[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 19



LEBANON:

Samaha may appear before Hariri court: Lebanon justice minister



Arrangements are being made for terror suspect Michel Samaha to appear before 
the international tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of former Prime 
Minister Rafik Hariri, Lebanon's justice minister said.

"Samaha knows a lot of things which he did not confess to over fear from the 
Syrian regime," Ashraf Rifi said in remarks published in Saudi newspaper 
Al-Watan Thursday.

"Arrangements are being made to bring Samaha before the Special Tribunal for 
Lebanon (STL)," he added.

He lamented the delay of Samaha's trial by a Lebanese military court, saying 
"some military judges are still afraid of this trial and intend to slow down."

Earlier this week, Rifi said a decision to move Samaha from his prison cell to 
a hospital had been cancelled due to a threat to assassinate him over 
information he possessed about the role of the Syrian regime in alleged terror 
plots.

Samaha's family, however, cast doubt over Rifi's claims, saying his remarks 
were a "political intervention to pressure the military court not to release 
[Samaha] after spending 2 1/2 years without trial."

Military Investigative Judge Riad Abu Ghayda last year recommended the death 
penalty for Samaha as well as a Syrian general and another individual holding 
the rank of colonel over the alleged terror plot to destabilize Lebanon.

The indictment charged the three men with orchestrating a plot to assassinate 
Syrian opposition figures and arms traffickers entering Syria from Lebanon.

(source: The Daily Star)








PAPUA NEW GUINEA:

Return of death penalty to nations' books not a proven deterrent



Papua New Guinea is preparing to carry out the executions of 13 inmates before 
the year is out, at the same time neighbouring Indonesia is caught up in a war 
of words with Australia over its expected executions of the coordinators of the 
Bali 9 trafficking group.

Australia's prime minister yesterday argued that its aid contributions to 
Indonesia should be considered.

It's an unsettling precedent, and one which PNG will probably monitor in the 
coming weeks.

(source: Radio Australia)








INDONESIA:

RI urged to halt imminent executions of 11 people



Rights group Amnesty International (AI) says the Indonesian government must 
halt the imminent execution of 11 people and scrap plans to put even more 
people to death this year.

"President Joko [Jokowi] Widodo is apparently trying to show that he is tough 
on crime, but there is no evidence that the death penalty is more of a 
deterrent than other forms of punishment. Instead, he should be ensuring that 
the criminal justice system prevents and detects crime, and ensures fair 
trials," AI Asia Pacific director Richard Bennett said in an open letter on 
Thursday.

AI made the open letter to respond to Attorney General HM Prasetyo's statement 
that the 11 executions of death row prisoners, which include both foreigners 
and Indonesian nationals convicted for drug trafficking and murder, would be 
carried out imminently.

6 convicts were executed on Jan. 19 and the Indonesian government has announced 
plans to put 14 more to death throughout the year. The executions are following 
the government's decision to reject all clemency appeals of death row prisoners 
out of hand. AI said the clemency rejections had effectively denied the 
prisoners a meaningful review of their cases, something guaranteed in both 
international and Indonesian law.

"These killings must stop immediately. By respecting human rights and adopting 
a more effective approach to crime, President Widodo should demonstrate real 
leadership," said Bennett.

At least 2 prisoners have appeals pending before the Supreme Court and no 
executions should be carried out while appeals are not finalized, AI points out 
in the open letter.

At least 3 prisoners, all foreign nationals, may not have been provided a legal 
representative who could have assisted in filing appeals, it further says.

AI also highlights the case of Brazilian national Rodrigo Gularte, 1 prisoner 
who has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, an illness that has 
deteriorated while on death row.

"International law prohibits the use of the death penalty against those with 
mental or intellectual disabilities," it said.

(source: The Jakarta Post)

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

Indonesia urged not to execute Brazilian Rodrigo Gularte, who has been 
diagnosed as mentally ill ---- Gularte is due to face the firing squad for drug 
crimes alongside Australian Bali 9 pair Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran



Rodrigo Gularte is on death row in Indonesia for drug smuggling. He is due to 
be executed along with members of the Bali 9.

The family of a Brazilian man in line to be executed in Indonesia along with 2 
Australian drug smugglers has appealed for a reprieve, saying he has been 
diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic who is delusional with psychotic 
tendencies.

Rodrigo Gularte, 42, was sentenced to death in 2005 after he was caught 
smuggling 6kg of cocaine into Indonesia hidden inside surfboards.

The Brazilian surfer is among 11 death row inmates, including the two 
Australians convicted for their part in the 2005 Bali 9 drug smuggling plot, 
and citizens of France, Ghana, Nigeria and the Philippines. All were due to be 
executed by firing squad this month.

As diplomatic pressure has mounted and public outcry in Australia has grown, 
the executions have been postponed, but officials say the delay is only 
temporary.

The Gularte family knows they are in a race against time to bring the details 
of their case to light.

With no legal representation in court during his trial in 2005 - his lawyer 
took the money and ran - questions about Gularte's mental stability are only 
just emerging.

To his family, Gularte was a goodhearted but troubled teenager who started 
using drugs to treat his depression and ended up down the wrong path.

Rodrigo Gularte was a keen surfer as a teenager. He was arrested while 
smuggling 6 kilograms of cocaine into Indonesia hidden inside surfboards.

After he was sentenced to death Gularte attempted suicide by self-immolation in 
his prison cell and his mental state has continued to deteriorate since.

"Rodrigo is very sick and needs treatment," his distressed cousin, Angelita 
Muxfeldt, told Guardian Australia, as she spread out a handful of medical 
reports by teams of psychologists and psychiatrists across the table.

"We heard that people here think that we are lying about his mental condition," 
she said, "but last year we hired all these doctors to examine him, look here 
are all the dates."

Last year the Gularte family, with the assistance of the Brazilian embassy, 
requested that his mental health be thoroughly examined.

A group of specialists that conducted bi-monthly visits to the prison from July 
until November last year diagnosed Gularte with paranoid schizophrenia and 
recommended he be taken to hospital for immediate intensive treatment.

The specialists described Gularte's psychological condition as unstable and 
noted that he had become increasingly withdrawn and delusional, "leaving his 
room only to eat and go to the library" and was "observed talking to himself, 
and talking to the water pump".

A separate report by a different team of specialists this month confirmed 
Gularte has paranoid schizophrenia.

For years the family has been trying to convince Gularte to seek outside 
treatment, but he refuses to acknowledge any illness and is unwilling to take 
medication.

Detained at Nusa Kambangan, the maximum-security prison island off Java, 
Gularte is reportedly too scared to leave.

"He is afraid to leave the prison," noted his Brazilian cousin, "He thinks the 
prison is a secure place and that it will be dangerous to go out, that the 
hospital is a dangerous place."

During her visits, Muxfeldt said her cousin recounted surreal stories about 
being in contact with satellites, bombs at night and hearing different voices, 
including in African languages. One voice, she said, even told him the death 
penalty had been universally abolished.

"He told me, 'Oh, a voice came and told me last night that the death penalty is 
finished in Indonesia and all the world.' And I said, no, Rodrigo, it's not 
true, but he said I was lying," Muxfeldt said.

"He said, 'The voice told me that I am going home, that the death penalty 
doesn't exist any more. I listened, I know.'"

The Indonesian attorney general's office said it had received a request from 
the head of Nusa Kambangan prison to have Gularte's mental state examined in a 
hospital outside the prison and listed it as one of several reasons for the 
recent delay in executions.

"While there is uncertainty about whether Mr Gularte suffers from a mental 
illness it is difficult for us to conduct the execution," Tony Spontana, a 
spokesman for the attorney general, said on Tuesday. "We have to be sure he is 
fully recovered before the execution."

The Gularte family has submitted a comprehensive medical report to the 
Indonesian government and is praying it will be considered.

Brazilian national Marco Archer Cardoso Moreira was executed in January and it 
is unclear how long the current delay will last.

Gularte's 70-year-old mother, Clarisse, is in Cilacap, the closest town to the 
island of Nusa Kambangan, where she is permitted to see her son twice a week, 
while Muxfeldt lobbies in Jakarta with the help of the Brazilian embassy.

The Brazilian ambassador recalled following the death of Moreira has since 
returned, and president Dilma Rousseff is believed to have written to the 
Indonesian president, Joko Widodo, about the issue.

Under Article 44 of the Indonesian penal code, a person who has a mental 
disorder cannot be sentenced for their criminal act and should be taken to 
hospital. The execution of a mentally ill person also runs contrary to 
international law.

Indonesian human rights activist Haris Azhar urged the Indonesia government to 
look into the case, arguing that without legal representation for Gularte in 
2005, "there is very valid evidence that law enforcement was conducted without 
any fulfilment of a fair trial".

"After 10 years there is no correction for what has been done," Azhar said. 
"The Indonesian government should be ashamed if they execute Rodrigo."

(source: The Guardian)

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

Attorney General discusses execution of convicts on death row



Attorney General H. M. Prasetyo met with the heads of several prosecutors 
offices here on Wednesday to discuss the execution of the death sentences given 
to drugs convicts.

According to Tony Tribagus Spontana, a spokesman for the Attorney Generals 
Office (AGO), the heads of the high prosecutors offices explained the 
preparations being made for the executions.

In addition, chief of the high prosecutors office of Bali, Momok Bambang 
Samiarso, expressed his readiness to send the convicts to the Nusa Kambangan 
prison in Cilacap, Central Java.

Moreover, the AGO decided to postpone the execution of the Australian drug 
convicts to meet the demands of the Australian government and the families of 
the convicts.

"This is our response to the demands made by the Australian government and the 
families of the convicts who asked for more time for them to be able to meet 
with (the 2 convicts)," Spontana stated recently.

The AGO plans to execute 11 convicts given the death penalty, including the 
drug convicts from Australia Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, following the 
rejection of their pleas for clemency by President Joko Widodo.

3 convicts who face execution over murder charges are Indonesian citizens Iyen 
bin Azwar, Harun bin Ajis, and Sargawi alias Ali bin Sanusi.

6 other convicts, including 5 foreigners, to be put to death over narcotics 
cases are Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso from the Philippines, Serge Areski Atlaoui 
from France, Martin Anderson alias Belo from Ghana, Indonesia citizen Zainal 
Abidin, Raheem Agbaje Salami from Cordova, and Rodrigo Gularte from Brazil.

(source: ANTARA News)

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

Dressed in white, tied to a pillar and a maximum of 3 minutes to 'calm down' 
before being shot through the heart: The sick video watched by millions of 
Indonesians describing how Aussies will die

Indonesian TV has shown mock-up of execution faced by 2 Australians

Chilling film shows firing squad's target practice and black-hooded convict



Millions of Indonesians have watched on television exactly how Australians 
Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan will be executed on 'Death Island'.

Chilling video has emerged of the mobile paramilitary brigade called Brimob in 
firing practice ahead of the last round of executions on Nusa Kambangan, where 
Chan and Sukumaran are due to be shifted 72 hours ahead of their deaths by 
firing squad.

This comes as coffins arrived at a Christian Church in Cilacap, the nearest 
port to Nusa Kambangan, where a local Indonesian caretaker was pictured 
preparing four caskets in preparation for the executions.

Bali Police Chief A.J. Benny Mokalu on Wednesday confirmed the procedures that 
will lead to the executions.

The condemned Australian pair would be taken from Bali's Kerobokan prison to 
Ngurah Rai airport during the night and flown 900 kilometres west to Cilacap, 
in central Java, then transferred by boat to Nusa Kambangan.

Exactly when this will take place is still unknown. Indonesian officials have 
repeatedly rejected appeals from the condemned men's lawyers and the Australian 
government to stay the executions of Chan and Sukumaran, who were convicted on 
heroin trafficking charges in 2006.

The footage of the execution practice round was aired on television on January 
17 to demonstrate to Indonesian viewers just what would take place when 5 
foreign drug traffickers were executed the following day.

Those executions, of nationals from Brazill, the Netherlands, Malawi, Vietnam 
and one Indonesian, were the first since President Joko Widodo came to power 
last October.

A tough stance on drug criminals was part of his campaign, and he has been 
uncompromising about using the death penalty despite pleas from foreign 
governments and rights activists.

The video shows the Brimob executioners dressed in military fatigues with 
semi-automatic rifles aiming loud volleys of fire repeatedly at bullseye 
targets.

Even more horrifying is the spooky step-by-step recreation by Channel 1 
Indonesia of the execution, using a white figure with its arms tied behind the 
back and a black hood over its head to represent the condemned man.

In the recreation, the firing squad is represented by a row of toy or robotic 
looking figures. The television report also lists a 27 point manifesto about 
how the execution will proceed, including the execution 'commander' raising a 
sword 'as a symbol for the firing squad to aim at the heart of the convict'.

Points 24 and 25 give specific instructions for doctors to check the condition 
of the convict immediately after the shooting, 'and if the doctor thinks that 
the convict is still showing signs of life ... the firing squad commander must 
put a pistol to the temple just above the ear of the convict' and finish the 
job.

Some of the last words the men being executed will hear are 'laksanakan, 
laksanakan' - meaning 'execute, execute' in Indonesian - shouted by the firing 
squad commander before 3 live rounds and 9 blanks are loaded into the 12 rifles 
of the firing squad shooters.

Part of the process includes clergy attending to 'give offenders a last chance 
to calm down for a maximum of 3 minutes' before they are shot.

--

The 27 rules for execution by firing squad in Indonesia



1. Convict is given clean, simple, and white clothing before being taken to a 
place or location of the implementation of the death penalty

2. When brought to the place or location of the implementation of the death 
penalty, the convict can be accompanied by a member of the clergy

3. The support team is ready at the appointed place two (2) hours before the 
time of execution of the death penalty

4. Team shooters have been gathered in preparation at the location of the 
implementation of the death penalty, one (1) hour prior

5. Team shooter sets the position and puts the 12 (twelve) rifles in front of 
the pole position of the implementation of the death penalty at a distance of 
five (5) meters up to ten (10) feet and back to the prep area

6. Execution commander reports his team's readiness to prosecutors executor by 
saying 'report execution of the death penalty is ready'

7. Execution attorney conducts a final check of death row and the weapons used 
for the implementation of the death penalty

8. After the inspection is completed, the prosecutor orders the executing 
commander calls out 'execute' and then repeats the utterance 'execute'

9. The executon commander orders the firing squad commander to fill and lock 
arms ammunition into twelve (12) rifles with three (3) rounds of live 
ammunition and nine (9) roundsof blanks

10. The prosecutor orders the commander of the execution squad to bring the 
convicted man to a position shooting and release his handcuffs and tie his 
hands and feet to a pillar in a standing, sitting, or kneeling psoition, unless 
otherwise specified by the prosecutor

11. The offender is given a last chance to calm down a maximum of 3 (three) 
minutes, accompanied by a clergy member

12. The commander team places a black cloth over the eyes of the covnicted man, 
unless the convict refuses

13. Doctors place a black mark on the convict's clothes right over the heart as 
the place to shoot at. Then the doctor withdraws

14. The commander reports to the execution prosecutor that the convicted person 
is ready to receive the death penalty

15. The execution prosecutor gives the sign/gesture to the commander to begin 
immediately implementing the shooting of the convict

16. Commander provides a sign / gesture to the firing squad commander to bring 
the firing squad to the front position

17. Execution commander takes his place in front of the right side facing of 
the firing squad

18. The execution commander ensures the firing squad is ready to fire

19. The implementing commander draws a sword as a symbol for the firing squad 
to aim towards the heart of the convict

20. The executing commander brandishes the sword forward as a cue to the firing 
squad to unlock weapons

21. The executing commander brings down the sword as a gesture to tell the 
firing squad to perform simultaneous shooting

22. After shooting is finished the executing commander sheaths his sword as a 
cue to the firing squad to stand their weapons

23. The executing commander and doctors check the condition of the convicted 
person and if the doctor thinks that the convict is still showing signs of 
life, the prosecutor makes an order to the shooting commander

24. The executing commander and doctors check the condition of the convicted 
person and if the convict is still breathing orders that a pistol be put to his 
temple just above the ear for a final shot

25. Shooting can be repeated, if according to a doctor's certificate is still 
signs of life

26. Execution of the death penalty is declared finished, if the doctor has 
stated that there are no more signs of life on the convict

27. Completion of the firing squad and the shooting commander orders its 
members to remove the magazine and empty their weapons

--

At at Wijaya Pura port in Cilacap, there are currently no signs of the horror 
awaiting the 2 Australians or the 7 other people who may also be executed at 
the same time - 4 from Indonesia and 1 each from Brazil, Ghana and Nigeria.

The topical island appeared idyllic on Wednesday, and children jumped in and 
out of the calm waters of the port.

(source: Daily Mail)








NIGERIA:

54 % of Lagos Residents Want Death Row Convicts Executed



More than 1/2 of all Lagos residents want the government to execute convicted 
prisoners on death row, a survey by the government has shown.

The survey showed 54 % of those polled said the government should not spare the 
convicts.

The revelation came as the government announced Wednesday that it was retaining 
the use of the death penalty in the state's Criminal Justice Law.

Ade Ipaye, Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, made this 
known in a statement issued on Wednesday.

Mr. Ipaye said the council arrived at the decision after a survey showed that 
majority of Lagos residents were in support of capital punishment in the 
criminal justice system of the state.

The attorney-general said majority of the respondents were of the view that the 
retention of the death penalty would serve as deterrence against violent 
crimes, such as murder and armed robbery.

Mr. Ipaye said following several abolition campaigns and international advocacy 
which were addressed to the government, the council considered the proposition 
to abolish or retain the death penalty in its laws.

"In taking its decision, the state commissioned an empirical research that 
surveyed the perception of Lagos residents and elicited their opinion on the 
abolition debate, including the question whether they believe the death penalty 
currently deters violent crime.

"The survey was undertaken in two categories: public survey (random selection 
of 2,000 members of the public) and the experts' survey (selected 100 persons 
who have close contact with the criminal justice process and systems).

"Majority of the respondents surveyed supported the use of the death penalty in 
Lagos State.

"The survey also revealed that over 54 % of the respondents advised the Lagos 
State Government to execute convicts on death row," Mr. Ipaye said.

According to him, a large number of respondents also believed that the death 
penalty should be retained because it serves positive retributive and 
deterrence purposes.

(source: All Africa News)








TURKEY:

Senior judge says death penalty should be debated after young woman's death



The newly elected head of the Supreme Court of Appeals has joined calls from 
the government for the reinstatement of the death penalty after the Feb. 11 
killing of 20-year-old Ozgecan Aslan on a minibus in Tarsus.

Supreme Court of Appeals President Ismail Rustu Cirit, who is said to enjoy 
good relations with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Justice and 
Development Party (AK Party) led government, said on Wednesday that the 
reinstatement of the death penalty should be debated. "If a simple survey is 
carried out among the public, it would show that at least 80 % [of respondents] 
want the reinstatement of the death penalty," Cirit told reporters.

Key political figures within the AK Party earlier voiced their support for 
reinstating the death penalty after Aslan's murder. Critics say the AK Party is 
using the tragic case to reinstate the death penalty and that such a 
reinstatement would have negative outcomes in light of the country's already 
eroding democracy.

Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci posted a message urging the re-adoption of the 
death sentence via his Twitter account on Sunday night, as nationwide protests 
against the brutal murder of the university student continued. "I wish God's 
mercy upon our child Ozgecan Aslan and express my condolences to her family. I 
hope God places our child in the most beautiful place in heaven. We need to 
carefully discuss and reinstate the death penalty for murders such as that of 
Ozgecan Aslan," he wrote.

After Zeybekci opened the debate, a number of high-level government officials 
and politicians expressed their support for the death penalty, which was 
abolished in 2002 under reforms aimed at initiating Turkey's European Union 
membership by a 3-party coalition government led by the Democratic Left Party 
(DSP). Then a partner of the coalition, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) 
did not block the government from going ahead with the proposal, but did vote 
against it in Parliament.

Binali Yildirim, President Erdogan's chief adviser, said while answering 
questions from journalists on Monday that "for this [Aslan's murder] and other 
incidents like this not to remain unpunished, reinstating the death penalty 
must be widely debated in the public [sphere]."

3 suspects were arrested in connection with Aslan's murder after a court order 
was issued late on Sunday, with protests against increasing levels of violence 
against women taking place across Turkey.

(source: Todays Zaman)