[Deathpenalty] death penalty news---worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 17



NIGERIA:

ECOWAS Court adjourns death row case against FG


The Community Court of Justice (ECOWAS Court) on Wednesday adjourned till March 
14 a case filed by Nnenna Obi, a prisoner on death row in Enugu, against the 
Federal Government.

Obi had been on death row since 2005.

The case, which was brought before the court in August 2015, was also filed on 
behalf of other death row prisoners, and challenged the provisions for the 
death penalty in Nigeria.

Justice Chijioke Nwoke, who presided over the case, recalled that the case was 
fixed for hearing on January 19, 2015 but adjourned till February 17.

Nwoke emphasised that the adjourned date would be the final opportunity to hear 
the application of the defendants.

"The matter came up again January 19, 2016; the court adjourned for today and 
today, the case is reluctantly adjourned to March 14 for definite hearing.

"We will give them one last opportunity to appear before the court and if they 
are not here by the adjourned date, we will hear their application and 
adjourn," he said.

Obi in the suit stated that her conviction for murder by the High Court of 
Anambra allegedly violated her fundamental rights to life and dignity.

She said that the violations were against the constitution and the African 
Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights.

The plaintiff in the application asked the court to declare that the provision 
of the death penalty in Nigeria was inconsistent with the provisions of the 
1993 ECOWAS Revised Treaty.

She urged the court to declare that the death penalty was inconsistent with the 
provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The plaintiff also urged the court to declare that the death penalty was 
inconsistent with other laws and treaty relating to the right to freedom from 
torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.

She asked the court to declare that the death sentence for anyone convicted of 
murder or armed robbery under the constitution and the criminal code were 
violations of the rights of inmates as ECOWAS citizens.

The application also sought an order to direct the government to reconsider her 
sentence and those of other death row inmates.

(source: pmnewsnigeria.com)






BELARUS:

Statement by the Spokesperson on a new death sentence in Belarus


A death sentence was handed down on 16 February 2016 to Sergei Khmelevsky by a 
Minsk Regional Court. Mr. Khmelevsky's legal right to appeal should be fully 
guaranteed.

Mr. Khmelevsky was convicted of a serious crime and we extend our deepest 
sympathy to the family and friends of the victims.

The EU opposes the use of death penalty, a cruel punishment, which fails to act 
as a deterrent. We call on Belarus, the only country in Europe still applying 
capital punishment, to join a global moratorium as a first step towards the 
abolition of death penalty. Commuting the sentences of persons sentenced to 
death and launching a public debate on the death penalty with Belarusian 
society would be an important move in this regard.

(source: eeas.europa.eu)