[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 7


SOUTH AFRICA/MALAYSIA:

Govt bids to save SA drug smuggler


The South African government has requested a meeting with the Malaysian 
government in a bid to save a South African drug smuggler from the death 
penalty.

Deon Cornelius was sentenced to death by a Malaysian court in January this year 
for attempting to smuggle drugs into the country in 2013. The 29-year-old 
Johannesburg man was arrested at Penang International Airport after he was 
found to be in possession of 2kg of methamphetamine. Cornelius claimed that a 
man named Tony had given him a laptop containing the drugs.

Cornelius last week lost an appeal against his death sentence but the South 
African government is now making a last ditch attempt to have his sentence 
lightened.

"We will make representations on his behalf with the Malaysian government 
regarding possibly turning the judgment to a lighter sentence," Department of 
International Relations and Co-operation spokesperson Nelson Kgwete said in a 
News24 report.

"Our embassy in Malaysia has sent a letter to the minister requesting a meeting 
to negotiate these terms. We have also conveyed to Malaysia our position on the 
death sentence."

Malaysia has a zero tolerance approach to drug smuggling and foreigners caught 
with drugs are often sentenced to death.

Cornelius is set to make a final appeal to Malaysia's federal court.

(source: iafrica.com)






SINGAPORE:

Nordea Singapore Employee Charged for 5-Year-Old Son's Murder


Philippe Graffart, head of Asia Pacific fund distribution at Nordea Investment 
Management in Singapore, was charged in a Singapore court on Wednesday for the 
murder of his 5-year-old son.

Graffart, 41, will be remanded for psychiatric observation. He didn't enter a 
plea and his next court hearing is scheduled for Oct. 28. He wasn't represented 
by a lawyer. If convicted, he may face the death penalty.

Singapore Police said on Tuesday an injured man was found outside a police 
center at 5:11 a.m. After preliminary inquiries, officers went to an apartment 
unit, where the man's son was found lying motionless in a bedroom, according to 
a statement on the Singapore Police Force website. Paramedics pronounced the 
boy dead at 6:17 a.m.

Magnus Nelin, a spokesman for Stockholm-based Nordea, confirmed in an e-mailed 
response to queries that Graffart is employed by the bank.

"We are aware of this very tragic event and our thoughts go out to the family," 
Nelin said. "We can't comment further at this stage. We have to wait for the 
ongoing investigation and the court's ruling."

The case is Prosecutor v Graffart Philippe Marcel Guy, Singapore State Courts.

(source: Bloomberg news)






ENGLAND/SAUDI ARABIA:

PM 'could intervene' over death row Saudi's case


David Cameron has said he will "look to see if there is an opportunity" to 
intervene personally on behalf of a protester on death row in Saudi Arabia.

Ali Mohammed Baqir al-Nimr was 17 when he was arrested for taking part in 
anti-government protests in 2011.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has urged Mr Cameron to directly intervene.

The PM said the government had raised the case but also defended the UK's 
relationship with Saudi Arabia saying it was important for national security.

"We have a relationship with Saudi Arabia, and if you want to know why, I will 
tell you why, " Mr Cameron told Channel 4 News on Tuesday.

"It's because we receive from them important intelligence and security 
information that keeps us safe.

"There was one occasion since I've been prime minister where a bomb that would 
have potentially blown up over Britain was stopped because of intelligence we 
got from Saudi Arabia.

"Of course it would be easier for me to say, 'I'm not having anything to do 
with these people, it's all terribly difficult et cetera et cetera.' For me, 
Britain's national security and our people's security comes first."

'Horrific sentence'

Mr al-Nimr was accused of taking part in anti-government protests in the 
eastern part of the country in 2011, involving the country's Shia Muslim 
minority, and was arrested the following year.

State media later reported he had been found guilty of a long list of crimes 
including sedition, breaking allegiance to the king, rioting, using petrol 
bombs against security patrols, robbing a pharmacy and more. He could be 
beheaded and his body displayed in public.

Last month, Mr Corbyn urged the prime minister to raise the case "directly" 
with his Saudi counterparts and "request that they commute the unjust and 
horrific sentence... which violates any number of international laws".

Mr Corbyn also raised questions about a Ministry of Justice bid to provide 
services to Saudi prisons.

Mr Cameron said: "We have raised this as a government. The foreign secretary 
has raised this, our embassy has raised this, we raise this in the proper way.

"I will look to see if there is an opportunity for me to raise it as well. We 
oppose the death penalty anywhere and everywhere and we make that clear in all 
of our international contacts."

(source: BBC news)



INDONESIA:

Jakarta Police Still Looking for Clues in Murder of 9-Year-Old Girl


4 days after the discovery of the body of an abducted 9-year-old girl in West 
Jakarta, local cops are still nowhere near apprehending the perpetrator, 
prompting the Jakarta Police to take over the investigation.

The girl's body was found wrapped in cardboard in Kalideres.

West Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Rudi Heriyanto said his men have discovered 
new information but none of it has led to the identification of the person 
responsible for the death of the victim, whom police refer to as P.N.F., who 
was likely to have been suffocated after being sexually abused.

The police chief also cited key information provided by witnesses who told 
police that the victim was picked up by 2 men on a motorcycle after school. 
However, the police chief added: "[these are] only the claims of some kids who 
were there. But we will investigate all possibilities."

Looking for clues

Police are collecting footage from surveillance cameras around the scene, 
looking for men carrying cardboard boxes. Footage "of the area's entrance and 
exit has been gathered and is being analyzed," the officer continued.

Rudi went to the Jakarta Police headquarters in South Jakarta on Tuesday after 
the provincial police formed a special task force led by Sr. Comr. Krishna 
Murti, the Jakarta Police's director of special crimes.

"The case will be handled by a joint team of investigators from the Jakarta 
Police, the West Jakarta Police and the Kalideres subdistrict police," Krishna 
said.

Rudi said investigators were able to lift fingerprints from the cardboard box, 
but added that "we don't know whom the fingerprints belong to." Rudi also said 
that police found semen on the victim's body which the police have taken to a 
laboratory for DNA testing.

At this stage, the evidence presented is consistent with "signs of sexual 
assault," Rudi said.

According to Rudi, the police have also tested the DNA of the victim's 
relatives and neighbors but have still been unable to identify the perpetrator.

Inadequate child protection laws

The Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) and watchdog Komnas Anak 
visited the girl's school and family home on Tuesday, calling on police to 
quickly arrest those responsible for her rape and murder.

"The case has spread terror and fear amongst society," KPAI chairman Asrorun 
Soleh said as quoted by Detik.com.

"Everyone must work together so that the suspects are caught and so that 
similar cases won't happen again," Asrorun added.

Fahira Idris, a member of the Regional Representatives Council (DPD), said the 
government and law enforcement agencies are still too lenient towards child 
abusers, adding that she is an avid supporter of the death penalty in cases of 
child abuse resulting in death.

Masinton Pasaribu, a member of the House of Representatives, echoed the 
sentiment.

"Prosecutors and judges must provide the maximum sentences in child abuse 
cases, be it life in prison or the death penalty," the Indonesian Democratic 
Party of Struggle (PDI-P) lawmaker, said as quoted by Kompas.com news portal.

"We have the law on child protection. If it is not punitive enough, we can 
revise it."

(source: Jakarta Globe)






IRAN----executions

Iran regime hangs 4 men


The mullahs' regime on Tuesday hanged 4 men in northern and southern Iran.

The regime's judiciary in Qazvin Province, north-west of Tehran, said a 
prisoner only identified by his first name Aliyar was hanged on Tuesday.

Also on Tuesday the fundamentalist regime hanged 3 prisoners in Adel-Abad 
Prison in Shiraz, southern Iran.

They were identified as Ali Baz Khosravi, Mostafa Khosravi and Ali Baz Nourian.

On Sunday Mr. Aziz Maktabi was hanged in the same prison.

In Karaj, north-west of Tehran, at least 9 prisoners were transferred on Monday 
to solitary confinement in Gohardasht (Rajai-Shahr) Prison.

The 9 prisoners have been identified as: Hamidreza Azhdari, Mohammad 
Aziz-Abadi, Morteza Bayat, Mohammad Bigi, Mohammad Bik Mohammadi, Majid Javan 
Khalil-Pour, Mohammad Mikaelzadeh, Alireza Rahimi, and Dariush Shirazi.

Reports have surfaced that the regime plans to hang all 9 men on Wednesday, 
only 3 days before the World Day Against the Death Penalty.

The mullahs' regime in Iran continues to execute more of its citizens per 
capita than any other U.N. member state. Some 2000 people have been executed 
during Hassan Rouhani's presidency in the past 2 years.

A statement by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human 
Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein on August 5 said: "Iran has reportedly executed 
more than 600 individuals so far this year. Last year, at least 753 people were 
executed in the country."

Amnesty International said on September 7 that "the Iranian authorities must 
end their unprecedented killing spree - more than 700 people have been executed 
so far this year."

(source: NCR-Iran)

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

Woman Prisoner Saved from Execution After Reprieve


Sahar Mahabadi Monfared, a 29-year-old prisoner at Qarchak Varamin Prison (in 
the province of Tehran), was saved from execution after receiving a reprieve 
from the plaintiff on her case file.

According to close sources, Sahar and her husband were fighting in public in 
April 2009 when Sahar drew out a knife to protect herself and ended up fatally 
stabbing her husband. Sahar was reportedly sentenced to death for murder in May 
2010 by Tehran's Criminal Court.

Confirming the news to Iran Human Rights, Sahar's lawyer, Mohammad Ali Jedari 
Foroughi, says he hopes his client will be released from prison after her case 
file is examined and the charges against her are investigated.

Iranian authorities had initially appointed a lawyer to Sahar, however, Jedari 
Forough became her lawyer after he offered to take Sahar's case pro bono.

(source: Iran Human Rights)


PAKISTAN:

Supreme Court upholds death penalty for Mumtaz Qadri

The Supreme Court of Pakistan has upheld the death sentence for Mumtaz Qadri, 
former elite force guard who killed former Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer.

A 3-judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa on 
Wednesday scrapped a plea seeking to revoke Qadri's death sentence.

The convict's lawyer maintained that the Islamabad High Court's ruling of a 
death sentence for Qadri was not in accordance with the law and constitution of 
Pakistan as the murder was caused by 'provocation'.

On Tuesday, the 3-judge bench has questioned whether an individual had the 
authority to assume the role of a judge, jury and executioner after having 
accused someone of blasphemy.

Justice Khosa was apprehensive that if people had the authority to punish 
alleged blasphemers, then chaos will reign. He warned that people could misuse 
it by accusing opponents of blasphemy to settle personal scores.

The court further asked whether Qadri had approached the state with his 
accusation of blasphemy against Taseer, and whether any evidence was available 
that lent credence to such accusations.

Qadri's counsel Justice (retd) Mian Nazir Akhtar contended that something had 
happened just before Taseer was killed since none of the other elite force 
personnel present at the scene reacted to Qadri's action.

He added that punishing a blasphemer was "a religious duty enjoined on 
everyone".

The counsel argued that in blasphemy cases, words also matter though intention 
to commit a crime may not be as relevant.

Last month, the IHC rejected Qadri's application against his death sentence 
under the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) but accepted his application to void ATA's 
Section 7, after which Qadri's counsels decided to challenge the IHC's ruling 
in the Supreme Court.

Qadri's petition had demanded that his death sentence should be quashed and the 
second asked for Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) to be declared void 
from the sentencing.

In Oct 2011, an anti-terrorist court (ATC) in Rawalpindi had sentenced Qadri to 
death on 2 counts under section 302 PPC and 7 Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) for 
killing Taseer. Following the sentencing, Qadri's legal team had challenged the 
ATC's decision through 2 applications the same month.

Qadri had confessed to shooting Taseer dead outside an upmarket coffee shop 
close to the latter's residence in the capital on January 4, 2011.

(source: Daily Pakistan)






JAPAN:

Death of 'innocent man' in Japan after 46 years on death row shines light on 
country's flawed justice system


There's something going on in Japan and the government doesn't want you to know 
about it.

Behind drawn curtains, where the press and public are forbidden, one of the 
world's most advanced democracies is frozen in time, practising a tradition the 
rest of the world long ago left behind.

There, in a carpeted room, are 2 red squares. People call this place the "Tokyo 
death house" and "the secret theatre".

Whatever the name, the result is the same: Prisoners are hanged in front of a 
large glass window separating the condemned from the captivated audience.

This is how Japan exacts justice, and the hanging is not even the most 
disturbing part of the process.

For years, often decades, inmates accused of murder or treason are kept in 
solitary confinement. They are tortured not only by the agonising wait to die 
but often to confessing to crimes they did not commit.

Last year a man named Iwao Hakamada was released after 45 years on death row. 
He is believed to have been convicted on falsified evidence.

Amnesty International staff in Japan told news.com.au that 93 out of 128 death 
row inmates are appealing for a retrial. None will likely be successful.

This week time ran out for a man who had been on death row for 46 years. 
Okunishi Masaru died at Hachioji Medical Prison on Sunday, aged 89.

He too had protested his innocence but had his requests for a retrial rejected 
on 8 separate occasions.

His death has shone the spotlight on Japan, the only industrialised democracy 
other than the United States that continues to enforce capital punishment.

The US, for its part, is turning a corner. Public pressure there has forced 
states to reconsider their stance and, in some cases, abolish the death penalty 
altogether. The conversation hasn't even started in Japan, and that's exactly 
how they want it to stay.

'JAPAN'S JUSTICE SYSTEM TOTALLY FAILED HIM'

Japan has executed 103 people since 1993. Of those, 4 were women. All 103 were 
convicted of murder. Most were convicted of multiple murders. Okunishi Masaru 
was next.

The high-profile case started in March, 1961, and involved the poisoning of 17 
people, according to the Japan Times.

5 women, including Okunishi's wife, died after drinking wine laced with a 
pesticide. Okunishi confessed to poisoning the women to "end a love triangle" 
but later retracted his confession. He was acquitted in 1964 but five years 
later was sentenced to hang. For 46 years he protested his innocence to no 
avail.

Amnesty International this week joined a growing vocal opposition to the 
treatment of the accused and the way they are executed. In a statement, the 
organisation labelled Okunishi's death an "urgent" reminder of the need for 
change.

"Okunishi Masaru may not have gone to the gallows, but Japan's justice system 
totally failed him. It is outrageous he was denied the retrial his case 
unquestionably merited and instead was left to languish on death row for more 
than 46 years," said Hiroka Shoji, Amnesty's East Asia researcher.

"It is too late for Okunishi Masaru but others remain on death row convicted 
primarily on the basis of forced 'confessions'. The Japanese authorities must 
urgently review their cases to ensure that time does not run out for them to 
see justice."

Before Okunishi's death, 44-year-old Tsukasa Kanda was executed for the murder 
of 31-year-old Rie Isogai in central Japan, in 2007. Tsukasa was the 12th man 
to be executed in Japan since Shinzo Abe was elected as Prime Minister.

INSIDE JAPAN'S DETENTION HOUSE

Something changed in 2010 when the country's Justice Minister Keiko Chiba 
allowed journalists into the gallows for the 1st time.

There, photographers documented large glass windows, carpet floors and wooden 
walls.

In the centre of the room, 2 red squares are placed beneath a noose. There a 
prisoner stands with a rope around his or her neck before the trapdoor opens 
and they are dropped into a 2nd room below. The 2nd room has grey tiled floors 
and a large glass viewing window.

American Journalist Charles Lane wrote about the 2-room setup in 2003. He said 
what he saw shocked him.

"I became critical of the Japanese death penalty. The dichotomy between that 
nice upper chamber and the chilly 'world of death' below seemed emblematic of 
the wider contrast between the shining, safe streets of which Japan is 
justifiably proud, and the sometimes troubling methods the authorities employ 
in the name of public safety."

He said he was surprised by how secretive Japan was about the entire process.

"Probably the biggest difference between the death penalty in Japan and the 
death penalty in the US is that the entire process in Japan is shrouded in 
secrecy. In the US, a death-row inmate can send messages from his cell. But in 
Japan, death-row inmates are held in solitary confinement, visits limited to a 
bare minimum of family members and defence counsel."

Amnesty said Japan continues to rely heavily on confessions obtained through 
torture.

"There are no clear limits on the length of interrogations, which are not fully 
recorded and which lawyers are not permitted to attend," the organisation said 
in a statement this week.

Amnesty Japan told news.com.au: "In the past, (prisoners) were physically 
tortured and now they are still mentally tortured. Suspects are questioned from 
morning to night without presence of lawyers and are detained up to 23 days 
which is in violation of international standards."

RELEASED PRISONER TELLS ALL

Iwao Hakamada was released last year. Once out, he told the world about how 
he'd been treated.

The former boxer had confessed to murdering 4 people in 1966. He retracted his 
statement shortly after. He said he was coerced into confessing, like many 
others in a country boasting a 99 % conviction rate.

"One of the interrogators put my thumb on an ink pad, drew it to a written 
confession record and ordered me 'write your name here' (while) shouting at me, 
kicking me and wrenching my arm," he told Amnesty.

The case against Hakamada rested on bloodstained pyjamas, prosecutors said. But 
instead of presenting the pyjamas at the trial they found 5 other pieces of 
clothing, each with blood on them, at his workplace.

He was sentenced to death but in 2006 one of the judges revealed he'd always 
believed Hakamada was innocent. It took until 2014 for him to be freed. Sadly, 
Okunishi Masaru never saw such a moment.

(source: The Courier Mail)



SRI LANKA:

Sri Lankan president moves to implement death penalty


A reactionary campaign has been launched in Sri Lanka, calling for the return 
of the death penalty, encouraged by President Maithripala Sirisena. Yesterday, 
the Sri Lankan parliament discussed a proposal calling for capital punishment 
for those convicted for child abuse and murder.

There are 1,115 prisoners on death row, according to the commissioner general 
of prisons, Rohana Pushpakumara, with 600 undertaking appeals. Because of 
widespread public opposition to the death sentence Sri Lanka has not executed 
anyone since 1976, despite occasional calls by the media, the clergy and 
politicians. Under the constitution, the president has to sanction executions.

Deputy social empowerment and welfare minister Ranjan Ramanayake brought 
forward yesterday's proposal, citing 9 recent child abuse and murder crimes. 
Ramanayake commenced his campaign after the rape and murder of a 5-year-old 
girl, Seya Sandevumi, at Kotadeniyawa, a rural village about 40 kilometres 
north of Colombo, on September 14. This crime triggered widespread protests in 
the country. Influenced by comments by the government minister, many protestors 
called for executions.

Presenting the proposal to the parliament yesterday, right-wing United National 
Party (UNP) member Hirunika Premachandra claimed it was needed to protect 
innocent children. Housing minister Sajith Premadasa agreed to the proposal and 
other MPs jumped on the bandwagon.

President Sirisena, while posing as a moral crusader, told a meeting in Galle 
on September 18 that he would implement capital punishment from next year if 
parliament approved. Though the penalty can be imposed via his executive 
powers, "I thought that the better option was debate in the parliament," he 
said. "As a leader who respects moral principles, I will pay strict attention 
to the demand of the people to enforce the death penalty."

Sirisena's claim to "respect moral principles" is entirely hypocritical. 
Sirisena and the coalition government recently conspired with Washington at the 
UN Human Rights Council to cover up war crimes and human right violations, such 
as extrajudicial killings, sexual violence, abductions and disappearances, 
committed during the communal war against the separatist Liberation Tigers of 
Tamil Eelam.

The protests of people against violent crimes also signify underlying 
discontent over unbearable living and social conditions. In May, when Vithya 
Sivalohanathan, an 18-year-old schoolgirl was murdered in Jaffna after being 
sexually harassed, anger spread across the Jaffna Peninsula and beyond. It was 
an eruption of discontent against the maintenance of repressive and degrading 
conditions six years after the end of the defeat of the LTTE.

Leaders of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), which represents the Tamil elite, 
issued a call for the death penalty to divert anger and unrest. Nervous about 
the popular disaffection, Sirisena flew to Jaffna and vowed that maximum 
punishment would be imposed on those found guilty.

When law and order and prison reforms minister Tilak Marapana met chief 
Buddhist prelates in Kandy, they advised him to strictly implement the law. 
Marapana told them that his government had given unreserved freedom to the 
police, supposedly in order to curb crime and corruption. Thus, the death 
penalty campaign is being utilised to further strengthen police-state methods.

According to Amnesty International's 2014 report, Sri Lanka is among the 
countries where the death penalty was imposed after unfair trials. It cited a 
22-year-old case where a Trincomalee court in eastern Sri Lanka in 2014 
sentenced a man to death for a crime allegedly committed when he was just 12 
years old.

The police investigation into the September 14 killing is riddled with 
contradictions. First, the police arrested a 17-year-old school student and 
then a father of one child. After being released because their DNA tests were 
negative, both complained that they were tortured to try to extract 
confessions.

A 3rd suspect, a youth named Dunesh Priyantha, was arrested on September 23 and 
the police released an account of his confession to the media. On October 3, 
police arrested his elder brother, claiming that he confessed to the same 
crime. They have been subjected to DNA tests, to be released in a week.

The agitation for carrying out the death penalty has nothing to do with curbing 
crimes. On the contrary, under the mask of good governance and morally cleaning 
up society, the campaign is seeking to divert public concern from the real 
economic and social problems and further strengthen the state with new police 
powers.

Successive Sri Lankan governments have burdened the working class with severe 
austerity measures and cuts to social welfare services, education and health 
care. Social polarisation is widening. The richest 20 % of households receive 
53.5 % of total income, while the poorest 20 % receive only 4.4 %.

Studies have also revealed that underprivileged youth, often army deserters, 
have joined the underworld due to poverty. Around 30,000 soldiers are known to 
have deserted from the 350,000-strong military. Speaking about their 
psychological problems Prabath Gunatillka, a psychology lecturer, said: 
"Soldiers have been witness to scenes on battlefields that many of us cannot 
imagine; they have killed people and been praised for doing so. They now 
believe that they are above the law, and this is reflected in their decision to 
desert and pursue criminal activities."

Young people are experiencing mounting difficulties in obtaining a proper 
education, rising unemployment and social insecurity. Increasingly people delay 
entering into marriage, or find it completely unattainable due to poverty. 
Unemployment among young people between 15 and 24 is 21.7 % and among those 
aged 25-29, it is 8.7 %.

According to media reports, the mother of the recently arrested Priyantha 
explained her helplessness and poverty to the police. She has 4 children. Her 
husband, imprisoned for robbery, died in prison. She does not write or read. 
Because of her financial difficulties she was unable to ensure that her 
children went to school.

While opposing the death penalty, some groups are calling for greater police 
resources. "Friday Forum" an organisation of upper middle class intellectuals 
and professionals, said the prospect of judicial execution was a 
"counter-productive reaction to horrible crimes." It stated: "The real 
deterrent is the likelihood that one will be found out, arrested, tried, 
convicted and punished. The remedy is improving the criminal justice system - 
better crime prevention, better crime detection, better investigation, improved 
prosecutions and trial procedures."

Such propositions only divert attention from the deteriorating social 
conditions and assist the ruling elite to strengthen the state machinery, which 
will be directed, above all, at suppressing opposition to these conditions, 
which are produced by the capitalist profit system itself.

(source: World Socialist Web Site)

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

Sri Lanka will not implement death penalty for now - Justice Minister


Sri Lanka will not implement the death penalty temporarily as the country has 
decided to vote in favor of a UN resolution for moratorium on death penalty in 
2015, Minister of Justice Wijeyadasa Rajapaksha said in parliament yesterday.

The Minister noted that Sri Lanka had voted in favor of the UN resolutions 
calling for moratorium on death penalty in 2007, 2008 and 2010. In 2012, Sri 
Lanka had abstained from voting for the resolution.

However, Sri Lanka, to be in line with the current global trends, has decided 
to vote in favor of the UN resolution for moratorium on death penalty in 2015 
when the vote is taken at the UN General Assembly.

He recalled that that Pope when addressing the inaugural session of the UN 
General Assembly on September 24 requested all countries to abolish death 
penalty.

Emphasizing that more than 100 countries have abolished the death penalty, the 
Minister told the parliament that especially in democratic countries 
punishments are aimed at correction and rehabilitation. The world opinion with 
regard to the capital punishment is in favor of not implementing it, he added.

There is no evidence that the death penalty is any more effective in reducing 
crime, the Minister emphasized.

He said Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera in his address to the UNHRC on 
September 14 also stated that Sri Lanka would not implement the capital 
punishment.

President Maithripala Sirisena last month said he would open a dialogue in the 
parliament on enforcing the capital punishment for the convicts of heinous 
crimes.

The Justice Minister however, said an interactive dialogue should be held to 
find out the root causes of crimes and the Parliament should focus attention on 
strengthening the laws to prevent crimes.

Although Sri Lankan courts give death penalty in serious crimes such as murder, 
rape and drug trafficking, no executions have been carried out since 1976.

Following the recent abduction, sexual assault and murder of a 5-year old Seya 
Sadewmi, Sri Lankans have demanded the death penalty for the perpetrators of 
heinous crimes.

(source: Colombo Page)