[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

June 23


GAMBIA:

Gambia opposition attacks plan to expand death penalty



Opposition activists have vowed to fight plans announced by The Gambia to 
expand the list of offences punishable by death to any crime deemed 
sufficiently serious by parliament.

The west African nation currently allows the sanction only for people convicted 
of causing someone's death through violence or the administration of toxic 
substances.

The government announced earlier this month however that it would hold a 
referendum on changing the constitution to permit execution whenever "the 
sentence is prescribed by law".

"It means the government would be able to (impose) the death penalty for any 
crime it deems fit, by just passing a bill at the national assembly," 
opposition leader Halifa Salla told AFP late on Monday.

Sallah said his People's Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism 
would "leave no stone unturned" in organising people to vote "no" in the 
referendum, for which a date is yet to be set.

All Gambians aged over 18 will be entitled to take part, with a "yes" vote of 
75 % on a turnout of at least 50 % carrying the motion.

The law would be changed within a maximum of 9 months after a 'yes' vote, 
according to Salla.

No official crime statistics are released by the government in mainland 
Africa's smallest country, which is surrounded by Senegal except for a narrow 
strip of Atlantic coast and has a population of just 1.7 million.

President Yahya Jammeh announced in August 2012 that all death row prisoners 
would be executed by mid-September and a week later the first batch of 9 
convicts were executed by firing squad.

The killings caused international outrage, especially in Senegal, which counted 
2 citizens among those put to death.

Rights groups estimate another 30 convicts face the firing squad but no 
executions have been announced since.

Jammeh, an outspoken military officer and former wrestler, has ruled Gambia 
with an iron fist since seizing power in a bloodless coup in 1994.

He is often accussed of rights abuses and the suppression of free speech, and 
is pilloried for paranoia as he regularly reshuffles his government.

(source: Agence France-Presse)








FRANCE/INDONESIA:

France vows efforts to save national on death row in Indonesia



French President Francois Hollande says Paris will do its utmost to save a 
French national who has received a death penalty over drug offences in 
Indonesia.

"France, without going into the legal debate, is doing everything to keep Serge 
Atlaoui alive," Hollande told reporters following a European summit in the EU's 
de facto capital of Brussels late Monday.

He added, "It will be up to the lawyers to decide what other avenues to 
pursue."

Meanwhile, France's European Affairs Minister Harlem Desir also vowed to 
mobilize "the whole of the French diplomatic service" in an attempt to have 
Atlaoui's death sentence annulled.

Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister, also reiterated support for the 
drug offender, saying he plans to talk to Atlaoui's wife regarding the 
convict's situation very soon.

Earlier, the State Administrative Court in the Indonesian capital city of 
Jakarta upheld its previous verdict regarding Atlaoui's charges, saying the 
court is in no position to reconsider the convict's clemency plea, which had 
already been dismissed by the country's President Joko Widodo.

Atlaoui's death sentence was to be implemented 2 months ago, but it was 
suspended upon pressure from officials in Paris, who have warned Jakarta of 
unspecified consequences if the convict is executed.

Indonesian police detained Atlaoui in a secret drug factory outside the capital 
in 2015. Jakarta said he worked as a chemist at the site.

The French national rejects the allegation, saying he had no knowledge of the 
factory's illegal activities, and was just installing machinery at the site 
when he was arrested.

Back in April, 2 Australians, a Brazilian, 4 Nigerians and an Indonesian were 
executed in the Asian country for drug offences.

Despite international pressure, Indonesian President Joko Widodo has stressed 
that Jakarta will continue to severely punish drug traffickers, saying the 
country is currently grappling with a serious crisis over the increasing drug 
use.

(source: PressTV)








SINGAPORE:

2 arrested for attempting to smuggle 1kg of cannabis



The Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) has arrested 2 suspected drug importers at 
the Tuas Checkpoint on Monday who had attempted to import into Singapore 980g 
of cannabis and 37g of Ice. CNB said the drugs, which were seized, are 
estimated to be worth more than $39,000.

CNB officers and the K9 unit from the Singapore Police Force conducted a 
routine check on a Malaysia-registered motorcycle last night at 10.20pm.

1 black bundle suspected to contain cannabis was found concealed underneath the 
seat and the 2 male Malaysians on the motorcycle, a 19-year-old and a 
21-year-old, were immediately placed under arrest.

CNB officers conducted a further search on the motorcycle and recovered 2 more 
bundles. The 19-year-old suspect then surrendered a packet of Ice to the 
officers.

Investigations on both arrested persons are ongoing.

Under the Misuse of Drugs Act, those convicted of importing more than 500g of 
cannabis may face the death penalty.

(source: asiaone.com)








TAIWAN:

EU report criticizes use of capital punishment; BONE OF CONTENTION:While saying 
human rights in Taiwan are at international standards, the report raises 
concerns about the 33 executions over the past 6 years



The EU says Taiwan has implemented policies that have boosted human rights to 
international standards, with the exception of the death penalty, according to 
the latest EU Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World released 
in Luxembourg on Monday.

"The EU's engagement [in Taiwan] fits into a generally good human rights 
situation and domestic policy to implement international standards, with the 
exception of the death penalty," the EU says in the report.

The report outlines the consistent efforts of the EU, its extensive network of 
139 delegations and EU Representative for Human Rights Stavros Lambrinidis to 
promote the universality of human rights around the world, the union said in a 
press release.

Throughout last year, the EU engaged in formal human rights dialogues and 
consultations with 37 partner countries and regional groupings, it said.

Taiwan is one of the nations named in the report where the extensive use of the 
death penalty has made it a particular focus of attention, along with Iran, 
Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Belarus, Egypt, Japan, Singapore, China and 
the US, as EU nations deplore the use of the punishment.

Taiwan observed a de facto moratorium on the use of the death penalty from 2005 
to 2010, but in the past 6 years 33 death row inmates have been executed, each 
followed by a statement from the EU calling for an immediate moratorium on use 
of the death penalty.

The EU remains engaged with local authorities and civil society (providing 
support for the non-governmental organization Taiwan Alliance to End the Death 
Penalty through the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights) on 
working effectively toward the resumption of a moratorium on the death penalty 
with a view to its formal abolition, the report says.

In its regular dialogue with Taiwan - the EU-Taiwan annual consultations on 
non-trade issues - the EU raised its concerns over the death penalty and its 
continued application, the report says.

(source: Taipei Times)