[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Dec. 11




INDONESIA:

Leading Human Rights Activists Argue End to Death Penalty


Human rights activists have joined forces to condemn the use of the death 
penalty in Indonesia for major crimes, such as drug trafficking.

"We keep wondering what makes death penalty so popular here. What is wrong with 
our legal and politic system? The more democratic a country is, the more it 
should respect and protect the human rights of its people," Benny Sabdo, 
executive director of the independent political think tank Respublica Political 
Institute, said on Friday.

He criticized poor accountability and integrity among the country's law 
enforcement, pointing to the death penalty as not enough of a deterrent to end 
drug-related crimes.

Meanwhile, the Coordinator of the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of 
Violence (Kontras) Haris Azhar said most Indonesians were frustrated with the 
poor performance of law enforcement, given the high number of drug cases, and 
support the death penalty as it appears more efficient.

Patricia Rinwigati Waagstein, chairwoman of the Association of Southeast Asian 
Nation's (Asean) anti-death penalty campaign, myth-busted that stance, saying 
it is more expensive to fund the execution of one individual compared to the 
costs of housing and feeding inmates serving years, or even life, behind bars.

Ririn, as the chairwoman is known, said the death penalty does not guarantee 
others stop becoming involved in drug rings.

"As we can see, despite many people having been executed recently for drugs, 
the number of drug-related crimes continues to increase," she said.

Franz Magnis Suseno, an interfaith activist and a professor at the Jakarta's 
Driyarkara School of Philosophy, also disagrees with the death penalty simply 
because "one's life is holy and sacred, and therefore no one can take it away."

(source: Jakartas Globe)

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

Indonesia under fire over death penalty----Government says executions are 
needed to contain national drug emergency


The Jesuit head of the Jakarta-based Driyarkara Education Foundation has 
strongly criticized the government's use of the death penalty, saying that life 
always must be protected.

"There's an ethical belief, which is very basic, that someone else's life is 
holy and sacred. Therefore, no one has the right to take away someone else's 
life," Jesuit Father Franz Magnis-Suseno, a philosopher, said during a Dec. 10 
symposium in Jakarta.

The German-born priest said nothing can justify the killing of another human 
being. "The only one who can take away people's life is the creator, which is 
God himself."

Indonesia has executed 27 people since 1999. No executions were carried out 
between 2009 and 2012. However this year, the administration of President Joko 
Widodo has executed 14 people, including 12 foreigners on drugs charges.

According to the government, the death penalty is a necessary deterrent in 
containing a national drug emergency.

There are at least 121 death-row prisoners still waiting to be executed in 
Indonesia, according to Amnesty International, citing figures from Indonesia's 
Law and Human Rights Ministry. These include 54 people convicted of 
drug-related crimes, 2 on terrorism charges and 65 of murder.

Patricia Rinwigati Waagstein, chairwoman of the Association of Southeast Asian 
Nation's anti-death penalty campaign, lamented the government's use of the 
death penalty to minimize crimes.

"A punishment, whether it's heavy or light, cannot be made an indicator of an 
increase or a decrease of crimes," she said.

Therefore, she added, "such an argument is invalid."

Waagstein, who is also a professor of law at the state-run University of 
Indonesia, said that Indonesia - as a member of ASEAN - should be a role model 
for other member states with regards to a moratorium on the death penalty.

Haris Azhar, who coordinates the Jakarta-based Commission for the Disappeared 
and Victims of Violence, said that the death penalty was "not punishment, but 
revenge."

"In fact, the law doesn't aim at making perpetrators feel the crimes that they 
do to their victims," he said.

Agustinus Benny Sabdo Nugroho, executive director of the Respublica Political 
Institute and author of the newly released "Politics of Law on the Death 
Penalty," said the Inonesian government uses the death penalty for "political 
means."

"For example, President Widodo uses the death penalty to show people that he's 
strict," he said.

(source: ucanews.com)






IRAN----execution

Young man hanged in public at an archaeological site


On the eve of the International Human Rights Day, the Iranian regime's henchmen 
hanged a young man, aged 21, in public in Fars Province in southern Iran.

The public hanging was carried out early morning at the archaeological site 
known as Noorabad Tal (Noorabad hill) in Noorabad Mamasani County in Fars 
Province at the presence of officials of the Iranian regime's judiciary and 
State Security Forces.

The photos of the public hanging was published in local state media.

Also in the run-up to International Human Rights Day, a woman has been 
sentenced to stoning, lashing, and 25 years imprisonment in northern Iran, 
local state media reported.

The woman, who was identified only by the initials "A.Kh.", was sentenced in a 
court in Gilan Province along with 2 other men for alleged complicity in the 
murder of her husband.

1 of the 2 men, identified by the initials R.A., was sentenced to death while 
the other man was handed down a 25-year prison sentence.

Local state media reported the sentencing on Saturday, however the Iranian 
regime's judiciary has not officially published any information on the 
verdicts.

(source: NCR-Iran)

*********

Ground Shifts as 70 MPs in Iran Introduce Bill to End Executions for Drug 
Crimes


More than 70 Members of the Iranian Parliament have presented a bill that, if 
ratified by the full legislature and approved by the Council of Guardians (the 
constitutional body charged with approving legislation), could reduce the 
punishment for drug trafficking from death to life imprisonment.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran is paying a heavy price in the fight against 
drugs that are transported to Europe. The highest number of executions in the 
country are related to this issue. Therefore, a group of MPs have called for an 
end to capital punishment for drug-related crimes," Mir-Hadi Gharaseyyed 
Romiani, a Member of Parliament's Justice and Legal Affairs Committee, said on 
November 8, 2015.

He added that if the bill became law, the death penalty would be applied only 
for drug cases that involved armed trafficking.

"After this bill is ratified...a heavy load will be removed from the 
Judiciary's shoulder," Romiani was quoted as saying.

This is not the 1st time that Parliament is debating the possibility of ending 
the death penalty for drug-related offenses. The proposal was also brought up 
in the chamber a year ago but it did not move forward.

The largest number of executions in Iran involve drug-related crimes - more 
than 70 %, according to Mohammad Javad Larijani, Head of the Iranian 
Judiciary's Human Rights Council.

"My personal opinion is that there should be some practical changes to the laws 
related to the fight against drugs. This has to go through the legislative 
process but until then Westerners should respect our current laws," Mohammad 
Javad Larijani said in reference to US and Europe's criticism of Iran's 
extremely high number of executions. Iran has the highest per capita execution 
rate in the world.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has come under strong criticism from the UN and 
human rights organizations for carrying out the death penalty for drug-related 
offenses. In his March 2015 report, Ahmad Shaheed, the UN Special Rapporteur 
for human rights in Iran, noted that changes in Iran's drug laws in 2010 
increased to 17 the number of drug offenses that could be punished by death. As 
a result, in 2014 alone, 753 executions were carried out in Iran, the highest 
number in the past decade.

Human rights activists as well as legal experts have noted that Iran's tough 
anti-drug laws have not resulted in any reduction in drug-related crimes.

"A review of the number of drug-related executions must be conducted. We 
observe that, unfortunately, the issue [of drug trafficking] continues in our 
country. Therefore, we must say that intensifying punishments is not 
preventive," the prominent Iranian lawyer Nemat Ahmadi told the Iranian Student 
News Agency (ISNA) in April 2015.

Ahmadi added that even if Parliament and the Council of Guardians ratify the 
new law and abolish the death penalty for drug crimes, the bill would still 
need to pass an additional legislative hurdle in the Expediency Council (the 
body appointed by Iran's supreme leader that has supervisory power over all 
branches of government).

"More than 270,000 prisoners or 2/3 of the country's prison population is 
related to drug crimes and carrying out executions have not solved the 
problem," Ahmadi said.

(source: iranhumanrights.org)

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

Iranian MPs call for death penalty to be abolished in drugs cases


70 Iranian MPs have signed a proposal that would see the death penalty 
eliminated for people convicted of non-violent drug offences.

The lawmakers, a minority in Iran's 290 parliamentarians, signed the bill on 
Tuesday, the first time such a proposal has come directly from Iranian 
politicians.

At least 69 % of the almost 700 executions carried out in the first 6 months of 
2015 were for non-violent drugs offences, in a country where being found in 
possession of as little 30 grams of certain drugs merits the death penalty.

This year has seen a huge spike in drugs-related executions, with campaigners 
saying more people have been put to death than in the preceding 2 decades.

Although liberal commenters in Iran welcomed Tuesday's bill, the text of which 
has not been made public, human rights campaigners have urged caution, warning 
that the move could be part of a push to secure renewed funding for a 
controversial UN anti-drugs programme.

"It is interesting that this has come out of the parliament [rather than the 
judiciary] - but it is too early to be optimistic," said Mahmood 
Amiry-Moghaddam, spokesperson for the Norway-based anti-death penalty group 
Iran Human Rights.

"The motion proposes removing the death penalty for drugs offences apart from 
when the suspect is armed. And this is the big question mark: authorities 
always say those they execute for drugs offences were armed, but in almost 
every case we have had access to this hasn't been the case."

The Iranian judiciary has previously proposed moves to end the death penalty 
for non-violent offences, but suffered a setback in March when the Interior 
Minister, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, urged the courts not to show "mercy" to 
those convicted of drugs offences.

"Drug traffickers must be hanged and the judiciary should not have any mercy in 
dealing with these individuals," Fazli told a press conference, citing 
"pressure" on Iran to curtail the flow of narcotics into Europe.

Amiry-Moghaddam also suggested that the bill's timing was "no coincidence," 
with many UN-funded anti-drugs programmes due to end at the close of 2015.

Iran is a key player in the global war on drugs, and is part of programmes run 
by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) aimed at combatting cross-border 
trafficking.

The programme was mired in scandal a year ago, with protests over European 
states funnelled anti-drugs money into a country that regularly executes people 
for drugs offences, despite international law stipulating that the penalty 
should be used only for the "most serious crimes".

The UN project was not suspended, but many of its programmes will come to an 
end at the end of the year, with UNODC currently in talks to start up a new 
5-year programme in Iran.

"Iranian authorities are under pressure - Western countries don't want to be 
associated with hundreds of drugs-related executions every year," said 
Amiry-Moghaddam, suggesting that the bill could be linked to negotiations over 
renewing the UNODC funding.

"Any change in the law, if this motion is really presented and the Guardian 
Council approves it, is a positive step. But we must keep in mind that the 
issue is much more complex."

(source: middleeasteye.net)






GLOBAL:

Upwards of 600 million Muslims worldwide support the death penalty for converts


In April 2013, the Pew Research Center released the findings of a major 
worldwide survey of Muslims. The detailed results are startling.

We already know from my previous article that there is massive worldwide 
support for sharia law among the global Muslim community. While this is clearly 
problematic for the West as it struggles over the topic of high rates of Muslim 
immigration, it is made even worse by the fact that substantial portions of the 
Muslims who favor sharia also say it should apply to all citizens - not just 
Muslims. According to the Pew data, anywhere from 20 to 75 % of the hundreds of 
millions of sharia law supporters within the global Muslim community believe 
that sharia should be the absolute law of the land.

When it comes to adultery, "at least half of Muslims who favor making sharia 
the law of the land also favor stoning unfaithful spouses." Once again, this 
translates into hundreds of millions of Muslim supporters for the barbaric 
practice of stoning. In countries such as Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Egypt, 
support is in the 80- to 90-% range.

Honor killings also receive substantial levels of support among Muslims. In 
Afghanistan and Iraq, 60 % of Muslims believe that honor killings as punishment 
for pre- or extramarital sex are justifiable. For all the countries surveyed, 
significant percentages (ranging from 16 to 78 %) of Muslims were unwilling to 
state that honor killings are never justified if the female commits the 
offense. In other words, anywhere from 16 to 78 % of the Muslim population in 
these nations believes that honor killings are justifiable in at least some 
situations.

Conversion from Islam (aka religious freedom) is not taken lightly in the 
Muslim world. The Pew survey asked Muslims who say sharia should be the law of 
the land whether or not converts should receive the death penalty. Upwards of 
86 % said yes.

For all this survey data, it is fairly straightforward to convert the 
percentages favoring barbaric practices into actual numbers of Muslims. This 
gives us a better handle of what the West is up against in the clash of 
civilizations (or, more accurately, World War III).

If we take the data from the graph above showing the percentage of Muslims who 
favor making sharia the law of the land and executing converts and then 
multiply it by the percentage of Muslims in each country that want to make 
sharia the law of the land, and then multiply the result by the number of 
Muslims in each country, we can get an estimate of the number of Muslims in 
these 19 countries and one territory (Palestine) who believe that converts 
should be executed.

In Pakistan alone, there are 114 million Muslims who favor the death penalty 
for converts. Add in another 50 million each from Egypt and Bangladesh, 26 
million in Indonesia, and so on. Among these 20 regions harboring about 830 
million Muslims, more than 300 million support the death penalty for converts. 
With 1.6 billion Muslims in total worldwide, we can safely estimate that about 
600 million Muslims globally are supporters of the death penalty for converts. 
If we do the same type of math for the numbers of Muslims who support stoning 
for adultery and other honor killings, the enforcement of sharia law on 
non-Muslims, etc., the true scope of the threat that Western civilization is 
under becomes crystal-clear.

(source: americanthinker.com)






INDIA:

Man kills daughter over beef ban, sentenced to death


A man in Mewat who was charged with murdering his 7-year-old daughter in 
February last year was sentenced to death by a local court on Thursday. Ikram 
Khan was charged with killing the girl because he wanted to frame the village 
sarpanch and his associates in the case because they had penalized him for 
violating the panchayat's beef sale ban.

The Mewat district and sessions judge, M M Dhonchak observed that an inhuman 
act had been done by the convict with a view to settling scores with his 
enemies. "Convict killed an innocent child who was to seek protection from her 
father. ...The murder was committed with a pre meditated mind and in an inhuman 
and barbaric manner."

The case dates back to February 15, 2014 when Ikram and his men clashed with 
village sarpanch Khursheed Ahmed and his men over selling of beef in Manota 
village.Around 15 men from both the sides were injured in the clash and 
7-year-old Saiba was badly injured who later succumbed to injuries caused by 
sharp-edged weapons. In his statement to the police, Ikram accused Khursheed, 
Nasru, Hakkrudin and others of attacking him with sharp-edged weapons and 
murdering his daughter.

According to investigations by the crime branch, Ikram had continued to 
slaughter cows and sell beef in the village despite a panchayat resolution 
against it. Cops told the court it was established that when Ikram did not 
budge despite warnings, the villagers slapped a penalty on him and announced a 
social boycott. They had also slapped a case against him.

Khursheed and his men then surrounded his shop in protest. Ikram along with his 
brothers Imran and Irfan however confronted them and pelted stones. The police 
told the court that in the clash, Ikram murdered his youngest daughter by 
slitting her throat and accused Khursheed of having committed the crime. The 
officials then booked Khursheed for murder and Ikram for slaughtering cows.

However, during investigations, police said, Ikram confessed to the murder 
which was corroborated with weapons recovered from the spot. The judge has 
stated in the judgment that during the arguments on quantum of sentence, Ikram 
lost his cool and abused the chair. Ikram's lawyer Mohammad Irshad said they 
will challenge the udgment in the high court.

(source: The Times of India)



TRINIDAD & TOBAGO:

Judge on abolition of death penalty:----It's a yoke around our necks


Whether the continuing imposition of the death penalty which has not been 
carried out since 1999 continues to be a deterrent to capital offences was 
argued by Justice Frank Seepersad as he made a case for its abolition in T&T.

Advocating his case for its abolition, Seepersad said judges were yoked with 
the obligation of imposing a mandatory death sentence on an accused convicted 
of murder.

The contentious issue of the pros and cons of the death penalty was brought to 
the fore at a symposium focusing on human rights issues, organised by the 
Faculty of Law at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine, in 
partnership with the European Union, on Wednesday evening.

Seepersad said even though there had been no execution since 1999 and convicts, 
most of whom have been incarcerated for periods that exceed the Pratt and 
Morgan time line, continue to have the sentence of death ominously hanging over 
their heads.

"But this is the law of the land which a judge is constitutionally mandated to 
follow," he noted.

The symposium, which featured leading jurists, intellectuals and activists, 
involved key issues of human rights, including children's rights, LGBTI rights, 
the death penalty and prison/detention issues. Seepersad said the issue of the 
continuation of the death penalty was shrouded with a lot of emotion and had 
possible political ramifications.

"There is also a lack of empirical data as to whether it has proven to have had 
a deterred effect in this jurisdiction and one must therefore ask how effective 
a deterrent it has been, given that no one has been executed for close to 2 
decades and although it is the law, the number of murders continue, to 
increase.

"It must also be acknowledged that our retention of the death penalty is 
inconsistent with the position that has been adopted by significant sections of 
the developed world."

He said punishment that was cruel, inhumane and degrading should not be a facet 
of national life. He recalled Chief Justice Ivor Archie, at the opening of the 
2015/2016 law term, identifying the number of convicted people that were on 
death row and asked whether as a nation, T&T could stomach the number of 
executions that would be required, if the orders of the court were to be 
carried out. He said the case for abolition must be considered and in pursuit 
of the spirit of partnership with global partners in particular European 
partners'.

The judge said human rights challenges that face judges could be readily 
remedied if there was the political will to do that which was right.

"Judges have a responsibility to ensure that the law develops so as to meet the 
just demands and aspirations of an ever developing society and decisions of the 
court should accord with the international human right norms."

He said he hoped that the discussion started by the Law Faculty would pave the 
path for a meaningful review of issues such as the death penalty, 
discrimination based on sexual orientation and matters of privacy and that 
judges would be saved from embarking upon path of Judicial activism in an 
attempt to ensure that their decisions accord with internationally accepted 
norms.

(source: The Guardian)






NIGERIA:

Bill seeking death penalty for fake drugs dealers scales Second Reading


A Bill seeking to amend the Counterfeit, Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed 
Foods law in Nigeria, scaled the 2nd reading in the Senate on Thursday.

The amendment Bill, among others prescribes punitive punishment, including life 
imprisonment for anyone culpable of importing, producing and distributing 
counterfeit and fake drugs, as well as unwholesome processed foods in the 
country.

The Bill sponsored by Senator Biodun Olujimi is titled "A Bill for an Act to 
amend the Counterfeit and Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Process Foods 
(Miscellaneous Provisions) Act Cap C34 Laws of the Federation and for other 
matters connected therewith".

Leading debate on the Bill, Olujimi, who raised the alarm on the high level of 
fake and counterfeit drugs circulation within Nigeria, called for immediate 
action on the part of the government to stem the tide.

The Bill was unanimously endorsed, while Senators canvassed for even death 
penalties and confiscation of properties of all offenders as good measures for 
scaling down the growing influence of fake drugs business in Nigeria.

Senator Olujimi, however, said importers and manufacturers of fake drugs have 
found new ways of beating the mechanisms put in place to crack down on the 
trade, arguing that the laws against fake drugs deserve to be amended, a reason 
she proposed the Bill.

Olujimi described fake and counterfeit drugs as the highest weapon of terrorism 
against public health in Nigeria given its tendency to 'kill the masses'.

She said fake drugs have consistently been embarrassing healthcare providers, 
while eroding the confidence of the public on the health delivery system with 
the rate of treatment failures often experienced in most health care centres in 
the country.

She said the business of fake and counterfeit drugs has been growing in the 
country because of the law put in place to check the spread is weak.

She said the regulatory agency on drugs, NAFDAC, ought to have been empowered 
to enable it carry out its responsibilities with ability to impose stiffer 
penalties on offenders.

She said, "The Weakness of the law breeds lawlessness, resulting in impunity, 
oppression, exploitation and violation of human rights regarding the case of 
drugs counterfeit."

The Amendment Bill, according to the Senator also canvasses increase in the 
punishment for those who hawk, display, or sell drugs, not dully licensed or 
registered by appropriate authorities in the country.

While the old Act on Fake and Counterfeit drugs prescribes only a fine not 
exceeding N500,000, or imprisonment term of not less than 2 years for 
offenders, the Amendment Bill provides for a fine not exceeding N2 million or 
imprisonment for a term of not less than four years or both fine and 
imprisonment.

Part of the punitive punishment the Bill provides for offenders include making 
elaborate provisions for seizure of assets upon conviction.

The Bill also provides for disposal of proceeds of crime under the Act by 
NAFDAC and payment of the proceeds into the victims compensation fund.

However, other Senators who contributed on the bill insisted that punishments 
must be awarded to offenders, including the establishment of special courts to 
try violators of law on fake drugs.

Senator Ben Bruce summed up the dilemma on fake drugs in Nigeria, alluding to 
cases whereby Nigerians would travel to India and China to specifically order 
for fake drugs which they, in turn, would ship to Nigeria.

He said Nigeria's fight against fake drugs should also include the countries 
that have been collaborating with Nigerian dealers in flooding the markets with 
fake drugs.

Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki thanked Senator Olujimi for presenting the 
Bill, just as he referred it to the Committee on Health for next action.

(source: Daily Times)

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

Oshiomhole canvasses death penalty for murderous robbers


As the world marked International Human Rights Day yesterday, Governor of Edo 
State, Adams Oshiomhole, advocated death penalty for murderous robbers as 
enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution 1999 as amended.

Oshiomhole said it made no sense for the European Union, United Nations and 
other agencies to continue to define the standard for Nigeria on how to treat 
"murderous" elements.

Speaking at the event organised by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), 
Oshiomhole accused some of his fellow governors of hypocrisy on the subject of 
death penalty.

"We need to take a stand on this issue of capital punishment. Who defines it ? 
Unfortunately, the EU representatives have left. When a man robbed you, took 
your property and did not kill you, you can still work and get the property 
back.

Such a robber, if caught, should not be killed because he did not take any 
life. But if you rob someone of his property, dehumanise and kill such a 
person, then you should be killed. The EU and so-called international community 
cannot tell me otherwise.

"Let me place it on record that I have signed executions and I will continue to 
sign executions. Any man who takes away another man's right to life should 
himself not live. I have received such judgments and I have signed their 
executions and I will continue to do so. When I signed one of such cases, the 
EU ambassador called me and said the international community is shouting and 
that we are signatories to the UN declarations. And I asked him: who is the 
international community? I'm not a signatory to such declarations that allow a 
murderer to go free."

Oshiomhole also called for trial of former Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi 
Okonjo-Iweala, "for re-looting or facilitating the re-looting of billions of 
the recovered Abacha loot."

He charged the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to speak out against the alleged 
misconduct of the former minister and ensure she is brought to book.

(source: The Guardian)






CHINA----execution

China student executed for deadly poisoning of water dispenser


A Chinese medical student who murdered his roommate at a prestigious Shanghai 
university by poisoning a drinking water dispenser was executed Friday, the 
official Xinhua news agency reported.

Lin Sinhao was convicted by a Shanghai court of murdering fellow student Huang 
Yang "out of spite" by spiking a water dispenser with the toxic chemical 
N-Nitrosodimethylamine in April 2013.

He was put to death after failing in a series of appeals, and met members of 
his family before being executed, Xinhua said.

Shortly after his execution was announced, state broadcaster CCTV aired an 
interview with him in which he expressed remorse on camera and said his death 
would mean "paying off the debts".

"I owe a lot to Huang Yang's parents. I wish I could do something to compensate 
them and wish they can continue their life in a healthy and positive manner," 
Lin said.

"I should take responsibility for what I did."

The supreme court said Lin's action was "abominable" and his crime "extremely 
severe" as he knowingly used a hazardous chemical to poison the victim and 
intentionally concealed the fact during Huang's two weeks of hospital 
treatment, Xinhua said.

N-Nitrosodimethylamine is primarily used for research. Exposure in humans may 
cause liver damage and affect the blood, according to the US Environmental 
Protection Agency.

The crime drew comparisons in China to a 20-year-old case in which a student 
studying at Tsinghua University in Beijing was allegedly poisoned with thallium 
by a classmate in 1994 when the 2 were studying chemistry.

The victim in that case, Zhu Ling, remains alive with severe brain damage. The 
suspected poisoner -- who was said to be related to a senior Chinese official 
-- was never tried and later moved abroad.

The US-based rights group the Dui Hua Foundation estimates that China put 2,400 
people to death in 2013.

The figure was a fraction of the 12,000 in 2002, but Beijing considers the 
statistic a state secret, and is so reticent on the issue that it has not 
publicised the long-term decline in its use of the death penalty.

It still executes more people than the rest of the world put together, rights 
groups say.

(source: Daily Mail)






BELARUS:

We Continue To Urge Minsk To Impose Moratorium On Death Penalty


The Great Britain and countries of the European Union continue to urge the 
government of Belarus to impose the moratorium on death penalty and stop using 
it.

It has been written by David Lidington, a British politician, Minister of State 
for Europe, in his article dedicated to Human Rights Day. The article was 
posted at the website of the Foreign Office, BelaPAN informs.

In Belarus, like in other countries of the world we are carrying out a campaign 
against death penalty, he writes. Last year 3 persons were executed in Belarus. 
According to the Report on Human Rights by the Foreign Office of the Great 
Britain for the year 2014, execution could take place without prior informing 
of the family. The United Kingdom and the EU countries continue to call upon 
the government of Belarus to abolish capital punishment and impose moratorium 
on executions, Mr Lidington writes.

In his article he makes a special mention of persecution of Azerbaijani human 
rights defender Leyla Yunus and historian Arif Yunus, and a Ukrainian pilot 
Nadia Savchenko, who was abducted in Ukraine in 2014 and illegally transported 
to the territory of Russia. At the moment Savchenko is on trial in Russia.

Lidington noted that work of the global network of embassies, missions and 
consulates of the Great Britain is aimed at improvement of respect to the basic 
inalienable rights of each person without exception.

One of his key responsibilities as a Minister for Europe is to popularize human 
rights in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, he wrote. Carrying out diplomatic 
work and supporting projects in the region, the Great Britain is doing 
everything possible in order to ensure equality before the law and the right 
for a fair trial, the minister informed.

He stressed that governments have a right and responsibility to defend their 
citizens from threats and crimes. But the real success in guaranteeing public 
security is defined by the way in which it is achieved. The state which 
respects the rights of its citizens, promotes independence of the judicial 
power and equality before the law, is sure to stay more secure, respectable and 
prosperous. That is why reinforcing the principles of a rule-of-law state and 
ensuring access to justice is, and is to remain in the future - the priority in 
our work worldwide, Lidington stressed.

(source: David Lidington, charter97.org)