[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 25



QATAR:

Iran Confirms Repatriation of 6 Citizens Sentenced in Qatar



Iran today confirmed the repatriation of 6 of its citizens sentenced to death 
penalties or long imprisonment in Qatar, a decision obtained thanks to the work 
of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said its spokesman, Marzieh Afkham.

Akfham said that the prisoners are already in Iran in virtue of the efforts of 
Tehran's Foreign Ministry, the Iranian embassy in Doha, and the result of the 
recent visit of Qatar's Minister of Justice, Masood Bin Muhammad Al-Ameri, and 
the interaction with Iranian judicial authorities.

The repatriated had been sentenced to life imprisonment, long sentences or 
death penalty for crimes related to possession of drugs.

(source: Prensa Latina)








AUSTRALIA:

We stand for mercy: Australia's top legal minds sign petition calling for 
clemency for Chan and Sukumaran



More than 140 of Australia's leading law professors, deans and academics have 
signed a petition pleading with Indonesian President Joko Widodo to use his 
constitutional powers to spare the lives of the Bali 9 pair, Andrew Chan and 
Myuran Sukumaran.

In ultimately deciding on clemency we believe the Indonesian Government should 
give the strongest consideration to the remarkable rehabilitation history of 
the 2 condemned.

Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Sydney, Mark Findlay, said 
the response from the legal fraternity over the past 24 hours has been 
"astonishing in its commitment and its concern".

"We are not lecturing the Indonesians, but rather we want to commend their 
prison system which seems to have assisted in the remarkable rehabilitation of 
our 2 fellow citizens," he said.

The petition says the academics seek the Indonesian president's mercy, "not as 
critics of Indonesia, or its legal system, nor of Indonesia's right to take the 
strong but ultimately humane action against drug traffickers who bring misery 
and addiction to many".

"While opposing capital punishment as cruel and inhuman we also condemn the 
exploitation which the drug trade represents," the petition says.

The academics say the Republic of Indonesia has earned growing respect and 
approval among the international community for its demonstrated commitment to 
protecting human rights, and has made an important contribution to human rights 
protection globally as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council.

"President Widodo himself has been a strong advocate for human rights, with the 
advancement of human rights a central plank in his 2014 presidential election 
campaign," the academics say.

"The deaths of Chan and Sukumaran would be a tragedy for them, and their 
families, while not addressing the underlying causes of the drug trade in 
Indonesia.

"In contrast, sparing the lives of these 2 young men, who have demonstrated 
remorse for their crimes and have been rehabilitated during their lengthy 
imprisonment, would be a signal of strength and mercy, an affirmation of 
President Widodo's deep commitment to human rights.

"Presidential clemency would serve as a turning point and opportunity for 
Indonesia to achieve its overriding national interest - combating the drug 
trade. It would do so by being a rallying call for Australia and other 
countries in the region to develop and implement an effective regime to stamp 
out the damaging drug trafficking trade once for all."

The petition includes the following statement signed by more than 140 
academics:

"As lawyers, concerned academics and professionals, we join to speak out 
against the impending and tragic execution of our fellow citizens in Indonesia. 
We do not see this punishment as either an issue of national sovereignty or of 
just desserts.

"The Australian police gave up these 2 men to a capital punishment jurisdiction 
as part of an operation which could have led to prosecutions and trials in 
Australia where the death penalty is not an option.

"Capital punishment is said to be qualified by mercy. In ultimately deciding on 
clemency we believe the Indonesian Government should give the strongest 
consideration to the remarkable rehabilitation history of the 2 condemned. In 
opposing these executions we are not seeking to criticise the judicial process 
of another country.

"However, we want to see justice tempered with humanity. Right-minded 
Australians share the abhorrence of misery and addiction associated with drug 
abuse and the shameful trafficking trade. That said, nothing in our view can 
justify the killing of 2 men in circumstances such as these. At this final hour 
we add our voices to the calls for the death sentences to be commuted and for 
Australia and Indonesia to join in other ways to fight the harmful health 
consequences of drug abuse in all its forms."

(source: Sydney Morning Herald)








NIGERIA:

Lawyers Fault Lagos Decision To Retain Death Penalty



Lawyers under the aegis of Avocats Sans Frontieres France (Lawyers Without 
Borders) has condemned the decision of the Lagos State government to retain the 
death penalty in its laws, describing it as a most unwelcome development.

In a statement signed by Akpa Esther, communication officer for Avocats Sans 
Frontieres France, also known as Lawyers Without Borders France, the state 
government has determined that the death penalty is a suitable deterrent for 
crimes such as murder and armed robbery, based on empirical research and 
randomly conducted opinion polls.

According to the statement, ASF France Head of Office in Abuja, Miss Angela 
Uwandu, expressed disappointment that the decision is in spite of the various 
aggressive death penalty abolition campaigns that have been launched in the 
state in the past decade, saying the decision casts a shadow on the status of 
the Lagos State government as a progressive pace setter in legal policies.

(source: Leadershipng.ng)








SAUDI ARABIA----execution

Saudi Arabia beheads Jordanian national for drug trafficking



Saudi Arabia has beheaded a Jordanian on charges of drug trafficking, bringing 
to 32 the number of executions carried out in the kingdom in the first 2 months 
of 2015.

The convicted Jordanian drug smuggler, identified as Omar Mohammed Abdul Muti 
al-Rubai, was beheaded in the northwestern al-Jawf region, on Wednesday, the 
Saudi Interior Ministry said.

The execution was carried out after the convict allegedly confessed to trying 
to smuggle a large amount of amphetamines across the northern Jordan-Saudi 
border.

This is while the increasing number of executions in Saudi Arabia has drawn 
growing concern on the international stage. Riyadh carried out the death 
penalty against 87 people last year, up from 78 in 2013.

The country has come under particular criticism from rights groups for the 
executions carried out for non-fatal crimes.

According to the London-based rights group Amnesty International's annual 
report on Wednesday, Saudi Arabia imposes death sentences "after unfair 
trials."

Amnesty International said Saudi Arabia, which has one of the highest execution 
rates in the world, has tortured or "otherwise coerced or misled [defendants] 
into making false confessions" before trial.

Muslim clerics have also slammed Riyadh for indicting and then executing 
suspects without giving them a chance to defend themselves.

Saudi authorities say the beheadings reveal the Saudi government's commitment 
to "maintaining security and realizing justice."

The execution "is committed to fighting drugs of all kinds due to the physical 
and social harm they cause," the Saudi government added.

Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking are all punishable 
by death under Saudi rule.

Saudi officials execute convicts by sword and then hang their corpses from a 
helicopter for the public to see.

(source: Presstv)








IRAN----executions

2 prisoners hanged in public in Kermanshah



As the executions of prisoners continue unabated in Iran, the celrical regime's 
henchmen hang 2 other prisoners in public in the western city of Kermanshah.

The 2 men were hanged in 2 locations in the city 10 in the morning local time 
on Wednesday.

The public hanging follows executions in several prisons in cities across Iran 
of which very limited have been officially announced.

According to the reports received from various sources dozens of prisoners have 
been hanged during the past weekend alone in prisons across Iran.

Official news websites reported that 4 prisoners have been hanged on Sunday in 
city of Arak and another prisoner has been hanged on Tuesday morning in the 
main prison in the city of Rasht.

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

4 men hanged in Arak



4 prisoners hanged in the main prison in the city of Arak on Tuesday, the 
judiciary's website in the Central Province has announced.

The prisoners were only identified by their 1st name and last name initials as 
Mohammad M., Ehsan J., Amirhossien Gh, and Reza Z.

The 4 men all had been charged with drug related offences.

According to the information received from various sources in Iran on over 2 
dozen prisoners being executed in a number of prisons across Iran in past few 
days.

Last week, the Iranian regime's henchmen in the central prison in the city of 
Orumiyeh hanged at least 2 political prisoners.

Habibullah Afshari, 26 and his brother Ali Afshari, 34, hanged on Thursday, had 
been sentenced to death for supporting Komala, an Iranian Kurdish opposition 
group.

They were among the group of 6 political prisoners including Saman Naseem who 
were transferred to isolation on Wednesday. There is no information on the fate 
of the other prisoners.

(source for both: NCR-Iran)