[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Dec. 14




EGYPT:

Egypt Lobbies MEPs in Defense of Plans to Execute Irish Juvenile

The government of Egypt is attempting to prevent the European Parliament from 
taking action to support Ibrahim Halawa, an Irish student who faces the death 
penalty for attending a 2013 protest.

MEPs are due to vote on Thursday on a resolution which is expected to call on 
Egypt to release Ibrahim, who was 17 when he was arrested during the breakup of 
protests. In a document sent to MEPs this week, the Egyptian government makes a 
number of false claims about Ibrahim's case, in an apparent attempt to halt the 
vote. These include the suggestion that Ibrahim, now 20, may not have been a 
juvenile at the time of his arrest, in spite of a passport confirming his age; 
that he has been able to speak in court, when he has never had the opportunity 
to do so; and that he has not been subjected to physical abuse.

The document fails to address recent reports of widespread torture in Ibrahim's 
prison, gathered by Reprieve, which is assisting Ibrahim - including that he 
and others have been beaten with bars designed to leave no mark.

The move comes as Ibrahim's trial, involving 494 people, was postponed today 
for the 11th time in two years. The prisoners face the death penalty if 
convicted on largely identical charges, which are repeated in the Egyptian 
document. Research by Reprieve and other rights groups has found that the 
charges against Ibrahim lack any material evidence to support them. The trial 
has been repeatedly postponed since it began over 2 years ago, amid concerns 
that it does not meet international fair trial standards. A series of chaotic 
hearings have seen the prisoners held in cages, where they are unable to see or 
hear the proceedings, while defence lawyers have often been prevented from 
taking part.

The Sisi government's use of mass trials to hand down hundreds of death 
sentences to political protestors, journalists and others has provoked 
condemnation from the UN, the EU, and governments that are close to Egypt, 
including the US and the UK. Research by Reprieve has found that the use of the 
death penalty has surged in Egypt since the suppression of protests began, with 
some 600 death sentences handed down in the last year alone.

Commenting, Maya Foa, director of Reprieve's death penalty team, said: "This 
mass trial is an utter disgrace. It's clear that the Egyptian authorities have 
no interest in a just outcome, and every intention of prolonging the torture of 
the hundreds of prisoners who were swept up at protests nearly 3 years ago. 
What's all the more shocking is that the Egyptian government is now peddling 
lies in order to stop MEPs from helping Ibrahim Halawa, a European citizen. 
Egypt's allies in Europe and beyond must tell it that enough is enough - these 
bogus court proceedings must be disbanded, and Ibrahim and hundreds of others 
must be released."

###

Reprieve is a UK-based human rights organization that uses the law to enforce 
the human rights of prisoners, from death row to Guantanamo Bay.

(source: commondreams.org)






SAUDI ARABIA:

Saudi conviction of poet for renouncing Islam seriously flawed, lawyer argues 
-- Appeal argues initial arrest was unlawful, accuser's testimony was not 
reliable and judges ignored evidence of poet Ashraf Fayadh's mental illness


A Saudi court that ordered the beheading of a Palestinian poet for renouncing 
Islam denied him a fair trial and ignored evidence that he suffered from a 
mental illness, according to an appeal against the ruling.

The appeal against the death sentence handed down last month to Ashraf Fayadh, 
a leading member of Saudi Arabia's contemporary art scene, states that 
allegations that he publicly blasphemed and promoted atheism to young people 
were uncorroborated.

The document, filed this week by Abdulrahman al-Lahem, a human rights lawyer, 
contends that the case against Fayadh, 35, was seriously flawed. Lahem told the 
Guardian: "Fayadh's life is not in danger ... We are confident that the trial 
will be reversed and Fayadh will be freed based on the [legal] precedents in 
the kingdom."

The appeal argues that Fayadh's initial arrest in 2013 by the mutaween 
(religious police) was unlawful as it was not ordered by the state prosecution 
service. The allegation of apostasy made by Shaheen bin Ali Abu Mismar, who is 
alleged to have had a personal dispute with the poet, was not corroborated by 
other evidence, which goes against the principles of sharia law, it argues.

The ruling on 17 November ignored testimony by defence witnesses in Fayadh's 
trial last year who said Abu Mismar was lying, and from the accuser's uncle who 
also indicated that he was not truthful, according to the appeal. The document 
states that the "judiciary cannot rely on [his evidence] due to the possibility 
that it is malicious".

The 3 judges ignored a report documenting Fayadh's mental illness and did not 
seek medical advice on his condition. They also disregarded Fayadh's repentance 
during his 1st trial when convicting him of apostasy, the appeal argues. Their 
ruling that repentance was a matter for the afterlife and had no bearing on 
temporal justice contradicted Islamic law and scripture.

The appeal also states that Fayadh converted several people to Islam, 
contradicting the accusation that he is an atheist. One defence witness told 
the Guardian anonymously that the poet "supported a number of non-Arabic 
speakers looking to learn more about Islam and life as a Muslim."

Adam Coogle, a Middle East researcher for Human Rights Watch, said: "Ashraf 
Fayadh's appeal petition points toward serious flaws in the lower court ruling 
sentencing him to death for apostasy.

"The petition states that Fayadh's original arrest by Saudi religious police 
was unlawful, and ... that conviction for apostasy based on the testimony of a 
single witness without corroborating evidence violates principles of Islamic 
law, as it would in most legal systems."

Fayadh, a Palestinian refugee who co-curated a Saudi art show at the 2013 
Venice Biennale, has been in prison since January 2014. His father died of a 
stroke after hearing of his death sentence but the poet was not allowed to 
attend the funeral.

Ahmed Mater, Saudi Arabia's best known contemporary artist, who spoke to Fayadh 
on Tuesday, said the poet had renewed hope.

"Last time I spoke to him he really thought he was going to die," said Mater. 
"For the 1st time he talked about what he would do if he gets out."

Earlier this month UN human rights experts called on the Saudi authorities to 
halt Fayadh's execution, which they condemned as a grave violation of artistic 
freedom of expression. More than 60 international arts and human rights 
organisations have called for his release.

(source: The Guardian)






UNITED KINGDOM/ETHIOPIA:

British girl's heartbreaking plea to the Queen for father on death row----An 
8-year-old girl has sent a gut-wrenching letter to Queen Elizabeth, begging for 
help


The daughter of a British man who has been given the death penalty in Ethiopia 
has written a heartfelt letter to the Queen.

Menabe Andargachew is just 8 years old, but is preparing to spend a 2nd 
Christmas without her father Andy Tsege from North London.

Father-of-3 Andy was taken by Ethiopian security forces at a Yemen airport in 
2014, and was sentenced to death for allegedly plotting a coup- a charge he 
denies.

Campaigners say the real reason he is facing execution, is because he fell out 
with former prime minister Meles Zenawi after exposing corruption.

But despite the efforts of campaigners Andy has remained in their custody, 
forcing his increasingly desperate daughter Menabe to seek help from the queen.

Her heart wrenching letter reads:

"Dear Queen Elizabeth,

"My name is Menabe Andargachew I am 8 and attend [redacted name of school].

"My father is currently held captive in Ethopia the situation occurred 1 and a 
third years ago. I am writing to ask your assistance in these troubled times to 
bring my father back would be asking too much.

"I just wish you could help change the government's actions towards the 
situation. Last year the year sixes in my school and my brother, sister and I 
wrote letters to David Cameron.

"His reply wasn't very convincing because at the very least I haven't heard any 
news and at the most I don't see any father's in the house so I have decided to 
write to you instead in hope you will help.

"With David Cameron in charge again the situation will not be solved which is 
why you need to get him to actually pay attention to the problem. My sister won 
the Liberty human rights award but David Cameron still didn't do anything.

>From Menabe Andargachew".

According to the Mail On Sunday, correspondence between Foreign Office 
officials have questioned the evidence that had led to his arrest, writing:

"All we have seen are a few pictures of him standing in an Eritrean village - 
hardly proof that he was engaged in terrorist training."

Speaking about the horrific situation, director of Reprieve's death penalty 
team Maya Foa said:

"Andy Tsege is a British citizen and father who has been subjected to a series 
of terrible abuses at the hands of the Ethiopian regime - kidnap, rendition, 
torture, incommunicado detention, and an in absentia death sentence - as 
punishment for his political beliefs.

"Yet despite these serious human rights violations against one of its 
nationals, the British government has failed to request Andy's release from 
unlawful detention. "Instead, his family must now prepare for a 2nd Christmas 
without him. The British government must not let Andy's children suffer without 
their father any longer - ministers must demand his release without delay."

(source: closeronline.co.uk)






INDIA:

Prathibha murder case: HC reserves verdict


The Karnataka high court on Tuesday reserved its verdict with regards to 
criminal appeals filed in relation to rape and murder of Pratibha 
Srikantamurthy, a BPO employee.

While cab driver Shiva Kumar has challenged the life term imposed by the lower 
court, the state government appealed for imposing maximum penalty by citing 
various judgments of Apex court where death penalty has been imposed in such 
cases.

Shivakumar was convicted by a city sessions court in Bengaluru on October 10, 
2010 wherein he was sentenced to life imprisonment stating that he should 
remain in jail till his last breath.

Prathibha was found murdered in December 2005.

(source: The Times of India)






BAHAMAS:

Thorne Edwards Found Guilty Of Kurt Mccartney's Murder


A man who was unanimously convicted of the murder of prominent businessman Kurt 
McCartney by a Supreme Court jury yesterday may face the death penalty.

Shortly after the verdict was handed down, the Crown notified the court of its 
intent to seek the death penalty for Thorne Edwards, 1 of 4 people charged with 
the murder.

Edwards, along with Okell Farrington, Sumya Ingraham and Lyndera Curry were on 
trial for nearly 2 weeks concerning McCartney's murder and armed robbery that 
occurred on October 24, 2013 in Gambier.

A jury of 11 women and 1 man took 3 hours to return verdicts for each of the 
accused persons after they had been excused by Senior Justice Stephen Isaacs to 
deliberate on the evidence.

Edwards was unanimously convicted of murder and was found guilty of armed 
robbery on a majority verdict of 9-3.

Curry was acquitted of murder but found guilty of the lesser charge of 
manslaughter by 11-1. The same count was returned on her conviction for armed 
robbery.

Both Farrington and Ingraham were acquitted of murder, manslaughter and armed 
robbery. Businessman and community activist Terry Delancy, who had been accused 
of being an accessory to the murder after the fact, was acquitted of the charge 
last week following the close of the prosecution's case due to legal reasons.

Though the remaining 4 accused were stoic as the verdict was announced, Curry's 
relatives became emotional and left court.

After the judge reiterated the jury's verdict to the quartet, trial prosecutor 
Roger Thompson informed the judge of the Crown???s intent to seek the death 
penalty for Edwards' involvement in the matter at a sentencing hearing 
scheduled for February 29, 2016.

The 2011 amendment to the Penal Code notes that only certain types of 
aggravated murders are currently punishable by death: murder of a law 
enforcement officer; murder of a judicial officer; murder of a witness or 
juror; murder of more than 1 person; murder committed by a defendant who has a 
prior murder conviction; and murder in exchange for value.

The only 2 possible sentences are either death or life without parole. Any 
other type of murder carries a term of imprisonment of 30 to 60 years.

The amendment further provides that any murder committed in the course of/or in 
furtherance of a robbery, rape, kidnapping, terrorist act, or any other felony 
is punishable by death, with no explicit requirement of an intent to cause 
death.

A felony is defined as any offence which is punishable by at least 3 years' 
imprisonment.

It was alleged that Edwards shot McCartney in the face after he became involved 
in an argument between Curry and the victim. The prosecution maintained that 
McCartney was crushed when Farrington, Ingraham and Curry allegedly rolled over 
his body as they fled the scene in the victim's Hummer. It was alleged that 
Edwards ran away after the shooting.

At trial, the jury heard from anonymous witness "AB" who said the pharmacist 
was arguing with 1 of 2 women he was walking with, Curry and Ingraham, and that 
1 of the women signalled to a man who approached and shoved McCartney before 
shooting the victim.

However, a 12-year-old witness told the jury that there was a single assailant 
who startled McCartney as he was trying to enter his vehicle, shot him in the 
head and then sped off in the victim's car after rolling over him.

Ingraham, Curry, Edwards and Farrington were respectively represented by Romona 
Farquharson-Seymour, Sonia Timothy, Terrel Butler and Philip Hilton. Delancy 
was represented by Ian Cargill.

(source: Tribune242.com)