[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

July 21



ZAMBIA:

Lungu Congratulated for Death Penalty Amnesties


The following statement was circulated today by Zambians Against 
Tribalism,Violence and Apathy (ZATVA):

We have learnt with excitement over the decision by President Edgar Lungu to 
commute death sentences of 332 to life of death row prisoners.

This action by President Lungu brings the debate of the death penalty in sharp 
focus.

Zambia is a Christian Nation and we hold that no one has a right to take a life 
of another whether criminals or the State.

The action by President Edgar Lungu goes to show his respect for the sanctity 
and sacredness of human life.

With this action, President Lungu has saved 332 lives.

We also wish to applaud the decision by President Lungu to pardon absolutely, 
Clifford Dimba popularly known as Gen. Kanene, who was imprisoned for 18 years 
over a case of defilement.

In our view, Dimba has demonstrated remorse, contrition,and regret over his 
actions.

He has done this through various songs he has done while he was incarcerated.

We also applaud President Lungu for his decision to appoint Dimba as an 
Ambassador Against Gender Based Violence, Rape and Defilement.

We recognise that the biblical Saul, who persecuted and killed Christians was 
the one that converted to be be Paul who has helped evangelise the world.

We urge Dimba to show exemplary behaviour by performing his duties as an 
ambassador with distinction and diligence.

Nakiwe Simpungwe

Executive Director

Zambians Against Tribalism,Violence and Apathy (ZATVA)

(source: zambiareports.com)






AFGHANISTAN:

Kabul appellate court finalizes decision on Farkhunda murder case


The appellate of court has finalized decision regarding the lynching of 
Farkhunda who was brutally murdered over false Quran burning.

Officials in Kabul appellate court have said the case will be referred to the 
Supreme Court of Afghanistan for final hearing in the next couple of days.

Head of Appellate Courts of Crimes against Internal and External Security Ali 
Abdul Nasir Murid said justice has been availed in Farkhunda murder trial 
however he said a final decision will be taken regarding the case by Supreme 
Court.

"Specific conditions have been set for death penalty since the crime has not 
been verified but the higher authorities are authorized to decide regarding 
verdict," Murid quoted in a report by Radio Free Europe (RFE) said.

The primary court of Kabul awarded death sentence to Zain-ul-Abideen, Mohammad 
Yaqoob, Mohammad Sharif and Abdul Bashir who were found guilty of murdering the 
27-year-old Farkhunda.

However, the appellate court of Kabul revised the decision and sentenced each 
convict for 20 years in jail, a decision which sparked furor among the civil 
society activists and family members of the victim.

The appellate court argues that there is no evidence to prove the murder of 
Farkhunda by the convicts despite numerous video tapes went viral on social 
media.

Farkhunda was brutally beaten, murdered and her body was set on fire by angry 
mob after she was accused of burning Quran.

At least 48 people including the custodian and the servant of the shrine were 
arrested by police after investigations revealed the accusations were false and 
no proof was found to prove the holy Quran was torched.

She was reportedly murdered after she spoke out against the superstitious 
practices she had witnessed with mullahs selling good-luck charms.

Her brutal murder also sparked several unprecedented protests in Kabul and 
other major cities of Afghanistan.

(source: Khaama Press)






MALAYSIA:

Labourer charged with murder of despatch worker


A scrap metal collector has been charged with the murder of a 25-year-old man 
in Brickfields earlier this month.

R. Prabakaran, 23, is accused of causing the death of despatch worker F. 
Logeswaran between 5.30am and 6am on July 2.

He was charged at a magistrate's court here yesterday.

No plea was recorded but he faces the death penalty if found guilty.

Magistrate Jesseca Daimis set Sept 21 for next mention.

It was reported that an unemployed man was slashed to death shortly after he 
was involved in a motorcycle accident in Sri Kota, Brickfields here on July 2.

(source: The Star)


IRAN:

Executions resuming after the month of Ramadan----At least 10 prisoners from 
the Rajaishahr prison of Karaj have been transferred out of their wards for 
execution.


According to sources Iran Human Rights (IHR) has been in contact with, at least 
death row 10 prisoners have been transferred out of their wards yesterday. 4 of 
the prisoners were from the ward 1 of the Rajaishahr prison. All of the 
prisoners are charged with murder and sentenced to retribution death penalty. 
If the families of the murder victims do not agree to either forgive or demand 
blood money the prisoners will be executed on Wednesday morning July 22.iran 
execution

After a 1 month break in the executions due to the Muslim holy month of 
Ramadan, the Iranian authorities have resumed the executions. In the first half 
of 2015 the Iranian authorities executed more than 570 prisoners, the highest 
number in more than 25 years.

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

Iran Authorities Hang Prisoner to Death in Public During Ramadan


Official sources in Iran have reported on the public execution of a prisoner in 
Mahvelat County. The prisoner was charged with the rape of an 11-year-old girl 
who died in the hospital, according to the website of the Judiciary for the 
province of Razavi Khorasan. Iranian authorities reportedly executed the 
prisoner during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The website for broadcasting in Mahvelat County reports the prisoner was 
sentenced to death by hanging for rape and also sentenced to death by stoning 
for adultery. Iranian authorities used the Islamic Penal Code to justify the 
charges and sentencing.

(source for both: Iran Human Rights)






SOUTH KOREA:

Death penalty sought on Army sgt over bloody shooting rampage


Military prosecutors sought capital punishment for an Army sergeant on Tuesday 
for killing and wounding a dozen unarmed fellow soldiers in a shooting rampage 
at a military outpost near the tensely-guarded eastern border with North Korea 
last year.

The 23-year-old conscript, surnamed Lim, detonated a grenade and sprayed a hail 
of bullets in June last year in the military outpost of the 22nd Infantry 
Division stationed near the east-coastal front line, killing 5 comrades and 
wounding 7 others.

Lim was sentenced to death by a local military court in February before 
appealing to the military appellate court.

The killing of 5 fellow soldiers and the military vacuum at the front line that 
the shooting rampage caused were cited as major reasons when prosecutors again 
sought the death penalty for Lim.

"Sergeant Lim only blamed his comrades without proper self-examination," a 
military prosecutor said, dismissing Lim's defense that the shooting was a 
result of extreme distress stemming from bullying he faced inside the barracks.

"I am still feeling deeply guilty and responsible ... I am sincerely sorry," 
Lim said as he tearfully read out his final testimony.

Following the shooting rampage, Kim ran away with a rifle and attempted to 
shoot himself to death before being captured alive 2 days later.

(source: Yonhap News)






INDIA:

How India hanged a poor watchman whose guilt was far from established----Timed 
to coincide with the law commission's public hearing on the death penalty on 
July 11, 2 scholars released an analysis highlighting several serious problems 
with the decade-old case.


Although bearing a Brahmin name, Dhananjoy Chatterjee was far from being a 
member of the Kolkata bhadralok, or intellectual elite. He was an impoverished 
guard in a building where an 18-year-old named Hetal Parekh was found dead in 
March 1990. He was convicted of having raped and killed her and was hanged on 
his 39th birthday, August 14, 2004, protesting his innocence until the end.

His execution followed a shrill campaign waged by the wife of the then West 
Bengal chief minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya. Chatterjee's appeals were 
rejected by the then president APJ Abdul Kalam on the advice of arguably 
India's worst home minister, Shivraj Patil, going by historian Ramachandra 
Guha's estimation.

Recently, Abdul Kalam has been in the news saying he favours abolition of the 
death penalty. Had he applied his mind to the file put before him 11 years ago, 
it would have helped save the life of a man who was in all likelihood innocent.

In a similar situation, his predecessor in Rashtrapati Bhavan, KR Narayanan, 
had applied his mind wonderfully, as emerges from an anecdote narrated by his 
secretary, Gopalkrishna Gandhi. Delivering the People's Union of Civil 
Liberties' 35th JP Memorial Lecture in Bangalore on March 23 earlier this year, 
Gandhi described how he had received a call late at night from Chennai 
regarding the case of a man on death row in Tamil Nadu and how the president 
had unhesitatingly decided on commuting his sentence. Gandhi went on to speak 
of the independent and cerebral outlook that India's sole Dalit president 
brought to his job.

For its part, India's higher judiciary has not done enough to ensure that 
someone convicted of a capital crime receives a fair trial. An exception was in 
the case of a Dalit named Surinder Koli. He might have been executed by now in 
connection with the Nithari killings, which were serial murders in 2005 that 
took place just outside New Delhi, had the Allahabad High Court chief justice 
DY Chandrachud not entertained an appeal on a technicality, leading to 
commutation. The Supreme Court had thrown out Koli's appeals, including the 
very last one, at which Ram Jethmalani appeared pro bono to argue that the 
convict had received a shoddy trial.

In the eyes of some, the current Supreme Court Chief Justice, HL Dattu, is what 
in American parlance would be called a "hanging judge".

Chatterjee framed?

As for Dhananjoy Chatterjee's execution, the People's Union for Democratic 
Rights, a 4-decades-old New Delhi-based volunteer outfit, put out a statement 
earlier this month based on an analysis by 2 scholars from the Indian 
Statistical Institute in Kolkata, arguing that the guard was framed.

The analysis by Debashish Sengupta and Prabal Chaudhury, timed to coincide with 
the Law Commission's Public Hearing on the death penalty in New Delhi on 
Saturday, July 11, described what they believe was a botched investigation. 
They also highlighted inconsistencies in the evidence and pointed to fictitious 
claims, all aimed, they say, to frame Chatterjee.

The 2 scholars noted that a police witness in court denied having seen 
Chatterjee at the victim's flat. The police seizure list was signed by someone 
who supplied tea to the police and did not turn up in court. The antecedents of 
some items presented as incriminating evidence, such as a necklace and a watch, 
were never checked. The trial court failed to question why no murder weapon was 
recovered and why there was no blood on Chatterjee's clothes even though there 
were 21 stab wounds on the victim's body.

While the crime was said to have been committed in a short window between 5:20 
pm and 5:50 pm, when Hetal Parekh's mother was out of the flat, there was a 
3-hour delay before the police were called - ample time for tampering with the 
evidence. The Parekh family members' statements were inconsistent, and the 
family soon wrapped up its thriving jewellery business and left Kolkata, 
raising the possibility of an honour killing, the scholars contend. A letter 
written by the victim's father alleging that Chatterjee used to harass his 
daughter, which was used by the police to establish a motive, seems to have 
been written after the crime, the scholars say.

Guilt must be established

Criminal convictions and sentencing ought to follow only when guilt has been 
established "beyond reasonable doubt". But Indian courts routinely convict and 
pass harsh sentences, including the death penalty, on poor defendants who are 
badly represented in court. Gaping holes and inconsistencies in evidence are 
ignored. At the appeals stage, new evidence is not entertained, leading to 
numerous innocent people languishing in jail, including on death row.

Chatterjee had spent 14 years in jail before he was hanged. He was thus 
punished twice for a crime he likely did not commit, going by the Kolkata 
scholars' analysis, for the mere fault of being too poor to engage a competent 
lawyer.

While the Parekh family members were media-shy following the gruesome crime, 
the media never attempted to track them down to question them about their 
inconsistent statements even when Chatterjee was about to be hanged in 2004. It 
is not as if the Indian media lack the resources or the ingenuity to do so. 2 
months ago, after the death of Aruna Shanbaug, the nurse who was in a 
vegetative state for 42 years, journalists traced the man who was convicted of 
having sexually assaulted her in 1973 to a village in Uttar Pradesh.

Will the Indian media take steps at least now to re-examine the evidence in the 
Dhananjoy Chatterjee case and demand that the judiciary reconsider its verdict? 
In Britain, the US and elsewhere, there have been numerous instances of cases 
being reopened long after - sometimes decades after - conviction and execution 
and of posthumous acquittals being pronounced. The Hetal Parekh case deserves 
such a demarche, in order to establish who was really guilty and if Chatterjee 
is found to have been innocent, an apology and compensation to his family.

(source: Scroll.in)

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

SC Dismisses Yakub Memon's Mercy Plea, To Be Hanged On July 30


An apex court bench headed by Chief Justice H.L. Dattu rejected Memon's 
petition challenging an earlier decision to uphold the death sentence.

The hearing was crucial for Memon as a Terrorist and Disruptive Activities 
(Prevention) Act (TADA) court in Mumbai has already issued a death warrant 
against Memon (53). As per the sentence, he will be hanged till death at 7 am 
on July 30 in the Nagpur central jail.

By filing a curative petition, Memon was seeking a on his execution. He was 
also pleading for a hearing of his plea in the open court.

Curative petition is the last legal remedy for a convict to seek relief from 
the final verdict of the Supreme Court, after the dismissal of a review 
petition.

Generally, such a plea is heard by 5 judges in the chamber, and the decision is 
later communicated to the convict's counsel.

A bench of Chief Justice H L Dattu, 2nd seniormost judge T S Thakur and Justice 
Anil R Dave will hear Memon's plea at 1:40pm on Tuesday.

Yakub was sentenced to death on charges of criminal conspiracy under Section 
120-B of the Indian Penal Code by the TADA court in 2007. Subsequently, his 
appeals were rejected by the Bombay High Court, the Supreme Court and the 
President.

In April, the apex court dismissed his review plea, making the way clear for 
his execution. Memon's counsel said his client still had an opportunity to file 
a curative petition before the top court and also a mercy plea before the 
President.

Memon's review plea was heard in an open court, following a Constitution 
bench's verdict last year that the practice of deciding review pleas in 
chambers be done away with, in cases where death penalty has been awarded.

On June 2, 2014, the court stayed the execution of Memon and referred his plea 
to a Constitution bench as to whether review petitions in death penalty cases 
be heard in an open court or in chambers.

Memon, in his plea, had claimed he was suffering from schizophrenia since 1996 
and remained behind bars for nearly 20 years. He had sought commutation of 
death penalty, contending that a convict cannot be awarded life term and the 
extreme penalty simultaneously for the same offence.

Memon had sought a review of the March 21, 2013 verdict of the apex court, 
upholding his death penalty in the case relating to 13 co-ordinated bomb blasts 
in Bombay, killing 350 persons and injuring 1,200 others on March 12, 1993.

A TADA court in Mumbai had convicted 100 out of the 123 accused. While 12, 
including Memon, were awarded death penalty, 20 others got life term and the 
remaining 68 got varying jail terms.

Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt was also directed to serve the 5-year jail term for 
possessing illegal arms.

(source: focusnews.com)

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

Halt Pending Execution ---- Commute Sentence of Yakub Memon, Renew Death 
Penalty Moratorium


The Indian government should halt the execution of Yakub Memon, set for July 
30, 2015, Human Rights Watch said today.

On July 21, India's Supreme Court rejected Memon's final appeal, clearing the 
path for his execution. Memon was sentenced to death in July 2007 for his 
involvement in a series of bombings in Mumbai in 1993 that killed 257 people 
and injured over 700 others. Memon's older brother, Tiger Memon, is alleged to 
have been the mastermind behind the bombings and remains at large.

The government should impose an official moratorium on capital punishment. An 
unofficial moratorium ended in 2012.

"The Indian government has hanged 2 people over the past 3 years while other 
countries are increasingly rejecting this inhumane practice," said Meenakshi 
Ganguly, South Asia director. "The government should commute Yakub Memon's 
sentence and put a moratorium on executions until the practice is fully 
abolished."

A specially designated court convicted Memon under the Terrorist and Disruptive 
Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA), which was not renewed because it violated 
basic human rights. Higher courts subsequently rejected Memon's appeals, even 
as the Supreme Court in March 2013 commuted the death sentence of 10 others 
accused in this case to life. President Pranab Mukherjee rejected Memon???s 
mercy petition in May 2014.

India ended its eight-year unofficial moratorium on executions with the 
hangings on November 21, 2012, of Mohammad Ajmal Kasab, a Pakistani convicted 
of multiple murders in the November 2008 attacks in Mumbai, and on February 9, 
2013, of Mohammad Afzal Guru, convicted for the December 2001 attack on the 
Indian parliament. President Mukherjee has rejected 24 clemency pleas since he 
took office in July 2012, confirming the death penalty for over 30 people.

In December 2014, India was 1 of only 38 countries to vote against the United 
Nations General Assembly resolution for a global moratorium on the use of the 
death penalty. The resolution passed with 117 votes, reflecting a growing trend 
globally toward the abolition of capital punishment.

The Supreme Court in Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab in 1980 held that the 
death penalty should be imposed only in the "rarest of rare" cases after 
weighing both the aggravating and mitigating circumstances of a particular 
case. In July 2012, 14 retired Supreme Court and High Court judges asked 
Mukherjee to commute the death sentences of 13 inmates that were erroneously 
upheld by the Supreme Court over the previous nine years. This followed the 
court???s admission that some of these death sentences were rendered per 
incuriam - ignoring a contradictory statute or binding judgment. In November 
2012, the Supreme Court ruled that the "rarest of rare" standard for capital 
punishment had not been applied uniformly over the years and the norms on the 
death penalty needed "a fresh look."

In a landmark judgment in January 2014, the Supreme Court commuted the death 
sentences of 15 people on the grounds that there was a delay in the disposal of 
their mercy petitions by the president. The court also ruled that those 
suffering from mental illness cannot be executed. The ruling noted that "undue, 
inordinate and unreasonable delay in execution of death sentence does certainly 
attribute to torture," and was a ground for commutation of sentence.

The courts have recognized that the death penalty has been imposed 
disproportionately and in a discriminatory manner against disadvantaged groups 
in India. A. P. Shah, chairman of India's Law Commission and a former chief 
justice of the Delhi High Court, has said: "It is usually the poor and 
downtrodden who are subject to death penalty." The Law Commission, which is 
currently examining the issue, stated that it appeared that "the judiciary and 
the executive are treating the life of convicts convicted of an offence 
punishable with death with different standards," and the executive's standards 
for granting commutation were not known. As part of the Law Commission 
consultations, several prominent politicians have called for the abolition of 
capital punishment.

Human Rights Watch opposes the death penalty in all circumstances as an 
inherently irreversible, inhumane punishment. "In India and elsewhere the death 
penalty fails to act as a deterrent, and is riddled with inconsistency and 
discrimination," Ganguly said. "It's time India removes capital punishment from 
its statute books."

(source: Human Rights Watch)






PAKISTAN:

Lahore: 2 Christians arrested for blasphemy could get the death penalty----The 
2 brothers have been accused of posting disrespectful content on their website. 
After 4 years on the run abroad and at home, Qaisa and Amoon are now in the 
same Lahore prison. The Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS) 
is dealing with their case.


2 Christian brothers have been arrested on blasphemy charges after one of them 
was accused of posting disrespectful material on his website.

A case has been registered against Qaisar and Amoon Ayub of Lahore in relations 
to accusations dating back to 2011.

According to Qaisar, he closed his account in 2009 but one of his Muslim 
friends, Shahryar Gill, somehow managed to restore the website, while ownership 
remained in Qaisar's name.

The story goes back to 2010 when Qaisar worked at the Raja Centre, Lahore, at 
the international office.

Qaisar is married to Amina and they have 3 children, while Amoon is married to 
Huma who is a teacher at the Cathedral School, Lahore.

One day an argument broke out at Qaisar's office between his friends, when one 
of them made a comment about another's sister.

The aggrieved friend blamed Qaisar and warned him that it is a serious matter 
in Pakistan. Qaisar started to receive death threats from his friends and then 
went into hiding.

When the situation deteriorated both brothers fled to Singapore without telling 
their wives, but after a month they returned to Pakistan and then Amoon told 
his wife the whole story.

The situation was still tense, so they left again in November 2009 for 
Thailand, in search of security, but could not stay there for too long time and 
in 2012 went back to Pakistan.

Qaisar was informed by one of his friend that the authorities were looking for 
him and that he could be arrested at any time because a blasphemy case had been 
registered against him.

On 10 November 2014, while on his way to work at the Kids Campus DHA, Amoon was 
arrested and told that a case had also been registered against his brother. The 
police asked him about his brother Qaisar and he told Amoon to stay hidden 
because he was accused under section 109-A PPC.

Qaisar was later arrested and sent to District jail Jhelum.

Fed up with life in Pakistan, Amoon finally decided to leave the country. On 17 
November 2014, he was arrested by Immigrant Police at Lahore Airport. Later 
police sent him to Jhelum District Jail charged with the same offence as his 
brother.

Huma has done all she could to get her husband released, but has failed. 
However, she has not lost hope and finally approached the Centre for Legal Aid, 
Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS) in June of this year for legal aid and 
support.

CLAAS is an interdenominational organisation working for Christians persecuted 
for their faith in Pakistan. It works for religious freedom, and against 
persecution of Christians in Pakistan under blasphemy and other discriminatory 
laws.

Qaisar's 14-year-old son became mentally unwell because of his father's 
imprisonment, and CLAAS has arranged treatment for him and is trying its best 
to support both families, but prayers are equally important.

CLAAS is providing both brothers with free legal advice and have visited them 
in Jhelum, jail. It is also going to apply for their bail once the Eid holidays 
are over.

(source: Asia News)

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

Pakistan's Highest Court Set to Hear Christian Mom Asia Bibi's Appeal of Her 
Death Sentence This Week


The Supreme Court of Pakistan has scheduled a hearing to hear an appeal of Asia 
Bibi's conviction and execution sentence because of her Christian faith.

The ECLJ's affiliate, Organization for Legal Aid (OLA), in Pakistan spoke with 
Ashiq Masih, Asia Bibi's husband. He has informed us that the appeal is set to 
be heard on Wednesday, July 22, 2015. Staff from OLA will be attending the 
hearing and will report back the details of the hearing.

Christian mom Asia Bibi was arrested in June 2009 after her co-workers accused 
her of uttering derogatory remarks about the Prophet Muhammad (blasphemy) - a 
crime with mandatory death penalty under Pakistani law - when she offered a 
Muslim co-worker a drink of water. A trial court sentenced Asia Bibi to death 
in November 2010 and the Lahore High Court (the appellate level court) upheld 
her conviction in October 2014.

We have been aggressively fighting across the world for her freedom, demanding 
Pakistan overturn her death sentence and release her, launching a massive 
global advocacy campaign. Now, after much international outcry, the Supreme 
Court of Pakistan has scheduled the date to hear her appeal.

Although the Supreme Court has never upheld the death penalty in blasphemy 
cases, the high profile nature of Asia Bibi's case makes her very vulnerable to 
an attack by Muslims. In the past, numerous individuals accused of blasphemy 
have been murdered. In April 1994, three Christians were shot as they left the 
Lahore High Court; one of the Christians, Manznoor Masih, was killed, while the 
other 2 (Rehmat Masih and Salamat Masih) were injured. The High Court Justice 
who reversed their convictions was later shot and killed in his office. In July 
2010, Rashid and Sajid Emanuel, 2 Christian brothers accused of blasphemy, were 
shot and killed outside a courtroom of Faisalabad. In September 2014, Pastor 
Zafar Bhatti was shot and killed in a Rawalpindi prison, after being convicted 
of blasphemy. In November 2014, a Muslim mob burned to death a young Christian 
couple, including a pregnant mother of four children. Numerous others have been 
killed but most perpetrators have never been apprehended or brought to justice.

A Muslim cleric in Pakistan has put a price on Asia Bibi head, even as she sits 
on death row. He announced a prize of Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 500,000 (approximately 
$100 to $5000) for anyone who kills Asia. Salman Taseer, Governor of the Punjab 
province, was murdered by his own security guard for advocating on behalf of 
Asia Bibi and calling for the repeal of blasphemy laws.

We are urging the Supreme Court to see the injustice done to Asia and her 
family. We are calling on the Court to take into consideration Asia's testimony 
that she did not, and had no intention to, violate the law; that the 2 
eye-witnesses who testified against her were never cross-examined; and that the 
trial court gave more weight to the testimony of her accusers than Asia's 
testimony. We hope that the Court will see these and other serious errors made 
at the trial and will reverse her conviction.

We also urge the Pakistani government to provide adequate security to Asia and 
her family. Finally, we pray that Asia Bibi's ordeal comes to an end this 
Wednesday.

(source: aclj.org)