[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

May 4



IRAN----executions

Iran's Rajai Shahr Prison: 8 Prisoners Including Women Hanged in 1 Day


On Wednesday May 3, 8 prisoners, including 2 unidentified women, were 
reportedly hanged at Karaj's Rajai Shahr Prison.

According to close sources, the majority of these prisoners were executed on 
murder charges. 5 other prisoners, including Mehdi Bahlouli, were returned to 
their cells after their execution sentences were halted.

The men who were executed were among a group of 11 prisoners who were 
transferred to solitary confinement on May 29 in preparation for their 
executions. Iran Human Rights had reported on these imminent executions.

Close sources have identified the men as: Maziar Alaie Bakhsh, Jabbar 
Mollahashemi, Shayan Shaddel, Mohammad Jegarki, Mahmoud Bayat and Ali Maleki.

"In September 2012, Ali got involved in a group fight situation to defend his 
little brother. At that time, he had accepted responsibility for the murder 
that occurred, in order to protect his brother," a family member of Ali Maleki 
tells Iran Human Rights."

The names of the 2 women who were also executed are not known at this time. A 
prisoner has reported to Iran Human Rights that these 2 women were transferred 
to Rajai Shahr Prison from Gharchak Varamin Prison. Close sources say that they 
were sentenced to death on murder charges.

Execution Sentences of 5 Prisoners Halted

5 prisoners, including Mehdi Bahlouli and Majid Agharahimi, were temporarily 
spared from execution.

Iranian official sources, including the media and the Judiciary, have not 
announced any of the executions or imminent executions mentioned in this 
report.

(source: iranhr.net)






IRAQ:

Death penalty for suspects charged with Islamic preacher's murder in Erbil


A court in Erbil has issued the death penalty for individuals charged with the 
murder of Islamic preacher Hoshyar Ismail in November last year, the family's 
lawyer said on Thursday (May 4).

Gunmen shot and killed Ismail at his home at around midnight on November 22 in 
Erbil. He died at West Erbil Emergency Hospital as a result of the gunshot 
wounds from the attack.

Following the attack, Erbil security forces detained 2 suspects on November 27.

The lawyer taking charge of the murder case on behalf of Ismail, Birzo Saeed, 
told reporters that Erbil court had sentenced the perpetrators to death 
according to Article 406 of Iraqi Penal Code.

The lawyer added that the case will remain open and a further investigation 
would be launched to see if other people were behind the murder.

The brother of the Islamic preacher, Kamal Ismail, said the family was "happy 
for the court's decision."

Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) representative, Bakir Qadir, who attended the 
trial told NRT that the Erbil court had carried out its job.

The perpetrators in the case admitted to the murder of Ismail and said no one 
else was behind the killing.

Head of KIU's Political Council, Hadi Ali, said last month that the 
perpetrators were known and from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).

The murder of Ismail led to overwhelming reactions from senior Kurdish 
officials and political parties at the time who called for a fair investigation 
into the incident.

Ismail, who was 40 years old, had a doctorate in philosophy in the 
interpretation of the Quran. He was a preacher for 13 years in the Kurdistan 
Region.

(source: nrttv.com)






QATAR:

Murdered teacher's mother 'relieved' as Qatari court upholds death sentence


The mother of a British primary school teacher murdered in Qatar 4 years ago 
has spoken of her relief after the killer had his death sentence upheld.

Badr Hashim Khamis Abdullah Al-Jabar was found guilty by a court in Doha in 
2014 of killing Lauren Patterson, 24, in the Gulf state a year earlier.

His accomplice Muhammad Abdullah Hassan Abdul Aziz was jailed for 3 years for 
reportedly helping burn the body of the Briton, originally from Chislehurst, in 
south-east London.

Miss Patterson had been working at the Newton British School in the Qatari 
capital.

She disappeared in Doha on October 12, 2013. Local media reported at the time 
that she was last seen outside the city's 5-star La Cigale hotel.

On Sunday, an appeal court in Qatar upheld the death penalty, a spokesman at 
the Foreign Office said.

In a statement on Wednesday, her mother Alison said the family remained 
devastated but felt justice had been done.

She said: "Following Sunday's court hearing, I am feeling very emotional but 
relieved that the trial is now over.

"The family remain devastated by the senseless and tragic events of October 
2013, but due to the thoroughness of the judicial process in Qatar we now feel 
that justice has thankfully prevailed for Lauren.

"I would like to thank all those who have supported me during this difficult 
process and request that our family's privacy be respected at this time."

(source: aol.co.uk)






INDIA:

Indian court rejects death penalty plea in 2002 riots----Angry mob gang-raped 
19-year old pregnant Muslim woman, killed 14 of her family members in 2002 
Gujarat riots


An Indian court has turned down a plea seeking death penalty for three men 
convicted of gang-raping a pregnant Muslim woman and murdering 14 of her family 
members.

The incident had taken place in anti-Muslim riots in the western state of 
Gujarat in 2002. 12 people were awarded life imprisonment in the case.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had asked the Bombay High Court to 
order death penalty for three of the accused -- Govind Nai, Shailesh Bhatt and 
Jaswant Nai -- as it has evidence that they gang-raped Bilkis Bano, a 
19-year-old woman.

According to CBI, Bhatt was involved in killing Bano's 3-year-old daughter by 
crushing her head with a stone.

Bano had recognized her rapists during interrogation. The CBI had termed it a 
"rarest of rare case" and demanded death penalty for 3 of the convicts.

She along with other Muslims was attacked by a mob on March 3, 2002 in Dahod 
district. She was 5 months pregnant when she was raped by her fellow villagers.

She lost 14 members of her family including her 3-year-old child, 2 sisters and 
mother. Only 2 family members of Bano survived after the violence.

However, the court accepted the plea of the CBI to reverse the acquittal of 5 
police officers of Gujarat in the case. They were found involved with the 
convicts in fudging documents.

A trial court in Mumbai in January, 2008 had sentenced 12 people to life 
imprisonment. They later appealed in High Court against their conviction. 1 of 
the convicts has died since then.

(source: aa.com.tr)



BANGLADESH:

High Court says it reduced death sentences because convicts tried to save Rakib


The High Court has said it lightened the death sentences of 2 to life 
imprisonment for killing Rakib Hawlader in Khulna in 2015 because the convicts 
tried to save the life of the teenager after understanding the seriousness of 
the crime.

The bench of Justice Jahangir Hossain and Justice Md Jahangir Hossain issued 
the verdict on death references and appeals of convicts Omar Sharif and Mintu 
Khan on Apr 4.

The full verdict entailing 69 pages was published on Wednesday.

Rakib used to work at a motor workshop owned by one 'Sharif' in Khulna's 
Tutpara. 'Sharif' and his uncle 'Mintu' was mad at him after he had left the 
job.

On Aug 3, 2015, they inserted a high-pressure air pump nozzle into his rectum. 
The high air pressure tore the 12-year-old boy's intestines, rectum and bladder 
causing profuse internal bleeding in the stomach.

The incident shocked the nation and calls to bring the perpetrators to justice 
reverberated throughout Bangladesh.

In November the same year, a Khulna court handed death penalty to Sharif and 
Mintu.

Commuting the death penalty to life term, the High Court said, "From the 
evidence of aforesaid witnesses it is found that the accused persons removed 
the victim from the place of occurrence to the hospitals soon after incident."

"It is also evident ... that the accused persons were beaten by angry mobs 
after occurrence meaning that the accused persons did not flea away rather they 
tried to save the life of the victim when they felt that they committed serious 
crime on the victim by pumping air into his belly by inflator," it added.

The High Court also slapped the duo with a Tk 50,000 fine each. They have to 
serve 2 more years in jail in case of failing to hand over the money to Rakib's 
family.

The court also cited that the 2 convicts have no other criminal record.

Rakib's father Nurul Alam Hawlader expressed his frustration when the summary 
verdict was issued.

After the full verdict was published on Wednesday, he told bdnews24.com that he 
would challenge the High Court verdict in the Appellate Division.

Bangladesh Society for the Enforcement of Human Rights, which provided legal 
aid to Rakib's family, has said it will continue to assist the family in the 
appeal against the commutation of the death sentence.

Deputy Attorney General Zahirul Haque said the State will also contest the High 
Court verdict.

After the summary verdict, the defence lawyers said their clients got 'partial 
justice'.

On Wednesday Md Chowdhury Alal, the counsel for Sharif, told bdnews24.com that 
the convict was yet to decide about challenging the High Court verdict.

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

Law specifying death for disrupting civil aviation tabled in parliament


A draft law imposing death penalty and a fine of Tk 50 million for disrupting 
civil aviation has been placed in parliament.

Civil Aviation Minister Rashed Khan Menon tabled the 'Civil Aviation Movement 
Bill 2017' in parliament on Wednesday.

It was later sent to the parliamentary standing committee on civil aviation and 
tourism ministry for vetting. The committee was given 4 weeks.

The Cabinet gave its final nod to the draft law on Feb 13. It approved the 
draft on principle on Feb 29 last year.

The penalties for different crimes related to aviation have been increased in 
the draft law.

The draft is an updated version of the 1960's 'The Civil Aviation Ordinance'.

Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam told reporters after the meeting.

According to the draft, any action disrupting smooth operation of aircraft and 
jeopardising people's lives will be considered a crime.

The penalty for such action is death and a fine of Tk 50 million.

Anyone breaching the 'Air Navigation Order' (license for operating aircraft) 
will be awarded 5-year jail term or Tk 10 million fine or both.

For misusing the light signals, which is considered a serious crime, the 
penalty is life sentence or fine of Tk 50 million or both.

For carrying dangerous items in flights, the penalty is jail for 7 years and a 
fine of Tk 5 million.

The law defines 'dangerous items' as any object that is hazardous to health, 
property and environment.

The items flagged by the International Civil Aviation as 'dangerous' fall in 
this category.

The proposed law imposes 7-year prison term and Tk 5 million fine for entering 
Bangladesh's airspace illegally.

(source for both: bdnews24.com)






MALAYSIA:

Lorry driver to hang for killing lover's husband


A lorry driver has been sentenced to death for strangling his lover's husband 
after the woman refused to go on with the affair 3 years ago.

Judicial Commissioner Wong Teck Meng, in handing out the sentence to Jaafar 
Ngamil, 45, at the High Court here, said the defence had failed to raise 
reasonable doubt against the prosecution's case.

Jaafar was found guilty of murdering Jamingan Hambali, 44, in a car in the 
vicinity of Kampung Banting in Sabak Bernam, Selangor, between 9.07pm on June 
22, 2014, and 8.30am on June 23, 2014.

He was charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which carries the mandatory 
death penalty upon conviction.

12 prosecution witnesses and 1 defence witness had been called to testify 
during the trial, which began on Jan 11 last year.

In his ruling, JC Wong said the 10th prosecution witness, who is Jaafar's 
nephew, testified that he was asked to drive the car while Jaafar sat in the 
back.

"The witness was then asked to stop near the victim's house to let him in, 
where he sat in the front passenger seat.

"While the vehicle was moving, the accused quarrelled with the victim and the 
witness saw the accused choking the victim's neck using both hands, causing the 
victim to struggle and finally become still.

"The forensics specialist also testified that the cause of death was due to the 
pressure on his neck that caused asphyxiation," he said.

Jaafar had argued in his defence that his action of choking Jamingan from 
behind was in response to a sudden provocation, as he was trying to protect his 
nephew from being beaten up.

"The accused also claimed that unpaid salary was the cause of the fight," JC 
Wong added. "However, the accused could have filed a civil suit against the 
victim.

"Also, the accused had undue advantage because he was sitting in the back while 
the victim was in front, making it hard for the latter to escape during the 
attack," he added.

JC Wong also said it was clear that Jaafar had the intention to murder Jamingan 
and it was not due to any provocation.

Jaafar appeared calm and kept his head bowed while the sentence was pronounced.

Earlier, in mitigation, Jaafar's counsel, who did not want to be named, said 
his client was a divorcee with three children and a 65-year-old mother to 
provide for.

He said Jaafar had no prior criminal record.

A sobbing middle-aged woman and three teenagers were seen kissing Jaafar's hand 
before he was led out of the courtroom.

(source: thestar.com.my)

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

Amnesty's concerns over 'diyat' for death row convicts


Amnesty International Malaysia says it has several concerns over the Pahang 
Pardons Board's plans to adopt the Islamic law of "diyat" as an alternative to 
granting pardons to convicts awaiting the death sentence.

AI Malaysia executive director Shamini Darshni Kaliemuthu said these concerns 
included the "diyat" not being consistent with international human rights laws, 
giving a private individual the power to decide on a person's life and the 
"discriminatory nature" of the "diyat", which puts the poor at a disadvantage.

"Any alternative to hanging a human being is a welcome move. However, we need 
to consider the roles of the pardons board and the state in deciding whether to 
preserve or end human life.

"Amnesty International Malaysia believes that power to end life should never 
lie in the hands of the state as much as it should not lie in the hands of 
private individuals," she said, adding it was the discretion of state pardons 
boards to offer clemency.

"The former Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary 
Executions had noted that the 'diyat' may operate inconsistently with 
international human rights law, in particular with the guarantees of 
non-discrimination and due process when the death penalty is imposed," she said 
in a statement to FMT.

She said the right to seek a commutation or pardon for a condemned prisoner is 
a right recognised under international law as a safeguard of due process.

"When the death penalty is the mandatory punishment, as it is in our country 
for several offences, the clemency process becomes an urgent and critical final 
opportunity for a meaningful review of the circumstances of the case and of the 
offender, which at the moment cannot be weighed by judges at sentencing."

Citing the case of former death row inmate Shahrul Izani Suparman for 
possession of cannabis, Shamini said the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin 
Idris Shah saw that Shahrul had fully repented and spared his life.

The pardons process, she added, must be a meaningful opportunity to review a 
case, and where the "diyat" pardon is available, it should be supplemented by a 
separate public system for seeking an official pardon or commutation.

Shamini also said death-row inmates from poorer backgrounds may be at a 
disadvantage to give their victims the compensation requested and this would 
strengthen the perception that the death penalty is a "lethal lottery" for 
certain sections of society.

Meanwhile, lawyer Faiz Fadzil said the proposal was good but required 
amendments to the relevant laws as the power to pardon was in the hands of a 
sultan or the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, on the advice of a state's pardons board.

He added what was crucial was that the process must be transparent and the 
families of victims aren't pressured by anyone to accept compensation.

Faiz said if a death-row inmate couldn't afford the compensation, it would fall 
on the inmate's family to pay.

Yesterday, it was reported that the Regent of Pahang, Tengku Abdullah Sultan 
Ahmad Shah, said the Pahang Pardons Board plans to adopt the Islamic law of 
"diyat" as an alternative to granting pardon to convicts awaiting the death 
sentence.

(source: freemalaysiatoday.com)






INDONESIA:

Death penalty, religious intolerance focus at Indonesia's UN rights review


Executions for drug crimes, rising religious intolerance, and the repression of 
activists and journalists in Papua were some major criticisms lodged against 
Indonesia's human rights record at the nation???s Universal Periodic Review in 
Geneva on Wednesday.

The delegations from around 100 countries lined up to comment on the condition 
of human rights in Indonesia, with a slew of states from Europe, Africa and the 
Americas recommending that Indonesia re-impose a moratorium on the death 
penalty and steps towards the elimination of capital punishment.

The United Nations Human Rights Council conducts the UPR for each member state 
every 5 years, providing an opportunity for other nations to analyse progress 
and highlight concerns.

While states parties applauded Indonesia's progress in pursuing the protection 
of rights for some vulnerable groups such as women, children and people with 
disabilities, Indonesia's high-level delegation was faced with widespread calls 
to better protect religious and LGBT minority groups.

Indonesia staunchly defends executions

Long a diplomatic sticking point with nations around the globe, Indonesia came 
under heavy criticism from dozens of countries for its continued use of capital 
punishment for people convicted of drug offences.

Indonesian Justice and Human Rights Minister Yassona Laoly pushed back against 
the criticism, stating that continuing to implement the death penalty was 
important for addressing the nation's drug problems.

"Each day 33 persons ... die because of drug abuse," he said. "If you are a 
family member of the drugs victims, surely you will understand."

Yassona continued that "the rights of the offender must always be weighed 
against the rights of the victims," but that without strict punishments to 
contain drug use, "the future of the nation will become bleak."

"As a democratic country, public discourse on the implementation of the death 
penalty is ongoing in Indonesia," he said.

(source: asiancorrespondent.com)






BELARUS:

Belarus parliament discusses death penalty issues


Death penalty issues were discussed in the House of Representatives of the 
National Assembly of Belarus on 3 May. Attending the meeting were MPs and 
foreign experts, BelTA has learned.

Andrei Naumovich, Chairman of the Human Rights, National Relations, and Mass 
Media Commission of the House of Representatives, stated that a working group 
on death penalty was set up in the new-convocation parliament. The working 
group will inform the public on the aspects of the punishment and provide a 
full-fledged monitoring of the situation. MPs will hold meetings in 
constituencies, study people's opinion in the regions. "The matter requires a 
wide-ranging discussion with the people of the Republic of Belarus," Andrei 
Naumovich said. He also mentioned that this issue was discussed during the 
recent visit of Andrea Rigoni, Rapporteur on Belarus of the Political Affairs 
and Democracy Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe 
(PACE), to Belarus.

MPs and senators expressed their opinions on the matter during today's meeting. 
One of the key speakers was member of the Death Penalty Expert Group at the UK 
Foreign and Commonwealth Office Parvais Jabbar.

(source: law.by)