[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

March 13



PAKISTAN:

Laws For Children


The senate passed a landmark amendment to the penal code on Friday by 
criminalising acts of sexual assault against children. In the aftermath of the 
Kasur scandal, the need for this law was self-evident. The abuse of children 
has existed in Pakistani society for a long time, and the failure of the legal 
code to protect our children from the people that abuse them has given the 
perpetrators impunity. In the case of children, the need for this because a 
child cannot defend him/herself against a fully grown adult, especially when 
this adult is a teacher or a family member and has a position of influence over 
the child. The abuser uses their innocence to exploit them, and this must not 
continue, because apart from the physical abuse, the psychological impact of 
the attack can potentially be impossible to recover from.

Over the past 5 years, cases of sexual abuse against children have been brought 
into the limelight more frequently. Not only that, but some NGOs have released 
studies that show that the incidence of cases have increased as well. The 
proposed penalty of 7 years however is not nearly enough given the seriousness 
of the crime. In legal terms, it is important to remember that a child's status 
differs from an adult because of the ability to make conscious decisions and 
provide consent for anything that affects an individual. The fact that the 
attacker is abusing someone who may or may not know what is happening to 
her/him. The punishment of a crime against a child then should be the strictest 
possible in the penal code, which in the case of Pakistan is a life sentence or 
death.

Increasing the age of criminal responsibility from 7 to 10 years old is also a 
very important step. Most developed countries have identified the age of 
criminal responsibility as 10, with punishments that are moderate and more 
corrective instead of focusing on retribution for crimes committed. It is 
important to remember that a child who engages in criminal activity is very 
different from a hardened criminal. In the case of the latter, it is important 
to keep the time spent incarcerated long enough to remove the criminal from 
society until he or she is ready to be rehabilitated. It is in the interest of 
the society to do the opposite with children, to ensure that they are brought 
back into the fold at the earliest. The government should be commended for the 
step it has taken, but should also be reminded that the job is only half done. 
In order to adequately protect children, the law needs to be implemented, and 
the police and the courts need to take the next step in ensuring that a 
positive precedent is set for protecting children from abuse.

(source: Editorial, The Nation)






INDIA:

Bombay High Court overturns life imprisonment, sentences youth to death for 
rape and murder----HC says woman's right to live with dignity, honour and 
respect, if taken away to satisfy lust, needs to be put down with heavy hands


The Bombay High Court, on Saturday, overturned the life imprisonment awarded to 
a 25-year-old, charged of raping and murdering a soon-to-be bride, held that 
the case falls in the category of 'rarest of rare' and awarded him 'death 
penalty'.

A division bench of Justice Indira K Jain and Justice AV Nirgude said, 
"Commitment has been made at all levels - from local to international - that 
women have an inherent right to life, which includes right to live with 
dignity, honour and respect...If this inherent right is taken away just to 
satisfy lust, it is to be put down with heavy hands. Any leniency would result 
in inadequate punishment."

The accused, Javed khan alias Tingarya s/o Habib Khan, had committed the 
offence in 2009. As per the prosecution, the victim, a 2nd-year Bachelor of 
Computer Science student, was staying in the house at Aurangabad with her 
brother. On the fateful day, her brother had to stay back at his workplace, and 
when he returned the next morning, he found his sister lying naked in a pool of 
blood. He called the police and neighbours who rushed her to the hospital where 
she was declared 'brought dead'.

The police tracked down the mobile phone of the victim, which was stolen by the 
accused, to a hotel owner. After learning that the phone was given to him by 
accused Javedkhan to settle his hotel bill, the police arrested Javedkhan. 
During the trial, the prosecution examined several witnesses, including medical 
officers, to prove the diabolic crime. The trial court then sentenced Javed to 
life imprisonment. The state government moved the high court seeking 
enhancement of sentence while the accused challenged his conviction.

The court, while overlooking the young age of the accused, said, "In order to 
satisfy his lust, the accused forcibly raped a young defenceless lone girl and 
then eliminated her life in a beastly, brutal and barbaric manner. We consider 
this grisly and a gory episode as an ultimate insult to the humanity in general 
and womanhood in particular."

(source: dnaindia.com)






BANGLADESH:

Bangladesh's top court upholds Islamist tycoon???s death sentence----Ali was 
sentenced to death on 2 counts, as well as to 72 years in prison on the other 
charges.


Mir Quasem Ali, a media tycoon and key financier for the Jamaat e-Islami party, 
was convicted on charges including confinement, torture and incitement to 
religious hatred during Bangladesh's war of independence from Pakistan in 1971.

International Crimes Tribunal had sentenced 63-year old Mir Quasem Ali, 
considered the financial backbone of the Jamaat-e-Islami, to death on November 
2, 2014.

Quasem was the Al-Badr's 3rd most important functionary after Jamaat-e-Islami 
chief Motiur Rahman Nizami and Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid.

A death-row convict can seek review of Appellate Division verdict and if 
rejected, he or she can plea for president's clemency.

"For 42 years, we have waited for justice, which has been delivered, and 
hopefully the government will take steps to execute the judgment", Mahbubul 
Alam Chowdhruy, a former freedom fighter told ucanews.com.

Defence lawyers said that they would talk to Ali and his family to decide the 
next course of action. "The court has acted independently and handed down to 
Mir Quasem Ali what he deserves", state prosecutor Tureen Afroze told reporters 
outside the court after the verdict.

The church doesn't support the death penalty but welcomes justice for criminal 
wrongdoings, says Father Albert T. Rozario, convener of Justice and Peace 
Commission in the Dhaka Archdiocese.

According to Bangladesh's official figures, which are contested, around 3 
million people were killed and 200,000 women raped during the breakaway from 
Pakistan.

Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has opened an inquiry into crimes 
committed during the 1971 war in which East Pakistan separated to become 
Bangladesh. paving the way for prosecutions by a war crimes tribunal.

(source: nanonews.org)