[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 10



PAKISTAN:

Killers of uncles get death penalty


A sessions court has awarded death sentence to a convict and 40 year 
imprisonment to his brother for killing their 2 uncles and wounding the 3rd one 
in a domestic dispute.

Tarkhanwala police had filed a case against Saleh, his brother Arshad and 
father Ashraf over murdering Ghulam Raza and his brother Asif and injuring 
Saeed on May 12, 2014.

The slain and injured person were real maternal uncles of accused. The 
honorable court announced death penalty to Saleh Muhammad and 40 years jail to 
his brother Arshad while court released their father Ashraf on the benefit of 
doubt. According to the FIR, Zubaida Bibi, mother of both the convicts, had 
quit her house and gone to her parents over a quarrel. the court also ordered 
to pay Rs1.87 million as compensation to the heirs of deceased. Police have 
shifted convicts to the District Jail.

(source: The Nation)






PHILIPPINES:

Amid criticisms, Duterte says death penalty to deter heinous crimes


President Rodrigo Duterte defended on Friday his plan to restore death penalty 
in the country, saying it would be a deterrent against heinous crimes.

"When it (death penalty) was abolished, there was an increase of 3,000% 
(heinous crimes). And they say it's not a deterrent?" Duterte said in Filipino 
during a speech in a business forum in Davao City.

The President read a news report in the middle of his speech, quoting Bureau of 
Corrections (BuCor) Director Benjamin De Los Santos as saying that heinous 
crimes rose to 3,180 % after the death penalty was abolished in 2006.

"BuCor Director Benjamin delos Santos said there were 189 inmates convicted of 
heinous crimes before the capital punishment was abolished in 2006," Duterte 
said reading while reading his briefer.

"After death penalty was revoked this figure rose to 6,200 inmates, an 
astonishing (3,180%) increase of persons convicted of heinous crimes," he 
added.

The President slammed his critics who have been saying that nothing has 
happened when the death penalty was imposed in previous administrations.

"They said that even if the death penalty was there, nothing happened. It's 
because I wasn't the President then. Bring it back and I'll turn those crazy 
into curtains. I'll hang them," he said in Filipino.

Both Houses of Congress had started deliberating on the proposal to reimpose 
the capital punishment.

Duterte has repeatedly said that he wanted to revive the death penalty to make 
sure that criminals pay for their sins.

He also earlier said that the death penalty was for retribution.

(source: newsinfo.inquirer.net)





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

Lawmakers urged to cross party lines against death penalty


Senator Leila de Lima has called on lawmakers to cross party lines as they 
deliberate on the measure calling for the immediate reinstatement of the death 
penalty as capital punishment for heinous crimes.

De Lima made her appeal as the House leadership called members of the so-called 
supermajority for a party stand on the death penalty measure.

"The issue of possible re-imposition of death penalty is addressed more to the 
conscience of the members of both houses of Congress," De Lima said in an 
interview. "Lawmakers should transcend political affiliations in this 
particular issue, especially with the points raised by some members of the 
Senate that treaty commitment cannot be taken for granted," she stressed.

House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez earlier threatened House members, particularly 
those holding key positions or chairmanships in his chamber, to strip them from 
their posts if they refuse to support President Rodrigo Duterte's call to 
restore the death penalty.

Unlike in the House of Representatives, the Senate has different dynamics and 
thus will deliberate on the measure "based on the cogency and the soundness of 
the arguments and would not succumb to any type of coercion or arm-twisting."

"But that is something that they cannot do, hopefully, here in the Senate," she 
said.

The joint Senate committees on justice and human rights and constitutional 
amendments and revision of codes and laws earlier decided to suspend public 
hearing on death penalty to review the implications of the country's commitment 
to treaties and international agreements which prohibit executions and compel 
member states to abolish death penalty.

The Philippines is signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and 
Political Rights (ICCPR), to the Second Optional Protocol of the ICCPR, as well 
as in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties which states that "treaties 
which do not have provisions on withdrawal or denunciation cannot be denounced 
or be withdrawn from."

(source: Manila Bulletin)

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

Philippine Jesuits join CBCP vs death penalty-----'Might should not be equated 
with right,' says Father Antonio Moreno, the Philippine head of the biggest 
male religious order in the Catholic Church


Filipino members of the Society of Jesus, the biggest male religious order in 
the Catholic Church, joined the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines 
(CBCP) in condemning efforts to revive the death penalty.

The Society of Jesus, better known as the Jesuits, said it "adds its voice to 
the chorus of dissent against moves in Congress to reinstate the capital 
punishment."

The Jesuits also run the network of Ateneo schools in the Philippines, which 
count government leaders, including President Rodrigo Duterte himself, among 
former students.

"The Philippine Jesuits stand behind our bishops in condemning the wanton 
disregard for life that capital punishment represents, something made even more 
repulsive in a context where rampant killing has been taking place with 
apparent disregard or even endorsement," said Father Antonio Moreno, the head 
of the Philippine Jesuits, in a letter to his fellow Jesuits dated Thursday, 
February 9.

Moreno quoted Pope Francis, who is also a Jesuit, in saying that "we are all 
part of a Church that proclaims, in word and deed, a gospel of life."

"We laud the government's efforts to rid the country of lawlessness and 
criminality, for this aim, in its own way, is an affirmation of life. But such 
efforts should not be made in a manner that tears asunder an integral ethic of 
life," Moreno said.

He added: "Just as we respect the lives of the unborn and the innocent, we too 
should consistently protect the lives of every individual person, not excluding 
those rejected and marginalized by society."

Deterrent effect 'a myth'

"Might should not be equated with right. Any punitive or sheerly pragmatic 
approach, whether wielded by government or popular opinion in support of death 
by legal or non-legal means, denies the God-given value of human life, a value 
that can never be compromised," Moreno said.

Moreno stressed that the death penalty's "deterrent effect" against crime is a 
myth, and that he fears its "uneven implementation in a flawed justice system."

He then urged his fellow Jesuits "to contact local legislators to decry 
legislation favoring a culture of death," and to support "online efforts like 
www.veritas846.ph/chooselife or the poll at www.congress.gov.ph."

"Let us not forget that in His last moments on earth, Jesus, Himself a victim 
of capital punishment, forgave the repentant thief dying together with Him. May 
Our Lord's Divine Mercy inspire our nation to uphold the sanctity of all human 
life and to reject the death penalty once and for all," Moreno said.

The CBCP on January 30 denounced the death penalty in a statement released 
after their bi-annual plenary.

Days later, on February 5, the CBCP also issued its strongest statement yet 
against the drug-related killings. The bishops denounced the "reign of terror" 
in poor communities, with more than 7,000 deaths linked to Duterte's war on 
drugs.

Days after issuing this statement, CBCP president Archbishop Socrates Villegas 
urged Filipinos to join a grand procession, called "Walk for Life," at the 
Quirino Grandstand on February 18.

(source: rappler.com)

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

Death penalty only 'punishes the poor'


Though knowing that he is in the minority, Rep. Raul del Mar of Cebu City's 
north district remains adamant about his opposition to plans of reimposing the 
death penalty.

During the interpellation and debate at the House of Representatives last 
Tuesday, Del Mar said death penalty is never the solution to address crimes.

"When death penalty was applied in the Philippines, was there any showing that 
it worked? There is no evidence that death penalty is more effective than 
for-life imprisonment," he said.

Among the first bills filed by Congress this year was the reinstatement of 
death penalty.

House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said they are targeting to submit the bill to 
reinstate death penalty next month.

Legislators opposing the death penalty also pointed to the "conflict of 
interest" by proponents who lobbied to remove the inclusion of plunder in the 
list of crimes punishable by death.

In opposing the reinstatement of capital punishment or death penalty, Del Mar 
said it punishes only poor people who could not afford the best lawyers to 
defend them.

"Do you agree that the Philippine justice system is ill-equipped and severely 
flawed? Do you dispute the fact that most of those who end up in the death row 
had deficient defense because they were poor and had no money to get witnesses, 
pay good lawyers, or bribe judges?" he said.

The lawmaker said there is a possibility that innocent individuals will be 
subjected to death.

He said in the US, 68 % of all death penalties were reversed either because the 
evidence was insufficient or illegally admitted.

"Once an innocent person is put to death, is it not an act that can never be 
reversed? Bad enough if an innocent person is jailed but at least he is still 
alive when the wrong is corrected," he said.

Del Mar described the death penalty as "barbaric, antiquated, and regressive."

He said at least 105 countries had rejected it and several religious 
denominations also denounced it as policy.

As a country whose population is mostly Catholic, del Mar said the faithful 
believe in retribution, but not by taking human life.

"The 'eye-for-an-eye' injunction in the Old Testament has long been replaced by 
the 'turn-the-other-cheek' advice in the New Testament," Del Mar said.

"Catholics and other Christians believe in repentance and the capacity of 
sinners to reform. The death penalty totally rejects that possibility," he 
said.

(source: cebudailynews.inquirer.net)






NIGERIA:

Gov. Amosun commutes death sentence of 2 convicts


The Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, has commuted the death sentence on 
two convicts to life imprisonment and ordered the release of 3 other prisoners.

The 2 convicts had been sentenced to death last December for armed robbery.

The governor's gesture was contained in a letter addressed to the Controller of 
Prisons, Nigerian Prison Service, Ogun State Command, dated February 8, and 
signed by Funmi Ajayi, Permanent Secretary (Political Affairs and 
Administration), for the Secretary to the State Government, Taiwo Adeoluwa.

In an Order of Commutation signed by the governor, Mr. Amosun said written 
reports in the cases of the said persons received as well as other information 
derived from the record of the cases and elsewhere, were taken into 
consideration.

He said after consultation with the Advisory Council on the Prerogative of 
Mercy, he was exercising his power under sub-section (1) of Section 212 of the 
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as Amended).

Those ordered to be released are Gbenga Oyeleye, Idowu Olojede and Dare Jimoh, 
who were imprisoned, following their conviction over criminal charges.

Mr. Oyeleye was serving a 3-year sentence and has 6 months yet to serve, while 
Mr. Olojede was released on grounds of old age and good record. Mr. Jimoh, a 
long term convict, also got reprieve for good conduct and good record.

The governor ordered that the death penalty imposed on Nurudeen Suleiman and 
Isikilu Olamilekan, both males, who were convicted for robbery at the High 
Court of Ogun State sitting at Ijebu Ode on December 14, 2006, be commuted to 
life imprisonment.

Mr. Amosun had during his visit to the Ibara Prison in Abeokuta on January 25, 
as part of activities to mark his 59th birthday, promised to review cases of 
those who deserved to be pardoned.

(source: Premium Times)






INDIA:

Afzal Guru Hanging: A Case of Miscarriage of Justice

'No words can describe the pain. It was like a bolt from the sky.we are still 
locked in that moment. We're still struggling to reconcile with that moment'

Wasn't it just yesterday? Spring announced itself in Delhi. The sun was out, 
and the slaw took its course. Just before twilight Afzal Guru, prime suspect in 
the 2001 attack on the Indian parliament, was secretly hanged, and his body 
interred in Tihar jail. The world's biggest democracy did not even have the 
courtesy to inform his family. In a moment of rare unity India, or in the least 
its major political parties, the Congress, the BJP and the CPM, came together 
as one (barring a few squabbles about ?delay? and ?timing?) to celebrate the 
triumph of the rule of law.

With obvious electoral gains in mind, the Congress government went after soft 
Muslim targets. And the BJP was happy to make vociferous demands for the 
hanging of Muslims accused of terrorist acts while calibrating its stance in 
other instances. This was political cynicism at its worst. How long, the 
question is, will the people of India turn a blind eye to such cynicism?

Instead of whipping up and pandering to mob demands, the Indian state ought to 
be pursuing peace by fostering coexistence. But that would need a modicum of 
wisdom sadly lacking in the rulers in New Delhi.

Let me recapitulate the whole saga. The Government of India in a top-secret 
operation hanged a Kashmiri Muhammad Afzal Guru, on February 09, 2013, in New 
Delhi's infamous Tihar jail. Guru, held to be a suspect in connection with the 
attack on the Indian Parliament in 2001 was buried in the jail premises. It was 
not a mere hanging but a judicial murder aimed at gaining political objectives. 
New Delhi executed Guru despite having accepted the recommendation to put 
moratorium on capital punishment during its Universal Periodic Review in the 
United Nations Human Rights Council's 21st session, in September 2012. The 
evidence against Guru in the case was entirely circumstantial and was based on 
a confessional statement extracted by the police under duress. This was, 
however, conveniently set aside by the Supreme Court of India.

The apex court in its judgment had admitted that there was no evidence of his 
direct involvement but had termed the execution as necessary to "satisfy the 
collective conscience of the society". This ruling itself speaks volumes about 
the conviction and the punishment being political. Legal experts believe that 
Guru was not provided with a counsel of his choice and adequate legal 
assistance, as a result of which his entire trial was prejudicial and unfair. 
The court-appointed junior lawyer was not for defense of Guru but for 
assistance of the court. He did not visit his client even once in jail, not 
summoned any witnesses in Guru's defense and did not cross-examine the 
prosecution witnesses.

Ironically, the Indian government went ahead with its premeditated plan of 
sending Guru to the gallows, despite the fact that a petition filed by his wife 
for repeal of his death penalty was pending in the Supreme Court. Moreover, he 
was given the punishment out of turn as judgment on death sentences of many 
other accused was to be taken before his. Guru was also denied the right of 
review after his mercy petition was rejected by the Indian president.

The Government of India did not stop here.

It did not bother to inform the family members of the victim about the decision 
in advance so that they could meet and talk to him for 1 last time. And , 
rubbing salt into their wounds, they were not handed over his body, which was 
buried inside the jail, depriving the family of performing Guru's last rites. 
Even the residence of the family members was put under siege to prevent people 
from expressing solidarity with them.

All these facts make it amply clear that hanging of Muhammad Afzal Guru was a 
political stunt taken by the Congress party in view of the General election to 
be held in India the following year. Like the execution of prominent Kashmiri 
liberation leader, Muhammad Maqbool Butt, in February 1984, Guru's hanging 
holds a message to Kashmiri: they would continue to be made sacrificial lambs 
for political games in the so-called largest democracy of the world. The saga 
doesn't end here. Following the hanging, New Delhi has been resorting to 
subject the people of occupied Kashmir to collective punishment by imposing 
curfew from time to time, putting the entire Hurriyet leadership behind the 
bars or under house arrest, arresting hundreds of youth and using brute force 
on peaceful protests against. The use of brute force has already led to the 
killing of many innocent people and injuring of scores of others.

However, the Indian collective conscience is indifferent in this case where 
victims were of similar faith and ideology; Muslims, Pakistanis and Kashmiris. 
A nation that calls itself secular and democratic is tangled in the corruption 
of the pre-partition conscience, which remains a threat to its own survival and 
integrity. Now that Afzal Guru has been hanged, I hope the 'collective 
conscience' has been satisfied. Or is the cup of blood still only half full?

India's actions against Kashmiris expose its claims of being a democratic 
country. The international community must hold New Delhi accountable for its 
actions and pressurize it to return the mortal remains of Afzal Guru to his 
family to at least give the family some solace.

(source: Malik Aamir; The author practices Law at the Lower court, 
Srinagar----The Kashmir Reader)

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India files mercy plea for 2 nationals awarded death sentence in Qatar


India has filed a mercy petition with Qatar for 2 nationals who were awarded 
death penalty by the Supreme Court there for allegedly murdering a woman 4 
years ago, the external affairs ministry said on Thursday.

Indian mission in Doha has filed a mercy petition on Wednesday with Qatar 
foreign ministry regarding the death penalty of Subramanian Alagappa and 
Chelladurai Perumal for further action, MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.

The court in Qatar had recently rejected a plea by the Indian Embassy to 
overturn the death penalty awarded to the duo, both in their 40s, but commuted 
the life term awarded to the third accused, Sivakumar Arasan, to 15 years jail 
term.

Subramanian hails from Villupuram. Perumal is a resident of Virudhunagar in 
Tamil Nadu.

(source: Hindustan Times)