[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Aug. 27



IRAN:

Amnesty describes execution of Behrouz Alkhani as vicious act of cruelty


Amnesty International has condemned the execution on Wednesday of Iranian 
Kurdish dissident Behrouz Alkhani in a prison in the city of Orumiuh, western 
Iran.

Mr. Alkhani, 30, from Iran's Kurdish minority, was executed early this morning 
local time despite the fact that he was awaiting the outcome of an appeal by 
the regime's Supreme Court.

"The organization has also learned that the authorities have so far refused to 
return Behrouz Alkhani's body to his family," Amnesty International said.

???Today's execution of Behrouz Alkhani, who was still waiting for the outcome 
of a Supreme Court appeal against his sentence, is a vicious act of cruelty by 
the Iranian authorities and a denigration of both Iranian and international 
law. It is appalling that they have imposed further pain and suffering on 
Behrouz Alkhani's family by refusing to return his body for burial," said Said 
Boumedouha, Deputy Director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North 
Africa Programme.

"The fact that the authorities have carried out the execution despite the 
pending appeal against a sentence imposed in a grossly unfair trial and 
international pleas to halt the execution, shows their utter disregard for 
justice. His execution is just further proof of the authorities' determined 
resolve to continue with a relentless wave of executions which has seen more 
than 700 put to death in Iran so far this year."

(source: NCR-Iran)






MALAYSIA:

Review for death penalty


While Bukit Aman supports a review of the mandatory death sentence for drug 
offences, it wants the penalty to remain a legal option.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar (pix) said abolishing the 
death sentence would send a wrong signal to drug dealers.

"We would support the proposed review but we'd prefer the death sentence to 
still be made available to the courts.

"The anti-drug war is ongoing as drugs continue to be a major menace 
threatening the young people of this country.

"Abolishing the death sentence would be a step backward," he told The Star when 
asked to comment on calls to review the death sentence for drug offences.

In Malaysia, those who traffic in drugs can be sentenced to death by hanging 
upon conviction.

Former IGP Tun Hanif Omar said the death penalty for drug offences had to be 
reviewed entirely.

"There are so many cases where the mandatory death was imposed but it has not 
stopped people from risking it in order to make money," he said.

Jail sentences would also not deter drug trafficking, he added.

"We can consider putting them (drug traffickers) under a very long prison term 
but are we prepared to do what the US has done to drug traffickers?" he asked. 
According to Hanif, the United States placed drug offenders in dungeons far 
away from light and company.

On the British legal framework on which Malaysia's judiciary is based, Hanif 
said the late British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher also had conflicting 
views on the death penalty at different points in history.

"They too experimented with and without the death penalty but the ultimate goal 
is to find a way to solve the root of the problem and deter people from 
committing the offence," he said.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Paul Low has recently called 
for the mandatory death sentence to be reviewed for drug offences, noting that 
the rising number of convictions had raised questions as to the effectiveness 
of the death sentence as a deterrent to drug trafficking.

(source: The Star)