[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

July 4




MALAYSIA:

Family claims brothers' hanging botched, signs of strangulation


The family of brothers Rames Batumalai, 45, and Suthar Batumalai, 40, alleged 
that Suthar's body was found to have strangulation marks around his neck area, 
the neck was not broken (the neck is broken clean in a proper hanging), and his 
face was swelled up.

"We are not contented with the death and how they were executed. Suthar's face 
was swollen. He showed signs of strangulation.

"His face was swollen, there were marks on the neck and his eyes were bulging," 
sister-in-law B. Devi told a press conference this morning.

Both brothers were hanged to death on March 15 for their 2010 murder conviction 
despite the family filing for a clemency petition in late February. The 
brothers were charged with murdering a man named Krishnan Raman.

The siblings were also executed on a Wednesday instead of Friday, when hangings 
in Malaysia are usually conducted, which raised more questions on whether their 
execution was botched.

The family's lawyer, N. Surendran, demanded that the prison authorities and 
Home Ministry give a detailed explanation to the family on the way the 
execution was conducted and also on why it was done before the clemency 
petition's result was known.

"From a legal point of view, both of them were executed without exhausting all 
legal processes.

"A prisoner who has been convicted, has the legal right for his clemency to be 
considered under constituency. If you don't allow [the] process to finish, you 
have breached the law," he said.

The Padang Serai MP also demanded authorities to have an inquiry on the 
brothers' execution and answers to be given immediately to the family.

"We are also asking explanation on manner hanging carried out and explanation 
on why the neck of Suthar was in that condition. We are entitled to these 
explanations as family members.

"We want an inquiry by authorities. I hope the home minister and authorities 
respond to this as soon as possible as it is a case of public interest," 
Surendran added.

Amnesty International executive director Shamini Darshini said the brothers' 
hanging raised questions on the transparency of the death penalty in Malaysia.

"Legal processes around death penalty is not completely clear. This is clear 
indication, it is not (transparent).

"When a person is hanged, there is a science to it. In this case, there are 
questions whether execution was correctly done. This seems to indicate a 
botched execution," she said today.

She also urged Putrajaya to declare a moratorium to prevent such incidences 
from happening in other death penalty cases in the future.

"The death penalty in Malaysia needs to be abolished. We need the government to 
put in place a moratorium to prevent this from happening again. That's what we 
calling for an immediate moratorium," Shamini said, adding that Malaysia has 
over 1,068 people on death row as of March this year.

In the application of clemency previously sighted by Malay Mail Online, the 
family had obtained a statutory declaration from the deceased's wife to forgive 
the brothers.

Rames and Suthar were sentenced to death in April 2010 under Section 302 of the 
Penal Code for murder, after being convicted for the February 4, 2006 murder.

(source: themalaymailonline.com)






BARBADOS:

Hang them----MP calls for death penalty in the wake of St George double murder


Shattered by the gruesome killing of 2 of his constituents, Member of 
Parliament for St George South Dwight Sutherland wants the killer or killers to 
hang.

Sutherland was a close friend and business associate of Vincent Robinson, 80, 
the owner of Prerogative House in Prerogative, St George, who, along with the 
caretaker, Guyanese Tony Singh, 49, was slashed to death at the property 
sometime between Saturday night and Sunday morning.

Robinson's body was found at the front door of the guest house in a pool of 
blood, while Singh's body was discovered upstairs in a bedroom.

While Robinson's daughter Joan Smith, who made the horrific discovery, was much 
too distraught to talk, a clearly upset Sutherland said it was time to revisit 
the issue of the death penalty - which remains in the statute books - and hang 
those who commit such monstrous crimes.

"I think that people ought to pay for these murders. You can't just feel 
comfortable to sit down at Dodds Her Majesty Prison for 17 years and then 
return to society after a crime such as this one," the Opposition Barbados 
Labour Party (BLP) legislator said in an apparent reference to the release of 
convicted killers who have spent time behind bars.

Last year of Arleigh Hector James, who had been found guilty and sentenced to 
hang in 1996 for the murder of his wife and stepdaughter 2 years earlier, and 
Adrian Fitzgerald Peter Bradshaw, who had once terrorized Barbados in the 
80???s along with infamous criminals Winston Hall and David Oliver, and was 
incarcerated back in 1985 for the brutal murder of 74-year-old plantation owner 
Cyril Sisnett, were released from jail to the dismay of many Barbadians.

"I think stiffer penalties must be enforced on persons who are found guilty of 
these acts of murder and if it takes bringing back hanging to restore our 
society then I am all for it.

"I don't see nothing wrong with bringing back some level of peace and quiet and 
allowing our citizens to feel comfortable and not be afraid that when they 
close the doors at night that someone is out there lurking around," Sutherland 
said.

The parliamentarian also called on both Government and Opposition to join 
forces in the fight against rising violence, which has gripped the country in 
recent times.

"These are some serious times; it calls for unity and it calls for policy 
initiatives and it calls for us to sit down as citizens and forget the 
politics. Let us unite as the citizens of this country to return Barbados to a 
place we can be proud of in terms of a violent-free and incident-free country," 
he added.

The quiet and close-knit community was horrified when news broke that the 
bloodied bodies of the 2 men were discovered in the quaint two-storey guest 
house known for hosting weddings, family functions and other events.

Smith was numbed by what she found when she arrived at her father's residence 
around 10 a.m. Sunday.

While friends tried to make sense of the share butchery, Robinson's daughter 
hugged herself and simply stared into the house.

Mike Hayde was one of Robinson's close friends who rushed to the murder scene 
as soon as he got the news.

Hayde told Barbados TODAY he was at a church service when his friend Cyril 
Codrington rang him.

He missed the 1st call, but realized something was amiss when Codrington rang 
again.

"When Cyril called me a second time I had to get up and finally come outside to 
answer. Cyril told me we have some serious problems here at Prerogative House. 
He said someone broke into the house and killed Vincent and Tony," Hayde said, 
his breathing betraying a mix of pain and anger.

Just last Friday the 3 men had gathered on the same porch, at the same window 
that was smashed and possibly used by the killer or killers to enter the 
building.

The men often spent their evenings relaxing on the veranda, engaging in 
conversation until the sky darkened.

Hayde said he failed to understand why someone would commit this heinous act 
against such a kind and generous man.

"Vincent is such a nice guy that if you wanted to have a function here, he 
would just offer you the place - especially a wake after a funeral - without 
any charges or anything. He is a very friendly guy.

"I still cannot come to terms with why a person would want to do something like 
this to Vincent. And the hurtful thing about it is ... he just went to America 
to bury one of his siblings," he said.

"We have to have this killing stopped somehow or the other. If you do the crime 
you should pay the penalty and I strongly believe in that," he aded.

Codrington also was just as conflicted.

He said he and Robinson had been virtually stuck at the hip from the time they 
were children.

"To talk about it now is not easy because if it is somebody in the district 
that got killed it hurts. But this is personal, very personal. I am hoping to 
God that they do get some finality in this murder because it seems as if they 
can catch these fellas and find some excuse for them.

"Until we get the person who do these crimes punished and punished to fit the 
crime, it is going to happen all the time" Codrington stated.

(source: Barbados Today)






IRAN----executions

4 Prisoners Executed


On Monday July 3, 3 prisoners were reportedly hanged at Isfahan Central Prison 
on drug related charges, and a prisoner was reportedly hanged at Zahedan 
Central Prison on murder charges.

Close sources have identified the 3 prisoners as Omid Mohammadzadeh, charged 
with 1 kilogram of crystal meth, Seyed Reza Mousavi, charged with 800 grams of 
crystal meth, and Seyed Reza, charged with an uknown amount of narcotics. "None 
of these prisoners had any prior convictions," an informed source told Iran 
Human Rights. The 3 prisoners were reportedly transferred to solitary 
confinement on Saturday July 1 in preparation for their executions.

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.

The Baloch Activists Campaign group reported on the execution of a prisoner at 
Zahedan Central Prison who was identified as Hossein Reigi, 50 years ago age. 
Mr. Reigi was reportedly imprisoned for 7 years before he was executed.

Iranian official sources, including the Judiciary and the media, have not 
announced these 4 executions.

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

11 Prisoners in Imminent Danger of Execution in Rajai Shahr Prison


11 prisoners in Rajai Shahr Prison were reportedly transferred to solitary 
confinement in preparation for their executions.

According to close sources, the 11 prisoners were transferred to solitary 
confinement on Sunday July 2 and they are on death row on murder charges. Iran 
Human Rights has received confirmation on 5 of their names: Ghahreman 
Abbaspour, Reza Neyeti, Seyed Mohammad Seyed Abdollah and Abbas Yousefi.

The human rights news agency, HRANA, has reported that Ghahreman Abbaspour was 
sentenced to death for murder based on Qasameh (a testimonial given under oath) 
and despite the lack of evidence against him.

Qasameh is one way, within the Islamic jurispudence and criminal law in Iran, 
to prove crimes related to murder and physical injuries without enough evidence 
against the suspect. Qasameh is used when a judge recognizes a testimony as 
louth, when the judge believes the testimonial to be true despite lack of 
evidence.

The Iranian state-run news agency, Rokna, reported on the imminent execution of 
a prisoner by the name of "Ashkan" for kidnapping and rape charges. According 
to Rokna, the prisoner is held at one of the prisons in Karaj. There is a 
possibility that this prisoner is among the eleven who were transferred to 
solitary confinement in Rajai Shahr Prison.

The Baloch Activists Campaign had reported on the imminent executions of 2 
prisoners by the names of Hossein Reigi and Sina Narouie at Zahedan Central 
Prison. These 2 prisoners were transferred to solitary confinement on Saturday 
July 1, but Sina Narouie was reportedly returned to his cell and Hossein Nouri 
was executed on Monday July 3 on murder charges.

(source for both: Iran Human Rights)