[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Aug. 4



SUDAN:

2 Sudanese pastors could face the death penalty in final hearing


The Republic of Sudan's government is expected to hold a "final hearing" for 2 
Christian pastors Aug. 5, media reports indicate. The case, which might result 
in death sentences for the pair, is the latest in a series of crackdowns on 
Christians there.

The hearing for pastors Yat Michael Rout, 49, and Peter Yein Reith, 36, "could 
lead to the death penalty," the Mission News Network reported. According to 
London's Daily Mail newspaper, the pair face "charges of espionage and 
'undermining the constitution,'" each of which can carry the death penalty or a 
sentence of life imprisonment.

Both men are Presbyterian pastors from South Sudan, and both are said to have 
families with young children. Rout, according to savesudanpastors.com, was a 
guest preacher at a congregation in Khartoum and was arrested in December 2014 
for encouraging the church "to be strong and endure the government's 
persecution." Reith, in turn, was jailed in January of this year for asking 
government officials about Rout's condition after the arrest.

At a July 23 hearing, according to Morningstar News, Rout's defense attorney 
rebutted claims the pastor had "insulted religious creeds" in the sermon. "To 
urge believers to be zealous for their church is not an insult against God," 
the attorney said, according to the report.

"The government of Sudan, led by President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, continues to 
engage in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of freedom of religion 
or belief," the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom noted in its 
2015 Annual Report. The U.S. Department of State has since 1999 listed Sudan as 
a "country of particular concern" in terms of human rights issues, and the 
USCIRF this year recommended that designation continue.

Earlier this year, Open Doors USA, a group that aids persecuted Christians, 
moved Sudan back into 6th place on its World Watch List, which ranks the top 50 
countries "where it is most dangerous and difficult to be a Christian."

Since the predominantly South Sudan region seceded and became an independent 
nation in 2011, the al-Bashir government has engaged in increasing persecution 
of Christians. In late June, 12 Christian students, 17 to 23 years old, from 
the war-torn Nuba Mountains in Sudan's South Kordofan region, were arrested 
outside Khartoum's Evangelical Baptist Church on "public order" charges of 
wearing short skirts or trousers. 2 were released, but 10 women face trials, 
Amnesty International said.

"Sudan must drop the charges and release these women immediately," Sarah 
Jackson, Amnesty's East Africa deputy director, said in a statement. "A hemline 
is not a crime."

Last year, Sudan imprisoned, sentenced to death and then released Meriam 
Ibrahim, a 27-year-old mother whose father was Muslim. Ibrahim's case, 
reportedly fueled by family rivalries over a business she owned, became an 
international cause, with pressure from the United States, Italy and the 
Vatican leading to her release.

(source: deseretnews.com)






INDONESIA:

Malaysian faces death penalty for drug trafficking


A 55-year-old Malaysian, Ng Huk Kwan or Jimmy, will likely face the death 
penalty for his alleged involvement in the trafficking of 46.5 kilograms of 
crystal methamphetamine.

Prosecutor Zainal Abidin from the Riau Prosecutor's Office told a panel of 
judges at Pekanbaru District Court in Riau on Tuesday that the defendant had 
violated articles 113 and 132 of the 2009 Narcotics Law, which carried a 
possible death sentence.

"For his crimes, we ask the judge to hand down the maximum sentence: the death 
penalty," he said.

According to Zainal, Jimmy played a role as a courier to deliver the meth, 
which was worth Rp 180 billion (US$13.3 million), from 1 Malaysian with 
initials ABE to another man in Palembang, South Sumatra. For the service, 
Jimmy, who entered Indonesia through Dumai Port, was paid 5,000 Malaysian 
ringgit ($1,301).

Jimmy looked surprised upon hearing the prosecutor's request.

The presiding judge, Amin Ismanto, then adjourned the court until next week to 
hear defense pleas.

(source: Jakarta Post)






INDIA:

Self-styled tantrik gets death penalty in human sacrifice case


A local court in Odisha's Jajpur district on Tuesday gave death sentence to a 
30-year-old self-styled tantrik after convicting him for killing an 8-year-old 
boy in a human sacrifice case.

District and Sessions Judge Jivan Ballav Das delivered the order of capital 
punishment against Pitambar Gaipei for killing Srikant Bag of Damodarpur under 
Sukinda police station limits in the district.

The incident, which took place in Icchanagarpatna village, had sent shock waves 
in the area.

The court pronounced the sentence after examining 22 witnesses and their 
deposition in the case.

Gaipei had slit the child's throat and pierced his body with a sharp weapon on 
February 11, 2010.

He had lured the child by offering him chocolates and committed the crime, the 
police had said in its charge sheet.

The police had recovered the victim boy's beheaded body from a drain in 
Icchanagarpatana, a village close to where he lived, on February 12, 2011.

His head was found buried in the tantrik's house along with religious 
offerings, the police had said.

The matter came to light on February 17, 2010 after the boy's parents lodged a 
complaint with the Sukinda police after reconciling to their fate that their 
child was lost. Gaipei was caught during investigation by the police.

(source: The Times of India)



PAKISTAN:

Shafqat Hussain execution a "deeply sad day" for Pakistan


Pakistan must immediately impose a moratorium on the death penalty after the 
execution of a man who was below 18 years old at the time of the crime, 
according to his lawyers, and who was tortured into a "confession" by police, 
Amnesty International said.

Shafqat Hussain, who was sentenced to death for kidnapping and involuntary 
manslaughter in 2004, was this morning hanged in Karachi Central Jail. He was 
convicted under the Anti-Terrorism Act of Pakistan despite no known links to 
any terrorist organisation. His execution had been stayed 4 times since 
Pakistan lifted the moratorium on executions in December 2014.

"This is another deeply sad day for Pakistan. A man whose age remains disputed 
and whose conviction was built around torture has now paid with his life - and 
for a crime for which the death penalty cannot be imposed under international 
law," said David Griffiths, Amnesty International's South Asia Research 
Director.

"The government has shown a callous indifference to not just human life, but 
also to international law and standards. It has even ignored recommendations by 
one of its own bodies, the Sindh Human Rights Commission, to request the 
Supreme Court to consider the evidence relating to his juvenility and 
'confession' extracted through torture."

Since Pakistan lifted a moratorium on executions in December 2014, Amnesty 
International has recorded at least 200 executions.

"It is too late to save Shafqat Hussain's life, but there are still thousands 
of others on death row in Pakistan who are at risk. The government has taken at 
least 200 lives already over the past 8 months - this must end immediately. 
Authorities must impose a moratorium on the death penalty with a view to its 
eventual repeal," David Griffths said.

(source: Amnesty International)

**********

Pakistan clearing its death row backlog----Despite rights group protests, 
Pakistan has hanged 'teenage' convict Shafqat Hussain. But the resumption of 
executions as a tool in the fight against terror is just a populist excuse, 
says DW's Florian Weigand.


To put it bluntly, I am against the death penalty. The punishment is, in 
essence, inhumane. It is often forgotten that it also burdens the judges with 
an enormous responsibility when they have to decide over life and death, 
particularly in cases where there is even the slightest doubt as to the 
defendant's guilt.

The Pakistani judiciary does not seem to be giving much thought to this 
responsibility. Since the government in Islamabad lifted the moratorium on 
capital punishment last December, 180 people have been executed. A further 
8,000 prisoners in the South Asian nation's jails are awaiting the same fate.

It is not only suspected terrorists who are facing the death sentence in 
Pakistan. Capital punishment was actually reinstated to send those convicted of 
terrorism to the gallows - a reaction to the Taliban massacre at a Peshawar 
school in which more than 150 people were killed, most of them children.

But, unfortunately, it now seems as if the proponents of the death penalty used 
this horrible incident as a populist excuse for a general resumption of 
executions. Even worse is the fact that death sentences are carried out even 
when there are doubts regarding the guilt of the offenders, as demonstrated in 
the case of Shafqat Hussain.

Pakistan just seems eager to clear its death row backlog. And it affects, as is 
the case elsewhere in the world, the underprivileged.

Shafqat Hussain comes from a poor Kashmiri family, on the edge of the 
Himalayas. There is no birth certificate that could prove he was a minor at the 
time of the crime. The family couldn't afford an effective and professional 
legal defense team. And the Pakistani judges seemed unaffected by UN demands to 
reexamine the case.

This combination of poverty, dubious legal proceedings and contempt for 
international criticism sends a devastating signal for similar cases. The case 
of Asia Bibi, for instance, has reverberated across the world.

As a member of a Christian minority she stands accused of committing blasphemy 
against Islam - a crime punishable by death in Pakistan. Asia Bibi, whose case 
is based solely on accusations, is also from a poor background and received 
rudimentary education, at best.

She can't afford an expensive lawyer, and anyone defending her potentially 
endangers their own lives as they will be viewed as protecting a "blasphemer." 
This is why international human rights organizations have stepped into the 
breach. Even the Pope has interfered on behalf of the fellow Christian.

Should her judges proceed in the same way as in the Shafqat Hussain case, then 
Asia Bibi will become another victim of Pakistan's judicial system. Even worse, 
the latest wave of executions could serve those seeking to get rid of political 
opponents, disturbing peasants or common people involved in land disputes or 
other kinds of private squabbles.

This is yet another reason why executions must be stopped - not only in 
Pakistan. Whoever ends up behind bars should have the opportunity to either be 
released or compensated, should conditions change at a later stage. An 
execution, however, is irreversible.

(source: Opinion, Florian Weigand----Deutsche Welle)






SAUDI ARABIA:

Saudi Arabia on track to beat annual record of 192 executions


A man has been beheaded in Saudi Arabia, bringing the total number of 
executions in the Kingdom to 110 for the year so far. This is already a 26-% 
increase on the number of people put to death in 2014.

Mugrib al-Thanyan was executed after he was found guilty and sentenced to death 
for shooting and killing a fellow citizen following a dispute, a statement from 
the Interior Ministry read.

The man was sentenced to death according to the nation's strict version of 
Sharia law, under which such crimes as murder, rape, armed robbery and drug 
trafficking are punishable by death. Public executions are mostly conducted by 
decapitating the accused with a sword.

He is the 110th person to be executed in the country in 2015 and Saudi Arabia 
has already seen a 26-% increase in death sentences. In 2014, 87 people were 
executed.

The number of executions in 2015 is catching up with the Kingdom's all-time 
annual record of 192, which was documented by Amnesty International in 1995. 
The watchdog has been scathing of the Kingdom's human rights record, saying 
they "fall far short" of global norms.

"Almost 1/2 of the executions carried out so far this year have been for 
drug-related offences, which don't fall into a recognized international 
category of 'most serious crimes,' and the use of the death penalty for such 
offences violates international law," a statement on Amnesty International's 
website read in May.

The "fast pace" of executions in Saudi Arabia was deemed "very disturbing" by a 
UN special rapporteur.

"If it continues at this pace we will have double the number of executions, or 
more than double the number of executions, that we had last year," Christof 
Heyns, who submits annual reports to the UN Human Rights Council and General 
Assembly, told AFP on May 27.

Also in May, Saudi Arabia, which executes more criminals than any nation except 
China and Iran, announced it wanted to hire 8 new executioners, following a 
surge in executions witnessed under new King Salman's rule.

The job description, published online, mentioned that no special training was 
required. The executioners would be required to behead condemned criminals in 
public as well as carry out amputations on those convicted of lesser offenses, 
Reuters reported.

The executioners would be considered as 'religious functionaries', since they 
would be serving religious courts and be on the lower end of the civil service 
pay scale, the ad said.

(source: rt.com)