[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Jan. 2



PHILIPPINES:

Government did everything to save OFW from Saudi execution - Palace


The government did everything to save overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Joselito 
Zapanta from execution in Saudi Arabia, contrary to allegations that it was 
remiss in its duties, a Malacanang official said yesterday.

Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. of the Presidential Communications Operations 
Office said all forms of diplomatic and legal assistance were extended to 
Zapanta since he was convicted of murder with robbery by a Riyadh court on 
April 10, 2010.

Coloma said the death sentence on Zapanta was carried out because the family of 
his victim refused to execute an affidavit of forgiveness or tanazul in 
exchange for blood money.

Diplomatic and legal efforts were exhausted to ensure that Zapanta's rights 
were respected, including appeals that had to be made during the trial of his 
case, Coloma said.

The government assisted Zapanta's family members so they could visit him at 
Malaz Central Prison from Nov. 28 to Dec. 2, 2015 and also in November 2012 and 
March 2013.

"So there is no basis and there is no truth to the allegations that Mr. Zapanta 
was not given enough assistance," Coloma said.

He said consulates and embassies are required to provide assistance to Filipino 
workers abroad and that the form and substance of the country's diplomacy were 
changed to focus on their welfare.

He appealed to Filipinos abroad to follow the laws of the states where they are 
staying and avoid criminal activities.

Earlier, Rep. Roy Seneres Sr. of the OFW party-list blamed President Aquino for 
the death of Zapanta, saying he should have appealed to the Saudi king for 
clemency.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) had said executions in Saudi Arabia are 
not announced.

The DFA said the government did everything to save Zapanta from death.

OFW advocate Susan Ople urged the government to review existing policies on 
blood money, considering that there were 90 Filipinos on death row all over the 
world and some of them need blood money.

In Zapanta's case, the government was able to raise P23 million but the family 
of his Sudanese victim refused to accept the money as the demand was reportedly 
P48 million.

Ople proposed the creation of a special unit to handle death penalty and blood 
money cases involving OFWs.

She said a more cohesive and transparent mechanism and policy were needed as 
more OFWs in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are on death row.

OFW's remains buried in Saudi

The remains of Zapanta would not be brought home to the Philippines as the body 
was immediately buried after his execution in Saudi Arabia last week, the DFA 
said.

"He was buried right after his execution based on Saudi law," DFA spokesman 
Charles Jose said in a text message to The STAR.

Zapanta's family asked the DFA for the repatriation of his remains.

"We should respect the laws of other countries the same way we would like our 
laws to be respected by others," Jose said.

The 35-year-old Zapanta was beheaded on Dec. 29 in Saudi Arabia for the murder 
of his Sudanes employer.

However, in Bacolor, Pampanga, the family of Zapanta urged President Aquino to 
talk to the Saudi king so that his remains could be flown home soon.

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

Erap to endorse presidential bet based on death penalty stance


The stand of presidential wannabes in the May elections on the proposed 
reimposition of the death penalty for drug offenders would be among his bases 
for endorsing a candidate, Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada said on Thursday.

Estrada, who led the countdown for New Year 2016 at Rajah Sulayman on Roxas 
Boulevard, said that the re-imposition of the death penalty should be included 
in the platform of presidential candidates.

"We must all do something about the country's problem on illegal drugs. We must 
not allow our country to become another Colombia," he said.

"This is too much. I will endorse the presidential candidate whose stand on the 
re-imposition of the death penalty jibes with mine," Estrada said.

He said illegal drugs have affected thousands of young Filipinos on whose 
talents and skills the country depends.

Estrada also urged all local and national government officials to join forces 
to control the proliferation of illegal drugs in the country, specifically in 
Metro Manila.

Estrada said the drug menace has become so serious that it needs the concerted 
effort of local and national government officials.

He said that illegal drugs, which have affected 92 % of barangays in Metro 
Manila, is now threatening the "moral fiber" of the youth.

(source for both: The Philippine Star)

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

Church leaders, De Lima slam Duterte's disrespect for human rights, stand on 
death penalty


Members of the clergy have slammed presidential aspirant Davao City Mayor 
Rodrigo Duterte over his plan to revive the death penalty once he becomes 
president.

Retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz said he was shocked upon hearing about the plan, 
noting that reviving the death penalty by public hanging is against human life 
and not anymore attuned with the time.

"This is very shocking. At this age and time, doing these atrocities, which are 
against human life, is a pity precisely because civilization has already moved 
forward. In short, they seemed to have been born too late and the times of the 
barbarians are gone," said the Catholic prelate in an interview.

He added, "I don't agree with Mayor Duterte as far as taking human life so 
cheaply, so likely as if it is just getting rid of mosquitoes, getting rid of 
rats and the like. I'm sorry, I hope I'm wrong."

EFFECTIVE LAW ENFORCEMENT

Cruz said he is saddened that "there will be a candidate of this kind during 
this century."

On the other hand, Fr. Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of the Catholic 
Bishops' Conference of the Philippines-Public Affairs Committee (CBCP-PAC), 
opined that the presidential aspirant is misinformed that the death penalty 
prevents crimes.

"Duterte is misled into thinking that death penalty deters crimes. You do not 
deter crimes by hanging criminals. You deter crimes by having efficient and 
effective law enforcers, incorruptible judges and lawyers and strict and 
fearless prison administrators," he said.

"On impulse, it appears that killing criminals is effective. But if criminals 
believe that they can buy their freedom, of what use then is the death penalty? 
Reforming our criminal justice system is the ultimate solution to crimes," 
Secillano added.

Duterte earlier aired his plan to revive the death penalty and the public 
hanging of convicted criminals in the early part of his administration if he is 
elected president.

He would ask Congress to restore the death penalty by public hanging.

NO RIGHT TO LEAD

Meanwhile, senatorial aspirant former Justice Secretary Leila De Lima said 
Duterte has no right to lead the country because he shows no respect for human 
rights.

If a person has no respect for human rights, De Lima, the former chairperson of 
the Commission of Human Rights said that person also has no respect for the 
law.

"Digong Duterte keeps on advocating for that brand of justice. I continue to 
fight him because that is wrong. Hindi po tama 'yon (That (killing) is not 
right," De Lima told a recent gathering in Dagupan City.

"I have nothing personal against Mayor Duterte. He's a fellow Bedan. But I am 
puzzled because despite his unlawful pronouncements, some people tend to agree 
with him and embrace what he is saying," De Lima said.

"Is it right to have to force a criminal or an offender to eat bullets? Is it 
not barbaric?" she asked, recalling that she had in fact asked the National 
Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to investigate Duterte and issued to the latter a 
subpoena in connection with the summary killings of street criminals by 
supposed members of the so-called Davao Death Squad (DDS).

NO WHISTLEBLOWERS

She admitted that even if the DOJ and NBI believe that there is really a group 
such as the DDS and which is linked to Duterte, they found difficulty 
convincing people in Davao willing to execute sworn statements about the 
reported summary killings.

De Lima said the latest is that a special team from the NBI has a 
self-confessed DDS member in its custody whom it placed under the Witness 
Protection Program (WPP) but the team is still gathering corroborative evidence 
to pin down the DDS to some of the summary killings.

As to Duterte's pronouncement that he would advocate public hanging for people 
found guilty of heinous crimes, De Lima reminded Duterte that the Philippines 
has no death penalty now.

Even if the Constitution says that death penalty could be reinstated, it is in 
the hands of Congress if this is reinstated.

(source: Manila Bulletin)






INDIA:

Why the death penalty should stay


If acts of barbarism are committed in this day and age, why should the 
punishment not be commensurate?

Recently, we have witnessed a lot of debate pertaining to abolishing capital 
punishment. The detractors of death penalty term it as obsolete, barbaric and 
an uncivilised act unworthy of a country like ours. The law as it stands today 
however provides for capital punishment to be awarded by Courts in rarest of 
rare cases.

Law is meant to protect the rights of citizens, ensure their safety, well being 
and treat everyone equally without discrimination. Indian law recognises the 
right to life as a general rule and death penalty is a remote exception to this 
general rule.

While we as a nation we protect and respect life, we do, in exceptional cases, 
provide for a law which awards death penalty in cases where the gravity of an 
offence shakes the conscience of the society. An important function of law, and 
perhaps above any other, is to impart justice. The rule of law in a civilised 
society is linked to the concept of justice. The efficacy of a legal system is 
equated and measured accordingly.

Are we ready?

The concept of justice is perhaps a fundamental non-derogable part of natural 
law. The purpose of a legal system is not only to protect the citizens and tell 
right from wrong, but also to ensure that the people see and feel that the 
cause of justice will be upheld, that wrong will be punished and that 
punishment will be commensurate to the gravity of the offence in question.

When we talk of abolishing death penalty and indulge in an intellectual debate 
on the issue, a question which arises is whether India is ready for such a 
measure.

There is some strength in the reasons put forth for those against capital 
punishment. Those who advocate abolishing the death penalty do cite a growing 
international trend where a number of countries have done away with capital 
punishment from their statute books.

However, to find out whether we as a nation ought to follow suit, one need not 
look too far to answer that question.

In December 2012, a young girl, who was travelling with her male friend, was 
ravaged and gangraped by a group of 6 in the middle of a bustling metro, in a 
moving bus.

Not only this, an active attempt to kill her is made and she is left to die on 
the streets. Within a few days she succumbed to the trauma.

Now that the perpetrators of this ghastly bestiality have been apprehended, a 
pertinent question to ask would be, what punishment should be imposed that 
would be proportionate to the ghastly crime committed, should these 
perpetrators finally be held guilty?

Commensurate penalty

Should these perpetrators be allowed to languish in a prison for life at the 
expense of the Indian tax payers? What punishment would do justice to the girl 
who lost her life in a most brutal manner? What would serve the ends of justice 
for a nation whose mind and spirit has been scarred forever? What justice 
should be done to those who tarnished the reputation of the nation before the 
global community?

For those who say death penalty is an obsolete measure and a relic, it may be 
worth noting that this incident did not take place in 1912 or in the immediate 
post independence era, say in 1952. It took place in December 2012. If acts of 
barbarism may be committed in this day and age, why should the punishment not 
be commensurate?

The incident did not take place in some remote village in the rural interiors, 
it took place in the heart of India's capital city. It took place at a time 
when the leader of one of the largest regional parties in India goes on record 
while talking of rape saying that "boys will be boys, they make mistakes". It 
took place at a time when we talk of development and globalisation. It took 
place at a time when India and China are looked upon as future economic 
superpowers.

Take another example, that of a dreaded terrorist who mercilessly gunned down 
hundreds of people at a railway station, in an attempt, albeit unsuccessful, to 
strike terror in the hearts and minds of the Indian citizens. Would it serve 
the ends of justice to keep him alive in some Indian prison? Is even the most 
liberal of thinkers contemplating reforming this terrorist? Is it worth 
spending crores a year to provide for his security?

Will the families of those innocent individuals who were massacred get closure 
knowing that he is alive and well in some Indian jail, while their lives have 
been abruptly and permanently derailed? Will the ordinary citizen repose faith 
in the efficacy of a legal system which allows such an eventuality?

Above all, are we willing to risk another hijack akin to that of Indian 
airlines flight IC 814 and another Kandahar just in an effort to keep these 
dangerous terrorists alive in an Indian prison? Are we willing to condemn more 
innocent individuals to a fate like that of Rupen Katyal who was brutally 
murdered by the hijackers of IC 814 while seeking the release of the dreaded 
terrorist, Maulana Masood Azhar?

Is the liberal intellectual idealism worth all this? After his release Maulana 
Masood Azhar formed the Jaish-e-Mohommad which has taken responsibility for the 
attacks on Indian Parliament and many other terrorist attacks in India 
resulting in the loss of numerous innocent lives - a case perhaps for 
punishment to be imposed swiftly and decisively to prevent another Kandahar or 
another Masood Azhar from unleashing terror.

Protect we must

While the right to life may be respected, cherished and protected, at the same 
time India's sovereignty, integrity and the well being of its citizen is 
equally in need of protection. It may be naive to suggest that capital 
punishment does not act as a deterrent.

The fear of death does play on the human psychology and it does have a 
deterrent effect. It is, in fact, a message, that India will not take these 
violations lightly and all necessary action will be taken to ensure that the 
rule of law is upheld.

I recently read somewhere that a terrorist who carries out a terror attack does 
not fear death, comes with the mindset to die and that death penalty would not 
be a deterrent for him. Well, one just needs to look at the number of mercy 
petitions filed by terrorists such as Yakub Memon and Afzal Guru in an attempt 
to avoid the death penalty, which will shatter the myth that a terrorist or for 
that matter any wrongdoer would happily embrace death and that death penalty 
does not act as a deterrent.

Capital punishment has its efficacy and ought to be imposed only in the rarest 
of cases in accordance with the procedure prescribed by law. Law has sufficient 
safeguards and checks and balances against misuse and the there are sufficient 
layers of appeal before the sentence can actually be carried out.

The concept of "an eye for an eye makes the world blind" may be true in the 
context of private retributive acts and not where punishment is imposed by the 
State in accordance with the procedure prescribed by law.

(source: The writer is Partner, J Sagar Associates. The views are personal -- 
The Hindu)






BANGLADESH:

Full verdict in Sayedee's review case released


The Supreme Court yesterday released the full judgement of the appeals case of 
condemned war criminal Delawar Hossain Sayedee, delivered nearly 16 months ago.

The release of the full verdict paves way for the state to file a review plea 
seeking death penalty for the war criminal.

Sayedee, known as "Deilya Razakar" in 1971, was given death penalty on two 
counts of crimes against humanity by the International Crimes Tribunal in 2013. 
After the Jamaat-e-Islami leader appealed to the apex court seeking acquittal, 
the Appellate Division delivered the verdict on September 17 last year 
commuting his death sentence to imprisonment until death.

It was a majority judgement by the 5-member bench. Justice Abdul Wahhab Miah 
acquitted Sayedee of all the charges but Justice AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury 
supported the death penalty. On the other hand, then Chief Justice Md Muzammel 
Hossain, (current Chief Justice) Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha and Justice Hasan 
Foez Siddique backed the reduced sentence.

Of the 20 charges brought against him, Sayedee was given death penalty for the 
murders of Ibrahim Kutti and Bisabali, and for setting fire to Hindu households 
in Pirojpur during the war. The Supreme Court reduced Sayedee's death sentence 
in Ibrahim Kutti's murder to imprisonment for 12 years and awarded him 
imprisonment until death on 3 other charges - for murder, rape and forceful 
conversion of Hindus.

6 other charges were also proved beyond doubt but no sentencing followed as he 
had already been given the death penalty.

(source: dhakatribune.com)






PAKISTAN:

The year of most executions


As many as 301 people were executed in the Punjab last year. Thousands of 
prisoners on death row continue to wait for verdicts on their appeals. There 
are at least 5,145 people on death row. Of these, there are 42 women whose 
appeals are pending before the high court and the Supreme Court, sources in the 
office of the Punjab inspector general (prisons) told The Express Tribune.

Recently, 63 appeals against death penalty were dismissed by the president. 
Dates of execution are to be notified soon. There are 4,213 appeals pending in 
the Lahore High Court and its allied benches; 743 in the Supreme Court, 124 
with the president and 3 with the Pakistan Army GHQ.

After the deadly attack on Army Public School in Peshawar on December 16, 2014, 
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had lifted the moratorium on death penalty. The 
first execution was then carried out on April 8 in Machh Jail in Balochistan.

These executions were stayed during a month's reprieve in Ramazan. However, 
they resumed at the end of July.

As many as 301 people were executed in 7 months. Most had been languishing in 
jails for more than 20 years.

Kanizan, a prisoner on death row, has exhausted her appeals and is waiting for 
her turn to be hanged.

She is currently being held at Lahore's Kot Lakhpat Jail. Prison authorities 
have moved her to a psychiatric ward, saying she is not mentally stable. She 
was sentenced to death for killing 6 children and their mother in connivance 
with their father in Toba Tek Singh.

Most of those executed had been convicted of murder over personal enmity, 
kidnapping for ransom, rape and robbery.

Less than 30 people were executed for terrorist activities. Among those 
executed for terrorist activities, 13 were tried under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 
while 12 were hanged after being punished by Field General Court Martial. 8 
people were executed for assassination attempts on former president General (r) 
Pervez Musharraf and 1 person for the attack outside the US Consulate in 
Karachi. A man was hanged for attacking the General Headquarters (GHQ) of the 
Pakistan Army in Rawalpindi.

Among those convicted by Field General Court Martial, three were former 
officials of the Pakistan Air Force, three of Pakistan Army, one was the son of 
a retired army official and one was a sepoy, who had killed a colleague in 
Peshawar Cantt while on duty.

Of the 13 people tried by Anti-Terrorism Courts, 8 belonged to the 
Lashkar-i-Jhangvi. They had been convicted for sectarian killings. 3 among them 
were those who had hijacked a PIA plane from Turbat to Karachi in 1998.

Supreme Court advocate Tipu Salman Makhdoom says the worst in terms of 
executions is yet to come.

"More executions are expected in 2016. This is going to bring a bad name to 
Pakistan," he says.

"People are being hanged over personal enmities, not because of their 
involvement in terrorism. The government should arrest real terrorists, 
establish cases against them and give them exemplary punishment."

(source: The Express Tribune)






SAUDI ARABIA----executions

Saudi Arabia executes prominent Shiite cleric and 46 others in 12 cities


Prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr was among 47 people executed by Saudi 
Arabia on Saturday, triggering an angry response from across the Shiite world, 
including the kingdom's archenemy, Iran.

The official Saudi Press Agency listed Nimr's name among 47 people who were 
executed on Saturday morning in the capital Riyadh and 12 other cities. Some 
were beheaded, others were killed by firing squads, according to Saudi Arabia's 
Interior Ministry.

Nimr, 56, was a key figure in the protests that erupted among Sunni Saudi 
Arabia's Shiite minority in 2011, inspired by the Arab spring revolts elsewhere 
in the region.

The execution risks stirring renewed unrest among Shiites in the kingdom, and 
drew an immediate harsh response from Iran, which has warned in the past that 
carrying out the death sentence on Nimr could cost Saudi Arabia dearly.

It could also ignite unrest in neighboring Bahrain, where widespread protests 
among the country's Shiite majority against the Sunni royal family were quelled 
by Saudi military intervention in 2011. Police in Bahrain fired tear gas to 
disperse several dozen people who took to the streets to protest the execution 
in a village west of the capital Manama, Reuters reported, citing eyewitnesses.

Iran's Foreign Ministry swiftly condemned the execution, calling it "the depth 
of imprudence and irresponsibility" on the part of the Saudi government.

"The Saudi government will pay a heavy price for adopting such policies," said 
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari, according to the semi-official 
Fars news agency.

Nimr's brother, Mohammed al-Nimr, pledged on his Twitter account that the 
pro-democracy movement among Saudi Shiites will continue.

"Wrong, misled and mistaken (are) those who think that the killing will keep us 
from our rightful demands," he tweeted after the execution was announced.

Condemnations also began pouring in from Shiite figures and organizations 
around the region, with a prominent Iranian cleric predicting that 
repercussions of the execution would herald an end to the Saudi royal family.

"I have no doubt that this pure blood will stain the collar of the House of 
Saud and wipe them from the pages of history," Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, a 
member of the Assembly of Experts and a Friday prayer leader, was quoted as 
saying by the Mehr news agency, according to Reuters.

In an angry statement, Lebanon's Hezbollah movement said it held the United 
States and its allies responsible for Nimr's execution, because they are 
"giving direct protection to the Saudi regime."

The execution "will destroy the Saudi dynasty's injustice," the statement said.

"This crime will remain a black mark that will plague the Saudi regime, which 
has been committing massacres since its inception."

In Iraq, there was an outpouring of anger from Shiite leaders and politicians, 
with the influential Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr calling on Shiites in Iraq and 
around the region to take to the streets to protest the execution. He told 
Iraqis to take their demonstrations to the newly re-opened Saudi embassy in 
Baghdad???s fortified Green Zone, which welcomed a new Saudi ambassador to Iraq 
only the day before for the 1st time in nearly 25 years.

Lebanon's Sumeria television later reported that Shiites were staging protests 
in the Shiite city of Karbala demanding that Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi 
close the Saudi embassy.

Yemen's Houthi rebels also denounced the execution on their website, and the 
Lebanese Supreme Shiite Council, the country's top Shiite religious authority, 
called it a "grave mistake."

Iran had earlier warned Saudi Arabia on several occasions not to go ahead with 
the death sentence, first handed down by a court in October 2014.

"Saudi Arabia will pay a heavy price for the execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr," 
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said after an appeals 
court upheld the sentence last October.

Leading Shiite figures around the world had also urged Saudi Arabia not to 
execute the cleric, including the widely influential Ayatollah Ali Sistani, who 
lives in the Iraqi city of Najaf, and the head of Lebanon's Hezbollah militia, 
Hassan Nasrallah.

State television also reported the executions, posting mugshots of all those 
who were executed while playing solemn music, the Associated Press reported.

Nimr was arrested by Saudi security forces in 2012, after being shot in the 
legs during a car chase in the mostly Shiite eastern province of Qatif, where 
the protests had been concentrated.

He had been charged with "instigating unrest and undermining the kingdom's 
security," as well as delivering speeches against the government and defending 
political prisoners.

His nephew, Ali Mohammed al-Nimr, was sentenced last year to death by 
crucifixion for participating in the protests while he was 16 or 17 years old, 
also drawing widespread international condemnation.

Saudi Arabia has carried out at least 157 beheadings in the past year, a record 
number according to human rights groups. Most of the 47 executed on Saturday 
had been convicted for participating in Al Qaeda related attacks in the past 
decade, the Associated Press said. 2 were citizens of Egypt and Chad, and the 
rest were Saudi nationals.

(source: Washington Post)

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

Saudi Arabia executes 47 people, incl prominent Shiite cleric, on terror 
charges


Saudi Arabia has executed 47 people for terrorism, including the prominent 
Shi'ite Muslim cleric Nimr al-Nimr, the Interior Ministry said Saturday. His 
execution has stirred particular outrage among the kingdom's critics, saying 
the cleric's death aims to "set the region on fire."

Most of those executed were said to be involved in a series of attacks carried 
out by Al Qaeda between 2003 and 2006.

Iran has warned that executing al-Nimr "would cost Saudi Arabia dearly," 
Reuters reported.

A prominent state-affiliated Iranian cleric, Ahmad Khatami, said the execution 
of Nimr al-Nimr was something to be expected from "criminal" Saudi Arabia, 
Iranian Fars agency reported. He added that Saudi ruling family would be "wiped 
from the pages of history" for executing the cleric, Mehr reported.

An MP from the ruling Shi'ite coalition in Iraq said Nimr's execution aimed to 
"set region on fire," Sumaria TV reported.

The Lebanese Supreme Shi'ite Council has condemned al-Nimr's execution, calling 
it a serious "mistake."

Nimr, along with 6 others, were accused of orchestrating anti-government 
protests between 2011 and 2013 in which 20 people died. Earlier this year, the 
kingdom's Supreme Court rejected an appeal against the death sentence passed on 
the Shia cleric.

The brother of the executed cleric said he hopes that any reaction to Nimr 
al-Nimr's killing will be peaceful.

"Sheikh Nimr enjoyed high esteem in his community and within Muslim society in 
general and no doubt there will be reaction," Mohammed al-Nimr told Reuters by 
telephone. "We hope that any reactions would be confined to a peaceful 
framework. No one should have any reaction outside this peaceful framework. 
Enough bloodshed"

The Interior Ministry statement announcing the executions began with verses 
from the Koran, justifying the use of the death penalty, while state television 
showed footage of the aftermath of Al Qaeda attacks over the last decade. 
Shortly afterward, Saudi Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz Al al-Sheikh appeared on 
Saudi Arabian television, hailing the executions as just.

In its statement, the ministry listed the names of all those it said were 
convicted on charges of terrorism, Al Jazeera reported, including 
Al-Qaeda-affiliated Faris al-Zahrani, who was once on the list of Saudi 
Arabia's "most wanted terrorists." Last year a Saudi Arabian court sentenced 
him to death, and ordered his body to be displayed in public after the capital 
punishment was carried out.

Among those executed were also one Egyptian and one Chadian, the ministry 
reportedly stated.

The absolutist Sunni Muslim monarchy carried out at least 158 executions in 
2015, with beheadings reaching their highest level in 2 decades, according to 
human rights groups.

Adam Coolge, Middle east researcher for Human Rights Watch, told AP that Saudi 
Arabia had executed almost twice as many people in 2015 as the year before. The 
horrific figure is 2nd only to 1995, when the Gulf kingdom executed 192 people.

Saudi Arabia carries out most executions through beheading and often in public, 
giving rise to comparisons with terrorist group Islamic State (which also 
claims to be implementing Shariah law) while carrying out public beheadings.

The Gulf monarchy, however, has rejected parallels with Islamic State (IS, 
previously ISIS/ISIL). Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told reporters in Paris 
in December that "it's easy to say Wahhabism equals Daesh equals terrorism, 
which is not true," referring to the Arabic acronym for IS.

The absolutist monarchy argues that its judicial processes require at least 13 
judges in three tiers of its courts system to rule in favor of a death sentence 
before it is carried out. According to Saudi officials, the executions are 
aimed at curbing crime.

Saudi law allows for execution in cases of murder, rape and drug offenses. The 
death penalty also applies to adultery, apostasy and witchcraft.

The number of prisoners put to death for non-lethal offenses, such as illicit 
drug use, have also skyrocketed. A royal decree issued in Saudi Arabia in 2005 
to combat narcotics further codified the right of judges to issue execution 
sentences "as a discretionary penalty" against any person found guilty of 
smuggling, receiving or manufacturing drugs.

In November 2015, at least 63 people (including 45 foreign nationals) were 
executed since the start of the year for drug-related offenses, Amnesty 
International said. That figure accounted for at least 40 % of the total number 
of executions in 2015 (compared to less than 4 % for drug-related executions in 
2010).

"Foreign nationals, mostly migrant workers from developing countries, are 
particularly vulnerable as they typically lack knowledge of Arabic and are 
denied adequate translation during their trials," Amnesty said.

According to Human Rights Watch, of the first 100 prisoners executed in 2015, 
at least 56 sentences were carried out based on judicial discretion, not for 
crimes for which Saudi law requires a mandatory death penalty.

Delphine Lourtau, research director at Cornell Law School's Death Penalty 
Worldwide, told AP that defendants in Saudi Arabia are not provided with 
defense lawyers and in numerous cases of South Asians arrested for drug 
trafficking, are not even provided translators in court hearings. There are 
also concerns "over the degree of influence the executive has on trial 
outcomes" when it comes to cases where Shi???ite activists are sentenced to 
death, she said.

Emory Law professor and Shariah scholar Abdullahi An-Naim has said that since 
there is an "inherent infallibility in court systems," no judicial system can 
claim to enforce an immutable, infallible form of Shariah, AP reported him as 
saying.

After an avalanche of international criticism from human rights groups, Saudi 
Arabia???s representative to the United Nations Human Rights Council, Bandar 
al-Aiban, claimed in a speech in Geneva in March that capital punishment 
applies "only [to] those who commit heinous crimes that threaten security."

(source: rt.com)

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

Nimr al-Nimr execution: Iranian cleric says death penalty will bring down the 
Saudi Arabia's ruling family----Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami's comments came as 
Iran's foreign minister warned Saudi Arabia would pay a 'high price' for the 
execution


One of Iran's most senior clerics has predicted the fall of Saudi Arabia's 
ruling family following the kingdom's execution of Shi'ite preacher Nimr 
al-Nimr.

Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami's comments came as Iran's foreign minister warned Saudi 
Arabia would pay a 'high price' for following policies that led to the 
execution of al-Nimr and 46 others for 'terrorism offences'.

Ayatollah Khatami who branded the House of Saud 'treacherous', told the Mehr 
news agency: "I have no doubt that this pure blood will stain the collar of the 
House of Saud and wipe them from the pages of history.

"The crime of executing Sheikh Nimr is part of a criminal pattern by this 
treacherous family... the Islamic world is expected to cry out and denounce 
this infamous regime as much as it can."

His comments follow a warning last year from Iran that the execution of al-Nimr 
would "cost Saudi Arabia dearly", while the sentiment was echoed by a spokesman 
for Iran's foreign ministry, Hossein Jaber Ansari, following al-Nimr's death.

He told the official IRNA news agency: "The Saudi government supports terrorist 
movements and extremists, but confronts domestic critics with oppression and 
execution... the Saudi government will pay a high price for following these 
policies."

The 2012 arrest of al-Nimr, who supported anti-government protests in the 
country???s Eastern Province in 2011, prompted civil unrest, which some fear 
could be repeated in the aftermath of the weekend's mass execution.

Al-Nimr had long been a critic of the Saudi government, jailed on a number of 
occasions previously for his involvement in protests, and was found guilty by 
the country's Specialised Criminal Court in 2014 of crimes including calling 
for the collapse of the state and failing to pledge allegiance to the 
government.

(source: The Independent)

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

Beheadings reach 20-year high in Saudi Arabia


Saudi Arabia carried out at least 157 executions in 2015, with beheadings 
reaching their highest level in the kingdom in two decades, according to 
several advocacy groups that monitor the death penalty worldwide.

Coinciding with the rise in executions is the number of people executed for 
non-lethal offenses that judges have wide discretion to rule on, particularly 
for drug-related crimes.

Rights group Amnesty International said in November that at least 63 people had 
been executed since the start of the year for drug-related offenses. That 
figure made for at least 40 % of the total number of executions in 2015, 
compared to less than 4 % for drug-related executions in 2010. Amnesty said 
Saudi Arabia had exceeded its highest level of executions since 1995, when 192 
executions were recorded.

But while most crimes, such as premeditated murder, may carry fixed punishments 
under Saudi Arabia's interpretation of Islamic law, or Shariah, drug-related 
offenses are considered "ta'zir," meaning neither the crime nor the punishment 
is defined in Islam.

Discretionary judgments for "ta'zir" crimes have led to arbitrary rulings with 
contentious outcomes.

In a lengthy report issued in August, Amnesty International noted the case of 
Lafi al-Shammari, a Saudi national with no previous criminal record who was 
executed in mid-2015 for drug trafficking. The person arrested with him and 
charged with the same offenses received a 10-year prison sentence, despite 
having prior arrests related to drug trafficking.

Shariah scholars hold vastly different views on the application of the death 
penalty, particularly for cases of "ta'zir."

Delphine Lourtau, research director at Cornell Law School's Death Penalty 
Worldwide, adds that there are Shariah law experts "whose views are that 
procedural safeguards surrounding capital punishment are so stringent that they 
make death penalty almost virtually impossible."

She says in Saudi Arabia, defendants are not provided defense lawyers and in 
numerous cases of South Asians arrested for drug trafficking, they are not 
provided translators in court hearings. She said there are also questions "over 
the degree of influence the executive has on trial outcomes" when it comes to 
cases where Shiite activists are sentenced to death.

Emory Law professor and Shariah scholar Abdullahi An-Naim said because there is 
an "inherent infallibility in court systems," no judicial system can claim to 
enforce an immutable, infallible form of Shariah.

"There is a gap between what Islam is and what Islam is as understood by human 
beings," he said. "Shariah was never intended to be coercively applied by the 
state."

Similar to how the US Constitution is seen as a living document with 
interpretations that have expanded over the years, more so is the Quran, which 
serves as a cornerstone of Shariah, he said. The other 1/2 to Shariah is the 
judgments carried out by the Prophet Muhammad. Virtually anything else becomes 
an interpretation of Shariah and not Shariah itself, An-Naim said.

Of Islam's 4 major schools of thought, the underpinning of Saudi Arabia's legal 
system is based on the most conservative Hanbali branch and an ideology widely 
known as Wahhabism.

A 2005 royal decree issued in Saudi Arabia to combat narcotics further codified 
the right of judges to issue execution sentences "as a discretionary penalty" 
against any person found guilty of smuggling, receiving or manufacturing drugs.

HRW's Middle East researcher Adam Coolge says Saudi Arabia executed 158 people 
in total in 2015 compared to 90 the year before.

Catherine Higham, a caseworker for Reprieve, which works against the death 
penalty worldwide, says her organization documented 157 executions in the 
kingdom. Saudi Arabia does not release annual tallies, though it does announce 
individual executions in state media throughout the year.

Saudi law allows for execution in cases of murder, drug offenses and rape. 
Though seldom carried out, the death penalty also applies to adultery, apostasy 
and witchcraft.

In defense of how Saudi Arabia applies Shariah, the kingdom's representative to 
the UN Human Rights Council, Bandar al-Aiban, said in an address in Geneva in 
March that capital punishment applies "only (to) those who commit heinous 
crimes that threaten security."

Because Saudi Arabia carries out most executions through beheading and 
sometimes in public, it has been compared to the extremist Islamic State group, 
which also carries out public beheadings and claims to be implementing Shariah.

Saudi Arabia strongly rejects this. In December, Foreign Minister Adel 
al-Jubeir told reporters in Paris "it's easy to say Wahhabism equals Daesh 
equals terrorism, which is not true." Daesh is the Arabic acronym for the IS 
group.

Unlike the extrajudicial beheadings IS carries out against hostages and others, 
the kingdom says its judiciary process requires at least 13 judges at 3 levels 
of court to rule in favor of a death sentence before it is carried out. Saudi 
officials also argue executions are aimed at combating crime.

Even with the kingdom's record level of executions in 2015, Amnesty 
International says China, where information about the death penalty is a "state 
secret," is believed to execute more individuals than the rest of the world's 
figures combined.

Reprieve says that in Iran, more than 1,000 people were executed in 2015. 
Another organization called Iran Human Rights, which is based in Oslo, Norway, 
and closely follows executions, said at least 648 people had been executed in 
the first 6 months of 2015 in the Islamic Republic, with more than 2/3 for drug 
offenses.

Reprieve says Pakistan has executed at least 315 people in 2015, after the 
country lifted a moratorium on executions early last year following a December 
2014 Taliban attack on a school that killed 150 people, most of them children. 
Only a fraction of those executed since then have been people convicted of a 
terrorist attack.

((source: Associated Press)

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

The death sentences hanging over 6 young men should worry supporters of our 
alliance with the kingdom----With British officialdom so reluctant to say 
anything that might ruffle this gruesome regime's feathers, it is up to the 
rest of us to make our dismay about the case of these 6 young men heard


The dreadful fate awaiting 6 young Saudis - condemned to death in 2011 for 
terrorism and whose sentences were confirmed in October - should disturb and 
indeed shame all those who continue to defend our close alliance to this 
despotic country. A letter that we publish today from the mothers of the 6 
youths, and from the mother of a prominent cleric who has also been sentenced 
to death, notes that the new year marked the point at which their children had 
spent almost 4 years behind bars.

They have also been held in solitary confinement for 90 days now, following 
confirmation of the verdicts, and "could be beheaded at any moment", the 
mothers write, thanking campaigners in the outside world for the interest they 
have taken in the case, which they say could yet "help save our children from 
death".

Mothers of Saudi youths condemned to death complain of wall of silence

We hope the mother's optimism is well founded and that clemency prevails, 
although if it does, it will hardly be because of anything that our own 
Government has done. This is, after all, the same government that grovellingly 
ordered the Union Flag to be flown at half-mast last year following the death 
of the late King Abdullah.

Fans of the British connection with Saudi Arabia will be quick to point out 
that the 6 men were sentenced to death for terrorism, which might suggest that 
the government in Riyadh has done us all a favour by putting terrorists out of 
harm's way. Closer examination of the case, however, which a number of human 
rights groups have undertaken, suggests the 6 could not have been less like the 
Paris bombers and that their only real crime was to protest against the Sunni 
monarchy's highly discriminatory policy against the country's Shia minority, to 
which they belong.

Were this Iran, or some other less favoured country, the Foreign Office might 
well have something to say about the matter but, this being Saudi Arabia, the 
great rock on which British foreign policy in the Middle East has long rested, 
the result has been virtual silence. Using less than robust language, the 
Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond, last October confined himself to saying that 
he did "not expect" one of the youngest of those accused, Ali al-Nimr, to be 
executed.

That month, the Ministry of Justice did drop its contract to train prison staff 
in Saudi Arabia but that decision was hardly taken voluntarily and was 
initially opposed by the Prime Minister, David Cameron - and a sudden change of 
heart on the ministry's part followed a sustained campaign which, to his 
credit, the Justice Secretary, Michael Gove, lent backing.

It is worth remembering that 3 of the 6 activists were handed the death penalty 
for crimes committed while they were children, and that they have also since 
said that they were tortured into making confessions.

It would be one thing if the case of these 6 men was an isolated one - the 
fruit of complex local or religious feuds that we cannot understand and should 
not interfere with, but this is far from the case.The justice system of our 
principal ally in the Middle East is if anything getting worse rather than 
better, with the authorities making ample use of a proclaimed "war on 
terrorism" to deal with their enemies as they think fit. More than 150 people 
were executed in 2015, a sharp rise on the 88 executed in 2014.

With British officialdom so reluctant to say anything that might ruffle this 
gruesome regime's feathers, it is up to the rest of us to make our dismay about 
the case of these 6 young men heard.

(source: Editorial, The Independent)






GREECE:

Socrates' Trial and Subsequent Death Penalty Were Legally Just


Over the centuries, historians have presented the trial of Socrates as a parody 
of that time, claiming that the Athenian philosopher was forced to face charges 
invented by his fellow citizens because of ignorance.

In the 399 BC trial, Socrates was found guilty of impiety and corruption of 
youth and the court sentenced him to death by swallowing conium.

A recent study, however, tries to overturn the theories that are accepted so 
far. Cambridge Professot Paul Cartledge argues that the trial was legally just 
and Socrates was indeed guilty as charged.

"Everyone knows that the Greeks invented democracy, but it was not the republic 
as we know it today. As a result, History has been misinterpreted," the 
professor says.

"The accusations Socrates faced may seem ridiculous to us, but in Ancient 
Athens they seemed to serve the common good," he adds.

Historians have traditionally claimed that Socrates created many enemies by 
openly criticizing prominent politicians. The trial gave them an opportunity to 
get rid of him.

The Athenian philosopher was the scapegoat of a series of disasters that befell 
Athens, including a plague and a military defeat.

Professor Cartledge argues that some people interpreted those events as a sign 
of displeasure of the gods. They claimed that Socrates had offended the gods 
because the philosopher used to question the authority of several deities.

Cartledge believes that the charges of impiety against Socrates were not only 
fair - given the beliefs of the time - but also attributed to the common good.

The study concludes that Socrates essentially caused his own death. According 
to the Athenian legal system, the defendant could suggest his own sentence. In 
the beginning Socrates joked saying that he should have been rewarded instead. 
Eventually he suggested a small fine, but the jury did not find his joke funny 
and decided the death penalty.

(source: greekreporter.com)