[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

June 27



SUDAN:

'Death Penalty for Student a Crime' - Darfur Bar Association


In a statement on Friday, the Darfur Bar Association (DBA) strongly objected to 
the death sentence handed-down by the Khartoum Bahri Criminal Court on student 
Mohamed Abdallah Baggari.

On 29 April last year, militant National Congress Party (NCP) students attacked 
a meeting of the Darfur Student Association. After the clash, a senior member 
of the Islamist student wing of the ruling NCP, Mohamed Awadelkarim, was found 
dead on the campus.

Baggari was immediately detained on charges of killing Awadelkarim. He was 
first brought before a judge of the Khartoum Bahri Criminal Court on 14 May 
2015 without a defence lawyer present. In November, the Criminal Court of 
Khartoum North sentenced Baggari for manslaughter to 5 years' imprisonment and 
the payment of 'blood money' to Awadelkarim's relatives. In the appeal case 
however, the judge changed the verdict to the death penalty.

According to the DBA the court hearings violated Baggari's right to legal aid 
provided for in the 2005 Interim Constitution. The statement mentions that he 
appeared at the court hearings with clear marks of torture, and that he was 
pressured to withdraw from his right to legal representation. Furthermore, the 
Khartoum Bahri Criminal Court has deprived Baggari of his right to a fair 
investigation and prosecution and just representation in various stages, in 
addition to failing to notify his relatives of the complaint filed against him.

The Darfur lawyers demand the procedures to be corrected by a rerun of the 
investigation procedure with the accused and his witnesses according to the 
law.

In a separate statement, the Sudanese Congress Party expressed its "sadness at 
what happened to the Sudanese judiciary".

The opposition party considers the death sentence of Baggari "a crime shameful 
for humanity". It announced its solidarity with the convicted student by 
stating that its legal sector's "stands ready to form a new defence council".

(source: allafrica.com)






PHILIPPINES:

Duterte says he wants death penalty for revenge


Incoming-President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday hit out at "stupid" human rights 
campaigners, as he defended his imminent war on crime and emphasized the death 
penalty was for retribution.

Duterte gave a lengthy speech in his southern hometown of Davao to outline his 
vision for the nation once he takes office on Thursday, with a heavy focus on 
his controversial plans to fight crime.

"These human rights (groups), congressmen, how stupid you are," Duterte said, 
as he highlighted their criticism of his plans to impose late-night curfews on 
children being out on the streets and to reintroduce the death penalty.

"I believe in retribution. Why? You should pay. When you kill someone, rape, 
you should die," he said.

Duterte, 71, won last month's presidential elections in a landslide after 
campaigning largely on a platform of ending rampant crime, warning that the 
Philippines was in danger of becoming a narco-state.

He promised that tens of thousands of people would die, with security forces 
being given shoot to kill orders.

Since winning, Duterte has also promised to give bounties to police for killing 
drug dealers, and also encouraged ordinary citizens to kill or arrest suspects.

Duterte has been accused of links to vigilante death squads during his nearly 2 
decades as mayor of Davao, which rights groups say have killed more than 1,000 
people.

Local and foreign human rights groups have expressed deep concern about his 
plans as president, fearing an explosion of extrajudicial killings similar to 
those seen in Davao.

The United Nations' human rights chief, Zeid Ra???ad Al Hussein, this month 
urged Duterte not to reintroduce the death penalty, while criticizing other 
elements of the planned war on crime.

"The offer of bounties and other rewards for murder by vigilantes, and his 
encouragement of extrajudicial killings by security forces, are massive and 
damaging steps backwards which could lead to widespread violence and chaos," 
Zeid said.

With just 3 days before assuming the presidency, Duterte stood firm.

"When they describe or characterize a human rights violator, these fools make 
it appear that the people you kill are saints, as if they are pitiful or 
innocent," he said.

Duterte said European ambassadors were also among those who had expressed 
concern over the death penalty and extrajudicial killings.

The Philippines abolished the death penalty in 2006 following fierce opposition 
from the Catholic Church, the religion of 80 % of Filipinos.

Duterte previously said he preferred death by hanging to a firing squad because 
he did not want to waste bullets, and because he believed snapping the spine 
with a noose was more humane.

(source: inquirer.net)

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

Jokowi to go all out on drugs


As a 3rd round of executions nears, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo 
commemorating the UN's International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit 
Trafficking on Sunday, took the moment to bolster his tough stance on 
traffickers.

In a fiery appeal, Jokowi instructed the National Police and the National 
Narcotics Agency (BNN) to pursue, arrest and "smash" small-, medium- or 
big-time drug dealers operating in the country and even "shoot them on sight if 
existing law allowed it", to tell the world that Indonesia was serious in its 
fight against drugs.

"If [shooting on sight] were allowed by the law then I would have ordered the 
National Police and the BNN chief to do so, but luckily it is not. This 
extraordinary crime has affected not only adults, but also elementary school 
and kindergarten-aged children," Jokowi said during the commemoration ceremony.

Narcotics are a chronic problem for the country with an estimated 5.1 million 
drug abusers.

In the wake of a string of prison riots in the country, the Law and Human 
Rights Ministry raided the country's penitentiaries earlier this year and found 
that only 101 of a total 477 prisons were free of drugs.

Overcrowded prisons and lax oversight have turned prisons into drug-infested 
confinements in which many inmates fall into addiction.

Jokowi has taken a strong stance against drug trafficking ever since he took 
office, commanding the executions of 14 convicts who were mostly drug dealers.

Playing down criticisms of his tough drug law, the government has announced a 
plan to execute 18 death-row inmates after Idul Fitri, which will fall on July 
6 this year. It has also planned to execute another 30 convicts next year.

The government has recorded that out of the total 152 convicts currently 
awaiting execution, 58 are drug offenders.

Scores of high-ranking officials have also been arrested for drug abuse in the 
past several years.

"Drug dealers always find ways to dupe law enforcers by exploiting parties that 
they would not suspect, such as women and children, as couriers. We have to 
stop this and redeclare Indonesia???s war against drugs," said Jokowi.

Jokowi has conducted a number of bilateral visits to countries that strongly 
rejected his firm stance on executing drug traffickers, including Germany, 
where he was advised to stop such cruel punishment, but Jokowi has remained 
resolute to his commitment to Indonesia's fight against drugs.

However, the government has not completely slammed the door shut for countries 
trying to save their citizens from Indonesian capital punishment.

Last year, the government called off the executions of French national Serge 
Atlaoui and Philippine national Mary Jane Veloso, both convicted drug 
traffickers, following appeals from their respective governments.

Criticisms of the government's harsh punishment on drug-related crimes stem 
mostly from the country's perceived weak judicial system.

An investigation by the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence 
(Kontras), Imparsial and the Community Legal Aid Institute (LBH Masyarakat) has 
found irregularities in the legal process of 7 death-sentence cases.

Alleged irregularities include the absence of an independent interpreter for 
convicted foreigners during the legal process, a lack of competent legal 
representatives and corruption.

The issue of a vulnerable legal process was also highlighted during a recent 
congress on capital punishment in Oslo.

"Many cases have proved that the death penalty was imposed on the innocent. 
This has happened even in countries with strong legal systems, such as the US. 
Imagine what happens in places where the legal system has collapsed.

In cases where personal dislikes and political division exists, decisions could 
be influenced by personal feeling and not based on law," said the EU Special 
Representative for Human Rights, Stavros Lambrinidis.

Lambrinidis called for more countries to join the 150 states that have 
abolished the death penalty, arguing that such a punishment not only failed to 
deter criminals, but also destroyed the dignity of those who impose the 
punishment.

"Think about your dignity. I refuse to kill a killer because I refuse to allow 
him or her to turn me into a killer. It is my human dignity that I am 
defending. I will not bloody my hands because of what they did," he said.

(source: The Jakarta Post)

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

Hontiveros to fight restoration of death sentence


Senator-elect Risa Hontiveros will oppose any measure that will seek to 
reimpose the death penalty.

She made the remark when asked about her view on President-elect Rodrigo 
Duterte's plan to revive capital punishment as punishment heinous crime and 
drug trafficking.

She maintained that the death penalty is a "cruel and inhuman," degrading 
punishment.

(source: journal.com)






IRAN:

Criminal orders to execute 3 Arab minority political prisoners; call to save 
their lives


The judiciary of the religious fascism ruling Iran has condemned to death 3 
young political prisoners from Hamidiyeh of Ahwaz (southern Iran). The names of 
these prisoners, from the Arab minority, are Qais Obaidavi, 25, B.A. in Law, 
his 20-year-old brother Ahmad Obaidavi, and their cousin Sajjad Obaidavi, a law 
student. They are charged with so-called "Moharebeh (enmity against God)" and 
"corruption on Earth."

In order to intensify the atmosphere of intimidation, especially among the Arab 
minority, the mullahs' inhumane regime has announced in advance that these 
prisoners will be hanged in public. Since the time they were arrested, these 
inmates have faced severe tortures and pressures in solitary confinement at the 
detention center of Ahwaz Intelligence.

In fear of the Hamidiyeh people's reaction to this criminal order, the mullahs' 
regime has forced the families of these prisoners to leave their homes in 
Hamidiyeh.

The Iranian Resistance calls on the United Nations, its member states, and 
international human rights organizations to condemn these inhumane orders and 
to take immediate measures to save the lives of these political prisoners. 
Political and economic relations with this regime should be conditioned upon 
the improvement of human rights in Iran, especially a halt to executions. 
Otherwise, in the midst of a growing number of executions, any relations with 
and assistance to the religious fascism ruling Iran has no meaning other than 
persuading it to continue and intensify the gross and systematic violation of 
human rights in Iran.

(source: Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran)






MALDIVES:

Maldives state ready to kill Humam, and a way of life


In the early hours of the morning on the 19th day of Ramadan, as most of the 
country slept, the Maldives Supreme Court upheld the verdict by lower courts to 
kill Hussein Humam Ahmed. The 22-year-old man was convicted of killing MP Dr 
Afrasheem Ali on 2 October 2012 in a trial laden with irregularities.

Regulations introduced recently say the sentence must be carried out within 30 
days. Umar Naseer, Home Minister until a sudden resignation on Tuesday this 
week, has said the State is now ready to kill by hanging - the only thing 
missing was someone's neck to put the noose around and squeeze the life out of. 
The Supreme Court delivered that last night in the shape of Humam.

Humam's killing will be the 1st in the Maldives since 1953, even then a rare 
thing. Moroccan traveller Ibn Batuta wrote of the Maldives in the 14th Century: 
"The inhabitants of the Maldive islands are honest and pious people, sincere in 
good faith and of a strong will...In body they are weak and have no aptitude 
for combat or for war, and their arms their prayers. One day in this country, I 
ordered the right hand of a robber to be cut off; upon which many of the 
natives in the hall of audience fainted away."

Today's Maldives could not be more different. Crime is rife. Murders are 
commonplace. Stabbings are almost a daily occurrence. Robbery is regular. 
Corruption is widespread. Deception is natural. Violence is culture.

Something has gone seriously awry with the society's moral compass.

Dr Afrasheem's murder was one of the most brutal and violent the country had 
ever seen. Afrasheem left behind young children, a wife, parents, siblings. 
They all deserve justice, like everyone else. But there's too much doubt about 
whether or not Humam is his killer. Afrasheem's murder was a contract killing, 
that much everyone agrees on. Did Humam do it? If he did, who gave the orders? 
His conviction is based on confessions, retracted as many times as they were 
given. The legal apparatus will not let a psychiatrist judge his state of mind 
despite an insanity plea.

And, too many people - Umar Naseer, former Commissioner of Police and current 
JP MP Abdulla Riyaz, former police and military intelligence officers to 
indicate just a few - have pointed fingers at people other than Humam, ranging 
from the very top of government and various political parties to religious 
extremists, for this verdict to sit well with any right thinking member of 
society. Today all of them are holding their tongues as Humam is readied for 
the noose.

The Supreme Court's decision is political. And so is Afrasheem's murder said to 
be.

Many offer informed speculation that the MP could have been murdered for his 
seat in parliament or for his intentions to contest in then forthcoming 
presidential elections. He would have given other members of his party a run 
for their money. He was a popular man. Some reports say there was involvement 
of radicalised religious elements in Afrasheem's murder - but, even if so, not 
without a political connection.

The Supreme Court is controlled by the very same people interested in hiding 
who really killed Afrasheem, if the informed speculation is based on truth. The 
court has long since placed itself above the law, ensconced inside the pockets 
of political leaders. As those awake waited tensely for the ruling on Humam 
last night - which came over 3 hours later than billed - the court issued a 
press release warning potential critics of serious repercussions if they openly 
disagreed with the court's rulings.

The Supreme Court's decision is political in another way. It panders to the 
strict Salafi clerics and their philosophy of 'progression through regression' 
that now dominate Maldives society. It caters to their demands for a legal 
system in the Maldives based on Sharia alone. This is a demand expressed by the 
whole spectrum of Salafis in the Maldives from the apolitical to the radicals 
and the violent 'Jihadists' who have emigrated to Syria. The Supreme Court 
decision will appease them.

It also panders to the overlords who facilitate, finance and continue to groom 
Maldivian Muslims to become Salafis: Saudi Arabia.

The noose around Humam's neck will put an end to not just his life but to 2 
problems the government encounters: rumours of President Yameen's involvement 
in Afrasheem's murder that just won't die; and accusations that it is not 
following the path of 'true Islam', i.e, Saudi-led Salafi Islam.

There is still a significant part of Maldivian society today, like me, 
horrified by the Supreme Court decision which ignored even the last-minute 
pleas by the murdered victim's family for a temporary reprieve. Without the 
Sharia concept of Qisas, which is what the entire case is based on, was lost. 
Yet the Supreme Court went ahead, making a mockery even of Sharia.

We should understand this verdict is a harbinger of things to come: a society 
characterised by injustice, faux piety, and appeasement of the radical. There 
was a time when none of us could have imagined life in Maldives dominated by 
strict Salafi ideology. Today it is a lived truth. Tomorrow seems likely to be 
totally ruled by it.

At death's door is not just Humam, but what is left of the long-lived Maldivian 
identity as a peace-loving non-violent society of Muslims who practise their 
religion without committing violence and human rights abuses in its name.

(source: Editorial: Dr Azra Naseem is a former journalist who now works as a 
Research fellow in Dublin City University----The Maldives Independent)


SINGAPORE:

Using 3D printed guns in Singapore punishable by death, LGBT controversy 
reveals


Singapore is known for its strict laws, which include prison sentences for a 
wide range of what people in the west would consider minor offenses, such as 
littering. The country is also known for having one of the toughest gun laws in 
the world, with unlawful possession alone being punishable with a prison 
sentence or a caning, while using or attempting to use a gun illegally is 
punishable with death. And as a controversy over an annual lesbian, gay, 
bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rally revealed, those same Singapore laws apply 
to 3D printed guns of all kinds.

The controversy itself is a complex issue that largely took place on social 
media. Following the tragic massacre in a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida 
last week, one Facebook user called Bryan Lim asked for 'permission to open 
fire'. The message was posted in the We Are Against Pink Dot group, which 
opposes the organization of the LGBT rally in Singapore. He also said "I would 
like to see these ***** die for their causes". The comments created a whirlwind 
of social media outrage, eventually convincing Bryan Lim to apologize, delete 
the original post and take down his Facebook page. "I apologize for the 
misunderstanding. My words were strong. I did not mean anyone. I meant 
Bloomberg and foreign intervention in local matters. This was taken out of 
context. I hope this clears the air," he said.

As part of the social media storm, some people questioned whether or not such 
an event could even take place in Singapore, considering the very strict gun 
laws that are in place. But as former security consultant Roy Phang argued, 3D 
printed guns powered by simple pneumatics can cause havoc in Singapore too. 
"The scary thing is: you can print and build this gun part by part using a 
normal desktop 3D printer that costs less than $500, and the blueprints are 
available online, along with more complex designs," Phang wrote. "It's not 
possible for crazed gunmen scenarios in Singapore you say? Think again. So the 
next time anyone makes a very public (and brainless) threat online to shoot 
anyone, don???t just dismiss it as a joke or 'he didn't mean it literally'."

This prompted journalist Belmont Lay to look at Singaporean gun laws, and how 
they affect 3D printed guns. As he revealed, Assistant Director Ho Yenn Dar of 
the Singapore Police Force covered this issue in an earlier statement. "We have 
in place tough laws against the trafficking, manufacture and use of firearms. 
This applies equally to 3D printed firearms. It is already an offence under the 
Arms and Explosives Act for anyone to use a 3D printer to manufacture any arms 
or any component part of any arms without a license," the Assistant Director 
said.

The result is clear: 3D printed guns fall under the Arms and Explosives Act, 
which prevents the trafficking, manufacture and use of all unauthorized arms in 
Singapore and covers any kind of gun or pistol from which a bullet or other 
projectile can be fired. "Any person who uses or attempts to use any arm shall 
be guilty of an offence and shall on conviction be punished with death," the 
law states. As the law further states, any attempted use of such a weapon will 
be presumed to have taken place with the intention to cause physical injury, 
until the opposite is proven. Even firing a 3D printed gun made without 
authorization thus carries the death penalty in Singapore, while ownership 
alone will be harshly punished.

(source: 3ders.org)






LESOTHO:

Trouble in the Mountain Kingdom


Saturday 25 June marked one year since the former commander of the Lesotho 
Defence Force (LDF), Lieutenant-General Maaparankoe Mahao, was shot and killed 
by members of his own army. His autopsy report revealed that he was shot 11 
times in the head, chest and arm, including three shots fired at point-blank 
range with an AK-47.

A Commission of Inquiry, initiated by the Southern African Development 
Community (SADC), at the invitation of Lesotho Prime Minister Pakalitha 
Mosisili, found that there was a series of previous attempts against Mahao's 
life by members of the LDF manifesting "a desire to have him dead" and 
dispelled efforts of those LDF members implicated in his death to cast the 
shooting as having occurred in the course of arrest.

The Commission recommended the "vigorous" pursuit of criminal investigations by 
the Police into Mahao's death, to be conducted "expeditiously and 
comprehensively". A year since his death, no movement has been made to 
investigate or prosecute his killers, while his wife and family continue to 
proclaim their pain and suffering, seeking justice for his death.

Mahao's death is not an isolated incident in the brutal and cynical injustices 
that have played out in the Mountain Kingdom in recent years. Currently, 23 
soldiers, alleged to be allies of Mahao, could face the death penalty for 
having allegedly plotted a mutiny in September 2014, specifically targeting the 
current commander of the LDF, Lieutenant-General Tlali Kamoli.

Their crimes are premised on a legal fiction created by Prime Minister Mosisili 
in May 2015, who then terminated Mahao's leadership of the LDF retrospectively 
and further appointed Kamoli in his place, also retrospectively from August 
2014. The soldiers, together with Mahao, are therefore accused of mutineering 
against an army commander who was not in fact the commander at the time in 
September 2014.

Despite this spurious premise, the accused soldiers remain in detention in the 
hands of the LDF, where repeated allegations of torture, prolonged solitary 
confinement and the denial of medical treatment and food continue to surface.

Accused soldiers have been brought to court through habeas corpus proceedings - 
bleeding, hooded and shackled, accompanied by masked LDF members carrying 
AK-47s in open court. The courts and commission have repeatedly noted evidence 
of torture of these detainees by the LDF, seemingly through methods that court 
records in the past decade indicate are frequently applied by the LDF against 
its enemies.

At least 16 of the accused soldiers remain under "closed arrest" despite not 
having faced trial by court-martial and contrary to military law time limits. 
This follows repeated objections in the courts and at the court-martial to 
serious pretrial prejudice faced by them before a court-martial stacked with 
members and prosecutors cited to be the alleged victims of their mutiny plot.

Their lawyers have repeatedly been denied access to consult with their clients 
and have faced harassment and arrest themselves. Despite being obstructed in 
its mandate by the LDF, the Commission of Inquiry stated that on the evidence 
available "the whole case of mutiny [was] highly suspect" and recommended an 
amnesty for all mutiny-accused.

In the meanwhile the prime minister and his government have evaded making 
public any decision on the implementation of the commission's recommendations 
which include inter alia the removal of Kamoli. The LDF can no longer hold 
Lesotho's political progress hostage. The government's repeated vague 
assurances that it is considering the recommendations have however been 
accompanied by statements affirming its firm commitment to retaining Kamoli and 
the army's position and resistance to addressing the abuses against the 
soldiers accused of mutiny.

The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has raised 
concerns on the torture allegations of the detained soldiers. Local, regional 
and international nongovernmental organisations continue to call for justice 
and accountability for these crimes and those surrounding the death of Mahao in 
addition to serious concerns around a spiralling climate of threats to the rule 
of law with threats and attacks against human rights defenders, lawyers and 
judges.

Further to this, development partners having been threatening withdrawal of 
substantial resources, trade opportunities and loans if these serious 
rule-of-law problems are not meaningfully addressed by Lesotho, putting 
Lesotho's delicate developmental status at risk.

2 important dates this week provide opportunities to reinvigorate collective 
responses to demand respect for human rights and the rule of law in Lesotho. 
June 26, 2016 is International Day in Support of Torture Victims. The endemic 
use of torture by the LDF is a crime prohibited by international and domestic 
law that the Lesotho government is obligated to cease immediately, to take 
steps to ensure it doesn't reccur, and to ensure accountability for 
perpetrators and redress for victims.

On June 28 2016, the SADC Double Troika will meet to discuss the political and 
security situation in Lesotho. NGOs and the families of the mutiny-accused 
soldiers and of the late Lieutenant-General Mahao are calling on governments in 
the region to use this forum to demand accountability and respect for the rule 
of law and human rights in Lesotho, starting with the implementation of the 
Commission of Inquiry's recommendations.

Bringing peace and stability to the Mountain Kingdom requires meaningful 
constitutional reform to ensure civilian control over the LDF whose hold over 
democratic progress is inappropriate in a country with a questionable need for 
an army of its size and power.

(source: Op-Ed; Annabel Raw is a lawyer with the Southern Africa Litigation 
Centre----Daily Maverick)






GLOBAL:

World Congress Against the Death Penalty calls for global moratorium on 
executions, Australia joins call


The latest World Congress Against the Death Penalty has stepped up pressure on 
world leaders, as the number of countries imposing the penalty falls but the 
overall number of people executed rises.

Philip Ruddock, the Special Envoy for Human Rights, led Australia's delegation 
to the sixth world congress, in Norway.

He said there was strong interest in Australia's views, and there had been some 
progress in reducing the number of countries using the death penalty.

"There are smaller countries that ... read the research that demonstrates that 
if you want to deter people, it's apprehension for an offence that is far more 
likely to influence behaviour, rather than the difference between a capital 
punishment or life in prison," he said.

"So these arguments, for which there is an enormous amount of research, are 
compelling in relation to countries that are at the cusp."

Most executions carried out in 5 nations

The congress applied more pressure for a global end to executions, including on 
Belarus, which is the only country on the European continent to still use 
capital punishment.

"Something like 2/3 of the world's nations have abandoned capital punishment," 
Mr Ruddock said.

"A number of countries including the United States maintain it - there are only 
about 5 countries that execute most of the people that are executed worldwide."

Mr Ruddock said he expected there would be change.

"I genuinely believe that as China develops economically, as it has to 
accommodate very much the rule of law in its economic advances, it will also 
look at whether it can continue to be so isolated, executing something in the 
order of 2,000 people a year - more than the rest of the world put together," 
he said.

"When you look at the United States, it has been the subject of abolition in 
states, and there are further states that are considering it.

"I think many Americans are embarrassed that they continue to have some states 
that maintain capital punishment."

Mr Ruddock said if the United States abolished the death penalty, that would 
have "a very significant impact upon developments in the few countries that do 
execute considerable numbers".

"There's Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, Iraq, and China of course," he said.

"We've got a way to go but I think when it is unwound, it will come together 
very quickly."

Ruddock urges US and China as 'a friend'

Mr Ruddock said Australia had tried to use its influence over both China and 
the US to encourage them to stop executing people.

"I said to the United States, we're a friend, and we want you to know how your 
friends see your retention of this policy," he said.

"The ambassador says, 'Well, I've got to represent my nation, but at least we 
no longer execute minors.' I say, 'Well, that's a good thing.'

"I then went and saw a magnificent former Chinese ambassador to Australia ... 
and I said, 'Madame Fu Ying, as a friend of China, I've just been talking to 
the United States as a friend, and I want you both to know we are critical of 
these policies and we hope you can change'.

"I believe when your friends suggest that maybe there's time for a change, you 
do start to think a bit more seriously about it.

Philippine president-elect continues pro-execution stance

In the Philippines, local and foreign human rights groups have expressed deep 
concern about incoming president Rodrigo Duterte's plans to reintroduce capital 
punishment, fearing an explosion of extrajudicial killings similar to those 
seen in the president-elect's hometown Davao.

United Nations' human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein this month urged Mr 
Duterte not to reintroduce the death penalty.

Mr Duterte won the country's presidential elections last month in a landslide, 
with the reintroduction of capital punishment touted as a key tool in his 
campaign to end rampant crime.

On Monday, Mr Duterte gave a lengthy speech in Davao hitting out at "stupid" 
human rights campaigners for criticising his plans to impose curfews on 
children being on the streets at night and to reintroduce the death penalty.

"These human rights [groups], congressmen, how stupid you are," he said.

"I believe in retribution. Why? You should pay. When you kill someone, rape, 
you should die."

Mr Duterte said tens of thousands of people would die, with security forces 
being given shoot-to-kill orders.

Since winning he has promised to give bounties to police for killing drug 
dealers, and also encouraged ordinary citizens to kill or arrest suspects.

(source: abc.com.au)






MALAWI:

MP Kalindo Defiant, Says 'Facts Do Not Lie' After Being Chased At DPP Rally and 
Castigated


The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislature, Bon Kalindo, who led 
a group of protesters who marched "half-naked" through the streets of the 
capital, Lilongwe against continued abductions and killings of people with 
albinism says he does not regret his actions despite being chased by party 
cadres at the rally addressed by President Peter Mutharika in Mulanje on 
Saturday.

Despite being chased, DPP top officials took turn at Mutharika's rally at 
Limbuli in Mulanje district to castigate Kalindo calling him all sorts of 
denigrating names.

Setting the ball rolling was DPP regional governor (South), Charles Mchacha, 
said Kalindo "naked" demonstration was not sanctioned by the party of the 
people from Lhomwe belt.

Mchacha, who is also an MP for Thyolo West, said "Let me say on behalf of the 
people of Mulanje that we did not send Kalindo and his naked people in the 
streets."

The DPP Secretary General, Ecklen Kudomtoni, also denigrated Kalindo, saying 
that he was behaving a man with dementia, saying he is not part and parcel of 
the party for going ahead with the 'naked' demonstration.

"That demonstration was for his own dwindled mind but as the party we are 
satisfied with what our President is doing to end the attacks on persons with 
albinism," added Kudontoni.

The DPP secretary general said Kalindo was not part of the DPP because he was 
doing something contrary to the party's position.

The cadets chased Kalindo in presence of other senior party officials.

But Kalindo who wore small red shorts, a red vest, a red scarf and red cap 
during the match has said there is no regret for his actions, dismissing 
"overzealous" DPP for suppressing his expression and plotting to kill him.

The legislator, who was a popular stage and TV comedian, said DPP is reacting 
badly because he accused some unnamed politicians of being part of the albino 
hunters' syndicate, hence their failure to act decisively.

"I don't know what my crime is," said Kalindo whoclaimed to be in hiding.

The MP, who is also DPP deputy spokesman, claimed there is a plot to kill him 
by regime thugs.

"This issue [albino killings] the way I am looking at it is a national issue 
not political issue and I wonder why they [DPP] want to kill me for exercising 
my rights," he said.

DPP has a history of abductions and killings.

Kalindo said "facts do not lie" and knows he has provoked some for his demand 
for those convicted for albino murders should face the death penalty.

Government spokesperson Patricia Kaliati recently ruled out the implementation 
of the death penalty against killers of people with albinism.

She said it was possible to mete out stiff punishment while respecting human 
rights.

"Life imprisonment is also a strong deterrent punishment," she said.

President Mutharika has also rebuffed calls for the implementation of death 
penalty.

While laws in Malawi provided for death penalties, the country's leaders have, 
since 1994, refused to sign death warrants.

(source: Nyasa Times)