[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 7



NIGERIA:

NBA Chair Advocates Death Penalty For Corrupt Public Officers


The chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) Ilorin branch ,Barrister 
Mansuma Issa has advocated capital punishment for any public officer found 
guilty of corruption.

He noted that countries like Singapore, China ,Taiwan ,Vietnam and South Korea 
which had adopted death penalty have succeeded in the fight against corruption.

Mansuma made the suggestion during an interview with newsmen in Ilorin, Kwara 
state.

The NBA chairman said the association is in support of the anti- corruption war 
of President Muhammadu Buhari's administration. He lamented that funds that 
should ordinarily be spent on the health,education,agricultural sectors and 
terrorism were diverted to individuals pockets, stating that offenders either 
caught for capital or simple offenses should be treated in accordance with the 
law.

He said that the Nigerian judiciary was still operating in the pre-independence 
era and in colonial courts where judges still write in long hands. Mansuma 
appealed to the federal and state governments to provide the judiciary with 
verbatim recording machines to ease their assignments.

He bemoaned the deteriorating condition of the Nigerian prisons and called on 
the government to improve the condition of the prisons which he said, 
ordinarily, should serve as reformatory homes.

(source: lealdership.ng)






MALAWI:

Ritual murders of people with albinism must end


The killing of a woman with albinism in Malawi highlights the government's 
shocking failure to protect the right to life and personal security of this 
vulnerable minority, said Amnesty International.

The mutilated body of Eunice Phiri, a 53-year-old woman with albinism, was 
found on 28 January in the Kasungu National Park. Her arms had been cut off - a 
practice common with ritual murders where people with albinism are killed for 
their body parts which are sold for use in witchcraft.

"It is deeply worrying that there's poor security for people with albinism in 
Malawi despite an increasing number of attacks against them," said Deprose 
Muchena, Amnesty International's Director for Southern Africa.

"The government's human rights obligations require them to protect everyone's 
right to life. They must ensure that the police have the resources to protect 
those at risk of attacks."

These crimes must be investigated and those suspected of responsibility brought 
to justice without recourse to the death penalty.

In 2015 alone, 45 incidents including killings and attempted killings, and 
abductions and attempted abductions, as well as opening of the graves of people 
with albinism were reported by activists in Malawi. Some of those who were 
abducted have never been seen again.

Attacks against people with albinism by individuals and gangs increased sharply 
in 2015. Children were withdrawn from schools by their families fearing 
attacks.

In November 2015, Amnesty International researchers met people with albinism 
and their families who described how they live in constant fear of attacks and 
abuses. Some had to move from rural to urban areas for their own safety.

"The government must take urgent action to protect people with albinism and to 
address the root cause of the violence and discrimination they suffer," said 
Deprose Muchena.

"They must also take steps to ensure that superstitions and harmful cultural 
beliefs which fuel the attacks are tackled."

Background

According to police information, Eunice Phiri was tricked by three men, 
including her brother, into accompanying them on a trip to Zambia through the 
Kasungu National Park where she was killed and her body dismembered on 23 
January 2016.

Erroneous beliefs and superstition have put the safety and lives of people with 
albinism at risk, including from killings, abductions, and mutilations.

On 19 March 2015, Malawian President Peter Mutharika issued a statement 
condemning attacks on people with albinism, and called on police to arrest 
perpetrators and provide protection to people at risk of attack.

Although some arrests were made, concerns remain about the inadequacy of police 
investigations and some perpetrators getting sentences which were not in line 
with the gravity of the crime.

(source: Editorial, Maravi Post)






TANZANIA:

19 face death penalty over albino killings in Tanzania


19 people have been sentenced to death after being convicted of killing 
albinos, the Tanzanian government has confirmed.

Home Affairs Deputy Minister, Hamad Yusuf Masauni told Anadolu Agency on 
Saturday that the convicted are among 133 people arrested and charged with 
killing people with albinism from 2006 to 2015.

"Other albino attacks and killings cases are in different stages in different 
courts countrywide," the minister said in a telephone interview from Dodoma, 
Tanzania's administrative capital.

Masauni said at least 75 people with albinism have been killed in Tanzania 
since 2006, while more than 100 people have been attacked and mutilated.

Such attacks are due in large part to widespread superstition in East Africa 
that body parts of people with albinism carry magical powers that witch doctors 
claim to harness, or other beliefs that view albinos as cursed or causing bad 
luck.

Commenting on the plea from people with albinism asking the government to 
implement death penalties for those convicted of the killings, the minister 
said the government is keen on exercising the court's ruling.

"Death penalties have long procedures and processes to be followed before 
implementation. Once we are done with the process, those found guilty will be 
executed," Masauni said.

Last year, the government formed a tripartite committee involving government 
officials, people with albinism, witch doctors who are believed to have a hand 
on albino killings and other stakeholders, as a strategy to combat attacks and 
killings of people with albinism.

The Tanzanian government has also targeted witch doctors, arresting more than 
200 of them in different parts of the country, as part of the fight against 
albino killings.

The government, civil society and various groups including those with albinism 
have also joined hands to prevent attacks through special concerts, radio and 
TV programs in both public and privately owned media outlets.

Apart from Tanzania, albino attacks and killings have also been reported in 
other East African countries, including Burundi and Kenya.

(source: newsfultoncountry.com)






EGYPT:

Egypt court reduces death sentences for 8 convicted in 'Suez Cell' case----The 
case goes back to 2010, when 27 people were charged with planning attacks on 
the Suez Canal but were released due to lack of evidence. They were referred to 
court in November 2013


Cairo Criminal Court reduced Saturday death sentences on 8 convicted of 
terrorist charges to 10 years in prison in the retrial of the "Suez terrorist 
cell" case.

In March 2014, the court sentenced 26 people to death and one to 15 years in 
prison on charges that include planning attacks on ships passing through the 
Suez Canal, manufacturing missiles and explosives to carry out attacks, 
monitoring and planning to attack security targets, and illegal possession of 
guns, automatic rifles, explosives and ammunition.

The case goes back to 2010 when 27 people were charged with planning attacks on 
the Suez Canal. They were released due to lack of evidence. They were referred 
back to court in November 2013.

Since the March 2014 verdict, 6 defendants appealed and 2 others, tried in 
absentia, were arrested. The verdict can be further appealed.

Most of the convicted were tried in absentia, and thus given the maximum 
penalty for their crime - the death sentence.

If the rest of the defendants hand themselves in to the authorities, they can 
also appeal their initial death sentences.

(source: ahramonline.com)