[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

August 17


SRI LANKA:

Sri Lanka President to end moratorium on death penalty


Sri Lanka's president says the government will still end its 42-year moratorium 
on capital punishment despite requests by the European Union and other 
diplomatic missions not to do so.

President Maithripala Sirisena said the decision to implement the death penalty 
for drug smugglers "will not be changed under any circumstance and despite the 
objections raised by some factions against the move," according to the 
president's website.

Last week, Sirisena said convicted drug traffickers will be hanged as a part of 
the government's crackdown on narcotics. Sri Lanka has maintained the 
moratorium since its last execution in 1976.

No date has been set for the 1st new execution.

(source: Vassar News)






VATICAN CITY:

5 Catholic priests and scholars ask Francis to backtrack on death 
penalty----The pope???s revision to the Catechism calls capital punishment 
"inadmissible."


A group of 75 Catholic clergy members and scholars have urged Pope Francis to 
backtrack on his decision to declare the death penalty "inadmissible" in 
Catholic teaching.

Earlier this month, Pope Francis authorized a change in the Catholic Catechism, 
the official teaching document of the church, to intensify the language 
pertaining to the defensibility of the death penalty.

Since the catechism was first published in 1992, the church has said the death 
penalty should be used only in very rare situations. Francis's change, though, 
denied that the death penalty could ever be compatible with Catholic teaching, 
on the grounds that "the dignity of the person is not lost even after the 
commission of very serious crimes."

While the move drew praise from anti-capital-punishment advocates, such as 
Sister Helen Prejean, who called it a "great day for human rights," some of 
Pope Francis's more conservative critics remained wary. An open letter was 
published Wednesday morning in First Things, a conservative-leaning Catholic 
journal, and was signed by several prominent Catholics, including Fr. George 
Rutler and Fr. Gerald Murray of the Archdiocese of New York.

The letter argues that, by refining Church teaching on the death penalty, Pope 
Francis casts doubt on the authority of the church's teaching body, known as 
the magisterium. "To contradict Scripture and tradition on this point would 
cast doubt on the credibility of the magisterium in general," the letter reads, 
calling Pope Francis's decision a "gravely scandalous situation." The 
signatories call upon the College of Cardinals "to advise His Holiness that it 
is his duty to put an end to this scandal, to withdraw this paragraph from the 
Catechism, and to teach the word of God unadulterated."

The Vatican has not replied nor is it likely to do so. Another critical open 
letter, known as the dubia, or "doubts," authored by senior Catholic figures, 
including 4 Cardinals, protested Francis's perceived openness to giving 
communion to divorced-and-remarried couples. It remains unanswered after almost 
2 years.

The presence of the open letter speaks to wider divisions within the church 
over Francis's papacy, and, in particular, conservative concern that Francis is 
overstepping the traditional boundaries and protocol of his office.

However, the Vatican hierarchy may have more pressing concerns at the moment. 
This week, a Pennsylvania grand jury released a catastrophic report implicating 
at least 300 priests in the state of child sexual abuse against more than 1,000 
minors.

(source: vox.com)






UGANDA:

Ugandan Pastor Stoned to Death


Police in Uganda's West Nile region said this week that they were holding 3 
South Sudanese in connection with last week's brutal killing of a Ugandan 
preacher at the Pagirinya refugee settlement in Adjumani district.

Superintendent Josephine Angucia, a spokeswoman for the West Nile regional 
police, said Pastor Bunia Margaret of the Victory Church, which operates in 
Uganda's Adjumani and Moyo districts, was killed in broad daylight by a mob at 
the Pagirinya II trading center after a group of Christian evangelical leaders 
had accused her of being a witch.

"This deceased pastor, Margaret, went to preach the word of God at the refugee 
camps of Adjumani district. She got a big congregation. According to witnesses, 
this did not go well with other pastors at the refugee camps. Out of 
jealousness, they mobilized and came up with a memorandum labeling Bunia 
Margaret to be a witch," Angucia told VOA's South Sudan in Focus.

South Sudanese refugee leaders at the settlement said Margaret arrived in May 
and established her church in Pagirinya II's Block E.

John Wani, who lives in Pagirinya Block E, said Margaret attracted mostly women 
and children. He said the pastor claimed she had the power to heal any disease. 
This, he said, encouraged some to abandon their homes and camp at the church, 
often for several days. As a result, Wani said, some women abandoned their 
responsibilities at home.

Wani also said strange things also happened to members of Margaret's Victory 
Church.

"Many children also left the school because of that. Some girls could go there 
to pray all night, and they never respected their parents. That pastor, she 
also told a young boy who was suffering from hepatitis that he should not take 
the medicine. Pastor said God would cure him," Wani told South Sudan in Focus.

Strong denials

Margaret's followers, including South Sudanese refugee Grace Kuku, strongly 
denied the allegations, saying she'd healed many people with diseases in the 
camp. They also argued that freedom of worship is a fundamental right under 
Ugandan law, and said that if parents were not happy with the pastor's 
teachings and activities, they should have prevented their children from 
attending her church.

"I have not witnessed these things. What I know is that there was a girl 
brought from Agojo who was having this mental illness. Pastor started to fast 
and pray for her, something like 5 days. Like that, the girl was OK," Kuku 
said.

But religious and community leaders in the camp continued to call for 
Margaret's expulsion. Officials said they were still reviewing the demand when 
a youth mob stoned Margaret, who died August 7. Angucia said the 3 South 
Sudanese suspects were pastors and that police believe the suspects encouraged 
the youths to kill Margaret.

"Inquiries still continue, and police deployments are yet continuing there as I 
speak. The situation has remained calm as we monitor and look for the other 
suspects who are still at large," Angucia told VOA.

Angucia warned refugees there would be serious repercussions for people who 
acted as judge and jury.

"So, as police, we highly condemn this act of mob justice, where individuals 
take [the] law into their hands and act on people based on rumors, which are 
not properly investigated. So, whoever participated in this should know that at 
the rightful time, he or she will be arrested and prosecuted before the law, 
because this is not accepted by the law of Uganda," said Angucia.

The police superintendent said the three suspects appeared in court last Friday 
and were charged with murder. If found guilty, they could face the death 
penalty.

(source: voanews.com)






SAUDI ARABIA:

Saudi Arabia Remains 'Wedded' to Death Penalty 'Cult:' Report


Saudi Arabia remains committed to the death penalty despite the kingdom moving 
towards social reforms, according to a new report published by a human rights 
group.

The European Saudi Organization for Human Rights (ESOHR) said 146 people were 
executed in Saudi Arabia in 2017, making it the 3rd worst offender in the world 
- behind China and Iran.

"Amidst Saudi Arabia's abysmal human rights landscape, the use of capital 
punishment remains a highly contentious issue, particularly where it violates 
the non-derivable right to life," the report argued. "Employed as a tool of 
terror by the authorities, the irreversible nature of capital punishment means 
that this particular violation must be reported on," it added, "particularly 
when a lack of due process or the use of execution as a political tool is a key 
concern."

Under the watch of 32-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia 
is trying to promote a more progressive social image. The prince's Vision 2030 
program aims to modernize the Saudi economy and foster a more "vibrant 
society." In an effort to attract foreign investment and expand the country's 
soft power, a range of relatively liberal steps have been taken. Cinemas have 
been allowed to open, music concerts by both men and women have been held and 
women have been given the right to drive, among other new policies.

Despite the reforms, Saudi Arabians remain severely politically repressed. 
Absolute power still lies with King Salman, and recent clampdowns on human 
rights activists, prominent businessmen and fellow royals have been designed to 
drive home the message that reform is gifted to the population, not demanded by 
it. "Saudi Arabia's poor human rights record continues to plunge into deeper 
crisis with severe restriction on expression and association, and waves of 
arbitrary arrests," ESOHR explained.

The kingdom executed 8 fewer people in 2017 than in 2016, but remains one of 
the most prominent users of capital punishment. In recent years, the number of 
death sentences has grown, coinciding with the ascension of King Salman to the 
throne in 2015, hitting levels not seen since the 1990s.

90 of those executed last year were Saudi nationals and the other 56 were 
foreigners. Saudi Arabia employs a variety of methods for executions including 
stoning and firing squads, but the most common is beheading. Convicts are 
sedated before their execution. The bodies of some of those killed have been 
crucified afterwards - with the heads sewn back on - as an indignity to the 
condemned and a warning to other citizens.

The kingdom occasionally stages mass executions, especially for those accused 
of terrorism or subversion. In 2016, 47 terrorism convicts were executed across 
12 different provinces, most by beheading and four by firing squad. It was the 
largest execution since the 1980s.

ESOHR said there are 31 detainees who remain on death row, having exhausted all 
legal challenges. Another 10 are currently appealing death sentences. Between 
1985 and 2016, the kingdom executed more than 2,000 people, according to 
Amnesty International.

China executes the most people of any nation. Though the country does not 
reveal how many people are killed each year, the figure is believed to be over 
1,000. Iran comes in second place, having executed at least 507 people last 
year. For comparison, the U.S. sent 23 prisoners to their deaths in 2017.

(source: newsweek.com)






IRAN:

Kurdish Death Row Prisoner Transferred to Different Prison, Raising Fears He 
Could be Executed


A Kurdish man who has been sentenced to death in Iran despite serious concerns 
about how his case was handled has been transferred hundreds of miles to a 
prison near Tehran for unknown reasons, raising fears he could soon be 
executed.

"His family is worried because it is not clear if he has been transferred to 
receive treatment or if they want to carry out his execution," Osman Mozayyan, 
one of Ramin Hossein Panahi's lawyers, told the Center for Human Rights in Iran 
(CHRI) on August 14, 2018.

"But what is clear is that... the sentence against him was issued by a court in 
Sanandaj and legally that is where he should be incarcerated. I and 2 other 
lawyers are pursuing the matter," he added.

Panahi, who was initially due to be hospitalized for kidney problems in 
Sanandaj, the capital of Iran's Kurdistan Province, had phoned his family on 
August 13 to tell them he was being taken to Rajaee Shahr Prison in Karaj but 
did not say why, according to his brother Amjad Hossein Panahi.

"Surrounded by security forces in several cars, they took Ramin out of Sanandaj 
prison at 11 on Monday night," Amjad Hossein Panahi told CHRI. "When relatives 
inquired at the court, they were told that he had been transferred to receive 
treatment, which is strange because the hospitals in Sanandaj are equipped to 
treat kidney problems."

"It's unimaginable to dispatch a prisoner on death row more than 500 kilometers 
(310 miles) away just for kidney treatment," he added.

Panahi and his family have experienced other false alarms since he was 
sentenced to death in January 2018 by Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court in 
Sanandaj for his alleged membership in the outlawed Kurdish nationalist group, 
Komala. He has also been accused of drawing a weapon against agents of the 
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Panahi, 22, has insisted he did not participate in any armed action nor did he 
reach for a weapon.

Iran's Supreme Court upheld the sentence in April and his execution was 
scheduled for May 3 but was postponed after international outcry by the United 
Nations and rights organizations. Panahi's request for a case review was then 
rejected by Iran's Supreme Court, leaving him in danger of imminent execution.

The UN's special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, 
Agnes Callamard, has cited concerns that Panahi was denied access to a lawyer, 
a fair trial, and that he was mistreated and tortured in detention.

CHRI has called on the Iranian judiciary to cease politically motivated 
executions, stop violating international standards of due process, and 
guarantee the rights of detainees to counsel of their choice as well as a fair 
trial in line with UN standards.

(source: Iran Human Rights)



SOMALIA:

Military Court Sentences Soldier to Death for Killing


A Somali military court in Mogadishu on Thursday sentenced a government soldier 
to death for killing a colleague in the army, Hassan Abshir Warsame in February 
this year.

Osman was reported to have escaped the crime scene after shooting dead Warsame 
in Beledweyne city, the regional capital of Hiran.

But he was arrested last month at police recruiting centre in Mogadishu by the 
security forces, and taken to a custody before his sentence, according to the 
court statement.

The military Court prosecutors said Osman committed the murder deliberately, 
therefore, he was given to death penalty.

Sources in Beledweyne said there had been an argument between the 2 before the 
accused opened fire on the deceased.

Somali military court often carries out sentences and executions to Al-Shabaab 
fighters and soldiers for crimes despite condemnation from human rights groups.

(source: allafrica.com)






BELARUS:

Israeli may face death sentence in Belarus----Alan Levit, who immigrated to 
Israel in 1991, is suspected of robbing and murdering a man in Minsk in 1993; 
German authorities arrest him in Frankfurt due to Interpol arrest warrant; 
lawyer tries to bring him back to Israel to face trial, where he won't face 
capital punishment.


An Israeli man was arrested in Germany a week ago at the request of Belarus 
authorities on suspicion of involvement in a murder that took place 25 years 
ago.

The suspect, Alan Levit, 46, from Bat Yam, landed in Frankfurt with his son, 
where he was told there was an international arrest warrant against him issued 
by Interpol.

Levit immigrated to Israel from Belarus in 1991. Despite that, a decade ago, 
investigators from Belarus arrived at his home in Israel to question him about 
a murder that took place in 1993 in Minsk.

His lawyer, Gregory Kurziner, said the Belarusian investigators suspect Levit 
traveled to Belarus with a partner with whom he robbed and murdered a victim at 
his home.

Levit denied the suspicions against him, and has not heard anything more about 
the investigation since.

The Interpol arrest warrant notes that on March 16, 1993, a man was murdered in 
his apartment in Minsk after having been robbed by 2 people. He was found dead 
with 16 stab wounds on his neck and face.

Kurziner told Ynet he was worried that if Levit is extradited from Germany to 
Belarus, he could face the death sentence, which is the maximum punishment for 
such on offense in Belarus. There is no statute of limitations on the murder.

"The court in Germany can decide whether to extradite him. Israel doesn't turn 
in someone to a country that has the death penalty," the lawyer said.

Kurziner turned to Israel's Foreign Ministry and the Israeli consulate in 
Munich for help in bringing Levit to Israel to face trial.

(source: ynetnews.com)






SUDAN:

Sudan's prosecutor appeals to reinstate death sentence against Noura Hussein


The Sudanese prosecutor submitted an appeal against a 5-year sentence and a 
fine and requested the constitutional court to reinstate a death penalty for 
Noura Hussein a 19-year old girl murdered her husband after a forced marriage.

Last May, a court had sentenced Hussein to death by hanging, as she had been 
convicted for the premeditated murder of her husband, Abdel Rahman Mohamed 
Hammad. However in June after a campaign inside and outside Sudan, an appeal 
court sentenced her to 5 years in jail and a fine of 337500 Sudanese SDG.

"The state prosecutor on Noura Hussein's case has appealed to have her current 
sentence (....) overturned, and has filed a petition for the death penalty to 
be reinstated," said a statement extended to Sudan Tribune by an international 
women's rights organization Equality Now.

The move comes after the rejection of fine by Hammad's family, attack on the 
house of Hussein's family and public threats that they would kill a member of 
her family to revenge their son if the court maintains its refusal to hung 
Noura.

However, rights groups and lawyers appealed to the Supreme Court, seeking 
unconditional freedom for Noura arguing that it was a self-defence case and she 
is a victim of forced marriage and marital rape.

But Equality Now said Noura's legal appeal was withdrawn "under suspicious 
circumstances" on 8 August, pointing that a notice to withdraw the appeal had 
been filed by a lawyer who is not on record for Noura's case several days 
before.

"On 5th August Noura was summoned before the vice director of the court where 
she confirmed the withdrawal," the statement further stressed.

Noura family said they are under pressure from Hammad's family which threatened 
them asking the father to not visit his daughter who is in Omdurman prison for 
women.

The 2 families are members of Darfur's Zaghawa tribe, but the Hammads refuse to 
pardon Noura saying she premeditated to kill their son to marry another cousin, 
a claim that her family denies.

Women and rights groups say Noura's case revealed the deficit on the Sudanese 
laws on the protection of women victims of violence and they seek a legal 
reform in this respect.

(source: sudantribune.com)






SINGAPORE:

Death-row convict's application to reopen case fails; lawyer faces risk of 
personally bearing Prosecution's costs


A 61-year-old death-row prisoner, who had been convicted for drug trafficking 5 
years ago, has failed in his latest legal challenge to reopen his case and 
escape the gallows on Thursday (16 Aug).

But Abdul Kahar bin Othman's lawyer, Mr Rupert Seah, has also been taken to 
task by the Prosecution; for including what they perceived to be irrelevant 
legal content in his written submissions to the court.

The Prosecution, led by Senior Counsel Francis Ng, wants the 5-judge Court of 
Appeal - comprising Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, Judges of Appeal Judith 
Prakash and Tay Yong Kwang, Senior Judge Chao Hick Tin and Justice Belinda Ang 
- to order Mr Seah to personally bear their costs for the present application.

Abdul Kahar had a long and protracted history in appearing before the courts. 
He was arrested in July 2010 and found guilty of trafficking in not less than 
66.77g of diamorphine (heroin) in August 2013. While he was found to be merely 
a courier in October the same year, the Court of Appeal disagreed and in 
November 2014, they remitted the issue back to the trial judge for his 
reconsideration.

Subsequently, Abdul Kahar was found not to be a courier, and given that he was 
not certified by the Public Prosecutor to have substantively disrupted drug 
trafficking activities within or outside Singapore, he was sentenced to death 
in February 2015. His appeal against his conviction was dismissed in October 
the same year. There was also a judicial review application filed in 2016 to 
challenge the Public Prosecutor's decision not to grant Abdul Kahar a 
certificate, which was also dismissed and no appeal was filed.

During the hearing on Thursday, Mr Seah attacked the constitutionality of the 
alternative sentencing regime in the Misuse of Drugs Act, arguing that it 
violates the principles of equality before the law and separation of powers. 
Relying heavily on many previous Court of Appeal cases involving constitutional 
issues, he stressed that "the Constitution is supreme."

When queried by CJ Menon as to how these arguments can be considered "new" and 
therefore admitted as fresh evidence to reopen a concluded appeal, Mr Seah 
forcefully submitted that these arguments only came to his mind after the Court 
of Appeal delivered its judgment in Prabagaran a/l Srivijayan v Public 
Prosecutor [2017] 1 SLR 173, which he also argued is wrongly decided.

Mr Seah had also made certain references to the 1989 amendments of Internal 
Security Act that he argued is unconstitutional as well, which the Prosecution 
describes as irrelevant to the dispute at hand and relies on to seek costs from 
Mr Seah personally.

In dismissing the application, CJ Menon observed that while imposing the death 
penalty is a difficult task for judges, they have to do it as that is one of 
their duties by law.

The court has indicated their intention to issue full grounds of decision in 
due course, and directed both parties to file written submissions setting out 
their position on the principles of making costs orders as well as their 
respective positions in the present cases.

(source: The Online Citizen)






PAKISTAN:

Pakistan army chief confirms death penalty of 15 hardcore terrorists


Pakistan's Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Thursday confirmed the death 
sentence to another 15 "hardcore terrorists," who were involved in "heinous 
offenses related to terrorism," the military said.

A statement from the army's media wing the Inter-Services Public Relations 
said, the convicts were involved in killing of 45 persons, including 4 
civilians, 41 armed forces, police officials and injuring 103 others.

The statement said arms and explosives were also recovered from their 
possession.

The convicts were tried by special military courts and they confessed their 
offences before the judicial magistrates and the trial courts.

Besides, 6 convicts, who belong to proscribed organizations, have also been 
awarded imprisonment, the statement said.

The convicts have the right of appeal to the country's president under the law, 
according to the legal experts. However, the president has previously rejected 
all mercy petitions in terrorism-related cases.

It is the 2nd time in nearly a month the army chief has confirmed the death 
penalty to the militants. On July 13, Bajwa had confirmed the death sentence to 
another 12 "hardcore terrorists" for involvement in terrorist act.

The military courts were set up for a period of 2 years after the terrorist 
attack on an army school in December 2014 for the speedy trial of the 
terrorism-related accused. Nearly 150 people, including 132 children, were 
killed in the attack.

In March 2017, Pakistani parliament passed a special bill to give a 2-year 
extension to the military courts.

(source: xinhuanet.com)

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

Army chief confirms death penalty of 15 terrorists


Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Qamar Javed Bajwa has confirmed death 
sentences awarded to 15 hardcore terrorists, Inter-Services Public Relations 
(ISPR) said in a statement on Thursday.

The terrorists were involved in heinous offences related to terrorism and were 
involved in attacks on armed forces and law enforcement agencies, destruction 
of educational institutions, and killing civilians.

Overall, the terrorists were involved in the killing of 45 people, including 4 
civilians and 41 security personnel, and injuring 103 others.

(source: The Nation)






LIBYA:

UNSMIL statement on 45 death penalties issued by Tripoli Court of Appeal


The verdict announced on 15 August 2018 by the Criminal Circuit of the Court of 
Appeal of Tripoli is a cause of concern, given the 45 death sentences 
pronounced. UNSMIL recognizes efforts by the Libyan judiciary to hold people to 
account for crimes committed during the 2011 Revolution, especially amid armed 
conflict and political polarization. However, the United Nations opposes the 
imposition of the death penalty as a matter of principle.

(source: reliefweb.int)