[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

August 31



IRAN----executions

At Least 2 Prisoners Hanged on Drug Charges



At least 2 prisoners were reportedly hanged at Ardabil Central Prison on drug 
related charges.

According to close sources, the executions of "Fardin Hosseini" and "Massoud 
Vaizadeh" were carried out on the morning of Wednesday August 30.

Fardin and Massoud were reportedly held in prison for more than 4 years before 
they were executed. The 2 men were reportedly convicted in the same file and 
sentenced to death each for the charge of manufacturing 3 kilograms of crystal 
meth. "Fardin was a chemical engineer and had no previous criminal record," an 
informed source tells Iran Human Rights.

The execution of prisoners with drug related charges continues in Iran at the 
same time that the Iranian Parliament has approved a bill to stop drug related 
executions. The bill must be approved by Iran's Guardian Council before it can 
be passed.

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

Sunni Prisoner Hanged on Moharebeh Charges



Sunni prisoner Seyed Jamal Seyed Mousavi was reportedly hanged at Karaj's Rajai 
Shahr Prison on Wednesday August 23, but his famliy did not find out until 
Sunday August 27.

According to close sources, it was the prison authorities who confirmed Seyed 
Jamal's execution to his family. The day before his execution, Seyed Jamal's 
family were reportedly able to meet him for a brief visit.

Close sources say the Iranian authorities buried Seyed Jamal's body in a 
location unknown, even to his family.

A week before his execution, Seyed Jamal was held in solitary confinement, but 
he was returned to his cell on Tuesday August 22, only to be taken back to 
solitary confinement on the same day and executed on Wednesday.

Seyed Jamal Seyed Mousavi was reportedly arrested in 2008 by the Ministry of 
Intelligence in Sanandaj and was sentenced to death by a revolutionary court 
for the charge of "Enmity against god through cooperation with Salafi groups".

(source for both: Iran Human Rights)








NORTH KOREA:

Seoul condemns N.K.'s threat to execute S. Korean reporters



South Korea's unification ministry on Thursday strongly condemned North Korea's 
threat to execute Seoul reporters for allegedly insulting its leadership.

North Korea's Central Court said that it will hand down the death penalty to 2 
reporters and 2 chiefs of 2 South Korean conservative newspapers, claiming that 
they seriously disgraced North Korea's dignity with what it called their false 
reports.

"The criminals hold no right to appeal and the execution will be carried out 
any moment and at any place without going through any additional procedures as 
soon as the objects are confirmed," a court spokesman was quoted as saying by 
the Korean Central News Agency.

The Ministry of Unification called on the North to immediately stop such 
intimidation.

"North Korea's threats in response to journalists' ordinary acts of reporting 
constitutes a serious violation of freedom of the press and an intervention in 
the South's affairs," it said. "This does not help an improvement in 
inter-Korean ties at all. We sternly warn that North Korea should end its 
threat to our nationals."

The ministry said that the government remains firm in defending national 
security and its people's safety.

"The government will take necessary measures to guarantee the safety of South 
Korean nationals," it added.

(source: yonhapnews.co.kr)








VIETNAM:

Russian woman, 30, faces execution for smuggling 3kg of cocaine into Vietnam 
'after drugs were planted in her hand luggage by her Nigerian lover'----Maria 
Dapirka, 30, was caught with 3kg of cocaine on a flight from Singapore



A 30-year-old Russian woman accused of being a cocaine mule faces the death 
penalty in Vietnam.

But Maria Dapirka, who has already written a 'farewell letter' to her mother, 
claims she was set up by her lover who posed as a top footballer.

Her lawyers have said she has accepted she may soon be executed, but still 
clings on to some hope she will be freed after 3 years in prison.

Dapirka, who lived in Thailand when she met her lover, known as Nick, was 
caught with almost 3kg of cocaine by Vietnamese customs on a flight from 
Singapore.

She said the cocaine was planted in her luggage by Nick - or 'Chib Eze' - who 
apparently has a penchant for seducing attractive young women before conning 
them into carrying drugs.

Dapirka's verdict and sentence was due to be handed down by a Vietnamese judge 
today in a Ho Chi Minh city court but the session was postponed 'for further 
investigation' for the fifth time.

In a letter to her mother Olga, a desperate Dapirka said she was ready for any 
decision by the court.

She wrote: 'Don't worry about me. I am fine. I am ready for any end. 'I hope 
you will manage to visit me.

'I've not seen you for 4 years. I miss you so much! Please take good care of 
your health.'

Her lawyer Sunkar Nurmagambetov said: 'We have received Maria's appeal.

'She addressed her family and said that she has not lost faith yet but 
realistically she understands there might be scenarios like a death sentence or 
life term.'

Before her arrest, she was a keen sportswoman who did not drink or smoke, he 
said.

'She has had to get used to the new conditions. She is trying to stay as 
optimistic as she can, but sometimes her mood can be quite low.'

Pro-Kremlin news site Mash in Russia published a picture purporting to be 
'Nick', the man she accuses of framing her after they met in Thailand.

The Nigerian media has claimed the same man used different fake names to dupe 
dozens of other women with model looks to act as drugs mules. His real name is 
not known.

'What started as a beautiful love story for these innocent girls with model 
looks ended up into a nightmare on the death row on drug-trafficking charges,' 
reported NAIJ.com 2 years ago.

'All these beautiful girls have been duped into being drug mules by an elusive 
Nigerian drug baron, who pretended to be a professional footballer or a pro 
from the fashion industry.

'He seduced the girls promising to marry them and establishing intimate 
relationships with his victims, but little did they know what they have been 
chosen for.'

Suspected victim Akzharkyn Turlybay, aged 20, a Kazakhstan model, was sentenced 
to life imprisonment in China, before the verdict was quashed last year and the 
case sent back to the lower courts.

Another Zhibek Sakeeva was jailed for 12 years in Indonesia in 2012 after 
allegedly being conned by the same drugs baron.

1 more possible victim was 22-year-old Colombian, Juliana Lopez, a university 
student and model, who also hosted a TV show, it was reported.

Lopez was arrested 2 years ago in China with a notebook containing drugs.

A campaign organised by Maria Dapirka's friends calling for her release alleged 
that 'a whole criminal syndicate of Nigerian men work in Asia and all around 
the world, like Maria's so-called boyfriend.

'They make up all sort of stories, win trust, some even marry their potential 
future drug mules.

'Maria is not in this alone, there is plenty of girls like her who trust these 
men.'

Olga, her mother, insisted her daughter was innocent.

'I hope Maria will be released because Vietnam has the death penalty for this 
crime.'

The woman was caught with 2 nylon bags packed with cocaine in her hand baggage, 
and more wedged inside a magazine, at Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Son Nhat 
International Airport in August 2014.

'Maria would not carry cocaine, she has always lived a strictly healthy 
lifestyle,' said her brother Vadim.

'She does not eat meat, nor smoke, nor drink and has always said that she 
thinks all of those things are really disgusting.'

Popular tourist destination Vietnam has some of the most severe penalties for 
drugs offences in the world.

People caught with even small quantities of hard drugs are liable to be 
executed.

More than 2 dozen foreigners are currently facing the death penalty or life 
imprisonment for drug trafficking offences.

(source: dailymail.co.uk)



NEW ZEALAND/CHINA:

New Zealand court upholds government's decision to extradite man to China



A New Zealand court on Thursday rejected an appeal from a man challenging the 
government's decision to extradite him to China in the 1st case of its kind for 
the Pacific nation.

New Zealand Justice Minister Amy Adams had twice ordered that South Korean-born 
New Zealand resident Kyung Yup Kim could be sent to China to face murder 
charges, and both times Kim had appealed against the decision in the High 
Court.

Kim has denied the murder accusation, according to court documents.

Judge Jillian Mallon, who had accepted Kim's first appeal last year, said that 
when Adams reconsidered she had sought extra information that allowed her to 
conclude Kim's rights would be protected in China.

A lawyer for Kim told the High Court in April that New Zealand's government 
could not rely on assurances from China that the man would not be tortured or 
receive the death penalty.

New Zealand agreed in December 2015 to extradite Kim to Shanghai on murder 
charges after the body of a 20-year-old woman, who had been strangled, was 
found in a Shanghai field in 2009.

China's 1st extradition request to New Zealand comes as it is trying to drum up 
international support for returning to China corruption suspects who have gone 
abroad.

China has struggled to enlist Western countries in its efforts, with many 
proving reluctant to sign extradition treaties with China, pointing to its poor 
rights record and opaque criminal prosecution process.

Kim can appeal again.

His lawyer, Tony Ellis, did not immediately respond to a request for comment 
but earlier this year he told Reuters his client would likely continue to 
appeal the decision.

(source: Reuters)








UNITED KINGNDOM/THAILAND:

National Crime Agency acted illegally in Thai double murder investigation



The National Crime Agency has been forced to admit that it acted illegally in 
assisting Thai police investigate, arrest and convict 2 young Burmese men 
sentenced to death for the murder of British backpackers Hannah Witheridge and 
David Miller.

The admission by the NCA in a High Court settlement, raises new doubts over 
whether the 2015 convictions of Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo are safe.

The 2 men were forced to take legal action, supported by Reprieve, after the 
agency refused to admit its full role in their conviction.

Phone metadata provided by the NCA was presented at trial to bolster a 
prosecution case marred by widespread allegations of corruption, incompetence 
and fabricated evidence.

In the UK legal proceedings, it came to light that the NCA had also secretly 
shared other data with the prosecution - data which pointed to other suspects 
and would have supported the defence case, but which was never disclosed to the 
defence team.

This 1-sided provision of assistance in a death penalty case goes against the 
policy set out in the Overseas Security and Justice Assistance Guidance which 
requires government agencies to seek approval at the highest ministerial level 
in cases where assistance given to another country could result in human rights 
abuses or a death sentence.

Maya Foa, director of Reprieve, said: "It is bad enough that the National Crime 
Agency secretly handed over evidence to help secure death sentences in a 
country known for unfair trials and torture.

"But they now admit they did this illegally, without any proper thought that 
their actions could contribute to a grave miscarriage of justice with 2 men now 
facing execution.

"UK cooperation with foreign police and security forces should be open and 
transparent. Government agencies shouldn't have to be dragged through the 
courts for the public to know what is being done with their money."

(source: Scottish Legal News)