[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Jan. 14



SAUDI ARABIA----execution

Saudi executes Yemeni for killing employer


Saudi Arabia on Thursday executed a Yemeni man for murdering and robbing his 
employer, raising the number of death sentences already carried out by the 
kingdom this year to 52.

Yaser Qawza broke into the home of his Saudi employer Falwa al-Jarad, tied her 
up and beat her to death before robbing her money and jewellery, according to 
an interior ministry statement.

Qawza was executed in the southern region of Aseer, said the statement, 
published by the official SPA news agency.

Most executions in the country are carried out by beheading with a sword.

Last year Saudi Arabia executed 153 people, most of them for drug trafficking 
or murder, according to an AFP tally.

Amnesty International says the number of executions in Saudi Arabia in 2015 was 
the highest for 2 decades.

The kingdom practises a strict Islamic legal code under which murder, drug 
trafficking, armed robbery, rape and apostasy are all punishable by death.

On January 2, the kingdom executed 47 men convicted of "terrorism", including 
al Qaeda-linked Sunni militants and Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr, whose death 
sparked a diplomatic crisis with Iran.

(source: The Tribune)






SOMALILAND:

Heads of Missions of the European Union and Member States condemn executions 
carried out in Mogadishu and Dararwayne and Mandera

The Heads of Missions of the European Union and Member States strongly and 
unequivocally oppose the death penalty in any circumstances. It is a serious 
violation of human rights and human dignity and cannot be used as an instrument 
for justice.

In this context, we are deeply concerned by reports of at least 4 executions in 
Somaliland on 11 January and by the authorities renewed use of the death 
penalty.

We are similarly concerned with reports of an execution in Mogadishu on 3 
January.

The EU and Member States' Heads of Missions call upon the respective 
authorities to halt executions and to apply a moratorium of the death penalty.

We are committed to support and work with the respective authorities in 
achieving a full abolition of the death penalty and in the strengthening of 
institutions to provide justice to all Somali people in a fair and transparent 
manner.

(source: somalilandpress.com)




PAKISTAN:

ATC sentences SHO Shehzad Warraich to death for killing Daska Bar president, 
other lawyer


The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Thursday sentenced former Senior House 
Officer (SHO) Shehzad Warraich to death 4 times for killing Daska Bar 
Association President Rana Khalid Abbas and advocate Irfan Chauhan.

The verdict was announced by a special anti-terrorism court's judge Chaudhry 
Imtiaz Ahmad.

Besides the death penalty, the accused will pay Rs 4 lac to the victims' 
family.

The court has also ordered 30 years imprisonment to the accused for injuring 5 
lawyers.

In May 2015, 2 lawyers including Daska Bar Association President Rana Khalid 
Abbas - were killed during a clash between protesting lawyers and police.

Officials of Daska Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) along with SHO of 
Daska city police station Shehzad Warraich were conducting an anti-encroachment 
drive in Sialkot's Daska tehsil when local residents and lawyers staged a 
protest, seeking more time from authorities.

The SHO opened straight fire to disperse the protesters as a result of which a 
pedestrian and three lawyers, including the Daska bar president, sustained 
gunshot wounds.

Later, Rana Khalid Abbas and another lawyer succumbed to their wounds during 
treatment.

(source: Daily Pakistan)






BANGLADESH:

Sayedee now to appeal for acquittal


War criminal and Jamaat-e-Islami leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee will file a 
petition with the Supreme Court seeking review of its verdict that commuted his 
death penalty to jail unto death.

He would seek acquittal from the charges in which he was found guilty, Masud 
Sayedee, son of the convict, told The Daily Star after meeting his father at 
Kashimpur Jail-1 in Gazipur yesterday.

3 lawyers accompanied Masud during the visit.

Earlier on Tuesday, the government filed a review plea seeking death penalty 
fro Sayedee.

"My father has decided to file a review against the Supreme Court judgment. He 
has given necessary instructions today to his lawyers in this regard," Masud 
said, adding that the plea would be filed by January 21, as his father was 
officially informed about the SC's full judgment on January 6, though it was 
released on December 31 last year.

The review petition has to be filed within 15 days from the date when the 
accused receives a certified copy of the full judgment or is officially 
informed about it, according to the SC judgment on the review petition of Abdul 
Quader Mollah, who was executed in December 2013.

The International Crimes Tribunal-1 on February 28, 2014 sentenced Sayedee to 
death for killing Ibrahim Kutti and one Bisa Bali in 1971.

Following 2 appeals by Sayedee and the government, a 5-member bench of the apex 
court on September 17 last year delivered a short order based on majority views 
commuting Sayedee's death sentence to imprisonment until death.

(source: The Daily Star)






IRAN:

Iran's High Volume of Executions----Iran is likely the world's 2nd-most 
prolific user of the death penalty.


Iran uses the death penalty more than any other country except China.

Iran executes people in part to punish violations of personal morality laws.

As of July 2015, 101 countries had abolished the use of capital punishment in 
law for all crimes.

1. Carrying out at least 289 executions in 2014 - ranking 2nd in the world - 
Iran uses the death penalty more than any other country except China.

2. Iran executes people in part to punish violations of personal morality laws, 
such as rape and adultery.

3. Iran also executed people for politically motivated offenses such as 
terrorism and treason.

4. Together, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia carried out almost 90% of the 
confirmed executions in the Middle East North Africa region in 2014

5. The 3 countries made 72% of the 607 confirmed executions worldwide in 2014.

6. This number excludes executions that took place in countries where this 
information is classified or otherwise impossible to verify.

7. China is believed to lead the world in annual executions, but government 
secrecy veils the exact number. China is estimated to execute thousands of 
prisoners each year.

8. Iran and the other 20 countries that executed prisoners in 2014 are an 
ever-shrinking group.

9. As of July 2015, 101 countries had abolished the use of capital punishment 
in law for all crimes - up from just 59 countries in 1995.

10. Another 42 countries have abolished the death penalty in practice - by 
limiting its use to exceptional and rare circumstances (such as crimes under 
military law) or by not having carried out an execution in the last 10 years.

(sources: Amnesty International and The Globalist Research Center)






GLOBAL:

New resource helps innocent drug mules fight cases overseas


People scammed or manipulated into becoming unwitting drug mules and facing 
death penalties as a result are being offered a lifeline.

A new online portal provides documents and advice to people who may have been 
unwittingly caught up in a criminal network and are facing the death penalty or 
lengthy jail terms.

It was created by a group of lawyers, technology experts and media advisors, 
led by the Asia Pacific Lawyers Network.

The portal's release follows a series of cases where people have been lured 
over the internet to travel overseas, particularly to South-East Asian nations, 
and unknowingly carrying drugs on the return trip.

New Zealand defence lawyer Craig Tuck said it was crucial those arrested for 
serious crimes in foreign countries got immediate help to maximise the chances 
in their legal cases.

The portal provides referrals to defence lawyers in the country of arrest who 
speak English, a checklist of advice to find diplomatic support, and 
educational resources from past victims.

Mr Tuck, a legal advisor to Bali death row inmate Lindsay Sandiford, said the 
project was a "world first" in combating unwitting drug mules, those forced 
into slavery and other victims of human trafficking.

The portal is available at www.stopmulevictims.org.

(source: The Chronicle)