[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 7



GAZA:

Palestine Pulse----Palestinian family executes son suspected of spying for 
Israel



The Barhoum family executed one of its own sons, Ahmed Said Barhoum, Jan. 19 in 
the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah.

The family accused him of providing the Israeli military with information that 
led to the assassination of 3 leaders from Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, 
Hamas' military wing. Israeli warplanes struck the city of Rafah on Aug. 28, 
2014, during the Israeli war on Gaza, killing the three men in addition to 5 
civilians, based on information provided by Ahmed, according to his family.

The family said in a statement on Jan. 19, "We, the family, will gladly punish 
[Ahmed] to avenge the heroic martyrs and honor the rights of their families."

The statement continued, "The family followed the investigation from the moment 
Ahmed was arrested by Palestinian security forces. We have listened to his 
confession and examined the tools he used to communicate with the Israeli 
enemy."

The family said, "We advise all families who find themselves in the same 
position as we have to cooperate with the resistance forces."

No Hamas leader would comment to Al-Monitor, but the movement did praise the 
execution in a statement published by Hamas-affiliated al-Resalah on Jan. 19: 
"The Islamic resistance movement Hamas in Rafah appreciates the measures this 
family of martyrs and mujahedeen, the Barhoum family, has taken to punish Ahmed 
for his crimes."

Gaza's public prosecutor Ziauddin al-Madhoun also declined to comment on the 
execution. Al-Monitor contacted Muhammad Faraj al-Ghoul, head of the legal 
committee in the Palestinian Legislative Council and a Hamas member, who simply 
said, "I do not want to comment on this issue."

That Hamas' legal leadership is refusing to comment suggests that there are 
internal differences within Hamas over the extrajudicial execution of accused 
spies.

Several local human rights organizations condemned the execution. The 
Palestinian Center for Human Rights said in a statement issued Jan. 21, "Anyone 
involved in working with Israel must be tried before the official judiciary, 
which guarantees justice and rejects individual or organizational punishment." 
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority is working to abolish the death penalty 
altogether.

Issam Younis, director of Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights whose father and 
stepmother were killed during the Israeli attack, told Al-Monitor, "Any 
execution should ultimately be implemented by virtue of a court order if the 
law permits it. No unofficial party can carry out an execution on its own." 
Younis stressed that the judiciary is the only party charged with implementing 
the law. He added, "No arrest or detention can be made except through the 
provisions of the law, regardless of the type of crime."

Younis added, "The crime of collaborating with the Israeli occupation is the 
most serious type of crimes, and the law classifies it as a major crime that 
requires a severe punishment, which can be the death penalty. But the important 
thing is that the provisions of the law are implemented by the appropriate 
authority through the courts. Justice is not revenge."

Imad Dweik, director of the Independent Commission for Human Rights, told 
Al-Monitor, "We strongly condemn Ahmed's execution by his family, and we 
consider it a murder outside the scope of the law. The official bodies must 
investigate the execution that took place. We are not against holding spies 
accountable, but it needs to be done according to the law, with a fair trial to 
give the accused the right to defend himself."

He noted that Ahmed had been detained for at least 2 months by al-Qassam 
Brigades before his family announced he had been executed, adding, "We consider 
his detention to be a form of forced disappearance and kidnapping."

Dweik said,"We have approached the prosecutor's office and other official 
bodies in the Gaza Strip to investigate Ahmed's execution. I do not expect them 
to do anything about it, but we did discuss with official bodies in the Gaza 
Strip the importance of standing against the unlawful execution of spies since 
it disrupts domestic peace in Gaza and violates human rights."

Hamas alarmed human rights groups when it executed a number of spies following 
the 2014 war. The concern was not only over the lack of fair trial, but also 
over the informal executions outside the scope of the official Palestinian 
legal institutions.

Abdullah Abdullah, Fatah leader and head of the PLC's political committee, told 
Al-Monitor, "The law governs all Palestinian territories, and what happened was 
outside the framework of the law. We are against any party taking action on its 
own and playing the judiciary's role in implementing the law."

According to Palestinian law, the courts can issue death sentences, but they 
can only be carried out with presidential approval, which has not been granted 
since 2005. All the death sentences carried out so far since the 2007 
Palestinian division have been in the Gaza Strip.

Ahmed Taha, law professor at al-Isra University, told Al-Monitor, "The family 
is not a civil nor a military or political institution, and it is not entitled 
to run the Palestinian public affairs. This execution is highly unacceptable, 
especially in Palestine, which is in the midst of achieving a political entity 
and establishing a state."

Taha added, "The family cannot claim any authority whatsoever, and we should 
avoid families [taking extrajudicial action] to prove their nationalism. This 
is an effort [to demonstrate] nationalism on the Barhoum family's part. A spy's 
family usually makes a statement disowning him and lets the judiciary take 
action."

(source: Moath al-Amoudi is a Palestinian writer who has been working as a 
journalist for 8 years, specializing in public issues. He holds a master's 
degree from the Islamic University and worked for several Palestinian and 
foreign media outlets. He participated in researching a book called "The 
Palestinian Prisoners," which was published in several languages, by preparing 
a range of interviews and documentaries with a number of Palestinian 
decision-makers and leaders, and conducted a series of investigative journalism 
surveys----al-monitor.com)








IRAN:

3 Children Executed in January



Iran executed at least 3 child offenders across the country in January 2018, 
Human Rights Watch said. Iran should immediately and unconditionally end the 
use of the death penalty for crimes committed by children under age 18, and 
move toward a complete ban on capital punishment.

On January 4, authorities in Karaj prison executed Amirhossein Pourjafar for 
the rape and murder of a 3-year-old girl when he was 16. On January 30, 
authorities in Bushehr prison, in southern Iran, executed Ali Kazemi for a 
murder he allegedly committed when he was 15. On the same day, in Nowshahr 
prison in northern Iran, authorities executed Mahboubeh Mofidi, who was married 
when she was 13, for the alleged murder of her husband in 2014, when she was 
17.

"Iran seems intent on erasing any positive impression gained from modest 
reforms to its drug execution laws last year by hanging several child offenders 
in a bloody start to 2018," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at 
Human Rights Watch. "When will Iran's judiciary actually carry out its alleged 
mission, ensuring justice, and end this deplorable practice of executing 
children?"

On January 30, the Imam Ali Society, a local nongovernmental group that focuses 
on saving children from death row, reported that Kazemi, who was sentenced to 
death for fatally stabbing a man during a street fight 7 years ago, was 
executed in Bushehr prison in Bushehr province. The group said that he was 
executed even though the authorities had promised to try to halt the execution.

Amnesty International reported that, on the morning of January 30, prison 
authorities called to reassure the family that the execution had not taken 
place. However, at midday, Kazemi's family found out that the execution had 
just been carried out.

Mofidi was 20 when authorities executed her on January 30 in Nowshahr prison in 
Mazandaran province. Human Rights Watch confirmed Modifi's date of birth - May 
18, 1997 - through reviewing copies of her national identification card and her 
death certificate.

Pourjafar, who was 18 when he was executed, told Shargh newspaper on December 
30, 2017, that he was under influence of alcohol when he committed the crime. 
Mojtaba Farahbakhsh, Pourjafar's lawyer, told the newspaper that Pourjafar had 
signs of a "conduct disorder" and had been hospitalized in a mental health 
center during his detention. Despite these circumstances, the authorities 
pushed ahead with carrying out the death penalty.

Iran is 1 of only 4 countries known to have executed child offenders since 
2013. The others are Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. Gaza has also executed 
children. Iran is a state party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 
which bans executing child offenders.

Iran's 2013 penal code amendments prohibit executing child offenders for 
certain categories of crimes, including drug-related offenses. For other 
serious crimes, article 91 of the amended code allows judges to use their 
discretion and not issue a death sentence against a child who was not able to 
comprehend the nature and consequences of the crime at the time. The amended 
law also allows the courts to rely on "the opinion of a forensic doctor or 
other means it deems appropriate" to establish whether a defendant understood 
the consequences of their actions.

However, Iranian courts have continued to sentence children to death after 
these amendments became law. From 2014 to the end of 2017, Iran executed at 
least 25 people for crimes committed when they were children, according to 
Amnesty International and Iran Human Rights.

Shahriar Khoramdel, Kazemi's lawyer, told Human Rights Watch on February 1 that 
judges at the court of first instance and the supreme court refused to send 
Kazemi to forensic doctors for an examination to assess his ability to 
comprehend the nature of his crime.

Since 2012, Human Rights Watch has called on the Iranian government to amend 
its penal code to impose an absolute prohibition on the death penalty for child 
offenders, as required by international law. Human Rights Watch has also called 
on Iran's judiciary to impose an immediate moratorium on executions due to the 
serious concerns regarding due process violations leading to the implementation 
of the death penalty, and to move toward abolishing capital punishment. Human 
Rights Watch opposes the death penalty in all circumstances because it is an 
inherently irreversible, inhumane punishment.

"Iranian authorities often claim they are treated 'unfairly' by the 
international community for their human rights record, but they only hurt their 
case when they have the shameful distinction of leading the world in executions 
for crimes committed by children," Whitson said.

(source: Human Rights Watch)

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

Iran Executions: The Newlywed Bride's Case; A Review



Last week a juvenile offender named Mahbubeh Mofidi, who was sentenced to death 
on the charge of murdering her husband, was executed at Noshahr Prison. The 
so-called "17-year-old newly-wed" was the 3rd juvenile offender executed in 
January 2018.

According to a close source, on the morning of Tuesday, January 30, Mahbubeh 
Mofidi was hanged at Noshahr Prison (Northern Iran). She was convicted of 
murdering her husband with the help of her brother-in-law on December 17, 2013. 
Based on information from a close source she was born on May 18, 1997, and thus 
less than 17 years old at the time of committing the alleged murder.

In 2014, a couple of months after the murder, when the result of forensic 
toxicology was issued, Mahbubeh was arrested. She reportedly confessed to the 
murder with the help of her brother-in-law with an intent to marry each other.

At that time, the Prosecutor of Noshahr had said in an interview with the 
official media: "The woman was arrested, and she confessed to the murder with 
the help of one of her relatives. She said that she fell in love with her 
brother-in-law after her marriage and they finally decided to get married". The 
Prosecutor continued, "The victim's brother carried out the plan and provided 
aluminium phosphide in capsules, and his wife made him take the pills which 
resulted in his death."

One of Mahbubeh Mofidi's relatives on condition of anonymity said to Iran Human 
Rights (IHR), "Mahbubeh was the victim of fratricide. She was deceived by her 
husband and married him, but his evil brother tricked her after the marriage so 
that he could kill his brother. Mahbubeh didn't know what exactly was inside 
the capsules and trusted her brother-in-law."

He added, "What authorities say about Mahbube is not correct. The victim's 
brother was arrested first and confessed to the murder and said that Mahbubeh 
didn't know what was inside the capsules. But he changed his confessions later. 
The judge was confused, but no one was able to prove Mahbubeh's innocence."

"In the next court sessions, the victim's brother deceived Mahbubeh into 
confessing that she was aware of what was inside the capsules and told her that 
this way they wouldn't get executed. She agreed to do this because she liked 
him. He had called Mahbubeh's parents and lawyer from prison and told them that 
she wasn't aware of what was inside the capsules," the source said to IHR.

Mahbubeh Mofidi was sentenced to death on the charge of murder. Her 
brother-in-law was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment on the charge of 
complicity to murder. He is being held at Noshahr Prison.

Mahbubeh Mofidi's execution, as well as her age at the time of the offence, has 
later been confirmed by some official news websites although her name wasn't 
mentioned.

This is the 3rd juvenile offender execution in January 2018 that has been 
reported by Iran Human Rights. The execution of Ali Kazemi at Bushehr Prison on 
January 30 was also reported. He was sentenced to death on the change of murder 
at the age of 15. Amir Hossein Pourjafar was the other juvenile-offender 
executed on the charge of murder at the age of 16 at Rajai Shahr Prison on 
February 3.

These sentences prove that the Article 91 of the Islamic Penal Code (2013), as 
well as other articles related to protection of children at risk of 
retaliation, cannot effectively protect juvenile-offenders from execution.

Iran has signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which 
bans the execution of juveniles. Moreover, based on Article 37 the Convention 
on the Rights of the Child, which Iran has signed, execution and life 
imprisonment of juveniles is banned.

(source: Iran Human Rights)








RUSSIA:

Polyarnaya Sova prison releases killer sentenced to death



It turns out that the criminal was released on parole out of the prison for 
life-term-sentenced prisoners.

Polyarnaya Sova (Polar Owl) prison for life-term prisoners released 63-year-old 
Anvar Masalimov, sentenced to death, while the verdict has not been replaced 
with life imprisonment, on parole. Masalimov killed a man, dismembered the 
corpse and burned it in the oven.

The crime was committed on August 17, 1991. Then he got foot in a lonely old 
man. The pensioner accepted the homeless who had already served 15 years for 
killing the former prisoner. They drank together, and one day Masalimov killed 
him for no reason. After the murder, the criminal dismembered the corpse of the 
old man and threw the remains into the oven to conceal the traces of crime. 
However, it was not possible to hide the crime traces. The neighbor of the 
pensioner found the scraps of meat in the toilet and called the police. In 
court, Masalimov said that he blew up because the old man accidentally burned 
his photos. Masalimov's guilt was fully proved, and he waited for several years 
to be shot until a ban was imposed on the death penalty and the punishment was 
replaced with life imprisonment.

Masalimov fought for mitigating the sentence. The Vologda Regional Court 
admitted that it is possible to mitigate the punishment "in connection with the 
adoption of a law that improves the state of the convict". Masalimov was 
released on parole.

Now Masalimov is the only one life-imprisoned who was released. According to 
MK, he is in Moscow now.

The very fact of judicial precedent rattles. A man, who escaped the death 
penalty, is released now. Does this mean that life-imprisoned prisoners could 
be released after 25 years? Finally, there are about 500 prisoners sentenced to 
life and 25-year imprisonment.

(source: crimerussia.com)








THAILAND:

Family appeals against death penalty over Italian slaying in Phuket



An Italian Senator has appealed to the Government of Thailand to stave off the 
death penalty for Denis Cavatassi, who stands convicted of hiring a killer to 
murder his business partner, Luciano Butti, in Phuket in 2011.

Cavatassi was convicted and condemned to death by the Supreme Court of Thailand 
but has always maintained his innocence, reports The Italian Insider.

In response, a press conference was called on Tuesday (Feb 6), headed by 
Senator Luigi Manconi, President of the Commission for the Protection of Human 
Rights, to call for Cavatssi's sentence to be annulled, said the report.

Also present at the press conference on Tuesday were Cavatassi's family, his 
legal team and the head of Amnesty International in Italy.

Butti and Cavatassi managed the Ciao Bella restaurant together on Phi Phi 
Island. Police believe the murder was motivated by B9 million that Mr Butti had 
supposedly embezzled from the business the 2 owned.

Cavatassi, however, has maintained his innocence.

"Cavatassi was arrested in 2011 alongside three others but released soon 
afterwards on caution. The family have always argued that the accused could 
have fled the country at this point," noted the Italian Insider report.

"He was arrested again following allegations from a Thai manager at his 
restaurant that he had boasted of large sums of money owed between the 2 
partners. Cavatassi maintains that he has never received a fair trial," the 
report added.

Mr Butti was shot dead while riding his motorbike from Pa Khlok to Phuket Town 
at about 10pm on March 15.

His body was discovered 200 metres from the entrance to the Bang Pae Waterfall.

Just 5 days later, on March 20, police had arrested Cavatassi and 3 others: 
Prasong Yongkit, Somchai Kasuk and Ratchanon Sawaree, all Thai.

At that press conference, police said that Cavatassi had told them that Mr 
Butti had embezzled B9 million from the business.

Failing to get the money back, police allege, Cavatassi then paid B150,000 to 
Prasong, who had worked in the restaurant for 9 years, to organise to have Mr 
Butti killed.

Prasong told the press conference that Mr Butti was an unpleasant boss, had 
cheated many people, and was "ruining" Thailand.

Prasong contacted Polawat Jongrak to arrange the hit. He in turn hired 4 others 
- Suchat and Eakachai Nimlaor, Ratchanon and Somchai Kasuk.

But by September that year the alleged gunman Suchat Nimlaor and his supposed 
driver Eakachai Nimlaor had yet to be apprehended, and at last report remain at 
large.

Campaign groups such as Amnesty International have long campaigned for the 
death penalty to be abolished in Thailand and estimate that around 450 convicts 
are on death row in the country, the Italian Insider noted.

However, Thai authorities have been observing a de facto moratorium on the 
penalty since 2009, when the last prisoner was executed, it added.

The Phuket News notes that the Thai judiciary usually commutes death penalty 
sentences to life imprisonment if the accused pleads guilty to the charges 
against him.

This apparently has not happened in Cavatassi's case.

The Phuket News also notes that it has yet to be confirmed whether Cavatassi's 
legal team have exhausted all forms of appeal against the death sentence.

(source: thephuketnews.com)








PAKISTAN:

Pakistan court hands out death sentence over blasphemy lynching----The lynching 
of Mashal Khan over blasphemy accusations sent shockwaves through Pakistan



A Pakistani court sentenced 1 person to death and 5 others to life imprisonment 
on Wednesday for lynching a student accused of blasphemy in a highly-charged 
case that sent shockwaves through the conservative Muslim country.

Last April, Mashal Khan, 23, was stripped, beaten and shot by a gang of mostly 
students before being thrown from the 2nd floor of his dorm at the Abdul Wali 
Khan University in the northwestern city of Mardan.

"1 of the accused has been awarded a death sentence, (5) were given life 
imprisonment while 26 have been acquitted," Saad Abbasi, a defence lawyer 
representing the accused, told AFP at the prison where the verdict was 
announced.

An additional 25 were given 3-year sentences, he added.

Ahead of the verdict announcement, heavy security was deployed at the jail in 
the city of Haripur where the accused were detained, with the area cordoned off 
by around 300 regular police and elite commandos.

The brutality of the attack, which was recorded on mobile phone cameras and 
posted online, stunned the public and led to widespread condemnation -- 
including from prominent Islamic clerics -- with protests erupting in several 
cities.

Students who participated in the lynching were later rounded up after being 
identified using CCTV footage from the university and video clips.

An official report released months later concluded Khan was falsely accused, 
saying the murder was instigated by members of a secular student group who felt 
threatened by Khan's growing prominence as a critic of rising fees and alleged 
corruption at the university.

Blasphemy is an enormously sensitive charge in Pakistan, and a criminal offence 
that can carry the death penalty.

While the state has never executed anyone under blasphemy laws, mere 
allegations have prompted mob lynchings and lesser violence.

Since 1990, vigilantes have been accused of murdering 65 people tied to 
blasphemy, according to research compiled by the Center for Research and 
Security Studies think-tank.

(source: Agence France-Presse)