[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

March 22





BANGLADESH:

Ready to execute Mufti Hannan after receiving government order, says IG Prisons


Jail authorities say they are prepared to carry out the death sentences of 
Harkat-ul Jihad al-Islami (HuJI) chief Mufti Hannan and his two accomplices as 
soon as they get the government order.

"We are yet to receive the executive order to carry out the death sentences. 
The prison authorities, however, are always ready for the execution," Inspector 
General of Prisons Brig Gen Syed Iftekhar Uddin told a media briefing on 
Wednesday.

Mufti Hannan and 2 other HuJI activists, Sharif Shahedul Alam alias Bipul and 
Delwar Hossain alias Ripon have been awarded the death penalty for the 2004 
grenade attack on the then UK envoy in Sylhet.

HuJI leader Mufti Hannan and Bipul are being kept at the Kashimpur High 
Security Prison in Gazipur while Ripon is lodged at the Sylhet Central Jail.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court published the verdict, rejecting their petitions 
for review of their sentences, which was read out to them on Wednesday.

After losing the last legal option, the 3 are now left with the only option of 
seeking presidential clemency by admitting guilt.

Kashimpur prison authorities said Mufti Hannan and Bipul hinted at seeking 
clemency while convict Ripon told Sylhet jail officials that he will give a 
decision later.

According to the jail code, they will now get 7 days to petition for pardon.

If the president rejects their pleas, the government will fix a date and prison 
authorities will start the process to execute the verdict.

In May 2004, then British High Commissioner Anwar Choudhury came under a 
grenade attack while coming out of the Hazrat Shahjalal's shrine in his 
hometown Sylhet.

Police's Assistant Sub-inspector Kamal Uddin died instantly. Constable Rubel 
Ahmed and one Habil Miah succumbed to their injuries in a hospital later.

The envoy was injured along with nearly 40 employees of the Sylhet district 
administration.

In December last year, the Appellate Division upheld their death sentences.

The trial court had sentenced 2 others to life imprisonment, who moved the High 
Court but failed to secure a verdict in their favour. Their sentences are 
upheld as they did not challenge it at the Appellate Division.

(source: bdnews24.com)

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

Immediately Suspend Imminent Executions----Issue Moratoriums on Death Sentences 
as Inhumane Punishments


The Bangladesh government should immediately halt the imminent execution of 3 
men convicted of a May 2004 grenade attack, which targeted the then British 
High Commissioner, Anwar Choudhury. Chowdhury survived the attack that took 
place outside the Hazrat Shahjalal shrine in Sylhet district, but was among 
dozens injured by the blasts. 3 police officers were killed.

On March 19, 2017, the country's apex court rejected the final review 
application of the 3 men on death row, all alleged members of the banned 
militant group Harkat-ul-Jihad (HuJI). The 3 men are: Mufti Abdul Hannan, HuJI 
founder, and 2 activists in the group, Sharif Shahedul Alam Bipul and Delwar 
Hossain Ripon.

"Criminals need to be punished, but Bangladesh is moving in the wrong direction 
by invoking the death penalty," said Brad Adams, Asia director. "Bangladesh 
should instead initiate an immediate moratorium on capital punishment because 
it is inherently cruel and irreversible, and should never be used, regardless 
of the crime."

The evidence against the three men is primarily based on their confessions, 
statements that magistrates say were freely given in front of them but that the 
men have said were forcibly extracted through torture in police custody. Human 
Rights Watch has previously documented numerous cases of torture to coerce 
confessions, and due process violations in the Bangladesh criminal justice 
system that have made it difficult for defendants to receive a fair trial, 
including in capital cases.

Noting that "custodial torture has become a persistent trend in Bangladesh," 
the country's National Human Rights Commission recently said that, 
"Indiscriminate order of remand for extracting confessions immensely 
contributes to a culture of custodial torture."

Court documents show that Hannan had spent 77 days, and Bipul and Ripon 40 days 
each, in police custody prior to giving their confessions. During this time and 
throughout their interrogation, the accused were not provided access to any 
legal representation. All 3 confessions were made during this period.

Bangladesh courts have accepted allegations in previous cases that torture 
takes place in police custody, and local, and international human rights 
organizations contend that the practice is widespread. Nevertheless, the 
appeals court stated that, "These confessions are natural, voluntary, 
inculpatory, and corroborative to each other," and were not "procured from them 
by means of coercion, duress, or torture."

The United Nations Human Rights Committee, which interprets the International 
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Bangladesh is a 
signatory, has stated that there must be no "direct or indirect physical or 
undue psychological pressure from the investigating authorities on the accused, 
with a view to obtaining a confession of guilt. That all 3 convictions are 
based on interrogations without a lawyer present strongly suggests that they 
violated article 14 of the ICCPR on the right to a fair trial.

Human Rights Watch opposes capital punishment in all countries and under all 
circumstances. Capital punishment is unique in its cruelty and finality, and it 
is inevitably and universally plagued with arbitrariness, prejudice, and error. 
A majority of countries in the world have abolished the practice. In 2012, the 
United Nations General Assembly called on countries to establish a moratorium 
on the use of 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.

"Delivering justice requires adhering to the highest standards, particularly 
when a life is at stake, and there can be no room for doubts or mistakes," 
Adams said. "Human Rights Watch has long supported justice and accountability 
for militant attacks, but we have also stated repeatedly that these trials have 
to meet international fair trial standards, and call upon Bangladesh to reject 
the death penalty."

(source: Human Rights Watch)






JAPAN----new death sentence

Man sentenced to death for killing 5 people in Hyogo Pref.


The Kobe District Court on March 22 sentenced a 42-year-old man to death over 
the killing of 5 people in Hyogo Prefecture in 2015, dismissing lawyers' 
arguments that he was mentally ill.

Tatsuhiko Hirano, 42, was handed the death penalty after being convicted of 
fatally stabbing 5 neighbors with a survival knife in 2 separate homes on Awaji 
Island in Hyogo Prefecture, on March 9, 2015. The victims, 3 women and 2 men, 
were aged between 59 and 84.

Hirano had a history of medical treatment for a psychiatric disorder, and in 
the trial he denied the allegations against him, saying that he was 
"manipulated by agents with magnetic waves."

The focus of the case was whether Hirano could be held criminally responsible 
for his actions.

Public prosecutors said that delusions bore no influence in the killings and 
that Hirano was mentally competent. Defense lawyers, meanwhile, argued that the 
killings wouldn't have occurred without the delusions brought on by Hirano's 
mental condition. They said that he either couldn't be held criminally 
responsible, or was of diminished capacity, warranting a lighter sentence.

(source: mainichi.jp)






INDONESIA:

Alleged drug dealer, 3 others caught


An alleged drug dealer and 3 others were nabbed by police yesterday moments 
after they had picked up 25 packets of Syabu paid for via a bank deposit to an 
unknown person.

The dealer, 29, from Bintawa Village was caught along with his friends, aged 25 
to 49, after personnel from the Padawan Anti-Narcotics Unit stormed the lobby 
of an inn at Jalan Batu Kawa around 12.50pm.

Padawan District police chief Supt Aidil Bolhassan, who confirmed the arrest, 
said the main suspect was found holding a black box containing 25 packets of 
Syabu weighing roughly 55.50g.

"All 4 suspects subsequently tested positive for amphetamines. They also have 
prior arrest records for drugs," said Aidil.

According to Aidil, the main suspect admitted that he had purchased the drugs 
from an unknown dealer, who had instructed him to deposit money into a bank 
account before providing the location to collect the drugs.

"The main suspect confessed that the drugs belonged to him, while his 3 friends 
admitted to having consumed drugs," added Aidil.

Police have classified the case under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 
1952, which carries the mandatory death penalty upon conviction, as well as the 
Dangerous Drugs (Forfeiture of Property) Act 1988.

(source: Borneo Post)






PAKISTAN:

Man gets death penalty for murdering wife


One Wali Muhammad Khaskheli was sentenced to death after he was proved guilty 
in a murder case while 4 other accused in the case were acquitted here on 
Tuesday.

Additional sessions judge awarded death penalty to Khaskheli, while set his 
mother, father, uncle and brother free.

As per details, Sumaira Naeem, wife of Wali Muhammad Khaskheli, was 
strangulated to death in the limits of Degan Bhurgari police station, taluka 
Kot Ghulam Muhammad, in 2012. A murder case was registered against Khaskheli, 
husband of the deceased, his father Muhammad Moosa Khaskheli, uncle Umer 
Khaskheli, mother Rasheeda and younger brother Gul Muhammad Khaskheli.

However, the prosecution could prove the offence only against the main accused, 
Wali Muhammad Khaskhel, the deceased's husband, while the other co-accused were 
acquitted. After the court gave the decision, convict Wali Muhammad Khaskheli 
was detained and sent to Central Prison Hyderabad.

(source: nation.com.pk)






VIETNAM:

Vietnam drug smugglers sentenced to death over heroin haul


Vietnam has sentenced 9 drug traffickers to death for smuggling nearly half a 
tonne (500 kilograms) of heroin into the country from Laos, a local government 
report said Wednesday.

9 others were jailed for life over the massive drug bust and "all illegal 
profits were seized", according to the official newspaper of the Hoa Binh 
provincial government.

The traffickers smuggled the drugs from neighbouring Laos for resale in China 
and pocketed $670,000 between 2012 and 2016, according to a separate report by 
the state-run Vietnam News Agency which gave no further details.

Communist Vietnam has some of the world's toughest anti-drug laws. Anyone found 
guilty of possessing more than 600 grams (21 ounces) of heroin, or more than 20 
kilograms of opium, can face the death penalty.

The "Golden Triangle" region covering parts of Laos, Thailand and Myanmar is 
one of the world's top producers of opium, and heroin and other drugs are often 
smuggled into Vietnam from the region.

In January 2014 30 drug smugglers were sentenced to death in Vietnam's largest 
narcotics case, after nearly 2 tonnes of heroin was seized.

Governments in Southeast Asia's Mekong region have vowed to redouble efforts to 
tackle the rampant trade in heroin and methamphetamines.

But crackdowns are hindered by the soaring demand for drugs, corrupt 
officialdom and the long, porous jungle borders between the neighbours.

(source: thepeninsulaqatar.com)






GAZA:

EU Missions condemn death sentences issued in Gaza


The European Union (EU) Representative and Heads of Mission in Jerusalem and 
Ramallah issued a statement on Tuesday condemning the sentencing of 2 men to 
death on Sunday by a military court in the Gaza Strip, after the men were found 
guilty of alleged drug dealing.

It reportedly marked the 1st time that the death penalty was used in Gaza for a 
drug-related offense, though a number of Palestinians have been sentenced to 
death in recent months after being found guilty of collaborating with Israel or 
of murder.

"The EU Missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah recall their firm opposition under 
all circumstances to the use of capital punishment," the statement said.

"The EU considers that abolition of the death penalty contributes to the 
protection of human dignity and the progressive development of human rights. It 
considers capital punishment to be cruel and inhuman, that it fails to provide 
deterrence to criminal behavior, and represents an unacceptable denial of human 
dignity and integrity."

The statement continued by calling on "the de facto authorities in Gaza," 
referring to the Hamas administration, to "refrain from carrying out any 
executions of prisoners and comply with the moratorium on executions put in 
place by the Palestinian Authority, pending abolition of the death penalty in 
line with the global trend."

The EU missions released a similar condemnation after a Gaza court sentenced a 
Palestinian man to death earlier this month for the premeditated murder of his 
wife.

Several Palestinians have been executed in Gaza after Hamas-affiliated members 
of the Palestinian Legislative Council in Gaza approved the enforcement of 
death sentences last year.

Senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh announced at the time that 13 Palestinians 
had been sentenced to death by Gaza courts and would be executed as soon as 
possible.

Under Palestinian law, willful, premeditated murder and treason as well as 
collaboration with the enemy -- usually Israel -- are punishable by death. 
However, all death sentences must be ratified by the Palestinian president 
before they can be carried out.

Despite this, the Hamas de facto administration in Gaza has carried out 
executions periodically without receiving approval from President Mahmoud Abbas 
since 2010.

(source: Ma'an News Agency)