[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide----IRAN/IRAQ, PHILIP., SING.

[Rick Halperin]

April 14




IRAN/IRAQ:

Iran, Iraq still among world’s top 5 executioners: Amnesty



Iran and Iraq remain among the world’s top 5 executioners despite an overall 
drop in the number of death sentences, according to a new report by human 
rights monitor Amnesty International.

Although the number of executions worldwide fell from at least 993 in 2017 to 
at least 690 in 2018, Iran and Iraq are still among the world’s most prolific 
executioners, Amnesty’s 2018 global review of the death penalty revealed 
Wednesday.

Although Beijing does not publish its death penalty figures, China tops the 
list with an execution rate estimated in the thousands each year. Amnesty 
excludes China from its global count because of lack of data.

Iran has the world’s second highest rate for 2018 with at least 253 executions. 
Saudi Arabia meanwhile executed 149, Vietnam at least 85, and Iraq at least 52.

“The dramatic global fall in executions proves that even the most unlikely 
countries are starting to change their ways and realize the death penalty is 
not the answer,” said Kumi Naidoo, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.

“Despite regressive steps from some, the number of executions carried out by 
several of the worst perpetrators has fallen significantly. This is a hopeful 
indication that it’s only a matter of time before this cruel punishment is 
consigned to history, where it belongs.”

Amnesty did however acknowledge increases in Belarus, Japan, Singapore, South 
Sudan, and the US.

Iran’s execution rate has fallen by 50 % in the past year as a result of 
changes to its drugs law, Amnesty says, but the Islamic Republic still accounts 
for more than 1/3 of executions recorded globally.

Human rights monitors have also said Iran could be executing more people in 
secret and Amnesty has previously reported that the number of death sentences 
handed down in Iran has risen.

Four Kurds were executed by the Iranian government late last year.

Iraq has drawn criticism for its execution of alleged Islamic State (ISIS) 
members after trials that rights agencies have condemned as rushed and unfair.

Kurdistan Region authorities imposed a de facto moratorium on the death penalty 
in 2008, which essentially blocks its use except for terror-related charges or 
“exceptionally heinous crimes.”

Kurdish law requires the president to sign death sentences before they can be 
carried out. Since 2008, the death penalty has been carried out in just 4 
cases. Most recently, a Kurdish man and his 2 wives, convicted of abducting and 
murdering 2 schoolgirls, were hanged in November 2016.

Human rights groups have urged the Kurdistan Region to abolish death penalty 
permanently and commute them to life in prison.

()source: rudaw.net)








PHILIPPINES:

Bring back death penalty to stop drugs – poll bets



AT least 2 senatorial candidates of Hugpong ng Pagbabago want the revival of 
the death penalty for drug trafficking and possession.

Both Francis Tolentino and Maguindanao Rep. Zajid “Dong” Mangudadatu believe 
that capital punishment can help stem the drug trade particularly the operation 
here of international syndicates.

Tolentino, the former presidential political adviser and chairman of MMDA, 
proposed the execution not only of drug traffickers but also of the source of 
narcotics and those involved in facilitating drug smuggling into the country.

“Nakakabahala nga na dumadami ang high value entries ng illegal drug sa atin. 
Siguro dapat ibalik na ang death penalty,” Tolentino said in an interview.

Reacting to the recovery of large narcotics shipments in Siargao and Dinagat, 
Tolentino said the “high value entries of illegal drugs” should prompt the 
Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Philippine Coast Guard to step up 
their operations and be more vigilant.

“Not just the traffickers pati yung source, pati ang nag-facilitate, they are 
considered traffickers, nagpalusot ka trafficker ka na din,” he added.

For his part, Mangudadatu expressed disappointment that Mindanao is now being 
used as entry point of illegal drugs.

Mangudadatu said the non-imposition of the death sentence in the Philippines 
has given narcotics sources the boldness to operate here.

“No death penalty, no problem. That’s how drug traffickers see the situation 
here,” he said in a separate interview.

The Death Penalty Bill was approved in the House but is still pending in the 
Senate.

A recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey found that if there are other 
alternatives, fewer people agree with reinstating the death penalty for those 
who commit serious crimes related to illegal drugs.

Results of the March 2018 SWS survey showed that less than 40 % of Filipinos 
believe that the death penalty should be the punishment for people convicted of 
crimes related to illegal drugs.

(source: journal.com.ph)








SINGAPORE:

Delivery driver given death penalty for drug trafficking



A delivery driver, who failed to convince a high court judge that he did not 
know he was delivering drugs instead of contraband cigarettes, has been handed 
the death penalty after being convicted of drug trafficking.

Mohamed Shalleh Abdul Latiff's defence during a 7-day trial that concluded on 
Jan 28 hinged on the claim that he thought the 3 bundles he was tasked to 
deliver contained contraband cigarettes.

But the bundles were found to have contained 54.04g of diamorphine, also known 
as heroin. The Misuse of Drugs Act provides for the death penalty if the amount 
trafficked exceeds 15g.

In her grounds of decision released on Wednesday (Apr 10), High Court Judge Hoo 
Sheau Peng said the accused failed to successfully rebut the statutory 
presumption of knowledge of the drugs he was carrying.

At the end of the trial, Justice Hoo passed the mandatory death sentence on 
Mohamed Shalleh. There were no details on the accused's age and nationality.

On Aug 11, 2016, Mohamed Shalleh received from Malaysian Khairul Nizam Ramthan 
an orange-coloured plastic bag and 3 bundles wrapped in brown paper that were 
packed in separate zip-lock bags. Each bundle was round, irregularly-shaped and 
about the size of one's palm.

He passed the Malaysian man $7,000, which was given to Mohamed Shalleh by a 
friend who had arranged the delivery, and the men parted ways in separate cars.

Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officers tailed both men and arrested Mohamed 
Shalleh at Mei Ling Street where he was due to deliver the goods to a third 
party. The Malaysian man was arrested at Woodlands Checkpoint.

Mohamed Shalleh maintained in his statements that he was only delivering 
contraband cigarettes for a friend known to him as "Bai", who said the delivery 
would offset some of the debt that Mohamed Shalleh owed him.

This was the 2nd time he had agreed to help Bai deliver contraband cigarettes, 
and Bai said it would involve 2 1/2 cartons of cigarettes.

However Justice Hoo picked at the defence that Mohamed Shalleh trusted and 
believed Bai's word that the delivery only concerned cigarettes.

The accused met Bai in prison in 2008, but they lost contact. They became 
re-acquainted in 2014 at the Singapore Turf Club in Kranji, where Mohamed 
Shalleh would place bets with Bai who was a "bookie", and as a result he owed 
Bai at least $7,000.

They met again at a friend's wedding in 2016, where Bai gave the accused more 
time to repayment his debt.

Among various reasons cited for his trust in Bai, Mohamed Shalleh said he 
believed the former's claim that he dealt in the business of contraband 
cigarettes. He said he also trusted Bai because he did not insist he repay his 
debt and that they had mutual friends who said Bai could be trusted.

As a result, the accused claimed he was not suspicious and did not verify the 
contents of the goods he was delivering as he believed they contained 
contraband cigarettes.

However, Justice Hoo said these points were "weak support" for the strong claim 
of trust placed in Bai, and noted that during cross-examination the accused 
said he did not know basic details about Bai including his actual name or home 
address.

The accused also claimed the 3 bundles had been placed inside the 
orange-coloured plastic bag when he received them and thus never saw them until 
CNB officers searched his car.

However, Justice Hoo noted this ran contrary to the evidence given by CNB's 
senior staff sergeant Tay Keng Chye, who testified that the bundles were found 
beside the orange plastic bag on the floorboard of the car.

"As the 3 bundles were left exposed on the floorboard, the accused would have 
caught sight of their appearance," said Justice Hoo, adding that their round 
and irregular shape should have aroused suspicion to the nature of their 
contents.

When questioned, Mohamed Shalleh insisted he would still believe they contained 
cigarettes, as it was possible they could have been repacked into smaller 
packets.

However, Justice Hoo found this claim untenable.

She said the accused had been given specific instructions to receive 2 1/2 
cartons of cigarettes, and she did not believe Mohamed Shalleh would have 
"blindly" gone through with the transaction if he could not visually verify the 
contents of the bundles.

In her concluding remarks, Justice Hoo said the covert and complex nature of 
the delivery should have triggered suspicion as to the value and nature of the 
goods.

For this to be overlooked, a high degree of trust in Bai would have to be 
found, however this was not borne out by the evidence of the case.

"Having reviewed the evidence in totality, I found that the accused failed to 
show any unique circumstances justifying the high level of trust in Bai, and I 
was unpersuaded that he relied on the information allegedly given by Bai," said 
Justice Hoo.

(source: straitstimes.com)