[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

April 12




BANGLADESH:

They turned into animals----Observes HC about killers of Sylhet boy Rajon, 
upholds death sentence of 4


The perpetrators had turned into a group of animal characters devoid of 
humanity when they tortured Sheikh Md Samiul Alam Rajon to death in Sylhet in 
2015, said the High Court yesterday as it upheld death penalty of four for 
having been directly involved in the killing.

Rajon had been refused water during the torture, the court said, and that 
demonstrated the "cruel", "inhuman" and "heinous" nature of the crime.

The death-row convicts are Qamrul Islam, Zakir Hossain alias Pavel, Saddique 
Ahmed alias Boro Moyna and Taz Uddin alias Badal. Except for Zakir, all are in 
jail.

Zakir has been absconding since the incident, said Assistant Attorney General 
Atiqul Haque Salim.

3 convicts -- Quamrul's brother Muhid Alam alias Muhit, Shamim Ahmed and Ali 
Haider -- were sentenced to 7 years in prison and 2 others -- Ayaz Ali and 
Dulal Ahmed -- to 1 year's imprisonment.

The bench of Justice Jahangir Hossain Selim and Justice Md Jahangir Hossain, 
however, commuted the life sentence of Noor Ahmed alias Noor Mia, who had 
filmed the brutal incident, to six months' jail.

Rajon's father Sheikh Azizur Rahman Alam, who was present in the courtroom 
during the delivery of the judgment, said he got justice.

"I thank the government and judges for ensuring justice. I hope sentences of 
the convicts will be executed soon."

The video footage captured by Noor and confessional statements of 2 convicts 
proved the accusations brought in the murder case, Atiqul Haque told The Daily 
Star.

The HC upheld a lower court's verdict sentencing 5 convicts to different terms 
on the grounds that they had tried to hide the body of Rajon, he added.

SM Abul Hossain, a defence lawyer for Quamrul and Muhit, said his clients would 
appeal to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, challenging the HC 
verdict, after receiving the full text of the verdict.

On July 8, 2015, Rajon was beaten to death by a group of brutes in Kumargaon 
Bus Stand area of Sylhet sadar, allegedly for trying to steal a rickshaw van.

Noor Ahmed filmed the horrendous incident and shared it on Facebook.

The 28-minute video footage went viral on the social networking site, which 
shows prime accused Quamrul Islam hitting the boy with a stick on his feet, 
joints of legs, shoulders and head.

A Sylhet court in November 2015 sentenced the four accused, including Quamrul, 
to death.

The High Court observed that if anybody is apprehended by public other than 
police or legal force over an allegation of committing crimes, he must 
immediately be sent to the nearest police station or police must be informed so 
that they arrest him and bring him to book.

"Taking a sudden decision on a mere idea can never bring appropriate result. In 
this case, it is claimed by the defence against victim Rajon that he tried to 
steal a van and for that some angry people killed him by beating him but that 
has not been proved by the evidence of either party.

"When an unusual incident takes place beyond expectation, then it is difficult 
to retain the situation under control. We must control the environment of our 
society having awareness and applying basic law, since otherwise society will 
get a negative message and mass people will take the law into their own hands 
ignoring the appropriate legal process. In such a situation, innocent people 
may be victimised even after having no fault of any crime. People should 
acknowledge from the present case that for such crime committed by perpetrators 
they are going to meet the gallows and other punishments."

"All of us including the state must be alert to keep the society safe from any 
kind of untoward incidents like Rajon's one," Justice Jahangir Hossain Selim 
said.

The judge said, "Most of the people of the country do not have the knowledge of 
the basic law due to lack of education. To bring the people under awareness of 
law and how to apply it, state owned media, electronic and print media 
organisations including journalists, all religious leaders and teachers should 
come forward to play a significant role".

"Social movement is also a very important factor in this regard and this 
awareness of law should be incorporated in the primary education," the court 
observed.

(source: The Daily Star)






JAPAN:

Death penalty highlights wider injustices in Japan's legal system


Japan's justice system is under increasing scrutiny following a historic 
declaration from the country's largest legal association to bring to light the 
country's high conviction rate and continuing use of executions.

The Japanese Federation of Bar Associations went further and called for the 
abolition of the death penalty, a move human rights activists hope will open a 
dialogue about this issue in the country.

Proponents argue that the use of capital punishment is reserved for only the 
most extreme cases - multiple murders, or terrorist attacks such as the 1995 
Aum Shinrikyo sarin gas attack that killed 12 people in the Tokyo subway 
system. On average, just 1 or 2 people are executed in Japan each year, making 
its use far more exclusive than in many countries that still apply capital 
punishment.

However, there are major issues with even this limited use. According to 
Atsushi Zukeran, chairman of the Japan Association for Social Justice and Human 
Rights (Kyuenkai), there have been four cases of people being wrongly convicted 
and then sentenced to death in Japan - and this is something he believes that 
can happen again.

"There is still the possibility to kill the wrong person in the Japanese death 
penalty system," said Zukeran to Equal Times, adding that this is worrisome for 
Japan's human rights records. "If someone is falsely charged - and then 
executed - there is no way to go back."

The most recent case - that of Hakamada Iwao, who was on death row for 47 years 
before DNA evidence led to his release 3 years ago - shows just how difficult 
justice can be. Evidence that could have exonerated him during his trial was 
withheld from the defence, and even today, he is still awaiting retrial as the 
Japanese Prosecutor's Office refuses to accept that he is innocent.

Wider issues with the justice system

Another 130 inmates are still on Japan's death row, notorious for its harsh 
treatment of inmates and gross human rights violations. Death row inmates in 
Japan are killed by hanging and the date of the execution is kept a secret to 
everybody, including to the condemned person, until the morning of the 
execution.

Japan has a very high sentencing rate. More than 99 % of criminal trials result 
in a guilty verdict. While part of this can be attributed to the relatively low 
number of cases that go to trial, some of it is also connected to strong 
systematic challenges that make proving one's innocence exceedingly difficult.

According to Zukeran, these challenges start from the moment that a defendant 
is suspected.

"Once they are arrested, they are detained for 23 days - from morning to night 
in a police station jail, and they do interrogations without the presence of a 
lawyer, and in a closed room," he said. "There, they can make false statements, 
and that could be the base, or foundation, of a guilty death penalty sentence."

"From there it does not get any better," says Yoshihiro Yasuda, a prominent 
lawyer who defends those facing the death penalty. According to him, the trial 
itself is stacked in favour of prosecutors, making it incredibly tough to prove 
someone's innocence.

"We cannot see the same evidence that the public prosecutor has," Yasuda told 
Equal Times. "Also, they can hire freely many experts, and they can use the 
public science research institutes, whereas the defence has to pay."

Kyuenkai is calling for three changes that they believe will make the system 
more fair: altering the system of interrogation and moving prisoners from 
police to judicial detention centres; giving fair access to all evidence to 
both sides; and prohibiting appeals of not guilty charges by the prosecution.

Public discussions, not opinion polls

Despite these glaring issues, the death penalty enjoys wide support among the 
Japanese public, with recent surveys showing that 80 % of people are in favour 
of its use.

For Yuji Ogawara, a lawyer who has worked on several death penalty cases, this 
is more symbolic of the fact that there has not yet a real, national discourse 
on the use of the death penalty in Japan.

"Personally, I think that we should not decide the...death penalty by the 
results of opinion polls. It should be decided by public discussions," said 
Ogawara.

"Until now, for people in Japan, there were not many opportunities...to discuss 
either abolishing, or keeping the death penalty."

Still, the trend is worrisome. According to Yasuda, Prime Minster Shinzo Abe 
may be looking to use the death penalty as a tool to protect the country 
against terrorist attacks ahead of the forthcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

"Since Abe became prime minister, in total, 21 people have been executed," said 
Yasuda." This is the biggest number among any prime minister.

Awareness of the use of the death penalty in other countries, such as the 
United States, China or Indonesia, remains much higher than Japan, and cases 
there often get international attention. Many advocates believe that greater 
media attention, and pressure, could aid the fight to both abolish the death 
penalty, and reform Japan's justice system.

"A long time ago, in France, Catherine Deneuve, the actress, once protested and 
threw a bag at the American embassy," said Yasuda. "I want to see people do 
that to the Japanese embassy. Then I think Japanese will be woken up."

Ogawara agrees that international attention can help - but cautions that it 
must be constructive, as harsh criticism could have unintended consequences.

"Simple foreign pressure will just cause Japanese people's resistance," said 
Ogawara.

"That why [it's better] for the international community to give us advice, as a 
friend who shares common values."

(source: equaltimes.com)






INDONESIA:

Govt refuses to implement moratorium on death penalty


Attorney General Muhammad Prasetyo indicated that Indonesia would continue to 
execute convicts when he confirmed that the government would not implement a 
moratorium on the death penalty despite mounting calls from human rights 
groups.

He hinted that there would soon be a fourth round of executions.

"We never said we would implement a moratorium," Prasetyo said. "We are 
considering many aspects," he added.

Prasetyo made the statement in response to a question raised by United 
Development Party (PPP) politician Arsul Sani, who asked him to give updates on 
the government's execution plans during a meeting at the House of 
Representatives on Wednesday.

Arsul asked about the fate of more than 100 death row convicts in regard to 
ongoing discussions between the government and lawmakers on making the death 
penalty an alternative sentence as stipulated in the Criminal Code (KUHP) draft 
revision.

The bill, which is being deliberated at the House, softens the government's 
stance on capital punishment as it stipulates that the punishment can be 
reduced to life imprisonment.

Article 89 of the bill states "the death penalty should be the last option 
taken to protect the public." It is elaborated further in Article 91, which 
says convicts may have their sentences reduced if they behave well during their 
imprisonment. The bill does not define the guidelines of death penalty 
assessments or stipulate institutions authorized to make such assessments.

"If the revised KUHP takes effect while we still have death row convicts, we 
will comply with this new law," Prasetyo said.

(source: The Jakarta Post)






PHILIPPINES:

Global youth org urges Senate to reject death penalty


An international youth organization on Wednesday urged the Senate to reject the 
proposed death penalty law, arguing that the bill is "intrinsically flawed and 
illegal."

In a statement, the International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY) criticized 
the House of Representatives as a "rubber stamp" of President Rodrigo Duterte's 
"undemocratic" policies.

Last month, the House of Representatives approved House Bill No. 4727 seeking 
to reimpose capital punishment on 7 drug-related offenses.

The IUSY said the measure was railroaded and "did not undergo due process" as 
the organization noted how the House leadership stripped some lawmakers of 
their committee chairmanships over their no vote on the bill.

"This is undemocratic. A vibrant, functioning democracy provides a platform for 
discourse and dissent. As a co-equal branch, it must be ready to act as a 
check-and-balance to the excesses of the Executive branch," the group said.

"The current Philippine House of Representatives has, sadly, become a rubber 
stamp to President Rodrigo Duterte's undemocratic policies," it added. At the 
Senate, 7 death penalty proposals are still pending before the justice 
committee chaired by Senator Richard Gordon. Gordon himself is against death 
penalty.

"As the Senate reviews its version of the bill, we offer our support to the 
Filipino people fighting the death penalty. The Resistance continues," the IUSY 
said.

Congress is currently on a break and will resume session on May 2.

The IUSY said there is no compelling reason to reinstate capital punishment for 
drug-related offenses.

It said the death penalty bill is "anti-poor" as it "targets small-time drug 
peddlers" forced into poverty and inequality.

"Aside from being intrinsically flawed and illegal, the bill is a setback in 
the overall fight for freedom, social justice, and human rights and dignity 
across the world," it argued.

"The reimposition of the death penalty in the Philippines will affect the 
marginalized members of society the most, not the drug lords who have since 
fled the country or the corrupt politicians who pocket the money of Filipino 
taxpayers," the group added.

Akbayan Youth, a member organization of IUSY, said the death penalty will not 
solve the country's problems.

"Young people all over the world have now joined in the global chorus against 
President Duterte???s policies that murder the poor. We urge the Senate not to 
give its legislative imprimatur to these policies. The killings must now stop 
and President Duterte must be held accountable," JC Tejano, national 
chairperson of the group, said.

(source: gmanetwork.com)

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

Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella has clarified that during the 
bilateral meeting between President Rodrigo Duterte and King Salman bin 
Abdulaziz al Saud of Saudi Arabia, the issue on Filipinos on death rows was not 
discussed.

Based on data from the Department of Foreign Affairs, about 31 Filipinos have 
been sentenced with the capital punishment.

Reports on the cases of Filipinos on death row have not reached the King yet.

President Duterte had a plane prepared for Filipinos who will be sent home to 
the Philippines because they do not have the necessary documents.

"The process has not yet reached the level of the King. In this case, there is 
no place for us to ask for clemency at this stage so let us wait for the 
process regarding death row issues. However regarding amnesty, he did make 
mention that he's planning to bring home those would take advantage of the 
amnesty program regarding violation of the immigration rules," Presidential 
spokesperson Undersecretary Ernesto Abella said.

Some agreements are expected to be signed between the Philippines and the 
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

"We're hoping to sign three agreements during the President's visit. Firstly, 
the establishment of political consultations, secondly, the bilateral labor 
agreement. And thirdly, a foreign service institute," said Philippine Charge 
d'Affaires in Riyadh Saudi Arabia Consul Imelda Panolong.

Both sides have also talked about cooperation for maintaining the security and 
the eradication of transnational crimes like illegal drugs trade and terrorism.

President Duterte will meet with businessmen in Riyadh to urge them to invest 
in the Philippines particularly in Mindanao.

The last part of President Duterte's visit in KSA includes a visit at the 
Filipino community gathering where some 2,000 overseas Filipino workers are 
expected to attend.

Based on data from the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh, 76 % of the voters in KSA 
voted for President Duterte during the last elections.

(source: Yahoo News)






GHANA:

Amnesty International urges Ghana to abolish death penalty


The Amnesty International (AI), a human rights group, has urged the Government 
of Ghana to abolish the death penalty.

Mr Frank Doyi, the Acting Director, AI Ghana, said: "The death penalty is the 
ultimate denial of human rights. It is premeditated and cold-blooded killing of 
a human being by the state. This cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment is 
done in the name of justice."

He said the death penalty violates the right to life as proclaimed in the 
Universal Declaration of Human rights.

He said Ghana's retentionist policy of the death penalty was out of step with 
the rest of the world; stating that abolition of the death penalty would 
reinforce Ghana's commitment to human rights.

Mr Doyi made the appeal on Tuesday in Accra during the launch of the Amnesty 
International Global Report: "Death Sentences and Executions 2016".

He said Article 13 of the 1992 Ghanaian Constitution guarantees the right to 
life, however the same article allows for the death penalty.

He noted that Article 3(3) provides for mandatory death sentence for the 
persons convicted of high treason.

"We call on the Government of Ghana to expedite action on the review of the 
1992 Constitution to: Amend articles 3 (3) and 13 (1) of the 1992 Constitution 
to remove the mandatory death sentence for persons convicted of high treason 
(3(3)) and to prohibit the execution of the citizens by the state (13(1))," he 
said.

He noted that according to information that the Ghana Prisons Service provided 
to AI, no executions were carried out in 2016, whilst 17 death sentences were 
imposed.

Mr Doyi said at the end of the year, 148 people were under sentence of death, 7 
of whom were foreign nationals - 5 Togolese, 1 Burkinabe and 1 Nigerian; adding 
that 4 commutations were granted and 1 person was exonerated.

He said Ghana had international human rights obligations to respect, protect 
and fulfill the human rights for everyone within its juisdiction, without 
discrimination.

"These human rights include the right to life, the right not to be subjected to 
torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and the 
right to a fair trial," Mr Doyi stated.

"Ghana has explicitly accepted obligations in regard to these rights in the 
international and regional human rights treaties which it has ratified, 
including the international Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the 
African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights," he added.

He said Ghana had ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against 
Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

He said the acceptance of the proposal for the abolition of the death penalty 
would provide a unique opportunity for Ghana to truly and fully commit to the 
protection of the internationally recognise human rights.

Dr Vincent Adzahlie-Mensah, AI Board Member, said government's white paper on 
the constitutional review report backs the abolishing of the death penalty in 
Ghana.

He therefore, appealed to government to ensure that a referendum was held to 
approve the appropriate constitutional amendments.

"What we need is for government to protect us from our killers, rather than 
kill our killers," he added.

Mr Ron Strikker, the Dutch Ambassador to Ghana said his country and the 
European Union would support every effort by Ghana to abolish the death 
penalty.

Mr Lawrence Amesu, retired Director, AI Ghana, who chaired the event, said at 
the time AI started advocating for the abolishing of the death penalty, there 
were only 18 countries that had done that, but now the number had progress to 
104.

He said AI looks forward to seeing the day when there would be no death penalty 
in the world.

Mrs Yvonne Atakora Obuobisa, Director of Public Prosecution, Attorney General's 
Department, said "It is gratifying to note that we all want an end to the death 
penalty".

She said after the necessary constitutional procedures had been met, government 
would hold a referendum on the recommendations of the constitutional review 
committee; which would lead to the abolishing of the death penalty.

(source: ghanabusinessnews.com)




ZIMBABWE:

Abolish Death Penalty, Zimbabwe Urged


Amnesty International has pleaded with Zimbabwe to abolish the death penalty 
with some 97 convicts currently awaiting the hangman's noose in the country.

The Zimbabwean constitution now exempts women and those under 21 from the 
penalty.

Although the country last implemented the death sentence in 2003, it remains 1 
of the only 3 countries in the region yet to abolish the sentence.

Amnesty fears that Botswana's executions last year may cause the region to 
regress.

"Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe were the only countries in Southern Africa who 
handed down death sentences in 2016 - a total of 110, the overwhelming majority 
of which (101) were in Zambia," said Amnesty in its latest report released this 
Tuesday.

"Botswana's step backward must not be replicated elsewhere in the region. While 
they didn't carry out any executions, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe continued to 
hand down death sentences. We urge all countries to totally abolish the death 
penalty."

At least 283 people across the region were under sentence of death at the end 
of 2016, including 157 in Zambia and 97 in Zimbabwe.

Justice minister Emmerson Mnangagwa has since declared his opposition to the 
death penalty.

"At a time when the number of countries carrying out executions around the 
world is going down, indicating that the world is moving away from this 
inhumane and degrading form of punishment, Botswana is the only country in the 
region still showing flagrant contempt for the right to life," said Deprose 
Muchena, Amnesty International's Regional Director for Southern Africa.

Across sub-Saharan Africa as a whole fewer executions were recorded but the 
number of death sentences more than doubled, largely due to a steep rise in 
Nigeria.

About 1,032 executions were carried-out worldwide in 2016, down 37 % from 2015. 
Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Pakistan join China as world's top 5 executioners.

China however remains the leading country in terms of executions in the world 
with over 1 100 executions. The world generally registered a drop in 
executions.

(source: allafrica.com)






GLOBAL:

Doing Away with the Death Penalty----Amnesty International Says Executions 
Globally Have Fallen, Despite Record Rise in Death Sentences


Last year saw a record number of death sentences, according to Amnesty 
International's annual report on the issue, released today.

That's dispiriting news for opponents of the death penalty - a uniquely cruel 
and irreversible punishment. But the picture emerging from the annual roundup 
isn't entirely bleak.

For example, there were fewer reported executions worldwide, and fewer 
countries carried out executions, compared to 2015.

Executions in Iran fell by more than 40 % compared to 2015 - especially 
significant because Iran accounted for more than 1/2 of all known executions 
last year. Pakistan, another country that carries out death sentences in large 
numbers, saw a 73 % fall in executions last year.

In the United States, the number of executions is at its lowest in 25 years, 
and fewer death sentences were imposed than in any year since 1973. That's due 
in part to court decisions throwing out capital sentencing laws in Florida and 
Delaware. The refusal by European pharmaceutical companies to supply US states 
with the drugs used for lethal injections also contributed to the sharp 
decline.

The use of the death penalty for crimes committed by children, prohibited by 
international law, fell for the 2nd year running. Iran was the only country 
known to execute or impose death sentences for crimes committed by individuals 
under age 18. It executed at least 2 juvenile offenders - and possibly 7 or 
more - in 2016, but fewer than the 14 it put to death in 2014.

Amnesty International has always cautioned that its figures, compiled on the 
best available information, may not reflect the real total.

Some countries, including Thailand, were more forthcoming with data than in 
previous years, Amnesty International said.

On the other hand, Belarus, China, and Vietnam treat death penalty data as 
state secrets, and armed conflict or authoritarian rule means there's little or 
no information from countries like Laos, North Korea, Syria, and Yemen.

These gaps are significant. China is likely the world leader in death sentences 
and executions, a dubious title it has held for years. New data shows that more 
than 400 death-row inmates in Vietnam were given lethal injection between 2013 
and 2016. And Syria secretly executed thousands of prisoners from 2011 through 
at least 2015, Amnesty International recently reported.

Overall, however, there's enough good news in today's report to confirm Amnesty 
International's conclusion that there's a continuing global trend toward 
abolition.

(source: Human Rights Watch)