[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Sept. 26



IRAN----execution

A Prisoner Hanged In Sanandaj


A prisoner, who had been accused of murder and sentenced to death, was executed 
in Sanandaj prison.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), 
Rauf Hassani who was sentenced to death for murder, was executed in Sanandaj 
prison on Wednesday 16th September.

HRANA had reported earlier, that this prisoner was transferred to solitary 
confinement in Sanandaj prison in order to be executed.

Rauf Hassani, son of Hassan, who had been transferred from ward "Salamat" in 
Sanandaj Prison to solitary imprisonment, was on death row since 13 years ago.

There is no specific information about the case process, murder, and execution 
of his sentence, and the authorities and judicial authorities have not released 
any information in this regard.

(source: Human Rights Activists News Agency)






PAKISTAN:

Catch-22 that disabled the hangman's geometry for condemned paraplegic prisoner 
Abdul Basit


The clock is moving inexorably towards half an hour past Monday midnight. This 
will be the killing hour for Abdul Basit. On death row for seven years in 
Faisalabad, Pakistan, this is to be his date with the gallows.

There may be doubts about his case: Did his trial even approximate due process? 
But all that is in the past now. Once before this, recently, he has come within 
24 hours of execution. Then, he cheated the noose but it seems that this time 
around he will not be so lucky.

Our colleagues on the ground in Pakistan have been in the Supreme Court earlier 
today. Abdul Basit had been fit and well when first he went to jail in 2008. 
But he contracted TB meningitis, and when the authorities failed to treat him, 
he was permanently paralysed from the waist down.

The technical legal issues before the court today were twofold - first, had he 
not been punished enough, no matter what the merits of the case? Second, would 
hanging him from a wheelchair be consistent with anything we might deem 
civilised?

One justice had seemed sympathetic; the other two justices, less so. They 
concluded that the fact that Abdul Basit is now unable to move his legs at all, 
or even control his bowels, is irrelevant to the government's right to kill 
him. The rules on how to execute are designed to protect the right to a 
dignified death and this should be sufficient to allow Basit's hanging to 
proceed.

The written order comes out at 4:18 pm London time, just eight hours and 12 
minutes before the allotted time. The word "DISMISSED" is writ large. It seems 
that al this work has gone to waste - but is there a faint window of hope? The 
Court has penned a subtle order: the execution may go ahead, it says, but "we 
do not feel chary, even for a while, of observing that the Superintendent of 
Jail and other staff assigned the job of executing the condemned prisoner shall 
comply with the relevant rules."

Just as Shylock could have his pound of flesh, so the jailer may take revenge 
upon Abdul Basit. But just as Shylock would himself face death if he took one 
jot of blood, so perhaps the jailer will fear judicial wrath if somehow the 
rules fail to provide for a clean execution of a paraplegic man.

The Pakistan Prison Rules require precise measurements to be taken from 
standing so that the risk of decapitation or strangulation is mitigated; no 
such measurement can be taken from Abdul Basit. The Rules require that the 
condemned man mount the gallows; Abdul Basit cannot get out of his wheelchair. 
The Rules require that he stand on the trapdoor as the noose is placed around 
his neck and the sack cuts off his final sight of the world; Abdul Basit cannot 
do this.

Tale of vengeance

That Shakespeare's cautionary tale of vengeance might provide an avenue to save 
Abdul Basit's life is a faint hope, but with eight hours of life left to him, 
any hope is better than none at all. How many times have I asked judges and 
governors, if they have decided to spurn mercy, to withhold their judgement 
until the final minutes, to allow false hope to edge out despair?

But now we are powerless, just like Abdul Basit himself. Our Reprieve team is 
in England, thousands of miles from the unfolding drama. For us, day has long 
since passed into night.

In Faisalabad, in a few too-short hours, the sun will be rising. Abdul Basit is 
to die with the Pakistan dawn. Our colleagues in Pakistan are at the jail.

It is 22:16. Just two hours and twelve minutes left now. Updates come through 
by text message: at midnight, the magistrate will arrive to oversee the 
hanging. He will be given a copy of the Supreme Court judgment and remind him 
that it is his to interpret, his to enforce, and on his head if the Prison 
Rules are not scrupulously followed.

But for now it is merely a matter of waiting. Inside the Jail, Abdul Basit must 
wait alone.

It is 23:53. The Magistrate should be there in minutes. A text message comes 
through - updates on a conversation with the Jail medical officer. He has a 
role to play to supervise the execution. He knows what could happen if it goes 
wrong, that Basit's head could be ripped from his body. The doctor does not 
want to see this happen.

It is midnight. The magistrate is already inside the jail. The lawyers 
negotiate to get access.

A few minutes later, the message comes back out. The Magistrate wants to speak 
with them. At thousands of miles distance, it is an ambivalent sign. He is 
completing a formality. He will appease them and order the hangman to begin, we 
think.

It is half past midnight. The fierce buzz of the text message.

"Still waiting." As we wait in England, all our colleagues can do is to watch 
the prison walls in Faisalabad.

The minutes go by.

What will the news be? Has Caesar, in his 21st century Coliseum, raised his 
thumb up for mercy, or down for death?

1 o'clock slowly approaches us. I have been there many times, at the dark hour 
of death. The downward pressure of inhumanity is suffocating. My irritating 
heart complaint is acting up again, and I have to turn to my medication. It 
takes 20 drawn-out minutes to kick in.

It is half past 1. Surely by now the witnesses to the hanging should be filing 
out? Still nothing to report.

Nearly 2. The urgent buzz startles me again. "It's getting very light in 
Pakistan. But no one able to confirm yet."

2:15. 2:30. 2:49.

"Effective stay."

Word comes out that the magistrate, the medical officer and the jail 
authorities have finally agreed that the execution cannot be carried out 
without violating the prison rules. They have notified the Punjab government, 
who must now amend the rules to allow the execution of a paraplegic man if they 
are to see Basit executed.

Yet still Abdul Basit is all alone. These are not legal visiting hours.

For us, so far away, and for JPP, there is celebration. But the new day has 
come, and it is back to the trenches. One battle has been won, but the war for 
Abdul Basit's life will continue. The truce will be counted in hours. And then 
the machinery of death may be gearing up once again to try to hang him and his 
wheelchair.

(source: Clive Stafford Smith, International Business Times)






GLOBAL:

Hangman's quagmire----Civilizations have attempted to curtail acts of crime by 
instilling horror in criminals and would be criminals by using very harsh forms 
of punishment.


Death is the ultimate end to all human existence. Yet during this mortal 
lifespan the human mind has for centuries displayed in gruesome and bloody 
fashion its dark ability to commit, without any remorse, an assortment of 
crimes, including murder. Seeking revenge or justice was a matter of much 
controversy in ancient times, and perhaps still is in the present society. This 
has been impacted by various culture, religion and political mindsets.

The Death Penalty was said to be codified by the defiant ruler King Hammurabi 
of Babylon. During the 16th Century, Egypt carried out their first execution, 
punishing a noble for practicing magic. The Romans also codified capital 
punishment through the Roman Law of the 12 Tablets.

Capital punishment, Death Penalty, Execution all refer to punishment by death. 
The word capital here derives from the Latin Capitalis, meaning head and in 
this instance cutting off the head, as in beheading. Today the Death Penalty is 
active in 36 countries, including China, America and India, whilst 103 
countries have abolished this form of punishment. It is interesting to note 
that the United Nations General Assembly, confirmed on November 15, 2007 a 
Global Moratorium on Execution, which calls for a general suspension of the 
death penalty. This was also supported by the International group Hands off 
Cain, founded by Sergio D'Ela a former left wing terrorist, presently a 
nonviolent politician.

Ancient forms of punishment

Civilizations have attempted to curtail acts of crime by instilling horror in 
criminals and would be criminals by using very harsh forms of punishment. 
Crushing by an elephant was certainly scary, and people would come in hundreds 
to witness this spectacle. Often elephants were raised in Royal palaces simply 
for this task! Some were thrown into dens where frenzied lions awaited in 
earnest. It was equally terrible to be thrown into a large pond that was home 
to blood thirsty crocodiles.

Quartering was another method that was used, where a person's limbs were tied 
to four horses and the animals driven in four directions, the body being torn 
into four segments. The bold Vikings not to be outdone would cut open the 
accused and pull out the lungs, feeding it to eagles and vultures. The vulture 
has an inclination to impending death. Still others were buried alive, with 
Scorpions thrown inside, to induce more agony. During Medieval times women 
accused of witchcraft were burnt alive or put into the Iron Maiden (an iron 
casket in the form of a woman with razor sharp iron spikes that would press 
into the flesh, and cause heavy bleeding, when the lid was tightly shut).

The Romans, who controlled a mighty Empire were said to be the first to 
introduce Crucifixion, and also decapitation by sword (beheading). This was 
later abolished by the Emperor Constantine. Another ancient method was 
Gibetting where the criminal was shut in a cage and left in a public place to 
die slowly, due to starvation, and exposure to the elements. Poisoning 
criminals was also common, especially for crimes of treason against Kings, this 
was subsequently stopped and the firing squad seemed to perform the execution 
with much pomp.

Scaphism was a method where the prisoner was fed with milk and honey (symbols 
of supposed prosperity), tied and left afloat in a large pool, where he would 
attract bees and insects that would eventually eat into his body. Stoning was 
punishment for crimes including adultery. Finally there was a maritime law that 
used Keel Hauling where sailors were punished by being tied and thrown 
overboard, where they would drown. Certainly all of these punishments would 
have instilled trepidation and respect for the Law, and yet have they?

The Death Penalty was said to be codified by the defiant ruler King Hammurabi 
of Babylon. During the 16th Century, Egypt carried out their 1st execution, 
punishing a noble for practicing magic. The Romans also codified capital 
punishment through the Roman Law of the 12 Tablets. During the early 450 BC era 
the British used to blindfold criminals and throw them into infested quagmires. 
It was only during the 10th Century that Hanging was introduced to curtail 
crime. By the early 1700s there were 222 crimes punishable by death. However 
the 1st legal execution was of a man named Daniel Frank, who was found guilty 
of theft. In America the State of Michigan was the 1st to abolish the Death 
Penalty in 1846.

The advent of Electrocution has a very impressive story, one which evolved from 
business rivalry and reads thus - The Edison Company with its DC (direct 
current) electrical systems began competing with Westinghouse Company and its 
AC (alternating current) electrical systems as they were pressing for 
nationwide electrification with alternating current. To demonstrate how 
dangerous AC could be, Edison Company began public awareness by electrocuting 
animals. People reasoned that if electricity could kill animals, it can kill 
people. In 1888, New York approved the dismantling of its gallows. The nation's 
1st electric chair was created.

It held its 1st victim, convicted murderer William Kemmler, in 1890, and even 
though the 1st electrocution was clumsy at best, other states soon followed. 
One must watch the English movie the Green Mile, starring Tom Hanks which 
brilliantly explores the mind of a man condemned to death, and also the 
judicial system of that time.

In the history of prison inmates being executed by electric chair two men stand 
out as an embodiment of pure evil. Albert Fish, was a convicted child rapist 
who proceeded to cook and eat body parts of his victims. He was known as the 
Brooklyn Vampire. He was sent to the chair in 1936. Some say that it was due to 
him that we have the character of the Boogey Man, one who bundles kids into a 
sack, or in local lore the 'Goni billa'.

Many would be aware of Ted Bundy, a psychotic serial killer, violent rapist and 
necrophile (a person who has sexual arousal from viewing a corpse). He was sent 
to the chair in 1989. On July 13, 1928, 7 men were sent to the chair at 
Kentucky State Penitentiary, creating a record number. Today many countries 
have replaced the Electric chair with the Lethal injection, which is considered 
a more rapid form of death.

Death by hanging

The practice of hanging a person has also been used in many cultures, often as 
a warning. People would gather in hundreds and cheer. Hanging takes place as 
legal punishment and the other as self inflicted suicide. Hanging is defined as 
death by means where a condemned person is suspended by a noose or ligature. 
There are three kinds of drops used to ensure death.

1. Short Drop - where person is placed on a cart or horse and that is driven 
away

2. Standard Drop - where a person is suspended from a height of 4 to 6 feet, 
this discovery being made by Irish doctor Samuel Haughton in 1866

3. Long Drop - where it was found that each inmate's height and body weight 
would finally determine the slack required upon the rope. This method was 
introduced by William Marwood of Britain.

Violent acts of inhuman murder and ghastly deaths call for justice. It is the 
cry of the victim's family and loved ones. After all, each life is precious. 
Society is sent into a state of shock when we witness the death of innocent 
people, especially children. There remains an ever increasing need to update 
existing Laws of the Penal Code and also rapidly implement them, with due 
protection to witnesses. Additionally our prisons must also be brought abreast 
to foreign standards where death row inmates are held as per their individual 
crimes.

Law enforcement agencies must also have Special response units to trace missing 
persons, with the use of K-9 (Police dogs) in every province. Religious and 
Civil society must create awareness on how to overcome impending criminal 
elements, mainly by evoking the human conscience, by teaching self respect and 
also respect for others. This is a time for spiritual awakening. Unsupervised 
internet use by minors only fuels sexual lust and fornication. The dark and 
biased criminal mind, with its relentless quest to fulfill evil desires and 
selfish motives, is an ever present danger to all of us. The time to act is 
now.

(source: The (Sri Lanka) Nation)






SAUDI ARABIA:

Saudi Arabia's troubling death sentence


On September 14, local media reported that an appeals court and Saudi Arabia's 
Supreme Court had upheld the death sentence of Ali al-Nimr for participating in 
protests four years ago. He was 16 at the time. Today, he awaits the execution 
of his sentence, which stipulates that al-Nimr should be beheaded and that his 
headless body should be strung up for public display.

Among the "crimes" for which al-Nimr was convicted were "breaking allegiance 
with the ruler," "going out to a number of marches, demonstrations, and 
gatherings against the state and repeating some chants against the state," and 
using his cell phone to incite demonstrations. He was also accused of 
sheltering men wanted by police, helping wanted men avoid police raids, and 
attacking police with Molotov cocktails and rocks, although prosecutors offered 
no clear details of injuries to police officers. Al-Nimr denied the charges and 
told the court that security officials coerced a "confession."

Saudi Arabia is one of the only three countries in the world known to maintain 
the death penalty for people who allegedly committed crimes as children -- 
along with Sudan and Iran. So there was nothing to stop Saudi authorities from 
bringing al-Nimr to trial before its notorious terrorism court, which sentenced 
him to death in May 2014.

True, Saudi Arabia has ratified international treaties that prohibit executing 
anyone for offenses committed when they were under 18. Yet despite this 
obligation, under the Saudi system, someone who exhibits physical signs of 
puberty can be tried as an adult. In January 2013, Saudi Arabia executed a Sri 
Lankan domestic worker convicted of murdering a newborn when she was 17, and in 
March of the same year authorities executed two Saudi men convicted of 
committing armed robbery before they turned 18.

And al-Nimr is far from alone. In fact, he's part of a rising trend. Saudi 
Arabia has one of the highest known execution rates in the world and so far 
this year, it has executed 135 people. Saudi diplomats have been trying to 
deflect criticism of the country's soaring execution rate. In September, the 
country's permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva dismissed 
the criticism as "protecting the rights of the killer."

In fact, just under half of all executions in Saudi Arabia in any given year 
are not for murder, but for nonviolent drug crimes or even occasionally for 
dubious "crimes" such as sorcery. And those accused of serious crimes don't 
always get fair trials. Al-Nimr's case is a prime example.

Saudi's internal security service arrested al-Nimr in February 2013 in 
connection with an uprising by the country's minority Shia citizens in Saudi 
Arabia's Eastern Province in 2011. They were demanding an end to longstanding 
discrimination by the government and protesting Saudi Arabia's role in 
suppressing peaceful protests in neighboring Bahrain.

Authorities held him nearly nine months without taking him before a judge, and 
did not allow him to have a lawyer during his interrogation. Many of the 
broadly framed charges against him don't resemble recognizable crimes under 
international law. The court also failed to investigate al-Nimr's allegations 
that officials mistreated him in detention.

Family members told Human Rights Watch that following al-Nimr's arrest in 
February 2012, authorities did not permit them to visit for four months. When 
authorities finally brought him before a judge for the first time, in December 
2013, they allegedly did not allow him to inform his family or appoint a 
lawyer, and did not provide him a copy of his charge sheet.

The court held three more sessions before the authorities allowed al-Nimr to 
appoint a defense lawyer. Despite court orders to the contrary, prison 
officials did not allow al-Nimr's lawyer to visit him in prison to help prepare 
a defense before or during his trial.

The court found al-Nimr guilty in May 2014 solely on the basis of a confession 
he signed during his interrogation, even though he said in court that one of 
his interrogators wrote it and that he signed under duress without reading it. 
The court ruled the confession admissible anyway, since he had signed it. 
Family members said that al-Nimr agreed to sign the statement only after 
interrogators told him that if he did, they would then release him.

Al-Nimr's life is now in the hands of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, 
whose decision will signal whether he is committed to reforming the justice 
system or to perpetuating the status quo of gross due process violations and 
executing child offenders. If King Salman believes in justice he should 
acknowledge the serious flaws in the case and commute the sentence.

(source: CNN)

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

Corbyn to Cameron: Ask Saudi Arabia to drop death penalty for Nimr


UK Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has called on the British premier to urge 
Saudi Arabia to commute the death sentence of Ali Mohammed Baqir al-Nimr, a 
young Saudi man, over his alleged role in anti-regime protests in the Arab 
kingdom.

"As you may be aware, Ali has now exhausted all his appeals and could be 
executed any day - in a particularly horrific manner, which involves beheading 
and the public display or 'crucifixion' of the body," said Corbyn in a letter 
to David Cameron on Friday, adding that "numerous fair trial violations" 
appeared in Nimr's trial.

Corbyn urged the premier 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."

The Labor Party leader also rejected the Ministry of Justice's bid to provide 
services to Saudi Arabia's prisons.

"Will you step in to terminate the Ministry of Justice's bid to provide 
services to the Saudi prisons system - the very body, I should stress, which 
will be responsible for carrying out Ali's execution?," Corbyn further wrote.

He highlighted the urgency of Nimr's case, saying that "the secrecy of the 
Saudi system means that he could face execution at any time."

"There is therefore no time to spare in taking this up with the Saudi 
authorities, if we are to prevent a grave injustice," he wrote in conclusion.

Ali Mohammed Baqir al-Nimr, a Saudi youth and the nephew of prominent Saudi 
Shia cleric Ayatollah Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr, was sentenced to death over 
his alleged role in anti-regime protests in 2012, when he was a teenager. Nimr, 
the nephew of prominent Saudi Shia cleric Ayatollah Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr, 
was arrested during an anti-government protest in Qatif, Eastern Province, back 
in 2012 when he was only 17 years old. He was later convicted of alleged 
criminal activities and handed down a death penalty by Saudi Arabia's 
Specialized Criminal Court in May 2015.

(source: PressTV)






THAILAND:

Thailand shrine bombing: Man in custody confesses, police say

A man who has been in police custody in Thailand since August 29 has been 
identified as the primary suspect in a bombing that killed 20 people at 
Bangkok's Erawan Shrine last month, Thai police said Friday.

After the man admitted he was the suspect seen in video in a yellow shirt, he 
confessed to the bombing, Thailand national police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri 
told reporters.

Police used new surveillance images to confirm they had the man responsible for 
the bombing, the spokesman said. The images showed the suspect walking into a 
restroom and changing his clothes before he walked out.

"He did admit that the man in the photo was him, and each of his admissions 
they became all connected. And finally he admitted it all," Prawut said.

Police said they are confident that the man -- who goes by several names 
including Adem Karadak -- carried out the bombings that also injured more than 
100 people.

Police on Saturday will take Karadak and Yusufu Meirailee -- who was arrested 
earlier this month -- to the crime scene at the Erawan Shrine. The duo will go 
to Hua Lumphong train station where they allegedly met to swap the bomb 
rucksack. They also will visit the spot where they allegedly dropped a mobile 
phone used to set off the bomb, authorities said.

CNN reached out to an attorney for Karadak but didn't hear immediately back.

17 arrest warrants

Also Friday a Thai military court issued arrest warrants for 17 people, 3 of 
whom were named publicly for the 1st time as members of the network responsible 
for the bombing at the shrine.

2 of the suspects -- Ali Noor and Manu Muhammad Ismail -- are suspected of 
buying SIM cards that were used in triggering the bomb.

Another man is believed to be the suspect who dropped a second bomb at a pier. 
That explosive fell into the water and didn't injure anyone.

They will face charges of premeditated murder and jointly making bombs that 
resulted in deaths, injuries and losses of property. If convicted, they could 
face the death penalty, Prawut said.

The shrine, at a bustling intersection near a large shopping mall, is a big 
draw for tourists. At least 7 people from other Asian countries were reported 
to be among the dead as well as 1 Briton. The site is popular among Buddhists 
as well as Hindu and Sikh members of Thailand's Indian community.

(source: CNN)





KYRGYZSTAN:

Death penalty for pedophilia will not help to save children


"The initiative to institute the death penalty for pedophilia, raised by some 
parties during the election campaign, is an irresponsible populism," 
ex-minister of social development of Kyrgyzstan Edil Baisalov said to 24.kg 
news agency.

"Instead of crime prevention, we discuss only punishment again. We should 
immediately institute at least 600 new units of social workers and many times 
increase the capacity of local bodies, protecting children as well as to 
improve prevention of mental disorders. Unfortunately, the last government did 
not pay attention to the needs of social development, and we see the bitter 
consequences of such a policy in the tragic news every day. We should not 
forget that, as a rule, only a tiny bit of violence against children is made 
public. Death penalty for pedophilia will not help to save them," Edil Baisalov 
said.

It should be noted that it was repeatedly offered in Kyrgyzstan to toughen the 
punishment for pedophilia, including introduction of castration, life 
imprisonment and death penalty. There were even collected signatures in support 
of the latter norm.

(source: eng.24.kg)