[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Nov. 6


ITALY:

Precious: the role-playing game on death penalty


What would change among young people and in the world if role plays dealt with 
human rights? In Italy it recetly happened with "Precious. The most precious 
thing". The first role-playing game on the topic of death penalty, carried out 
by Coyote Press in collaboration with Amnesty International, presented at the 
Lucca Comics 2014. A game-play training, signed by Jacopo Frigerio, which will 
allow players to experience key moments of the life of a person sentenced to 
death. Or act the role of family members, prison staff, human rights activists 
or supporters of the death penalty, which will discuss the reason and the 
outcome of the final sentence. Moreover, "the mechanics of the game is 
accompanied by an extensive essay on the death penalty, carried out by the 
Coordination death penalty Amnesty International Italy, which presents data and 
statistics on the subject, the cases for which it is activated, information and 
ideas for discussion" Amnesty states. Very striking images are included: such 
as 10 portraits of real people involved as death row inmates, supporters of the 
execution, abolitionist and human rights activists.

(source: Welfare Soicety Territory)






INDONESIA:

New Indonesian human rights minister against death penalty


The minister who will advise Indonesia's new president on whether to grant 
clemency to 2 Australians says he's personally against the death penalty.

Indonesia's former president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, failed to sign a decree 
commuting the death sentences of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran before 
leaving office last month.

There were hopes he would rescue the pair, members of the so-called Bali 9, 
because of the special attention he gave to relations with Australia.

Now Chan and Sukumaran's fate rests with the new president, Joko Widodo, with 
advice from his new ministers, who were appointed late last month.

Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly says he hasn't yet turned his 
attention to the clemency cases left unsigned by Dr Yudhoyono.

On drug crimes generally, the new minister says he agrees with Indonesia's move 
towards rehabilitation programs rather than jail for drug users, but not 
traffickers.

But he also doesn't personally agree with capital punishment.

"I have a dilemma with this," he said in Jakarta.

"If it's the court's decision, what can we do?

"I'm among those who think of the death penalty differently.

"That's my principle.

"I'm not a supporter of the death penalty."

While this was his view, Mr Yasonna said he wasn't "pushing it", as he 
respected the sentences handed down by the courts.

He is among a number of officials Mr Joko can call on to advise on clemency 
cases.

Also available to the president is a letter from the former governor of the 
Bali prison where Chan and Sukumaran are jailed, which recommends their 
sentences be commuted to life.

Lawyer for the pair, Julian McMahon, says they have used their time in jail 
productively, helping rehabilitate and re-train other prisoners.

Chan, 30, and Sukumaran, 33, were among nine young Australians convicted over a 
2005 heroin trafficking plot.

(source: 9news.com)

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

Ellis murder suspects arrive in Bali


2 men arrested over their involvement in the murder of Robert Ellis have 
arrived in Bali.

1 of the 2 men arrested this week over the murder of Australian Robert Ellis in 
Bali is accused of slashing the businessman's throat.

Police allege Mr Ellis's wife, Noor, ordered both Yohanes Sairokodu, 24, and 
Urbanus Ghoghi, 24, to kill him.

The pair was arrested in Sumba, an island east of Bali, on Tuesday, after a 
violent clash with police.

The men were hiding in jungle, and fought back with poison arrows and machetes 
before police shot them both in the legs.

The prisoners arrived in Bali on Thursday afternoon, handcuffed and heads 
bowed.

Chief of the Bali provincial police violent crime unit Pande Sugiarta said the 
men had been under observation for almost five days before the dramatic arrest 
on Tuesday.

"Based on preliminary statements, both got orders from Noor Ellis," he said.

"During the execution, Urbanus was the one who cut the victim's neck and 
Yohanes was the one who held the victim's leg."

Robert Ellis with his wife Noor.

Police allege Mr Ellis, 60, was killed in the kitchen of his Sanur villa before 
his body was wrapped in plastic and dumped in a ditch.

They are weighing charges that can carry the death penalty for Ms Noor, who 
remains in custody accused of arranging the murder.

Also in custody are her 2 maids, accused of abetting the crime, and the 
boyfriend of one of the maids, to whom Ms Noor paid Rp150 million ($14,220).

Her lawyer does not dispute the payment was made, but says Ms Noor only wanted 
the man known as Aril to "solve her problems" - which centred on the couple's 
finances and relationship - and not to harm him.

2 more suspects remain at large, but police say they know their whereabouts and 
it's only a matter of time before they are arrested.

(source: Yahoo News)



SOMALIA:

Benadir regional court sentences death penalty on murderer


Mogadishu (RBC) The Benadir regional court has given a death penalty on a man 
who slaughtered another man in Karan district using a well sharpened knife last 
month, RBC Radio reports.

Benadir regional court judge Hashi Elmi Nur who ruled the verdict during the 
Wednesday's court session has mentioned that the court found sufficient 
testimonials to rule out the death judgement.

"With the testimonials of the murderer against himself and the eyewitnesses who 
have their account to the court, the Benadir regional court has sentenced a 
death penalty on Mr Said Hassan for killing the late victim." Mr Nur said.

The death penalties are cases usually known for the country's military due to 
the security threats against the civil judges who were victimized by armed 
groups relating to their previous verdicts.

Meanwhile the court on Wednesday heard other cases including robbery and 
injuries as some of the cases were postponed for further investigations an 
testimonials.

(source: raxanreeb.com)






IRAN:

New Hope for Revocation of Death Sentence for Insulting Prophet on Facebook


A Supreme Court branch reviewing the appeal request in the case of Soheil 
Arabi, a man convicted of "sabb al-nabi" (insulting the Prophet) and sentenced 
to death, will soon announce its ruling, a source told the International 
Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.

"The Judge in Branch 41 of the Supreme Court seems to concur with the defense 
presented by the lawyers. The lawyers believe that Branch 76 has issued a death 
sentence in error, and now the only way out of this ruling is for it to be 
overruled at appeals level," said the source.

Agents from the Revolutionary Guards Corps' (IRGC) Sarallah Base arrested 
Soheil Arabi, 30, and his wife in November 2013. Arabi's wife was released a 
few hours later, but he was kept in solitary confinement for 2 months inside 
IRGC's Ward 2-A at Evin Prison, before he was transferred to Evin's General 
Ward 350. Arabi had 8 Facebook pages under different names, and he was charged 
with insulting the Imams and the Prophet based on content he posted on those 
Facebook pages. Branch 76 of the Tehran Criminal Court, under Judge Khorasani, 
found Arabi guilty of "sabb al-nabi" (insulting the Prophet), on August 30, 
2014.

This source had previously told the Campaign that the Tehran Penal Court issued 
its ruling without regard for Article 264 of the Islamic Penal Code. "Article 
262 of the Islamic Penal Code states that if a person insults the Prophet of 
Islam, his punishment is death. But in Article 264, it explicitly says that if 
a suspect merely claims in court that he said the insulting words in anger, in 
quoting someone, or by mistake, his death sentence will be converted to 74 
lashes. I would like to emphasize that if only the suspect claims this, he will 
not be eligible for death, and there is no need to even prove his claim," added 
the source.

"Throughout the trial, Soheil stated repeatedly that he wrote the material 
without thinking and in poor psychological condition, but, unfortunately, 
despite this Article and the explanations provided, the judges issued the death 
sentence. They didn't even take any notice of Soheil's statements in court in 
which he repeated several times that he wrote the posts under poor 
[psychological] conditions, and that he is remorseful. Three of the judges 
ruled for the death sentence, and 2 ruled for imprisonment," said the source.

"In a similar case, the case of insulting Imam Naghi on Facebook, a parallel 
court did not sentence the suspects to death, but to 74 lashes," the source 
told the Campaign." We hope that the Supreme Court will overrule Soheil's death 
sentence," he added.

According to the source, Soheil Arabi has 2 additional judicial cases, the 
rulings for which are now final. On September 4, 2014, Branch 15 of Tehran 
Revolutionary Court under Judge Salavati sentenced Arabi to the maximum 
punishment of 3 years in prison on charges of "insulting the Supreme Leader" 
and "propaganda against the state," through his writings on Facebook. In 
another case, the Special Government Employees' Court sentenced Arabi to 
500,000 toman in fines (approximately $150), and 30 lashes. Both rulings were 
upheld in full at the appeals stage.

(source: Iran Human Rights)






SAUDI ARABIA----execution

6th Pakistani in 3 Weeks Beheaded in Saudi


Saudi Arabia on Thursday executed a Pakistani for heroin smuggling, bringing to 
6 the number of convicted Pakistani drug smugglers beheaded over the past 3 
weeks.

The sentence against Amin Allah Zar Gul was carried out in Riyadh after he was 
"found guilty of trying to smuggle heroin in his gut", the official Saudi Press 
Agency said.

The 5 other Pakistanis beheaded since October 15 are among 65 people executed 
this year in the kingdom.

The interior ministry says the government is battling narcotics "because of 
their great harm to individuals and society".

A United Nations independent expert called in September for an immediate 
moratorium on the death penalty in Saudi Arabia.

Christof Heyns, the U.N. special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or 
arbitrary executions, said trials "are by all accounts grossly unfair" and 
defendants are often not allowed a lawyer.

He said confessions were obtained under torture.

Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking are all punishable 
by death under Saudi Arabia's strict version of Islamic sharia law.

(source: Naharnet.com)