[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Sept. 27



INDONESIA:

German man arrested in Bali for cocaine possession


Indonesian customs said Saturday they have arrested a German man for allegedly 
trafficking cocaine onto the resort island of Bali.

Hans Peter Naumann, 48, had flown from Bangkok to Bali on an Air Asia flight 
before he was caught around midday Friday, officials said.

He could be charged with drug trafficking, for which the maximum penalty is a 
death sentence and 10 billion rupiah (S$1.06 million) fine, Bali customs 
official Djarot Utomo said.

"He admitted that he was only a courier," and would get US$5,000 (S$6,371) as 
payment, Utomo said.

Airport authorities spotted Naumann looking pale and acting suspiciously upon 
his arrival so decided to conduct a body search.

They found 11 capsules containing 201 grams (7 ounces) of cocaine in his 
underwear as well as six capsules weighing 38 grams of the drugs he had 
swallowed, Utomo said.

The German embassy in Jakarta could not immediately be reached for comment.

Foreigners are regularly caught with drugs on Bali and a death sentence can be 
imposed on those found trying to smuggle drugs weighing more than 5 grams onto 
the popular holiday island.

British grandmother Lindsay Sandiford was sentenced to death in January last 
year after cocaine with an estimated street value of $2.4 million was found in 
her suitcase as she arrived on a flight from Bangkok.

(source: asiaone.com)






VIETNAM:

Ex-leader of Vietnam's Agribank arm gets death for embezzling $3.7mn


A Vietnam court has sentenced the former general director of Finance Leasing 
Company No. 2 (ACL II), Vu Quoc Hao, 59, to death for embezzling VND78 billion 
(nearly $3.7 million) in a corruption case.

Corruption whistleblowers may be rewarded with up to $236,000 in Vietnam

Hao received the sentence at the court hearing for him and 10 other defendants 
involved in major corruption that took place at ALC II, which is under the 
State-owned Vietnam Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development (Agribank), 
several years ago, the Ho Chi Minh City People???\'s Court said Friday after a 
10-day trial.

The jury handed down the same penalty to Pham Minh Tuan, 56, former director of 
Xuan Viet Co., Ltd.; and Hoang Loc, 49, ex-general director of the Vietnam 
Verification and Appraisal Joint Stock Company (VIVACO).

Among the remaining 8 defendants - most of whom were from ACL II - 4 got life 
sentences while the other 4 received sentences from 15 to 20 years in jail.

According to the indictment, in 2003 Hao, as general director of ALC II, 
ordered the establishment of Long Hai Sand Joint Stock Company, an affiliate of 
ALC II.

Hao then asked Vu Duc Hoa, 35, the director of the new company, and the 
company's chief accountant, Nguyen Thi Minh Hue (Hoa and Hue were sentenced to 
life), to buy an old submarine, the Tinro 2, from the Hai Phong City Customs 
Department for VND100 million ($4,700).

Hao later colluded with Loc, and Le Phuc Duc, an appraiser at VIVACO, to create 
documents to falsely value the old ship as high as VND130 billion (US$6.15 
million).

He then directed his subordinates to prepare a finance leasing contract dated 
December 26, 2007, in relation to the old ship, between ALC II and Long Hai 
Sand Company to make a disbursement of VND130 billion from the former to the 
latter.

That means Long Hai, under ALC II, bought the old ship for a price that was 
1,300 times higher than the real selling price of VND100 million.

Hao later appropriated VND78 billion (nearly $3.7 million) of the amount and 
used it to buy some 90,000 square meters in Cai Be District, in the southern 
province of Tien Giang, the court said.

(source: tuoiTre News)






AFGHANISTAN:

Karzai signs death penalty for Kabul rape convicts


Afghan President Hamid Karzai signed death penalty for Kabul rape convicts.

Aimal Faizi, spokesman for President Karzai said the death penalty for the 
perpetrators of Paghman gang rape was signed by the President on Saturday.

"President Karzai signed off today on the order for execution of 5 criminals 
convicted of rape & kidnapping in Paghman incident," Faizai said.

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 on September 15th.

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)






SINGAPORE:

'Death penalty to drug traffickers makes S'pore safest place'


Singapore has said that the provision of awarding death sentence to drug 
traffickers is based on the principle of deterrence which makes the country one 
of the safest in the world.

"One of the main reasons that our society is probably one of the safest in the 
world is that we take a very tough approach on drugs.

"If a drug trafficker traffics in a quantity which can supply 300 drug abusers 
for a week, he could face the death penalty," Foreign Affairs and Law Minister 
K Shanmugam said during his speech on "Moving Away from the Death Penalty: 
National Leadership" event at the 69th session of the United Nations General 
Assembly yesterday.

"This is not revenge; this is not vengeance. This is based on the principle of 
deterrence and clear rule of law," Channel News Asia quoted him as saying 
during the UNGA.

"In contrast, there are major cities in developed countries with entire 
neighbourhoods destroyed by drugs and drug-related activities, including 
theft", he said.

"Globally, drug use kills between 100,000 to 250,000 people, mostly young 
people. Singapore is probably either the only country, or one of the few 
countries in the world which has successfully fought this drug problem.

"For those who ask for whom the death penalty can be a deterrent, I say to 
them, come and see for yourself in Singapore, and compare the region and the 
rest of the world," he stressed.

Shanmugam acknowledged that no civilised society can "glorify in the taking of 
life", but the question is whether the death penalty is legitimate in the 
larger interest of a society.

"Sweeping statements are counter-productive, and the debate must "move away 
from rhetoric and focus on facts.

"Instead, the law must be assessed carefully, based on facts as well as the 
different situations in different countries," he said.

(source: Business Standard)

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

In death penalty debate, consider larger interest of society: Shanmugam


Making the case for Singapore???s retention of capital punishment in relation 
to drug traffickers, Foreign Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said calls to abolish 
the death penalty often does not focus enough on the victims of the drug trade.

Speaking at an event held today (Sept 26) on the sidelines of the annual United 
Nations (UN) General Assembly debate, titled Moving away from the death 
penalty: National Leadership, he noted that portraying the debate "as one of 
taking lives versus not taking lives is a straw man argument".

"No civilised society can glorify in the taking of life. The question is 
whether, in very limited circumstances, it is legitimate to have the death 
penalty so that the larger interest of society is served," he added.

The event saw UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson urging global leaders 
gathered to work towards either a moratorium or the abolishment of the death 
penalty, which is a punishment he said deprived people of their lives 
"arbitrarily and cruelly" and was also "unjust and incompatible with human 
rights".

UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein also called the 
death penalty the "very example of human vengeance at its worst".

But Mr Shanmugam refuted that the capital punishment for drug traffickers 
stemmed from vengeance, pointing out that drug traffickers themselves impose 
immense penalties, including the death penalty, on their victims. Drug use 
kills between 100,000 and 250,000 globally, he noted.

Reiterating a long-standing stance of the Government, Mr Shanmugam held up 
Singapore's success in staving off the drug problem and its associated issues, 
such as crime, to become one of the safest in the world as proof that the death 
penalty can be an effective deterrent.

Although Singapore is a "natural front" for drugs to flow in from major 
trafficking centres in its region because of its wealth and good logistics 
links, the framework of laws and effective enforcement here - which entails the 
death penalty for those convicted - has largely kept drug traffickers away, he 
said.

Mr Shanmugam added: "For those who ask for whom the death penalty can be a 
deterrent, I say to them, come and see for yourself in Singapore, and compare 
the region and the rest of the world."

(source: todayonline.com)


JAPAN:

No plans to abolish capital punishment: Japanese minister


The Japanese government does not believe that the death penalty is in need of 
any immediate reform, the country's new Justice Minister Midori Matsushima 
said.

Matsushima, who took up the portfolio in early September, reaffirmed her stance 
on capital punishment in Japan, one of 22 countries in the world that still 
mandate capital punishment for certain crimes.

"I believe that the death penalty is necessary to punish certain very serious 
crimes. We have to take into account the emotional reaction of the families as 
well as the general public," Matsushima said at a press conference Friday.

At least 5.6 % of Japanese citizens said the death penalty was "unavoidable if 
the circumstances demand it", while 5.7 % "totally oppose it", according to the 
most recent poll conducted on the topic, which the minister cited.

The latest 2 executions in the country took place Aug 29, bringing the total 
number of state-mandated deaths to 11 since the Liberal Democratic Party 
regained control of the government in 2012.

The execution by hanging of the 2 prisoners took place 5 days before Japanese 
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced a reshuffle of his cabinet, which saw 
Matsushima replacing Sadakazu Tanigaki in the justice ministry.

Amnesty International has repeatedly criticised Japan's implementation of the 
death sentence "without legal guarantees", referring to cases such as the 
execution of prisoners suffering from mental illnesses.

(source: Daiji World)






SOMALIA:

Somalia's Shebab stone woman to death for polyandry


A Somali woman has been stoned to death in the Shebab-controlled part of the 
country for secretly marrying several husbands, officials and witnesses said 
Saturday.

Witnesses said the woman was buried up to her neck and pelted with rocks and 
stones by hooded men in front of a large crowd in the southern coastal district 
of Barawe.

"The woman married four husbands and confessed to the crime. I questioned her 
several times while she was in prison and she told me she was mentally fit. All 
the four husbands were questioned and they have confirmed that they had married 
her," Islamic court judge Sheik Mohamud Abu Abdullah told the gathering.

The woman, 33-year-old Safiyo Ahmed Jumale, was executed on Friday in front of 
dozens of onlookers.

"The woman was brought with her eyes covered and she was buried up to her neck 
before she was stoned to death by hooded men," said Ali Yare, a resident who 
witnessed the execution.

Somalia's Al Qaeda-affiliated Shebab control large swathes of territory in the 
south and centre of the war-torn country, where they impose a strict 
interpretation of Islamic law.

(source: Dawn)