[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Dec. 8



GUYANA:

Why does the EU want us to get rid of capital punishment so badly?


Dear Editor,

There are few things that rattle my feathers, shock me or make me mad. But when 
I read the Chronicle of December 3 that the "EU pledges cash if Guyana 
abolishes death penalty," I was shocked and mad.

According to the Deputy Head of the Division for the Caribbean European 
External Action Service, Fernando Ponz Canto, "the European Union (EU) is 
willing to give political and financial support to any country that abolishes 
the death penalty, including Guyana."

It's unthinkable that the EU could make such a bold, blatant and boldfaced 
offer to bribe Guyana to abolish its death penalty laws. I guess the EU knows 
Guyana's secret, which is, it would do anything for money. And the EU is taking 
advantage of the weakness.

Editor, the EU is taking advantage of a poor country. Just as poor people are 
taken advantage of by the rich because of their poverty, a poor country like 
Guyana is being taken advantage of by a rich country because it is poor. 
Editor, the EU isn't only bribing our country to abolish capital punishment, 
but it is also bullying us to abolish it. It's a sad day when Europe is trying 
to europeanise a developing country in the 21st century.

As I write this letter, I'm so annoyed by the article that my blood pressure is 
going up because another taxi driver was just found murdered. How can people 
call for an end to capital punishment when the murder rates are so high?

I still don't understand why the EU wants us to get rid of capital punishment 
so badly. What is the urgency of ending capital punishment? Is it because it is 
archaic? It can't be because capital punishment is still legal in the United 
States of America, unless the EU is saying that America is also an archaic 
country. More importantly, the US Supreme Court still upholds the death penalty 
in those states where it is still legal and in the federal system.

Editor, one of the reasons why I felt angry is that the EU would never ever ask 
America to get rid its capital punishment. The EU wouldn't disrespect America. 
Why, then, do they want to disrespect Guyana? Why is the EU is picking on 
little Guyana to abolish capital punishment when we've not executed a single 
person in over 2 decades? And during that period a large number of people were 
murdered. In 2014, 35 inmates were executed in the United States.

In Guyana, we have only one organisation to support the family members of 
victims.

We need more organisations to support family members whose children were 
murdered. The EU cares more about saving the lives of cold-blooded murderers 
than rebuilding the lives of victims' family members. Why not give the money to 
help the family members rebuild their lives?

Why not give the money to an organisation to set up a victims' reparations 
fund?

Yours faithfully,

Anthony Pantlitz

(source: Letter to the Editor, Stabroek News)






SAUDI ARABIA----executions

Saudi executes 2 as annual toll hits 150 ---- 2015's rate of executions is the 
Saudi kingdom's highest in 2 decades.


Saudi Arabia on Tuesday executed a convicted Pakistani heroin smuggler and a 
Saudi murderer, adding to a toll which rights group Amnesty International says 
is the kingdom's highest in 2 decades.

The interior ministry said the Pakistani, Khan Iqbal, was put to death in the 
holy city of Mecca for smuggling a large amount of heroin in his intestines.

In a separate case, Saudi national Haydar al-Ridwan was executed in the eastern 
city of Qatif.

He had been convicted of gunning down two Saudis after an argument, the 
interior ministry said.

According to AFP tallies, the cases of Iqbal and Ridwan bring to 150 the number 
of locals and foreigners put to death this year, against 87 for all of 2014.

London-based Amnesty says the number of executions in Saudi Arabia this year is 
the highest since 192 people were put to death in 1995.

The toll has rarely exceeded 90 annually in recent years, it said.

Reasons for the surge are unclear.

Over the last few weeks, however, there had been a marked drop in executions, 
all of which are reported by the official Saudi Press Agency.

Saudi executions are usually carried out by beheading with a sword.

Rights experts have raised concerns about the fairness of trials in the kingdom 
and say the death penalty should not be applied in drug cases.

Last month the European Union issued a statement saying a number of people had 
been put to death recently in Saudi Arabia after convictions for drug 
trafficking.

"The European Union is opposed to capital punishment in all cases and without 
exception," it said.

(source: Middle East Online)

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

Saudi executes Pakistani heroin smuggler


Saudi Arabia today executed a convicted Pakistani heroin smuggler, adding to a 
toll which rights group Amnesty International says is the kingdom's highest in 
2 decades.

The ministry of interior said Khan Iqbal was put to death in the holy city of 
Mecca for smuggling a large amount of heroin in his intestines.

According to AFP tallies, Iqbal is the 149th local or foreigner put to death 
this year, against 87 for all of 2014.

London-based Amnesty says the number of executions in Saudi Arabia this year is 
the highest since 192 people were put to death in 1995.

The toll has rarely exceeded 90 annually in recent years, it said.

Reasons for the surge are unclear.

Over the last few weeks, however, there has been a marked drop in executions, 
all of which are reported by the official Saudi Press Agency.

Rights experts have raised concerns about the fairness of trials in the kingdom 
and say the death penalty should not be applied in drug cases.

Last month the European Union issued a statement saying a number of people had 
been put to death recently in Saudi Arabia after convictions for drug 
trafficking.

"The European Union is opposed to capital punishment in all cases and without 
exception," it said.

(source: Agence France-Presse)






IRAN---execution

Prisoner Hanged in Southern Iran


A prisoner with an alleged murder charge was reportedly hanged at Bandar Abbas 
Central Prison on the morning of Monday December 7. A report by the Judicial 
department in the province of Hormozgan identifies the prisoner as A.B. The 
prisoner was reportedly charged with murder and also sentenced to death in 
2008. The death sentence was reportedly issued by Branch 1 of Hormozgan's 
Criminal Court and confirmed by Branch 13 of Iran's Supreme Court.

(source: Iran Human Rights)

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

Renewed death sentences for juvenile offenders show 'contempt' for children's 
rights


Iran cemented its shameful status as the world's top official executioner of 
juvenile offenders after two young men were re-sentenced to death for crimes 
committed when they were under 18 years old, Amnesty International said today.

Sajad Sanjari and Hamid Ahmadi, who had been granted retrials because of their 
young age when the crimes occurred, will face execution after trial courts 
presiding over their separate cases concluded they had reached "mental 
maturity" at the time of the crime.

"This ruling lays bare the Iranian authorities' contempt for the human rights 
of children, coupled with their appetite for the death penalty - a toxic 
combination that leaves numerous juvenile offenders facing execution," said 
Said Boumedouha, Deputy Director of Amnesty International's Middle East and 
North Africa Programme.

"Iran's continued use of the death penalty against persons convicted of crimes 
committed while they were under 18 years of age is cruel, inhumane and 
blatantly unlawful. The death sentences of both these men, and all other 
juvenile offenders on death row in Iran, must be commuted immediately."

A provision on juvenile sentencing in Iran's 2013 Penal Code allows judges to 
replace the death penalty with an alternative punishment if they decide that 
the juvenile offender did not comprehend the nature of the crime or its 
consequences, or that his or her "mental growth and maturity" are in doubt.

However, the courts in these cases dashed the hopes of both defendants - and of 
human rights advocates who have long called for the abolition of the death 
penalty against juvenile offenders - by reissuing the 2 death sentences with 
little explanation.

"The re-sentencing to death of Sajad Sanjari and Hamid Ahmadi makes a mockery 
of a fundamentally flawed provision that gives judges the discretion to impose 
the death penalty for crimes committed by minors. No such discretion must ever 
be given under any circumstances. The assessment of their mental state years 
after the crime is an inherently defective way of determining criminal 
responsibility," said Said Boumedouha.

"These retrial proceedings have been hailed as juvenile justice advances but 
increasingly we are seeing them turning into a cruel show that ends with 
juvenile offenders once again finding themselves on death row."

Sajad Sanjari, now aged 20, was first sentenced to death in January 2012 after 
being convicted of murder for fatally stabbing a man in Kermanshah Province. He 
was 15 years old at the time of the crime.

Hamid Ahmadi, 24, was first sentenced to death in August 2009 in connection 
with the fatal stabbing of a young man during a fight between 5 boys in 
northern Gilan Province. He was 17 years old at the time.

Iran is a state party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the 
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both of which prohibit 
the imposition of the death penalty against persons who were below 18 years of 
age at the time of the crime absolutely, allowing for no exceptions. However, 
Iran continues to impose the death penalty against juvenile offenders and 
frequently defer the execution until after they pass the age of 18.

"These cases highlight the continuing and urgent need for laws that will 
prohibit the use of the death penalty against juvenile offenders, once and for 
all," said Said Boumedouha.

"Until such time, juvenile offenders remain at risk of the death penalty even 
when their applications for retrial are granted."

Iran tops the grim, global table of executioners of juvenile offenders. In 2015 
at least 4 juvenile offenders are believed to have been executed. They included 
Javad Saberi, hanged on 15 April, Vazir Amroddin, hanged in June/July, Samad 
Zahabi, hanged on 5 October, and Fatemeh Salbehi, hanged on 13 October.

"It is absolutely shocking that in the months and weeks leading to the review 
session before the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Iranian 
authorities shamelessly continue to sentence juvenile offenders to death and 
schedule and carry out their executions," said Said Boumedouha.

Iran is scheduled to be reviewed by the Committee on 11 and 12 January. The 
Committee has already expressed deep concerns about the use of death penalty 
against juvenile offenders and asked Iran to provide information on the outcome 
and progress of the cases of juvenile offenders undergoing re-trial.

(source: Amnesty International USA)