[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

July 27



PHILIPPINES:

Death penalty dropped from list of urgent bills



The death penalty bill is conspicuously absent from the list of 35 measures the 
Senate and the House of Representatives have agreed to prioritize in the second 
regular session of the 17th Congress.

Leaders of the 2 chambers agreed on Wednesday to pass bills on tax reforms, 
traffic emergency powers and the end of endo, or contractualization, before the 
end of 2017, as well as to revise the 1987 Constitution and approve the 
proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

Not on the priority list is the bill restoring the death penalty, which has 
been passed on third reading by the House and one of the measures pushed by 
President Duterte during his State of the Nation Address on Monday.

"We agreed to disagree on some things," House Minority Leader Danilo Suarez 
said at a press briefing.

The meeting, attended by Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III and Speaker 
Pantaleon Alvarez, as well as the majority and minority leaders of the 2 
chambers, took place on Wednesday morning at the Edsa Shangri-La Hotel, where 
they set targets for the passage of priority bills.

4 quarters

Speaking to reporters afterward, House Majority Leader Rodolfo Farinas said 
consensus was reached by both leaderships to divide the 2nd regular session 
into 4 quarters.

The 1st quarter starts from Monday until the adjournment in October, the 2nd 
will cover November and December, the 3rd January and March 2018, and the 4th 
May and June 2018.

Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III told reporters the plan was to approve 
the priority bills in 2 quarters.

"There is a list of priority measures that are already pending on 2nd, 2rd 
reading and passed on the committee level," Sotto said.

Farinas noted that many of the measures had already been passed by the House 
over the past 12 months, including the first tax reform package and the 
proposed National Land Use Act.

Some of the measures the Congress leaders want to pass in the next 3 months are 
the proposed Traffic and Congestion Crisis Act, national ID system, 
antidiscrimination bill and the measure seeking to end the practice of 
contractualization, or the short-term contracting of labor.

The lawmakers did not give a clear time frame for the proposal to revise the 
1987 Constitution to pave the way for the switch to the federal system.

BBL timetable

On the proposed BBL, a draft copy of which was submitted to President Duterte 
two weeks ago, Sotto said they hoped they would be able to pass the measure by 
the end of the year.

Mr. Duterte has said he will certify the BBL as urgent.

Farinas said the proposed BBL might have to be "tied with" the federalization 
measure, as certain constitutional provisions would be affected in creating a 
new self-governing region for majority-Muslim provinces in Mindanao.

He said the House and the Senate agreed to form a technical working group to 
propose changes to the Constitution.

(source: newsinfo.inquirer.net)








MALAYSIA:

MPs play biggest role in abolishing death penalty, says activist



Parliamentarians should educate their constituents on the need to abolish the 
death penalty, said a human rights activist.

Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (Madpet) coordinator Charles 
Hector said they should also convince their fellow colleagues and respective 
parties to take a clear stand on the abolishment of the death penalty.

"Since the death penalty exists in the laws, the laws need to be amended or 
repealed.

"So ultimately the final decision comes to the legislature, which is parliament 
and they have to pass the required laws to abolish it," he told the Star Online 
after a parliamentary roundtable session on the abolishment of the death 
penalty here on Wednesday.

The session was arranged by the Parliamentary Global Action (PGA) group and 
opened by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman 
Said.

Present were parliamentarians, civil society organisations and government 
officials from other countries.

Hector claimed that he personally knew of parliamentarians from both sides of 
the divide who are for the abolishment of the death penalty but that a lot were 
afraid to publicly declare their stand.

"I think any good parliamentarian should not be doing things primarily for the 
purpose of winning or losing votes. He would not be playing his role to lead 
and to push for the correct decisions," he said.

He said that as a very minimum, Malaysia should immediately amend the law to 
remove the mandatory death penalty for all offences, and not just for drug 
trafficking cases.

In March, Azalina said the Cabinet agreed to review the Dangerous Drugs Act 
1952 to allow judges to use their discretion in sentencing offenders instead of 
imposing the mandatory death sentence.

Azalina had said the review will enable judges to mete suitable sentences in 
marginal cases where offenders could be given jail sentences.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had told parliament in 
March that 1,122 prisoners were on death row nationwide as of Feb 21.

With 9 executions in 2016, Malaysia is among 23 countries that executed 1,032 
people globally. This figure excludes China, which Amnesty International 
believes executes thousands of people yearly.

(source: thestar.com.my)








SAUDI ARABIA:

Supreme Court upholds death penalty for 14 in Al-Awamiya cell and 15 for spying 
for Iran



The Supreme Court upheld the death sentence issued by the Specialist Criminal 
Court and supported by the Specialist Penal Appeals Court against 14 Saudis 
including a security man considered a traitor and 2 wanted militants on the 
"list of 23" in what is known as the Al-Awamiya cell.

The accused are facing the death penalty due to their involvement in terrorist 
crimes in Al-Qatif, Saihat, Al-Awamiya and Al-Jash in the Eastern Province. 
They carried out over 50 armed terrorist attacks on Al-Awamiya and Al-Qatif 
police stations and Al-Qatif Prison. They also targeted several checkpoints and 
20 security patrols. These resulted in the martyrdom of several security men 
and injury to scores.

In another development, Okaz has learned that the Specialist Penal Appeals 
Court has upheld the verdicts issued by the Specialist Criminal Court against 
the members of a spy ring accused of espionage for Iranian Intelligence. The 
verdicts include the death sentence for 15 Saudis and various jail terms 
ranging from 6 months to 25 years against 14 Saudis and Iranians. Meanwhile, a 
Saudi and an Afghani were acquitted.

All the sessions of the Specialist Criminal Court in Riyadh on national 
security-related cases are open to the local media and representatives of 
diplomatic and rights bodies.

(source: Saudi Gazette)








BANGLADESH:

Dhaka court sentences 3 to death for murdering man during mugging



A court in Dhaka has awarded the death penalty to 3 persons in the 2009 murder 
of a man during a mugging attempt.

On the night of Aug 13 that year, shoe salesman Alamgir Hossain was stabbed 
when 3 men tried to mug him in the city???s Shyampur area.

The victim's family started a case and in November of the same year, police 
pressed charges against 3.

On Thursday, Dhaka's special sessions judge convicted 26-year-old Jony, 
20-year-old Hasan alias Kalu and 27-year-old Monir Hossain.

Jony was present in court during the verdict while the others went into hiding 
after securing bail.

(source: bdnews24.com)

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

Govt eyes death penalty for carrying yaba



The government is going to amend the "Narcotics Control Act 1990' to include 
death penalty for carrying over 250 pieces (25 grams) of ATS (amphetamine-type 
stimulants) drugs such as yaba.

The maximum punishment under the current law for carrying same quantity of ATS 
is 15 years of imprisonment.

This new provision has been included in the law's draft amendment as the 
increased abuse of yaba has became a great concern in recent days, Mukul Jyoti 
Chakma, deputy director of Department of Narcotics Control (DNC), told The 
Daily Star yesterday.

"Several other changes will also be brought in the law, including power to 
conduct mobile court to ensure capital punishment for drug traders," he also 
said.

According to DNC, in a bid to bring the "Narcotics Control Act 1990" up to 
date, the draft of "Narcotics Control Act 2017" was sent to home ministry on 
March 21 this year.

On April 24, a meeting, presided over by security service division secretary of 
the home ministry, over the amendment of the law was held.

Meanwhile, home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal at a program yesterday said, 
"We have already taken steps to amend the Narcotics Control Act 1990 to ensure 
the highest punishment for drug traders."

The minister was addressing a discussion on the occasion of International Day 
against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking 2017 in the capital's Osmani 
Memorial Auditorium.

According to DNC's annual drug report for 2016 presented at the programme, 
around 2.94 crore pieces of yaba were seized by law enforcers in 2016 across 
the country -- a 45.95% jump from the previous year. Around 2.01 crore pieces 
of yaba tablets were seized in 2015.

The DNC report also mentioned that the number of treatment-seeker yaba addicts 
is also on the rise. Last year, 31.61% yaba addicts sought treatment, while the 
figure was 20.64% in 2015, said the report.

Dhaka Ahsania Mission was awarded 1st prize for its contribution in the field 
of drug prevention at the programme.

Omar Faruk Chowdhury, MP and member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on 
Home Ministry; Farid Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury, secretary of security services 
division of home ministry; and Jamal Uddin Ahmed, director general of DNC; also 
spoke among others.

(source: The Daily Star)



BARBADOS:

Caribbean Court of Justice Sets 2 Barbados Death Row Inmates Free



The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has granted freedom to 2 Barbadian men who 
were on death row for a 2006 murder.

The Trinidad-base court quashed the convictions of Vincent Edwards and Richard 
Haynes, who had been in jail since their arrest in 2007, ruling that they could 
not be upheld because the only evidence presented by the Director of Public 
Prosecutions (DPP) was insufficient.

The only evidence linking the appellants to the murder was oral confessions 
they allegedly made to police officers in separate interviews at a police 
station July 19, 2007, almost a year after Alleyne's shooting death.

Their attorney, Queen's Counsel Andrew Pilgrim, had argued that the evidence 
was unreliable and, as such, the judge should have dismissed the case against 
the appellants.

The CCJ considered whether a defendant may be convicted in circumstances where 
the only evidence against him is a disputed and uncorroborated oral confession 
allegedly made to investigating police officers whilst the accused was in 
police custody.

In its judgment, delivered by Justice Winston Anderson, the court acknowledged 
that prior to the Evidence Act which was passed in 1994, there was case law 
that supported the position that a man could be convicted of an offence where 
the sole evidence against him was an alleged oral confession, provided that the 
jury was warned that such a conviction may be unsafe. But it also highlighted 
that the purpose of the Evidence Act was "to reform the law relating to 
evidence in proceedings in courts" and to apply "standards that are more 
stringent than the common law, [compel] the judiciary to be guided by fresh 
approaches and [require] the executive to make available to the police new 
technologies".

According to the CCJ, the evidence against Edwards and Haynes therefore had to 
be reliable, especially given that the punishment on the statute books in 
Barbados for murder was death.

"Based on the spirit of the Evidence Act, alleged confessions made while in 
police custody could only meet this standard where it was supported by sound or 
video recordings of or by some other independent evidence linking the accused 
to the offence. For example, evidence from a witness other than another police 
officer or some form of forensic evidence (e.g. DNA or fingerprint). In this 
case, there was no other evidence and as such the judge should have dismissed 
the case against the appellants," the court ruled.

Justice Saunders was also of the view that even if the evidence was sufficient, 
the judge did not properly warn the jury in accordance with the Act.

"It was not sufficient for the judge to merely warn the jury that the 
confessions may have been fabricated by the police; the judge should have also 
advised the jury that the appellants found themselves in a vulnerable position 
as they were in police custody where there was no video or sound recording or 
some independent person present at the interview who could confirm their 
account of what actually took place. Additionally, the judge should have told 
the jury that police officers were generally "practised witnesses" and it was 
difficult to tell when such a witness was being dishonest," the court said.

Back in November 2015, the CCJ had rejected an earlier application filed on 
behalf of the 2 accused men and ordered that their case be sent back to the 
Barbados Court of Appeal.

At the time, Edwards and Haynes, who were convicted of murder in June 2013 and 
sentenced to death, were challenging the unconstitutionality of the mandatory 
death penalty, but the CCJ had sent the matter back to the Barbados Court of 
Appeal for a determination of how that issue should be resolved.

In its ruling yesterday, the CCJ again criticized the 1994 suspension of 
Section 72 of the Evidence Act which makes provision for the use of video and 
sound recordings whenever an accused wished to make a confession.

Justice Saunders contended that "such an argument is no longer sustainable in 
this technological era especially in light of the fact that Caribbean states 
with fewer resources now require police officers to record official interviews 
with suspects and have been making good use of such technologies".

While the CCJ allowed the appeals and quashed the convictions, it emphasized 
that nothing in the judgment was meant to cast a slur on the integrity or 
propriety of the Royal Barbados Police Force or of the police officers who 
served in the case. It stressed that there was no evidence that the officers 
involved acted in any way inconsistent with the high traditions of 
professionalism and probity.

(source: caribbean360.com)








MALAWI:

130 prisoners walk to freedom from death row in Kafantayeni project

Over 130 prisoners have walked to freedom after they were sentenced to hang 
since 2007, thanks to Kafantayeni cases resentencing project.

Peter Chisi, the civil and political director at Malawi Human Rights Commission 
said the project is going on well.

The project started in 2007 after a prisoner who was sentenced to death, 
challenged the verdict and asked for a retrial to which he was succesful.

The project is being undertaken by the Malawi Human Rights Commission with 
funding from Tiritonse Fund.

Chisi said since the project started, 50 prisoners were released immediately, 
62 were released immediately as well after it was discovered they overstayed in 
the jails and 26 were released after retrials.

He said another meeting was held on Tuesday with High Court officials on the 
next phase of the retrials which might see another set of prisoners being 
released.

Chisi said 6 cases are pending in the Supreme Court of Appeal.

He said the project wants a speedy trial of murder cases and is proposing that 
the murder cases be tried before professional magistrates.

Chisi said the High Court judges would just be coming in to hand down 
sentences.

(source: Nyasa Times)








IRAN----executions

10 Prisoners Including Women Hanged in Iranian Prisons



10 prisoners, including a woman, were reportedly hanged at Zanjan, Kermanshah, 
Mahabad, Noshahr, Babol, Gachsaran and Urmia prisons. Most of the prisoners 
were executed on drug related charges.

2 Prisoners Hanged at Zanjan Cenral Prison

According to close sources, on the morning of Tuesday July 25, 2 prisoners were 
executed at Zanjan Central Prison on drug related charges. The prisoners have 
been identified as Jalil Dadyarvand and Mohammad Ali Yari. "Jalil Dadyarvad was 
married and was the father of a 3-year old child. He was sentenced to death on 
the charge of 3 kilograms of crack," an informed source tells Iran Human 
Rights. "Mohammad Ali Yari was arrested in 2013 on the charge of trafficking 2 
kilograms and 100 grams of crystal meth and one kilogram and 900 grams of 
opium. Despite his insistence that he had nothing to do with the drugs, he was 
sentenced to death. The drugs belonged to an individual who was executed in 
2015," says the informed source.

Prisoner Hanged at Kermanshah Central Prison

On the same day, a prisoner was reportedly executed at Kermanshah Central 
Prison on murder charges. Close sources have identified the prisoner as Omran 
Ahmadvand, approximately 31 years of age.

3 Prisoners, Including a Woman, Hanged at Urmia's Central Prison

On Wednesday July 26, 3 prisoners, including a woman, were reportedly executed 
at Urmia's central prison on drug related charges. Close sources have 
identified the 2 men prisoners as Farhad Mousizadeh (pictured below) and Davoud 
Maldar. The identity of the woman prisoner is not known at this time. These 
prisoners were among a group of 5 who were transferred to solitary confinement 
on Tuesday.

Prisoner Hanged at Mahabad Prison

The human rights news agency, HRANA, reported on two prisoners who were 
transferred from Urmia's central prison to Mahabad Prison this week. One of 
them, identified as Fattah Amini, was reportedly executed on the morning of 
Tuesday July 25 on murder charges.

Woman Prisoner Hanged at Babol Central Prison

HRANA also reported on an unidentified 25-year-old woman prisoner who was 
executed at Babol Central prison on Wednesday morning. She was reportedly 
executed on murder charges. Her name is not known at this time.

Prisoner Hanged at Noshahr Central Prison

The state-run news agency, Rokna, reported on the execution of a prisoner at 
Noshahr Central Prison on murder charges. The prisoner was reportedly hanged on 
Wednesday morning, but the prisoner's name was not published in the report.

(source: Iran Human Rights)