[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Aug. 1



UNITED KINGDOM/SAUDI ARABIA:

Ministers urged to correct claims over Saudi juveniles executions


International human rights organization Reprieve is urging the UK Government to 
correct inaccurate statements it has made about three juveniles facing 
beheading in Saudi Arabia.

Ali al Nimr, Dawoud al Marhoon and Abdullah al Zaher were aged 17, 17 and 15 
(respectively) when they were sentenced to death for alleged involvement in 
protests calling for reform in the Kingdom.

However, the UK Government has wrongly maintained that "under Saudi Law they 
are considered to have been adult at the time."

This assertion - made most recently in a UK human rights assessment of Saudi 
Arabia, updated on 21 July - is directly at odds with the Saudi Government's 
own public claims that their own law defines a child as any person under the 
age of 18. In their most recent report to the UN's Committee on the Rights of 
the Child (CRC), the Saudi Government said that:

"Looking at the statutes adopted in Saudi Arabia, it is clear that the 
definition of the child in them is consistent with the requirements of article 
1 of the Convention. The Child Protection Act defines the child as 'any person 
under the age of 18', as does the Act to combat crimes of trafficking in 
persons. Furthermore, the juvenile is defined in the criminal law regulations 
on arrest and the regulations on juvenile detention centres as any person who 
has not reached the age of 18.

While Saudi law continues to allow some limited scope for a judge to determine 
that someone under 18 can be treated as an adult - in contradiction to Saudi 
Arabia's international obligations - no such determination was in fact made in 
any of Ali's, Dawoud's or Abdullah's cases. In addition, all 3 were detained 
following their arrest in juvenile detention centres, a clear indication that 
the authorities considered them to be children.

Reprieve has written to the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) on several 
occasions to welcome the attention they have paid to the case, but ask that 
they correct this inaccurate claim, which the charity believes runs the risk of 
helping to legitimise the Saudis authorities' use of the death penalty against 
children.

Reprieve has previously expressed concern over former Foreign Secretary Philip 
Hammond's claim that the 47 people executed in a single day in January this 
year "were terrorists" - despite at least four of them having been convicted of 
offences relating to protests calling for reform in the country.

However, the FCO has so far refused to correct either of these claims. Reprieve 
has written to new Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson asking that he maintains the 
FCO's focus on the cases of the Saudi juveniles, but that he moves further and 
asks the Saudi Government to commute their death sentences - something which 
the FCO has not done so far. It is unclear whether Mr Johnson raised the 
juveniles' cases during a recent meeting with his Saudi counterparts.

Maya Foa, Director of the death penalty team at international human rights 
organization Reprieve said:

"The British Government should not be accepting the Saudis' excuses for their 
appalling plans to behead people sentenced to death as children. The government 
must stop hiding behind the fiction that Abdullah, Ali and Dawoud are 
considered adults under Saudi law. The reality is that the Saudis are breaking 
both their own laws and international law in their plans to execute these 3.

"The attention the Foreign Office has paid to these cases so far is welcome. 
However, they must ensure they are not giving support to Saudi Government 
propaganda, as they have done all too often before. Boris Johnson needs to set 
the record straight, and call on the Saudi authorities to immediately commute 
the death sentences handed down to these 3 juveniles."

(source: reprieve.org.uk)






IRAQ:

UN rights chief expresses concern about Iraq's fast-tracking of executions


The United Nations human rights chief today expressed serious concern that Iraq 
has created a committee to accelerate implementation of death sentences.

The committee, announced by Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi, has been mandated 
to identify procedural or legislative delays in implementation of death 
sentences passed by Iraq's courts.

"Given the weaknesses of the Iraqi justice system, and the current environment 
in Iraq, I am gravely concerned that innocent people have been and may continue 
to be convicted and executed, resulting in gross, irreversible miscarriages of 
justice," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said in a 
news release.

"Fast-tracking executions will only accelerate injustice," Mr. Zeid added, 
urging the Government not to take any actions that may further weaken the 
administration of justice and diminish the rights of those subject to criminal 
legal procedures.

Monitoring by the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) and the Office of the 
High Commissioner for Human Rights in Iraq (OHCHR) has revealed a consistent 
failure to respect due process and fair trial standards, including a reliance 
on torture to extract confessions.

UNAMI and OHCHR have also noted the lack of transparency, with the authorities 
failing to provide timely public information on executions.

On 6 July, the Iraqi Minister of Justice announced that 45 death sentences have 
been carried out since the beginning of 2016, 3 more executions were 
forthcoming, and amendments to the legal framework to accelerate the 
implementation of death sentences would be put to the Iraqi Parliament.

On 23 July, the Prime Minister announced the establishment of the committee. An 
estimated 1,200 individuals are on death row in Iraq, including possibly 
hundreds who have exhausted appeals processes and have received the final 
decree of the President.

The Government of Iraq has not publicly confirmed these figures and usually 
only announces that executions have taken place long after the event.

Mr. Zeid called on Iraq to end the use of the death penalty by establishing an 
immediate moratorium on capital punishment and to reduce the number of offences 
for which the death penalty may be imposed.

(source: un.org)






IRAN----impending juvenile execution

Iran regime plans to hang teenager for crime committed at age 15


The Iranian regime plans to hang a teenager later this week for a crime he 
allegedly committed at the age of 15.

Alireza Tajiki, now 19 years old, was sentenced to death in April 2013 after a 
conviction by the regime's criminal court in Fars Province, southern Iran.

His family have told international media outlets that the regime plans to 
execute him on Wednesday, August 3. They say have been informed by the 
authorities in Adel Abad Prison in Shiraz, southern Iran, that they should go 
visit him for a final time this week prior to his execution.

The mullahs' regime had previously announced that it planned to hang Mr. Tajiki 
on May 15 in Adel Abad Prison. That execution was postponed due to 
international pressure.

Amnesty International said at the time that the Iranian regime must urgently 
halt the execution.

The human rights group said his conviction was primarily on the basis of 
"'confessions' extracted through torture which he repeatedly retracted in 
court."

"Imposing the death penalty on someone who was a child at the time of the crime 
flies in the face of international human rights law, which absolutely prohibits 
the use of the death penalty for crimes committed under the age of 18. It is 
particularly horrendous that the Iranian authorities are adamant to proceed 
with the execution when this case was marked by serious fair trial concerns and 
primarily relied on torture-tainted evidence," said James Lynch, deputy 
director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Amnesty 
International.

"Iran's bloodstained record of sending juvenile offenders to the gallows, 
routinely after grossly unfair trials, makes an absolute mockery of juvenile 
justice and shamelessly betrays the commitments Iran has made to children's 
rights. The Iranian authorities must immediately halt this execution and grant 
Alireza Tajiki a fair retrial where the death penalty and coerced 'confessions' 
play no part," he added.

In its May 12 statement, Amnesty said: "More than 970 people were put to death 
across Iran last year. In January 2016 Amnesty International published a report 
which found that despite piecemeal reforms introduced by the Iranian 
authorities in 2013 to deflect criticism of their appalling record on 
executions of juvenile offenders, they have continued to condemn dozens of 
young people to death for crimes committed when they were below 18, in 
violation of their international human rights obligations."

(source: NCR-Iran)






UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:

Man who killed Obaida is 'a monster hiding behind a human face'


Prosecutors seeking the death penalty for a Jordanian man on trail for 
kidnapping, sexually assaulting and strangling 8-year-old Obaida Al Aqrabawi 
have told a court the defendant "is a monster hiding behind a human face".

In a hearing at Dubai Criminal Court on Monday, judges heard from Chief 
Prosecutor Dr Ali Al Hosani as he described how the "hideous and horrible 
crime" had "shocked the nation".

"This crime violated all the noble values of our community. It has taken an 
innocent soul from its loved ones and triggered fear among us that we now fear 
for our children from the likes of this monster, drunk, wicked person whose low 
manners had him lure a child, rape him and then kill him.

"Despite being a father himself, his heart did not soften to the cries and 
screams of the innocent child as he ended his life brutally," said Dr Al 
Hosani, adding that Obaida had fought for his life and left marks on his 
attacker's body.

The prosecutor told the court that the 48-year-old defendant had planned his 
crime and lured Obaida with the promise of a scooter, although he didn't have 
the money to buy one.

He said photos of the child were found on his phone.

"Where is your humanity, what heart of stone you have, what dead feelings yours 
are that didn't move to the crying and pain of a little child?" said Dr Ali Al 
Hosani.

"This man has lost his human side . Even animals have mercy. He is a monster 
hiding behind a human face."

Dr Ali Al Hosani said the boy's spirit was "in the courtroom, begging for 
justice".

"We appeal to you, in order for the nation and Obaida's spirit to rest in 
peace, give him justice so his soul could rest in peace in its grave," said the 
prosecutor before adding that he is seeking the death penalty.

Obaida was last seen on the evening of May 20 outside his father's garage in 
Sharjah's industrial area, where the family also lived.

2 days later, the Jordanian boy's body was found on Academic City Road in Al 
Warqa, Dubai.

The defendant is charged with kidnapping a child, threats and physical abuse, 
rape and premeditated murder, drinking alcohol and driving under the influence 
of alcohol. He admitted in court to rape and murder charges but denied 
kidnapping.

The next hearing will be on August 8 to listen to defence lawyers.

(source: The National)



INDONESIA:

Friday's Execution is Illegal, Analyst Says


A community organization allied under the Coalition Rejecting Death Sentence 
said that the third round of the death penalty execution done 3 days ago is 
illegal.

Researcher at the Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR) Erasmus, A.T. 
Napitupulu said that the Attorney General Office has been negligent in 
fulfilling the rights of the death-row convicts of the 3rd round of the death 
sentence execution.

It can be seen from the absence of the presidential decision that states 
rejecting pardons that were proposed.

"If the request for clemency is rejected, the death-row convicts must be given 
a presidnetial decision that rejects the clemency before they were given a 
death sentence," said Erasmus in Jakarta on Sunday (31/7).

For the record, death sentence executuon for drug convicts was done at Nusa 
Kambangan prison island on Friday (29/7).

Out of 14 death-row convicts planned to be executed, only 4 of them were 
executed, namely Freddy Budiman, Seck Osmane, Michael Titus Igweh, and Humprey 
Ejike.

(source: tempo.co)

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

Trail of legal violations up to execution of 4 inmates


The 3rd batch of executions during President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's 
administration early on Friday saw 4 of the scheduled 14 inmates executed 
before firing squads and this latest round of killings has sparked criticism of 
the government over its negligence in conforming to the law in conducting the 
controversial form of punishment.

The Attorney General's Office (AGO) executed 4 death-row convicts, all of whom 
were drug traffickers - Indonesian Freddy Budiman and Nigerians Seck Osmane, 
Michael Titus and Humphrey Jefferson - leaving the remaining 10 alive pending 
their ongoing legal processes.

The execution of the 4, however, is considered by some to have been against the 
law as many procedures were omitted by the government.

Rina, a spiritual mentor from the Gita Eklesia foundation who accompanied 
Osmane before his execution, said there was no clear explanation from the AGO 
as to why only 4 convicts had been executed and why Osmane was 1 of them.

"We don't know why only 4 people were eventually killed. All spiritual mentors 
were asked to wait. Until 10 p.m., they finally said only [death-row convicts] 
numbers 6,7,9 and 11 [would be executed]," she told a press conference at the 
office of the Foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI) in 
Central Jakarta.

She added that the executions disregarded the convicts' basic rights since the 
4 were sent to their place of execution while seeing that the others had 
suddenly been spared.

Muhammad Afif of the Community Legal Aid Institute, who accompanied Nigerian 
Humphrey Jefferson, said the government had violated the 1964 Law on Execution 
Procedures, which stipulates that death-row convicts have to be informed about 
the certainty of their execution 72 hours beforehand.

"Jefferson was given notification on July 26 at 3:40 p.m., while the execution 
was carried out on July 29 at 12:50 a.m., which is less than 60 hours," he 
said.

The government is also guilty of another violation in the fact that 3 of the 4 
convicts - Freddy, Osmane and Jefferson - were in the process of appealing for 
clemency when they were executed.

Freddy filed an appeal a day before his execution, while Jefferson filed his on 
Monday and Osmane on Wednesday, Erasmus Napitupulu from the Institute for 
Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR) said.

Under the 2010 Clemency Law, death row convicts cannot be executed if they or 
their relatives appeal for clemency and the President has not yet rejected it.

Attorney General Muhammad Prasetyo argued it was too late for the convicts to 
apply for clemency.

Legal activist and lawyer Julius Ibrani of the YLBHI also questioned the 
excessive budget used to carry out the executions, saying that Rp 7 billion 
(US$532.000) had been used up even though all the executions had yet finished.

"The budget for the death penalty was given to 2 institutions, the attorney and 
the police. 2 budgets allocated for 1 activity can cause misuse of state 
budget," he said.

Another criticism comes from human rights activist Haris Azhar, who highlighted 
his conversation with Freddy. Freddy said he had shelled out around Rp 450 
billion to the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) and another Rp 90 billion to 
officials at the National Police to buy protection for his drug business.

Haris said Freddy had pointed to the involvement of 2-star generals from the 
Indonesian Military (TNI). According to Freddy, the generals had accommodated 
Freddy's business by providing facilities for he and his associates to use 
while serving his sentence on the secluded prison island of Nusakambangan.

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

World Islamic philosopher urges Jokowi to end death penalty


The execution spree in Indonesia has moved respected Islamic scholar Tariq 
Ramadan to urge the government to end the death penalty for drug offenders as 
it does not reflect traditional or Islamic values.

Ramadan, the professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies at the University of 
Oxford, the UK, wrote a personal letter to President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo on 
Sunday, saying Islamic law "calls for forgiveness and mercy. Above and beyond 
all of this, ramah [compassion] is an absolute necessity, an essential 
principle, an imperative duty, even if there is no doubt and all the conditions 
are gathered."

Indonesia executed 4 drug convicts last Thursday, despite strong criticism from 
civil society groups, which argued that the country's judicial system still 
demonstrated rampant unfair treatment and the use of torture and abuse. 
Furthermore, drug-related offences also continued to rise, despite 14 
executions last year. The National Narcotics Agency (BNN) noted that there had 
been an increase in drug users, from 4.2 million in June 2015, to 5.9 million 
people in November 2015.

The authorities said there had been no decision yet as to when 10 other drug 
convicts would be put to death.

Ramadan said that no punishment for drug-related offences was specified in the 
Sharia legal framework. "The Quranic principle strictly prohibits the 
deprivation of the right to life of any human being and stipulates that life 
can only be taken as explicitly specified in the Sharia legal framework."

As the world's largest Muslim-majority country, he continued, Indonesia should 
lead the way in demonstrating that Islam and democracy can go hand in hand. "In 
this context, I would like to set out some principles, based on Islamic 
understanding of the scriptural sources and the strict conditions required by 
the Islamic penal code [?udud], which stipulate that these executions must be 
stayed."

Ramadan urged Jokowi to follow the guidance of the Prophet, "who guides Muslims 
to pardon and forgive offenders, encourages repentance and mercy, and the 
suspension of the death penalty whenever possible."

(source for both: The Jakarta Post)