[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Dec. 6



NIGERIA:

The faux outrage of Lagos state's death penalty for criminals

The Lagos State House of Assembly, incensed by the rising spate of kidnappings 
in the state, has passed a bill that stipulates a death sentence for kidnappers 
whose victims die in their captivity. On the surface, such proposed law, 
awaiting the signature of the State Governor Akinwumi Ambode, seems like a 
good-intentioned move to clamp down hard on hardened criminals. But then, the 
surface never tells the true value, or lack of, of anything. And beyond the 
faux outrage of the State House of Assembly, its proposed death sentence will 
not deter kidnappers, prevent deaths from kidnappings or make residents of 
Lagos any more safe.

While the immorality and inhumanity of the death penalty may be disputed, 
albeit ingeniously, the ineffectiveness of such state-sanctioned murder as 
deterrent to crime is indisputable. The highest record of state executions for 
criminal offences in Nigeria were carried out during the periods of military 
rule in the 1980s and 1990s. Yet, crimes punishable by death remained at their 
peak during these times. Even the high-profile executions of notorious armed 
robbers such as Lawrence Anini, Monday Osunbor, Peter Presley Preboye and Shina 
Rambo did nothing to the continuously rising crime rates. Suffice it to say 
that the killings of these armed robbers were just that, killings. They were no 
deterrent to crime. In the same vein, the Lagos State Government's Death 
Sentence for kidnappers will have no effect on kidnappings in the state, just 
as rampant extrajudicial killings of robbery suspects haven't reduced current 
robbery rates.

If death sentences won't curb kidnappings, then what will? To answer this 
pertinent question, one must return to the primary reason for the increase in 
kidnappings and other money-motivated crimes - economic desperation. Nigeria is 
knee-deep in recession, jobs have become more scarce and less secure, wages 
have either stagnated or fallen while commodity prices are running amok. All of 
these are occurring in a country with already sky high unemployment, gulf-wide 
inequality, pervasive poverty, endemic corruption and inept government 
institutions. It is not difficult to draw the parallels between these blatant 
failures of the Nigerian society and the rising incidences of kidnappings and 
other money-motivated crimes.

Investigating the relationship between crime level, unemployment rate, poverty 
rate, and corruption level and inflation rate in Nigeria between 1980 and 2009, 
researchers, writing in the Global Advanced Research Journal of Management and 
Business Studies, came to the conclusion that the above mentioned societal 
problems impact significantly on crime rate. "There is a link between crime 
level, unemployment, poverty, corruption and inflation; but even if people were 
unemployed, poor and corrupt, criminality may not be that high, but when the 
cost of living which is determined by inflation is high, crime level becomes 
high."

In light of the above, it is clear to see that what needs the utmost attention 
is the optimisation of economic opportunities, not an adaptation of 
state-sanctioned killing. Thus, if the Lagos State Government was really keen 
on deterring kidnappers, it would have been more interested in creating massive 
job schemes, radically increasing vocational training opportunities and 
championing programmes that will help small businesses thrive. The government 
would also have been doing more about making education more qualitative, less 
expensive and open beyond primary, secondary, and tertiary levels, but also to 
include adult education.

However, the Lagos State Government, by choosing to kill kidnappers, has opted 
for what seems like an easy way to curb kidnappings. Only that it actually 
doesn't. It is destined will only add to the State Government's growing list of 
ineffectual policies, a recent one of which was the ban on highway hawking. The 
government had threatened desperately poor and opportunities-bereft youths, 
whose sole source of a daily bread was chasing down cars to sell cheap snacks 
and accessories, with fines and jail time. This, it did without working to 
combat socio-economic problems which are the root causes of highway hawking. 
Expectedly, the ban achieved nothing as the highways are still surfeited with 
hawkers. The same will be the case with kidnappings and armed robberies if a 
death sentence is the only sentence the government can muster.

(source: venturesafrica.com)






PAKISTAN:

COAS endorses 4 death sentences


A military court has awarded death sentences to 4 suspected terrorists 
belonging to the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi and Al Qaeda for the attack on 
Karachi airport and assassination of a senior counterterrorism official.

The death sentences have been endorsed by Army Chief Gen Qamar Bajwa.

"Today Chief of Army Staff confirmed death sentences awarded to another 4 
hardcore terrorists, who were involved in heinous offences related to 
terrorism, including killing of innocent civilians, officials of Law 
Enforcement Agencies and Airport Security Force," an Inter-Services Public 
Relations (ISPR) statement said.

These were the first death sentences to be approved by Gen Bajwa since he took 
over the command of the army last Tuesday.

Earlier, Gen Bajwa called on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and, according to a 
statement issued by the PM Office, national security issues were discussed 
during the meeting.

The military courts that would complete their constitutionally mandated term 
next month have so far awarded death sentences to 140 terrorists, besides 
sentencing 96 others to life. 12 convicts have been executed.

The ISPR said that the 4 convicts, whose death sentences have been endorsed, 
were involved in attacks on Karachi airport, CID building Karachi, the ISI 
office at Sukkur, and police officers Chaudhry Muhammad Aslam and Farooq Awan. 
They were found responsible for the killing of 58 people and injuries to 226 
others.

The most notable among those given death penalty is Attaur Rehman, son of Faqir 
Muhammad, also known by aliases Naeem Bukhari and Abu Haris Mota. He was the 
head of Lashkar-i-Jhangvi (LJ) for Sindh and carried head money of Rs20 
million. He is believed to have also played a role in the kidnapping and murder 
of American journalist Daniel Pearl, although he was never named in the case.

Rehman was twice arrested in the past - 1st in mid-2002, but on each occasion 
he was released by courts. He was then picked up for possessing a fake national 
identity card while travelling to Dera Ismail Khan in 2015. It was then a 
surprise catch for the law enforcement agencies, who initially did not realise 
that they had caught a high-value terrorist, according to a security official.

As per the FIA's Red Book containing details of most wanted terrorists, he 
remained affiliated with the banned Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan and was a 
bomb-making expert.

Rehman along with his accomplices Muhammad Sabir, son of Alaf Gul, alias Munna, 
who was reportedly his deputy in the LJ, and Farooq Bhatti, son of Muhammad 
Ishaq, alias Musanna, the naib emir of Al Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent, was 
involved in a number of high-profile attacks, including the ones on the Karachi 
airport and Chaudhry Aslam.

Sabir carried head money of Rs5 million, while there was Rs15m bounty on 
Bhatti, who is reportedly brother of a leader of the Jamaat-i-Islami, Karachi.

The arrest was announced by the military in February. At that time it was said 
that they were planning to free high-profile terrorists, including Daniel Pearl 
murder convict Omar Saeed Sheikh, from a jail in Hyderabad.

The other terrorist to get death sentence was Gul Zareen, son of Gul Sharif, 
who also remained associated with the LJ and later with the banned 
Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. He was found guilty of attack on the convoy of 
Farooq Awan, a police officer working for the counterterrorism department. 
Police constable Sartaj and Ahmed Khan were killed in the attack.

(source: dawn.com)






MALAYSIA:

Contractor gets death for drug trafficking


A contractor was sentenced to hang by a High Court here after he was found 
guilty of trafficking in almost 80g of methamphetamine 2 years ago.

Judicial Commissioner Collin Lawrence Sequerah held that the defence failed to 
cast a reasonable doubt in Ng Chong Chin's case.

He was found guilty of trafficking in 79.28g of methamphetamine at a house in 
Kampung Baru Alma in Bukit Mertajam, at about 12.45pm on July 18, 2014.

The offence under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 and 
punishable under Section 39B(2) of the same Act, carries the mandatory death 
penalty upon conviction.

Ng, 40, was also jailed 18 months for possessing 2.48g of the same drug at the 
same time and place.

The offence under Section 12(3) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, carries a fine 
of not more than RM100,000 or a maximum jail term of 5 years, or both.

In his decision yesterday, Justice Sequerah said police found three men in the 
premises, including Ng, during their Ops Cantas Bersepadu raid. Police carried 
out a physical examination on the men and found 2 transparent plastic packets 
containing crystal-like substances, suspected to be drugs, inside Ng's 
underwear.

Using the car keys found inside Ng's pants pocket, the police also inspected a 
vehicle and found a blue backpack under the driver's seat.

Inside the backpack was a paper box containing 5 transparent plastic packets, 
also suspected to contain drugs.

"A weighing machine and an insurance health care card bearing the accused's 
name was also found in the box containing the drugs. The accused denied 
knowledge of the drugs in the car. This raises the question of how the 
insurance health card could have ended up in the box.

"According to evidence, the car windows were up and the doors locked. The car 
was only opened using the key found on the accused. This eliminated the 
possibility that the bag was placed in the car without his knowledge," Justice 
Sequerah said in his ruling yesterday.

Ng's counsel Nurliyana Mohd Radzi in her mitigation for his drug possession 
offence, said Ng had been cooperative with the police.

Deputy public prosecutor Amir Hamdzah Othman said the sentence should be a 
clear message to the public on the severity of the offence.

"Methamphetamine is a form of synthetic drug, which brings serious health 
effects when consumed," he said.

Justice Sequerah then jailed Ng 18 months for the drug possession offence.

"There is no other sentence I can pass for the drug trafficking offence, which 
carries the mandatory death penalty," he said.

(source: The Star)






PHILIPPINES:

Palma worried over rising number of drug-related killings


Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma has expressed concern over the rising death toll on 
the administration's war on prohibited drugs.

He said killing suspected criminals is not the right antidote to the country's 
problem on illegal drugs and crimes.

"We begin to be concerned and afraid knowing that so many (people) have died," 
he told reporters after he ordained 5 new deacons and a priest at the Cebu 
Metropolitan Cathedral on Tuesday.

"While we support the campaign against drugs, it should be done within the 
ambit of the law. We feel that anything extrajudicial is not the best way to 
answer our problems," he added.

The 66-year-old prelate also denounced plans to revive the death penalty for 
high-level drug traffickers, saying the sanctity of life must be preserved at 
all times and in whatever circumstances.

"The question on death penalty has always been debated. Some debate for it, 
while others debate against it. But on the part of Church, we call on 
government to address crimes through other means instead of killing criminals," 
he explained.

One of the ways to address the drug problem in the country, he said, is to 
strictly implement the laws without killing suspected criminals.

Senator Vicente Sotto III last week announced plans to bring back the death 
penalty for "high-level drug traffickers."

In 2014, Sotto sought the revival of the death penalty law through lethal 
injection when he authored Senate Bill No. 2080, which proposed to repeal 
Republic Act No. 9346 or "An Act Prohibiting the Imposition of Death Penalty in 
the Philippines."

Sotto said there was a need to revive the death penalty for high-level drug 
traffickers to frighten violators and to prevent them from operating in the 
country.

Based on the records of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7), 
146 drug suspects were killed in an alleged shootout with policemen in the 
region from July 1 to December 2.

At least 205 other drug suspects were gunned down by still unknown assailants. 
These cases were docketed as "Death Under Investigation" by the police.

Last Saturday, a 7-year-old boy died after he was reportedly hit by a stray 
bullet from a gun of still unidentified man who reportedly chased a 17-year-old 
boy believed to be involved in illegal drugs in Barangay Cansaga, Consolacion 
town, Cebu.

The victim's father, Wilson Batucan, believed the bullet that killed his son 
San Nino was fired from a gun owned by a policeman.

Senior Insp. William Homoc, Consolacion Police Station chief, denied the 
accusations, saying they did not conduct any operation when San Ni???o was 
killed.

Palma said the incident just proved that extrajudicial killings lead to more 
problems.

"An incident like this always makes us feel very sad. An innocent boy was 
killed. It's just senseless. We do not deny that drugs is the mother of many 
crimes, and yet we know that there are other aspects in addressing the problem 
in a more realistic way," he said.

(source: cebudailynews.inquirer.net)



BELARUS:

UN Condemns Executions In Belarus


The United Nations has condemned recent executions carried out by authorities 
in Belarus.

The European Union confirmed last week that Belarus carried out a total of 3 
executions during the month of November -- raising the total number of 
executions in the former Soviet republic during 2016 to four.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Belarus, Miklos 
Haraszti, said in a statement on December 5 that the "3 executions testify once 
again to the blatant disdain of Belarusian authorities for the right to life 
and also their staunch non-cooperation with the international human rights 
system."

The 3 executed in November included death row inmates Henadz Yakavitski, 
28-year-old Ivan Kulesh, and 31-year-old Syarhey Khymyaleuski. A fourth 
prisoner, Syarhey Ivanou, was executed in Belarus on April 18.

"Once again, I call upon the Belarusian authorities to adopt soonest a 
moratorium on the death penalty," Haraszti said.

The EU -- along with Amnesty International and other human rights organizations 
-- has been calling on Minsk to join a moratorium on the death penalty for 
years.

Before April, an execution had not been carried out under the Belarusian legal 
system since November 2014.

According to rights groups, more than 400 people have been sentenced to death 
in Belarus since the early 1990s.

(source: Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty)






UNITED KINGDOM/BAHRAIN:

Please, Theresa May, save my husband from death in Bahrain


My husband, Mohammed Ramadan, is due to be executed in Bahrain any day now. Our 
3 young children are distraught. We want Theresa May, the British prime 
minister, to call for Mohammed to be released when she meets Bahraini leaders 
today on her Gulf visit. Our criminal justice system has failed him and the 
British government, which supports that system, has failed him too.

Bahrain torture 'ignored' by UK-funded monitor

In 2014 Mohammed was arrested at Bahrain's airport where he worked as a police 
officer. My husband believes in human rights, democracy and transparency. He 
attended peaceful marches in Bahrain calling for our government to respect 
these values. As a state employee, he knew that it was risky for him to go to 
these protests. But he believes in reform and so he went anyway.

After Mohammed was taken into custody, our family heard nothing for 4 days - we 
had no idea where he was, or even if he was alive. Eventually, two weeks later, 
we were allowed to see him, but only with 3 guards watching us on a 
surveillance camera. As soon as we saw him, it was clear that Mohammed had been 
tortured by the security services.

Mohammed seemed weak and exhausted, and his body was trembling; this suggested 
to us that he had been subjected to extreme torture. But no one would tell us 
the reasons for his arrest or the charges against him.

Later, he told us what they had done to him. They had detained him, naked and 
humiliated, in a freezing cold cell. They had beaten him. They had forced him 
to stand for days on end. They had electrocuted him. They had sexually 
assaulted him. They had made him listen to the screams of other prisoners being 
tortured. They had threatened to rape me and other members of our family in 
front of him.

Eventually, Mohammed and his co-defendants signed false 'confessions' to make 
the torture stop

Their aim was to punish Mohammed for his participation in the pro-democracy 
protests by getting him to confess to a crime he did not commit. Eventually, 
Mohammed and his co-defendants signed false "confessions" to make the torture 
stop. Mohammed was not allowed to see or speak to his lawyer until after his 
trial had started. He was convicted on the basis of his forced confession, even 
though he had recanted it. This "evidence" - which would immediately be thrown 
out of any court in Britain - is the reason that my beloved husband and the 
father of my children is facing imminent execution.

Shortly after my husband's arrest, I submitted a complaint about his 
mistreatment to my country's UK-trained ombudsman, who is meant to investigate 
such allegations. An international human rights organisation submitted a 
torture complaint, too. But the ombudsman conducted no investigation for more 
than 2 years, even as Mohammed was sentenced to death.

Then this year, following intense pressure on the UK Foreign Office by human 
rights groups such as Reprieve and the Bahrain Institute for Rights and 
Democracy, the ombudsman agreed to open a new investigation. I've been told 
that this investigation is now closed, but I know very little about its 
outcome. Furthermore, the Foreign Office has not yet called for his release.

Sadly, my husband is not alone. In the past 2 years judges have handed down 8 
death sentences, including my husband's. Many of these people have been 
convicted on the basis of confessions extracted through torture. The Bahrain 
government regularly strips its political opponents of their citizenship and 
sentences peaceful human rights activists to decades in prison.

Throughout this time, the UK government has championed Bahrain's supposed human 
rights reforms, spending millions coaching a torture watchdog, training 
hundreds of guards at the death-row jail where he is held, and secretly 
assisting Bahrain's police, who continue to torture peaceful protesters.

The only result of all of this that I have seen is that my husband remains in 
prison, facing execution for a crime he didn't commit - while the people who 
tortured him still walk free.

(source: Zainab Ebrahim, The Guardian)






SAUDI ARABIA:

Saudi Arabia sentences 15 people to death for spying for Iran ---- Trial comes 
at time of growing tensions with rival power Iran over influence in the Middle 
East


A Saudi court has sentenced 15 people to death for spying for Iran, Saudi-owned 
media has reported, in a ruling that could further stoke tension between the 2 
rival powers.

The specialised criminal court in Riyadh sentenced 15 other suspects to prison 
terms ranging from 6 months to 25 years, and acquitted 2, the Arabic-language 
al-Riyadh newspaper reported.

The suspects - 30 Saudi Shia Muslims, one Iranian and an Afghan - were detained 
in 2013 on charges of spying for Iran and went on trial in February. The 
rulings are subject to appeal, and death sentences must go to the king for 
ratification.

The trial is the 1st in recent memory in which Saudi citizens have been accused 
of spying and comes at a time of high tension between Saudi Arabia, the 
regional Sunni powerhouse, and Iran, a non-Arab Shia theocracy, over influence 
in the Middle East.

In January, Saudi Arabia executed prominent Shia cleric Nimr Baqir al-Nimr, who 
was convicted of involvement in the killing of policemen, prompting protesters 
to storm the Saudi embassy in Tehran. Riyadh then broke off diplomatic ties.

Many of the suspects are former employees of the Saudi defence and interior 
ministries, Saudi media said. They were accused of setting up a spy ring and 
passing sensitive military and security information to Iran, seeking to 
sabotage Saudi economic interests, undermining community cohesion and inciting 
sectarian strife.

The charges also included supporting protests in the Shia-majority region of 
Qatif in Eastern province, recruiting others for espionage, sending encrypted 
reports to Iranian intelligence via email and committing high treason against 
the king.

Among those arrested in 2013 were an elderly university professor, a 
paediatrician, a banker and 2 clerics. Most were from al-Ahsa, a mixed Shia and 
Sunni region that is home to about half the members of the kingdom's minority 
Shia community.

The timing of the Saudi court announcement is deeply embarrassing for the UK 
prime minister, Theresa May, who is currently on a 2-day visit to Bahrain where 
as guest of honour she will meet the six members of the Gulf Co-operation 
Council and hold bilateral talks with King Salman of Saudi Arabia. The British 
foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, is also due to visit the region soon.

May has already faced criticism from human rights groups for her willingness to 
set aside human rights concerns in the Gulf to pursue defence contracts and 
seal free trade deals following the Brexit vote. The Foreign Office campaigns 
against the death penalty as one of its human rights objectives.

There will also be astonishment in diplomatic circles that the Saudis did not 
realise the timing of the announcement would deepen the controversy over her 
visit and the warmth of her contacts with the Saudis.

The Saudi foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, has twice in the past two months 
come to parliament to speak to MPs to persuade them that the country is 
reforming and to defend the conduct of the Saudi air campaign in the civil war 
in Yemen. May's government has rejected calls to end arms sales to Saudi 
Arabia, saying it has not been proven that the arms are being used in breach of 
international humanitarian law.

The human rights organisation Reprieve had written to May before the visit 
asking her to raise concerns about the sentencing to death of three children 
arrested for street protests against the king.

Reprieve claims "Saudi Arabia has sentenced to death Abdullah al Zaher, Dawoud 
al Marhoon and Ali al Nimr for alleged involvement in protests in the kingdom, 
despite their being 15, 17 and 17 respectively at the time of their arrest".

Reprieve adds "All 3 were tortured into 'confessions' and convicted in 
secretive trials. They remain imprisoned under sentence of death and could be 
executed at any time, without even their families being informed beforehand. On 
2 January, several juveniles were among 47 people executed en masse in the 
kingdom".

Saudi Arabia has blamed sporadic unrest among Shias in Qatif on Iran, but has 
never publicly presented evidence of a direct link between Tehran and those who 
took part in protests between 2011 and 2013. Iran denies any involvement.

Shias in Eastern province say they face persistent discrimination affecting 
their ability to work, study and worship freely, though Riyadh denies this.

Relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran soured after the latter's 1979 
revolution, which brought Shia clerics to power. Saudi Arabia follows the rigid 
Wahhabi school of Sunni Islam in which Shias are seen as heretics.

(source: The Guardian)

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

Mass death sentences in 'spy trial' a travesty of justice


The condemning of 15 people to death by the Specialized Criminal Court today 
after a grossly unfair trial is a travesty of justice and a serious violation 
of human rights, said Amnesty International.

The men were among 32 people arrested across Saudi Arabia in 2013 and 2014 who 
were accused of spying for Iran. 15 others were sentenced to prison terms 
ranging from 6 months to 25 years and 2 were acquitted.

The men were charged with a series of offences including "high treason" with 
some facing several other ludicrous charges which should not be considered 
criminal offences such as "supporting protests", "spreading the Shi'a faith" 
and "possessing banned books and videos".

"Sentencing 15 people to death after a farcical trial which flouted basic fair 
trial standards is a slap in the face for justice. Time and again, Saudi 
Arabia's justice system has been proven to be incapable of ensuring fairness 
and justice," said Samah Hadid, Deputy Director for Campaigns at Amnesty 
International's Beirut regional office.

"The death penalty is cruel, inhuman and degrading in any circumstances but it 
is even more shocking when people are sentenced to death after blatantly unfair 
trials. These death sentences must be immediately quashed and the accused must 
either be re-tried in line with international standards without resorting to 
the death penalty, or released."

"Sentencing 15 people to death after a farcical trial which flouted basic fair 
trial standards is a slap in the face for justice"----Samah Hadid, Deputy 
Director for Campaigns at the Beirut Regional office

Those convicted were all Saudi Arabian nationals except for 1 Iranian national 
who was sentenced to 4 years in prison. An Afghan national was 1 of the 2 men 
acquitted.

According to Taha al-Hajji, 1 of the lawyers who represented most of the 
accused, all 32 men arrested were detained without an arrest warrant and held 
for almost 3 months in incommunicado detention where they were repeatedly 
interrogated without a lawyer, heightening the risk that they could face 
torture and other ill-treatment. In many cases they only discovered the reason 
for their arrest during their interrogations.

Some told the court that they were threatened with solitary confinement and 
that they would be banned from having any contact with their families if they 
did not sign "confession" documents. They said they were told that if they 
refused to sign these "confessions" that their families would be imprisoned and 
locked in cells next to them.

After almost 3 years in detention without charge or trial the defendants were 
suddenly brought before the Specialized Criminal Court in Riyadh - Saudi 
Arabia's secretive security and counter-terrorism court in February 2016. Most 
of them attended their 1st session without any lawyers and the rest met their 
lawyers briefly for the first time in court. Some of the defendants had to 
prepare their defence themselves.

"The entire legal proceedings in this case have made a mockery of justice. The 
fact that the men were held incommunicado for 3 months, denied access to a 
lawyer during the interrogations, and that the court failed to adequately 
investigate the men's claims that they were coerced to 'confess' makes this 
little more than a sham trial," said Samah Hadid.

"The entire legal proceedings in this case have made a mockery of 
justice"----Samah Hadid, Deputy Director for Campaigns at the Beirut Regional 
office While the General Prosecutor had almost 3 years to build the case 
against the 32 defendants, their lawyers were given less than a month to 
prepare their defence after the first hearing and were denied crucial 
information to enable them to prepare a proper case.

The lawyers complained saying they needed more time since it was a very complex 
case with 32 defendants involved, however, the request was ignored by the 
judge. They were initially denied access to court documents and key evidence 
relied upon for the convictions, including the forced "confessions" of the men.

During the 1st session in February 2016, the 32 defendants were handed a list 
of charges that was nearly 100 pages long. Most of the defendants were accused 
of offences such as "high treason" for either setting up or joining a spy cell 
or meeting with Iranian intelligence and sharing military and security 
information with them.

However, some of the other charges listed against the men are not recognizably 
criminal offences under international standards. These include "supporting 
protests", "spreading the Shi'a faith" for example by setting up a Shi'a centre 
in Mecca, "possessing banned books and videos", "inciting the public to break 
allegiance to the ruler and harm his reputation and the reputation of the royal 
family" among other charges.

One defendant, who is among those sentenced to death, even faced charges for 
possessing articles written by Mikhlif al-Shammari a prominent human rights 
defender and advocate for Saudi Arabia's Shi'a Muslim community who was 
sentenced to prison and 200 lashes for his activism.

It is not the 1st time a Saudi Arabian court has issued death sentences after 
an unfair mass trial. On 1 June 2016, 14 Shi'a Muslim men were sentenced to 
death by the Specialized Criminal Court after a trial which relied on 
"confessions" extracted through torture for a series of offences including 
among other things, taking part in violent protests in the Eastern Provinces in 
2012.

Trials before the Specialized Criminal Court are shrouded in secrecy. Given the 
opaque procedures at these courts, in some cases simply being brought to trial 
appears to be enough grounds for judges to find the accused guilty.

In a letter submitted to the Specialized Criminal Court at the second session 
several of the lawyers said they would boycott the trial in protest the manner 
in which the trial was being conducted including the fact that they were not 
allowed to visit their clients, view evidence and prepare their defence 
adequately. The lawyers also objected to the "media war" waged against the 
defendants. The Saudi Arabian authorities do not allow any critical or 
independent media to operate in the Kingdom.

(source: Amnesty International)






IRAN:

Iranian billionaire Babak Zanjani's death sentence may be revoked


The death sentence of 41-year old Iranian billionaire Babak Zanjani, upheld by 
the Supreme Court of Iran, may be revoked, if he repays embezzled funds, Tasnim 
news agency cited Prosecutor General of Tehran Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi as 
saying on Tuesday.

Dowlatabadi said he could benefit from article "Islamic mercy" of the Iranian 
legislations if recovers the funds he embezzled.

On Dec.3, Iran's Supreme Court upheld the death penalty against Iranian 
businessman Babak Zanjani for corruption. On March 2016, a primary court 
sentenced Babak Zanjani and his 2 associates to death. By his own account, 
Zanjani had for years helped circumvent sanctions by arranging billions of 
dollars of oil deals through a network of companies.

(source: apa.az)






SYRIA:

Man accused of being gay executed in Aleppo


A man has been thrown to his death and then stoned in the streets of Aleppo 
after ISIS (Islamic State) accused him and found him guilty on charges of 
homosexuality. ISIS follow an interpretation of Sharia law, which forbids 
homosexuality and finds that it is a crime with a death penalty. ISIS hand out 
harsh sentences for men who are found guilty of having same-sex relationships 
and often throw them to their deaths from tall buildings in front of huge 
crowds.

Photos released by the terrorist organisation show a man, dressed in black, 
blindfolded being thrown off a tall building in the Syrian city of Aleppo. It's 
not known whether the man survived the fall, but pictures show that the man was 
then stoned by members of the crowd that witnessed the execution.

Hundreds of people stood and watched as the man plunged to the street below. A 
number of the crowd are then seen to hurling rocks at the lifeless body of the 
man.

In the past, we have reported that ISIS have killed another of men accused of 
homosexuality, but this is the 1st reported execution of man in Aleppo.

(source: thegayuk.com)