[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

August 24



EUROPEAN UNION/LIBYA:

EU concerned about Libya court's sentencing 45 former regime supporters to 
death


The European Union Delegation to Libya on Thursday expressed concern over a 
Libyan court's sentencing 45 former regime supporters to death for killing 
demonstrators in 2011.

"The 45 death sentences issued last week by the Criminal Division of Tripoli's 
Court of Appeal are a cause of concern," the delegation said in a statement.

"The European Union Delegation and the EU Heads of Mission to Libya have a 
strong and unequivocal opposition to the death penalty in all circumstances and 
for all cases. They further call on Libyan authorities to uphold the de-facto 
moratorium in place since 2010," it said.

Libya's Court of Appeal last week sentenced 45 supporters of former leader 
Muammar Gaddafi's regime to death over the killing of demonstrators in the 
capital Tripoli during the 2011 unrest.

On Aug. 21, 2011, the supporters of the Gaddafi regime killed a number of 
civilian demonstrators near the highway in the capital Tripoli.

The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) on Thursday also expressed concern 
over the court's death sentences, saying it opposes "the imposition of the 
death penalty as a matter of principle."

However, the UN-backed Libyan Ministry of Justice on Sunday rejected the 
foreign opposition to the death sentences, calling on international 
organizations and missions to "refrain from interference in Libyan sovereign 
affairs, especially judiciary."

(source: xinhuanet.com)






SUDAN:

Sudan teen who killed rapist husband faces new calls for death penalty----Noura 
Hussein got a jail sentence after an international outcry. Prosecutors seek to 
overturn the ruling that spared her execution


State prosecutors in Sudan are calling for the death penalty to be reinstated 
for a young woman who was sentenced to 5 years in jail for killing her abusive 
husband.

Noura Hussein, 19, was found guilty of premeditated murder in May and had faced 
execution. But a month later, after a high profile campaign, the verdict was 
quashed and she was given a jail sentence and fined for manslaughter.

However, it has emerged that prosecutors are seeking to overturn the latest 
ruling and reinstate the death penalty.

Hussein was forced to marry at 16. She fled the marriage, but was tricked into 
returning to her husband by family members. She stabbed him as he tried to rape 
her.

Judy Gitau, a human rights lawyer at Equality Now, which is campaigning on 
Hussein's behalf, said the development was extremely concerning. "We reiterate 
our calls to the Sudanese authorities to ensure that the rule of law is 
observed," said Gitau. "The Sudanese government took a positive step forward 
for women's and girls' rights by overturning Noura's death sentence. There 
should be no regression on this."

Equality Now is asking Hussein's supporters to send letters of concern to 
Sudan's attorney general, Omer Ahmed Mohamed, the justice minister Dr Idris 
Ibrahim Jameel, and the National Commission for Human Rights of Sudan.

Asked how she was coping in prison, Hussein told the Guardian she had applied 
to study law at university. Her lawyers said she had been offered a scholarship 
to study at the Open University of Sudan.

Sudan allows girls as young as 10 to be married. More than 1/3 of girls in 
Sudan are married before 18 according to the UN, and 12% are wed before they 
reach 15.

Since the case, Hussein's family have been forced to leave their home in 
Khartoum, Sudan's capital, fearing reprisals from the dead man's family.

His father told al-Tayyar daily newspaper in Khartoum that the familywere not 
going to forgive Hussein. He added that even if she were executed they would 
still seek revenge because Hussein was only a woman who had killed a man, and 
women were not equal to men.

The No to Women's Oppression group is mediating between the 2 families.

Hussein's lawyer said he did not know when a decision on this latest appeal 
would be made.

(source: The Guardian)






UGANDA:

Uganda's pop star-turned-lawmaker now facing treason charges


A Ugandan pop star-turned-lawmaker who opposes the longtime president was 
charged with treason in a civilian court on Thursday, minutes after a military 
court dropped weapons charges.

The treason charge, for which the death penalty applies, was bound to bring 
fresh outrage from Ugandans and global musicians after Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, 
also known as Bobi Wine, alleged he was severely beaten in detention. The 
government denies it.

Ssentamu has emerged as an influential critic of President Yoweri Museveni, 
especially among youth, after winning a parliament seat last year.

The 36-year-old Ssentamu had been charged last week with illegal possession of 
firearms for his alleged role in an incident in which Museveni's motorcade was 
pelted with stones. After the military court freed him on Thursday he was 
re-arrested by police and taken to a magistrate's court.

Ssentamu had to walk with support during his appearance in military court and 
appeared to cry as he rubbed his eyes. A colleague wrapped a scarf in the 
colors of the national flag around his shoulders. He sat in the dock in 
magistrate's court, with his lawyers saying he is unable to stand on his own.

The magistrate ruled that Ssentamu should be allowed access to his own 
physicians. He was remanded until Aug. 30.

Going abroad for treatment is desirable but first they are fighting for access 
to a private Ugandan health facility, said one of Ssentamu's attorneys, Medard 
Sseggona. "As to whether they can do it is a different matter."

The lawmaker had been arrested with four other opposition lawmakers, three of 
whom also face treason charges. A fifth legislator has been hospitalized with 
injuries allegedly sustained during detention.

Ssentamu's appearance on Thursday was the first time he had been seen in public 
since his detention. He clenched his fists and greeted supporters.

In recent days Uganda's government has faced mounting pressure at home and 
abroad to free him. Security forces have violently put down street protests 
demanding his release.

On Thursday, other opposition figures expressed concern about being targeted by 
security forces. "Every way out of my home is barricaded since very early 
today," Kizza Besigye, a 4-time presidential challenger who has been jailed 
many times, tweeted.

Police spokesman Emilian Kayima later said Besigye was arrested when he tried 
to force his way out. Police also deployed, under what the spokesman called 
"preventive arrest," at the homes of certain Ugandans after receiving 
intelligence that some "wanted to engage in criminal activities."

Ssentamu's arrest came after he was campaigning in an election to choose a 
lawmaker in the northwestern town of Arua.

Museveni also was in Arua at the time, campaigning for a rival candidate who 
eventually lost. While the president was departing, authorities said, his 
motorcade was pelted with stones by people associated with Ssentamu and the 
candidate he backed, Kassiano Wadri.

Ssentamu's driver was shot and killed, allegedly by security forces.

In a statement late Wednesday, Museveni accused "unprincipled politicians" of 
luring youth into rioting. Responding to calls on social media to 
#FreeBobiWine, the president said he had no power to release Ssentamu. "Let us 
therefore wait for the courts and see what they decide."

Museveni, a U.S. ally on regional security, took power by force in 1986 and has 
since been elected 5 times. Although he has campaigned on his record of 
establishing peace and stability, some worry that those gains are being eroded 
the longer he stays in power.

The 74-year-old Museveni is now able to seek re-election in 2021 because 
parliament passed legislation last year removing a clause in the constitution 
that had prevented anyone over 75 from holding the presidency. Ssentamu 
publicly opposed that decision.

(source: Associated Press)






CHINA:

Shanghai man gets death penalty for murdering wife, hiding her body in freezer 
for 3 months----During those 3 months, he kept up appearances by pretending to 
be his wife on social media


A man in Shanghai has been sentenced to death after murdering his wife and 
hiding her body in a freezer in their home for the following 3 months while he 
assumed her identity on social media and in text messages with her family.

On October 18th, 2016, 30-year-old Zhu Xiaodong strangled his wife, Yang 
Liping, 30, to death over what was described in court as "trivial" domestic 
arguments. Afterward, he wrapped Yang's body up in a quilt and hid it inside of 
their freezer. There her body stayed for the next 105 days.

During this time, Zhu assumed his wife's identity on WeChat, replying to text 
messages from her friends and parents who apparently didn't suspect a thing. 
Meanwhile, he used money from Yang's bank accounts to take vacations and date 
other women, according to court documents.

Finally, on February 1st, Zhu was forced to turn himself in to police, knowing 
that he could no longer keep the charade going after Yang's father had asked 
the couple over for a birthday dinner that night.

Yang's family argued that Zhu's murder of Yang was premeditated, noting how Zhu 
had purchased the freezer only 2 months before strangling her. However, at his 
trial, Zhu claimed that the freezer was bought in order to store meat for his 
pet reptiles.

In the end, the Shanghai No 2 Intermediate People's Court decided that Zhu's 
crime was indeed heinous enough to warrant the death penalty. Zhu will now have 
10 days to appeal the sentencing.

(source: shanghai.ist)






SAUDI ARABIA:

We Have 2 Months To Save Israa al-Ghomgham's Life


Despite widespread rumors, the Saudi Shia activist Israa al-Ghomgham has 
neither been executed nor sentenced to death. After more than three years in 
pretrial detention, she is now on trial alongside her husband and 4 other 
activists on protest-related charges at Saudi Arabia's notorious terrorism 
court. But if the Public Prosecution - an entity that reports directly to the 
king - has its way, al-Ghomgham, 29, may become one of the first women 
sentenced to death for her peaceful activism.

Israa al-Ghomgham wouldn't be the 1st Shia to be executed. In 2011, emboldened 
by the Arab Spring, Saudi Arabia's minority Shia, mostly concentrated in the 
Eastern Province, organized and participated in demonstrations calling for an 
end to the systematic discrimination they face in their own country. Israa 
al-Ghomgham and her husband were among them. Their demands for equal treatment 
and increased freedoms were met with a serious crackdown, with many of them 
persecuted.

The Saudi government discriminates against its Shia minority in public 
education, religious freedom, and employment, but the criminal justice system 
in particular has been repeatedly exploited to mete out draconian punishments 
against members of the Shia community following grossly unfair trials.

In 2014, the court unjustly sentenced 8 Shia activists, including a prominent 
cleric, Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, to death for their role in mass demonstrations in 
Saudi Arabia's majority Shia Eastern Province. And then another 14 people in 
2016 for participating in the protests. Both trials were mired with fair trial 
violations. The authorities executed at least 4 Shia men, including Sheikh Nimr 
al-Nimr, in January 2016, along with 43 (Sunni) men on the same day, most of 
whom were charged with being members of al-Qa'ida. It was the largest mass 
execution in Saudi Arabia since 1980.

But while the authorities have often attempted to accuse Shia protesters of 
committing violent acts or of incitement to violence, neither al-Ghomgham nor 
the other 5 defendants have been charged with acts of violence. In the absence 
of a written penal code or narrowly worded regulations, judges and prosecutors 
in Saudi Arabia can essentially make up offenses and criminalize a wide range 
of acts under broad, catch-all categories. In al-Ghomgham's trial, the Public 
Prosecution is seeking the death penalty against 5 of the 6 activists based on 
a host of vague charges that include "participating in protests," "attempting 
to inflame public opinion," "filming protests and publishing on social media," 
and "providing moral support to rioters."

This trial is taking place in parallel with the authorities' unrelenting 
crackdown on women's rights activists. More than a dozen have been arrested 
since mid-May, in the weeks leading up to the lifting of the driving ban on 
June 24 and continuing through the summer. While some have since been released, 
others remain detained without charge. Authorities have accused several of them 
of serious crimes, and 9 are supposed to be referred to the same terrorism 
court as al-Ghomgham. Local media outlets have carried out an unprecedented 
campaign against them, labeling them "traitors."

The ruthlessness and unabashed trampling of fundamental human rights is coming 
at a time when Saudi Arabia, under the leadership of its young and ambitious 
crown prince, claims to be pursuing a path of moderation, modernization, and 
reform. In interviews during his whirlwind public relations tour across the 
United States in the spring, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman both denied that 
any discrimination exists against the country's Shia minority and announced a 
plan to curb executions for non-murder offenses. He also stated his support for 
the advancement of women in Saudi society.

But his rule has instead become characterized by an unrelenting crackdown on 
all forms of dissent or criticism, even when the authorities have agreed to 
modest reforms. This has shown that the crown prince's rhetoric doesn't reflect 
the harsh reality on the ground. And it highlights the conspicuous silence of 
Saudi Arabia's western allies, especially the U.S. and U.K., as the "reformist" 
crown prince oversees his security forces hauling off women's rights activists 
by the dozen to prison.

Israa al-Ghomgham's next court date is on October 28. The international 
community has less than 2 months to make it known to Saudi Arabia that she and 
her fellow activists not only deserve life, but freedom too.

(source: Hiba Zayadin is acting Saudi researcher at Human Rights 
Watch----Opinion, newsweek.com)