[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Sept. 23



SAUDI ARABIA:

France urges Saudi Arabia to cancel death penalty for young Shi'ite


France called on Saudi Arabia on Wednesday not to execute a Shi'ite Muslim 
sentenced to death over his role in anti-government protests, saying he was a 
minor when he was arrested.

Ali al-Nimr was given the death penalty in May after taking part in 
demonstrations three years ago for democracy and equal rights in Saudi Arabia's 
oil-producing Eastern Province.

"France is concerned about the situation of Ali Mohammed al-Nimr, who was 
sentenced to death even though he was a minor at the time of the events," 
Foreign ministry spokesman Romain Nadal said. "Opposed to the death penalty in 
all cases and circumstances, we call for the execution to be called off."

France does not usually comment on death penalty cases in Saudi Arabia due to 
their frequency. It has nurtured strong relations with Riyadh due to its tough 
stance on their Shi'ite rival Iran and shared positions on Middle East 
conflicts.

The French statement came a day after United Nations rights experts called on 
Riyadh to halt Nimr's "imminent execution"

Nimr was convicted of sedition, rioting, protesting and robbery in the Eastern 
Province district of Qatif, home to many of the Sunni Muslim-ruled kingdom's 
minority Shi'ites, who say they face entrenched discrimination.

Nimr, who activists said was 17 at the time of his arrest in 2012, was also 
convicted of chanting anti-state slogans in illegal protests and inciting 
others to demonstrate, according to state media.

"Saudi Arabia's plans to behead and crucify someone arrested as a child are 
indefensible," said Donald Campbell, spokesman for international human rights 
charity Reprieve.

"The international community - particularly Saudi Arabia's close allies, the UK 
and the U.S. - must stand with the French government and U.N. experts against 
this outrage, and call on the Saudi authorities to put a halt to this 
unjustified killing."

The conviction of Nimr, a nephew of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent Shi'ite 
cleric who is also on trial, followed that of Rida al-Rubh, 26, the son of 
another cleric who has been critical of the authorities.

The clerics are part of a group of around a dozen defendants on trial for their 
part in protests and violent unrest in Qatif, particularly in the village of 
Awamiya, where police officers and facilities have been attacked.

(source: Reuters)






IRAN:

UN & Europe Fund Iran's Executions


"The death penalty has no place in the 21st century." These words were spoken 
last year by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Many would agree. In fact, 
more than 140 countries worldwide have abolished capital punishment, including 
every country in the European Union. Yet the United Nations Office on Drugs and 
Crime (UNODC) and EU member states have financed Iran's drug war, a program 
that has allowed Iran to be a global leader in per capita executions.

The regime in Iran is one of the most repressive governments in the world. In 
2015, Iran received close to the lowest possible rating for political rights 
and civil liberties in a Freedom House report, and was ranked 173 out of 180 
countries in the World Press Freedom Index. Dissidents are routinely arrested 
and tortured; freedom of speech is limited; and the judiciary provides little 
if any due process to prisoners. Yet the UNODC has given Iran more than US$15 
million since 1998 to support operations by the country's Anti-Narcotics 
Police. This is despite significant evidence that Iran's governmental drug 
policies violate international law, and fall short of UNODC's own standards.

A 2014 report by Ahmad Shaheed, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in 
Iran, quoted an experienced Iranian lawyer who said that drug trials "never 
last more than a few minutes." Prisoners are often denied accessed to counsel, 
and claim that confessions are forced under torture. By Iran's own admission 93 
% of the 852 reported executions between July 2013 and June 2014 were drug 
related. Iran has already executed more than 750 individuals this year, and is 
on pace to reach 1,000 executions by the end of the year.

Human Rights Watch has accused Iran of using drug charges against political 
prisoners and dissidents, raising further concerns about the implications of 
the UNODC's support for the country's anti-drugs program. In 2011, Zahra 
Bahrami, a citizen of both the EU and Iran was arrested and accused of drug 
trafficking - a charge she denied. She claimed her confession was extracted 
under duress, and activists contend that her arrest was based on her political 
views.

Despite the limited scope of the UNODC, Iran???s policy of executions is about 
more than combating drug problems. Instead of focusing primarily on endemic 
problems such as poverty and a lack of opportunities for youth that foster drug 
abuse, Iran continues to enact draconian punishments on individuals, including 
publicly executing them. It appears these ritualistic killings are a strategy 
by the regime to maintain political authority through intimidation. These 
killings are part of Iran's policy of death, which seeks to terrorise and 
subdue a population, the majority of which is under the age of 30.

Violations of International Human Rights Law

>From a legal perspective there is ample evidence that Iran's executions are a 
violation of international human rights law, as enshrined in the International 
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The ICCPR, to which Iran and 
every EU member state is a party, explicitly reserves capital punishment for 
only "the most serious crimes." Article 6 of the ICCPR explicitly states that 
the death penalty cannot be imposed if a fair trial has not been granted. This 
statute has strong resonance given the lack of due process in Iran.

The UNODC has also released a position paper that appears to critique its own 
involvement in Iran. The paper notes that cooperation with countries which use 
capital punishment "can be perceived as legitimising government actions." It 
concludes that in such circumstances the organisation, "may have no choice but 
to employ a temporary freeze or withdrawal of support." Yet the UNODC has never 
publicly expressed a desire to withdraw support from its Iran program.

Political Hypocrisy and Human Rights

The hypocrisy aiding Iran is not lost on all EU member states. The UK, Denmark 
and Ireland havewithdrawn funding for UNODC's Iran program, citing human rights 
concerns. However other countriesincluding Norway and France continue to 
provide funding. Earlier this year, the UNODC was rumoured to be finalising a 5 
year deal with Iran, however no official announcement about the deal has been 
made.

Unfortunately, these policies appear to be part of a larger failure by many 
Western countries to consider human rights as one of their negotiating points 
with Iran. It appears that they are willing to champion human rights as a 
reason for intervening in certain states, while relegating it to a footnote 
when it may negatively impact foreign policy interests. The attitude suggests 
that the executions of thousands of Iranians is part of the necessary 
collateral damage to keep the EU free of increased drug trafficking. This 
stance not only estranges those who reside outside of Europe's borders, as if 
their human rights are beyond the interests of international organisations, but 
it places Western states at the height of hypocrisy.

One need look no further than the current discourse surrounding the nuclear 
deal with Iran to see a clear example of this. Recently, the EU's foreign 
policy chief Federica Mogherini visited Iran to endorse the agreement and did 
not express concerns over Iran???s human rights record. This meeting took place 
while the regime made preparations to execute Salar Shadizadi for crimes he 
committed when he was 15 years old.

If international standards and human rights are to have universal application, 
the UNODC should suspend support for Iran's drug program and demand judicial 
reform and a moratorium on executions. EU member states should demand 
accountability in how their contributions are spent. Lastly, any nuclear deal 
should have also included recognition of the legitimate demands of Iranian 
society for civil and political rights, and underscored the egregious human 
rights conditions in Iran.

This is not about interfering with the domestic affairs of a sovereign state, 
but holding true to the human rights values upon which the UN was founded. It 
is also about giving real force to international human rights law, which in 
this case should carry more weight. The death penalty can come to an end, but 
only if we have the political will to practice the ideals we have long 
preached.

(source: Hamid Yazdan Panah is an attorney, writer and human rights activist 
from the San Francisco Bay Area----Iranian.com)

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

7 years on death row


2 young Iranian Kurds that have been condemned to death are lingering in prison 
after 7 years. Zaniar and Loqman Moradi are charged with killing the son of a 
senior mullah in Kurdistan Province, western Iran, a charge they deny.

They are spending their 7th year in Gohardasht (Rajai Shahr) Prison in Karaj, 
north-west of Tehran, and their families say that they are in poor physical 
condition.

During these 7 years, Zaniar has never been able to meet his family and Loqman 
has just seen his family 2 or 3 times from behind a window.

"Their file has turned complicated by the Ministry of Intelligence. It does not 
allow criminal courts to try them, nor does it allow clarification of their 
condition," says Zaniar's father who is Loqman's uncle.

"Zaniar has undergone surgery 5 times because of the tortures he has suffered 
by his interrogators and Ministry of Intelligence agents. He has been operated 
on the spine, back, testis and knee," he added.

Zaniar's father said that his family has moved out of Iran and thus Zaniar has 
not been able to have visits from them, but the regime has also barred any 
visits by his grandparents. "Recently, when Loqman was sent to court, he 
refused to put on a prisoner's outfit. He was beaten with batons, boots and 
other things for that, resulting in injury to 2 of his vertebras," he added.

(source: NCR-Iran)






INDIA:

Law panel's 'Death Penalty' report sent to Home Ministry, govt unlikely to 
support it


The Law Commission's report supporting abolition of death penalty except in 
terror-related cases has been forwarded to the Home Ministry for a final 
decision, amid indications that government may not be inclined to support it.

The report 'Death Penalty' was submitted to the Law Ministry by the Law 
Commission on August 31.

"Recently, we have forwarded it to the Home Ministry as changes in the Indian 
Penal Code is its domain," a senior Law Ministry functionary said here.

He said while a final call on the subject will be taken by the Home Ministry, 
it can refer the report back to the Law Ministry for any clarifications it may 
require.

2 government appointees in the law panel -- ex-officio members P K Malhotra 
(Law Secretary) and Sanjay Singh (Legislative Secretary) had given their 
dissent on the report.

Besides them, Justice (retd) Usha Mehra, a permanent member of the panel too 
had opposed the report.

Sources in the government said the Centre is unlikely to support abolition of 
death penalty as there is a feeling that time is not ripe to do away with 
capital punishment.

A copy of the report was also submitted to the Supreme Court by the Commission 
as the apex court had asked the panel to examine the issue.

In 1967, the Commission in its 35th report had supported continuation of death 
penalty.

Registering his dissent, Law Secretary Malhotra had said Parliament in its 
wisdom has prescribed death penalty only in heinous crimes. "The need of the 
hour is to retain it...We have a vibrant judiciary which is respected 
world-over. We should have faith in the wisdom of our judges that they will 
exercise this power only in deserving cases for which the law is well laid down 
in various judgments..."

Legislative Secretary Singh had maintained the panel should not recommend 
something which has the effect of preventing the state from making any law in 
the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of the country.

The Commission had said there is a need to debate as to how to bring about the 
"abolition of death penalty in all respects in the very near future, soonest."

(source: Zee News)