[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

March 20



PHILIPPINES:

Cebu debate: Duterte, Poe favor return of death penalty----Why are they in 
favor of bringing back death penalty? Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte says 
it's for cases involving drugs, while Senator Grace Poe says it's for heinous 
crimes


During the second "Yes or No" segment of the Cebu presidential debate on 
Sunday, March 20, only Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and Senator Grace Poe 
raised their hands when asked who among the candidates were in favor of 
bringing back the death penalty in the Philippines.

The "Yes or No" segment - a last-minute addition in the second presidential 
debate organized by the Commission on Elections - asked candidates about 
various issues, after which they would raise their hands if they were in favor.

Candidates were not allowed to explain their stand, but both candidates were 
able to say a few words to explain their vote: drugs for Duterte, and drugs and 
heinous crimes for Poe.

The death penalty was abolished in 1986 when President Corazon Aquino took over 
the reins of power from Ferdinand Marcos. It was reintroduced by President 
Fidel Ramos in 1993, then suspended again in 2006.

The 1st question during the "Yes or No" segment was whether the 4 presidential 
candidates present were in favor of divorce. None of them raised a hand after 
the question was asked. (READ: Cebu presidential debate: All candidates against 
divorce)

The Visayas leg of the presidential debates mounted by the Comelec with media 
partners TV 5 and Philippine Star started past 6:30 pm, or one and a half hour 
later than planned.

Aside from Duterte and Poe, Vice President Jejomar Binay and former Interior 
Secretary Manuel Roxas II also attended Sunday's debate.

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago skipped the event for health reasons, but she 
is open to death penalty for drug traffickers, according to a tweet on her 
official Twitter account.

(source: rappler.com)






ISRAEL:

Death penalty for terrorists?----Ministerial committee set to discuss 
controversial proposal. Bill would remove barriers to executing terrorists 
convicted of murder.


The Ministerial Committee for Legislation is set to discuss on Sunday a 
controversial proposal from former Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman that 
would enable courts to sentence convicted terrorists to death.

Lieberman, who made a campaign slogan promising the death penalty for 
terrorists, proposed the bill last year.

If passed, the legislation would enable military courts to sentence terrorists 
convicted of attacks "intended to kill citizens for political, national, 
religious, or ideological purposes."

The law would also require only a majority, rather than a unanimous decision, 
to sentence terrorists to death. It would also prohibit reducing the sentence 
once it has been finalized.

The Ministerial Committee meets every Sunday to discuss pending legislation and 
to determine the government's official position on specific bills. The 
Committee can either vote to affirm or deny the proposal government support, 
which would obligate all coalition members to vote in favor of the bill, all 
but assuring its passage.

The Israel Democracy Institute blasted the proposal, calling upon the Committee 
to reject it on Sunday. In a 5 page statement the IDI argued that permitting 
the death penalty would put Israel in company with some of the world's most 
undemocratic regimes and biggest human rights offenders like China, North 
Korea, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen.

Israeli law currently includes the death penalty, but judicial barriers have 
prevented its use since the execution of Adolf Eichmann in 1962.

(source: Israel National News)






AFGHANISTAN:

#Farkhunda: Hundreds protest in Kabul 1 year after execution of innocent woman


Activists have gathered in Kabul to mark the 1 year anniversary of Farkhunda 
Malikzada's death by staging protests and putting on a play which relived 
Malikzada's execution.

A monument was also unveiled in front of the Kabul River in memory of the 
27-year-old who was beaten by a mob of mostly young men, set alight and then 
thrown into the river.

Hundreds of Afghans gathered to support justice for Ms Malikzada, wearing masks 
bearing her bloodied face, and to fight for greater protection of women who 
often suffer oppression and abuse in Afghanistan.

"Farkhunda is our conscience. We are all Farkhunda," protesters shouted.

"It is our enemies who burned you."

In a very dramatic spectacle, a theatre troupe re-enacted the deadly attack 
which included a young woman taking on the part of Ms Malikzada and being hit 
and thrown around the stage by fellow actors.

The shrine to honour Ms Malikzada, an Islamic studies student, features a 
clenched fist at its highest point and cell phones are now banned at the shrine 
as well as the adjacent mosque.

The busy street where Ms Malikzada was killed has also now been unofficially 
renamed "The Martyr Farkhunda Street" with an accompanying sign made by local 
carpenters and blacksmiths after her death.

Protesters also planted a tree at the site where Ms Malikzada was burned.

Earlier this month Afghan President Ashraf Ghani ordered the re-opening of Ms 
Malikzada's case just days after the country's highest court upheld the reduced 
sentences for the men convicted of her murder.

The court vacated the death penalty in 4 cases and reduced the prison sentences 
of 9 other defendants convicted.

Ms Malikzada's public murder was sparked by allegations she had set fire to the 
Koran but authorities later claimed there was no evidence she ever did so.

(source: ABC news)






BANGLADESH:

Qamrul asked to provide fresh explanation, next hearing on Mar 27----Food 
Minister Qamrul Islam has been asked by the apex court to provide fresh 
explanations over his remarks on appeal hearing of war crimes convict Mir 
Quasem Ali.

Qamrul and his colleague Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Huq 
appeared before the Supreme Court on Sunday.

The court found Qamrul's explanation not good enough and told him to provide a 
fresh one.

The 7-member bench led by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha has fixed Mar 27 
for the next hearing and asked the ministers to appear before it on that day.

The Cabinet members had been pulled up by the top court's full bench for their 
remarks made at a roundtable on Mar 5.

In compliance with an earlier court order, the ministers appeared before the 
court on Sunday and explained themselves through their lawyers.

Both of them, however, had already apologised and sought the court's 
forgiveness for their remarks.

Barrister Rafique Ul Huq and advocate Abdul Baset Majumder represented the 
ministers in court on Sunday.

The Cabinet members had to stand on the dock for about 5 minutes after the 
court began proceedings at 9:15am. They were later allowed to sit down after 
their counsels pleaded to the court.

Speaking at a discussion on Mar 5, Qamrul had called for a new bench that, in 
his view, should exclude the chief justice to hear Mir Quasem's appeal.

Justice Sinha's displeasure at the work of the International Crimes 
Tribunal???s investigators and prosecutors in the war crimes cases, including 
Mir Quasem's one, had been seen by the minister as a 'broad hint' that the war 
criminal's death penalty might not be upheld.

Minister Mozammel had also criticised the chief justice at the same programme.

Their remarks had led to a furore in the media and social networking sites, 
prompting the Ganajagaran Mancha to suspect a 'conspiracy' to save the 
Jamaat-e-Islami leader.

Leaders of the BNP as well as Mir Quasem's chief counsel Khandker Mahbub 
Hossain had described the ministers' comments as 'interference in the 
judiciary's independence'.

While Attorney General Mahbubey Alam urged all to refrain from commenting on 
the sub-judice matter, Law Minister Anisul Huq and Commerce Minister Tofail 
Ahmed even refrained from commenting on their colleagues' remarks.

Media reports said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Cabinet meeting on Mar 7 
had made it clear that the ministers' remarks did not represent the views of 
her government.

On Mar 8, the top court delivered the verdict in the case, upholding former 
Al-Badr leader Mir Quasem's death sentence, for his 1971 war crimes, handed 
down by the International Crimes Tribunal in November 2014.

Before the verdict was pronounced, the nin9-member full appeals bench issued an 
order summoning Qamrul Islam and Mozammel Huq to appear before it on Mar 15.

The court said their comments had "undermined the dignity and prestige of the 
Supreme Court and the office of the chief justice";

It also issued a notice asking why legal action would not be taken against them 
for their comments and told the ministers to respond by Mar 14.

Mozammel appeared before the court on Mar 15 while Qamrul's lawyer appealed for 
more time as his client was out of the country on an official trip.

The court had then fixed Mar 20 for the hearing.

(source: bdnews24.com)






MALDIVES:

Maldives pres says death penalty only way for stability----Implementing death 
penalty will only bring stability and harmony to the Maldives, President 
Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom said Saturday.


At the closing ceremony of the third symposium on training campaign leaders for 
his re-election, President Yameen said his government's aim is to bring peace 
and harmony to the society. That cannot be achieved only through legislation, 
he added.

"Why are some people so fond of taking the life of another person? Why should 
there be space for that? We don't want that to happen," the president said, at 
the ceremony held at the Dharubaaruge convention centre in capital Male.

The president's comments follow a series of new rules and regulations adopted 
by the authorities to implement capital punishment and is currently drafting a 
law on death penalty.

High Court had in November annulled the clause giving the president power to 
grant clemency to convicts on death row.

The Supreme Court had issued new guidelines recently allowing death sentences 
and public lashing rulings issued by lower courts to be appealed automatically 
at the High Court.

In a circular, the Supreme Court said if the defendant fails to appeal death 
sentences and public lashing verdicts within 10 days, the court that had 
initially issued the verdict should forward the relevant documents to the High 
Court. The appellate court would have seven days to notify both the defendant 
and the prosecution of the appeal and during that period should take the 
necessary steps to begin appeal proceedings, it added.

The new rules follow similar guidelines issued by the apex court in November.

The Supreme Court issued new guidelines on November 8 giving a month-long 
window for the last chance to appeal death sentences and public lashings backed 
by High Court.

According to the guidelines, if a defendant fails to appeal a High Court 
verdict in favour of death sentences and public lashing rulings within a 30-day 
period, the appeal can then only be filed at the Supreme Court by the 
prosecution.

The guidelines, included in a circular signed by Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed, 
did not specifically mention sentences of death and public lashing. However, it 
says that High Court rulings that need to be reconfirmed by the Supreme Court 
had to be appealed within 30 days, including public holidays.

Under local laws, the only sentences that need to be reconfirmed by the Supreme 
Court are death sentences and public lashing verdicts.

Judicature Act earlier granted a 90-day period, excluding public holidays, to 
appeal rulings by any court.

However, the Supreme Court had in January 2015 annulled that clause and issued 
new guidelines under which rulings issued by lower courts had to be appealed at 
the High Court within 10 days and appeal over High Court verdicts needed to be 
filed at the Supreme Court within 60 days

Meanwhile, the government has included funds in the state budget for this year 
to establish an execution chamber at the country's main prison to carry out the 
death penalty.

Government had, meanwhile, adopted a new regulation in 2014 under which lethal 
injection would be used to implement the death penalty.

However, over mounting pressure from human rights bodies, companies have been 
refusing to supply the fatal dose to countries still carrying out capital 
punishment.

Home minister Umar Naseer had earlier said the correctional service would be 
ready to implement the death penalty by the time a death sentence is upheld by 
the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, the government announced on November 16 that it was in the process 
of drafting legislation on implementing death penalty.

Attorney General Mohamed Anil told reporters that the bill being drafted by his 
office would expand on the already existing regulations on death penalty. The 
bill would include procedures on conducting murder investigations, filing 
charges in such cases and conducting proceedings in murder cases, he added.

There are around 10 people on death row at present, but none of whom has 
exhausted the appeal process thus far.

(source: haveeru.com)






INDONESIA:

Death Penalty Execution for Drug-Related Convicts to Continue This 
Year----Several drug-related convicts who are on death row will be executed 
this year.


The Indonesian government is firm in its stance of upholding the drug penalty 
law for convicted drug traffickers. This year, the government will send to the 
gallows several Indonesian nationals who are on death row for drug trafficking.

This is according to Coordinating Minister for Political, Law and Defense 
Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan.

The minister, however, did mention the number of inmates who are going to be 
executed and he also did not identify them.

"This year it will be implemented (death penalty) to Indonesian nationals," 
Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said in his 1-hour public lecture at Institu 
Teknologi Bandung (ITB) on Friday (18/3) as reported by Tempo.co. He was 
commenting on the government's past decisions to delay the execution of drug 
inmates in response to their new claims of innocence.

In April last year, shortly after the execution of 8 drug traffickers including 
an Indonesian nationals, a well-placed official at the Attorney General's 
Office said the government was making plan to send to the gallows 5 death row 
prisoners. But, he did not say whether they were drug traffickers.

Meanwhile, in January of last year, 6 drug-related death-row prisoners 
including 5 foreign nationals, went to the gallows.

(source: globalindonesianvoices.com)