[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Dec. 8




SUDAN:

Fresh call for release of Christians facing death penalty in Sudan


Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has raised concerns over the prolonged 
detention of 4 Christians in Sudan on the anniversary of their arrest.

CSW has called for the release of Rev Hassan Abduraheem, Rev Kuwa Shamal, Petr 
Jasek and Abdumonem Abdumawla who were arrested in December 2015 and have been 
in detention since May 2016.

The case against the men centres on the provision of finances for the medical 
treatment of a young man from Darfur who was injured in a demonstration in 
2013.

Sudan----Population: 36 million

Christian population: 1.9 million

The government of Sudan implements a 1-religion policy (Islam)

Pastors and Christians face imprisonment if they share their beliefs and 
churches are often attacked and destroyed

Jasek, who is a Czech national, travelled to Khartoum in December 2015 to meet 
the young man and donated almost 4,000 pounds toward his treatment.

Rev Abduraheem, Rev Kuwa Shamal and Mr Abdumawla, had helped to arrange the 
visit.

The 4 men are charged with 7 crimes including espionage and waging war against 
the state.

The state claim the 4,000 pounds contribution was not for medical treatment but 
to fund rebel fighting.

If the group are found guilty, they could receive the death penalty.

CSW have claimed that since his arrest, Jasek has had limited contact with his 
family and legal representative while Rev Abduraheem was not permitted visits 
from family members until May 2016.

CSW's Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said: "This month marks one year since 4 
men were arrested in Sudan on grave charges which they have denied, but which 
have been brought against them simply for extending compassion to a man in need 
of medical treatment.

"In Rev Shamal's case, being a senior Christian leader and a member of the Nuba 
ethnic groups is sufficient for him to be targeted by the security services.

"We urge the Sudanese authorities to immediately and unconditionally release 
these men and to drop all charges against them."

(source: premier.org.uk)






MALAYSIA:

Police score biggest ketamine seizure of 2016, uncover drug lab in Bukit Jalil


Malaysian police 'stung' a China-linked ketamine distribution syndicate out of 
business when they scored the biggest ketamine seizure of the year and 
uncovered a drug-processing laboratory in Bukit Jalil on Sunday.

In respective raids at 2 apartments, the Bukit Aman police's Special Tactical 
Intelligence Narcotics Group (STING) seized 210kg of China-made ketamine, and 
drugs comprising syabu, Eramine-5, ecstasy and pil yaba worth a total of RM15.5 
million.

In another apartment, the police uncovered the drug laboratory and drug-making 
paraphernalia.

In both raids carried out within 6 hours, beginning 9.30pm, 3 local men, 
including an unqualified chemist, were detained to facilitate investigations 
into the international drug trafficking syndicate.

Federal Police (Bukit Aman) Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department 
director Datuk Seri Mohd Mokhtar Mohd Shariff described the ketamine seizure as 
the biggest this year.

He said initial investigations revealed the ketamine was meant for local 
consumption, adding that the seized drugs could cater to 540,000 addicts.

"We also seized 3 vehicles owned by the suspects - a Toyota Estima, a Toyota 
Mark and a Proton Gen 2 - as well as RM1,500," he told a press conference here 
today.

Mohd Mokhtar said the suspects were remanded until Monday to facilitate 
investigations under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries 
the mandatory death penalty upon conviction.

On the types of drugs popular among addicts in the country, he said 47 % 
preferred syabu; heroin (30 %); yaba pill (12 %); ganja and ecstacy pills (5 % 
each); and ketamine (1 %).

Meanwhile, Mohd Mokhtar said police seized various drugs worth RM211.98 million 
from Jan until Dec 4, and 189,190 individuals, including 7,508 foreigners were 
arrested over the seizure during the same period.

(source: nst.com.my)






PHILIPPINES:

Mode of proposed death penalty: Hanging, firing squad, or lethal injection


Lawmakers are up for more discussions when it comes to passing the proposed 
death penalty bill in Congress.

1 part of that bill is the mode of execution to the person convicted of a 
heinous crime.

Under the bill, death penalty may be executed either by hanging, firing squad, 
or lethal injection.

It also states that the death penalty shall be carried out from 1 year to 1 1/2 
years after the judgment has become final and executory.

Lawmakers want capital punishment for a number of drug offenses.

Under the proposed bill reviving the death penalty, selling, trading, 
distributing, and transporting of dangerous drugs, regardless of quantity and 
purity, and manufacturing dangerous drugs may be punishable by death.

Any person who possesses at least 10 grams of any dangerous drugs or 500 grams 
of marijuana may be punished by death.

Any person - including foreigners - who brings in illegal drugs into the 
country, regardless of quantity and purity, may also be executed.

Lawmakers also want death for other non-drug related crimes such as kidnapping, 
and murder.

Any person who kills because of a price or a reward, kills during calamities, 
or kills with cruelty are also candidates for the execution chamber.

Rape may also be punished by death - but it still depends on how and when it 
happened.

Even public officials are not spared from the death penalty.

A public officer proven to have committed plunder or amassing ill-gotten wealth 
amounting to 50P million or more may be punished with death.

Qualified bribery or refusing to arrest or prosecute an offender after being 
given or receiving a gift may also be punishable by death.

Limiting death penalty to drug-related offenses, a weak law

Majority Leader Rudy Farinas said some lawmakers want to limit the death 
penalty to drug-related cases.

Anti-crime group Volunteers against Crime and Corruption (VACC), however, do 
not agree to proposed limitations to the bill.

"Hindi maganda yan. That will be tantamount to selective masyado," VACC 
President Dante Jimenez said. "Kung illegal drugs lang iyan, ay napakalambot at 
napaka-mababaw masyado sa amin." [That's not good. That will be tantamount to 
becoming so selective. If it's limited to illegal drugs, then it's so weak and 
shallow for us.]

Amnesty International, however, is all against the revival of death penalty.

The group said the re-introduction of the death penalty would be a major 
setback in the promotion of human rights.

"Regardless of the crime hindi kami naniniwala na ang death penalty ay 
tumutugon sa obligasyon ng pamahalaan na i-respeto, protektahan, at i-fulfill 
ang mga karapatang pantao," Amnesty International Philippines Chairman Ritzlee 
Santos said. "Hindi kami naniniwala na death penalty will deter crime"

[Translation: Regardless of the crime, we don't believe that death penalty 
would respond to the government's obligations to respect, protect, and fulfill 
human rights. We don't think that death penalty would deter crime.]

The group also said that criminal justice systems are vulnerable to error - 
which could mean executing even those who are wrongly convicted but actually 
innocent.

(source: cnnphilippines.com)

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

Church warns of attempts to railroad death penalty bill


The politically influential Church urged its members on Thursday to resist 
"railroad attempts" to revive the death penalty in the predominantly Catholic 
Philippines, a decade after it was abolished by Congress.

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) asked Catholics to 
closely follow the House of Representatives' deliberations on the death penalty 
bill, which will be tackled in plenary next week after hurdling the committee 
level.

President Duterte, who controls numbers in the House, has vowed to bring back 
capital punishment in the Philippines as part of his war on illegal drugs, 
which has so far left thousands dead since he assumed power on June 30.

"Let us show our opposition to capital punishment and be in the House gallery 
from Dec. 12 to 14, 4 p.m. onwards as a show of support for our antideath 
penalty congressmen champions," said Rodolfo Diamante, executive director of 
the CBCP's Episcopal Commission on Prison Pastoral Care.

A bill calling for the revival of capital punishment was approved at the 
committee level on Wednesday, with a vote of 12-6 and 1 abstention. This means 
that it may be possibly passed on 3rd and final reading before Christmas.

Sanctity of human life

Diamante said Catholics as "right-minded individuals who believe in the 
sanctity of human life and the dignity of every person" should all "stand up 
and resist this railroad attempt to pass this antilife and antipoor measure."

"Let us make a more forceful stand against the death penalty. Now more than 
ever, we need to act fast and swiftly to counteract the prevailing culture of 
death in our society," he said.

He added that the measure was antipoor and violated international agreements 
against capital punishment that the Philippines has signed.

Vice President Leni Robredo, who this week resigned from the Duterte cabinet, 
has emerged as one of the leading voices against the death penalty.

She told the Inquirer on Thursday that Mr. Duterte's allies in the House 
"hurried" the approval of the bill.

"It appears that it was done in haste only to grant what the President wants," 
Robredo said.

House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, reacting to Robredo, argued that the 
Philippines was practically the only Asian country that bans capital 
punishment. He said even the United States imposes the death penalty.

He stressed that the 1987 Constitution itself stated that the death penalty may 
be restored for heinous crimes, arguing that the charter overrides any 
international protocol.

(source: inquirer.net)