[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Dec. 4



INDIA:

Lynchings show mindset comfortable with death penalty: Gandhi


Acts like lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq show a mindset that is entirely 
comfortable with the death penalty, wholly exculpatory of torture as a means of 
extorting confessions, says Gopalkrishna Gandhi who is a known campaigner 
against capital punishment.

Gandhi has come out with a new book "Abolishing The Death Penalty: Why India 
Should Say No To Capital Punishment", published by Aleph Book Company, in which 
through in-depth analysis and marshalling of considered opinion of jurists, 
human rights activists, scholars and criminologists among others, he argues why 
the death penalty should be abolished with immediate effect in India.

According to Gandhi, death penalty asks to be questioned on grounds of the 
right to life, the right to self-defence against battery, assault, homicide and 
murder.

"States that keep the death penalty alive and do not realise the absurdity of 
that oxymoron may not be accused of a sadistic pleasure in dealing death. But 
they cannot be exempted from the accusation of deriving a sense of pleasure in 
the death penalty as a power, a perquisite, a prerogative that no one else 
enjoys," he writes.

The former West Bengal governor says the power to commute a death sentence to 
one of life imprisonment is part of the power of the death penalty.

"And even in the exercise of that pardoning prerogative, the state is using its 
exceptional privilege, its unique power. It is the exclusivity of this power, 
in its extreme nature, and indeed in its exceptionality that it is tantamount 
to a reserved 'pleasure'. And it is in that privileged uniqueness that it is so 
outrageously capricious and so flagrantly promiscuous," he argues.

Gandhi, currently distinguished professor of history and politics at Ashoka 
University, says public opinion in India has always been "death-penalty minded" 
and is now even more so.

"It is in fact more retribution-minded, vengeance-minded and geared to dealing 
death," he says.

He then cites the lynching of a prisoner detained on suspicion of rape in 
Dimapur in Nagaland last year which included him being dragged out of jail, 
stripped, paraded naked and then beaten to death, in mob adjudication.

"The mob-lynching and murder of Mohammad Akhlaq in a village in Uttar Pradesh 
on September 28, 2015 on the rumour that he had killed a cow and eaten its 
meat, is another grim instance of mob fury that stops at nothing less than 
killing. These acts show a mindset that is entirely comfortable with the death 
penalty, wholly exculpatory of torture as a means of extorting confessions," 
Gandhi writes.

Abolishing the death penalty, he says, is not about the final punishment from 
which there is no return but about the first principle of penology which is 
about return, a return to civility.

"The debate about the death penalty lies beyond 'to hang or not to hang' to a 
discussion on the criminal investigation system, on the law's transparency, the 
state's impartiality, a civilised penology," he says.

"We do not choose to be born. But once arrived, we do choose, through 
programmed genomes, instinct and will, to stay alive. In fact, we do more than 
choose. We resist anything that comes in the way of our staying alive. That 
resistance is built into the apparatus of staying alive," he says.

In the book, Gandhi asks fundamental questions about the ultimate legal 
punishment awarded to those accused of major crimes. Is taking another life a 
just punishment or an act as inhuman as the crime that triggered it? Does 
having capital punishment in the law books deter crime?

His conclusions are unequivocal: Cruel in its operation, ineffectual as 
deterrence, unequal in its application in an uneven society, liable like any 
punishment to be in error but incorrigibly so, these grievous flaws that are 
intrinsic to the death penalty are compounded by yet another - it leaves the 
need for retribution (cited as its primary 'good') unrequited and simply makes 
society more bloodthirsty.

(source: Press Trust of India)






THAILAND:

Death penalty dust-up spotlights Thai corruption woes----Years of dirty 
politics leaving a legacy of frustration


Thailand was suddenly engulfed in debate over capital punishment last month not 
because of some bloodcurdling crime, but because the legal elite proposed 
making crooked politicians pay the ultimate price.

The idea came from Meechai Ruchupan, chairman of the military-appointed 
committee that drafted the new constitution. Meechai justified it as a way of 
keeping corrupt individuals out of politics, according to local media reports.

Politicians involved in buying or selling key government jobs would have faced 
a maximum sentence of death. The measure was seen as an attempt to curb corrupt 
acts by future ruling party officials, who would have the authority to make 
political appointments.

Opponents included Peerasak Porjit, deputy leader of the National Legislative 
Assembly. The proposal went against the legal principle of having the penalty 
fit the offense, the former prosecutor argued. He also pointed to countries 
that have abolished capital punishment.

Meechai did not take such criticism lying down. "If the NLA thinks the death 
penalty is too severe, what about a fine of 5 baht [14 cents] or 10 baht?" he 
told the Bangkok Post. "It depends on how they view the matter."

Thailand's nearly allergic reaction to corruption reflects the seriousness of 
the problem. Transparency International gave the country a score of 38 out of 
100 in its 2015 Corruption Perceptions Index. The global average was about 43. 
Thailand moved up in the rankings for a 2nd straight year, to 76th place among 
168 countries and territories. But its actual score has hardly budged since 
2012.

The Southeast Asian nation scored and ranked far below neighbors Singapore and 
Malaysia and beat out Indonesia and Vietnam by narrow margins. Thai politicians 
do not resign even when found to be corrupt and cling to power as long as 
possible, a political scientist said. Such behavior has only made the public 
wary.

The new constitution, to be signed soon by recently anointed King Maha 
Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun, shows the depth of distrust. The 
military will have effective control of the upper house for five years and 
could install an unelected prime minister. New election guidelines for the 
lower house will make it difficult for any one party to claim a majority, 
reducing the ruling party's influence.

"There are no shortcuts to a working democracy," wrote Danthong Breen, who 
chairs the Union for Civil Liberty, in a letter to the Bangkok Post. 
"Corruption must be ended by education and participation of people in the 
function of a government."

That legal eagles saw death as an option demonstrates the severity of the 
situation. The new king faces the daunting task of bridging gaping political 
rifts and ushering in a new era for a country reeling from the loss of King 
Bhumibol Adulyadej, long a pillar of Thai politics and society.

Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva also spoke out against the death 
penalty. The introduction of such measures should be considered carefully, he 
said.

Meechai walked back his proposal Nov. 22, calling instead for a maximum life 
sentence for those who buy or sell political posts. But he still said capital 
punishment was a better idea, suggesting that he was unwillingly bowing to 
criticism.

(source: nikkei.com)






PHILIPPINES:

House asked to reject proposal reinstating death penalty----In a joint letter 
issued over the weekend, the International Drug Policy Consortium urged all 
members of the House and Senate to uphold the right to life enshrined in the 
1987 Constitution. The consortium also reminded Congress that the Philippines 
is also a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 
(ICCPR) and to the Second Optional Protocol of the ICCPR on the abolishment of 
the death penalty.


International rights advocates urged the House of Representatives to reject a 
proposal to reinstate the death penalty.

In a joint letter issued over the weekend, the International Drug Policy 
Consortium urged all members of the House and Senate to uphold the right to 
life enshrined in the 1987 Constitution.

The consortium also reminded Congress that the Philippines is also a party to 
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and to the 
Second Optional Protocol of the ICCPR on the abolishment of the death penalty.

This came after the House judicial reforms subcommittee approved on Nov. 29 
House Bill No. 1 or the proposed Death Penalty Law.

The measure will reinstate capital punishment for heinous crimes such as 
murder, piracy and trafficking and possession of illegal drugs. A House vote on 
the bill is likely before the end of 2016.

But Phelim Kine, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), said the 
Philippine government should acknowledge the death penalty's barbarity and 
reject any moves to reinstate it. He also noted that the failure of death 
penalty as a crime deterrent is globally recognized and the government should 
maintain the prohibition on its use.

"Reinstating the death penalty would violate the Philippines' international 
legal obligations. The Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR states that 'no 
one within the jurisdiction of a State Party to the present Protocol shall be 
executed' and that 'each State Party shall take all necessary measures to 
abolish the death penalty within its jurisdiction'," he said.

"Where the death penalty is permitted, human rights law limits the death 
penalty to 'the most serious crimes,' typically crimes resulting in death or 
serious bodily harm," he added.

The Philippine government abolished the death penalty under Article III, 
Section 19 of the 1987 Constitution. Former president Fidel Ramos reimposed the 
death penalty in 1993 as a "crime control" measure, but former president Gloria 
Macapagal-Arroyo abolished it again in 2006.

HRW said the deterrent effect of the death penalty has been repeatedly 
debunked.

"Most recently, on March 4, 2015, the United Nations assistant 
secretary-general for human rights Ivan Simonovic stated that there was 'no 
evidence that the death penalty deters any crime.' Even with respect to murder, 
an Oxford University analysis concluded that capital punishment does not deter 
murder to a marginally greater extent than does the threat and application of 
the supposedly lesser punishment of life imprisonment," HRW said.

In a March 2010 report, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime also called for an end 
to the death penalty and specifically urged member-countries to prohibit use of 
the death penalty for drug-related offenses, while urging countries to take an 
overall "human rights-based approach to drug and crime control."

"The UN Human Rights Committee and the special rapporteur on extrajudicial, 
summary or arbitrary executions have concluded that the death penalty for drug 
offenses fails to meet the condition of 'most serious crime'," Kine said.

"Reinstatement of the death penalty won't solve any drug-related societal 
problems that Congress House Bill No. 1 seeks to address. It will only add to 
the already horrific death toll that President Duterte's war on drugs has 
inflicted on Filipinos since he took office on June 30," he added.

(source: Philippine Star)

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

'Death penalty not the solution'


An international human rights advocate on Saturday urged the House of 
Representatives to reject a proposal reinstating the death penalty for heinous 
crimes, including drug-related crimes.

In a statement, Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Phelim Kine said the 
death penalty will not solve any drug-related societal problems, and that it 
would also violate the Philippines' international legal obligations.

"The Philippine government should acknowledge the death penalty's barbarity and 
reject any moves to reinstate it," Kine said. "We urge all members of the House 
of Representatives and Senate to uphold the right to life enshrined in the 1987 
Philippine Constitution."

There is no need to reinstate the death penalty, Kine said, stressing that it 
has been repeatedly debunked by previous administrations.

"The failure of the death penalty as a crime deterrent is globally recognized 
and the government should maintain the prohibition on its use," Kine added.

On Tuesday, the subcommittee on judicial reforms under the House justice panel 
approved the substitute bill on House Bill No. 1 filed by House Speaker 
Pantaleon Alvarez and other lawmakers.

The proposed measure seeks to revive the death penalty for individuals who are 
convicted of heinous crimes such as treason, murder, rape, robbery with 
violence, arson, plunder, and importation of illegal drugs.

Alvarez expressed confidence that the bill will be approved by the House by 
Christmas.

President Rodrigo Duterte initiated the revival of the death penalty as a 
measure to fight illegal drugs. The bill proposes executing a convicted 
criminal through hanging, firing squad, or lethal injection.

But Kine and other human rights advocates have rejected the bill, stressing 
that the death penalty's revival will not solve the country's drug problem.

He cited a report from the UN Human Rights Committee and the UN Special 
Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions that the death 
penalty for drug offenses has failed to meet the condition of "most serious 
crime."

In September 2015, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights reaffirmed that 
"persons convicted of drug-related offenses... should not be subject to the 
death penalty."

"Reinstatement of the death penalty won't solve any drug-related societal 
problems that Congress House Bill No. 1 seeks to address. It will only add to 
the already horrific death toll that President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs 
has inflicted on Filipino since he took office on June 30," Kine said.

In a joint letter drafted by the International Drug Policy Consortium, a 
network of non-governmental organizations that focuses on issues related to 
drug production, trafficking, and use, human rights advocates also urged 
lawmakers to "ensure proportionate sentencing of drug offenses to protect the 
vulnerable, and invest in harm reduction approaches to protect the health and 
wellbeing of the Filipino people."

The Philippines is also party to the International Covenant on Civil and 
Political Rights and to the Second Optional Protocol of the ICCPR on the 
abolition of the death penalty.

The Philippine government abolished the death penalty under Article III, 
Section 19 of the 1987 Constitution. President Fidel Ramos reimposed the death 
penalty in 1993 as a "crime control" measure, but President Gloria Macapagal 
Arroyo suspended it again in 2006.

The alleged deterrent effect of the death penalty "has been repeatedly 
debunked," the group Human Rights Watch said.

On March 4, 2015, Ivan Simonovic, the United Nations assistant 
secretary-general for human rights, said there was "no evidence that the death 
penalty deters any crime."

Even with respect to murder, an Oxford University analysis concluded that 
capital punishment does not deter murder "to a marginally greater extent than 
does the threat and application of the supposedly lesser punishment of life 
imprisonment."

"Human Rights Watch opposes the death penalty in all circumstances because of 
its inherent cruelty," Kine said.

He said reviving the death penalty would violate the Philippines' international 
legal obligations, where it ordered signatories that "no one within the 
jurisdiction of a State Party to the present Protocol shall be executed" and 
that "each State Party shall take all necessary measures to abolish the death 
penalty within its jurisdiction.

(source: Manila Standard)






UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:

Death sentence for brothers in Abu Dhabi


2 brothers accused of dealing heroin and trying to sell the drugs to an 
undercover police officer have been sentenced to death.

Abu Dhabi Criminal Court handed down the death penalties to the Iranian 
brothers after they were found guilty of possessing and dealing drugs.

Official court documents stated that the main defendant, a fugitive, had 
contacted an undercover police officer and agreed to sell him 65kgs of heroin 
for Dhs700,000.

"The Iranian informed the officer that he had placed the drugs in a secret area 
in Seih in Abu Dhabi along the Dubai road, and asked him to transfer the cash 
to him through a money exchange office," said prosecutors.

"The undercover agent went and collected the heroin but he told the man that he 
couldn't transfer the cash to him as it was a big amount and that he wanted to 
give it to him by hand."

Officers said the defendant, who had already moved out of the country, then 
contacted his brother staying in Dubai and told him to go and pick the money up 
from the undercover officer.

Police arrested the brother after the undercover agent handed him Dhs700,000.

Prosecutors subsequently charged both brothers with possession and dealing 
drugs.

During the previous hearings, the second brother, who received the cash, denied 
being involved in drug deals stressing that his brother told him that he had 
sold falcons to an Arab man in Abu Dhabi and that he should help collect his 
cash from him.

"I am innocent, I didn't have any idea that my brother was involved in drug 
deals," the Iranian said to the judge.

"My brother had told me he sold falcons to a man for Dhs700,000 and that I 
should help him collect it on his behalf."

His lawyer also argued that besides his client being innocent as he had nothing 
to do with the drugs, there was no evidence that police first got permission 
from prosecution before arresting the man.

But the judge rejected the claims and convicted both brothers.

A death sentence can be appealed within 14 days of issuing a verdict.

(source: 7days.ae)






AFGHANISTAN:

Taliban militants execute 2 including a woman in North of Afghanistan


At least 3 women were shot dead by unknown gunmen who were riding a motorcycle 
in western Herat province of Afghanistan around 2 weeks ago

Local officials in northern Jawzjan province said the 2 individuals were 
executed in Aqcha district.

A young girl in Kabul was shot by 1 of her relatives in Kabul last week.

Earlier, a woman shot by her in-law's family after she attempted to elope with 
her love in Ghor province of Afghanistan.

Provincial police chief Abdul Hafiz Khashi said the militants stormed into the 
house of the victim and murdered the 2 individuals including the woman.

He said the militants managed to flee the area after killing the couple. The 
latest incident involving the murder of the couple in Jawzjan comes as there 
has been there has been there has been a sharp rise in violence against women 
in the country.

The officials said the main motive behind the murder is not clear and search 
operation is underway to arrest the perpetrators.

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

Afghan Taliban hang university student in public----Kabul Polytechnic 
university student was accused by the group of killing a senior Taliban 
official.


Taliban fighters publicly hanged a university student after accusing him of 
killing a senior intelligence officer.

The militia took Faizul Rehman, a 4th-year student at Kabul Polytechnic 
university, from his car as he traveled home to visit his family in the Chak 
district of Maidan Wardak province, about 60km west of the capital Kabul on 
Thursday.

"They hanged him on Friday in front of [the] public. Local elders tried to 
mediate to release him, but they failed," Abdul Rehman Mangal, a spokesman for 
the governor of Maidan Wardak, told AFP news agency on Saturday.

"They accused him of killing Mullah Mirwais, the head of their intelligence in 
the area," he said.

The Afghan interior ministry confirmed the execution and said they had launched 
an investigation "to arrest and punish the perpetrators of this criminal act".

Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said they were investigating the case.

Since their ouster in 2001, the Taliban have executed people they accuse of 
spying for foreign or Afghan forces, and have staged public stonings or 
lashings of those found to have committed adultery, or had sex outside 
marriage.

(source for both: rawa.org)


BAHAMAS:

Bishop Hall Calls For Stricter Enforcement To Stop Crime


Bishop Simeon Hall yesterday said the country is in a crime "crisis," as he 
called for a stricter enforcement of the country's crime laws and for the 
removal of "some people from civilised society" if the death penalty cannot be 
enforced in the country.

Expressing his "ambivalence" over capital punishment, Bishop Hall, pastor 
emeritus of New Covenant Baptist Church, said that "if we're not going to hang, 
we need a similarly strong message" to criminals who he said are merely 
"turning up their noses" at the government's crime fighting efforts.

Bishop Hall dismissed assertions that the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) 
needs outside help in the fight against crime, as he said that "we created 
these things ourselves, and we should find the wherewithal to deal with them 
internally."

However, Bishop Hall said while police "are doing their best," the RBPF is 
"being overwhelmed by a spirit of murder which dominates the country".

Similarly, former Assistant Commissioner of Police Paul Thompson dismissed 
assertions that the enforcement of capital punishment would serve as an 
effective remedy to crime, stating that the death sentence will not be enforced 
"unless we get rid of the Privy Council".

Saying that Bahamians should "forget about capital punishment," Mr Thompson 
instead called for a stricter enforcement of the country's laws, so much so 
that persons charged with murder and sentenced to life in prison remain in 
custody for the rest of their lives, "not just some years and you let them 
out."

The statements by both men come after a recent spate of murders over the past 
few weeks, which made November the bloodiest month of 2016.

According to The Tribune's records, 13 people were murdered in November, 
compared to 10 in October, and 6 in September. Despite a spate of killings over 
the past few days, murders have trended down compared to 2015, which set a 
homicide record of 146 homicides.

According to The Tribune's records, the murder toll stands at 100 for the year, 
compared to the 137 recorded up to this point in 2015.

Given the country's crime woes, many have called for the death penalty to be 
enforced, in the hope that it would serve as an effective deterrent to criminal 
activity, particularly for such serious offences as murder.

However, the London-based Privy Council has served as an obstacle to the 
Bahamas carrying out the death penalty, after ruling in 2006 that the mandatory 
death sentence for murder was unconstitutional.

"The criminals are not afraid of the existing gun laws, of our court system nor 
the police," Bishop Hall told The Tribune when contacted. "Thus they break the 
law with impunity. If we're not going to hang, we need a similar strong message 
to would-be criminals. I think we need to double the gun possession laws, the 
gun possession penalties, and take some people away from civilised society. 
That's how I feel.

"Most of the criminals are known to police. Some criminals now know that they 
can beat the system, and in spite of what the best of us do, criminals are 
turning up their nose at all of our pronouncements.

"I have some ambivalence about the death penalty, but I think some people 
obviously shouldn't be amongst civilised society. One time ago they used to rob 
you and then run away. These set rob you, rape you, then shoot you and take 
your car. So we're in a crisis man."

He added: "...I sympathise with (National Security Minister) Dr Bernard 
Nottage, but we might as well admit it, we're in a crisis. Police, they're 
doing their best. But I think they're being overwhelmed by a spirit of murder 
which dominates the country."

Meanwhile, Mr Thompson said calls for the enforcement of capital punishment are 
pointless so long as the Privy Council remains this country's final court of 
appeal.

"People talk about capital punishment - we're not going to have capital 
punishment in this country unless we get rid of the Privy Council," he said. 
"What we should do is persons charged with murder and sentenced for life, make 
it life, not just some years and you let them out."

"The police have shown that they're doing a very good job in detection of these 
murders," Mr Thompson continued. "It appears that the motives are not just 
occasional robbery, but many times it's drug related or gang related. And that 
is going to continue until the police have gotten all those people in custody, 
we have quick trials with convictions and we get them in jail."

Mr Thompson also said the government would be better served by "investing 
money" in anti-gun smuggling efforts, as well as rewarding persons who can 
provide information on gun smuggling rings.

Mr Thompson said the "only outside help" the government should look for should 
be from firearms forensic specialists.

"We need people who, every gun on the street that we pick up, should be checked 
against scenes of crime," he said.

"We have to invest money for information on the importation of firearms. I 
think that any person who could give information about guns coming into the 
country, should be given a big reward, particularly if we could get the guns 
and get the people bringing in the guns."

(source: tribune242.com)