[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

Mon Sep 26 08:18:33 CDT 2016

Sept. 26

IRAN----executions

4 Prisoners Executed on Drug Charges

4 prisoners on death row for drug related offenses were reportedly executed at 
Tabriz Central Prison early morning on Saturday September 24.

According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, the names of the prisoners 
are: Abdolkarim Bapiri, Mehdi Molaie, Salah Ghaderian, and Ali Mohtabipour.

These 4 prisoners were reportedly arrested by Iranian authorities in 2013 on 
drug related charges. Iranian official sources, including the Judiciary and the 
media, have been silent about their executions.

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Prisoner Hanged on Drug Charges

A prisoner sentenced to death on drug related charges was reportedly hanged at 
Taybad Prison early morning on Sunday September 25.

According to a report by the unofficial news agency, HRANA, the prisoner is 
Hadi Oskouie, 31 years old. The report says that 1 of Hadi's brothers was 
recently executed at the same prison on similar charges.

Iranian official sources, including the Judiciary and the media, have been 
silent about Sunday's execution.

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7 Prisoners in Imminent Danger of Execution for Drug Offenses

7 prisoners in Minab Prison were reportedly transferred to solitary confinement 
on Sunday September 25 in preparation for their executions.

According to close sources, the 7 prisoners, who range from ages 25 to 30, are 
on death row for drug related offenses. Close sources identify the prisoners 
as: Kodabakhsh Balouch, Ali Balouch, Chaker Balouch, Mohammad Mohammad Zehi, 
Majid Nariman, Mehdi Moradi, and Mohammad Ghourchizadeh.

(source for all: Iran Human Rights)

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:

Obaida's killer admits murder but denies rape in 1st appeal court hearing

A man sentenced to death for the rape and murder of an 8-year-old boy has 
appeared in court for a first appeal hearing.

Jordanian Nidal Eisah Abdullah Abu Ali on Sunday again admitted to murder and 
drinking alcohol but denied kidnapping Obaida Al Aqrabawi from outside his 
Sharjah home in May and raping him.

Under UAE law, people sentenced to death are automatically referred to the 
Court of Appeal. Ali, 48, is not challenging the sentence.

He was sentenced to death on August 15 after being found guilty of kidnapping 
the boy before raping and killing him.

On Sunday, he appeared with a long, white beard, surrounded by 4 police guards.

The father of the victim was the only member of Obaida's family present.

When confronted with the charges by appeal court presiding judge Eisah Mohammed 
Al Sharif, the killer confessed to murder. "Yes, I killed him and I did drink 
alcohol but I didn't rape him nor did I kidnap him," said the 48-year-old.

During the trial, the murderer claimed he suffered from a mental illness but 
the court found there was no evidence to support it.

Ali's lawyer submitted an application to reduce the charge from premeditated 
murder to assault leading to death. That was dismissed because Ali had the 
"intention to murder" at the time.

When he was handed the death penalty at the criminal court, about 10 members of 
the victim's family screamed "Allahu Akbar" and thanked the UAE and its legal 
system. The boy's father said then he would visit his son's grave and tell him 
justice had been served. "Thank you UAE, your just law gave us peace," he said, 
adding that he is "always grateful to God".

In court on Sunday, Obiad Al Mazmi, the lawyer representing Obaida's family's 
civil rights, submitted no requests and said they will be submitted once a 
lawyer has been assigned to defend the murderer.

Obaida was kidnapped on May 20 while playing outside his father's garage in one 
of Sharjah's industrial areas.

His body was found 2 days later in Academic City Road, Al Warqa, Dubai.

The next hearing will be on October 9.

(source: The National)

PHILIPPINES:

Duterte: Death penalty for heinous crimes in case there's no God

President Duterte wants to reimpose the death penalty to ensure that criminals 
pay for their sins in case God does not exist.

Duterte said "bleeding hearts" like priests and human rights groups claimed 
that the death penalty did not deter crime when it was in effect for years. But 
he said the problem was past presidents did not have the political will to use 
it strike fear in the hearts of criminals.

"Every president along the way didn't impose it only because the Catholic 
Church and all the bleeding hearts would say that only God could kill. But what 
if there is no God?" said Duterte in a speech in Malacanang Monday afternoon.

"When a 1-year-old baby, 18-months-old baby is taken from the mother's arms 
brought under a jeep and raped and killed. So where is God? My God, where are 
you?" asked Duterte.

"I believe in God but that is my perpetual question to him. Where were you when 
we needed you? It's not enough to say that at the end of the world, he will 
judge the living and the dead. What would be the purpose of all of that if the 
heartaches, sorrows and agony have already been inflicted in this world?" asked 
Duterte.

While the Philippines has always been a predominantly Catholic country, some 
are atheists and agnostics, according to Duterte. "Mind you, i's not only 1 or 
2 or 3, in this age a lot of questioning (God) now," said Duterte.

He sought for a return of the death penalty because that would be the only way 
to win justice for the victims of heinous crimes.

Duterte, who grew up under the wings of priests from grade school to to law 
school, said that the lack of justice for victims of crime has made him 
question the existence and purpose of God while growing up.

(source: newsinfo.inquirer.net)

SINGAPORE:

5 face death penalty for kidnapping 9 foreign workers

5 men including a Bangladeshi and 2 Myanmar nationals were charged at the 
magistrate's court here today with kidnapping 9 foreign workers.

Mohd Ibroni Abdullah, 36; Zainal Nayan, 32; together with Zanggir Alam Abul 
Husin and Saiful Shona Miya from Myanmar; and Akhbar from Bangladesh; are 
jointly charged with detaining and kidnapping 8 Bangladeshi nationals and 1 
Myanmar national.

They had demanded a RM15,000 ransom for each victim.

They were charged with kidnapping and detaining the men, aged between 22 and 
45, at 51, Kampung Asam Jawa, Block C Perumahan, Pendang about 2.30am on 
September 6.

The men face the death penalty or life imprisonment and caning upon conviction 
under Section 3 of the Kidnapping Act 1961 that was read together with Section 
34 of the Penal Code.

No plea was recorded from the accused.

Magistrate Mohd Khairul Hafizzudin Ramli set October 24 for mention. Deputy 
Public Prosecutor Eliana Ismail appeared for the prosecution.

(source: New Straits Times)

MALAYSIA:

Actor among 3 arrested for possessing ganja plants

A local drama actor was among 3 individuals nabbed by police for possessing 3 
ganja plants and other dangerous weapons.

City police chief Comm Datuk Amar Singh said that the actor, the son of a 
private international school owner together with a Philippine national, aged 
between 29 and 36, were arrested during a raid on a bungalow at Jalan Ampang 
here on Saturday.

Comm Amar said that police seized 3 ganja plants that were between 19cm and 
100cm tall.

He said that police also seized a total of 465 grams of dried leaves that were 
believed to be ganja as well as other weapons including 4 air pistols, 2 air 
rifles, 7 samurai swords, 19 knives, an axe, a police vest and a beacon light.

Comm Amar said that fertiliser used to grow the ganja plants and other 
equipment were also seized during the raid.

He said the trio were remanded until Friday (Sept 30).

The case is being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 
1952 which carries a mandatory death penalty if convicted.

(source: The Star)

PAKISTAN:

Christian Boy Could Be Put To Death for 'Blasphemous' Facebook Post

A 16-year-old boy in Pakistan, who was arrested for a Facebook post that was 
allegedly blasphemous, could be executed by death penalty.

Nabeel Masih from Chak 66 in the district of Kasur, Punjab Province, was 
reported to have insulted an image of the Kaaba in Mecca. The photo apparently 
showed the Kaaba, which Muslims consider as sacred, with a pig on top.

"Local people have told me that apparently the image of the Islamic Kaaba was 
shown on Nabeel's Facebook profile, showing the image of a pig on top. This 
infuriated local Muslims who then reported the crime to local police," Naveed 
Aziz, an investigator with the British Pakistani Christian Association, 
reported.

Aziz clarified that it is still unknown whether Masih posted the photo himself 
or was just tagged in the photo, and the allegation remains unproven.

Police said they took the image down from Facebook to prevent anger from being 
stirred up further. However, deleting the photo also made it difficult to 
determine if Masih was innocent or not.

Masih was accused of violating section 295 ("injuring or defiling place of 
worship, with intent to insult the religion of any class") and 295A 
("deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any 
class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs") of the Pakistan Penal 
Code. These are otherwise known as Pakistan's blasphemy law, according to The 
Nation.

Masih was taken into police custody in Kasur. His family and other Christians 
in the village have fled their homes as the issue continues to intensify 
tension in the area.

BPCA chairman Wilson Chowdhry condemned the accusations against Masih, saying 
he was arrested even though authorities did not conduct proper investigation. 
What happened was evidence of "the worthlessness of Christians in Pakistan," he 
said.

Chowdhry said Christians in Pakistan can become victims of "blasphemy 
entrapment" through social media, like what happened to Nadeem James in July.

James apparently posted a blasphemous poem using WhatsApp. His friend, Yasir 
Bashir, claimed James sent it to him, Morning Star News reported.

"In the case of Nadeem James on 4th July 2016, the blasphemous poem was said to 
have been planted on his whats' app. It would not surprise me if Nabeel was 
tagged into the image of the blasphemous image by haters," Chowdhry said.

Accusations of blasphemy often incite violence against Christians, such as a 
couple who was beaten to death by an angry mob of extremists after they were 
said to have desecrated the Quran two years ago. Also in 2014, a rioting mob 
killed a woman and her 2 children in Gujranwala after posting an allegedly 
blasphemous post on social media, The Independent reported.

(source: The Gospel Herald)

INDIA:

Somali protesters urge India to release 119 'pirates'----Hundreds of people in 
central Mudug region call on Indian government to release 119 Somalis accused 
of being pirates

Somali protesters have expressed outrage over reports emerging in India that 50 
out of 119 detained Somalis suspected of being pirates could face the death 
penalty at the end of an ongoing trial.

The Times of India reported on Friday that 119 Somali pirates nabbed by the 
Indian coast guard and navy between 2011 and 12 had pleaded guilty to offences 
brought against them.

"This comes at the fag end of the trial that commenced in late 2012 with 70 
witnesses deposing and difficulties caused by the absence of several foreign 
national witnesses. About 50 pirates, booked for murder, could face the death 
sentence," Times of India said in its report.

Hundreds of people in Somali towns of Galkio and El Buur in central Mudug 
region held peaceful protests against the Indian government and condemned the 
possible death sentences.

They urged the Somali government to intervene and make efforts to release their 
citizens in India.

"We are standing here under the boiling sun to tell the world that these people 
are innocent, they were falsely arrested in India, we need to release our 
people without any condition," Hakima Idris, one of the protesters, said.

The Somali Information Ministry in a statement on Sunday disputed the version 
that its citizens were pirates and termed the proceedings in India a case of 
"harassment against Somalis".

"Somali government regrets the neglect, injustice and harassment against 
Somalia youths those who live around the world, especially in India and Kenya," 
the statement said.

"We called [on the] Indian government to stop the harassment and respect the 
international law and humanity," the statement added.

The Somali president's office also made a series of tweets on the issue, 
saying: "#Somali and #Indian officials are in talks over the fate of suspected 
Somali pirates in Indian cells.

"#Somali and #Indian officials deny any sentences passed against Somali 
suspected pirates in India.

"#Somali officials say cases against Somali suspected pirates in Indian jails 
will be resolved soon."

(source: aa.com.tr)