[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Nov. 11


MALAWI:

Malawi courts to re-hear cases of prisoners on mandatory death penalty


Malawi's judiciary has said it will soon sit to re-hear cases of prisoners who 
were previously sentenced to mandatory death penalty.

The re-hearing will only deal with the question of the sentence, to according 
to Joseph Chigona, Registrar of the High Court of Malawi and Malawi Supreme 
Court of Appeal.

Re-hearing of the cases on sentence is also aimed at complying with the 
judgment of the High Court sitting as Constitutional Court in Kafantayeni and 
others v Attorney General - constitutional case No.12 of 2005 (Kafantayeni 
Case) and that of the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal in Mclemonce Yasin v The 
Republic MSCA Criminal Appeal No. 25 of 2005 (Mclemonce case).

Section 210 of the Penal Code (Cap.7:01 of the laws of Malawi), before being 
amended in 2011, provided "any person convicted of murder shall be sentenced to 
death".

The Section didn't not allow the High Court to exercise discretion (in 
sentencing a murder suspect) to take into account mitigating and aggravating 
factors, to consider peculiar circumstances of the case, or to decide whether 
to impose a lower sentence.

In effect, according to the Judiciary, the Section imposed a mandatory death 
penalty on murder convicts.

As such, the constitutionality of the imposition of the mandatory death 
sentence was challenged in the Kafantayeni Case.

On 27 April 2007, the High court held that the imposition of the mandatory 
death sentence was a violation of the right to a fair trial provided for under 
Section 42 of the Constitution and was unconstitutional.

"For avoidance of doubt, the High Court did not abolish the death penalty but 
rather held that courts should be able to tale into account all circumstances 
of the case and decide whether to impose the death penalty or a lower 
sentence," said Chigona.

The Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal in the Mclemonce Case held that all 
prisoners who had been sentenced to the mandatory death penalty were entitled 
to be re-heard on sentence, for the court to take into account mitigating and 
aggravating factors of the case and decide the appropriate sentence to impose.

The Court further observed that it was the duty of the Director of Public 
Prosecutions (DPP) to bring before the High Court for sentence re-hearing all 
prisoners sentenced to death under the mandatory provisions of Section 210 of 
the Penal Code.

"The Judiciary wishes to inform the public that it is ready to start re-hearing 
the cases," said Chigona.

(source: Nyasa Times)






INDONESIA:

Death penalty will not bring a deterrent effect:


While many members of the Indonesian public agree with the death penalty for 
drug smugglers and embezzlers, human rights officials note that it will not 
bring the deterrent effect that lawmakers and the public want.

The Indonesian representative to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on 
Human Rights (AICHR), Rafendi Djamin, explained that a large chunk of the 
public still believes that the death penalty will deter potential criminals 
from engaging in crimes.

"The deterrent effect of the death penalty cannot be totally proven. Even if 
you sentence an embezzler to death, the problem of corruption won't go away.

"The solution lies in the firmness of a life sentence: give the embezzlers no 
power to influence how their sentence will be carried out," Rafendi told The 
Jakarta Post after speaking at the 3rd Jakarta Human Rights Dialogue on Monday.

The reason why Indonesia???s stance on the death penalty remains vague, he 
said, was because it was supported by government authorities such as the police 
and the National Narcotics Agency (BNN).

Indonesia resumed the death executions of convicts in 2013, 5 years after the 
last death penalty case was carried out in 2008, involving the 3 Bali bombers 
who were responsible for the deadly bombings on the island in 2002.

The executions in 2013 included Nigerian drug smuggler Adam Wilson in March, 3 
convicted murders in Cilacap prison in May, and a Pakistani drug smuggler in 
November, all of which drew criticism from human rights activists on 
Indonesia's inconsistent stance on the death penalty.

Rafendi commented that the resumption of the death penalty could be seen as an 
attempt by the government to project an image of firmness in upholding the law, 
an attempt that he says is "dangerous" due to the indirect use of fear.

He recommended that the Joko Widodo-Jusuf Kalla government conduct open public 
discussions regarding the abolition of the death penalty, and urged the 
president to align the nation's laws in accordance with international human 
rights laws and precedents, even if it means revising the penal codes.

Meanwhile, the European Union's special representative for human rights, 
Stavros Lambrinidis, who was the keynote speaker at the human rights dialogue, 
suggested that the reasons why almost all countries in Europe now choose to 
abolish the death penalty was a self-reflection on their national dignity, 
stemming from the atrocities of World War II.

Stavros noted that the abolition of the death penalty was not a cultural issue 
different from the norms of a country but is rather a regional issue - human 
rights are considered and agreed upon in a region. In the ASEAN region, 
countries such as Singapore and Malaysia still uphold the death sentence, 
usually for drug smugglers.

"You do not show national toughness by defending the death penalty, but by how 
you uphold abolition and the nation's dignity," Starvos said during his speech.

(source: Jakarta Post)






SRI LANKA/INDIA:

SL has not implemented death penalty since 1976: CV


In what could be a major relief to the 5 Tamil fishermen who have been awarded 
death sentence by the Sri Lankan High Court on drug trafficking charges, the 
country's Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran said his country 
had not implemented death sentence since 1976.

Mr Wigneswaran, who was a former Judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, said 
in Chennai on Monday that even though death sentence was still part of the law 
it had not been implemented since 1976.

He said the families of the 5 fishermen also met him in Chennai and had sought 
his intervention to cancel the death penalty. "I explained to them that death 
sentence was not strictly implemented in Sri Lanka," he told reporters.

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP M.A. Sumanthiran, a Constitutional and human 
rights lawyer, said that in Sri Lanka, if a person possessed more than 2 grams 
of heroin he would face death sentence.

"There were instances of death sentences awarded to those involved in smuggling 
of narcotics. But the sentences were not implemented," he said.

(source: The Hindu)

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

5 Tamil fishermen on death row in Sri Lanka to be transferred to India


Sri Lanka will transfer all the 5 fishermen, who had been sentenced to death on 
the charge of drug trafficking, to India, a CNN IBN report said quoting BJP 
leader Subramanian Swamy.

This will come as a huge relief to the fishermen and their families. Television 
reports said that the deadlock was broken after Prime Minister Narendra Modi 
spoke with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on the issue, according to a 
tweet from Dr Swamy.

The fishermen will be transferred to an Indian jail, reports said.

"Namo and Rajapaksa spoke on the phone yesterday & agreed to process papers & 
transfer 5 fishermen convicted to Indian jail. I am vindicated!" the tweet 
read.

The case dates back to 2011 when the 5 fishermen set out to fish from 
Rameswaram and were apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy on the charge of 
possessing narcotics.

A Sri Lankan court had recently sentenced the 5 fishermen to death in the case.

The Indian fishermen were arrested by the Sri Lankan navy in 2011. The 
fishermen have time till November 11 to appeal at the Lankan Supreme Court.

India's Ministry of External Affairs had said that the Indian government will 
challenge the order in the upper court.

Spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin was quoted by CNN IBN as saying, "We will take up 
this matter. Judgment is passed by the lower court. We will challenge this case 
in the upper court."

Earlier, the executive director of Sri Lanka's Institute of Policy Studies, Dr. 
Saman Kelegama, had called for a bilateral settlement between New Delhi and 
Colombo on the issue of the death penalty given to five Indian fishermen in a 
drug smuggling case.

"This is a thing that is concerned with both the countries. So, we have to 
bilaterally settle this issue of fishermen crossing maritime border and fishing 
in each others' territory," said Dr. Kelegama.

"Neighbours always have problems, be it in South Asia, Latin America or 
wherever. So, this is a typical problem between two neighbours," he added.

Dr. Kelegama said the fishermen row has created a conflict between India and 
Sri Lanka.

The Colombo High Court had earlier on October 30 held 5 Indian fishermen, who 
were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy in 2011 on charges of smuggling drugs, 
guilty of drug trafficking.

The arrest of the Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy has been a major 
topic of debate between the 2 nations.

Former Tamil Nadu chief minister and AIADMK supremo J. Jayalalithaa had earlier 
written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking him to pressurize the Sri 
Lankan authorities to free the fishermen detained in that country.

Jayalalithaa had in her letter to the Prime Minister insisted on laying down a 
time-bound action plan in a bid to achieve a long-term permanent solution to 
the problem, reports said.

Meanwhile, BJP's Tamil Nadu chief Tamilisai Soundararajan said that the Indian 
High Commissioner was in touch with the fishermen.

"The government is taking legal steps to release the fishermen. And also on 
humanitarian grounds, our High Commissioner to Sri Lanka has met them 
personally and has assured them they can talk with their relatives, given some 
clothing to them when they requested that they have to meet relatives and was 
assured that arrangements will be made," said Soundararajan.

(sources: ANI and agencies)


SOUTH KOREA:

Court jails captain of capsized South Korean ferry to 36 years


Lee Joon-seok, the captain widely derided by families for leaping to safety 
while the hundreds of people remained inside the sinking South Korean ferry, 
was sentenced Tuesday to 36 years in jail.

Although he was acquitted of murder, Lee was found guilty of violating 
"seamen's law" and abandonment causing death and injury.

The sentence was the culmination of a 5-month trial. A panel of three judges 
delivered the verdict and the sentence for Lee, who was accused of multiple 
charges including negligence, abandonment, and murder, for his conduct on the 
Sewol ferry that sunk on April 16.

Prosecutors had sought the death penalty for Lee, alleging that he did not use 
the available equipment such as life rafts, life vests and announcements to 
evacuate the passengers.

Appeal likely

Angry families speak out at ferry trial Park Gi-ho, the ferry's chief engineer 
was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 30 years. The remaining 13 crew 
members were sentenced 5 to 20 years.

The verdict was met with outrage by families of the victim, who gathered 
outside court asking for an appeal and calling for the death penalty for the 
crew members.

The South Korean government said it may appeal the verdicts.

"There were differences in opinion in many aspects," said lead prosecutor Park 
Jae-uck. "It is our position to appeal so that we can ask for another 
judgment."

Both the prosecution and the defense have 7 days to formally ask for an appeal.

Abandon ship? In recent maritime disasters, captains don't hang around

Search ends

More than 300 people died after the ferry capsized on the southwestern coast of 
South Korea in April. Almost 250 of them were suburban high school students on 
their way to a field trip.

9 people remain missing. The government ended the underwater search on Tuesday 
after searching for about 7 months.

"Conditions of the search has reached dangerous situation, for instance like 
the collapse of compartments within the ferry," said Lee Ju-young, the South 
Korean Minister of Oceans and Fisheries. "As the winter season approaches, 
conditions in the sea are deteriorating.

He said the chances of the finding the last victims were waning and that the 
sea conditions could cause casualties.

The ferry will be sealed, but the decision on a salvage operation will be made 
after considering various conditions and consulting with the families and 
experts.

Crew scorned

The image of Sewol ferry captain Lee Joon-seok being rescued in his shorts 
enraged South Korea. Damning photos of Lee, dressed in a shirt and underwear, 
jumping into the arms of rescuers triggered widespread revulsion. While, 
there's no international maritime law that says a captain has to go down with 
his or her ship, his actions drew widespread criticism and it cemented in many 
people's mind that the captain had prioritized his safety over that of his 
passengers.

Even South Korean President Park Geun-hye chimed in, calling the actions of Lee 
and his crew as "akin to murder."

Lee has apologized numerous times, saying his actions were not intentional.

"I was stunned by the accident and I lost my ability to make decisions. I swear 
I never thought passengers should be left dying in order for me to make it to 
safety first."

Lee and three other crew members were charged with murder in an emotional trial 
that began in June.

Several of the survivors testified that when the ship's troubles began, they 
were instructed over the announcement system to stay put rather than to 
evacuate. The ship eventually capsized, trapping hundreds of passengers inside.

Lee's defense has maintained that the captain had only been at the helm of the 
ship for 6 days and that he was not willfully negligent.

"The defendant comes to understand the responsibility and is relying on 
psychological medication and also sleeping pills," his lawyer, Lee Gwang-jae 
told the court earlier this month. "He has an apologetic mindset and is living 
everyday as if walking on a thorny field, fearing that what he has done may sbe 
passed onto his family."

Lee had not been steering at the time when the ship listed that April morning. 
Lee told the court he was in his room, smoking and changing his clothes when 
trouble began on the ship. He acknowledged that he knew that the person who was 
steering did not have the proper skills.

"I failed to take the necessary measures for passengers to leave the ship," Lee 
said in court.

"I reflect and apologize to the victim's families - to those who lost their 
beloved sons and daughters. To the fathers, I'd say: 'I've committed a sin, 
worthy of death.'"

(source: CNN)






YEMEN:

Yemen appoints 'death penalty' judge as minister----Yemen's president Hadi was 
pardoned after unification in 1990


Yemen's newly-appointed minister of justice was the judge who upheld a death 
sentence against the incumbent president Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi in 1987 
following bloody infighting between different factions of the ruling Socialist 
Party in the former Marxist South Yemen state.

Khalid Omar Bu Junaid, 64, was the attorney general of the former Democratic 
Republic of Yemen in 1986 and Hadi was the deputy chief of staff for logistics.

When a successful bloody coup in January 1986 led by senior members of the 
Socialist Party unseated the then president, Ali Nasser Mohammad in 1986, the 
defeated officials, including Hadi, fled to the former North Yemen as their 
rivals took control of Aden, that states' capital.

As a close ally of Mohammad, Hadi was sentenced to death nearly a year after 
leaving the country.

This week, Bu Junaid stood before Hadi and was sworn in as new minister of 
justice in the new government.

Thabet Saleh, a security expert and a former soldier in Aden during the 
infighting, told Gulf News that Hadi was among five officials sentenced to 
death in 1986. One of them was captured and executed before fleeing the 
country.

"The death sentence was revoked shortly after declaration of unification 
between south and north of Yemen in 1990 as a gesture of goodwill from the 
regime in the south," he said.

Saleh added: "Hadi wants to say that southerners have let bygones be bygones. 
This move indicates to Hadi's spirit of tolerance and reconciliation."

(source: Gulf News)