[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

July 29



QATAR:

Qatar said to consider tougher penalties on drug dealing


Qatar is considering a crackdown on drug dealers who sell to adolescents, 
according to local press.

The Gulf state wants to impose harsher punishments on dealers to curb drug use 
among school and college students, an official told Arabic daily Al Sharq.

Amr Aly Al Hemeidy, assistant director of the Ministry of Interior's narcotics 
department, was quoted as saying the most dangerous drugs used by addicts in 
Qatar are cocaine, heroine and morphine.

Other common drugs are tramadol, captagon and Lyrica, he said.

According to a report in Doha News, current penalties for drug use and dealing 
range from jail time to the death penalty, as well as fines of up to QR500,000 
($137,000).

Al Hemeidy was reported to have stated that drug abuse has a negative effect on 
families, and called on residents to cooperate with authorities to create a 
"drug free" society.

His department is working with other ministries to run awareness raising 
campaigns in schools to highlight the dangers of drug use to students, parents 
and teachers, and advise on prevention.

If Qatar introduces tougher penalties it would be the latest a series of moves 
to clamp down on drug dealing in the country. In June, it was reported that the 
customs department had foiled 317 attempts to smuggle drugs into the country in 
2014.

And the government has installed new devices at Hamad International Airport to 
detect drug smugglers.

(source: arabianbusiness.com)






BANGLADESH:

Bangladesh's apex court upholds top opposition leader's death penalty


Bangladesh's apex court has upheld the death penalty for a top opposition party 
leader for war crimes including mass killings during the country's war of 
independence 43 years ago.

A 4-member bench of the Supreme Court (SC) bench headed by Justice Surendra 
Kumar Sinha delivered the verdict on Wednesday morning, upholding the death 
penalty against the 65-year old Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader 
Salauddin Quader Chowdhury.

The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT)-2 in October 2013 awarded death 
sentence to the leader, who is now behind the bar.

Justice ATM Fazle Kabir, head judge of ICT-1, had then announced that 9 out of 
23 charges, which include mass killings, murder, genocide and conspiracy to 
kill intellectuals during the country's Liberation War in 1971, against the 
64-year-old leader were proved beyond reasonable doubt.

Defense lawyer Khandaker Mahbub Hossain told journalists shortly after the 
announcement of the verdict on Wednesday morning that they will file a review 
petition with the SC.

The judgment was, however, greeted with huge relief in and outside the 
courtroom.

Talking to media, Attorney General Mahbub-e-Alam, among others, expressed 
satisfaction with the verdict against the accused.

This was the 1st time that the SC delivered verdict on war crimes charges 
against a member of the parliament and leader of the BNP headed by ex-Prime 
Minister Khaleda Zia, a rival of current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Security has been beefed up in places in Dhaka and Chittagong, some 242 km 
southeast of the capital city. Paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) 
troops have been deployed to thwart any untoward incident after the verdict 
against Chowdhury, member of BNP's Standing Committee, the highest 
policy-making body of the party.

In April 2012 Chowdhury was indicted on the charges of genocide, murders, 
abductions, torture in confinement, loot, arson attacks and complicity in other 
atrocities committed in Chittagong in 1971.

In his closing arguments in the case, Defense counsel AKM Fakhrul Islam claimed 
that the prosecution failed to prove the charges and expressed the hope that 
his client would be acquitted.

Son of the then Convention Muslim League party leader Fazlul Qader Chowdhury, 
Salauddin Quader Chowdhury was elected MP from different constituencies in 
Chittagong since 1979.

Chowdhury's father, who actively opposed the creation of independent Bangladesh 
and allegedly committed war crimes, died at jail when his trial was going on.

Fazlul Qader Chowdhury was also a speaker of Pakistan National Assembly and 
Acting President of Pakistan from time to time before the independence of 
Bangladesh.

Salauddin Quader Chowdhury was a lawmaker and minister in General Hussain 
Mohammad Ershad's government in the 1980s. He quit former military strongman's 
Jatiya Party in the 2nd half of the 1980s and founded his own party.

In 1996, Chowdhury and his National Democratic Party took part in the then 
opposition Bangladesh Awami League party-led movement against the then BNP 
government that saw the introduction of non- party caretaker government for 
holding parliamentary polls.

Later, he joined BNP and was elected to parliament on its tickets.

The latest verdict came about 3 months after Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, a 
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party leader convicted of war crimes, was executed 
in April, the 2nd execution for crimes against humanity committed during the 
country's war of independence in 1971.

Another Jamaat leader Abdul Quader Molla, convicted of war crimes in 1971, was 
executed on Dec. 12, 2013.

Both BNP and Jamaat have dismissed the court as a government " show trial" and 
said it is a domestic set-up without the oversight or involvement of the United 
Nations.

Muslim-majority Bangladesh was called East Pakistan until 1971. The government 
of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said about 3 million people were killed in the 
9-month war.

After returning to power in January 2009, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the 
daughter of Bangladesh's independence hero Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, established 
the first tribunal in March 2010, almost 40 years after the 1971 fight for 
independence from Pakistan.

(source: Xinhua)






LIBYA:

Libyan envoy to Vatican decries death penalty issued to Gaddafi's son


The death sentences handed Tuesday to deposed dictator Muammar Gaddafi's son 
Saif al-Islam Gheddafi and 8 other former top regime officials are 
"unacceptable", according to Libya's internationally recognised government's 
envoy to the Vatican.

"They are sentences issued in the absence of a legitimate state and under the 
threat of arms," the Tobruk government's envoy to the Vatican Mustafa Ali 
Rugibani told Adnkronos International (AKI).

Gaddafi's military intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi and his last prime 
minister, Al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi were among the 9 people sentenced to 
death by a court in Tripoli for war crimes and other offences during the 2011.

23 other former officials were given sentences ranging from life imprisonment 
to 5 years in prison, 4 people were acquitted, and 1 was referred for medical 
treatment and not sentenced.

"It is my personal opinion that this sentencing unacceptable given Libya's 
current situation," said Rugibani.

"The sentences must be appealed in order that a new trial can take place under 
a legitimate government that will guarantee the rule of law."

The Islamist parliament in Tripoli refused to put its signature to a 
UN-sponsored accord between Libya's warring factions to create a national unity 
government, which was signed in Morocco on 12 July.

The country's internationally recognised parliament, the House of 
Representatives in Tobruk in eastern Libya, signed the deal.

Libya, plunged into chaos after the 2011 ouster of Gaddafi, with 2 parliaments 
and governments vying for power and armed groups battling for control of the 
country's oil wealth.

( source: Adnkronos International)

***********

The Show Trial of Saif Qaddafi: a Manufactured Death Sentence


In 2007, candidate Obama said "(t)he president does not have the power under 
the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation 
that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation."

Straightaway after entering office, he expanded drone attacks against 
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen. He increased troop strength in 
Afghanistan after pledging to end war by yearend 2009.

US-led NATO aggression on Libya followed. Obama lied claiming Gaddafi 
"attack(ed) his (own) people. (So) we took ... swift steps ...to answer his 
aggression."

A litany of Big Lies followed. "Innocent people were targeted for killing," 
Obama blustered. "Hospital and ambulances were attacked."

"Journalists were arrested, sexually assaulted and killed ... Water for 
hundreds of thousands of people ... was shut off. Cities and towns were 
shelled. Mosques were destroyed."

"Gaddafi declared he would show no mercy to his own people" - willful Obama 
deception. He tried justifying the unjustifiable, adding "I authorized military 
action to stop the killing and enforce UN Security Council Resolution 1973."

International law is clear. Nations may not attack others except in 
self-defense - and only if UN Security Council authorized.

America wasn't attacked, nor other NATO countries. Gaddafi threatened no one, 
including his own people. The longer war raged, the more popular he became. 
Libyans rallied around him for safety and security - hoping he'd be able to 
restore peace and stability.

At war's end, he was brutally sodomized and murdered in cold blood. On November 
19, 2011, his son Saif was arrested trying to flee Libya to safety, held 
captive by Zintan rebels, tortured, until he was tried in absentia in Tripoli 
and convicted by kangaroo tribunal proceedings affording him no chance for 
justice.

He was declared guilty by accusation - sentenced to death by firing squad along 
with 8 other former Gaddafi officials, including former intelligence chief 
Abdullah Senussi, and 2 former prime ministers, al-Baghdadi and Abuzaid Dorda.

A total of 32 defendants were tried - 23 got lesser sentences and fines. 
Attorney John Jones represented Saif. "It was clearly a show trial" for all 
defendants, he said. "It was basically a trial by militia" lasting 2 days - 
conducted by an illegitimate Islamist regime controlling Tripoli after ousting 
the US-installed one operating from Tobruk.

"Lawyers were intimidated," said Jones. "The judges were intimated. Lawyers had 
to leave the case." Controlled proceedings excluded the right to a proper 
defense. Only 2 intimidated witnesses for Saif were allowed. No evidence 
against him was presented.

Prosecutors relied solely on torture extracted information - what no legitimate 
tribunal permits. Transitional Justice and Rule of Law Division of the UN 
Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) human rights director Claudio Cordone said:

"Concerns over the trial include the fact that several defendants were absent 
for a number of sessions. The evidence of criminal conduct was largely 
attributed to the defendants in general, with little effort to establish 
individual criminal responsibility."

"(I)t is particularly worrisome that the court handed down 9 death sentences. 
International standards require that death sentences may only be imposed after 
proceedings that meet the highest level of respect for fair trial standards. 
The United Nations opposes the imposition of the death penalty as a matter of 
principle."

Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ravina Shamdasani, 
added:

"We had closely monitored the detention and trial and found that international 
fair trial standards had failed to be met. Among the key shortcomings is the 
failure to establish individual criminal responsibility in relation to specific 
crimes."

Other serious issues included lack of access to lawyers, torture and other 
forms of ill treatment, as well as illegitimate trials conducted in absentia.

An UNSMIL press release said "(d)uring their pre-trial detention defendants 
were denied access to lawyers and family for prolonged periods, and some 
reported that they were beaten or otherwise ill-treated, but UNSMIL is not 
aware of any investigation into these allegations."

"Many defendants were not represented by a lawyer during the pre-trial process, 
which deprived them of a crucial opportunity to establish their defence. 
Defence lawyers said they faced challenges in meeting their clients privately 
or accessing the full case file, and some said they received threats."

"They were constrained by the court to 2 or 3 witnesses per defendant and some 
said that witnesses were reluctant to appear in court due to fears about their 
safety. The court did not respond to defence counsel requests to examine 
prosecution witnesses."

US-led NATO turned Africa's most developed country into a cauldron of endless 
violence, deprivation and despair.

Tens of thousands were murdered in cold blood. Multiples more were injured 
and/or displaced. Violence, instability, insecurity and chaos reflect daily 
life. No end in sight looms. Millions of Libyans live in constant fear.

Obama bears full responsibility for raping, ravaging, destroying, and 
plundering a nation threatening no others. Anarchical charnel house conditions 
replaced it.

Dystopian harshness persists. Libya is a failed state. Central authority is 
absent. Public services aren???t provided. Corruption and criminality are 
rampant. Conditions are in free fall. Human misery is extreme.

Libya is one of many high crimes on Obama's rap sheet. Perhaps he plans Libya 
2.0 for Syria, Iran, Lebanon and Yemen. Longstanding US/Israeli plans to redraw 
the Middle East map suggest it.

(source: Stephen Lendman, counterpunch.org)






PAPUA NEW GUINEA:

PNG police demand 3 Australian Manus guards return to face rape questions


Manus Island detention centre managers have been threatened with arrest in 
Papua New Guinea for perverting the course of justice unless 3 Australian 
guards accused of rape are returned for questioning.

PNG police are investigating allegations the trio, who worked for Wilson 
Security, allegedly drugged and gang-raped a local woman who also worked at the 
centre.

They are angry the group were removed from the island ahead of a formal 
investigation.

The alleged victim had made an official complaint to police this morning and 
supplied some evidence.

Manus Island provincial police commander Alex N'Drasal said he has set a 
deadline to arrest centre managers after close of business on Thursday unless 
the three men are flown back to co-operate with the police investigation.

"Their actions have perverted the course of justice," he said.

Rape convictions carry the death penalty in PNG.

The immigration department today confirmed the three staff members had been 
stood down and returned to Australia over an "incident".

"The alleged incident was inconsistent with expected behaviours and contrary to 
the service providers code of conduct," the department said.

It categorically rejected claims it has been involved in a cover-up over the 
issue.

"The implication that the Wilson staff were removed to avoid prosecution, or 
removed without consultation with relevant PNG authorities, is simply wrong," 
the department said.

The department said its personnel had personally briefed senior representatives 
of the PNG police on the decision to remove the three workers from the island 
and they had agreed with the proposed action.

Commander N'Drasal denied the department's version of events and said it had 
not followed proper procedures.

Wilson Security has refused to comment on the matter, referring media inquiries 
to the immigration department.

The department maintains it will support and assist PNG authorities should 
"there be a case to answer in relation to this matter".

The department said on Monday that it had not been notified of any allegation 
of sexual assault.

But today it clarified it was "made aware immediately in mid-July of an 
incident involving 3 service provider staff and a locally engaged staff
member".

Further comment has been sought from the department.

(source: The Australian)



EGYPT:

Politicians 'ignored' over attempts to attend Halawa trial


A member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade said it had made a 
number of requests over the past 6 weeks seeking to send a representative to 
visit the Irish teenager, whose trial is due to begin on Sunday.

Fianna Fail Senator Mark Daly also alleged a further request he made personally 
to the Egyptian Embassy in Dublin, to be allowed observe the trial, was 
ignored.

The situation threatens to spark a diplomatic row ahead of the high-profile 
case.

Mr Daly said he finally got a response from the embassy yesterday. The 
correspondence said a formal request would be considered, but cautioned that 
"the pressure of time and security arrangements" were considerations.

Mr Daly said he believed earlier requests had been "ignored" and that this 
raised further questions over the trial process.

Queries submitted by the Irish Independent to the Egyptian Embassy about the 
issue were not responded to yesterday.

Human rights groups have expressed concerns that Mr Halawa will not receive a 
fair trial.

The 19-year-old has been held since his arrest in August 2013 during protests 
in Cairo against the toppling of former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi.

The Dubliner was one of 488 people charged with 2 murders, an attempted murder, 
the sabotage of a police precinct, the use of explosives, arson and the use of 
force against police officers.

The charges, which he denies, carry the death penalty.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny told the Dail last May it appeared Mr Halawa was now 
facing less serious charges.

However, this has been disputed by the Belfast human rights law firm Kevin R 
Winters, which is representing Mr Halawa.

The defence team also includes a barrister from Doughty Street Chambers, the 
London law practice of Amal Clooney.

Lawyers for Mr Halawa met with officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs 
yesterday to discuss the case. Solicitor Darragh Mackin said afterwards: "The 
issue in respect of the charges has still not been cleared up."

Sinn Fein MEP Lynn Boylan has also requested access to the trial and to Mr 
Halawa in prison.

She is travelling to Egypt on a diplomatic passport afforded to MEPs having 
been granted a visa on Monday.

(source: Irish Independent)



CHINA:

Chinese murderer of 6 sentenced to death


A Shanghai court on Wednesday gave the death penalty to a man who shot dead 5 
people, including a soldier, and beat another to death.

Fan Jieming, 64, had a dispute at a chemical factory in the city's Baoshan 
district on June 22, 2013, before committing the murders.

Fan was convicted of murder, robbery, forcible seizure and illegal possession 
of guns, Xinhua news agency reported.

(source: Indo-Asian News Service)