[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

March 7



IRAN----executions

18 Executions Including 2 Women and 1 in Public and Mass Arrests


The Iranian regime hanged 18 prisoners over the past 3 days in various cities. 
On March 6, 2 young prisoners in the prison of Sari, 2 other prisoners, 
including a 70 year old man in Orumiyeh Central Prison and 2 others in the 
prison of Garmsar were hanged.

The day before, a prisoner was hanged in public in Buin Zahra (Qazvin province) 
and 3 in Ghezel Hessar Prison in Karaj. On March 4, 8 prisoners were hanged in 
Rasht, Orumiyeh, Shahroud and Hamedan prisons. 2 of the 4 prisoners executed in 
Rasht were women.

At the same time arbitrary arrests under false pretexts have broadened across 
the country. An all-women's party was raided and its organizers arrested, 34 
young men and women were arrested in Ahwaz, 14 people were arrested in Sepidan 
(Fars Province), and 13 people were arrested in Bandar Anzali (northern Iran) 
were among the arrests made in recent days

. The goal of the wave of executions and arbitrary arrests is to intensify the 
atmosphere of fear and to prevent the spread of social protests, whose 
increasing trend has frightened the mullahs' regime.

(source: Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran)






KENYA:

Mechanic sentenced to death for robbing woman 3 phones worth Sh21,000


A 22-year-old mechanic was on Monday sentenced to death by a Kibera court for 
robbing a woman at her house in Kaberia, Riruta.

Sospeter Simiyu was found guilty of the offence committed on November 14, 2014, 
and will therefore be hanged.

Together with another man who was not in court, he robbed Zipporah Wangui of 
her 3 mobiles valued at Sh21,000.

Principal magistrate Barbara Ojoo said the prosecution had proven beyond doubt 
that Simiyu robbed the victim.

Police said he cut the victim on her left hand using a machete, causing her to 
sustain serious injuries.

Ojoo said that Wangui narrated to the court how the accused had entered the 
house at 3 am and robbed her.

She told the court that she was sleeping at the time Simiyu and his accomplice 
stormed her house.

"They took the 3 phones and cut my left hand," Wangui earlier told the court.

In mitigation, Simiyu asked the court to be lenient to him, adding that he was 
remorseful.

Ojoo, in her ruling, said the seriousness of the offence warrants a death 
sentence by hanging.

Robbery with violence is punishable by death in the Kenyan penal code.

The law states that a person is guilty of robbery if he or she uses or 
threatens to use violence while stealing.

However, there is a debate on the relevance of death penalty since the last 
person was executed in 1987.

(source: the-star.co.ke)






NIGERIA:

Bauchi approves death sentence for kidnapping


Kidnapping in Bauchi State is now punishable by death or life imprisonment as 
Gov. Mohammed Abdullahi signed into law a bill in that direction.

The state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Ibrahim Umar, made 
this known on Tuesday while briefing newsmen in Bauchi.

He said that Abdullahi also assented to bills on fisheries and accidents.

Umar said that the governor assented to the bills on Monday.

"Whoever is guilty of the offence of kidnapping shall be punished with life 
imprisonment.

"If the victim dies as a result of the kidnapping, the offender shall be 
punished with death."

According to Umar, whoever seizes, confines, tricks, abducts or carries away 
anybody and holds to ransom or otherwise with or without a weapon, commits the 
offence of kidnapping.

Umar said that the state government also signed into law a bill for provision 
of free emergency treatment to accident victims within 24 hours of occurrence.

He said that the government would provide for each public hospitals, an 
accident and emergency unit, intensive care unit and a blood bank equipped with 
personnel and effective communication gadgets.

"The law stated that the state government shall provide funds and logistics for 
joint patrol of the hospital management board and Federal Road Safety Corps for 
rescuing accident victims in the 3 senatorial districts of the state.

"Any government hospital that fails to accept an accident victim shall have its 
officers on duty that day punished according to civil service rules, including 
a reduction in rank," he said.

He said that the law applied to all accidents including domestic fire, 
industrial fire, plane crash, flood disaster, snake bite, dog bite, rainstorm, 
bomb blasts and gunshot.

The attorney-general also said that the governor assented to the state 
Fisheries and other Related Matters Bill.

According to him, the law is to regulate fisheries in order to promote a 
healthy lifestyle and ensure that fishes would be free from contamination.

Lagos State has also approved death sentence for kidnapping.

Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode on Feb. 1, assented to the state's Kidnaping Prohibition 
Bill, 2016, which provides for a death penalty for kidnappers whose victims 
will die in their custody, and life imprisonment for the act of kidnapping.

(source: pmnewsnigeria.com)






INDIA:

6 Reasons The Death Penalty Has No Place In India


"Hang the rapist."

These words rightfully captured the strong, visceral reaction from the public 
to the news of the gang-rape of a 23-year old medical student on the night of 
December 16, 2012. The reaction came soon after former Home Minister 
Sushilkumar Shinde publicly favoured the death penalty in "rarest of the rare 
cases". In that atmosphere, we saw laws being amended to prescribe death in 
cases where a rape victim died or was left in a vegetative state.

Even today, certain demonstrations marking Dec 16 put effigies in nooses. So 
when in February 2017, union minister Uma Bharti openly endorsed capital 
punishment for rapists, it didn't come as a shock to anyone.

During a rally in Agra last month, she said: "The rapists should be hung upside 
down and beaten till their skin comes off...salt and chilly should be rubbed on 
their wounds. That is what I had got done when I was [Chief Minister of Madhya 
Pradesh]."

Many applauded Bharti for doing what a sluggish criminal justice system 
couldn't. But there were many more who termed her actions as unconscionable, 
amounting to illegal torture.

Bharti's comments are in no way unprecedented. India has a long and complex 
history with capital punishment. Since 1995, there have been four very 
high-profile executions. The 1st was a serial killer known as 'Auto Shankar'. 
After him, it was Ajmal Kasab (2012), Afzal Guru (2013), and finally Yakub 
Memon (2015). Excepting Shankar, these were all in connection to acts the State 
identified as terrorism. Including Shankar, they were all also spurred on by 
public anger and debate.

Looking at these 4 alone, one might presume executions are the "rarest of the 
rare" punishment. But according to Suhas Chakma, director of the Asian Centre 
for Human Rights (ACHR), "awarding death penalty has become routine for courts 
in India."

An ACHR report by found that 1,455 death sentences had been doled out between 
2001 and 2011. And in 2015, there were 320 people on death row.

But even if approval for retributive justice (over reformative justice) is 
widespread, even if leaders like Uma Bharti proudly endorse it, there are some 
very solid reasons for not endorsing capital punishment:

1: It Didn't Work For Bharti...

Despite her impassioned proclamations, the punishments Uma Bharti admits to 
carrying out did not stop rape from happening. In fact, the National Crime 
Records Bureau revealed that Madhya Pradesh reported the highest number of 
rapes in during her tenure in 2003-04. It was also the same year that the state 
reached a record high of 6,848 molestation cases. MP, in fact, had the 2nd 
highest number of crimes against women that year, with 14,547 cases registered.

2: ...Because It Doesn't Work, Period

In a 2009 study by the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 88% of 
criminologists surveyed in the USA said they didn't believe that capital 
punishment deterred crime.

Further, the ACHR report shows that the death penalty is usually commuted to 
life-imprisonment. The reason? Sending someone to the gallows isn't exactly as 
easy as 1-2-3. This long-drawn procedure requires stronger evidence than 
others. As a result, perpetrators are more likely to destroy evidence.

3: Deterring Justice Rather Than Crime

A comprehensive statement by civil society members released in 2012 showed that 
(because of the above reason) convictions would be extremely difficult to 
obtain. The conviction rate for rape crimes sank from 49.25 % in 2012 to 29.3 % 
in 2015, and the death penalty is likely to bring it even lower, instead of 
checking sexual violence against women.

4: Even Judges Have Spoken Up

A few months prior to the 2012 gang-rape, 14 retired judges wrote to former 
President Pranab Mukherjee about the shocking "miscarriage of justice" under 
the death penalty laws. They cited sentences of 9 persons whose crimes were not 
against the State, and therefore did not match the criteria for execution.

In fact, the Supreme Court had admitted on 3 occasions that these sentences 
were given 'per incuriam', or in ignorance of certain considerations, 
provisions and judgements.

Even in cases where the innocent are wrongly convicted, commuting their 
sentence becomes increasingly difficult in our byzantine criminal justice 
system. There is an urgent need for reform, and in 2015, for these and other 
reasons, the Law Commission of India released a 251 page report on why India 
should "move towards abolition of the death penalty."

5: It Is Circumvented By Privilege

There is a clear bias at work. 2 years ago, researchers at National Law 
University Delhi compiled a socio-economic profile of prisoners on death row. 
It found that more than 80% had not completed school, nearly 1/2 had been 
working since before they were 18, and there were a disproportionate number of 
Dalits, Adivasis, and religious minorities on death row, strongly suggesting 
that those in positions of power will continue enjoying impunity in cases of 
violent sexual crimes.

6: Torture Is Not Justice

Today, India is one of only a handful of countries where the death penalty has 
not been abolished. Our company includes Iran, China, Saudi Arabia and the USA.

But the global community does not condone the measures espoused by Uma Bharti 
and her ilk. Way back in 1984, the United Nations passed the International 
Convention against Torture, to which India is a signatory. And even though we 
never joined 161 other countries in ratifying the convention, no one is 
justified in torturing another human being.

Bharti qualified her comments on torture by saying that rapists were not humans 
but "demons", and undeserving of human rights. Perhaps there's no use exposing 
the glaring problems behind that logic. Perhaps we should ask - what does it 
make us when we respond to one human rights violation with another?

(source: Shambhavi Saxena ---- Youth Ki Awaaz is an open platform where anybody 
can publish. This post does not necessarily represent the platform's views and 
opinions)






CZECH REPUBLIC:

Czechs would like crimes to be punished more strictly


Most people in the Czech Republic would like punishment of criminals, including 
adolescents, to be stricter and they support the reintroduction of the death 
penalty, daily Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD) writes yesterday, citing a poll 
conducted by the Median agency.

People call for stricter punishment, even though they feel safe in the country, 
the paper writes.

"People believe that society should enforce order and they feel that the rules 
are too loose at present," sociologist Daniel Prokop, from Median, said.

The respondents were asked whether they would impose death penalties on 4 
murderers and 1 innocent person, or rather release these 5 persons. The biggest 
group, 45 %, would execute all %, 25 % would release them all, and 30 % was 
unable to make a decision, MfD writes.

2/3 of Czechs, especially people over 50 years old, believe that punishments 
should be markedly stricter and only 1 out of 10 opposed this idea. Moreover, 
they would like to lower the age of criminal liability to 13, from the present 
15.

53 % of people supported the reintroduction of the death penalty. However, the 
support for the death penalty has been decreasing in the long term, the paper 
writes.

The death penalty was abolished in the country in 1990 and its reintroduction 
would be against the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms.

It has never been proved that the death penalty has a preventative effect, 
Miroslav Scheinost, director of the Institute of Criminology and Social 
Prevention, said.

"In general, no considerable decrease in serious crimes in countries that apply 
the death penalty, even if exceptionally, has been observed," he told MfD.

"It seems to me that the death penalty does not have a deterrent effect. It is 
imposed on the perpetrators of the gravest crimes, especially murders. When 
people commit them in the heat of passion, they do not take punishment into 
account. If people prepare the murder, they expect that they will not be 
revealed and they try to proceed in a way to go unpunished. In contract 
murders, the risk of punishment is a part of the price," Scheinost said.

The respondents were also asked about the main purpose of prisons. Most of them 
(42 %) said a prison should correct the criminal, 30 % said it should isolate 
the criminal from society, and 25 % said it should first of all be a form of 
punishment.

In mid-February, there were 22,688 inmates in the 35 Czech prisons.

The Median poll was conducted on 1,073 people in late January and early 
February.

(source: Prague Monitor)






PHILIPPINES:

House approves death penalty bill on final reading


The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved on 3rd and final reading a 
bill reimposing the death penalty, but only for drug-related offenses, in a bid 
to bolster the Duterte administration's anti-narcotics drive.

The final vote for House Bill 4727 came down to 217 voting for the bill, 54 
voting against it, and 1 abstention.

Among the prominent lawmakers who voted against the bill were Deputy Speaker 
Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos, 
Batangas Rep. Vilma Santos-Recto, members of the Makabayan bloc, and those from 
the Liberal Party.

Cebu City 2nd District Rep. Rodrigo Abellanosa declined to specify a vote 
regarding the measure.

Among those who voted "no," Arroyo, Santos-Recto, Reps. Emmy de Jesus, Carlos 
Zarate, Antonio Tinio, Kit Belmonte, Kaka Bag-ao, and Josephine Ramirez Sato 
hold leadership positions.

They now stand to possibly lose their posts, as House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez 
said in February that they will replace deputy speakers who will not vote for 
capital punishment, which is supported by President Rodrigo Duterte.

He urged PDP-Laban party members opposed to the death penalty to resign from 
the party, as it is part of the House supermajority.

Meanwhile, contrary to his initial views on the matter, Deputy Speaker Rolando 
Andaya voted "yes."

In justifying his change of heart, he said the bill no longer makes death 
penalty mandatory, as there is an automatic review of sentences, and the 
penalty was limited to drug-related crimes in the draft submitted for third and 
final reading.

The House last week approved on 2nd reading the version, which makes the death 
penalty an option for judges to impose it on those convicted for drug-related 
offenses.

The initial proposal at the House listed 21 crimes punishable by death, but it 
was later trimmed to 4, including plunder, treason, and rape from the list of 
covered crimes, and then reduced further to only drug-related offenses.

The Philippines was the 1st Asian country to abolish death penalty in 1987, but 
the Ramos administration reinstated it in 1993 in response to allegedly 
increasing crime rates. It was abolished again under President Gloria 
Macapagal-Arroyo in 2006.

Last year, then-presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte said he will restore the 
death penalty if he won the election, and indicated after it was clear he had 
won that he prefers capital punishment by hanging rather than by lethal 
injection.

He said the re-imposition of the death penalty is not meant to deter crime but 
is for retribution.

A similar bill is pending before the upper chamber.

(source: abs-cbn.com)

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

Lawmakers to bare opinions on death penalty in final vote


People will get the chance to know their representatives' reasons for 
supporting or rejecting the revival of capital punishment when the House of 
Representatives goes into nominal voting on the 3rd and final reading of the 
death penalty bill later Tuesday.

To be passed, the controversial House Bill 4727 needs the vote of 147 -- 50 % 
plus 1 -- of the 292 House members.

The measure leaves only drug-related punishable by death after lawmakers 
decided to yank out such offenses as rape, plunder and treason, opening them up 
to criticism, including disparaging comments that they were looking to spare 
themselves.

Majority Leader Rodolfo Farinas said voting will proceed as scheduled despite 
questions raised by the anti-death penalty Albay Representative Edcel Lagman, 
who says it is "premature" to vote on the measure so soon.

Lagman and Northern Samar Representative Raul Daza pointed out that the rules 
require that the printed copies of the bill be given to the House members, not 
their staff.

But Daza said he found a copy of the bill only on Monday, March 6, inserted in 
his office's door.

The bill was approved on 2nd reading on March 1.

Lagman noted the 3-day notice rule stated in Section 26(2) of Article VI of the 
Constitution which provides: "No bill passed by either House shall become a law 
unless it has passed 3 readings on separate days and printed copies thereof in 
its final form had been distributed to its Members 3 days before its passage, 
except when the President certifies to the necessity of its immediate 
enactment..."

Similarly, Sec. 58 of Rule X of the Rules of the House provides: "No bill or 
joint resolution shall become law unless it passes three (3) readings on 
separate days and printed copies thereof in its final form are distributed to 
the Members three (3) days before its passage except when the President 
certifies to the necessity of its immediate enactment ..."

Reacting to Lagman, Farinas said: "That's his (Lagman) opinion. The copies of 
the bill were duly distributed on Thursday," March 2.

However, Lagman and Daza said if the bill was distributed on a Thursday, 
chances are many lawmakers would have failed to receive their copies since they 
are usually in their districts on that day.

Daza also said even emailing copies of the bill is not a guarantee all 
lawmakers will get theirs because not all of them have Internet access in the 
provinces.

Meanwhile, the Liberal Party said in a statement that it remains firm in 
opposing capital punishment "despite threats of marginalization wielded by the 
House leadership," adding that "pressure, intimidation, or enticement will not 
sway the LP members from casting a vote based on their conscience and 
conviction."

It said the death penalty "is ineffective, it further victimizes the poor, it 
violates international law, and our criminal justice system is flawed. The 
solution to crime is ensuring certainty of punishment by a systematic, 
inter-branch push to reform our justice system."

While acknowledging that the death penalty bill will be passed, calling 
Wednesday's vote a "mere formality," the LP nevertheless said "it is still 
worth watching since the nominal voting or the roll call vote will now reveal 
the names and faces of the lawmakers who will vote for and against the bill."

It said LP lawmakers "have tried to work within the majority bloc to come up 
with bills that are reasoned and thoroughly deliberated, and that work for the 
interest of the Filipino people" and, while its members in the House have been 
"a cooperative bloc," added that "in the interest of democracy, we should also 
play the role of reasonable fiscalizers when the situation and our principles 
demand it."

(source: interaksyon.com)

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

Leftist groups, netizens condemn House for passing death penalty 
bill----Activists also call President Rodrigo Duterte 'oppressive' and 
'anti-poor' as they protest outside the Batasang Pambansa


Left-leaning groups and social media users denounced the approval of the 
controversial death penalty bill by the House of Representatives on 3rd and 
final reading on Tuesday, March 7.

"Death penalty will only exacerbate the already corrupted and skewed justice 
system, where the poor and oppressed languish in jail for trumped-up crimes 
while the rich, the dictators, fascists, and drug lords are coddled," Kabataan 
Representative Sarah Elago said in a statement.

Elago's group trooped to the gates of the Batasang Pambansa along with other 
progressive groups before the voting started.

Kabataan added that President Rodrigo Duterte should be held accountable for 
the passage of the bill, which is a key priority measure of his administration.

"Duterte insists on touting death penalty as the 'change' that is coming, while 
conveniently hiding its irresponsibility and grave negligence in addressing the 
real roots behind the growing prevalence of poverty and crime, such as 
contractualization and the worsening neoliberal policies on education and 
trade," Elago said.

A total of 216 lawmakers voted in favor of the measure while 54 voted against 
it and 1 abstained. A total of 271 out of 292 congressmen were present during 
the voting.

'Human rights violations'

The League of Filipino Students (LFS) slammed the House's swift passage of the 
death penalty bill, describing it as a "fascist attack against the people" that 
will add to the growing number of human rights violations under the Duterte 
administration.

"It is only a cover-up to the failure of Duterte to fulfill his promise to 
eradicate crimes. This administration has once again failed to address the root 
cause of crimes just like how it failed to address the root cause of drugs - 
poverty. And just like its fascist approach in the drug issue, Duterte will 
start another round of killings," LFS national spokesperson JP Rosos said.

"There are far too many crimes committed by the Duterte regime against the 
people. We will not rest until justice is served and we will smash everything 
that will hinder this justice - death penalty included. We will fight tooth and 
nail against our anti-poor, pro-foreign social system that perpetuates 
injustices through a fascist rule," he added.

According to human rights group Karapatan, around 15 civilians were killed in 
February 2017 alone, adding to killings and illegal arrests allegedly committed 
by the Armed Forces of the Philippines against progressive leaders since 
Duterte started his term.

Youth group Anakbayan also weighed in on the controversial bill and called for 
protests against the Duterte administration on International Women's Day on 
Wednesday, March 8.

"Ultimately the death penalty is simply another instrument to sow terror and 
silence dissent. That plunder is excluded from the bill is very telling of the 
way death penalty is directed primarily against the poor, the dispossessed, and 
the voiceless," said Anakbayan national chairperson Vencer Crisostomo.

The Left has been allied with Duterte since he took office in July 2016. But 
recent issues like the hero's burial for the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos and 
the scrapping of peace talks with communists have strained their relationship.

'Not the right solution'

The Psychological Association of the Philippines (PAP) also reiterated its 
position that the death penalty is "discriminatory in nature."

"Capital punishment does not deliver on its hopes for better justice, closure 
for all parties concerned, and better crime prevention. It does not give full 
cognizance of the implications of its irreversible effect, the reality of the 
limits and inevitable class discrimination of the judicial process, and the 
misconception of closure and justice itself," the group said.

The PAP has been spearheading a community-based approach to drug rehabilitation 
that would benefit both drug users and their families.

The group proposed to "develop programs that aid in the redemptive 
rehabilitation of offenders, that support victims and their loved ones through 
and in the aftermath of judicial processes, and that foster the psychological 
wellbeing of these persons."

Online anger

Netizens who are against the death penalty took to social media to express 
their frustration over the House's passage of the bill.

(source: rappler.com)

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

More legal aid given to OFW on death sentence in Abu Dhabi


Additional legal assistance has been assured to the Filipina household service 
worker (HSW), who was sentenced to death by execution in the UAE.

Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello III met 
with Jennifer Dalquez last week during his 3-day UAE trip, reported Manila 
Bulletin.

"I instructed our Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) there, and Philippine 
recruitment agencies to provide Dalquez additional lawyers to see to it that 
her rights are well protected," Bello reportedly said.

Dalquez was sentenced to death by a UAE court after she killed her employer in 
2014 for allegedly attempting to rape her, the report said.

Her appeal is pending at the UAE Court of First Instance which rescheduled the 
release of its decision on the case from Feb. 27 to March 27.

Bello was quoted as saying that Dalquez has a high chance of having her 
sentence lowered if she will be forgiven by the 2 children of her employer.

If they do, he reportedly said, there is a possibility that her death sentence 
will be commuted to a lower penalty of imprisonment. This could be life 
imprisonment or for 30 years.

Bello said he may return to UAE later this month to check on the status of 
Dalquez before the decision of the UAE court.

In a related development, Bello said he ordered the labor attache in UAE to 
fast-track the repatriation of the 48 run-away overseas Filipino workers (OFW) 
in UAE, said the news portal.

The recruitment agencies responsible for the deployment of the OFWs have 
already committed to pay for the repatriation, Manila Bulletin quoted him as 
saying.

(source: The Filipino Times)

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

Alvarez eyes piecemeal death penalty bills on plunder, rape


Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez on Monday said he is looking at the possibility of 
passing the death penalty bills on a piecemeal basis covering other heinous 
crimes like plunder and rape.

In an ambush interview at the House of Representatives, Alvarez said the House 
will prioritize on passing House Bill 4727 imposing the death penalty on 
drug-related offenses on 3rd and final reading 1st in a bid to advance moves to 
restore capital punishment.

The death penalty bill on drug-related offenses hurdled the second reading 
approval last Wednesday.

Other death penalty bills on other heinous crimes, such as plunder and rape, 
may be filed later on, Alvarez said, amid criticisms that the House majority 
excluded plunder and rape from capital punishment.

"We will pass it one by one, so that at least we're able to accomplish 
something. If we do it all at once, the debates will take longer, so let's make 
it piece by piece so that at least we are done with illegal drugs. The others 
will follow."

Alvarez said the House leadership has to be realistic about imposing the death 
penalty on drug-related offenses first before pursuing capital punishment on 
other offenses.

"It's not simply a matter of convenience. We have to be realistic because if we 
will do this all at once, it will take us a long time to even talk about it. It 
would be better to do it one by one so at least we are able to accomplish 
something," Alvarez said.

Alvarez said he will stay true to his word to strip lawmakers of their 
committee or deputy speaker posts if they oppose or even abstain from voting on 
the death penalty bill.

The death penalty bill is set to be approved on third and final reading on 
Tuesday.

The death penalty bill has been amended to limit its coverage to drug-related 
offenses, in a bid to support the administration's bloody narcotics crackdown 
that has claimed over 7,000 lives.

The bill as it has been amended excluded plunder, rape, and treason from the 
death sentence.

The bill will not impose a mandatory death sentence, giving the judge the 
leeway whether to impose life sentence or the maximum penalty of death on 
convicts.

The bill will punish with death or life imprisonment the following drug-related 
offenses:

1.importation of dangerous drugs

2.sale, trading, administration, dispensation, delivery, distribution and 
transportation of dangerous drugs maintenance of a den, dive or resort

3.manufacture of dangerous drugs and/or controlled precursors and essential 
chemicals

4.misappropriation, misapplication or failure to account for confiscated, 
seized or surrendeed dangerous drugs

5.planting of evidence

Possession of drugs will only be penalized with the maximum offense of life 
imprisonment.

The bill stated that the death penalty should not be imposed on children below 
18 years old or senior citizens over 70 years of age at the time of the 
commission of the crime.

The penalty will be carried out by hanging, firing squad, or lethal injection.

(source: newsinfo.inquirer.net)

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

Psychological Association of the Philippines joins call against death penalty 
revival


In a statement, the Psychological Association of the Philippines (PAP) said: 
"Capital punishment does not deliver on its hopes for better justice, closure 
for all parties concerned, and better crime prevention. It does not give full 
cognizance of the implications of its irreversible effect, the reality of the 
limits and inevitable class discrimination of the judicial process, and the 
misconception of closure and justice itself."

The group said "the practice of capital punishment point[s] to its 
discriminatory nature," adding that majority who were meted the death penalty 
have "incomes below minimum wage, unable to afford the legal services to defend 
themselves in a long process."

PAP also pointed out "judicial flaws" that include "incompetent counsel, 
inadequate investigatory services, or even outright police and prosecutorial 
violations of judicial procedures." It also noted that "torture or ill 
treatment of suspects to coerce confessions or implicate others during 
investigation is common in the country."

"History also points to gross misapplications of the death penalty law, with 
vulnerable individuals protected by Philippine law from capital punishment 
finding themselves on death row," PAP also said.

To recall, the bill which was approved by the House on March 1 via voice voting 
only lists drug-related offenses as crimes punishable by death: the 
importation, sale, trading, administration, dispensation, delivery, 
distribution, transportation and manufacturing of drugs, and maintenance of a 
drug den.

(source: Business World Online)






JORDAN:

Council of Europe condemns Jordan hangings


Jordan's execution of 15 prisoners has provoked "indignation" from Council of 
Europe leader Pedro Agramunt, who insisted the Arab kingdom remains committed 
to maintaining a moratorium on the death penalty.

Agramunt, who is president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of 
Europe (PACE), "strongly" condemned Saturday's (4 March) executions in Jordan, 
whose parliament obtained "Partner for Democracy" status within PACE in January 
2016.

Under that charter, Jordan is committed to "continuing its efforts to drive 
public bodies and civil society towards the abolition of capital punishment and 
to apply a moratorium on executions set up in 2016", the Spanish People's Party 
(PP) member said.

Agramunt warned that going back to capital punishment is "simply unjustifiable" 
and called on the Jordanian authorities to stop executing prisoners and to 
abolish the punishment from criminal law.

Human rights group Amnesty International also condemned Jordan's carrying out 
of the executions in "secrecy and without transparency".

The 15 executed prisoners were held in Suaga prison in the capital of Amman, 
having been found guilty on charges of terrorism and other crimes.

Among their number was Mahmud Masharqah who was found guilty of participating 
in the murder of 5 agents of the Jordanian intelligence services in June, 
during an attack on their office in the Al Baqaa refugee camp north of the 
capital.

Riad Abdulah was also hanged after having murdered Nahed Hattar, an author who 
had defended the publishing of a cartoon that has been labelled as blasphemous.

5 other men were executed for their part in a shootout with security forces 
last year in which a police officer was killed.

Another man was hanged for killing a British tourist in 2006 and another for 
his part in an attack on the Jordanian embassy in Baghdad back in 2003.

The 5 remaining condemned men were sentenced to death for rape and murder.

This is the 1st collective execution carried out in Jordan since 2014, when 11 
people were executed on the same day.

The Arab kingdom had previously implemented a moratorium on capital punishment 
between 2006 and 2014 but hanging was brought back in 2014.

(source: euractiv.com)