[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

June 16

EGYPT:

W.House 'deeply troubled' by sentencing of Egypt's Morsi



The White House branded Egypt's sentencing of former president Mohammad Morsi 
as "politically motivated" Tuesday, in a sharp rebuke of Washington's uneasy 
military ally.

"We are deeply troubled by the politically motivated sentences that have been 
handed down against former president Morsi and several others by an Egyptian 
court today," spokesman Josh Earnest said.

A court earlier upheld the death penalty for Morsi's role in the 2011 uprising 
and sentenced him to life in prison on spying charges.

(source: The Daily Star)

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

Statement by the High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini on Court 
sentences in Egypt



Today's confirmation of the death sentences on former President Mohammed Morsi 
and five others in Egypt comes as a result of mass trials, related to a jail 
break in 2011, and is a worrying development. The EU opposes capital punishment 
under all circumstances. The death penalty is cruel and does not serve any 
deterrent purpose. It represents an unacceptable denial of human dignity and 
integrity. The EU expects these sentences to be revised in the appeals 
procedure.

This coincides with a court decision in another mass trial transforming the 
death penalty into life sentences of 25 years for former President Mohamed 
Morsi and many of his supporters as well as prison sentences in the other 
cases, in connection to conspiring with foreign groups. These sentences and 
procedures are in breach of Egypt's obligations under international law.

The EU reiterates its call on the Egyptian authorities to abide by their 
international obligations, to uphold the right to a fair trial and safeguard 
due legal process, including the defendants' rights to a fair trial based on 
clear charges and proper and independent investigations. Stability and the rule 
of law need to be guaranteed.

(source: europa)








PAKISTAN:

LHC rejects plea of daughters' killer



A division bench of the Lahore High Court on Monday dismissed a petition for 
challenging execution of a man convicted for killing his two minor daughters.

As the proceedings commenced, brother of the convict told the bench that 
reconciliation efforts between the convict and the complainant party were in 
progress, therefore, the hanging should be stopped.

However, the appellant could not convince the bench, which expressed 
dissatisfaction over the documents presented by the convict party regarding 
agreement between the parties. The bench dismissed the petition by upholding 
the execution order.

Mukhtar had killed his daughters in 2004 and was sentenced to death penalty by 
the trial court in 2007. The Lytton Road police had registered the case on the 
complaint of Chanda Bibi, the mother.

(source: The Nation)








SAUDI ARABIA----executions

Saudi beheads murderers, adding to 'campaign of death'



Saudi Arabia beheaded 2 of its citizens for murder Tuesday, adding to what a 
rights group calls a "campaign of death" in which more than 100 people have 
been executed.

Mohammed al-Otaibi was convicted of shooting dead another Saudi, the interior 
ministry said in a statement on the official Saudi Press Agency.

Authorities carried out the sentence in Riyadh.

Separately, Turki al-Zahrani was put to death in the Muslim holy city of Mecca 
for stabbing dead a fellow Saudi, the ministry said.

The 2 cases brought to 102 the number of Saudi nationals and foreigners 
executed in the kingdom this year.

That compares with 87 for all of 2014, according to AFP tallies, but is still 
far below the record 192 which rights group Amnesty International said took 
place in 1995.

"Saudi authorities have been on a campaign of death this year, executing more 
people in 6 months than all of the previous year," Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle 
East and North Africa director of Human Rights Watch, said in a statement on 
Tuesday.

Echoing the concerns of other activists, the New York-based group said it has 
documented "due process violations" in Saudi Arabia's judiciary that make it 
difficult for defendants to get fair trials even in capital cases.

Under the conservative kingdom's strict Islamic sharia legal code, drug 
trafficking, rape, murder, armed robbery and apostasy are all punishable by 
death.

The interior ministry has cited deterrence as a reason for carrying out the 
punishment.

(source: al-monitor.com)