[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

April 27



EGYPT----executions

Egypt hangs 5 for murder and theft: ministry



Authorities in Egypt have hanged 5 people convicted of murder and theft, the 
interior ministry said on Sunday.

They were executed in a prison in the southern province of Assyut after the 
appeals process had been exhausted, a ministry statement said.

No more details were supplied about the individual cases.

Dozens of Islamists have been sentenced to death over political violence since 
the army overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013, but only one has 
been executed, in March.

A court sentenced him to death after he was caught on camera taking part in an 
attack on rival protesters who were thrown off a water tower.

(source: The Sun Daily)








INDONESIA:

How Bali 9 duo Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran will spend their last day



Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran will spend their final day alive in the 
embrace of their family and closest friends. <>P> But their final hours, as 
they count down to death shortly after midnight tonight, will be spent in their 
isolation cells with only a religious adviser of their choosing.

Each has chosen who they want with them as darkness envelopes Nusakambangan 
Island and the sun sets on their final day on this earth.

By then they will have said their final goodbyes to their families, who will 
have spent all day with them.

It is planned for the families to travel to Besi Prison on Nusakambangan island 
to begin the final visit at 9am today.

There, both men will be in an open garden area with their families. Around them 
will be the 7 others to be shot with them and their families in a dreadful 
atmosphere of grief and anguish.

Sukumaran's parents Raji and Sam, siblings Chinthu and Brintha, Chinthu's wife 
and aunts and uncles will be with him. Yesterday the group included 13 people.

Chan's mother Helen, brother Michael and new wife Febyanti Herewila along with 
a large group of close knit friends who have been with him since the beginning.

Yesterday there were 11 in that group, including Salvation Army minister David 
Soper. Mr Soper is a lifelong friend of the Chan family, and of Andrew.

Mr Soper will be Chan's chosen religious adviser for the entire evening, 
staying with him until the end, witnessing his last moments on earth.

Chan???s father Ken is not here. Frail and ageing, it took all his strength and 
a resolute determination to visit Chan in Bali in February and there was no way 
that his health could have withstood this journey - 2 flights and an arduous 5 
hour car journey just to get to Cilacap.

He remains in Sydney with Chan's 2 sisters, their husbands and baby grandson 
who will support him.

Sukumaran has chosen Christie Buckingham, a pastor from Melbourne's Bayside 
Church to be with him. She has been visiting both men in Kerobokan jail for 
years and she arrived in Cilacap on Sunday.

Authorities must give permission for Mr Soper and Ms Buckingham to be present 
and remain with them to the end and witness the executions.

Both were with the families who went to visit yesterday.

Sukumaran has asked, as one of his final requests, to be allowed to continue 
painting until the end. For the past 10 days he has been prolific, doing a 
haunting and dark series of self portraits document his final journey.

Chan has asked to be allowed to attend church in the jail with his family. 
Ordained as a pastor during his final month in Kerobokan prison, he may well 
ask to lead the final service.

The men???s Australian lawyer Julian McMahon, his legal team and Australian 
Consul to Bali, Majell Hind, will also likely be there for support. They too 
have been on the journey with the two men which is fast coming to its end.

The families will be allowed to stay on the island visiting until about 2pm 
when they will be asked to say the last goodbye and leave.

The 2 Ministers will remain with them from then and will be with them, 
ministering to them as they are shot dead.

Meanwhile, confusion erupted after viewers heard on Q&A the Bali 9 duo could 
have another appeal heard before they're executed.

The Indonesian Constitutional Court had set a date, 12 May at 3pm for a 
preliminary hearing in relation to Chan and Sukumaran's application as to the 
interpretation of the clemency law.

Despite some claims on social media about the upcoming hearing, there are no 
suggestions in Indonesia from the Attorney General, that the Bali Nine's 
Constitutional Court challenge will have any bearing on the executions.

(source: news.com.au)

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

An open letter to President Joko Widodo----Amnesty International seeks clemency 
for 10 people facing imminent execution in Indonesia



On behalf of Amnesty International's 7 million supporters worldwide, we are 
writing to express our grave concern about the impending executions of at least 
10 people - from Indonesia, Australia, Brazil, France, Ghana, Nigeria and the 
Philippines - for drug-related crimes.

Amnesty International has campaigned for the abolition of the death penalty for 
over 30 years. Our long campaign has included efforts on behalf of several 
Indonesian nationals facing execution.

For example, in recent years, Amnesty International Australia has collected 
over 75,000 petition signatures calling for Saudi Arabia to halt executions of 
Indonesian domestic workers, including Satinah Ahmad and Siti Zainab Binti 
Duhri Rupa, both convicted of murdering their employers.

The recent executions of 2 Indonesian nationals, Karni binti Medi Tarsim and 
Siti Zainab Binti Duhri Rupa, are a terrible reminder of the death penalty's 
brutality.

Amnesty International condemned these executions.

We also note the fact that your government justifiably protested Saudi 
Arabia???s execution of 2 Indonesian citizens.

Amnesty International is committed to campaigning against the use of the death 
penalty in all cases, irrespective of the nationality of those facing 
execution.

We urge you to grant clemency to the prisoners on death row facing imminent 
execution.

We understand Indonesia's need to punish and deter criminal acts. Nevertheless 
there is no evidence that the death penalty deters crime more effectively than 
other punishments.

We are concerned that the decision to resume executions has set Indonesia 
against the global trend towards abolition of the death penalty and your 
country's own progress in this area.

On behalf of our supporters, who have also campaigned for Indonesian prisoners 
facing the death penalty, we respectfully urge you to halt plans to carry out 
these executions.

We further urge you to establish a moratorium on all executions with a view to 
abolishing the death penalty.

Yours sincerely,

--Claire Mallinson, National Director, Amnesty International Australia

--Atila Roque, Director, Amnesty International Brazil

--Stephan Oberreit, National Director, Amnesty International France

--G. Ananthapadmanabhan, Chief Executive of Amnesty International India

--Hideki Wakabayashi, Executive Director, Amnesty International Japan

--Shamini Darshini, Executive Director, Amnesty International Malaysia

--Rameshwar Nepal, Director, Amnesty International Nepal

--Grant Bayldon, Director, Amnesty International New Zealand

--Bo Tedards, Director, Amnesty International Taiwan

--Piyanut Kotsan, Acting Director, Amnesty International Thailand

--Catherine Hee-Jin Kim, Director, Amnesty International South Korea

--B. Altantuya, Executive Director, Amnesty International Mongolia

--Gemma Regina C Cunanan, Section Director, Amnesty International Philippines

(source: Free Malaysia Today)