[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

December 1



UNITED KINNGNDOM:

Andover’s outcast dead: Exploring an Anglo-Norman execution cemetery



Between the 7th and 12th centuries, criminals who were put to death in 
Anglo-Saxon England were often interred not in community graveyards, but in 
separate burial grounds. Archaeological evidence of such sites is relatively 
rare, but traces of a recently discovered example have been uncovered on the 
outskirts of Andover. Jeremy Clutterbuck reports.

South of the River Anton, the chalky Hampshire landscape is rich in 
archaeological remains. There, in the mid-1970s, excavations by the Andover 
Archaeological Society (AAS) revealed a virtually complete Anglo-Saxon 
cemetery, dating from the late 5th to 6th century. It was dubbed Portway East.

In 1981, part of a 2nd cemetery, a few hundred metres away, was also uncovered 
by the AAS. This site – Portway West – dated from the 7th to 8th century, and 
is thought to be the successor burial ground to its neighbour.

At first glance, these appeared to be conventional early medieval cemeteries: 
most of the burials at both sites had been interred respectfully, and according 
to traditional contemporary rites, but 2 men, found at Portway West, were more 
unusual. Not only had both individuals been consigned to the same grave, but 
both were missing their heads. ‘Deviant’ burials like these are sometimes 
associated with capital punishment; indeed, there are a number of Anglo-Saxon 
execution cemeteries known across the chalk downland – at Guildown (Surrey), at 
Stockbridge Down (Hampshire), and 2 at Winchester. Early medieval law codes 
included the death penalty for crimes including theft and absconding from penal 
slavery, although nonlethal punishments like mutilation, ransom, and being 
‘sold beyond the sea’, as well as a system of paying compensation known as 
wergild, were also provided for.

2 other Anglo-Saxon cemeteries are known in the immediate area of the Weyhill 
site: one, Portway East, dates from the 5th-6th century; the other, Portway 
West, from the 7th-8th century. This plan, based on the 1876 1st edition 
Ordnance Survey map, shows the execution cemetery’s prominent location on both 
the parish boundary and the route of a Roman road.

The definitive study of execution sites was carried out by Andrew Reynolds of 
UCL (in 2009 he proposed that there are 27 known examples in this country; 
Alyxandra Mattison of the University of Sheffield has since suggested refining 
this number to 9), who outlined a number of distinctive characteristics. They 
are often found beside routeways, barrows, or other landmarks, and stand out 
because of strikingly unusual burials – bodies that have been laid in their 
graves face down or in other, often contorted, positions; bodies with their 
heads removed or with signs of their hands or feet having been bound; and 
multiple bodies crammed into the same grave cut. 2 clusters of such graves have 
been found at Sutton Hoo, one on the cemetery’s eastern fringe, the other 
scattered in the shadow of one of the royal barrows (see CA 331).

During the earlier Anglo-Saxon period, we find these kinds of burials among 
more conventional graves. It appears that, at that time, wrongdoers who had 
been put to death could still be buried in community graveyards. But it has 
been suggested that the adoption of Christianity, the growth of kingship, and 
the formation of the English state led to the evolution of separate cemeteries 
for executed criminals. As the parish church became the dominant hub of 
community interaction and exchange in the late Saxon period (c.AD 850- 1066), 
and the churchyard effectively became the ‘proper’ passage to the afterlife, a 
mix of emerging Christian belief and residual Germanic lore is thought to have 
provoked a superstitious reimagining of the edge of settlements – and any 
associated earthworks or barrows – as having more negative spiritual 
connotations.

These liminal places were geographically and ideologically ideal for formal 
executions, and there criminals could be buried, cut off from the rest of the 
community, in a phenomenon that spanned the 7th to approximately the 12th 
century. Portway West’s apparently long chronology led Nick Stoodley of the 
University of Winchester to suggest, in 2006, that as this cemetery had 
seemingly not developed into a formal late Saxon execution site, then one might 
perhaps lie undiscovered close by. His words would prove to be remarkably 
prescient.

A CEMETERY EMERGES

In 2016, archaeological work began on a brownfield site about 500m from the 
Portway cemeteries – the planned location of a new Aldi store on Weyhill Road, 
on the western edge of Andover. Cotswold Archaeology had been commissioned by 
Aldi to carry out a watching brief during the construction process, and as work 
commenced, it quickly became apparent that the south-west corner of the site 
was home to a dense cluster of graves. It was decided that, while the watching 
brief would continue on the northern half of the site, the entire southern 
portion would be stripped under archaeological supervision, and carefully 
recorded. As this new phase progressed, the cemetery began to give up its 
secrets.

The surviving area of the burial ground measures 21m east–west by 14m 
north–south, but it is likely that it was originally much larger: some of the 
outer graves had been truncated by modern services and foundations – something 
that may account for the apparent gap in the graves that was recorded towards 
the eastern side of the cemetery – while parts of the site had also been 
ploughed, with scars clearly visible in the chalk.

Many of the Weyhill human remains were buried in unusual ways, which might 
might mean they were the victims of execution. This overhead view shows 
individuals who had been variously interred with tied hands, laid face down, 
and, in the case of Sk1294, placed in his grave with legs bent vertically at 
the knees, cramming his body into a grave that appears to have been too short.

Despite this damage, some 95 graves have been identified, containing the 
remains of an estimated 124 individuals – though disarticulated pieces of bone 
point to the presence of around another 35. This was not a tidy cemetery with 
orderly rows of burials, but a complex jumble of intercutting graves, oriented 
on all points of the compass, and with quantities of disturbed bones found in 
their infills.

It seemed that the burial ground had been in use for some time, and the 
examination of the occupants of its graves revealed tell-tale signs that this 
could indeed be the predicted execution cemetery. Analysis by Cotswold 
Archaeology osteoarchaeologist Sharon Clough showed that the bones were 
overwhelmingly those of young men. Of the adults whose sex could be determined, 
97% (90 out of 93) were male, and 69% had been under 35 years old when they 
died – in fact, the largest subgroup was those aged 18-25. Nor were there any 
elderly individuals or very young children, both of which you would expect to 
find in a typical cemetery population. Instead, the skeletons spoke of a darker 
purpose for the site.

Some of the Weyhill skeletons had damage to their cervical vertebrae, hinting 
at decapitation. This bone comes from Sk1335(the cut faces are shaded), a 
mature man whose skull was found placed under his torso, and whose hands were 
tied in front of his body.

Many of the individuals had been laid in their graves face down, with a smaller 
number placed in a crouched position on their side, and seven of the graves 
contained multiple bodies. Numerous skeletons also bore the marks of a violent 
end: there were up to 23 examples of decapitation, as evidenced either by a 
skull that was missing, or placed between the individual’s legs or at their 
feet, or by cut marks to the neck vertebrae, lower jaw, or head. Some 27 people 
had also been committed to their graves with their hands or feet apparently 
bound – as might be expected from unwilling victims of execution – and an iron 
swivel fitting, found in one of the graves and identified as a type of hook 
often fitted to chains, has been interpreted as part of a possible restraint 
(similar examples are known from the 12th century).

Bound hands are sometimes associated with death by hanging – as they are with 
some of the ‘execution burials’ at Sutton Hoo – and, indeed, two of the Weyhill 
individuals had fractures to their second cervical vertebrae, which hints at 
such a fate. Isolated cases of mutilation also seem to have taken place at this 
site: the 35- to 45-year-old man who was recorded as Sk1240 is thought to be 
the first osteologically confirmed example of a person whose hands had been cut 
off at or around his time of death. The severed hands had been tucked under 
their unfortunate owner’s pelvis when he was buried.

SUPERSTITIONS AND SURPRISES

If the make-up of the burial ground meets many of Andrew Reynolds’ key 
characteristics for an execution cemetery, the site’s prominent location adds 
to its likelihood. It lies on the boundary of both the Hundred and the parish, 
straddling the probable route of the Roman road from Silchester to Old Sarum 
(the projection is based on better-surviving sections to the north-east and 
south-west). Given this interpretation, though, it is poignant to note that it 
was not only adults interred here: the partial remains of at least one 8- to 
12-year-old child (possibly two) were recovered among the Weyhill dead.

Such discoveries were not entirely unexpected: early Anglo-Saxon laws applied 
the death penalty to offenders as young as 12 (for crimes including stealing 
goods worth more than eight pence), and these rulings were common enough 
occurrences that in AD 930 King Athelstan raised the age of criminal 
responsibility to 15. He was concerned, it is recorded, that it was ‘cruel’, 
and that an excessive number were being killed below this age. How much 
influence this had on actual regional practices is not known, though – and it 
is worth noting that, in England, the judicial system continued to execute 
children into the early 19th century.

Sk1193 had a long bone laid across his neck – might these represent attempts by 
the living to keep the dead in their graves?

Given the brutal end that many of the Weyhill individuals seem to have met, it 
is perhaps not surprising that hints of superstitious fears on the part of 
those who buried them have also been observed. One of the skeletons was found 
with the long bone of a different individual laid across their neck, while 
another had a large stone set beside their skull. Were such efforts intended to 
pin the deceased in their graves? At other known execution sites of this 
period, flints placed on skulls and bodies covered with heaps of bones, stones, 
or planks are thought to have been motivated by a fear of the dead coming back, 
and a desire to keep them in the ground.

Few artefacts were recovered from the Weyhill graves, apart from a small number 
of worked bone objects and a handful of iron items – mostly buckles, like this 
example (which is similar to others from Stockbridge Down, another Hampshire 
execution cemetery).

Other burial rites are harder to interpret, though. One individual had the 
remains of a mature ewe, decapitated but otherwise articulated, laid over his 
left leg, while another was accompanied in the grave by a sheep’s skull and 
lower jaw bones. The meaning of these arrangements remains obscure, and have no 
clear echo in surviving law codes, but burials containing animals are known 
from three other execution cemeteries – two of them fewer than 15 miles from 
our site. At Stockbridge Down, 2 graves include a decapitated dog and a sheep 
skull respectively, while four newborn lambs had been laid across the knees of 
an individual interred at Old Dairy Cottage, Winchester, and a cow was recorded 
during the excavations at Sutton Hoo.

It is possible that at least some of these animals might in some way reflect 
the crime committed by the individuals that they were buried with: Andrew 
Reynolds suggests that the Stockbridge Down dog might be evidence of a 
conviction for coursing. He also notes a reference from before AD 955 in the 
charter bounds of Chalke, Wiltshire, of an execution taking place ‘because of 
the goat’.

The late 10th-century silver penny of Aethelred II was found in the hand of 
Sk1220.

MEETING THE DEAD

What can we tell of the executed individuals themselves? In addition to their 
age and sex, osteological analysis also revealed that they were largely of 
average height for the time (estimated from their long bones). Perhaps 
unsurprisingly, given their low average age, there was little sign of 
age-related disease among this group, but a small number of congenital 
conditions were observed, including 1 case of spina bifida occulta and one of 
Klippel-Feil syndrome (a fusing of two or more vertebrae in the neck, resulting 
in a shortened neck with a limited range of mobility). We also saw low levels 
of infected bones and sinus problems, while nine individuals showed signs of 
cribra orbitalia, a distinctive pitting in the eye sockets that speaks of ill 
health or malnutrition in early life; it is hoped that isotope analysis will 
shed more light on their adult diets.

As might be expected for executed criminals, the Weyhill dead had not been laid 
to rest with elaborate grave goods. Very few artefacts were recovered from the 
burials at all, other than 11 iron objects, mostly buckles, and a small number 
of worked bone items, including a handle for a knife or other tool. A single 
silver coin of Aethelred II (Aethelred ‘the Unready’, r.978-1016) was also 
found in the hand of a young man of 17-24, recorded as Sk1220, who had been 
buried face down with his hands bound behind his back. This latter discovery 
represents the only direct dating evidence for the graves, but radiocarbon 
analysis would reveal that any late Saxon interpretation for the cemetery was 
only part of the story.

The number and density of the graves implied that, if all were from the same 
period, late Saxon Andover must have been a particularly lawless place. The 
intercutting graves, though, speak of a site with a much longer lifespan. Our 
next step was to try to unpick the burial ground’s internal organisation, and 
to establish how it had developed. To that end, 15 samples of human bone were 
submitted for radiocarbon dating at the Scottish Universities Environmental 
Research Centre (SUERC) in Glasgow. The results were surprising.

Although a number of the dated inhumations were indeed from the late Saxon 
period, the cemetery’s window of use proved to be much wider. The earliest 
grave for which we currently have dating evidence, lying on the north-eastern 
fringe of the burial ground, was middle Saxon (AD 650-850), while at the other 
extreme one young adult appears to have been buried in the 13th to 14th century 
– a strikingly late date that presumably also applies to a second young adult, 
whose remains were not sampled, interred in the same grave. The majority of the 
burials, though – around 60% – were not Anglo-Saxon at all, but Norman in date 
(1066-1154), with a particular spike provisionally identified for the reign of 
William II (r.1087-1100).

With most of the interments apparently spanning the 8th-12th centuries, if we 
calculate the possible shortest and longest likely durations of the cemetery, 
and its population of around 159 dead, executions might have happened there 
every two to four years on average. Moreover, if the burials do continue 
further to the south and south-west of the excavated area, as suspected, a 
larger number of inhumations could hint at an even higher frequency of 
executions. Either way, this suggests that people were being put to death 
significantly more often at Weyhill than at other published execution sites: in 
2016, a study of nine other such places suggested a minimum interval of seven 
and a half years between each occurrence.

Added to this, if the suggested 23 decapitations among the Weyhill dead is 
accurate, this would be the largest such assemblage from any currently known 
execution cemetery. (If we only count individuals with cut marks and 
repositioned skulls, it is joint first with Bran Ditch in Cambridgeshire.) As 
such, this site is a fascinating resource for studying cemeteries of this kind 
– and, with its good levels of preservation, a nationally important one.

ORIGINS AND ENDINGS

We also carried out isotope analysis to investigate the origins of some of 
these individuals. Samples from 11 skeletons were tested for oxygen isotopes, 
and 5 of these were also analysed for strontium isotopes. Of this latter group, 
research by Mandy Jay of Durham University suggests that data for 4 individuals 
falls within the ranges expected for a chalk location in Britain, while 1 
(SK1211 – the 30- to 34-year-old man who was buried with a large stone beside 
his head) is an incomer to the site. Of the 6 for whom only oxygen data are 
available, 4 lie within the typical range for Britain, but the other 2 fall 
below that level, suggesting that they may be immigrants. Their values hint at 
a colder climate, like Scandinavia or north-eastern Europe. Radiocarbon dating 
suggests that the men – both possible decapitations – died in c.879- 1013 and 
c.1030-1185. This suggests that, while the majority of the people buried at our 
site may have been local, throughout the time the cemetery was in use, 
strangers could be found among the surrounding population and could be buried 
there.

By and large, separate execution cemeteries seem to have mainly faded from the 
English landscape by the 12th century. After the Norman Conquest, there seems 
to have been a cultural shift to allow offenders to be buried among the general 
population within graveyards once more, and towards corporal punishment being 
favoured over capital punishment – although substantive change only really 
arrived with the reign of Henry II (1154-1189). This is not to say that 
prominent displays of execution would have wholly disappeared, and indeed it is 
probable that dedicated execution sites would have continued in use, but 
cemeteries specifically set aside for executed individuals probably became 
sparser or went out of use.

Of the currently known and dated Anglo-Saxon execution sites, only Sutton Hoo 
has previously provided evidence for a similar duration of use to Weyhill, 
spanning up to 6 1/2 centuries. This apparent rarity could be, in part, a 
product of the availability and number of radiocarbon dates for such cemeteries 
– at least 4 of the 10 comparable sites were dug in the 1920s and 1930s, and 
while Norman artefacts and pottery were found associated with the graves at 
Stockbridge Down, absolute dates are not available. Staines in London, Sutton 
Hoo in Suffolk, and Oliver’s Battery in Winchester are all thought to have 
continued into the Norman period, based largely on radiocarbon dating, and the 
new data from Weyhill provides some of the most substantive evidence yet found 
to add to this picture.

FURTHER READING

An interim report on the project can be found at 
http://reports.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk/report/aldi-weyhillroad-andover/. Its 
appendices include a description of each of the skeletons found at Weyhill, 
giving details of their sex, likely age, position in the grave, and the grave’s 
orientation, as well as any grave goods or unusual characteristics/signs of 
execution.

(source: Current Archaeology)








IRAN----execution

Prisoner Hanged Convicted of Murdering Prominent Cleric



A prisoner convicted of murdering a prominent cleric who had allegedly sexually 
abused him when he was a minor, was hanged this morning at Rasht Central Prison 
in northern Iran. IHR had previously reported about his case and scheduled 
execution.

According to the IHR sources, Hossein Esmailpour was a student at a religious 
school. He was convicted of murdering Fakhri Langaroudi with the complicity of 
two of his friends on September 15, 2014. The clergyman, who had a prominent 
position at the religious school, had allegedly sexually abused Hossein over a 
period of several years since Hossein was 14 years old.

Hossein Esmailpour had previously told IHR, “One of the defendants who was 
charged with complicity to murder was released and the other one is sentenced 
to life imprisonment."

Fakhri Langaroudi, the clergyman, was an advisor in 2013 elections for Mohsen 
Rezaei (former Commander in Chief of IRGC) campaign, and the consultant of the 
secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council in Gilan province The whole 
judicial process leading to Hossein’s death sentence lasted 4 months, which is 
very short to deal with such a complicated case. However, some believe that the 
influence of the clergyman’s family was the reason for an unfair trial.

Hossein’s father had previously told IHR, “we did not have a chance to prove us 
in the court, because the victim was a clergyman and he had an influential 
family. Everything was for them and the court did not listen to us… Finally, 
the judge issued the death sentence in 3 or 4 months and then the Supreme Court 
upheld the verdict."

(source: Iran Human Rights)








SINGAPORE----execution

Singapore hangings spur recent calls by rights teams



Singapore on Friday hanged a Malaysian convicted of drug trafficking, the 
latest in what rights groups said was a series of executions prompting them to 
renew calls for the wealthy city-state to abolish the death penalty.

Singapore has some of the world’s toughest anti-drugs laws, and airport customs 
forms warn arriving travelers of “death for drug traffickers” in no uncertain 
terms.

Human rights group Amnesty International and the U.N. Human Rights Office have 
urged Singapore to halt executions and follow the example of neighbouring 
Malaysia, where a newly elected government has vowed to end capital punishment 
by year-end.

“The execution was an unlawful and brutal act, carried out in breach of due 
process and in defiance of the appeals made by Malaysia,” N. Surendran, the 
lawyer for the executed man, said in a statement.

Prabu N Pathmanathan, the Malaysian citizen, was hanged at dawn in the city 
state’s Changi prison, he added. Malaysian Law Minister Liew Vui Keong had said 
this week that he planned to urge Singapore to exercise clemency.

Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs did not immediately have comment.

Authorities in Singapore routinely do not comment on executions and only 
release data on executions in annual reports.

A regional representative of the United Nations Human Rights Office urged 
Singapore to immediately ban the death penalty as a step towards its complete 
abolition.

“We are deeply dismayed that there has been a sharp increase in executions in 
Singapore in recent years,” said Cynthia Veliko, the U.N. official.

“We understand that there have … been a number of executions to date in 2018, 
including a reported four this week alone.”

Amnesty International said the execution of another man, whose name had not 
been released, was imminent, citing reports of another man executed this week 
and 3 on Oct. 5, all for drug-related offences.

That compares with 8 executions for drug-related offences in Singapore for all 
of 2017.

Although 15 countries prescribed the death penalty for drug-related offences in 
2017, Amnesty recorded executions in only 4 – China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and 
Singapore, it said in a statement.

Pathmanathan was convicted of smuggling drugs from Malaysia into Singapore in 
2014, court documents show.

“Yes, he broke the rules, but that doesn’t mean you have to kill him,” 
Magentrau Somalu, one of his close friends, told Reuters. “He deserved a 2nd 
chance.”

(source: infosurhoy.com)








INDIA:

With 17 death sentences, MP records highest in year



With 1 more death sentence in murder case of MP, total number of death 
sentences are 17 in year 2018 which is highest in any State in India and a 
record in history of MP Prosecution.

On Friday, DJ court Mandsaur has given capital punishment to accused KL Meena 
for murdering his wife and two minor daughters. Incident occurred on June 16, 
2018 in Mandsaur district.

Total number of capital punishment are 17 during 2018 out of which 14 cases are 
of rape with girl child, 1 rape case with boy child and 2 in normal murder 
cases. This is the highest number of capital punishment secured in a year in MP 
in entire history. No other state in India has secured so many capital 
punishment.

In August 2018, Prosecution secured capital punishment in 6 cases, July month 3 
cases, June 1 case and in May 2 cases . 6 capital punishment in 1 month in 
child rape cases is also a record in country.

PM of India Narendra Modi has quoted and appreciated success story of MP 
Prosecution on 3 occasion. First in his speech from Red Fort on August 15 and 
2nd in Radio programme Man Ki Baat and 3rd in Forensic science university 
convocation programme at Gandhinagar.

The High court has already confirmed capital sentences in 3 cases and in 3 
cases commuted sentence to life imprisonment. High court has not acquitted any 
case which is a big success.

These capital sentences are excellent example of teamwork , commitment and 
focused approach of MP Prosecution. Credit of extra ordinary success goes to 
team MP Prosecution.

(source: Daily Pioneer)








PAKISTAN:

Asia Bibi, in hiding after blasphemy acquittal, is banned from leaving 
Pakistan----It has been a month since Asia Bibi was acquitted of blasphemy, but 
her ordeal is far from over.



A Christian woman who spent nine years in prison for allegedly insulting the 
Prophet Muhammad under Pakistan’s draconian blasphemy law, which carries the 
death penalty, Bibi is now in hiding in a government safe house along with her 
husband, Ashiq Masih.

“We’re afraid,” said Joseph Nadeem, who serves as the guardian of two of Bibi’s 
daughters while she lives in secret. “In recent days, the Islamists have fired 
at the gate of our home. We are constantly receiving threats and on more than 
one occasion we have been followed.”

Exoneration in a blasphemy case in Pakistan rarely means one can start afresh. 
Instead, those acquitted of the charges face persecution from religious groups 
that refuse to recognise the jurisdiction of the courts.

Often, they must leave the country.

But following countrywide protests by religious extremists after the 31st 
October verdict, Prime Minister Imran Khan decided to prohibit Bibi from 
leaving Pakistan. Australian, Canadian and Dutch diplomats are reportedly 
negotiating with the Pakistani government for her release so she might travel 
to one of those countries for asylum.

Mohammad Faisal, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, denied 
reports that Bibi had already left Pakistan.

“There is no truth in reports of her leaving the country,” he said. “It is fake 
news.”

British Prime Minister Theresa May came under fire for refusing to offer Bibi a 
safe haven. Asked about the issue recently in Parliament, May said she was 
working to help the woman.

“The absolute prime concern that we must have is the safety and security of 
Asia Bibi and her family,” said May.” And we want to see a swift resolution of 
the situation.”

Wilson Chowdhry, chairman of the British Pakistani Christian Association, noted 
that women’s rights activist Malala Yousafzai and author Salman Rushdie 
received asylum in the UK when extremists targeted them for violence.

“Does this mean that the UK has now capitulated to extremists and is now under 
the stranglehold of extremists?” said Chowdhry. “Does this mean the UK is now 
held hostage to extremist encroachment? This is a sad set of affairs for a 
country once lauded for its human rights record.”

Persecution of Christians and other minorities in Pakistan is rampant, he 
added.

Last week, in a crackdown against the Tehreek-e-Labbaik - the group that 
organised the protests that erupted after Bibi’s acquittal - police arrested 
hundreds of its members, including the group’s leader, Khadim Hussain Rizvi. He 
is now in protective custody.

Government critics said the move was only for show, contending that Pakistani 
officials are allied with Rizvi and his followers.

“The current government that stood on Rizvi’s side and used the blasphemy card 
against its opponents has little legitimacy to deal with these Islamists,” said 
Rubina Saigol, an independent political analyst based in Lahore. “Even if the 
civilian government has the will to take down these extremists, we know that 
the intelligence agencies of the country have long had an unholy alliance with 
these sectarian and religious outfits.”

Bibi’s daughter Eisham Ashiq, 18, is holding out hope that she and her parents 
can be reunited somewhere abroad soon. She recently appeared in a video 
thanking those who supported her mother.

“Thanks to everyone who prayed for my mother,” she said. “I would also like to 
thank the great judges and the Pakistani justice system that recognized my 
mother’s innocence."

Meanwhile, others accused of blasphemy remain under threat in the country.

Sawan Masih, a Christian, was sentenced to death in March, 2014, for allegedly 
blaspheming the Prophet. He said his Muslim accusers were trying to obtain his 
property. After he was accused in 2013, a mob attacked his home and churches in 
the Christian district of Lahore.

His family awaits justice and sees hope and fear in Bibi’s verdict.

“I am very happy that Asia is free and, someday, I hope my husband can also 
come home,” said Sobia Masih, his wife. “But when I see [how] the situation 
[developed] after her release, I fear for Sawan’s safety in prison.

“My daughters Romika and Noor miss their father,” she added. “They have been 
devoid of his love through no fault of ours.”

(source: Sight Magazine)




ZIMBABWE:

No Need for Hangman If Zimbabwe's Death Penalty Goes



The consideration for the abolition of the death penalty may be the lifeline 
needed for 81 prisoners who are on death row, while 127 others are serving life 
terms. The country has not carried out any executions since 2005 when the last 
hangman retired.

(source: allafrica.com)