[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

April 13



UNITED KINGDOM:

How abolishing the death penalty led to more convictions----The lesson from 
Victorian England is that juries convict more often when death is not an option

Though no one has been executed in Britain for over 50 years, until 1998 
someone convicted of high treason or "piracy with violence" could in theory be 
put to death. The law is now clearly against capital punishment, but Britons 
are not. Fully 1/3 would like the death penalty to be brought back; the leader 
of the populist UK Independence Party has suggested a referendum on the matter. 
Yet research presented at this week's Royal Economic Society conference 
suggests that if you really want to be tough on criminals, killing off capital 
punishment makes sense.

Anna Bindler and Randi Hjalmarsson, both of the University of Gothenburg, 
examined over 200,000 cases from the Old Bailey criminal court in London from 
1715 to 1900. During this period capital punishment was abolished for many 
offences, from counterfeiting money (in 1832) to robbery (in 1837). Making the 
necessary statistical controls, the authors looked at the change in the 
likelihood of conviction for offences that were no longer capital.

The paper suggests that when capital punishment was an option, juries were 
often reluctant to convict at all. They may have felt it was a little rum to 
send someone to the gallows for stealing a cow, so they downgraded the charge 
or acquitted the defendant. The authors find that juries were particularly 
reluctant to convict women.

Once death was off the table, however, jurors could convict with a clearer 
conscience. The paper finds that the abolition of capital punishment increased 
the chance of conviction for all crimes by around eight percentage points, with 
especially large effects for violent offences. The temporary halt of penal 
transportation during the American war of independence had a somewhat smaller 
effect on the likelihood to convict, suggesting that juries considered living 
in America to be a prospect slightly less awful than death.

Past research has found that would-be criminals are more put off by an 
increased likelihood of conviction than they are by more severe sentences. If 
so, then getting rid of the most brutal punishments could make criminal-justice 
systems work better. If the third of Britons who would like the death penalty 
reintroduced got their way, the country might inadvertently end up letting more 
criminals walk free.

(source: The Economist)






YEMEN:

Rebel court sentences Yemen journalist to death


A Yemeni court in the rebel-held capital has sentenced a veteran journalist to 
death on charges of spying for neighbouring Saudi Arabia, the press union and 
rebel media said on Thursday.

Since March 2015, oil-rich Saudi Arabia has been leading a deadly military 
intervention against the rebels and their allies in the kingdom's impoverished 
neighbour.

Yahya al-Jubaihi, 61, was convicted of establishing "contact with a foreign 
state" and providing Saudi diplomats in Sanaa with "reports that posed harm to 
Yemen militarily, politically and economically," the rebel-controlled Saba news 
agency reported.

Prosecutors alleged that Jubaihi had been receiving a monthly salary of 4,500 
Saudi riyals ($1,200) from Riyadh since 2010, 4 years before the rebels overran 
the capital, Saba added.

The Yemeni press union condemned the "arbitrary" sentence, accusing the rebels 
of "targeting the freedom of the press."

It said Jubaihi was a "veteran journalist with a long record of professional 
work across Yemen."

He was seized from his home on September 6, it added.

The rebels and their allies -- renegade troops loyal to former president Ali 
Abdullah Saleh -- have controlled all government institutions in Sanaa since 
they overran the capital in September 2014.

Rival bodies loyal to internationally recognised president Abedrabbo Mansour 
Hadi operate out of 2nd city Aden or from exile in Saudi Arabia.

The Aden-based information ministry said Jubaihi's trial was a "farce" and 
accused the rebels of looking to "settle political accounts... through a 
politicised judiciary."

Jubaihi wrote regular columns in Saudi dailies Okaz and Al-Madina, as well as 
in Yemeni newspapers.

He served at the government's press department in the 1990s and 2000s when 
Saleh was president and Hadi was his deputy.

Press watchdogs and human rights groups have been deeply critical of the 
rebels' treatment of journalists as the conflict in the Arabian peninsula 
country has escalated over the past 2 years.

In December, journalist Mohammed al-Absi, 35, died suddenly after publishing 
reports about alleged corruption. His family and human rights groups said a 
post-mortem found he had been poisoned.

Eight reporters were killed in Yemen last year, according to the International 
Federation of Journalists.

That made the country the 4th deadliest for journalists after Iraq, Afghanistan 
and Mexico, the watchdog added.

(source: al-monitor.com)






IRAN----executions

Prisoner with Mental Illness Executed on Murder Charges


A prisoner who reportedly suffered from a mental illness was hanged at Tabriz 
Central Prison on murder charges.

According to the human rights news agency HRANA, the execution was carried out 
on the morning of Wednesday April 12. The prisoner, 27-year-old Rahman 
Hosseinpour, who was held in the "psychotherapy ward" of the prison, was 
reportedly transferred to solitary confinement prior to his execution.

"Rahman suffers from a mental illness. He committed murder in self defense 
after he was sexually abused. He was not mentally stable at all. Despite this, 
his death penalty sentence was still carried out," says a source close to the 
family of Mr. Hosseinpour.

Iranian official sources, including the media and Judiciary, have not announced 
Rahman Hosseinpour's execution.

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

Prisoner Hanged on Drug Charges


A prisoner was reportedly hanged at Khoramabad's Parsilon Prison on drug 
related charges.

According to the human rights news agency HRANA, the execution was carried out 
on the morning of Saturday April 8. Iran Human Rights has received confirmation 
on this execution from close sources.

The prisoner, who has been identified as Maziar Geravand, was reportedly 
transferred to solitary confinement along with another prisoner, Morteza 
Sanaie, in preparation for execution. According to close sources, Mr. Sanaie's 
excution was stopped and he was taken back to his prison cell.

Maziar Geravand was reportedly sentenced to death on the charge of possession 
and trafficking of three kilograms of heroin. Mr. Geravand, who is the father 
of a three-year-old child, was reportedly in prison for three years before he 
was executed.

Iranian official sources, including the media and the Judiciary, have not 
announced Maziar Geravand's execution.

Executions for drug related charges continue in Iran despite a bill allegedly 
approved by the Judicial Committee of the Iranian Parliament to halt the death 
sentences of thousands for drug related charges.

(source for both: Iran Human Rights)






SOMALIA:

EU consider death penalty inhuman


The EU Delegation regrets the execution of 5 suspected Al Shabab members by the 
Puntland authorities on Saturday 8th April 2017. While the EU condemns in the 
strongest terms all acts of terror and supports the application of robust 
sentences that follow due process, the EU also opposes on principle the death 
penalty in all circumstances. The European Union considers the death penalty to 
be a cruel and inhuman punishment, which fails to provide deterrence to 
criminal behaviour and represents an unacceptable denial of human dignity and 
integrity. Any miscarriage of justice - which can occur in any legal system - 
is irreversible. The EU also notes with growing concern the recurrent use of 
military courts in Somalia. The EU Delegation calls upon the authorities of 
Puntland and the Federal Government of Somalia to instate a moratorium on the 
death penalty and to ensure that civilians are tried before civilian courts. 
The EU is committed to strengthening the Somali judicial system and the 
promotion of rule of law and justice for the Somali citizens. We look forward 
to supporting the Somali authorities in adopting legislation to abolish the use 
of the death penalty.

(source: mareeg.com)

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

Local EU Statement on the execution of 5 suspected Al Shabab members in 
Puntland


The EU Delegation regrets the execution of 5 suspected Al Shabab members by the 
Puntland authorities on Saturday 8th April 2017.

While the EU condemns in the strongest terms all acts of terror and supports 
the application of robust sentences that follow due process, the EU also 
opposes on principle the death penalty in all circumstances. The European Union 
considers the death penalty to be a cruel and inhuman punishment, which fails 
to provide deterrence to criminal behaviour and represents an unacceptable 
denial of human dignity and integrity. Any miscarriage of justice - which can 
occur in any legal system - is irreversible.

The EU also notes with growing concern the recurrent use of military courts in 
Somalia.

The EU Delegation calls upon the authorities of Puntland and the Federal 
Government of Somalia to instate a moratorium on the death penalty and to 
ensure that civilians are tried before civilian courts.

The EU is committed to strengthening the Somali judicial system and the 
promotion of rule of law and justice for the Somali citizens. We look forward 
to supporting the Somali authorities in adopting legislation to abolish the use 
of the death penalty.

(source: satprnews.com)






PAKISTAN----executions

Pakistan hangs 2 'hard core' militants convicted by military courts

Pakistan has hanged 2 "hard core" Taliban terrorists convicted of 
terrorism-related offenses by controversial military courts which were revived 
after 2 years ignoring opposition from rights groups. The executions were 
carried out at a high-security prison in Punjab province Tuesday, the army said 
in a late-night statement. It said the 2 "hard core terrorists" were involved 
in committing "heinous offences relating to terrorism, including killing of 
civilians, attacking Armed Forces, Law Enforcement Agencies, polio vaccination 
team and employees of a NGO."

The army did not elaborate where the trials were held and when the initial 
punishment was announced. The 2 convicts were identified as Muhammad Shahid 
Omar and Fazl e Haq - both active members of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban 
Pakistan (TTP). Military courts were restored last month for another 2 years 
after their initial 2-year term expired in January.

The courts were set up after a constitutional amendment after a terror attack 
on an army-run school in Peshawar in December 2014 killed more than 150 people, 
most of them students. While Pakistani authorities maintain the military courts 
are an "effective deterrent" against terrorism, rights groups question 
transparency of the trials because of the secrecy surrounding the special 
tribunals.

The military courts have handed down the death penalty to more than 160 
militants and yesterday's hangings took the number of those executed so far to 
23. Also, the executions came on a day when Amnesty International in a 
worldwide report said Pakistan reduced the number of executions by 73 % in 2016 
compared to the year before.

(source: The Times)


INDIA:

Girl's mother wants death penalty for killer


Kausar Banu, whose 16-year-old daughter was killed on Sunday evening, has 
demanded the death penalty for the accused, Sambaji More. "The only way my girl 
will get justice is if he is hanged. That is all I want right now. I have faith 
in the country's legal system," she said.

Sufiya Begam Sheikh from Indira Nagar slum in Khar (East) was allegedly stabbed 
to death by More on Sunday evening at Santa Cruz (East) bridge. More (21) was 
caught immediately by local residents while he was trying to flee the spot. 
Sufiya passed away a few hours after she was taken to hospital.

The family's neighbour, Nisha Sheikh, claims she had never seen Sufiya and More 
interact. "Sufiya was a very friendly person, but she rarely spoke to him," she 
said.

The victim's father, Mohammad Shoeb, said he would rarely see More around. "He 
used to leave early in the morning for work and come back late at night," he 
said.

"Investigations are under way. The youth claims the girl was his girlfriend, 
but we think that is not true. We think it is 1-sided love affair," said Senior 
Police Inspector Mahadev Wavale.

Sajid Ali Sheikh, a resident of Vakola Shivaji Nagar (the area where the murder 
took place), however, said she had seen them together at the same spot many 
times.

"They used to meet here every Sunday at the same time. It is not possible they 
were not friends. Last week, I saw the youth trying to push the girl off the 
bridge. I have also witnessed them quarrelling quite a lot of times," she said.

(source: thehindu.com)





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

30 Pakistan spies in Indian jails, provided consular access whenever sought: 
Officials


As many as 30 Pakistan nationals facing charges of spying are languishing in 
Indian jails but none has been denied consular access whenever sought or 
sentenced to death penalty so far, said top South Block officials as relations 
between India and Pakistan hit a new low over a Pakistani military court 
awarding death penalty to former Indian Navy official Kulbhushan Jadhav.

Officials added that more than 265 Pakistani nationals are currently in Indian 
jails. New Delhi has allowed consular access to them but Pakistan disowned 
them, they said. In 2015, a Lashkar-e-Toiba militant Mohammad Naved was 
arrested after an attack on a BSF convoy. He is facing trial before an NIA 
court in Jammu. However, Pakistan has refused to accept him as their national, 
said an official.

According to data available with the government, nearly 2 dozen Pakistan 
nationals caught on charges of smuggling were sent back to Pakistan in 2016 and 
2017.

>From 2014 to 2016, more than 250 Pakistani nationals were deported, according 
to a reply by Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju in Parliament.

Pakistan executed Indian national Sheikh Shamim in 1999. In 2013, another 
Indian national Sarabjit Singh, who was sentenced to death for spying in 
Pakistan, died in jail after being attacked by fellow inmates.

(source: indianexpress.com)






JAMAICA:

The death penalty and our justice system


THE EDITOR, SIR:

I am one of the bleeding-heart liberals who are against instituting the death 
penalty for proponents of heinous crimes in the society, and I have 2 reasons 
for this.

First, our decrepit, overburdened, and flawed system could hand down 
convictions resulting in the execution of innocent people. I believe that it is 
morally reprehensible to imprison, let alone execute an innocent person.

2nd, there is no convincing empirical evidence to demonstrate that execution as 
punishment may serve as a significantly greater deterrence to murderers than 
other penalties.

The right to life has been expressed as the primacy and intrinsic dignity of 
the human being. All other rights depend on the foundation of life.

In our societal context, the murders being committed interfere with our right 
to live and do business without fear. Therefore, the justice system should mete 
out punishment that is commensurate with murderous acts. If murder - oftentimes 
heinous - is committed, that wilfully deprives an innocent person of his right 
to life, would it not be proportionate for the system to deprive the guilty of 
his right to life as well?

Common sense dictates that the death penalty could be effective in deterring 
marauding gunmen from executing decent, law-abiding citizens, primarily for 
wants and other senseless reasons, if we looked at our system and addressed the 
glaring inefficiencies and other issues associated with the untimely 
dispensation of justice.

Is it so difficult to rationalise that once the competent investigations are 
done, and due process of law is followed, and if justice is swift and certain, 
that the death penalty could reduce the murder toll?

I am not arguing that the death penalty should be reinstated for all cases of 
murder. I am arguing that it may be necessary for the most heinous of the 
cases. Aren't the most heinous cases of premeditated murder, which are 
perpetrated by dog-hearted criminals, deserving of death?

It is time for us to weigh the impact of the rising murder toll for the family 
and friends of the victims, and the society at large, and consider this option 
in buttressing what obtains in our justice system.

DUJON RUSSELL

(source: Letter to the Editor, Jamaica Gleaner)






MALAYSIA:

20-Year-Old Mother Who Dumped Her Baby Alive In A Toilet Bowl Faces Death 
Sentence


It's always heartbreaking to hear the news of a child's passing, but perhaps 
even more so when the child was murdered at the hands of their own flesh and 
blood.

A 20-year-old food processing student at an agricultural college in Bukit Kayu 
Hitam was recently charged in the magistrate's court for drowning her newborn 
baby in the hostel's toilet bowl.

The Star reported that Nur Izzati Adi allegedly murdered her baby on March 30 
at 5:20pm in the women's toilet located on the 3rd floor - to which she nodded 
as the charges were read last Monday.

As it is a murder case, the court ruled that Nur Izzati was charged under 
Section 302 of the Penal Code, which carries the mandatory death penalty upon 
conviction.

No plea was recorded, and on top of being denied bail, Nur Izzati was taken to 
the Pokok Sea prison.

Nur Izzati was represented by Tunku Intan Mahiya Tunku Mahamad, and prosecuted 
by the Deputy Public Prosecutor Parihah Ab Kadir.

However, in light that the post-mortem report has yet to be fully revealed, 
Magistrate Nurfadrina Zulkhairi has declared that the case will be re-mentioned 
in court on June 7.

The daily also highlighted that police were investigating a possible case of 
body dumping, but promptly turned into a murder case after the baby was 
confirmed to be alive prior death.

The 1st-year student was first arrested when she went to a government hospital 
to sought medical treatment.

After the reports were lodged to the police, her 19-year-old boyfriend, was 
also arrested in Jitra last week.

(source: malaysiandigest.com)



BANGLADESH----executions

Bangladesh executes HuJI chief Mufti Abdul Hannan, aides for 2004 shrine attack


Bangladesh on Wednesday executed banned Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami chief Mufti 
Abdul Hannan and his 2 associates for a 2004 attack on a shrine that killed 3 
people and wounded the British High Commissioner at the time.

Hannan was hanged at Kashimpur Jail in Gazipur along with his accomplice Sharif 
Shahedul alias Bipul at 10:01 pm, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan was quoted as 
saying by the Bdnews24.com.

His associate Delwar Hossain Ripon was executed in Sylhet jail, the minister 
added.

President Abdul Hamid had rejected their mercy petitions.

On 19 March, the Supreme Court reconfirmed an earlier verdict of itself 
endorsing death penalty of Hannan and the two others for the 2004 attack on the 
then UK envoy.

The then Bangladeshi-born British High Commissioner Anwar Chowdhury narrowly 
escaped the grenade attack at a shrine in northeastern Sylhet that killed 3 
people, all policemen, and injured 70 others. Anwar sustained minor injuries.

The HuJI operatives carried out the attack at the shrine of saint Hazrat 
Shahjalal in Sylhet, also the birthplace of Chowdhury, as he went to visit 
there 18 days into his new assignment in Dhaka.

A speedy trial tribunal originally tried the case and delivered its verdict on 
December 23, 2008, sentencing to death HuJI leaders Sharif Shahedul Alam and 
Delwar Hossain alongside Hannan.

Hannan and 7 other kingpins and operatives of Huji were earlier sentenced to 
death by another court in Dhaka for a deadly 2001 bomb attack that killed 10 
people during Bengali New Year celebrations at a public park.

HuJI was formed in 1992 by Bangladeshis who took part in the Afghan war against 
the Soviet forces in Afghanistan.

The US has designated HuJi as a foreign terrorist organization and "specially 
designated global terrorist" while Indian officials suspected the outfit's 
links in the Jaipur serial bombings and several other blasts there.

Bangladesh has witnessed a spate of attacks on secular activists, foreigners 
and religious minorities since 2013.

(source: firstpost.com)

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

Mufti Hannan, 2 associates executed


Harkat- ul-Jihad-al-Islami chief Mufti Abdul Hannan and his associate Sharif 
Shahedul Alam Bipul were executed at Kahismpur jail in Gazipur around 10:00pm 
on Wednesday while another of their cohorts Delwar Hossain aka Ripon was hanged 
in Sylhet jail around the same time.

Hannan and his 2 associates were handed death penalty for launching a grenade 
attack on the then UK ambassador Anwar Chowdhury at Shahjalal Shrine in Sylhet 
in 2004.

Anwar Choudhury and 51 others were injured while 3, including 2 police 
officials, were killed in that attack.

On 11 February in 2016, a High Court bench comprising justice M Enayetur Rahim 
and justice Amir Hossain, upheld the death sentence for three of the accused - 
Mufti Abdul Hannan, Sharif Shahedul Alam and Delwar Hossain - and life-term 
imprisonment for two others - Mufti Hannan???s brother Mohibullah and Mufti 
Moinuddin - handed down by the lower court.

On 19 March this year, the appellate division of the Supreme Court upheld their 
death penalty. 2 days later, the appellate division released the full text of 
its verdict on the review petition of the three HuJi men challenging their 
death penalties.

(source: prothom-alo.com)






TURKEY:

Erdogan says gov't should reinstate death penalty after April 16 referendum

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan???has said he believes the government should 
submit a draft on reinstating the death penalty in the event that the 
constitutional amendments are approved in the upcoming referendum on April 16.

"After April 16, with God's permission, the draft would be brought to 
parliament. If it passes in parliament, I will approve it," Erdogan said at a 
rally in the eastern province of Erzurum on April 12.

Although the death penalty has not been in effect since 1984, Turkey abolished 
the capital punishment in 2004 as a part of reforms to ease Turkey's accession 
into the European Union. The move was initiated by the ruling Justice and 
Development Party (AKP) and supported by the main opposition Republican 
People's Party (CHP).

But debates on reinstating the capital punishment were brought to discussion 
after the July 15, 2016, coup attempt. Erdogan vows the people's demand for the 
death penalty would be met. Calls for the death penalty were among the most 
recited chants in public rallies.

"April 16 will be the day to decide that," he said.

Erdogan said the reinstatement of the death penalty could be brought to the 
agenda with a consensus of all political parties.

"Mr.Kemal Kilicdaroglu [leader of the Republican People's Party - CHP] says he 
would approve it. I hope he will not deny it when time comes. Mr. Devlet 
Bahceli, [leader of the Nationalist Movement Party - MHP] already said yes. And 
Mr. Binali Yildirim [Prime Minister] is the same," he said, adding that it 
would be put to a referendum if it gets approved in parliament.

"To reinstate the death penalty there needs to be a constitutional amendment, 
but in an event that the parliament does not approve that, I am telling now, we 
will appeal to the public with a referendum just like we did for April 16. Let 
the public decide," he said.

(source: Hurriyet Daily News)