[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

March 24




PAKISTAN:

LHC acquits 2 death row convicts


A Lahore High Court division bench on Wednesday acquitted 2 convicts condemned 
to death in a murder case.

The division bench headed by Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan acquitted the convicts, 
Aneesur Rehman and Muhammad Naeem, while allowing their appeals against 
conviction.

During the hearing, the defendants' counsel submitted that there was no solid 
evidence which showed that the convicts were responsible for or associated with 
the murder. He pleaded the bench to acquit them after setting aside their death 
sentence. However, the prosecution opposed the request submitting that trial 
court awarded death penalty to the convicts on basis of eye-witnesses 
statements.

The bench after hearing arguments allowed the appeals and acquitted the 
convicts after setting aside their death sentence.

(source: pakobserver.net)






BANGLADESH:

Halt imminent executions of three men who tried to kill UK ambassador


Bangladesh must halt the imminent executions of 3 men sentenced to death for a 
grenade attack on the UK Ambassador, Amnesty International said.

Prison authorities in Bangladesh today confirmed that the executions of Mufti 
Abdul Hannan, Sharif Shahedul Alam Bipul and Delwar Hossain Ripon - all alleged 
members of the banned armed group Harkat-ul-Jihad (HuJI) - would be carried out 
soon. They were all convicted of and sentenced to death over an attack in 2004 
which injured the then-UK High Commissioner, Anwar Choudhury, and killed 3 
people.

"These executions must be stopped immediately. While those found responsible 
for crimes after fair trials should be punished, the death penalty is never the 
solution. It's dismaying that the Bangladeshi authorities are looking to take 
more lives in the name of fighting 'terrorism'," said Olof Blomqvist, Amnesty 
International's Bangladesh researcher.

"The death penalty is always a human rights violation and is in no way a more 
effective way to tackle crime than life imprisonment. Sending these men to the 
gallows will not make Bangladesh safer, it will only add to the death toll."

On 19 March 2017, the Bangladeshi Supreme Court rejected the 3 men's final 
appeals. Their only remaining option is now to seek a presidential pardon to 
stop the executions.

Bangladesh is among the minority of states globally that still implements the 
death penalty. In 2015, four people were executed in the country, while almost 
200 people were sentenced to death.

"We urge President Abdul Hamid to pardon these 3 men and spare their lives. 
Bangladesh should also immediately impose a moratorium on executions with a 
view to full abolition of the death penalty. More and more countries around the 
world are coming around to the fact that taking lives neither deters crime nor 
is an effective mean to deliver justice," said Olof Blomqvist.

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception, 
regardless of the nature or circumstances of the crime; guilt, innocence or 
other characteristics of the individual; or the method used by the state to 
carry out the executions.

(source: amnesty.org)






MALAYSIA:

Malaysia to scrap mandatory death sentence for drug offences----Government 
agrees to give courts discretion in imposing death penalty for narcotics 
offences.--Close to 800 prisoners currently on death row for drug trafficking 
offences.


The Malaysian government has agreed to do away with the mandatory death 
sentence imposed for drug offences.

Azalina Othman Said, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, told 
Parliament that the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 will be amended to allow judges to 
exercise discretion when deciding on the appropriate sentence.

(source: ibtimes.co.uk)