[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Rick Halperin
rhalperi at smu.edu
Tue Sep 23 10:09:07 CDT 2014
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Sept. 23
NIGERIA:
Without evidence of death, you cannot impose capital punishment, says Femi
Falana
The General Court Martial which tried the group of 18 soldiers for mutinous
acts which occurred at Maiduguri, Borno State on May 14, 2014 delivered its
judgment last week. Five of the soldiers were discharged and acquitted, one was
jailed for 28 days while 12 others were convicted and sentenced to death. The
convicts were found guilty of criminal conspiracy, mutiny, attempt to commit
murder, insubordination to a particular order and false accusation. In this
interview with a Lagos-based lawyer and human rights activist, Mr Femi Falana
(SAN) he told YETUNDE AYOBAMI OJO that the death sentence should be reversed
with immediete effect. Excerpts:
A military court martial has just sentenced 12 soldier to death for committing
mutiny over their protest against General Officer Commanding (GOC) Gen Mohammed
Saleh of the Seventh Mechanised Division, Maiduguri. What is your message to
the Army Council in their review of the death sentence?
I will strongly appeal to the Army Council not to confirm the death sentence
passed on the 12 soldiers but commute same to imprisonment in the interest of
Justice. The facts of the case in my view cannot grant conviction of murder
charge. The Army Council should, in the interest of justice take a painstaking
analysis of the facts in issue and the circumstances of the offence in their
consideration of the death sentence.
Before the incident, the soldiers at the Maimalari cantonment had complained of
insufficient ammunition, food and allowances. It should be noted that these
were soldiers in full combat operations. They were at the battle front fighting
the Boko Haram insurgents. Putting their lives on line to save their father
land and yet there were clear evidence of poor welfare, poor motivation and
insufficient ammunitions. The question is who was to blame? The soldiers
squarely answered this question in their protest against the visiting GOC.
According to the report, the visit of the GOC was said to have coincided with
the arrival of the corpses of soldiers freshly killed in an ambush in Chibok by
the Boko Haram insurgents on the night of May 13, 2014. Don't forget these were
corpses of their colleagues. It was the tragic situation which reportedly
infuriated the soldiers. Following the unfortunate incident the military
authorities in their wisdom, investigated and confirmed the circumstances which
led to the mutinous act. The result of their investigation was the immediate
removal of the GOC. The only inference that could be drawn from the removal of
the GOC was that he must have been found wanting in the performance of huge
responsibilities imposed on him by his official callings.
In this regard, the Army Council in its consideration should examine in
totality the very circumstances of the mutinous act of the affected soldiers
and commute the death sentence to imprisonment terms.
Beyond the circumstances of the case, is there any legal basis why the Army
should not confirm the death sentence?
With due respect to the General Court Martial that convicted the 12 soldiers,
my humble view is that the soldiers were charged under the wrong law. Before
any person can be charged with murder, there must be evidence of death as fact
in issue. Since death was not considered as fact in issue in the circumstance
of the case, charging the soldiers under the law that provides for capital
punishment appears in my view a bit over flogging the issue which cannot stand
the test of legal scrutiny in our court.
Although, mutiny cannot be condoned by the armed forces because it strikes at
the foundation of discipline in the military, it is my view that it ought to be
pointed out that the 18 soldiers were erroneously charged under Section 52(1)
of the Armed Forces Act Cap A20 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
Fortunately, the General Officer Commanding whose car was shot at was not
killed. Hence, the soldiers were charged with attempted murder which does not
attract the death penalty. In the circumstance, the 12 convicts should have
been charged under section 52(2) of the Armed Forces Act which provides for
life imprisonment.
Do these precedents support your position on this matter?
Of course, we have precedents in which soldiers who were convicted by military
court martial and sentenced to death had their sentences commuted to prison
terms and pardon.
I recall, the case of Yussuf and 21 Ors v Nigerian Army (2003) 36 WRN 68 where
late Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN) handled the defence of the accused, the
sentence of life imprisonment passed on the appellants who had rioted at the
Cairo Airport in Egypt was quashed. It was the finding of the Court that the
offence of mutiny complained of by the respondent was instigated by the
officers who had diverted the medical allowances which ought to have been paid
to the convicts while receiving medical treatment in Egypt. It is clear, just
like the instance case the court cannot gloss over the circumstances of the
mutiny.
So also, in the case of the Akure 27, where I handled the defence of the
convicted soldiers who were equally charged with mutiny but convicted and
sentenced to life imprisonment.
The Army Council after painstaking review of the case of the affected soldiers,
who had served as part of ECOMOG troops in Liberia, reduced the sentence of
life imprisonment to 7 years and later pardoned the convicts. The fact of the
case was that the allowances of the convicts who had served in Liberia were
diverted by some military officers. This was taken into cognizance by the Army
Council.
Again as you can see, the Army Council took the special circumstance of the
protest of the soldiers which led to the charge of mutiny for which they were
tried into consideration just like the instance case. So, I strongly advise the
Army Council to follow its earlier precedents in the cases cited in the
interest of justice and equity.
Peradventure, if in spite of this your analysis and persionate appeal to the
Army Council to commute the death sentence passed on the 12 soldiers to
imprisonment terms, the council still goes ahead to confirm the sentence, what
will be your advice to the affected soldiers?
Honestly, I expect the council to follow its precedents as earlier stated.
However if the unexpected happens and the council affirms the death sentence,
the convicts should seek remedy in the regular court. They should explore all
the legally available window. And as a matter of fact, the regular court will
do justice in the matter. They will look at not just the circumstances that led
to the mutinous act but also the charge itself, whether in the absence of
death, the conviction and death sentence can stand. I strongly believe the
contrary. Without death as fact in issue, the conviction and the death sentence
as passed by the court martial cannot stand. I am sure the court will always
preserve the sanctity of life of every citizen irrespective of class.
(source: The Guardian)
IRAN:
3 Pastors in Iran Facing Death Penalty
3 pastors are facing charges that could lead to the death penalty for their
involvement in Iran's underground house-church movement, according to Morning
Star News.
Iranian authorities recently filed charges against Behnam Irani and Silas
Rabbani - both pastors of the Church of Iran in Karaj - for "Mofsed-fel-arz" or
"spreading corruption on [the] Earth." Prior to these charges, the
Revolutionary Tribunal had charged Abdolreza Ali-Haghnejad - another leader of
the Church of Iran - with "Moharebeh" or "warring against God," but the court
later changed the charge to "spreading corruption on [the] Earth."
While "warring against God" and "spreading corruption on [the] Earth" can both
carry the death penalty, the legal requirements for a conviction of the latter
are less demanding.
In Iran, "warring against God" has been a capital offense often used against
political opponents, or dissident members of ethnic minorities. Hashem
Shabaninejad - an Arab-Iranian poet and human rights activist - was hanged on
Jan. 25 after being found guilty of "spreading corruption on [the] Earth" and
"warring against God" for simply speaking out against the maltreatment of
Iranian Arabs in Khuzestan Province.
So far this year, Iran has executed 12 people for allegedly "warring against
God" and 2 for "spreading corruption on [the] Earth."
(source: Worthy News)
***********************
Sunni prisoner awaiting execution transferred to hospital
Barzan Nasrollah Zadeh, a Sunni prisoner of conscience awaiting execution in
Iran's Rajai Shahr prison, was transferred to hospital yesterday following a
deterioration in his condition.
According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), despite
doctors saying that Barzan was in urgent need of surgery, he was transferred
for an unknown reason back to Rajai Shahr prison within a few hours, without
receiving medical treatment.
The transfer to hospital followed a deterioration in his condition, after he
endured 4 years of extreme abdominal pain with prison officials refusing to
provide him with adequate medical treatment.
Barzan Nasrollah Zadeh has been suffering from health problems since his arrest
on 29 May 2010. He was shot in the abdomen by plain-clothed officers from the
Ministry of Intelligence who arrested him as he walked home from school in
Sanandaj, Kurdistan province of Iran. He was only 17 years old at the time.
Despite his severe injuries, he was admitted to the local hospital for
approximately 1 hour, before being transferred to the Ministry of Intelligence
Detention Center in Sanandaj. He lost his spleen due to the lack of medical
care he received.
He was subjected to torture whilst held at the Ministry of Intelligence
Detention Center in Sanandaj, and was also psychologically tortured by being
forced to watch other detainees being tortured by Intelligence officers.
Barzan Nasrollah Zadeh was then filmed by interrogators who forced him to make
a false 'confession' that he had 'contact with Salafi groups'.
Following the 'confession', he was sentenced to death in Branch 28 of the
Tehran Revolutionary Court, along with 2 other Sunni men, after being convicted
of 'Moharebeh (enmity against God) through the support of Salafi groups'.
(source: Human Rights Activists News Agency)
******************
4 Prisoners Executed for Drug-Related Charges in Southern Iran
4 prisoners were hanged in the prison of Bandar Abbas (southern Iran) Thursday
morning September 18, reported the official website of the Iranian Judiciary in
Hormozgan Province.
According to the report the prisoners were identified as "F.M." and "A.R."
charged with participation in possession and trafficking of 970 grams of
heroin, "H.R." for participation in trafficking of 582 kilograms and 350 grams
of opium and "A.N." for possession and trafficking of 1460 grams of heroin. All
the prisoners had been sentenced to death by the section 3 of Bandar Abbas
Revolution Court. The executions were carried out at the Central prison of
Bandar Abbas, said the report.
(source: Iran Human Rights)
SAUDI ARABIA:
Seven terrorists sentenced to death
7 Saudi men have been sentenced to death for their role in one of the Kingdom's
largest terror cells, which consisted of 94 persons and aimed to target oil
facilities and assassinate security officers, scholars, senior officials and
journalists.
The Special Criminal Court in Riyadh awarded death penalty to three terror
suspects on Monday and 4 others on Sunday. 40 suspects were sentenced to prison
terms. On Monday, the court sentenced 20 suspects to prison terms ranging from
5 to 25 years, in addition to a travel ban. All the convicts are Saudis. The
convicts can appeal the verdict within 30 days, the Saudi Press Agency
reported. The charges against the convicts included kidnapping and killing a
foreigner, armed confrontation with the security forces, embracing deviant
ideology, joining Al-Qaeda, disobedience of the ruler, making explosives, and
receiving training in the use of weapons.
On Sunday, the court jailed as many as 20 suspects for between 2 and 23 years
for a variety of crimes ranging from joining a terror cell, providing shelter
for terrorists to embracing a takfiri ideology (labeling others as infidels).
The 4 sentenced to death were convicted of various crimes. The 1st defendant
was guilty of receiving military training abroad to fight against his own
country and planning to kill policemen, carrying out suicide bombings,
exploding oil pipelines, and killing foreigners as well as Islamic religious
leaders.
The 2nd defendant was guilty of joining a terrorist cell, working with Al-Qaeda
inside the country, recruiting members for the cell, meeting leaders of the
terrorist cell, providing them with shelter and resisting security officers
during their raid. He was convicted of wearing a special uniform that had 3
pockets for ammunition.
The 3rd defendant was guilty of receiving training on how to dismantle and put
together arms, meeting top leaders of the terrorist cell, supporting them in
their action, providing them with shelter, not reporting them to the police,
helping them put together explosives and opening fire on security officers who
raided their place.
He was convicted of firing 90 bullets with the intention of killing security
officers who foiled their attempt to carry out a suicide bombing inside the
country.
He was holding a machine gun, 60 bullets, 2 grenades, and a number of arms with
the intention to destabilize security.
(source: Saudi Gazette)
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