[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Jan. 27



BANGLADESH:

HC continues hearing appeals in BDR carnage case



The High Court for the 4th day yesterday continued hearing the death reference 
and the appeals in the BDR carnage case, the biggest ever criminal case in the 
country's history in terms of the number of accused and convicts.

Till yesterday, Deputy Attorney General AKM Zahid Sarwar Kazal has read out 944 
pages from the 1014-page charge sheet of the case. He is expected to continue 
presenting the charge sheet today.

On January 18, the special HC bench started hearing on the death references and 
the 257 appeals filed by the convicts of the case.

A Dhaka court on November 5, 2013 awarded death penalty to 150 soldiers of the 
erstwhile Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) and two civilians, and sentenced 161 others 
to life imprisonment for their roles and involvement in the carnage.

It also handed down rigorous imprisonment, ranging from 3 to 10 years, to 256 
people, mostly BDR soldiers. The court acquitted the remaining 277 accused. A 
total of 846 people, 823 of them BDR personnel, were on trial.

74 people, including 57 army officials, were slain in the BDR mutiny on 
February 25-26 in 2009 at the Pilkhana headquarters in Dhaka. The paramilitary 
force was later renamed Border Guard Bangladesh.

(source: The Daily Star)








UNITED KINGDOM/ETHIOPIA:

Foreign Secretary refused to intervene for Briton rendered to Ethiopia



It has emerged that the Foreign Secretary refused to contact the Ethiopian 
government to protest its abduction of a British man, despite warnings from 
Foreign Office (FCO) staff that the man was at risk of execution.

Andargachew 'Andy' Tsege, a father of three from London, was abducted in Yemen 
and rendered to Ethiopia 7 months ago. Mr Tsege, who is a prominent critic of 
the Ethiopian government, remains in incommunicado detention. The Ethiopian 
government has refused to reveal his whereabouts, or confirm whether it plans 
to carry out a death sentence imposed in absentia in 2009.

Internal FCO emails obtained through subject access requests by Mr Tsege's 
family show that UK officials were extremely concerned that he would be 
mistreated or executed - but that despite this, nearly a month after the 
incident, the Foreign Secretary declined requests to intervene in his case.

An internal email sent by senior FCO staff several days after Mr Tsege's 
disappearance says: "I think we should be aiming for a Ministerial call asap, 
given concerns about welfare and the DP [death penalty] ... we should be 
raising at senior levels and getting in Ministerial follow-up (letter or call) 
asap to make clear how unhappy we are about this."

A separate message suggested there should be consequences at "a UK citizen 
being kidnapped and returned against his will to a country which has passed 2 
death sentences on him. A country which is in receipt of vast quantities of UK 
development assistance. Don't we need to do more than give them a stern talking 
to?"

A number of urgent internal FCO messages asked the incoming Foreign Secretary 
Phillip Hammond to contact the Ethiopian Foreign Minister in the days following 
the incident, the documents show. However, Mr Hammond's office rebuffed the 
requests, saying: "we've also had a request from [Foreign Minister] Tedros' 
office for an introductory call with the Foreign Secretary, but I don't think 
we are going to be able to find time for that at the moment. [...] On this 
letter, I'm nervous about asking the Foreign Secretary to sign something so 
negative in his first correspondence".

The FCO has told lawyers for Mr Tsege's family at human rights charity Reprieve 
that the UK Government has no grounds to challenge the legality of his removal 
from Ethiopia.

Maya Foa, director of Reprieve???s death penalty team, said: "It is clear that 
those working for the Foreign Secretary know how perilous the situation is for 
Andy Tsege. They know that Andy has committed no crime, that his extradition 
was probably unlawful, and that there are grave risks to his safety. What's 
shocking is that the Foreign Secretary appears time and time again to have 
blocked any meaningful action that could potentially bring this British father 
home to his family, unharmed. Andy has now been held in solitary and 
incommunicado detention for over 7 months, under sentence of death. One has to 
question what interests the Foreign Secretary is putting above the life and 
safety of his citizen, when all those around him are calling for him to do 
more."

http://www.reprieve.org.uk/

(source: ekklesia.co.uk)








JAPAN:

Strong Support for Death Penalty in Japan



A strong majority of Japanese people - more than 80% - support the death 
penalty, while only 9.7% think it should be abolished, a survey by the Cabinet 
Office found.

The survey, conducted every 5 years, polled 3,000 Japanese nationals aged 20 or 
older in November and received 1,826 valid responses. Around 10% said they 
didn't know if capital punishment is necessary or should be abolished.

The number of people who support the death penalty dropped by 5 % points from 
the 2009 poll, though it remained above 80% for the 3rd consecutive time.

More men supported the death penalty than women - around 83% to 78.1%. Of those 
who do support it, 53% said it was necessary to satisfy crime victims and their 
families. Nearly the same number of people answered that those who commit 
heinous crimes should pay with their lives.

Nearly 47% of those who said they don't support capital punishment cited the 
risk of wrongful convictions as their reason. Around 42% said criminals should 
pay for their crimes while alive.

Among those opposed to the death penalty, around 43% said it should be banned 
immediately, while 54.5% said executions should be abolished over time.

(source: Wall Street Journal)


PAKISTAN:

Pakistan death row Scots is mentally ill



Pressure is growing on Pakistan to release a Scottish pensioner from the 
country's death row after he was diagnosed as mentally ill.

Tests have been carried by state-appointed psychiatrists on Edinburgh man 
Mohammed Asghar, 70, who is being held in prison awaiting execution for 
blasphemy.

His supporters say the new diagnosis, which follows similar evidence from 
Scottish doctors adds weight to earlier calls for the charges to be dropped and 
for Mr Ashgar to be released.

The grocery shop-keeper, from Leith, has been behind bars for a year, following 
his conviction for a 2010 incident Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad. A 
Pakistan court found that he had claimed to be the Prophet Mohammed in letters 
sent to various officials.

His daughter Jasmine Rana, 41, said: "We just want dad back.

"They've recognised that he's ill now. Why can't they just put him on the next 
flight and send him back? "The message we want to get out there is the same as 
its been from the start."

She repeated an earlier call by his freedom campaigners for the Prime Minister 
to put pressure on the Pakistani authorities to release him.

In a further direct plea, she added: "Please David Cameron, do something now."

The new test results are in line with those from doctors from his home country, 
who said he had been unfit to stand trial. His death sentence came despite the 
appeals of medical professionals.

Concern has been expressed about Mr Ashgar's well-being after a legal team 
visited him in jail.

Lawyers told the judicial charity Reprieve that he had appeared "pale, 
dehydrated, shaking and barely lucid" and was suffering from severe delusions.

Mr Asghar is being held in the notorious Adiala jail in Rawalpindin but there 
are growing fears that he could be at risk of vigilante attacks, given 
blasphemy is such a highly charged accusation in Pakistan.

Last September, he was shot in jail by a policeman who was supposed to be 
protecting him and spent weeks in hospital recovering.

The attack led to fresh demands for action, with Ms Rana delivering a 
70,000-signature petition to Mr Cameron asking for his intervention. She said: 
"The past year has been really tough. Every day we're waiting for news. There's 
nothing else we can do. It seems like every time we think we're going forward, 
we end up taking backwards steps.

"We're frustrated and my dad is extremely frustrated. He has to stay in 1 room, 
he's not allowed to leave the room or even walk up and down the corridors for 
his own safety.

"My own kids have been writing letters to him and we get a response through the 
Foreign Office a couple of weeks later. It's a horrible situation."

Amnesty International has also called for his release. Its Asia Pacific 
director Polly Truscott has said he is 'facing the gallows simply for writing a 
series of letters.' The Scottish Government has urged the Pakistan authorities 
to stand by a moratorium on the death penalty.

Family lawyer Aamer Anwar said it was imperative that Britain's political 
leaders step in to secure his release. He said: "Every day that passes places 
Mr Asghar's life further at risk. "He is a frightened, elderly man who should 
be sitting at home in Edinburgh with his family. "I hope that our PM will now 
act to convince Pakistani authorities to fast-track the release of a man who 
should never have been in court in the 1st place."

The case of Mr Ashgar, who is a Pakistan citizen of UK origin, is not the first 
UK citizen to be tried under the country's strict blasphemy laaws.

In November 2012, Masud Ahmad, of the Ahmadi sect, was jailed for reciting a 
passage from the Koran, a prohibited act for Ahmadis under the country's 
blasphemy laws.

Human rights campaigners claim the legislation is frequently used by some for 
personal gain, with minorities most likely to be targeted.

(source: Herald Scotland)

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

IHC to hold hearing on death-row Mumtaz Qadri's plea today



Islamabad High Court (IHC) will hold a hearing of Salman Taseer's murder case 
on the appeal plea of death-row Mumtaz Qadri today (Tuesday), Dunya News 
reported.

As per details, Justice Noor-ul-Haq Qureshi and Justice Shaukat Siddiqui will 
hear the appeal plea registered by Mumtaz Qadri against his death penalty.

Earlier, Anti Terrorism Court (ATC) had given 2 times death penalty to Mumtaz 
Qadri for murdering former governor Salman Taseer however, the court later 
suspended the execution and summoned a hearing after the time span of 3 years 
and 3 months.

Moreover, IHC ordered the local administration to beef up the security 
arrangements whereas the presence of any irrelevant person would be strictly 
forbidden.

(source: Dunya News)








MALAYSIA:

Abolish the death penalty, Lawyers for Liberty urges govt



Law reform initiative Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) today urged the government to 
re-evaluate the death penalty as a mode of punishment.

LFL executive director Eric Paulsen said this in light of the controversy 
surrounding Australia's inability to extradite convicted killer Sirul Azhar 
Umar to Malaysia, unless there was written assurance from the Malaysian 
government not to subject him to the death penalty as per the 
Australia-Malaysia Extradition Treaty.

"The death penalty has no place in any civilised society that values human 
rights, justice and mercy.

"It is the ultimate human rights violation, a state-sanctioned murder, unique 
in its cruelty and finality.

"In the absence of a fair and just criminal justice system and access to 
competent legal representation, the death penalty disproportionately affects 
the poorer and lower classes, and risks the likelihood of wrongful convictions.

"Needless to say, death penalty is irreversible and cannot be remedied," 
Paulsen said in a statement.

According to him, Malaysia remained among an ever decreasing small minority of 
countries that still provided for the death penalty.

"A total of 137 states have abolished the death penalty in law or practice, 
i.e. more than 70% of the total number of states in the world.

"In December 2014, a record number of countries, 117 of the United Nation's 193 
member states supported a key UN General Assembly resolution calling for a 
moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty globally," 
he said, adding that there was no clear evidence to show the death penalty was 
a more effective deterrent of crime than long-term imprisonment.

"Lawyers for Liberty therefore calls on the government, in line with the global 
trend, to immediately impose a permanent moratorium on all death penalty 
punishment and take steps towards its abolishment, thus resolving the death 
penalty dilemma and Sirul can be extradited to Malaysia to be imprisoned."

(source: The Rakyat Post)

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

Call for permanent moratorium on death penalty----Lawyers for Liberty say this 
is a golden opportunity for Malaysia to re-evaluate the death penalty as a mode 
of punishment.



With the controversy over convicted killer Sirul Azhar Umar's extradition from 
Australia, Lawyers for Liberty say now is the best time to impose a permanent 
moratorium on all death penalty punishments and take steps towards its 
abolishment.

In a statement, Lawyers for Liberty executive director Eric Paulsen said the 
Malaysian government should take this golden opportunity to re-evaluate the 
death penalty as a mode of punishment.

"The death penalty has no place in any civilised society that values human 
rights, justice and mercy. It is the ultimate human rights violation, a 
state-sanctioned murder, unique in its cruelty and finality.

"In the absence of a fair and just criminal justice system and access to 
competent legal representation, the death penalty disproportionately affects 
the poorer and lower classes, and risks the likelihood of wrongful convictions.

"Needless to say, (the) death penalty is irreversible and cannot be remedied," 
he said.

According to Paulsen, Malaysia remains among an ever decreasing minority of 
countries that still provide for the death penalty.

A total of 137 states have abolished the death penalty in law or practice i.e. 
more than 70 % of the total number of states in the world.

In December 2014, a record number of countries, 117 of the United Nation's 193 
member states supported a key UN General Assembly resolution calling for a 
moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty globally.

"Despite popular belief, there is no cogent empirical evidence to show the 
death penalty is a more effective deterrent of crime than long-term 
imprisonment and thus there is no good reason to maintain the death penalty," 
he said.

Once the death penalty is abolished, Sirul can be extradited to Malaysia in 
order for him to be imprisoned for the murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu 
in 2006.

(source: Free Malaysia Today)