[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

August 21




CHINA:

Death penalty possible in fatal arson case


A man is facing the death penalty after admitting to starting a fire that 
killed 18 people in a karaoke bar in Guangdong province in April.

Liu Chunlu, 32, was prosecuted on charges of intentional homicide and arson 
during a public hearing on Thursday in a court in Yingde.

The court heard that Liu arrived at the bar on Chayuan Road with friends on the 
evening of April 23 for a night of singing and drinking.

While there, the defendant expressed his fondness for a female staff member, 
surnamed Zhang, but she rejected him, according to the indictment, which was 
published online.

He had also failed to reach a business deal after negotiating with another man 
at the bar, which he blamed on interruptions by someone identified as the 
venue's manager, it added.

In anger, Liu went to his motorcycle, which was parked by the entrance of the 
karaoke bar, disconnected its fuel pipe and spread gasoline around on the 
ground. He then used a cigarette lighter to set the fuel ablaze, despite his 
friends attempts to stop him, the indictment said.

Flames quickly spread to other motorcycles, blocking the exit of people inside 
the bar. 15 men and 3 women died of carbon monoxide poisoning. 3 other people 
were injured, one of them seriously.

Liu fled the scene but was caught by police on April 24.

During Thursday's hearing, a tearful Liu confessed to the charges, Nanfang 
Metropolis Daily reported on Sunday.

The court has yet to issue a verdict. The charge of intentional homicide 
carries the death penalty in China.

The trial was witnessed by relatives of both the defendant and the victims as 
well as political advisers, local media representatives, residents and others.

Liu Xiangfu, the head prosecutor who tried the case, said Liu's crime was 
grievous, as many people were killed.

"He committed intentional arson and caused serious casualties and big economic 
losses," he told the court. "The facts are very clear, and the defendant should 
be held responsible for his crimes and punished."

(source: ecns.cn)






SAUDI ARABIA:

Saudis campaign for female activist on death row


Saudi human rights activists have warned against the possible beheading of 
detained female political activist Israa al-Ghomgham, who has been 
provisionally sentenced to death by a Riyadh court.

On 6 August, in a first hearing before the Specialised Criminal Court in the 
capital, the public prosecutor recommended the death penalty for 6 defendants, 
including Ghomgham and her husband, Moussa al-Hashem, who have been jailed for 
nearly 3 years on charges of anti-government protests, incitement to 
disobedience of the ruler, and providing moral support to participants in 
anti-government protests in the Shia-majority eastern region of Qatif.

Ghomgham, 29, and Hashem were arrested on 8 December 2015 in a house raid by 
Saudi security forces. She was one of the leaders of anti-government protests 
that have erupted in Qatif since 2011, demanding an end to anti-Shia 
discrimination and the release of political prisoners.

According to Saudi human rights groups, Ghomgham, who belongs to a low-income 
family, could not afford a lawyer throughout her 32 months in detention. After 
her case became known, however, many lawyers offered their services to her 
family pro bono.

The final session for Ghomgham's case is scheduled for 28 October. A judge will 
either confirm or reverse the death penalty recommendation issued by the public 
prosecutor in August.

Beheadings usually take place in Saudi Arabia after the decision is ratified by 
the king - in this case, King Salman bin Abdulaziz.

"Sentencing a female human rights defender to death is a dangerous precedent in 
Saudi Arabia," said Ali Adubisi, director of the European Saudi Organisation 
for Human Rights (ESOHR).

Adubisi said all the charges against Ghomgham were related to her activism, 
adding that none of the charges levied against her involved use of violence 
that would warrant the death penalty under Saudi law.

"It's largely a revenge against the Arab Spring, and a punishment for Qatif, 
which witnessed the largest protests since 2011," Adubisi told MEE.

According to the latest tally by ESOHR, at least 58 people, most of them Shia, 
are currently on death row in Saudi Arabia, 31 of whom had their verdicts 
confirmed by the High Court.

The preliminary death penalty verdict against Ghomgham has prompted a campaign 
for her release on social media, with many warning this could be the 1st time 
Saudi Arabia executes a female political activist.

(source: Middle East Eye)






IRAQ:

Iraqi sentences 14 more to death for involvement in Speicher massacre


Iraqi judicial authorities have sentenced 14 people to death for participating 
in the 2014 execution of hundreds of Iraqi air force cadets claimed by the 
Islamic State (IS) in the northern city of Tikrit.

"The Iraqi judiciary sentenced 14 main defendants in the Speicher massacre," 
Moen al-Kazemi, the head of a government committee on the massacre, said in a 
statement released on Sunday.

"The trial of the defendants was conducted under Iraq's anti-terrorism act," he 
said.

Kazemi noted that the verdicts are still subject to appeal.

"Families of the victims have called for the accelerated implementation of the 
verdict," he added, which would follow suit with previous convictions of other 
Speicher Massacre participants.

After occupying much of northern and western of Iraq, the jihadist group on 
June 12, 2014, killed over 1,500 cadets and personnel at the Speicher military 
academy located in the province of Salahuddin.

In video footage released online by IS, militants were seen executing their 
prisoners with a single, close-range shot to the head before dumping their 
bodies into the Tigris river.

2 years later, the government of Iraq announced they had discovered the bodies 
of more than 1,000 victims after uncovering mass graves in Tikrit.

Iraq declared final victory against the jihadist group last December. Since 
then, the country's judicial authorities have sentenced hundreds to death and 
life in prison. Hundreds more of IS suspects remain in Iraqi jails awaiting a 
trial and the court's verdict.

International humanitarian organizations, including the UN, say efforts by 
Iraqi authorities to speed up the implementation of death sentences could lead 
to the execution of innocent people.

The death penalty in Iraq was suspended on June 10, 2003, but was reinstated 
the following year.

In August 2017, the Iraqi Central Criminal Court sentenced an initial 27 people 
to death for their role in the Camp Speicher killings.

(source: kurdistan24.net)






INDIA:

Madhya Pradesh man awarded death penalty for raping, killing 14-year-old last 
year----The accused was booked for rape, murder, house trespass, assault and 
destroying evidence under the Indian Penal Code and other relevant sections of 
the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act.


A 22-year-old man was sentenced to death on Monday for the rape-cum-murder of a 
14-year-old girl in Sagar district last year. This is the 11th case of a person 
being awarded the death penalty for sexually assaulting a minor this year, said 
director public prosecution Rajendra Kumar.

Additional government advocate MD Avasthi, who represented the state in the 
case, said the girl was raped by Rabbu alias Sarvesh Sen (22) at Deval village 
on December 7, 2017. He then poured kerosene over the victim and set her afire, 
causing her to die in agony 7 days later.

The accused was booked for rape, murder, house trespass, assault and destroying 
evidence under the Indian Penal Code and other relevant sections of the 
Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act.

"The case was categorised as a sensational and heinous offence, and Bhangarh 
police station in-charge sub-inspector Ravi Bhushan Pathak completed the 
investigation in 21 days. The challan was presented on December 28, 2017," said 
Rajendra Kumar.

The death sentence was awarded by Bina first additional session judge Alok 
Mishra after Sen was found guilty of the charges levelled against him.

(source: Hindustan Times)






LIBYA:

Ministry of Justice stress integrity of verdict in "Highway case"


The Ministry of Justice of the Presidential Council insisted on the integrity 
and independence of the Libyan judiciary in its verdict on the persons accused 
of "the highway case" that resulted in the killing and loss of 146 Libyan 
citizens in 2011.


The Ministry pointed out that the defendants had received a fair trial in which 
they enjoyed full legal guarantees, and were offered the right to defend 
themselves, adding that as an additional guarantee, the sentence issued, will 
be submitted by the force of law to the Supreme Court, in accordance with the 
Criminal Procedure Code.

The ministry explained that the death penalty is prescribed in the Libyan law, 
for serious crimes, in line with the provisions of Islamic law, calling on the 
international organizations and missions to dissociate themselves from 
interfering in Libyan sovereign affairs.

(source: The Libya Observer)