[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Jan. 17



INDONESIA----executions

Indonesia executes 6 for drug offences ---- Prisoners killed included 
foreigners from Brazil, the Netherlands, Vietnam, Malawi and Nigeria.



Indonesia has executed 6 people convicted of drugs offences, including 5 
foreigners, a spokesman for the attorney general's office said.

All the convicts were executed by firing squad shortly after midnight local 
time on Sunday morning. The foreigners were from Brazil, the Netherlands, 
Vietnam, Malawi and Nigeria.

"The execution of the 6 convicts has been carried out," spokesman Tony Spontana 
told AFP news agency.

He said 5 were executed on Nusakambangan Island, off the south coast of the 
archipelago's main island of Java and home to a high-security prison. The 6th 
was executed in Boyolali district in central Java.

The executions mark the 1st time capital punishment has been carried out under 
new President Joko Widodo.

Widodo, who took office in late October, signed off on the executions last 
month. He pledged no clemency for drug offenders, despite pleas from the 
European Union, the Brazilian government and Amnesty International.

Indonesia resumed executions in 2013 after a 5-year gap.

Widodo has taken a strong stance on the rule of law, not only on drugs but also 
on corruption and maritime law.

In his first few months in office, he has ordered illegal fishing vessels to be 
blown up by the navy and supported the unprecedented move of dismissing the 
entire board of energy giant Pertamina.

(source: Al Jazeera)

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

Indonesia Executes Brazilian Citizen Archer in Drug Case



Marco Archer, 1 of 2 Brazilians condemned to death for drug trafficking in 
Indonesia, was executed soon after midnight Jakarta time, the Brazilian 
presidency said.

The decision to execute Archer "gravely affects relations" between the 2 
countries, the presidency said in an e-mailed statement. The Brazilian 
ambassador to Indonesia, based in Jakarta, is being summoned to Brasilia for 
consultations, the statement added.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo yesterday rejected a plea from President Dilma 
Rousseff to spare Archer and Rodrigo Gularte from the death penalty, saying he 
couldn't commute the sentence because all judicial proceedings had followed 
Indonesian law and the Brazilian citizens had been granted due process.

Brazil's Prosecutor General Rodrigo Janot also sent a letter to Indonesia's 
Attorney General HM Prasetyo yesterday, requesting an 8-week delay to Archer's 
execution by firing squad. In the same letter, he said he saw the possibility 
for commutation of Gularte's death sentence for immunity reasons. Gularte was 
not scheduled to be executed today.

(source: Bloomberg News)

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

Indonesia to execute 6 drug convicts by firing squad this weekend



The Indonesian government will execute 6 people by firing squad this weekend 
for drug-related offences in the 1st capital punishment deaths in the nation 
since 2013.

The list of death row inmates expected to be executed this year sits at 20, 
after Indonesia's new President Widodo stated he will not grant clemency to 64 
drug-related death row inmates - who will all be killed. Indonesia is known for 
its harsh penalties for drug convictions, after halting the execution of drug 
offenders in 2004, the country resumed killings in 2013.

"There is no pardon for this matter," President Widodo said at a press 
conference on Dec. 10, "I think we are aware that Indonesia is in a state of 
emergency due to drugs."

Brazilian man Marco Archer Cardoso Moreira will be the 1st foreigner executed 
in Indonesia this year, according to Fairfax Media. On Wednesday, he was 
transferred to an isolation cell, which is common practice before facing the 
death penalty. His lawyer said he had feelings of shock, sadness and fear at 
facing a firing squad for attempting to smuggle 13.4 kilograms of cocaine into 
Jakarta. The Brazilian government has pleaded for him to be spared.

Indonesian national Rani Andriani, Nigerian national Daniel Enemuo, Dutch 
national Ang Kim Soei, Vietnamese national Tran Thi Bich Hanh and Nigerian 
national Namaona Denis are the other inmates scheduled to be killed this 
weekend. The group has been given 3-days notice as is required by law and their 
final wishes have been requested.

The execution announcement shocked Australian drug traffickers, Myuran 
Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, who are imprisoned in Indonesia and are now expected 
to be executed this year, News Limited reported.

The pair were arrested and convicted of being the ringleaders in a plan by 9 
Australians, dubbed the "Bali 9," to smuggle 8.3 kilograms of heroin from Bali, 
Indonesia, to Australia in 2005. All other members of the drug ring were given 
life sentences, while the ringleaders were sentenced to death by firing squad.

The men have pleaded for clemency, but according to News Limited, the 
government is not budging on the strict punishment. Sukumaran has had his plea 
rejected, while Chan awaits a response from President Widodo. In Indonesia, if 
death row prisoners commit a crime together, they must die together, meaning 
the duo have been spared from this weekend's mass execution.

In a separate case, British grandmother Lindsay Sandiford too has been 
sentenced to death for smuggling 4.8 kilograms of cocaine into Bali in 2012 and 
will not be reprieved, the president stated in December, the Guardian reported.

Death by firing squad in Indonesia is undertaken in the middle of the night. 
The prisoner is woken, offered a blindfold and led to an undisclosed field to 
be executed. The execution team is made up of 12 paramilitary officers, some 
who shoot rubber bullets so as to not know who shot the fatal bullet. No member 
of the public is allowed to witness the execution.

Amnesty International has called for the government to halt the executions, due 
to the violation of human rights. "These executions must be stopped 
immediately. The death penalty is a human rights violation, and it is shocking 
that the Indonesian authorities are looking to put to death six people this 
Sunday," Rupert Abbott, Amnesty International's Research Director for Southeast 
Asia and the Pacific, said in a statement on Amnesty's website.

"Indonesia's new government took office on the back of promises to improve 
respect for human rights, but carrying out these executions would be a 
regressive move."

The Indonesian government has reiterated its stance on drugs as it comes under 
pressure from the home countries of the prisoners. Attorney-General HM Prasetyo 
said in a press conference, as reported by News Limited, the government needs 
to remain consistent to fight the plague of drugs in Indonesian society.

"We will not compromise to narcotic syndicate and Indonesia will be consistent 
to be firm. There is no clemency for drug dealers," Prasetyo said. "We hope 
that all stakeholders that do not agree with the death sentence to be 
understanding, that what we are doing is to save our nation from the danger of 
drugs. We hope that by being firm to all drug dealers, and drug networks, it 
will give a preventative impact, a deterrent effect."

To back the government's strong stance, he referenced statistics from the 
National Narcotic Agency, which showed 40 to 50 people die each day from drugs 
in Indonesia.

"Drug rings have spread to many places, not only in the big city but also in 
the remote areas and even in villages. Meanwhile the victims are many and most 
of them are youngsters of productive age," he added.

The death sentence in Indonesia is limited to people who commit murder, 
terrorism or drug-related crimes, although drug-related offences do not meet 
the threshold of "most serious crimes" for which the death penalty can be 
imposed under international law.

Currently, 64 drug convicts are on death row in Indonesia and they are all 
expected to be executed. The government halted a plan to execute 5 or 6 
prisoners - all Indonesian nationals - by the end of 2014 due to the search for 
the missing AirAsia jet. It is unknown when this executions will now take 
place.

(source: mashable.com)

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

'Outrage' if Bali 9 executions proceed



A group campaigning to save 2 jailed Australians from the death penalty in 
Indonesia says the federal government must try harder to stop their looming 
executions.

Bali 9 death row inmates Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan are on a list of 26 
prisoners Indonesia says will be executed this year, including 6 who will be 
killed this Sunday.

News of the looming executions has galvanised Australians seeking clemency for 
Chan and Sukumaran.

A petition asking Indonesian president Joko Widodo for mercy on the pair has 
gained 2500 signatures since it was set up by the organisation Mercy Campaign 
on Friday morning and was continuing to attract another signature every 5 
seconds, a spokesman said.

A previous Mercy Campaign petition to the Australian government has attracted 
more than 20,000 signatures.

Mercy Campaign co-founder Brigid Delaney called on Prime Minister Tony Abbott 
to increase his efforts to save the men's lives.

Indonesia has replied to a written appeal from Foreign Minister Julie Bishop by 
explaining its strong stance on drug offences.

Chan, 31, and Sukumaran, 33, were sentenced to death for their part in a 2005 
scheme to import more than 8kg of heroin from Indonesia into Australia.

Ms Delaney said the Australian government could do more.

'I think Mr Abbott's initial response was very weak,' she told AAP.When 
Australian Van Tuong Nguyen was executed for drug offences in Singapore in 
2005, Ms Delaney said, there was 'absolute outrage' in Australia.

'If this does go ahead I think there will be such visceral outrage and 
questions will be asked of Tony Abbott - why didn't you do more?,' she said.

Mr Abbott said earlier this month that his government would make 'the strongest 
possible representations' to Indonesia seeking mercy but said it would be 
foolish to risk jeopardising diplomatic relations.

A spokesperson for Mr Abbott on Friday said the Australian government will 
continue to make representations to seek to avoid the execution of Chan and 
Sukumaran.

Sukumaran is facing execution after President Widodo rejected his plea for 
clemency last month.

However, the execution is on hold pending the final decision on Chan's clemency 
bid.

Indonesian Attorney-General HM Prasetyo said if a crime is committed by more 
than one person, the executions must be conducted at the same time.

Ms Delaney says she's deeply concerned by Mr Prasetyo's words but hasn't given 
up hope.

'It's not over until there is an announcement made. While that process is 
continuing, there is hope,' she said.

NSW Council for Civil Liberties president Stephen Blanks said the Australian 
government should be making it clear to Indonesia that the Australian public 
'regards these executions as unacceptable and unjustifiable'.

Mr Blanks said it was 'reprehensible' that Indonesia was resuming executions.

'The death penalty is wrong in all countries and in all circumstances,' Mr 
Blanks said.

(source: Sky News)

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

Dutchman's execution in Indonesia set for weekend



Dutch inmate Ang Kiem Soei will be executed in Indonesia this Sunday, 
Indonesian authorities announced this week. The 62-year-old Utrecht was 
sentenced to death in 2003 for allegedly producing the drug ecstasy in a lab in 
Indonesia.

His attempt to appeal the court ruling failed.

His Dutch lawyer, Bart Stapert continues to condemn the conviction, saying it 
rested on "a trial which was flawed in many ways" but says that there is no 
more the Indonesian lawyers can do.

Foreign Affairs Minister Bert Koenders says he has been working with Prime 
Minister Mark Rutte against the planned execution for some time. He says the 
Indonesian President Joko Widodo is "fairly robust" in his battle against drugs 
and insists on the death penalty "as a way to address that problem". He will 
continue using international channels, such as "pressure, conviction, alliances 
with other countries and using our people at the highest level".

"We are trying to do everything we can to save the life of the gentleman," said 
Koenders.

Soei is to be executed with five other drug offenders from Brazil, Indonesia, 
Malawi, Nigeria and Vietnam by firing squad, after their requests for clemency 
were rejected in December last year.

"What we do is merely aimed at protecting our nation from the danger of drugs," 
President Widodo said. "There is no excuse for drug dealers and hopefully, this 
will have a deterrent effect."

Indonesian Attorney General Muhammad Prasetyo said 5 of the prisoners will be 
executed simultaneously on the prison island Nusa Kambangan and 1 will be 
executed in the town of Boyolali, Java.

Amnesty International Netherlands has asked Indonesia to halt the planned 
executions, writing to the Indonesian Ambassador to the Netherlands and calling 
for urgent action from the public. The European Union also opposes the 
execution, describing the death penalty as "an unacceptable denial of human 
dignity and integrity".

Soei is 1 of 2 Dutch nationals on death row in Indonesia for ecstasy 
production. A 3rd Dutch man, also convicted of ecstasy offences, died in an 
Indonesian jail while on death row several years ago. About 1/3 of 138 
prisoners on death row are foreigners, mostly convicted of drug offenses.

(source: NL News)

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

Justice is not served by capital punishment



Tomorrow, 6 prisoners will be executed by a firing squad in Indonesia. The 
death of these 4 men and 2 women will be a grim precursor of the fate that 
awaits 2 Australians, Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, members of the Bali 9 
group of drug smugglers.

"What use will executing us be?" Sukumaran said this month after he was advised 
in writing that Indonesia's President, Joko Widodo, had rejected his appeal for 
clemency. His question is fair. Sukumaran admits his role in the 2005 plot to 
smuggle 8.2 kilograms of heroin from Bali to Australia, but insists he is 
working towards rehabilitation while also helping others in prison.

Chan is yet to be formally told the outcome of his final appeal, but the signs 
are not encouraging. Attorney-General H. M. Prasetyo has said the pair will be 
killed together.

Mr Joko believes the executions demonstrate Indonesia's resolve to rid itself 
of the scourge of drugs. He has declared that all 64 death-row prisoners 
convicted of drugs offences will have their sentences carried out. Sukumaran 
and Chan are thought likely to be among the next 20 to be executed.

Drug offences are indeed serious but capital punishment is not the solution. 
The risk of mistaken convictions is disturbingly real, and as a matter of 
principle The Age opposes the imposition of the death penalty in all instances.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has pledged to make the "strongest possible" 
diplomatic representations on behalf of Sukumaran and Chan. He has also warned, 
however, that he "will not jeopardise the relationship with Indonesia". The 
issue is indeed delicate but the government should be unequivocal in its 
message.

This case reaches beyond official ties. Much has been made of the bonds of 
goodwill that have developed between our two nations, from the community 
outpouring in Australia in support of victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami 
to Indonesia's generous donation in the aftermath of Victoria's bushfires and 
floods in Queensland.

That spirit of friendship has been tested - by the exposure of spy operations, 
evidence of cruelty in the treatment of cattle, and asylum seeker boats - and 
repaired. But executing Sukumaran and Chan, who acknowledge their grave mistake 
when they were aged 24 and 21 respectively, would not be just.

Holding to a principle can carry a cost. Australia is on a potential collision 
course with Malaysia; a Sydney grandmother, Maria Elvira Pinto Exposto, was 
arrested in December and accused of attempting to smuggle 1.5 kilograms of 
methamphetamines through Kuala Lumpur airport. If convicted, she could be 
sentenced to hang.

Malaysia and Australia infamously fell out over the 1986 executions of Kevin 
Barlow and Brian Chambers. To complicate the matter further, a Malaysian police 
officer sentenced to death for the brutal murder of a 28-year-old woman in 
Kuala Lumpur is believed to be living in Australia.

Malaysian authorities have indicated they will apply to extradite Sirul Azhar 
Umar but the Abbott government was quick to indicate that Australia's policy is 
not to return a criminal who faces the death penalty.

This stance is to be applauded, even though Australians would not want their 
country to be exploited by those facing capital punishment as a convenient 
jurisdiction for an escape. Eliminating that risk should be an additional 
motivation for the government to campaign for the abolition of the death 
penalty. Human life should be judged equally, not according to where a person 
is born.

(source: Editorial, The Age)

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

Kontras criticizes Indonesian government over death penalty decision



A non-governmental organization has criticized the government over its decision 
to execute six narcotic convicts on death row on Sunday.

The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) said in a 
written statement on Saturday that death penalty is not the solution for 
stopping the distribution of narcotic drugs.

"Kontras is pessimistic about this decision effectively cutting the chain of 
narcotic drug distribution," Kontras Coordinator Haris Azhar said in the 
statement.

He strongly criticized the Attorney Generals statement on the planned execution 
of six narcotic convicts being aimed at saving the country from the danger of 
narcotics.

"The statement does not reflect the institutions agenda in the midst of the 
current global trend of death penalty eradication, which is also in line with 
the national human rights agenda," Azhar pointed out.<

Attorney General HM Prasetyo had earlier confirmed that the 6 narcotic convicts 
on death row will be executed at 00.00 hours on Sunday.

"We have decided to carry it out at 00.00 hours on January 18 in Nusakambangan 
and Boyolali," he said on Friday.

Prasetyo added that 6 firing groups have been prepared to execute the convicts 
simultaneously in view of their psychological condition.

He said representatives from the embassies concerned had already arrived in 
Nusakambang and Boyolali to witness the process of execution of their citizens.

The 6 convicts to be executed are Namaona Denis (48) a Malawian, Brazilian 
national Marco Archer Cardoso Mareira (53), Nigerian Daniel Enemua (38), Ang 
Kim Soei (62), nationality unknown, Tran Thi Bich Hanh (37), a Vietnamese and 
Rani Andriani or Melisa Aprilia, an Indonesian.

(source: ANTARA news)

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

Labor again calls for Bali 9 clemency



Labor has again called for clemency for Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, the 2 
members of the Bali 9 on death row in Indonesia.

Sukumaran's bid for a presidential pardon, considered his final avenue to 
escape death by firing squad, has been rejected though the outcome of Chan's 
application remains unknown.

A joint statement issued by Labor leader Bill Shorten and his deputy, Tanya 
Plibersek, on Saturday calls again for clemency for the pair and notes it has 
bipartisan support.

"Labor opposes the death penalty in all cases," they say in the statement.

"We urge clemency for anyone facing it, whoever and wherever they may be. That 
includes two members of the Bali Nine, Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan.

"Consistent with the long standing bipartisan opposition to the death penalty, 
both Labor and Liberal governments have made representations to a number of 
countries on behalf of Australian citizens who face the death penalty.

"That work has Labor's full support."

Sukumaran will not be scheduled for execution until a decision is made on 
Chan's bid for a presidential pardon, according to Indonesian officials.

Chan has not been notified officially that his clemency bid has been turned 
down and Indonesian Attorney-General HM Prasetyo says until it's issued, 
Sukumaran's execution is on hold.

The co-ringleaders in a 2005 heroin trafficking plot will be dealt with 
together, he has said.

"When a crime is committed by more than 1 person, the execution must be 
conducted at the same time," Mr Prasetyo said in Jakarta.

"So Myuran will wait for his turn."

Indonesia's foreign ministry also says it has responded to a letter from 
Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop concerning the pair's plight, 
reiterating President Joko Widodo's uncompromising stance on the issue of 
drugs.

The Australians' names are on a list of 20 prisoners expected to be next in 
line for the firing squad.

Meanwhile Indonesia has confirmed its intention to proceed with the execution 
of 6 prisoners on Sunday - 1 Indonesian and 5 foreigners - all of them drug 
offenders.

It has rejected last-minute appeals by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff to 
spare her countryman, ex-pilot Marco Moreira, and the Dutch government for its 
citizen, Ang Kiem Soei.

(source: Australian Associated Press)

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

Vietnamese Drug Convict Awaiting Execution Expresses 1 Final Wish



Semarang, Central Java. When convicted drug trafficker Tran Thi Bich Hahn, 37, 
was told she would be 1 of 6 inmates scheduled to face a firing squad on 
Sunday, she only had 1 wish: to be executed in her home country of Vietnam.

Shinta Ardhani had no idea the woman she knew as Asien and who had become a 
close friend was among those to be shot dead by the Indonesian government for 
attempting to traffic narcotics into the country.

"I immediately cried when I found out that Asien would be executed. I only know 
her by her nickname. I didn't know her full name," Shinta said.

A reporter for a local radio station, the 35-year-old first met Asien in March 
2013 when she was asked to host an event at the Bulu Women's Penitentiary in 
Semarang, where the Vietnam national is now awaiting execution, scheduled for 
Sunday.

Shinta said the 2 immediately bonded over stories of their mutual trade; Asien 
said she, too, was a reporter, having worked for 5 years at a finance magazine.

"[Asien] likes to tell me about what she has been doing in prison. She really 
likes to sew; make flower bouquets and such," Shinta explained.

Duped?

She recalled how Asien had finally revealed her side of the events that 
ultimately led to her incarceration. The Vietnamese claimed she had been duped 
by a drug syndicate to transport a suitcase into Indonesia for a fee of $6,000.

It was later revealed that the suitcase contained nearly $200,000 worth of 
methamphetamine.

Asien was arrested by customs officials at the Adi Soemarmo airport in Solo, 
Central Java, after disembarking from an AirAsia flight from Kuala Lumpur.

Despite the more lenient life sentence sought by prosecutors, the Boyolali 
District Court in Central Java handed her the death penalty after discovering 
Asien had successfully smuggled narcotics into the country eight times 
previously; the day of her arrest had been her ninth attempt.

Asien has since exhausted her legal options, including for a presidential 
pardon.

Rights activists

In a controversial move, President Joko Widodo last month announced he would 
not grant clemency to at least 64 individuals who had been sentenced to death 
for drug-related crimes. Joko argued the extreme measure was necessary to 
combat the production and distribution of drugs in Indonesia.

The government has also pledged to execute as many as 20 people each year, 
despite media scrutiny and criticism from human rights groups.

"These executions must be stopped immediately. The death penalty is a human 
rights violation and it is shocking that the Indonesian authorities are looking 
to put to death 6 people this Sunday," said Rupert Abbott, global rights 
organization Amnesty International's research director for Southeast Asia and 
the Pacific.

"Indonesia's new government took office on the back of promises to improve 
respect for human rights, but carrying out these executions would be a 
regressive move," he added.

Human Rights Watch said the planned executions came at a time when the 
government was actively seeking to protect Indonesian nationals who faced the 
death penalty overseas. It says Indonesia has shown "hypocrisy on the right to 
life."

Boyolali and Nusakambangan

Asien is scheduled to be executed in Boyolali, while 5 other prisoners 
convicted of drug offenses will reportedly face the firing squad on the island 
prison of Nusakambangan.

Ahmad Kudhori, the Boyolali prison chief warden, said Asien was technically 1 
of his inmates but was transferred to the city of Semarang because the district 
lacked a prison facility for women.

"We have not yet received any instructions [to execute Asien]," Ahmad said. 
"But we are ready to carry out such orders," he added.

A 2nd woman to be executed on Sunday is Indonesian Rani Andriani, also known as 
Melisa Aprilia.

The 4 other condemned are male foreign nationals: Daniel Enemuo (Nigerian), Ang 
Kim Soei (Dutch), Namaona Denis (Malawian) and Marco Archer Cardoso Moreira 
(Brazilian).

European condemnation

Federica Mogherini, the European Union's high representative for foreign 
affairs and security policy, released a statement on Thursday condemning the 
planned executions, calling the move "deeply regrettable."

"The EU is opposed to capital punishment in all cases and without exception, 
and has consistently called for its universal abolition," the statement said. 
"The death penalty is a cruel and inhumane punishment, which fails to act as a 
deterrent and represents an unacceptable denial of human dignity and 
integrity."

Meanwhile, Dutch media were reporting on Friday that the nation???s foreign 
minister, Bert Koenders, had said the execution of the Dutch national could 
harm relations with Indonesia.

"At the international level we are trying everything to make sure the 
executions do not take place," the minister was quoted as saying by newsportal 
Nu.nl.

Koenders did not want to say what kind of consequences the execution of the 
Dutch drug convict could have, but did say that he had discussed the matter 
with Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, who was Indonesia's ambassador to the 
Netherlands before joining Joko's cabinet.

(source: Jakarta Globe)

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

Indonesia's Death Penalty Double Standard



Indonesia's government is working hard to prevent Saudi Arabia from executing 
Satinah Binti Jumadi Ahmad, an Indonesian domestic worker on death row since 
2010 for murdering and robbing her Saudi employer's wife. Indonesia has 
launched a formal appeal to Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah to pardon Ahmad, and 
Ahmad's family has paved the way for that pardon by paying the victim's family 
a legally recognized "blood debt" equivalent to US$1.9 million in late 2014. As 
a result, Ahmad may be spared execution.

Marco Archer Cardoso Moreira, a Brazilian citizen on death row in Indonesia 
since 2003 for drug smuggling, is less fortunate. The Indonesian government is 
preparing to execute by firing squad Moreira and 5 other prisoners sentenced to 
death for drug-related offenses as soon as January 18. Moreira's lawyer has 
said that the government has denied requests by the Brazilian government to 
extradite Moreira in order to allow him to serve a prison sentence in Brazil.

The Indonesian government's pursuit of clemency for Ahmad in Saudi Arabia while 
ignoring its own continued use of the death penalty is more than just about 
hypocrisy on the right to life. It's an expression of recently elected 
President Joko Widodo's avowed support for the death penalty as an "important 
shock therapy" for drug law violators. Widodo last month denied those same 5 
prisoners' petitions for clemency on the basis that drug traffickers on death 
row had "destroyed the future of the nation." Indonesia ended a 4-year 
unofficial moratorium on the use of the death penalty on March 15, 2013, when 
it executed by firing squad Adami Wilson, a 48-year-old Malawian national. An 
Indonesian court had convicted Wilson in 2004 of smuggling 1 kilogram of heroin 
into Indonesia.

International human rights law limits use of the death penalty to only "the 
most serious crimes," typically crimes resulting in death or grievous bodily 
harm. The United Nations Human Rights Committee and the UN expert on unlawful 
killings have condemned using the death penalty in drug cases, and the UN high 
commissioner for human rights and the director of the UN Office on Drugs and 
Crime have likewise expressed grave concerns about the application of the death 
penalty for drug offenses. All this makes Indonesia's application of the death 
penalty for drug-related convictions particularly odious.

Marco Archer Cardoso Moreira is no less deserving of the Indonesian 
government's mercy than Satinah Binti Jumadi Ahmad. President Widodo has an 
opportunity to demonstrate wise leadership by recognizing the well-documented 
failure of the death penalty as a crime deterrent and joining the growing 
number of countries that have abolished capital punishment.

(source: Human Rights Watch)








SINGAPORE:

Murderer gets death penalty again despite appeal



He was first given the death penalty.

Following recent changes to the law, he was re-sentenced and given life in 
prison instead.

But Jabing Kho's relief was short-lived.

Yesterday, in a rare 5-man Court of Appeal hearing, he was sent to the gallows 
again.

Speaking to The New Paper following this latest decision, one of Kho's lawyers, 
Mr Anand Nalachandran, said: "My client has gone through an emotional roller 
coaster."

Kho, 30, a Sarawakian, was given the death sentence in 2010 for murdering a 
construction worker in 2008.

The rag-and-bone man had set upon 2 Chinese nationals with an accomplice, 
fellow Sarawakian Galing Kujat, 30.

Kho had struck the head of 1 of the men with a tree branch. He eventually died 
in hospital several days later. The other victim escaped with minor injuries.

But in August 2013, Kho became Singapore's 2nd convicted murderer to be 
sentenced to life in prison instead of a death penalty.

This followed changes to the law on Nov 14, 2012, when the Penal Code was 
amended to remove the mandatory death penalty for all instances of murder where 
the killing is not intentional.

But the prosecution appealed against the life sentence and yesterday, Kho was 
sent to the gallows again.

MAJORITY IN FAVOUR

3 of the 5 judges ruled in favour of the death sentence.

Justices of Appeal Chao Hick Tin and Andrew Phang Boon Leong and Justice Chan 
Seng Onn said Kho had shown a "blatant disregard for human life".

They said: "The sheer savagery and brutality displayed by (Kho) shows that 
during the course of the attack, (he) just simply could not care less as to 
whether (Mr Cao) would survive although his intention at the time was only to 
rob... His actions were utterly vicious."

Justices Lee Seiu Kin and Woo Bih Li, however, disagreed with the majority.

Said Justice Lee: "It was not a case in which (Kho) had repeatedly hit (Mr Cao) 
after he was down, which would justify the conclusion that he had acted with 
viciousness and blatant disregard for human life."

Kho was represented by Mr Nalachandran, Mr Josephus Tan and Mr Keith Lim. Mr 
Nalachandran said that the next recourse will be to file another petition for 
clemency.

"We will pursue every avenue we can," he said.

(source: asiaone.com)








IRAQ----execution

Releases Images Of Man Killed For Being Gay



The Islamic State (IS) group in Iraq has published photographs that appear to 
show a man being thrown from the roof of a tall building apparently in Mosul, 
as punishment for being gay.

The graphic photographs were uploaded to the Justpaste.it website on January 15 
and shared on social media.

One photograph, taken from the top of the building from where the man was 
apparently pushed to his death, shows a large crowd gathered in the public 
square below.

Another image shows a man with his face covered by a black balaclava, reading 
out the sentence imposed on the man under the IS group's version of Shari'a 
law. The caption to the photograph says that the verdict was issued by a 
Shari'a court in "Wilayat Nineveh," IS's name for Mosul and its environs.

Another image shows the victim being held by another man, apparently his 
executioner, on the edge of a rooftop. Text accompanying the photograph says 
that the man is being punished with "Hadd," meaning a punishment that is 
determined in the Koran and the Hadith for crimes considered to go against the 
rights of God. The caption noted that the man had committed the crime of the 
practices of the "people of Lot," a euphemism for sodomy, and that he must be 
killed by being "thrown from a high place."

A graphic image shows the man being pushed to his death. Another image shows 
what appears to be the man's body on the ground.

The images released by IS also show two men being crucified in a public square. 
It's not clear if the images of the crucifixions and the execution of the man 
who was pushed from a tall building were taken in the same place.

The 2 men who were crucified were being punished for "banditry," according to 
the captions accompanying the photographs.

3 more images show a woman clad in a black burka being stoned to death. The 
photographs show that the stoning was not carried out in the same public square 
as the crucifixions but in a wooded area.

The woman was accused of "adultery," according to the caption accompanying the 
photographs. One graphic image shows a group of men, one of whom is carrying an 
Islamic State black flag, throwing large rocks at the woman, who is lying on 
the floor.

These graphic images are not the first to show evidence of similar punishments 
for similar "crimes."

In December, the IS group published photographs appearing to show militants 
throwing a man off a roof as punishment for "practicing sodomy." A statement 
accompanying the images said the execution had taken place in "Wilayat 
al-Furat," ("The Euphrates Province"), an area under IS control that 
encompasses Al-Qaim in Iraq's Anbar Province on the Syrian border, and 
Albukamal in Syria's Deir al-Zor Province.

There have been numerous reports that the IS group has stoned to death women 
and men for "adultery."

In October 2014, an activist group in Raqqa, IS's de facto capital in Syria, 
published a video that it claimed showed a woman being stoned to death by IS in 
the countryside around Hama in Syria. The activist group, Raqqa Is Being 
Slaughtered Silently, told RFE/RL that IS had stoned two women in Raqqa 
previously.

The UN has reported that the militant group has also stoned to death, beheaded, 
and crucified children for various "crimes."

(source: Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty)