[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

April 14



INDIA:

Life After Death Row: An Innocent Man's Struggles



In 2002, Adambhai Suleiman Ajmeri plied an auto-rickshaw in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, 
His meager income sustained his family: 5 children and a wife pregnant with 
their 6th child. He earned enough to keep his children in school and buy 
presents for Eid.

That was before the police picked him up in August 2003 and beat him 
unconscious and bleeding for days on end. Then, they randomly booked him in the 
Akshardham terror case--one of several high-profile cases they were under 
pressure to solve. Tossed around prisons, he spent 8 years on death row.

In May 2014, the Supreme Court acquitted Adambhai as innocent. The judges 
"expressed anguish for the incompetence and perversity with which the 
investigating authorities had imposed grievous charges on an innocent man."

Adambhai received no compensation for the years he lost as the victim of a 
terrible injustice. For 11 years, his family has lived in poverty. His children 
had to drop out of school, eat leftovers, and work as domestic labor. His 
oldest son earns Rs. 5000 working as a tailor to feed the family. Adambhai has 
returned to a world he doesn't recognize--one with cellphones in it! He is 
"unemployable".

But there may still be hope for him. Where the law failed him time and again, 
the Death Penalty Research Project at the National Law University (NLU), Delhi 
is working to make reparations and help him piece his life back together. He 
has a simple plan now: to start a small dairy and sustain his family by selling 
milk. With a little timely help, his dream of a new life may, perhaps, come 
true.

(source: Huffington Post)








IRAN----executions

6 Prisoners Hanged in Iran-----In addition 16 other prisoners were hanged in 
the Ghezelhesar prison of Karaj, according to unconfirmed reports.evin-small



6 prisoners have been hanged in 2 different prisons according to the official 
Iranian sources.

Official website of the Iranian Judiciary in Hormozgan province (southern Iran) 
reported that 2 prisoners identified as "M. Gh." and "A. A." were hanged in the 
prison of Bandar Abbas on Thursday April 9. The prisoners were charged with 
murder in 2 separate cases said the report.

The judiciary in Markazi province (central Iran) reported about the execution 
of 4 prisoners convicted of drug-related charges on April 12. These prisoners 
were identified as "Nematollah N." charged with possession and trafficking of 
6950 grams of heroin, "Mohammad L." for possession of 667 grams of heroin, 
"Mahmood S." for trafficking of 20 grams and possession of 880 grams of heroin 
and "Hamed N." for possession of 536 grams of the narcotic substance crystal, 
said the report.

According to unofficial reports 16 prisoners were hanged in the Ghezelhesar 
prison of Karaj (west of Tehran) early Monday morning April 13. All these 
prisoners were convicted of drug-related charges. There are no more details 
available at this moment.

(source: Iran Human Rights)

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

2 Prisoners Hanged in Zahedan Prison



2 prisoners, who had been sentenced to death, were hanged in Zahedan prison.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), 
the executed prisoners were charged with drug related crimes and they were 
taken from ward 7 on Zahedan prison for execution.

Identity and names of these prisoners are not known yet and formal institutions 
of the judiciary, also have not notified that.

(source: Human Rights Activists News Agency)

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

8 prisoners hanged in a prison in Karaj



The Iranian regime's henchmen in Central Prison in the city of Karaj hanged 8 
prisoners on Monday. The victims had been sentenced to death for drug related 
offence.

The state-run media in Iran reporting the executions gave no other information 
on the victims.

The prisoners in Gohardasht Prison and Central Prison in Karaj launched a 
protest on Sunday to save dozens of their cellmates who are on the verge of 
execution.

Prisoners have attacked the prison guards with rocks, broke glasses and entered 
the open air area. Sunday afternoon in the prison in Karaj, clashes continued 
with prison guards. Prisoners cried out loud "We will not let you kill us!"

Meanwhile, the families gathered in front of Karaj Court and chanted "We will 
not let you execute them." (watch Heartbreaking cries of families of prisoners 
facing execution)

On Sunday, the Iranian Resistance called for immediate action by the United 
Nations Security Council, the US government and the European Union to stop 
increasing trend of executions in Iran, and called on human rights bodies for a 
widespread global campaign against human rights violations in Iran.

(source: NCR-Iran)








PAKISTAN----execution

Death row prisoner executed in Bahawalpur jail



A condemned prisoner was executed at the New Central Jail in Bahawalpur on 
Tuesday morning.

Death row prisoner, Luna Khan, son of Allah Rakha, of village Talhar, tehsil 
Hasilpur, was convicted over the murder of his brother-in-law.

The convict's execution had earlier been suspended on March 25 on the orders of 
Bahawalpur district and sessions judge Rana Masood Akhtar who had informed jail 
authorities that a compromise between the convicts and the aggrieved parties 
was expected.

The latest execution comes a little over a month after Pakistan lifted its 
moratorium on the death penalty in all capital cases. Initially, executions 
were resumed only in cases relating to terrorism offences in the wake of a 
Taliban massacre at Peshawar???s Army Public School that killed over 150 
people, most of them children.

The United Nations, the European Union, Amnesty International and Human Rights 
Watch have been calling on Pakistan to re-impose its moratorium on capital 
punishment.

(source: Pakistan Today)

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

Salmaan Taseer murder: Mumtaz Qadri appeals against death penalty



Mumtaz Qadri, the self-confessed killer of Salmaan Taseer, has challenged his 
death penalty in the Supreme Court, terming it "illegal and un-Islamic".

On March 9, the Islamabad High Court had dismissed Qadri's appeal against his 2 
capital punishments awarded by an anti-terrorism court in October 2011. But the 
court had declared that Taseer's murder was not a terrorist act and struck down 
the death sentence under the anti-terrorism act.

Qadri's lawyers have now challenged the verdict of the high court in the Lahore 
Registry of the apex court.

Lead counsel Justice (retd) Mian Nazeer Akhtar told The Express Tribune the 
IHC's "un-Islamic" judgment had various "illegalities".

In an 8-page part of the ruling, the court has said that intentions are an 
important factor before someone is labelled a blasphemer. Akhtar said the part 
was illegal and also un-Islamic because Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal 
Code (PPC) did not define element of intent.

"Once somebody commits blasphemy, he must face the consequences," he said, 
adding that by terming the blasphemy law as "black law", Taseer had committed 
blasphemy and deserved death.

In the petition, the plaintiff has submitted the case does not fall under 
Section 302 (murder with intention) of the PPC, which recommends death penalty, 
but under Section 302(b), which carries punishment of life imprisonment.

Justice (retd) Khawaja Muhamamd Sharif, a former chief justice of Lahore High 
Court, is also defending Qadri voluntarily.

Akhtar was unsure when the appeal would be taken up. But, he said, if the 
government gets the death warrants for Qadri, they would move the court for 
staying the execution.

(source: The Express Tribune)

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

Convict in Wali Khan Babar murder appeals against death sentence



Convicted murderer Faisal Mehmood, alias Faisal Mota, who was sentenced to 
death for the murder of journalist Wali Khan Babar, submitted an appeal to 
challenge his death sentence on Tuesday at the Sindh High Court (SHC).

Faisal Mota was sentenced to death by an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in absentia 
on March 1 2014.

The convict's counsel Advocate Aamir Masoob Qureshi today presented the stance 
in the application that since the death sentence was awarded in absentia, the 
court must declare it illegal. Qureshi added that according to Articles 21-L 
and 31-A of the Anti Terrorism Act 1997, a death sentence cannot be awarded in 
absentia.

The advocate also added that when a punishment is awarded in absentia, the 
convict must refer to the trial court according to Article 19(12). However, his 
client was unable to refer to the ATC in Kandhkot - where the sentence was 
announced - because the records of the case were at the SHC.

Therefore, the court must dismiss Mota's death penalty and send the case for a 
re-trial, Qureshi further added in the application.

The application was submitted at a SHC registry, which will scrutinise the 
appeal before presenting it before a bench.

Mota, said to be a worker of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), was arrested 
and detained last month in Karachi after a raid by Rangers at the MQM's 
headquarters.

On January 13, 2011, GeoNews journalist Wali Khan Babar was going home from his 
office when he was shot dead in Liaquatabad, Karachi.

Journalists had staged protests and rallies all across the country against the 
brutal murder. Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) had decided to 
hoist black flags at the offices of Union of Journalists, media centers, press 
clubs to expresses their resentment over the tragic death.

An ATC had indicted 5 men over the murder - including Faisal Mota, Syed 
Mohammad Ali Rizvi, Shahrukh alias Mani, Naveed alias Polka and Shakil alias 
Malik.

(source: Dawn)








INDONESIA:

Plea, prayers for life of Filipina on Indonesia's death row



Indonesian Catholics launched a national prayer campaign on Saturday for the 
release of a Filipino woman who is on Indonesia's death row for drug 
trafficking. 30 year-old Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso, a single mother of 2 young 
children, was convicted and sentenced to be executed by firing squad after she 
was caught with 2.6 kilograms of heroin in her luggage at an Indoneian airport 
in 2010. Her lawyers said she is an innocent victim of an international drug 
trafficking group. Indonesia's highest court last month rejected a judicial 
review petition by Veloso, who is among 10 foreigner drug smugglers facing 
death by a firing squad.

The prayer campaign was launched on the eve of Divine Mercy Sunday by the vicar 
general of Semarang Archdiocese, Fr. Sukendar Wignyosumarto. Earlier on March 
31, Archbishop Johannes Pujasumarta launched a prayer chain for Veloso.

Meanwhile, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has 
officially joined the rest of the nation in pleading for the life of Veloso. 
"We storm heavens with prayers that she be saved from this tragic fate. We join 
the appeal to the Indonesian authorities to spare her the death penalty," said 
Balanga Bishop Ruperto Santos, chairman of the CBCP Episcopal Commission for 
the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, in a statement on Friday. 
The bishop pointed out, "Every life is precious as it comes from God." Like 
Pope Francis, the CBCP has consistently rejected the death penalty.

Meanwhile, the girl's family had received threats and is being stalked by 
unknown persons and fear for their lives. Family members have launched an 
appeal to the leaders of the Filipino bishops' conference, asking for help 
after some "unknown persons" visited the village and asked about Mary Jane's 
relatives. The "repeated" visits to the village of "suspects" began when the 
girl's story began circulating in the international media. "We are scared. We 
cannot even sleep. And I fear for the lives of my grandchildren, "said Celia 
Veloso, Mary Jane's mother.

There are about 10 million overseas Filipino workers, most of whom see 
migration as the only chance to escape poverty. In the past the government in 
Manila has warned citizens of the danger of being involved, even unconsciously, 
in the international drug trade. Worldwide there are at least 125 Filipinos on 
death row, many of them convicted because of crimes linked to drug trafficking. 
Last week the Indonesian Supreme Court rejected the request to reopen the case 
involving the young Mary Jane; Manila announced that it will forward a 2nd 
appeal to the authorities in Jakarta.

(source: Vatican Radio)

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

Russell Brand pleads for clemency for Bali 9 pair in video posted 
online----British celebrity says Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, who are 
facing the death penalty in Indonesia, are reformed and executing them would be 
'brutal' and 'immoral'


Russell Brand is the latest high-profile figure to plead for clemency in the 
case of Bali 9 pair Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, who are facing the death 
penalty in Indonesia.

In an 8-minute video posted to YouTube on Monday, the British comedian turned 
social commentator has accused Indonesia of using the convicted drug smugglers 
as "human sacrifice" in order to conceal the country's economic dependence on 
illegal drug trade.

Brand is a recovered heroin addict, and said he was affected by the plight of 
the men who he believes are being executed in order "to make a point ... 
successive Indonesian presidents demonstrate their power by increasing 
executions."

"It's a gesture, an empty gesture, a mask and a veil that conceals the 
corruption on Indonesia and the true nature of international drug smuggling ... 
that drug addiction and drug smuggling is an essential black economy - it's 
part of our global culture."

The video, featuring a shirtless Brand speaking from what appears to be his 
bedroom, attracted 35,000 views in less than 12 hours. It is the latest in his 
YouTube series The Trews, which sees the comedian speak directly to camera and 
provide often didactic commentary and news analysis.

It comes three days after Brand tweeted to his 9m followers a link to the Mercy 
Campaign, which has been working to save the lives of the 2 men through legal 
channels, awareness-raising concerts and a public petition.

He joins a list of public figures who have come out in public support for the 
men, including writer Germaine Greer, broadcaster Alan Jones, actors Claudia 
Karvan and David Wenham and former Wallabies captain George Gregan.

However, public opinion regarding clemency for the men remains divided. In the 
video the comedian responds to online backlash, speaking directly to 1 
commenter who called for the men to "pay their consequences".

"If you see society as entirely atomised, where none of us have any 
culpability, where none of us have any interconnection, where people are 
condemned on the basis of their actions, where there is no clemency, no 
forgiveness, no possibility of redemption, rehabilitation or change, then 
you're right.

"But I don't want to live in that world."

Brand said killing the 2 men, who have clearly illustrated their reformation, 
would show humanity to be "more brutal, more immoral than any kind of drug 
smuggling culture. That's a sort of peccadillo compared to the unnecessary 
execution of repentant humans."

He also called the men a "symptom of a much bigger problem" and demanded that 
Indonesia, Australia, the UK and US examine its relationship to the drug trade, 
including addressing social drug dependency and police corruption.

He also asked Liverpool FC to boycott the team's official airline sponsor, 
Garuda Indonesia.

Amnesty International is currently hosting an exhibition of Sukumaran's artwork 
in their London office. Sukumaran began painting several years ago under the 
mentorship of Australian artist Ben Quilty, and has since ran art classes for 
fellow inmates.

Last week Chan and Sukumaran lost their bid to challenge their clemency 
rejections in the state administrative court, with the men's lawyers now moving 
the case to Indonesia's constitutional court. The men are currently being held 
on central Java's Nusa Kambangan island, where they face possible execution by 
firing squad.

(source: The Guardian)




EGYPT:

Mass executions and the absence of justice in Egypt .



An Egyptian court has sentenced a group of Muslim Brotherhood officials to 
death and others to life imprisonment. The case has been dubbed by the media as 
the "Rabaa operations room trial", and it has sparked widespread controversy 
over the reasons for such harsh sentences. Legal and human rights activists and 
experts are calling it "the deliberate elimination approach" against those 
opposed to the coup and the state authorities headed by Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.

Since the coup staged in July 2013 against the elected government of President 
Mohamed Morsi, more than 700 of Al-Sisi's political opponents have been 
sentenced to death; one sentence has already been carried out. Over 1,100 
opponents have been imprisoned, according to local and international human 
rights reports from organisations such as Amnesty International.

The latest of the death sentences were issued by Judge Mohamed Nagy Shehata on 
Saturday against 14 Muslim Brotherhood officials, the most prominent of whom is 
the group's Supreme Guide, Mohamed Badie. This raises his particular sentencing 
record to four executions by hanging and a total of 104 years in prison on 
charges in 6 other cases brought before the courts. He is still a defendant in 
34 other cases, for which sentences have not yet been issued.

According to one legal expert, the recurring rulings sentencing the movement's 
Supreme Guide to death and prison indicate a "legal fault", given that each 
charge requires only 1 sentence to be passed. This expert believes that the 
Egyptian authorities have issued several sentences deliberately for "political 
purposes".

The latest death sentence issued against Badie is the 1st to be issued against 
him in his presence after the Court of Cassation decided to cancel a similar 
death sentence laid down in absentia in the "Al-Adwa" case. 2 similar sentences 
were also issued without him being present and they are scheduled to be 
reconsidered in future hearings in which the Supreme Guide will appear before 
the court wearing the red uniform indicating that he is scheduled for 
execution.

Judge Shehata is nicknamed "the execution judge"; he issued sentences up to 50 
years imprisonment and a death sentence against the Brotherhood leader. He is 
also the judge who transferred Badie's file to the Egyptian mufti twice; 
support for execution was only given once by the Islamic official.

Execution or reconciliation

Egyptian legal expert Abu Al-Khair believes that the rulings against the 
Brotherhood leaders are "politically motivated", with the aim of putting 
pressure on the Islamic movement to accept some sort of reconciliation or 
settlement.

"It is well-known and established legally that a defendant who has committed 
several crimes is sentenced to the maximum and harshest penalty," the 
international law professor told Quds Press, "and if the punishment for that 
crime is execution, then they are sentenced to it once, as it cancels out any 
less harsh punishments."

The professor added that a court will usually consider any other crimes 
committed by the defendant, including the crime punishable by death, to be 
extreme cases and will therefore sentence the defendant to one death sentence 
for all of the crimes. "However, no sensible court in the world sentences a 
defendant to four death sentences."

Abu Al-Khair also noted that the death sentences issued in the "Rabaa 
operations room trial" are "political sentences" to put pressure on the 
movement to accept a settlement or reconciliation and to prevent protests. 
"This is a grave professional error on the judge's part that must be presented 
to a disciplinary committee," he insisted.

International human rights condemnation

A number of human rights organisations based in Europe signed a statement 
condemning the judicial proceedings in Egyptian courts, which are considered to 
be abuses of the rights of those accused. These organisations believe that the 
rulings issued by the Cairo Criminal Court in the "Rabaa operations room 
trial", which prosecuted 51 citizens altogether, including journalists, 
activists and human rights defenders, as well as the Brotherhood officials, are 
all "flagrant violations of justice and a flaw in the foundations on which the 
judiciary should be based."

In a public statement, the organisations noted that the legal proceedings in 
the trial, from the beginning until the verdict was issued, included 
"scandalous breaches" of the standards required for a fair trial. "Prisoners 
were not even brought to the court for the sentencing, while the pleas of some 
were not heard," they pointed out.

"The sentences issued yesterday are dominated by a political nature and have no 
legal grounds. There are also serious doubts regarding the independence and 
impartiality of the head judge, Mohamed Nagy Shehata, as he expressed his 
conviction of the defendants' guilt throughout the trial before hearing their 
pleas. He is also the one who has issued hundreds of death sentences in Egypt 
over the past few months, totalling 210 with the sentences he issued yesterday. 
The defence lawyers had requested that he be removed from the case due to his 
lack of impartiality," the statement explained.

The human rights bodies urged the Egyptian authorities to reconsider these 
death sentences. They also called on the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, 
the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and the Special Rapporteur on the 
Situation of Human Rights Defenders to intervene with the Egyptian authorities 
and ensure the immediate release of the defendants, especially the journalists, 
and make sure that they are "compensated justly".

(source: Middle East Monitor)