[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

August 13




IRAN:

Iran Arrests 67 People In Drive Against Financial Crim----The decision comes 
amid a plunging national currency that has lost about 1/2 of its value in past 
weeks following a decision in May by U.S. President Donald Trump to leave the 
2015 nuclear deal with Iran and reimpose tough sanctions.


Iran's judiciary says the authorities have arrested 67 people in a drive 
against financial crime as the country faces renewed U.S. sanctions and public 
outcry against widespread corruption.

"67 suspects have been arrested, some of whom were released on bail, and more 
than 100 people including government employees and officials, as well as 
private employees and others have been given travel bans," judiciary spokesman 
Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said in remarks carried by state television on 
August 12.

The remarks come as a day after the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali 
Khamenei, approved a request by the judiciary to set up special courts to deal 
with financial crimes.

Iranian media quoted Khamenei as saying in a brief statement issued on August 
11 that punishments for those accused of economic corruption should be "carried 
out swiftly and justly."

New Islamic revolutionary courts will be directed to impose maximum sentences 
on those "disrupting and corrupting the economy," judiciary head Sadeq Amoli 
Larijani had proposed in a letter to Khamenei.

The request by the judiciary said the courts should be eligible to try all 
suspects, including "official and military" people. The sentences can include 
the death penalty.

The decision comes amid a plunging national currency that has lost about 1/2 of 
its value in past weeks following a decision in May by U.S. President Donald 
Trump to leave the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and reimpose tough sanctions.

The Central Bank of Iran and the judiciary have blamed "enemies" for the fall 
of the currency.

The judiciary said last month that 29 people have been detained for 
"disturbing" the nation's economy and its "money and currency systems."

(source: Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty)






MALDIVES:

Capital punishment talk has deterred murders, pres claims


The talk of enforcing the death penalty has put a stop to gruesome and 
premeditated murders in the Maldives, incumbent president Abdulla Yameen Abdul 
Gayoom claimed Monday.

Since taking office in 2013, president Yameen has been pushing to enforce the 
death penalty after ending the de facto moratorium that has been in place in 
the country for over 6 decades.

In June 2016, capital punishment regulations were amended to allow for hanging 
in addition to lethal injections as methods of execution.

President Yameen has since been giving several dates to begin capital 
punishment, last of which was nearly a year ago.

Despite failure to implement capital punishment, president Yameen speaking 
after inaugurating a water network in Thaa Atoll Thimarafushi island on Monday, 
insisted that premeditated and remorseless murders were unheard of in the 
country not so long ago.

The president alleged that major crimes had spiraled out of control during the 
government of main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) adding that 
there had been around 30 recorded murders when he took office in 2013.

However, major crimes including murders has since ended after his government 
announced plans to enforce the death penalty.

"I promised to re-introduce capital punishment because my government cannot 
accept people killing each other. Since we made the announcement it has acted 
as a deterrent. The time of gruesome murders and assaults are in the past," he 
added.

President Yameen's claims came after renowned local blogger Yameen Rasheed had 
been hacked to death in the stairwell of his own home in April last year, while 
another young man was stabbed to death inside a motorbike showroom last July.

(source: avas.mv)





BANGLADESH:

Death penalty for 5 Patuakhali war criminals


The International Crimes Tribunal has handed down the death penalty to 5 men 
from Patuakhali for committing crimes against humanity during the Liberation 
War in 1971.

A 3-member bench of the tribunal headed by Justice Md Shahinur Islam handed 
down the verdict on Monday, reports UNB.

The convicts are: Ishak Shikdar, Solaiman Mridha, Abdus Sattar Peda, Abdul Goni 
Hawladar, and Awal alias Moulvi Abdul Awal. All of them hail from different 
villages in sadar upazila.

The charges of murder and rape against the 5 war criminals were proved by the 
tribunal.

Earlier on Sunday, the tribunal set Monday to deliver the verdict.

On May 30, the tribunal kept the verdict pending after the concluding arguments 
from both sides of the case.

Previously, on November 19, the tribunal took into cognizance the charges 
against them for their involvement in the crimes against humanity.

On September 6, 2015, police arrested 5 accused war criminals, from different 
parts of sadar upazila in Patuakhali district, on charges of: looting, killing, 
torturing, and arson during the Liberation War.

On March 8, 2017, charges were framed against them for violating 15 biranganas, 
torturing 17 women, and vandalising 15 houses.

(source: Dhaka Tribune)






MYANMAR:

Myanmar cardinal backs pope's opposition to death penalty----Bo says this 
stance should include opposition to violent sports and 'incremental' death 
sentences through victimization


Cardinal Charles Bo of Yangon in Myanmar has hailed Pope Francis' admonition 
that imposing the death penalty is always abominable.

The Catholic Church should never compromise its fundamental belief in the right 
to life, including on the issue of capital punishment, Cardinal Bo said in a 
statement released on Aug. 10.

"Even those who committed heinous crimes do have a right to life," he said.

The cardinal said a pronouncement on the issue by Pope Francis was an 
affirmation of the Church adopting a moral stance.

On Aug. 2, the Vatican approved a change in the text of the Catholic catechism 
that previously accepted the death penalty as a "last recourse."

The new text acknowledges that the "dignity of a person is not lost even after 
the commission of very serious crimes."

Pope Francis maintains the death penalty is fundamentally against the teachings 
of Christ because it excludes the possibility of redemption, does not give 
justice to victims and feeds a mentality of vengeance.

Cardinal Bo, 70, in his statement elaborated that human slavery, discrimination 
and violent conflicts, as well as the abuse of women and children in the sex 
industry, could constitute a form of death sentences for victims.

He further complained that martial arts such as kick boxing unreasonably give 
rise to the legitimization of violence as sport and entertainment.

Civilized societies needed to move away from these barbarous sports that 
provoke violent behavior, especially in children, and could indirectly lead to 
mass killings, Cardinal Bo added.

The prelate said the courageous position adopted by Pope Francis against 
capital punishment should inspire governments and civil society groups around 
the world to strive for the banning of dangerous sports as well as curtailing 
"incremental death sentences" through victimization.

(source: ucanews.com)






KENYA:

Disparity in murder sentences shows urgent need for clarity


The recent sentencing of Ruth Kamande and Erastus Odhiambo has made me question 
whether there is any uniformity in sentencing when it comes to capital 
punishment.

Both cases involved domestic violence - albeit the facts differed in one way or 
another. The 2 overriding issues for me are that both defendants were 1st-time 
offenders and claimed to be remorseful.

However, one case led to the death sentence and the other a minimum prison term 
of 20 years. It is quite challenging to try and understand what criterion was 
used to reach such differing sentences.

Ruth's matter was constantly in the news - print, visual and digital formats - 
much more than that of Erastus's or any other murder case going on at the time. 
This is a case that was unsafe from the word go, given the level of exposure it 
got in the media.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

The influence 'trial by media' has in a case cannot be underestimated. The 
judges and prosecutors are human and, clearly, also malleable to the pressures 
imposed by the views of the masses.

There were many armchair 'experts' who constantly took to social media to share 
their views on the Kamande case. That in itself left the offender exposed and 
vulnerable. One cannot help but wonder whether miscarriage of justice was 
inevitable in a case that had been tried and concluded elsewhere prior to the 
formal court hearing.

The issue of domestic abuse is one that also has many foggy areas in as far as 
the law is concerned. In the minds of most perpetrators, a slap here and there 
is alright. However, it is a matter that is much more complicated. It has 
branches of physical violence, emotional and psychological abuse, coercion and 
control, financial abuse and many other forms of abuse to be added on as we 
learn more about the matter.

SLOW BURNER

Provocation, when it comes to domestic violence, is one issue that has been 
problematic. However, a judge worth his salt should determine, all factors 
considered, the level of provocation involved.

To many victims or survivors of domestic abuse, provocation could be in form of 
a slow burner of emotional and psychological abuse. In other cases, it could be 
one instance of provocation that could lead to a fatality in a fit of anger.

In my opinion, provocation in homicide cases would need to be carefully 
scrutinised so that it meets the threshold of intention to murder. Death is an 
emotive issue, much more so in situations of domestic violence. Nonetheless, it 
is important to rise above the broad understanding of murder and look at the 
minutiae of details that led to murder in that situation.

MENTAL IMPAIRMENT

In some cases, homicide in domestic abuse has been linked to mental health 
impairment of perpetrators. It is, therefore, also crucial to fully grasp the 
mental state of the offenders before, during and after the incident to 
determine whether, indeed, the issue at hand would qualify to be murder, 
manslaughter or assault.

The mental impairment factor is also a rather challenging one. There is the 
whole notion of temporary insanity, which is possible in cases of provocation. 
However, there is also a clear case of having an offender who may, indeed, have 
had mental health impairment such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, clinical 
depression, psychopathy or sociopathy.

REHABILITATED

Mental health in a domestic violence setting is one area that has not been 
fully understood and needs attention to save many more lives from deranged 
violent partners.

In the cases of Ruth and Erastus, the difference in sentencing for nearly 
similar offence is of concern and has the potential to lead to further 
miscarriage of justice. For a young offender of murder, and a remorseful one 
for that matter, it is better to set charges that consider the fact that she 
would have time to reflect and be deterred from repeating the crime. In that, 
they can be rehabilitated to become useful members of the society.

The 2 cases challenge the fairness in the due process of the law. There is a 
need to review our sentencing guidelines to avoid further confusion and 
injustice. Death is the ultimate sentence and, in case of mistakes, it is one 
difficult sentence to undo.

CONSENSUS

The other disparity is in the confusion as to whether capital punishment should 
even be handed down in Kenya, when there has been consensus for it to be 
outlawed. It is more than 30 years since the last person was hanged in Kenya. 
It is also simply unjust to let people wallow in perpetual state of anxiety 
once the death sentence is passed but spend years waiting to be executed.

There is a need for urgent reform to review the death sentence and give clarity 
to judges and magistrates as it has the greatest potential of leading to 
miscarriage of justice. In itself, the death penalty should be outlawed. It is 
barbaric and inhumane.

(source: Kalltum Guyo, nation.co.ke)