[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 24



UGANDA:

Terror suspects linked to Al Shabaab further remanded


Police are yet to conclude investigations in a case involving 10 terror 
suspects linked to Al Shabaab arrested last month from Kisenyi in Kampala.

State prosecutor, Edward Muhumuza, on Thursday told Buganda Road Court that 
Police were yet to conclude investigations.

Grade One Magistrate Simon Zirintuusa remanded the suspects to Luzira Prison 
until November 7. They are battling charges of aiding and abetting terrorism 
contrary to Section 8 of the Anti-Terrorism Act. On conviction, the penalty is 
death.

Additionally, they are charged with the offence of belonging to a terrorist 
organisation contrary to Section 11(1) of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Procedurally on completion of the probe, the Police informs the Directorate of 
Public Prosecutions, which notifies court of the development by formulating an 
indictment.

The committal papers containing the indictment are then forwarded to the High 
Court, which has jurisdiction to try the capital offence of terrorism.

Lawyers David Mushabe, Richard Rugambwa, Andrew Manzi, and Noah Sekabojja, 
represented the suspects.

They are Mohamed Abdulkdir Hirsi alias Mohamed Abdul Aziz Adan, ,31, 
businessman; Somali national resident of Katwe-Kibirige House, Makindye 
division, Abdi Abdullahi Bootan, 26, driver; Somali refugee resident of Kisenyi 
opposite Delta Petrol station Rubaga division.

Others are Hassan Abduwali Mohamoud, 25, Somali refugee, resident of Kisenyi, 
Rubaga division,Mohammed Ahmed Gele, 28, driver Somali refugee, resident of 
Lubaga Road, Rubaga division.

Also included are Yasimin Abdullahi Aden, 20, a housewife, Somali refugee, 
resident of Kisenyi, Rubaga division, Hodan Ahmed Dahir, 23, unemployed Somali 
national, resident of Kisenyi, Mengo Yusufu Osman Hussein, 29, businessman, 
Somali refugee, resident of Namalwa I zone, Bukesa, Rubaga division Abdi 
Mohamed, 29, Somali refugee, resident of Namalwa I zone, Bukesa, Rubaga 
division, and Abdul Kadir, 24, unemployed Somali refugee, resident of Mengo 
Kisenyi opposite Missionary Poor School, Rubaga division.

The Kenyan national is Mohamed Yusuf Farah, 31, a manager at Hauliers 
Transport, resident of Bulange, Mengo, Rubaga division.

(source: New Vision)






THAILAND:

Parents of Myanmar Murder Suspects Arrive in Bangkok


The parents of the 2 Myanmar suspects charged with killing 2 British tourists 
on Koh Tao island arrived at Bangkok's Don Muang airport 22nd October to be met 
by a throng of reporters.

3 parents and 1 uncle of the accused have flown in with the help of the Myanmar 
government and the Thai authorities and will be briefed by the Myanmar embassy 
before heading south to Samui Island where the suspects are being held, 
according to local Thai media.

They arrived at the airport carrying photos of Thailand's King Bhumibol and 
were clearly distraught as they talked with reporters.

After hours of discussion with lawyers from the Lawyers' Council of Thailand, 
the 2 men have recanted their confessions.

Ko Zaw Lin Oo and Ko Win Zaw Tun have said in a statement to prosecutors that 
they confessed to the murders of Ms Hannah Witheridge, 23, and Mr David Miller, 
24, on 15th September under duress or violence and now fully retract their 
confession.

The 2 Myanmar migrant workers are charged with conspiracy to murder and rape, 
plus robbery, and could face the death penalty if found guilty.

(source: Burma News International)

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

Koh Tao murder suspects to meet parents tomorrow


The parents of the 2 young Myanmar workers facing the death penalty in Thailand 
for allegedly murdering 2 British tourists on a resort island last month met 
with Thailand's Human Rights Commission, the Lawyers Council of Thailand and 
Myanmar's ambassador to Thailand yesterday to discuss the controversial case.

"Their parents arrived here today. They met with Myanmar's ambassador to 
Thailand, Thailand's Human Rights Commission and the Lawyers Council of 
Thailand also joined the meeting," lawyer Aung Myo Than from the Myanmar 
Embassy said yesterday.

A press conference was held after the meetings, Aung Mo said. "Thai media were 
supportive of the parents ... They said all Thai people want to know the truth 
about the case," he added.

The 2 accused workers have retracted their confessions. Their lawyers said they 
were tortured and forced into making them.

They have been jailed as they face court proceedings over the killing of Hannah 
Witheridge and David Miller, whose battered bodies were found on Koh Tao 
(Turtle Island) on September 15.

Their parents, along with the special envoy from Myanmar observing the case, 
will visit the pair at a prison on Samui Island on October 24.

Thai police have come under intense criticism for repeated mistakes in their 
investigation into the murders, and it has been widely alleged that the 2 
21-year-old Myanmar migrants were used as scapegoats in what has turned out to 
be an alleged bungled effort to protect that country's carefully crafted image 
as safe haven for tourists.

Thai authorities have strongly denied allegations that the pair are scapegoats, 
insisting the case is built on solid evidence, which includes DNA samples of 
the accused that matches samples taken from the body of Witheridge, who was 
also raped.

Thailand's foremost forensic scientists, however, has cast doubt on this, 
saying the crime scene had not been sealed and protected and that no forensics 
expert had been called in to assist in the investigation.

Prosecutors confirmed they received a letter from the defence team saying the 
suspects had withdrawn their confessions and alleged that they had been 
tortured.

The murders on the rowdy island - which is well-known among backpackers for its 
beach parties, cheap alcohol and easily available drugs - have raised questions 
about Thailand's reputation as a tourist destination globally, while in the 
country fresh questions about the reliability and trustworthiness of the 
country's notoriously corrupt police force have been raised.

Thai authorities have agreed to allow British police to observe their 
investigation.

(source: elevenmyanmar.com)






GLOBAL:

The uncomfortable truth about executions


After a leaked report revealed China executes 3 times more people than the 
world combined, here are the facts about capital punishment across the globe

This week the Dui Hua Foundation exposed the shocking number of executions that 
took place in China in 2013.

According to the US-based pressure group, China executed 2,400 people.

The number, which is troubling in itself, is even more disturbing when put into 
a global context - as it reveals last year China executed 3 times more people 
than the world combined.

The total number of executions for the rest of the world was 778 people in 
2013, according to Amnesty International.

The next highest execution rate was Iran is the next biggest executor with at 
least 369, followed byIraq with at least with at least 169.

Other uncomfortable facts have come out of the latest round of statistics - for 
example, Belarus remains the only European country to still have the death 
penalty.

Meanwhile in Japan, India, Malaysia and South Sudan, prisoners were not told 
they were to be executed - and neither were their lawyers or even their family.

Amnesty International say that despite these shocking numbers the global trend 
remains towards abolition - with 173 of 193 members of the United Nations 
execution-free.

(source: The Telegraph)


UNITED KINGDOM/PAKISTAN:

UK 'aid for executions' in spotlight as Pakistan set to restart hangings


More than 100 prisoners apprehended in UK-funded drug arrests are now facing 
execution in Pakistan, after a judge scheduled a hanging that would end the 
country's 2-year death penalty moratorium.

A 1-month stay of execution granted to Pakistani prisoner Shoaib Sarwar expires 
next Monday (27th October), leaving Mr Sarwar at imminent risk of death. The 
hanging, if it takes place, would be Pakistan's 1st execution since 2012, and 
would throw into question the lives of at least 112 drug offenders currently on 
Pakistan's death row - including a number of British nationals, who were 
sentenced to death in trials falling short of international standards.

While the UK government's Strategy for the Abolition of the Death Penalty lists 
Pakistan as a 'priority country', the UK has given more than 12 million pounds 
to support anti-drug operations in Pakistan, where drug possession can carry a 
death sentence. UK funding has covered training for officers in Pakistan's 
Anti-Narcotics Force as well as intelligence and equipment, while ministers 
have failed to take steps to prevent the aid leading to death sentences. Last 
week, Denmark announced it would reconsider similar aid in light of the 
moratorium's possible collapse.

Pakistan's specialist drug courts maintain a conviction rate of more than 92 
per cent, and can hand down a death sentence to anyone convicted of possession 
of more than 1kg of drugs. The Pakistani Anti-Narcotics Force lists death 
sentences on its website as "Prosecution Achievements."

In correspondence with legal charity Reprieve, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg 
has confirmed that the UK has ended counter-narcotics funding to Iran due to 
"the exact same concerns" as Denmark; the latter country redirected funding in 
2013 after concluding donations were "leading to executions". On Pakistan, 
however, Mr Clegg said the UK would continue its funding, despite being 
"acutely aware that this assistance must not compromise our clear opposition to 
the use of capital punishment in all circumstances, including for drug 
offences".

Asked what Britain's aid stance would be if Pakistan's moratorium collapses, Mr 
Clegg promised that the Government would "urge the Pakistan authorities to 
abolish the death penalty", but failed to address the issue of the 100+ death 
row prisoners whose arrests were funded by the UK.

Reprieve has asked the British Government to make its aid conditional on an end 
to the death penalty for drug offences - consistent with its position on 
similar aid to Iran - and to accept responsibility for the link between its 
support for drug operations and the application of the death penalty, including 
for British nationals.

Reprieve's Death Penalty Team Director Maya Foa said: "Despite calling Pakistan 
a "priority country" in its strategy to abolish the death penalty worldwide, 
Britain has sent millions of pounds to help Pakistani forces arrest and 
sentence people to death for alleged drug offences. The people whose death 
sentences British aid has supported are hardly the barons or kingpins of the 
international drug trade - they are innocent scapegoats or vulnerable mules, 
often targeted by notoriously corrupt police forces eager to meet 'quotas'. 
British aid for executions breaches the Government's own human rights rules and 
makes a mockery of its commitment to fight capital punishment abroad."

(source: ekklesia.com)






INDONESIA:

Wife could face death penalty


The Perth-based sons of a man murdered in Bali arrived on the island yesterday 
as police revealed their mother, who allegedly ordered the killing, could face 
the death penalty.

Noer Ellis remains in police custody after allegedly confessing to arranging 
hit men to kill her husband, British-Australian expatriate Robert Kevin Ellis, 
whose body was found wrapped in plastic and dumped in a ditch in a rice field 
this week.

Police said Mr Ellis was set upon in the kitchen of the couple's villa in Sanur 
by 5 killers who slashed his throat.

Police will allege Mrs Ellis paid her maid's boyfriend $14,000 to kill Mr 
Ellis, most of it to be paid after the crime.

Police spokesman Hery Wiyanto said the pair and a second maid would also be 
charged.

He said 2 charges were being weighed up - murder, carrying up to 15 years jail, 
and premeditated murder, which carries a maximum penalty of death.

4 others were still wanted for involvement in the crime.

"Some have fled Bali and some are still hiding in Bali," Mr Hery said. "We urge 
them to surrender.

"Wherever they are, we will hunt them down."

The couple's sons, Jon, 23, and Peter, 19, arrived in Bali yesterday and were 
still coming to terms with the tragedy, according to long-time family friend 
Ross Taylor.

Mr Taylor, president of the Indonesia Institute, said the sons were yet to 
decide whether to visit their mother in custody.

"There needs to be a discussion as to where they proceed from here," Mr Taylor 
said.

"There are issues regarding meeting their mother, how that will be dealt with, 
and it's extremely complex and emotionally charged."

Their uncle, Mr Ellis' brother, was in Bali providing support.

The brothers, who went to Wesley College and studied at Edith Cowan University, 
released a statement on Wednesday. It said they were devastated by their 
father's death.

"Dad has been such a vital part of our lives," they said.

Mr Taylor said business and financial concerns had led to "tension" between Mr 
Ellis and his wife in the past year.

He said Mr Ellis was a successful, well-liked businessman who had lived in 
Indonesia for many years.

(source: The West Australian)






IRAN----executions

5 Prisoners Hanged in Northern Iran----4 prisoners, among them 1 Afghan 
citizen, sentenced to death for drug-related charges and 1 prisoner charged for 
murder were hanged in 2 different prisons in northern Iran.


4 prisoners were hanged for drug-related charges in the prison of Rasht 
(Northern Iran) on Saturday October 18, reported the official website of the 
Iranian Judiciary in Gilan Province. 1 of the prisoners identified as "A. M." 
(32 year old, name of father Gholam Rasoul) was an Afghan citizen and was 
sentenced to death for possession of 1995 grams of heroin. The other prisoners 
were identified as "M.H." (46) charged for participation in buying, possession 
and trafficking of 27 kilograms of opium; "M.A." (44; son of Ismaeil) for one 
kilogram of Crystal and 330 grams of heroin; "M.A." (34, son of Tavakol) for 
buying 2200 grams of Crystal said the report.

According to the state run Iranian news agency Fars, a 35 year old man was 
hanged in the prison of Amol (Northern Iran) yesterday morning, Wednesday 
October 22. The prisoner was sentenced to "Qisas" (retribution in kind) for 
murdering 1 of his friends in 2008, said the report.

(source: Iran Human Rights)