[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 2





MALDIVES:

Halt imminent plans to resume executions after 6 decades


The Maldives authorities must immediately halt plans to resume executions and 
instead impose a moratorium on the implementation of the death penalty with a 
view to its eventual abolition. Amnesty International has received reports that 
the resumption of executions could be imminent.

The Maldives Supreme Court has to date upheld the death sentences of 3 
prisoners, meaning that their domestic legal appeals are exhausted and that 
they are at immediate risk of execution:

-- Hussain Humaam Ahmed (Humaam) was convicted of and sentenced to death for 
murder in 2012, and the Supreme Court upheld his conviction and death sentence 
on 24 June 2016. Amnesty International and other human rights organisations 
have raised serious concerns about the fairness of Humaam's trial. The Human 
Rights Committee in July 2016 issued an order to stay his execution pending its 
consideration of the case.

-- Ahmed Murrath was convicted of and sentenced to death for murder in 2012 
along with his girlfriend Hanaa Fathmath. The Supreme Court upheld his 
conviction and death sentence on 9 July 2016, but has yet to carry out its 
final review of Hanaa's death sentence.

-- Mohamed Nabeel was convicted of and sentenced to death for murder in 2009. 
The Supreme Court upheld his death sentence on 27 July 2016.

In 2014, the Maldives government under President Abdulla Yameen announced 
Maldives would resume executions, which had not been carried out for almost 60 
years. Since then, authorities have taken steps to resume executions, including 
by amending national legislation. Recent regulations have removed the power 
from the executive to grant pardons or commutations in murder cases, depriving 
those facing the death penalty of the right to apply for these as guaranteed 
under international law. In 2016, the government changed the method of 
execution from lethal injection to hanging, while government officials pledged 
that executions should happen within 30 days of confirmation of guilty verdicts 
by the Supreme Court.

A resumption of executions after more than 60 years would be a massive step 
back for human rights in the country. The Maldives government should instead 
urgently impose a moratorium on executions, with a view to the full abolition 
of the death penalty. It is also concerning that Maldives government officials 
have justified the need to use the death penalty on public safety grounds. 
There is no evidence that the death penalty is more of a deterrent to crime 
than life imprisonment.

According to statistics from the Maldives Correction Services and media 
reports, there are at least 18 prisoners currently under sentence of death in 
the country. Of these, at least 5 were convicted and sentenced to death for 
crimes committed when they were below 18 years of age. International customary 
law and 2 international treaties to which Maldives is a state party prohibit 
the use of the death penalty against juvenile offenders. The prisoners or their 
representatives have raised concerns about the violation of the right to a fair 
trial and use of coerced, self-incriminating statements in several cases.

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception, 
regardless of the nature or circumstances of the crime. The world is moving 
away from the death penalty. At this time, 141 countries are abolitionist in 
law or practice, and a majority of the world's countries (104) have now 
abolished the death penalty fully from their legal books.

Amnesty International urges the Maldives authorities to immediately:

-- Halt any plans to resume executions and establish an official moratorium on 
all executions, with a view to abolishing the death penalty;

-- Immediately commute the death sentence against all prisoners under sentence 
of death, including those imposed for crimes committed when the prisoners were 
below 18 years of age; and

-- Amend national legislation to remove provisions that are not in line with 
international law and standards and abolish the death penalty for all crimes.

(source: Amnesty International)






BURMA:

Proposal to Assign Death Penalty for Child Rape Hits Setback


Burma's Lower House voted down a proposal on Thursday that would have imposed 
the death penalty against those convicted of child rape.

Daw Khin Saw Wai, a Lower House lawmaker from the Arakan National Party, 
submitted the proposal to amend Article 376 of Burma's Penal Code.

"I just learned from the chief justice that the amendment would be considered 
only if it is written in English," Daw Khin Saw Wai told reporters. "So I will 
discuss that with legal experts and will submit my proposal again."

Union Chief Justice U Mya Thein told lawmakers on Thursday that amendments to 
the Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code needed to be presented in English 
because the original codes were also written in English. But the proposal from 
Daw Khin Saw Wai, which would have amended Article 376, was written in Burmese 
language, and so the Parliament voted not to discuss the proposal.

The proposal would have raised the punishment for a child rape conviction - 
rape of a person under age 16 - to life imprisonment (which is actually 20 
years) or the death penalty. Those convicted of a gang rape would automatically 
face the death penalty.

The existing punishment in Penal Code Article 376 ranges from 10 years to life 
in prison, but it does not identify a separate punishment for rape of a minor.

The problem of child rape came under intense scrutiny in 2016 after a 
significant rise in the number of reported cases. Women's rights activists and 
members of the public voiced concern and organized campaigns calling for 
harsher penalties against sex offenders. Some have demanded that the death 
penalty be applied.

Last month, the Supreme Court issued an order to have child rape cases handled 
at the district court level, and recommended that child rapists be assigned the 
heaviest possible sentences. The district courts are allowed assign harsher 
punishments than the township courts.

According to police records, child rape cases made up 61 % of all reported 
rapes in 2016. In 2015, that number was only 46 %.

"We see that more than half of reported rape cases involved minors. We need to 
apply the heaviest punishment in order to effectively deter rapists," said Daw 
Khin Saw Wai. "The death penalty is being adopted in some countries to protect 
citizens," she added. "Burma is not a country which has abolished the death 
penalty, and also there are some laws that say to apply death sentences."

(source: irrawaddy.com)






MAURITANIA:

Apostasy death penalty case blogger 'in limbo' as Mauritanian courts 'pass 
buck'----Supreme Court repeatedly delayed judgement for Mohamed Cheikh Ould 
M'khaitir, accused of blasphemy.


A Mauritanian court will re-examine the case of a young blogger, Mohamed Cheikh 
Ould M'khaitir, who is facing execution following his death sentence for 
"apostasy" - the abandonment of Islam.

In a case that has shaken the nation, the young Mauritanian blogger and 
engineer was sentenced to death for apostasy in December 2014 over the 
publication a year earlier of an article entitled "Religion, Religiosity and 
Craftsmen" on the Aqlam Horra news website. Islamic organisations in mainly 
Muslim Mauritania said that the article constituted an "insult" to Islam and 
the Prophet Muhammad.

The nation's Supreme Court on Tuesday (31 January) had two options: either 
confirm or reverse the 21 April 2016 Appeal Court's decision to overturn 
M'khaitir's death sentence.

At the time, the Appeal Court had reclassified the charges against the young 
blogger from "apostasy" to "unbelief (of Allah)" - a lighter charge. As part of 
its ruling, the Appeal Court had also taken into account M'khaitir's 
repentance, and had demanded that the Supreme Court made a ruling on 
M'khaitir's "sincerity".

In a move many have described as an attempt to get rid of the sensitive case 
that has lasted more than three years, the highest court yesterday decided not 
to settle the debate, instead sending it to another court of appeal composed of 
other judges. The motive? The Supreme Court found that the Court of Appeal had 
failed to properly apply the law. This echoes rights groups claims that 
M'khaitir's trial included several procedural irregularities.

The new date for the trial has not yet been announced. M'khaitir's remains 
behind bars, as he enters his fourth year in prison.

Mohamed Cheikh Ould M'khaitirA protest crowd calls for death to Mohamed Cheikh 
Ould M'khaitir for insulting Muhammad outside the court(Alakbar.info) "He has 
spent much of that time with a death sentence hanging over him. He has been 
dragged through every level of the court system. The Supreme Court has 
repeatedly delayed judgement. And once again yesterday's decision passes the 
buck back to the lower courts, which could mean many more months, even years 
behind bars," Bob Churchill, director of communications and campaigns at the 
International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU), exclusively told IBTimes UK.

"That he remains in this legal limbo for years on end is an abomination."

The pressure on the blogger's case is immense. The authorities, which have 
portrayed themselves as a committed ally in the fight against the regional 
jihadi threat, face increasing pressure from Mauritania's growing religious 
right, which is calling for the blogger's execution.

"Huge crowds of protesters turned up at court again yesterday demanding 
M'kheitir's execution. So the Supreme Court may know very well that no justice 
is served by punishing M'kheitir, but are perhaps unable to release him for 
fear of what will happen, either to him, or to themselves, while this crowd 
demands blood," Churchill explained. "This of course is exactly what the 
clerics and radical Islamist groups appearing on TV and social media want."

International pressure has rebounded at each of M'khaitir's hearings, with 
advocacy groups urging his release.

"The authorities must ensure that M'kheitir is released, and that when he is 
released he is afforded the very highest protection or granted passage to a 
safe country. It should not need to be the case that innocent people need such 
protection. But that is the situation we're in. The government has a duty of 
care and a responsibility to uphold human rights and it is failing in this 
responsibility."

(source: ibtimes.co.uk)






IRAN----executions

2 prisoners executed on drug charges and 4 prisoners executed in public----2 
prisoners were reportedly hanged at Rasht's central prison and a total of 4 
prisoners were hanged in public in 2 different Iranian cities on armed robbery 
and rape charges.


On the morning of Saturday January 28, 2 prisoners were reportedly hanged at 
Lakan, Rasht's central Prison. On the morning of Sunday January 29, a total of 
4 prisoners were hanged in public in Mashhad and Bandar Abbas.

According to a report by the Iranian state-run news agency IRIB, the two 
prisoners at Rasht's central prison were hanged on drug related charges. The 
report identifies the prisoners as "R.Z.", 26 years old, and "M.A.", 39 years 
old. R.Z. was reportedly sentenced to death on the charge of trafficking one 
kilogram of crystal meth and M.A. was reportedly sentenced to death on the 
charge of buying and selling 3 kilograms of heroin.

IRIB reports on 2 unidentified prisoners who were executed in public in Bandar 
Abbas. The prisoners were reportedly 26 and 22 years old and their charges 
include 2 counts of rape, abduction, and assault & battery.

The Iranian state-run news agency, Mizan, which is tied to Iran's Judiciary, 
reported on the execution of two prisoners which were both carried out in 
public in Mashhad. The prisoners were reportedly sentenced to death on the 
charge of Moharebeh (enmity against God) through armed robbery and creating a 
state of fear & terror. According to Mizan, in 2014, the 2 prisoners were 
involved in an armed robbery in which they fired shots while fleeing the scene 
of the crime and caused injuries.

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

Prisoner hanged on drug charges in western Iran


At least 1 prisoner was reportedly hanged at Hamedan Central Prison on drug 
charges.

According to close sources, the prisoner's name is Hashem Qareqezelou and he 
was executed on the morning of Sunday January 29. Mr. Qereqezeloo was 
reportedly detained in a prison in the city of Qorveh (Kurdistan province, 
western Iran) for 2 years and 1 month, but was moved to Hamedan (Hamedan 
province, western Iran) 12 days before his execution.

"Hashem was arrested in 2011, and on July 18, 2012, the revolutionary court in 
Hamedan sentenced him to death on the charge of trafficking and possession of 
one kilogram of heroin and 700 grams of crystal meth," a close source tells 
Iran Human Rights.

Executions for drug related charges are increasing in Iran while the Iranian 
Parliament has proposed a law to limit the use of the death penalty for drug 
charges. The law must first be approved by Iran's Guardian Council, and it is 
not clear whether it would actually lead to a reduction in the number of drug 
related executions. Additionally, members of parliament recently wrote a letter 
to the head of the Judiciary calling for a halt to the execution sentences of 
about 5,000 prisoners who are on death row for allegedly committing drug 
related offenses.

(source: Iran Human Rights)






EGYPT:

Egypt uses law 'repealed 89 years ago' for mass trials: NGO


Egypt is using a law that was repealed 89 years ago to prosecute Irish citizen 
Ibrahim Halawa and 493 others on charges that could carry the death penalty, 
according to a human rights NGO.

"Egypt's 1914 Assembly Law has been cited by the authorities as a key part of 
the legal basis for the ongoing trial of 494 people, who face the death penalty 
on charges relating to protests," a statement by Reprieve said on Wednesday.

"They include Ibrahim Halawa, from Dublin, who was a juvenile at the time of 
his arrest," the statement said, adding that "Ibrahim and his co-defendants 
have reported being regularly tortured in pre-trial detention."

Egypt was still under British occupation, which started in 1882, when the law 
was passed.

However, a report by the Cairo Institute for Human Rights published this week 
found that the law was "incontrovertibly repealed" in 1928.

"This report sheds new light on some of the most appalling abuses of Egypt's 
justice system," said Harriet McCulloch.

"In Ibrahim's case, the authorities are detaining 494 people, regularly 
torturing them, and threatening them with the death penalty - all on the basis 
of a protest law that shouldn't even be on the statute books anymore," she 
said.

Irish citizen facing 1,000th day behind bars after protests in Egypt

"The Irish government and others, including the UK, must raise this urgently 
with the Egyptian authorities, and call for Ibrahim Halawa and his 
co-defendants to be released without delay," she added. Reprieve is assisting 
21-year-old Ibrahim.

Egyptian authorities are using an administrative loophole to continue using the 
law, according to the rights group.

"The discovery undermines the basis of the mass trial of Ibrahim and 493 
others, which has been ongoing since 2013," Reprieve said in their statement.

"The prosecution has relied on the provisions of the law to argue that the 494 
should be sentenced to death on nearly identical charges," they added.

Egypt's mass trials have resulted in thousands of death sentences being handed 
down since former defence minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi toppled Egypt's 1st 
democratically-elected president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

The trials have been condemned by the international community. The next hearing 
for Ibrahim and his 493 co-defendants is due to take place on 14 February.

(source: Middle East Eye)

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

Giza Criminal Court hands death penalty to 2 members of Al-Warraq terrorist 
cell----The court also sentenced 2 other members to 5 years in prison and 
acquitted 1 defendant


The Giza Criminal Court sentenced 2 defendants from the Al-Warraq terrorist 
cell to death on Wednesday. 2 other members were sentenced to 5 years in prison 
and one defendant was acquitted of all charges. All of the defendants faced 
charges of targeting police officers, public institutions, and killing 
non-commissioned police officers.

According to the state-run newspaper Al-Ahram, the prosecution authorities 
addressed the defendants with different charges that included the possession of 
weapons, killing civilians and police officers, and joining an outlawed 
terrorist group.

The Al-Warraq terrorist cell arrest operation dates back to 2014 when police 
forces arrested 4 people who tried to blow up a police vehicle by planting an 
improvised explosive device (IED) in Lebanon square in the Giza governorate.

The investigations into the cell indicated that they have executed numerous 
operations from the seizure of guns affiliated to police officers and the 
manufacturing of IEDs.

Moreover, Al-Ahram claims they confessed that they had been monitoring Central 
Security Forces' stationing points to launch attacks and participated in the 
organisation of Muslim Brotherhood marches.

(source: Daily News Egypt)






BANGLADESH:

Tareque Sayeed challenges death sentence


Sacked Rab-11 official Lt Col Tareque Sayeed Mohammad and sub-inspector 
Purnendu Bala, who along with others got death penalty in the Narayanganj 
7-murder cases, filed petitions with the High Court yesterday challenging the 
verdict, court sources said.

Earlier on Monday, Nur Hossain, another condemned convict, filed an appeal with 
the HC against the death penalty awarded by a Narayanganj court on January 16.

On January 16, a Narayanganj court sentenced 26 people, including Tareque, to 
death and 9 others to different jail terms in the cases.

(source: The Daily Star)






PHILIPPINES:

'We cannot pretend to be gods': Tagle urges Catholics to oppose death penalty


Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle warned on Thursday that humans 
could not pretend to be gods as he called on Catholics in the country to oppose 
death penalty which is now being deliberated in Congress.

Tagle said that a culture of life is always inconsistent with violence against 
people, and urged the faithful to lobby with their congressmen to oppose death 
penalty, "Before God the source of life, we are humble. We cannot pretend to be 
gods," the archbishop said.

Cardinal Tagle cited studies worldwide that showed that punishment by death was 
unsuccessful in curbing or reducing criminality.

"Studies worldwide show that the death penalty has not lessened violent crimes. 
The threat of punishment by death has not reduced criminality," Tagle said.

Admitting that victims need justice and healing, he cited the possibility that 
an innocent individual could be sentenced to die in issuing his call to 
Filipino Catholics.

The death penalty might legitimize the use of violence to deal with every 
wrongdoing, Tagle also warned.

He also attempted to change people's perspective on the concept of penalties. 
He advocated for a restorative view rather than a punitive one which proponents 
of death penalty seem to push forward.

"Penalties are not imposed for vengeance but for the correction of offenders 
and the good of society," the archbishop of Manila said.

Finally, Tagle pointed out the belief of Christians that life is a gift of God.

Instead of restoring the eath penalty in the country, Tagle called on the 
Church and the government to address "positively and comprehensively" the 
reasons why people committed crimes.

"The death penalty has not reduced crime because it does not solve criminality 
from its roots," Tagle said.

He cited the loss of moral values, injustice, inequality, poverty, lack of 
access to food, education, jobs and housing, the proliferation of weapons, 
drugs and pornography and loss of respect for sexuality as some reasons of 
crimes.

"To help solve these roots of criminality, the Church and the state need to 
protect and strengthen the basic unit of society, which is the family."

He also called for the reform institutions to safeguard justice and prevent the 
spread of the culture of violence.

"A culture of violence dehumanizes. A culture of justice, integrity, and hope 
heals," Tagle said.

A bill that aims to reinstitute death penalty in the Philippines is now being 
deliberated in Congress.

The death penalty was abolished in 2006 during the administration of Gloria 
Arroyo believed to be because of strong pressures coming from Christian groups 
at the time.

(source: Philippine Star)

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

Duterte must end his "war on drugs"


Gener Rondina never stood a chance. When the Philippine police arrived at his 
home in the middle of the night, he tried to push an air conditioner out of the 
wall and flee through the opening. The police were waiting on the other side 
and shone a flashlight on his face.

Terrified, he retreated inside, began pleading for his life, and offered 
himself up for arrest. Family members said he had been trying to quit his use 
and small-scale sale of drugs. "I will surrender, I will surrender, sir," a 
witness said Rondina shouted. The police told Rondina to get on his knees and 
hold his hands over his head. They told his family to leave the room. Moments 
later, gunshots rang out.

Rondina is 1 of more than 7,000 people who have been killed in the Philippines' 
"war on drugs" over the past 7 months. Since President Rodrigo Duterte swept to 
power, on a platform of uplifting the poor and ridding the streets of crime, he 
has incited people with his murderous rhetoric to take the law into their own 
hands and kill anyone they suspect of using or selling drugs.

The Philippine police claimed, as they did in the vast majority of cases 
Amnesty International documented, that Rondina resisted arrest. The witnesses 
we spoke to told a different story, that of an unarmed man stricken with fear 
in what he knew were the final moments of his life. When he was killed, a 
witness said the police dragged him outside "like a pig" and left his corpse by 
a sewer before loading it into a truck.

Every day, families arrive at morgues in the Philippines to search for the 
dumped bodies of their loved ones. The victims are overwhelmingly from the 
poorest sections of society. They are not powerful drug traffickers or leaders 
of drug syndicates, but people whose names were added to "hit lists" by local 
political bosses on suspicion that they used or sold drugs, no matter how 
little or how long ago.

The killings have become so common that there is almost a casual air of 
business at the morgues and funeral homes. The police and other officials look 
on indifferently as they process paperwork, unmoved by the relentless loss of 
human life. The only value they attach to them is as commodities in an economy 
of murder. Dignity for the victims is even denied in death - 1 officer speaking 
to us said some police officers have entered into a racket with local funeral 
homes, taking a cut for each body sent their way.

As a Metro Manila anti-drugs police officer revealed to us, the police are paid 
"per hit" by their bosses. These under-the-table payments can be as much as 
$300 for each alleged drug offender they kill. As a result, there is no 
incentive to arrest people like Rondina and submit them to due process. When 
there is a shootout during a drugs raid, the police officer said, an alleged 
drug offender is always killed.

Safe in the knowledge that they will not be held accountable for the killings, 
the police prey on victims in other ways. During a raid, several people told 
us, they often plant "evidence" even as they snatch possessions. Rondina's 
father, who himself served on the police force for 24 years before retiring, 
said the police took a laptop, a watch, a cell phone and cash after they killed 
his son. (On Monday, police chief Ronald dela Rosa conceded that there is 
corruption in the force and said they will "cleanse" the ranks.)

There are times when the police prefer to operate in secret. Trading in their 
uniforms for disguises, they roam the streets on motorcycles in pairs. "Riding 
in tandem," as it is known locally, they approach their target, kill them, and 
speed away. This way, they have no questions to confront, and no paperwork to 
fill in or reports to falsify.

At other times, the police recruit paid killers to do their dirty work for 
them. As 2 paid killers we spoke to said, they're managed by an active police 
officer. Their gang includes a number of former police officers. "For a user," 
one of the paid killers told us, "it's 5,000 pesos (US $100)." For a "pusher," 
she added, it can be twice or 3 times as much.

Following the police killing of South Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo on the 
grounds of the national police headquarters, Duterte said he was disbanding the 
police's anti-drug unit. But he has vowed to press ahead with his violent 
campaign, until the end of his term in 2022. The problem is not just a few 
police officers, but the policy as a whole, which will continue to claim lives.

On Tuesday night, a day after the police said they had abandoned their 
anti-narcotics operations, the body of 24-year-old Aldrin de Guzman was found 
near his home. The killers left him out on the street, in what has become a 
hauntingly familiar sight for Filipinos. Each morning, people walk along the 
streets, past the bodies, touched by the fear the killers left for them.

It's a fear that now pervades every impoverished neighbourhood in the 
archipelago, where residents worry that they or a loved one may be next. The 
same police that are supposed to protect them are hunting them down, acting on 
the instructions of the president who was supposed to be their greatest 
champion. "If you are poor," as one victim's relative told us, "you are 
killed."

(source: Amnesty International)

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

No death penalty? No problem; just kill the criminals


Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said on Wednesday vigilante killings of alleged 
criminals was "fine" with him in the absence of death penalty in the mostly 
Catholic country.

His statement came a day after the House leadership failed to start plenary 
debates on the measure restoring the capital punishment for heinous crimes.

Alvarez said he was actually "fine" with vigilante killings of criminals who 
commit "evil deeds," citing the case of an Australian pedophile who was caught 
abusing street children.

"If they (House members) don't want to pass it, then just kill it ... shoot to 
kill," Alvarez said.

He said President Duterte told him during the Legislative-Executive Development 
Advisory Council in Malaca???ang on Monday that there was nothing he could do 
if Congress failed to pass the bill, one of the administration's priority 
measures.

On Tuesday, lawmakers opposed to the death penalty stalled the commencement of 
debates using parliamentary tactics, such as questioning the quorum and 
delivering privilege speeches on unrelated topics.

Leaders of the 293-seat chamber had tabled the measure for plenary 
deliberations right at the start of the session, but the delays forced them to 
reschedule the debate for the next day.

Alvarez said such tactics were par for the course, though he added that such 
methods would not work forever.

As many as 50 lawmakers have expressed their intent to pose questions during 
the debate, which is expected to last for a month.

(source: newsinfo.inquirer.net)