[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

June 12



TANZANIA:

Ethics - Abolish Capital Punishment


Disregarding or snubbing this echo of death penalty in the house is not the 
best alternative. Instead of closing our eyes to, or taking no notice of , MP 
Ally Mohamed Keissy (Nkasi North - CCM) called for the application of the death 
penalty to all fellow citizens who contributed to the suffering and death of 
Tanzanians, due to lack of resources, following gross misconduct in signing 
extractive industry contracts, we should seek to reflect on the matter.

While there is a worldwide firm trend towards abolishing the death penalty, 
with progress in some countries in Africa as well as other regions of the 
world, death penalty has rebounded in the ongoing parliamentary sitting in 
Dodoma. Disregarding or snubbing this echo of death penalty in the house is not 
the best alternative.

Instead of closing our eyes to, or taking no notice of , MP Ally Mohamed Keissy 
(Nkasi North -- CCM) called for the application of the death penalty to all 
fellow citizens who contributed to the suffering and death of Tanzanians, due 
to lack of resources, following gross misconduct in signing extractive industry 
contracts, we should seek to reflect on the matter.

The lawmaker has a reason to recommend that these people should be identified 
and get hanged to death even though the use of death penalty appears to be 
confined to an ever-narrowing minority not only Tanzanians but also countries 
in the world.

Obviously, Keissy is in distress. He is quite clearly in agony as he sees 
unfairness as a result of allowing these people to live freely while they have 
cause suffering to fellow humans and for a long time. In other words, he knows 
and would like the Tanzanian laws which stipulate that death penalty is a 
mandatory sentence for cases of murder and treason under the Penal Code 
sections 39 and 197 to be extended to and applied to the people who he is 
concerned about.

This we say because, when examined closely, the practice of the death penalty 
in Tanzania, is not clustered in a few jurisdiction. It may sound that a few 
would advocate it, but the challenge is that, like Hon Keissy, the public and 
especially those who have tested the pain inflicted on them would go for the 
same option.

>From what I know, our country has always been well represented by a variety of 
legal systems, our traditions, cultures and religious backgrounds and the 
current public tone suggest that all of these have taken a position in favour 
of abolition of the death penalty.

But why is the lawmaker calling his colleagues not to move away from the death 
penalty? Or put this question this way; is the death penalty reverberating in 
the House while the right to life is clearly provided for under Article 14 of 
the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania 1977? Is it because the 
protection of this right is not absolute, as this right under article 14 can be 
subjected to other laws?

(source: Opinion; Alfred Sebahene----allafrica.com)






LEBANON:

Don't Resume Executions----Resumption of Executions Would be a Step in the 
Wrong Direction


Once again, political pressure is growing for Lebanon to resume executions.

Most recently, Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk called last Friday for the 
application of the death penalty. Lebanon has an unofficial moratorium on the 
death penalty and has not carried out an execution since 2004, although courts 
continue to hand down death sentences. Any move to resume executions should be 
resisted.

Lebanon's moratorium is a bright spot on its human rights record and is in line 
with a global trend to abolish the death penalty. Just 23 countries are known 
to have carried out executions in 2016. A resumption of executions would 
constitute a troubling setback for Lebanon, without making the country safer or 
deterring crime. Studies have consistently found there is no clear evidence 
that the death penalty deters crime. Lebanon in 2010 resisted similar calls 
from politicians to resume executions.

A resumption of executions would be particularly troubling given concerns about 
a lack of due process guarantees in Lebanese courts. Human Rights Watch found 
in 2017 that military courts, which have broad jurisdiction over civilians and 
retain the death penalty, do not guarantee due process rights. Those who have 
stood trial in military court describe the use of confessions extracted under 
torture, decisions issued without an explanation, seemingly arbitrary 
sentences, and a limited ability to appeal.

On October 10, 2008, Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar submitted to the Council 
of Ministers a draft law abolishing the death penalty and replacing it with 
life imprisonment with hard labor.

Human Rights Watch opposes capital punishment in all countries and under all 
circumstances. Capital punishment is unique in its cruelty and finality, and is 
plagued with arbitrariness, prejudice, and error. Most countries have abolished 
the practice outright, while dozens have adopted a de facto moratorium. In 
2012, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution calling on all 
countries to establish a moratorium on the death penalty, progressively 
restrict the practice, and reduce the offenses for which it might be imposed, 
all with the view toward its eventual abolition.

Ending its moratorium on executions would only serve to tarnish Lebanon's human 
rights record. Instead, parliament should solidify Lebanon's position as a 
leader on this issue in the Middle East, and abolish the death penalty 
outright.

(source: Human Rights Watch)






PHILIPPINES:

'An argument against death penalty'


The case of 2 young men jailed for 11 years here for a crime they did not 
commit could be another argument against restoring the death penalty, a human 
rights lawyer who watched the case closely said.

Melvin Dizon, now 35, and Rodel Tiglao, now 32, were arrested on Feb. 9, 2006, 
in a bar in Angeles City for the killing of Roy Aquino.

The slain man's brother, Christopher, had linked Dizon and Tiglao to his 
brother's death.

At the time of his arrest, Dizon, son of a tailor and then 24, was a 4th year 
agricultural engineering student at then Pampanga Agricultural College (PAC) in 
Magalang town.

Tiglao, who was 21 at the time of his arrest, was then helping an aunt manage a 
dormitory outside PAC and in his 2nd year in a vocational course.

Paraded in a lineup of suspects at Camp Crame, the Philippine National Police 
headquarters, they found themselves in more trouble when they were also linked 
to 28 counts of rape, murder and frustrated murder in Tarlac province, the City 
of San Fernando and Batangas City.

"Their predicament reveals our flawed criminal justice system," said human 
rights lawyer and former Pampanga Rep. Oscar Rodriguez.

"It's an argument against the reimposition of death penalty," he added.

Justice had been served after 11 years. Judge Eda Dizon-Era, of the Regional 
Trial Court in Angeles City, ordered their release on May 8.

The order reached the 2 on May 22.

Era's decision stipulated that "the prosecution was not able to establish the 
identity of the accused and the elements of the offense charged for robbery 
with homicide."

Era cited instances of sloppy work by the prosecution. "It appearing that 
Christopher Aquino's positive identification [of Dizon and Tiglao] is 
contaminated, it cannot be used to establish the identity of the accused or of 
the elements of the offense."

"What is so baffling [in] this case is that after more than 10 years of 
litigation, the arresting officers never showed up to testify despite due 
notice. No other evidence was presented, not even the death certificate of Roy 
Aquino," the judge said.

(source: newsinfo.inquirer.net)






PAKISTAN:

Facebook blasphemy: Pakistani man sentenced to death for insulting Prophet 
Muhammad


A 30-year-old Pakistani man has been sentenced to death by a counterterrorism 
court, following the conviction on charges he insulted the Prophet Muhammed and 
his wives on Facebook, officials said Sunday.

Taimoor Raza, who belongs to the minority Shia sect in the Sunni-dominant 
country, was arrested last year following an online argument about Islam with 
someone who turned out to be a counterterrorism agent.

Raza's defense lawyer, Fida Hussain Rana, stated that his client was initially 
charged only for insulting remarks about other religious personalities, which 
carries a maximum 2-year punishment, but charges of "derogatory acts against 
Prophet Muhammad" were later added to ensure the ultimate penalty during the 
trial in Bahawalpur, 300 miles south of Lahore.

It marks the country's 1st ever death sentence in a case pertaining to social 
media, but as Raza's trial was handled by the counterterrorism court, he is 
eligible to appeal the ruling in the High Court and then the Supreme Court.

However, human rights activists have expressed deep concerns that Raza's case 
is the beginning of a wider social media crackdown that will continue, 
particularly because nobody is ever held accountable for making fictitious 
accusations.

Raza's verdict comes at a time when officials are increasingly pounding down on 
blasphemy claims across the country. At least 15 Pakistanis are said to have 
been arrested by the counterterrorism department under the umbrella of 
blasphemy, according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. 4 other people 
were sentenced to death for the crime in 2016 alone.

Scores of others in Pakistan remain on death row for alleged blasphemy, 
including Asia Bibi, a Christian woman who remains in solitary confinement 
after being convicted in 2010 following a debate with 2 Muslim women in a 
Punjab village.

The notion of blasphemy is especially sensitive in Pakistan, often igniting 
violence and outcry even before cases have had the chance to be heard in the 
house of law. In April, 23-year-old student Mashal Khan was accosted by an 
angry mob accusing him of such a felony at the Abdul Wali Khan University in 
northwest Mardan. He was then stripped, beaten, shot and tossed to his death 
from the 2nd floor.

Weeks later, a crowd attacked a mentally ill man vowing to be the prophet at a 
local mosque, and in May a 10-year-old boy was killed and 5 others injured 
after an upset clan launched an assault on a police station in a quest to lynch 
a Hindu man accused of posting a blasphemous image on social media.

(source: Fox News)






AUSTRALIA:

Julian McMahon and Paris Aristotle honoured for defence of human 
rights----Barrister who works pro bono for people on death row and refugee 
advocate among those recognised in Queen's birthday list; Julian McMahon at an 
appeal by Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran----The abolitionist lawyer Julian 
McMahon and the refugee advocate Paris Aristotle have been recognised in this 
year's Queen's birthday honours list.


Julian McMahon, a Melbourne barrister, has been appointed a companion of the 
Order of Australia for his dedication to defending human rights, in particular 
advocating for defendants facing the death penalty.

The president of Reprieve Australia since 2015, McMahon has worked pro bono for 
death-row defendants including: Van Tuong Nguyen, hanged in Singapore in 2005; 
George Forbes, wrongly accused, then exonerated of murder in Sudan in 2007; and 
the Bali 9 members Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, who were executed by 
firing squad in Indonesia in 2015.

His work has raised public awareness globally of the death penalty, as more and 
more countries abolish capital punishment.

In the wake of Chan and Sukumaran's executions, McMahon said the killing of 
Australian citizens overseas for non-violent drug offences had solidified 
public opposition in Australia to capital punishment.

"I think it's been a developing idea basically since the execution of Van 
Nguyen, which many people rightly thought was an appalling outcome," McMahon 
told Fairfax Media.

"The public consciousness was awakened to the reality of executions, which 
hadn???t really featured in public life for a long time. It was on a slow burn 
until the lead-up to the executions of Chan and Sukumaran. Their case led to 
such intense analysis, discussion and political input, it is now beyond dispute 
that we simply understand as a nation the death penalty is unacceptable."

McMahon, the Victorian Australian of the Year in 2016, has been cited in the 
Queen's birthday honours "for eminent service to the law and the legal 
profession, through pro bono representation of defendants in capital punishment 
cases overseas, as an advocate for the abolition of the death penalty, and to 
human rights and social justice reform".

Aristotle has made an officer of the Order of Australia. He founded the 
Victoria Foundation of Survivors of Torture in 1987 and has been its chief 
executive since then. He was a member of the prime minister's expert panel on 
asylum seekers in 2012.

Aristotle's citation as the 2017 Victorian Australian of the Year reads: "A 
tireless advocate for refugees and asylum seekers, Paris Aristotle has made an 
enormous contribution by helping countless people rebuild their lives in 
Australia after surviving torture and trauma in their countries of origin."

Aristotle has worked with state and federal governments of all political 
affiliations over decades as well as with the United Nations high commissioner 
for refugees.

In an address in March, he said the issue of forced displacement will be one of 
the great challenges of the 21st century for Australia, the region and the 
world:

Protecting people fleeing war, conflict and persecution is both a moral and 
legal obligation for a country like ours. Every person should know that they 
have a right to protection under the refugee convention - every refugee should 
be confident that as a part of that they will be properly cared for and every 
persecutor should fear that they will be brought to justice.

(source: The Guardian)