[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

December 7



IRAN----mass executions

Mass Execution of 12 inmates in Kerman Central Prison



Iran on Thursday executed 12 prisoners in Kerman Central Prison, most of them 
convicted of drug charges.

4 of the executed prisoners were identified as, Abdolghani Ghalandarzehi, 
Yaghub Ghalandarzehi, Jalil Khodabakhsh and Yousef Jalaledin, all from Iran’s 
ethnic Baluch minority.

According to witnesses, the bodies of 12 people executed today were handed over 
to their families.

More recently, on November 21, the Iranian authorities, hanged three prisoners 
collectively in public in Shiraz on charge of moharebeh (fighting with God).

In yet another case on November 14, Iran carried out a mass execution of 10 
prisoners in in Gohardasht Prison of Karaj.

National Council of Resistance of Iran in November called on all international 
human rights advocates, in particular the High Commissioner for Human Rights 
and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, and the 
Working Group on arbitrary death penalty, to condemn these executions.

(source: Iran Human Rights)








MALAYSIA:

Make death sentence non-mandatory and subject to judges' discretion



In Malaysia, the death sentence has been an integral part of the Penal Code 
since the time of independence. It was even made mandatory for certain 
offences, including possession of firearms and drugs. However, a bill to 
abolish the death sentence may be presented to Parliament next week.

The arguments for and against abolishing the death sentence are many. I would 
like to state beforehand that I am against the mandatory death sentence as 
practised at the moment in this country.

However, I am also against the total abolishment of the death sentence as 
suggested. As we can see, there have been many heinous crimes that cause public 
outrage, from serial murders or sexual abuse to the death of an infant 
recently.

The common arguments against the death sentence are that:

1. A state has no right to take away the life of an individual

Every individual’s life is his or her basic human right that is recognised 
worldwide. Cases where death sentences were overturned on appeal, or upon the 
emergence of new evidence, were always quoted as the reason why innocent lives 
might be lost.

However, the “individual” loses this right once the person oversteps into the 
forbidden areas of crimes defined by laws that may result in the death 
sentence, especially if he or she took away the lives of other people.

Ironically, many countries in the world that ban the death sentence have also 
legalised abortions. What gives these states the right to say it is acceptable 
to take the lives of unborn children?

It is certain that these aborted foetuses were 100 % innocent and had no chance 
to do any wrongs whatsoever. Yet those who claim to defend the innocent can 
condone abortions that are performed for non-medical reasons.

The 2nd scenario is that our soldiers are required to kill when commanded. An 
enemy soldier can be killed even if he has not fired a shot. His only “crime” 
is that he was born in an enemy country.

The 3rd scenario is that our police are to shoot if necessary to stop a 
criminal that can be a danger, like one who is brandishing a knife. A person 
who has yet to commit a crime may be killed before he is even given a chance to 
be tried in court.

In Malaysia, a person who is found to have murdered many people in a terror 
attack with multiple witnesses and evidence will go through a full trial, with 
defence lawyers, appeal process and appeal process to the highest court, and 
many years on the death roll with no new evidence emerging. To say it is wrong 
for the state to consider the death sentence is bending the arguments too much 
to the other extreme.

2. The death sentence has proven not to deter criminals from committing crimes

The death sentence definitely will not deter determined criminals. However, it 
does deter many people from breaking the law. Similarly, life sentences and 
caning will not deter would-be criminals as well.

The death sentence was not enacted as a deterrent; it was enacted from ancient 
times to be the punishment for the most heinous of crimes.

It was also the justice and closure needed by families of the victims for them 
to move on after the loss of their loved ones. The judges can always take into 
account the wishes of the families concerned.

3. A life sentence is a worse punishment for the wrongdoers than a death 
sentence

This is contradictory in the way that people who claim to be concerned about 
human rights want to impose a worse penalty on the wrongdoers.

Certainly, some wrongdoers will be worse off with a life sentence. However, all 
ordinary criminals would prefer a life sentence to a death sentence. Those who 
suggest that a life sentence is worse appear not to be in tune with the common 
people at all.

In summary, I am supportive of the idea to abolish the mandatory death 
sentence.

However, the death sentence was a part of every justice system in the past. 
People have also been sentenced to death for war crimes after World War II.

Based on the survey done by New Straits Times Online, Berita Harian Online and 
Harian Metro that showed 82 % of netizens are against the total abolishment of 
the death sentence, Malaysia should amend the process by first abolishing the 
mandatory death sentence.

In cases such as those involving a drug mule, the mandatory death sentence 
should be abolished and judges given the right to exercise their wisdom in each 
individual case.

(source: Opinion; Dr Ko Chung Sen is the state legislative assemblyperson for 
Kepayang, Perak----malaysiakini.com)








THAILAND:

Bikie killer sentenced to death in Thailand to be released after just 3 years



An Australian kickboxer convicted of the murder of a Hells Angels drug 
trafficker is expected to be released from jail today, despite an ongoing 
appeal.

Antonio Bagnato was convicted of the 2015 murder of Hells Angels boss Wayne 
Schneider and sentenced in February last year to the death penalty.

The former kickboxer was the bodyguard of Mr Schneider, who was kidnapped and 
bludgeoned to death near the resort town of Pattaya.

A staff member at Bangkwang Prison, where Bagnato is being held, told the ABC 
that he would be released on Friday.

"Yes, there is [a] court order to release him," said the official, who did not 
give his name.

The prison official said Thai police planned to re-arrest Bagnato immediately 
on separate charges.

"He has a pending charge and will not walk out — police will come to take him 
from prison to police station," the prison official told the ABC.

The brutal murder of the bikie boss is believed to be linked to a wider 
criminal network smuggling methamphetamines from Thailand to Australia.

In 2015, Australian Luke Cook was convicted of helping Bagnato flee to Cambodia 
after Wayne Schneider's murder.

Last month Cook and his Thai partner Kanyarat Wechapitak were sentenced to the 
death penalty for smuggling 500 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, also 
known as ice.

The Bangkok Post quoted Police Lieutenant General Sommai Kongwisaisuk as saying 
the couple bought the drugs from a Chinese supplier in international waters and 
stored it aboard a boat.

Police said that while the boat was heading back to shore in the Sattahip 
district of Chon Buri province, they encountered a patrol boat and dropped the 
drugs into the sea before escaping.

More than 50 kilograms of ice later washed ashore at a beach in Rayong.

American Tyler Gerard was also convicted of being involved in the smuggling 
plot and was last month sentenced to death.

Gerard previously stood trial alongside Bagnato and received a 3-year sentence 
for deprivation of liberty and helping to dispose of Wayne Schneider's body.

Thai police used the GPS tracker on a rented vehicle used in the crime to 
identify the gravesite.

(source: abc.com.au)








PAKISTAN:

SHC rejects pleas against death penalty by military court



A division bench of the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday dismissed the 
appeals against death sentences awarded to the accused of Safoora Goth carnage 
at a military court.

At least 45 people were killed when terrorists targeted a bus carrying 60 
members of the Ismaili community on May 13, 2015. A military court awarded 
death sentence to the convicts including Saad Aziz, Tahir Minhas, Azhar Ishrat, 
Hafiz Nasir and Asadur Rehman on May 12, 2015 in Safoora Goth carnage and other 
cases of terrorism. The death sentence was later ratified by the then Chief of 
Army Staff, General Raheel Shareef.

SHC orders State Bank to justify blocking of citizen’s account

Announcing the verdict, the two-member bench comprising Justice Iqbal Kalhoro 
and Justice Shamsuddin Abbasi, however, directed the deputy attorney-general to 
submit replies on the pleas filed by the relatives seeking record of the case 
and meeting with the convicts.

The convicts, in their appeals through their counsel Hashmat Ali Habib, 
maintained that the military court had awarded death sentence to the accused on 
different allegations and the families were not provided with the details of 
cases.

The court was requested to stop the execution of the death penalty and to allow 
the meeting of the families with the convicts.

The Sindh prosecutor-general, in his arguments, maintained that the military 
court had awarded sentence in a serious offence, and appeal against the 
military court’s decision could be filed only in the Supreme Court.

The court later adjourned the hearing till December 31 when deputy 
attorney-general will make his submissions on other pleas filed by the families 
of the convicts.

Meanwhile an anti-terrorism court once again issued the arrest warrants of 
Hussain Qamar Siddiqui, brother of Sultan Qamar Siddiqui, in the case of 
facilitating terrorism in Safoora carnage.

Hearing of the case of facilitating terrorism was held before a special court 
in anti-terrorism complex at Karachi Central Jail on Thursday. The court issued 
the bailable arrest warrants of Hussain Qamar Siddiqui against a surety of 
Rs25,000. Sultan Qamar was presented before the court by the National 
Accountability Bureau (NAB) officials. Accused Sultan Qamar and Sajid Naeem 
have requested for exemption from appearance in the court. The court issued 
notice to the prosecutor on the request and adjourned hearing till December 15.

SHC orders private schools to restore old fee structure

According to police, a military court had already awarded death penalty and 
other sentences to the 9 key accused in the Safoora carnage case. The court 
accepted the bail of accused Zahid Motiwala against a surety of Rs200,000.

Accused Zahid Motiwala, Sultan Qamar, Hussain Umar and Sajid Nadeem were 
already on bail while 6 other accused belonging to Al-Qaeda terrorist group are 
still at large.

(source: The Express Tribune)




SOUTH SUDAN:

South Sudan urged to end death penalty as evidence shows children among 
dead----Rise in state-sanctioned executions condemned by Amnesty International 
as 'outdated and inhuman'



Children are among those being executed in South Sudan, in an “extremely 
disturbing” escalation of the state’s use of the death penalty, according to 
Amnesty International.

This year, 7 people, including one child, were hanged, the highest number since 
the county gained independence in 2011 , according to evidence provided to 
Amnesty by legal professionals and government officials.

In 2017, 2 of the 4 people executed were children at the time of their 
conviction, the organisation said.

Among the 342 people currently on death row – more than double the number 
recorded in 2011 – are a secondary school pupil, who was sentenced to death 
when he was 15, and a breastfeeding mother. The country’s lack of transparency 
on its use of the death penalty meant the figures were likely to be 
underestimated, Amnesty said.

The rise in executions is happening at a time when the world is moving away 
from death sentences.

Joan Nyanyuki, Amnesty International’s east Africa director, said: “It is 
extremely disturbing that the world’s youngest nation has embraced this 
outdated, inhuman practice and is executing people, even children, at a time 
when the rest of the world is abandoning this abhorrent punishment.

"The president of South Sudan must stop signing execution orders and end this 
obvious violation of the right to life."

More than 100 countries, out of 195 globally, have abolished the death penalty. 
South Sudan and Somalia were the only countries in the region that carried out 
judicial executions in 2017.

The use of the death sentence or penalty against a person under 18 at the time 
a crime was committed is a breach of the South Sudanese 2011 transitional 
constitution, in addition to international human rights laws and standards. The 
execution of a mother caring for a young child would also contravene South 
Sudanese law and international laws and standards.

Philip Deng* was found guilty of murder when he was 15, following a trial in 
which he did not have any legal representation. Deng claims the crime was an 
accident.

Deng, who will turn 17 in December, said: “Before the accident, I was in 
secondary school. I was a runner, a very good one, and I was also a singer of 
gospel and earthly songs … My own aim was to study and do things that can help 
others. My hope is to be out and to continue with my school,” he said.

Deng, who said he told the judge he was 15, was sentenced to death by hanging 
on 14 November 2017. He finally gained access to a lawyer, who appealed against 
the court’s decision. He was transferred from Torit state prison to Juba State 
central prison in September and is awaiting his appeal.

Since independence, 140 people have been sentenced to death and at least 32 
executed. The country, which allows the death penalty for crimes including 
murder, terrorism, drug trafficking and treason, has carried out executions 
every year since it acquired independence, except for 2014, when Amnesty did 
not record any.

This year’s spate of executions appears to have been prompted by a directive by 
the director-general of South Sudan’s national prison service on 26 April, in 
which all death row prisoners held at county and state prisons were ordered to 
be moved to 2 of the country’s most notorious prisons – Wau central prison and 
Juba central prison.

South Sudan, which has been embroiled in a civil war between forces loyal to 
President Salva Kiir and rebel groups since 2013, signed a peace accord in 
October.

2 prominent individuals, James Gatdek Dak and William Endley, who had been 
sentenced to death for their part in the conflict, were pardoned by Kiir and 
released on 2 November. Dak, a former spokesperson for the Sudan People’s 
Liberation Movement in Opposition, was sentenced to death by hanging for 
treason on 12 February. Endley, a former adviser to Riek Machar, chairman and 
commander-in-chief of the SPLMIO, was convicted and sentenced to death on 23 
February for conspiracy to overthrow the government under the National Security 
Act.

Before a person sentenced to death can be executed, the supreme court and the 
president must confirm the death sentence.

In all, 23 countries carried out 993 executions in 2017, with nearly 22,000 
people on death row; worldwide, there was a small drop in the number of 
executions carried out.

In 2017, there was a significant decrease in death sentences imposed across 
Sub-Saharan Africa.

* Name changed to protect identity

(source: The Guardian)

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

Execution spree targets even children and threatens nursing mothers



South Sudan has carried out more executions this year than it has done in any 
year since gaining independence in 2011, with a child among seven people known 
to have been executed so far in 2018, Amnesty International revealed today.

Amnesty International fears for the lives of another 135 people on death row, 
who have this year been rounded up from other prisons across the country to 2 
prisons notorious for executions.

“It is extremely disturbing that the world’s youngest nation has embraced this 
outdated, inhuman practice and is executing people, even children, at a time 
when the rest of the world is abandoning this abhorrent punishment,” said Joan 
Nyanyuki, Amnesty International’s Director for East Africa, the Horn and the 
Great Lakes.

“The President of South Sudan must stop signing execution orders and end this 
obvious violation of the right to life.”

Amnesty International has established that at least 342 people are currently 
under the sentence of death in South Sudan, more than double the number 
recorded in 2011.

The President of South Sudan must stop signing execution orders and end this 
obvious violation of the right to life.----Joan Nyanyuki, Amnesty 
International's Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes Last 
year, South Sudanese authorities executed 4 people, 2 of whom were children at 
the time of the crimes for which they were convicted. The executions were a 
blatant violation of national and international laws, which strictly forbid the 
execution of anyone who was below the age of 18 at the time of their alleged 
crime.

This year Amnesty International interviewed a 16-year-old boy, who is 
languishing on death row at Juba Central Prison, after being convicted of 
murder. Waiting for his appeal to be considered by the court, he described the 
crime as an accident.

“Before the accident, I was in secondary school. I was a runner, a very good 
one and I was also a singer of gospel and earthly songs. […] My own aim was to 
study and do things that can help others. My hope is to be out and to continue 
with my school,” he said.

He said he had told the judge that he was 15 during his trial.

The use of the death penalty against people who were children at the time of 
the crime is strictly prohibited under international human rights law and South 
Sudan’s 2011 Transitional Constitution. Article 37(a) of the Convention on the 
Rights of a Child, to which South Sudan is a party, stipulates that ‘neither 
capital punishment nor life imprisonment without possibility of release shall 
be imposed for offences committed by persons below 18 years of age’.

State-sanctioned killings

Since independence in 2011, South Sudanese courts have sentenced at least 140 
people to death, and the authorities have executed at least 32 people.

This year’s spate of state-sanctioned killings seems to have been sparked by a 
directive by the Director-General of the National Prison Service of South Sudan 
on 26 April 2018. In it, he ordered all death row prisoners held at county and 
state prisons to be moved to two of the country’s most notorious death chambers 
- Wau Central Prison and Juba Central Prison.

In May, 98 death row prisoners were transferred from Kuajok, Tonj, Rumbek and 
Aweil state prisons in Bahr el Ghazal region, in the north-western part of the 
country, to Wau Central Prison.

Another 37 death row prisoners, including at least 1 child and a breastfeeding 
mother, were also transferred from prisons in the Equatoria region in the south 
of the country to Juba Central Prison. 34 people were moved from Torit State 
Prison in September 2018 and 3 from Kapoeta State Prison in November 2018 to 
Juba.

“The transfer of 135 death row prisoners to prisons in Juba and Wau where all 
executions have taken place so far is deeply alarming. The South Sudanese 
government must immediately establish an official moratorium on executions, 
commute all death sentences to prison terms and abolish the death penalty 
altogether,” said Joan Nyanyuki. Any attempt to execute a breastfeeding woman 
would also contravene South Sudanese law and international human rights law and 
standards.

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception 
regardless of the nature of the crime, the characteristics of the offender, or 
the method used by the state to execute the prisoner. The death penalty - the 
premeditated and cold-blooded killing of a human being by the state in the name 
of justice - is the most fundamental denial of human rights. It violates the 
right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is 
the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.

Background

In South Sudan, the Penal Code provides for the use of the death penalty for 
murder; bearing false witness resulting in an innocent person’s execution or 
for fabricating such evidence or using as true evidence known to be false; 
terrorism (or banditry, insurgency or sabotage) resulting in death; aggravated 
drug trafficking; and treason.

Hanging is the method of execution provided for in the Code of Criminal 
Procedure. Before a person sentenced to death can be executed, the Supreme 
Court and the President must confirm the death sentence.

(source: Amnesty International)








MOROCCO:

Death to Execution: Rights Groups Urge Morocco to End Death 
Penalty----Activists are urging Morocco to vote in favor of joining an 
international agreement banning executions during the upcoming UN session.



Although Morocco has not executed an individual since 1993, some human rights 
groups say the de facto abolition of the death penalty is not enough.

The Moroccan Organization of Human Rights (OMDH), and the World Coalition 
Against the Death Penalty (WCADP) are urging Morocco to join an international 
agreement ending capital punishment. Morocco still maintains the death penalty 
as a lawful practice, and reports estimate there are at least 95 people 
currently on death row, according to a report from Cornell.

Morocco had 6 chances prior to 2018 to join the UN moratorium banning the 
practice,but each time the country chose to abstain from the vote. This angered 
activists who cite the country’s constitution as proof the practice is immoral 
and should be ended.

Though the vote to join the agreement was scheduled for December 13, activists 
managed to postpone Morocco’s official vote until December 19, giving them an 
opportunity to repeat their pleas to the government, according to news outlets.

Globally, capital punishment is steadily declining as more arguments emerge 
against its cruelty, as well as its statistical failure to deter future crimes.

Currently, Egypt is the only country in North Africa to still carry out 
executions, reports Amnesty International. Even though the other countries are 
abstaining from executing criminals, no country in North Africa has legally 
abolished the practice yet.

About 60 % of the world’s population live in countries where the death penalty 
is still legal. The Huffington Post reports that powerful nations like the US, 
China, India, and Pakistan are the top executors. However, activists still hold 
out hope that things will change. Amnesty International Secretary-General Salil 
Shetty commented that as more countries have abolished the practice “the 
isolation of the world’s remaining executing countries could not be starker.”

For Morocco, banning capital punishment could potentially have benefits in the 
political realm. As Morocco looks to become a more involved member of the 
international community both economically and politically, joining the growing 
team of abolitionist countries will make Morocco a pioneer among North Africa 
and a leader of human rights globally and accomplishing something a developed 
country like the US has still failed to do.

(source: moroccoworldnews.com)








EGYPT:

Urgent Action



COURT TO REVIEW DEATH SENTENCES OF 2 MEN

The Supreme Military Court of Appeals formally agreed to reconsider the death 
sentences of Ahmed Amin Ghazali and Abdul Basir Abdul Rauf. The court set a 
hearing on 4 December for the substantive pleadings.

Write a letter, send an email, call, fax or tweet:

* Calling the Egyptian authorities to quash the death sentences against the 2 
men;

* Calling on the Egyptian authorities to retry all those convicted in the case 
before an ordinary, civilian court, without recourse to the death penalty, and 
in proceedings that respect international fair trial standards and exclude 
“confessions” and other evidence obtained through torture and other 
ill-treatment;

* Urging them to establish an official moratorium on executions with a view to 
abolish the death penalty.

Friendly reminder: If you send an email, please create your own instead of 
forwarding this one!

Contact these 2 officials by 16 January, 2019:

Defence Minister

Colonel General Sedqi Sobhi

Ministry of Defence

Cairo, Arab Republic of Egypt

E: mc at afmic.gov.eg,

mod at afmic.gov.eg

Salutation: Your Excellency

Ambassador Yasser Reda

Embassy of Egypt

3521 International Ct NW

Washington DC 20008

Phone: 202 895 5400

Fax: 202 244 4319 -OR- 202 244 5131

    Email: embassy at egyptembassy.net

Twitter: @EgyptEmbassyUSA

Contact Form: http://www.egyptembassy.net/

Salutation: Dear Ambassador

(source: Amnesty International)