[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

July 5




BELARUS:

Belarus Preserving Death Penalty at People's Will - President Lukashenko


The Belarusian president, at the same time, expressed confidence that his 
country would gradually come to the solution of this issue.

"We are called to abolish the death penalty. We are hearing the proposals. But 
not a single country can oppose the people's will, the overwhelming part of 
which voted at the referendum for its application," Lukashenko said at the 
official opening of the annual session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the 
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Minsk.

Belarus is the only country in Europe where the capital punishment is applied. 
In 1996, the issue of death penalty abolition was put in Belarus to a national 
referendum, and almost 80.5 percent of its participants voted for its 
preservation. The existence of the death penalty is called the main obstacle to 
the restoration of Belarus in the status of a special guest in Parliamentary 
Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

(source: Sputnik News)






MONGOLIA:

Death penalty confined to history as new Criminal Code comes into effect


Amnesty International welcomes the coming into force of the new Criminal Code 
and Code of Criminal Procedure in Mongolia as an historic milestone in the 
country's journey towards full enjoyment and protection of human rights. The 
new Criminal Code, which abolishes the death penalty for all crimes, became 
effective on 1 July 2017 after it was adopted by the Mongolian Parliament on 3 
December 2015. Today Mongolia becomes the 105th country to have freed itself 
from the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.

(source: Amnesty International)






BANGLADESH:

3 to die for killing auto-rickshaw driver in Gazipur


A Gazipur court has awarded death penalties to 3 persons, including 2 brothers, 
for murdering an auto-rickshaw driver in Kaliakoir upazila in 2013.

Gazipur District and Session Judge AKM Enamul Haque passed the order on 
Wednesday, reports BSS.

The convicts are Mehedi Hassan alias Babu, Md Alomgir Hossein and Delowar 
Hossein. Of the convicts, Delowar Hossein is still at large.

According to the case, auto-rickshaw driver Hider Ali, an inhabitant of 
Lalmonirhat district used to live in Kaliakoir upazila. He went missing in the 
afternoon of December 26, 2013. Police recovered his body from Ratonpur area of 
the upazila on the following day.

Hider's elder brother Shafiqul Islam had filed a murder case with Kaliakoir 
police station.

(source: Dhaka Tribune)






EGYPT:

Egypt's Attorney General refers 41 suspects in organ trafficking network to 
criminal court


Egypt's Attorney General Nabil Sadek referred on Tuesday 41 defendants involved 
in an organ transplant and trafficking network to the criminal court, state 
news agency MENA reported.

Investigations in the case found that the defendants had performed illegal 
operations between January 2011 and December 2016 as an organised criminal 
group, exploiting poor Egyptians in need of money by paying for and removing 
their organs, mainly kidneys, and transplanting them into foreign recipients. 
These operations violate medical laws and were performed in unauthorized 
places.

The prosecution charged the network members with profiteering, bribery, money 
laundering, dereliction of duty and causing permanent disabilities.

The group's illegal operations resulted in the death of one of the victims and 
permanent disabilities in others, according to investigations.

The suspects accused of running the illegal network -- including Egyptians and 
foreigners -- were arrested in December 2016.

According to an official statement issued by the Ministry of Health, the 
network included university professors, doctors, nurses, medical centre owners 
and brokers involved in illegal organ trafficking.

Organ trafficking is explicitly forbidden in Egypt according to article 60 of 
the country's 2014 constitution.

Egyptian law incriminates the trade of organs and penalises traffickers with up 
to 7 years in jail.

In March, the Egyptian State Council approved a draft law to further regulate 
organ transplant operations, which includes harsher sentences up to and 
including the death penalty if an illegal or forced operation resulted in the 
death of the victim.

The Egyptian parliament is set to vote on the draft law.

(source: ahram.org.eg)






SRI LANKA:

Death sentence handed in for journalist's murder


A 39 year old suspect was found guilty over killing of journalist Mel 
Gunasekara and handed in death sentence by Colombo High Court today. High Court 
Judge Piyasena Ranasinghe held that the crime committed by the suspect who was 
employed as plumber was proven during the trial.

In addition to the death penalty, the suspect was sentenced 30 years 
imprisonment for stealing victim's belongings after the murder. Late Ms 
Gunasekara was stabbed to death at her residence in Battramulla on February 2, 
2014.

(source: sundaytimes.lk)



BENIN:

Amnesty International petitions authorities to commute the sentence of 14 men 
on death row


Authorities in Benin must commute the death sentences hanging over 14 men 
following a 2016 Constitutional Court judgement that effectively abolished the 
death penalty for all crimes in the country, Amnesty International said today 
on the 5th anniversary of Benin's accession to the UN treaty aiming at 
abolishing the death penalty.

The organization is also calling on the authorities to provide the death row 
prisoners with adequate food and medical care, and ensure that national 
legislation is reviewed and reformed in order to remove all provisions 
pertaining to the death penalty in all relevant laws, for all crimes.

"The judgment of the Constitutional Court last year which effectively abolished 
the death penalty for all crimes in Benin is remarkable and progressive. 
Despite this the status of 14 men who have been on death row in grim conditions 
for nearly 2 decades has not changed," said Oluwatosin Popoola, Amnesty 
International's Adviser on the death penalty.

"The authorities cannot continue to keep the men on death row when the court 
has abolished the death penalty, the uncertainty that hangs over the men needs 
to be resolved urgently through the commutation of their death sentences".

The 14 men are the last prisoners on death row in Benin. They have all been in 
prison for between 18 to 20 years. Benin's government says it will not execute 
them, yet it has not commuted their death sentences. Conditions for them on 
death row are harsh as they are isolated from other prisoners and all share 1 
cell. The last known execution in Benin was carried out in 1987.

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception, 
regardless of the nature or circumstances of the crime; guilt, innocence or 
other characteristics of the individual; or the method used by the state to 
carry out the execution. The death penalty is a violation of the right to life 
and the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.

(source: amnesty.org)






IRAN----executions

3 Prisoners Hanged on Murder Charges


A prisoner was reportedly hanged at Kerman Central Prison, and 2 prisoners were 
reportedly hanged at Urmia's central prison. All 3 prisoners were reportedly 
sentenced to death on murder charges. The state-run news agency Fars, quoting 
the press department of the Kerman Judiciary, identified the prisoner who was 
executed at Kerman Central Prison by the initials M.Gh. According to the Kerman 
Judiciary, the pirsoner was hanged on Monday July 3 for a murder crime he 
allegedly committed in 2013 at the age of 20.

The human rights news agency, HRANA, reported on the execution of 2 prisoners 
at Urmia Central Prison. The report identifies the prisoners as Alireza Karimi 
and Firouz Eskandari, hanged on Tuesday July 4. Iranian official sources, 
including the Judiciary and the media, have not announced these 2 executions.

There are currently at least 11 prisoners sentenced to death on murder charges 
who are in imminent danger of execution in Karaj's Rajai Shahr Prison. On 
Sunday July 2, they were transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for 
their executions.

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

2 Prisoners Hanged in Public


2 prisoners were hanged in public on rape charges.

The hangings were carried out in the city of Torbat-e Heydarieh (Razavi 
Khorasan province) on the sidelines of a sports complex.

According to a report by the state-run news agency, Jam News, the public 
executions were carried out on Tuesday July 4 on Abshar Street. The report 
identifies the prisoners' ages as 26 and 30.

According to the local state-run news site, Taban Torbat, the executions were 
carried out by Judicial and security forces.

There are many cases in Iran of public executions carried out in sports 
stadiums. Human rights groups and sports federations have repeatedly objected 
to these executions. Photos from this execution have not been released to the 
public.

(source for both: Iran Human Rights)






INDIA:

1993 Mumbai blasts case: CBI seeks life for Abu Salem


After seeking capital punishment for four convicts, which included Mustafa 
Dossa who died of cardiac attack last week, the prosecution on Tuesday sought 
life imprisonment for extradited gangster Abu Salem and Riyaz

Salvi accused Salem of being a 'habitual offender' and that the Indian 
government had submitted a list of his crimes to the Portugal government while 
taking his custody in 2005(HT).

The prosecution on Tuesday concluded the arguments on quantum of sentence 
against 6 convicts in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case.

After seeking capital punishment for 4 convicts, which included Mustafa Dossa 
who died of cardiac attack last week, the prosecution on Tuesday sought life 
imprisonment for extradited gangster Abu Salem and Riyaz Siddique. Apart from 
Dossa, the prosecution has sought death penalty for Firoz Khan, Karimmulla Khan 
and Tahir Merchant.

While seeking life imprisonment for Salem, special CBI counsel Deepak Salvi 
said that Salem deserved nothing but death penalty for his role of 
'transporting a car full of ammunition from Bharuch to Mumbai'.

Salvi termed Salem as one of the conspirators of the 1993 blasts. "In 1993, 
Salem was a member of Dawood and Anees Ibrahim's gang and held a position of 
authority," he said.

He argued that Salem had 2 passports which he used to escape.

Salvi accused Salem of being a 'habitual offender' and that the Indian 
government had submitted a list of his crimes to the Portugal government while 
taking his custody in 2005. Salem was brought to be tried in 9 cases. He was 
sentenced to life imprisonment in extortion and murder of builder Pradeep Jain 
last year.

However, Salvi said that he was constrained by section 34(c) of the Indian 
Extradition Act. Under this, Salem cannot be sentenced to death or for more 
than 25 years of imprisonment. However, Salvi urged the court to mention that 
Salem deserves nothing but death penalty. On a question by judge GA Sanap on 
such a demand, Salvi said the 'country should know the serious offences Salem 
had committed.'

The defence lawyers will begin their arguments on the quantum of sentence on 
Wednesday.

(source: hindustantimes.com)