[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 24




PHILIPPINES:

Philippine Catholics protest drug killings, death penalty



Around a thousand Catholics in the Philippines marched in Manila on Saturday to 
protest President Rodrigo Duterte's bloody war on drugs and his efforts to 
reinstate the death penalty. The protests come a day after students in the 
capital and provincial universities held demonstrations against Duterte, and a 
day before the 32nd anniversary of the "People Power" revolution that drove 
dictator Ferdinand Marcos into exile.

Catholic devotees prayed the rosary and sang hymns as bishops and the 
Philippines' own cardinal read sermons against what they say are not "pro-life" 
policies in the government.

The protesters carried banners and placards with the massage "Protect and 
Defend the Sanctity of Life and Marriage," "End Impunity" and "Stop the 
Killings."

Despite criticism of the Philippine leader's bloody war on drugs campaign, 
Duterte remains wildly popular and a trusted public official in the Southeast 
Asian nation.

The Social Weather Station's (SWS) latest quarterly poll shows Duterte's trust 
rating bounced back to "excellent" in December from "very high" 3 months 
before. Another survey by the privately-run pollster gave his government the 
best rating so far for a Philippine administration since surveys started in the 
1980s.

The Catholic Church protested the pending bills in Congress introducing divorce 
and re-imposing capital punishment.

The majority of the Philippines' 105 million people are Catholic. Despite the 
popularity of the anti-drugs crackdown, some sectors of the church have become 
increasingly vocal on the drugs killings, with the church calling for justice 
and offering sanctuary to drug users.

"The threat is still there. We still hear news of extrajudicial killings. And 
still the bill of the death penalty is in Congress," said Broderick Pabillo, 
Manila auxillary bishop.

More than 4,000 suspected drug dealers have been killed since Duterte took 
office in June 2016. Police said the killings resulted from self-defence during 
raids and sting operations.

(source: channelnewsasia.com)








PAKISTAN:

Man gets death penalty in double murder case



A sessions court awarded death sentence on 2 counts to an accused for his 
involvement in a double murder case in Faisalabad. The judgment was announced 
by Additional District and Sessions Judge Azfar Sultan Abrar.

The prosecution told the court that accused Rizwan, a resident of Chak Jhumra, 
had gunned down his father Iqbal and sister Sumera over a domestic dispute. The 
local police registered a case against the accused and presented the challan 
before the court.

After hearing the arguments, the judge handed down death sentence to Rizwan 
along with a fine of Rs0.4 million which would be paid to the legal heirs of 
the deceased.

Earlier, a court awarded death sentence to an accused for his involvement in a 
murder case in Sargodha. Additional District and Sessions Judge Irfan Ahmed 
Shaikh announced the verdict.

Convict Ramzan and his accomplices Zaman and Yar had killed Shahid over a 
dispute in 2014. The local police registered a case against the accused and 
presented the challan before the court.

After hearing the arguments, the judge handed down death sentence to Ramzan 
along with a fine of Rs0.53 million.

(source: The Express Tribune)