party would not 
support extending the military courts. “The government should strengthen the 
regular court system instead,” Babar said.

Analyst Zahid Hussain said that while the closure of the special military 
courts might not have a direct impact on Pakistan’s fight against terror, it’s 
unclear how the remaining cases of those held on terrorism charges would be 
handled.

“The regular courts lack the capability to handle terrorism cases,” Hussain 
said. “We either have to strengthen the legal system or they need to find a way 
to extend the military courts.”

Rights groups have criticized the military courts and have campaigned against 
the death penalty in Pakistan, which was largely used to execute common 
criminals.

According to Pakistani officials, the special military tribunals over the past 
4 years decided 478 cases and sentenced 284 people to death. Of those, 56 
convicted militants have already been executed. Also, 192 other suspects were 
sentenced to various prison terms.

(source: Associated Press)








SRI LANKA:

President affirms death penalty for convicted drug traffickers



President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday said he has already decided on a 
period of time to execute capital punishment for convicted drug traffickers who 
carry out large scale drug smuggling operations while in detention.

He was speaking at a mass protest against drugs organised by religious leaders 
led by Colombo Archbishop Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith at the Vystwyke Park in 
Kotahena.

President Sirisena said the Government has taken a number of steps to 
strengthen laws relevant to curbing illicit drug trade.

The President stressed that whatever the challenges or obstacles his battle to 
eradicate the narcotics problem will continue until it achieves a successful 
conclusion. “My aim is to ensure a drug free future for the next 
generation.Whatever the challenges, I will continue this fight until a 
successful conclusion is achieved” he added.

President went on to say that all sections of the society irrespective of 
differences have come together in the battle against drugs today and achieving 
the goal of a ‘Drug Free Nation’ was not far away.

A silent protest march began from a number of Catholic Churches yesterday after 
the Sunday services where participants carried placards with slogans against 
illicit drugs.A rally was held at the Vystwyke Park, Kotahena where 3 
processions coming from different directions merged together.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and all religious leaders participated at 
the rally.

(source: dailynews.lk)

******

President says date set to implement death penalty



President Maithripala Sirisena says the date has been set to implement the 
death penalty.

Speaking at an event today, the President said that tough action will be taken 
against those involved in drug trafficking.

He said that the country needs to have strong laws and tough penalties and that 
punishment must be implemented.

As a result he said that the death penalty will be implemented on repeat 
offenders involved in drug trafficking.

Human rights groups and the UN have raised concerns over the President’s 
decision to implement the death penalty.

(source: Colombo Gazette)








MALAYSIA:

Jong-nam murder: Vietnamese escapes death sentence



A Vietnamese woman accused of killing the half-brother of North Korean leader 
Kim Jong-un escaped the death penalty on Monday, after Malaysian prosecutors 
dropped a murder charge against her.

Doan Thi Huong, 30, was offered an alternative charge of causing harm, which 
she pleaded guilty to. A judge sentenced her to more than 3 years in prison, 
though her lawyers said she could walk free as early as next month.

Huong and an Indonesian woman, Siti Aisyah, were charged with killing Kim 
Jong-nam by smearing his face with VX poison, a lethal chemical weapon, at 
Kuala Lumpur's main airport in February 2017. Siti Aisyah walked free last 
month after prosecutors dropped the charge against her.

South Korean and American officials have said the North Korean regime had 
ordered the assassination of Jong-nam, who had been critical of his family's 
dynastic rule. Pyongyang has denied the allegation.

Malaysia had come under criticism for charging the 2 women with murder - which 
carries a mandatory death penalty in the country - when the key perpetrators of 
the attack were believed to be still at large.

Prosecutors on Monday offered Huong an alternative charge of 'causing hurt by 
dangerous weapons or means'. The reduced charge was offered after receiving 
representations from the Vietnamese embassy and the woman's lawyers, they said.

Judge Azmi Ariffin sentenced Huong to 3 years and 4 months in prison for the 
reduced charged, adding that Huong was "a very, very lucky person indeed."

Vietnamese officials in court broke into applause after the ruling. Wearing a 
red baju kurung, and a headscarf, Huong stood and nodded as the judge delivered 
the sentencing.

She later told reporters after the ruling that she would like to pursue singing 
and acting after she's freed.

"I'm very happy. I want to sing and act," she said, beaming at reporters 
gathered around her.

Before her arrest, Huong was working at an entertainment outlet, Malaysian 
police have said. A woman bearing a close resemblance to Huong sang on the 
Vietnam Idol talent show in June 2016.

Speaking from her rural family home in the Red River delta, 130 km (80 miles) 
from Hanoi, Huong's stepmother Nguyen Thi Vy said the family was most worried 
about the death penalty.

"No death penalty is good enough for now," said Vy, who works as a cleaner at a 
local market and raises ducks and chickens for extra income.

To walk free next month?

Huong, who has already served 2 years in jail, could be released by May 4 as 
Malaysia allows 1/3 remission off all prison sentences, her lawyer Hisyam Teh 
said.

He said Huong had been "naive and gullible" but she was not a criminal. Some of 
the North Korean suspects in the case "exploited her weaknesses... to carry out 
their evil design," he said.

Defense lawyers have maintained the women were pawns in an assassination 
orchestrated by North Korean agents. The women said they thought they were part 
of a reality prank show and did not know they were poisoning Kim.

Four North Korean men were also charged, but they left Malaysia hours after the 
murder and remain at large.

3 other North Koreans wanted for questioning in Malaysia were sent back to 
Pyongyang in a swap-deal after North Korea refused to release Malaysian 
diplomats trapped in their embassy in Pyongyang if they were not returned, 
along with Jong-nam's body. Malaysia has not re-staffed its embassy.

Jong-nam was living in exile in Macau before the killing, having fled his 
homeland after his half-brother Kim Jong-un became North Korea's leader in 
2011.

(source: Reuters)








TAIWAN:

Taiwanese activists protest death penalty for drunk driving



People protest as Taiwan plans to ramp up punishments for those who cause a 
fatal accident while drunk driving, including the death penalty for the most 
egregious cases.

(source: macaubusiness.com)








NIGERIA:

Governor Akeredolu will sign death warrant of convicts sentenced to death – 
commissioner



Ondo State Governor Mr Rotimi Akeredolu will soon sign the death warrant of 
convicts sentenced to death by different courts in the southwestern state.

State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice Mr Adekola Olawoye 
disclosed this at the weekend while speaking with newsmen.

The Commissioner maintained that the state government has no plan to abolish 
death sentence as it was being rumoured.

A state high court sitting in Akure had last week sentenced one Seidu Adeyemi 
to death for killing one Khadijat Adeyemi, daugther of the immidiate past 
Deputy Governor of the state, Alhaji Lasisi Oluboyo.

There were however insinuations in some quarters that the state government had 
abolished the death sentence, suggesting that the convict (Adeyemi) would not 
be hanged to death as ordered by the court.

Although the state Attorney General hinted that some individuals and 
organisations in the state had clamoured for the abolition of death penalty in 
the state, he said the state government did not yield to their clamour.

Olawoye insisted that the state government has no plan to abolish capital 
punishment, which he said remains a punitive measure for offenders found guilty 
by the court.

He disclosed that Governor Akeredolu will soon sign the death warrant of those 
who have been sentenced to death in the state in line with the constitution.

He said it was imperative for law to take its course, hence the implementation 
of court judgment by the state government.

“It is a known fact that anybody who kills should also be killed. We as a 
government will, therefore, respect court orders and judgment. So, the Governor 
will, any moment from now, sign the death warrant of convicts who have been 
condemned to death,” he added.

“Life is not a property of anybody. Nobody has the right to take the life of a 
fellow human being, except as allowed and permitted by the law,” he said.

“Even in advanced countries where they advocate abolition of death penalty, 
they still kill people found guilty of murder.

“Like the case of Seidu Adeyemi, who killed his girlfriend and removed some 
parts of her body and buried her in his room. How do you expect us to abolish 
death sentence with that? We will respect the rule of law; no sentiment about 
it.

“When a case of this nature gets to the Supreme Court and it is confirmed that 
such a person should be killed, then the aspect of the governor, who has the 
constitutional right to confirm and sign the death sentence, will come into 
play.

“We have so many of them that have been convicted, but I want to assure you 
that my ministry will do things proactively to see that these convicts will be 
executed. The Governor will sign their death warrant,” he added.

(source: today.ng)








BRUNEI:

U.N.'s Bachelet urges Brunei not to apply death penalty for gay sex, adultery



Brunei will deal a serious setback to human rights if it applies laws allowing 
death by stoning for adultery and gay sex, marking an end to a de facto 
moratorium on capital punishment, U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet 
said on Monday.

Bachelet said Brunei's revised Penal Code would enshrine serious breaches of 
international human rights law into law.

"I appeal to the Government to stop the entry into force of this draconian new 
penal code, which would mark a serious setback for human rights protections for 
the people of Brunei if implemented,” she said in a statement.

Brunei, a Muslim-majority former British protectorate with a population of 
around 400,000, plans to implement the Islamic Sharia laws from April 3.

The Brunei prime minister's office said on Saturday that elements of the laws 
had been rolled out in phases since 2014 and would be fully implemented this 
week, aiming to "educate, respect and protect the legitimate rights of all 
individuals, society or nationality of any faiths and race".

The change would allow the death penalty for rape, adultery, sodomy, 
extramarital sexual relations for Muslims, robbery, and insult or defamation of 
the Prophet Muhammad, as well as introducing public flogging as a punishment 
for abortion, and amputation for theft.

It would also be a criminal offence to expose Muslim children to the beliefs 
and practices of any other religion.

Brunei has a de facto moratorium on capital punishment, having carried out its 
last execution in 1957. According to international human rights laws, the death 
penalty should only be used, after a fair trial, to punish murder or 
intentional killing.

"In reality, no judiciary in the world can claim to be mistake-free, and 
evidence shows that the death penalty is disproportionately applied against 
people who are already vulnerable, with a high risk of miscarriages of 
justice,” Bachelet said.

Brunei is ruled by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, 72, the world's second-longest 
reigning monarch, who ranks as one of the world's wealthiest people.

The expected implementation of the strict Islamic laws has drawn widespread 
criticism. Politicians in Europe and the United States have attacked the plans 
and raised concerns with Brunei.

Last week former U.S. vice president Joe Biden called the plan "appalling and 
immoral" and said there was no excuse for such "hate and inhumanity".

Oscar-winning actor George Clooney has called for a boycott of luxury hotels 
owned by The Brunei Investment Company, such as the Beverly Hills Hotel, the 
Dorchester in London and the Plaza Athenee in Paris.

(source: Reuters)