[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 21




BARBADOS:

Look again at death penalty


And she believes this is the opportune time to do so.

Ramsay told attendees at a lecture hosted by the Criminal Justice Research Unit 
on Wednesday night, that the country continues to face pressure from donor 
countries over the retention of the death penalty.

"80 % of all Barbadians, based on a study we did, indicated that they want the 
death penalty retained. So this retention sentiment, which obviously 
politicians have to pay attention to, comes into conflict with the broad 
jurisdiction of international human rights tribunals, and we're also getting 
pressure from Great Britain," she said.

(source: Nation News)






IRAN----execution

Prisoner Executed on Drug Related Charges


A prisoner sentenced to death on drug related charges was reportedly executed 
on the morning of Tuesday October 18 at Miandoab Prison (West Azerbaijan 
province, northwestern Iran).

According to close sources, the prisoner has been identified as 39-year-old 
Fardin Soleimanpanah. Iranian authorities reportedly arrested Mr Soleimanpanah 
on May 5, 2015 for allegedly trafficking and possessing 600 grams of crystal 
meth and 150 grams of crack. He was sentenced to death by branch 1 of 
Miandoab's Revolutionary Court and the sentence was confirmed on August 2, 
2016. Close sources say that Mr Soleimanpanah and another prisoner were 
transferred from their prison cells to solitary confinement on Monday in 
preparation for their executions. The other prisoner's death sentence was 
postponed for unknown reasons. Iranian official sources, including the 
Judiciary and the media, have not announced Mr Soliemanpanah's execution.

(source: Iran Human Rights)






CHINA:

Hongkonger could face death penalty over HK$723 million drug bust in 
China----More than 2 tons seized after tip-off from informant who donned "King 
of Monkey" mask as Guangdong officials announced shutdown of illicit factories


A Hongkonger could face the death penalty along with more than 10 others 
arrested in Guangdong province over the seizure of more than 2 tons of the drug 
Ice valued at HK$723.6 million that was reportedly destined for the city.

On a tip-off, mainland police confiscated 2,010kg of the drug, 2 imitation guns 
and more than 10 bullets along with manufacturing equipment when they shut down 
2 illicit drug producing factories, according to the Guangdong Provincial 
Public Security Department.

A Hong Kong government source said the haul had an estimated street value of 
HK$723.6 million. He believed the narcotics were not intended for local 
consumption because of the large amount.

"It is possible the Ice was destined for Australia or New Zealand, where it 
could be sold for 5 or 6 times what it would sell for in Hong Kong," the source 
said.

But he said the drug could be bought illegally for less than HK$50,000 per kg 
from illegal drug labs on the mainland.

It is understood 1/2 of the crystal meth, also known as Ice, confiscated in 
Australia and New Zealand in the past has come from the mainland via Hong Kong.

The massive seizure in Guangdong was partly based on a tip-off from an 
informant who received 30,000 yuan (HK$34,500) as a reward when the case was 
made public by mainland officials at a press conference on Thursday.

Last month mainland police set up a task force to investigate a 
drug-trafficking syndicate after identifying 3 men, including a Hongkonger 
surnamed Wong, who tried to produce crystal meth and smuggle it into Hong Kong, 
the Guangdong department said.

A department report stated mainland police raided a drug producing factory in 
Panyu in Guangdong last month and confiscated more than 1,110kg of drug Ice in 
solid and liquid forms along with raw materials and equipment.

"After the closure of the [Panyu] drug producing factory, Wong and his gang 
moved to Jieyang and other locations [in Guangdong] to continue drug-making 
activites," it said.

After an in-depth probe into its network and to track down the suspects, 
mainland police from Jieyang, Shanwei, Shenzhen and Guangzhou mounted a joint 
operation earlier this month and raided another drug producing factory in 
Jieyang where the Hongkonger and more than 10 suspects were arrested.

At the Jieyang factory, officers seized more than 90kg of crystal meth and 
another 810kg of the drug in liquid form along with manufacturing equipment.

Another source said it was possible the solution was being prepared either as a 
semi-finished product or for disguise as a detergent or shampoo to be smuggled 
out of the mainland to avoid detection.

The department said Guangdong police carried out a series of operations against 
drug-related activities this year. In the first 9 months of this year, they 
handled over 15,000 drug-related cases, arrested over 19,000 people, and 
confiscated more than 14,700kg of illegal drugs.

The sources said drug traffickers caught on the mainland could face the death 
penalty.

Hong Kong law enforcement officials seized 286kg of Ice in the first 7 months 
of this year, a 3.6 % uptick compared with 276kg over the same period last 
year.

On December 25, 2001, a Hong Kong drug lord and 4 of his associates in the city 
were sentenced to death by a mainland court for the production and smuggling of 
the world's largest haul of drug Ice.

In that case, Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court ruled that Chong Cho-sing, 
40, was the leader of a narcotics ring that produced and trafficked more than 
31 tons of "Ice" in factories they set up in Dongguan and Huizhou in Guangdong 
province, Wuhan in Hubei province, and Nanning in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous 
region, the court heard.

(source: South China Morning Post)

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

Chinese law experts oppose sentence of immediate execution


Several Chinese law experts have voiced their opposition to the immediate 
execution of a suspect who was sentenced to death for killing a village chief 
after his house was demolished, 20 days before his wedding.

The Supreme People's Court (SPC) approved the death sentence of Jia Jinglong, a 
villager in Shijiazhuang, capital of North China's Hebei Province, in August 
and the ruling was delivered to Jia's lawyer Wei Rujiu on Tuesday.

According to a copy of the SPC's verdict sent to the Global Times on Thursday, 
Jia bought and modified 3 nail guns after his house was demolished during the 
village's reconstruction campaign in 2013, and used them to kill He Jianhua, 
the village chief, in February 2015 for revenge.

The method of the murder was extremely cruel and caused severe social impact, 
said the ruling, adding that the conviction was appropriate and accurate.

However, Wei told the Global Times that Jia's house was maliciously removed, 
which was illegal, and directly led the man "who had lived a peaceful life" to 
commit a criminal homicide.

The order of immediate execution also sparked debates in China's legal field, 
with some professors arguing the penalty was too harsh.

"Apart from personal reasons, the killing was also an institutional failure. 
Any ordinary person could resort to the same means as Jia when facing unfair 
treatment," said Zhang Qianfan, a law professor with Peking University.

China strictly controls the death penalty and employs it with prudence, said a 
white paper in September, the Xinhua News Agency reported. The white paper, 
titled New Progress in the Judicial Protection of Human Rights in China, said 
China's stand on the death penalty is to ensure that it applies only to a very 
small number of extremely serious criminal offenders.

(source: Global Times)






NORTH KOREA:

Public executions on the rise in North Korea as Kim Jong Un worries about 
safety


The number of public executions in North Korea continues to rise under Kim Jong 
Un, according to Seoul's spy agency.

Pyongyang has staged 64 public executions in the first 9 months of 2016, Kyodo 
News agency reported on Thursday.

That figure is up from August, when the number of people publicly executed was 
60, according to a source on North Korea.

Public executions are used as a means of controlling the population, as North 
Korea continues to require volunteer labor for state infrastructure projects.

The total count has doubled in 2016.

The changes indicate North Korea is no longer holding back despite 
international condemnations of its human rights record. Policy shifts may have 
occurred after the United Nations Security Council imposed tougher sanctions in 
March, according to Seoul intelligence.

(source: UPI)