[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

June 29



CHINA:

Lawmakers Considering Harsher Punishment for Human Trafficker



China's top lawmakers are considering tougher punishments for all parties 
involved in human trafficking, including those who buy abducted children.

The 9th draft amendment to the Criminal Law was submitted to the Standing 
Committee of the National People's Congress earlier this week.

It comes amid continuing discussions on China's social media outlets about 
whether or not child traffickers should be sentenced to death.

The amendment advocates "light punishment" for buyers who don't harm abducted 
children or hinder police rescue of the victimized children.

At present, such buyers would likely be exempt from punishment.

He Youlin, a member of the NPC Standing Committee, says this indeed gives a 
free reign to the act of children trafficking.

"Those who buy children can get lesser punishment or even an exemption only 
because they don't ill-treat the abducted children or appear cooperative in 
rescue operations. But will it embolden those possible buyers? We should take 
it seriously."

Child trafficking has been rampant for a long time in rural China, especially 
in poverty-stricken southwestern regions. Some pregnant women have been found 
to have sold their own children.

The traditional preference of boys over girls, especially in the countryside, 
has also been blamed for boosting the trade.

Some rural residents who don't have a boy would like to buy one, which many law 
experts say fuels demand.

Jiang Zhuangde is also taking part in the discussion of the amendment. He backs 
harsher punishments for child buyers.

"The effort to crack down on child buyers is obviously not enough. The current 
penalties are too light to deter the offenders. The huge demand is another 
major reason why child trafficking becomes rampant. Those who buy children 
should face criminal penalties or harsher punishment at least."

According to the Supreme People's Court, nearly 13,000 people involved in 
trafficking were punished between 2010 and 2014 with over 1/2 receiving 
sentences ranging from at least 5 years in prison to the death penalty.

Under the current law, child traffickers can be sentenced to a maximum of 10 
years in prison. If more than 3 victims are involved or if there are 
casualties, the punishments can rise to life in prison or death.

A recent poll on Sina.com showed over 92 % of the more than 21,000 respondents 
recommended that the same punishment imposed on child traffickers should also 
be applied to buyers.

(source: CRI.English)








MALAYSIA:

Death penalty for former cabbie upheld



The Federal Court, here, today upheld the conviction and death sentence of a 
former taxi driver for the murder of a woman who was shot dead during a robbery 
10 years ago.

Mokhtar Mohd Zin, 53, was charged with murdering Siti Shamiza Abu Zarim, 30, a 
construction firm secretary, in the car park of Giant Supermarket in Batu 
Caves, Gombak, at 1.45pm on March 19, 2005.

The 5-member panel led by Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Md Raus Sharif in a 
unanimous decision rejected Mokhtar's final appeal to set aside the Court of 
Appeal's conviction against him on a charge of murdering Siti Shamiza.

Justice Md Raus said there was no reason for the court to vary the decision of 
the Court of Appeal that found Mokhtar guilty of murdering the woman because he 
had conclusively been identified by several witnesses as the person who shot 
her.

"Thus, the appeal is rejected, (and) the decision of the Court of Appeal and 
the conviction and death penalty is upheld," said Justice Md Raus, who presided 
together with Federal Court judges Tan Sri Suriyadi Halim Omar, Tan Sri Ahmad 
Maarop, Tan Sri Hasan Lah and Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali.

According to the witnesses' testimonies during the hearing, they heard gunshots 
in the parking lot and after that a woman was found dead next to a car.

The post-mortem found that the victim died from a gunshot on the chest and she 
was shot from the front. A mobile phone used by Mokhtar was also found beside 
her body.

Mokhtar, from Kelantan, in his defence told the court that two days prior to 
the incident he had gone to Kuala Lumpur to attend a case at the Kuala Lumpur 
Magistrate's Court and had returned home on the same day, May 17, 2005.

Mokhtar, who is also a dealer of smuggled goods from Thailand, said he arrived 
at Rantau Panjang on the morning of May 18, 2005, and in the evening went to 
Golok, Thailand.

He surrendered to police on March 26, 2005, after his wife phoned him to inform 
that his picture had appeared in the news on a murder case in Kuala Lumpur.

On Sept 20, 2009, the Shah Alam High Court acquitted and discharged Mokhtar 
from the murder charge after the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie 
case against the taxi driver.

However, the prosecution which was not satisfied with the decision, appealed to 
the Court of Appeal.

On Oct 10, 2011, the Court of Appeal ordered Mokhtar to enter his defence after 
allowing the appeal by the prosecution.

On March 30, 2012, the Shah Alam High Court again acquitted and discharged 
Mokhtar from the same charge after hearing his defence, but the Court of Appeal 
subsequently convicted him of the charge after allowing the prosecution's 
appeal.

Today, the Federal Court finally dismissed Mokhtar's appeal.

(source: themalaymailonline.com)








BANGLADESH:

Court to decide whether to admit murder charges against Rana Plaza owner, 40 
others on July 8



A Dhaka court will hold a hearing on July 8 to decide whether to admit charges 
against Rana Plaza owner Sohel Rana and 40 others in the case over murder of 
more than 1,100 people in the collapse of the building.

Dhaka's Senior Judicial Magistrate Shahinur Rahman fixed the date on Sunday.

The hearing on whether to take cognisance of the charges was scheduled to be 
held on Sunday, but did not.

Accused Rana was not produced before the court.

Prosecution's Asaduzzaman told bdnews24.com the court sought explanation why he 
was not produced before it.

On Apr 24, 2013, the Rana Plaza building in Savar, which housed 5 garment 
factories, came crushing down.

Official figures put the death toll at 1,135 - mostly workers of the readymade 
clothing factories.

At least 2,458 people were rescued from the rubble.

Savar police filed a case over 'negligent death', accusing 21 including Rana. 
But police brought charges against 41, accusing them of murder.

Investigation officer Bijay Krishna Kar submitted the chargesheet to the court 
on June 1.

The accused would be handed down the death penalty, if found guilty.

Rana and 3 other accused are in jail now.

17 of those accused of murder and another have been charged in another case 
filed over construction without following the building code.

Of those accused in the murder case, 25 are absconding.

7 are on the run in the other case while all other accused are on bail.

(source: bdnws24.com)








INDONESIA:

I don't support death penalty: Natalegawa



Indonesia's former foreign minister has said he doesn't support captial 
punishment, but stopped short of saying Indonesia should ban the practice.

Speaking to Sky News Political Editor David Speers, Marty Natalegawa said he 
had held his views for a long time, but did not air them publicly because it 
would not have been conducive to position as Indonesia's foreign minister.

"I am personally against the death penality. That has been my position 
consistently,' he said.

Mr Natalegawa said he expected the death penalty to continue to form part of 
'robust discussions' between Australia and Indonesia.

(source: skynews.com.au)








UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:

UAE woman 'sentenced to death for killing US teacher'



A United Arab Emirates court sentenced an Emirati woman to death on Monday 
after convicting her of the jihadist-inspired murder of an American teacher, 
Abu Dhabi newspaper The National reported.

Alaa Bader al-Hashemi, 30, was found guilty of stabbing to death school teacher 
Ibolya Ryan, 47, in a shopping mall toilet, the paper said.

She was also convicted of "creating a handmade bomb" she placed in front of an 
Egyptian-American doctor's home, it added.

The attacks took place within hours of each other in the UAE capital on 
December 1.

Tracked down using CCTV footage of her going into and out of the restroom where 
the teacher's murder took place and near the doctor's building, Hashemi was 
arrested 48 hours later.

She was dressed in black from head-to-toe as she carried out both attacks.

Hashemi was arrested at her home where her car was found with blood on the 
steering wheel and bomb making materials inside.

The National said that Hashemi "was also found guilty of sending money to 
Al-Qaeda in Yemen, knowing the funds would be used in terrorist acts".

The ruling was made by the Federal Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi, which means it 
cannot be appealed.

The president can, however, decide to overturn the sentence or reduce it.

Hashemi, surrounded by four police officers, "showed no emotion as the verdict 
and sentence were announced," the paper said.

"As she was led from court she smiled and waved at her father and brother, who 
were in court to witness the proceedings."

'Unreal visions'

International media have been denied access to her trial, which began on March 
23.

Hashemi had asked the court to provide her with psychological help, saying she 
had "unreal visions" and would see "ghost-like people" due to a chronic mental 
illness.

The court ordered psychiatric tests which it said showed she was aware of her 
actions.

In March, Attorney General Salem Saeed Kubaish said that investigators found 
she had "listened to lectures by late Al-Qaeda leaders Osama bin Laden and Abu 
Musab al-Zarqawi, watched video clips of killings and beheadings," among other 
similar activities.

She "embraced takfiri and jihadist ideology and then engaged in terrorist acts 
in support of the terrorist organisations Al-Qaeda and Daesh," he said using an 
Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group.

The convict was also said to have created an Internet account to promote the 
"ideas of a terrorist group".

The judge on Monday "ordered the confiscation of all evidence and the shutting 
down of the online account Hashemi had used," The National said.

Kubaish has said that Hashemi had confessed "in detail to investigators to have 
committed these crimes," but during the court hearings, the woman denied all 
charges and alleged that she was mistreated during interrogation and forced to 
confess.

Hashemi had been dubbed the "Reem Island Ghost" after the location of the mall 
where the stabbing of Ryan, a mother of 3, attack took place.

In September, the United Arab Emirates joined the US-led coalition carrying out 
air strikes against the jihadist IS group in Iraq and Syria.

Last year, it issued a list of 83 Islamist groups it classified as "terrorist 
organisations".

Violent crime is relatively rare in the UAE, home to millions of foreign 
workers.

And while capital punishment is legal in the UAE, executions are rarely carried 
out.

(source: Agence France-Presse)








IRAN:

Iran's Supreme Court Overturns Death Sentence for Cyber Activist----Branch 34 
of Iran's Supreme Court has granted Soheil Arabi's request for a retrial. Arabi 
was sentenced to death for "Insulting Prophet Muhammed online".



On Saturday Soheil Arabi, cyber activist, discovered through his lawyers that 
Iran's Supreme Court has overturned his death sentence, pending a retrial. One 
of Arabi's lawyers confirmed the news to Iran Human Rights.

Arabi may still face execution if he is sentenced to death in the new trial, 
this was the fate web developer Saeed Malekpour suffered in 2011.

Iran human Rights welcomes the news of the overturning of Soheil Arabi's death 
sentence and calls for abolishing all laws in Iran that violate a citizen's 
right to freedom of speech or expression.

(source: Iran Human Rights)