[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

May 11



PAKISTAN:

SC stays execution of 3 convicted by military courts


The Supreme Court stayed on Tuesday execution of 3 convicts handed down death 
sentences by military courts and ordered office of the Attorney General to 
respond to allegations mentioned in a petition.

The order was issued by a 3-judge bench headed by Justice Amir Hani Muslim that 
had taken up the appeals moved by convicts Ajab Gul, Fazal Ghaffar and Ms Zarba 
Khelow against the April 13 judgement of the Peshawar High Court (PHC).

The apex court also issued notices to the Judge Advocate General Branch, the 
legal arm of the armed forces, and postponed further proceedings to a date to 
be decided later.

A separate 5-judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Anwar 
Zaheer Jamali is seized with 12 different appeals instituted against 
convictions by the military courts, including death sentences handed down to 
militants for their role in various terrorist attacks.

Rights activist Asma Jahangir told Dawn the apex court had stayed the execution 
of her client, Ajab Gul, the brother of Taj Gul who was awarded a death 
sentence by a military court.

Taj Gul, a resident of Upper Dir, was handed over to security forces by elders 
of the area some 5 years ago.

On April 13, the PHC had upheld the death sentences handed down by the military 
courts to 6 militants, including Taj Gul and Fazal Ghaffar.

Ms Jahangir said that although the high court upheld the sentences on the 
grounds that due process was followed, she pleaded before the court that her 
client was denied the right, also available under the Pakistan Army Act, to be 
represented by a suitable legal counsel during the trial.

Moreover, no document was shown to her client to prove that he actually 
participated in any assault on a government or public property or the personnel 
of law enforcement agencies, she added.

Her petition claimed that even though their family members met the accused 
several times at an internment centre at the Pak-Austria Institute of Tourism 
and Management in Swat, they came to know about their conviction only through 
media reports on March 15.

A public announcement made by the Inter-Services Public Relations on March 15 
said the convict was an active member of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and was 
involved in attacking law enforcement agencies which resulted in the death of 
police constables and personnel of the Levies force.

A large cache of arms and explosives was recovered from the possession of the 
convict and he confessed to having committed the offences before a magistrate, 
for which he was given the capital punishment.

Fazal Ghaffar, 38, was represented in court by Advocate Ahmed Raza Kasuri.

Ghaffar was also detained and subsequently kept at an internment centre until 
his conviction and award of death sentence by the military court.

The family of this convict also came to know about the death sentence through 
the media. Ghaffar was charged with attacking personnel of security forces.

Fateh Khan was represented by Advocate Laiq Swati. He was handed over to the 
security forces on Dec 27, 2009, in the Charbagh area of Swat district and 
believed to be a teacher at a seminary before his arrest by the security 
forces.

The counsel too pleaded that his client had been denied fair trial as he was 
not allowed to engage a defence lawyer of his choice during his trial.

The military courts, set up after the Dec 16, 2014 carnage at the Army Public 
School in Peshawar, have so far convicted 76 militants, of which 72 have been 
awarded death sentences and four life terms.

Only 8 of the militants have so far been executed, most of them involved in the 
attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar.

(source: Dawn)






BANGLADESH:

Bangladesh's Nizami urged patience before death: Son----Nizami's son Mohammad 
Nakibur Rahman says 'there is no doubt' that India is behind the execution


"Stay patient" were the last words of Bangladesh's Jamaat-e-Islami leader 
Motiur Rahman Nizami before being hanged last night, his son said.

Hours after burying his father, Mohammad Nakibur Rahman told Anadolu Agency on 
Wednesday that Nizami "asked all of us to remain patient" and wished for "all 
of us to see each other in Jannah," or Heaven.

Motiur Rahman Nizami, the leader of Bangladesh's Jamaat-e-Islami party, was 
convicted by the nation's International Crimes Tribunal and hanged on 
accusations of committing atrocities during Bangladesh's 1971 War of 
Independence.

Jahangir Kabir, a prison official, confirmed to Anadolu Agency reporter that 
Nizami was hanged at the Dhaka Central Jail at 12:10 a.m. local time Wednesday.

Rahman, an assistant professor of finance at the U.S.' University of North 
Carolina, and a human right activist, said Jamaat-e-Islami had supported a 
united Pakistan and been "very active in keeping Pakistan united".

But Jamaat had "no relationship with atrocities that took place," as it "was 
involved only in political campaigning," he said. "They made statements, they 
were engaged in staging rallies, and these were the activities that the Jamaat 
held".

He said that the party leaders thought "Bangladesh would not be able to truly 
be independent if the country were separated with the help of India".

Rahman said that atrocities were committed by the Pakistani army, "but Jamaat 
had nothing to do with them".

Asked if he thinks like other Jamaat leaders that India is behind Nizami's 
execution, Rahman replied: "There is no doubt about that".

'Jamaat will be stronger'

Nizami had served as the head of Bangladesh's Jamaat-e-Islami since 2001, 
succeeding Gholam Azam.

He served first as agriculture minister and then as industries minister in 
2001-2006 under the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led coalition government. He 
was also member of parliament from his own constituency Pabna-1 in 1991-1996, 
and then also in 2001-2006.

Asked if the execution of its leader would deal the party a severe blow, Rahman 
said it would not.

He said all these executions are "only a sacrifice ... [and] are making the 
Jamaat stronger" because, according to him, people are realizing who the victim 
of the India-backed government is.

He said Jamaat "is the true patriotic party" and the only one that has stood 
against "aggression" from India.

Rahman said he hoped the party will get "more and more popular" and its 
leader's sacrifice will make it stronger, adding, "In the future inshallah the 
Jamaat will be more powerful than ever before".

World reaction

Rahman said they got condolences from all over the world - both the Muslim 
world and the West - and he had heard many condemnations.

Nizami's execution was strongly opposed by the UN, and the U.S. also voiced 
concerns.

Amnesty International issued a statement saying, "The death penalty is always a 
human rights violation, but its use is even more troubling when the execution 
follows a flawed process".

On the weak reaction from Muslim countries, Rahman said, "Unfortunately, most 
Muslim countries are oppressive as well, and there is not much room for free 
speech and assembly".

He said there was reaction in the Muslim world "but we do not see it because as 
you know these countries are not very free".

Rahman distinguished Turkey as a country where the reaction had been 
widespread, with protests in front of Bangladeshi Embassy in Ankara and 
elsewhere.

"We are very grateful for what President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan is doing," 
Rahman said of Erdogan denouncing the execution. "As always, President Erdogan 
is taking the side of the oppressed people around the world".

He said, "Erdogan is probably the only world leader who is speaking for 
oppressed people all around the world," including Egypt, Palestine, Syria, and 
Rwanda, adding that he is doing whatever he can for the oppressed.

No clashes

Rahman said that despite Bangladesh having "zero tolerance for assembly," 
thousands of people took to the streets to oppose the execution.

"We are advising people to avoid any clashes with security forces," he said, as 
that would be "counterproductive".

Rahman said his father was already "buried as soon as he arrived at our 
village", but since few people could attend, mass memorial prayers would be 
conducted throughout Bangladesh during the day.

"At 7 in the morning (01.00GMT) the funeral took place and thousands of people 
showed up despite mass arrests in our area," he said.

(source: aa.com.tr)






EGYPT:

25 defendants receive death penalty in 'Aswan massacre'----In April 2014, more 
than 20 were killed in the bloody conflict

2 years after deadly clashes took place between 2 tribes in Aswan, an Egyptian 
court sentenced on Wednesday 25 defendants, who are charged with murder, with 
the death penalty.

More than 100 defendants were put on trial in the case.

According to state media, a criminal court held in the governorate of Assiut 
referred the defendants' files to the Grand Mufti Shawky Allam, who will 
provide his opinion regarding their death by hanging.

In April 2014, a minor conflict between 2 young people, 1 from the Arab Bani 
Hilal tribe and the other from the Nubian Daboudya, escalated into an armed 
violence. At least 26 were killed and many were injured on both sides.

The crisis, known in the media as the 'Aswan massacre', required the 
intervention of state officials who sought to create a reconciliation process 
between the 2 parties. Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed Al-Tayeb formed the 
reconciliation committee after conducting a dialogue session, following weeks 
of failed attempts before reaching a truce.

(source: Daily News Egypt)