[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

May 9




BELARUS----execution

Statement by the Spokesperson on the execution of Syarhey Iwanow and of the 
confirmation of the death sentence against Sergei Khmelevsky


Despite the many calls made by the European Union, another execution has been 
carried out in Belarus. The case of Syarhey Iwanow, who had been sentenced to 
death by the Supreme Court of Belarus in March 2015, is particularly disturbing 
in light of the fact that his complaint was pending with the UN Human Rights 
Committee.

The death sentence against Sergei Khmelevsky, which was upheld by the Belarus 
Supreme Court on 6 May, has also been confirmed.

The European Union opposes capital punishment, which fails to act as a 
deterrent to crime and represents an unacceptable denial of human dignity and 
integrity. Over the last decades, numerous countries have realised that the 
death penalty cannot be justified under any circumstances and have stopped 
applying it.

We expect Belarus, the only country in Europe still applying capital 
punishment, to join a global moratorium on the death penalty as a first step 
towards its abolition.

(source: diplomaticintelligence.eu)






BANGLADESH:

Suspend Death Penalty for War Crimes Convict----Rejection of Review Petition 
Paves Way for Execution Despite Fair Trial Concerns


The death sentence against Motiur Rahman Nizami, the head of Bangladesh's 
Jamaat-e-Islaami party, should be suspended with immediate effect, Human Rights 
Watch said today. The Supreme Court's May 5 rejection of his review petition 
means that Nizami could be hanged in the coming days after the deadline to 
appeal for presidential clemency expires.

Nizami was convicted for war crimes allegedly committed by forces under his 
command during Bangladesh's 1971 war of independence by the country's specially 
constituted International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in 2014.

Several prominent international observers have expressed serious concerns over 
previous death penalty convictions handed down by the ICT due to concerns over 
fair trials.

"Human Rights Watch opposes the death penalty in all circumstances as an 
irreversible, degrading, and cruel punishment," said Brad Adams, Asia director 
at Human Rights Watch. "It is particularly problematic when there are questions 
about whether proceedings meet fair trial standards."

Nizami was charged with 16 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war 
crimes allegedly committed by forces under his command, known as the Al-Badr, 
during Bangladesh's 1971 war of independence. Nizami was allegedly the leader 
of Al-Badr, a paramilitary organization which supported the then West Pakistan 
army against the East Pakistan army and was responsible for some of the worst 
crimes which took place during the 1971 war of independence.

In October 2014 Nizami was found guilty of eight of these charges. He was 
sentenced to death for being complicit in genocide and crimes against humanity 
on 4 charges of rape and killings of intellectuals. Nizami appealed the 
convictions in November 2014. In January 2016, the Supreme Court acquitted 
Nizami of 3 of the 8 charges, including a death penalty charge, but upheld 5, 
including 3 death penalty charges. In March 2016 Nizami filed a petition asking 
for a review of his case. That petition, his final chance for a rehearing, was 
denied last week.

As in other cases before the ICT, the court put an arbitrary limit on the 
number of witnesses Nizami could call to defend himself against charges of war 
crimes. Nizami was ultimately allowed to call just 4 witnesses in his defense. 
He was not allowed to challenge prosecution witnesses who allegedly had offered 
prior inconsistent testimony. Conversations leaked to the Economist as part of 
the "Skypegate" scandal also revealed that the Nizami trial was unlawfully 
discussed by the presiding judge, the prosecution, and an external consultant, 
who were heard debating trial strategies.

Human Rights Watch strongly supports the need for justice and accountability 
for war crimes committed during Bangladesh???s 1971 conflict but has pointed 
out numerous shortcomings in ICT proceedings leading to flawed judgments and, 
in some cases, hangings, despite well-documented fair trial concerns.

Human Rights Watch reiterated its long-standing call for the government of 
Bangladesh to restore fundamental rights of protection to those accused of war 
crimes. Bangladesh's problematic article 47A(1) of the constitution 
specifically strips those accused of war crimes of their fundamental rights, 
including the right to an expeditious trial by an independent and impartial 
court or tribunal. This pernicious amendment to the constitution allows the ICT 
overly broad discretion to deny those charged with war crimes the same rights 
and procedures as other defendants.

Human Rights Watch also called on the Bangladeshi government to impose a 
moratorium on the death penalty with a plan to abolish it altogether. Over 20 
people have been executed since the Awami League government took office in 
2009.

"While many in Bangladesh believe Nizami to be guilty and want him punished, 
justice is only served through fair trials," said Adams. "Instead of expedited 
hangings, authorities in Bangladesh should do everything possible to ensure 
that victims receive accurate answers about responsibility for crimes of such 
gravity and magnitude."

(source: Human Rights Watch)

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

Halt imminent execution of Motiur Rahman Nizami


Motiur Rahman NizamiMotiur Rahman Nizami

Md. Abdul Hamid

President's Office Bangabhaban,

Dhaka Bangladesh

Fax: +880 2 9585502
Honourable President,

I am William Nicholas Gomes, Human rights defender and Freelance journalist.

I strongly believe that the death sentence against Motiur Rahman Nizami, the 
head of Bangladesh's Jamaat-e-Islaami party, should be suspended with immediate 
effect.

It is clear after the Supreme Court's May 5 rejection of his review petition 
that Nizami could be hanged any time. I am of opinion that Bangladesh must stay 
this execution, and end its continued and unlawful use of the death penalties.

Motiur Rahman Nizami, a leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, was found guilty 
of crimes committed during the 1971 war for independence in Bangladesh, 
including genocide, torture, and the murder of intellectuals, and sentenced to 
death by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in October 2014.

I am sure that Several prominent international observers have expressed serious 
concerns over previous death penalty convictions handed down by the ICT due to 
concerns over fair trials.

I stroingly oppose the death penalty in all circumstances as an irreversible, 
degrading, and cruel punishment.

Specifically in the case of Motiur Rahman Nizami the case is particularly 
problematic when there are questions about whether proceedings meet fair trial 
standards.

I want to remind you that this is another execution on the basis of a flawed 
trial that is inconsistent with international human rights standards undermines 
justice, and must be stopped.

I also want to remind you that Bangladesh is party to most of the principal 
human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and 
Political Rights, which obliges it to respect the right to a fair trial. Which 
in the case of Motiur Rahman Nizami totally failed to provide Mr. Nizami with a 
fair trial.

In December 2014, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution, for the fifth 
time since 2007, emphasizing that that the use of the death penalty undermines 
human dignity and calling on those countries that maintain the death penalty to 
establish a moratorium on its use with a view to its abolition.

Human rights watch said "As in other cases before the ICT, the court put an 
arbitrary limit on the number of witnesses Nizami could call to defend himself 
against charges of war crimes. Nizami was ultimately allowed to call just four 
witnesses in his defense. He was not allowed to challenge prosecution witnesses 
who allegedly had offered prior inconsistent testimony. Conversations leaked to 
the Economist as part of the "Skypegate" scandal also revealed that the Nizami 
trial was unlawfully discussed by the presiding judge, the prosecution, and an 
external consultant, who were heard debating trial strategies".

I join Human Rights Watch and urge the Bangladeshi government to impose a 
moratorium on the death penalty with a plan to abolish it altogether.

Finally I request you the halt imminent execution of Motiur Rahman Nizami.

Sincerely

William Nicholas Gomes

Human Rights Defender & Freelance Journalist

www.facebook.com/williamnicholasgomes

(source: newsghana.com)






IRAN----executions

Iran regime hangs 4 in prisons and in public


Iran's fundamentalist regime has executed 4 more prisoners, including a man in 
public.

On Monday 2 prisoners, identified as Nasser Saidi (Jafari) and Mehdi Nabashi 
(Nabashian), were hanged in a prison in Orumieh (Urmia), north-west Iran.

A man, identified as Mohsen Baha'odini, was hanged on Sunday in a prison in 
Minab, southern Iran.

Also on Sunday an unnamed man was hanged in public in a major square in 
Kermanshah, western Iran, according to the state-run Mersad news agency.

The hangings bring to at least 66 the number of people executed in Iran since 
April 10. 3 of those executed were women and one is believed to have been a 
juvenile offender.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) said in a statement on April 
13 that the increasing trend of executions "aimed at intensifying the climate 
of terror to rein in expanding protests by various strata of the society, 
especially at a time of visits by high-ranking European officials, demonstrates 
that the claim of moderation is nothing but an illusion for this medieval 
regime."

Amnesty International in its April 6 annual Death Penalty report covering the 
2015 period wrote: "Iran put at least 977 people to death in 2015, compared to 
at least 743 the year before."

"Iran alone accounted for 82% of all executions recorded" in the Middle East 
and North Africa, the human rights group said.

There have been more than 2,300 executions during Hassan Rouhani's tenure as 
President. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation 
in Iran in March announced that the number of executions in Iran in 2015 was 
greater than any year in the last 25 years. Rouhani has explicitly endorsed the 
executions as examples of "God's commandments" and "laws of the parliament that 
belong to the people."

(source: NCR-Iran)






INDONESIA:

Girl, boyfriend kill father for disapproval of relationship


A teenage girl and her boyfriend could face life imprisonment or the death 
sentence if found guilty of killing the girl's father at his home in Kota 
Tengah regency, Gorontalo, early on Sunday.

A preliminary police investigation points to premeditated murder.

Gorontalo Police spokesperson Adj. Sr. Comr. Bagus Santoso said the motive for 
the killing had yet to be established, but based on provisional information, 
AF, 17, and her boyfriend, OH, 20, were angry at the girl's father, Nasir 
Mahmud, 60, because he did not approve of their relationship.

Apparently, the father frequently got angry at AF for coming home very late.

According to the police investigation, the couple, who are both still students, 
had planned the killing on Saturday afternoon.

Early on Sunday, at about 2 a.m., OH, from Pulubala subdistrict in Kota Tengah 
regency, silently entered AF's house using a key that the girl had previously 
placed in the house's ventilation hole.

He then hid behind a sofa, waiting for a sign from his girlfriend, according to 
the preliminary police information.

Moments later, both AF and OH entered Nasir's room, covered the head of the 
sleeping man with a pillow and, using a kitchen knife, OH stabbed the victim in 
his neck, according to the initial investigation.

Nasir tried to free himself and fight back. An in-law of his living at the same 
house heard his cries, but the 2 suspects promptly pretended to have been 
killed by laying down on their backs beside Nasir, who was already dead and 
covered in blood.

"When the police arrived at the crime scene, the victim and the 2 perpetrators, 
who pretended to be dead, were still in the room," police spokesperson Bagus 
Santoso said.

Police are still processing the crime scene and conducting a thorough 
investigation into the case.

Bagus said once convicted, the perpetrators would be charged under Article 340 
of the Criminal Code, which carried a maximum penalty of life imprisonment or 
the death sentence.

Gorontalo Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Rony Yulianto said the police quickly 
arrested OH as the suspect.

"The suspect, who is a student at a vocational school in Gorontalo, was found 
lying beside the victim. In fact, he pretended to have died," Rony said.

He added that police had taken the victim's body to the hospital for an 
autopsy. The girl, who sustained an injury to her hand, was given medical 
treatment before further questioning.

The police confiscated a knife believed to have been used in the killing, as 
well as blood-stained clothing belonging to the suspects.

(source: The Jakarta Post)