[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Dec. 17




PHILIPPINES:

Senate minority bloc to oppose death penalty bills


The Senate minority bloc composed of 3 senators will oppose legislative 
proposals seeking to restore capital punishment, Minority Leader Ralph Recto 
said.

The minority bloc is composed of Recto, and Senators Antonio Trillanes IV and 
Francis "Chiz" Escudero.

Recto said the approval of the death penalty bills in the Senate "will be 
difficult" but he is keeping an open mind about the proposals.

"Fundamentally, I'm against the death penalty" Recto said.

There are at least 7 bills pending before the Senate justice and human rights 
committee seeking to reimpose the death penalty. 3 of the 7 bills were filed by 
Senator Manny Pacquiao, a close ally of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Senator Richard Gordon, chairman of the panel, had said that he is against the 
death penalty.

Liberal Party (LP) senators will also oppose death penalty proposals, Senate 
President Pro Tempore Franklin Drilon earlier said.

Aside from Drilon, the LP senators are Paolo Benigno "Bam" Aquino IV, Francis 
"Kiko" Pangilinan, Ralph Recto, and Leila de Lima. Senator Risa Hontiveros of 
the Akbayan Party meanwhile is a close ally of the party.

The House versions of the death penalty bills have already hurdled the 
committee level.

Majority Leader Rodolfo Farinas claimed that 50 % of the "supermajority" 
supported the measure, while only 15 % opposed it and 35 % were undecided.

(source: gmanetwork.com)






IRAN----executions

6 Prisoners Hanged For Drug Charges


6 prisoners were executed for drug charges in Karaj (west of Tehran) Thursday 
morning Dcember 15.

According to Iran Human Rights (IHR) sources, 5 of the prisoners were hanged in 
the Central Prison of Karaj. The prisoners are identified as Behzad Lazemi, 
Mostafa Gholami, Fardin Sabzi, Mehdi Kaeni and Saeed Faramarzi from the 
sections 4, 5, 2, 3 and 3 respectively.

On Wednesday IHR reported about the transfer of 4 of these prisoners for 
execution.

The website of the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported about 
the execution of one prisoner on Wednesday December 14. The prisoner who was 
identified as Mohammad Hossein Beheshti was charged with possession of drugs.

A source close to Mohammad Hossein said that besides being sentenced to death 
for drug offences, he had also been held in Rajaishahr prison for 23 years 
charged with murder. But the execution was for his drug charges.

Drug related executions continue in Iran despite the fact that the Iranian 
Parliament recently passed a law with the aim of limiting the use of the death 
penalty for drug charges. The law has to be approved by the Guardian Council 
and it is not clear whether t will actually lead to a reduction in the number f 
drug related executions.

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

Prisoner Executed on Drug Charges


A prisoner sentenced to death on drug related charges was reportedly executed 
at Bandar Abbas Central Prison (Hormozgan province, southern Iran) on Thursday 
December 15, according to close sources.

Close sources identify the prisoner as 39-year-old Behzad Salimkord. About 4 
years ago, Mr. Salimkord was sentenced to death by branch 2 of the 
Revolutionary Court in Bandar Abbas for the charge of possessing and 
trafficking 2 kilograms of crystal meth and 250 grams of opium.

Mr. Salimkord was reportedly transferred to solitary confinement 2 days ago in 
preparation for his execution, and was permitted a visit with his wife and 2 
young children.

"Behzad worked in a brick factory for 11 years to pay off the house we lived 
in. He eventually lost his job and we weren't able to pay for the house for 3 
months, so he went to Bandar Abbas to find work. Behzad said that the drugs he 
was charged for weren't his. Behzad didn't even smoke cigarettes. He hated 
drugs. Nonetheless, they executed him on drug charges," says a relative of Mr. 
Salimkord.

Iranian official sources, including the media and Judiciary, have been silent 
on Behzad Salimkord's execution.

Iran Human Rights (IHR) has received reports from local sources about the 
execution of two other prisoners at Bandar Abbas Central Prison this week. 
However, IHR has not been able to confirm these reports at this time.

Secret executions for drug related charges continue in Iran even though the 
Iranian Parliament recently passed a law to want to limit the use of the death 
penalty for drug charges. The law has to be approved by Iran's Guardian 
Council, and it is not clear whether it will actually lead to a reduction in 
the number of drug related executions. Additionally, members of parliament 
recently wrote a letter to the head of the Judiciary calling for the execution 
of about 5,000 prisoners sentenced to death on drug related charges to be 
quashed pending investigation into their charges.

(source for both: Iran Human Rights)






EGYPT----execution

Egypt Executes Habara Amid Vengeance Threats


Egyptian authorities executed a death sentence against Abel Habara, the leader 
of the ISIS-affiliated Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (ABM) group, for his role in the 
"2nd Rafah Massacre" that killed 25 soldiers in an ambush in North Sinai in 
August 2013.

Habara was executed after Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi ratified the 
death warrant according to the law.

Earlier, Habara was taken from his cell at the secured Scorpion jail in Cairo 
to the Court of Cassation. Habara was hanged in the presence of judicial 
officials.

However, Egyptian authorities fear a wave of revenge threats could ignite in 
retaliation of Habara's execution.

Mohammed Noureddine, the former assistant to the minister of interior told 
Asharq Al-Awsat: "Executing the death penalty should eventually be followed by 
strict security measures and preventive strikes against the organization in 
north Sinai, to prevent the organization or the family of the terrorist from 
launching any terrorist acts."

A security source told Asharq Al-Awsat that Egypt placed a high-alert security 
status in all establishments, particularly following last week's explosion that 
targeted a chapel linked to the Coptic Christian cathedral, leaving several 
people killed and at least 49 injured, mostly women and children.

Habara received several death penalties in different cases. The most prominent 
case is related to the "2nd Rafah massacre" of 2013, when Habara was involved 
in the killing of 25 police recruits in an ambush on a police convoy in the Abu 
Tawila region.

In June 2014, Habara attempted to escape detention while in a transportation 
vehicle from the police academy to prison.

Separately, Egypt's Ministry of Civil Aviation announced on Thursday that 
traces of explosives were found on the remains of the victims of the EgyptAir 
MS804 plane that crashed on May 19, killing the 66 passengers on board.

A forensic investigation conducted in Egypt issued a report on Thursday 
concerning the victims of the plane crash. It said traces of explosives were 
found on some of the victims' body parts. Some officials considered the report 
an important sign that could uncover the mystery surrounding the causes which 
made the plane plunge into the Mediterranean Sea.

(source: aawsat.com)






TRINIDAD & TOBAGO:

To hang or not to hang


The scourge of heinous crimes plaguing the country in recent times has resulted 
in a return to the debate on the death penalty as the question of to hang or 
not to hang once more takes centre stage in the national arena.

The discourse has assumed a somewhat unusual dimension, pitting Catholic 
Archbishop Joseph Harris against one of his priests, Fr Ian Taylor.

Fr Taylor has vociferously called for a return to the hangman's noose while 
delivering a sermon at the Roman Catholic church in Tunapuna. Referring to the 
recent murder of Shannon Banfield, he explained to the congregation that 
hanging was the right of the State.

Fr Taylor affirmed that if the death penalty was needed to protect citizens 
then the State should implement it with the knowledge that "God has given the 
State the right to take life if you murder".

Fr Taylor's call triggered a strong rebuke from the Archbishop who insisted 
that "capital punishment was seen as an offence against the inviolability of 
life and the dignity of the human person which contradicts God's "plan for man 
and society, and his merciful justice, impedes the penalty from fulfilling any 
just objective".

The Archbishop's position may be linked to that of Pope John Paul II who 
contended that "we live in a culture of death". The late pontiff underscored 
the RC Church's opposition to birth control, in-vitro fertilisation, abortion, 
euthanasia, stem-cell research and the death penalty, which for him amounted to 
human interference in life and death processes that were solely the domain of 
God.

In Trinidad and Tobago, the issue of the death penalty has been as contentious 
as that of abortion and same-sex orientation. Successive governments have been 
reluctant to legislate on abortion and same-sex orientation. However, the death 
penalty is the law but politicians have steadfastly refused to implement it.

The reason for this may be two-fold. First, there may be a fear of political 
backlash from a society where a high percentage of the electorate is Roman 
Catholic. Secondly, there has been considerable pressure from regional and 
international organisations to abolish the death penalty.

The last hanging took place in 1999 under the Basdeo Panday administration when 
nine persons were hanged including the infamous Dole Chadee. That same year T&T 
withdrew from the American Convention on Human Rights.

Neither the Manning-led People's National Movement (PNM) administration nor the 
People's Partnership headed by Kamla Persad-Bissessar has implemented the death 
penalty.

1 year ago, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi indicated his intention to 
re-introduce hangings but this has not been forthcoming. His statement followed 
the Caribbean Regional Conference on Abolition of the Death Penalty hosted by 
the European Union in conjunction with the British High Commission in Guyana. 
Abolitionist groups from Europe and the Caribbean came together to determine 
whether the death penalty works as a deterrent and to discuss the experiences 
of other countries in abolishing the death penalty.

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the Caribbean Court of Justice, the 
Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, the UN Human Rights Committee and the Judicial 
Committee of the Privy Council, which is the traditional Court of Appeal for 
Commonwealth countries, have all taken steps to restrict and reduce the 
application of the death penalty across the Caribbean.

Collectively these organisations have successfully limited the amount of time a 
person can spend on death row. In addition, a number of legal cases have 
addressed the issue, including the contentious Privy Council ruling in Pratt 
and Morgan (1994), Lewis v The Attorney General of Jamaica (2001) and the 
decision of the Caribbean Court of Justice in Joseph and Boyce (2005).

Most people in T&T seem to be in favour of the death penalty, which suggests 
that many Catholics actually support it. The religious justification seems 
untenable given the terrible spate of atrocious crimes claiming innocent 
victims.

In addition to an escalating homicide rate, citizens are now faced with 
increased kidnappings, human trafficking and rape. Women seem to be the main 
target though a high percentage of the murder victims are men.

Yet, the question of whether to hang or not to hang continues to rage as moral 
arguments fly to and fro on whether State-sanctioned killing is the solution to 
murder. Moreover, it is uncertain whether the death penalty is actually a 
deterrent to crime.

The upsurge of crime may be attributed to the drug trade which is linked to 
youth delinquency and gangs as well as poor parenting and domestic violence. 
There is also the problem of white collar crimes involving the police and 
politicians among others.

Unless these issues are addressed, imposing the death penalty can hardly 
resolve the problem.

(source: Editorial, Trinidad Express)


PAKISTAN:

Most Executions in Pakistan Unrelated to Terrorism----Report finds several 
cases of wrongful execution following resumption of death penalty 2 years ago.

2 years after Islamabad ended its 6-year moratorium on capital punishment 
following the Pakistani Taliban's attack on Peshawar's Army Public School, a 
new report has found that the majority of those hanged were not convicted on 
terrorism charges.

On Dec. 16, 2014, heavily armed militants targeted the Army Public School, 
killing over 150 people - mostly schoolchildren. Following the attack, 
Islamabad enacted a National Action Plan (NAP) against terrorism, and ended a 
moratorium on the death penalty, promising to only execute those convicted of 
"lethal" and "terrorist" offenses. A report compiled by non-governmental 
organization Justice Project Pakistan has found little evidence of this.

In its report, JPP found that of the 419 executions performed thus far, only 16 
percent were linked to terrorism. Even among those convicted of "terrorism," it 
states, 88 % had "no link to a terrorist organization or anything that can 
reasonably be defined as terrorism." Terming the executions a "dishonor" to the 
memory of the APS victims in whose names they were resumed, the report says 
there has been little visible impact on curbing the menace that led to their 
deaths.

Instead, the report notes, there have been several cases of "wrongful execution 
such as juveniles, the mentally ill and the physically disabled" - convicts who 
are exempt from capital punishment under Pakistan's international legal 
obligations.

"JPP will always stand with the families of those affected by terrorism, and 
hopes that their sacrifice is honored appropriately," says Sarah Belal, 
executive director of the organization, "This cannot be the case if Pakistan 
continues to wrongfully execute innocent individuals, juveniles and persons 
with mental and physical disabilities."

According to the report, Pakistan remained the 3rd most prolific executioner in 
the world in 2016 - behind only Iran and Saudi Arabia. China is excluded from 
this ranking, as it keeps executions a state secret. By some estimates, 
Pakistan has over 8,000 people on death row - likely due to the 27 crimes that 
carry the death penalty, belying international obligations that require capital 
punishment to be reserved for "the most serious crimes."

JPP claims Pakistan's flawed criminal justice system is largely to blame, as it 
lacks a meaningful appellate process and habitually perpetuates miscarriages of 
justice. While noting that NAP's stated desire to revamp and reform the 
criminal justice system is laudable, JPP points out that implementation of this 
goal remains ineffectual. "In October, the Supreme Court acquitted 2 brothers 
in Bahawalpur after they spent 11 years on death row, only to find they had 
already been executed the year before. Another prisoner was found innocent a 
year after he had been found dead in his cell," it says, adding that condemned 
prisoners spend an average of 11.41 years on death row.

Pakistan has little choice but to ensure it is in compliance with international 
obligations if it wants to retain duty free access to the European market - a 
key trade requirement - under its coveted GSP Plus status. Next year, Islamabad 
faces a series of U.N. reviews on its adherence to its international legal 
commitments such as the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights. 
The E.U. has already warned that failure to comply with such conventions could 
lead to suspension of the GSP Plus status. With its broad application of the 
death penalty - and string of wrongful executions - Islamabad may soon face a 
rude awakening if it doesn't implement reforms promised under NAP.

(source: newsweekpakistan.com)

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

Several 'wrongful executions' since lifting of death penalty moratorium: JPP


Only 16% of the executions carried out since December 2014 were related to 
terrorism, Justice Project Pakistan (JPP) claimed on Saturday.

The moratorium on death penalty was lifted following the gruesome attack on 
Peshwar's Army Public School (APS) that left 150 people dead, mostly pupils. 
The decision to lift the moratorium was taken under the National Action Plan 
(NAP) against terrorism.

An analysis of 419 executions 2 years since the attack revealed significant 
flaws in the narrative as several of the cases had no link with a terrorist 
organisation or terrorism, JPP said in a statement.

Army chief signs death warrants of 13 terrorists

The remainder, it further claimed, included several cases of 'wrongful 
executions' of juveniles, the mentally ill and the physically disabled, 
contradicting Pakistan's international legal obligations.

While the government remained adamant that only those convicted of terrorism 
would be executed, the moratorium for all capital crimes was lifted just 3 
months later in March, 2015. The move was widely projected by the state as the 
only effective means of fighting terrorism, the statement added.

The NAP had correctly observed that there was a need to "revamp and reform 
Pakistan's criminal justice system" but no significant effort has been made to 
do this so far, it read.

Pakistan carries out more executions despite protests

Pakistan has retained its status of being the third most prolific executioner 
in the world t2 years in a row. The faulty legal infrastructure remains 
inaccessible, corrupt, mired in red tape, beholden to power and usurped by 
influence and wealth, creating a permissive environment for the routine 
miscarriage of justice, the statement read.

(source: The Express Tribune)






INDIA:

Surinder Koli gets 7th death sentence in Nithari case


A special CBI court in Ghaziabad on Friday awarded death sentence to Nithari 
serial killer Surinder Koli in yet another rape-murder case. Earlier, the court 
on Wednesday held him guilty for the murder of 11-year-old Nisha in 2006. This 
is the 7th case in which Koli has been held guilty. He was awarded the death 
sentence in all previous 6 cases.

"The CBI court awarded death sentence to Surinder Koli for the murder of Nisha. 
This is the 7th death penalty given to him," said J P Sharma, public 
prosecutor.

. Koli was booked under 5 sections of the IPC. While breaking down the quantum 
of punishment, Sharma said: "He has been given the death sentence under Section 
302 (punishment for murder) of IPC along with sections 376 (punishment for 
rape) and 511 (punishment for attempting to commit offences punishable with 
imprisonment for life or other imprisonment) where he has been awarded 10 years 
of imprisonment. Under 364 (kidnapping or abducting in order to murder) he gets 
another 7 years of imprisonment and under Section 201 (causing disappearance of 
evidence) another seven years of imprisonment." A fine of Rs 35,000 has also 
been slapped on him.

Surender Koli has been charged in 19 cases out of which CBI filed a closure 
report in three for want of evidence but even after that it leaves 16 cases 
against Koli. Out of 16 cases, the CBI court has held Koli guilty in seven 
cases including Nisha case. The court in 6 earlier cases had awarded death 
sentence to him but the Allahabad high court in January last year had commuted 
death sentence to life imprisonment in Rimpa Haldar case. This led to UP 
government filing a plea in Supreme Court challenging the high court order's 
decision of commuting death sentence to life imprisonment. There are still 9 
cases against Koli in CBI court that is in trial stage.

(source: The Times of India)

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

Court has heard me at length, says counsel for December 16 convicts


The counsel for 2 of the death row convicts said he was happy with the 
direction in which things were moving and was all praises for the way the 
Supreme Court had been hearing the case. This despite their appeals against 
conviction and death sentence being pending for 2 years now.

Advocate A. P. Singh, the counsel for Vinay and Akshay, said he was more than 
happy with the way the apex court had been hearing him and the Amicus Curiae.

'No grudges'

"I have absolutely no grudges. Our death sentence was stayed in 2014, but the 
Supreme Court has been hearing our appeals on a day-to-day basis, even on a 
Saturday. The court has heard me at length on various aspects, including 
evidence," he said.

Asked about media reports that cited his unhappiness with the apex court 
appointing senior advocates Raju Ramachandrana and Sanjay Hegde as Amicus 
Curiae in the case, Mr. Singh said, "They are assisting the court in the best 
possible manner. I have no complaints."

Vibhor Anand, the counsel for Ram Singh - who committed suicide in Tihar Jail - 
and his brother Mukesh before the trial court, said, "They are doing a great 
job."

"The Amicus Curiae are pointing out lacunae in the prosecution case," said Mr. 
Anand.

Interestingly, the December 16 case is one where all lawyers in the district 
court staged a protest and declared that they would not represent the accused.

Only later did advocate M. L. Sharma, A. P. Singh and Vibhor Anand volunteer to 
represent the five adult accused. Mr. Sharma and Mr. Singh also made statements 
saying that girls themselves were responsible for their safety.

4 years later, the apex court appointed Amicus Curiae to assist it in hearing 
the appeals filed by convicts, saying they were not represented properly and 
needed to be defended by more experienced criminal lawyers to ensure they are 
not denied justice.

Procedural lapses?

Akshay, Mukesh, Vinay and Pawan were handed the death sentence in September 
2013 by a trial court. Their sentence was confirmed by the high court in March 
2014. The Supreme Court stayed the sentence in July 2014. The hearing on their 
appeals, however, began only in April this year.

The amicus curiae told the Supreme Court that there were many procedural lapses 
in the trial of the 4 men and that the death sentence was awarded as 1 penalty 
fits all. According to them, the evidence does not show that the men had 
conspired to commit the crime.

(soure: The Hindu)