[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Jan. 14



IRAN----executions

Execution of 8 Prisoners During the Uprising in Order to Intensify the 
Atmosphere of Intimidation



Simultaneous with the nationwide uprising of the Iranian people and in order to 
intimidate the people, the mullahs' regime's executioners executed 8 young 
prisoners in various cities in the period of January 1 to January 11.

On Thursday, January 11, 2 prisoners were executed publicly in Salmas and 
Qazvin. The prisoner executed in Salmas suffered from mental illness. The young 
man executed in Qazvin Prison was on death row for 8 years.

On January 8, 2 prisoners were executed in Sari and on January 4; 2 other 
prisoners were executed in Gohardasht, Karaj. Amir Hossein Pour Jafar, 1 of the 
executed, was 16 years old at the time of committing alleged crime. On January 
2, a prisoner was executed in Dizelabad prison in Kermanshah, and the day 
before, a 22-year-old youth was executed in Mashhad Central Prison.

These executions are taking place while 8,000 young people are arrested during 
the first 2 weeks of the uprising of the Iranian people and are in grave 
conditions. The response of the Iranian people, especially the brave Iranian 
youth, to this brutality is the continuation of the uprising until the 
eradication of the corrupt and oppressive regime of the mullahs. The Iranian 
Resistance urges all international human rights organizations to adopt 
immediate and effective steps to counter the systematic and brutal violations 
of human rights in Iran.

(source: Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran)








DR CONGO:

DR Congo rebel leader sentenced to death



The military court in the troubled eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has 
sentenced a rebel leader to death.

Guylain Mumbere Kitambala, a Mayi-Mayi leader prosecuted for illegal possession 
of weapons and participation in an insurgent movement, was sentenced to the 
"death penalty", according to a judgment handed down on Saturday in Beni by the 
Military Court of North Kivu province.

His 16 co-accused have been issued sentences ranging from 3 to 15 years in 
prison.

The death penalty has not been applied in the DRC since 2002, due to a 
moratorium. She's commuted to prison for life.

Mayi-Mayi are self-defence groups formed on an ethnic basis.

Eastern DRC, particularly the provinces of North and South Kivu, have been 
plagued by violence for more than 20 years.

(source: africanews.com)








INDIA:

Execution of convicts: Let them die in peace and not in pain----The Government 
has claimed that hanging is the most workable mode and lethal injection method 
is found to have failed on many occasions in different parts of the world, 
hence it is not as workable as hanging.



In a response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking abolition of 
executing death row convict by hanging the Supreme Court recently held that it 
was the prerogative of the Government to decide on modes of execution of 
convicts. Execution of convicts is provided under section 354(5) of Cr.P.C. 
1973 which says, 'When any person is sentenced to death, the sentence shall 
direct that he be hanged by the neck till he is dead.' The Court had asked the 
Centre to respond to a notice issued by the Court however, it had also said 
that the legislature could think of changing the law so that a convict facing 
death penalty dies in peace and not in pain.

The Government has claimed that hanging is the most workable mode and lethal 
injection method is found to have failed on many occasions in different parts 
of the world, hence it is not as workable as hanging.

Despite campaigns calling for an end to capital punishment, executions are 
still carried out around the world. In the United States, lethal injection is 
considered the most humane form of execution, although recent debate over the 
secrecy surrounding the drugs used has questioned that assertion. Other 
countries continue to employ execution methods now considered outdated in the 
U.S., but the end result is the same. Execution by hanging is the most common 
method of capital punishment. Iran leads the world in hangings. Other countries 
that carry out hangings include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Botswana, India, Iraq, 
Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Nigeria, the Palestinian Authority in Gaza, South 
Sudan and Sudan. On the other hand, firing squad is the preferred method of 
execution in Indonesia. 12 armed executioners shoot the prisoner in the chest. 
If the prisoner is still not dead, the commander then issues a final bullet to 
the head. Other countries that carry out executions by firing squad include 
China, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Taiwan and Yemen. It is also a 
preferred method by the United Arab Emirates. However, Saudi Arabia is the only 
country in the world where beheadings are used as a method of capital 
punishment. The beheadings are performed publicly with a sword. Though the end 
result of death is the same in all methods of executions, lethal injection is 
often viewed as the least cruel. Injecting a fatal dose of drugs into a death 
row inmate has become the primary method of execution in the United States. 
However, as a result of controversy associated with supplying states with the 
lethal drugs, pharmaceutical companies have banned the sale of their drugs for 
lethal use. To fill the void, states have relied on compounding pharmacies to 
provide cocktail drugs, but this has proven to be unreliable in recent deaths. 
Electrocution has also been used on occasions in the United States. However, 
the Court declared execution by electrocution illegal for being "cruel and 
unusual punishment."

So far as India is concerned it uses both hanging and shooting as the modes of 
execution. While hanging is used in the civilian court system, under the Army 
Act, 1950 hanging as well as shooting are both listed as official methods of 
execution in the military court-martial system.

Apart from the recent PIL, the Law Commission in its 187th Report in 2003 
recommended that section 354(5) of the Cr.P.C., 1973 should be amended by 
providing an alternative mode of execution of death sentence by lethal 
injection until the accused is dead. It will be at the discretion of the Judge 
to pass an appropriate order regarding the mode of execution of death sentence.

Moreover, the issue of death penalty itself has been under debate since long. 
In August 2015, the Law Commission of India submitted a report to the 
government which recommended the abolition of capital punishment for all crimes 
in India, excepting the crime of waging war against the nation or for 
terrorism-related offences. The report cited several factors to justify 
abolishing the death penalty, including its abolition by 140 other nations, its 
arbitrary and flawed application and its lack of any proven deterring effect on 
criminals.

The Supreme Court in Mithu vs. State of Punjab AIR 1983 SC 473 struck down 
Section 303 of IPC, which provided for a mandatory death sentence for offenders 
serving a life sentence. Further, the Court in Bachan Singh vs. State of Punjab 
(1980) 2 SCC 684 observed that physical pain and suffering which the execution 
of the sentence of death entails is also no less cruel and inhuman and made it 
very clear that capital punishment in India can be given only in rarest of rare 
cases. This judgement was in line with the previous verdicts in Jagmohan Singh 
vs. State of Uttar Pradesh AIR 1973 SC 947, and then in Rajendra Prasad vs. 
State of Uttar Pradesh AIR 1979 SC 916. However, the Court ruled that honour 
killings fall within the "rarest of the rare" category, hence death penalty 
should be extended to those found of committing "honour killings". Similarly, 
the Supreme Court also recommended death sentences to be imposed on police 
officials who commit police brutality in the form of encounter killings. 
Justifying the provision of death penalty India, in December 2007 voted against 
a United Nations General Assembly resolution calling for a moratorium on the 
death penalty. In November 2012, India again upheld its stance on capital 
punishment by voting against the UN General Assembly draft resolution seeking 
to end the institution of capital punishment globally.

Once it is established that death penalty is continued in India, definitely in 
the rarest of the rare category, the issue of mode of execution assumes 
significance. Organisation like Amnesty International opposes the death penalty 
at all times regardless of who is accused, the crime, guilt or innocence or 
method of execution and says that it is cruel, inhuman and degrading.

It is also generally said that the death penalty breaches 2 essential human 
rights, the right to life and the right to live free from torture. Both rights 
are protected under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the 
UN in 1948. The following international laws explicitly ban use of the death 
penalty, except during times of war:

-- The Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and 
Political Rights (Adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession 
by General Assembly resolution 2200A (XXI) of 16 December 1966 entry into force 
23 March 1976, in accordance with Article 49)

-- Protocol No. 6 to the European Convention on Human Rights, 1983. The 
European Convention on Human Rights (Protocol No. 13) bans use of the death 
penalty at all times, even during war.

-- The Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights to Abolish the 
Death Penalty, 1990

In this backdrop, the Law Commission undertook a study to provide a humane mode 
of execution of death sentence. The Commission recommended amendment in section 
354(5) of the Cr.P.C., 1973.The Commission says that the convict shall be heard 
on the question of mode of execution of death sentence before such discretion 
is exercised. Further, at present, there is no statutory right of appeal to the 
Supreme Court in cases where High Court confirms the death sentence passed by a 
Session Judge or where the High Court enhances the sentence passed by the 
Session Judge and awards sentence of death. Hence a statutory right of appeal 
against the judgment of the High Court confirming or awarding the death 
sentence should also be provided. In lieu of this fact, the Commission has 
recommended that the Supreme Court (Enlargement of Criminal Jurisdiction) Act, 
1970 be suitably amended for providing right to appeal to the Supreme Court. 
Yet another aspect is important vis-???-vis the armed forces. As of now, there 
is no provision of right of appeal against the sentence of death passed by 
Court Martial under the Army Act, 1950, the Navy Act, 1957 and the Air Force 
Act, 1950. Therefore, there should be an appeal to the Supreme Court against 
the order of death sentence passed by Court Martial.

The recent PIL also referred Article 21 of the Constitution saying that the 
Right to Life or Personal Liberty also included in its ambit the right of a 
condemned prisoner to have a dignified mode of execution so that death becomes 
less painful.

The Supreme Court while stating that it would be the prerogative of the 
Government has certainly followed the concept that the procedure explicitly 
mentioned in a law shall be followed. Moreover, changes in law shall be 
approved by the Legislature only and not by the courts. Whatever could be the 
final outcome 1 thing is for sure that the right to a dignified life up to the 
point of death including a dignified procedure of death needs to be given the 
topmost priority. Therefore, the right of a dying man to die with dignity and 
in peace, not in pain needs to be considered by the Government.

(source: CBP Srivastava is an expert on the Constitution of India. He is 
President of the Centre for Applied Research in Governance, New Delhi----Zee 
News)








PAKISTAN:

Seeking redemption: Death row prisoner asks PHC's permission to pursue higher 
education



A death row prisoner on Saturday filed a petition in the Peshawar High Court 
seeking permission to pursue higher education after completing masters in 
English from Hazara University as a private candidate during incarceration in 
Haripur jail.

Sajjad Ahmad in his writ petition said that he has been in lockup for the last 
15 years and has spent most his time pursuing his education.

According to the PHC officials his writ petition will be put before the 2-judge 
bench for hearing on January 16.

Mardan jail inmates to get library, basic education

Ahmad said that he was awarded the death penalty in a murder case by a 
sessions' court in which he has professed his innocence.

He filed an appeal in the high court, however, it was rejected.

He said that he has not filed an appeal against the death penalty with the case 
underway in the supreme court.

Ahmad remains hopeful that his writ petition will be accepted.

"Under the laws of this country, it is the right of every person to get 
education," told the petitioner.

"The court has to issue an order to make the arrangement so that education can 
be pursued."

"Gaining education will be also help in living out a decent life, if the top 
court clears him of murder charges," his lawyer Muhammad Khurshid Khan said.

The government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) through its chief secretary, K-P 
inspector general of prisons, superintend of Haripur jail and principle of Ayub 
Law College are the respondents in the case.

Khan added that the prisoner belongs to an educated family of district 
Nowshera. His 2 brothers are doctors and another is engineer.

"He was a 3rd year student at the Margalla Institute of Health Sciences, when 
he was implicated in the murder due to which he couldn't completed his medical 
education".

He has done his Bachelor of Arts from Allama Iqbal Open University in 2008 and 
MA in Political Science as a private student from Hazara University in 2013 and 
then another masters in English Literature in 2015.

"I have passed my whole jail life in the pursuance of education," he added.

He said that he is more interested in doing his LLB as under the Pakistan 
Prisons Rule number 215, any convicted prisoner can appear examination 
including LLB in an academic year.

(source: The Express Tribune)