[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Nov. 23



SINGAPORE:

Fate of Sarawakian on death row in limbo after Singapore court reserves 
judgment


The Court of Appeal in Singapore today reserved judgment on whether it should 
review the death sentence meted out on Sarawakian Kho Jabing for murder 8 years 
ago.

Lawyer Chandra Mohan K. Nair, in his 2-hour submission this evening, told the 
court that Jabing should be given a lighter sentence given that a lower court 
had earlier sentenced him to life imprisonment and 24 strokes of the cane. 
Jabing was found guilty of killing a man in a botched robbery in 2007.

"The lawyer today urged the judges to reconsider the death sentence," Kirsten 
Han, co-founder of Singapore's anti-death penalty group, We Believe in Second 
Chances, told The Malaysian Insider.

In 2010, the Sarawakian was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of 
Chinese national Cao Ruyin. His case, however, was remitted to the Singapore 
High Court in 2013 for re-sentencing after the island-state reviewed their 
mandatory death penalty laws in 2012.

He was then sentenced to life imprisonment with caning.

His family's relief was shortlived when the death penalty was reimposed by the 
Court of Appeal in a close 3-2 decision.

Today's proceedings ended with the court reserving judgment to a date which has 
yet to be decided. Until then, Jabing's stay of execution remains.

Han said that it was likely that judgement would only be announced after the 
court, which would be on vacation at the end of next week, resumed its session 
in the new year.

Jabing, who is of Iban and Chinese descent, was scheduled for execution at dawn 
on November 6, but received a surprise stay of execution the day before after 
the Singapore Court of Appeal granted his lawyer time to file a criminal motion 
for a review of his case.

Jumai, and their mother Lenduk with the help of civil society groups in 
Malaysia and Singapore, have since ramped up efforts to appeal for support from 
Malaysian lawmakers and the public in calling for the Singapore government to 
grant him clemency.

Jumai, who was in Kuala Lumpur with her mother on November 11 to meet 
Sarawakian lawmakers and civil society groups, told The Malaysian Insider that 
her brother was "truly repentent". "He was so naive when he first went to 
Singapore, he had never worked or lived away from home.

"He was easily influenced, and he knows he is wrong. He just wants a 2nd chance 
at life, even if it is behind bars," she said.

(source: The Malaysian Insider)

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

Kovan double murder: Verdict on 4 December


The verdict of the Kovan double murder trial will be delivered by Justice Tay 
Yong Kwang on 4 December.

Iskandar Rahmat is standing trial for murdering Tan Boon Sin and his son Tan 
Chee Hong on 10 July 2013. The former police officer will be hanged if found 
guilty of the charges.

The accused was in court on Monday morning for the final submissions by both 
defence and prosecution for his case.

No intent by suspect

Iskandar's lawyer, Shashi Nathan, appealed in his submission for Justice Tay to 
lower the original charge of murder with the intention to kill under Section 
300 (a) of the Penal Code, which carries the mandatory death penalty, to that 
of Section 300 (c) of the Penal Code.

Section 300 (c) of the Penal Code prescribes that an act is murder if it is 
done with the intention of causing bodily injury to any person and the bodily 
injury intended to be inflicted is sufficient in the ordinary course of nature 
to cause death.

The death penalty is not mandatory under Section 300 (c) of the Penal Code, but 
Iskandar faces life in prison and possibly caning.

Shashi said that he is not asking for his client to be acquitted as Iskandar 
had already admitted to stabbing both his victims.

"Yes he stabbed both of them but he had no intention to kill them," said 
Shashi.

The lawyer added that his client is financially strapped and his only motive 
was to rob the elder Tan to pay off his debts.

He pointed out that his client did not bring a change of clothes and had not 
parked his car anywhere near the vicinity of the crime scene to facilitate his 
escape.

"He did not bring a knife and ultimately no knife was found," said Shashi, who 
added that his client panicked after murdering his victims and left empty 
handed.

Iskandar wanted to silence victims

The prosecution, led by Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Lau Wing Yum, maintained 
that Iskandar had planned to kill his victims in order to silence them.

He urged Justice Tay to convict Iskandar under Section 300 (a), arguing that 
the accused intended to kill his victims and was not acting in self-defense 
during the incident.

DPP Lau said that the total number of 40 stab wounds found on both victims 
showed that Iskandar was not defending himself during the incident and that he 
was determined to kill his victims.

"The accused admitted that he had a knife in his hand when he was defending 
himself yet there were wounds to the head, neck and chest of both victims," 
said DPP Lau.

(source: Yahoo News)






KENYA:

7 On Trial Over Murder of Former Kabete MP George Muchai


The State has lined up 4 key prosecution witnesses in a case in which 7 
suspects face trial for the murder of former Kabete MP George Muchai.

Mr Muchai, his 2 bodyguards and driver were killed aides in Nairobi early this 
year.

The witnesses include 2 sisters who were carjacked shortly before the killings 
and who are "eyewitnesses" in the prosecution's list.

Another witness is a taxi driver who was called after the fatal shooting and 
who was "warned not to disclose what he had seen or heard or else he would be 
killed in the next 2 days."

The prosecution also has an "unnamed" witness" who was in contact with the 
accused persons and who revealed that while in their company, they warned him 
against mentioning what he had seen and heard and if he did so they would kill 
him."

The suspects face 2 different capital offences before two courts in Nairobi 
arising out of the gangland style killing of the trade unionist-cum-politician.

Eric Isabwa alias Chairman, Raphael Kimani alias Kim Butcheri, Mustapha Kimani 
alias Musto, Stephen Astiva alias Chokore, Jane Wanjiru alias Shiro, Margaret 
Njeri and Simon Wambugu have denied the four charges of murder at the High.

ROBBERY CHARGES

In a magistrate's court, they also face multiple robbery charges in which the 2 
sisters are complainants, having been allegedly carjacked and are eye witnesses 
of the killing.

If found guilty, the suspects could be sentenced to hang "twice" since each of 
the 2 separate capital offences attracts the death penalty.

The 7 suspects were charged before Lady Justice Lessit with 4 counts of murder.

The charges state that on the night of February 7, 2015 along Kenyatta Avenue 
in Nairobi, they murdered Mr Muchai, his 2 bodyguards Samuel Kimathi Kailikia 
and Samuel Lekakeny Matanta, and his driver Stephen Ituu Wambugu.

At the magistrate's court, the suspects face ten counts of robbery with 
violence on the same night they allegedly killed the MP.

A lone gunman shot Mr Muchai, who, prior to the incident, had said his life was 
in danger.

The gunman reportedly stepped out of a car which had brushed Mr Muchai's at 
around 3am on February 7, 2015 at the Nyayo House round-about within the CBD as 
the MP was being driven home from a family gathering at Galileo's restaurant in 
Westlands, Nairobi.

Police reports stated that the gunman motioned 2 other accomplices from their 
getaway car who then stole the bodyguards' pistols and a briefcase before 
speeding off.

The getaway car had been robbed from Ms Glady's Waithera and her sister Irene 
Muthoni.

The 2 have since testified in the robbery case.

(source: Daily Nation)






SOUTH KOREA:

Experts Divided over Death Penalty Abolishment


Scholars and experts were divided over retaining capital punishment on Monday 
in a public hearing held by the parliamentary legislation and judiciary 
committee.

Lawyer Kim Hyung-tae claimed that abolishing the death penalty will eliminate 
the risks of wrongful executions, noting that murders decreased in Canada after 
it abolished the death penalty.

Seoul National University law professor Han In-seop said that 140 of 200 
countries effectively abolished the death penalty, adding capital punishment 
cannot be a resolution.

Meanwhile, Sookmyung Women's University law professor Lee Young-ran said that 
the death penalty has a deterrent effect, warning against a hasty decision to 
abolish it.

The parliamentary committee has been deliberating on a bill aimed at abolishing 
the death penalty, after 171 lawmakers made the proposal in August.

(source: kbs.co.kr)






SAUDI ARABIA:

Poet Sentenced to Death for Apostasy----Reverses Earlier Ruling of 4 Years, 800 
Lashes


A Saudi court sentenced a Palestinian man to death for apostasy on November 17, 
2015, for alleged blasphemous statements during a discussion group and in a 
book of his poetry.

The accused, Ashraf Fayadh, 35, denies the charges and claims that another man 
made false accusations to the country's religious police following a personal 
dispute. Fayadh has 30 days to file his appeal.

"Regardless of what Fayadh said or didn't say, Saudi Arabia should stop 
arresting people for their personal beliefs," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle 
East director. "The fact that Ashraf Fayadh is facing the prospect of being 
beheaded only adds to the outrageousness of this court ruling."

The Guardian reported that Fayadh was born in Saudi Arabia and is a member of 
the British-Saudi art organization Edge of Arabia, and has curated art shows in 
Jeddah and Venice.

The trial documents, which Human Rights Watch reviewed, indicate that members 
of Saudi Arabia's Committee on the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, 
or religious police, arrested Fayadh at a cafe in Abha, in southern Saudi 
Arabia, in August 2013. The religious police went to the cafe after a man 
reported that Fayadh had made obscene comments about God, the Prophet Muhammad, 
and the Saudi state. The man also alleged that Fayadh passed around a book he 
wrote that allegedly promoted atheism and unbelief.

After Fayadh was arrested, the court documents indicate, the religious police 
discovered on his phone photos of Fayadh with several women, whom Fayadh said 
he met at an art gallery.

The religious police held him for a day, then released him, but authorities 
re-arrested him on January 1, 2014. Prosecutors charged him with a host of 
blasphemy-related charges, including: blaspheming "the divine self" and the 
Prophet Muhammad; spreading atheism and promoting it among the youth in public 
places; mocking the verses of God and the prophets; refuting the Quran; denying 
the day of resurrection; objecting to fate and divine decree; and having an 
illicit relationship with women and storing their pictures in his phone.

During the trial, which consisted of six hearings between February and May 
2014, Fayadh denied the charges, and called three witnesses contesting the 
testimony of the man who reported him to the religious police. The defense 
witnesses said that the man reported Fayadh following a personal dispute, and 
that they had never heard blasphemous statements from Fayadh. Fayadh also said 
that his book, Instructions Within, published a decade before, consists of love 
poems and was not written with the intention of insulting religion.

During the last session, Fayadh expressed repentance for anything in the book 
that religious authorities may have deemed insulting, stating, according to 
trial documents, "I am repentant to God most high and I am innocent of what 
appeared in my book mentioned in this case."

On May 26, 2014, the General Court of Abha convicted Fayadh and sentenced him 
to 4 years in prison and 800 lashes. The court rejected a prosecution request 
for a death sentence for apostasy due to trial testimony indicating "hostility" 
between Fayadh and the man who reported him, as well as Fayadh's repentance.

The prosecutor appealed the ruling. Human Rights Watch was not able obtain a 
copy of the appeals ruling on the initial verdict, but the case was eventually 
sent back to the lower court. On November 17, 2015, a new judge with the 
General Court of Abha reversed the previous sentence and sentenced Fayadh to 
death for apostasy.

According to the judge's ruling, he dismissed the testimony of the defense 
witnesses in the initial trial and ruled that Fayadh's repentance was not 
enough to avoid the death sentence.

"Repentance is a work of the heart relevant to matter of the judiciary of the 
hereafter; it is not the focus of the earthly judiciary," the ruling said.

The case moves next to the appeals court. The sentence must be approved by the 
appeals court and the Supreme Court.

Saudi Arabia has executed 152 people in 2015, which according to Amnesty 
International is the highest recordednumber since 1995. Most executions are 
carried out by beheading, sometimes in public. The vast majority are for murder 
and drug crimes, but Saudi courts occasionally hand down death sentences for 
other "crimes" such as apostasy and sorcery.

In February 2015, a Saudi court sentenced a Saudi man to death for apostasy for 
allegedly posting a video to YouTube showing him tearing pages of the Quran. A 
local activist associated with the case told Human Rights Watch that the man 
suffered from a mental disorder.

Human Rights Watch opposes capital punishment in all countries and under all 
circumstances. Capital punishment is unique in its cruelty and finality, and it 
is inevitably and universally plagued with arbitrariness, prejudice, and error.

Saudi authorities regularly pursue charges against individuals based solely on 
their peaceful exercise of freedom of expression, in violation of international 
human rights obligations. The Arab Charter on Human Rights, which Saudi Arabia 
has ratified, guarantees the right to freedom of opinion and expression under 
article 32.

"This death sentence against Fayadh is yet another indictment of Saudi Arabia's 
human rights record," Whitson said. "The Saudi authorities should immediately 
vacate this sentence and order Fayadh's release."

(source: Human Righs Watch)



BANGLADESH:

Bangladesh on high alert after 2 opposition leaders executed


Bangladesh was on high alert Monday after executing 2 opposition leaders for 
war crimes during the country's 1971 independence war, despite threats of 
violence by their supporters and international concerns that the legal 
proceedings were flawed.

A reporter was shot and wounded Sunday after covering the funeral of 1 of the 
men, though it was not clear who was responsible.

On Monday, paramilitary border guards and thousands of other security officials 
were patrolling cities including the capital, Dhaka, in an effort to prevent 
any violence as the South Asian country's main Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, 
called for a nationwide strike.

The party is protesting the hanging Sunday of its general secretary, Ali Ahsan 
Mohammad Mujahid, and Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Salahuddin Quader 
Chowdhury.

Mujahid had been found guilty on charges of genocide, conspiracy in killing 
intellectuals, torture and abduction during the South Asian nation's 
independence war against Pakistan, while Chowdhury was convicted on charges of 
torture, rape and genocide.

Authorities did not expect many to follow the call to strike, given that 
Jamaat-e-Islami has only about 3 percent of the country's vote. Nevertheless, 
authorities were being cautious after a spate of killings claimed by Islamist 
extremists this year, including the murders of four secular bloggers, a 
publisher and two foreigners since February.

While there has been concern over the legal process that led to the executions, 
most leading Bangladeshi newspapers and TV stations supported the hangings.

The leading English-language Daily Star in one story detailed the atrocities 
for which Chowdhury was convicted. A 2nd story narrated how minority Hindus had 
been brutally attacked and killed and their homes torched under Chowdhury's 
leadership.

2 top Bangla-language dailies, Samakal and Prothom Alo, also published reports 
demonstrating support for the trials and executions.

A few hours after the men were hanged at Dhaka Central Jail in the nation's 
capital, a security detail escorted ambulances carrying their bodies to their 
homes, where their families were to perform burial rituals.

Rajib Sen, a reporter for the Mohona TV station, was on his way back from 
Chowdhury's funeral in Chittagong district when his car was sprayed with 
bullets, the station said. 3 other journalists in the car escaped unhurt, and 
Sen was rushed to a hospital in Chittagong. The TV station is owned by a member 
of the ruling Awami League party.

Police would not provide any details on the shooting, and it was not 
immediately clear who attacked the car.

Last Wednesday, Bangladesh's Supreme Court upheld the men's death sentences. 
President Mohammad Abdul Hamid rejected a clemency appeal on Saturday, clearing 
the way for the executions, according to both the justice minister and home 
minister. The families denied that the 2 men asked for mercy, according to a 
spokesman.

Jamaat-e-Islami and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party say the trials were 
politically motivated - an allegation Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has denied. 
2 other senior Jamaat-e-Islami party leaders have already been executed for war 
crimes, among 18 people convicted of war crimes since the tribunal was set up 
in 2010 - most of them leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami.

The party had campaigned openly against independence for Bangladesh, which was 
part of Pakistan until the 1971 war. Bangladesh's government says that 
Pakistani soldiers, aided by local collaborators, killed 3 million people and 
raped 200,000 women during the war.

Mujahid, 67, was the head of Islami Chhatra Sangha, then the student wing of 
Jamaat-e-Islami . He was accused of being the mastermind behind the killing of 
intellectuals, including teachers and journalists, days before the Pakistani 
military surrendered to a joint force of freedom fighters and Indian army units 
on Dec. 16, 1971, after a bloody 9-month war.

Chowdhury, 66, whose father was the speaker of Pakistan's National Assembly 
and, at times, the acting president of Pakistan, also actively opposed 
Bangladeshi independence. He was accused of carrying out war crimes, including 
killing more than 200 civilians, mostly minority Hindus, during the 
independence war, according to evidence presented at the tribunal.

In a statement late Sunday, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said the men's trials 
had been flawed, and that "Pakistan is deeply disturbed" by the executions.

U.S. lawmakers overseeing foreign policy also described the war crimes 
tribunal, set up in 2013, as "very flawed" and a means of political 
retribution. Leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, in a letter sent 
Tuesday to the top U.S. diplomat for South Asia, voiced concern that 
"democratic space is shrinking" in Bangladesh amid "a growing climate of 
violence, fear and self-censorship."

Since February, 4 secular bloggers, a publisher, and 2 foreigners - an Italian 
aid worker and a Japanese agriculture researcher - have been killed in attacks 
linked to Islamic militants.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for some of the attacks, but 
authorities say the Sunni extremist group has no presence in the country. 
Instead, Hasina has blamed the attacks on the opposition, accusing them of 
trying to destabilize the country and halt the war crimes trials. Both 
opposition parties denied the allegation.

Such extremist violence was once rare in Bangladesh, which is mostly Muslim but 
has a strong secular tradition. Meanwhile, at least a dozen Christian bishops 
or priests have received death threats by phone or SMS from suspected radical 
groups, according to a Christian association.

(source: Associated Press)

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

Brotherhood condemns Bangladesh execution of opposition leaders .


The Muslim Brotherhood has condemned the "unjust and unfair" execution of 2 
opposition leaders in Bangladesh.

On Saturday, the authorities in Dhaka carried out the death sentences passed on 
the Secretary General of the Islamic Group in the country, Ali Ahsan Mujahid, 
and an MP of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Salauddin Quader Chowdhury.

"The fierce attack on the symbols of Islamic Action by imprisonment and the 
death penalty will not succeed in dissuading the Mujahideen fighters who walk 
the path of freedom and dignity," said a Brotherhood statement on its website.

Bangladesh's highest court sentenced the 1 opposition leaders to death for 
crimes against humanity allegedly committed during the country's war of 
independence in 1971.

(source: Middle East Monitor)

***********

War Crimes Trial ---- 4 major appeals pending with SC; Hearing on Nizami's 
appeal may end next month


Appeals of four top Jamaat-e-Islami leaders, among others, against death 
penalties handed down to them for war crimes are now pending with the Supreme 
Court and those would be dealt with 1 by 1.

The convicts are: Jamaat Ameer Motiur Rahman Nizami, Mir Quasem Ali, ATM 
Azharul Islam, and Abdus Subhan.

The Appellate Division of the SC is now hearing the appeal of Nizami.

The SC might complete hearing Nizami's appeal by December 15, said Attorney 
General Mahbubey Alam while talking to reporters yesterday at his office.

After disposing of the appeal of Nizami, the apex court might hold hearing on 
the appeal of death-row inmate Quasem, and then of Azharul's and Subhan's, he 
said.

Besides, the appeals of condemned war criminals Mobarak Hossain, an expelled 
Awami League leader of Brahmanbaria, and Syed Mohammad Qaisar, former state 
minister of HM Ershad's government, were also pending with the SC, court 
sources said.

So far, trials of five war criminals have been completed with the SC's latest 
verdicts on Jamaat leader Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed and BNP leader Salauddin 
Quader Chowdhury.

Mojaheed and Salauddin were executed in the early hours of yesterday, as the 
apex court finally upheld their death penalty on November 18 for their crimes 
against humanity and war crimes in 1971.

Earlier, the SC upheld the death penalties of Jamaat leaders Abdul Quader 
Mollah and Muhammad Kamaruzzaman for their wartime offences. Mollah was 
executed on December 12, 2013, and Kamaruzzaman on April 11 this year.

The SC on September 17 last year commuted the death penalty of Jamaat leader 
Delawar Hossain Sayedee and sentenced him to imprisonment until death.

Mahbubey said his office would move a review petition before the Appellate 
Division seeking to reinstate the death penalty for Sayedee after the SC 
releases the full text of the judgment that commuted his sentence.

The SC verdicts on Mojaheed, Salauddin, Kamaruzzaman, and Quader Mollah had 
satisfied family members of the war crimes victims, justice seekers, war crimes 
trial campaigners, state counsels, and investigators, but the judgement on 
Sayedee has frustrated them.

The convicts' families, defence counsels, and the party they belong to were 
dissatisfied with the trials and verdicts and pointed to controversies.

Eminent jurist Shahdeen Malik told The Daily Star that in spite of some 
controversies and shortcomings, the war crimes tribunals have certainly worked 
well.

The accused war criminals had received adequate opportunities to present their 
cases and the trials have been conducted and completed well, he said.

"I strongly feel that most of the international criticisms are unfair."

Khurshid Alam Khan, an SC lawyer and editor of Dhaka Law reports, told The 
Daily Star that the war crimes trials were fair despite controversies.

War crimes were different from other crimes and there was no need for 
eyewitnesses, he said, adding that the documentary evidence was enough for 
holding such trials.

After the International Crimes Tribunal-2 sentenced Sayedee to death in 2013, 
activists of Jamaat and pro-Jamaat student body Islami Chhatra Shibir resorted 
to violence that left 65 people dead and several hundred injured in just 1 
week.

International Crimes Tribunal-1 chairman Justice Md Nizamul Huq resigned on 
December 11, 2012, following the "leaked Skype conversation between him and 
expatriate legal expert Ahmed Ziauddin".

Bangla daily Amar Desh also published "transcripts of the Skype conversation of 
Justice Huq with Ahmed Ziauddin".

Kamaruzzaman on January 2, 2013, sought retrial of the war crimes case against 
him following the "scandal".

Other accused, particularly Salauddin, filed several petitions with the 
tribunals and the SC to delay the proceedings.

Salauddin and his men had used every means at their disposal to cause delays 
and create controversies.

His family members and others allegedly leaked the draft tribunal verdict of 
his case and launched an online campaign to create a controversy.

A controversy surfaced a few days before the SC verdict that upheld Salauddin's 
death penalty. Janakantha, a Bangla daily, published an article headlined "Saka 
Paribarer Totporota! Palabar Path Kome Gechhe" (Lobbying by Salauddin Quader's 
family! Escape route narrowed). Among other things, the opinion piece claimed 
that a member of the SC bench hearing the appeal of Salauddin met the convict's 
family members.

Later, the SC found the newspaper editor and the writer of the article in 
contempt and punished them.

Salauddin submitted a forged certificate from Punjab University of Pakistan 
before the SC to prove that he was not in Bangladesh during the country's 
Liberation War in 1971. However, the apex court saw through that and dismissed 
his review petition and upheld his death penalty.

(source: The Daily Star)