[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Aug. 15



UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:

Accused in Obaida's murder case sentenced to death ---- The bench also ruled 
that 48-year-old Jordanian defendant, Nidal Abdullah, should pay Dh 21,000 in 
civil damages.


The court bench, looking into the case in which a man is accused of kidnapping 
and killing 8-year-old Obaida after sexually assaulting him, sentenced him 
unanimously to death on Monday morning.

The Court of First Instance also ruled that 48-year-old Jordanian defendant, 
Nidal Eissa Abdullah, should pay Dh21,000 in temporary civil damages and that 
his body be repatriated after the execution.

Several members of the Jordanian child's family welcomed the ruling with tears 
and sighs of relief and hugged each other praising God and justice.

Outside the courtroom, the child's father said the family is satisfied as 
justice has been served. He pointed out that he would visit his son's grave to 
tell him that his killer would be executed for what he did.

Death sentence

A capital punishment verdict becomes final after it is upheld by Dubai's top 
court, the Court of Cassation. And it has to be approved by the Dubai Ruler 
before it can be executed by a firing squad.

The verdict text

The defendant was convicted of premeditated murder, kidnap, physical assault, 
making criminal threats, consuming of alcohol without licence and drink 
driving, based on the solid technical evidence and witnesses presented by the 
public prosecution.

The defendant, who appeared calm and did not show any expression upon hearing 
his conviction, was escorted by several security guards out of the courtroom 
right after the verdict was read out.

The verdict text read that the defendant was convicted of premeditated murder, 
kidnap, physical assault, making criminal threats, consuming of alcohol without 
licence and drink driving, based on the solid technical evidence and witnesses 
presented by the public prosecution.

The accused retracted his earlier confession and denied the charges in the 
previous hearing.

He claimed that he was not in Al Mamzar where he is accused of taking the 
victim when the incident took place on May 20.

The defendant denied that he had given a confession to the police officers or 
led them to where he disposed of the victim's body.

He claimed before the court that he suffered from mental and psychological 
problems.

He told the court that he does not recall anything and is not aware of what 
happened on the day of the incident.

His defence lawyer requested that his client be examined by a medical 
specialised committed to determine his state of mind when he allegedly 
committed the crime.

The lawyer requested that the charge of murder and kidnap be modified to 
assault resulting in death. He argued on the grounds that his client did not 
have criminal intentions.

The public prosecution had called on the court all along to inflict the death 
penalty on the accused.

"What mercy or leniency is he asking for given the horrendous way he committed 
his crime? He is a monster and does not deserve to live in our safe society," 
chief prosecutor Dr Ali Al Housani said.

Abdullah admitted earlier that he drank 5 bottles of vodka before and on the 
day he kidnapped the victim.

Obaida was reported missing from outside his father's car workshop in Sharjah 
on May 20. His body was found after 2 days under a tree on the Academic City 
Road in Al Warqa.

Monday morning's verdict remains subject to appeal.

A capital punishment verdict becomes final after it is upheld by Dubai's top 
court, the Court of Cassation. But it has to be approved by the Dubai Ruler 
before it can be executed by a firing squad.

(source: Khaleej Times)






IRAN:

Iran children at the gallows


As Iran currently executes the highest number of juvenile offenders in the 
world, hundreds of Iranian minors helplessly watch their childhoods pass them 
by, as they await their fatal ends behind bars.

Shockingly, rights groups have reported that Iran has executed at least 230 
people since the beginning of 2016.

While the majority of countries worldwide are fighting for the eradication of 
capital punishment against adults, Iran continues to sentence girls as young as 
9 and boys aged 15 to death.

According to a recent report issued by Amnesty International, at least 160 
young Iranians currently await execution.

While Iran is a major perpetrator in this human rights violation against 
minors, a host of countries, including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen, 
uphold Iran's belief that the death penalty is an acceptable form of punishment 
for "devious" minors.

The death penalty for minors in Iran is invoked by what are considered to be 
"Hodud crimes". "Hodud" refers to offences which have fixed definitions and 
punishments under Islamic law.

For example, those engaged in the practices of alcohol consumption, adultery, 
and same-sex fornication will, in most cases, face the grave consequence of 
death.

Iran's brutal stance on the death penalty was brought to the fore this August, 
as Human Rights Watch reported on the mass execution of 20 felons in Iran's 
Rajai Shahr prison on August 2nd.

While a score of "criminals" were put to death this month, Alireza Tajiki, 
managed to narrowly escape his final execution date of August 3.

Alireza, now 19, was sentenced to death at the tender age of 15, following a 
trial that did not meet international standards of justice.

Thankfully, the young Iranian evaded execution due to the support of a lawyer. 
However, the postponement is only temporary.

Alireza, who has been convicted of rape and murder, is one of the hundreds of 
young Iranians to be sent to the gallows for what Iran considers to be "the 
most serious" of crimes.

Hassan Afshar, arrested at 17 and convicted of "forced male to male 
intercourse" did not share the same luck as Alireza.

On July 18, Amnesty International reported the hanging of Hassan by Iranian 
authorities. He had no access to a lawyer.

Drug-related crimes are also among the host of "atrocities" to be deemed 
punishable by death.

Janat Mir, a young Afghani residing in Iran, was arrested for drug offences 
after his friend's house was raided by local police.

Similar to the vast majority of young people in his grave situation, he did not 
have legal protection or consular services.

He is said to have been 14 or 15 years old when he was mercilessly executed in 
2014.

Unfortunately, many convicted youths in Iran find themselves trapped in 
similarly hopeless situations to those described above.

The most alarming issue is that Iranian minors are, for the most part, blindly 
unaware of their rights to a fair trial.

Although a progressive path was paved when the Iran Supreme Court announced 
that youths sentenced to death could apply for a retrial, this reform did not 
leave the impact it should have.

While the official policy has been amended and undertaken, an underlying 
problem persists; the vast majority of incarcerated children are kept in the 
dark on their right to a retrial.

Even though a revised Islamic Penal Code was introduced in 2013 wherein 
children who "did not comprehend the nature of their crime" or who lacked 
"mental growth and maturity" during the criminal act could be given an 
alternative punishment to the death penalty, the code does not meet Iran???s 
international obligations.

No judge or courts, under any circumstances, should have the authority to 
sentence juvenile offenders to death.

In this way, Iran has consistently failed to abide by the United Nations 
Convention on the Rights of the Child, by neither protecting nor informing 
minors of their rights and also refusing to put an end to the death penalty for 
minors.

Ironically, Iran often denies confining and subsequently executing young 
offenders.

In April 2014, the head of the judiciary, Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani, 
stated: "In the Islamic Republic of Iran, we have no execution of people under 
the age of 18."

In this sense, it remains evident that the Iranian judicial system demonstrates 
a blatant disregard of its human rights obligations to children.

James Lynch, deputy middle East and North Africa director at Amnesty 
International, emphasised his belief that: "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."

In many ways, the amendment of the 2013 Islamic Penal Code is the fundamental 
key to achieving child development and juvenile justice in the Islamic Republic 
of Iran.

The penal code must be altered in order to explicitly prohibit the use of the 
death penalty for all crimes committed by people under 18 years of age, 
increase the minimum age of criminal responsibility for girls to that for boys, 
which is currently set at 15, and ensure that no individual under 18 years of 
age is held culpable as an adult, in line with Article 1 of the Convention on 
the Rights of the Child.

Now, it is time for the world to call for a reform of the Islamic Penal Code.

The justice, freedom, and fundamental human rights Iran's children behind bars 
have been so mercilessly denied of must be put to an almighty halt.

(source: NewsDay)

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

Iran's execution frenzy of Kurdish prisoners


Although almost 4 decades has passed since the rise of the Islamic Republic, 
the so-called Revolutionary Courts once ruled by the hanging judge, Ayatollah 
Khalkhali who gained notoriety for his Sanandaj summary executions, continue 
their rite of terror. According to Human Rights Watch Iran continues to be the 
top executioner with at least 230 executions since January 1 and over 1,000 
last year. The execution of 20 Sunni Kurds on August 2 at Rajai Shahr prison, 
all charged with alleged association with a "takfiri Group" (Apostates), and 
the hanging of the Kurdish nuclear scientist Shahram Amiri on the charge of 
"conspiring with 'the great Satan'" divulge a cruel retribution against Kurdish 
prisoners irrespective of their ideology, creed, and religion. The new litany 
of executions evokes not only in the words of Sarah Leah Whitson, the director 
of Middle East Human Rights Watch "a shameful low point in the human rights 
record" but horrific sights of recurrent hangings of political prisoners in 
Iran.

As human rights organizations denouncing the recent executions have noted, 
there were no justifications for these tribunals in which the victims were 
summarily re-tried and then executed. The new executions may be distinguished 
from other instances in the ways in which the Islamic Republic has represented 
them regionally and globally as a part of the war against terrorism. In a 
furious diatribe to the UN Human Rights High Commissioner Zeid Ra'ad al- 
Hussein who had called the executions "Injustices", Iran's Foreign Ministry 
charged that "Instead of adopting double standards on the issue of terrorism, 
the West has to show serious resolve in bringing together the global 
community's will and efforts to eradicate takfiri terrorism, including the 
DAESH terrorist group," Those executed are labeled as takfiri or DAESH 
"terrorists" albeit all had been arrested long before ISIS had even come into 
existence.

The executions reveal a more insidious and interventionist behavior on the part 
of Iran as it claims to occupy a new status in the post nuclear deal as an 
emerging power to be reckoned with in the region in its fierce competition with 
Saudi Arabia. If in the past it remained non-complaint with the international 
law under religious codes and traditions or was simply nonchalant in its 
response to world community protests about its human rights violations as a 
pariah state; now under the guise and guide of the Iran Project, presumably 
non-governmental organization created to promote the nuclear deal- is 
camouflaging its repression as the war on terrorism expects the world community 
to be oblivious to its invidious record of human rights and instead concentrate 
on the abysmal condition of human rights in Saudi Arabia.

In attempting to camouflage its internal repression as the war on terrorism, 
Iran has now gained a free hand in its foreign policy to create instability, 
paradoxically, in the name of security as it has begun shelling Kurdish 
villages in the KRG region presumably to drive away the Kurdish Democratic 
Party of Iran who has recently re-engaged in armed struggle against the Iranian 
government. The severity and speed with which the Kurdish prisoners were 
executed along with simultaneous threats against KRG reflect renewed efforts to 
intimidate Kurdish political opposition in the region by intensely securitizing 
the entire region within and beyond its borders.

All the executed prisoners had been held without due process, tortured, 
re-tried, their sentences extended, charged falsely, and many held 
incommunicado, intolerable conditions to which, the prominent imprisoned 
Kurdish human rights activist, Mr. Kaboudvand protested through his moth long 
hunger strike in May. A cursory review of the number of Kurdish prisoners 
executed during the past years shows a clear and disproportionate bias against 
Kurds. According to Rudaw on Aug 9, 2016 6 prisoners were executed in Urmia 
where the prison officials had refused to release the body of Mohammad 
Abdollahi, the hanged prisoner to his family. In yet another case in the same 
city, in May 5 Kurdish human rights activists, who had been arrested on a 
Wednesday, were hanged publicly on Friday of the same week, on the charge of 
membership in the Kurdish Democratic Party.

The use of such brute force shows that the Islamic Republic of Iran continues 
to see Kurds as a formidable challenge to its image; it is well aware that 
Kurds were the foremost pro-democracy force that challenged the very foundation 
of the Islamic order at its inception in 1979. Therefore, the Islamic 
Republic's ongoing hostility against Kurds is both ideological and rooted in 
the Kurdish opposition to the dominant political structure, culture and the 
very identity of the theocracy. The Kurdish struggle for human and civil rights 
with its vicissitudes has had a lasting effect on exposing the political 
tyranny, ethnic persecutions, religious intolerance, and sectarianism. That is 
why the Islamic Republic officials are relentlessly unforgiving in inflicting 
incomparable punishments on Kurdish human rights activists and prisoners of 
conscience.

Dr. Amir Sharifi, President of the Kurdish American Education Society Los 
Angeles

(source: Opinion, rudaw.net)



ETHIOPIA:

Fears for Briton following Ethiopian crackdown


The killing of almost 100 street protestors in Ethiopia and a new round of 
political trials have raised fears for a British political activist on death 
row there, international human rights charity Reprieve has said.

Andargachew 'Andy' Tsege is a British citizen and leading figure in Ethiopian 
opposition politics who faces execution after a show trial sentenced him to 
death in absentia in 2009 whilst he was living in London with his partner and 3 
young children. In June 2014, he was kidnapped by the Ethiopian authorities 
when changing planes at an international airport and rendered to the regime's 
prisons. His kidnap was part of a wider crackdown on opposition voices in the 
country ahead of Ethiopia's 2015 General Elections.

Tsege has spent the last 2 years in arbitrary and illegal detention, initially 
at a secret location, before being taken to the notorious Kality prison. He has 
never had an opportunity to defend himself in court and the Kality prison 
authorities deny that he is in their custody.

Reprieve has urged the Foreign Office to request Andy Tsege's release, and his 
return to the UK - a call that has already been made by the UN Working Group on 
Arbitrary Detention, the European Parliament, and several MPs. However, the FCO 
has declined to ask for his release, and has instead insisted on securing 
'legal access' in Ethiopia. (http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/23121) Asked about 
the case last month, then Prime Minister David Cameron defended the FCO's 
approach.

Demonstrations took place over the weekend 6-7 August 2016 in the capital and 2 
major regions, motivated by wider grievances against the ruling party who won 
100 % of parliamentary seats at the 2015 election. Protestors called for "the 
release of jailed opposition politicians", according to the Guardian.

Ethiopia's government has faced a wave of protests since November 2015 and is 
alleged to have used excessive force to crush them. 20 Ethiopian students were 
tried on 10 August for protests in March 2016 against the government's human 
rights record.

Commenting, Maya Foa, director of Reprieve's death penalty team, said: "The 
shooting of protesters shows that the Ethiopian government has no qualms about 
executing its political opponents like Andy Tsege. Britain must call for Andy's 
release before the crackdown on pro-democracy activists goes any further. 
Ethiopia never gave Andy a fair hearing before sentencing him to death in 
absentia, and this new round of political trials for students shows the 
government's scornful attitude to free speech and use of the long-arm of the 
law to crush dissent."

(source: ekklesia.co.uk)






EGYPT:

Jailed Egypt photographer says he's been 'forgotten'


Shouting to make himself heard from the soundproof glass dock during a break in 
his trial, Egyptian photographer Mahmoud Abdel Shakour said he feels he has 
been "forgotten" in prison.

3 years ago, Abdel Shakour - known as Shawkan - had been covering the police 
dispersal of an Islamist protest camp in Cairo when he was arrested, and he has 
been in jail ever since.

August 14, 2013, was the bloodiest day in Egypt's modern history and one of the 
deadliest in the region since the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings.

Hundreds of Islamists supporting ousted president Mohamed Morsi, toppled by the 
military in July that year, were mowed down by police in clashes. About 10 
policemen were killed.

3 years later, thousands of Islamists remain in prison after a wide-ranging 
crackdown that has extended to leftists and even journalists like Shawkan.

Shawkan had been photographing the carnage that day for the Demotix photo 
agency when he was arrested. 3 journalists, including Sky News cameraman 
Michael Deane, were shot dead in the violence.

The photographer spent months in pre-trial detention before he was put on trial 
along with hundreds of other defendants over the protest.

"I feel like I've been forgotten in prison," Shawkan, 29, told an AFP reporter 
during a break at a recent court session, yelling through the glass barrier to 
make himself heard.

"I feel despair, and powerless. Time is flying by while I'm in jail."

He is imprisoned in a poorly ventilated cell which becomes scorching hot in 
summer.

"My hope diminishes every day," he said, adding that he missed being able to 
look at the sky.

Sitting on his bed back home, next to a framed picture of her son, Shawkan's 
mother Reda Mahrous said she has trouble getting to sleep.

"I feel oppression and injustice," she said, wearing a green bracelet that her 
son made her in prison.

"Every day I make his bed and wait for a knock on the door to see him before 
me. But it never happens."

'No evidence'

Shawkan and his 738 co-defendants are accused of involvement in the killings of 
policemen and resisting the authorities during the protest dispersal.

If convicted, they will face the death penalty.

"There is no evidence against him. To the contrary, there is evidence proving 
he was working as a freelance photographer," said his lawyer Karim Abdel Rady.

The photographer has won 2 awards this year, including 1 from the Committee to 
Protect Journalists.

"I wanted to be happy but I couldn't. Give me my freedom and take the prize," 
Shawkan said.

He suffers from Hepatitis C, which is common in Egypt, and his family says he 
needs treatment that is not available in prison.

Shawkan was detained as part of a crackdown on Egyptian journalists, rights 
activists say.

His co-defendant Abdullah Elshamy, a journalist with Qatar-based satellite 
broadcaster Al-Jazeera, was released and left the country after a long hunger 
strike.

Rights groups say President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's government has tried to 
repress all opposition since the former army chief led the overthrow of Morsi.

Fears of restrictions on press freedoms heightened after the head of the 
Journalists' Syndicate and two aides were put on trial for harbouring wanted 
men - including a reporter - in the union's headquarters.

They had been sought by police for alleged involvement in April protests 
against a deal to give Saudi Arabia 2 islands.

"It's the worst era for someone to be a journalist in Egypt," said Sherif 
Mansour, with the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.

Egypt provoked international condemnation when it arrested 3 Al-Jazeera 
reporters, including an Australian and a Canadian, in late 2013 and put them on 
trial.

They were sentenced to jail terms but were later pardoned by Sisi after a 
lengthy international campaign, and have since left the country.

He said the parties also had common ground in their manifestos, which included 
the eradication of shacks.

(source: news24.com)






ALGERIA:

Child kidnapping triggers debate over death penalty restoration in Algeria


Politicians, lawyers and the public in Algeria have showed divergent views on 
the issue of the restoration of death penalty, exclusively against child 
kidnappers.

The controversy was sparked after the abduction and assassination of Nihal Si 
Mohand, a 4-year-old girl, in Tizi Ouzou province, 100 km southeast of the 
capital Algiers.

The girl was kidnapped on July 21 near her grandfather's house in Ouacif 
village, in the upper region of Tizi Ouzou.

Remains of her little body were found earlier in August, as forensics confirmed 
that they belong to Nihal. The investigation is still underway.

Speaking on the topic, Secretary General of the National Democratic Rally 
(RND), the ruling party, Ahmed Ouyahia said "the RND endorses the popular 
demand for the application of death penalty against child kidnappers and 
supports any legislation that would reactivate the suspended penalty in the 
parliament."

Algeria has suspended death penalty since 1993. Even if judges continue to 
sentence people to death, the condemnation is systematically commuted to life 
imprisonment.

Yet, Head of the pro-government Consultative Commission for the Promotion and 
Protection of Human Rights, Farouk Ksentini, suggests to go through a popular 
referendum to request the temporary freezing of the agreement signed by Algeria 
with international bodies, which would allow the North African nation to 
"justify" the reactivation of death penalty vis-a-vis international public 
opinion.

However, unlike parties deemed close to the government as well as Islamists who 
demand the application of the canonical principle "eye for eye, tooth for 
tooth," the secular opposition has clearly displayed rejection to the 
reactivation of death penalty, urging for the outright abolition of this 
"overage" sentence.

In this regard, Secretary General of the Workers Party Louisa Hanoune accused 
"some parties of politicizing the Nihal issue," saying "they are trying to 
manipulate the death penalty issue for electoral purposes."

She said she supports the family of the little girl, yet considered that "it is 
illogical to claim both modernity and obscurantism."

This opinion was shared by President of the Algerian League for the Defense of 
Human Rights (LADDH), Noureddine Benissad. He said dealing with such issues 
requires "a serene climate."

He argued that those who are supporting for the reactivation of death penalty 
are reacting on the heat, as they are furious at the tragedy of little Nihal.

The human rights activist said "death penalty has never been a solution to stop 
crimes and assassinations."

While the public, pro and anti-government parties have delivered their opinions 
over the issue of death penalty, the authorities still remain mute.

(source: Global Times)






SUDAN:

Sudanese pastors facing death penalty due in court


2 Sudanese pastors facing the prospect of a death penalty are due in court on 
Sunday accused of at least 7 crimes including waging war against the state.

Revd Hassan Abduraheem and Rev Kuwa Shamal have been charged with other 
offences including espionage after Revd Hassan helped pay for the treatment of 
a Darfur man injured at a political demonstration.

Speaking earlier this month about the pair and a 3rd man - Abdulmonem Abdumawla 
- who stands charged alongside them, Chief Executive of the anti-persecution 
charity Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), Mervyn Thomas said: "We are 
deeply concerned to learn of the serious charges levelled against Reverend 
Hassan Abduraheem and Abdulmonem Abdumawla simply for seeking to assist with 
medical expenses, and against Reverend Kuwa Shamal merely for being a Christian 
and a friend of Reverend Abduraheem."

Revd Hassan and Mr Abdumawla came to the aid of Ali Omer who was severely 
burned at Quran Karim University last year in an incident which what appears to 
reflect how government and intelligence forces are increasingly targeting 
Darfuri students and suppressing peaceful demonstration.

The crackdown follows the death of a senior member of the student wing of the 
ruling National Congress Party (NCP) when 150 NCP students violently attacked 
Darfuri students who were holding a meeting at the Sharg El Nil College in 
Khartoum.

Mervyn Thomas added: "These innocent men now face the possibility of a death 
sentence on evidence that would not justify an arrest, let alone a conviction, 
given its paucity.

"We call on the Sudanese Government to ensure that this trial is conducted with 
respect to Fair Trial Principles, which include regular access to legal 
representatives and family members.

"We also urge the government to end the harassment and targeting of Darfuri 
students and Christians by NISS and to uphold the rights of every Sudanese 
citizen, regardless of their religion or ethnicity."

The case against Reverends Abduraheem and Shamal and Mr Abdummawla comes at a 
time when severe restrictions are being applied against Christians by the 
government though the National Intelligence and Security Services, CSW says.

(source: premier.org.uk)



SOMALIA----execution

Puntland Military Court Executes Officer Over Killing


A military court in Somalia's northeastern semi-autonomous region of Puntland 
State has executed an army officer by firing squad in Garowe city on Sunday 
(August 14, 2016).

Hassan Fardhiye, the chief of Puntland military court confirmed the execution 
of Aydarus Dahir who was convicted of killing Abdiwali Farah Ismail, another 
army officer in May.

The court in Garowe was hearing verdicts against soldiers and officer accused 
of committing crimes against humanity and murdering civilians in Puntland 
region.

Death penalty is legal in Somalia, a mostly lawless state in East Africa.

(source: allafrica.com)






BANGLADESH:

British Journalist, 81, Facing Death Penalty, Enters 4th Month of Bangladeshi 
Detention


An elderly British journalist who could face the death penalty in Bangladesh 
will tomorrow have been jailed without charge for 4 months, amid worsening 
fears for his wellbeing.

Shafik Rehman, 81, is a well known journalist and editor in Bangladesh who has 
also worked as a speechwriter for the country's main opposition party. On April 
16th this year, he was arrested without a warrant in his home, by plainclothes 
officers who reportedly posed as a TV camera crew. Mr Rehman has been held ever 
since then without charge, but it is feared that if charged he may face trial 
for crimes which could carry the death penalty. A Supreme Court hearing later 
this month will consider Mr Rehman's case.

Mr Rehman, who has been repeatedly denied bail, is in poor health. He spent the 
first weeks of detention in solitary confinement, without a bed. His health 
deteriorated and he was rushed to hospital. Human rights organization Reprieve, 
which is assisting him, has written to UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, 
asking him to urgently support Mr Rehman's application for bail.

Mr Rehman's detention comes as Bangladesh faces criticism for a wider attack on 
journalists and opposition activists. Last week, 26 press freedom groups wrote 
to Bangladesh's justice minister, Anisul Huq, calling for Mr Rehman's release, 
and highlighting their "serious concerns" about his treatment and that of other 
journalists. A former US ambassador to Bangladesh and Pakistan, William B. 
Milam, has said that Bangladesh's government "has silenced critics by resorting 
to enforced disappearances, torture and extrajudicial killings", and that 
journalists who, like Mr Rehman, "dare cover any of this are being charged with 
sedition and treason."

Speaking to the BBC last week in response to the press freedom groups, an 
official from the Bangladeshi High Commission in London defended Mr Rehman's 
lengthy detention, and denied that press freedoms were under threat in 
Bangladesh.

Commenting, Maya Foa, director of the death penalty team at Reprieve, said: 
"Bangladesh's government has inflicted a whole series of injustices on Shafik 
Rehman - from his arrest by a fake TV crew, to his detention without charge in 
poor conditions, and repeated refusal of bail. This is an outrageous way to 
treat an elderly journalist whose only 'crime' appears to have been writing 
critically about the government. Shafik's family in the UK are desperately 
worried that he may face a death sentence - the British government must urge 
Bangladesh to end this charade, and release Shafik."

(source: commondreams.org)

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

Repatriation process for 6 Bangabandhu killers hiding abroad stalls


The government has long been maintaining it is working to bring back the 6 
killers of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman hiding abroad, but no significant 
headway is visible.

After 5 other killers were executed 6 years ago, Bangladesh Police had Interpol 
issue 'red corner notices' for the absconding death-row convicts.

So far, they have been able to become 'almost certain' about the whereabouts of 
5 of them, Interpol's Bangladesh chapter National Central Bureau (NCB) chief 
Rafiqul Islam Gani says.

"We don't know for sure where Risaldar Moslehuddin (Khan) is right now," he 
said.

The other 5 are Abdur Rashid, Shariful Haque Dalim, M Rashed Chowdhury, AHMB 
Noor Chowdhury and Abdul Mazed. All of them are former army officers.

However, Assistant Inspector General of Police Gani could not say how much 
progress has been made in their repatriation process when asked on Sunday, a 
day before the nation observes the 41st anniversary of the Bangabandhu's 
assassination.

He told bdnews24.com: "At the moment, there is no new progress."

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, daughter of the Father of the Nation, had said in 
September last year in Parliament that Rashid had gone to Pakistan from Libya. 
Dalim was also in Pakistan.

The 4 others are either in the US or Canada.

The Canadian government has already made it clear that they would not deport 
Noor, who lives in Toronto, to Bangladesh where he will face the death penalty.

The US is also unwilling to send back Rashid, who is in Los Angeles.

Police have information that Mazed is in Senegal. Officials said further 
inquiries are being made regarding his whereabouts.

The 5 convicts hanged on Jan 27, 2010 were Syed Faruque Rahman, Sultan 
Shahariar Rashid Khan, Bazlul Huda, Mohiuddin Ahmed and AKM Mohiuddin.

Another, Abdul Aziz Pasha, who was hiding in Zimbabwe, died there in 2001, 
police said.

After their executions, government ministers on several occasions had said the 
death convicts who are hiding abroad will be brought back and hanged. But no 
effective measures have been taken yet to deliver on their pledge.

NCB chief Gani maintained a similar tone on Sunday. "Efforts are on to bring 
back the fugitives. Talks are ongoing at Interpol and diplomatic level."

When asked, he could not say when the attempts will bear fruit. "We can't say 
anything for certain now."

After Canada and the US refused to send Noor and Rashed back, Prime Minister 
Hasina had said in Parliament, "I don't know why they give shelter to killers 
despite being civilised nations."

4 years after Bangladesh became independent, independence architect Sheikh 
Mujibur Rahman was assassinated along with most of his family members on Aug 
15, 1975, by a group of rogue army officers at his Dhanmondi residence in 
Dhaka.

His daughters Hasina and Sheikh Rehana escaped the massacre as they were in 
Europe at that time.

After the gruesome murders, 12 army officers involved had been awarded with 
jobs in diplomatic missions abroad in 1977 when Gen Ziaur Rahman, who founded 
the BNP, captured power through a military coup.

Bangladesh's 1st military ruler later promulgated the Indemnity Ordinance to 
save the self-proclaimed killers of the Bangabandhu.

The ordinance was abrogated on Nov 12, 1996, when the Awami League returned to 
power 21 years later, paving the path to bring the killers to justice.

But the case proceedings came to a near halt after the BNP-Jamaat-e-Islami 
coalition government came to power.

After coming back to power, the Awami League restarted the trials. Following 
the verdict in the case, 5 of the killers were hanged.

Though all the killers were given the death penalty, the ruling party leaders 
have always said the conspirators of the Bangabandhu assassination have not 
been brought to justice.

They have also been claiming that 'a foreign power' was involved in the 
conspiracy.

(source: bdnews24.com)






SINGAPORE:

Man arrested for fatal Yishun stabbing


When she saw her mother's face covered in blood on Saturday night, the 
10-year-old girl panicked and ran next door to ask for help.

The neighbour, who wanted to be known only as Madam Misnah, 51, told Shin Min 
Daily News: "She told my husband that her mother had fallen and was not moving, 
and there was blood on her face."

When Madam Misnah's husband got there, he saw the girl's mother lying in the 
bedroom in a pool of blood.

She had been stabbed multiple times.

A 37-year-old man has been arrested, said police. He is expected to be charged 
in court today with murder, which carries the death penalty.

Neighbours said the victim, a 29-year-old woman, was his wife.

The incident is believed to have happened at around 8.30pm on Saturday, after 
an argument.

The woman died 8 hours later at 4.26am at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.

Police said they received a call at about 9pm, requesting for help at a unit in 
Block 342B, Yishun Ring Road.When they arrived, they found a 29-year-old woman 
with injuries in the flat.

She was conscious when she was taken by ambulance to KTPH.

Madam Misnah said the woman, whom she identified as Madam Sri Idayu Ghazali, 
was a clerk and that she had moved into the Yishun flat with her family about a 
year ago.

It was also about the same time that Madam Misnah's family moved in next door 
and the 2 families became close.

Madam Misnah said there were 8 people living in Madam Sri Idayu's flat - Madam 
Sri Idayu, her husband, their 2 daughters, her parents, her sister and a maid.

"The 2 girls would often come over and play. Whenever we make something special 
for dinner, we would give them some and they would reciprocate," she said.

She told a Shin Min reporter that before the stabbing, she heard loud arguments 
coming from Madam Sri Idayu's flat.A resident who lives upstairs said he heard 
quarrelling at about 8pm on Saturday.

The man, who wanted to be known only as Mr Lim, said he then heard piercing 
screams, followed by silence.

Residents said they saw the woman's husband being questioned by the police at 
the void deck before he was handcuffed and taken away in a patrol car.

(source: asiaone.com)