[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Rick Halperin
rhalperi at smu.edu
Sat Apr 23 09:29:23 CDT 2016
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April 23
IRAN----execution
Iran regime hangs prisoner in southern port city
The mullahs' regime has hanged a prisoner in the port city of Bandar Abbas,
southern Iran.
The 31-year-old prisoner, identified only by the initials H. M., was hanged on
Wednesday, April 20, in Bandar Abbas Central Prison, according to the Iranian
regime's judiciary in Bushehr Province.
The hanging bring to at least 35 the number of people executed in Iran since
the start of last week, while European officials have been paying visits to
Tehran. 3 of those executed were women.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) said in a statement last week
that the increasing trend of executions "aimed at intensifying the climate of
terror to rein in expanding protests by various strata of the society,
especially at a time of visits by high-ranking European officials, demonstrates
that the claim of moderation is nothing but an illusion for this medieval
regime."
Ms. Federica Mogherini, the High Representative of the European Union for
Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, was in Tehran last Saturday along with
seven EU commissioners for discussions with the regime's officials on trade and
other areas of cooperation.
Her trip was strongly criticized by Mohammad Mohaddessin, chairman of the
Foreign Affairs Committee of the NCRI who said: "This trip which takes place in
the midst of mass executions, brutal human rights violations and the regime's
unbridled warmongering in the region tramples on the values upon which the EU
has been founded and which Ms. Mogherini should be defending and propagating."
Amnesty International in its April 6 annual Death Penalty report covering the
2015 period wrote: "Iran put at least 977 people to death in 2015, compared to
at least 743 the year before."
"Iran alone accounted for 82% of all executions recorded" in the Middle East
and North Africa, the human rights group said.
There have been more than 2,300 executions during Hassan Rouhani's tenure as
President. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation
in Iran in March announced that the number of executions in Iran in 2015 was
greater than any year in the last 25 years. Rouhani has explicitly endorsed the
executions as examples of "God's commandments" and "laws of the parliament that
belong to the people."
(source: NCR-Iran)
NIGERIA:
Bus driver gets death penalty for stealing N68,000----He said that the convict
and his gang had pretended to be passengers in the commercial vehicles in which
they dispossessed the unsuspecting victims of cash.
An High Court in Makurdi, Benue State has sentenced a a bus driver, Tanko
Inalegwu, who robbed passengers of N68,000, to death by hanging.
In his ruling, Justice Hwande held that the prosecution proved before the court
that the convict conspired with others, now at large to rob their victims of
various sums of money totalling N68,000, on October 10, 2013.
He said that the convict and his gang had pretended to be passengers in the
commercial vehicles in which they dispossessed the unsuspecting victims of cash
at the old Customs House, North Bank, Makurdi - after which they pushed out the
three victims from the moving vehicle.
The Judge stated that contrary to the victim's claim, evidence tendered before
the court showed clearly that the convict was a key player in the robbery.
Report said the convict had confessed to the police that he committed the
offence, but later made a U-turn, claiming that he made the confessional
statement after being tortured by the Police.
Justice Hwande said that the confessional statement provided enough ground for
the verdict of the court and his conviction.
(source: pulse.ng)
SINGAPORE:
Heroin trafficker escapes the gallows----He gets life term after arguing drug
addiction, mental illness impaired 'mental responsibility'
A 30-year-old heroin trafficker, who failed to escape the death sentence in
three previous attempts, yesterday succeeded in getting the High Court to
sentence him to life imprisonment instead.
Justice Choo Han Teck accepted the defence's argument that Jeffery Phua Han
Chuan's ketamine addiction, coupled with a persistent depressive disorder,
impaired his mental responsibility when he smuggled more than 100g of heroin
into Singapore at Woodlands Checkpoint.
Phua was convicted in September 2011 by the same judge and given the death
penalty, which was then mandatory for those convicted of importing more than
15g of heroin. His appeal against the conviction was dismissed in July 2012.
After exhausting the avenues of appeal, Phua filed two criminal motions in a
bid to get his convictions overturned. His applications were dismissed in March
2014 and September last year.
In 2013, law amendments kicked in, giving judges the discretion to sentence
drug couriers to life imprisonment instead of death, if certain conditions are
met.
This gave death row inmates like Phua a chance to be re-sentenced.
Phua, represented by Mr Michael Chia, applied to be re-sentenced on the basis
that he suffered an abnormality of mind that impaired his mental responsibility
for his acts.
The prosecution accepted that Phua was a courier but disagreed that he had
diminished responsibility. A hearing was held to hear psychiatric opinions from
both sides.
Dr Munidasa Winslow, for the defence, and Dr Kenneth Koh, for the prosecution,
both agreed that Phua had a persistent depressive disorder and ketamine
addiction.
Dr Winslow said this "substantially impaired his judgment, impulse control and
decision-making in agreeing to be a courier, without seriously thinking through
the possible consequences of his actions".
Dr Koh disagreed. He said Phua was able to plan and perform complex, organised
actions in committing the offence. Phua also agreed to import the drugs 2 weeks
before the actual offence, so his decision to go ahead cannot be said to have
been made on impulse, he added.
But Justice Choo said, given that Phua was a chronic ketamine abuser, his
decision-making ability and impulse control would be impaired during the 2-week
period. He concluded that Phua's mental illness and ketamine addiction did
impair his mental responsibility for the act.
He said: "I am satisfied, from the facts and medical evidence... that the
applicant was probably incapable of resisting any internal rationality that
might have dissuaded him from committing the offence."
(source: straitstimes.com)
MALAYSIA:
Man to go on trial Aug 1-4 over murder of relative
A 31-year-old local man charged with murdering his 3 year-old relative in
Beaufort will go on trial on Aug 1-4.
High Court Senior Assistant Registrar Herlina Muse fixed the date for Mohd
Saifulrizan Sainan during further case management, Thursday.
Saifulrizan had on Oct 22, 2015 pleaded not guilty to murdering the boy at 7am
on Nov 21, in a stream at Kampung Jempangan in Beaufort. The offence under
Section 302 of the Penal Code carries the death sentence on conviction.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Gan Peng Kung prosecuted while Saifulrizan was
represented by counsel Ram Singh.
Meanwhile, the prosecution in a drug trafficking case involving a 29-year-old
salesman closed its case after calling 5 witnesses.
High Court Judge Datuk Nurchaya directed the defence and the prosecution to
file their submissions on April 25 and May 3 via email respectively and set
June 30 for oral clarification.
Leong Hon Choong, a West Malaysian is accused of trafficking 2,510.4gm of syabu
at 10.30pm on Feb 12, 2015 at the office of the Narcotic Investigation
Department in the Kepayan police headquarters here. He faces the death penalty
if convicted under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act.
DPP Gan appeared for the prosecution while Leong was defended by Ram.
In the Magistrate's Court, 6 men were jailed and fined for taking syabu.
Bakrin Abdul, Rasdi Kandi, Anuar Akub, Marjun Abu, Webster Zaunuddin and Jago
Dangin admitted to committing the offence at separate locations here last
month.
Magistrate Stephanie Sherron Abbie ordered Bakrin and Rasdi to pay a fine of
RM2,000 or 4 months' jail each while the rest were handed 6 months' jail.
Chief Inspector Lim Swee Beng prosecuted.
(source: Daily Express)
INDONESIA:
Indonesia affirms death penalty as a state's sovereignity
The Indonesian government has affirmed that having the death penalty on its
statute is part of the sovereignty of a state, according to a press statement
issued by the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and received by ANTARA
here on Friday.
A joint statement regarding the death penalty was issued by the Ambassador of
Indonesia to Austria, Slovenia, and the UN agencies in Vienna, Rachmat Budiman,
after the ratification of the final document of the Special Session of the UN
General Assembly on the Narcotics and Drug issues, in New York, USA.
The ambassador asserted that the death penalty and the mode of its execution is
part of the implementation of criminal justice system decided by competent
authorities of each country.
"There is no international law prohibiting the death penalty and its
implementation. Every country has a sovereign right to determine its own
political, legal, economic and social systems, corresponding to its interests
and conditions," he said.
Besides Indonesia, several like minded states have the same stance on death
penalty as part of the legal system of sovereign states, including China,
Singapore, Yemen, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia,
Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iran and Sudan.
The joint statement is very important to show that there are differences among
countries on death penalty issue.
Drug abuse is a serious problem in many countries. "In view of that, the death
penalty is an important component in the criminal justice system that can be
applied in case of a very serious drug related crime. The execution has to be
in compliance with the principles of law and justice," Rachmat said.
The United Nations General Assembly Special Session on the World Drug Problem
is one of the main UN forums on narcotics and drugs issues, which was attended
by 193 of the UN member states. The last special session on narcotics and drugs
was held in 1998.
According to the Indonesian Permanent Representative to the UN in New York,
Ambassador Dian Triansyah Djani, the Special Session is very important for
Indonesia.
The forum can be used by the Indonesian government to deliver information about
and explain to the international community the national policies and
achievements in combating drug abuse.
"The Indonesian government is very serious in addressing drug abuse. We are
protecting our people from narcotics," Ambassador Djani said.(*)
(source: antaranews.com)
MAURITANIA:
RSF urges supreme court to overturn blogger's death sentence
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on Mauritania's supreme court to overturn
the death sentence that was imposed on the blogger Mohamed Cheikh Ould Mohamed
Mkhaitir in December 2014 on a charge of apostasy. The sentence was upheld on
appeal yesterday.
Under Mauritanian law, this 31-year-old non-professional journalist has the
right to request the supreme court's clemency on the grounds of repentance. "We
are dismayed by the Nouadhibou appeal court's decision to confirm this young
blogger's death sentence," said Constance Desloire of RSF's Africa desk.
"Mkhaitir's life must at all costs be spared. We urge the supreme court to take
account of the sincerity of the regret he has been expressing since the day he
was jailed in January 2014."
Article 306 of Mauritania???s criminal code says: "Any Muslim guilty of the
crime of apostasy will be sentenced to death unless he first repents (...) If
he repents before the sentence is carried out, the prosecution will refer the
case to the supreme court with a view to restoration of all his rights."
Mkhaitir has repeatedly expressed regret ever since his arrest in connection
with an article on the Aqlame website in which he criticized the manipulation
of religion by those who want to maintain the caste system. The court said the
article contained "flippant comments about the Prophet" but Mkhaitir has always
denied wanting to attack Islam.
Mkhaitir is the 1st person to be sentenced to death for apostasy in Mauritania
since independence in 1960. An Islamic republic since 1991, Mauritania is
ranked 48th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2016 World Press Freedom Index.
(source: rsf.org)
TAIWAN:
Taiwan supreme court upholds death sentence for subway slasher
Taiwan's supreme court on Friday upheld the death sentence given to a
university student over a random May 2014 knife attack in a subway car in the
capital Taipei that left 4 people dead and 22 injured.
The denial of Cheng Chieh's 3rd and final appeal draws a line under one of the
most shocking crimes to strike the island's prosperous and generally
non-violent society in years.
Before the attack, Cheng posted a message on his Facebook page saying he
"wanted to do something big." During sentencing by a lower court, he was quoted
as saying that he would not mind receiving a death sentence.
Memories of the case were revived last month with an apparently random knife
attack and decapitation of a 3-year-old girl in front of her mother in Taipei.
A 33-year-old man with a history of drug use and mental illness has been
arrested in that case.
Some social scientists have questioned whether social alienation, joblessness
and a loss of hope in the future were fueling such actions among young men.
Despite a legal push to abolish the death penalty, it continues to receive
strong support among the public. Executions are carried out by a single gunshot
to the head.
(source: Associated Press)
********************
Victims' families hail MRT killer death penalty verdict
Families of the victims killed by Cheng Chieh in the Taipei MRT stabbing spree
said justice was done after the Supreme Court returned a final verdict
upholding the death penalty for the convicted murderer Friday.
"The death penalty for Cheng Chieh should have long been finalized," said the
father of Chang Cheng-han, 1 of the 4 victims who died in the shocking attacks.
"Justice has finally been done."
The father said the Supreme Court message will correct the misconception that
killers will not be given the death penalty in Taiwan - a claim made by a man
who has been on trial for allegedly killing a child he randomly came across in
the streets.
The father said if Cheng had been executed sooner, the random killings that
Taiwan has seen since the MRT tragedy would not have occurred.
The Supreme Court, handing down its final verdict condemning the convicted
murderer to death, said Cheng had shown no remorse for the attacks and there is
no indication that he was mentally ill when committing the crime.
Cheng went on a killing spree on a MRT train running on Line 5 in May 2014.
Four passengers were killed and 22 others injured.
The mother of Hsieh Ching-yun, who was also killed in the MRT attacks, said the
Supreme Court "answered the call of the public" by upholding the death penalty
for Cheng.
But she demanded that Cheng be executed within five years. "We have to see it
(death penalty) done. I don't want to go (die) without seeing it done," she
said.
Chiu Mu-sen, whose wife Pan Pi-chu was killed by Cheng, said after learning of
the verdict that "there is still justice in Taiwan."
The Ministry of Justice said it does not have a schedule for Cheng's execution,
in response to speculation that the convicted murderer would soon be executed.
"The Ministry of Justice does not have a timetable for execution," said Deputy
Justice Minister Cheng Ming-tang. "The Ministry of Justice carefully handles
executions."
Currently, there are 43 death-row inmates. But the ministry has been slow in
executing them amid mounting calls for the abolition of death penalty.
But the Supreme Court justices presiding over Cheng's trial said capital
punishment is part of Taiwan's criminal code, and it remains the judges'
responsibility to mete out the death penalty when necessary before it is
abolished.
Cheng defense attorney argued that the procedure of diagnosing Cheng's mental
state was flawed, but the justices said even if there had been a flaw, it would
not have swayed the court's judgment in a case where the defendant clearly knew
what he was doing when committing the murders.
Meanwhile, the Taipei MRT company said it is working to further improve the
security of the metro system.
Yen Pang-chieh, general manager of the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp. (TRTC), told
city councilors during a meeting that more security cameras have been installed
and police patrols have been stepped up on the MRT system since Cheng's killing
spree.
(source: China Post)
UNITED KINGDOM:
Swindon lawyer heads to America to fight for justice on death row
A lawyer from Swindon will head to Florida next month, not for a holiday, but
to work with lawyers fighting for inmates on death row.
Catherine Dunmore, 27, who grew up in Chiseldon, is currently volunteering with
two organisations in London after shifting the focus of her successful legal
career from international arbitration to human rights law.
The former Ridgeway School student will be spending three months in the United
States working on a voluntary basis with an organisation called Amicus.
They provide legal representation for the most vulnerable death row inmates in
the US penal system - she will be based in the Fort Lauderdale area of Florida,
just north of Miami.
"I'm a qualified lawyer but at the moment I'm spending some time switching my
area of focus towards human rights issues," said Catherine.
"This is something I've been keen to do for quite a few years, ever since I was
at secondary school and volunteered with Amnesty International - since then
I've always been against the death penalty.
"I always believed it would be a great experience to be able to go out to
America to make a difference on these cases.
"Obviously there is work that can be done from the UK but in terms of actually
meeting with people and getting to grips with the situation on the ground it
makes all the difference to be able to go out there - I feel now is the right
time to go out and do this."
Florida is 1 of 31 American states to still have the death penalty and as of
January this year 389 people were awaiting execution there - over 40 have legal
appeals pending.
Catherine's work will mainly focus on cases that are at a pre-trial stage
rather than those going through the lengthy appeals process.
She will spend her time preparing legal arguments and meeting with defendants
in prison as well as their families to prepare mitigation evidence in an effort
to avoid the death penalty in the first place.
Catherine added: 'I'm hoping I can draw on my experience and the legal
abilities that I've got.
"Although it is a different legal jurisdiction there are a number of
transferable skills such as meeting with clients and families as well as legal
research which are very similar.
"I also hope to do a Masters in September and this will allow me to be better
informed on a number of the issues involved."
Catherine is self-funding her trip which she estimates will cost around 4,000
pounds once she includes travel, accommodation and living costs.
She has been grateful for the help of friends and family but she hopes that
others who are passionate, as she is, about challenging the death penalty, will
be able to support her efforts.
To get behind Catherine you can visit
http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/help-catherine-fight-for-justice-on-death-row
(source: swindonadvertiser.co.uk)
**********
Convenient truths? UK govt lambasts Egypt, Iran over death penalty but
virtually silent on US
Britain's Foreign Office (FCO) has lambasted Bahrain, China, Egypt, Iran and
Saudi Arabia over their draconian use of the death penalty, but has failed to
extend the same level of scathing scrutiny to the United States.
The government department made the criticisms in its annual human rights
report, published Friday.
The study spanned key areas relating to human rights, including
non-discrimination, counter-terrorism, migration and the refugee crisis,
conflict, the United Nations (UN), the international criminal justice system,
torture prevention, the death penalty and countries deemed to be "a priority"
with respect to human rights.
The report highlights grave injustices and human rights abuses concerning the
death penalty, including the execution of teenagers sentenced to death for
supposed criminal offenses they carried out as children. It criticizes Saudi
Arabia, Pakistan and Iran for this practice in particular.
Juveniles on death row
The human rights report also draws attention to the plights of Dawood
al-Marhoon, Ali al-Nimr and Abdullah al-Zaher, all of whom were handed death
sentences as under-age minors for alleged offenses relating to political
protests.
In addition to this, it casts light on the significant rise of executions in
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Iran, warning that the majority of those killed in
Iran had been convicted of drug-related crimes.
Human rights charity Reprieve has previously criticized Western complicity in
these executions, connected to counter-narcotics operations. However, the UK
report fails to draw attention to its own glaring complicity.
Director of Reprieve's death penalty team Maya Foa welcomed the report's
denunciation of what she described as "the dire human rights situation" in
states such as Pakistan, Iran and Saudi Arabia, but said the government must
act on its rhetoric.
"These 3 countries have presided over an unprecedented wave of executions this
year - including of non-violent drug offenders, political protesters and those
arrested as children," she said.
"We welcome the FCO's commitment to avoid British involvement in such abuses
through cooperation with these countries' law enforcement bodies. We now need
to see real action and specific targeted interventions to back up these words -
human rights must not be deprioritized in favor of other interests."
Convenient truths? Neither Egypt nor Bahrain were noted in the FCO's 2014
report as states "of concern" where human rights are concerned. However, both
were included in the 2015 report. Reprieve notes, however, the FCO's language
has been softened in this context, flagging "priority countries" rather than
"countries of concern."
While the FCO's report listed Britain's allies Bahrain and Saudi Arabia as
countries whose human rights records require scrutiny, the US did not feature
on the list. A spokesperson for the FCO told RT its opposition to the death
penalty applies to all states, including allies.
While its 2015 human rights report acknowledges that the draconian punishment
was abolished in Nebraska in 2015 - and Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington
State have put in place moratoria - criticism of the US criminal justice
system???s use of the penalty is almost non-existent in the report.
According to Reprieve, there are currently 525 people on death row in the US.
While the group welcomes the fact citizens will no longer be executed in
Nebraska, it is calling for an end to all executions across the US and beyond.
US drone warfare
The Obama administration has also been sharply criticized by human rights
campaigners for its covert drone warfare, which inflicts untold misery and
human suffering in some of the world's most crisis-ridden states.
These drone strikes are shrouded in secrecy, carried out in remote or volatile
regions, and are conducted generally in the absence of judicial oversight
against presumed terrorists. However, little is heard in the West of the
innocent civilians' lives that are shattered in their wake.
As 2015 came to a close, 12 British nationals faced the death penalty in states
across the globe. The FCO states in its report that it unequivocally opposes
the measure and intervenes in an appropriate fashion to stop the execution of
British nationals where possible.
This intervention includes high-level political lobbying and formal
representations on behalf of UK citizens in multiple states, including
Pakistan, Indonesia, Egypt and the US. The government body also works
intimately with lawyers hired by UK citizens on death row, and is supported in
this respect by Reprieve and the Death Penalty Project (DPP).
(source: rt.com)
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