[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Nov. 12



JAPAN:

Lawyers' group urges new justice minister to suspend executions


The Japan Federation of Bar Associations said Wednesday it has submitted a 
written request for Justice Minister Yoko Kamikawa, who assumed the portfolio 
last month, to suspend the execution of death row inmates.

The move came after the U.N. Human Rights Committee urged Japan in July to 
"give due consideration to the abolition of the death penalty."

In the request, the lawyers' group urged Kamikawa, who is authorized to order 
the hangings, to set up an expert panel at the Justice Ministry to examine the 
current capital punishment system.

The JFBA called for looking into whether information on the death penalty has 
been fully disclosed, whether execution by hanging is cruel and whether capital 
punishment serves as a deterrent against heinous crimes.

The proposed panel "should be required to come out with its own conclusion on 
how the capital punishment system should be in Japan, and executions should be 
suspended until the panel completes thorough discussions," the federation said.

The lawyers' group adopted a declaration at its annual human rights meeting in 
2011 to promote public debate on the abolition of the death penalty. The JFBA 
takes the position that a society without capital punishment is desirable.

In the request submitted to Kamikawa, the group referred to 4 retrial cases in 
the 1980s in which death row inmates were acquitted as well as to 3 murder 
cases in which prisoners serving a life sentence were exonerated in the 2010s, 
stressing the possibility of hanging innocent people.

It also touched on the latest high profile case, in which Iwao Hakamada, a 
former professional boxer convicted of a 1966 murder of 4 members of a family, 
was released in March based on DNA test results. He is now waiting for a 
retrial to be exonerated.

Hakamada had been in prison for 48 years since his arrest and for 33 years 
since the death sentence on him was finalized.

"Mr. Hakamada has been worn out both physically and mentally as he faced fears 
of execution for such a long time," the federation noted in the request. "His 
case shows that false accusations leading to the death penalty still exist to 
this day."

According to the JFBA, 140 countries, or more than 2/3 of all nations in the 
world, have abolished the death penalty by law or in practice as of the end of 
2013. Last year, only 22 countries, including Japan, executed inmates.

In contradiction of this global trend, Japan has hanged 11 inmates since the 
December 2012 launch of the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, with a 
government survey suggesting more than 80 % of Japanese respondents support the 
death penalty.

The JFBA said public support for the death penalty has not necessarily affected 
the policy of terminating it. "Britain abolished capital punishment when 81 % 
of its citizens supported it, France did so despite 62 % support, and the 
Philippines terminated it despite 80 % support," its request noted. "South 
Korea has suspended executions (since 1997), although 66 % of its citizens 
support it."

(source: Global Post)






BANGLADESH:

Kamaruzzaman's execution depends on SC verdict release: AG


Steps can be taken for war criminal Muhammad Kamaruzzaman???s execution before 
December 16, the victory day, if the Supreme Court sends its verdict to the 
International Crimes Tribunal-2 by the third week of this month, Attorney 
General Mahbubey Alam has said.

Execution of Kamaruzaman's capital punishment depends on the release of the SC 
verdict, he said while talking to reporters at his office today.

The attorney general said the ICT-2 will issue a death warrant against the 
Jamaat-e-Islami leader within a day or 2 after receiving the SC judgement, and 
then the jail authorities will execute his death penalty.

He added that now it cannot be said specifically what will be the result if 
Kamaruzzaman gets the rights to move a review petition before the apex court 
against its verdict.

"In my view, the convicted war criminal has no right to move any review 
petition to the Supreme Court as per Article 47(a)(2) of the constitution," 
said the state's top counsel.

Mahbubey Alam said the jail authorities will execute the death sentence of 
Kamaruzzaman under the decision of the government after receiving death warrant 
order from the ICT-2, as per Section 20(3) of the International Crimes 
(Tribunals) Act, 1973.

Jail Code's provision is not applicable for executing war crimes convict, he 
said, adding that the death sentence can be executed on the basis of a short 
order of the SC.

Meanwhile today, Law Minister Anisul Huq told reporters at his secretariat 
office that he did not know the latest update about the SC verdict that 
sentenced Kamaruzzaman on November 3 for his war crimes.

"I am waiting for the Supreme Court verdict," he said.

(source: The Daily Star)






SAUDI ARABIA----execution

Saudi beheads drug smuggler in 66th execution of year


Saudi Arabia on Wednesday beheaded a convicted drug trafficker, the interior 
ministry announced, bringing to 66 the number of executions this year despite 
international concerns.

Mohammed bin Abd al-Ghani bin Hassan al-Khatir, a Saudi, "was caught smuggling 
a large quantity of drugs in the form of pills into the kingdom, inside his 
luggage," the official Saudi Press Agency said, citing the ministry.

The death sentence was carried out in the northern region of Jawf.

Since October 15, 6 Pakistanis have also been executed for drug trafficking.

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.

(source: Agence France-Presse)



INDIA:

SC judge UU Lalit recuses from hearing Yakub Memon's plea


Supreme Court judge Justice U U Lalit on Wednesday recused himself from hearing 
death row convict Yakub Abdul Razak Memon's plea seeking review of the apex 
court's order upholding his conviction and capital punishment in the 1993 
Mumbai serial blasts case.

As soon as the case was taken up by a 3-judge bench headed by Justice A R Dave, 
Justice Lalit said that he had appeared for some other person in the blasts 
case and recused himself from hearing Memon's plea.

The apex court had earlier stayed the execution of Memon, a key conspirator 
along with Dawood Ibrahim in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, after he filed 
review petiton.

It had on March 21, 2013, upheld the death sentence of Memon.

The apex court had commuted the death penalty awarded by a special TADA court 
to 10 others, who had parked explosives?laden vehicles at various places in 
Mumbai, to life term by distinguishing their roles from that of Memon.

Dealing with the case of Memon, a chartered accountant by profession and 
brother of proclaimed offender Tiger Memon, the court had said he was the 
"driving force" and a "mastermind" behind the blasts that had rocked 12 crowded 
areas in Mumbai leaving 257 dead and over 700 injured.

(source: Zee News)






SINGAPORE:

1.6 kg of heroin and other drugs worth $118,000 seized


The Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) seized 1.6 kg of heroin and other drugs and 
arrested 7 suspected drug offenders, including 2 suspected drug traffickers, 
from Nov 10-11, 2014.

The haul of drugs seized from this 2-day operation is estimated to be worth 
more than $118,000, said CNB in a statement to the media on Wednesday.

Trafficker at Lower Delta arrested

On Monday (Nov 10) evening, CNB officers raided the hideout of a suspected drug 
trafficker at a HDB flat in Lower Delta Road.

A 41-year-old female Singaporean, who was at the unit but was not the suspected 
drug trafficker, was arrested. Various items including an improvised 
drug-smoking apparatus, numerous empty plastic packets and a digital weighing 
scale were seized.

A few hours later, CNB officers finally apprehended the suspected drug 
trafficker, together with a 34-year-old female Singaporean, and a 29-year-old 
male suspect when they were returning to the unit in the early hours of Tuesday 
(Nov 11).

>From a sling bag that the woman was carrying, officers recovered a total of 
about 630g of heroin and 42g of 'Ice', all packed in numerous small packets. 23 
Erimin-5 tablets, cash of more than $4,200 and a digital weighing scale were 
also recovered from within the bag.

Following up from this arrest, CNB officers also arrested 2 suspected clients, 
aged 37 and 49, of the drug trafficking suspect in the vicinity of Lower Delta 
Road and Woodlands Drive. Small amounts of heroin were recovered from there.

Drug hideout of drug supplier at Sim Drive raided

Following the arrest at Lower Delta Road, CNB officers raided a unit suspected 
to be the drug supplier's hideout in the vicinity of Sims Drive.

A search of the hideout recovered a total of about 970g of heroin, said CNB.

The 34-year-old male suspected drug supplier and a 21-year-old female suspected 
abuser were both arrested.

Investigations on all suspects are ongoing.

Under the Misuse of Drugs Act, drug trafficking suspects could receive the 
death penalty if the amount of diamorphine (or pure heroin) trafficked exceeds 
15g.

(source: asiaone.com)






INDONESIA:

'RI's dignity more assured if it chooses to not execute criminals'


Indonesia's stance on the death penalty remains vague. In 2013, the state 
executed 5 inmates for reasons ranging from drug smuggling to murder. Indonesia 
has also abstained from voting on a 2012 UN Moratorium on the Use of the Death 
Penalty. The Jakarta Post's Dylan Amirio spoke to the European Union's Special 
Representative for Human Rights, Stavros Lambrinidis, on the issue on the 
sidelines of the 3rd Jakarta Human Rights Dialogue.

Question: What do you say about Indonesia's stance on capital punishment, 
mainly on the death penalty?

Answer: I know that Indonesia had a moratorium on the death penalty [in 2008] 
before it was broken when several people were executed in 2013. And I also know 
that Indonesia took a leadership role against the death penalty, going from 
voting against the 2012 UN Death Penalty moratorium, to abstaining from voting 
on it.

This month there will be a new vote and I look forward to see Indonesia's 
continued leadership on this resolution.

I also hope that civic societies will continue discussing this issue for 
Indonesian society with as many people as possible. Those who have not been 
convinced need to be involved in the discussion as well.

You mentioned that one of the reasons to abolish the death penalty was due to 
upholding personal and national self-dignity. Could you say that Indonesia 
retained its dignity as a nation during the 2013 executions?

I believe that every state has their dignity to protect and it can be even more 
strongly retained if it is able to do so without executing anyone.

In many instances the punishment socially discriminates against those who are 
already marginalized and poor, as it is deeply unfair for someone who is unable 
to afford a good defense in order to prove doubts, especially in a case like 
death.

The death penalty, in any country, only comes into discussion when the person 
or people who are about to be executed committed a very heinous crime. In some 
countries it could be terrorists and in others it may be rapists or child 
murderers.

It all comes down to what the state wants to achieve with the death penalty. 
Does it want to achieve deterrence so that fewer people would commit similar 
crimes?

If prevention is the goal, then they must also consider the worldwide 
scientific analysis that says that the punishment is an ineffective deterrence 
method.

There is still a lot of support for the death penalty in Indonesia, especially 
for those involved in corruption cases. What do you say is the most effective 
alternative method of prevention in order to stop such crimes from happening 
again, if death is ruled out?

Before thinking about imposing the death penalty, a state must consider having 
effective alternative punishments that both the criminals and public opinion 
can understand as being more important than death.

For one, life in prison is already a very strong penalty for these crimes.

It is also very wrong to assume that the role of a leader is to only follow 
public opinion and it is a big mistake to assume that public opinion never 
changes. Opinions can change if a leader can be inspirational in guiding the 
country through such an issue, which could result in the people realizing their 
own dignity as citizens.

Indonesia's principal position until 2013 was clearly the right way to go and 
it clearly placed the country in the front lines of this serious human rights 
debate. Retaining Indonesia's leadership is something I look forward to, as 
working with Indonesia in the past resulted in increasing the protection of 
human rights. And I believe this will be the case in the future as well.

(source: The Jakarta Post)


GAMBIA:

Court To Rule On Gambia's Death Row Inmates Today


The Supreme Court of the Gambia will this Wednesday morning decide the fate of 
7 men who were sentenced to death for conspiring to overthrow the APRC regime 
of Yahya Jammeh.

Lt. General Lang Tombong Tamba, former Chief of Defense Staff of the Gambia 
Armed Forces, Brigadier General Omar Bun Badjie, Lt. Colonel Kawsu Camara alias 
Bombardier, former Deputy Inspector General of Police, Modou Gaye, former 
diplomat Gibril Ngorr Secka and Abdoulie Joof, a businessman were in July 2010 
given the death sentence by Justice Amadi of the high court in Banjul for 
procuring arms, ammunitions, equipment and mercenaries from Guinea Bissau to 
stage a coup against the government of President Yahya Jammeh.

Dissatisfied with the conviction and sentence, the men filed an appeal to the 
Gambia Court of Appeal arguing that the trial judge misdirected himself on the 
evidence and testimonies of the prosecution witnesses.

They argued that the verdict against them should be set aside on the grounds 
that it was 'unreasonable and perverse'. The further argued that the sentence 
imposed by the trial judge against them was wrong in law as it violates section 
18 (2) of the 1997 Constitution of the Gambia.

The appeal was however dismissed by Justice Joseph Wowo, Justice Na Ceesay 
Sallah Wadda and Justice J.B. Kalaile.

Dissatisfied with the verdict, the men filed an appeal at the Supreme Court of 
the Gambia. But in October 2012, the appeal was again rejected by a panel of 5 
judges headed by Justice Raymond Sock on the grounds that it lacks merits.

In a final attempt to secure their freedom, the men who are currently held at 
the maximum security wing of Mile Two prisons, appealed for a review of the 
decision of the Supreme Court in which the court dismissed their appeal against 
the Gambia Court of Appeal.

They said exceptional circumstances exist requiring the court to review its 
judgment of the October 2012. They urged the court to set aside their 
convictions or in the alternative the death sentence be reduced to a lesser 
sentence.

They urged the court to consider the fact that no violence was made and nobody 
was injured or killed in the offence which they are convicted for.

The state has opposed the men's application and has called on the court to 
reject it on the grounds that the death penalty given to them was appropriate.

Hadi Saleh Barkun, director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), argued that "there is 
no way a legitimate government can be overthrown without the use of violence 
and before a country is invaded by armed forces or any other force, violence 
must be involved."

He added that section 54 (8) of the Supreme Court Rules has made it clear that 
the court can only review its judgment on exceptional circumstances and opined 
that none of the circumstances cited by the men prohibits death penalty.

Urging the court to reject the appeal, the argued that the men have failed to 
furnish the court with sufficient reasons to justify why it should review its 
earlier decision.

The men could be executed by a firing squad if the supreme court presided over 
by Pakistani born Chief Justice, Eli Nawaz Chowhan rules again them.

(source: Jollof News)






ZAMBIA:

DEC officer gets death sentence


A 45-year-old Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) investigations officer of 
Kasama has been sentenced to death by the Kasama High Court for murdering a 
suspected drug trafficker.

Ndola High Court judge Charles Chanda, sitting in Kasama recently, imposed the 
death penalty on Ohinga Lumamba of plot number 003, Mulenga Hills in Kasama.

Lumamba, on July 8 last year in Kasama, murdered Geoffrey Mumba.

He denied the charge.

Delivering judgment, Mr Justice Chanda said the prosecution had proved its case 
of murder against Lumamba beyond reasonable doubt.

I, therefore, on the totality of the evidence before me, entertain no doubt in 
my mind that the prosecution has discharged its legal burden to the hilt and 
this case has been proved beyond reasonable doubt.

"The evidence against the accused is overwhelming and I, therefore, find him 
guilty of murder and I accordingly convict him," Mr Justice Chanda said.

He said he did not find any extenuating circumstances in the case and that he 
had no option but to impose the mandatory sentence for murder on Lumamba.

"I hereby sentence you to death. You shall be hanged by the neck until you are 
pronounced dead. May God have mercy on your soul," Mr Justice Chanda said.

He granted Lumamba leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.

In mitigation through his lawyer Japhet Zulu, Lumamba asked the court to 
exercise leniency on him because he is remorseful for his actions and that he 
is the breadwinner of his family.

Evidence before court was that on the fateful day, Lumamba in the company of 
other DEC officers went to Mumba's house to conduct a search after receiving 
information that he was dealing in marijuana.

The court heard that the exercise was conducted around 04:00 hours but when 
they knocked on the door and introduced themselves, Mumba refused to open the 
door and told the DEC officers that there was nothing of interest for them to 
look for.

The court heard that the other DEC officers kept a distance but Lumamba entered 
Mumba's house and a struggle between the 2 ensued.

The court heard that Lumamba shot Mumba in the chest because he allegedly 
threatened to axe him.

Lumamba's colleagues rushed into the house after the gunshot and found Mumba 
lying in a pool of blood.

Mumba sustained a wound on the left side of the chest.

The matter was reported to Kasama Police Station by DEC officers.

Lumamba gave sworn evidence but called no witnesses.

He denied murdering Mumba with malice aforethought because the firearm 
discharged accidentally.

Mumba's mother, Bernadette Mumba, testified that her son was once convicted of 
a marijuana-related offence but that he had reformed after his release from 
prison.

(source: Daily Mail)