[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Jan. 4



INDIA:

Jigisha murder: HC commutes death penalty to 2 to life term



The Delhi High Court today commuted the death penalty awarded to 2 convicts in 
the 2009 Jigisha Ghosh murder case to life imprisonment.

A bench of Justices S Muralidhar and I S Mehta, however, upheld the life 
imprisonment awarded to the 3rd convict by a trial court in the case.

"We commute death sentence awarded to 2 convicts to life imprisonment," the 
bench said.

While convicts Ravi Kapoor and Amit Shukla were handed down death penalty by 
the trial court in 2016, the 3rd offender Baljeet Malik was given reprieve from 
the gallows for his good conduct in jail and awarded life imprisonment for 
murder of the IT executive and other counts.

While sentencing the 2 to death, the trial court had said the 28-year-old woman 
was killed in a "cold-blooded, inhuman and cruel manner" and "brutally mauled 
to death".

The police had claimed robbery was the motive behind the killing.

(source: economictimes.indiatimes.com)








ENGLAND:

More than 1/2 of Tory activists support death penalty, finds landmark survey of 
grassroots members----Academics found stark differences of opinion on Brexit, 
economic and social issues between Tory members and their Labour, SNP and 
Liberal Democrat counterparts



More than 1/2 of grassroots Conservatives support the death penalty for serious 
crimes, according to a major survey that found rank-and-file members were a 
"breed apart" from other parties on their views.

Academics at Queen Mary University London found stark differences on Brexit, 
and economic and social issues between Tory members and their Labour, SNP and 
Liberal Democrat counterparts, after polling more than 4,000 party activists 
following the snap election in June.

Conservative members were less active and engaged than other parties and more 
likely to be disillusioned by how they are treated by their leadership, the 
report said, in findings that may concern party bosses considering future 
election campaigns.

Despite reports of a surge in youth support for Jeremy Corbyn, the 
comprehensive study also found that the average Labour member was 53-years-old, 
while the average Tory was 57-years-old, busting the myth that Conservative 
activists are a "bunch of retired colonels".

Members in all 4 parties were more likely to be white, male and older than the 
average Briton, and tend to live in London and the South of England - with the 
exception of the SNP.

Professor Tim Bale, 1 of the authors, said: "Britain's party members are the 
lifeblood and the footsoldiers of our democracy. But that doesn't necessarily 
mean they look like or think like their parties' voters - or, indeed, look or 
think like each other.

"The Tory grassroots in particular are something of a breed apart from their 
Labour, Lib Dem and SNP counterparts."

The report found Tory members were authoritarian and resistant to ideas of 
political correctness, with 54 % in favour of the death penalty, compared to 23 
% of SNP supporters, 9 % of Labour and 8 % of Lib Dems.

8 out of 10 Conservatives wanted schools to teach children to obey authority, 
compared to around 31 % of Labour backers, while only 4 in 10 Tories support 
gay marriage.

At least 8 out of 10 backers of other parties support the reform brought in by 
David Cameron.

The polling laid bare major differences on Brexit where 9 out of 10 members of 
the other parties want to remain in the single market, but only 1/4 of 
grassroots Tories support that option.

On austerity, only 1 in 10 Conservatives believe the policy has gone too far 
compared to nearly all Labour members, 93 % of SNP supporters and 3/4 of Lib 
Dems.

Professor Bale told The Independent he was surprised by how stark the 
differences were between party views and warned that the Tories needed to 
ensure they did not look "old-fashioned or even nasty" to younger voters coming 
of age.

He said: "Many Conservative Party voters share those same kinds of conservative 
attitudes on those issues. The problem is, however, that they are a diminishing 
proportion of the electorate going forward, as society - partly because of more 
people getting access to higher education - becomes more socially liberal.

"The Conservatives have to be careful that they don't get beached and look 
old-fashioned and even nasty to voters who are coming on stream in years to 
come."

Professor Bale said Conservative bosses had "failed to capitalise on the 
consumerist trend" where party members felt they should have more say if they 
are paying to be involved.

The survey found only 28 % of Conservatives believe they have a significant say 
on policy compared to 3/4 of Lib Dems and SNP members and 61 % of Labour 
members, and were less likely to have stepped up campaigning for their party 
during recent elections.

He said: "Given how close some seats were at the last election and maybe at the 
next election - the ability to get a bunch of people who are very well 
motivated and actually will come out and do stuff for you in reasonable numbers 
has to be a concern.

"I think in the 21st Century it's probably not good enough to sort of rely on 
the fact that people will campaign as it were for their elders and betters.

"People want more involvement now and want more say now and that may be 
reflected in different levels of activity between parties."

(source: independent.co.uk)








ISRAEL:

Knesset Gives Preliminary Backing to Death Penalty for Terrorists----'A person 
who slaughters and laughs' should be put to death, Netanyahu says in unusual 
remarks ahead of the vote



The Knesset has decided to support a bill that makes it easier for military 
courts to sentence terrorists who commit murder to death in a preliminary vote 
on Wednesday. The bill, which is sponsored by Defense Minister Avigdor 
Lieberman, still needs to pass three rounds of voting at the Knesset in order 
to become a law.

In an unusual move, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested to address the 
plenum before the vote to convey his full support for it.

Some weeks ago I went to comfort the Solomon family," Netanyahu said, referring 
to a terror attack on a family in their home in the settlement of Halamish 
during a Shabbat meal, which killed 3. "The family, which had survived the 
horrible attack, told me how the terrorist held a knife and slaughtered and 
laughed I said there are extreme cases of people who carry out horrifying 
crimes, who do not deserve to live. They should feel the full brunt of the 
law."

Netanyahu noted that the bill was no whim, and the question of the death 
penalty in extreme cases has already been examined in Israel. He said that it 
belongs in the category of war crimes, adding, "a person who slaughters and 
laughs should not spend his life behind bars but be put to death."

Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz urged ministers to resist the bill on Wednesday, 
at a meeting of the Ministerial Committee for Legislation. While Steinitz 
objects to the bill on principle, on Wednesday he argued against it on 
procedural grounds. Lieberman's bill had not been brought before the committee 
or before the cabinet for approval, said Steinitz, and the ministers should 
oppose it or skip the vote, if only because of this.

(source: Haaretz)

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

'Death penalty for Jews? Pathetic'----Attorney Itamar Ben-Gvir slams PM for 
suggesting death penalty law intended for terrorists could be used against 
Jews.



Attorney Itamar Ben-Gvir referred Wednesday afternoon to the passage in 
preliminary reading of the "Death Penalty for Terrorists" bill in the Knesset, 
and attacked Prime Minister Netanyahu's statement that the law would also apply 
to Jews.

"The statement of the Prime Minister according to which he would support the 
death penalty for Jews, as well, is a pathetic statement. The death penalty is 
intended as a deterrent. In the case of Jews, there is no need for a deterrent 
because there is no phenomenon like this," Ben-Gvir said.

He added that "the actions of individual Jews who deny and reject that which is 
attributed to them, and confess only because of torture, are not considered 
acts of terror, even if their guilt is proven."

"The attempt to make a comparison between Jews and Arabs in the name of 
equality is a populist attempt, and we should be sorry that a man who doesn't 
know how to make such a distinction is acting as the prime minister of the 
State of Israel," Ben-Gvir concluded.

During the hearing over the bill, Netanyahu was asked by Deputy Knesset Speaker 
MK Ahmad Tibi (Joint List), who was moderating the hearing, whether the law 
would also apply to the one who burned the children in the village of Duma, and 
Netanyahu answered, "In principle, yes."

At the end of the hearing, the Knesset approved in preliminary hearing the bill 
that would make it easier for both civilian and military courts to sentence 
terrorists found guilty of murder to death. The bill passed by a majority of 52 
to 49.

(source: Israel National News)

***********

EU delegation to Israel: Death penalty incompatible with human dignity



The European Union's delegation to Israel Wednesday condemned death penalty 
saying it is "incompatible with human dignity".

Following a preliminary approval on Wednesday by the Israeli Knesset for 
legislation that would make it easier for a court to impose a death sentence on 
Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis, the EU delegation to Israel said in 
a tweet that death penalty "constitutes inhuman and degrading treatment, does 
not have any proven deterrent effect and allows judicial errors to become 
irreversible and fatal."

The motion was proposed by Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, with 52 of the 
Knesset's 120 members voting in favor and 49 opposing.

At the moment, the death penalty in Israel can only be imposed if a panel of 3 
military judges passes sentence unanimously. However, if the amendment is 
adopted, a majority verdict would be sufficient to carry out the death penalty.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voted in favor of the motion.

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

Prisoner's Society denounces Israeli death penalty law aimed at Palestinians



The Palestinian Prisoner's Society (PPS) strongly denounced on Thursday an 
Israeli law that calls for enforcing death penalty against Palestinians who 
were involved in killing or even injuring Israelis.

Qaddoura Faris, director of the PPS, said in a statement that the new law, 
which passed in the Israeli parliament in preliminary reading, is a "a new 
crime committed by the occupying power that passes laws aimed at demeaning the 
dignity and human liberty of the Palestinians."

He said that while the world is moving to abolish execution of criminals, "the 
occupying power is searching for new fascist methods to enforce death penalty 
against Palestinian prisoners of war."

Faris called for a boycott of Israeli military courts as a response to this 
law, which still needs 2 more reading to become effective.

The European Union delegation to Israel condemned on Wednesday the passage of 
the law, saying it is incompatible with human dignity.

(source for both: wafa.ps)



IRAN----executions

Execution of 4 Prisoners Charged with Moharebeh



The official media finally confirmed the execution of 4 prisoners who were 
charged with Moharebeh for robbery after 2 weeks.

According to Rokna News Agency, 4 prisoners were hanged at Rajai Shahr Prison 
on the charge of Moharebeh. The report doesn't mention the time of the 
execution.

Iran Human Rights (IHR) had earlier reported the execution of these prisoners 
on Wednesday December 20. At least 8 more prisoners were executed at Rajai 
Shahr Prison on the same day. 1 of the prisoners who had returned to his cell 
by asking for time had told us that, "The 4 prisoners were not among the other 
death-row prisoners, who were executed at Rajai Shahr Prison, and were 
transferred to an unknown place 1 hour earlier."

3 of the prisoners were identified as Moslem Mohammadi, Mohsen Kamali, and 
Abolfazl.

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

Prisoner Executed In Eastern Iran



A 30-year-old prisoner was hanged at Mashhad Central Prison on murder charges.

According to Rokna News Agency, on the morning of Sunday December 31, a 
prisoner was hanged at Mashhad Central Prison. The prisoner was identified as 
Ali H., 30. He was sentenced to death on the charge of murdering his own father 
in Jimabad Valley in 2014.

The family members of the prisoner were present as the plaintiffs at the time 
of his execution.

According to Iran Human Rights annual report on the death penalty, 142 of the 
530 execution sentences in 2016 were implemented due to murder charges. There 
is a lack of a classification of murder by degree in Iran which results in 
issuing death sentence for any kind of murder regardless of intensity and 
intent.

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

Execution of an Afghan Citizen in Eastern Iran



Official sources reported that the number of executions at Mashhad Central 
Prison on Sunday has risen to 2.

According to Mashregh News, a young man who was arrested and sentenced to death 
for murder at the age of 19 was hanged at Mashhad Central Prison on the morning 
of Sunday December 31. The boy was an Afghan citizen and he was arrested and 
sentenced to death for murdering his fellow countryman in Mashhad on May 24, 
2014.

The official media had previously reported the execution of another prisoner at 
the same prison on murder charges.

According to Iran Human Rights annual report on the death penalty, 142 of the 
530 execution sentences in 2016 were implemented due to murder charges. There 
is a lack of a classification of murder by degree in Iran which results in 
issuing death sentence for any kind of murder regardless of intensity and 
intent.

(source for all: Iran Human Rights)

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

Iran Hangs Man Convicted Of Murder When He Was 16



Reports from Iran say an 18-year-old man who was convicted of raping and 
killing a child when he was 16 has been hanged, despite calls by United Nations 
rights officials and Amnesty International to stop the execution.

Gholamhossein Esmaili, judiciary chief for Tehran Province, said that the 
execution took place on the morning of January 4, according to local media.

Amirhossein Pourjafar was sentenced to death in September 2016 after being 
convicted of the rape and murder of a 6-year-old girl from Iran's Afghan 
community.

Pourjafar had originally been scheduled to be executed in October, but the 
execution was postponed following international pressure.

"The Iranian authorities must immediately halt the execution of this juvenile 
offender and annul the death sentence against him in compliance with their 
international obligations," Asma Jahangir and Agnes Callamard, 2 UN special 
envoys, said in a joint statement on January 3.

Amnesty International also called on Tehran to halt putting Pourjafar to death, 
saying that Iran was a signatory to an international treaty banning the 
execution of people who commit crimes under the age of 18.

Iran applies the death penalty for crimes including rape, murder, and drug 
trafficking, as well as apostasy.

(source: rferl.org)

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

Statement of AhlulBayt World Assembly on occasion of second anniversary of 
execution of Sheikh Nimr



AhlulBayt World Assembly has issued a statement on occasion of second 
anniversary of execution of Sheikh Nimr by Saudi government.

The full text of the statement is as follows:

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

And do not speak of those who are killed for the sake of Allah as 'dead'; nay! 
They are alive; but you do not understand. (the Holy Quran)

On January 2nd 2016, the ruthless Saudi regime, through a filthy act, executed 
the grand scholar, Sheikh Baqer al-Nimr. This brutal and cowardly act proved 
that the cruel Saudi regime is a dictator and a backward regime opposed to all 
Islamic and human values and international laws.

Despite possessing the army, mercenaries, weapons and repression power, the 
Saudi regime feared Sheikh Nimr and all other liberators and strugglers of the 
right path. In his speeches, Sheikh Nimr accurately criticized the sectarian 
and discriminatory policies of the Saudi regime towards the people of the 
Al-Sharqiya area, especially in the cities of Ahsa and Qatif. He did this 
through a peaceful and legitimate move, without ever taking up arms.

The great martyr, Sheikh Baqir al-Nimr, criticized the Saudi regime for 
stripping the dignity of Saudi citizens, especially the Shiites, as the Saudi 
regime considered Shiites as "second-class citizens" who did not have full 
citizenship rights.

Sheikh Nimr asked for equality among all citizens without any discrimination; 
and insisted on free and clean elections in Saudi Arabia. He also demanded the 
rebuilding of the burial graves of the infallible Imams (peace be upon them) in 
the Baqee Cemetery of Medina, which were destroyed by the dirty hands of Saudi 
mercenaries.

Recognition of Shia school of thought as one of the Islamic sects and 
implementing reforms in the education system of Saudi Arabia were another 
demands of Sheikh Nimr.

In response, the Saudi regime committed a terrible crime against Sheikh Nimr on 
the basis of false accusations, without observing any justice and transparency. 
They pronounced a scandalous sentence, and eventually executed the death 
penalty against this great and innocent scholar.

The measure taken by the Saudi regime was contrary to all international 
agreements and fundamental principles of human rights. It was an attempt to 
hide the heavy and obvious failures of Saudi regime in the political, economic 
and military fields in Yemen as well as its illegal involvement in Iraq with 
the help and support of takfiri groups.

The Saudi regime has also been fully involved in suppressing peaceful 
demonstrations in Bahrain and occupying it through forces known as the 
Peninsula Shield Force.

The Ahlulbayt World Assembly, based on its religious, moral and human 
responsibility, strongly condemns these ugly and cruel acts against Islam and 
humanity.

We also express our concern about the continuation of such criminal acts, which 
are far from the spirit of Islam, against the prisoners in Al Saud's jails.

We urge all international organizations and defenders of freedom, including 
Muslim scholars, to condemn these horrible crimes.

The Ahlulbayt World Assembly also appeals to civil society figures and 
organizations to stand alongside the Saudi people and voice their solidarity 
with them in order to ensure their legitimate rights in the "Week for 
Solidarity with Shahid Nimr" under the slogan of "They did not kill him".

We ask the great personalities and organizations to stand up by their full 
power and capacity against the irrational action of the Saudi regime, and 
disclose the shameful acts of this authoritarian regime in various ways such as 
writing papers, holding meetings, delivering speeches, and conducting 
interviews through public media and cyberspace.

"The evildoers will surely know which turn (Hell) they will return to"

The Ahlulbayt World Assembly, Tehran----2 January, 2018

(source: abna24.com)








EGYPT:

Egypt using death sentences to 'settle scores,' lawyer says



The number of civilians sentenced to death in Egypt's military courts leapt 
from 60 in 2016 to at least 112 in 2017, according to 2 independent rights 
groups.

Human rights advocates say the alarming numbers recorded by the Egyptian 
Coordination for Rights & Freedoms and the Initiative for Personal Rights are 
shocking -- but the stories behind them are even more harrowing.

What happened to 4 families from the northern city of Kafr el-Sheikh is a case 
in point. After more than a year of campaigning to have their loved ones' death 
sentences commuted in a case clouded by allegations of flaws in Egypt's 
judicial system, they received phone calls on Monday directing them to collect 
their relatives' bodies early Tuesday.

The families of Lotfy Khalil, Sameh Abdalla, Ahmed Abdelhadi and Ahmed Salama 
told CNN they received the calls from a police officer at an Alexandria prison.

The 4 defendants were accused of killing 3 military cadets in a bomb attack on 
a bus in Kafr El-Sheikh on April 15, 2015. Their subsequent trial and appeals 
became known in the media as the Kafr el-Sheikh case. Because the attack 
happened on a main street, the case came under military jurisdiction due to a 
recent presidential decree granting Egypt's military the authority for policing 
public places and land up to 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) from public roads.

The case is the latest in which civilians were convicted and sentenced to death 
by Egypt's military courts -- a process used by successive Egyptian governments 
since the mid-1960s. "The way this case has been handled is a classic example 
of how the judicial system here has become a joke," said Osama Bayoumi, a 
lawyer for the families.

'Enforced disappearances'

In the last 8 months, CNN has tracked the cases of 11 civilians who received 
the death penalty in military courts over the last 2 years.

In all cases, families claim their imprisoned relatives disappeared for weeks 
before they were charged by authorities who used confessions allegedly obtained 
under torture. Such treatment would be a violation of suspects' due process 
rights under Egypt's constitution. The Egyptian government has denied 
mistreating the detainees or using torture in interrogations.

In September this year rights group Human Rights Watch said in a report that 
Egyptian police and national security officers had carried out widespread and 
systematic torture of prisoners. The government also denied the allegations in 
the HRW report and again dismissed charges of systematic torture.

Tracking and reporting human rights violations in Egypt has been difficult.

Organizations such as the Egyptian Coordination for Rights & Freedoms and the 
Initiative for Personal Rights have been seen by international rights groups 
and the media as some of the most reliable sources for verifying alleged cases 
on the ground.

Both are Cairo-based groups that train lawyers to document possible rights 
abuses through contacts with victims and their families in several categories, 
ranging from claims of enforced disappearances and police torture to records of 
executions.

In the case of the Kafr el-Sheikh defendants, the families claim the 
convictions and subsequent appeals in the case relied on confessions that the 
four men gave under torture during periods of "enforced disappearances" at the 
hands of Egypt's National Security Agency.

Amnesty says investigations flawed

Ahmed Salama's wife and daughter are pictured in an undated image in Cairo. 
They are standing in front of a sign with Salama's image. Salama was executed 
this week.

The convictions also relied on investigations carried out by the Egyptian 
security forces that were deeply flawed, Amnesty International said in a 
statement.

At a recent conference to honor military judges, Defense Minister Sedki Sobhy 
dismissed those claims, saying "The military judiciary has a clear and clean 
record throughout its history of justice, both within the armed forces and in 
cooperation with the civil judiciary."

"The rise in the number of executions over the last year is scary," said Ezzat 
Ghoneim, another lawyer representing the families in the Kafr el-Sheikh case.

"The significant increase in handing down death sentences only indicates that 
the rate of executions will accelerate in the coming days," said Ghoneim.

"It is as if it's time to finally settle scores" with opponents of the current 
government ahead of this year's presidential elections, said Ghoneim. The 
elections are slated for March or April. The finalized dates are expected to be 
made public on January 8.

Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Egyptians Abroad for Democracy 
have continued to issue reports about what they see as the deteriorating legal 
system in the country.

Sentences upheld by High Military Court

In the Kafr el-Sheikh case, the 4 defendants were detained by the police a few 
days after the 2015 attack. Their families say the men were kidnapped and that 
relatives were not told of their whereabouts for several weeks.

In April 2016, a military court in Alexandria sentenced all 4 men to death, 
accusing them of being part of the banned Muslim Brotherhood -- a religious and 
political group that advocates a return to the rules of the Quran. Many 
consider it the forerunner of modern militant Islamism.

After an appeal by the defendants' lawyers, Egypt's High Military Court upheld 
the death sentences in June 2017.

In September, new evidence surfaced when a suspect testifying in a separate 
case named a known criminal as the person behind the Kafr el-Sheikh attack.

Defense lawyers pleaded for a retrial, but the military court rejected their 
appeal and reaffirmed the sentence of death by hanging.

US withholds aid to Egypt

Another aspect of Egypt's legal system which has been criticized is the alleged 
overreach by military courts. Some human rights lawyers claim that military 
courts are unconstitutional.

The Egyptian Coordination for Rights and Freedoms reports that more than 13,000 
civilians have already gone through military courts since 2013 -- with 106 of 
those civilians receiving the death penalty.

Since taking power in 2014, the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi 
has consistently viewed military courts as a means to stabilize the country's 
security situation.

In August, President Donald Trump announced that the US would withhold almost 
$300 million in aid to Egypt until it sees improvements in Cairo's track record 
on human rights and democracy.

Egypt said it "regrets" Trump's decision, calling it a "misjudgment."

(source: cnn.com)








VIETNAM:

Vietnam busts biggest-ever drug trafficking case



A couple in northern Dien Bien province have been arrested when transporting 
171 kg of heroin worth some 3 million U.S. dollars, the biggest-ever drug case 
in Vietnam, the provincial police said on Wednesday.

Vu Chu Senh, 44, and his wife Mua Thi Do, 39, who rode 2 motorbikes, 
transporting 489 cakes of heroin, were arrested on Tuesday evening.

The couple are members of a drug trafficking ring which bought heroin in Laos 
and transported the drug to Vietnam, said the police.

According to the Vietnamese law, those convicted of smuggling over 600 grams of 
heroin or more than 2.5 kg of methamphetamine are punishable by death. Making 
or trading 100 grams of heroin or 300 grams of other illegal drugs also faces 
death penalty.

(source: xinhuanet.com)