[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Jan. 15



AFGHANISTAN----execution

Badghis Taliban execute man in public on adultery charges


Taliban have publically executed a man on adultery charges in northwestern 
Badghis province. The incident took place in Nakhjiristan area of Qadis 
District earlier this week after reportedly a Taliban desert-court announced 
the punishment to Abdul Ahad, the man killed.

Mirza Ali, Governor of Qadis while confirming the incident said that Abdul Ahad 
was shot dead by Taliban 2 days before. He added that security agencies have 
launched an investigation into the incident.

This is not the 1st time a man is being executed by the order of a Taliban 
desert court but the group kills dozens of people on similar charges every 
year.

(source: rawa.org)






UNITED KINGDOM/SAUDI ARABIA:

UK knew lobbying Saudi Arabia against executions was pointless


The UK left Saudi Arabia off a list of countries to lobby on abolishing the 
death penalty because the government knew Riyadh was not open to reform.

Conservative MP Matthew Offord recently sent a written question to Foreign 
Secretary Philip Hammond asking why the government did not include Saudi Arabia 
in its report "Strategy for the Abolition of the Death Penalty 2010-2015".

Minister for Europe David Lidington replied to the question on Thursday and, 
while he did not name Saudi Arabia specifically, he said the decision had been 
a strategic one based on resources.

"The judgement made in 2010 was that available government resources would focus 
on countries ready to engage in a dialogue about capital punishment likely to 
lead to reform," he said.

The government's 5-year plan in 2010 aimed to increase the number of countries 
who have abolished or suspended using the death penalty.

Lidington said that over this period many of the countries prioritised by the 
government have made reforms - including Tunisia, Morocco, China, and the 
United States.

As a close ally of the UK, Foreign Secretary Hammond has been criticised for 
his limited response to the rising number of executions in Saudi Arabia.

When asked to respond to the mass 47 executions meted out by Riyadh on 2 
January Hammond told the BBC: "Just to be clear, these people were terrorists."

Rights group Reprieve, which campaigns against the death penalty, accused 
Hammond of "parroting Saudi Arabian propaganda".

Among the 47 people executed was prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, 
whose killing sparked protests inside the kingdom as well as regionally, 
leading to a diplomatic fallout between Saudi and Iran.

Prisoners convicted of involvement in al-Qaeda attacks were also executed on 2 
January. Among them, as revealed by Middle East Eye, were inmates arrested as 
juveniles and others apparently suffering from mental illness.

Executions in Saudi Arabia have soared since King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud 
came to the throne in January last year, following the death of his brother 
Abdullah.

At least 157 people were put to death in 2015, which was the highest number 
since 1995 when 192 people were executed.

The majority of those executed were convicted of either drugs or murder 
charges.

Authorities have not explained the spike in executions, however; on a visit to 
London this week Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said the world must 
respect sovereign decisions taken by his country.

"On this issue [of the death penalty] we have a fundamental difference," he 
told Channel 4 News's Jonathan Rugman.

"In your country you do not execute people, we respect it. In our country, the 
death penalty is part of our laws and you have to respect this."

(source: middleeasteye.net)

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

Britons do not respect our death penalty laws - but they SHOULD----Saudi 
Arabia's foreign minister wants Britons to respect their controversial death 
penalty laws.


Saudi Arabia's foreign minister wants Britons to respect their death penalty 
laws.

The Saudi politician has urged people in the UK to respect his country's death 
penalty as it is causing a strained diplomatic relationship and tensions 
between the 2 countries.

Adel Al-Jubeir was questioned on Channel 4 News by Jonathan Rugman, who asked: 
"You don't have to execute as many people as you do, do you?"

The minister responded: "We have a fundamental difference, in your country, you 
do not execute people, we respect it. In our country, the death penalty is part 
of our laws and you have to respect this as it is the law."

There has recently been a number of high-profile executions in Saudi Arabia, 
including the death of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr earlier this month.

The execution of the top Shia cleric sparking outrage in Iran - who warned 
Saudi Arabia they would pay "a heavy price" for it.

Sheikh al-Nimr was among 47 prisoners were executed in the space of one day for 
alleged acts of terrorism.

In the aftermath, demonstrators in Iram broke into the Saudi embassy and 
started fires.

Mr Al-Jubeir said: "With regards to the perception of Saudi Arabia among the 
British public, this is a problem that we need to work on. We have not been 
good at explaining ourselves.

"We have not done a good job at reaching out to the British media or the 
British public or to the British institutions, academic institutions, think 
tanks and so forth. We maybe not have been as communicative as we should be."

At the time of Sheikh al-Nimr's execution, Maya Foa, director of the death 
penalty team at international human rights organisation Reprieve said: "2015 
saw Saudi Arabia execute over 150 people, many of them for non-violent 
offences. Today's appalling news, with nearly 50 executed in a single day, 
suggests 2016 could be even worse.

"Alarmingly, the Saudi Government is continuing to target those who have called 
for domestic reform in the kingdom, executing at least 4 of them today.

"There are now real concerns that those protesters sentenced to death as 
children could be next in line to face the swordsman's blade.

"Saudi Arabia's allies - including the US and UK - must not turn a blind eye to 
such atrocities and must urgently appeal to the Kingdom to change course."

(source: The Telegraph)