[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

April 21



SAUDI ARABIA----execution

Saudi beheaded for murdering Indonesian maid



Saudi authorities executed a citizen today after convicting him of sexually 
harassing and brutally murdering his Indonesian maid.

Shayea al-Qahtani was found guilty of killing the maid by beating her with a 
cane and pouring boiling water over her, the interior ministry said.

His execution in the southwestern province of Abha was the 63rd in the kingdom 
so far this year.

That compares with 87 in the whole of 2014 in what Amnesty International has 
called a "macabre spike" in the kingdom's use of the death penalty.

The London-based human rights group ranked Saudi Arabia among the top 3 
executioners in the world last year.

The interior ministry has said that the death penalty provides an important 
deterrent.

Drug trafficking, rape, murder, apostasy and armed robbery are all punishable 
by death under the kingdom's strict version of Islamic sharia law.

(source: Zee News)








IRAN----executions

16 Prisoners Were Hanged in Mashhad and Birjand



16 prisoners with drug related charges were hanged in Mashhad and Birjand 
during April 16 and 17.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), 12 
prisoners were hanged in Mashhad on April 16 and 4 others in Birjand on April 
17. All of these prisoners were sentenced to death for drug related charges.

While execution of prisoners in Iran has speed up during recent weeks, official 
authorities not only have not clarified the cause, but have prevented from 
informing the families and have cut the contacts from inside to outside of the 
prison.

According to HRANA, the execution of prisoners, specifically prisoners with 
drug related charges, has speed up, while based on previous hearings, a bill 
for cancellation of execution for drug related charges was supposed to be 
submitted to the parliament in May.

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

4 Prisoners Hanged in Zahedan Prison



4 prisoners were hanged in Zahedan prison on the charge of drug trafficking.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), the 
execution of 4 prisoners who were charged with drug smuggling was performed in 
Zahedan prison.

No official publicizing has been made and there is no information regarding the 
identity of the prisoners. HRANA can just confirm the number of prisoners who 
have been hanged.

According to HRANA, during the recent weeks the number of executions, 
especially on the drug related charges has increased dramatically, which has 
caused serious concerns for human rights activists and international human 
rights organizations.

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

Video Footage Showing the Last Words of a Death Row Prisoners



Barat Zahmatkesh is 1 of the 11 prisoners who were executed on 14th April in 
Qezelhesar prison, in Karaj. The following video was recorded just a few days 
before his execution, in Qezalhesar prison, in Karaj, in which he provides an 
explanation of his case for the last time and calls for help to rescue him.

By release of this seeking help video of "Barat Zahmatkesh", this prisoner of 
drug related crimes, who was executed along with 10 other prisoners in 
Qezalhesar, on 14th April this year, HRANA tries to get the public attention to 
the execution and the importance of a fair trial for prisoners.

Mr Zahmatkesh, in a conversation with HRANA, believed that to support his 
family, he had to accept the responsibility for the crime which he had no part 
in it. He believed that he was deprived of a fair trial.

Although the information about this prisoner's case is not publicly available, 
and his execution reports has not been announced clearly by the relevant 
authorities, the death penalty in connection with the drugs is one of the 
biggest challenges in the field of human rights for Iranian government. The 
challenge that by the Iranian regime after more than 3 decades, is going to 
take steps towards a more promising in the future, by the bill, which is going 
to be provided next month for the elimination of the death penalty for drug 
offenses.

HRANA News Agency, in this occasion, invites all Iranian compatriots to 
participate in the reporting violations of human rights. The people may be 
interested can send their reports and documents among its video reports to this 
human rights organization, through Facebook page, website or HRANA's email 
address; info at hra-news.org of the human rights organizations.

(source for all: HRANA News Agency)








LEBANON:

Lebanon's ex-minister Samaha pleads guilty to all terrorism charges



Former Information Minister Michel Samaha pleaded guilty to all terrorism 
charges against him on Monday, admitting in court that he had transported 
explosives from Syria for use in attacks in Lebanon and in order to assassinate 
Lebanese officials, according to a report by MTV.

But Samaha claimed that he had been the victim of entrapment because he was not 
aware that his co-conspirator was a Lebanese security services informer.

Samaha, who was once an adviser to Syria's President Bashar Assad admitted also 
receiving $170,000 from the Syrian.

"I received from the Syrians $170,000 inside a bag ... and put it in the trunk 
of my car with the explosives," he told the military court

He said he drove the money and explosives to Beirut in August 2012 and handed 
them over to a man named Milad Kfouri, who he was unaware was working with 
Lebanese intelligence.

"I fell into the trap laid by Milad Kfouri, who was tied to the intelligence 
services," Samaha confessed

"True, I made a mistake, but I wanted to avoid sectarian strife." He said

Samaha's lawyer Rana Azoury confirmed that the former minister had acknowledged 
transporting the explosives under pressure from Kfouri.

Azoury said Samaha explained he had been "harassed" for 4 months by Kfouri to 
transport the explosives to be used in blasts on the Lebanese border.

The explosions were intended to force the closure of the border and stop the 
passage of Lebanese fighters who wanted to join rebels fighting against the 
Syrian regime, he said.

"Under Lebanese law, if you acted because of the encouragement of an agent 
provocateur, that is exculpatory and a legitimate self-defense," Azoury said in 
explaining Samaha's testimony.

The trial was adjourned to May 13.

Samaha faces the death penalty if convicted in the trial.

Samaha's driver will be summoned by the court to give his testimony.

The former minister and 2 Syrian officials (Syrian National Security Bureau 
Maj. Gen. Ali Mamlouk and his assistant whose first name was identified as 
Adnan ) were indicted for transporting explosives from Syria to Lebanon in an 
attempt to assassinate Lebanese political and religious leaders.

Earlier this month, State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr 
approved the separation Samaha's case from Mamlouk's because of Syria's lack of 
cooperation in handing over Syrian suspects to Lebanon.

Last February Lebanon Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi confirmed that a plot to 
kill Samaha has been thwarted.

Rifi told al-Liwaa newspaper that he had received information from a highly 
credible security agency that Samaha would be killed during his transfer to 
hospital for having information about the Syrian regime.

The minister said he told Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq about the plot 
as soon as he was informed by the agency.

Saudi newspaper al Watan also reported last February that Damascus had asked 
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah to liquidate Samaha.

But Hezbollah which is closely allied with the Syrian regime denied the media 
reports describing them as 'baseless accusations'.

Hezbollah's rejection of the reports was expected according to analystsbecause 
Samaha is known for being a staunch ally of the Syrian regime and Hezbollah. He 
was among several pro-Syrian Lebanese officials who were sanctioned in 2007 by 
the United States for "contributing to political and economic instability in 
Lebanon."

This is what Bashar wants

"This is what Bashar wants," Lebanese security sources quoted Samaha as saying 
in August 2012 of Syrian President Bashar Assad, in a video shot by a Lebanese 
undercover agent for the Internal Security Forces Information Branch.

He was referring to bombing plan that was meant to be carried out in north 
Lebanon.

The security sources also said that, in the video, Samaha can be seen and heard 
saying that ( Syrian Director of the National Security Bureau Maj. Gen. Ali ) 
Mamlouk, had handed him the bombs in addition to the $170,000 cash that was 
meant to be distributed to would-be executors of the attacks in Lebanon.

(source: yalibnan.com)



INDONESIA:

'Only a matter of time' before Bali 9 pair executed: Indonesian President



The Indonesian President has warned that it is "only a matter of time" before 
10 drug felons including Bali 9 organisers Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan are 
executed.

His grim announcement comes the same day that it was revealed the High Court 
had commuted the death sentences of 2 Iranian drug smugglers to life 
imprisonment.

"When it will be done is no longer a question. It is only awaiting the 
conclusion of all procedures and the legal process, which I will not interfere 
in. It is only a matter of time," President Joko Widodo said in an interview on 
Monday with Indonesian news wire Antara.

On the same day the Bandung High Court published a decision on its website to 
commute the sentence of 2 Iranians, found guilty of smuggling 40 kilograms of 
methamphetamine in Indonesia, to life imprisonment.

It said that sentencing was not about revenge, but a form of education so that 
in the future the defendant wouldn't conduct another criminal act, according to 
news website Rappler.

Mr Joko has repeatedly claimed that the death penalty for drug felons is a 
necessary "shock therapy" for a country facing a drug emergency.

He denied claims that the delays to the executions, which were scheduled to 
have been held in February, were due to international pressure, including the 
possible impact of the executions on Indonesians on death row overseas.

Mr Joko told Antara the execution had been postponed due to the ongoing legal 
cases.

These were not the authority of the President so he had decided not to 
intervene in the process.

However he pointed out that all the requests for clemency had been rejected.

10 drug offenders including Sukumaran and Chan are facing imminent death by 
firing squad in Indonesia.

The date has not yet been fixed but the Attorney-General said it would be 
unseemly to kill them while the Asian African conference was being held this 
week.

The Iranians, Mosavipour bin Sayed Abdollah, 36, and Moradalivand bin Moradali, 
32, were arrested by the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) on February 26, 2014.

They were caught picking up the methamphetamine in bags, which had been buried 
in the Tangkuban Perahu Nature Reserve in West Java.

The Iranians were sentenced to death in January, even though the prosecutors 
only sought sentences of 15-20 years.

But the death penalty was overruled by the Bandung High Court on March 30, 
according to the decision published on the court website on Monday.

The inconsistency of the application of the law in Indonesia is deeply 
distressing for those on death row, and one of the reasons advanced for the 
abolition of capital punishment.

Meanwhile, 1 of the 10 felons on death row, Nigerian Raheem Agbaje Salami, had 
his appeal thrown out of the Administrative Court on Monday.

The court said clemency was the prerogative of the President and it did not 
have the jurisdiction to rule on the matter.

This was the same reason given in a similar appeal mounted by lawyers for Chan 
and Sukumaran.

A man purporting to be Raheem Agbaje Salami, from the southern Spanish city of 
Cordoba, was arrested in 1998 for smuggling 5.3 kilograms of heroin into 
Surabaya, Indonesia's second largest city.

However Raheem's passport was false. His real name is Jamiu Owolabi Abashin, a 
Nigerian national. And although he was arrested 17 years ago, Indonesian 
authorities continue to use the fake name in prison on Nusakambangan.

Raheem's lawyer, Utomo Karim, argued the prosecution of his case was illegal 
because his fake identity was used from his arrest to his conviction in the 
district court right through to the rejection of his clemency plea.

Mr Utomo is considering lodging a request for a judicial review of his client's 
case in another court.

However he said funding it was a problem because the Nigerian embassy can't 
help pay for it.

(source: Brisbane Times)

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

Bali 9 executions 'must be civilised'



Indonesia's president has warned it "is only a matter of time" until Andrew 
Chan and Myuran Sukumaran are executed.

Jalarta has postponed the executions of the 2 Australians and 8 other drug 
offenders for this week, while it hosts foreign dignitaries for the Asian 
African Conference.

But the stay is only temporary, with President Joko Widodo telling Indonesian 
wire service Antara the executions are "only a matter of time".

Philippines Vice President Jejomar Binay is expected to raise the issue in 
Jakarta meetings this week as concern grows over the fate of condemned domestic 
worker Mary Jane Veloso.

Former Indonesian foreign minister Hassan Wirajuda says a more "civilised" 
approach could help avoid diplomatic strife in future.

He said he isn't troubled by Indonesia's use of the death penalty, but more by 
the language officials are using when explaining it.

Mr Wirajuda says the foreign protests are legitimate, but Indonesia must 
project a better image of its death penalty regime.

"We already gave the maximum legal avenues to find the most fair legal 
verdict," he said on Tuesday.

"But when the (death) sentence is final, the way we do it, maybe we can be more 
civilised.

"We shouldn't showcase the executions ... Why must we describe in detail the 
process of the execution? That's not necessary ... China is also doing this 
without showcasing it like they're enjoying the executions.

"That's what I mean when I say that we need to do it in more civilised manner."

Chan and Sukumaran are among the prisoners still pursuing legal challenges.

The Bali 9 pair, who remain in an isolated cell on Nusakambangan Island, have a 
case lodged with the Constitutional Court that challenges the clemency process, 
but it's yet to be registered.

Indonesian Zainal Abidin, Ghanian Martin Anderson and Frenchman Serge Atlaoui 
have applied for Supreme Court judicial reviews.

Veloso and Nigerian Raheem Salami plan to follow, while a relative for 
Brazilian Rodrigo Gularte, who suffers schizophrenia, is pursuing guardianship 
before other legal moves.

In the interview with Antara, Mr Joko said he wouldn't interfere with the 
outstanding legal appeals of the group awaiting the firing squad, but confirmed 
the executions will take place on their conclusion.

Meanwhile, the high court in the West Java city of Bandung has commuted the 
death sentences of 2 Iranian drug offenders.

The pair was sentenced to death in January after they were caught in February 
2014 trying to pick up a delivery of 40 kilos of methamphetamine.

A National Narcotics Agency spokesman said he regrets the new sentences at a 
time when the government is taking a tough stance by executing death row drug 
offenders.

But the judges disagreed, reportedly saying in their decision that sentencing 
is "not about revenge but more a form of education".

(source: The Daily Telegraph)

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

Indonesian court rejects death row Frenchman's appeal



Indonesia's Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an appeal by a Frenchman on death 
row for drug offences, taking him and a group of other foreigners closer to 
execution by firing squad.

Serge Atlaoui, 51, was arrested near Jakarta in 2005 in a secret laboratory 
producing ecstasy and was sentenced to death 2 years later.

Imprisoned in Indonesia for a decade, the father-of-4 has always denied the 
charges, saying he was installing industrial machinery in what he thought was 
an acrylics factory.

He is one of several foreign drug convicts on death row in Indonesia who 
recently lost appeals for presidential clemency, typically a last chance to 
avoid the firing squad. They are expected to be executed once final legal 
appeals are resolved.

In a further bid to avoid execution, Atlaoui filed a request for a judicial 
review of his case at the Supreme Court.

However Suhadi, one of the judges assessing his case, said the court rejected 
his application on Tuesday.

"A panel of 3 judges has rejected (the request) for a judicial review from 
Frenchman Serge Atlaoui," said Suhadi, who goes by 1 name and is also the 
Supreme Court spokesman.

He said there was no new evidence presented - a requirement for a judicial 
review - and the reasons put forward were not sufficient.

Several other death row convicts also have legal bids outstanding, including 2 
high-profile Australian drug traffickers who have lost several appeals but are 
now taking their case to the Constitutional Court, although authorities insist 
they have no more options.

A Ghanaian among the group is appealing to the Supreme Court.

The French ambassador to Indonesia warned last week that executing Atlaoui 
would have "consequences" for relations between Paris and Jakarta.

Australia has issued a similar warning.

"Neither France nor Australia can tolerate the death penalty being imposed on 
our citizens at home or abroad," Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said 
in Paris after meeting her counterpart Laurent Fabius.

"We respectfully request that he (President Joko Widodo) show the same clemency 
towards the French and Australian citizens as Indonesia seeks other countries 
to show towards Indonesian citizens who are facing death row in other 
countries."

Drug laws in Indonesia are among the world's toughest.

Widodo, who took office in October, has been a vocal supporter of putting drug 
traffickers to death, saying the country is facing a narcotics emergency.

However Indonesia has been actively trying to save its own citizens on death 
row abroad - Jakarta last week protested at the execution of 2 Indonesian women 
in Saudi Arabia.

(source: The Sun Daily)








PAKISTAN----executions

17 death row convicts executed countrywide



At least 17 murder convicts were sent to the gallows on Tuesday morning in 
prisons across the country, Express News reported.

Tight security arrangements were made in and around the jails to avoid any 
untoward incident.

Faisalabad

Nizamuddin and Muhammad Yaseen, were executed in Faisalabad Central and 
District Jail for murdering 3 people in the city, while Azam was hanged for 
being involved in the murder of 7 other victims including his mother-in-law and 
father-in-law in 2004.

Gujranwala

3 convicts were hanged in Central Jail Gunjranwala in several murder cases. 
Inayat was convicted of killing 6 members of his family in 2002 while Zafar and 
Latif were in the murder of 4 people.

Lahore

Allah Rakkah and Ghulam Nabi were sent to the gallows in Kot Lakhpat Jail for 
committing a murder in 1996 and 2003 respectively.

Sialkot

2 death row prisoners were hanged in Sialkot jail for killing a woman after 
sexually assaulting her.

Mach, Multan and Gujrat

At least 3 murder convicts were executed in Mach, Multan and Gujrat central 
jails today. Riaz Ahmed and Sultan were issued black warrants for committing a 
murder in 2004 and 2000 respectively, while Azhar Mehmood was sentenced to 
death in 1995 for killing a person due to personal enmity.

The interior ministry had lifted its moratorium on the death penalty in all 
capital cases, on March 10, after restarting executions for terrorism offences 
in the wake of Peshawar school massacre.

Prisons Inspector General Mian Farooq Nazeer said 75 prisoners have been 
executed since the moratorium on executions was lifted on December 17, last 
year.

(source: The Express Tribune)

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

Pakistan executes 14 convicts



14 death row convicts were executed in various jails in Pakistan's Punjab and 
Balochistan province on Tuesday, said a media report.

2 convicts were hanged in Lahore central jail, Geo News reported.

2 prisoners, convicted of sexually assaulting a girl in 1999, were executed in 
Sialkot district jail.

1 condemned prisoner was executed in Sahiwal central jail.

3 were hanged in Faisalabad central jail and 2 were convicted for killing 3 
people in 1998, while 1 convict was sentenced for killing 7 people in 2004.

3 prisoners were hanged in Gujranwala central jail, 1 in Multan central jail 
while 2 in Mach.

Pakistan lifted its moratorium on the death penalty in all capital cases on 
March 10.

Initially, executions were resumed only for terrorism offences in the wake of 
the Taliban massacre at an army-run school in Peshawar which claimed around 150 
lives, mostly school children, on December 16, 2014.

(source: IANS)

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

Punishable offences: Top court rejects plea against death penalties



The Supreme Court has dismissed a plea challenging the number of crimes 
punishable by the capital punishment in Pakistan.

In Pakistan besides murder, there are 27 offences which carry capital 
punishment, but as per Sharia law the death penalty can be awarded for 3 crimes 
only - murder, rape and apostasy, the petitioner contended.

A 3-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, on 
Monday took up the 4-year-old petition, filed by Barrister Zafarullah, a 
representative of the Watan Party. The bench, however, asked the petitioner 
that if he considers the death penalty laws in the country un-Islamic, he 
should approach the Federal Shariat Court.

Zafarullah also claimed that the award of the death penalty is against Article 
9 of the Constitution.

The petitioner while talking to The Express Tribune said he will file an appeal 
against the top court's order to dismiss his plea. He pointed out that he had 
filed the petition 4 years ago, when the moratorium on the death penalty was in 
place.

While it was initially decided that only condemned terrorists will be executed, 
the government later gave the nod to go ahead with execution of all death 
sentences where appeals and clemency pleas were no longer an option.

(source: Express Tribune)



SINGAPORE:

2 death-row traffickers get life term instead



5 years on death row ended yesterday for convicted Malaysian drug traffickers 
Cheong Chun Yin and Pang Siew Fum after a High Court re-sentenced them to life 
in prison.

Cheong, now 31, arrived at Changi Airport from Myanmar on June 16, 2008, with a 
black trolley bag which he handed to Pang, 57, before the 2 parted ways.

They were arrested separately later that day, and the bag was found to contain 
2,726g of heroin.

They were convicted of drug trafficking after a joint High Court trial in 2010 
and sentenced to death - the mandatory penalty at the time for trafficking more 
than 15g of the drug.

(source: The Straits Times)








EGYPT:

Ex-president Mohammed Morsi spared death in Cairo sentence



Egypt's ex-president has been sentenced to 20 years in jail in connection with 
the deaths of protesters nearly two years after his fall from power.

A Cairo criminal court spared Mohammed Morsi from capital punishment, after 
prosecutors demanded he be put to death over the killing of 3 protesters in 
2012, when he was at the helm of the country.

Judges dropped murder charges related to the deaths that occurred during 
clashes between supporters of Morsi's now banned Muslim Brotherhood movement 
and opposition demonstrators outside of the Al-Ittihadiya presidential palace 
on 5 December, 2012.

The former leader and 12 of his associates were however handed a lengthy jail 
sentences over accusations of excessive "show of force" and unlawful detention 
associated with the case.

Morsi, who was toppled by the army led by his successor Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in 
July 2013 amid mass protests, stood in a soundproof glass cage inside a 
courtroom at the national police academy building in the capital as the 
sentence was read out.

After the verdict he and the rest of the co-defendants raised 4 fingers, a 
defiant gesture symbolising the deaths of hundreds Muslim Brotherhood 
supporters who were killed as in August 2013 Egyptian security forces swept 
protest camps erected in the capital after the power-takeover.

The verdict was the 1st of 3 expected against the ex-president as Morsi faces 
the death penalty in another 2 trials that are due to come to a conclusion in 
May.

(source: IB Times)

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

Egypt confirms death sentences against 22 Morsi backers



An Egyptian court confirmed death sentences against 22 supporters of ousted 
Islamist president Mohamed Morsi on Monday over an attack on a police station 
in which 1 officer was killed.

The judgement comes ahead of an expected verdict on Tuesday against Morsi 
himself on charges of inciting the killing of protesters in December 2012 when 
he was president.

The attack in the town of Kerdasa on the outskirts of Cairo on July 3, 2013 
came on the same day that then army chief and now President Abdel Fattah 
al-Sisi announced he was overthrowing Morsi.

Since his ouster, the authorities have cracked down hard on Morsi's Muslim 
Brotherhood movement with at least 1,400 of his supporters killed.

Hundreds more have been sentenced to death and thousands jailed, often in 
speedy mass trials that have been criticised by human rights groups.

Monday's court ruling confirmed the death sentences it handed down against the 
22 defendants in March after they had received the statutory approval of the 
country's highest Muslim religious authority, the mufti.

14 of the 22 defendants are in custody, while 8 are on the run, a court 
official said.

The defendants were convicted of "illegal assembly, vandalism, murder and 
attempted murder".

(source: yourmidleeast.com)

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

Egyptian death sentence for football fans puts president's iron grip to the 
test



Egyptian-general-turned-president Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi's iron grip on dissent 
is likely to be put to the test with the sentencing to death of 11 football 
fans for involvement in a politically loaded football brawl 3 years ago that 
left 74 militant supporters of storied Cairo club Al-Ahly SC dead.

The brawl and the subsequent sentencing to death, in an initial trial 2 years 
ago, of 21 supporters of the Suez Canal city of Port Said's Al-Masry SC sparked 
mass protests by Al-Ahly fans demanding justice in the walk-up to the court 
hearings, and a popular revolt in Port Said and other Suez Canal cities once 
the verdict was issued that forced then-president Mohamed Morsi to declare an 
emergency and deploy military troops to the region.

Although the judge in the retrial lowered the number of Al-Masry supporters 
facing a death penalty, the verdict is certain to spark renewed anger in Port 
Said where many see the fans as scapegoats in what was likely an effort that 
got out of hand by the military and security forces to punish the Al-Ahly 
supporters for their key role in the 2011 popular revolt that toppled former 
president Hosni Mubarak and subsequent mass protests against military rule.

The 11 fans are part of a group of 73 defendants that includes nine polices 
officers and three Al-Masry executives charged with responsibility for the 
incident in which police and security forces stood by as the Al-Ahly fans died 
in a stampede after their team's match against Al-Masry in a Port Said stadium 
whose gates had been locked from the outside. The court is expected to issue 
its final verdict on 30 May.

Suspicion of some association of police and the military in the incident, the 
worst in Egyptian sporting history, was further fuelled by circumstantial 
evidence, including lax security in advance of the match, the signalling of a 
group of men armed with identical batons in the stadium, and threats exchanged 
on Twitter between Al-Masry and Al-Ahly fans in advance of the game.

Al-Sisi's brutal suppression of dissent since he toppled Morsi in a military 
coup in 2013 that has led to more than 1,400 deaths and the incarceration of 
thousands raises the stakes for protesters and could lead many in Port Said to 
think twice before taking to the streets. Supporters may also wait until 
Egypt's Grand Mufti rules on the death sentences.

All death sentences in Egypt are referred to the Mufti for his non-binding 
ratification. A decision by the mufti to reject the death sentences could lower 
temperatures in Port Said but spark anger among Al-Ahly fans who celebrated 
when the initial court sentenced the 21 to death.

The initial indictment of the 73 served to effectively put the blame for the 
incident on Al-Masry fans and evade a thorough investigation of potential 
involvement of security or military personnel despite the presence of 9 local 
police officials among the defendants. The framing of the case in this fashion 
made it however impossible to achieve a verdict that would be perceived as 
equitable by all. The sentencing of the Al-Masry fans was always going to leave 
Port Said unhappy, while acquittal or the imposition of light sentences would 
have infuriated the thousands of supporters of Al-Ahly.

The court verdict comes at a sensitive moment in Egyptian football politics. 
The death sentences came days after Egypt moved closer to banning as terrorist 
organisations militant soccer groups that form the backbone of opposition to 
Al-Sisi's autocratic rule with the arrest and pre-trial detention of 5 alleged 
members of the Ultras White Knights (UWK), the highly-politicised, street 
battle-hardened support group of Al-Ahly's arch-rival Zamalek SC. The 5 men 
were arrested on charges of joining a "terrorist entity" and attempting to 
topple the regime of Al-Sisi.

The verdict also followed the start of a trial against 16 people, including UWK 
members, charged with violent acts, arson and rioting that led on 8 February to 
a stampede outside Cairo's Air Defence Stadium, in which 20 people were killed. 
The deaths are widely believed to have been the result not of UWK provocation 
but of violence by a police and security force that has no experience in crowd 
control and is notorious for its brutality.

Finally, the court issued the death sentences at a time that football fans are 
at the core of anti-government protests in universities that are controlled by 
security forces and popular neighbourhoods of Egyptian cities. Leaders of fan 
and student groups warn that the post-2011 generation is on the one hand more 
apathetic and on the other more hopeless and nihilistic than the one that 
participated four years ago in the popular revolt.

The crackdown on football fans at a time that league matches are played behind 
closed doors to pre-empt violence and prevent stadia from re-emerging as venues 
for the expression of dissent is certain to deepen a sense of frustration. 
"When the opportunity arises they (the new generation) will do something bigger 
than we ever did," said a founder of the UWK who has since distanced himself 
from the group.

(source: James M. Dorsey is a Senior Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of 
International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, 
co-???-director of the University of Wurzburg's Institute for Fan Culture, a 
syndicated columnist; Daily News Egypt)

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

Can Egypt's death penalty be taken seriously?



Egypt's former president Mohamed Morsi faces being sentenced to death on 
Tuesday on charges of inciting the killing of protesters. If a verdict is 
announced, it will be the 1st since he was ousted from power in July 2013 with 
Morsi also standing trial in 2 other cases.

While it is difficult to anticipate what will happen at the court hearing, some 
experts say that the death sentence cannot be ruled out.

"Although, the trials we have seen so far are devoid any proper standards and 
the [President Abdel Fattah al-] Sisi rhetoric of fighting a war on terror 
[against Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood] is running thin on facts, I believe that 
there is a real risk that the court could impose such a sentence," 
international law specialist Toby Cadman told Middle East Eye.

Morsi also faces the death penalty in 2 other trials, including 1 in which he 
is accused of spying for foreign powers, and escaping from prison during the 
2011 anti-Mubarak revolt.

Separate verdicts in those 2 cases are due on 16 May.

"There is grave concern that the carrying out of such executions is part of a 
state policy. It may be that Sisi is looking to gain politically by 
symbolically sentencing his opponents to death without carrying out the 
executions," Cadman said.

While there is a concern that a death sentence may be handed down to the former 
president, observers believe that the death penalty in Egypt cannot be taken 
seriously.

"Even if there is a death sentence, we don't know how seriously we should take 
it. It is likely that some of these death sentences won't actually be 
implemented at the end of the day since they are more political than anything 
else," Brookings Institution scholar Shadi Hamid said.

Hamid does admit that "with the Sisi regime anything is possible", but he also 
finds that based on current trends, "It is pretty much unprecedented in the 
Middle East to have a recent president executed."

Furthermore even if he is sentenced to death, Morsi's lawyers should be able to 
appeal the verdict.

Egypt's most recent execution happened in early March 2015, when Mahmoud 
Ramadan who was seen in amateur footage carrying a black flag and pushing 2 
teenagers from a ledge on to a terrace below - a video which caused shockwaves 
among Morsis's opponents at the time - was hanged in spite of his lawyers 
demanding more witnesses to prove his involvement in the murder.

The execution was the 1st time that Egypt enacted any of the death sentences 
given to hundreds of people taking part in the unrest that followed the removal 
of Morsi in July 2013.

Yet, thousands of Morsi supporters have been sentenced to death for their 
alleged roles in violence in 2013, including Muslim Brotherhood chief Mohamed 
Badie. The sentences, often handed down in mass trials, were widely criticised 
by the West as well as the African Union.

While some have been commuted to life, human rights organisations continue to 
campaign on their behalf.

Badie, who was sentenced to death earlier this month, appeared in a Cairo court 
on Sunday in red-coloured garb - usually worn by inmates on death row - which 
was seen by some as signalling towards an imminent enactment of the death 
sentence.

Despite heightened fears, however, Hamid said that if a sentence is given out 
during Morsi's Tuesday court hearing, international pressure will likely push 
to commute these sentences.

"In the lead up to any planned execution, there would be an effort on the part 
of the US and other allies of Egypt to encourage Sisi to commute the sentence."

"I can even imagine the Saudis not being as supportive of Sisi; they would not 
be particularly comfortable with executing a Muslim Brotherhood Murshid [Badie] 
for the sake of their own domestic reasons," he told MEE.

Furthermore, enacting a death sentence for Egypt's former president could lead 
to further unrest, despite Sisi's efforts to create stability in the country, 
analysts explained.

"To sentence the 1st democratically elected leader of Egypt to death would in 
my opinion lead to widespread unrest across Egypt and elsewhere," said Cadman.

With increasing instability and unrest across Egypt, specifically in Sinai, 
this is something Sisi would like to avoid, analysts say.

However, even if Morsi escapes the death penalty, he could still face life in 
prison.

"Justice is highly politicised and verdicts are rarely based on objective 
elements," Karim Bitar from the Paris-based Institute of International and 
Strategic Relations told AFP.

Morsi's supporters were the target of a government "witch-hunt", he added.

The expected court ruling comes after an Egyptian court sentenced 22 members of 
the Muslim Brotherhood - accused of carrying out an attack on a police station 
in the Kerdasa district near Cairo in 2013 - to death on Monday.

That same day, another court sentenced 11 football fans to death. Originally, 
70 defendants were sentenced for setting off violent protests during a 2012 
football match in which 74 people were killed.

While lawyers of the defendants can appeal the sentences, the Egyptian judicial 
system has come under deep criticism for not providing due process for the 
repeal of the verdicts, such as in yet another case of 6 Egyptians who were 
sentenced to death, including one in absentia, on 21 October, 2014.

In a statement released on 9 April by Alkaram, a human rights organisation 
based in Geneva, the judges deliberately ignored the fact that the men were 
accused of crimes they could not have committed since they were secretly 
detained in the Azouli military prison during the time which the crimes took 
place.

In what has been dubbed the "Arab Sharkas cell case", the judgement was solely 
based on confessions extracted under severe torture, after which the Grand 
Mufti of Egypt approved their respective sentences, said the statement.

The Grand Muftis's approval is non-binding, yet the approval of Egypt's highest 
religious authority of a death sentence has significant implications for the 
judicial system as it seemingly gives a religious justification to the verdict.

Although the death sentence has not been carried out yet, it is plausible that 
the court will indeed enact the sentences as legal observers say that the 6 men 
have exhausted all legal avenues - within the Egyptian judicial system - to 
repeal the sentences, according to Alkarama.

The total of Egyptians sentenced to death regardless of the Grand Mufti's 
review is unclear but the death sentence was handed down to at least 1,000 
people in 2014, according to Thomas Guinard of Alkaram. Not all were Muslim 
Brotherhood supporters or political prisoners.

"At least 456 of the cases handed a death sentence have been reviewed and 
approved by the Grand Mufti. Most of them, their appeals are ongoing," said 
Guinard.

According to several international lawyers, the mass sentencing exercised in 
Egypt over recent months cannot be justified.

On the other hand, they act to underline an argument that the judicial process 
is being used as an extension of executive authority and a political tool aimed 
to silence dissent.

"The past few months have seen thousands of death sentences handed down in 
Egypt in mass trials that are a mockery of justice," said Maya Foa, head of the 
death penalty team at Reprieve.

"We've also seen unprecedented numbers of juveniles wrongfully arrested and 
tried as adults - young people like Ibrahim Halawa, who is facing a potential 
death sentence alongside nearly 500 other people for the 'crime' of attending a 
protest," added Foa.

Despite the grave concerns over Egypt's human rights records, global powers 
have maintained their support for Sisi's government. Just days before the Morsi 
verdict was due, US Central Intelligence Agency Director, John Brennan held 
talks with Sisi during an unannounced visit to Cairo.

A quickening rapprochement between the long-time allies has been taking place 
after Washington in March lifted a partial freeze on its $1.5bn annual aid to 
Egypt that it imposed when then-army chief Sisi ousted Morsi.

"This wave of repression hasn't stopped global leaders from lining up to 
reaffirm ties with the Sisi government - and sending a worrying message at a 
time when hundreds of lives hang in the balance," Foa said.

(source: Middle East Eye)