[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Dec. 2



THAILAND:

Israeli Sentenced to Die for Killing Fellow Expat



An Israeli man has been sentenced to die for the murder of a fellow Israeli 
last year, police said Saturday.

Shimon Sakira Bitton, 50, was convicted and sentenced to die one year after he 
was arrested on suspicion of killing Eliyahu Cohen, a 63-year-old Israeli 
policeman, and hiding his body under poured concrete. The court convicted and 
sentenced him on the same day, according to the officer in charge of the 
investigation.

"It's up to defendant whether to appeal the ruling," Col. Jirapob Puridej said 
Saturday. Defendants have 30 days to appeal their convictions.

He continued, "I am happy to have successfully brought the criminal to justice. 
We did everything in accordance with the facts."

The Israeli Embassy has not made a statement and could not be reached Saturday 
for comment.

Police said Bitton murdered Cohen with the aid of his 17-year-old son in a fit 
of jealous rage. They began investigating Bitton after Cohen???s relatives told 
the Israeli Embassy he went missing.

Investigators also linked him to a previous murder and concealed body from 
1997. He served jail time before being booted out of the country, only to 
return years later under a new name. The suspense over Cohen's murder escalated 
when family of Bitton's Thai wife also reported her as missing.

Although Thailand retains death penalty in serious crimes like first degree 
murders, an execution has not been carried out since 2009.

A juvenile court verdict in the trial of Bitton's son is yet to be out.

Col. Jirapob said Bitton's missing wife, Nantiya Saengurai, is still 
unaccounted for. She remains in the missing persons database and could not be 
ruled as deceased by the court for lack of evidence.

"There is no evidence anyone has killed her," the colonel said. "For the court 
to declare someone dead, there must be some evidence, or a body. But in her 
case, there's no trace of her at all. Not even one witness."

(source: khaosodenglish.com)








RUSSIA:

Death penalty moratorium will never be lifted - Russian ombudsman



The Russian plenipotentiary for human rights, Tatyana Moskalkova, has said that 
the moratorium on death penalty in the country will be extended indefinitely. 
She added that in her opinion life in prison was an adequate replacement as a 
punishment.

"I cannot decide on this subject but my opinion is that the moratorium will be 
extended because the sixth protocol on abolition of death penalty, that has 
been ratified by our nation, cannot be left unfulfilled, otherwise it would 
cause consequences connected with our membership in the Council of Europe," 
Moskalkova said during her lecture in the Moscow Institute of International 
Relations that was a part of the nationwide "open lesson" event dedicated to 
the issue of human rights.

"Public opinion polls show that a significant part of our population support 
the death penalty as a punishment for those who commit a murder or a terrorist 
attack with human casualties. But life in prison can be an adequate alternative 
as it provides an adequate punishment for the evil and crimes committed by such 
persons," the ombudsman added.

The moratorium on capital punishment was introduced in 1996 in connection with 
Russia's entry into the Council of Europe. The last execution in the Russian 
Federation took place on September 2, 1996.

Many Russian politicians and officials have raised the issue of canceling the 
moratorium, especially after terrorist attacks or other brutal crimes that 
attract public attention. One of the more recent examples of such behavior is 
the proposal of the head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov who said in a 
televised interview in late November that he personally favored death penalty 
as punishment for convicted terrorist recruiters.

However, the country's top authorities have so far refused to introduce any 
changes to the situation, claiming that the question was too complex.

A public opinion poll conducted by the independent sociological agency Levada 
in February this year showed that 44 % of Russians wanted the death penalty 
returned and 41 % said they opposed this measure. 15 % of respondents said they 
did not have any opinion on the issue. In 2015, the share of those who 
supported it was 41 % with 44 % against.

(source: rt.com)








IRAN----executions

18 Executions Across Iran as MEPs Visit Tehran----Parliamentary visits to 
Tehran encourage mullahs to continue executions



Iranian regime executed 18 prisoners from the 22nd to the 29th of November. 10 
of these hangings were carried out in Gohardasht Prison of Karaj, west of 
Tehran, including the mass execution of 9 prisoners on Wednesday, November 
29th. 6 prisoners were executed in Tabriz Central Prison on November 22nd and 
26th. 2 prisoners were hanged in the prisons of Babol (northern Iran) and Qaen 
(eastern Iran) on November 28th.

Continuous executions by the mullahs' regime, coinciding with a visit by the 
'European Parliament Delegation for Relations with Iran' to Tehran, proves the 
fact that moderation is nothing but an illusion and deception in the religious 
fascism ruling Iran, which is unable to confront increasing protest movements 
across the country, cannot afford to stop executions, torture and lashing for 
even a few days.

The Iranian people, no longer willing to tolerate this regime, abhor any aid 
provided to the repressive and corrupt mullahs??? regime. They also condemn 
despicable economic deals with a regime that plunders this nation and spills 
their blood.

Visits by foreign delegations to Iran under any excuse and/or pretext only 
encourage the criminal mullahs to continue and expand their crackdown, 
executions and harsh security measures. Any relations with this regime must 
hinge on improving Iran's human rights situation, especially halting all 
executions.

(source: Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran)

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

1 Man Executed in Northern Iran



A prisoner was hanged at Amol Prison on murder charges.

YJC news agency reported the execution of a prisoner in Amol Prison on Tuesday 
November 28. The prisoner, identified as M. A., was sentenced to death on 
murder charges.

The Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor of Mazandaran Province, Asadollah 
Ja'fari, stated that the defendant was sentenced to death on the charge of 
murdering a man named M.A.

The report, published by the state-run media, did not mention the exact date of 
the execution, however, it seems that the execution of the prisoner was 
implemented on Tuesday.

According to Iran Human Rights annual report on the death penalty, 142 of the 
530 execution sentences in 2016 were implemented due to murder charges. There 
is a lack of a classification of murder by degree in Iran which results in 
issuing death sentence for any kind of murder regardless of intensity and 
intent.

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

Suicide on the Death Row



A prisoner hanged himself in ward 1 of Rajai Shahr Prison on November 28. 
Unfair sentences, poor prison condition, and harsh treatment are believed to be 
the main causes of the high suicide rate among prisoners.

According to a close source, a prisoner hanged himself to death in ward 1 of 
Rajai Shahr Prison on Tuesday November 28. The prisoner, identified as Mohammad 
Lor, 31, had been in prison for 5 years on the charges as theft and quarrel.

"We don't know why Mohammad was transferred to ward 1, where death row 
prisoners and those with serious offences are held. He always said that if he 
could raise 20 million Tomans (about 4850 dollars) he would be released in a 
month," said one of his friends to Iran Human Rights (IHR).

The prisoner added, "I've thought about committing suicide several times. It's 
because of poor prison condition and unfair sentences that courts issue. The 
demeaning behavior of prison guards also worsens the situation. A few months 
ago, a prisoner tried to kill himself by taking a pill after he was beaten and 
belittled by the prison guards. Fortunately, he was taken to the clinic 
immediately and was saved."

There are no statistics indicating the exact suicide rate in Rajai Shahr 
Prison, but according to the prisoner IHR interviewed "there are suicide 
attempts almost everyday, but most of them are saved by their cellmates. 
Nevertheless, every year, 10 to 20 prisoners die in this prison by committing 
suicide."

(source for both: Iran Human Rights)








AFGHANISTAN----executions

Afghanistan executes 5 criminals involved in kidnapping, murder in Herat



An Afghan official says authorities have executed 5 members of a criminal group 
behind several kidnappings and murders in the western province of Herat.

The convicts were executed at Pul-e-Charkhi prison in the capital, Kabul. 
Nasrat Rahimi, deputy spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said Wednesday that 
Askar Anwari, a former member of the provincial council in Herat was among the 
5 who were hanged.

Rahimi says the executions were carried out after 3 appeals courts and 
President Ashraf Ghani confirmed the death sentences of the 5. The group had 
been involved in the kidnapping and murder of a deputy head of a construction 
company, as well as other illegal activities.

In May 2016, Ghani approved the executions of 6 suspects convicted on terrorism 
charges.

(source: radio.gov.pk)








MALAYSIA:

Sabah lawyers welcome discretion on drugs-related death penalty



The Sabah Law Society (SLS) applauded the recent amendment to the Dangerous 
Drugs Act 1952 which removed the mandatory death penalty for drug offences as 
it is more in line with the Federal Constitution.

SLS president Brenndon Keith Soh said as an organisation, the Sabah Law Society 
had always called for an end to capital punishment.

"The right to life is the fundamental right guaranteed under the Federal 
Constitution and it is not right that the same fundamental right to life be 
taken away," he said to reporters after the opening ceremony for the society's 
new building today.

He said the fact remains that despite having a mandatory death penalty, it has 
failed to deter drug offenders from committing the crime anyway.

"Statistics has shown that the real perpetrators, or drug lords, have almost 
always escaped punishment and only traffickers, or drug mules, were charged," 
Soh said, adding that many times, these traffickers were simply victims of 
circumstances.

"Furthermore, putting these people to death would actually prevent any 
opportunity for them to reform and turn their lives around and maybe actually 
contribute to society."

He said SLS welcomed the decision that discretion is now given to the courts on 
whether to impose the death penalty or not.

Singapore had also made a similar amendment to its laws on drug trafficking in 
2012, allowing judges the discretion to not impose the death penalty on drug 
traffickers.

Meanwhile, Sabah Community Development and Consumer Affairs Minister and 
Malaysian Anti-Drugs Association (Pemadam) vice-president Jainab Ahmad Ayid 
said the amendment is long overdue.

According to her, the problem with most drug laws is the assumption that all 
drug traffickers, including drug mules, are guilty until proven innocent.

"We have heard of stories about women who became drug mules. Some of them did 
not even know they were carrying drugs in their bags.

"Many of them come from poor families and when given the chance to travel, of 
course they would take it. We have Malaysians rotting away in prisons overseas 
and some have already been executed for drug offences," she said.

She added that this was why the state had spent lots of money to educate the 
public on the danger of drugs and the consequences of drug trafficking.

(source: freemalaysiatoday.com)