[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

May 27



INDONESIA:

Indonesia cyanide death penalty 'possible'----Despite assuring the Australian 
Federal Police the death penalty would not be sought, Jakarta prosecutors are 
publicly refusing to rule it out.

Jakarta prosecutors have refused to publicly rule out the death penalty in the 
case of a woman accused of murdering her friend with a cyanide-laced coffee.

This is despite the Australian Federal Police (AFP) being given assurances she 
would not be executed before they agreed to help Indonesian authorities.

Jessica Kumala Wongso is accused of killing her 27-year-old friend Wayan Mirna 
Salihin in January with a poisoned Vietnamese ice coffee at a popular Jakarta 
restaurant.

After months in which the case file on the alleged murder was repeatedly sent 
back to police due to lack of evidence, prosecutors declared the investigation 
complete this week.

Jessica, also 27, said nothing as she was brought to the prosecutor's office in 
central Jakarta amid a crush of shouting local media.

Trailing behind her were 2 policemen carrying the brief against her and a box 
which contains new information provided by the AFP.

The AFP received approval in February from Justice Minister Michael Keenan to 
provide assistance to Indonesian authorities.

The approval came after the Indonesian government assured Australia the death 
penalty would not be "sought nor carried out" if Jessica were to be found 
guilty of the alleged murder.

But Jakarta Attorney Office spokesman Waluyo refused to publicly rule out the 
death penalty as a possible punishment when talking to local media, saying that 
even for Jessica "it's possible".

"It depends on facts found in the trial later," he said.

Speaking outside the office, her lawyer Yudi Wibowo told reporters the AFP had 
given local authorities information about an alleged quarrel between Jessica 
and her then boyfriend - known only as "Patrick" - while they were living in 
Australia.

Mr Wibowo claimed "Patrick" had reported her to police, because he was "afraid 
of being reported first".

"She (Jessica) told me they had a quarrel ... her boyfriend had debt. She asked 
him about the money he owed to her ... that's all," Mr Wibowo told reporters.

He said the AFP had also received reports of Jessica crashing her car into a 
nursing home in August last year in Sydney.

But Mr Wibowo said he was doubtful the new information could be used during her 
trial.

In a case that has dominated local press, Jessica is accused of killing 
27-year-old Wayan Mirna Salihin, with whom she studied in Australia - first at 
Billy Blue College in Sydney and later at Swinburne University of Technology in 
Melbourne in 2008.

Jessica met up with Mirna and their friend Hani on January 6, during a trip 
home to Indonesia in January.

It is alleged she laced Mirna's Vietnamese iced coffee with cyanide.

Moments after sipping it Mirna collapsed and began convulsing.

She was confirmed dead a short time later in hospital.

Prosecutors will now have 110 days to prepare the indictment against Jessica 
and hand it to Central Jakarta District Court.

The AFP have been contacted for comment.

(source: sbs.com.au)






PHILIPPINES:

Senate must study death penalty carefully - Gatchalian


While he favors the restoration of the death penalty for big time drug 
syndicates and drug lords, Senator-elect Sherwin Gatchalian said the Senate 
should study carefully the proposal to reimpose it for other heinous crimes.

"I do agree to reimpose the death penalty for big time drug syndicates and drug 
lords. However, we have to study carefully (the) other crimes being proposed by 
the administration," Gatchalian said in a text message on Thursday.

"This is one of the items the Senate will thoroughly deliberate and discuss," 
he added.

Presumptive President-elect Rodrigo Duterte himself is pushing for the 
reimposition of the death penalty not only for drug crimes but also for other 
heinous crimes.

Both Senate President Franklin Drilon and Senator Juan Edgardo "Sonny" Angara 
earlier expressed their readiness to listen to all arguments for and against 
the reinstatement of the capital punishment in the country.

"I will listen to all sides," Drilon said.

Angara, for his part, said he would "listen carefully to the arguments for and 
against."

But Angara added: "We should also prioritize measures to improve law 
enforcement and the justice system alongside any death penalty measures."

(source: Philippine Inquirer)

**********

Archbishop Palma: 'Duterte says one thing, then changes it'


CEBU Archbishop Jose Palma said he can not understand the mind of presumptive 
President Rodrigo Duterte, especially his stand on various issues.

In a press conference yesterday, Palma said that the presumptive president has 
a tendency to change his statements.

Palma made the reaction after Duterte issued statements on his stand on the 
revival of the death penalty and his proposal to implement a 3-child policy as 
a way to control the population.

"The incoming president seems to be a very difficult (person) to assess, I put 
it that way. He says one thing today, (but) he modifies a little bit the next 
day," Palma told reporters yesterday.

No statement yet

Palma said that as of now, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines 
(CBCP) has agreed to not issue any statement until such time that Duterte will 
be able to assume the presidency.

The decision was made during a meeting last May 24 with CBCP president and 
Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas.

Palma said that as agreed with Villegas and the other bishops, the CBCP will 
have to wait and see until Duterte implements his programs during his 
administration.

He hopes that Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles, who is a friend of Duterte, could 
enlighten the presumptive president on various stands he is making.

Valles is one of many senior bishops who are groomed to succeed Villegas once 
his term ends 2 years from now.

Palma also hopes that Duterte, once declared as the new President, will be able 
to talk with the bishops.

He also supports the recent statement of the Archdiocese of Davao to "respect 
and listen with humility" to the presumptive president's words even if it's 
against the Catholic Church.

Hypocrite

Duterte criticized the Catholic Church in the country, even calling it "the 
most hypocritical institution" for projecting itself to be righteous even 
though its members are allegedly committing wrongdoings.

Meanwhile, Palma supports the implementation of a 10 p.m. curfew for minors 
within Cebu Province.

Recently, the Cebu Provincial Board passed a resolution supporting Duterte's 
plan to implement a curfew for minors nationwide starting on June 30.

Palma believes a curfew for minors could help avoid crimes committed by and 
against minors, especially those that occur in the wee hours.

(source: Sun Star)






ISRAEL:

New defense minister's death penalty demand would put Israelis at risk


One of the terms set by Israel's incoming minister of defense, Avigdor 
Liberman, as a precondition for joining Benjamin Netanyahu's government was 
that Israel impose the death penalty for people convicted of terrorism. 
Liberman's party, Yisrael Beitenu, raised this as a banner issue before the 
March 2015 elections and again, even more fervently, following the recent wave 
of terrorism. Its argument, which has no basis whatsoever in fact, is that such 
a measure is necessary to deter attacks.

Sharon Gal, a former Yisrael Beitenu Knesset member who resigned after serving 
only 6 months, actually proposed legislation on this issue. His bill failed to 
pass in July 2015 due to Netanyahu's adamant opposition to it. The prime 
minister put all his weight into opposing the law. Among the reasons he cited 
was the defense establishment's argument that imposing the death penalty could 
aggravate the already sensitive relationship with the Palestinian Authority 
(PA) and lead to an unwelcome escalation in tensions. Netanyahu has since 
withdrawn his opposition. In fact, he retracted it at the start of the recent 
coalition negotiations with Liberman.

Meanwhile, Liberman has climbed high up a tree and turned the issue into a 
matter of principle. It seems that he wants to prove to his supporters, 
electorate and Israeli public opinion that he is interested in more than just a 
senior Cabinet portfolio in the Netanyahu government. He also wants to show 
that he has a deep concern for public safety and to establish a clear milestone 
for a firm Israeli policy against the Palestinians.

The return of the death penalty to the public agenda led former Attorney 
General Yehuda Weinstein to speak out for the first time since completing his 
tenure in January 2016. "It is impractical as a deterrent, since these are 
criminals who act from an ideological motive anyway and are not afraid to die," 
Weinstein said in a May 19 interview with Haaretz. "Furthermore, it's immoral."

It is also interesting to hear the opinion of the deputy military advocate 
general, Col. Ilan Katz (Res.), who noted on May 22 that over the years, there 
have been steady government directives to avoid seeking the death penalty. He 
said that the legal system of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has always 
recommended that the death penalty for terrorism not be requested, because it 
could lead to an increase in attacks and incidents in which the "enemy executes 
our own captives."

Among coalition opponents of the death penalty are members of Kulanu, headed by 
Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon. Without their support, there is no chance of the 
law being passed in the Knesset.

Actually, according to Israeli military law, the death penalty can already be 
imposed on people convicted of terrorism who are older than 18 years of age, 
but it requires unanimous agreement by a 3-judge military tribunal as well as 
the unanimous consent of judges on the military appellate court. To date, 
Israeli policy has been to avoid implementing those parts of the law enabling 
use of the death penalty.

In the coalition negotiations, Netanyahu and Liberman agreed to amend the law 
so that a majority of just 2 military judges would be needed to approve a death 
sentence. The government could even change its traditional and ethical policy 
of avoiding any implementation of the death penalty. Under the influence of the 
incoming defense minister, it could ask military courts to sentence accused 
terrorists to death or it could foster public opinion in support of capital 
punishment.

"This is another one of Liberman's crazy ideas, which could ignite everything," 
Gen. Adnan al-Damiri, spokesman for the Palestinian security forces, told 
Al-Monitor. As of now, the PA does not believe Israel will decide to aggravate 
its already complex and troubled relationship with the Palestinians and the PA. 
Nevertheless, the Palestinian leadership continues to regard the issue as a red 
line that must not be crossed.

"If Israel dares to execute a single Palestinian, you can say goodbye to 
security coordination," a senior Palestinian in the security services told 
Al-Monitor on the condition of anonymity. If Israel executes a Palestinian and 
President Mahmoud Abbas continues to convey the sense that it is all business 
as usual, he said, "It will be the end of him, and in fact, of all of us."

Security coordination has proven itself over the past few months, but it is not 
the only thing potentially at risk. The new defense minister's demands could 
ignite a full-blown intifada.

The most senior ranks of the IDF - Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot, Deputy Chief 
of Staff Yair Golan, Coordinator of Activities in the Territories Yoav 
Mordechai, and above them, the outgoing defense minister, Moshe Ya'alon - have 
all advocated a policy of restraint to keep the majority of the Palestinian 
public out of the circle of violence and intifada. This measured and 
thought-out policy has proved its effectiveness. Under the leadership of a 
reasonable and responsible defense minister, the IDF has shown that it can put 
the brakes on the aggressive posturing of right-wing ministers in Netanyahu's 
Cabinet, particularly those who are convinced that Israel's security problems 
can be resolved by following a "bang and be done with it" policy.

So, for example, during the recent war of Palestinian attacks on Israelis, 
instead of undertaking excessive military operations in the territories, the 
IDF supported granting additional work permits to Palestinians. Instead of 
conducting mass arrests, which would likely cause the situation to further 
deteriorate and drag the general Palestinian population into the rebellion, the 
IDF tightened security cooperation with the Palestinian security services and 
conducted point-specific arrests of people who met the "ticking time bomb" 
criterion. Carrying out just 1 execution, as the new defense minister is 
demanding, could reignite the whole region and bury the joint efforts of the 
Israeli and Palestinian security forces to stop the wave of terror.

Then, of course, there is the issue of the two Israeli civilians being held by 
Hamas in Gaza. It should be recalled that on April 16, Liberman threatened the 
life of Ismail Haniyeh, the most senior Hamas official in Gaza. Liberman mocked 
Haniyeh by suggesting that he start looking for a nearby cemetery if he refused 
to return the bodies of fallen soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin within 48 
hours of being told to do so, as well as releasing 2 Israeli civilians, Avera 
Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayyad.

The death penalty that Liberman wants to promote as a deterrent could put the 
lives of these 2 Israelis held by Hamas at risk and cause enormous damage to 
Israel's security.

(source: Opinion; Shlomi Eldar is a columnist for Al-Monitor's Israel Pulse. 
For the past 2 decades, he has covered the Palestinian Authority and especially 
the Gaza Strip for Israel's Channels 1 and 10, reporting on the emergence of 
Hamas. In 2007, he was awarded the Sokolov Prize, Israel's most important media 
award, for this work----al-monitor.com)




IRAN----execution

Man hanged in public in southern Iran city


Iran's fundamentalist regime on Thursday publicly hanged a man in the southern 
city of Shiraz.

The regime's judiciary in Fars Province, southern Iran, in a May 26 statement 
identified the victim only as Hamid B.

The regime mass executed on Wednesday 11 prisoners in their twenties, including 
at least 1 who is believed to have been only 16 at the time of his alleged 
offence. Another 5 prisoners were executed on Tuesday in Ghezel-Hessar Prison 
of Karaj and Adelabad Prison of Shiraz.

Another prisoner was hanged in public in Ramsar, northern Iran, after spending 
8 years in prison.

Iran's fundamentalist regime has sharply increased its rate of executions, 
carrying out at least 21 hangings in a 48-hour period last week.

Ms. Farideh Karimi, a member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran 
(NCRI) and a human rights activist, on Wednesday called for an urgent response 
by the United Nations and foreign governments to the appalling state of human 
rights in Iran.

"The rising number of mass executions in Iran in recent weeks clearly shows 
that the regime has in no way decided to change its disgraceful human rights 
record. Any claim of moderation under Hassan Rouhani is simply a myth. It is 
high time for the United Nations and human rights organizations to speak out 
against the brutal executions by the mullahs??? regime and send Iran's human 
rights dossier before the UN Security Council," she said.

The latest hanging brings to at least 116 the number of people executed in Iran 
since April 10. 3 of those executed were women and 2 are believed to have been 
juvenile offenders.

Iran's fundamentalist regime earlier this month amputated the fingers of a man 
in his thirties in Mashhad, the latest in a line of draconian punishments 
handed down and carried out in recent weeks.

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)






PAKISTAN----execution

Convicted murderer hanged


A death row inmate was executed at the District Jail here early Thursday 
morning, official sources said.

They said Said Jehan, a resident of Buner, was charged with the murder of his 
parents-in-laws. The deceased had been serving time since 2011. The body was 
handed over to the relatives after execution.

The government lifted moratorium on the death penalty following militants' 
attack on Army Public School in Peshawar on December 16, 2014.

(source: The News)

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

MEPs launch declaration on religious freedom in Pakistan


Italian MEP Antonio Tajani has launched a campaign to highlight the plight of a 
woman facing the death sentence in Pakistan.

The initiative, a European Parliament written declaration, seeks to halt the 
death penalty of Asia Bibi, a mother of 5 who was sentenced for blasphemy and 
has been imprisoned since 2010.

Bibi, a Christian, was sentenced to death for blasphemy after being accused of 
insulting the Muslim prophet Mohammed after she shared a drinking vessel with 
her Islamic colleagues.

The aim is to collect the signatures of more than half of the European 
Parliament's MEPs to a written declaration on promoting religious freedom in 
Pakistan and condemning the unjustified detention of Asia Bibi.

If that happens, the declaration will have the same legal value as a petition 
and will be sent to the High Representative of the EU and the European 
Commission.

Tajani, a former Commissioner, called on the EU to take "all necessary 
political and diplomatic action" to secure the release of Bibi and to promote 
religious freedom in Pakistan.

The EPP group member said, "Europe cannot be silent in front of the unjustified 
detention of Asia Bibi, a symbol of the persecution of Christians in the world. 
We have the duty to avoid the execution of a woman for an unacceptable crime."

He added that on 4 November 2014 a crowd of more than 1500 people had burned 
alive a couple accused of blasphemy in Pakistan.

"And 2 months ago, during Easter, a group of Islamists demonstrated in front of 
the buildings of the Pakistani government asking for the application of Sharia 
law in Pakistan and execution by death penalty for Asia Bibi."

"Every man or woman who cares about religion, human rights and is not blinded 
by hatred, knows that Asia Bibi has to live and should be released", said 
Tajani, who is also the European Parliament's Vice President responsible for 
interreligious dialogue.

The Primate of Australia, Archbishop Philip Freier, has also called for 
clemency in the Bibi case.

In his letter to the High Commissioner for Pakistan to Australia, he has asked 
that Islamabad re-open Asia Bibi's case and acquit her."

(source: parliamentmagazine.eu)






SAUDI ARABIA:

Surge in executions continues as death toll approaches 100


Saudi Arabia will have put to death more than 100 people in the first 6 months 
of this year if it continues to carry out executions at its current pace, said 
Amnesty International today. At least 94 people have been executed so far this 
year, higher than at the same point last year.

At least 158 people were put to death in Saudi Arabia in 2015, the highest 
recorded figure in the country since 1995.

"Executions in Saudi Arabia have been surging dramatically for 2 years now and 
this appalling trend shows no sign of slowing," said James Lynch, Deputy Middle 
East and North Africa Director at Amnesty International.

"The steep increase in executions is even more appalling given the pervasive 
flaws in Saudi Arabia's justice system which mean that it is entirely routine 
for people to be sentenced to death after grossly unfair trials. The Saudi 
Arabian authorities should end their reliance on this cruel and inhuman form of 
punishment and establish an official moratorium on executions immediately."

The case of 21-year-old Ali al-Nimr who was sentenced to death based on 
"confessions" he says were extracted through torture, provides a glaring 
example of the arbitrary use of the death penalty after proceedings that 
blatantly flout international human rights standards.

Today marks 2 years since Ali al-Nimr, who was arrested after taking part in 
anti-government protests, was sentenced to death by a special security and 
counter-terrorism court for a series of offences such as attacking security 
forces and committing armed robbery. He was just 17 when he was arrested. 
International human rights law prohibits the use of the death penalty for 
crimes committed by persons under the age of 18.

"Ali al-Nimr has already spent 2 years on death row - instead of forcing him to 
spend a single day longer awaiting execution the Saudi Arabian authorities 
should quash his conviction and order a re-trial immediately in proceedings 
that meet international fair trial standards without recourse to the death 
penalty," said James Lynch.

2 other young men, Abdullah al-Zaher and Dawood al-Marhoon were sentenced to 
death a few months after Ali al-Nimr, on a list of similar offences, and also 
say they were tortured into "confessing".

(source: Amnesty International)