[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 30




CHINA:

Kiwi facing death sentence for smuggling 30kgs of meth begins third year in 
Chinese jail


A Kiwi facing the death penalty for attempting to smuggle 30 kilograms of 
methamphetamine out of China will begin his 3rd year in jail without knowing 
his fate.

And Peter Gardner will have to wait for at least another 3 months after the 
Chinese court deliberating his fate had extended his detention to 25 January 
2017.

His lawyer Craig Tuck said Gardner was holding up as best as could be expected 
under the circumstances.

"There is no indication about how long this will continue or when a decision 
will be made.

"He is deeply grateful for the love and support of his family and friends. The 
situation is extremely difficult for his family and they seek to maintain their 
privacy until this matter is resolved."

Gardner, a Kiwi and Australian citizen, was stopped from boarding his 
Sydney-bound China Southern flight from Guangzhou in November with travelling 
companion Kalynda Davis, after customs officials detected 30 kilograms of the 
drug methamphetamine, also commonly known as ice, in their bags. With a rough 
street value of $20 million, it was the biggest single haul of the drug ever 
seized at the airport.

In May, Gardner told a court in Guangzhou that he had been duped into being a 
drug mule by a sophisticated international smuggling syndicate.

"This is the biggest mistake of my life."

Gardner thought he was performance-enhancing peptides used by athletes.

A Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman said consular staff continued 
to visit Gardner regularly.

"Consular staff from the New Zealand Consulate-General in Guangzhou continue to 
provide advice to Mr Gardner and his family, and regularly visit to check on 
his well-being. Consular officials most recently visited Mr Gardner earlier 
this week."

He was detained on November 8, 2014, and for most of the past two years, he has 
shared a small cell with 20 other foreigners. Former prisoners have said the 
lights are kept on for 24 hours, no running water, and prisoners are fed 2 
small portions of rice each day.

According to figures released earlier this year, there are an estimated 800 
Kiwis in foreign prisons around the world.

(source: stuff.co.nz)






UNITED KINGDOM:

Ukip Leadership Candidate Supports Referendum On Bringing Back Death 
Penalty----If enough people signed a petition Paul Nuttall would trigger 
referendum.


A frontrunner in Ukip's leadership race has said he would hold a national 
referendum on bringing back capital punishment.

Paul Nuttall told Sky News that "if enough people" signed a petition to bring 
it back, he would be "quite committed to" triggering a referendum on the death 
penalty.

Ukip's former deputy leader has long been in favour of bringing back capital 
punishment for some crimes in Britain.

"I've been quite open that I believe in capital punishment for the killers of 
children, for Ian Brady, which is what the majority of the British people 
think", he told the programme.

He said he was in favour of holding more UK-wide referendums in the interests 
of "direct democracy", which could include reinstating the death penalty.

"What we are quite committed to is holding national referendums. If a certain 
number of people sign a petition it would trigger referendums. It is called 
direct democracy", he said.

In 2011 Nuttall himself signed a controversial petition on the matter, saying 
"I am in favour of restoring the death penalty for child and serial killers".

"I think capital punishment is needed for such heinous crimes and I know that 
many other people feel the same. A YouGov poll last year found that 74% of 
people supported the death penalty for murder in some circumstances".

"With improvements in science there is virtually no chance of mistaken identity 
- especially when it comes to serial killers.

"While is not Ukip policy to bring back the death penalty I would vote yes if 
any such referendum was held on capital punishment", he said at the time.

Nuttall told Sky News he would also hold a referendum on whether the legal 
period for abortions should be shortened, should the public want it.

There are currently 7 candidates in the leadership contest, which closes in 
November. Nigel Farage has temporarily returned to lead the party, after his 
successor, Diane James, resigned 18 days into the job.

(source: huffingtonpost.co.uk)






INDIA:

Manipur activists to seek pardon for woman on death row


The Malaysian high court's verdict of death penalty for a Manipuri woman held 
for trafficking drugs has left many in the state shocked. The state women's 
commission is looking ways of obtaining clemency for Sangeeta Sharma 
Brahmacharimayum, 41, owner of a beauty parlour in New Delhi who was found 
guilty of trafficking over 1.6 kg of drugs (methamphetamine) at Penang 
International Airport on October 7, 2013.

The court charged her under the Dangerous Drugs Act, 1952, that carries a 
mandatory death sentence upon conviction.

"We are shocked to hear this dreadful news. We are trying to find out how we 
can save her from death," chairperson of Manipur state women's commission K 
Sobita Devi told TOI. "So far, we haven't got any official information on the 
matter. We chanced upon it through media reports. After going through the 
articles, we sent people to find her house in Imphal valley and finally located 
it," she added.

"Tomorrow (Sunday) or the day after, we will visit her residence and take stock 
of the situation. After doing a verification study, we will consult legal 
experts and find ways to save her life," she said.

The Imphal-based Women Action for Development (WAD) also expressed its anguish. 
"The news has stunned us. We respect the law of that country but we do not 
support capital punishment. Many countries and prominent rights bodies are 
against death penalty," said WAD secretary Sobita Mangsatabam.

"We will discuss the matter and appeal for clemency for Sangeeta," said 
Mangsatabam, who is also the convener of the women's committee of United NGO 
Mission Manipur.

TOI visited Sangeeta's residence in Imphal but none of her family members was 
present. The state government is yet to react on the matter though some MLAs 
and officials expressed their sadness at the development.

(source: Times of India)






TURKEY:

Capital punishment soon if parliament approves it, Erdogan tells crowd in 
Ankara


Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan repeated his decision to approve the 
installment of capital punishment if the parliament approves a related code 
while responding to chantings from the crowd at the opening of a main train 
station for high-speed trains in the capital city of Ankara on Oct. 29.

"Soon, soon, don't worry," Erdogan said, in response to a group in the crowd 
chanting "We want death penalty."

"It is soon inshallah," he said.

"Our government will bring this [issue] to the parliament and I believe that it 
will pass the parliament. I will approve it when it comes to me."

"If sovereignty rests with the nation, the issue is over," he said.

"It doesn't count what the West says but my nation," the president said.

Capital punishment has not been implemented in Turkey since 1984 and it was 
abolished officially in 2004.

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

Council of Europe warns Turkey over death penalty plans


The Council of Europe warned Turkey against re-establishing the death penalty 
on Oct. 30.

"Executing the death penalty is incompatible with membership of the Council of 
Europe," the 47-member organization, which includes Turkey, tweeted a day after 
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his government would ask parliament to 
consider reintroduction.

Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz added to the Council's warning, 
denouncing Turkey for considering a move that would "slam the door shut to the 
European Union."

"The death penalty is a cruel and inhumane form of punishment, which has to be 
abolished worldwide and stands in clear contradiction to European values," Kurz 
told the Austrian Press Agency.

Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland had in August warned 
Ankara about reinstating capital punishment, noting that the European 
Convention on Human Rights, which Turkey has ratified, clearly excluded it.

The Convention, signed in 1983, excludes capital punishment except in time of 
war or imminent threat of war and a 2002 protocol ended the time-of-war 
proviso.

(source for both: Hurriyet Daily News)






KENYA:

Death penalty debate: To abolish or retain?

Lawyers representing convicts challenging the death penalty want the 
application heard afresh by the newly constituted Supreme Court.

This week, lawyer Fred Ngatia, who is acting pro bono (for public good without 
charge) for the convicts, wrote to the Supreme Court registrar requesting an 
urgent mention before the new judges to decide if they will hear the 
application again.

"From the bench that heard the petition, only four judges are in service and 
since judgment was never delivered, it would be appropriate to list the 
petition for mention at the earliest date for parties to make representations 
if it should be heard afresh," said Ngatia.

This comes amid reports that some Kenyans want crimes like defilement, drug 
trafficking and terrorism recognised as capital offences.

Hangman's noose

Apart from challenging the constitutionality of the death penalty, the 
application is also questioning the legality of life sentences which could see 
over 2,700 convicts, whose death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment 
by President Uhuru Kenyatta, walk free.

Maraga promises to end corruption

The suit was heard by a full bench of the Supreme Court, but Judges Willy 
Mutunga, Kalpana Rawal and Philip Tunoi retired before delivering a verdict. 
The Constitution demands that the minimum quorum for the Supreme Court to 
determine a dispute must be 5.

And as the convicts await, the Power of Mercy Committee says many people still 
support capital punishment, and want convicts of other crimes committed to life 
or death sentences.

The proposal is one of several floated in forums held by the Power of Mercy 
Advisory Committee, which has been conducting public hearings across the 47 
counties seeking Kenyans' views on administration of capital punishment.

6 counties - Nairobi, Mandera, Wajir, Marsabit, Tharaka Nithi and Isiolo - are 
yet to host the committee, which is expected to wind up its tours before the 
end of the year.

The committee is a constitutional body mandated to advise the President on 
exercising the power of mercy. This is a prerogative power granted to the 
President, by the Constitution, that allows him to pardon reformed and 
rehabilitated convicted criminal offenders that deserve an early release from 
prison.

The administration of capital punishment has been an ongoing debate in the 
country, particularly on the subject of whether Kenya should abolish the death 
penalty. Currently, murder, treason, robbery with violence, attempted robbery, 
and administering an oath to commit a capital offence carry the mandatory death 
sentence.

Mr Ngatia said the legality of the mandatory death sentence, some of which have 
been reduced to life imprisonments, need to be determined urgently to save 
those still facing the hangman's noose.

"Determination of the issues raised in the petition has far reaching 
consequences on the appellant as well as numerous other death row convicts held 
in various prisons. That is why it is necessary to fast track the application 
to have the matter settled," he said.

Ngatia and Kioko Kilukumi were appointed by the former CJ to aid Wilson Mwangi, 
a convict whose death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, in his 
challenge of the death penalty.

They argue that Section 204 of the Penal Code, which prescribes mandatory death 
sentence for capital offences, violates Article 24 (2) of the Constitution 
which gives every person a right to freedom and Article 26 (1) which gives 
right to life.

The lawyers submitted that the Penal Code, which prescribes the death penalty, 
is a creation of Parliament, and that any law which violates the Constitution 
is null, void and unconstitutional.

"The mandatory nature of the death sentence is an inflexible punishment fixed 
by the legislature in violation of constitutional principle of separation of 
powers. It is unreasonable and unjustified in an open democratic society based 
on human dignity, equality and freedom," said Ngatia.

The petition also challenges legality of the life sentence, arguing that it is 
inhuman to keep someone locked for an indefinite period.

If the Supreme Court agrees to the lawyers argument, it will trash the 
president's gesture in commuting the death sentences of 2,747 convicts and may 
release them based on the number of years they have served in prison. "Life 
imprisonment is a nullity in law. It is inhuman to be in prison for an 
indefinite period, waste away the body and soul without ever knowing when to be 
released. It is an infringement to right to liberty and should be declared 
unconstitutional," said Ngatia.

During the hearing of the application, Director of Public Prosecution Keriako 
Tobiko supported the calls to abolish the mandatory death sentence for capital 
offences.

Judicial independence

Through litigation counsel Njagi Nderitu, the DPP submitted that sections of 
the penal code limiting judges to pass a mandatory death sentence for those 
guilty of murder and robbery with violence should be changed to allow more 
independence for judicial officers.

"We are not saying the death penalty should be abolished, but that it should 
not be the only sentence for capital offences," said Nderitu.

Attorney General Githu Muigai has proposed to draft Bills that could see 
abolition of both the death penalty and life sentences, arguing that some 
sentences within the Kenyan laws do not serve any purpose.

According to Regina Boisabi, the vice chairperson of the Power of Mercy 
Advisory Committee, participants at the public forums opposed to the death 
penalty argue it has not deterred crime.

A good number of participants across the 41 counties the committee has so far 
visited want drug trafficking and defilement also listed as capital offences, 
with those from Elgeyo Marakwet and Samburu Counties calling for similar 
recognition to be accorded to cattle rustling.

Bungoma Anglican Bishop George Mechumo argues there are better ways to punish 
capital offences and that the death sentence should be abolished given that the 
church treats life as sacred.

But Lawyer Harrison Kinyanjui, however, disagrees and maintains the death 
sentence is Biblical and should never be abolished.

"Biblically speaking, there is provision for the death sentence. God himself 
said in his commandments that you should not take away another person's life 
and if you kill, you should also be killed to compensate for the lost life," he 
said.

(source: standardmedia.co.ke)






IRAN:

Iran death penalty: Justice minister calls for fewer executions


Iran's justice minister is looking for an "effective punishment" for criminals 
instead of execution, according to local media.

Mostafa Pourmohammadi said he thought the number of capital crimes should be 
revised, the Tasnim News Agency said.

"In fact we want to find the most effective kind of punishment so that we are 
able to consider replacing execution," Mr Pourmohammadi said.

The minister said the death penalty should be kept for "corrupt people".

"Of course, maintaining execution as a punishment is still on the agenda, but 
not in the numbers implemented today," Mr Pourmohammadi said.

"The punishment of execution cannot be rejected, as there are some corrupt 
people in the country and there is no way for them but execution," he added.

However, the minister observed that executions seemed to have had no deterrent 
effect over the past years.

Iran executed at least 977 people in 2015 - the vast majority for drug-related 
crimes - compared with 743 the year before, according to Amnesty International.

BBC Persian sources said that executing people for drug offences has recently 
sparked a debate in Iran. Users caught with small amounts of drugs intended for 
personal use are being sentenced to death, which some believe is excessive.

Iran's justice system is based on Sharia law, which does not make capital 
punishment obligatory for drug crimes.

Amnesty figures released in April stated that Iran, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia 
are responsible for 89% of the world's judicial executions.

However, this does not take account of China, where thousands are believed to 
be killed and the records kept secret.

(source: BBC news)