[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Dec. 14



IRAN:

At Least 7 Prisoners Set to be Executed Wednesday


According to confirmed reports, at least 7 prisoners in Karaj's Rajai Shahr 
Prison have been transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for their 
executions. Close sources to IHR say the prisoners are accused of committing 
acts of murder. The death sentences are reportedly scheduled to be carried out 
on Wednesday December 16." The names of 3 of the prisoners have been identified 
as: Milad Mostakhdam (Ward 6), Hamid Baladast (Ward 1), and Massoud Ostadkarim 
(Ward 3).

Some reports say there are a total of 10 prisoners who are currently in 
solitary confinement in Rajai Shahr while awaiting their execution sentences to 
be carried out.

(source: Iran Human Rights)






CHINA:

Wife of fallen China politician Bo Xilai has sentence commuted


The wife of former Chinese political heavyweight Bo Xilai has had her suspended 
death sentence for murdering a British businessman commuted to life 
imprisonment, the latest episode of a drama that rocked the Communist party 3 
years ago.

Gu Kailai was condemned to death with a 2-year reprieve in 2012 for murdering 
British businessman Neil Heywood, who had been close to the family.

The prison where Gu is serving her term applied last year for her penalty to be 
reduced. The Higher People's Court of Beijing said in a statement dated Friday 
that it had commuted her punishment to life in jail, according to statements 
posted on the website of China's supreme court.

The prison said Gu "obeyed discipline", qualified in "ideological, cultural and 
technological studies" and "completed labour tasks in a timely manner".

The Beijing court said Gu was "eligible for the legal conditions for a 
commutation" since she "did not commit any crimes" while incarcerated.

The suspended death sentence is typically commuted to life in prison in China, 
although the period of time served varies.

The law states that a death sentence for murder cannot be commuted to less than 
20 years in jail, but legal experts say there have been cases where the courts 
have ordered shorter sentences.

Gu's case triggered the scandal that brought down her husband Bo, a charismatic 
but divisive politician, and exposed deep splits in the ruling Communist party 
before a generational handover of power in 2012.

Bo had been tipped for promotion to the elite group of party leaders that 
effectively rules China until the allegations against his wife burst into the 
open.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of bribery, embezzlement and 
abuse of power in 2013.

Bo's top aide Wang Lijun -- who fled to a US consulate, reportedly seeking 
asylum -- was imprisoned for 15 years in 2012 for defection and covering up 
Gu's killing of Heywood, among other offences.

Former railway minister Liu Zhijun, who was given a suspended death penalty in 
2013 in a separate corruption scandal, also had his sentence commuted, the 
Beijing court said.

(source: Daily Mail)






NIGERIA:

Cattle Rearer Sentenced To Death For Killing Farmer


An Ebonyi State High Court sitting in Abakaliki, presided over by the State 
Chief Judge, Justice Alloy Nwankwo, at the weekend sentenced a nomadic cattle 
rearer, Musa Barugun, to death by hanging for alleged murder.

Barugun had, in February 2013, allegedly killed one Chibueze Nkwegu at Sharon 
in Izzi local government area of the state.

The convict was said to have attacked and killed the deceased with sharp knife 
which he used in stabbing Nkwegu in the chest and stomach.

The convict was said to have been returning from Abakaliki and got to Sharon 
late in the night and decided to pass the night at his friend's house where he 
was when the deceased was passing and he hurriedly chased after him attacked 
and killed him.

The deceased had been complaining of destruction of his crops by cattle and had 
several times pleaded with Barugun to stop his cows from destroying his cash 
crops, but the pleas fell on his deaf ears leading to misunderstanding between 
the deceased and the herdsman.

Barugun then confronted Nkwegu with a knife days later and murdered him. The 
herder was later arrested and arraigned for murder.

Barugun who hails from Kogi State was later remanded in prison custody till 
last weekend when he was convicted.

He could not put up defence to counter the evidence before the court on the 
matter, as the knife (dagger) used in committing the act was found in his 
possession, while the clothes he wore on the day of the incident which was 
heavily stained with human blood were also tendered as exhibit during his 
trial.

Accordingly, the court found him guilty and sentenced him to death by hanging.

However, the leader of Hausa community in Ebonyi State, Alhaji Danjuma Gambo 
described the death of Nkwegu as unfortunate, but said the convict will appeal 
the judgement.

(source: leadership.ng)

********

Why we advocate capital punishment for treasury looters - NLC President


Comrade Ayuba Wabba is the National President of the Nigeria Labour Congress 
(NLC). In this interview which was conducted in Ilorin, he spoke on the 
reconciliation in the NLC, the good governance campaign of the congress and its 
insistence on capital punishment for treasury looters.

Would you say the crisis in the NLC is over?

We never had a faction. We only had disagreement. That is not to say we are 
divided over issues that would build bridges of unity and address the core 
challenges of Nigerian workers. All of us, especially Comrade Isa Aremu, have 
been in the same struggle. He has been part of every struggle aimed at 
addressing the core issues affecting workers.

Has the disagreement been settled?

Certainly, by the special grace of God. We have settled. We will forge ahead 
with a very strong platform, where all of us - workers and citizens of this 
country - would be happy. You saw the action we took jointly, which was for 
good governance and against corruption. You saw how all of us were on the same 
page to address issues of good governance.

This is the hallmark of our movement. All of us are committed to making sure 
that we are united at all times to advance issues of workers and the larger 
Nigerian society. I told you earlier that the only mass movement organisation 
in Nigeria today that commands troops is the NLC. Individual civil society 
organisations finds it difficult to mobilise people. The truth is that people 
are always ready to identify with a course that would advance their interest. 
That is why the good governance rally succeeded across the length and breadth 
of this country.

There is no division. We are the same when it comes to core issues of workers - 
how to represent the interest of workers, how to forge a common unity. We will 
not do anything that would undermine our strength because undermining our 
strength means that we are undermining the strength of Nigerian workers.

During the anti-corruption rally you held recently, there was agitation for 
death penalty for treasury looters. Are you seeking a legislative backing for 
this?

In our argument, we said clearly that part of the reasons we are in this 
quagmire is because a lot of people have helped themselves with the resources 
that are meant to drive development. Schools are not effectively working, there 
are no drugs in hospitals, the roads are bad. People have helped themselves by 
looting our common resources. The resources do not belong to the government; 
they belong to us as Nigerians. We have the right to demand for accountability 
and good governance. The major problem in Nigeria is corruption. They steal our 
money in billions. People now loot in dollars. In fact, directly from where the 
petroleum product is sourced, they transfer the money into their accounts. We 
have seen facts.

We are against the issue of plea bargaining. It encourages treasury looters. 
Let us adopt what happens in China. In China, your family will even pay for the 
bullet that would be used to kill you. That is the penalty for people that 
steal, irrespective of the amount. We must have a starting point in Nigeria. 
Corruption is a challenge we must face squarely in this country. We will 
continue to advocate capital punishment. We will not lower the stake because 
they could manipulate any other form of punishment, including life 
imprisonment. If it has been successful elsewhere, why can't we do it? The fact 
is that when you fight corruption, it will really fight back. So, don't be 
surprised that those canvassing for other forms of punishment apart from death 
sentence would not have substance to advance their argument. They argue that we 
shouldn???t take people's lives because God does not allow it; but they are 
killing people. People are dying as a result of bad roads. A lot more are dying 
because there are no drugs in our hospitals. The fact of the matter is that 
corruption has killed a lot of people and we must stand by the truth and 
continue to advance what is right in our country. That is our position.

You said some politicians have a different understanding of the change mantra 
of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Can you explain further?

Yes, change means food on the table of the ordinary Nigerian. It is not money 
in the pockets of few. That is a reality. We may all be canvassing for change, 
but individuals understand it differently. The politician would naturally want 
more money in his pocket, but workers and the downtrodden want to change the 
poverty level of our country. Today, many people are living below 1 dollar per 
day - over 70 % of Nigerians? We cannot continue like that. There is the need 
to change the equation and put food on the table of the ordinary Nigerian. Our 
children should be able to go to public schools. Most of those in authorities 
today went to public schools. I attended a public, and when I finished, I 
remember I enjoyed bursary up to tertiary level. And I was employed after 
school. That's what change means. Today, the situation is not the same despite 
the fact that the resources accruing to Nigeria have increased. The money is in 
people's pockets.

What we are saying in essence is that there should be positive change. In many 
countries there is free education, from primary school to the university. 
Botswana is one of such countries. Unfortunately, in our own country, they have 
created a class division where the children of the poor can no longer go to 
school. Your children cannot go the university if you don't have money. To even 
get quality education, you have to go to a private university. Those are the 
challenges. For you to access quality health care, you must go to a private 
hospital. Was that the situation 20 or 30 years back? No. In those days, there 
were free and quality drugs in our hospitals. There was no issue of fake drugs.

The issue of fake drugs came because some people wanted to enrich themselves 
overnight. If they were given contracts to import drugs, they would import 
drugs that had expired. It is still a challenge today. We should be able to 
address the issue of corruption. And we must be consistent in the struggle 
because people are still ready to steal. Except we are able to do the needful, 
it would be very difficult to change the status quo.

What does the demise of Comrade Aremu's mother signify?

Going by the testimony, Comrade Aremu gave us, it is clear that he got 
inspiration for labour struggle from his mother. Despite losing his father at a 
very tender age, everything went smoothly because his mother stood by him, 
educated him, taught him all the morals and how to always fight for his rights. 
For me, this is what we expect from our parents and people we see as role 
models. This is highly impressive, and that is why we are here to celebrate her 
life and time.

The 2nd and very important issue is the fact that she lived a very transparent 
and memorable life. She was a hardworking woman. She believed that a labourer 
was worthy of his wages. And she tried to put her best into everything she did. 
You can see that in Comrade Issa. He also tries to imbibe some of these very 
important attributes. So for us, it is a celebration of life, which also calls 
for sober reflection. Unfortunately, the intimacy that existed between Issa and 
his mother is lacking in our society today. These days, it is easy for parents 
to abandon their children to nannies or other caregivers to train. That is why 
we have social vices everywhere. We must return to the basics and teach our 
children good values.

In Nigeria, we have very rich values, cultures and traditions. Hard work is 
actually what our parents taught us for a very long time. In fact, our parents 
taught us to wake up early and be very punctual and hard working. Mama lived a 
very decent life.

>From what he said, it was Mama???s money that was used for her burial. She left 
over N500, 000 in her account. I think it is unprecedented that Mama left such 
amount of money at 91.

(source: dailytrust.com.ng)






PAKISTAN:

Sindh Leads in 'Terrorist Execution'


Pakistan's Sindh province, over the past 5 years has led in executing 
terrorists in the country, according to the latest statistics collected by the 
Ministry of Interior.

The ministry's figures depicts that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)-ruled 
province has more terrorists awaiting executions than the rest of the country.

Death sentences were carried out in 106 cases in Sindh until the last week of 
November this year, reported Dawn.

There was an unannounced period of prohibition on the death penalty, during the 
PPP government at the centre (from 2008 to 2013).

Most of the 106 executions have been carried out after the terrorist attack on 
the Army Public School in Peshawar in December last year.

The number of terrorists facing death penalty is likely to go up in the coming 
days as the 21st Amendment in January this year has set up 11 military courts. 
Out of 142 cases of terrorism heard by these military courts, 55 had been 
finalized and 87 are in process.

The death warrants of 4 terrorists was signed by Army Chief General Raheel 
Sharif on December 8.

(source: New Indian Express)





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

Supreme Court rejects Mumtaz Qadri's review plea against death penalty


Supreme Court (SC) on Monday has rejected death row inmate Mumtaz Qadri's 
review plea following his appeal in Punjab late governor Salman Taseer's murder 
case.

A 3-member bench headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa held hearing of Qadri's 
review plea.

Counsel for the defendant requested the court to form a larger bench led by 
Chief Justice (CJ) Anwar Zaheer Jamali to review the matter. Justice Khosa said 
that Qadri could not prove blasphemy on late governor's part.

Had blasphemy been proved, formation of larger bench could be considered, he 
added. He further said that Qadr's appeal has various misunderstandings. 
Justice Khosa said that the appeal states court gave a brief verdict whereas it 
was a detailed order and the court had not missed any single point.

The 3-member bench heard Qadri's appeal against death sentence and it could 
hear review plea as well, he added. Justice Khosa said that Qadri confessed to 
murder and was arrested from the crime scene with the weapon used for the 
killing.

Security was beefed up in the federal capital in light of expected protests 
today. Police contingents were increased on entry points of Islamabad.

In addition to police personnel, Rangers were also deployed for the cause. 
Vehicles enroute to the federal capital were checked at various points.

Law enforcers guarded key buildings while commoners were barred from entering 
the Red Zone. Police remained alert in Nadra Chowk, Serena Hotel and Faizabad 
among different sensitive areas.

It should be mentioned here that an anti-terrorism court (ATC) sent 3 persons 
to jail for5 years while 2 for 3 years in June after they attacked a 
candlelight vigil held in late Taseer's remembrance.

Qadri served in the security group of the late governor taking advantage of 
which he opened fire after Taseer's alleged controversial remarks over 
blasphemy laws. The late governor was assassinated in December 2011 in 
Islamabad.

In October, Justice Asif Saeed Khosa had taken a strong stance in the case. He 
had said that criticizing blasphemy laws and calling for amendment does not 
amount to blasphemy.

(source: Dunya News)

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

The problem with the death penalty ---- Every day, people commit heinous crimes 
across Pakistan despite the death penalty being in practice. When will we 
understand that the rope is not a social saviour?


My contention is if a person is to face trial with fair means fulfilling all 
international rules and fulfilling the ingredient of Article 10-A of the 
Constitution of Pakistan prescribed for a trial, hardly a person can then be 
sentenced to death by the trial courts of Pakistan. The reason for my 
contention is that handing down the death penalty is too high a penalty in the 
trial courts and furthermore it appears to me that the trial courts are too 
liberal and freely mete out the death sentence to people put to face trial.

The author has noticed that for, instance, if the trial court administers 10 
cases of offences punishable with the death penalty, the trial court, out of 
those 10 cases, will hand down the death penalty in 9 cases. Furthermore, the 
Criminal Code of Procedure (CrPC, 1898) guarantees that all death sentences 
handed down by trial courts must go to the High Court for confirmation. Of 
these decided cases sent to the High Court for confirmation of sentence almost 
seven will result in acquittals and/or incarceration for life. The question 
then arises: can we trust such a judicial system where the number of sentences 
swings from one extreme to another? In my opinion, the death sentence is 
imposed unnecessarily by the trial courts. This clearly points towards a full 
blown crisis in the trial courts of Pakistan. There are various reasons behind 
this kind of anomoly. To me it appears that the trial courts are reluctant to 
take full burden on their shoulders and wish only to get away with trial 
without ensuring the ingredients of fair trial. Furthermore, it is arguable 
that the trial courts of Pakistan hand down the death sentence in cases that do 
not call for it and inflict undeserved mental agony to those who are faced with 
such a sentence.

It is the need of the time to place a moratorium on the death penalty in 
Pakistan, which was lifted last year in the awake of the Peshawar massacre in 
the Army Public School (APS), killing more than 140 children. The government of 
Pakistan, in consultation with all the stakeholders, reinstated the death 
penalty after almost 5 years of a complete ban. The last PPP coalition 
government, in 2008, under immense international pressure from international 
human rights groups, especially the United Nations, placed a moratorium on 
capital punishment. Since the reintroduction of the death penalty in Pakistan 
more than 200 inmates have been executed and these people were those who were 
convicted for a single murder. Hardly a single inmate convicted of terrorism 
has been sent to the gallows by the civilian courts.

This article focuses on the civilian courts system, therefore I am ignoring the 
structure and procedure of the military courts, which were introduced last year 
by the government through a constitutional amendment. However, the government 
last year reinstated the death penalty with the view of combating terrorism and 
executing convicted inmates of terrorism - those who had been languishing in 
various prisons in Pakistan, particularly in Punjab. The government???s 
intention to send terrorists to the gallows has proven to be a failure over the 
last one year as a majority of those who have been sent to the gallows were not 
convicted of brazen acts of terror but just single murders. They might have 
been awarded the death sentence erroneously as the trial courts??? approach is 
too liberal and they often award the death sentence unnecessarily.

Keeping the death sentence in the criminal justice of Pakistan does not serve a 
deterrant purpose at all. The trial courts of Pakistan, in my opinion, lack the 
propensity to conduct a fair trial to ensure that innocent and falsely 
implicated people are not sentenced to death. The leading nations of the world 
have already abolished capital punishment and strong sentiment against it is in 
existence in nations that have it in their criminal justice system. The 
countries of Europe abolished it years ago except for Belarus. The majority of 
states in the US have abolished it as well and the remaining states slowly and 
steadily are moving towards a point where the general public will stop 
supporting it. The international community has quite often asked the government 
of Pakistan to place a moratorium on the death sentence as it breaches human 
dignity as well as being the most barbaric punishment, which, in the modern 
era, lacks support.

I truly believe that the reinstatement of the death penalty by the government 
of Pakistan to combat terrorism lacks thoughtfulness and strategy. Since its 
reintroduction the ratio of terrorism related activities in Pakistan to date 
have not declined at all. Every day, people commit heinous crimes across 
Pakistan despite the death penalty being in practice. When will we understand 
that the rope is not a social saviour? The government of Pakistan should really 
think about placing a ban on capital punishment and introduce policies and 
schemes that debar the ratio of crimes across Pakistan, including heinous crime 
of terrorism. It is not easy task to introduce a legal framework that actually 
helps to minimise terrorism and heinous offences. The legislature also needs to 
amend those laws dealing with terrorism that have proven ineffective. I think 
there is a need to amend Sections 7 and 6 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATC) and 
the judicial system to interpret the scope of them. It has been observed that 
the legal jurisprudence concerning terrorism is too narrow and is rather 
unclear. The judiciary should be compelled to interpret the laws concerning 
terrorism extensively so that heinous crimes of terrorism might not be confused 
with ordinary criminal acts.

Capital punishment should be banned as soon as possible. It is worthwhile to 
mention that capital punishment is medieval and a barbaric punishment that is 
no longer effective enough to debar the ratio of crimes in society. The 
reintroduction of the death penalty will not and has not helped the authorities 
to cater to terrorism in Pakistan. It is on record that terrorism related 
activities since 2014 have not decreased and therefore placing reliance upon 
capital punishment for combating terrorism is not an effective argument. The 
countries that abolished the death penalty years ago have a lesser crime rate 
when compared to countries that still practice it. There is a need to introduce 
a legal framework order that ensures only culprits of terrorism be punished 
instead of falsely implicated people or regular criminals.

(source: Sarmad Ali; The writer is an advocate of the High Court based in 
Lahore----The Daily Times)






INDONESIA:

Unfair trials lead to death-row convictions in Indonesia----Corrupt legal 
system, poor investigations 'work against the innocent'


Many prisoners in Indonesia on death row are there as a result of unfair 
trials, according to an Indonesian church official.

"Lots of people are still waiting for their execution. Many of them are the 
fruit of unfair trials," said Father Paulus Christian Siswantoko, secretary of 
the bishops' Commission for Justice, Peace and Pastoral for Migrant-Itinerant 
People, during a Dec. 13 discussion program at the bishops' conference's office 
in Jakarta.

"If those sentenced to death are finally executed and then research is done 
after their execution that shows they are victims of unfair trials, the state 
cannot do anything to pay for its sins," he said.

"This is something that we must reveal, we must tell the public. We must see 
that trials are not always fair," he said.

Father Siswantoko referred to the case of a 54-year-old Catholic layman named 
Christian, who was arrested in November 2007 on drug trafficking charges, 
convicted and later sentenced to death.

The bishops' Advocacy and Human Rights Forum are trying to help secure the 
man's release. Father Siswantoko said he was convicted on false evidence and 
received an unfair trial.

Azas Tigor Nainggolan, forum coordinator, said Christian, who is being held in 
Tangerang prison in Banten province, had a name that was similar to a known 
drug dealer wanted by police, who did follow proper investigatory procedures.

"Christian was not arrested at the crime scene and was never asked for a urine 
test, which is essential in drug-related cases," he told ucanews.com.

He said the forum was preparing to submit a judicial review for Christian's 
case and request clemency.

Nainggolan said that Indonesia's legal system remained corrupt. "This can be 
seen from unfair trials. And it would be very heavy if unfair trials have to be 
faced by those sentenced to death," he said.

He said the forum has uncovered at least 300 death penalty convictions that 
were the result of unfair trials.

Meanwhile, Talitha Kara, Christian's daughter, said her family hopes justice 
will prevail.

"We just want the state to enforce the law. I want my father to be sent home. 
That's all," she told ucanews.com.

(source: ucanews.com)






PHILIPPINES:

Show political will to save 78 OFWs on death row, gov't urged


The Aquino government needs to show political will in an effort to save the 78 
recorded overseas Filipino workers facing the death penalty, a migrants' 
organization said Monday.

3 of the condemned OFWs are from Davao Region, according to the Mindanao 
Migrants Center for Empowering Actions Inc.

Of the 78 OFWs who are facing executions, 21 are in China, 29 are in the Middle 
East, 24 are in Malaysia, 2 are in the US, and 1 each in Indonesia and 
Thailand.

Speaking in Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City, MMCEAI executive director Inorisa 
Elento said 1 of them was arrested as drug mule in China while the remaining 2 
were accused of killing their employers in the Middle East.

She said the government must protect lives of the OFWs who are seeking greener 
pastures abroad to provide for their families.

She added they came to know about the 3 OFWs from Davao Region when their 
families sought their assistance after they were sentenced to death.

Elento said one way the government can protect its people abroad is to keep 
track of how many Filipinos are working abroad and monitor their conditions in 
their workplaces.

She alleged that the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) doesn't 
know the exact number of OFWs in any given country.

She said government should show concern for its people abroad to prevent abuses 
against them.

She also encouraged those who are planning to go abroad to do their share in 
protecting themselves from harm by involving their families in their plans to 
work overseas.

She added the community also has its share in protecting its people by knowing 
how many OFWs go abroad.

She said the government and the OFWs must prepare for their reintegration when 
they return home by having enough savings and planning where to invest their 
money.

Elento recommended to the government to come up with a profile of the OFWs 
indicating their destinations abroad.

Judith Reyes, a former OFW for two decades, said she didn???t get enough 
support from OWWA when she was working in the Middle East.

She was imprisoned in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from May to October 2009 after her 
employer failed to pay for her residence certificate for 2 years without her 
knowledge.

Reyes worked in Saudi Arabia as tailor from 1995 to 2011. She also worked in 
Kuwait from 1992 to 2004.

On December 16, the MMCEAI will hold a stakeholders forum at the city council 
to tackle issues concerning OFWs.

Among the topics is the implementation of City Ordinance 056-08, also known as 
OFW Center Ordinance, which has long been delayed since its passage on April 
11, 2008.

The OFW Center is under the City Mayor's Office. One of its functions is to 
keep records and profiles of OFWs.

(source: mindanews.com)

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

Mar rejects revival of death penalty


Presidential candidate Mar Roxas has rejected the proposal to revive the death 
penalty in the country, stressing that it is not a proven deterrent to crime.

Instead, Roxas said the focus is on ensuring that criminals are not only 
arrested but are also being convicted if they are found guilty of committing 
the crime they are being accused of.

"The restoration of death penalty is not the key to a successful anti-crime 
campaign," said Roxas during the recent turnover of housing units in San Juan 
City.

"You may have the death penalty law but if you can't catch criminals and even 
if you arrest them and you fail to present proofs because of lousy 
investigation, then that's useless," he added.

Roxas was reacting to the position taken by his rival Davao City Mayor Rodrigo 
Duterte who said that he was inclined to restore the death penalty if elected. 
The tough-talking Davao City mayor was also quoted as saying that he wants a 
regular execution of criminals, especially those engaged in illegal drugs.

But Roxas has a different view of addressing the country's crime problem. "It 
is not the penalty, it is the certainty of arrest and conviction that is a sure 
deterrent to criminality," he said.

Roxas, during his term as Interior and Local Governments secretary, was the one 
who conceptualized the Oplan Lambat-Sibat operations which the Philippine 
National Police said resulted in the reduction of the weekly crime rate in 
Metro Manila by at least 60 %.

He also opposes the execution of criminals which Duterte is openly espousing. 
"I will not allow summary justice. What is this? Might is right? That those who 
have guns will prevail? If that is the case, then we should all go back to the 
Dark Ages wherein the most powerful prevails," Roxas added.

(source: Manila Bulletin)