[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 18



BANGLADESH:

SC releases full verdict of Kamaruzzaman



The Supreme Court today released the full verdict upholding the death penalty 
for Jamaat-e-Islami leader Muhammad Kamaruzzaman in a war crimes case.

Earlier in the day, all the 4 SC judges, who had delivered the verdict on 
November 3 last year by a majority decision, signed the 577-page judgment.

They judges are Chief Justice SK Sinha, Justice Md Abdul Wahhab Miah, Justice 
Hasan Foez Siddique and Justice AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury Manik.

The government can now start process for executing Kamaruzzaman as the Supreme 
Court released the full judgment upholding his death penalty, Attorney General 
Mahbubey Alam said after the release of the verdict.

There is no legal bar for the government to fix a date for the execution of the 
Jamaat's assistant secretary general, he told The Daily Star.

He however said the execution process will be suspended if the convict files a 
review petition with the apex court challenging his death penalty.

Now, the SC will send its full judgment to the International Crimes Tribunal-2, 
which has sentenced Kamaruzzaman to death, he said.

After receiving the SC judgment, the ICT-2 will issue death warrant against 
Kamaruzzaman and then the jail authorities will execute him, the attorney 
general said.

The Jamaat leader will get 15 days from today for filing the review petition, 
he added.

The Appellate Division might take maximum a week for hearing and disposing of 
the petition, he said.

If the apex court dismisses his review petition, Kamaruzzaman can seek 
presidential mercy to save his neck, the top law officer of the state said.

If not, he will be execute within a day or 2, the AG said, expressing hope that 
all the procedures regarding his execution might be finished in next 3 to 4 
weeks.

The ICT-2 handed capital punishment to the key organiser of the infamous 
Al-Badr Bahini On May 9, 2013.

The SC upheld the death penalty to the 79-year-old for the mass killing at 
Sohagpur of Sherpur on July 25, 1971.

Justice SK Sinha, now the chief justice, headed the 4-member SC bench.

The apex court commuted Kamaruzzaman's death sentence to life term imprisonment 
for killing Golam Mostafa at Gridda Narayanpur village of Sherpur.

It also found the Jamaat-e-Islami leader guilty of 2 more charges relating to 
killing and torture, but acquitted him of another charge of killing.

The SC has so far completed the trials of 2 war crimes accused, while the 
trials of 7 others are pending with it.

(source: The Daily Star)

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

Govt to start Kamaruzzaman's execution process Ahmed Zayeef -- As part of the 
execution process, the government will now fix a date for the execution of the 
Jamaat leader



The government will now start process for executing condemned war criminal 
Kamaruzzaman as the Supreme Court has released the full judgment upholding his 
death penalty, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam has said.

Alam said this to the journalists at his office in the Supreme Court on 
Wednesday after the release of the verdict.

As part of the execution process, the government will now fix a date for the 
execution of the Jamaat leader. He, however, said the execution process will be 
suspended if the convict files a review petition with the SC challenging his 
death sentence. The Jamaat leader will get 15 days from today for filing the 
review petition.

The SC will now send its full judgment to the International Crimes Tribunal 2 
which handed down death penalty against the Jamaat leader for committing crimes 
against humanity in 1971. After receiving it, the tribunal will issue death 
warrant. The death warrant copy will be sent to the jail authorities through 
the district magistrate.

The jail authorities will inform it to condemned war criminal Kamaruzzaman. 
Then, the convict can seek president's clemency over his death penalty.

If he does not do so, the jail authorities will execute the verdict.

On May 9 last year, the International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Kamaruzzaman to 
death for committing crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War. He 
appealed against the judgement after a month.

On November 3, 2014, the Appellate Division upheld the death penalty. 
Kamaruzzaman was an al-Badr leader in 1971.

He was also a top leader of the greater Mymensingh Islami Chhatra Sangha, the 
then student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, and was also the office secretary of East 
Pakistan Islami Chhatra Sangha.

(source: Dhaka Tribune)

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

Defence claims 'legal and factual mistakes' in verdict



International Crimes Tribunal-2 has made "legal and factual mistakes" in the 
verdict that awarded death penalty to Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdus Subhan in a 
war crimes case, a defence lawyer has claimed.

"We will bring the mistakes to notice when we will appeal for the verdict with 
the higher court," defence lawyer Shishir Manir told reporters after coming out 
of the International Crimes Tribunal-2 that pronounced the judgement today.

Expressing dissatisfaction over the verdict, he said, "We hope that we will get 
justice in the appeal".

While voicing reaction over today's verdict, Nesar Ahmed, son of the convict, 
told The Daily Star that his father is completely innocent and had absolutely 
no relationship with the war crimes.

They would appeal with the higher court and hoped to get justice, he said.

International Crimes Tribunal-2 handed death penalty to Jamaat Nayeb-e-Ameer 
Abdus Subhan on 3 charges of killing, torture and confinement during the 
country's Liberation War in 1971.

(source: The Daily Star)








INDONESIA:

Filipina in Indonesia not up for execution



The Filipino woman on death row in Indonesia was not among those set for 
execution as her case was still up for judicial review, the Department of 
Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Tuesday.

The DFA made the clarification after wire reports said that the unidentified 
Filipina was among 8 convicted drug smugglers who would be transferred to a 
prison island this week for imminent execution.

The convicted drug smugglers were to be transferred to the Nusa Kambangan 
prison where they would face a firing squad, the death penalty as set by 
Indonesia.

DFA spokesman and Assistant Secretary Charles Jose said the Philippine Embassy 
in Jakarta confirmed that "the Filipino had not been taken away and was still 
in her prison cell at the Yogyakarta penitentiary."

"Meanwhile, we are still awaiting the schedule of a hearing of the judicial 
review we requested," Jose said in a text message.

The report on the imminent execution of the foreigners convicted for drug 
smuggling in Indonesia came as the DFA said it was taking note of the appeal 
made by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for Indonesia not to push through with 
the executions.

The Filipina, who came in as a tourist, was arrested at the Jakarta airport in 
2010 for possession of heroin. An Indonesian court convicted her of the crime 
and sentenced her to death. Her death sentence was recently upheld by the 
Indonesian high court and the Philippine government has asked for a judicial 
review of her case.

"In line with our commitment as a signatory to the second optional protocol of 
the international covenant on civil and political rights aiming at the 
abolition of the death penalty and in line with our mandate to safeguard the 
rights of our citizens overseas, the Philippines continues to exhaust all 
remedies available under Indonesian law to save the life of the Filipino 
national," the DFA said in a statement.

(source: Philippine Inquirer)

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

Pinay on death row in Indonesia case still for review



Reportedly, a Filipina is on death row in Indonesia, however, she was not with 
the others set for execution since her case was still up for judicial review.

Department of Foreign Affairs clarified the issue after wire reports said that 
the unidentified Filipina was included in the 8 convicted drug smugglers who 
would be transferred to a prison island this week for imminent execution.

The drug smugglers who were already convicted will be taken to the Nusa 
Kambangan prison. There, they would face a firing squad, the death penalty of 
Indonesia.

According to DFA spokesman and Assistant Secretary Charles Jose, the Philippine 
Embassy in Jakarta, "the Filipino had not been taken away and was still in her 
prison cell at the Yogyakarta penitentiary."

"Meanwhile, we are still awaiting the schedule of a hearing of the judicial 
review we requested," Jose said in a text message.

The said Filipina came to the country as a tourist. She was arrested at the 
Jakarta airport in 2010 for possession of heroin. The court of Indonesia 
convicted her of the crime with a death sentence. Her death sentence was 
recently approved by the Indonesian high court and the Philippine government 
has requested for a judicial review of her case.

(source: ofwnow.com)

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

Bali 9 in review----Calls to outlaw death penalty, primarily from the Western 
countries, are political in essence and do carry a stink of bias.



Just days before Indonesia is set to execute 2 condemned prisoners of the Bali 
9 drug-traffickers, Australia has come out with an extraordinary mercy plea. In 
a rare gesture from the echelons of power, all of the living former prime 
ministers of Down Under have made a united plea to spare the lives of the drug 
pair on death row. 2 Aussie citizens Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaram were 
sentenced to death in 2006, for leading a drug cartel, and that too on a 
tip-off from Australian police. The 8 men and 1 woman, known as Bali 9, were 
arrested in Bali. The other 7 are serving life sentences.

Why this humble petition has been made is anybody's guess, but it goes without 
saying that the intention is to further the envelope that advocates life-term 
over capital punishment. The Who's Who that have signed the mercy plea are: 
John Howard, Malcolm Fraser, Bob Hawke, Julia Gillard, Paul Keating and Kevin 
Rudd. Their contention is that the Aussie pair had "demonstrated genuine 
rehabilitation" and that "justice should be based on human understanding". 
Prime Minister Tony Abbott, the other day joined the chorus, and said that he 
believed there were still legal options open in the case. This motion will be 
debated for long in the political and legal quarters worldwide with 
far-reaching consequences.

How far can this argument pass the litmus test in the court of law is difficult 
to say, but it is an extraordinary effort in extraordinary times when the world 
is uniting against agents of terror - be they gun-runners, drug-barons or 
human-traffickers that maim others to make a life for themselves. Australia 
itself has been a victim of terror, and of late had become a hub for 
recruitment at the hands of extremist organisations such as Daesh and the like. 
Drug-traffickers too are no different from assault-rifle wielders, as their 
networks are often interwoven behind the scenes.

Calls to outlaw death penalty, primarily from the Western countries, are 
political in essence and do carry a stink of bias. Had it not been so, the 
European Union and at times officer-bearers of the United Nations would not 
have protested against lifting of moratorium on executions by Indonesia, 
Pakistan and some of the countries in the Middle East. The point is that 
capital punishment is meant to deter horrible crimes and terrorism, and is a 
mean to an end. Nonetheless, there is always room for ensuring that justice has 
been done, as doors of the appellate forums can be knocked. Irrespective of 
what final decision Jakarta makes in this case, Australia has set a precedent 
by making an earnest endeavour to save its citizens from the shooting squads. 
Taking into account the troubled relations between the 2 countries and the fact 
that Indonesia has some of the toughest drug laws, it won't be an easy choice 
to entertain the clemency petition.

(source: Opinion, Khaleej Times)








AUSTRALIA:

Aussie response to Bali 9 death sentences: 'Pull the bloody foreign aid' to 
Indonesia



The Australian prime minister, in an effort to win the release of 2 Australians 
on death row in Indonesia, is suffering a diplomatic fallout after reminding 
Jakarta about the substantial aid Canberra sent following the 2004 tsunami.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott seems to have calculated incorrectly that Indonesia 
might be willing to release Australian nationals Andrew Chan and Myuran 
Sukumaran, sentenced to death on charges of drug smuggling, since Australia had 
donated $1 billion to Indonesia in the aftermath of the 2004 disaster.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Abbott emphasized that Australia would 
"feel grievously let down" if Indonesia went ahead with the executions.

"Let's not forget that a few years ago when Indonesia was struck by the Indian 
Ocean tsunami Australia sent a billion dollars' worth of assistance, we sent a 
significant contingent of our armed forces to help in Indonesia with 
humanitarian relief and Australians lost their lives in that campaign to help 
Indonesia.

"I would say to the Indonesian people and the Indonesian government: we in 
Australia are always there to help you and we hope that you might reciprocate 
in this way at this time."

Abbott pleaded on behalf of the condemned men, who were part of the so-called 
Bali 9 group of Australians arrested on April 17, 2005 in Bali, Indonesia, as 
they were attempting to smuggle 8.3kg (18lbs) of heroin from Indonesia to 
Australia, that they did not deserve the death sentence.

"In fact, they have become, it seems, thoroughly reformed characters in prison 
in Bali and they are now helping the Indonesians fight against drug crime. So 
much better to use these people for good than to kill them," Abbott said.

Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir expressed alarm that the 
Australian PM had connected the past extension of tsunami assistance with "the 
issue now in Indonesia."

"I hope this does not reflect, the statements made, the true colors of 
Australians," Nasir said on Wednesday. "Threats are not part of diplomatic 
language and from what I know, no one responds well to threats."

Indonesia's Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi emphasized that the death sentence 
was not "directed at a particular country," but rather a case of "law 
enforcement against an extraordinary crime."

Meanwhile, Indonesian authorities announced on Tuesday that they were delaying 
the planned transfer of the pair to Nusa Kambangan, known as Indonesia's 
Alcatraz prison. They also informed that the executions were unlikely to be 
carried out this month.

Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop welcomed the decision.

"Any delay in plans by the Indonesian authorities to execute Mr. Chan and Mr. 
Sukumaran will be a relief to the men and their families," Bishop told the ABC 
on Wednesday.

"It gives us an opportunity to continue to engage on the best way forward with 
the Indonesian authorities so we will continue our representations at the 
highest level across the Indonesian government."

Asked how the government would respond if Jakarta went ahead with the planned 
executions, Abbott said it would not be ignored.

"I don't want to prejudice the best possible relations with a very important 
friend and neighbor," he said.

"But I've got to say that we can't just ignore this type of thing, if the 
perfectly reasonable representations that we are making to Indonesia are 
ignored by them."

Other Australian politicians, meanwhile, were much more direct as to how they 
believed Tony Abbott should handle the bilateral row.

Controversial Senator Jacqui Lambie said the prime minister had to "put his 
foot down" and "pull the bloody foreign aid."

"My heart goes out to their families and friends, there is no doubt about that. 
I know if it was my mates or my sons I would certainly be feeling the pinch. 
I'd remind Australia that they give $500 million in foreign aid to Indonesia," 
Lambie said, as quoted by the Australian newspaper.

Meanwhile, an interesting argument to grant the Australians clemency was 
forwarded by Jeff Hammond, a Jakarta-based pastor who has been counseling 
Andrew Chan.

Hammond argued that executing the 2 men would send a message to other 
individuals on death row that any efforts at personal rehabilitation was 
senseless because the men would be killed regardless, he told ABC radio.

(source: rt.com)








SAUDI ARABIA----executions

Saudi Arabia beheads 2 alleged murderers, marking 31st execution this year

2 Saudis condemned to death for murder in separate cases were beheaded by the 
sword in Riyadh Sunday, taking to 31 the number of executions in the kingdom 
this year.

Interior ministry statements published by the official SPA news agency said 
that both Nawaf al-Shemmari and Saad al-Houzaimi had been found guilty of 
stabbing relatives.

According to Amnesty, trials in capital cases are often held in secret.

Said Boumedouha, Deputy Director of Amnesty International's Middle East and 
North Africa Program, said the fact "that people are tortured into confessing 
to crimes, convicted in shameful trials without adequate legal support and then 
executed is a sickening indictment of the Kingdom's state-sanctioned 
brutality."

The desert kingdom continues to execute convicts despite pressure from human 
rights groups.

Drug trafficking, rape, murder, apostasy and armed robbery are all punishable 
by death under the kingdom's legal code that follows a strict Wahhabi version 
of Sharia.

The Gulf nation executed 87 people in 2014 according to an AFP tally. More than 
2,000 people were executed in the kingdom between 1985 and 2013, Amnesty 
International claimed in a report.

However, not only felonies amount to a death penalty punishment in the oil-rich 
kingdom. The Saudi terrorism law issued in early 2014 casts a wide net over 
what it considers to be "terrorism."

Under the law, punishable offenses include "calling for atheist thought in any 
form," "throwing away loyalty to the country's rulers," and "seeking to shake 
the social fabric or national cohesion."

Human Rights Watch urged the Saudi authorities to abolish the Specialized 
Criminal Court, the body that sentenced 5 pro-democracy advocates, including 
prominent activist and cleric Nimr al-Nimr, and many others to death, saying 
that analysis revealed "serious due process concerns" such as "broadly framed 
charges," "denial of access to lawyers," and "quick dismissal of allegations of 
torture without investigation."

(source: albawaba.com)








GLOBAL:

The death penalty: what the numbers say



If Indonesia executes Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, as it says 
it will, it will put that country among the most prolific killer-states where 
charges related to drugs are concerned.

The execution of 6 people last month made 2015 the most deadly for drug 
offenders in Indonesia since 2008, when 10 people were killed. In fact, there 
had been only 1 year since then, 2013, that executions had taken place at all.

If, as expected, 11 people are to stand before the next firing squad, it will 
bring this year's count to 17 -- the largest count in the post-Suharto era. And 
the year is still young.

But Indonesia is not the only place in the world where the state will kill you 
for using, selling or moving drugs. Historically, it doesn't even rank in the 
top echelon.

In its 2012 report into the death penalty for drug offences, the most recent 
report available, Harm Reduction International (HRI) classified Indonesia as a 
"low application" state -- one that applied its death penalty provisions for 
drugs only rarely.

Indeed, when that report was written, it had been 4 years since a single person 
had suffered the death penalty in Indonesia for any offence, according to the 
Death Penalty Worldwide database kept by Cornell University.

Over that period, China is estimated to have executed at least 17,000 people, 
according to the database. It's not known how many of those were killed for 
drug-related offences, but according to HRI, the conviction rate for such 
offences that carry the death penalty is nearly 100 %.

In all, 33 countries around the world will give a death sentence for drug 
offences. In 13 of those, the sentence is mandatory for particular offences.

Iran, which is a distant 2nd to China in the ranks of countries that actively 
apply the death penalty, does so in large part for drug-related offences. 
According to HRI, more than 80 % of the 676 deaths by capital punishment in 
Iran in 2011 were for drug offences.

In that year, a new offence introduced the death penalty for trafficking or 
possessing more than 30 grams of "specified synthetic, non-medical psychotropic 
drugs, and for recruiting or hiring people to commit any of the crimes under 
the law, or organising, running, financially supporting, or investing in such 
activities", according to HRI.

Iran also has a mandatory death penalty for 'heads of the gangs or networks', 
but the statute does not define what a gang or network is.

Mandatory death sentences for drug-related offences exist in Singapore and 
Malaysia, both of which neighbour Indonesia. Between 2009 and 2011, at least 
290 people received death sentences in Malaysia, at least 196 of them for drug 
offences. In 2011, 2 people were actually executed, 1 for drugs.

Over the same period, according to the US state department, Indonesia's 
population of drug users grew by about 14 per cent between 2009 and 2011 to 4.1 
million people. The problem has persisted.

The United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNDOC) in 2013 said Indonesia was 
home to one of the world's largest markets for amphetamine-type substances, 
such as ice. It said the country housed 1.2 million "problem drug users", and 
90 pe cent of these were users of amphetamines.

Brookings Institute senior fellow Vanda Felbab-Brown that year called Indonesia 
a "hot and rapidly expanding meth production center", and noted that it "is no 
longer just a transit country for illicit drugs heading to Australia, China, 
and Japan, but is also increasingly a destination country", where an increasing 
number of the cooks were native Indonesians rather than foreigners.

"The expansion of the synthetic drugs market and the domestication of 
production have potentially large transformative effects on Indonesia's 
landscape of organised crime," she wrote.

As journalist Greg Sheridan noted this week, Indonesia's former president 
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono seemed to lose his appetite for executions after the 
last of the Bali bombers was killed in 2008. Perhaps for that reason, Indonesia 
didn't feature prominently among the countries that actually kill people for 
drugs (as opposed to those that sentence people to death who then languish in 
jail for extended periods).

New President Joko Widodo seems less concerned.

(source: Sydney Morning Herald)