[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 18



INDIA:

SC summons Katju over remarks in Soumya case


In an unusual decision, the Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to its former 
judge Justice Markandey Katju for his personal appearance for saying that the 
apex court "grievously erred" by setting aside the death penalty of the convict 
in Kerala's Soumya rape-cum-murder case.

A 3-judge bench presided over by Justice Ranjan Gogoi decided to convert 
Justice Katju's blog into a suo motu petition. "We issue notice to Justice 
Katju, former judge of this court, and request him to appear in court in person 
and participate in the proceedings on 11th November, 2016, at 2.00 pm as to 
whether the judgement and order dated 15th September, 2016, passed by this 
bench suffers from any fundamental flaw so as to require exercise of the review 
jurisdiction," the bench said.

Katju had on September 16 sought an open court review of the judgement, saying 
it was "regrettable that the court has not read Section 300 (murder) of the IPC 
carefully." "Such a view coming from a retired judge of this court needs to be 
treated with greatest of respect and consideration," the bench added.

The court passed its order while hearing review petitions filed by the Kerala 
government and victim's mother against its September 15 judgement.

The court had on September 15 sentenced Govindachamy to life imprisonment for 
rape. It had set aside the death penalty awarded to him in the 2011 case, in 
which a 23-year-old woman died after being sexually assaulted in Kerala.

The bench had said it has not been proved that Govindachamy threw the victim, 
Soumya, out of the moving train or inflicted fatal injuries during the sexual 
assault that led to her death.

(source: Deccan Herald)

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

Death row convict Umesh Reddy moves Karnataka High Court


B A Umesh Reddy, serial rapist and now a death row convict on Monday moved the 
Karnataka high court seeking for commutation of death sentence imposed on him 
citing 'compelling supervening circumstances'.

The counsel for Reddy mentioned about the filing of the petition before a 
division bench headed by Chief Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee on Monday 
morning, requesting for an urgent hearing on the plea. The bench said that it 
would be taken up on Tuesday.

In his petition, Reddy has claimed that there is an avoidable and excessive 
delay of two years and three months in disposal of his mercy petition (filed by 
his mother) and thereby execution of death sentence. He further adds that he 
had suffered solitary confinement lasting 10 years and also mental illness.

Citing a judgment of the Apex court in this regard, he contends that each of 
the reasons/circumstances are independently sufficient to render the death 
penalty in executable.

In addition, Reddy has also challenged the rejection of his mercy petition both 
by Governor of Karnataka and also President of India in May 2013. His mother 
had filed the mercy plea before the president in February 2011.The Supreme 
court rejected his review petition early this month.

In 2006, a trial court had convicted Umesh Reddy for rape and murder of 
Jayashri Maradi Subbayya ,a widow on February 28, 1998 in Peenya police limits. 
The same was confirmed by the Karnataka high court on February 18, 2009. 
Ultimately, even the Apex court upheld the said verdict.

Umesh Reddy, who was earlier employed as a police constable, hails from 
Chitradurga district. He is accused of rape, murder and robbery and related 
crimes at various places in Karnataka and also in Maharashtra and Gujarat as 
well. He also escaped from police custody more than couple of occasions and 
continued his activities.

(source: The Times of India)

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

Hoshiarpur boy's murder: SC stays death sentence of convicts


The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the execution order of Vikram Walia and 
Jasbir Singh convicted for killing Hoshiarpur teen Abhi Verma in 2005.

A bench comprising Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A M Khanwilkar and Justice 
Amitava Roy issued the stay orders and posted the matter for further hearing on 
October 24.

Hoshiarpur session court had issued death warrants for the 2 convicts for 
October 25 after the President turned down their mercy petition. They, however, 
filed an application in the Supreme Court seeking stay on the execution of the 
orders. Advocate B S Billowaria appeared for the petitioners and pleaded that 
the mercy petition filed earlier be re-opened and the defendants be granted an 
open hearing in accordance with Supreme Court's ruling in criminal writ 
petition no 77 of 2014 of Mohammed Arif and others.

Vikram Walia, Jasvir Singh and latter's wife Sonia, had kidnapped Abhi, a Class 
9 student of DAV School for a ransom of Rs 50 lakh, and killed him with an 
overdose of anaesthesia. On December 21, 2006, the district and sessions judge 
had awarded death penalty to all 3.

The Punjab and Haryana high court had upheld the sentence of all 3 convicts but 
the Supreme Court had commuted Sonia's sentence to life imprisonment. Walia and 
Jasvir had filed a mercy petition with the President after a 3-member Bench of 
the apex court had rejected their review petition in August 2015.

They are lodged in Patiala central jail.

(source: Hindustan Times)






PAKISTAN:

Land dispute: Man awarded death penalty for murder


A district and sessions court in Dera Ghazi Khan sentenced a man to death on 
Saturday after he was found guilty of killing a man over a land dispute. A 
co-accused in the case has been declared a proclaimed offender.

According to the prosecution, the deceased named Laal Ahmed and the accused 
Jalil Ahmed and Muhammad Tariq had a land dispute for a long time. One day, 
Laal was going back home from work when Jalil and Tariq ambushed him and shot 
him dead. Later, Saddar police registered a murder case against the suspects 
and arrested Jalil while Tariq managed to flee.

While announcing the verdict, District and Sessions Judge Malik Khalid Mehmood 
ordered the convict to pay a fine of Rs500,000 to the heirs of the deceased.

Jalil would have to undergo 6 additional months in prison if he does not pay 
the penalty. The convict has been sent to the DG Khan Central Jail while Tariq 
has been declared a proclaimed offender.

(source: The Express Tribune)






BELARUS:

The death penalty returns to Europe


A box of clothes arrives on a doorstep in a European country just over 1,620km 
(1,000 miles) from the UK.

It contains the belongings of a man executed by the state.

They will not know when it happened or where his body is buried - they simply 
know it has been done.

This is the reality of the death penalty in Belarus, sometimes called Europe's 
last remaining dictatorship, where executions have resumed, following a 
two-year pause.

The majority of people are killed by a gun shot to the head and the bodies are 
never seen again.

The decision to resume executions comes just 8 months after EU foreign 
ministers removed asset freezes and travel bans for more than 150 Belarusian 
politicians and leaders, including President Alexander Lukashenko.

That EU move came after Belarus had released 6 political prisoners.

But at least 4 people have been sentenced to death since February.

Valiantsin Stefanovic from the Viasna Human Rights Centre told BBC Outside 
Source: "There is a lot of secrecy around this problem.

"Sometimes it [death] happens very quickly, in 2 or 3 months after the decision 
of the court.

"Nobody knows what happens to the bodies, they do not give them to the 
relatives. The burial place is not shown."

The death penalty was introduced in Belarus during Soviet times and covered 
several crimes, such as forging money, as well as murder.

Public opinion still favours executions, and polls in some parts of Western 
Europe draw similar results.

"Public opinion has changed though," says Valiantsin. "The majority of people 
still support this punishment, but that is nothing special."

Belarus has been widely criticised over its human rights issues during the 
22-year-rule of President Lukashenko, who won a 5th term by a landslide last 
year.

About 400 people have been executed in Belarus since the country gained 
independence from the USSR in 1991, more than 1 a month.

We spoke with Lyubov Kovaleva, whose 25-year-old son was executed in 2012 for 
terrorism offences.

She claims he was forced into a confession and the verdict was to shoot the 
accused.

"I was allowed only 3 meetings: before the trial, after the verdict was 
announced and before the shooting," she told Outside Source. "His lawyer met 
him only once."

Strict surveillance

Ms Kovaleva was instructed to discuss only private matters and talk about just 
family and friends.

"There was a police officer behind me who controlled our conversation. My son 
was behind the window and another police officer was behind him."

Before the 1st meeting she was given a piece of paper with questions she was 
allowed to ask.

"I could not do anything to help him - apparently it was Lukashenko's decision 
to execute my son."

A human rights report last week suggested rights to a defence in capital 
punishment cases were being "systematically violated" and "lawyers and judges 
lack independence".

Internationally the Belarusian government is now under pressure.

Europe's top human rights watchdog - the Council of Europe - deplored the 
situation. Its secretary-general Thorbjoern Jagland said: "I am deeply 
disappointed that Belarus has started using the death penalty again.

"I call on the authorities in Minsk to rapidly introduce a moratorium, as a 
first step towards abolition."

And the European Parliament lamented the fact that Belarus was showing no sign 
of progress on human rights.

(source: BBC news)






ZIMBABWE:

see: 
http://www.chronicle.co.zw/cop-killer-prophet-sentenced-to-hang-accomplice-gets-life-behind-bars/

(source: The Chronicle)