[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Jan. 2



PAKISTAN:

LHC suspends death row convict's execution



Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday suspended the execution of a death row 
convict in response to a petition filed by the convict's counsel.

According to private media reports, convict Faiz Ahmad was issued a death 
warrant by an anti-terrorism court (ATC) on December 26. He was condemned to 
death in 2006 for the killing of Lance Naik Tariq Mehmood in Nakana Sahib.

Ahmad's execution was scheduled for January 14. His lawyer submitted an 
application in LHC, mentioning that an appeal against the death sentence was 
pending in the Supreme Court since 2009 and therefore, his death warrant should 
be set aside by the court.

A LHC bench stopped the execution and ordered a clarification from the ATC on 
the matter.

Pakistan lifted a 6-year-old moratorium on death penalty for terror convicts on 
December 17, following a deadly Taliban attack on a school in Peshawar. At 
least 150 people, mostly students, were killed in the attack.

Since then, 7 convicts have been executed.

(source: Paksitan Today)

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

PM writes to President to dismiss mercy pleas of 5 terrorists



Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has written a letter to President Mamnoon Hussain 
for the dismissal of mercy pleas of 5 terrorists on death row.

The letter states that the 5 criminals were involved in acts of terrorism and 
had been awarded the death penalty.

The 5 convicted terrorists include Muhammad Akramul Haq alias Lahori, Ahmed Ali 
alias Asif, Muhammad Tayaab alias Sajjad, Ghullam Shabir alias Doctor and 
Zulfiqar Ali.

(source: geo.tv)








UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:

Maid sentenced to death for murder of infant; Home security cameras caught the 
defendant taking the child out of her crib and returning her there four minutes 
later.



An Indonesian maid charged with the murder of her employer's 4-month-old child 
will receive the death penalty, a 2nd court of appeals has ruled.

Although the defendant, S.T., had initially been found guilty at the Criminal 
Court of First Instance, the death penalty verdict was looked into by the court 
of appeals and a lawyer was assigned for the suspect.

The decision was rendered on Wednesday.

She is accused of killing the child, Malak, out of jealousy for her Filipina 
nanny earlier this year. Court documents state that the cause of death was head 
trauma and home security cameras caught the defendant taking the child out of 
her crib and returning her there 4 minutes later. The defendant reportedly 
bashed the child's head against a wooden table at the victim's home.

However, the court-assigned lawyer reportedly did not take his task of 
defending S.T. seriously and so the case was looked into again by a 2nd court 
of appeals that upheld the verdict.

The victim's parents insisted on carrying out the maximum punishment in the 
case, and declined to accept any proposals for leniency.

Malak's caretakers will be present at the execution.

(source: Gulf News)








CHINA:

Typist sentenced to death in China for leaking military secrets; Worker said to 
have sold secrets about centre researching secret weapon to an unnamed foreign 
intelligence agency



A young typist who worked at a Chinese military manufacturer's research centre 
that was developing a secret weapons system has been sentenced to death for 
spying for a foreign intelligence agency, according to a state-run media 
report.

Yu Hongyang, a member of staff at an unnamed research office, was said to have 
damaged national security by leaking state secrets, the news website of the 
Global Times newspaper reported.

He was caught by the Ministry of State Security for allegedly buying secret 
information and then selling it in an "extremely severe" case that warranted 
the death penalty, the report said.

The foreign intelligence agency allegedly involved was not named.

Yu was employed at the centre on its secretarial staff.

The facility was involved in researching "a secret weapon that could vanquish 
the enemy in future battles", the report said.

Yu wanted more cash so started looking for other work.

"His greed for money led him to post an online job search," the report said.

He was then contacted by a foreign intelligence agency posing as potential 
employer.

Yu revealed basic information about the military research office during initial 
meetings with foreign intelligence staff, the report said.

The foreign agency gave him cash and gifts and later asked him to give more 
detailed information about the site's research work.

"Despite that fact that Yu had been well briefed on secrecy, he caved in due to 
his intense materialism," the newspaper commented.

The report said that although Yu was a typist he was still able to get his 
hands on critical information that "trashed decades of research efforts on 
national security".

He was said to have stolen large quantities of highly confidential state 
secrets.

(source: South China Morning Post)








NIGERIA:

Mixed Reactions Trail Death Sentence on Soldiers



Some Nigerians have expressed mixed feelings to the death sentence recently 
passed on some Nigerian soldiers serving in the North-East for acts of mutiny.

Some of the citizens said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) 
in Abuja that the soldiers should not be killed but be served a lesser 
sentence.

Others, however, think that the death sentence should be carried out.

It would be recalled that 12 soldiers who attacked and shot at their superior 
in Maiduguri in May were sentenced to death by firing squad in September 2014.

Also, 59 others were in October arraigned on a 2-count charge of criminal 
conspiracy to commit mutiny, out of whom 54 were sentenced to death in 
December, having been found guilty of the charges.

Retired Commissioner of Police, Lawrence Alobi, said the only way to stop 
munity by soldiers was training, capacity building and empowerment of the 
military.

Alobi said that when the soldiers were properly trained they would be able to 
withstand challenges.

"The military need to be empowered in terms of provision of equipment and 
motivation. When these are done, the case of people going contrary to the rules 
or ethics of the profession will not arise any longer," he said.

The former police commissioner said the military like the police, had their 
code of conduct and professional ethics whose violation attracted sanctions.

"Munity or working contrary to the ethics of the profession is sanctionable and 
anybody who does that is liable.

"Before you join any profession you are made to know the powers, your duties 
and your privileges and limitations," he said.

On his part, Sanya Adejokun, Managing Editor, Economic Confidential, told NAN 
that there was need to instill discipline in soldiers to guard against mutiny.

Adejokun said that every organisation or job has its own rules and regulations 
"and by the time you join the military you must be conversant with their rules 
and regulations."

"These days we are challenged by insurgency and I don't think as a nation we 
will tolerate soldiers running away from battle under the pretext that they are 
not probably armed.

Mrs. Kambili John, a civil servant, said since soldiers risked their lives to 
save others' in spite of the "unpleasant working conditions under which they 
are operating, the military authorities should make their sentence lighter."

"It is not fair to kill them; they should be given lighter sentences, 
especially in view of the unpleasant conditions under which they are fighting," 
John said.

And for Mohammed Danladi, a teacher, killing the soldiers would only portray 
Nigeria as a very ungrateful nation.

"Killing them would make us look like we are an ungrateful nation in the comity 
of nations.

"These are people we should see as patriots and even if they err, their 
punishment should be corrective.

"What will we teach our children about patriotism if those that risked their 
lives to save the lives of others are killed?" Danladi asked.

Tobechukwu Arinze, said discipline was the watchword of the military and should 
be adhered to.

"I feel for them and their families, but there is nothing anyone can do because 
the law must take its course and they knew the penalty for mutiny before 
committing it," Arinze said.

(source: Daily Independent)








QATAR:

Qatar upholds death penalty to Karki



The Appellate Court of Qatar has upheld the verdict of the lower court in the 
case of Nepali migrant worker Kushal Karki, hailing from Pauwagadha-1 in 
Syangja.

The lower criminal court on March 31, 2014 had sentenced Karki to death after 
finding him guilty for the murder of Mohammed Irshad Ansari of Jaleshwor-13, 
Mahottari district.

Karki had then appealed to the Appellate Court against the lower court's 
decision, seeking to overturn the verdict.

However, the Appellate Court had upheld the death penalty to Karki during the 
hearing conducted on December 22, 2014.

The Nepali Embassy in Doha of Qatar, which has already corresponded the outcome 
of the case to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that as both the victim 
and the guilty were Nepali nationals, "the punishment will not be implemented 
if the 2 families reach a mutual agreement".

However, the family of the victim appears to be in no mood to forgive Karki for 
murdering Ansari. Karki said that he has requested his family to try to appease 
the victim's family.

"I have made a huge mistake and I realise that now, but I want to appeal to the 
family of Mohammed Irshad Ansari to forgive me," Karki said.

As per Qatar's law, a guilty can be let off criminal charges if the family of 
the victim agrees to drop the case in return for the 'blood money' offered by 
the former.

Karki had reportedly stabbed Ansari, who happened to be his supervisor, to 
death with a knife in a fit of rage in 2012.

(source: Kantipur.com)