[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Aug. 11



GLOBAL:

10 nations where the penalty for gay sex is death


10 nations with large Muslim populations have laws providing for the death 
penalty for same-sex activity. How many actually impose the death sentence is a 
difficult question.

According to the 2015 State-Sponsored Homophobia report from ILGA, the 
International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association:

In relation to death penalty, 8 States officially legislate for it, but only 5 
(Mauritania, Sudan, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Yemen) actually implement it.

Further, some provinces in Nigeria and Somalia officially implement the death 
penalty.

Nigeria and Somalia bring the total to 10, as cited in this article's 
introductory sentence: "10 nations with large Muslim populations have laws 
providing for the death penalty for same-sex activity." That total would be 
extended to 13 by adding Brunei Darussalam (law scheduled to take effect in 
2016), Iraq (executions imposed despite the lack of a law allowing for them) 
and the Islamic State (executions imposed by an entity that acts as a nation 
but without international recognition as such).

However, news coverage in each of those nations is unreliable at best, so 
specific evidence of executions for same-sex intimacy is rare. In some 
countries, the death penalty for homosexual behavior may only be threatened, 
not carried out.

In Sudan, the death penalty is in frequent use, but there are no recent reports 
of executions for same-sex intimacy. Sudan ranked at No. 6 worldwide in number 
of executions (23+) in 2014, just below the United States, with 35, according 
to Amnesty International.

Similarly, Yemen is No. 7 in frequency of executions overall, but the death 
penalty apparently has not been imposed recently for homosexual activity. 
Researchers for Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board reported more than 10 
years ago, "Information on whether such sentences have been carried out was not 
found." More recently an article on Yemen's gay community in The Tower magazine 
stated, "Traditionally, that death penalty is not enforced, but citizens have 
been imprisoned for their sexual orientation."

Saudi Arabia is No. 3 among the world's most avid executioners, with 90+ in 
2014. At least in the past, beheadings were imposed for homosexual behavior, 
including 3 men in 2002. Imprisonment and lashings are a more common punishment 
for same-sex activity.

Iran is No. 2 in the world for frequency of executions, behind China. Those 
include executions for homosexual activity, although the facts are often 
unclear or misrepresented in such cases. (See, for example, "Bogus hanging in 
Iran, bogus tweets in Egypt" and "Series of public hangings in Iran, including 
2 for sodomy.")

Evidence is a bit clearer about 2 war-torn areas - Iraq and the territory 
controlled by Daesh/the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL). The ILGA report notes that 
"a sixth State, Iraq, although [the death penalty is] not in the civil code, 
clearly has judges and militias throughout the country that issue the death 
sentence for same-sex sexual behaviours. ... We are also aware that in the 
Daesh(ISIS/ISIL)-held areas the death penalty is implemented (although a 
non-State actor, it is listed in the report)." For examples, see:

Iraq has become a death trap for gay men (September 2012)

'Islamic State' has reported 15 LGBTI executions (May 2015)

In some nations, the death penalty is on the books but is not imposed. ILGA 
states:

Brunei Darussalam is due to activate the death penalty for same-sex sexual acts 
in 2016, but it seems likely that like Pakistan, Afghanistan and Qatar although 
it is on the statute, it will not be implemented.

According to the U.S. Department of State, Mauritania belongs in this category 
too. A U.S. Department of State cable from 2009, released by WikiLeaks in 2011, 
indicated that Mauritania has never imposed the death penalty for homosexual 
activity or any other crime.

Here is a summary of all the information above in list form - a 
best-information-available list of 13 countries/regions where executions for 
homosexual activity are carried out or are provided by current or future law:

Nations with such laws on the books; executions have been carried out

Iran

Saudi Arabia

Nations with such laws on the books; no recent executions reported

Sudan

Yemen

Nations with such laws on the books in part of the country; executions have or 
may have occurred

Nigeria

Somalia

Nations with such laws on the books; no executions reported

Afghanistan

Mauritania

Pakistan

Qatar

Nation where such a law is scheduled to take effect in 2016

Brunei Darussalam

Nation with no such a law on the books; executions are carried out by militias 
and others

Iraq

Not recognized as a nation; carries out executions

Daesh/the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL)

(source: 76crimes.com)






INDIA:

Tripura passes resolution against death penalty----The move doesn't mean the 
abolition of capital punishment in Tripura but campaigners say it puts the 
state at the front of liberal administrations in India


2 months after withdrawing the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, Tripura has 
sent across another strong message with its state legislature passing a 
resolution against the death penalty. While this doesn't mean the abolition of 
capital punishment in Tripura, campaigners say the move puts the northeastern 
state at the front of liberal administrations in India.

In what seems to be a fallout of the recent hanging of Yakub Memon, convicted 
of terrorism charges, the Tripura Assembly on Friday unanimously voted through 
a private member???s resolution seeking abolition of the death penalty and for 
it to be replaced by life imprisonment, including 'life means life' or 
imprisonment till death for heinous crimes.

Any bill seeking to amend the Indian penal code or the Code of Criminal 
Procedures (CrPC) requires the assent of the President, who acts on aid and 
advice of the council of ministers.

"This resolution is an expression of their (the Tripura government's) dismay 
and probably an attempt to push the Centre to start thinking on the same lines. 
States can amend both CrPc and IPC. But their passing the resolution alone is 
not enough," said Amita Dhanda, professor of law and dean (academic) at the 
National Academy of Legal Studies and Research at Hyderabad.

"They have to go ahead to pass the legislative amendments which then would 
require the assent of the Centre. There are several amendments that are 
specific to states. So, it's not like in India states don't have the power to 
do it, but since the Union has greater power, we aren't in that sense, a pure 
federal country, like say the US."

In the US, 19 states have abolished the death penalty, the latest being 
Nebraska in May this year.

While states in India do not have that power, Tripura, the only Communist-ruled 
state in India, is punching above its weight. This isn't the 1st time the state 
has extensively discussed the controversial issue, but Tripura-based political 
analyst Tapas Dey political analyst and former Congress legislator said it's 
the 1st time the message has been sent out so loud and clear, cutting across 
party lines. The resolution was accepted by all members of both the Left Front 
and the Congress except Congress MLA Ratan Lal Nath who abstained.

"The state has been discussing the issue for a while now. When Dhananjay 
Chatterjee (convicted in West Bengal for rape and murder) was hanged in 2004, 
mild discussions were there in the political circles but this time all the 
parties came together," said Dey.

The ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) has always opposed the death 
penalty. Party legislator Monoranjan Debbarma said whether or not death penalty 
will be abolished is a decision for the Centre to take, but that Tripura wanted 
to send across a message.

However, Tripura Governor Tathagata Roy, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party 
(BJP), recently sparked a controversy by saying that some of those who attended 
Memon's last rites were potential terrorists, who must now be keenly watched by 
intelligence agencies.

"The resolution is a very important development and shows that people's opinion 
matters," said secretary of the All India Progressive Women's Association 
Kavita Krishnan.

Moving the resolution on Friday, Congress MLA Jiten Sarkar, who was previously 
with the CPIM, pointed out that the overwhelming majority of countries have 
abolished death penalty. "Even as the death penalty is given in case of rare of 
the rarest case, we need to change the Act from humanistic outlook. Everyone in 
this world has the right to live. Capital punishment does not yield effective 
results and could not reduce the tendency of heinous crimes," he said. A copy 
of the resolution will be sent to the Union home ministry calling for amendment 
to Section 302 of the IPC to do away with the death penalty.

Yakub Memon, a 1993 Mumbai blasts convict was hanged on 30 July becoming the 
4th death row convict to be executed in the last 15 years, following Dhananjoy 
Chatterjee (2004), Ajmal Kasab (2012) and Afzal Guru (2013).

Between 1998 and 2013, Indian courts have handed 2,052 death sentences, 
according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) records. In 2014 alone, 
as per the human rights group Amnesty International, 64 death sentences were 
awarded. While former president Pratibha Patil rejected 14% of the mercy 
petitions from death row convicts, president Pranab Mukherjee has rejected 92%, 
the most by any president since independence, according to an IndiaSpend 
analysis.

South Asia director at Human Rights Watch, Meenakshi Ganguly lauded the Tripura 
legislators' move, saying it might open the window for other parts of India to 
look at the northeast and their problems. "A large part of India doesn't even 
know where Tripura is located on the map. These progressive decisions coming 
from a small state will not only set a precedent, but also make other states 
look at north-east and the problems these states are facing."

However, some analysts believe the move is "ornamental", because ultimately the 
power to abolish the death penalty lies with the Centre. "Tripura is an 
isolated case. I am not sure if the state's decision will be binding on 
decisions taken by the centre. It may have some ornamental value but in terms 
of actual execution of rule, I don't think it is tenable," said Bidyut 
Chakrabarty, who teaches political science at Delhi University.

In 2011, the Tamil Nadu assembly adopted a resolution recommending commutation 
of the death sentence awarded to Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan, convicted in 
the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. The death sentence was commuted to life. 
But after the state decided last year to release all seven convicts in the 
assassination case, the Supreme Court rejected it upholding a legal challenge 
by the Central government. As the case on the Centre's petition opposing Tamil 
Nadu government's decision of releasing the convicts is ongoing in the apex 
court, senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing Tamil Nadu said, "If states 
come together against the death penalty, it will create political pressure ... 
but that is highly unlikely. This development in Tripura is a small booster in 
the armoury of the death penalty abolitionist movement."

(source: livemint.com)






IRAN----executions

3 Hanged in Public in Karaj----3 people found guilty of rape were executed in 
public in the Golshahr neighborhood of the Iranian city of Karaj on July 29, 
2015.


3 people found guilty of rape were executed in public in the Golshahr 
neighborhood of the Iranian city of Karaj on July 29, 2015, the Young 
Journalists Club, affiliated with the state-run Islamic Republic of Iran 
Broadcasting reported. The individuals were not identified by name.

According to Karaj Prosecutor Haji Reza Shahkarami, who was present at the 
scene, the death sentences had been approved by Branch 24 of the Supreme Court.

"These 3 [condemned] individuals had picked up a woman passenger in the 
wilderness outside of Hashtgerd and sexually assaulted her after stealing her 
belongings. They were hanged in public this morning after their sentence was 
approved by the Judiciary," the Young Journalists Club reported.

According to the report, the alleged incident took place in 2011 and the 
accused were arrested after the woman made a complaint.

In his March 2015 report Ahmad Shaheed, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on human 
rights in Iran, described as unprecedented the wave of 1,005 executions in Iran 
during the previous 14 months.

The alleged reasons for most of the executions did not meet the criteria of 
"serious crimes" according to international standards, the report noted. 
Capital punishment for crimes related to drugs (for which the vast majority of 
executions in Iran are carried out), "immoral" sexual behavior, alcohol 
consumption, or "corruption on earth" is in violation of international law and 
many in Iran are on death row for committing these types of crimes, Dr. Shaheed 
added.

The UN Special Rapporteur also noted that at least 14 of the victims were under 
the age of 18 at the times the crimes were committed. In addition, the UN and 
international human rights organizations have decried the fact that executions 
are often carried out following prosecutions that lacked any semblance of due 
process.

In a statement on July 23, 2015, Amnesty International also condemned the 
execution of 694 people between January 1 and July 15 of this year.

(source: Iran Human Rights)

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

see: 
http://www.amnestyusa.org/get-involved/take-action-now/iran-quash-the-death-sentence-of-mohammad-ali-taheri-ua-21214)

(source: Amnesty International)






NIGERIA:

Country's Addiction to the Death Sentence


As much of the rest of the world geared up to celebrate winter holidays in 
December last year, a group of 54 soldiers formerly deployed to fight Nigerian 
Islamists stood in front of a court martial in Abuja.

Among them, one young man listened in shock as the court found him guilty of 
mutiny and sentenced him to death by firing squad.

"We did not fire on anybody. And we didn't threaten anybody. They are just 
punishing us for an unknown sin," he explained over the phone from Lagos, where 
the soldiers are being held in military detention.

Their only "rebellion", he said, was to ask for weapons before undertaking an 
offensive against Boko Haram fighters who have caused the deaths of nearly 
15,000 people during a 6-years of fighting in Nigeria's northeast.

After almost 8 months in custody, their panic is rising.

"Things are going as if we are not in the civilian regime any more," the 
soldier said, referring to previous periods of military rule.

"Soldiers were never sentenced like this before," argued Femi Falana, a human 
rights lawyer who represents the soldier and the 53 convicted with him.

In total, Nigeria sentenced 70 soldiers to death in 2014, in trials which were 
perceived by many as an attempt to shift blame for the failure to curb Boko 
Haram's bloody expansion

"They are being persecuted for the failure of the state," Falana stated.

Those convictions have contributed to a huge spike in the number of death 
sentences awarded in Africa's most populous nation.

Some 659 people were sentenced to hang or die by firing squad in 2014, Amnesty 
International found in a report earlier this year, compared with 141 the year 
before.

China is believed to sentence and execute thousands of people annually, but it 
keeps its data secret. In 55 countries tracked by Amnesty last year, Nigeria 
accounted for over a quarter of the total 2,466 death penalties handed out.

Chinonye Obiagwu, a lawyer who chairs Nigeria's Human Rights Agenda Network, 
explained that this is partly because Nigeria imposes a mandatory death 
sentence on non-heinous crimes like armed robbery. Adultery and sodomy are also 
punishable by death under the Islamic law in effect in the predominantly Muslim 
north.

"There is huge public support for the death penalty - about 65 %," he explained 
from his Lagos chambers. Such sentiment may be boosted by feelings of 
insecurity over the course of the insurgency, Obiagwu added.

"When there is armed conflict there is always a tendency for the society to 
support capital punishment, not only for military offences but also for crimes 
like armed robbery. So armed conflict increases the possibility of conviction 
and sentence," Obiagwu said.

Punishing the poor

This worries activists who believe that the system is skewed to discriminate 
against the poor.

Police, looking to close cases quickly, regularly stage arbitrary raids, the 
activists told Al Jazeera.

The rich who are picked up can afford bribes, bail and lawyers. Those who 
cannot often bear the scars of brutal torture by security forces who extract 
confessions under duress.

Moses Akatugba, who was illegally sentenced to death as a minor in 2005, and is 
now free, was a victim of one such pick-up. Aged just 16 at the time of his 
arrest for armed robbery, he recalls being shot in the hand before being taken 
into police custody, where he was beaten and tied up in an interrogation room.

"They brought the statement and wanted me to say I was the one to write it, but 
I was not," he remembers. "In the same hand I was shot, they pulled out the 
nails with pliers. It was a hell of a thing I went through."

Justine Ijeomah of the Port Harcourt-based Human Rights Social Development and 
Environmental Foundation reckons that, like Akatugba, 90 percent or more of 
those on death row are poor.

"Politicians steal billions, increase poverty, and they are free," he raged 
from his modest office, where international awards lie gathering dust against 
the wall. "The victims are victims of a bad system created by corruption," 
Ijeomah said.

Fighting back

In reality, only a handful of men have been hanged since the return to civilian 
rule 16 years ago, the last of them in 2013, so most of those on death row will 
never be executed.

In part, that's because appeals processes can take years. But governors are 
also increasingly wary about the ramifications of signing death warrants.

The relatively liberal Lagos State bans executions by hanging or firing squad, 
and has a historical policy of commuting death sentences to life imprisonment, 
according to Ayo Obe, a lawyer who previously chaired an advisory committee on 
the exercise of the prerogative of mercy.

Delta State's former governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan, pardoned 90 death row inmates 
in 2010, Ijeomah said, and later refused to sign a bill that applied the death 
penalty to kidnappers.

In May, the day before Uduaghan stepped down, he granted a pardon to Moses 
Akatugba.

The 54 condemned soldiers were heartened when the army announced this weekend 
that it would review their sentences.

Still, broad support for capital punishment makes a wholesale abolition 
impossible, Obiagwu argued.

"We also have some religious issues involved, for instance in the Muslim 
religion, challenging the death penalty can mean challenging the religion," he 
explained.

Lai Mohammed, national publicity secretary for the new Nigerian government that 
has been in power since May 29, did not respond to calls and text messages on 
whether it would review Nigeria's death sentence.

Behind closed doors

For many of those behind bars, knowing that they will never actually hang is 
scant consolation.

As convictions clock up, the number of people on death row in Nigeria has 
ballooned to between 1,000 and 1,500, campaigners estimate. Appeals processes 
take years and case files can often be lost, condemning inmates to languish 
there indefinitely.

In Lagos' Kirikiri Maximum Security Prison, Shamuradeen Tunde Olukolu, a softly 
spoken death row inmate dressed in tattered traditional robes, describes his 
living quarters as "not conducive".

"We have 6 people in a cell of 8x9 feet," he said from the prison chapel, which 
unlike the cells is well-kept using money from charity.

There are no beds, and - at night - no toilet. "We just have to use a plastic 
bowl between 6pm and 8am," he said. "Sometimes, we just suffocate."

At 68, Olukolu doesn't know if he will see the outside of the compound ever 
again.

(source: Al Jazeera)

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

Lawmaker seeks review of death sentence for soldiers


A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) member of the House of Representatives, Uzoma 
Nkem-Abonta, has appealed to President Mohammadu Buhari to order review the 
verdict of the military court which prescribed death penalty for soldiers who 
allegedly defaulted while prosecuting the fight against insurgency in the North 
east

. Meanwhile, the outgoing General Officer Commanding (GOC), 81 Division, 
Nigerian Army, Major General Tamunomieidi Dibi has charged officers and men of 
the Nigerian Army in Lagos and Ogun states to be wary of Boko Haram sect and be 
vigilant to ensure that the insurgents do not infiltrate Nigeria's economic hub 
and its environs. Nkem-Abonta, who faulted the decision of the 2014 military 
court-marshal, pointed out that "Under the circumstances those men fought, 
anybody would rebel.

"We were also told that there were infiltrators. So, if you look at the 
totality of what happened, there should be a review of those cases." In a chat 
with newsmen in Abuja yesterday, the lawmaker, representing Ukwa East/West 
Federal Constituency in Abia State, explained that "in war situation, the 
chances of survival for a soldier is 50-50.

But the soldier must be equipped and put in a position that would make him do 
his best and come back alive. But where the soldiers sense betrayal on the part 
of the leadership, are they supposed to die quietly, and without talking? "We 
are yet to get the full story of what transpired in the military tribunal, it 
should be made available so that we can know the statements of the 
court-marshaled soldiers, and the various defence available to them.

"Some of them acted on impulse. So, the authorities should tamper justice with 
mercy by carrying out a total review of the law so as to give encouragement to 
their compatriots still in the theatre of war. Their cases should be reviewed 
and the sentences could be reduced.

But the authorities must be careful about it so that we do not cause 
disobedience in the military," he added. Gen. Dibi gave the charge yesterday in 
his farewell speech to officers and men on parade. The GOC, who completed his 
mandatory 35years in service yesterday, handed over the leadership of the 81 
Division to the newly appointed GOC, Major General Edet, at the headquarters of 
the division in Kofo Abayomi, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The retired GOC revealed that dozens of members of the Boko Haram sect were 
arrested during his 18 months service at the 81 Division. "You are all aware of 
the challenges we are going through, the problem of Boko Haram. The fact that 
you are not in the North east does not mean you are not fighting the war. We 
are all involved in the war because wars of this nature do not have a front or 
a rear.

So far, we are winning the war, and I want you to do more. Be more vigilant and 
ensure security of your environment, your Barracks. "I do not want to be in my 
village to hear about any careless death. I want to hear that this division I 
am leaving is the most efficient in the Nigeria Army.

I give God the glory for making it possible to serve Nigeria for 35 years and 
retiring today. I also thank all of you for supporting me. "Some of you have 
done so well by cooperating, some of you lagged behind. For those lagging 
behind, please change your attitude towards work, be more dedicated because you 
do not have any other job than this job, neither do you have any other army.

The army is a voluntary organization which you decided to join, nobody forced 
you to join, therefore, do not allow anybody to force you to do your job. If 
you do your job, you are not doing anyone any favour. It is your job and you 
should do it well." According to Gen. Dibi, "Military job is a challenging 
task, and Lagos State itself is a peculiar state.

We have had our challenging times but we were able to overcome them. Under my 
watch, we were able to prevent the incursion of Boko Haram insurgents into 
Lagos. A good number of them were arrested here in Lagos". Having served for 35 
years and retiring now, the legacy I expect my successor, the new General 
Officer Commanding 81 Division, to uphold is to ensure a highly disciplined 
professional, and efficient 81 Division."

(source: ngrguardiannews.com)