[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Dec. 14



BANGLADESH:

Amnesty criticises use of death penalty in Bangladesh


Amnesty International has condemned what it said was "relentless use of the 
death penalty as the highest form of punishment in Bangladesh".

In a statement yesterday, it noted that since November 2015 alone, at least 50 
death sentences have been imposed by trial courts in the country.

"Although the crimes for which these individuals have been convicted are very 
serious and justice must be served, the taking of another's life by execution 
perpetuates violence and is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading 
punishment," it observed.

Citing the case of Oishee Rahman, who was sentenced to death on 12 November for 
the murder of her parents, it said there were reports that she was a juvenile 
when she committed the crime. "If there has been any error in determining that 
Oishee was over 18 when she committed the crime, she will not have another 
chance to seek remedy for the wrongful sentence if her appeals fail and she is 
executed."

The AI statement also said studies have consistently failed to demonstrate that 
the death penalty deters crime more effectively than other punishments. A 
comprehensive study carried out on the relation between the death penalty and 
homicide rates concluded that "research has failed to provide scientific proof 
that executions have a greater deterrent effect than life imprisonment".

(source: The Daily Star)






IRAN----execution

Young Prisoner Hanged in Public in Northern Iran


On Monday December 14, a young prisoner was hanged in public in Noshahr (a city 
in the province of Mazandaran) on murder charges.

According to close sources, the prisoner's name is Milad Khodavardi and he was 
arrested in 2012 for allegedly murdering a woman by the name of Mehri 
Mallamiri. A source who has asked to be annonymous claims that Khodavardi was 
under the age of 18 at the time of the murder.

Iranian state run media, IRNA, quoting Ali Akbar Alizadeh, the Public 
Prosecutor of Noshahr, has confirmed the execution. According to IRNA, 
Khodavardi was 20 years old when Iranian authorities executed him.

Iran is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child, which states 
that the death penalty shall not be issued to individuals under the age of 18 
at the time of their crime. Khodavardi's death sentence was reportedly 
confirmed by Iran's Supreme Court before the execution was carried out.

IHR was able to obtain a photo of Khodavardi after he was hanged to death.

(source: Iran Human Rights)






EGYPT:

Trial of Ibrahim Halawa in Egypt postponed


The trial of Ibrahim Halawa in Egypt has been postponed until Saturday 19 
December.

Mr Halawa was arrested by the Egyptian army as he took refuge in a Cairo mosque 
while Muslim Brotherhood protesters staged a "day of rage" outside in August 
2013.

It is feared Mr Halawa, who was on a summer holiday in the Egyptian capital 
when violence flared, will face the death penalty when a mass trial of 494 
alleged dissenters resumes on Tuesday.

It is the 10th time legal proceedings have been delayed since 2013.

A motion calling on the Egyptian authorities to release Mr Halawa is due to go 
before the European Parliament on Thursday.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs said the Government was represented in court 
by Ireland's Ambassador to Egypt, Damien Cole.

Minister Charlie Flanagan said: "The Egyptian government - including through 
contacts between the Taoiseach and [Egyptian] President al-Sisi - is in no 
doubt as to the Irish Government's strong interest in Mr Halawa's welfare."

Amnesty International criticised the postponement, saying Egypt "continues to 
flout international human rights laws with the continued detention of thousands 
who dared to peacefully protest".

A vigil was held outside the Egyptian Embassy in Dublin on Sunday by family and 
friends of Mr Halawa to mark his 20th birthday.

At the vigil, Somaia Halawa said the family are very concerned for her 
brother's well-being and she described the prison to which he has recently been 
transferred as one of the worst in Egypt.

(source: RTE news)






UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:

Death penalty for Emirati in terror case


The Federal Supreme Court has sentenced an Emirati to death for joining a 
terror organisation. The court's State Security Circuit found Zayed Yaslam Ali 
guilty and sentenced him in absentia.

A 2nd defendant in the case was sentenced to 10 years in jail. The court 
ordered the authorities concerned to confiscate the devices in his possession.

A 3rd defendant, a teenager, was sentenced to 2 years in jail. The court 
ordered the confiscation of the photos and equipment he had. In a separate 
case, the court sentenced an Indian, Mohammed Ibrahim Butan, to 10 years in 
jail for spying.

He was fined Dh500,000 and will be deported at the end of his prison sentence.

In other cases, the court acquitted Emiratis Mohammed Talib Al Samari and 
Mohammed Saad Al Marzouki of the charges of joining a banned terror 
organisation.

(source: Khaleej Times)



PHILIPPINES:

3 on death row overseas from Davao, group says


3 of the 78 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) on death row are from Davao 
Region, the Mindanao Migrants Center for Empowering Actions Inc. (MMCEAI) 
reported.

Mindanao Migrants executive director Inorisa Elento said 1 of the 3 Filipinos 
from Davao Region is on death row in China for allegedly carrying illegal 
drugs, while the 2 others are facing death in Middle East for murder.

Of the 78 OFWs nationwide, 24 are facing on death row in Malaysia, 29 in Middle 
East, 21 in China, one in United States (US), one in Indonesia and one in 
Thailand based on the earlier report released by the Malacanang.

According to the Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr., no case is 
imminent for execution, Elento said.

She added that the death penalty with a 2-year reprieve could be commuted to 
life imprisonment.

Elento, meanwhile, said their organization has also served 35 cases among the 
OFWs who had been victim of abuse, abandonment, trafficking, and illegally 
recruitment since January in 2015.

Though the figures have relatively decreased from the 40 cases recorded in 
2014, Elento said, such issues and concerns raised by the OFWs should be 
attended to.

In line with these concerns, the Mindanao Migrants sees the need for the 
national and local government to track and record those Filipino working 
abroad, including those who have plans to go abroad.

"The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa) only has figures of the 
documented OFWs, what about the others, those who did not pass through the 
legal channels," Elento said.

"Our challenge to the national and local government, especially to barangays, 
is to monitor their constituents. When we say tracking, apil na ani kadto bitaw 
naga-plano pa lang mu-abroad," she added.

Judith Reyes, 63, who has been a skilled worker in Kuwait for 12 years, said 
being an overseas Filipino worker is not easy. She added that she had been 
abused by their employer, too.

Reyes worked as tailor in Kuwait from 1999 to 2011. Her work started at 10 a.m. 
and ended at 10 p.m. but there were times, the work extended at 11 p.m. because 
of the employers demand.

"Until such time nawala name gibayaran sa among employer. Nakulong pa jud ko 
for 5 months kay wala na-renew akong ikama or residence certificate (Until our 
employer was no longer paying our wages. I was jailed for 5 months because I 
could not renew my residence certificate)," Reyes said.

"And when I went out from the jail, ginapabayad pa jud ko sa among employer ug 
300-riyals monthly kay kuno renta sa visa. Akong giduol akong concern sa Owwa, 
but then wala ko nila tagda (my employer was demanding 300 riyals claiming this 
as my monthly rental for my visa. I asked help from Owaa but they did not 
attend to my concern)," she added.

Based on her experience, Reyes said, the Owwa including the Department of 
Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration 
(POEA) cannot accommodate all the concerns of the OFWs. Elento said such issues 
and concerns face by the OFWs should be addressed by both national and local 
government.

She added that the government should have mechanisms in place to know how many 
migrant workers it has.

(source: The Sun Star)



ASIA:

Execution by Elephant: A Gory Method of Capital Punishment


Elephants have played a number of important roles in human history. In some 
cultures, the elephant is a revered creature. In Buddhism, for example, the 
vivid dream of Buddha's mother which foretold her pregnancy had a white 
elephant in it. Other cultures used the elephant's great strength and power in 
battle, or for huge construction projects. There are many examples of these 
activities - ranging from Hannibal's crossing of the Alps with his 34 African 
elephants in 218 BC, to the use of these creatures in the construction of 
Angkor Wat in the 12th century AD. However, it is perhaps less well-known that 
elephants were also used as deadly executioners.

Execution by Elephant in Different Societies

Execution by elephant was a form of capital punishment and a weapon of war for 
certain societies of the past. This method of punishment was occasionally used 
in the Western world, as several examples can be found in the ancient sources. 
For example, in the Historiae Alexandri Magni, the Roman historian Quintus 
Rufus Curtius wrote:

"Then Perdiccas, seeing them paralyzed and in his power, separated from the 
rest about thirty who had followed Meleager when he rushed forth from the first 
assembly which was held after the death of Alexander, and in the sight of the 
whole army cast them before the elephants. All were trampled to death by the 
feet of the beasts..."

Nevertheless, this was not a common method of execution in the West. On the 
other hand, execution by elephant was more frequently used in South and 
Southeast Asia, especially in India. This form of capital punishment is known 
also as gunga rao, and has been used since the Middle Ages.

The brutal Draconian laws of ancient Greece

The popularity of this mode of execution continued into the 19th century, and 
it was only with the increasing presence of the British in India that the 
popularity of this brutal penalty went into decline.

Purpose and Methods of Execution by Elephant

The most common way that the execution by elephant was carried out was for the 
beasts to crush its victim to death with brute force. Apart from enemy 
soldiers, civilians who commit certain crimes could also be punished in this 
way. These crimes included theft, tax evasion and rebellion. There are many 
wild beasts that could be used to kill a criminal - tigers, lions, crocodiles, 
snakes, etc. Yet, the choice of the elephant shows that there was something 
unique about this creature.

Compared to many other wild animals, the elephant is considered to be a smart 
and easily trainable. In addition, elephants could also be taught to torture 
criminals, or to execute them slowly. As an example, an elephant could be 
commanded to break a criminal[s limbs before ending his suffering by crushing 
his skull.

Another example can be found in the account of Francois Bernier, a French 
traveler who witnessed an execution by elephant in Delhi during the reign of 
the Mughals. According to the Frenchman, the elephants were trained to slice 
criminals to pieces with "pointed blades fitted to their tusks". Furthermore, 
the training of elephants could be used as a means of demonstrating a ruler's 
control over the forces of nature.

Execution by Elephant in other Asian Countries

Apart from India, execution by elephant was also practiced in some other Asian 
countries. Like India, it was the elephant's intelligence and brute force that 
were exploited to execute criminals. Yet, there were some variations in the 
method of execution. In neighboring Sri Lanka, for instance, elephants used 
during these events were said to have been fitted with sharp tips on their 
tusks. Instead of slicing their victims, the elephant would stab its victim, 
and then 'rearrange' its victim's internal organs.

In the former Kingdom of Siam (now Thailand), elephants were trained to toss 
their victims into the air before crushing them to death. In the Kingdom of 
Cochinchina (southern Vietnam), on the other hand, criminals were tied to a 
stake, whilst an elephant would charge into them, and crush them to death.

This form of capital punishment was brutal and terrifying. It also demonstrates 
the strength and power, as well as importance, that elephants had for past 
societies. Not only were the great beasts revered in many cultures, but also 
they were used (as many animals in the past) to complete deadly and destructive 
tasks.

References

Elephantvoices, 2015. Elephants in history and culture. [Online] Available at: 
http://www.elephantvoices.org/elephants-in-captivity-7/-in-history-a-culture.html

Marie R, 2014. Execution by Elephant: Ancient Capital Punishment in India. 
[Online] Available at: 
http://www.weirdasianews.com/2014/08/31/execution-elephant-ancient-capital-punishment-india/

Panji Samodro, 2013. Death Penalty Executions Conducted by Elephant. [Online] 
Available at: 
https://medium.com/unique-and-culture/death-penalty-executions-conducted-by-elephant-54d851a081d1#.xv2rfywts

Pegg, D., 2011. 25 of Humanity's Most Brutal Methods of Execution. [Online] 
Available at: 
http://list25.com/25-of-humanitys-most-brutal-methods-of-execution/

Quintus Rufus Curtius, History of Alexander: Vol. II [Online] [Rolfe, J. C. 
(trans.), 1946. Quintus Rufus Curtius', History of Alexander: Vol. II.] 
Available at: 
http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015008158407;view=1up;seq=1

(source: ancient-origins.net)