[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

March 20




TURKEY:

Erdogan vows to reinstate death penalty as referendum opponents face 'attacks 
and imprisonment----In the build up to the referendum, the Turkish President 
promised he will introduce the death penalty in a campaign that has caused a 
diplomatic furore


Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed on Saturday that he will reinstate 
capital punishment "without hesitation", ahead of the referendum on 16 April 
that could lead to a radical extension of his powers.

Speaking at a televised rally in Canakkale, the leader of the Justice and 
Development Party (AKP) promised that he would sign a bill on the death 
penalty, stating: "I believe, God willing, that after the 16 April vote, 
parliament will do the necessary concerning your demands for capital 
punishment".

His controversial comments come over a decade after Turkey completely abolished 
the death penalty in its efforts to join the European Union.

This isn't the first time the premier has introduced talks about reinstating 
capital punishment. He raised the idea after last year's failed coup of 15 
July, suggesting it would bring justice to the families of the victims.

As the referendum approaches, Erdogan has been leading an inflammatory, 
anti-western campaign that saw him pushing a political narrative that depicts 
Turkey as a great nation that is being undermined by an imperialist Europe.

He attacked German chancellor Angela Merkel again on Sunday, accusing her of 
using "Nazi measures", according to Agence France-Presse. In a televised 
speech, he said: "You are right now employing Nazi measures," using the 
informal 'you' in Turkish in what has become an intense diplomatic dispute. He 
previously launched a scathing attack on Germany for stopping rallies in 
advance of the constitutional referendum, in which he repeatedly referred to 
Germans as 'Nazis'.

He erroneously labelled the Dutch as "Nazi remnants" in a desperate bid to 
appeal to voters in the Turkish diaspora. The Netherlands is home to 
approximately 397,471 people of Turkish origin, who make up 2.4 % of the total 
population. Most of them hold dual nationality and are therefore eligible to 
vote in the Turkish referendum.

A 'yes' in the referendum would rewrite the constitution and transform Turkey 
from a parliamentary system to an executive presidency, giving Erdogan 
unprecedented control to appoint ministers, pick senior judges, and dismiss 
parliament. Erdogan's campaign has understandably been met with criticism, with 
Turkey's main opposition leader, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, urging Turks to vote no in 
the referendum, saying its approval would undermine democracy.

European institutions have also expressed concerns over the campaign. A Council 
of Europe inquiry noted there is an "excessive concentration of powers in one 
office."

According to the Associated Press, figures opposing the referendum in Turkey 
have faced threats, violence, arbitrary detentions, a lack of TV airtime and 
even sabotage in the campaign.

The AKP leader's shift towards an autocratic government has led to accusations 
of being 'dictatorial' by critics.

Erdogan came under fire in January after using Hitler's government as an 
example of an effective presidential system. He defended his argument that 
putting all political power in the hands of the presidency would be a success, 
by saying "there are already examples in the world [...] you can see it when 
you look at Hitler's Germany. There are later examples in various other 
countries."

The rocky campaign and talks of introducing a death penalty will undoubtedly 
cause long-term damage for ties between Turkey and European countries, and 
could end Ankara's efforts to join the EU.

(source: independent.co.uk)

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

Juncker warns Turkey death penalty is 'red line' issue


European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker has warned Turkey that any return 
of the death penalty would be a "red line" in the country's stalled EU 
membership bid.

"If the death penalty is reintroduced in Turkey, that would lead to the end of 
negotiations," he told Sunday's edition of Germany's Bild newspaper, calling it 
a "red line".

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday he expected parliament to 
approve the restoration of capital punishment after next month's referendum on 
controversial consitutional changes to expand his powers.

Mr Juncker nevertheless said he was opposed to a complete halt to all 
membership negotiations with Turkey.

"It makes no sense to try to calm (Erdogan's) nerves by stopping negotiations 
that are not even taking place."

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel went even further, saying in an 
interview with Der Spiegel: "We are farther away than ever from Turkey's 
accession to the EU."

Turkey abolished the death penalty in 2004 and the European Union has 
repeatedly made clear that any move to restore it would scupper its membership 
bid.

However Turkish ministers say they need to respond to popular demand for the 
return of capital punishment to deal with the ringleaders of an attempted coup 
in July.

"What Hans and George say is not important for me," Mr Erdogan said.

What the people say, what the law says, that's what is important for us."

Turkey and Europe are locked in a diplomatic crisis after Germany and the 
Netherlands blocked Turkish ministers from campaigning for a 'yes' vote in the 
16 April referendum, which opponents fear will create 1-man rule.

In response, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu threatened to "blow the 
mind" of Europe by sending 15,000 refugees a month to EU territory, which would 
endanger a year-old migrant deal between Turkey and the EU to reduce the flow 
of migrants.

"Turkey will not back out of the accord, even if Erdogan has told me several 
times he wanted to," Mr Juncker said.

Turkey has no interest in ceding "control" of its borders to "human traffickers 
and criminals".

(source: rte.ie)






IRAN:

2 Prisoners in Imminent Danger of Execution


2 prisoners at Shiraz's Adel Abad Prison who are on death row on drug related 
charges were reportedly transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for 
their executions.

According to close sources, the prisoners are: Cyrus Abedi, 36 years of age, 
and Farajbakhsh Amrollahi.

"Cyrus and Faraj were both arrested in 2012 on the charge of possession of 2 
kilograms of crystal meth and a small amount of opium. They were sentenced to 
death by Shiraz's revolutionary court in the same case file," a confirmed 
source tells Iran Human Rights.

(source: iranhr.net)






PAKISTAN:

4 convicts awarded death penalty


A local court awarded capital punishment to 4 murder convicts while 2 of their 
co-accused were sentenced to life imprisonment here the other day.

According to the prosecution, the accused - Gul Muhammad, Akram, Qalab Ali, 
Shehbaz shot dead four persons - Nawaz, Aslam, Siddiq and Lal Din in 2013 over 
enmity when they were on the way to appear in the court.

In light of the evidence, District and Sessions Judge Rai Nazir Ahmed awarded 
death penalty to the accused. 3 of the murderers were fined.

(source: nation.com.pk)






INDIA:

Calcutta HC Acquits Death Row Convict


The Calcutta High Court has acquitted a man who was sentenced to death penalty 
by the trial court finding him guilty of conspiring murder of his wife and maid 
servant.

The prosecution had accused Avik Ghosh of conspiring with other accused to 
commit dacoity in his own home and also of conspiring and abetting murder of 
his own wife and maid servant. The trial court acquitted three accused, but 
convicted Avik Ghosh and Somnath Tanti. The former was sentenced to death and 
the latter to life imprisonment.

A bench comprising Justice Ashim Kumar Roy and Justice Malay Marut Banerjee, on 
his appeal, observed that Avik Ghosh was convicted under Sections 302/109 IPC, 
but none of the co-accused, whom he allegedly abetted to commit murder, were 
found to be guilty for committing such murder.

Similarly, not only total 4 persons were charged, but at the conclusion of the 
trial all the 3 other accused were acquitted, except Somnath Tanti, and 
therefore, his conviction under Section 396 IPC cannot be sustained.

Answering the death reference in negative while allowing the appeals, the court 
also observed that the trial judge also relied on the alleged confessional 
statement of the convict Somnath Tanti allegedly made while in police custody, 
although the same is inadmissible in evidence according to the provisions of 
Section 25 of the Evidence Act.

(source: livelaw.in)






BANGLADESH:

Kushtia court awards death penalty to man for 2013 murder of college girl


A court in Kushtia has found a 30-year-old man guilty of murdering his wife 4 
years ago.

In February 2013, Snigdha Akter Rimi, who went to the Kushtia Government 
College, was strangled to death at the district's Mirpur Upazila.

On Monday, the court of Kushtia's Chief Judicial Magistrate ordered death 
sentence for the husband Shihab Uddin Shishir, who has been absconding after 
securing bail.

According to court documents, Sishir and 2nd-year History student Rimi got 
married in 2011 without informing their families following a relationship.

Prosecutor Anup Kumar Nandi said that Shishir strangled Rimi to death on Feb 
13, 2013 at a relative's house in Kushtia's Mirpur Upazila.

Shishir was arrested a month later from Tangail and confessed before a judge.

He later secured bail and has been absconding since then, said Prosecutor 
Nandi.

(source: bdnews24.com)






PHILIPPINES:

Senator Ejercito admits death penalty bill passage will not be easy


After its passage at the Lower House of Congress, the Death Penalty 
Reimposition Bill will be discussed next at the Senate.

Senator JV Ejercito has admitted that the passage of the bill will not be easy.

The senator said the bill is not as popular at the Senate as it is at the Lower 
House because there are several senators who have expressed opposition.

"The Liberal Party, the minority, will be against it. Most of the lady senators 
are against it. That';s quite a big number. But now, perhaps the anti is 
slightly leading," said Senator Ejercito.

Ejercito is one of those in favor of the reimposition of the death penalty on 
high-level drug trafficking.

The senator is convinced that death penalty is needed to fight illegal drugs 
that have long been a problem in the country.

"Among the ASEAN countries its only the Philippines which repealed death 
penalty and probably this is the very reason why the Philippines became the hub 
of international drug trade in Asia, kasi tayo na lang ang walang death penalty 
(because we're the only one without death penalty)," Senator JV Ejercito added.

Senator Manny Pacquiao supports the Death Penalty Reimposition Bill.

Meanwhile, Senator Ejercito believes there must be assessment whether rape and 
plunder will be among the cases punishable by death penalty.

(source: Yahoo News)

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

Duterte tells EU Parliament, 'Mind your own business'----'Why don't you mind 
your own business? Why do you have to fuck with us, goddamn it,' says the 
Philippine President


President Rodrigo Duterte lashed out against the European Parliament for 
demanding that the Philippines stop efforts in Congress to reinstate the death 
penalty.

"Do not impose your culture or your belief in what would be a government in 
this planet," said Duterte on Sunday, March 19, during a gathering of Filipinos 
residing in Myanmar.

He spoke in English in the middle of a mostly Filipino speech to make himself 
clear to Europeans.

Unable to contain his frustration, the President cursed at the body of European 
lawmakers for their resolution.

"These fools, I really don't - why are you trying to impose on us? Why don't 
you mind your own business? Why do you have to fuck with us, goddamn it," said 
Duterte.

He took issue with how the Europeans did not seem to respect how Asian 
countries continue to impose the death penalty. He said the death penalty used 
to be a "favorite" form of punishment among Southeast Asian countries.

"Do not impose on other countries, especially us. This, before, was the 
favorite of ASEAN countries because there's a death penalty in Indonesia, 
Malaysia and I'm trying to revive it," he said.

Other Southeast Asian countries like Singapore and Brunei impose the death 
penalty.

Duterte pointed out that some European countries also impose capital 
punishment. Actually, all European countries save for Belarus have abolished 
the death penalty.

"As if the other countries of EU there's no more death penalty. There are still 
a lot," said Duterte.

The Philippine House of Representatives approved its version of the death 
penalty bill last March 7. It allows execution of drug convicts through 
hanging, firing squad, or lethal injection.

The counterpart bill still has to go through another 3 readings in the Senate.

Duterte made no mention of the European Parliament's call for the immediate 
release of detained Senator Leila de Lima, one of his fiercest critics. But the 
Palace and his allies in Congress have condemned it as a form of interference.

(source: rappler.com)

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

Philippine bishops urge flock to fight the death penalty----In a special 
prayer, Catholic bishops have urged Filipinos to "make a stand" against 
restoring the death penalty. The bill, pushed by President Duterte, has already 
passed the lower house of the Philippine parliament.


The clerics read out the homily at all masses across the Philippines on Sunday.

"Dear sisters and brothers in Christ, let us not allow our wells to be poisoned 
by bitter water. Let us uphold the sanctity of life and make a stand against 
death penalty," the Catholic bishops said in a pre-written prayer.

The Philippines abolished the death penalty in 2006. However, firebrand 
President Rodrigo Duterte launched a bid to restore it as part of his brutal 
crackdown on crime. Lawmakers already backed the bill in the country's House of 
Representatives and it is expected to pass the Senate as well.

Despite the death penalty being illegal, Duterte has repeatedly supported 
extrajudicial killings and police have reportedly executed thousands of 
suspects since he took office in June.

Jesus was not 'an advocate' of killing

On Sunday, the bishops said that the death penalty would be biased against the 
poor, who would not be able to afford a good lawyer, and argued there was no 
evidence that it deterred crime.

Referring to the upcoming Senate vote, they called on worshipers to "pray 
fervently for the legislators."

"Jesus was never an advocate of any form of 'legal killing.' He defended the 
adulterous woman against those who demanded her blood," they said, citing the 
New Testament story about Jesus opposing a stoning.

Around 80 percent of all Filipinos are Catholic, and the Church wields a 
significant influence in the country. At the same time, Duterte and his crusade 
against drugs are also immensely popular. When confronted by the Catholic 
Church earlier this year, Duterte accused it of greed, hypocrisy, and sexual 
abuse of children.

The pro-death penalty camp hopes to reinstate capital punishment by May this 
year.

(source: Deutsche Welle)