[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Jan. 21



IRAN----execution

Young Man Hanged in North-Eastern Iran



1 man was hanged in the prison of Torqabeh (near Mashhad, north-edam1eastern 
Iran) Monday morning 19. January. According to the Iranian daily newspaper 
Khorasan, the 26 year old man who was identified as "M. S." and convicted of 
murdering another man under a street fight in 2008, was sentenced to qesas 
(retribution in kind).

(source: Iran Human Rights)

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

Iran's Supreme Court Revokes Sentences for 6 Sunni Prisoners



Iran's Supreme Court has revoked the sentences for 6 Sunni prisoners, 4 of whom 
were awaiting execution, after admitting that there was 'insufficient 
evidence'.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), the 
Supreme Court admitted that there was insufficient evidence to uphold the 
convictions of the men, who had been charged with 'Moharabeh [enmity against 
God] and acting against national security through involvement in the 
assassination of Mustafa Jang Zehi [a pro-regime cleric]'.

The 6 Sunni activists from Iran's Baloch minority, including prominent Sunni 
cleric Shaykh Fathi Mohammad Naghshbandi, were among 11 people arrested in 2012 
following the death of pro-government cleric Mustafa Jang Zehi who was killed 
by unknown men in the Sistan-Baluchestan province.

The Sunni prisoners, who had been subjected to torture whilst in detention and 
forced to make filmed false 'confessions', had repeatedly maintained their 
innocence.

The family of the deceased had themselves insisted that they believed the Sunni 
activists were innocent, and had written notarized letters to the Revolutionary 
Court in Zahedan, the Prosecutors Office, and the Supreme Court calling for 
their release.

Despite this, the Revolutionary Court in Zahedan sentenced Shaykh Fathi 
Mohammad Naghshbandi to 15 years imprisonment and exile to Khalkhal.

His son, Shaykh Abdol Ghaffar Naghshbandi, was sentenced to 13 years 
imprisonment and exile to Ardabil.

4 Sunni activists linked to the clerics, Malik Mohammad Abadian, Javad Abadian, 
Jaber Abadian and Nezamoddin Mollazadeh, were sentenced to death.

They are now likely to face a retrial after the Supreme Court revoked the 
sentences.

The case highlights the authorities' policy of mass arrests in the wake of 
incidents, whereby dozens of different Sunni preachers and activists, 
especially those who openly criticize the Shia-led regime, are rounded up under 
the pretext that they were somehow involved.

In this case alone, the death of Mustafa Jang Zehi has been used to justify the 
arrest of more than 20 different individuals.

According to reports, a number of men detained in the village of Nasir Abad on 
4 January 2015, have now also been charged with supposed 'involvement' in his 
death.

(source: Human Rights Activists News Agency)








SAUDI ARABIA:

Saudi Arabia 'will continue to execute murderers'----The kingdom executed 87 
people last year, up from 78 in 2013



Saudi Arabia on Tuesday beheaded 1 of its citizens for murder in its 12th 
execution this year, warning it would mete out the same fate to perpetrators of 
similar crimes.

Mansour Bin Awad bin Ziniegih Al Jabri was sentenced to death after being 
convicted of shooting dead another Saudi in a family dispute, the interior 
ministry said.

Authorities carried out the sentence in the central Qassim region, the ministry 
said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.

The government is committed "to maintaining security, realising justice and 
implementing God's law on those who shed blood," the ministry said.

"It warns others tempted to carry out any similar act that their fate will be 
the same legitimate punishment."

The conservative kingdom has faced international criticism for its frequent use 
of the death penalty.

An independent expert working on behalf of the United Nations expressed concern 
in September about the judicial process in Saudi Arabia, calling for an 
immediate moratorium on executions.

The kingdom executed 87 people last year, up from 78 in 2013, according to an 
AFP tally.

Saudi Arabia had the 3rd-highest number of recorded executions in 2013, behind 
Iran and Iraq, according to rights group Amnesty International.

Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking are all punishable 
by death under Saudi Arabia's strict version of Sharia.

(source: Gulf News)

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

Saudi Arabia beheadings in stark contrast with fight against IS



The injustices of the Saudi justice system came to the forefront twice in one 
week. Lashing liberal blogger Raif Badawi and publicly beheading a woman 
convicted of murdering her stepdaughter were carried out in the name of Islam 
by a regime that is so desperate to flaunt its Islamic credentials now that 
there are other emerging so-called Islamic states around the region. The regime 
has cooperated with the international alliance against the Islamic State (IS), 
but while adopting IS' mode of punishment.

This is the irony of having Saudi Arabia on board as an important partner in 
international efforts to destroy IS and combat terrorism. It is rather puzzling 
to say the least for the alliance to cooperate with a regime against the other 
when the 2 have so much in common. Both Saudi Arabia and IS seem to cherish 
public display of executions and other forms of torture. There may be a twisted 
logic behind the international alliance with Saudi Arabia against IS. The 
alliance may eventually ensure that there is only 1 legitimate, sovereign and 
internationally recognized country in the Arab region where public beheadings 
and other forms of physical punishment are normal practices that are beyond 
criticism.

On Jan. 9, Badawi, the liberal Saudi blogger convicted of insulting religion 
and criticizing religious scholars, received 50 lashes in public as part of a 
total of 1,000 lashes, 10 years in jail and a fixed fine. His 2nd session of 
lashing was due the following Friday but it was canceled at the last minute. He 
was deemed medically unfit to receive the weekly 50 lashes, which were to last 
for 20 weeks. It was not clear whether his case would be reconsidered by the 
courts. However, reviews of court cases are not always good news: On Jan. 12, 
human rights lawyer Walid Abu al-Khayr had his sentence increased from 10 years 
to 15 years after the review process.

Since Badawi's 1st lashing session, a truly global solidarity campaign in 
support of freeing him was begun by activists in Washington, London, Paris, 
Berlin, Tunisia and other countries coordinating their protest. The most 
spectacular protest took place in Washington, where Saudi activists carrying 
canes and inflicting pain on others simulated the public lashing drama. The 
protesters identified the key personality behind such severe sentences as 
Minister of Interior Prince Mohammed bin Nayef and denounced the Saudi court 
that sentenced Badawi.

Among other countries, the United States and Britain expressed concern over the 
severity of the sentence and called upon King Abdullah to order a review of 
Badawi's case. Such statements were issued to defuse criticism and calm local 
constituencies who were baffled by their governments' silence over Saudi 
Arabia's abysmal human rights record, not to mention the hypocrisy of Saudi 
Arabia when it sent a representative to the Charlie Hebdo march in Paris on 
Jan. 11 in support of freedom of speech. Many critics and human rights 
organizations pointed to the hypocrisy of both Western governments and the 
Saudi regime, the latter for supporting freedom of speech abroad and 
restricting it at home.

The 2nd case was a more sinister drama of public beheading. The victim this 
time was Layla Bint Abd al-Mutalib Basim, a Saudi woman of Burmese origin who 
lived in Mecca and who was convicted of torturing and killing her 7-year-old 
stepdaughter. Veiled in black from head to toe and with a rope around her neck, 
the woman was dragged by security police to the side of the road and made to 
sit down with a policeman holding the rope, while the executioner carrying a 
sword waited for her to stay still so that he could sever her head. This took a 
while because the woman was hysterically moving her limbs and shouting loudly, 
"I did not kill! ... I did not kill! I will never forgive you!" clearly 
indicating that she was not sedated prior to the execution and did not confess 
to killing her stepdaughter.

A security man secretly filmed this horrific beheading and circulated the video 
on YouTube. One can only imagine the impact of the execution spectacle on her 
relatives and young children. Basim was the 9th person to be beheaded since the 
beginning of 2015. The Saudi government issued a statement that it identified 
the policeman who filmed and circulated the beheading scene and announced its 
intention to punish him. But one can only ask why beheadings take place in 
public. Perhaps the regime prefers that only Saudis watch beheadings; a widely 
circulated video can be an embarrassment. Under the pretext of protecting the 
feelings of the relatives of the beheaded woman, the Saudi authorities ordered 
an investigation into the filming of the event.

The Saudis claim to rule according to the revealed message of Islam. Lashing, 
flogging and beheading are considered prescribed forms of punishment above any 
debate or reinterpretation. Although there are hundreds of Muslim countries 
around the world applying Sharia, at least in some aspects of public and 
personal life, we find that only in Saudi Arabia and other territories where 
radical interpretations of Islamic law persist that public aspects of 
punishment turn Friday noon prayer - when such punishments are usually 
performed - into a spectacle of violence. This public violence is meant to 
intimidate audiences and spread systematic fear among a coerced population. In 
the areas under the control of IS in Syria and Iraq, Boko Haram in Nigeria and 
the Taliban in Afghanistan such punishments have become notorious. Saudi Arabia 
is trying to appease an agitated domestic constituency that is questioning - 
albeit privately - the participation of the regime in the bombing of IS and its 
cooperation in the international alliance against it.

The Saudi reaction against these public punishments is difficult to assess in a 
country that stifles debate about such important and sensitive issues. There is 
no doubt that a considerable constituency conditioned to believe the myths of 
the regime - especially those that glorify its commitment to Islam - will cheer 
when they see such public punishments performed by the state and its policing 
agencies. In their opinion, it is in the name of God and security (i.e., public 
interest) that such severe punishments are carried out in public, and therefore 
they are necessary for upholding religion and peace.

Saying that such punishments are prescribed in Islamic law silences any attempt 
to reconsider and reinterpret the law by going back to the principles of 
Sharia, above all justice and the preservation of life in this world. There is 
an emerging small minority among Saudis who regard such punishments as 
unsuitable for a modern state and judiciary. Excessive public executions are 
not only for murderers, but are also punishment for convicted sorcerers, 
homosexuals, prostitutes, drug addicts and dealers.

The problem of the Saudi justice system stems not so much from a generic Islam 
that exists outside history and context, but lies in the Saudi interpretation 
of the law. This interpretation is carried out by judges who are graduates of 
Imam Muhammad ibn Saud University in Riyadh, a bastion of Wahhabi dogma that 
seeks to stifle legal diversity within Islam. The 2nd problem lies in the 
subservience of the judges to the Ministry of Interior and its head, Nayef. He 
and his father before him, Prince Naif, used this ministry as another arm of 
the coercive machinery of the state, criminalizing any form of dissent and 
widening the circle of acts that are increasingly defined as severely punished 
crimes.

The ministry has a wide range of Wahhabi loyalists such as judges, preachers, 
religious police and teachers on its payroll. Every now and then, the ministry 
needs to assure them that it remains faithful to the original contract between 
the Al-Saud family and the Wahhabis. The contract stipulates that the state 
must abide by the religious interpretations of the Wahhabis. In return, the 
latter must work hard to domesticate the population and ensure its submission 
to royal power. The court is but one place where they can make sure that 
peaceful dissent is silenced in prison, lashed or flogged in public.

What happened to Badawi and Basim must be seen in this context of 2 partners 
assuring each other of their commitment to the original contract, despite 
competition from other contenders to the Islamic state. These severe public 
punishments leave a lot to be desired when Saudi Arabia presents itself as a 
defender of free speech and an important ally against terrorism.

(source: al-monitor.com)








AUSTRALIA:

Ronald Ryan - Australia's last execution



With Indonesia's death penalty once again in the news, 702 looks back at 
Australia's last execution, which took place under 50 years ago.

While Australia waits to see the fate of Bali 9 members Andrew Chan and Myuran 
Sukumaran, on death row in Indonesia for their role in a heroin importation 
ring, there are renewed calls for Indonesia to examine its death penalty 
stance.

But it is also a timely reminder that just under 50 years ago, Australia last 
practiced capital punishment.

The man was Ronald Ryan and it was his death and the response to it that proved 
the turning point in Australia's attitude to the death penalty.

Ryan was found guilty of shooting and killing prison officer George Hodson 
during an escape from Pentridge Prison, Victoria, in 1965. He was hanged on 
February 3 1967.

Mike Richards, author of the 2007 book, The Hanged Man: The Life and Death of 
Ronald Ryan, says 'it was an extraordinary period in Victorian political 
history,' with all of the people involved whether journalists, prison wardens 
or even the judge who sentenced him, profoundly affected by it.

The judge was Sir John Stark, who sentenced Ronald Ryan under mandatory 
requirement to death.

"It affected him until he died," says Richards.

Stark was a very strong abolitionist but he was required to pronounce the death 
sentence.

When Mike Richards interviewed him years later, 'it still was obvious that it 
played on his mind that he'd had to pronounce the death sentence on someone 
even though he didn't agree with it."

Others close to the hanging were the prison Governor Ian Grindlay.

"He was right next to Ryan on the scaffold", says Richards.

"He stood close enough to him that he could've put his arm out on his 
shoulder... he told me that he said a prayer for Ryan everyday of his life 
until his own death some years later."

Journalists too, even those who were open minded on the death penalty were 
deeply affected.

Brian Morley was a radio announcer and journalistic witness who went to the 
hanging with an open mind about capital punishment.

"When I interviewed him he told me that he suddenly realised that in front of 
him, they were going to kill a man."

"It haunts him still and he could not talk about that without feeling a great 
profound sense of distress at the preparations for killing someone in front of 
your eyes."

(source: ABC News)








INDONESIA:

Indonesian official flags possible delay or review of Bali 9 pair case ahead of 
execution



There could be renewed hope for Bali 9 pair Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, 
with an Indonesian official flagging a possible delay or review of their case.

The Australian men, on death row for a decade over drug offences, are awaiting 
execution by the firing squad.

A spokesman for the country's Attorney-General was asked about their fate on 
Indonesia's Berita Satu News Network.

When the presenter questioned whether the execution could be postponed, Tony 
Spontana said "we would consider those kind of technical aspects to determine 
the time of execution".

According to a translation from the ABC, Mr Spontana said "it's all a process".

"According to what is stipulated by the law, the execution must be conducted as 
soon as possible.

"As soon as the decision has permanent legality, the prosecutor must execute 
the decision."

But the spokesman admitted the death penalty can be reviewed.

"But with regards to death penalty, we have the mechanism to review the 
decision, starting from the decision made by the District Court all the way to 
decision in Judicial Review, including the clemency decision," he said.

So far the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister have had no luck in their 
representations to spare the pair.

Tony Abbott and Julie Bishop have both personally appealed to their 
counterparts.

Yesterday Mr Abbott described Sukumaran and Chan as "well and truly reformed 
characters".

He did not rule out pulling Australian diplomats from the country, should the 
government ignore his pleas and go through with the execution.

Sukumaran's bid for clemency has already been rejected, while Chan is still 
awaiting the verdict on his.

(source: news.com.au)

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

Kiwi drug accused Tony de Malmanche 'at real risk' of Bali firing squad



The Whanganui man who may face the death penalty for allegedly smuggling 1.7kg 
of crystal methamphetamine into Indonesia hopes the comfort of a mattress and 
pillow awaits him at the notorious Kerobokan Prison in Bali.

Tony de Malmanche, a 52-year-old invalid beneficiary with an extensive mental 
health history, has struggled with harsh living conditions in his crammed 
police cell since his December 1 arrest with the drugs in his bag at Denpasar 
International Airport.

"He's looking forward to having a mattress and pillow (in prison) because he's 
only had a thin rubber mat to sleep on up 'til now," his Tauranga-based lawyer, 
Craig Tuck, said today.

"I understand the jail, although harsh in our standards, has a lot more going 
for it than a police cell."

He said de Malmanche's file had been transferred to the prosecutor's office, 
which meant police had completed their investigations.

As a result, he would shift in a few days to the prison, which offered better 
living conditions than the police cell he shared with 27 others.

"It's been very difficult for him to sleep and the heat has been intense."

Prisoners were offered 2 small bowls of rice, a few anchovies and a slice of 
carrot as typical daily rations, although Tuck's team supplemented his diet 
with groceries twice a week, a common practice by inmates' families or friends.

However, some less fortunate prisoners with little support were very skinny, he 
said.

"I've seen some sights there where it's just dead people walking."

Last weekend's execution of five foreigners and one local woman convicted on 
drug offences in Indonesia - including one who smuggled only 300gm of 
methamphetamine - plus its plans to shoot another 60 inmates had added 
significant pressure to the New Zealander's dire situation, he said.

"He's at a real risk," Tuck said of de Malmanche's chances of facing a firing 
squad.

Indonesia's new President Joko Widodo had publicly voiced strong support for 
capital punishment and vowed to decline bids for clemency for drug-related 
offences.

Tuck said he avoided discussing the death penalty with de Malmanche and instead 
focused on mounting a strong defence, claiming he was the victim of an internet 
scam and was unaware he was carrying drugs for an international drug cartel.

"He takes each day as it comes. He knows he's got the support of love of his 
family and friends."

It was his 1st trip overseas and he claimed he planned to meet his internet 
girlfriend "Jesse" in Hong Kong but was given a bag by one of her people before 
flying to Bali to meet her. Police waited four days for her arrival but she 
never turned up.

His trial would likely start within a month but would only run 1 day a week so 
could take 10 months to complete.

Tuck returned to New Zealand several weeks ago after nine days in Bali on the 
case with an international legal team.

They would allege that de Malmanche was the victim of a "very sophisticated 
multinational drug cartel".

"Depending on how this trial runs, there will be a lot of material coming out 
as to what is operating across the planet about this sort of thing."

Kerobokan is the same jail that housed Australian convicted drug smuggler 
Schapelle Corby.

(source: The Dominion Post)

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

Jokowi refuses to budge on clemency issue



President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has once again rejected any possibility of 
compromise on capital punishment for drug offenders, regardless of their 
citizenship, arguing that rampant drug use has placed the country in a "state 
of emergency" over the years. During his visit to a mosque in Pontianak, West 
Kalimantan, Jokowi called on clerics to help raise people's awareness of the 
dangers of illegal drug consumption.

"Why do I say the country is in a state of emergency over drugs? Because the 
number of [illegal drug users] who need rehabilitation is nearly 4.5 million 
people," Jokowi said, adding that 1.2 million drug users could not be 
rehabilitated and nearly 50 of them died each day.

Jokowi reiterated that he would reject requests for clemency for more than 60 
drug convicts, both local and foreign citizens, who are currently on death row; 
and revealed that several heads of state had contacted him to annul the death 
sentences.

"I'm confident the heads of state who contacted me are also under pressure 
there," he said.

Indonesia recently sparked ire in the international community after carrying 
out the execution of 6 drug traffickers, 5 of whom were foreign nationals. 
Brazil and the Netherlands, whose citizens were among the executed, have 
recalled their ambassadors for consultation while calling the executions "cruel 
and inhumane." Australia is still seeking clemency for its 2 citizens, Andrew 
Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, who are on death row for their involvement in the 
2005 "Bali 9" drug smuggling case.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Tuesday he still held out hope 
that Indonesia would not execute the 2, saying mercy must play a part in the 
Indonesian justice system.

"I hope that the evidence of genuine remorse, of genuine rehabilitation, means 
that even at this late stage pleas for clemency might be accepted," Abbott told 
Sydney Radio WSFM as quoted by the Associated Press. However, he declined to 
say if Australia would withdraw its ambassador to Indonesia in protest if the 
Australians were executed.

The House of Representatives Commission I on defense and foreign affairs 
encouraged Jokowi's administration on Tuesday to consistently turn down any 
pleas requested by foreign governments, including Australia, and applauded 
Jokowi's firm position on executing drug smugglers despite mounting 
international protests.

"President Jokowi must consistently comply with the law. If convicts are 
already proven wrong, he must not be merciful to them; a stance the President 
took toward the recently executed inmates, including from Brazil and the 
Netherlands," said Commission I deputy chairman Tantowi Yahya from the Golkar 
Party. Attorney General HM Prasetyo said Indonesia would not bow to foreign 
pressure and would resume prioritizing the executions of drug convicts, 
regardless of their nationalities.

"The most important thing is that Indonesia will not bow to foreign pressure in 
implementing the death penalty. It will continue. Indonesia must be rescued," 
Prasetyo said.

Meanwhile, the UN Office over the High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed 
concerns on the continued use of the death penalty for drug crimes in parts of 
Southeast Asia.

On Tuesday, a court in Vietnam also reportedly sentenced 8 people, including 2 
women, to death for heroin trafficking.

The UN office called on President Jokowi to be open to clemency appeals from 
the convicts, as Indonesia had ratified the International Covenant on Civil and 
Political Rights, which states that "anyone sentenced to death shall have the 
right to seek pardon or commutation of the sentence."

(source: The Jakarta Post)

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

Lawyers' desperate bid to save Sukumaran



Indonesian lawyers for Australian man Myuran Sukumaran hope to file a judicial 
review of his case, potentially stalling his execution, by the end of this 
week.

Lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis says the appeal is being urgently prepared after 
Sukumaran's request for presidential clemency was rejected.

President Joko Widodo says the executions of more than 50 drug offenders on 
death row are needed because Indonesia faces a "drug emergency".

It began on Sunday with the executions of 1 Indonesian and 5 foreigners.

Mr Lubis says the death penalty is cruel and ineffective.

"I agree that we should punish drug traffickers heavily, but there's other 
alternatives to the death penalty, like jail for life without any remission," 
he told AAP.

"That's already hard for anyone.

"On the other hand, (the death penalty) also overlooks the fact that this 
narcotics crime is run systematically, it's an organised crime.

"Those who get punished ... they're not the masterminds of these syndicates."

The lawyer said the law must also recognise that rehabilitation is achievable, 
as in the case of Sukumaran, and his co-ringleader Chan, whose clemency is yet 
to be officially rejected.

Mr Lubis wouldn't comment on the appeal specifically.

But the validity of the judicial review is in dispute, with the supreme and 
constitutional courts in Indonesia in disagreement over how many times they can 
be lodged.

Indonesia plans to execute 20 more death row convicts this year.

Mr Joko says about 50 people a day, or 18,000 Indonesians every year, die as a 
result of drugs.

Brazil and The Netherlands recalled their ambassadors in protest at Sunday's 
executions, and Prime Minister Tony Abbott has not ruled out doing the same if 
Chan and Sukumaran are killed.

(source: Australian Associated Press)

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

LIV denounces death penalty as luck runs out for members of the Bali 9



The Law Institute of Victoria (LIV) has voiced strong opposition to the 
impending execution of 2 Australians convicted of drug trafficking in 
Indonesia.

Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukimaran, who led a heroin smuggling operation in 2005, 
now face death by firing squad.

"The time to save the lives of these young men is running out," said LIV 
president Katie Miller.

Sukimaran's bid for clemency was recently rejected by Indonesian president Joko 
Widodo. It is not known whether Chan's application will be successful.

Miller encouraged lawyers to sign the petitionfor mercy from the Indonesian 
Government.

The LIV has long been opposed to the death penalty and supports the provision 
of pro bono assistance to Australian residents facing execution overseas.

"We appreciate the efforts of Australian lawyers, including members of the 
Victorian legal community, who are working to support these young men, and also 
the efforts of the Australian Government at a diplomatic level," said Miller.

Indonesia executed 6 people convicted of drug-related crimes last weekend, 5 of 
which were foreign nationals from Brazil, the Netherlands, Vietnam, Malawi and 
Nigeria.

"The recent execution of foreign citizens in Indonesia is extremely 
concerning," said Miller.

Prime minister Tony Abbott and foreign minister Julie Bishop have made numerous 
appeals to the Indonesian government on the behalf of the two men - with little 
success so far.

Labor leader Bill Shorten said the opposition fully supports the government in 
trying to stay the executions.

(source: lawyersweekly.com)

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

Death penalty for drug traffickers



I hail the death penalty for drug traffickers in Indonesia. I have seen up 
close what drugs can do to youngsters, like high school students. My nephew was 
a junkie and after a long and painful rehabilitation, he is now clean. Many of 
his friends, however, died at home or in hospital of drug overdoses.

Drugs wreak havoc, devastation and death in many families and those who have 
not seen or experienced sons, daughters, nieces, nephews or friends dying of an 
overdose will never understand nor will they welcome the death penalty for drug 
traffickers.

The Netherlands has always meddled in Indonesia's internal affairs and 
continues doing so. Indonesia respects your laws and you should do the same. 
Wake up, Netherlands, and please don't be a hypocrite, your country invented 
ecstasy, which has flooded international markets for decades, turning 
youngsters into nervous wrecks as ecstasy destroys the nervous system.

Brazil should inform its citizens that Indonesia sentences drug traffickers to 
the death penalty and so do our neighboring countries, which in fact hang drug 
traffickers who abuse their drug laws. It is childish to recall ambassadors, 
what can they do? They have failed to inform their citizens that smuggling 
drugs into Indonesia will result in the death penalty. I fully support the 
Indonesian government in its efforts to eradicate the illegal flow of deadly 
drugs into this country turning the young generation into junkies.

Lynna van der Zee-Oehmke

Bogor, West Java

(source: Letter to the Editor, Jakarta Post)








UNITED NATIONS:

UN Voices Concern Over Death Penalty for Drug Crimes in Indonesia, Vietnam



The UN expressed concerns on Tuesday over death penalties being imposed in 
Indonesia and Vietnam for drug crimes, a spokesperson for the UN High 
Commissioner for Human Rights said.

"We are concerned about the continued use of the death penalty for drug crimes 
in parts of South East Asia," the UN spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani stated 
during a press briefing.

Shamdasani urged the Indonesian authorities "to reinstate a moratorium on the 
death penalty" and to commute the penalty for people appealing for pardon.

"We call on Vietnam not to carry out these executions, to ensure judicial 
review of the sentences, and to consider elimination of the death penalty for 
drug-related crimes," Shamdasani said.

The news follows last Sunday's execution of 6 people convicted of drug offenses 
in Indonesia, while 60 others are still on the death row. On Monday, a court in 
Vietnam sentenced 8 people to death for trafficking heroin, according to media 
reports.

Drug-related crimes are subject to harsh penalties in South East Asia, 
including the death sentence. According to both Indonesian and Vietnamese law, 
production, transit, import and possession of psychotropic drugs are among the 
criminal offenses that carry the death penalty.

(source: Sputnik News)