[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 6



VIETNAM:

Former energy exec appeals death penalty after massive graft trial in Vietnam



A former chairman of state fuel giant PetroVietnam has appealed against the 
death penalty he received last week from a court in Hanoi for his role in the 
infamous multi-million-dollar graft case at OceanBank.

On September 29, the court sentenced Nguyen Xuan Son, chairman of the board at 
the oil and gas group from 2014 until his arrest in 2015, to death for 
appropriating VND246 billion ($13.6 million) from OceanBank.

PetroVietnam had acquired a 20 % stake in OceanBank during that time, meaning 
Son had stolen VND49 billion in government money, prosecutors said. The 
55-year-old was found guilty of embezzlement, abuse of power and deliberately 
violating state regulations on economic management.

The court on Friday said it had received Son's appeal, in which he claimed he 
was innocent of embezzlement and charges of abusing his power to steal money, 
local media reported.

He admitted in the appeal that he had broken lending regulations at credit 
institutions and accepted the charge of deliberately violating state 
regulations on economic management.

But he said he would like the court to reconsider the case and reduce his 
sentence.

After the sentence was announced last Friday, Son called it "an unjust 
verdict", and Reuters quoted his lawyer as saying that he would appeal.

Judges at the 1-month trial also sentenced Ha Van Tham, former chairman of the 
board at OceanBank, to life in jail on charges of embezzlement, deliberately 
violating state regulations on economic management and breaking regulations on 
lending activities at credit institutions.

Tham is accused of offering deposit rates above those set by the central bank 
to various customers including PetroVietnam between 2010 and 2014, causing 
losses of nearly VND1.6 trillion ($70.4 million).

Other bankers received up to 22 years in jail.

OceanBank was founded in 1993 with a 20 % stake from Ocean Group, which also 
invests in hospitality, securities, media and retail. It was taken over by the 
central bank in April 2015 after the scandal broke out.

The high-profile trial, with 51 bankers and businessmen in the dock, could go 
down as the biggest fraud trial in Vietnam's history.

The Ministry of Public Security has launched a separate investigation into who 
else benefited from the illegal money.

According to the indictment, more than 50,000 individuals and nearly 400 
organizations and businesses received preferential deposit interest payments 
from the bank, including many state-owned units besides PetroVietnam. But only 
19 businesses have admitted to having received a combined VND3 billion, while 
124 have denied taking any money and the rest have remained silent.

At least 3 PetroVietnam units were put under investigation earlier this month 
for colluding with OceanBank execs to appropriate $5.2 million.

PetroVietnam and the banking sector are at the center of Vietnam's sweeping 
corruption crackdown that has ensnared scores of high-ranking officials, 
including Dinh La Thang, a former member of the Communist Party's 
decision-making Politburo who headed PetroVietnam from 2005 to 2011.

(source: vnenxpress.net)








INDIA:

Supreme Court issues notice to Centre asking for alternatives to death by 
hanging----A petition said that Article 21 of the Indian Constitution includes 
the right of a convict to have a dignified mode of execution



The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to the Centre on a plea seeking 
alternatives to death by hanging for prisoners sentenced to die. The top court 
asked the government to give a detailed reply within 3 months.

The plea said that Article 21 of the Indian Constitution on the right to life 
includes the right of a convict to have a dignified mode of execution. The 
petition also challenged the constitutional validity of a provision in the 
Criminal Procedure Code, which specifies hanging by the neck as the mode of 
executing a death penalty, PTI reported.

"Our Constitution is a compassionate one, which recognises the principle of the 
sanctity of life," the Supreme Court said while hearing the plea. "The 
legislature can think of some other means by which a convict, who under law has 
to face a death sentence, should die in peace and not in pain," Chief Justice 
Dipak Misra said in the order.

The bench, comprising Chief Justice Misra and justices DY Chandrachud and AM 
Khanwilkar, said that since other more painless methods of causing death exist 
in modern science, the legislature could think of using these other methods to 
execute the death sentence.

(source: scroll.in)








PAKISTAN:

Court awards death penalty, 53 years' jail to murder convicts



A court awarded a death sentence to a murder convict and 53 years imprisonment 
to his accomplice for their involvement in a murder case in Faisalabad on 
Thursday.

The judgment was announced by Additional Sessions Judge Inamul Haq. The 
prosecution told the court that accused Ghulam Rasool, Shafqat Ali and Shahbaz 
had gunned down Nazar Abbas during a robbery bid.

'Prison officials must ensure convicts' appeals are filed'

The local police registered a case against the accused and presented the 
challan before the court. After hearing the arguments, the judge handed down 
death sentence to Ghulam Rasool and awarded 53 years jail term to Shafqat Ali. 
However, the court acquitted Shahbaz giving him the benefit of doubt.

The judge also imposed a fine of Rs 0.5 million on Ghulam Abbas and Rs0.3 
million on Shafqat that would be paid to legal heirs of the victim.

Earlier in July, a court awarded death sentence to a murder convict and life 
term to 2 others for their involvement in a murder case in Sargodha.

The prosecution told the court that accused Ramzan, Ahmad Nawaz, Ahmed Khan, 
Ejaz, Lakh Mir and Haq Nawaz had gunned down Mehr over a property dispute in 
2015.

After hearing the arguments, the judge handed down death sentence to Ramzan and 
awarded life term to 2 of his accomplices. However, the court acquitted 3 
co-accused due to lack of evidence.

(source: The Express Tribune)

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

Mr President, how can you hang a man who cannot even stand?



Abdul Basit, a former administrator at a medical college, was sentenced to 
death in 2009. On 1 August, 2010 whilst in Central Jail, Faisalabad, Basit 
contracted tubercular meningitis which, due to lack of action on behalf of the 
jail authorities, has left him paralysed from the waist down.

As a result of his paralysed condition, jail authorities have determined that 
there is no way to carry out the execution in accordance with Pakistan Prison 
Rules. His execution has been stayed pending further instructions. The jail 
authorities as well as Justice Project Pakistan have made clemency appeals on 
his behalf to the President of Pakistan. This is the testimony of Basit's wife, 
Musarrat Nausheen.

I married Abdul Basit in 2002. He was an administrative assistant at a local 
medical college, handsome, and promised me a good future. He liked to wear good 
clothes, and loved cologne. We had two sons. Today, they are 13 and 9.

My eldest son has known his father for only the first four years of his life. 
The younger one was barely a year old when Basit left us.

His arrest was sudden, to say the least. He has always maintained his innocence 
for the murder that saw him sentenced to death in 2009. A gun was fired in the 
middle of an altercation, with the family of a woman he knew.

We don't know who shot it. Basit insists that it was not him. I believe, in my 
heart, that he is right. He had no reason to kill that man. We were stable, we 
were happy and Basit was neither angry nor violent.

But a man did die, and Basit was arrested for it. When he went to jail, we had 
no idea what hit us. It was only me and Basit's mother, facing a judicial 
system we did not understand, and a lawyer who was only interested in money.

And everything cost far more than we could afford. Getting to the courthouse - 
which was 4 hours away in Okara District, would cost us a few thousand rupees 
just in travel costs. Then there were the lawyer's fees and the demands of the 
policemen themselves.

There were days when I did not have money to buy milk for my infant son and I 
would dissolve sugar in water, and feed him through a bottle. He would cry. But 
eventually he would sleep, even if I would not be able to.

We were 2 women with little understanding of our rights, and unsure about whom 
to turn to for help. To make matters worse, we were harassed and abused by our 
opponents, every time we appeared at the court.

They would warn us to not show up at the next hearing, following us all the way 
to the bus stop. They would tell me that they would kidnap my sons if I did not 
heed their warnings.

We were alone, poor, female and so, easy targets.

I thought that was it. That his death sentence was a death sentence for all of 
us.

But Basit was not done being punished. He had spent the first 18 months of his 
detention in Sahiwal Jail, before being transferred to Central Jail, Faisalabad 
in 2010.

In August, I received a phone call from the jail hospital. Basit was in a coma, 
and we were told that in all likelihood, he would not wake up again. Perhaps we 
should come say goodbye.

How had this happened? Riots had broken out in the prison, to protest the use 
of use of torture by the jail authorities. Basit, and many other inmates were 
confined to a "punishment wing," a small room in filthy conditions. He became 
ill, collapsed and received medical attention too late.

When we got to the hospital, we were told that he had tubercular meningitis. He 
would never walk again as a result.

He lies like a corpse in his bed, directly as a result of jail negligence.

And if that wasn't humiliation enough, the Government of Pakistan issued two 
execution warrants for him after he was paralysed. The only reason Basit is 
alive today (if even barely) is simply because prison authorities do not know 
how to hang a man who is unable to stand. What they hope to gain from hanging a 
cripple is beyond me.

Each time I visit him in prison I see how he is deteriorating, but there is 
nothing I can do for him. When we meet, when he speaks, he makes little sense 
and barely recognises me. He is also in considerable pain, and of course, the 
conditions of the prison only make matters worse.

I feel tired. The burdens have increased - the rent, the children's school 
fees, their private tuition costs, and the general cost of living is making 
things harder. I have 2 jobs now just to keep things going, keep my head above 
water.

I worry about the boys - not having a father has adversely affected them. They 
are reserved and silent. People talk, and I know the children hear.

So a healthy, fully able man walked into a jail - and today, he requires a 
catheter, and prison authorities to regularly turn him to prevent bed sores. To 
the guards, for all intents and purposes, Basit is nothing more than a heap of 
inconvenient flesh.

If this isn't grounds for mercy, I'm not sure what else is.

As narrated to Asim Rafiqui, who put it in the form of an article.

This article is 1st of a 3-part series, curated in collaboration with Justice 
Project Pakistan, in lead up to The World Day Against the Death Penalty on 
October 10th.

(source: dawn.com)








ISRAEL:

'Time for Defense Minister to deliver on death penalty promise'



Bereaved families from the Almagor terror victims organization plan to launch a 
campaign after the holidays that will call on Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman 
to fulfill his promises to promote the death penalty for terrorists who 
murdered Jews.

Dr. Aryeh Bachrach, the father of Ohad Bachrach, who was murdered by terrorists 
in Wadi Kelt in 1995, said that "Liberman has been in office as Defense 
Minister for a year and a half, and has not yet ordered the military 
prosecution to demand the death penalty."

"In his field and in his shift, the military prosecution plays its game as if 
there is no defense minister, and the defense minister is silent on the one 
hand and sends belligerent statements through his party at the same time."

Yisrael Beytenu chairman MK Robert Ilatov submitted a bill several days ago to 
make it possible to seek the death penalty for a person convicted of a 
nationalistic murder by a military court.

The bereaved families at Almagor view the bill as nothing more than spin. Ron 
Kerman, whose daughter Tal was murdered in a terror attack in Haifa, said that 
"this is another spin on the backs of the victims of terror. This time it is 
not for election purposes, but to make it feel as though the absence of a law 
is what is not allowing Liberman to act."

Kerman recalled the announcement by the Military Advocate General, Brigadier 
General Sharon Afek, that he will not seek to impose the death penalty on the 
terrorist who murdered three members of the Salomon family in Neve 
Tzuf-Halamish.

Yossi Zur, also a bereaved father, conveyed a clear message to Liberman: "You 
do not need the death penalty legislation to apply the death penalty within the 
framework under your responsibility. Use the existing law under military law - 
today. The Salomon's murderer should be the 1st of the killers to deserve the 
death penalty."

(source: israelnationalnews.com)








LEBANON:

Death sentence marks the end to Lebanese cleric's dramatic rise and fall



There has been little outcry in Lebanon after a military tribunal sentenced a 
once-popular cleric and at least 6 of his followers to death last week for 
their roles in a gun battle that killed 18 soldiers.

The cleric, Amhed Al Assir, was convicted of terrorism in the deaths of the 
soldiers, which occurred during 2 days of fighting in June 2013 in the coastal 
city of Saida. At least 20 of Al Assir's followers died as well.

Along with Al Assir, more than 30 other defendants stood trial, with 15 of them 
receiving life sentences, according to Amal Shamseldin, Al Assir's wife. She 
put the number of death sentences handed down by the court at nine.

The sentencing is the latest chapter in the meteoric rise and fall of Al Assir, 
who had been the preacher at a mosque near his house in Saida's Al Abra 
neighbourhood for nearly 20 years before quickly rising to prominence after the 
beginning of the rebellion against Syrian president Bashar Al Assad in 2011.

Al Assir openly supported the rebellion and called on Lebanese Sunnis to travel 
to Syria to fight, personally visiting the Syrian city of Qusayr in April 2013, 
where he was filmed patrolling a front line with an assault rifle and firing 
weapons.

He also tapped into a sense of disenfranchisement among many Lebanese Sunnis 
with his public criticisms of Hizbollah, the Shiite political party and militia 
that wields considerable influence within the Lebanese government and has been 
fighting openly in Syria in support of Mr Al Assad since 2013.

Al Assir also drew attention by engaging in high-profile stunts that sometimes 
bordered on the comical, such as taking his Salafist followers skiing in the 
majority Christian town of Faraya or riding around on a BMX bicycle at a 
Hizbollah rally. He staged a high-profile sit-in in central Beirut to call for 
Hizbollah's disarmament and won over Lebanese pop singer Fadl Shaker as a 
follower. Shaker received a 15-year prison sentence in absentia from the court.

"He had charisma and he was accepting of everyone," Ms Shamseldin said, arguing 
that her husband's outspokenness was his undoing. "If anyone talks about the 
Syrian revolution, they are sent to jail. Hizbollah wanted to finish him."

But Al Assir's attempts to present himself as a moderate flailed as his calls 
for jihad in Syria and even in Lebanon grew louder and tensions rose between 
his supporters and Hizbollah's. Smaller clashes preceded the June 2013 battle, 
and though Al Assir had called for the disarmament of Hizbollah within Lebanon, 
he and his supporters were heavily armed by June 2013.

In the years since, criticism of Hizbollah for its role in Syria faded inside 
Lebanon, as has support for Al Assir. The radicalisation of the Syrian 
rebellion and bombings inside Lebanon attributed to Al Qaeda-affiliated groups 
and ISIL since 2013 have also contributed to that shift. Hizbollah has more 
recently received praise even from some of its detractors for its role in 
helping drive those groups from the country.

Hostility towards the presence of more than 1 million Syrian refugees in 
Lebanon has also grown in recent years, as well as the sense that Mr Al Assad 
has more or less won the war.

In Al Abra this week, there were no signs of the destruction the neighbourhood 
suffered in 2013, and most of the opposition to the sentencing has been small 
demonstrations by families of the men who stood trial. Last week, Ms Shamseldin 
and others demonstrated in Al Abra, and another demonstration was planned for 
Friday.

Families of the soldiers who died in the fighting have also demonstrated, 
blocking roads last year in Beirut to protest against delays in the trial and 
reiterate demands for harsh sentences for the accused.

"We will follow him to his grave," the mother of George Bou Saab, one of those 
soldiers, told the Lebanese paper The Daily Star after a court hearing in 2015. 
"If I wasn't present at a court ... I would've killed him and drank his blood.

"This criminal cannot remain alive while 18 men are buried underground," she 
added.

Many of the facts surrounding the battle remain murky. Ms Shamseldin and others 
claim the fighting was provoked by Hizbollah militiamen in the neighbourhood, 
while others say Al Assir's supporters started the fighting when they attacked 
an army checkpoint. Ms Shamseldin and others also accuse Hizbollah of 
participating in the battle alongside the army.

"No one was allowed to investigate," Ms Shamseldin said. "No witnesses were 
allowed in court. ... There were many people who witnessed the involvement of 
Hizbollah."

Umm Mahmoud Al Halabi, whose son was killed in the fighting, made similar 
claims. "My son was shot in the back by Hizbollah," she said.

Omar and Mohammed Al Assir, 2 of the couple's 3 sons, also received life 
sentences in absentia for their roles in the fighting. Omar was 17 at the time 
of the battle, and Mohammed was 20. Ms Shamseldin said lawyers for the family 
would appeal the sentences in the coming week.

Al Assir had also initially escaped capture and went in to hiding after the 
fighting, but was arrested while trying to leave the country in 2015 though 
Beirut's airport.

The lack of due process in Lebanon's military tribunals, as well as the 
military's use of torture, are issues that have been raised by rights 
activists. It was even difficult for journalists to obtain the exact number of 
defendants in the trial and who had received what sentence. On Wednesday, an 
army spokesman said he had "no information" regarding the proceedings.

"Our major concern about the tribunal is that it's not an independent court 
that does not have the guarantees of a fair trial," said George Ghali, the 
programmes manager at ALEF, a Lebanese human rights group. "The court is not 
impartial. You have military people judging civilians. In the case of Al Assir, 
he's being tried for attacking the Lebanese army."

The mother of Omar Al Baraka, a 24-year-old man who received a 10-year prison 
sentence, said her son had been a bystander and was attempting to check whether 
his cousins, who lived in the neighbourhood, were safe. He was arrested, along 
with more than 100 other people in the area, after the fighting.

Rights groups also collected evidence of torture by the military after the 
fighting, and a 36-year-old man named Nader Al Bayoumi died in military custody 
after the battle.

"That death has not been investigated properly," Mr Ghali said.

Though the Lebanese government has not carried out an execution since 2004, Mr 
Ghali said he was concerned that Al Assir's death sentence might actually go 
ahead.

Earlier this year interior minister Ibrahim Machnouk called for the state to 
resume carrying out the death penalties of those convicted.

"I know we would have European, Western, or even international opposition," Mr 
Machnouk said. "But we have a situation of deranged people carrying weapons."

Mr Ghali said there are about 80 people in Roumieh prison that have been 
sentenced to death, and approximately another 40 who have received death 
sentences in absentia, a number that has risen in recent years.

"We are certainly concerned with the hike in sentences with the guise of 
counterterrorism," Mr Ghali said. "The public is supportive of the death 
penalty, and we are worried politicians seeking support will return to it."

More recently, the families of 9 Lebanese soldiers who died after being 
captured by ISIL and Al Qaeda-linked militants in northern Lebanon in 2014 have 
also demanded the death penalty for defendants in that case.

"Whatever he may have done, executing Mr Al Assir would be a step backwards for 
Lebanon's human rights record, and wouldn't deter crime or make Lebanon any 
more safe," said Bassam Khawaja, the Lebanon and Kuwait researcher at Human 
Rights Watch.

While 58 countries still have death penalty laws on the books, 23 were believed 
to have carried out executions in 2016.

There have been multiple proposals since 2004 by members of the Lebanese 
government to fully abolish the death penalty, though none have gained enough 
traction to be passed.

(source: The National)