[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Nov. 17



INDIA:

Bihar court awards man death penalty for raping and murdering toddler----The 
convict has been lodged in the Motihari central jail since his arrest soon 
after the incident was reported in 2011.



A court here has awarded death sentence to a man for raping and killing a 2 1/2 
year-old girl 6 years ago.

Additional District and Sessions Judge DN Yadav held Dhruv Sahni guilty of the 
rape and murder on Thursday and awarded him death sentence on the ground that 
the case fell under the "rarest of rare" category.

The court handed out the death penalty to the convict for the murder, under 
section 302 of the IPC. It also sentenced Sahni to 20 years of imprisonment and 
slapped a fine of Rs 20,000 on him for the rape, under section 376, IPC.

The convict was also sentenced to 7 years in jail under section 201, IPC for 
causing disappearance of evidence in the case.

The court, however, acquitted the 3 other accused in the case for lack of 
evidence against them.

The convict, a resident of Akauna village of the district, has been lodged in 
the Motihari central jail since his arrest soon after the incident was reported 
in 2011.

As per the prosecution, Sahni took the toddler to a field, where he raped her 
before slitting her throat with a knife on March 21, 2011. The family members 
of the child were watching television at a neighbour's house when the crime 
took place.

The body of the girl was found from a wheat field the next day and 
subsequently, an FIR was lodged by her father, Sagar Sahni, against 4 persons, 
including Sahni.

The police had recovered the knife used in the crime from the spot and the 
convict had confessed to his crime after his arrest on March 30, 2011, 
according to the prosecution.

(source: hindustantimes.com)








EGYPT:

Preliminary Death Sentence for Defendant in Coptic Priest Murder Case



A Cairo Criminal court released a tentative death penalty verdict against the 
defendant in the case of Coptic priest Samaan Shehata's murder.

The decision was released during the 2nd trial, and the case has been referred 
to the Grand Mufti for a non-binding opinion. Another session will be held on 
15 January to release the final verdict.

The public prosecution accused the defendant, 19, of having a previous intent 
to murder the priest.

The defendant reportedly admitted his crime and said that he didn't know the 
priest personally. However, when he saw him with his uniform, he decided to 
kill him.

Shehata, from Beni Sueif governorate, was killed in October after he had been 
attacked by the defendant, according to a statement released by the Coptic 
Orthodox Media Center at the time.

The victim was on a visit to Cairo with another Coptic priest who is reportedly 
injured, due to the stabbing attack that took place in el-Salam city, Cairo.

The attacks against Christians in Egypt have significantly increased over the 
past few months, leaving tens of killed Copts and hundreds injured.

About 54 incidents have occurred against the religious minority in Egypt in 
2016, according to the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy.

(source: egyptianstreets.com)








CHECHNYA:

Kadyrov proposes death penalty for terrorist recruiters



The Head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov has said that the punishment 
for those who recruit new members for terrorist groups should be tougher than 
those applied to bombers and hostage-takers.

Recruiters must bear stronger punishment than a terrorist who starts a 
clockwork bomb or someone who takes hostages, or commits acts of sabotage," 
Kadyrov wrote on his Instagram account on Thursday.

'Terrorists can't be cured, only destroyed', Kadyrov said.

"Recruiters must bear stronger punishment than a terrorist who starts a 
clockwork bomb or someone who takes hostages, or commits acts of sabotage," 
Kadyrov wrote on his Instagram account on Thursday.

"He or they could actually be sentenced to death because, unlike suicide 
terrorists, they want to live instead of voluntarily planning their own death," 
he added.

On Thursday, the Russian lower house of parliament, the State Duma, passed the 
1st reading of a the bill to change the maximum sentence for convicted 
terrorist recruiters from 10 years behind bars to life in prison. The bill also 
proposes life sentences for organizing terrorist groups and communities, 
sponsorship of terrorism, undergoing terrorist training, hostage taking, and 
hijacking aircraft for terrorism purposes.

The most-recent changes to Russian anti-terrorism laws were introduced in July 
2016, when President Vladimir Putin approved a package of bills ordering up to 
10 years in prison for anyone engaged in international terrorism, and up to 15 
years behind bars for anyone found guilty of financing terrorist groups. 
Terrorist recruitment was also criminalized under the laws, carrying a 
punishment of between 5 and 10 years.

The new bill also lowers the age threshold for terrorism crimes, such as 
terrorist attacks and hostage taking, to 14 years from the current 16 years. 
Presently, the age of minority in Russia is 16, with exceptions for certain 
crimes such as murder, rape, and kidnapping. For these offences, criminals are 
deemed legally responsible from the age of 14.

Another part of the bill provides for fines of between 300,000 and 1 million 
rubles ($5,000 - $16,600) or prison terms ranging from 5 to 7 years as a 
punishment for public calls to terrorism or justifying terrorist crimes, 
including via the internet.

(source: rtcom)