[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 7


KENYA:

Court hands 6 Kisumu fishermen death sentence for murder of 2 colleagues


6 fishermen charged with the murder of 2 of their colleagues have been 
sentenced to death by the Homa Bay High Court.

David Ongata Opiyo, William Ayugi, Tilleny Odhiambo,Silas Onyango Odongo, Peter 
Otieno and Tiberius Ododa Nyangero were found guilty of murdering Lameck Olima 
Ochieng and Felix Ouma Odhiambo on the night of August 16 and 17, 2010 at 
Dhogunda beach, Usao sub location in Suba district, Nyanza.

A 7th suspect, Paul Ochieng Oketch did not attend the court proceedings.

"After carefully evaluating the evidence from both sides, this court has no 
doubt in its mind that on the material night Opiyo, Ayugi, Odhiambo, Odongo and 
Onyango, with others not before the court, killed Lameck," Justice David 
Majanja said reading the ruling.

Majanja delivered the ruling as signed off by by Kisumu High Court Judge Lady 
Justice Esther Maina. The prosecution lined up 16 witnesses and submitted 
identification, recognition, malice aforethought and common intention before 
the court.

The prosecution argued that even though the incident took place at night all 
the eye witnesses testified that the torches the attackers had and moonlight 
exposed their faces.

A witness who was with the deceased escaped. He told the court that on the 
material day, the suspects approached them in two boats at around 2am demanding 
fish and money. He said they were armed with spears, pangas and stones.

When they declined, the accused pelted them with the stones but he dove into 
Lake Victoria for safety. The fisherman said he hid under the water hyacinth 
for 45 minutes and saw the accused leaving with the deceased.

He said the light enabled him to identify them as childhood friends. He later 
reported the matter to the families of the deceased and recorded a statement 
with the police.

The court also heard that the nature of the injuries inflicted on the deceased 
and the other evidence presented were clear proof that the accused had 
intentions to kill.

The accused requested a fair ruling saying they are their families' sole 
breadwinners and denied the charges against them.

"I have considered the statements made in mitigation, however the law of Kenya 
is clear, it describes only 1 penalty for the offense of murder which you have 
been convicted of, and that is the sentence of death," Majanja read.

"I therefore sentence Opiyo, Ayugi, Odhiambo, Odongo and Onyango accused to 
death for the murder of Lameck, but since the death sentence cannot be enforced 
twice, the sentence in respect to Felix is left in the abeyance," Majanja 
continued.

The 6th accused, Tiberius Obada was sentenced to death in respect to Odhiambo's 
murder. They accused have 14 days to appeal the ruling.

(source: The Star)






IRAN:

Iranian convicted in controversial murder case could escape execution


An Iranian woman facing a death sentence in a murder case that some have 
labeled a miscarriage of justice may be spared the gallows, Iranian judicial 
officials said.

Authorities were seeking consent from the family of the victim to vacate the 
capital judgment against Reyhaneh Jabbari, according to an Iranian judiciary 
spokesman, Gholam Hussein Mohseni Ezhei, who made the comments Monday at his 
weekly news conference.

Meanwhile, the semi-official Iranian Students News Agency quoted the nation's 
justice minister, Mustafa Pourmohammadi, as saying that the hanging of Jabbari 
would be put off for at least 40 days.

Observers said the comments likely meant that Iranian authorities had decided 
to commute the death sentence for Jabbari, whose case has been widely 
circulated on various social media forums. It was not clear if Jabbari could 
face more prison time if spared execution.

Fears that her execution was imminent were raised late last month when she was 
moved to another prison, but then quickly returned to her original lockup.

Jabbari was arrested in 2007 and sentenced to death in 2009 for the murder of 
Morteza Abdolali Sarbandi, a doctor and former Intelligence Ministry employee, 
according to a report by Human Rights Watch. The New York-based rights watchdog 
has called on Iranian authorities to cancel the execution.

The case against her is murky, defense lawyers say. Jabbari admitted stabbing 
Sarbandi in the neck, but said that he had attempted to assault her sexually, 
Human Rights Watch said. She also asserted that a "3rd person" may have been 
responsible for the death, according to Human Rights Watch.

Her lawyers have contended that the case was not properly investigated and that 
Jabbari did not receive a fair trial.

In April 2014, Human Rights Watch said, Iran's judiciary halted Jabbari's 
execution to review the conviction and death sentence.

Reached via cellphone, Jabbari's attorney, Parisa Ghanbari, said, "God willing, 
I will get a pardon from the victim's family and save her life."

A friend of Jabbari described the prisoner as "very depressed and hopeless."

In another controversial legal case in Iran, Yeganeh Salehi, a jailed Iranian 
journalist, has been released on bail, her family said Monday. She and her 
husband, Jason Rezaian, Tehran correspondent for the Washington Post, were 
arrested in July and had been held without formal charges.

Rezaian, who holds both Iranian and U.S. citizenship, remained in jail. Media 
freedom groups have called on Iranian authorities to release the couple and 
other journalists jailed in Iran.

(source: Los Angeles Times)






AFGHANISTAN:

Paghman rapists to be hanged to death on Wednesday


According to reports, the Paghman rape convicts will be hanged to death on 
Wednesday.

Sediq Sediq, spokesman for the Ministry of Interior (MoI) told reporters that 
the convicts will likely be executed tomorrow.

The former President Hamid Karzai signed off on the order for execution of 5 
criminals convicted of rape & kidnapping in Paghman incident 2 days before the 
transfer of power to Dr. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai.

The Appeals Court of Kabul awarded death sentence to 5 of the 7 convicts of a 
group involved in brutal beating, robbery and gang-rape of 4 women in capital 
Kabul.

The death penalty was approved by the Supreme Court of Afghanistan on 24th 
September.

The convicts facing death penalty includes Azizullah, Nazar Mohammad, 
Qaisullah, Samiullah and Habibullah, who were involved in gang rape of 4 women.

The women were initially abducted while they were returning from a wedding 
ceremony and were repeatedly raped besides their belongings were robbed by the 
gang.

(source: Khaama Press)

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

Delay Executions in Rape Case----Gravely Flawed Trial Adds to Injustice of 
Heinous Crime


The Paghman case demonstrates how far Afghanistan is from providing criminal 
suspects a fair trial. The mishandling of this case should spur President Ghani 
to impose an immediate moratorium on executions, at least until Afghanistan 
conducts trials that meet international standards.

President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan should delay the execution of 5 men 
convicted in a badly flawed trial following the gang rape of 4 women in Paghman 
district, near Kabul, Human Rights Watch said today. The men, who were 
convicted of robbery and extramarital sex (zina), are scheduled to be executed 
on October 8, 2014.

President Ghani should order an independent review of the handling of the case 
by the government, including the police and the prosecutor???s office.

"President Ghani has called for a review of Afghan's justice system, but he has 
an immediate opportunity to stop a grave miscarriage of justice," said Phelim 
Kine, deputy Asia director. "The horrendous due process violations in the 
Paghman trial have only worsened the injustices of this terrible crime."

On August 23, a group of men in police uniforms, armed with assault rifles, 
stopped two cars in Paghman district outside Kabul, took money and jewelry from 
the passengers, and then raped 4 of the women passengers, 1 of whom was 
pregnant.

The case against the accused has been riddled with serious problems from the 
start, beginning with public statements from then-President Hamid Karzai's 
office urging speedy death sentences before the trial had taken place. Numerous 
due process violations - including a manipulated lineup for identification, 
allegations of coerced confessions, the provision of mere days for the defense 
to prepare its case, and a cursory trial that included no real presentation of 
evidence - severely undermined the suspects' rights to a fair trial and a 
hearing by an independent court.

The court seemed determined to hand down the death penalty in the case, 
applying a law allowing a death sentence even though the penalty does not 
appear to apply in the case. Very few crimes are eligible for capital 
punishment under Afghan law.

International human rights treaties to which Afghanistan is a party only allow 
the death penalty for the most serious crimes when there is scrupulous 
adherence to fair trial standards. This case fell far short of those 
international standards.

Human Rights Watch opposes the death penalty in all circumstances as an 
inherently cruel and irreversible punishment. A majority of countries have 
abolished the practice. On December 18, 2007, the United Nations General 
Assembly passed a resolution by a wide margin calling for a worldwide 
moratorium on executions.

The case also highlights the dangers for female victims of sexual violence, who 
already face severe social stigma in Afghanistan. In one example, police 
investigators allowed journalists to watch the four victims identify the 
alleged attackers in a lineup on September 3, putting the victims at risk in a 
manner that may deter future victims of sexual assault from coming forward.

"The Paghman case demonstrates how far Afghanistan is from providing criminal 
suspects a fair trial," Kine said. "The mishandling of this case should spur 
President Ghani to impose an immediate moratorium on executions, at least until 
Afghanistan conducts trials that meet international standards."

(source: Human Rights Watch)






THAILAND:

Thai police chief defends investigation of murder of British tourists


Thailand's police chief defended on Tuesday the arrest of 2 Myanmar men for the 
murder of 2 British tourists amid concern the pair may have admitted to the 
murders under duress.

The bodies of Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, were found on a 
beach on the southern island of Koh Tao, a normally tranquil spot famous for 
its coral reefs and diving, last month.

Miller died from drowning and blows to the head, while Witheridge died from 
severe head wounds, examinations by Thailand's forensics department found.

The killings have dented Thailand's image as a happy-go-lucky holiday paradise 
and come after the tourism industry, which contributes almost 10 % of gross 
domestic product, was already battered by months of political protest, a May 22 
coup and military rule.

Police were widely accused of bungling the investigation and pressure grew for 
them to solve it quickly.

Last week, police said 2 Myanmar workers had admitted to killing the tourists 
and that DNA found on Witheridge matched samples taken from the 2 men.

"I insist that all officials in this case have done a good job. A perfect job," 
national police chief General Somyot Poompanmuang told a news conference in 
Bangkok.

The suspects, who have been identified only as "Saw Rim" and "Win", both 21, 
have been charged with the murder of both Britons and the rape of Witheridge.

If found guilty, they could face the death penalty.

But a lawyer contracted by Myanmar's embassy in Thailand to defend the suspects 
said the case was a "set-up and not based on hard facts", according to the 
Democratic Voice of Burma, an independent Myanmar news organisation based in 
Norway.

"From what we have learned, there are inconsistencies with both the forensic 
report and evidence provided in the case," the lawyer, Aung Myo Thant, was 
quoted as saying.

He was not available for comment.

'NO ABUSE'

Police stressed the importance of their DNA evidence.

"DNA found on the deceased's body matches the suspects," said Police Major 
General Suwat Chaengyodsuk, the officer who led the investigation. "This is 
something that cannot be denied."

Police said a mobile phone belonging to Miller was also found on Saw. A 3rd 
Myanmar migrant worker is in police custody but has not been charged.

Some rights groups have voiced concern over accusations of abuse during the 
investigation.

"A number of serious allegations of physical abuse against Myanmar workers as 
part of the questioning process in this murder case have been raised to us," 
said Andy Hall, a rights activist and researcher based in Thailand.

"The accusations do not concern the two or three persons currently detained for 
the murder. We do not have enough evidence or information at this stage to 
comment on how or if the two accused have been scapegoated for this crime or 
not."

Migrant workers often face discrimination in Thailand and have been used as 
scapegoats for crimes before. But police denied using force during their 
interrogation.

"I confirm that there was no abuse of any of the suspects," said lead 
investigator Suwat.

The case will be forwarded to a court on Oct. 14.

(source: Reuters)






SOUTH KOREA:

South Korea ferry captain admits he let passengers down


The ship's captain at the heart of South Korea's ferry disaster acknowledged 
during his murder trial Tuesday that he should have done more to get passengers 
to safety as the boat started sinking.

Testifying for the 1st time in court, Lee Joon-Seok said his decision-making 
process was paralysed by the shock of the incident, but insisted that he had 
never intended to sacrifice the lives of the passengers to save himself.

The 6,825-tonne Sewol capsized and sank on April 16, with the loss of more than 
300 lives - most of them school pupils.

The captain and crew were vilified for abandoning the ferry while hundreds were 
still trapped inside, and criticised for ordering passengers to remain where 
they were when the ship began listing.

"I was stunned by the accident and I lost my ability to make decisions," a 
visibly shaken Lee told the court in the southwestern city of Gwangju.

"I failed to take the necessary measures for passengers to leave the ship.

"(But) I swear I never thought passengers should be left to die in order for me 
to make it to safety first," he said.

The bespectacled Lee, dressed in a khaki prison uniform with the number 3114, 
appeared tense and stammered during his testimony.

The 69-year-old and 3 senior crew members are accused of "homicide through 
wilful negligence" - a charge that can carry the death penalty.

11 other crew are being tried on lesser violations of maritime law.

The findings released Monday of a 5-month investigation by state prosecutors, 
concluded that a deadly combination of cargo overloading, illegal redesign and 
poor helmsmanship had caused the disaster.

Under questioning by prosecutors in court, Lee said he knew that crew member 
Cho Jun-Ki, who was steering the ship after working the Sewol for only 6 
months, did not have the required skill and experience.

Lee, when asked if he should have taken the helm as the ship entered a channel 
notorious for its strong underwater currents, replied: "Yes, I guess so."

The Sewol, which was overloaded and top-heavy following an illegal refit, made 
a sharp turn in the channel, causing it to list sharply to one side.

This caused the cargo to shift, and the ferry was unable to right itself, 
eventually turning full turtle and sinking.

Asked where he was when the ferry ran into trouble, Lee said he was in his 
cabin "smoking and changing clothes".

He denied allegations by some crew members that he had been playing games on 
his mobile phone.

"No, I wasn't playing a game. I wouldn't know how to. I was just holding the 
smartphone," he said.

Lee has insisted that the ferry owners are the real culprits as it was their 
decision to habitually overload the vessel.

(source: Zee News)



NIGERIA:

HURIWA Endorses Court Martial, Restates Demand for Probe of Defence Budgets


Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), a pro-democracy 
non-governmental organisation, has thrown its weight behind the just-concluded 
court marshal, which tried and convicted some indicted military operatives for 
acts of indiscipline and other offences, and the recently inaugurated second 
court marshal by the Nigerian military authority.

Besides, the rights group has further called on the federal government and the 
Nigerian National Assembly to initiate a transparent, open, accountable and 
comprehensive investigation of the opaque procurement processes in the Nigerian 
Defence and police sectors since the advent of civil rule in 1999 to ascertain 
how the state of combat readiness and the equipping of the nation's military 
and police deteriorated to such a sorry state that the country is finding it 
cumbersome to confront and defeat the armed Islamic terrorists (Boko Haram), 
who have waged a war of attrition against Nigeria since 2009.

In a statement signed jointly by the National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel 
Onwubiko and the National Media Affairs Director, Miss. Zainab Yusuf, HURIWA 
said it was imperative that whilst the Nigerian system struggles to 
re-establish a strict disciplinary regime among the ranks and file of the 
Nigerian Armed Forces as it battles the bloody insurgency and terrorism in the 
North-eastern segment of Nigeria, it is equally germane that the country 
deliberately open a fearless probe of the remote and immediate circumstances 
surrounding the deep seated decline that have afflicted our military and how 
the once feared military organisation in the world has suddenly found it almost 
a huge task to defeat the seemingly ragtag Islamic terrorists that have 
threatened the corporate existence of Nigeria.

HURIWA also cautioned Nigerians, who have rushed to condemn the recently passed 
verdict of the military court in Abuja, which tried and convicted over one 
dozen junior ranks for offences ranging from mutiny, cowardly conduct and 
attempted murder of a senior military commander because in the thinking of the 
group, the groundswell of impulsive condemnation of the military judicial 
system, which is grounded in the constitution of Nigeria is tantamount to 
justifying rascally and atrocious acts of criminal indiscipline, which are 
alien not only to the Nigerian military tradition but to the military as a 
unique institution around the world.

The group similarly carpeted the Amnesty International and the Human Rights 
Watch of the United Kingdom and the United States of America for condemning the 
General Court Marshal in Nigeria by the military authority and challenged these 
groups to show Nigerians why acts of indiscipline by military operatives should 
be tolerated.

"Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch should stop crying more than the 
bereaved and allow the legal and constitutionally permitted mechanisms in the 
Nigerian military to take its full course," it said. "Although we may not 
completely be in agreement with the complete judicial decision of the Court 
marshal, which turned in death penalty on some indicted military operatives, we 
are not against any legal process supported by the 1999 constitution, which are 
meant to infuse strict discipline amongst the members of the Nigerian military.

"We advocate lesser punishment but certainly we are not ready to board the 
impulsive bandwagon of groups opposing any disciplinary moves to restructure 
and reposition the Nigerian military to assume its rightful position as the 
professionally competent and effective defenders of the territorial integrity 
of Nigeria.

"Nigerians must be conscious not to jump into irrational condemnation of the 
military hierarchy for doing what is right and just. We hereby also advocate 
immediate and comprehensive investigation of all the expenditures invested in 
the procurement of military soft and hardware since 1999 to determine what 
happened to the humongous amount of money said to have been released to the 
Defence and Police sectors.

"We propose the death penalty for convicted thieves [especially military 
Generals and top police ministry officials] of defence and police budgets of 
Nigeria for these persons are the worst saboteurs of the corporate entity 
called Nigeria," HURIWA stated.

(source: This Day)






INDONESIA:

Bali murder took place after victim used racial slur----Indonesian police say 
Tommy Schaefer struck Sheila von Wiese Mack after she called him the 'n-word'


According to an Associated Press report this weekend, Indonesian police said a 
former Oak Park woman who was found beaten to death and stuffed into a suitcase 
at a Bali resort in August was killed after she taunted her daughter's 
boyfriend with a racial slur.

Heather Mack, 19, reportedly told police her boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, 21, 
became angry after Sheila von Wiese Mack, 62, called him the "n-word." She said 
Schaefer struck her mother with a metal plant stand from the hotel.

According to AP, Mack's lawyers said Mack did not confirm whether she witnessed 
the murder.

"Our client did not mention [whether] the beating was intended to kill her 
mother or not. She just confessed to the police that Tommy beat her mother," 
Mack's Indonesian lawyer, Raja Nasution, said.

Nasution also said Mack did not kill von Wiese-Mack or help stuff her body into 
the suitcase.

Tommy Schaefer's mother, Forest Park resident Kia Walker, is working with the 
UK-based international anti-death penalty group Reprieve to get a lawyer for 
her son in Indonesia. Wednesday Journal attempted to contact Reprieve in both 
the U.K. and U.S. but received no response by Monday morning.

Reprieve helped secure the legal help of Haposan Sihombing, an Indonesian 
lawyer, but Sihombing had to withdraw because of a potential conflict of 
interest, said Chicago lawyer Thomas Durkin, who said he is helping the family 
by working as Schaefer's U.S. attorney.

Durkin said he did not have expertise in the Indonesian legal system, which was 
unlike the American or British system.

"It's a very difficult situation and I'm doing these people a favor," he said.

Schaefer is African-American, as was James Mack, the husband of the victim. 
James Mack was a renowned composer and jazz performer who died in 2006.

The AP reported that, according to Indonesian police, during the argument 
Schaefer pointed out that von Wiese Mack's husband was black, and she allegedly 
replied that he was also rich.

Reportedly, Indonesian police said a surveillance video in the St. Regis Hotel 
shows Schaefer entering von Wiese Mack's room with the plant stand concealed 
under his shirt. Bits of iron matching the plant stand were found in the 
victim's wounds, Indonesian police said.

Later video from the corridor showed Mack bringing a cart to move the suitcase 
holding von Wiese Mack's body and Schaefer carrying the suitcase to the cart. 
The 2 abandoned the suitcase in a taxi and escaped through the hotel's back 
door. They were arrested the next day at a different hotel near the airport.

Kia Walker's website asking for donations to help pay her son's legal fees has 
reached $10,600. In an update, Walker said she had been advised not to comment 
publicly on the reports from Indonesia.

"I spent the weekend practicing self-care," she said on the website.

"So far, $200 has been spent for Tommy's food expenses and phone privileges. I 
plan to visit him after charges have been brought. I've accomplished a great 
deal by staying home and being surrounded by my friends and chosen family," she 
wrote. "Along with the support of the fund, I am hoping my son receives a fair 
trial."

(source: Forest Park Review)