[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide----MONGOL., INDON., SING., INDIA

[Rick Halperin]

Dec. 4


MONGOLIA:

Historic vote abolishes death penalty


Mongolia's parliament became the latest to consign the death penalty to the 
history books, in a major victory for human rights in the country, said Amnesty 
International today. On Thursday, lawmakers voted in favour of a new Criminal 
Code that abolishes the death penalty for all crimes. The new Criminal Code 
will take effect from September 2016, and would bring the total number of 
countries to have completely abandoned this ultimate cruel, inhuman and 
degrading punishment to 102.

"Mongolia's historic decision to abolish the death penalty is a great victory 
for human rights. The death penalty is becoming a thing of the past across the 
world," said Roseann Rife, East Asia Research Director at Amnesty 
International.

"Mongolia has set an example which we hope will quickly ripple across Asia. The 
countries that continue to execute have been shown a clear path to follow to 
end this cruel and inhumane punishment."

3 countries - Fiji, Madagascar and Suriname - have already abolished the death 
penalty this year.

The last execution in Mongolia was in 2008 and the death penalty remained 
classified as a state secret. Since then, the country has taken a series of 
steps towards abolition culminating in yesterday's historic parliamentary vote.

In 2010, the country's President, Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, commuted all death 
sentences and announced a moratorium on all executions. In 2012, Mongolia 
ratified an international treaty committing the country to the abolition of the 
death penalty.

President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj has repeatedly said Mongolia must turn its back 
on the death penalty in order to fully respect the right to life. He argued 
that the threat of executions does not have a deterrent effect and the risk of 
a miscarriage of justice is inherent in any system of justice.

"President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj exposed the fallacy of the death penalty. The 
political leadership shown in abolishing the death penalty in Mongolia needs to 
be repeated elsewhere in Asia. Countries that continue to execute are on the 
wrong side of history," said Roseann Rife.

A minority of countries continue to use the death penalty, in ways that are 
completely contrary to international law and standards. Earlier this year, 
Indonesia resumed executions amidst worldwide criticism, while Pakistan has 
executed at least 300 people since it lifted a moratorium on executions in 
December 2014. In East Asia, China, Japan, North Korea, and Taiwan have all 
carried out executions in 2015.

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception, 
regardless of the nature or circumstances of the crime; guilt, innocence or 
other characteristics of the individual; or the method used by the state to 
carry out the execution.

(source: Amnesty International)






INDONESIA:

'Drug Queen' sentenced to death for leading syndicate


The Supreme Court has once again sentenced to death Meirika Franola, 
notoriously dubbed Indonesia's "drug queen", after being spared the death 
penalty during Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's presidency.

Supreme Court spokesman Suhadi said that the court's decision to give the death 
penalty to Meirika, commonly known as Ola, was not based on her initial crime, 
for which she had been granted clemency by Yudhoyono in 2011, but for 
controlling a drug smuggling ring from inside Tangerang Penitentiary.

"The person in question [Ola] was sentenced to death at the end of November 
because she was found guilty of trafficking drugs from inside a prison," he 
said on Thursday.Ola was originally sentenced to death on Aug. 22, 2000, by the 
Tangerang District Court for attempting to smuggle 3 kilograms of cocaine and 
3.5 kilograms of heroine to London through Soekarno-Hatta International 
Airport. Then president Yudhoyono decided to grant her clemency as she had 
expressed remorse for her crimes, and her sentence was downgraded to 
life-imprisonment.

However, just a year after she was granted clemency, the National Narcotics 
Agency (BNN) apprehended drug smuggler Nur Aisyah attempting to smuggle 775 
grams of crystal methamphetamine from India to Indonesia at the Husein 
Sastranegara International Airport in Bandung.

Aisyah reportedly admitted that she was merely a courier in the drug smuggling 
ring and had received orders to carry the drugs from Ola. She was allegedly 
introduced to Ola through her boyfriend, who was serving his sentence at 
Tanjung Balai Penitentiary in Asahan, North Sumatra, and was instructed to fly 
to Bangalore, India to pick up the drugs before returning to Indonesia with the 
drugs in a backpack.

In March this year, the Tangerang District Court found Ola guilty of money 
laundering, but innocent of drug trafficking. However, the court decided not to 
punish Ola as she was already in prison for life. Dissatisfied with the 
results, the prosecutors filed an appeal to the higher courts demanding Ola be 
given the death penalty, a request that was eventually granted by the Supreme 
Court.

Suhadi explained that it was likely the Supreme Court had decided to give Ola 
the death sentence because she had not changed her ways during her time in 
prison.

"She has not been deterred by her time in prison and has continued her 
smuggling business," he said.

Law expert from Muhammadiyah University in Jakarta, Chairul Huda, said that it 
was within the Supreme Court's legal rights to hand down the death penalty to 
Ola, even though she had previously received clemency.

"The [Supreme Court's decision] is legitimate because the decision was not 
based on the previous crime," he said.

Local media have also reported that Ola's lawyer, Troy Latuconsina, may be 
considering filing a case review. Arie Soeripan of the Anti-Narcotics National 
Movement applauded the Supreme Court's decision but said that it was not enough 
as the drug situation in the country was "critical".

The BNN estimates that between 3.8 million and 4.2 million people aged between 
10 and 59 had used or were actively using drugs in 2014.)

(source: thejakartapost.com)






SINGAPORE:

Kovan murder trial: Iskandar to appeal death sentence


Iskandar Rahmat, the former police officer at the centre of the Kovan double 
murder trial, received the death sentence on Friday morning for the murder of a 
father and son in 2013.

Handing down his verdict, Justice Tay Yong Kwang, who presided over the trial, 
said that there was enough evidence to prove that the murder of 66-year-old Tan 
Boon Sin was premeditated.

Iskandar's lawyer, Shashi Nathan had, in his oral sumbission last month, 
appealed for the murder charge under Section 300 (a) of the Penal Code to be 
lowered to that of Section 300 (c).

Section 300 (c) of the Penal Code prescribes that an act is murder if it is 
done with the intention of causing bodily injury to any person and the bodily 
injury intended to be inflicted is sufficient in the ordinary course of nature 
to cause death.

The death penalty is not mandatory under Section 300 (c).

In June 2013, Tan was found dead in the garden of his home at 14J Hillside 
Drive in, while the body of his son, 42-year-old Tan Chee Heong, was found 
beneath a car more than a kilometre from there, near the Kovan MRT station.

Justice Tay said that it was clear that Iskandar had no intention of committing 
a grab and go robbery and had instead wanted to silence Tan and his son.

Iskandar had, on the pretext of being an intelligence officer, told the elder 
Tan that his safe deposit box at a Certis Cisco facility at Jalan Afifi had 
been compromised.

He then convinced Tan to install a dummy CCTV camera in his deposit box.

The former investigation officer with Bedok Police Division then went back with 
the elder Tan to the victim's house at Hillside Drive where the murder took 
place.

Tan's son who appeared at the house unexpectedly later, was also attacked and 
murdered by Iskandar.

"There was no way he wanted to commit a grab and go. When Mr Tan's son appeared 
at the house later he was collateral damage," said Justice Tay.

The former senior staff sargent had, in his defence, said that he was attacked 
by the elder Tan with a knife and he had acted in self defence.

"The number of stab wounds on the bodies of the victims showed that the accused 
attacked his victims ruthlessly.

"He cruelly, deliberately and forcefully attacked his victims, " said Justice 
Tay.

Emotional scene

Iskandar's family members who attended the hearing on Friday were allowed by 
Justice Tay to speak to him for 20 minutes at the end of the trial.

They were emotional and were crying as they spoke to him while he remains 
restrained behind the accused stand.

Iskandar was heard comforting them and managed to smile as seven of his family 
members took turns to speak to him.

Iskandar Rahmat's family leaving the court on FridayIskandar Rahmat's family 
leaving the court on Friday

His family members refused to speak to reporters and only left the premises 2 
hours after the hearing ended.

Most of his family members covered their faces with scarves while his father 
concealed his face with a hat when they eventually left at about 2 pm.

Members of the Tan family were also present in court on Friday but made a hasty 
exit after the hearing and refused to speak to reporters.

Defence to appeal

Iskandar's lawyer, Shashi Nathan, told reporters that he was instructed by his 
client to appeal against the death penalty.

"We are disappointed with the decision but we respect the decision by the 
court. Iskandar is affected by the decision but he is putting on a brave front 
for the sake of his family," he said.

Lawyer Shashi Nathan speaking to reportersLawyer Shashi Nathan speaking to 
reporters

Shashi said that he and his team are going to study the judgement and prepare 
their appeal which will most probably take place in January next year.

(source: Yahoo News)






INDIA----death penalty job

Research Associate (Litigation) Vacancies at Centre on the Death Penalty, NLU 
Delhi


Centre on the Death Penalty at the National Law University, Delhi has invited 
applications from the eligible candidates for the post of Research Associate 
(Litigation). No of Post: 02 Remuneration: Rs. 50,000-Rs.60, 000 per month.

Essential Qualifications

The candidate must be graduated with an LLB degree. Enrolment with any State 
Bar Council. Those with full-time litigation experience of 2 years or more will 
be given preference.

Ability to read/ write/ speak regional Indian languages will be an advantage 
but is not mandatory

How to Apply

Interested candidates may send their resume and statement of purpose(Not 
exceeding 500words) to the Registrar (registrarnlud at nludelhi.ac.in ) with a 
copy marked to deathpenalty at nludelhi.ac.in . The subject of the e-mail should 
be "Centre on the Death Penalty- Application for Research Associate 
(Litigation)".

The cover letter must state (Attn: Director, Centre on the Death Penalty.);

OR Can send at the postal address "Registrar, National Law University, Delhi, 
Sector 14, Dwarka, New Delhi-110 078".

The envelope must have super scribed on it, "Centre on the Death Penalty 
Application for Research Associate (Litigation)" and addressed to the 
Registrar, National Law University, Delhi.

The cover letter must state (Attn: Director, Centre on the Death Penalty.)

Last date for submission of application: 24th December 2015.

(source: livelaw.in)