[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

May 13



VIETNAM:

Vietnamese arrested for transporting drugs from Cambodia



Police and border guards of Vietnam’s southern Long An province on Sunday 
arrested a local man for transporting 57 kg of crystal meth and nearly 7 kg of 
heroin from Cambodia to Vietnam, local online newspaper VnExpress reported.

The drug trafficker is Truong Quoc Cuong, 41, from Long An. Cuong confessed 
that he had engaged in cross-border drug transport.

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:

Prabowo supporter arrested for saying he wants to decapitate President Jokowi 
during protest, may face death penalty



A man has been charged with treason and could face the death penalty after he 
threatened to decapitate President Joko Widodo in a viral video taken during a 
demonstration protesting the outcome of the presidential election.

Hermawan Susanto was among several hundred supporters of presidential candidate 
Prabowo Subianto who came out to protest at the Election Supervisory Agency 
(Bawaslu) on Friday demanding that the election result — which has been all but 
officially confirmed as a victory for the incumbent — be overturned due to 
supposed fraud.

During the protest, Hermawan was recorded saying, “Jokowi, be ready to have 
your head decapitated” several times to somebody who was filming him, while two 
women chimed in with chants of Inshallah (God willing) and Allahuakbar (God is 
great). Another man, whose face was covered, repeatedly said “amen”. Throughout 
the clip, they all held up the 2-finger salute, symbolizing their support for 
Prabowo’s campaign.

On Sunday morning, the Jakarta Metro Police arrested Hermawan at his home in 
Bogor, West Java. The police have released a video of the arrest, in which 
Hermawan admitted that he said he wanted to decapitate Jokowi because his 
emotions got the better of him and that he was ready to face the law.

“…Threatening the life of the president of Indonesia, the video of which has 
become viral on social media, is a violation of Article 104 of the KUHP 
(Criminal Code) and Article 27 Verse 4 and Article 45 Verse 1 of the UU ITE 
(Information and Electronic Transactions Act),” Jakarta Metro Police 
Spokesperson Argo Yuwono said at a press conference for Hermawan’s arrest 
yesterday, as quoted by Suara.

Article 104 of the KUHP says that treason with intent to harm or kill the head 
of state is a crime punishable by the death penalty or a maximum 20-year 
imprisonment. The UU ITE violations as stated above could also see Hermawan 
given a 6-year sentence and a IDR1 billion (US$70,000) fine for his alleged 
role in disseminating defamatory content online.

Police are also searching for others who appeared in the video, including one 
of the women in the video, who looked like she was holding the camera to film 
herself with Hermawan. Some on social media speculated that she was a 
schoolteacher in Sukabumi, West Java based on her likeness, but the police 
confirmed the teacher’s alibi after she was able to prove she was not in 
Jakarta on Friday.

(source: coconuts.co)








PHILIPPINES:

PACC chief Jimenez pushes death penalty for plunder



President Rodrigo R. Duterte should ensure the passage of “drastic” 
anti-corruption measures, including capital punishment for convicted 
plunderers, in the remainder of his term, the Presidential Anti-Corruption 
Commission (PACC) said in an interview Friday.

“It’s now the President’s call. Otherwise, in his second 3 years, if the 
President fails to neutralize, correct, or solve various issues affecting 
governance in various institutions in this country, I don’t know what will 
happen to the Philippines. God forbid. God forbid,” PACC Chairman Dante L. 
Jimenez said in a phone interview.

Mr. Jimenez said the President should be able to “tell” Congress, especially 
“during his State of the Nation Address (SONA)” in July, to come up with “real” 
measures that will address corruption in the country.

He added: “For me, If he will ask me, I will urge our legislators, I will urge 
our politicians to study how China started its cultural revolution….Use the 
pattern of China in changing the attitude of the people.”

Mr. Jimenez said the government should revive the death penalty for heinous 
crimes, especially plunder. “In the Philippines, we don’t have) death penalty 
for plunderers. We were able to convict a former president for plunder. What 
happened? I don’t want to name names, but look at [him] now….death penalty 
(should be revived), especially for corruption. Otherwise nothing will happen.”

“You know already that corruption is now institutional…. I hope that in his 
last 3 years, he will be able to come up with drastic measures to offer to the 
Filipino people to combat corruption,” he added.

Also sought for comment, PACC Commissioner and Spokesperson Greco Antonious 
Beda B. Belgica said victory for the winning of the candidates endorsed by Mr. 
Duterte is “very important” to hasten the implementation of the 
administration’s reform agenda. of the administration.

“Death penalty is very important sa (to stop) corruption at (and) heinous 
crimes. Instead of pushing for it, Congress is blocking it,” Mr. Belgica said.

He added that the President is “always” talking about reviving the death 
penalty.

(source: Business World)








SAUDI ARABIA----execution

Pakistani Beheaded By Saudi Authorities On Drug Recovery



A Pakistani namely Imran Haider son of Ghulam Hussain has been executed with 
death in Reform Jail, Dhaban Area, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

According to an Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) Pakistan spokesman, the executed 
culprit went from Sialkot International Airport, Pakistan to King Abdul Aziz 
International Airport Jeddah where he was taken into custody by Saudi Police 
with 500 grams Heroin recovered from his personal possession on December 12, 
2013.

The case of arrested accused was recently finalized with the decision of death 
penalty even on minor recovery.

It is pertinent to mention here that punishment for carrying drugs in Kingdom 
Saudi Arabia is death, even for a minor quantity.

(source: urdupoint.com)








BAHRAIN:

Bahraini Court Upholds Death Sentences against Activists----Bahrain’s supreme 
court of appeal upheld death sentences against 2 anti-regime activists.



On Sunday, the defendants, identified as Zuhair Ibrahim Jassem and Mohammad 
Mahdi, were sentenced to death by the Court of Cassation, after the court 
relied on statements extracted under torture, the Arabic-language Lualua 
television network reported.

Amnesty International has called on its advocates to appeal to Bahraini monarch 
King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa over the cases of two death row inmates, who are 
at the risk of execution.

The London-based rights group urged the monarch “not to ratify the death 
sentences imposed on the 2 men and ensure they are not executed.”

It also called for a “retrial that fully complies with international fair trial 
standards, excludes evidence obtained under torture and without recourse to the 
death penalty,” according to Press TV.

Earlier this week, Bahrain’s top court upheld death sentences against Ahmed 
al-Mullali and Ali Hakim al-Arab.

They were among more than 50 Bahrainis convicted on terrorism-related charges 
over a January 2017 prison break.

Thousands of anti-regime protesters have held demonstrations in Bahrain on an 
almost daily basis ever since a popular uprising began in the country in 
mid-February 2011.

They are demanding that the Al Khalifa regime relinquish power and allow a just 
system representing all Bahrainis to be established.

Manama has gone to great lengths to clamp down on any sign of dissent. On March 
14, 2011, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were deployed 
to assist Bahrain in its crackdown.

Scores of people have lost their lives and hundreds of others sustained 
injuries or got arrested as a result of the Al Khalifa regime’s crackdown.

On March 5, 2017, Bahrain’s parliament approved the trial of civilians at 
military tribunals in a measure blasted by human rights campaigners as being 
tantamount to imposition of an undeclared martial law countrywide.

The Bahraini king ratified the constitutional amendment on April 3, 2017.

(source: International Quran News Agency)








IRAN:

A glance at the 2-month record of Ebrahim Raisi



Since the appointment of Ebrahim Raisi as the new chief of Iran’s judiciary, 
the human rights situation has swiftly deteriorated in the country.

Executions

At least 44 people were executed since he emerged as Iran’s Chief Justice.

One of Raisi’s latest crimes was the flogging and secret execution of 2 17-year 
old juveniles.

Announced for the 1st time by Amnesty International, the executions were 
described as “deplorable” by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle 
Bachelet.

Several people were also executed for non-violent crimes.

The authorities secretly hanged 4 prisoners on drug-related charges in the 
Central Prison of Arak late last month.

The 4 prisoners executed on April 29 were Seyed Hamidreza Hosseinkhani, 37, 
Majid Kazemi, 42, Mohammad Hemmati, 26, and Mohammad Davoudabadi, 26.

This was just 1 day after university student Mohammad Bameri, 24, was executed 
for drug smuggling in the Central Prison of Kerman in order to earn a living.

On April 27, Kamal Shahbakhsh was hanged in the same prison on drug-related 
charges, while 2 Baluch prisoners – Dorhan Heydari and Mirhan Shah Ghasemi – 
were executed in the central prison of Shiraz on murder and drug-related 
charges.

Arrests of rights activists

The scale of arrests, imprisonments and sentences issued for activists and 
their cruel treatment reveal the extreme lengths the Iranian regime has gone to 
crack down on peaceful dissent.

Several workers’ rights activists including teachers were arrested at rallies 
in Tehran on May 1 (International Labor Day) and May 2 (Iran’s Teachers’ Day). 
Several of them have remaine in custody without access to legal counsel.

One of the main demands of labor activists in protests, which also occurred in 
several other Iranian cities, was raising the minimum wage.

In yet another case the Director General of the Intelligence Department in West 
Azarbaijan Province announced that dozens have been “dealt with” for 
communicating with the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).

In comments carried by the state-run Fars news agency, affiliated to the IRGC, 
the regime official declared that 60 people have been arrested for 
communicating with the PMOI, while 50 others have been identified and were 
given verbal warnings.

Mahmoud Alavi, the regime’s Minister of Intelligence, also announced that “over 
the past year, 116 teams related to PMOI/MEK have been dealt with.”

Furthermore, Iran’s ministry of intelligence and the IRGC forces have arrested 
dozens of volunteer relief workers after working in flood-impacted areas in 
Iran.

After the country was hit by rounds of flooding in several provinces beginning 
in March 2019, the authorities warned citizens that they could be prosecuted 
for their online postings about the devastation.

In April, agents of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) intelligence 
organization arrested at least 11 Arab-Iranian volunteers as they were trying 
to help people in the flood-stricken village of Gurieh, Khuzestan Province, 
southwest Iran.

Also in April the state securitu forces in the town of Malashiyeh, Khuzestan 
Province, raided the area where a group of independent volunteer relief workers 
were stationed, arresting and transferring them to an unknown location.

Crackdown on women

The regime has stepped up its crackdown on women.

Women activists and political prisoners have not been exceptions.

The regime also summoned hundreds of drivers in Tehran to warn them against 
flouting the compulsory veil inside their cars.

Amnesty International issued a statement on April 18, 2019, urging the Iranian 
regime to stop harassing, arresting and imprisoning women’s rights defenders 
peacefully protesting against Iran’s degrading and discriminatory forced 
veiling laws.

Amnesty International also reiterated in its statement, “The criminalization of 
women and girls for not wearing the veil is an extreme form of gender-based 
discrimination and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment that deeply damages 
women’s dignity. Instead of persecuting and jailing women who are standing up 
to this outrageous injustice, Iran’s authorities should immediately and 
unconditionally release all women’s rights defenders detained for their 
peaceful activism.”

Appointment of ruthless deputies

Ebrahim Raisi dismissed Tehran’s prosecutor Jafari Dolatabadi, included in the 
US Treasury and EU sanctions’ list, on April 29, replacing him with Ali 
Alghassi-Mehr, formerly chief justice of Fars province since September 2014, 
and Shiraz’ prosecutor before that for three years. Alghassi is a proponent of 
public executions.

After listing of the IRGC as a foreign terrorist entity by the US State 
Department, Alghassi-Mehr announced that “he was an IRGC member too.”

Throughout his career, Alghasi-Mehr has taken an extremely hardline approach to 
criminal justice, including by advocating public executions and amputations as 
a means of punishment.

He issued arrest warrants for truck drivers on a nationwide strike, he enforced 
the executions of nine prisoners forgiven by the victim’s family, defended the 
attacks on, killing and wounding of protesters in Kazerun, among other crimes.

Who is Ebrahim Raisi?

In early March, Ebrahim Raisi, accused of gross human rights violations was 
named chief of the judiciary and just days later he was elected deputy chief of 
the 88-member Assembly of Experts, the clerical body responsible for choosing 
the supreme leader.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the U.S. State Department blasted his appointment 
at the helm of the Judiciary, saying that he was involved in the “mass 
executions” of political prisoners in the 1980s.

The appointment “reflects the deteriorating human rights situation” in Iran, 
Human Rights Watch said in a statement, adding that Raisi “served on a 
four-person committee that ordered the execution of several thousand political 
prisoners in 1988.

Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at HRW, said: “It’s 
disturbing and frankly frightening that [Raisi] will be overseeing justice and 
accountability in Iran.”

He “should be investigated for grave crimes, rather than investigating them,” 
she said.

Ebrahim Raisi, “involved in mass executions of political prisoners, was chosen 
to lead Iran’s judiciary. What a disgrace!” U.S. State Department spokesman 
Robert Palladino tweeted on March 5 before he was officially appointed.

Iran has never fully acknowledged the executions, carried out on Khomeini’s 
orders, though other top officials were effectively in charge in the months 
before his 1989 death. Ebrahim Raisi reportedly served on a panel called “death 
commission” involved in sentencing the prisoners to death.

(source: Iran Human Rights Monitor)








EGYPT:

Egypt condemns man to death for Cairo church attack----10 people were killed in 
the attack targeting the Saint Mina church in the southern outskirts of Cairo 
in 2017



An Egyptian man was sentenced Sunday to death by hanging for a deadly attack on 
a Cairo church in 2017 claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group, a judicial 
source said.

Ten people including a police officer were killed as the assailant targeted the 
Saint Mina Coptic church in Helwan, on the southern outskirts of Cairo.

According to the authorities, the attacker was armed with an assault rifle, 
ammunition and a bomb he intended to detonate at the church.

A Cairo criminal court sentenced the man for "murdering nine Copts and a 
policeman, possessing weapons and forming a terrorist group linked to IS," the 
source said.

A 2nd man, who is on the run, was sentenced to death in absentia, the source 
added.

2 others were sentenced in absentia to life in prison, 4 received 10-year terms 
and two were given three years each in prison. Another defendant was acquitted. 
All of those convicted have the possibility to appeal.

Coptic Christians, who account for around 10 % of Egypt's population, have been 
targeted in a string of attacks by IS in recent years that have left more than 
100 dead.

Extremists have also killed hundreds of police officers and soldiers since the 
military toppled Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in 2013 amid vast protests 
against his rule.

The courts have sentenced hundreds of people to death or lengthy jail terms 
after speedy mass trials.

Rights groups often accuse the regime of torture and of failing to ensure due 
process.

Egypt executed at least 43 people in 2018, according to Amnesty International.

(source: al-monitor.com)








SOMALIA:

3 sentenced to death for raping and killing a 12-year-old girl in Somalia



A court Sunday handed down the death penalty to 3 men found guilty of raping 
and brutally killing Aisha Iyas Aden, a 12-year-old girl in Somalia last 
February, Garowe Online reports.

Nugal regional court in Garowe, the capital of Puntland State has announced the 
death sentence against Abdifitah Abdirahman Warsame, Abdisalan Abdirahman 
Warsame, and Abdishakur Mohamed Dige.

The court acquitted 7 others, mostly youths charged with the involvement of the 
rape and subsequent killing of the young girl whose tragic case sparked mass 
demonstrations held across Puntland.

Aden was abducted at a market in northern Galkayo town on February 24. Her body 
was found the next morning near her home. A post-mortem found she had been 
gang-raped and then strangled to death.

The court decision acame after Somalis in and abroad the country took to social 
media using the hashtag #JusticeForAisha, calling on Puntland government for a 
proper investigation into the murder and rape of the girl.

(source: garoweonline.com)








PAKISTAN:

SHC commutes Shahrukh Jatoi’s death sentence in Shahzeb murder case



The Sindh High Court on Monday commuted capital punishment awarded to 2 prime 
accused in the Shahzeb Khan murder case – Shahrukh Jatoi and Siraj Talpur – to 
life imprisonment.

The high court also upheld the life imprisonment sentence awarded to two other 
accused, Sajjad Talpur and Ghulam Murtaza Lashari. The decision was announced 
by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Nazar Akbar on review appeals filed 
by the accused.

During the hearing, the counsel representing the state pointed out that the 
prime accused was declared an adult aged above 18 years by a medical board. 
“Shahrukh’s case cannot be tried under juvenile laws,” he argued.

Shahrukh’s lawyer said the families of the victim and the accused had reached 
an agreement and requested the court to acquit all the accused. “The victim’s 
father has passed away and his mother and sisters have moved abroad.”

Shahzeb murder case: Police arrest Shahrukh Jatoi, two others after SC verdict

Shahzeb Khan, the 20-year-old son of former Deputy Superintendent of Police 
Aurangzeb Khan, was gunned down in Karachi’s Defence Housing Authority (DHA) 
area on the night of December 24, 2012.

Shahzeb had returned home from a wedding with his family when an employee of 
the accused verbally harassed his sister. He confronted the accused and 
demanded an apology.

The accused, however, were remorseless and refused to apologise for the 
behaviour of their employee. Soon after, Shahzeb left his house in his car and 
was on Saba Avenue when the accused chased him down and shot him dead in 
public.

The murder sparked outrage across the country leading to then chief justice, 
Iftikhar Chaudhry, taking a suo motu notice.

In July 2013, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Karachi awarded the death 
penalty to Shahrukh and Siraj, while Sajjad and Ghulam were given life 
imprisonment. Shahrukh was handed down an additional three years in prison for 
illegal possession of a weapon. The ATC directed the convicts to pay a 
Rs500,000 fine each.

A few months after the verdict, however, the victim’s father granted a pardon 
to the accused. Reportedly, the pardon was granted under duress.

In November 2017, the SHC decided on a criminal review petition and set aside 
the capital punishment awarded to the accused and ordered a retrial. The 
defence counsel had argued for the terrorism charges to be dropped considering 
the prime suspect was a juvenile at the time of the offence.

Shahzeb murder case: SC orders names of Shahrukh Jatoi, 3 others to be placed 
on ECL

In February 2018, the Supreme Court turned petitions by civil society into a 
suo motu notice and set aside the 2017 SHC decision ordering a retrial.

The apex court also restored terrorism charges framed against the accused – 
Shahrukh, Siraj and Sajjad – which had been removed by the SHC. The SC bench 
ruled that bails granted to the accused by the sessions court were against the 
law.

Shortly after the verdict was announced, the accused were taken into custody in 
Islamabad and handed over to the Sindh Police. Their names were also placed on 
the Exit Control List.

(source: The Express Tribune)