[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide----LEB., INDIA, EGYPT, INDON. S. ARAB.

[Rick Halperin]

May 18



LEBANON:

Military prosecutor files appeal for Samaha retrial, urges death sentence



Military Prosecutor Judge Saqr Saqr filed an appeal Monday against the 4 
1/2-year jail sentence handed down to former minister Michel Samaha last week, 
urging instead he receive the death penalty, judicial sources told The Daily 
Star.

The appeal, submitted to the Military Court of Cassation, challenges the 
Military Tribunal's sentence issued over smuggling explosives from Syria into 
Lebanon with the intent to target political and religious figures.

Saqr and Assistant Prosecutor Judge Hani Hajjar called on the Court of 
Cassation to terminate the sentence and retry Samaha on all charges brought 
against him in the initial indictment.

The prosecutors also urged the court to display video and audio recordings 
showing Samaha handing over explosives and money to Milad Kfoury - an 
undercover Internal Security Forces agent.

A judicial source told The Daily Star that the appeals memo is 14 pages long 
and asserts that Samaha is guilty of charges that should be met with the death 
penalty.

The appeals document also states that the Military Court sentenced Samaha for 
"attempts" to carry out terrorist acts, when in fact, the crimes Samaha 
committed go beyond that.

The document argued that since Samaha met with Kfoury on several occasions, 
planned the operations, agreed on the targets and handed the explosives and a 
sum of money over to the agent, then his role in the plot was complete.

Considering that, Samaha should be found guilty of carrying out terrorist 
operations and not merely an attempt to do so.

The document also challenged the military court's verdict, which found the 
suspect not guilty of attempted murder.

The appeals memo said that Samaha had carried out all preparations in an 
attempt to assassinate religious and political figures. The killings did not 
occur, however, because of circumstances outside of the suspect's hands and not 
because of the lack of criminal intent.

The Court of Cassation will have 15 days to review the appeal before issuing a 
decision. If it accepts the appeal, then the court must retry Samaha and should 
issue a new verdict within 2 months of approving the challenge to the original 
sentence.

If the appeal is rejected, then Samaha will serve his 4 1/2-year-sentence.

(source: The Daily Star)








INDIA:

Her crime a blow to society's faith in educated daughter as caregiver: SC



Calling it an abhorrent crime of parricide shaking the Indian society's 
aspirations of an educated daughter as a caregiver more responsible than a son, 
the Supreme Court confirmed the death penalty of a young teacher and her lover 
for the murder of her aged parents and 5 other family members.

The case dealt with the multiple murders committed by Shabnam, a teacher in 
Uttar Pradesh, in 2008.

She had incapacitated her entire family by sedating them. Then had held their 
heads while her lover slit their throats, one after the other. The Supreme 
Court judgment quotes the prosecution saying that she strangled her 
10-month-old nephew with her own hands. After the deed, she pretended to lie 
down unconscious near her dead father till the neighbours broke into the house.

The court confirmed that she wanted to do away with her family, who was opposed 
to her relationship, and keep the family property to herself. A trial court 
convicted and sentenced the duo to death in July 2008. The decision was upheld 
by the Allahabad High Court in April 2013.

In its recent judgment on their appeals, a Bench led by Chief Justice of India 
H.L. Dattu said the fact that an educated teacher from a civilised family 
committed this crime and showed no remorse by itself makes it a 'rarest of 
rare' crime deserving the death penalty.

"Such a deed as parricide would be sufficiently appalling were the perpetrator 
and the victims are uneducated and backward, but it gains a ghastly 
illumination from the descent, moral upbringing, and elegant respectful living 
of the educated family where the father and daughter are both teachers," Chief 
Justice Dattu said.

"Here is a case in which Shabnam, who has been brought up in an educated and 
independent environment by her family and was respectfully employed as a 
Shikshamitra (teacher) at the school, influenced by the love and lust of her 
paramour has committed this brutal parricide exterminating 7 lives including 
that of an innocent child," the judgment said.

Justifying its decision to uphold her death sentence, the apex court 
distinguished Shabnam's crime triggered intense indignation in the community as 
it shattered the modern Indian parents' faith that their educated daughter 
would care for them in their old age.

"The modern era, led by the dawn of education, no longer recognises the 
stereotype that a parent would want a son so that they have someone to look 
after them and support them in their old age. Now, in an educated and civilised 
society, a daughter plays a multifaceted and indispensible role in the family, 
especially towards her parents," the court said.

The court said the accused "wrench the heart of our society where family is an 
institution of love and trust". It concluded that the couple's cold-blooded 
depravity leaves little "little likelihood of reform".

(source: The Hindu)








EGYPT:

Former presidential candidate Sabahi tweets: Death penalty is not the solution; 
Leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahi tweets against death sentence after 6 men 
were executed on terrorism charges



Former presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahi criticised the issuing of death 
penalties on Monday, a day after 6 Egyptian men were executed on 
terorrism-related charges.

"Execution is not the solution," the leftist politician wrote on Twitter.

The 6 men, including one 19-year-old, were sentenced to death by a military 
tribunal in October on charges of plotting and carrying out deadly attacks in 
Qalioubiya and Cairo.

Sabahi was the only contender to challenge former army chief Abdel-Fattah 
El-Sisi in last year's presidential elections, garnering just 3 percent of the 
vote.

The Nasserist politician had come 3rd in the 1st round of the presidential 
elections of 2012, which were won by Mohamed Morsi

A decision by a Cairo court on Saturday to seek the death sentence for ousted 
president Morsi and over a hundred others on charges related to a prison break 
in 2011 brought a barrage of criticism from foreign states, as well as local 
and international rights groups.

(source: Ahram Online)




SOUTH AFRICA:

The return of the death penalty to South Africa



I was a young primary school pupil on March 2 1978. It was the morning uMkhonto 
we Sizwe (MK) operative, Solomon Mahlangu, was executed by the apartheid 
government at the then Pretoria Central Prison.

I will never forget the feeling I had that morning when my late elder brother 
told me about the brutal hanging of Mahlangu, who I came to know through 
frequent Rand Daily Mail's headlines and news-breaking stories. I remember 
clearly that I couldn't sleep properly that night, haunted by the barbaric 
nature of the execution, and tarnished by living in a country run by a 
government that hanged its people. I was sullied and disgusted.

The same feelings arose in me this week when I heard that DA leadership 
candidate, Mmusi Maimane, supported a referendum to decide on the 
re-introduction of the death penalty. He was repeating President Jacob Zuma's 
2008 sentiments after he was elected president of the ANC. At the time, Zuma 
raised the possibility of a referendum on the death penalty. Zuma, however, 
later changed his mind. And Maimane did the same this week.

But this shows that people are beginning to consider the return of the death 
penalty in South Africa. And this is too sad for words.

South Africa could be attracting more tourists than it is right now because of 
the crimes stories that come out of the country. So, crime has some negative 
impact on the economy, whether we like it or not. But I digress.

The cruelty of the apartheid government's hanging method prompted the founding 
fathers of the new South Africa to abandon the practice of killing convicted 
criminals.

But readers of this column experience greater revulsion when they consider the 
crimes that have forced people to ask for the return of the death penalty in 
recent years.

About 6 months ago, Reiger Park residents, angered by the kidnapping and murder 
of the 4-year-old Taegrin Morris, called for the return of the death penalty.

Morris was killed when his parents' Volkswagen Golf was hijacked in Reiger 
Park, Boksburg, in July last year. The boy was caught in his seatbelt and was 
dragged along the road as the hijackers drove off.

Shortly before that, calls for the death penalty were also reiterated by 
Diepsloot residents after the sentencing of a convicted child killer and 
rapist, Ntokozo Hadebe, to 9 life terms. Hadebe was convicted of three counts 
of murder, 3 of kidnapping and 6 of rape.

The bodies of toddlers Anelisa Mkhonto and cousins Yonalisa and Zandile Mali 
were discovered dumped in a rubbish bin and public toilets. They'd been 
abducted, taken to Hadebe's shack in Diepsloot, where he raped and killed them.

Reading of these shocking stories, many will be of the view that the people 
responsible for these crimes have not only lost the right to live, but also any 
right to sympathy.

I am against the death penalty. But I know the feelings that lead to the calls 
for it. One of the feelings is that some criminals are simply beyond recovery 
and that their death may bring some sense of a definitive ending to the 
victim's friends and family.

However, the mistakes in the death penalty are well-known. They include the 
risk of wrongful conviction and later killing of innocent perpetrators. It is 
also not a deterrent because criminals always commit crimes with the firm 
belief that they will not be arrested.

I am proud to be South African today, proud that I live in a country where this 
cruelty does not exist. And the regime that killed Mahlangu is no more.

(source: Mzwandile Jacks, ventures-africa.com)








INDONESIA:

July 6 hearing on appeal by duo on death row



The Appellate Court here (in Kota Kinabalu) yesterday set July 6 this year to 
hear the appeal by 2 men against their death sentence for separate syabu 
trafficking convictions.

Justice Dato' Mohd Hishamudin Md Yunus, who sat together with Justices Datuk 
David Wong Dak Wah and Dato' Umi Kalthum Abdul Majid, agreed to adjourn hearing 
the appeal by Eswaran Susop and Jaswant Singh in order to give them ample time 
to look for counsels.

The court directed that the appellants, who both hail from Johor, must be 
represented by different counsels.

During the proceedings yesterday, both appellants, aged 24, were represented by 
counsel Ram Singh.

The High Court here had on October 23, 2013, sentenced both the appellants to 
death by hanging after finding them guilty under Section 39B (1) (a) of the 
Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 which is punishable with the mandatory death penalty, 
upon conviction.

The trial judge, in his decision, held that the appellants had failed to cast a 
reasonable doubt on the prosecution's case after finding that there was no 
evidence that the appellants did not have knowledge about the said syabu.

Eswaran was caught for trafficking in 770.9 grams of syabu on March 18, 2012 at 
the arrival hall of Terminal Two of the Kota Kinabalu International Airport 
while Jaswant was convicted of trafficking in 780.2 grams of the same drug at 
the same time and place.

They were jointly tried since February 25, 2013 with the prosecution, led by 
deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Aida Jaafar Mad Ariff, calling 15 witnesses to 
testify against both the appellants.

The duo were called to enter their defence on July 21, 2013 with both of them 
being the only defence witnesses.

DPP Mohd Fairuz Johari appeared for the respondent in these appeals.

Meanwhile, the same court adjourned to July 6 this year to hear the appeal of a 
45-year-old woman against her conviction and sentence for trying to cheat a 
man.

The court unanimously agreed to defer the appeal for the last time to allow 
Jamilah Likabon to engage a counsel, to represent her in the appeal.

The court also advised the appellant, a former security guard at the temporary 
detention center (PTS) in Sandakan, to seek a counsel through Yayasan Bantuan 
Guaman Kebangsaan.

Previously, her (the appellant's) appeal had been adjourned twice, on November 
11, 2014 and January 19, 2015, as she claimed that her counsels had withdrawn 
from representing her on the two hearings, respectively.

The lower court had sentenced the appellant to 1 year's jail plus a RM10,000 
fine, in default, 3 months' imprisonment, after she was found guilty of 
attempting to deceive the man of RM3,000 by leading him to believe that she 
could secure the release of a detainee at the PTS in Sandakan.

She committed the offence at a restaurant at Batu 4 in Sandakan on July 20, 
2012.

The appellant was convicted under Section 420 of the Penal Code, read together 
with Section 511 of the same Code, which provides for a jail term of up to 5 
years and with whipping and liable to a fine, upon conviction.

DPP Norzilati Izhani Zainal acted for the respondent.

(source: The Borneo Post)








SAUDI ARABIA:

Saudi Arabia advertises for eight new executioners as beheading rate soars ---- 
85 reported executed so far this year, rivalling total for whole of 2014



Saudi Arabia is advertising for 8 new executioners, recruiting extra staff to 
carry out an increasing number of death sentences, usually done by public 
beheading.

No special qualifications are needed for the jobs whose main role is "executing 
a judgment of death" but also involve performing amputations on those convicted 
of lesser offences, the advert, posted on the civil service jobs portal, said.

The Islamic kingdom is in the top five countries in the world for putting 
people to death, rights groups say. It ranked third in 2014, after China and 
Iran, and ahead of Iraq and the United States, according to Amnesty 
International figures.

A man beheaded on Sunday was the 85th person this year whose execution was 
recorded by the official Saudi Press Agency, compared to 88 in the whole of 
2014, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW). Amnesty said there were at least 
90 executions last year.

Most were executed for murder, but 38 had committed drugs offences, HRW said. 
About half were Saudi and the others were from Pakistan, Yemen, Syria, Jordan, 
India, Indonesia, Burma, Chad, Eritrea the Philippines and Sudan.

Saudi authorities have not said why the number of executions has increased so 
rapidly, but diplomats have speculated it may be because more judges have been 
appointed, allowing a backlog of appeal cases to be heard.

Political analysts say it might also reflect a tough response by the judiciary 
to regional turbulence.

A downloadable pdf application form for the executioner jobs, available on the 
website carrying Monday's date, said the jobs were classified as "religious 
functionaries" and that they would be at the lower end of the civil service pay 
scale.

(source: The Guardian)

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

Saudi Arabia To Behead, Crucify Pro-Democracy Opposition Leader Sheikh 
Nimr----Sentenced to death last year, Sheikh Nimr is a political prisoner 
condemned for demanding the release of other prisoners and Saudi government 
reform.



Last week, Saudi officials announced the impending execution of Sheikh Nimr 
Baqir al-Nimr, a 53-year-old Shiite cleric sentenced to death last year. If the 
execution is carried out over calls against it coming from across the globe, 
Nimr will be beheaded and then his body will be publicly displayed, a process 
locally called "crucifixion."

Nimr was condemned to death for '"seeking ???foreign meddling' in the kingdom, 
'disobeying' its rulers and taking up arms against the security forces" - 
accusations made by the government that pro-democracy activists say are 
unfounded claims to discredit the fight for freedom. The last charge likely 
stems from his arrest, when police accuse the cleric of exchanging gunfire 
during a chase - a charge denied by his family who claim he was unarmed. Police 
shot Nimr 4 times during his arrest.

Human rights advocates criticize the charges, saying Nimr was imprisoned for 
his support of the 2011 Arab Spring uprising, criticism of the treatment of 
other Shiite Muslims by the country's rulers, demanding the release of other 
political prisoners, and other accusations against the House of Saud.

It's unclear when the death sentence could be carried out. BBC Arabic reported 
Nimr would be executed on Thursday, but as of Friday, no reports indicated he 
had been killed. Zack Beauchamp, writing for Vox, highlighted Saudi Arabia's 
unpredictability in death penalty cases: "[T]he country has a habit of both 
postponing executions and carrying them out without very much warning."

The announcement of Nimr's execution renewed protests that began after his 
arrest and have continued ever since, especially in al-Qatif in eastern Saudi 
Arabia, known for its strong sympathies to his positions. In April 2014, 
Princess Sahar, 1 of 4 imprisoned daughters of the late King Abdullah, linked 
her struggle to Nimr's imprisonment, and called for revolution against the 
ruling government.

Now, Nimr's death sentence has become an international issue, condemned by 
Reprieve and Amnesty International. Protesters took to the streets of 
al-Awamiyah, Nimr's hometown, on Saturday to demand his release, chanting 
anti-government slogans. Solidarity rallies also occurred in Bahrain, whose 
oppressive royal family depends on Saudi military support to quell 
pro-Democracy protests, and the Iraqi city of Najaf.

Protests for Nimr even occurred in India, and Nimr supporters rallied in 
London, where activists used the opportunity to highlight the plight of other 
victims of the Saudi regime.

"There are over 30,000 political prisoners in Saudi Arabia," a protester told 
Iran's PressTV on Thursday. "But with Sheik Nimr, he's become the name of them, 
he's become a representative of all the minorities, the oppressed people in 
Saudi Arabia."

(source: Mint Press News)