[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 1



MALAYSIA:

The 2 women 'pawns' facing death penalty over assassination of Kim Jong-un's 
brother



2 young Asian women are expected to plead not guilty to one of the most 
audacious crimes of the year on Monday, when they stand trial in a Malaysian 
court for the murder of the half-brother of North Korea's despotic young 
leader.

Indonesian Siti Aisyah, 25, and Doan Thi Huong, 28, from Vietnam are charged 
with murdering Kim Jong-nam, 45, at Kuala Lumpur airport on February 13 by 
smearing his face with VX, a chemical weapon the United Nations has described 
as a weapon of mass destruction.

The pair have claimed from the start that they did not know they were taking 
part in the international assassination of dictator Kim Jong-un's estranged 
relative, and believed they were taking part in a TV prank show. They face the 
death penalty if convicted.

(source: telegraph.co.uk)

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

Online outrage over death of navy sailors



The death of 2 Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) personnel while in the detention unit 
at Sungai Wangi, Sitiawan in Perak on Friday has sparked widespread outrage 
with people calling for justice for the duo.

Netizens who took to social media to comment on the incident said those 
responsible should be made to pay for loss of lives of the 2 navy men.

"Punish the murderers accordingly and set it as an example for all to observe 
and obey the law as well as to respect others," said Weng Kit, who posted a 
comment on the New Straits Times Facebook page.

Ahmad Tejuddin Abdul Majeed wrote: "The medical report is final. Any suspected 
foul play must be investigated and if found to be any acts of brutality, all 
those involved in at the detention unit must be charged in court.

Romuald Nonis said: "They had families and could anyone do such things to these 
guys? Get the culprits and send them to the gallows. My deepest condolences to 
their families and friends."

Meanwhile, Maurice Ryan Downs said: "It sounded very weird to me when 2 
individuals died at the same time at the same place for seemingly the same 
reason."

Laura Wong said: "Angry that the thoughtless and cruel acts or some people 
caused the death of two young and able men. I feel sad for them and their 
parents. May they rest in peace."

Another said: "These are the people trained to protect the country and its 
citizens, but instead they were tortured by own countrymen."

Some of the netizens also questioned the standard operating procedures at the 
detention unit and called for a review to the existing procedures.

"Must it torture to toughen a man? Is it an accepted practice in the whole 
world to heightened one's endurance level," said Klissa Siti.

Earlier yesterday, RMN had confirmed that the 2 died while at the detention 
unit on Friday.

According to the statement, the 2 appeared to be exhausted and were vomiting 
and having breathing difficulties after undergoing physical training according 
to the (SOP).

The duo then were then given treatment by staff at the unit but were pronounced 
dead by the paramedics at 3.15pm.

However, post mortem from the Pathology Department of the Raja Permaisuri 
Bainun Hospital revealed that the 2 sailors- Nik Muhammad Baihaqy Nik Mat, 28, 
and Muhammad Lailatulman Mohd Sukri, 26, died due to bleeding on the lungs and 
blunt trauma on soft tissue.

This morning, 3 RMN personnel, who were on duty on the day of the incident, 
were remanded for 7 days today to assist in an investigation.

Magistrate Nur Shaqira Ibrahim granted a 7-day remand request on the 3 
personnel, aged between 29 and 44, starting from today until Oct 7.

The case is being investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which 
carries the death penalty upon conviction.

(source: nst.com.my)








BARBADOS:

Pressure is on to end death penalty----Government is facing an international 
campaign intended to pressure Barbados into abandoning the death penaltyRelated 
articles

3 human rights organisations, the Advocates for Human Rights (The Advocates), 
the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty (World Coalition), and the 
Greater Caribbean for Life (GCL), have submitted a "joint stakeholder report" 
to the United Nations' (UN) Human Rights Council calling for Barbados to 
abolish the death penalty and replace it with "human-rights centred 
legislation".

The trio, based in the United States, France, and Trinidad and Tobago 
respectively, also recommended that "current death sentences should be 
commuted".

The Sunday Sun learnt that their recommendations were included in a report sent 
to the UN body ahead of Barbados' next Universal Periodic Review (UPR) due in 
January.

(source: Nation News)








CAYMAN ISLANDS/JAMAICA:

Suspected Jamaican killer fights deportation



A Jamaican national who is currently being held on remand at HMP Northward, 
having been charged with illegal landing, is fighting deportation to his native 
country over fears he could be executed because he is a murder suspect there. 
The Jamaican authorities believe O'Brian Ellis, from Westmoreland, murdered his 
brother, Steadman Sterling, last December and is on the country's 'most wanted' 
list. Ellis had been living in Windsor Park for several months, having arrived 
in Cayman illegally, when he was picked up during a raid last month.

Ellis is challenging removal to his homeland on human rights grounds because, 
although it is nearly 3 decades since anyone was put to death by the state, 
Jamaica still has the death penalty for aggravated murder on its statute books. 
However, most prisoners who have been sentenced to hang over the last 30 years 
have appealed their death sentences to the Privy Council and all have been 
commuted, leaving only a handful of inmates on the country's death row.

In an application for a judicial review filed by his attorneys this month, 
Ellis argued that his deportation to Jamaica would expose him to the death 
penalty because he believes the authorities there intend to charge him with 
aggravated murder, and that this would be in breach of the Constitution of the 
Cayman Islands, specifically the guarantees within the Bill of Rights and the 
right to life.

Section 24 of the BoR states that it is unlawful for a public official to make 
a decision or to act in a way that is incompatible with the Bill of Rights.

Ellis further argued that prison conditions in Jamaica are such that, even if 
he was not given the death penalty, life imprisonment would constitute a 
violation of the prohibition of torture and inhuman treatment.

(source: Cayman News Service)








TANZANIA:

Death Penalty 'Here to Stay'



The Law Reform Commission of Tanzania has responded to an outcry by human 
rights bodies on abolition of the death penalty, insisting that currently there 
is no justification to implement such a call.

The Commission's Executive Secretary, Mr Casmir Kyuki, told the 'Sunday News' 
that in recent years, the Commission conducted several researches on the same 
subject after which results showed that majority wanted the capital punishment 
to stay.

"I don't think we, at the Law Reform Commission of Tanzania, have any reason to 
initiate the process of writing a law to abolish death penalty, because 
researches conducted show that people want the verdict to stay," Mr Kyuki 
insisted.

He added: "If my memory serves me right, we have about three reports compiled 
from researches conducted on the same subject. In all the reports, majority of 
Tanzanians called for upholding of the sentence."

Mr Kyuki said individuals who insisted on the abolition of capital punishment 
ought to take note that they were dealing with people's lives, adding that one 
of the key roles of the State was to ensure life was protected.

"The law states clearly that if one is proven beyond reasonable doubt of 
committing murder, he/she should also be subjected to death penalty. However, 
commuting the sentence is again vested in the powers of the President," he 
explained.

"The President, under the powers vested upon him by the constitution, can let 
inmates on death row serve life imprisonment sentences or 30 years instead of 
signing execution warrant," he observed.

Touching on the statement by President John Magufuli recently that he will not 
sign execution warrant for any inmate on death row, Mr Kyuki said 'it doesn't 
mean that the President can indeed not sign it."

He said the Commission has, at different occasions, gone an extra mile to 
explain about the country's position on death penalty to the international 
human rights bodies.

Tanzania is yet to sign and ratify the "2nd Optional Protocol to the 
International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights of 1989" which pushes 
countries to abolish death penalty.

The Commission is an independent institution established under the Law Reform 
Commission Act, 1980 to constantly keep under review all laws of the country 
with the view to attaining a systematic development of the laws through reform.

Recently, human rights bodies called for abolition of the penalty as it was 
against the fundamental right - the right to live. The call to abolish the 
capital punishment comes at a time when the number of inmates sentenced to 
death in the country keeps soaring.

This month alone the High Court, Sumbawanga Zone, sentenced nine people, 6 of 
whom being relatives, to death after convicting them of various offences.

According to data obtained by the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) from 
Tanzania Prison Services on July 10, 2015, there were 472 individuals under 
death sentence, of which 452 are men while 20 are women. No other recent data 
have been made public to date.

Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) Executive Director, Dr Hellen 
Kijo-Bisimba, spoke to the 'Sunday News', insisting that Head of State had 
powers to scrap the death penalty.

Dr Bisimba said given the fact that Tanzania was yet to sign and ratify the 2nd 
Optional Protocol to the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights 
of 1989, the President had mandate to order the Attorney General (AG) to draft 
a Bill for enacting a law to scrap capital punishment. The protocol was created 
on December 15, 1989 and entered into force on July 11, 1991.

As of September 2016, the Optional Protocol had 83 states parties. The protocol 
commits its members to the abolition of the death penalty within their borders, 
though Article 2.1 allows parties to make a reservation allowing execution 'in 
time of war.'

According to Dr Bisimba, issuance of death penalty by judges, according to the 
country's Penal Code, was unavoidable, as long as one was proven guilty beyond 
reasonable doubt to have committed murder.

"The problem with our Penal Code is that it does not give discretional powers 
to the judges to give alternative punishment to an accused proven beyond 
reasonable doubt to have committed murder," she said.

"She added: " I think we can have a law that requires individuals convicted of 
murder to serve let's say life imprisonment or even 30 years in prison instead 
of taking their life away."

Dr Bisimba said if the President finds that drafting the Bill to have a law 
that provides for alternative punishment for those convicted of murder is a 
long process, he can issue a decree instead.

About three weeks ago, President Magufuli said he would not sign execution 
warrants for any inmates on death row by hanging after being convicted of 
various serious crimes.

He made the remarks at State House while swearing-in the newly appointed Chief 
Justice (CJ), Prof Ibrahim Juma.

"I am aware of the difficulties in implementing such sentences, so I have 
directed the court not to submit names of prisoners who are in line to be 
hanged to death," President was quoted as saying.

The LHRC, in one of its documents, cites the 2015 Tanzania Human Rights Report, 
saying death penalty violates the rights to life which is fundamental right.

The rights body states that though death penalty is part of the country's laws, 
there have not been any executions since 1994.The right to life is provided for 
under Article 14 of the Constitution.

However, the protection of the right is not absolute, as this right under 
article 14 can be subjected to other laws," the LHCR states.

The rights body further says in the Tanzanian laws it is stipulated as a 
mandatory sentence for cases of murder and treason under the Penal Code 
sections 39 and 197.

(source: Tanzania Daily News)








NIGERIA:

Overwhelmed by unrelenting kidnappings, Umahi vows, 'I'll sign death warrants 
of convicted kidnappers'



Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State has expressed dismay over the unrelenting 
kidnappings in the state, saying he would not hesitate to sign the death 
warrant of convicted kidnappers.

Umahi made the declaration in Abakaliki on Saturday in a special broadcast 
marking the nation's 57th Independence anniversaty celebration.

The occasion also coincides with Ebonyi State's 21st anniversary.

He said, "In spite of the death penalty we have in our state, kidnappers 
continue to thrive, their activity is that of man's inhumanity to man.

"We set up the Neighbourhood Watch security initiative to tackle the security 
challenges in our state.

"In the months ahead, we are going to man all our exit points with Closed 
Circuit Television, kidnappers will not have easy exit."

(source: punchng.com)