[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

August 13




INDIA:

Supreme Court stays execution of man on death row



The Supreme Court has stayed the execution of a man sentenced to death in a 
case related to election rivalry in which 6 persons were murdered after 
panchayat polls in Uttar Pradesh in 2003.

A bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra, Amitava Roy and A M Khanwilkar 
admitted the appeal filed by convict Madan and called for the trial court's 
records of the case lodged in Muzaffarnagar district.

"Leave granted. Let the lower court's records be called for. There shall be a 
stay on the execution of the death sentence," it said.

Madan was awarded the capital punishment by the trial court in July 2015 and 
the sentence was confirmed by the Allahabad High Court in February this year.

The high court, while confirming his death sentence, had observed that he was 1 
of the main assailants in the crime in which 6 persons had died.

The high court had commuted to life term the death penalty awarded by the trial 
court to another convict in the case.

According to the prosecution, Madan, along with his associates, had fired at 
the family members and supporters of the successful candidates, who were 
elected as members of a village panchayat.

It had alleged that Madan and others were supporting the other candidate, who 
had lost the election, due to which he had a grudge against them.

The prosecution had said that on October 14, 2003, when the relatives and 
supporters of the successful candidates were going to the house of deputy 
pradhan of the village, Madan and his associates attacked them and in the 
firing 6 people had died.

During the trial, Madan and others had denied the allegations levelled against 
them and had claimed that they were falsely implicated in the case due to 
election rivalry.

In its judgement, the high court had held that Madan and his associates had 
indiscriminately fired upon the victims and considering the gravity of offence, 
it was covered under the category of the rarest of rare cases warranting death 
penalty.

(source: newindianexpress.com)








BANGLADESH:

HC defers N'ganj 7-murder verdict to Aug 22



The High Court has deferred its verdict on the Narayanganj 7-murder case until 
Aug 22.

Though the decision was to be announced on Aug 13, the bench of Justices 
Bhabani Prasad Singha and Mustafa Zaman Islam rescheduled it on Sunday.

"It has been delayed because the decision is not yet ready," said defence 
counsel Mansurul Haq Chowdhury.

On Jul 26, the High Court bench set the Aug 1 date for the verdict after 
hearing the death reference and appeals in the case. Death sentences issued by 
trial courts are forwarded for approval to the High Court as 'death 
references'.

7 murder case

The abduction and gruesome killing of seven people, including councillor Nazrul 
Islam and senior lawyer Chandan Kumar Sarkar from Narayanganj 3 years ago 
shocked the nation.

The news later made international headlines when it emerged that members of the 
elite police unit the Rapid Action Battalion or RAB, were involved in the 
killings.

Former Narayanganj City Corporation councillor Nur Hossain and 3 former senior 
officers of the local RAB unit, including its then chief, former army 
lieutenant colonel Tarek Sayeed Mohammad, are among the 26 people awarded the 
death penalty for the 2014 sensational 7-murder.

Tarek is also a son-in-law of Disaster Management and Relief Minister Mofazzal 
Hossain Chowdhury Maya.

On Saturday, the families of the victims told bdnews24.com that exemplary 
punishment should be confirmed for the convicts to stop such crimes happen 
again.

Nazrul Islam's wife Selina Islam Beauty told bdnews24.com: "The entire world is 
watching the verdict. We lost our loved ones. We want Nur Hossain, the 3 former 
RAB officers and all other convicts to be hanged."

"RAB is our protector, but it acted as the predator. They abducted and killed 7 
people, including my husband. It was not simply murder; 7 families are 
destroyed," she added.

She hoped the High Court would uphold the death penalties and those would be 
executed quickly.

16 of the death-row convicts were members of the elite force. 9 other RAB men 
were given various previous terms in the trial court verdict issued on Jan 16 
this year.

Nazrul's friend Moniruzzaman Swapan, driver Jahangir Alam, and lawyer Chandan's 
driver 'Ibrahim' were also among the 7 victims.

Jahangir's wife Shamsunnahar Nupur said, "We are in misery after losing the 
only bread earner of our family. My daughter has not seen her father. She only 
cries holding his photo."

Swapan's brother 'Ripon' demanded to hang of the convicts.

Ibrahim's father Abdul Wahab Mia said, "My daughter-in-law and my grandchildren 
are living a miserable life after the death of my son. We are poor people. We 
want the execution of death sentences of the murderers, nothing else."

On the afternoon of Apr 27, 2014, City Councillor Nazrul and 5 of his 
associates were abducted from their car on Dhaka-Narayanganj Link Road.

Around the same time and from the same location, senior lawyer Chandan and his 
chauffeur, who were in another car, were kidnapped.

3 days later, their bloated bodies were found floating in the Shitalakkhya 
River.

>From the very beginning, the slain councillor's family claimed that Nur Hossain 
had paid Tk 60 million to senior officers of the local RAB unit to carry out 
the murder of his rival.

Both Nazrul and Nur Hossain belonged to the ruling Awami League.

(source: bdnews24.com)

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

War crimes: SC to hear Azhar, Qaiser's appeals on Oct 10----Convicted war 
criminals ATM Azharul Islam and Syed Mohammad Qaiser will have their appeals 
heard at the Supreme Court on Oct 10



The Supreme Court on Sunday set Oct 10 as the date to start its hearing on the 
appeals filed by convicted war criminals, ATM Azharul Islam and Syed Mohammad 
Qaiser, challenging their sentences handed down by the International Crimes 
Tribunal (ICT).

A 3-member Appellate Division bench headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar 
Sinha passed the order, asking the defence in both the cases to submit concise 
statement of their appeals by Aug 24, reports BSS.

The now defunct International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) 2 on Dec 23, 2014 sentenced 
former Jatiya Party state minister Qaiser to death as the 14 charges of crimes 
against humanity out of a total of 16 charges against him were proven.

The tribunal handed down the death penalty on 7 charges, life imprisonment on 
4, jail terms of 10, 7 and 5 years on 3 charges. Qaiser was acquitted of the 
remaining 2 charges.

The tribunal in its observation also asked the state to initiate a compensation 
scheme for the rape victims of 1971 and the war babies.

Qaiser filed appeal against his conviction on Jan 19, 2015.

Meanwhile, the ICT-1 on Dec 30, 2014, sentenced Jamaat-e-Islami Assistant 
Secretary General ATM Azharul Islam to death for crimes against humanity 
committed in Rangpur during the War of Liberation. It found him guilty on 5 of 
a total of 6 charges.

He was sentenced to death by hanging for charges 2, 3 and 4.

In charge no 2, he was accused of gunning down 15 unarmed innocent civilians in 
Dhappara area in Rangpur on April 16. In charge no 3, he was accused of 
committing massacre at Jharuarbeel and killing of more than 1200 unarmed 
civilians on April 17. And in charge no 3, he was accused of abduction and 
murder of four teachers of Carmichael College and others on April 30.

He was also sentenced to a total of 30 years of imprisonment in the remaining 
charge no 5 and 6 for the raping and confining women to Rangpur Town Hall 
between Mar 25 and Dec 16, 1971, and the torturing of Shawkat Hossain and 
Rafiqul Hasan between mid Nov and Dec 1.

Azhar filed appeal against his conviction on Jan 28, 2015.

(source: Dhaka Tribune)






,

IRAN:

Iran parliament softens drug death penalty laws



The amendment will apply retroactively, thus commuting the sentences for many 
of the 5,300 inmates currently on death row for drug trafficking. Under the new 
bill, the punishment for those already convicted and given the death penalty or 
life in prison, other than those meeting the new execution requirements, will 
be commuted to up to 30 years in jail and a cash fine.

Iran's parliament passed a long-awaited amendment to its drug trafficking laws 
on Sunday, raising the thresholds that can trigger capital punishment and 
potentially saving the lives of many on death row. The bill must still be 
approved by the conservative-dominated Guardian Council but gained 
parliamentary approval after months of debate, according to parliament???s 
website and the ISNA news agency.

According to rights group Amnesty International, Iran was 1 of the top 5 
executioners in the world in 2016, with most of its hangings related to illicit 
drugs. The watchdog noted sharp drops in the number of executions in Iran - 
down 42 % to at least 567 that year.

The new law raises the amounts that can trigger the death penalty from 30 grams 
to two kilos for the production and distribution of chemical substances such as 
heroin, cocaine and amphetamines. For natural substances such as opium and 
marijuana, the levels have been raised from 5 to 50 kilos.

The amendment will apply retroactively, thus commuting the sentences for many 
of the 5,300 inmates currently on death row for drug trafficking. It restricts 
the death penalty to criminals who lead drug-trafficking gangs, exploit minors 
below 18 years old in doing so, carry or draw firearms while committing 
drug-related crimes, or have a related previous conviction of the death penalty 
or a jail sentence of more than 15 years or life in prison. Under the new bill, 
the punishment for those already convicted and given the death penalty or life 
in prison, other than those meeting the new execution requirements, will be 
commuted to up to 30 years in jail and a cash fine.

Defending the bill in a parliamentary debate last week, Hassan Norouzi, the 
spokesman of parliament's judicial and legal committee, said the costs for 
Iran's war on drugs have almost doubled since 2010. He said more than 6 million 
people were involved in drugs in the country, 5.2 million of them addicts and 
1.8 million users.

The amendment had faced opposition from police officials who believed that 
reducing or removing the death penalty would embolden criminals. But many 
judges had welcomed the softened law - and stayed execution sentences as they 
awaited the results of the parliamentary debate, Norouzi said.

Iran's neighbour Afghanistan produces some 90 % of the world's opium, which is 
extracted from poppy resin and refined to make heroin. The Islamic republic, a 
major transit point for Afghan-produced opiates heading to Europe and beyond, 
confiscates and destroys hundreds of tonnes of illicit narcotics every year.

(source: Indian Express)