[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

April 4



BANGLADESH:

Counsels to meet Kamaruzzaman at Dhaka jail Saturday



Defence lawyers will meet death row convict Muhammad Kamaruzzaman at Dhaka 
Central Jail tomorrow morning to get necessary instructions from him about his 
review petition.

The condemned Jamaat-e-Islami leader filed the petition on March 5 with the 
Supreme Court, seeking review of its verdict that upheld his death penalty for 
his crimes against humanity during the country's Liberation War in 1971.

The Appellate Division of the SC is set to hold hearing on the review petition 
Sunday.

Shishir Manir, a lawyer for Kamaruzzaman, told The Daily Star that they will 
meet their client at 10:30am to take instructions from him about relevant legal 
issues including the review petition.

"If Muhammad Kamaruzzaman gives any strategic instruction about the review 
petition, we will inform it to his senior counsel Khandker Mahbub Hossain," he 
said.

Then the senior counsel will place relevant arguments before the apex court 
during hearing the review petition, he added.

4 other lawyers, who are set to meet Kamaruzzaman, are - Ehsan Abdullah Siddiq, 
Moshiul Alam, Motiur Rahman Akand and Muzahedul Islam Shahin.

On February 19, the prison authorities read out the death warrant to him after 
the International Crimes Tribunal-2 had issued it the same day.

On November 3 last year, the SC upheld his death penalty awarded by the 
tribunal on May 9 in 2013 for his wartime offences.

Kamaruzzaman submitted his appeal to the SC challenging the tribunal's judgment 
on June 6, 2013.

(source: The Daily Star)








INDONESIA:

On death row: Indonesia's zeal for capital punishment----Drug dealers are no 
saints - that's a given - they are criminals. But do they deserve the death 
penalty?



The drama surrounding the impending executions of drug convicts in Indonesia, 
including 2 Australians known as part of the "Bali 9", has kept me up in bed at 
night this past week or so. The way many Indonesians are so eager to see the 
convicts executed have been making me think of death and what it means for many 
in the country.

I've asked my friends what made them so excited over the execution, and their 
answers almost always went like this:

Me: "Do you agree with the Bali 9's execution?"

Them: "Of course."

M: "Why?"

T: "Because if they don't die, millions of Indonesian people will."

M: "How is that?"

T: "Because of the drugs?"

M: "What kind of drugs were they transporting?"

T: "I don't know."

M: "How much drugs were they caught with?"

T: "I don't know."

M: "Where were they taking the drugs to?"

T: "Of course to Indonesia, to Bali."

I found that their arguments have been based on incomplete information. They 
support the death penalty convinced that foreign traffickers were "out to 
destroy Indonesia with their drugs", and that, sadly, their understanding of 
the cases is wrong.

Many people I spoke to were not aware that the Bali 9 "duo", Andrew Chan and 
Myuran Sukumaran, had not planned to smuggle 8.2kg of heroin into Indonesia 
from Australia. Rather, they were arrested at the Ngurah Rai Airport in 
Denpasar, Bali, 10 years ago while trying to smuggle the drugs out of Bali into 
Australia. This may seem like an irrelevant detail in the all-out war against 
narcotics, but people should at least get the details of the case right before 
they make an opinion on it.

The blind support for the executions have been provoked by media headlines, 
which go along these lines:

"Government told not to flip-flop on drug dealers' execution"

"Death penalty for drug dealers in line with the Islamic Law"

No compromise on death penalty for drug dealers"

"Death penalty for drug dealers to protect human rights of others"

But what we read, hear or watch through the media is never a complete picture. 
Editorial policies and perspectives affect what the public read or watch. In 
the process, details are removed or facts omitted. Sometimes, they are 
important information that can influence public opinion.

In the case of Chan and Sukumaran, we rarely hear that after almost 10 years in 
jail, the duo had become exemplary figures among other prisoners in Kerobokan 
penitentiary in Bali. This is why most Indonesians are also unfamiliar with the 
fact that the United Nations states that the death penalty should only be 
reserved for the most serious of crimes, such as premeditated murder. The UN 
has even called for a global moratorium on death penalties since 2007.

This is also why we rarely hear or read from figures who oppose the death 
penalty for drug dealers. When Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama visited 
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to ask for the abolition of death penalty in 
drug cases, the local media focused more on covering the governor's conflict 
with the city councilors.

Does the minimal coverage on the other side of the debate, which may generate 
public sympathy for the convicts or influence them to rethink their position on 
the issue, reflect the media's insensitivity and their less-than-thoughtful 
approach to such a grave issue? Or do they merely channel the voice of the 
authority?

Regardless, what is apparent is that the only way to make Indonesians happy 
right now is to execute these convicts.

Should drug traffickers be sentenced to death?

Distributing drugs is a crime, but is it a crime punishable by death? President 
Jokowi has repeatedly stated that drug consumption is a serious and urgent 
problem in Indonesia. The National Narcotics Body (BNN) says that 50 
Indonesians die every day because of drugs. This means every year there are 
18,000 deaths from drugs abuse.

But does this data justify death for drug traffickers?

Consuming drugs is a personal choice. Most of the time people use drugs 
consciously, and drug dealers fill in the demand. People consume drugs for 
various reasons: to fit in, to escape reality, to find artistic inspiration, to 
boost stamina for work, or just to have fun. What we often forget is that 
people consume drugs not just because they're available, but because they've 
made decisions and steps to take the drugs.

If other factors also contribute to the death of a drug user - such as family 
problems, weak law enforcement on drug trafficking, or the income gap - why 
don't we also include them, and not just the drug dealers, as the cause of the 
so-called "drug crisis" in Indonesia? Or are we merely looking for scapegoats 
to blame so we can escape the moral responsibility?

Consider this analogy: a person commits suicide by shooting himself with an 
illegally purchased gun, and another person is accidentally shot dead also with 
an illegal firearm during a hunting trip.

Is it then appropriate to execute the illegal gun dealers?

Drug dealers are no saints - that's a given - they are criminals. But do they 
deserve the death penalty?

If, by the president's logic, sending drug dealers to death is the right way to 
tackle the drug crisis that claims so many lives, then what about the 43,000 
Indonesians who die every year in motor vehicle accidents? Why hasn't a 
"traffic crisis" been declared? Moreover, with some of the convicts already 
executed, where are the statistics showing that the executions have reduced 
drug distribution and consumption?

The fixation with death

As I write this article, the Bali 9 duo and another death row inmate, Nigerian 
Raheem Agbaje Salami, have just been transferred to the Nusakambangan prison, 
where the execution will be held. It's a chilling thought that made my stomach 
stir. I couldn't imagine what was going through their minds.

No one in his or her right mind wants to die. For most people, death is 
frightening. And to know when and how they will die is perhaps the worst 
suffering a human being can endure. Making people wait for years before their 
execution is a severe punishment already, not only for the convicts but also 
their loved ones. Chan and Sukumaran were sentenced to death almost 10 years 
ago, while Salami had been imprisoned since 1998. For thousands of days, their 
families have not been able to grieve as they were still alive, but neither 
could they feel relieved, for every encounter might well be their last.

Years in prison change criminals. The two Australians who were arrested in 
their early 20s have become English mentors, taught computer class and gave 
painting workshops to other prisoners. Salami requested that his cornea and 
kidney be donated to people after his execution. If crimes diminish the value 
of humanity, they have tried to redeem their past mistakes. The same may be 
said of the other less famous convicts. Executing them now is like killing a 
different person than the criminals they were years ago.

President Jokowi warned other countries, including Australia, not to interfere 
with Indonesia???s legal sovereignty over the capital punishment issues.

The statement reminds me of the recent mob attack that burned to death a 
motorcycle robber. Many people said this is what happens when people no longer 
trust law enforcement - they take the law into their own hands. But this a 
contradiction, while they have no faith in the law, they break the law by 
killing a person without giving him a chance to defend himself in court.

Perhaps none of these have anything to do with the distrust with the law. Maybe 
our society believes death is the solution to every crime?

And where is the law enforcement that the president proudly defends? Why has 
there not been any police investigation into the murder of the robber? Does a 
murder become legal when it is perpetrated by the mass? Or are the police and 
authorities reluctant to go against public opinion that justifies the mob 
attack.

This, unfortunately, is the portrait of Indonesia???s justice system. Too many 
questions, not enough answers. And with the law enforcement and the justice 
system suffering from credibility problems, how can we accept the death penalty 
when the law tends to side with people with money and power? Death is too 
pricey a cost for a flawed legal decision. We cannot bring the dead back to 
life.

When this article is published, the convicts may still be alive, enduring what 
may be the worst moment in their lives. Every second we squander is a precious 
last moment for them, until they are told that their time is up.

(source: Rafki Hidayat is a journalist for a private TV station----rappler.com)








EGYPT:

HRW Calls For Halt Of Executions Of 6 Men



6 men face execution in Egypt after being convicted by a military court, 
despite evidence that some were in detention at the time of the crimes. 
Egyptian authorities should stay the executions and send the men's case for 
retrial before a civilian court, Human Rights Watch said.

The 6 men are part of a group of 9 convicted in a single trial of participating 
in attacks on security forces and killing 2 armed forces officers in a shootout 
in 2014. 2 of the 9 men were sentenced to life in prison. Another man was tried 
and convicted in his absence and sentenced to death. Defense Minister Sedki 
Sobhi confirmed all 7 death sentences on March 24, 2015, following the 
rejection of a legally required appeal from prosecutors, putting the 6 men in 
custody at risk of execution at any time.

"Egypt's courts have routinely abandoned due process, but if these executions 
go ahead it will represent an egregious new low," said Sarah Leah Whitson, 
Middle East and North Africa director. "Civilians should never face trial 
before military courts or face execution as a result."

Military prosecutors accused the nine men of belonging to the Egyptian 
insurgent group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, or Partisans of Jerusalem, and of 
participating in attacks on security forces, including a gunfight on March 19, 
2014, in Arab Sharkas, a village north of Cairo, which killed an armed forces 
brigadier general and colonel. The Arab Sharkas gun battle occurred when 
police, military, and special forces raided a timber workshop in the village, 
in the Qalyubiya governorate, which they believed the jihadist group used, the 
Associated Press reported at the time.

After the raid, the Interior Ministry claimed that its forces had killed 6 
militants and arrested 8 others - the men who later stood trial.

3 of the men now facing execution could not have participated in any of the 
attacks for which they were sentenced to death because authorities arrested 
them months earlier and were still holding them in detention at the time, said 
their relatives and Ahmed Helmy, their lawyer.

Authorities arrested Mohamed Bakry, Hani Amer, and Mohamed Afifi in late 2013, 
Helmy said, and their families hired him in January 2014 to find out where they 
were detained. He said authorities arrested Afifi and Bakry, both Cairo 
residents, in November 2013. They also detained but later released Bakry's wife 
and children. Men in civilian clothes arrested Amer, an Ismailia resident, in 
December 2013 while he was at a government office seeking a permit for his 
information technology company, Helmy said.

Helmy told Human Rights Watch that he believed the authorities sent all 3 men 
after their arrests to Azouli Prison, an unregistered detention facility inside 
Al Galaa army base in Ismailia, a city on the Suez Canal.

Amer's brother told Human Rights Watch in November 2014 that Amer said he had 
been held in Azouli, and the Guardian newspaper reported in March 2015 that 
other Azouli prisoners in a separate case had identified Amer as having been 
held there.

Human Rights Watch obtained copies of telegrams that Amer and Bakry's families 
sent to local prosecutors in December 2013 requesting information about the 2 
men. In February 2014, Helmy sent a complaint to local prosecutors following up 
on his request for information about Amer. Prosecutors never responded. Amer's 
brother said that Amer told him he had been transferred from Azouli to Tora 
Prison in Cairo on March 20, 2014, a day after the fatal clash at Arab Sharkas.

Despite urging from many of their relatives, the men declined to pursue their 
own appeal after a military court sitting at the Hikestep military base outside 
Cairo convicted them in August 2014. They told Helmy and their families that 
they do not recognize the legitimacy of the military court and believe that 
their case has been politicized and that their sentences were pre-ordained by 
the authorities.

In February 2014, interim President Adly Mansour issued a law establishing a 
military appeals court for serious crimes and requiring that death sentences be 
approved by Egypt's highest Muslim religious figure, the grand mufti, as occurs 
in civilian cases.

According to prosecutors, some of the 8 defendants initially confessed to 
membership in Ansar Beit al-Maqdis and the crimes for which they are accused. 
But all have since renounced their confessions, saying they were obtained under 
torture, Helmy said.

Ansar Beit al-Maqdis pledged allegiance to the extremist group Islamic State 
(also known as ISIS) in November 2014 and now refers to itself as the Sinai 
Province.

The father of Khaled Farag, another of the 6 facing execution, told Human 
Rights Watch that his son told him he was arrested at another location on the 
day of the March 19 raid, was blindfolded and tortured by his interrogators 
after his arrest, and suffered a broken left thigh and a serious fracture of 
his left knee. His surgery required plates and screws in his thigh and wiring 
in his knee, wrote Hossam Bahgat, the former director of the Egyptian 
Initiative for Personal Rights who attended one of the trial sessions, on the 
Mada Masr news website. Farag attended the trial in a wheelchair.

Helmy was not allowed to visit his clients in private, he said, and the only 
witness against them is an officer from the Interior Ministry's National 
Security Agency.

All 8 men are currently held in the Scorpion section of Tora Prison, the 
highest security facility in Egypt. Some of the men's families have not been 
allowed to visit their relatives for months. Farag's father told Human Rights 
Watch that he hasn't seen his son in 3 months, and Amer's brother said he has 
not been allowed to see Amer since February, which was only the second time he 
had visited his brother. He also said Amer's family has not been allowed to 
deliver food or medicine.

The men face additional charges in an ordinary civilian court, where they are 
among 200 people accused of belonging to Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, but Helmy said 
the civilian court proceedings will not prevent the death sentences from being 
carried out. The execution process is secretive. Families are supposed to 
receive a warning a day in advance, but that is not always respected in 
practice.

If the 6 are executed, it would be the 2nd time Egyptian authorities have 
carried out a death sentence for alleged political violence since the military 
removed President Mohamed Morsy in July 2013. Hundreds of people, the majority 
Morsy supporters or members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood, have been 
sentenced to death since then.

Egypt's military courts, whose judges are serving military officers, are 
neither independent nor impartial, but in October 2014 President Abdel Fattah 
al-Sisi increased their powers to try civilians by expanding their jurisdiction 
over any crimes that occur on state or public property. Since then, nearly 
2,000 civilians have been referred to military courts.

The use of military courts to try civilians violates the 1981 African Charter 
on Human and Peoples' Rights, which Egypt's parliament ratified in 1984. The 
African Human Rights Commission Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a 
Fair Trial and Legal Assistance explicitly forbid military trials of civilians 
in all circumstances.

Human Rights Watch opposes the death penalty in all circumstances because of 
its inherent cruelty. In 2013, following similar past resolutions, the United 
Nations General Assembly called on countries to establish a moratorium on the 
use of the death penalty, progressively restrict the practice, and reduce the 
offenses for which it might be imposed, with the view toward its eventual 
abolition.

"It is outrageous that these 6 men face execution in Egypt after such a flawed 
judicial process," Whitson said.

(source: Eurasia Review)



PAKISTAN:

Military Courts Hand Down First Sentences----Courts give 6 'hardcore' 
terrorists death sentence, while a 7th has been sentenced to life imprisonment.



Military courts in Pakistan have issued death sentences to 6 militants and life 
imprisonment to another on terror charges, the Army said Thursday, the 1st 
convictions since the courts were established after a Taliban school massacre 
in December.

"Army chief confirms death sentence of 6 hardcore terrorists tried by the 
recently established military courts," chief military spokesman Major General 
Asim Bajwa said in a Twitter post.

The 6 convicts awarded death sentences have been identified by a senior 
military official as Noor Saeed, Haider Ali, Murad Khan, Inayatullah, 
Israruddin and Qari Zahir. A 6th man, identified only as Abbas, was given a 
life sentence, the official said.

No further details were given on their individual cases, or when and where the 
trials were held.

The convicts were involved in committing "heinous" offences relating to 
terrorism, including kidnappings and suicide bombings, Bajwa said. The convicts 
can contest their sentences before a court of appeal, he added.

Pakistan lifted a 6-year moratorium on the death penalty and announced the 
establishment of military courts in the case of terror offences in the wake of 
a Taliban massacre that killed 154 people, mostly schoolchildren, in December. 
Islamabad announced a national anti-terror plan in the wake of the school 
attack, which also involves the outlawing of militant groups, the registration 
of madrassas and a crackdown on hate speech.

Parliament has approved the use of the courts for 2 years, and cases are 
referred to them by provincial governments. But some have called for the trials 
to be more transparent.

"There is no information available about when and where the trials were held 
and keeping everything confidential would create doubts about military courts," 
said political analyst Hasan Askari.

Pakistan has carried out 65 executions since lifting the moratorium on the 
death penalty. It was initially lifted only for those convicted of terrorism 
offences, but was extended to cover all capital offences in March.

The European Union, the United Nations and human rights campaigners have all 
urged Pakistan to reinstate the moratorium. Critics say Pakistan's criminal 
justice system is unreliable, marred by police torture, poor legal 
representation for victims and unfair trials. Human rights group Amnesty 
International estimates that Pakistan has more than 8,000 prisoners on death 
row, most of whom have exhausted the appeals process.

(source: Newsweek Pakistan)








INDIA:

Indian courts gave 64 death sentences in 2014



At least 64 death sentences were pronounced by various courts in India last 
year but no one was executed, a latest report by Amnesty International has 
said.

This is a decrease from the 2013 figure of 72 and the 2012 figure of 78 as 
against the global trend of 5-fold increase in such verdicts.

However, the National Crimes Record Bureau (NCRB) had recorded 125 death 
sentences in 2013 as against figure of Amnesty, which is collected from a 
variety of sources, including official figures, information from individuals 
sentenced to death and their families and media reports.

"While the Government of India scheduled several executions in 2014, none were 
carried out. Amnesty International recorded that at least 64 new death 
sentences were imposed for murder and, for the 1st time since the Criminal Law 
(Amendment Act) of 2013 came into force, rape by repeat offenders," the report 
said.

Quoting from the Death Penalty Research Project of Delhi-based National Law 
University, Amnesty said 270 convicts are languishing in jail facing gallows 
and that 8 people had their mercy petitions rejected last year.

The number of death-row convicts in 2014, if true, is a decrease from National 
Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) statistics of 382 in 2013 and 414 in 2012. The NCRB 
has not released the figures for 2014.

Across the world, the report said, death sentences jumped by more than 500 in 
2014 compared with the previous year, largely because Egypt and Nigeria handed 
out hundreds of death sentences, some in mass trials.

At least 2,466 people were sentenced to death worldwide - an increase of 28 per 
cent from 2013. This figure excludes death sentences and executions in China 
where this data is treated as state secret.

The report said Amnesty recorded executions in 22 countries in 2014, the same 
number as in 2013. At least 607 executions were carried out worldwide, a 
decrease of almost 22 % compared with 2013. "An alarming number of countries 
that used the death penalty in 2014 did so in response to real or perceived 
threats to state security and public safety posed by terrorism, crime or 
internal instability," the report said.

For example, it said Pakistan lifted a 6-year-long moratorium on the execution 
of civilians in the wake of the horrific Peshawar school attack. The government 
also pledged to execute hundreds who had been convicted on terrorism-related 
charges.

China made use of the death penalty as a tool in the "Strike Hard" campaign, 
which the authorities characterised as a response to terrorism and violent 
crime in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, it added.

(source: Deccan Herald)








SAUDI ARABIA:

Rising Saudi death penalty targets most vulnerable----Migrants and impoverished 
Saudis are overwhelmingly the victims of executions, which have risen 
dramatically since 2013



Saudi Arabia is on course to execute record numbers of people in 2015, as human 
rights groups warn that migrants and poorer Saudis - who make up the vast 
majority of those put to death - are struggling to access justice.

According to figures released by the Ministry of Interior, 55 people were 
executed in the oil-rich kingdom in the first quarter of 2015, nearly two 
thirds of the total executed the previous year.

The dramatic increase in corporal punishment comes as analysts continue to 
express concern over the independence of the judiciary and access to justice 
for those near the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder.

83 people were put to death in 2014, the highest number in 5 years. This 
"unprecedented spike" in executions, according to Amnesty International, has 
continued into 2015, despite initial optimism after the accession of King 
Salman bin Abdul-Aziz in January.

Saudi Arabia enforces the death penalty for rape, murder, apostasy and drug 
trafficking. Executions are usually carried out by beheading in public spaces.

"We are at shocking levels," says Adam Coogle, a Middle East researcher for 
Human Rights Watch who focuses on Saudi Arabia. "Typically Saudi Arabia 
executes somewhere between 70 and 90 people annually. But at the moment we are 
on pace for at least 200 this year."

The figures also show that Saudi authorities execute a disproportionate number 
of foreign nationals, amid ongoing concerns over access to justice for 
non-Saudi citizens, especially those who speak little or no Arabic.

Migrant access to justice

Migrant workers and non-nationals make up around 32 % of the Saudi population, 
according to the latest government estimates published in 2013.

However, figures from the first quarter of 2015 show that over 38 % of those 
executed so far in 2015 were non-nationals, many of them from the poorest 
countries in the region like Yemen, Pakistan and Syria.

There was international outcry in January 2015 when authorities publicly 
executed a Burmese woman, Laila Bint Muttalib Basim, in the holy city of Mecca. 
Many were shocked by leaked footage showing the woman continuing to protest her 
innocence as she was struck 3 times by the executioner's sword in a busy 
suburban street.

"There are recurring complaints about the quality of justice for non-Saudis, 
and especially non-Arabic speakers," says Coogle. "There are translation issues 
and problems with the reliability of translators. Migrant women working in 
Saudi Arabia who spoke to Human Rights Watch complained that, when they ended 
up in court over employment matters, they simply had no idea what was 
happening."

Another issue, explains Coogle, is that many non-Saudi nationals on lower 
incomes struggle to access quality legal representation. "Non-nationals can 
theoretically access lawyers, but it's an issue of resources. If you're a poor 
migrant worker you can barely pay your rent."

"Some Saudi lawyers take on these cases for free, but there's no systematic 
effort."

Fair trials evade Saudi's underprivileged citizens

Access to justice is an issue not just for non-nationals, but also for poorer 
Saudi citizens, according to Radidja Nemar, a legal officer specialising on the 
Gulf with Alkarama, an independent Geneva-based human rights monitor.

"Most of the Saudi nationals who are executed are from socially disadvantaged 
backgrounds and cannot afford a proper defence lawyer," explains Nemar.

She cites the case of seven men executed in 2013 for armed robbery at a series 
of jewellery stores in Abha, a large city in south-eastern Saudi Arabia.

The gang's ringleader was crucified over the course of 3 days, while the others 
were shot by firing squad in a public square.

The trial of the 7 men consisted of 3 brief court sessions without the presence 
of a lawyer. The men were also severely tortured in prison, subjected to sleep 
deprivation, and reportedly given hallucinogens with their food.

Several human rights groups had appealed to the UN to halt the killings, saying 
the men had no legal representation - but the UN did not act quickly enough.

In a last message, conveyed to Alkarama just days before their execution, the 
men confessed to the robbery but questioned the severity of the sentence 
against them.

"We did not kill anyone," the message read. "We are poor people and we have no 
one to defend us. It is true that we stole several thousand riyals, but the 
members of the royal family are stealing billions of riyals, and no-one has 
ever held them accountable for that."

Nemar explains that, under Saudi law, the crime of the 7 did not necessarily 
merit execution since the accused did not intend to kill. However, she says, 
judges have "a lot of leeway" to apply the death sentence in these kinds of 
discretionary cases, where the Islamic legal system does not prescribe a 
specific punishment.

"Basically if you end up with a severe judge then you are at greater risk of 
being subjected to a death sentence."

Many have questioned a system that gives individual judges so much power, 
especially since the Saudi prosecution service falls under the remit of the 
Ministry of Interior rather than the Ministry of Justice.

This system, says Coogle, is "unlike almost any other country in the world," 
and leads to a "problematic image" regarding the impartiality of the Saudi 
justice system.

Waleed Abulkhair, the high-profile Saudi lawyer who was charged with "inciting 
public opinion" under the kingdom's anti-terrorism law and sentenced to a 
15-year prison sentence in 2014, alleged that the country's judiciary is not 
independent.

Non-violent drugs offences

So far in 2015 most of those executed in discretionary cases, in which the 
judge decides on the punishment, have been put to death for non-violent drug 
offences, figures show.

43 % of those executed overall in 2015 were for smuggling drugs ranging from 
heroin to marijuana.

The vast majority of offenders in these kinds of cases are non-Saudi nationals 
- of 24 executions for drug smuggling in the 1st 3 months of the year, 18 of 
them were for non-Saudi citizens.

"It's by far and away foreigners [who are executed for drugs offences in Saudi 
Arabia]," explains Coogle, who says that he fears that many of those put to 
death are not ringleaders of criminal gangs but simply "mules who are pressured 
into [smuggling], as we see across the world in the drugs trade".

International human rights law does not prohibit execution, which is practiced 
across the globe. Amnesty International reported on Wednesday that an 
"alarming" number of countries worldwide resorted to the death penalty in 2014 
in what it called "a flawed attempt to tackle crime, terrorism and internal 
instability".

However, key international treaties demand that countries carry out executions 
only in the most serious cases.

"It is certainly debatable whether or not Saudi Arabia does reserve executions 
for the most serious cases," according to Coogle.

This, he says, combined with what he calls an "assault" on freedom of speech in 
recent years, makes a "mockery" of Saudi Arabia's membership of the UN Human 
Rights Council.

"When you become a member of the Human Rights Council you are supposed to 
uphold the highest standards of human rights. It's obvious that KSA hasn't done 
that over the past few years, and the fact that many of these abuses are 
actually getting worse is very troubling."

Pressure on Saudi unlikely

Human rights organisations frequently criticise decisions made by Saudi judges, 
particularly as the rate of executions appears to be increasing.

However, putting pressure on Saudi Arabia to end its blatant human rights 
violations is made harder by the cosy relationship it enjoys with powerful 
Western nations.

A key ally of the United States, the Gulf kingdom is shielded from 
accountability in order to maintain the status quo both regionally and 
domestically, researchers say.

Saudi Arabia recently became the world's largest arms importer, while the US is 
thought to be the 2nd largest exporter - US arms sales to the kingdom were 
worth over $5.5 billion in 2013 alone.

Many doubt whether the US, itself the world's 5th most prolific executioner, 
would jeopardise such considerable business interests in the kingdom by 
pressing Saudi Arabia on its rights record. Last month Sweden cancelled a 
lucrative arms contract after a very public spat over human rights, sparking 
anger among many in the Swedish business community.

However, said Nemar: "It's not just about business ties and oil. It???s also 
about international security. Saudi Arabia is a key part of all of the 
strategies that the West tries to [implement] in the Middle East."

Even if change were to come from outside, says Coogle, it would be unlikely to 
affect the Saudi judiciary, who are responsible for issuing death sentences.

"The entire judiciary is essentially an arm of the religious establishment, and 
the potential for influencing them through negative media attention is very 
small - they live in a different world.

"Changing things would require a major rethink in society."

Meanwhile, many within Saudi Arabia and outside it continue to complain that 
the justice system reserves the harshest punishments for the most vulnerable in 
society. In their final message, the seven men put to death for armed robbery 
pleaded for a complete overhaul of the Saudi justice system.

"Enact justice for those who steal billions, who corrupt the nation," they 
wrote, "not for the victims of unemployment and poverty."

(source: Middle East Eye)