[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 21



LEBANON:

Death penalty for Bachir Gemayel killers



Former President-elect Bachir Gemayel's killers were sentenced to death in 
absentia Friday, 35 years after a bomb was detonated targeting Gemayel in 
Ashrafieh.

"Finally, the verdict was released in the name of the Lebanese people after 35 
years of working for [justice] for Bachir and his friends," Solange Gemayel, 
Bachir's widow, said following the court's decision.

She added: "I'm speaking as the mother of a martyr and the wife of a martyr - 
just like thousands of other Lebanese who believed in the cause."

Gemayel thanked the judicial council and said the decision allowed the state to 
regain its authority and would restore the Lebanese citzens' belief in 
constitutional institutions.

Head of the Judicial Council Judge Jean Fahed announced the verdict from 
Beirut's Justice Palace, calling for the death penalty to be given to Nabil 
Alam and Habib Chartouni. The audience erupted in applause.

Fahed said the 2 suspects, who were tried in absentia, carried out an act of 
terrorism and had played a part in compromising the political stability that 
Gemayel was on the verge of bringing about.

Chartouni and Alam were also stripped of their civil rights, while the court 
ordered compensation to be paid to the families of those killed in the 1982 
bombing.

Members of the Kataeb Party, the Lebanese Forces and Gemayel's family attended 
the hearing at Beirut's Justice Palace. Meanwhile, members of the Syrian 
Socialist National Party protested outside the Justice Palace and in Tayyouneh, 
calling the killing of Gemayel a national duty, not a crime.

Lebanese Army soldiers deployed outside the Justice Ministry to prevent any 
scuffles breaking out.

Gemayel's nephew, MP Sami Gemayel, posted a picture of Bachir and tweeted: 
"#AccountabilityDay #JusticeforthesakeofallLebanon #BachirGemayel."

Walking in to the hearing, he told reporters, "Today is a historical day."

Also before the announcement, Bachir's son, MP Nadim Gemayel, said: "Even 35 
years later, you still make them shake #JusticeforthesakeofallLebanon."

Outside the Justice Ministry, one SSNP supporter said, "If my father was seen 
entering an Israeli tank, I would kill him. Today, we are all Habib Chartouni."

The man added: "This was not a political killing, rather it was done to carry 
out justice." Such comments seemingly indicated that SSNP all but admitted to 
the killing of the president-elect.

After the trail was opened in November 2016, multiple hearings were held as the 
fugitive Chartouni, who is believed to be living in Syria, was prosecuted in 
absentia. He had allegedly confessed to planting and detonating the bomb.

Fahed opened the trial last year and originally gave the SSNP member 24 hours 
to turn himself in.

Chartouni was charged with the assassination but never stood trial once the 
case had been transferred to the Judicial Council.

He escaped from prison in 1990, after Syrian troops stormed east Beirut.

Bachir Gemayel was a senior Kataeb party member and commander of the LF during 
the Civil War.

He was elected president on Aug. 23, 1982. 9 days before he was scheduled to be 
sworn into office, Gemayel, other Kataeb Party members and bystanders were 
killed when a bomb exploded at the party's headquarters in Ashrafieh.

Prior to Gemayel's election, he was accused of being close to Israel and being 
anti-Palestinian. Following his election, the former LF leader banned all LF 
members from wearing their uniforms in public, and demanded that the Lebanese 
Army be the sole defender of the state.

(source: The Daily Star)








SAUDI ARABIA/INDONESIA:

2 Indonesians granted pardon in Saudi



The Indonesian government has managed to successfully secure the release of 2 
Indonesians on death row in Saudi Arabia and repatriated them on Saturday.

"The 2 Indonesian citizens, identified by their initials as DT and AHB, arrived 
today in Indonesia through the Soekarno-Hatta Airport," Director of Indonesian 
Citizens Protection of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lalu Muhammad Iqbal 
noted here on a message received on Saturday.

The 2 Indonesians were released after serving their prison term and caning 
sentence at a womens penitentiary in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Iqbal revealed that DT and AHB came to Saudi before 2002 as illegal migrant 
workers in Jeddah.

Both had lived in an illegal settlement in Jeddah along with other illegal 
migrant workers.

The legal case started in May 2002 when a body of an Indonesian woman named AA 
was found dismembered into 2 pieces in the settlement.

A Thai, the victims husband, was freed from accusation charges since he was not 
found guilty.

Meanwhile, DT and AHB were named as suspects in a case, as they escaped from 
the settlement.

The 2 Indonesians were sentenced to death by the General Court of Jeddah on 
April 12, 2010.

The Indonesian government had provided legal assistance to the 2 Indonesians 
since the beginning of the case by appointing a lawyer, Al Zahrani.

A judicial review submitted by Al Zahrani was approved by the Supreme Court of 
Saudi Arabia, and on August 24, 2014, the court changed the verdict from death 
sentence to 5-year imprisonment and 300 lashes.

During the period between 2015 and 2017, the Indonesian government has secured 
the release of 144 Indonesians overseas on death row, with 21 of them in Saudi 
Arabia.

Meanwhile, Iqbal said, there were still 175 Indonesians facing death sentence 
overseas, of which 19 are in Saudi Arabia.

"The government continues to provide legal aid to Indonesians facing death 
penalty by complying with the local laws," Iqbal said.

(source: antaranews.com)