[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 10



RUSSIA:

Russian Supreme Court Chairman Against Death Penalty Return



The chairman of Russia's Supreme Court says he opposes calls to end the 
country's moratorium on capital punishment.

Vyacheslav Lebedev told journalists in Moscow on February 10 that there is "no 
reason" to end the moratorium on the death penalty, which was put in place by 
the Constitutional Court in 1999 and extended in 2009.

Russia imposed the moratorium after joining the Council of Europe, which 
requires members to refrain from executing convicts.

Last month, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe voted to 
deprive Russia of its rights within the assembly for the second consecutive 
session over Moscow's reluctance to stop backing separatists in Ukraine's 
eastern regions.

Russian lawmakers have questioned whether Russia should remain in the Council 
of Europe after the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) 
voted last month to deprive Moscow of its rights within the assembly for the 
second consecutive session over its interference in Ukraine.

Lawmakers from ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky???s Liberal Democratic 
Party have said quitting the Council of Europe could enable Russia to reinstate 
the death penalty.

(source: Radio Free Eeurope/Radio Liberty)








IRAN:

Take Action: Stop the Execution of 22-year-old Saman Naseem by Iran----by 
Alliance for Kurdish Rights



Amnesty International writes:

Iranian juvenile offender, Saman Naseem, could be executed as early as 19 
February 2015 for crimes allegedly committed when he was 17 years old. He was 
sentenced to death after an unfair trial.

The family of Saman Naseem, who is now aged 22, have received reliable 
information that he will be executed on 19 February. Amnesty International 
understands that the authorities have prevented Saman Naseem's lawyer from 
pursuing the case and have not allowed him to appoint another lawyer.

Saman Naseem was sentenced to death in April 2013 by a criminal court in 
Mahabad, West Azerbaijan Province, for "enmity against God" (moharebeh) and 
"corruption on earth" (ifsad fil-arz) because of his membership of the Kurdish 
armed opposition group Party For Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), and for taking 
part in armed activities against the Revolutionary Guards. His death sentence 
was upheld by the Supreme Court in December 2013.

According to court documents, during early investigations Saman Naseem admitted 
firing towards Revolutionary Guards forces in July 2011. He retracted this 
during the 1st court session, saying that he had only fired into the air and 
had not been aware of the content of the written "confessions" he was forced to 
sign as he had been kept blindfolded while he was interrogated. Saman Naseem 
was allowed no access to his lawyer during early investigations and he said he 
was tortured by being hung upside down for a lengthy period of time.

Below is a message composed by the Alliance for Kurdish Rights to be used by 
anyone to urge the recipients mentioned below as part of a campaign to overturn 
Saman Naseem's death sentence.

Your Excellency,

I am writing to you to express my concerns regarding a 22-year old prisoner by 
the name of Saman Naseem who is awaiting execution.

I am calling on you to halt the execution and allow for a reconsideration of 
his case under transparent and just measures.

I am also reminding you that Iran has ratified both the International 
Convention on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of 
the Child, which strictly prohibit the use of the death penalty against people 
who were below 18 years of age at the time of the crime.

Lastly, I am urging you to remember that Iran has ratified Article 7 of the 
Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which prohibits the act of torture against 
prisoners. I hope that an investigation will be initiated into the allegation 
that he was tortured or ill-treated and ensure that the "confessions" obtained 
from him under torture are not used as evidence in court.

I hope that you will give positive reconsideration to the case of Saman Naseem.

Sincerely,

(Your name)

Send to:

Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Ayatollah Sayed 'Ali Khamenei

The Office of the Supreme Leader Islamic Republic Street - End of Shahid 
Keshvar Doust Street

Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran

Email: info_leader at leader.ir

Twitter: @khamenei_ir

Head of the Judiciary

Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani

c/o Public Relations Office

Number 4, 2 Azizi Street intersection

Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran

President of the Islamic republic of Iran

Hassan Rouhani

The Presidency

Pasteur Street, Pasteur Square

Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran

Twitter: @HassanRouhani (English) and @Rouhani_ir (Persian)

(source: kurdishrights.org)








FIJI:

Fiji moves to abolish death penalty



Fiji's newly democratic government has moved to abolish the death penalty, but 
the opposition has demanded it be kept in order to deter its military from 
staging coups.

Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama appeared to then threaten another coup after 
being insulted by opposition MPs during today's fractious parliamentary 
session.

Bainimarama's arbitrary decision to remove the Union Jack from Fiji's flag 
later this year is also creating tension, not helped by Prime Minister John Key 
saying New Zealand's flag will change only after a referendum.

Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum this morning introduced a bill amending 
the military act to abolish the death penalty for assorted offences.

However Opposition MP Tupou Draunidalo strongly objected, saying the death 
penalty should remain in the Army Act as a deterrent to future coup makers.

Her stepfather, Timoci Bavadra, was prime minister in 1987 when he was 
overthrown in the 1st of 4 military coups. Draunidalo's mother, Kuini Speed, 
was deputy prime minister in 2000 when she was overthrown in a coup led by 
George Speight.

At the time Bainimarama declared martial law and Speight was captured and 
sentenced to death on the civilian charge of treason. It was commuted within 
hours to life imprisonment. Later the civilian death penalty was repealed.

In another row this morning opposition members claimed there was another coup 
coming, followed by Bainimarama turning on them.

"Be quiet - because of my coup, that's why you are sitting there ... remember 
2006," he said.

He attacked the opposition members who used the chiefly titles of ratu and adi.

"When you walk through that door, nobody really gives 2 hoots about your title 
- you're supposedly blue blood," he said.

He said the insults flying did "not augur well for the relationship we want to 
establish here and the people of Fiji".

Draunidalo fired back that the opposition were not doormats.

"And this is not a military institution ... the military is beneath this 
house."

(source: stuff.co.nz)

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

A-G tables Bill to amend military act



Opposition member Tupou Draunidalo yesterday pleaded with Parliament not to 
rush with the amendment of the Death Penalty Act - part of the Republic of Fiji 
Military Forces Act.

Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum yesterday tabled a Bill for an act to 
amend the RFMF Act in Parliament.

"I move that the Republic of Fiji Military Forces amended Bill 2015 be 
considered by Parliament without delay, this speaker, is not even one page, 
that the Bill be debated and voted upon by Parliament on Wednesday," Mr 
Sayed-Khaiyum said.

"That the Bill be debated upon by Parliament and that a two-hour time limit be 
given to each side of the House to debate this less than one page amendment and 
that the right of reply given to the mover of the motion."

He told Parliament there was a growing international trend to remove the use of 
capital punishment from all laws and also referred to Fiji's Constitution that 
every person had the right to life and must not be deprived of life.

He said in 2002 Fiji took the initiative to remove the death penalty in its 
penal code and that had been carried on to the Crimes Decree, however, 
unfortunately the only remaining reference to the death penalty existed in the 
RFMF Act.

This was by virtue of reference to the UK Army Act of 1955, in that particular 
act which was relevant in the RFMF Act because it made references to wherever 
there was a gap, the UK Army applied that the 1955 UK Army Act had the death 
penalty in it, unfortunately while the UK moved along and had removed and 
revised their Army Act, they no longer had the death penalty.

"We are still stuck with the UK Army Act of 1955, so technically we can still 
have the death penalty under the RFMF Act."

Ms Draunidalo requested it should not be rushed as there was great history 
behind the act.

(source: The Fiji Times)








TAIWAN:

Taiwan authorities sentence death penalty to Belgian in 1.3kg heroin smuggling



A Belgian man convicted of smuggling drugs into Taiwan was sentenced by the 
Taipei District Court to life imprisonment.

Gunther van Eester was found guilty of entering Taiwan in November with 1.3 
kilograms of heroin hidden in a compartment in his suitcase.

The Belgian, who was jobless and homeless in Thailand, had been flagged by 
Taiwanese investigators after he visited Taiwan twice in June as a tourist, the 
district court said in its ruling.

After his 2 short visits, van Eester returned to Bangkok and met with drug 
dealers, who offered him US$700 and a free return ticket to carry a suitcase to 
Taiwan, the court said.

On arrival in Taiwan, he was detained by the Taipei District Prosecutors 
Office, who found NT$10 million (US$327,000) worth of heroin in his suitcase, 
according to the court.

Van Eester claimed that he was helping to deliver a suitcase of clothing, the 
court said in its ruling, which imposed a sentence of life imprisonment on the 
man.

Van Eester has the right to appeal the sentence in Taiwan's high court.

(source: customstoday.com)








INDONESIA:

More than 100 MPs write to request mercy for Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan



More than 100 Federal MPs have written to the Indonesian government asking for 
the death sentences on Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan to be lifted.

In a letter to the Indonesian ambassador to Australia, sent last week, the MPs 
say the imminent execution of the 2 Bali 9 drug traffickers is of "deep 
concern".

The letter has been signed by 111 MPs, including chief Government whip Philip 
Ruddock, chief Opposition whip Chris Hayes, and Greens leader Senator Christine 
Milne.

"Mr Sukumaran and Mr Chan have demonstrated genuine remorse and have become 
model prisoners, working constructively at Kerobokan, not only on their own 
rehabilitation and reform, but also for that of other prisoners," the letter 
states.

"Also, we believe it is significant that both Mr Chan and Mr Sukumaran were 
only apprehended as a result of the Australian Federal Police providing 
information to Indonesian Police.

"Their crime, serious as it was, was intended to impact on Australians in 
Australia, not Indonesia."

The 2 Australians were sentenced to death by an Indonesian court in 2006 for 
trying to smuggle heroin out of the country and into Australia.

They are due to be executed this month.

7 other Australians involved in the smuggling ring have been sentenced to life 
in prison in an Indonesian jail.

Despite pleas for clemency and petitions from the Australian government, 
members of the clergy and the men's distressed mothers, the Indonesian 
president has so far refused to grant them pardons.

The MPs "humbly request" that the prisoners' "rehabilitation, their suffering 
and their families' suffering" be considered.

"And upon the reasoning of the Indonesian Constitutional Court, we request that 
their death sentences be commuted to an appropriate term of imprisonment or 
that they be deported back to Australia on condition they face the criminal 
justice system here."

Labor MP Melissa Parke told Parliament today that her message to the Indonesian 
parliament was that the execution "will serve no useful purpose".

"Your country fights for mercy for your own citizens sentenced to the death 
penalty in other countries," she said.

"It is in your nation's interest to consider mercy for people on death row in 
Indonesia."

Ms Parke told Sukumaran and Chan that their "families and your country are 
proud of you".

"We are fighting for the wonderful human beings you have become."

She said she was also hoping to have Parliament pass a motion calling on 
Indonesia to commute the death sentences to a prison sentence.

(source: ABC news)

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

Will Joko drop the death penalty for the people's sake?----Many are still 
hoping for a change of heart despite Joko Widodo's firm stand on the death 
penalty for drug trafficking.



To kill or not to kill? That is the question, isn't it. And that question has 
been ringing in everyone's ears ever since Joko Widodo was sworn in as 
president of Indonesia last October.

Just last month, 6 drug offenders were executed in Indonesia, and more are to 
come.

Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, the 2 Australian members of the now-infamous 
Bali 9 who were arrested in 2005 for drug trafficking are the 2 who are up 
next, and needless to say the outcry has been huge.

The question of whether drug trafficking deserves the mandatory death penalty 
is hotly contested as it has proven to be an inefficient deterrent to the drug 
trade.

Joko certainly thinks otherwise, and has made that emphatically clear in his 
tough, hard-as-nails stance on whether the people on Indonesian death row 
deserve a stay of execution. Which, to treat it as accurately and honestly as 
possible, is a good and loud no.

Those against the death penalty have argued that executing every poor fellow 
caught bringing drugs into the country, no matter how many, will not make a 
dent in the illegal drug trade.

And I for one, agree. Statistics show that the mandatory death penalty has 
failed in substantially reducing the number of drug trafficking cases. A report 
by Amnesty International has shown its ineffectiveness. Right now, that isn't 
the point, valid as it is.

The point is that there is such a thing as extenuating circumstances. To take 
Joko's stance, which is to outright reject all petitions for clemency, is a 
surprisingly impersonal way to do it considering how he rose to power.

Joko's main draw was that he was a people's man, capable of understanding their 
plight. It shouldn't then be too hard for him to understand how a good portion 
of the ones caught are drug mules, i. e. people unfortunate enough to be 
tricked into carrying the drugs whether unwittingly or not.

What I'm saying is that in purely moral terms, they aren't guilty. For the most 
part. Depending on who they were and what happened. That is to say...

...oh, the hell with it. It just isn't as simple as Joko makes it out to be.

Are all drug mules forced into trafficking drugs? No, some are just malign 
idiots themselves, and so deserve the full force of the law. Some however are 
completely unwitting dupes, tricked into carrying the drugs or having the drugs 
planted on them.

The real problem is larger than just drug trafficking on its own. The problem 
lies with the drug lords, the cartels, the factories and organisations of vice 
that capitalise upon human stupidity and foolishness.

As long as any of these things exist - yes, even human stupidity, and God knows 
how long the battle against that will last - we are still a long way away from 
ending the drug war.

So by all means, be tough on crime. The drug trade is hell on earth, and as 
such deserves hell in response - well, as much of hell as we can approximate, 
because the further down we go, the harder it is to turn back.

Mr Joko, you intend to sentence the drug trade to death, and for that I salute 
you. But please, be careful where you swing your scythe.

Should there be a death penalty? Contrary to what Amnesty International may 
think, I believe so.

Every action has a consequence, and if you willingly trade in the daily death 
of millions of people without further thought than the lining of your pockets, 
you may as well partake of your blessings.

But the mandatory death penalty? Not at all. To make that mandatory is to 
completely negate the value of human life.

And once we do that, we may as well erect the swastika and go home.

(source: Commentary; Mikha Chan, Free Malaysia Today)