[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Sept. 1


CHAD:

UN office criticizes Chad for execution of 10


The U.N.'s main human rights office is criticizing Chad's execution of 10 Boko 
Haram members by firing squad.

Cecile Pouilly of the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights called 
Tuesday on the African country's government to introduce a moratorium on the 
death penalty, which was restored in a counterterrorism law passed in July.

Pouilly said OHCHR officials were not granted access to Friday's trial, which 
was relocated for security reasons and reduced from 8 to 2 days. She said it 
wasn't clear if the defendants had access to lawyers.

The 10 men were executed Saturday for crimes including murder and the use of 
explosives following suicide attacks in the capital, N'Djamena, in June and 
July that killed dozens of people.

(source: Associated Press)






PHILIPPINES/UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:

Family of OFW on death row going to Dubai


The family of an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) from this city who is facing 
death penalty in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after being convicted last May 
of killing her employer will finally meet with her in the next few days.

Rahima Dalquez, mother of convicted OFW Jennifer, said Tuesday they are set to 
leave for the UAE anytime this week to visit her daughter at the Al Ain jail 
and help in the ongoing appeals for her case.

Rahima will be joined by her husband Abdulhamid and another family member in 
the trip, which is being facilitated by the Department of Foreign Affairs 
(DFA).

"We're happy that Allah is giving us this chance to see her and we're very 
thankful to the government for making this happen," she said in the vernacular 
in an interview over TV Patrol Socsksargen.

Jennifer Dalquez, 28, who hails from Barangay Labangal here, was sentenced to 
death by a court in Al Ain, UAE last May 20 for stabbing her employer to death 
on Dec. 7, 2014.

During trial, she said the act was in self-defense after her Emirati employer 
had tried to rape her.

Ebrahim Zailon, acting head of the DFA regional consular office here, said the 
agency had assigned a lawyer to handle Dalquez' case, especially her appeal.

A hearing for her appeal was set on Sept. 3 in Al Ain, UAE.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz visited Dalquez in jail last June 18 and 
expressed "high hopes" that the appeal would be successful.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Overseas Workers 
Welfare Administration had provided assistance to Dalquez' family, especially 
her 2 children.

Jennifer's father Abdulhamid believes her daughter's conviction would be 
overturned as she only acted in self-defense.

"She's innocent so we're very hopeful with her appeal," he said.

Rahima, on the other hand, advised relatives of other OFWs who are facing 
various sentences overseas "not to lose hope."

"We're also hoping that we will be joined by Jennifer when we return home," she 
added.

(source: mindanews.com)






INDIA:

Abolishing death penalty: Extradition will still be a problem

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will face problems in extraditing 
criminals from various countries despite the Law Commission's recommendations 
for speedy abolition of the death penalty from the statute books.

In a report prepared by the Asian Centre for Human Rights in a report titled 
"India: Not Safe for Extradition of those facing Death Penalty", it is stated 
that the CBI will face legal hurdles from 158 countries while seeking 
extradition of suspects and accused including those accused of terrorism.

Execution will impact extradition:

The report states that as on July 31, 2015, the CBI had issued about red corner 
notices to 650 suspects/accused either to face prosecution or to serve a penal 
sentence.

Of these, 192 wanted persons have been charged under laws that provides for 
death penalty as punishment such as under the Arms Act, Indian Penal Code, the 
Maharashtra Control of Organized Crimes Act, the Narcotic Drugs and 
Psychotropic Substances Act, the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, the 
Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act and the Prevention of 
Terrorism Act of 2002.

Out of 192 wanted persons, 124 are wanted for committing terrorist offences.

However, the execution of 3 terror convicts i.e. Ajmal Kasab, Afzal Guru and 
Yakub Abdul Razak Memon in the last 3 years has seriously impacted India's 
requests for extradition from a number of countries which have abolished death 
penalty, the report also states.

A total of 140 countries have abolished death penalty and further, a total of 
158 countries have ratified the UN Convention Against Torture which under 
Article 3 prohibits return ("refouler") or extradition of a person to another 
State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in 
danger of being subjected to torture.

Apart from the European Union, Canada, Mexico, South Africa and Philippines 
seek assurance that the death penalty shall not be carried out in case of 
extradition of those charged with offences carrying death sentence.

Where India has failed:

India has failed to secure extradition of Mohammed Hanif Umerji Patel @Tiger 
Hanif, an alleged associate of the underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, who is wanted 
in India for his role in 2 terror attacks in Surat city of Gujarat in January 
and April 1993.

"If the government of India can give assurance to Portugal that death penalty 
shall not be imposed on Abu Salem who has been accused of the same offences for 
which Yakub Memon had been hanged, there is no reason as to why death penalty 
cannot be abolished altogether. It is the fear of the law, not necessarily 
death penalty, that can act as deterrent", says Suhas Chakma, Coordinator of 
the National Campaign for Abolition of Death Penalty.

(source: oneindia.com)

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

Kanimozhi for abolition of death penalty


DMK MP Kanimozhi on Monday made a strong case for abolishing death penalty for 
all crimes, arguing that only such a move would uphold a real and unfettered 
'Right to Life' for every person.

Reacting to the Law Commission's report recommending abolition of death penalty 
in all cases, except those related to terrorism and waging war against India, 
she said there were a number of instances of miscarriage of justice in trials 
concerning terrorism offences.

"Likewise, the crime of waging war is often a vague and a misused provision of 
law," she said.

Ms. Kanimozhi said she welcomed the overall tenor of the commission on death 
penalty, but said India should not stop short of complete abolition.

Recalling her participation in the Law Commission's consultation on the issue, 
she said she was heartened to see the support for abolition of death penalty 
across political parties and various sections of society.

(source: The Hindu)

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

Govt opposes law panel recco to end the death penalty


The government has opposed the Law Commission's recommendation to abolish the 
death penalty in a phased manner. In a dissent note, Union law secretary P K 
Malhotra has said that the time is not 'ripe'. Justice AP Shah heads the Law 
Commission.

Other than Malhotra, secretary of legislative affairs, and member of Law 
Commission, Justice Usha Mehra, too, have submitted their dissents.

"I agree with the view that abolition of death penalty is an eventual goal. I 
am of the considered view that the time is not ripe for its abolition in our 
country," Malhotra wrote in his dissent note.

The top bureaucrat said punishment should serve as an example for the rest of 
the humanity. He justified his stand on the grounds that crime rates are 
increasing and there is "overall cultural deterioration".

"It is incorrect to say that prescription of death penalty is indulging in 
revenge killing or primitive or barbaric," reads the dissent note, stating that 
there are in-built mechanisms of checks and balances.

Malhotra has argued that even after conviction, an accused person gets as many 
as four opportunities before the higher judiciary and also an opportunity to 
file mercy petition with President and governor of the state.

The law commission has contended in its report that death penalty has become 
aribitary and judgecentric. "We should have faith in the wisdom of our judges 
that they will exercise this power only in deserving cases for which law is 
well laid down." Malhotra offers a counter argument.

Justice Usha Mehra has also criticised the Law Commission report claiming that 
too much emphasis has been given to human rights principles of the convicts on 
death row, forgetting the human rights of innocent victims.

She said the possibility of error, as the report pointed out, should not be the 
reason to abolish death penalty. "What other punishment can be given in case of 
Nithari," questioned Justice Mehra. In Nithari, Surinder Koli was arrested for 
sexual assault and murder of several children.

(source: punemirror.in)






PAKISTAN:

Pakistani prison officials given 24 hours to explain how they will hang 
paralysed convict ---- Pakistan has carried out more than 200 executions since 
lifting a moratorium in response to last year's Peshawar massacre


Prison officials in Pakistan have been given 24 hours to explain how they 
intend to hang a wheelchair-bound prisoner.

Paraplegic convict Abdul Basit is facing the grim prospect of being hanged from 
his wheelchair as he is unable to mount the scaffold.

The 43-year-old was convicted of murder in 2009 but developed tuberculosis 1 
year later, leaving him paralysed from the waist down.

His lawyers have issued an urgent appeal for the execution to be called off as 
they say it would constitute cruel and inhuman treatment, which is banned under 
Pakistani and international law.

A "Black Warrant" was issued for Basit's hanging on July 29 but appeals from 
Basit's legal team led to a stay of execution.

At the latest hearing in Basit's case, at the Lahore High Court on Monday, a 
judge told prison officials they would need to draw up a detailed plan within 
the next 24 hours to show how they intend to hang Basit.

Pakistani prison regulations contain no guidance on how to execute disabled 
prisoners, suggesting Basit could be the first paraplegic prisoner in the 
country to face the noose.

The country has carried out a spate of executions after it lifted a moratorium 
in response to last year's Peshawar massacre, which saw Taliban soldiers gun 
down around 130 schoolboys.

Nearly 200 convicts have been hanged since the December 2014 attack, ostensibly 
in a bid to crack down on terrorism - though critics note that many of those 
executed are not convicted of terror-related offences.

Extracts from a Pakistani prison handbook, seen by The Telegraph, stipulate 
that prisoners must be able to "stand" on the scaffold.

One extract reads: "The drop is the length of the rope from a point on the rope 
outside the angle of the lower jaw of the condemned prisoner as he stands on 
the scaffold, to the point where the lope is embraced in the noose after 
allowing for the constriction of the neck that takes place in hanging.

"The condemned prisoner shall mount the scaffold and shall be placed directly 
under the beam to which the rope is attached, the warders still holding him by 
the arms."

A medical report signed by 2 Pakistani doctors describing Abdul Basit's 
physical condition

As Basit would be unable to "mount" the scaffold or "stand" beneath the noose, 
and there are no legal provisions in place for hanging disabled people, the 
execution should be called off, his lawyers at Justice Project Pakistan said.

They have issued an urgent mercy appeal to Pakistan's president, Mamnoon 
Hussain, claiming that hanging a wheelchair-bound person is in breach of its 
own prison regulations.

"Given that the condemned prisoner is unable to use his lower body to support 
his own weight and unable to stand, it is not possible to accurately measure 
the length of rope required for his hanging," they wrote.

"Consequently, no provision can be safely made for the accurate measurement of 
the rope that would hang him and to proceed with an inaccurately-measured 
length of rope would place him at risk of an appalling death."

Maya Foa, director of the death penalty team at the human rights group 
Reprieve, said: "It is astonishing that the jail authorities continue to push 
for the hanging of Abdul Basit, whose terrible treatment in prison has already 
left him paralyzed from the waist down. Basit's hanging would be a grotesque 
spectacle and cruel injustice. We must hope that the court puts a stop to this 
inhumanity and saves his life."

A medical report seen by The Telegraph describes Basit's paraplegia as a 
"complication of tuberculous meningitis."

"At this moment, he is having 0/5 power in lower limbs and 4/5 power in upper 
limbs," Dr Javaid Iqbal and Dr Anjum Mehdi wrote in the report.

"In our opinion, patients with this condition are usually permanently disabled 
and there is almost no chance of any recovery. He is likely to remain bed bound 
for his life," they added.

Earlier this month Pakistan hanged Shafqat Hussain, a young man whose murder 
confession was extracted through torture when he was just 14 years old, 
according to his legal team and human rights groups.

United Nations rights experts said his trial "fell short of international 
standards" and had urged Pakistan to investigate claims he confessed under 
torture, as well as his age.

(source: The Telegraph)