[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

April 17



PAKISTAN:

Murderer Get Death Penalty In Islamabad



An Additional District and Sessions court Tuesday awarded death sentence to an 
accused involved in a murder case of Koral police limits.

The Koral police produced the Challan of an accused Zaheer Ahmed s/o Muhammad 
Bakhsh resident of Attock in the court who allegedly murdered Yahya Hussain in 
February last year over a dispute.

The court after listening to the arguments of both parties declared the accused 
guilty and awarded death sentence to him.

The court also released an accomplice giving the benefit of doubt.

(source: urdupoint.com)








INDIA:

Man gets capital punishment for raping, killing 3-yr-old



The court of additional session judge Lolark Dubey under district on Wednesday 
awarded to a man for raping and strangulating a three-year-old minor in Gumla 
district.

Police said on September 23, 2018, the child was playing outside her house at 
Hesaguttu-Kohlutoli village under Puso police station in Gumla district when 
20-year-old Bandhan Oraon lured her to his house. A police officer said, “Her 
mother, Etwari Oraon, went out to look for her across the village when a girl 
told her that she saw the minor playing with Bandhan outside his house. When 
she approached Bandhan, he told Etwari that her daughter was sleeping inside 
his house and that he would bring her home once she wakes up.” He added, 
“Etwari went back to his house after half-an-hour and Bandhan said the child’s 
body had become cold. When the mother went inside the house, she found her 
daughter dead and covered in a bloody bedsheet.”

Notably, the judgement came within two-and-a-half months after cognizance of 
the case, in which 13 witnesses appeared. The court awarded the death penalty 
under the Indian Penal Code’s Section 376 AB and 302 and also imposed a fine 
worth Rs 10,000 on Bandhan.

(source: doverdailynews.com)

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

SC stays death sentence of Theni man----Warrant has left no time for the 
convict to file an appeal, says Bench led by Chief Justice



The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the execution of a 30-year-old man 
convicted for killing a college girl and her lover after raping her near Suruli 
Hills in Theni district in 2011.

A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi set aside the warrant of 
execution issued by the Theni principal sessions judge after the Madras High 
Court upheld the conviction of Diwakar for murder, and confirmed the death 
penalty on March 13.

The date of execution of the convict, as per the warrant, was April 22.

The CJI-led Bench noted that the warrant of execution left no time for the 
convict to file an appeal in the Supreme Court.

If implemented, the convict would be executed even before the time allowed 
under law to file an appeal was exhausted.

“The period for filing of a special leave petition/an appeal against the order 
of conviction and sentence passed is yet to be over, we are of the view that 
the warrant for execution of death sentence, dated March 27, 2019, 27.3.2019, 
is contrary to the law,” the apex court held.

The Supreme Court further recorded: “We are also told that the petitioner is in 
the process of filing an appeal. The same as and when filed, will receive due 
attention of the court”.

In its judgment, the High Court had termed the murder as a “brutal act on the 
helpless young couple, that too after raping the girl”.

“The savageness of the act was shocking and such a person will be a menace to 
the society,” it had observed.

The trial court had sentenced Diwakar to death in March 2018, saying the 
prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.

(source: The Hindu)








EQUATORIAL GUINEA:

Presidential announcement a welcome step towards abolishing the death penalty



Reacting to the news that Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema 
will propose a draft law to abolish the death penalty, Marie-Evelyne Petrus 
Barry, Amnesty International West and Central Africa Director said:

"This presidential announcement is a welcome move and, if the death penalty is 
abolished in Equatorial Guinea, the country will join more than half of the 
countries in the world that have consigned the cruel punishment to history – 
where it belongs.

"Now that the announcement is made, we hope that President Teodoro Obiang 
Nguema will immediately take necessary steps to ensure his announcement is 
implemented without delay. Abolishing the death penalty will be a positive step 
in improving Equatorial Guinea’s human rights record, particularly the 
protection of the right to life.

“We would also like this positive announcement to be followed by others in 
favour of the protection of freedoms of expression, opinion, association and 
assembly and for Equatorial Guinea to respect its human rights obligations.

“Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without 
exception, regardless of the nature of the crime because the death penalty is a 
violation of the right to life. There is no credible evidence that the death 
penalty deters crime more than prison terms."

Background

Equatorial Guinean President Teodoro Obiang Nguema announced yesterday in 
Praia, Capo Verde, that he will soon submit to the country’s parliament a bill 
to abolish the death penalty, as required by the Community of Portuguese 
Language Countries (CPLP).

The last executions recorded in Equatorial Guinea occurred in January 2014. 
Nine people convicted of murder were executed some days before the 
establishment of a temporary moratorium on the use of the death penalty.

In its annual Death Penalty Report, released last week, Amnesty International 
recorded a dramatic drop in executions worldwide. At least 690 executions took 
place in 20 countries in 2018, a decrease of 31% compared to 2017 (at least 
993). This figure represents the lowest number of executions that Amnesty 
International has recorded in the past decade.

(source: Amnesty International)








MALAWI:

Malawi Debates Death Penalty for Murderers Hunting Albino Body Parts for 
Witchcraft



A minority party politician in Malawi reignited the debate regarding the use of 
the death penalty in the African country, Malawi’s Nyasa Times reported 
Tuesday, calling for the execution of killers targeting albino people to sell 
their body parts on the black market.

In Malawi, Tanzania, and other parts of southern Africa, the belief persists 
that people with albinism possess magical powers. Traditional herbalists and 
healers will often pay high prices for albino body parts to use in magic 
potions alleged to bring good fortune to the drinkers. Some also believe that 
engaging in sexual intercourse with someone with albinism can cure HIV/AIDS, a 
superstition that has fueled rape attacks against albino women and girls.

Investigations from the region have found that some witch doctors will pay up 
to $75,000 for albino bodies. Given how expensive the ingredients for these 
magic potions can be, customers are often wealthy individuals and politicians, 
presenting a significant enforcement problem for local governments.

Tanzania criminalized all witchcraft in 2015.

Malawi, meanwhile, had to contend with increased demand for albino body parts 
in light of its neighbor’s ban.

“This is a difficult issue. It is not right for a person to be killing other 
people just like that and these cases have been left for too long without 
finding the real killers and without any convictions while people with smaller 
crimes get stiff sentences,” Ulia Kaunda, a local Chibanja politician for the 
minority United Democratic Front (UDF), said during a debate on Friday. “I will 
protect all people with albinism in Chibanja, when I am elected. I will also 
meet the Member of Parliament and ask him to push for the death penalty on 
anyone who kills an albino.”

Malawi allows for capital punishment in its laws but has not executed a convict 
since 1992 and faces significant pressure from the international community to 
abolish the death penalty. Police have ordered officers to shoot first in cases 
that appear to be albino abductions, but the courts have not followed suit. On 
the contrary, albino murder cases can often take months to process as police 
struggle to round up suspects, both killers and potential buyers. In one case, 
for example – the murder of Macdonald Masambuka, police had arrested 12 people 
by April 2018, a month after investigators found Masambuka’s body. Among the 
suspects was a Catholic priest, Father Thomas Muhosha.

Last year, President Peter Mutharika announced that he would look into bringing 
back the death penalty for individuals found guilty of killing albinos or 
hacking attacks against them. Some assailants, rather than kill albinos, choose 
to attempt to hack their limbs off so as to not end their lives but also have 
something to sell to local healers. Mutharika faced significant resistance from 
tribal leaders, 94 % of which opposed capital punishment in general according 
to a survey at the time.

In January, following the murder of Yasin Phiri, a man with albinism, on New 
Year’s Eve, Mutharika urged the nation to refrain from the killings and cease 
believing that albino body parts could improve their lives if cooked into a 
potion. The assailants in the Phiri case chopped off his hands and left him to 
bleed to death in front of his 9-year-old son.

“I want to say it here that we should stop attacking our friends with 
albinism,” Mutharika said at the time. “It is ignorance to think that you can 
get rich if you have a body part of a person living with albinism. We have over 
10 albinos that have been killed in this country and how many of those killers 
have become rich? Let us stop such childish and barbaric thinking.”

By the end of February, the government had documented 6 cases of albino 
murders. Officials vowed to combat the spread of violence against people with 
albinism by establishing better census statistics of how many albino people 
live in the country to better confirm when people go missing, as well as 
establishing programs to help survivors of albino attacks reintegrate into 
society and overcome trauma.

On Monday, Malawi Eastern Region Police Commissioner Arlene Baluwa claimed that 
the number of cases of albino attacks had gone down in what had transpired of 
2019, at least in that part of the country.

“Our region, especially in districts such as Mangochi and Machinga, used to 
register a lot of cases of abduction and killing targeting people with 
albinism,” Baluwa said. “However, we seem to be making progress. Last year, we 
registered a single case, thanks to the good working relationship with 
traditional leaders, proper coordination among police personnel as well as the 
understanding of our friends with albinism.”

(source: breitbart.com)








NIGERIA:

3 Policemen To Die By Hanging For Kidnapping Deaconess In Akwa Ibom



Although Akpakwa denied knowledge of the plot to kidnap her friend and 
neighbour, some members of the gang told the court that they did not know her 
name when she attended the final meeting at Aka.

The State High Court In Uyo, the Akwa Ibom capital has sentenced three 
policemen and four others to death by hanging for kidnapping a woman.

Another woman, who was contracted to cook for the victim, Deaconess Ime Ekanem, 
while in the custody of the kidnappers, was also sentenced to death.

Justice Joy Unwana sentenced the defendants according to the anti-kidnapping 
law of the state.

A suit marked HU/13c/2012 was instituted against 8 members of the gang in 2012. 
The defendants are Cpl Emmanuel Charlie, Ekaette Moses, Fidelis Jeremiah, Cpl 
Bassey Sunday (377812), PC Mfon Bassey (478463), Ndu Johnny, Unyime Etukakpan, 
and Itohowo Akpakwa.

They were convicted on a 3-count charge of conspiracy to commit felony, 
kidnapping, and concealing, aiding and sponsoring kidnapping.

Justice Unwana said: “The decision of the court to pass the death sentence is 
in tandem with the anti-kidnapping law of Akwa Ibom State. It is a loud 
statement to the country that the crime of kidnapping is a grievous offence in 
the state and punishable by death. I hope it will discourage those planning to 
engage in the crime to steer clear off Akwa Ibom.”

Akpakwa confessed to visiting her friend in a bar at Idakeyop Aka, where she 
gave Etukakpan money to buy medicine for his ill-health. Although Akpakwa 
denied knowledge of the plot to kidnap her friend and neighbour, some members 
of the gang told the court that they did not know her name when she attended 
the final meeting at Aka.

They, however, insisted that she was the one who identified her friend and gave 
the direction to her house in Obio Etoi village, Uyo.

It was learnt that the victim was dragged out of the Toyota Sienna car driven 
by her husband, in front of the family house at about 6.30pm and whisked away 
in a Volvo Wagon car to Afaha Udoeyop in Ibesikpo Asutan council area, where 
she was kept, under armed guard, in an isolated building.

The anti-kidnapping unit of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) 
investigated the incident, as negotiations for ransom were looking, with the 
initial N20million reduced to N1.8million, which was agreed to be paid in 2 
instalments.

However, when the ransom was to be paid, SCID officers, who were in mufti, were 
shocked to discover that the first two persons who approached the Afaha 
Ibesikpo Market square venue for the ransom delivery were fellow SCID 
operatives. Shortly after the encounter, the venue for the delivery of the 
ransom was changed.

A police investigation report, it was gathered, indicated that after changing 
the venue 3 times, the 1st instalment of N800,000 was delivered at Itam in 
another Local Government Area.

Meanwhile, sharing the proceeds of the crime led to disagreement, and a member 
of the gang, who was in Uyo Prison on a different criminal matter, returned 
home to discover that he had been short-changed. He then confessed details of 
the plot and how it was carried out to the Police.

The eighth and the only accused who escaped the capital punishment, Mrs. 
Itohowo Akpakwa, a member of staff of the University of Uyo, had earlier been 
granted bail.

(source: saharareporters.com)








BOTSWANA:

Death Penalty Remains----Despite strong push against it



More and more capital punishment convictions continue to add on to the number 
of inmates on death row in the country's prisons.

This despite the international call to abolish the punishment as it is deemed 
counteractive to the sole purpose of the justice system that seeks to 
rehabilitate convicts and integrate them back into the society. The argument in 
most cases is that the death penalty does not give the convict a chance to 
redeem themselves and become a fully functioning member of the society and also 
that it borders on violating a human's right to life.

Debate has always sparked around the matter with some strongly believing that 
convicted murderers deserve a date with the hangman, 'a life for a life' 
approach that they believe balances the scales.

African countries, Botswana included, are reluctant to abolish the death 
despite desperate calls for sub-Saharan countries to do away with the 
legislature.

A Premium Times article published on April 10, 2019 article by London-based 
Oluwatosin Popoola suggests that today, 20 countries in the region have 
complied.

"Sub-Saharan Africa is on course to completely abolish the death penalty, the 
trajectory may be slow, but, it is steady," purports the article.

In the article the Amnesty International's Advocate/Adviser on the death 
penalty, Popoola reckons that the employment of capital punishment, which he 
regards as the 'world's ultimate cruel punishment' has decreased in sub-Saharan 
Africa. This, he states, is with accordance to a recent Amnesty International 
report.

"This is good news for sub-Saharan Africa and an indication that the region 
continues to turn against the death penalty," he states.

The Advocate continues that of the 29 countries in sub-Saharan Africa that 
still retain the death penalty in law, only 4 - Botswana, Somalia, South Sudan 
and Sudan - carried out executions in 2018.

Although Botswana and Sudan resumed executions last year, having not carried 
out any in 2017, the overall number of known executions in the region went down 
from 28 in 2017 to 24 in 2018.

"This drop was mainly due to Somalia, which usually carried out the highest 
number of executions in sub-Saharan Africa, executing less people last year 
than it did in 2017," he attests, stating that the surge in executions in South 
Sudan sparks concern as last year the country executed seven people, the 
highest number since gaining independence in 2011 and has already surpassed 
this grim record by executing eight people in the first 3 months of 2019.

At the end of last year, at least 4,241 people were known to be on death row 
across sub-Saharan Africa; each individual with their own story and a reminder 
that thousands of people are at imminent risk of their lives being taken away 
by the state.

"It is hoped that before too long, Burkina Faso and Gambia will join these 
countries, and others will follow. Despite a minority of countries holding the 
region back, Sub-Saharan Africa is on course to completely abolish the death 
penalty, the trajectory may be slow, but, it is steady," Popoola believes.

Botswana's stance

The conversation on the country's capital punishment stance, which is still to 
uphold the practice, still continues with Human Rights advocates speaking 
vehemently against the exercise.

Botswana's constitution provides for the death penalty under section 4(1) which 
states that, "No person shall be deprived of his life intentionally save in 
execution of the sentence of a court in respect of an offence under the law in 
force in Botswana of which he has been convicted."

On the same breath, section 202 of the Botswana Penal Code, which enforces the 
death penalty, states that, "any person who of malice aforethought causes the 
death of another person by an unlawful copyright Government of Botswana act or 
omission is guilty of murder."

Still in the Penal Code, section 203 states that "subject to the provisions of 
subsection (2), any person convicted of murder shall be sentenced to death. It 
continues that where a court in convicting a person of murder is of the opinion 
that there are extenuating circumstances, the court may impose any sentence 
other than death. (3) In deciding whether or not there are any extenuating 
circumstances the court shall take into consideration the standards of behavior 
of an ordinary person of the class of the community to which the convicted 
person belongs."

Pushbacks

Renowned Human Rights lawyer Uyapo Ndadi of Ndadi Law Firm, Rantao Kewagamang 
Attorneys' Tshiamo Rantao and Martin Dingake of Dingake Law Partners believe 
there is no remedy in administering capital punishment.

The trio continues to call for the abolishment of the death penalty with Ndadi 
having been quoted in local news saying, "... the proponents of capital 
punishment argue that it serves as a deterrent, does it? NO!!!" he argued, 
stating it is wrong and barbaric to kill, unless it is in self-defense.

Ndadi's contention is that the argument that a punishment must fit the crime 
committed holds true, "but not to the extent of repeating the crime," he was 
quoted.

"That is why we do not rape people who rape, steal from those who steal, beat 
up those who beat others (even their spouses and partners) for we know it is 
wrong to do so. But why do we find it okay to kill?" he continued to probe.

These sentiments he shares while being aware that the Court of Appeal has 
declared the death penalty constitutional in Botswana.

"...the right to life must be preserved by government as well. No one should be 
licensed to kill by any law. The government must take the lead in showing how 
precious life is, and not follow what murderers do. Otherwise it is like 
punishing a child for doing what you yourself do to the child or others," he 
argued.

Rantao has also come out in the past to blast the act, calling for its 
abolition and terming it an evil irrevocable form of punishment that does not 
solve anything. In his remarks, Rantao recommended a life sentence instead. The 
advocate asserted that the penalty is discriminatory in that those with better 
means to afford expensive and eloquent representation can easily evade the 
gallows and while the less fortunate will be at the mercy of the courts.

"The death penalty is inhumane and degrading, therefore it should be repealed 
from Botswana laws," he was quoted at The University of Botswana (UB) and 
Ditshwanelo 2012 commemoration of the 10th annual World Day against the death 
penalty.

"The only reason is revenge. After someone dies then what? A life sentence does 
not deter a convict from suffering as he should for his crimes," said Rantao in 
a quote in a local article titled 'Is the death penalty still necessary?'

Another death penalty abolitionist Advocate Martin Dingake contends that the 
high number of capital sentences is attributable to a number of factors.

Dingake represented defendant, Patrick Gabaake in a high profile case that 
ended with his client being executed in 2016. Gabaake was sentenced to death 
for murder.

"There has been an upsurge of murder cases involving more than two accused per 
case in the recent past, some committed in the heat of passion and others 
simply to gain an economic value or benefit," he was quoted in a local article.

Acknowledging that some of the murders committed are carried out in the most 
vicious ways, he noted that sometimes the few or non-existent extenuating 
circumstances are far outweighed by the aggravating circumstances. He noted 
that the occurrence mostly occurs when there are two accused persons.

The attorney also argues that there are reasons why death row convicts never 
win in their appeals for clemency as his appeal for Gabaakanye's presidential 
pardon was unsuccessful, noting that the history of the republic sets 
precedence as no President has granted a death row inmate clemency.

"Although this has not been publicly said, it seems this is largely based on 
the concept of separation of powers and the rule of law. That is to say, the 
courts, as institutions best placed to determine the culpability of an accused 
person, should not and cannot be second guessed by the Executive," reads a 
quote from a local report. "This is a highly persuasive and attractive 
argument. But given the many frequent pardons extended to other convicts, it 
seems, with respect, to be a convenient and self-serving argument," he 
continued.

Despite the pushbacks and calls for abolition of the death penalty, the then 
Minister of Nationality, Immigration and Gender Affairs, Edwin Batshu adamantly 
stated that the death penalty will continue to be practiced in Botswana. Batshu 
was quoted speaking at the 29th session of the third cycle review report of the 
Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva, Switzerland last year February.

The country's list of death row inmates continues to grow with more people 
getting the death penalty while a handful of inmates get the Court of Appeal 
(CoA) to overturn their convictions with only a select few have had their 
convictions set aside.

"Once a High Court Judge rules that he cannot find extenuating circumstances in 
a murder conviction, the sentence of death is almost always handed down," reads 
an excerpt from a 2017 December article by Mmegi Reporters Mbongeni Mguni and 
Pini Bothoko. The duo contends that convicts can appeal for a Presidential 
pardon between conviction and execution, though none of the 4 Botswana 
Presidents have granted any of the applicants the courtesy of circumvention 
their date with the hangman's noose.

(source: allafrica.com)