[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Aug. 25



IRAN----impending execution

A Kurdish Political Prisoner Scheduled to Be Executed in Uremia Prison


Behruz Alkhani, death row political prisoner has been transferred to the 
solitary confinements of Uremia Prison in order to be executed.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Behruz 
Alkhani has been transferred to the solitary confinement this morning and his 
family has been called for the last visit.

Behruz Alkhani, son of Fares, born in 1985 in Salmas, was arrested along with 
15 others on January 27, 2010. He was first charged with cooperation with PJAK 
but after some months faced a new charge, namely "involvement in murdering Khoy 
city's prosecutor". He was sentenced to death by branch 1 of the Revolutionary 
Court of Uremia with chief judge Chabok.

His case was then sent to the Supreme Court where the death sentence was 
canceled and his case was sent to branch 10 of the Appeal Court of East 
Azerbaijan Province. The appeal court upheld the death sentence.

Behruz Alkhani appealed once more and the case was again sent to the Supreme 
Court. It was said that the Supreme Court has made yet no decision.

He was also sentenced to 10 years in prison on charge of holding gun. However 
close sources to him state that at the time of arrest there were no guns found 
on him.

(source: Human Rights Activists News Agency)






THAILAND:

Thailand tourist murders: Accused men's bid to access Met report rejected


The men accused of the murder of 2 British tourists on the island of Koh Tao in 
Thailand have failed in a High Court bid in London to gain access to a 
confidential report prepared by the Metropolitan Police.

The report was prepared to reassure the victims' families about the 
investigation conducted by the Thai authorities into the deaths.

Burmese migrants Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo, both 22, deny killing David Miller, 24, 
from Jersey, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, from Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, in a 
trial that began last month and is still continuing.

The bodies were found at a beach on the popular tourist island in September 
last year.

Lawyers for the accused men, who could face the death sentence if found guilty, 
asked Mr Justice Green to order disclosure of the police report in the hope 
that it might help their defence.

Rejecting the application, the judge said: "There is nothing in the report 
which is exculpatory or would be of material assistance to the claimants in the 
operation of their defence in the course of the trial."

The judge said the matter had been dealt with as a matter of urgency as the 
prosecution had almost completed presenting its case and the accused would open 
their defence shortly.

He said: "The stakes are very high for both sides. For the claimants they could 
hardly be higher: life or death."

The application for disclosure had been brought under the 1998 Data Protection 
Act.

The judge said the case raised an important legal point about the extent to 
which police authorities, when co-operating with foreign police authorities, 
"must make the fruits of their labour available" to individuals whose personal 
data appears in police reports.

The Metropolitan Police argued they were entitled to refuse access because of 
the need for confidentiality during international co-operation between police 
forces, and a court order for disclosure would have "a very serious adverse 
effect" on future co-operative ventures.

Lawyers for the accused men said such an argument could not prevail in death 
penalty cases.

The judge said: "My ultimate conclusion is that there is nothing in the 
personal data which would be of any real value to the claimants."

The objections to disclosure raised by the police "are valid and, on the facts 
of the case, suffice to outweigh the claimants' otherwise strong interest in 
access".

The judge said he had made his decision feeling "very considerable unease" as 
he did not have a true "hands on" feel for the trial in Thailand. He said that 
doing "the best I could" had not been "a comfortable process".

He added: "I have not been assisted by the lack of evidence about the Thai 
proceedings or as to the evidence that has in fact been tendered by the 
prosecution or as to the main lines of defence". Rosa Curling, of Leigh Day 
Solicitors, who acted for both accused men, said there would be no appeal.

Ms Curling said: "Our clients are disappointed not to be able to verify their 
data themselves.

"But they are reassured that at least a British judge has now looked at the 
information held by the Metropolitan Police, applying anxious scrutiny, and 
determined that it would not assist them in their ongoing proceedings in 
Thailand."

The legal charity Reprieve also expressed disappointment, and spokeswoman Z oe 
Bedford said: " Concerns about the conduct of the Thai investigation and the 
safety of any convictions resulting have been raised from the very beginning of 
this case, including by the Foreign Office.

"The defence team has not seen the information in the Metropolitan Police's 
possession - only the defence lawyers in Thailand are in a position to judge 
whether the information could be of assistance. It is disappointing that they 
have been denied this opportunity."

(source: Express & Star)






INDIA:

Dec 16 gangrape convict shifted to another jail----Convict Vinay Sharma had 
alleged that he was assaulted regularly by the prison inmates


Tihar Jail authoriries today told a Delhi court that 1 of the 4 death row 
convicts in the December 16 gangrape and murder case, who had claimed he was 
being regularly assaulted by the inmates, has been shifted to another prison 
where CCTV cameras are installed for surveillance.

The superintendent of Tihar Central jail number 5 informed the court in a 
single-page report on the plea by convict Vinay Sharma seeking transfer from 
the jail where he was lodged.

Sharma, who is also facing trial along with 3 others in a separate robbery 
case, had sought transfer to ward number 2 of jail number 5 apprehending threat 
and had alleged that he was assaulted regularly by the prison inmates.

"The same matter has already been decided by competent authority and Vinay 
Sharma has been shifted from Central Jail number five to Central Jail number 3 
on August 21 and Akshay is presently lodged in Central Jail number 2 with the 
direction to (conduct) proper surveillance and to keep in separate cell where 
CCTV cameras are installed," the report filed before Additional Sessions Judge 
Reetesh Singh said.

"It is pertinent to mention here that convicts Vinay Sharma and Akshay Kumar 
Singh alongwith other co-accused were previously transferred from Central Jail 
number 5 to Central Jail number 2 on May 13, 2015 by the direction issued from 
the PHQ for their safety and security due to lack of separate cells in Central 
Jail number 5," it said.

The court is hearing final arguments in the robbery case in which the 4 
convicts of December 16 gangrape and murder case -- Akshay Thakur, Vinay 
Sharma, Pawan Gupta and Mukesh - are facing trial.

They were awarded death penalty by trial court in the gangrape and murder case 
which was later confirmed by Delhi High Court. Their appeals are pending before 
the Supreme Court.

(source: Press Trust of India)