[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Nov. 13



MAURITANIA:

Mauritanian clerics urge for blogger's death penalty to be applied


Muslim clerics in Mauritania on Sunday urged the authorities to execute a 
blogger who was sentenced to death in 2014 for apostasy after writing a blog 
post on Islam and recial discrimination.

Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ould Mkhaitir's article touched a nerve in Mauritania, a 
West African country with deep social and racial divisions. He was tried for 
apostasy and received the death penalty despite having repented and saying his 
article was misunderstood.

According to the U.S.-based Freedom Now rights group who provide Mkhaitir with 
legal counsel, the blog post appears to have been the 1st he published. Prior 
to his arrest he worked as an engineer for a mining company and was not an 
activist, Freedom Now said on its website.

Mauritania has not applied a death penalty since 1987 but on Sunday, the 
influential Forum of Imams and Ulemas issued a fatwa, or Islamic decree, 
calling for Mkhaitir to be killed.

It condemned "Mkhaitir and his heresy, recalling that the legal penalty in his 
case is death, with no exception made for his repentance," according to a 
statement.

"We demand that the competent authorities apply the law: kill him and bury him 
in conformity with the law of God."

Rights groups like Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders have 
campaigned for Mkhaitir's pardon and release.

(source: Reuters)






IRAN:

Death Sentences of 3 Sunni Prisoners Commuted by the Supreme Court


After the "Black Monday" in Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj when by transferring 37 
Sunni prisoners under tight security measurements to solitary confinement, at 
least 20 of them were executed, reportedly the execution of 3 Sunni prisoners 
have been canceled and they were sentenced to 15 years imprisonment.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), the 
death sentences of three Sunni prisoners namely Taimor Naderizadeh, Farzad 
Shahnazari, Farshid Naseri have been rejected in the Supreme Court and after 
returning to branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran, their sentences 
have been changed to 15 years in prison.

A close source to the prisoners, explained to HRANA's reporter in this 
regarding: "The sentences of the prisoners had been confirmed by the Appeals 
Court and they were the co-defendants of some of the executed Sunni prisoners. 
According to the lawyers of the prisoners, the sentences have been violated and 
they were sentenced to 15 years in prison by branch 15 of the Revolutionary 
Court in Tehran headed by Mr. Salvati."

Need to be mentioned on Black Monday of Rajaei Shahr prison, after 
unprecedented raid of black uniformed prison guards, 37 death row prisoners of 
ward number 10 were transferred to solitary confinements under security 
condition with handcuffs, shackles and blindfolded. According to the judiciary, 
the sentences of at least 20 of them were executed. However, some others 
unofficial sources estimated that up to 26 prisoners were executed.

HRANA had reported that Farshid Naseri, Barzan Nasrollah Zadeh, Seyed Jamal 
Seyed Mousavi, Farzad shahnazari, and Taimoor Naderzadeh were the 5 prisoners 
who had been transferred to hall number 7 from solitary confinements later.

Also in another report, HRANA published a video of the defenses of 4 prisoners 
before their executions.

Need to be mentioned that at least 11 Sunni prisoners in Rajaei Shahr are in 
danger of being executed. Among them, only 2 prisoners, including 1 minor were 
saved from mass executions. Due to recent unprecedented mass executions they 
are serving along 49 other prisoners, including 9 with death sentences, in fear 
of being executed.

(source: HRANA News Agency)






NIGERIA:

Corruption is murder in disguise - Charly Boy


Charly Boy says the only way corruption can be effectively tackled is by making 
the crime a treasonable offence.

The entertainer, real name Charles Oputa, described corruption as murder in 
disguise while noting that majority of Nigerians are at the mercy of a "few 
politician".

Charly Boy said this Thursday during a news conference organised by the "Occupy 
Unlimited" group, a civil society group advocating for good governance and a 
corruption-free society.

"Corrupt leadership has been killing ordinary Nigerians slowly and steadily 
over the years," said Charly Boy, national coordinator of the group.

"It is time to properly define it as 'murder in disguise', and treat as 
treasonable offence against our dear country.

"Over 180 million people are surviving at the mercy of few politicians who have 
mastered the art of creating division among her own people through religion, 
ethnicity, corruption, and frivolous issues.

Charly Boy said the death penalty should be applied on all politically-corrupt 
persons if Nigeria is serious about getting majority of its population out of 
economic hardship.

The singer said Nigeria would be better off emulating the likes of China and 
Pakistan, where corruption attracts capital punishment.

While noting that "corruption is hiding under the immunity clause to loot and 
plunder", he called for a review of the clause.

"This is a process of holding politicians accountable not only to their 
promises, but in their service to the Nigerian nation. The mass protest will 
begin at the Unity Fountain in Abuja down to the National Assembly.

"We are a coalition of ordinary Nigerians from different parts of the country, 
with no political affiliations; we believe in the interest of our country. We 
also believe strongly in the fight against corruption by President Muhammadu 
Buhari."

Charly Boy announced that the Occupy Unlimited Group will stage a peaceful 
protest against corruption in the Federal Capital Territory on November 15.

(source: ghanaweb.com)






INDONESIA:

Taiwanese drug smugglers lose final death sentence appeal in Indonesia


The Supreme Court of Indonesia on Friday upheld the death sentence against 3 
Taiwanese men who were convicted last year of smuggling drugs into the country. 
In its ruling, the court said the crime committed by the 3 defendants would 
cause great harm to Indonesians, particularly young people.

Chen Chia-wei, Wang An-kang and Luo Chih-cheng, therefore, deserve capital 
punishment, the court ruled in its 2nd trial of the case.

According to the court documents, the 3 men were arrested at Jakarta 
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in 2014 while attempting to smuggle 2 
kilograms of amphetamine into the country from Hong Kong.

They were sentenced to death by a Jakarta district court last year but the 
sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment in an appeal to the High 
Court.

Prosecutors, however, appealed the High Court ruling and in January the Supreme 
Court sentenced the defendants to death.

The 3 defendants then filed an extraordinary appeal that was turned down Friday 
by the Supreme Court.

They are the 1st Taiwanese nationals to be sentenced to death in Indonesia for 
drug smuggling since that country's President Joko Widodo, popularly known as 
Jokowi, took office 2 years ago.

Jokowi has taken strict measures to crack down on drug-related crimes, saying 
that drugs are destructive to young Indonesians and advocating the death 
penalty for convicted drug dealers.

The Indonesian government will show no mercy to anyone convicted of drug 
crimes, he said.

In August, a district court in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta sentenced 4 
other Taiwanese to death for possession of 26 kg of amphetamine but they have 
since appealed the verdict.

Currently, some 30 Taiwanese nationals convicted of drug-related crimes are 
behind bars in Jakarta and Central Java, according to Indonesian authorities.

(source: focustaiwan.tw)






TURKEY:

It is not for West to decide reintroduction of death penalty: President Erdogan


Turkey will decide whether or not to reinstate the death penalty, not the West, 
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Nov. 12.

"The issue on the reintroduction of death penalty is also on the government's 
agenda. I said 'I, as the president, will approve the decision after the 
parliament decides.' The West cannot make decision regarding this, but we can," 
Erdogan said speaking during the funeral ceremony of Muhammet Fatih Safiturk, 
the district governor of the southeastern province of Mardin's Derik, who was 
killed in an outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) attack on Nov. 11.

"The forgiver of crimes committed against the person is not the state but 
heirs. This is not a crime committed against the state. The state can forgive 
crimes committed against it and that is another issue. However, the only 
forgiveness authority is heirs in crimes against the person. Therefore, what 
George or Hans say does not concern us. What concerns us is what the God says," 
the president added.

Amid the ongoing discussions on the reintroduction of death penalty in the 
country, a progression report by the European Commission on Nov. 9 noted that 
the rejection of the death penalty was an essential element, expressing the 
Union's concern on the issue.

"Regarding the renewed considerations to introduce a bill in parliament to 
reinstate the death penalty, the EU recalls that the unequivocal rejection of 
the death penalty is an essential element of the EU acquis and a central 
international obligation to which Turkey has committed," the report said.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said a "limited measure" 
could be drafted to restore the death penalty, which was formally abandoned in 
2002, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterating that he would approve 
such a measure if parliament backed it.

(source: Hurriyet Daily News)