[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide-----S. AFR., EGYPT, IRAN, THAI., PAKIS., BOTS.

Sun Jul 2 14:54:11 CDT 2017

JULY 2

SOUTH AFRICA:

Some Members Of The ANC Women's League Want The Death Penalty Back----Some 
members of the league felt the death sentence should be returned because of the 
high levels of violence against women.

Some members of the ANC Women's League are pushing for the return of the death 
penalty, in a desperate attempt to stop the murder of women.

League president Bathabile Dlamini told News24 on the sidelines of the ANC's 
5th national policy conference on Friday that capital punishment was one of the 
topics brought up for discussion.

"What I have noticed is that women are feeling aggrieved a lot, especially 
young women that are calling on the death sentence," said Dlamini.

The death penalty was used against freedom fighters during the apartheid era. 
It was declared unconstitutional in June 1995 in the famous Constitutional 
Court judgment, State vs Makwanyane. In the unanimous ruling, the court held 
that the death penalty violated the right to life contained in the Bill of 
Rights.

Dlamini said some members of the league felt the death sentence should be 
returned because of the high levels of violence against women.

There was a general feeling that those who committed the crimes often got away 
with murder.

"Our view, because of our experience, is that you can't allow the state to 
kill. As time goes on there will be recklessness, especially with our past 
experience and what's happening in other countries," said Dlamini.

"The state cannot be given the licence to kill."

She said there was also an idea that, instead of demanding the return of a law 
that is unconstitutional, current legislation could be strengthened to empower 
young women to confront the challenges facing them.

Dlamini said she personally felt a call for the death penalty was the wrong 
move because of South Africa's tragic past and how the gallows were used 
against those who took a political stand against the apartheid government.

"[This] doesn't mean I don't feel for our young women that have been killed. It 
doesn't mean I don't understand the issues of life," she said.

(source: huffingtonpost.co.za)

EGYPT:

20 defendants sentenced to death in Kerdasa massacre re-trial----Court also 
orders life imprisonment for 80, 15-year term for 34, 10 years for minor and 
acquits 21

The Cairo Criminal court sentenced on Sunday 20 defendants to death during 
their retrial in the case known as "Kerdasa massacre", according to local 
media.

The death penalty had already been issued in April but ordered the referral of 
the papers of those sentenced to death to the Grand Mufti for consultation. 
According to state-owned media Al-Ahram, the court sentenced on Sunday 80 other 
defendants to life in prison, another 34 defendants to 15 years, a minor to 10 
years, while it acquitted 21 defendants.

The case includes 156 defendants, whom in the 1st trial had received either 
death or imprisonment sentences on charges of storming in Kerdasa police 
station in Giza, killing 12 police officers, initiation of killing 10 others, 
destroying the police office and burning a number of police vehicles in August 
2013.

After the 1st trial, the Appeal Court had refuted 14 death sentences in the 
same case and revoked a 10-year prison sentence for another defendant, thus 
ordering a re-trial.

The storming of the station took place shortly after the dispersal of the Rabaa 
Al-Adaweya sit-in by the armed forces in August 2013, following the ouster of 
former Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

Hundreds of defendants are being legally persecuted in Egyptian courts on 
charges of committing violence after Morsi was ousted, including Morsi himself 
and members of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) group.

Since 2013, a militant campaign targeting police and army has escalated since 
the ouster of Morsi, killing several security forces in the Sinai Peninsula, 
Cairo, and the Nile Delta.

(source: Daiy News Egypt)

IRAN----execution

Prisoner Hanged on Drug Charges

On Sunday July 2, a prisoner was reportedly hanged at Zanjan Prison on drug 
related charges. Close sources have identified the prisoner as Abbas Savaghi, 
38 years of age, arrested in 2015 on drug related charges.

"Abbas was married and worked as a taxi driver. They had found some crystal 
meth in his car," an informed source tells Iran Human Rights. "Executions in 
Zanjan Prison are normally carried out on Tuesdays, but they carried out 
Abbas's execution on Sunday."

Iran Human Rights had published a report warning about the imminent execution 
of Abbas Savaghi and 16 others.

Iranian parliament members had formerly requested from the Judiciary to stop 
drug related executions for at least 5,000 prisoners pending further 
investigation. However, the request has not stopped the Judiciary from carrying 
out death sentences for prisoners with drug related charges.

According to experts, those who are executed in Iran on drug related charges 
are not the main drug dealers, but individuals who sell drugs as a result of 
extreme poverty.

Iranian official sources, including the media and Judiciary, have not announced 
Mr. Savaghi's execution.

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

3 Prisoners Including Afghan Citizen in Imminent Danger of Execution on Drug 
Charges

On Saturday July 1, 3 prisoners, including an Afghan citizen, were reportedly 
transferred to solitary confinement in Isfahan Central Prison in preparation 
for their executions. According to close sources, the prisoners were sentenced 
to death on drug related charges.

"None of these prisoners had any prior convictions, and the narcotics found on 
them were between 800 grams and 1 kilogram," an informed source tells Iran 
Human Rights.

Iranian parliament members had formerly requested from the Judiciary to stop 
drug related executions for at least five thousand prisoners pending further 
investigation. However, the request has not stopped the Judiciary from carrying 
out death sentences for prisoners with drug related charges.

According to experts, those who are executed in Iran on drug related charges 
are not the main drug dealers, but individuals who sell drugs as a result of 
extreme poverty.

(source for both: Iran Human Rights)

THAILAND:

Let the punishment fit the crime

Just when people thought that capital punishment no longer exists in Thailand, 
a Thai criminal court recently ordered sending two repeat offenders to death 
row for fatally stabbing a young man during an iPhone robbery.

The Criminal Court on May 31 convicted Kittikorn Wiphana, 26, and Supatchai 
Chansi, 25, of the fatal robbery in Lat Phrao district in January and handed 
down the death penalty.

The ruling took place just a few days before the high-profile murder of 
Warisara Klinjui. Before the police could get hold of the suspect, Prabhasiri 
Somsri, a sister of Preeyanuch "Preaw" Nonwangchai who was the main suspect in 
the case, urged Preeyanuch, then hiding in Myanmar, to turn herself in.

"If you are listening to me, I want to say please come back and serve your 
time. Do not worry. Please turn yourself into the judicial system. There is no 
such thing as the death penalty," Prabhasiri said in a televised interview.

Prabhasiri's appeal is understandable. Prior to that, the social media world 
was debating what kind of punishment would fit Preeyanuch's crime. The femme 
fatale allegedly strangled then dismembered her friend in cold blood.

Preeyanuch turned herself in to the police a few days later. It was unclear 
whether Preeyanuch had seen her sister's plea on the tube or whether such a 
plea had anything to do with her decision.

he court has yet to give the final verdict in Preeyanuch's case. Nonetheless, 
the latest court case last month proved that the death penalty is still on the 
books in Thailand even though no execution has taken place since 2009.

Regarding the death penalty for Kittikorn and Supatchai, the court said there 
was no reason to commute their punishment, reasoning that they pleaded guilty 
only because the evidence against them was overwhelming.

The CCTV recording was solid evidence of the horrendous murder as they showed 
Kittikorn stabbing Wasin Luangjaem, the 26-year-old victim, several times in 
the torso and once in his throat before snatching his mobile phone and fleeing 
on a motorcycle driven by Supatchai. Police found that the 2 robbers also stole 
from other victims on the night they killed Wasin.

The court seemed to give up on the two young men as they have been in and out 
of jail several times.

Records show the 2 men met in jail while serving time for earlier crimes. After 
they completed their jail terms, they allegedly carried out a series of 
robberies together.

Kittikorn had been arrested nine times before, the first time when he was 16.

This time around, the 2 men are subject to the maximum penalty. The execution 
will nonetheless depend on the result of their appeal.

Panadda Wongphudee, a former beauty queen and founder of the Goodness 
Organization, a non-profit campaigning for children's right and gender 
equality, has been an outspoken advocate of the death penalty in Thailand.

"I do not campaign to execute anyone. But the maximum penalty should be there. 
Because in reality most people given a death sentence are not executed. Most 
receive pardons and they stayed in jail for life," she said.

Panadda is campaigning for the strict enforcement of capital punishment for 
rape and murder cases. "In reality, many offenders came out of jail and 
committed the same crime," she said.

"I want to see serious enforcement of the law. I understand people are debating 
whether Thailand should have the death penalty to protect the convicts' rights 
but what about the victim?" she said.

To scare the would-be criminals, the authorities should show the effectiveness 
of the rehabilitation process if that is an answer then capital punishment is 
not the best solution.

My foundation is helping a woman who was sexually assaulted in Phatthalung. It 
does not help that the court has tried the case for years," she said.

Instead of lip-service over the rights of convicts, the agencies involved 
should show they can change a person and monitor their behaviour to make 
society feel safe, she said.

As of April this year, 440 inmates face capital punishment.

(source: Bangkok Post)

PAKISTAN:

2 murderers get death penalty

A local court awarded capital punishment to a murder accused and sentenced a 
co-accused to 10 years in prison here the other day.

According to the prosecution, Additional District and Sessions judge Naveed 
Iqbal pronounced the verdict on a murder case. He convicted Ajmal of murder and 
sentenced him to death. The convict's accomplice Shakeel Ahmed was imprisoned 
for 10 years. The judge also fined them Rs0.5 million and Rs50,000 
respectively. 5 suspects including Yousuf, Naeem, Younus, Zulfiqar and Jamshed 
were acquitted due to lack of evidence.

In Sahiwal, a court sentenced a landlord to death and fined him Rs1 million for 
killing his brother over a property issue.

According to the prosecution, Azhar Fareed Kathia, on Dec 19, 2014, had killed 
his brother at Harrapa City over a property issue. Harrapa police had 
registered a case against him and produced him before Additional District and 
Sessions Judge Ch Saeed Akhtar. The judge awarded him capital punishment and 
imposed a fine of Rs1 million on him.

(source: The Nation)

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

Pakistan Denies Consular Access To Kulbhushan Jadhav For 18th Time A Day After 
India's Request

Pakistan foreign office today rejected India???s demand for consular access to 
Indian businessman Kulbhushan Jadhav for the 18th time, saying New Delhi is 
trying to deny the facts by calling Jadhav an ordinary prisoner.

A statement by the Pakistan foreign office affirmed that Jadhav was sent to 
Pakistan by Indian intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), and 
many innocent Pakistanis were killed by him.

The foreign office further asked India to act upon the bilateral agreement on 
consular access instead of leveling accusations on Pakistan, Dunya News 
reported.

India on Saturday asked Pakistan to grant consular access to its national 
Kulbhushan Jadhav, who has been sentenced to death by a Pakistani military 
court on charges of espionage and sabotage activities.

India had moved the International court of Justice against the death penalty 
and the ICJ in its verdict on May 18 had restrained Pakistan for executing 
Jadhav.

Meanwhile, India argued that Pakistan had not granted India consular access, 
nor had accepted his family's appeals.

The court has asked India to make its submission in the case by September 13 
and Pakistan by December 13.

Pakistan had also earlier said that Jadhav will not be executed till he 
"exhausts all his mercy appeals."

Both countries also exchanged lists of nationals lodged in the jails of the 
other country, in consistent with the provisions of the Agreement on Consular 
Access between both the neighbouring countries.

The ministry of external affairs (MEA) in this statement stated that, "India 
remains committed to addressing on priority all humanitarian matters with 
Pakistan, including those pertaining to prisoners and fishermen. In this 
context, we await from Pakistan confirmation of nationality of those in India's 
custody who are otherwise eligible for release and repatriation."

(source: outlookindia.com)

BOTSWANA:

HRW urges Botswana to end death penalty

Human Rights Watch has called on Botswana government to take steps to end the 
death penalty, including by placing a moratorium on capital punishment, APA 
learnt here Sunday.In a periodical review report, the human rights organisation 
also called on Botswana to take steps to decriminalize same-sex sexual 
activities and ensure non-discrimination in accordance with the country's 
domestic and international obligations.

HRW said Botswana should incorporate ratified international human rights 
conventions into domestic laws and complete the process of aligning national 
legislation with the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

Botswana was also urged to establish and adequately resource a national human 
rights institution in line with the Paris Principles.

HRW noted with concern that Botswana was yet to incorporate international human 
rights conventions it ratified into domestic law to make them directly 
applicable by the courts and administrative authorities in the country.

(source: journalducammeroun.com)