[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Jan. 28



BARBADOS:

B'dos Gov't tables legislation to abolish mandatory death sentences


The Barbados Government has tabled legislation aimed at abolishing mandatory 
death sentences.

"We have been at this for the last 4 years where we've been mandated to take 
these legislative measures to address the issue of the court's decision and, 
notwithstanding the fact that we had sent signals to the court, we are now 
better positioned, once this amendment is adopted by this House, to send a 
message to the Inter-American Court on Human Rights (IACHR) that we do intend 
to comply with its judgement," Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite told 
Parliament.

He said the amendments to the Offences Against the Person Act would remove the 
obligation of a judge to sentence to death a person convicted of murder.

Braithwaite, tabling the legislation in the absence of Opposition legislators 
who continue to boycott Parliament as long as the Speaker of the House Michael 
Carrington remained in his seat, said that the Freundel Stuart administration 
was not getting "soft on crime" or moving towards abolition of capital 
punishment.

Brathwaite told legislators that the changes would bring Barbados in compliance 
with a ruling of the IACHR, to which this country is a signatory.

The IACHR in a case - Boyce et al v Barbados - ruled that the mandatory death 
sentence imposed on all persons convicted of murder in Barbados violated the 
right to life as it is arbitrary and fails to limit the application of the 
death penalty to the most serious crimes.

Brathwaite said he was happy Barbados was now at the stage of abolishing 
mandatory death sentences, noting that the country was currently "on the wrong 
side of the law".

The last time Barbados carried out a hanging was in 1984 and Brathwaite said 
the Government was not amending the legislation so as to satisfy European 
Government that have been lobbying for Bridgetown to abolish the death penalty.

"I am not signalling to the country . . . that at this point in time I am 
comfortable that there are not circumstances on which the death penalty is 
merited."

(source: Jamaica Observer)








INDIA:

Madhya Pradesh court awards death penalty to 6 'sorceresses'



A session's court in Mandla district on Wednesday awarded death penalty to 6 
people judging them guilty of killing a man in the name of witch-craft.

The incident took place in August 2014 where 6 self-styled sorceresses stabbed 
a man, chopped his arms, burned him alive and danced around him until he was 
done to ashes.

This horrendous crime was committed in Mandla's Nivas area in front of his 
hapless wife and 10-year-old son.

Police arrested 6 people including 4 women from the tribal dominated are where 
many still believe that witchcraft exists and rival sorcerers are often killed. 
Deceased Brijlal resident of Dindori district had approached sorcerer Parvati 
for treatment of his son, said police.

As soon as they reached the ashram Parvati branded Brijlal as a 'sorcerer' and 
ordered her disciples to kill him. Subsequently 6 people including 4 women - 
who were learning to practicing witch-craft - stabbed him with a trishul 
(traditional trident) taking turns. Later Parvati instructed them to drop the 
trident and use an axe on him.

When Brijlal began to writhe around on the ground, accused doused him with 
kerosene and set him ablaze. As he screamed in agony, more kerosene-soaked 
cloths were thrown on top of him. Moreover they celebrated the 'killing' by 
dancing around his burning body until it reduced to ashes.

His wife and son were forced to stay away from the spot during the macabre 
conduct. They screamed for help, but to no avail. Ashram was located in a 
remote forest area.

Brijlal's wife and son were allowed to leave the ashram with a warning to not 
to report the matter. They were threatened of dire consequences. They travelled 
all night to reach Niwas police station and inform the matter.

All sorcerers including Parvati, Bhagwati, Kusia, Surtia, Mukesh, Dumari Singh 
and Gend Singh were arrested and charged with murder. Police also seized the 
trishuls, axe, harmonium, and drum besides some literatures on black-magic from 
the spot.

(source: The Times of India)

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

1993 Mumbai blasts case: SC grants 6 weeks to CBI



The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted 6 weeks more to CBI and others to file 
their responses on the plea of Yakub Abdul Razak Memon, lone death row convict 
in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, seeking review of death penalty awarded 
to him.

The court, which had earlier stayed the execution of Memon's capital 
punishment, posted the matter for hearing on March 11.

A 3-judge bench, headed by Justice AR Dave, is giving an open hearing to the 
matter.

The counsel appearing for Memon had argued before the bench, which also 
comprised justices J Chelameswar and Kurian Joseph, that neither the trial 
court, nor the apex court gave special reasons for sending him to gallows.

"My entire conviction is based on retracted confessions of several co-accused," 
his lawyer had said, adding, "the judgement under review does not talk about 
the fact and evidence that I took part in any terrorist activities".

When the court had issued notice to CBI and Maharashtra government, the lawyer 
had also alleged that Memon was convicted and sentenced to death by the special 
TADA court, even before the entire judgement was delivered. Hence, his 
conviction was not valid.

Earlier, the review petitions used to be decided in chambers, but later, the 
apex court had ruled that such pleas, if directed against the imposition of 
death penalty, would be heard in open court.

The apex court had, on September 26 last, sought response from Maharashtra 
government and others on Memon's plea that his review petition against the 
death penalty be heard in open court. It had also stayed Memon's execution.

A constitution bench of the apex court had on June 2 held that years spent 
behind bars during prolonged judicial proceedings cannot be a ground for 
converting death sentence to life imprisonment and review plea of condemned 
prisoners must be given an open court hearing.

Taking a cue from the judgement by the constitution bench, Memon had said in 
his plea that according to the verdict, his review plea should be heard in an 
open court.

Memon is the 3rd death row convict, after Nithari rapist-cum-serial killer 
Surinder Koli, who had approached the apex court seeking hearing of their 
respective review pleas in an open court.

(source: Zee News)








LEBANON:

Judge want death penalty for 6 over Yves Nawfal killing



The judge responsible for the case of Yves Nawfal's murder issued Wednesday an 
indictment recommending the death penalty for 6 people suspected of involvement 
in the crime, judicial sources said.

Judge Peter Germanous issued an indictment against the 3 detained suspects 
Charbel G. Khalil, Charbel C. Khalil, Juliano Saadeh, and 3 fugitive members of 
the Khalil family named Christian, Elie and Mario.

The source said that 23 people have been indicted in the case, including 13 who 
are already in custody and 10 that are yet to be apprehended.

Germanous recommended the death penalty for 6, and sentences ranging from 3 to 
20 years for the others, the source explained. The judge referred the case to 
the Criminal Court in Baabda.

Nawfal's family visited Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi earlier Wednesday and 
Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk Tuesday. Both ministers vowed to follow up on 
the case.

Charbel G. Khalil and Saadeh are considered the main partners in the crime. In 
a video shared on social media before Khalil and Saadeh's arrest 2 weeks ago, 
the 2 were seen standing in front of the Kfar Debian police station, near the 
crime scene, announcing that they would hand themselves in.

In the video, they also claimed that their intention was not to kill Nawfal, 
and said they did not know him in person.

The crime took place earlier this month when Nawfal was celebrating his 
birthday at a pub in Kfar Debian.

The incident started out as a fistfight between Nawfal and a group of men over 
an offhand comment made to a woman.

Kesrouan MP Farid Haykal Khazen, who had received Khalil and Saadeh at his 
house to convince them to turn themselves in, later raged against the judiciary 
for "rendering tens of families homeless" by arresting a large number of 
suspects.

In a news conference Saturday, he criticized Judge Germanous and called for him 
to be replaced with someone "more credible."

(source: The Daily Star)








SAUDI ARABIA:

King Salman Government Rocked With Mass Executions



4 people have been executed in Saudi Arabia less than a week after 79-year-old 
King Salman assumed power following the death of his 90-year-old predecessor, 
King Abdullah.

Under the strict guidelines of Sharia Law, 3 people were put to death across 
the oil-rich kingdom on Tuesday.

The 1st, Omar bin Yahya bin Ibrahim al-Barkati, was executed for the crime of 
incest in the southwestern Asir region, the Interior Ministry announced. "He 
was executed as punishment for his crime and as a lesson to others," the 
ministry said in a statement.

The 2nd victim, Yassir bin Hussein al-Hamza, also a Saudi, was executed in 
northwestern Jawf region for smuggling amphetamine pills, the ministry said.

In a separate case in the city of Mecca, Latif Khan Nurzada, a Pakistani 
national, was beheaded for smuggling heroin into the kingdom.

Prior to that, on Monday, Saudi Arabia executed Moussa al-Zahrani, a teacher 
convicted of raping several girls in the city of Jiddah - charges he denied.

"Mousa bin Saeed Ali al-Zahrani lured several underage girls and kidnapped 
them. He also threatened them and their relatives and physically assaulted them 
in his home," Saudi Press Agency said, citing the Interior Ministry.

Despite being found guilty of luring underage girls, intoxicating them, and 
then sexually assaulting them, al-Zahrani created a 20-minute video claiming he 
was framed, in a last-ditch effort to save his life. The footage was intended 
for King Abdullah.

The case caused a stir on social media. An Arabic hashtag on Twitter which 
translated to "We are all Moussa al-Zahrani" exploded with comments by Saudis 
with conflicting opinions on the execution.

The spike in executions coincides with US President Barack Obama's arrival to 
Riyadh on Tuesday at the head of a heavyweight US delegation which met with 
King Salman. The delegation included Secretary of State John Kerry and CIA 
Director John Brennan, signaling the strong ties between the 2 states.

The trip to Riyadh was an "opportunity to both pay respects to the legacy of 
King Abdullah, who was a close partner with the United States and also to touch 
base on some of the issues where we're working together with the Saudis," US 
Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes told reporters.

So far this year, 16 people have died from the justice sword in the kingdom, 
AFP reported. Last year, 87 people were put to death. The death penalty can be 
imposed for a wide range of violations, including murder, rape, and false 
prophecy. Blasphemy, adultery, witchcraft, and sorcery can also result in 
beheading with a sword, or more rarely in an execution by a firing squad, or 
even stoning.

The kingdom has faced constant international criticism over its human rights 
record, including its use of the death penalty.

(source: spyghana.com)








PAKISTAN:

2 years after escaping Bannu prison, Death row convict re-arrested from Hub



A death row prisoner, who had escaped during the Bannu jailbreak in 2012, was 
arrested by Hub Police in Balochistan on Wednesday.

Rameez Raja, son of Abdul Shakoor, was arrested during a raid in Lasbela area 
of Balochistan, ASP Hub Police Zaidullah Khan claimed during a press conference 
on Wednesday.

Khan said Raja had been working as a welder in the industrial town of Hub. 
"Raja was arrested during a raid conducted on the information of a police 
informer."

Raja, originally a resident of Kohat, was awarded death penalty in July 2012, 
for murdering his aunt. An FIR was registered against him at Gambat Police 
Station Kohat. But he had fled along with 400 other inmates after Taliban 
stormed the Bannu jail in April 2012, 2 months before being convicted.

"Raja said he had spent a few days in mountainous areas before moving to 
Korangi area of Karachi where he obtained a fake National Identity Card (NIC) 
under the alias Aftab Ahmed," said ASP Khan adding that the prisoner also 
revealed that he lived in New Karachi area of Karachi for a brief period of 
time before moving to Hub.

(source: The Tribune)