[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Jan. 20



MALAYSIA:

Minister's delay led to judge having no choice but to sentence A Sargunan, 4 
others to death



All section 39B (drug trafficking) trials should be suspended until the amended 
drugs law comes into force, says Charles Hector.

The Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (Madpet) is appalled by the 
delay in the Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act 2017 coming into force.

This will mean that those now being convicted by the courts for drug 
trafficking will still be subjected to the mandatory death penalty and not 
enjoy the possibility of avoiding the death penalty.

The proposed amendment to the law, when it comes into force, will only apply to 
cases where those facing trial have not yet been convicted. Therefore, it is 
only just that all drug trafficking case trials must not continue until the new 
law comes into force. The minister's delay has already cost at least 5 
individuals to be convicted to death.

On 17 January 2018, it was reported that Malaysian A Sargunan, 42, and 4 Indian 
nationals - Sumesh Sudhakaran, Alex Aby Jacob Alexander, Renjith Raveendran and 
Sajith Sadanandan - were convicted and sentenced to death by the Shah Alam High 
Court that day for drug trafficking under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous 
Drugs Act 1952 (The Star, 17 January 2018).

The Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Bill 2017 was passed by Parliament on 30 
November 2017, and by the Senate on 14 December 2017. Royal assent was received 
on 27 December 2017, making this now an act of Parliament. But sadly, it only 
will come into operation on a date to be appointed by the Minister by 
notification in the Gazette.

A perusal of the official e-Federal Gazette website on 19 January 2018, 
revealed that some other laws that obtained royal assent on the same day as the 
Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act 2017 or subsequently have already come into 
force - but not this act which will have the effect of restoring judicial 
discretion to impose a sentence for drug trafficking other than the death 
penalty, ie life imprisonment with whipping of not less than 15 strokes for the 
offence of drug trafficking.

Because of the minister's delay, A Sargunan and the 4 Indian nationals have now 
been convicted and sentenced to death, as section 39B (1)(a) of the Dangerous 
Drugs Act 1952 still provides for the mandatory death penalty.

Section 3(2) of the Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act 2017 states:

(2) Any proceedings against any person who has been charged, whether or not 
trial has commenced or has been completed, and has not been convicted under 
section 39b of the principal Act by a competent Court before the appointed 
date, shall on the appointed date be dealt with by the competent Court and be 
continued under the provisions of the principal Act as amended by this Act.

This means that any person even already on trial for drug trafficking (section 
39B), so long as they have not yet been convicted, can still enjoy the benefits 
of the Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act 2017. But until the minister does what 
is required to ensure this law comes into force, judges will continue to have 
no discretion but to impose the mandatory death penalty.

The new law, sadly, does not provide any remedy to those already convicted or 
for the 800 or more currently on death row after having been convicted for drug 
trafficking. As such, in fairness, all their death sentences should be commuted 
to imprisonment.

Alternatively, a new law is needed that allows for a review of their current 
sentences. Reasonably, given the large numbers involved and other reasons, it 
would be best that all their death sentences be commuted.

Malaysia must be complemented for this major long overdue step to abolish the 
mandatory death penalty for the offence of drug trafficking, and return 
discretion to judges when it comes to sentencing.

It is noted that there are still flaws in this new law which have been raised 
by the Malaysian Bar, among others, including the fact that the judges, in 
exercising their discretion, are currently limited to just certain limited 
considerations.

There is also now an unjust mandatory requirement before the exercise of the 
judge's discretion - the judge's assessment of the convicted person's ability 
or willingness to assist in disrupting drug trafficking activities. There are 
many reasons why those convicted person may not be able to provide this 
assistance including possible retaliation by kingpins and others on them or 
their families.

The Malaysian Bar in their statement on 5 December 2017 stated:

We are concerned that judges are being limited in their consideration of the 
mitigating factors and circumstances that surround each case, before 
sentencing. Such mitigating factors can include, and are not limited to, the 
offender's age, rehabilitation goals, past criminal record, role played in the 
offence, mental capacity, reparations made, fear of another person, use of 
violence, harm done to property or persons, and degree of cooperation with the 
authorities. The sentencing process is, and should always remain, within the 
unfettered domain of the judiciary.

Madpet calls for all trials of those charged under section 39B (drug 
trafficking) to be stayed, or where the trial is over, that courts do not 
proceed to convict them until after the Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act 2017 
comes into force.

Madpet also calls on the minister to do what is required to ensure that the 
Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act 2017 comes into force immediately without any 
further delay.

Madpet reiterates the call for Malaysia to speedily abolish all other mandatory 
death penalty offences, other than drug trafficking, and return sentencing 
discretion to judges.

Madpet reiterates the call for a moratorium on all executions, pending the 
abolition of the death penalty in Malaysia.

(source: Charles Hector issued this statement on behalf of Malaysians Against 
Death Penalty and Torture (Madpet)----aliran.com)








PHILIPPINES:

Reinstating the death penalty a violation of international law



First of 2 parts

As a consequence of President Duterte's war on drugs, there has been in the 
Philippines a move to reinstate death as capital punishment. On March 7, 2017, 
the House of Representatives approved the reimposition of the death penalty for 
drug-related crimes, among others, by a vote of 217 yeses and 54 no's. The bill 
is pending in the Senate. As might be expected from the chamber that approves 
the ratification of international treaties, certain Senators have raised 
objections to the bill on the ground that it is violative of international law.

As noted by the late chairman of the Philippine Commission on Human Rights, 
Purificacion Valera Quisumbing, in her briefing paper submitted to the European 
Parliament in Brussels in January 2007, the Philippines abolished the death 
penalty under its 1987 Constitution and became the 1st Asian country to abolish 
the death penalty for all crimes. It also became the 1st Asian country to 
abolish it only to reintroduce it later on.

The latter distinction owes to the fact that "the constitutional abolition of 
the death penalty, which immediately took effect upon the ratification of this 
Constitution, does not prevent the legislature from reimposing it at some 
future time (Bernas, The Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines: A 
Commentary)." The Constitution in Article III, Section 1 9(1) reads that 
effective upon its ratification, "The death penalty shall not be imposed unless 
for compelling reasons, including heinous crimes the Congress hereafter 
provides for it. Any death penalty already imposed shall be reduced to 
reclusion perpetua (life imprisonment)."

A series of serious crimes widely described as "heinous" occurred in 1993 
during the administration of President Fidel V. Ramos. To arrest the rising 
criminality, the Death Penalty Law (Republic Act 7659) was signed in December 
1993. It listed a total of 46 crimes punishable by death, 25 of which are 
death-mandatory and 21 are death-eligible. Republic Act 8177 mandated the death 
sentence be carried out by lethal injection. With the amendment of the 
Anti-Rape Law (RA 8533) and Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 (RA9165), 
capital offenses were raised to 52; of these, 30 of are death-mandatory and 22 
are death-eligible.

In 1999, the administration of President Joseph Estrada put to death 7 death 
row convicts. It was observed that "1999 was a bumper year for executions which 
were intended to abate criminality. Instead, using the same year as baseline, 
criminality increased by 15.3 %, the total in the previous year of 71,527 
crimes rising to 82,538 in1999." Giving in to appeals from groups, including 
the Roman Catholic Church, President Estrada issued a moratorium on executions 
in observance of the Vatican's "Jubilee Year." The practice of carrying out 
executions was re-initiated and carried over to the administration of President 
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

After a rise in drug trafficking and kidnappings that mainly victimized the 
Chinese-Filipino community, President Arroyo announced on December 5, 2003, the 
lifting of the de facto moratorium on executions "to sow fear into the hearts 
of criminals." The resumption of executions was, however, halted with the 
reopening of the Lara and Licayan capital case. The Supreme Court vacated the 
decision of the lower court and ordered the admission of newly discovered 
evidence, including the testimonial evidence of 2 other co-accused in the same 
case, both of whom gave testimony exonerating Lara and Licayan from 
culpability. Since then successive administrations have been issuing reprieves 
on scheduled executions without actually issuing a moratorium.

The Commission on Human Rights vehemently objected to the reimposition of the 
death penalty. It cautioned against it and recommended reforms for a more 
effective enforcement of penal laws. It should also be mentioned that the 
European Union and the Roman Catholic Church, among others, waged an 
intensifying campaign against the death penalty.

On April 19, 2006 in a letter to the House of Representatives and the Senate, 
President Arroyo endorsed the immediate enactment of House Bill No. 4826 
entitled "An Act Prohibiting the Imposition of the Death Penalty." It was 
signed into law as Republic Act 9346 on June 24, 2006.

At this point, the Philippines might be said to be the 1st Asian country to 
abolish the death penalty for all crimes only to reimpose it on certain heinous 
crimes, and then only to prohibit it totally once again.

To those who have followed the twists and turns of the history of the death 
penalty in the Philippines, much of the arguments for and against the current 
move to reimpose capital punishment are not new. Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo 
Umali, in sponsoring the bill reimposing the death penalty, cited 4 
"compelling" reasons: 1) The death penalty is a fitting response to increasing 
criminality and killings in the county; 2)The death penalty is a measure to 
restore respect for the laws of the land; 3) Death is a path to achieving 
justice; and 4) Reimposition of the death penalty is geared towards a genuine 
reform in the Philippines criminal justice system.

(to be continued)

(source: The Manila Times)








JAPAN:

Rejected appeal closes the book on cult that gassed Tokyo subway----But Aum 
Shinrikyo has rebranded and is still active in Japan and beyond



The last of the court proceedings involving former members of Aum Shinrikyo, 
which carried out the 1995 sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway, has 
ended more than 2 decades after criminal investigations began. But the group 
itself remains active under a different name, with a presence across Japan and 
even in Russia.

The Supreme Court upheld the life sentence of ex-Aum member Katsuya Takahashi 
in a decision dated Thursday. Takahashi was involved in the 1995 attack that 
killed 13 and injured more than 6,000, as well as attacks using the VX nerve 
agent and the kidnapping and murder of the head of a Tokyo notary office.

Aum-related court proceedings were thought to have concluded in 2011. But 
Takahashi and 2 other former members were arrested the following year. A total 
of 192 people have now been tried in connection with the group's crimes. 13 
have been sentenced to death, including founder Shoko Asahara, whose real name 
is Chizuo Matsumoto.

The death penalty in Japan is typically not carried out until all accomplices 
have been tried. With Thursday's decision, the focus now shifts to when Asahara 
and others will be executed.

The group was also responsible for such crimes as the 1989 murder of an 
anti-Aum lawyer and his family, as well as a 1994 sarin attack in the city of 
Matsumoto. Aum lost its status as a religious entity following Asahara's 
arrest. It was later renamed Aleph and remains in operation, as does splinter 
group Hikari no Wa.

Roughly 30 Aleph members broke off into yet another splinter group in 2015, 
according to the Public Security Intelligence Agency. The 3 entities together 
have 34 facilities across 15 prefectures and 1,650 members in Japan. Another 
460 members are said to be in Russia.

The 3 groups are believed to share the common goal of spreading Asahara's 
teachings. The intelligence agency considers them effectively a single entity.

(source: nikkei.com)

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

Disclosed files fail to show why convicts chosen for execution



The Justice Ministry has put an end to its longtime policy of avoiding 
executions of death-row inmates while they are calling for a retrial, but who 
is chosen to be hanged is still shrouded in secrecy.

The hanging of a prisoner seeking a retrial requires cautious judgment, yet the 
Justice Ministry ordered the execution of 3 of them in 2017.

The 1st was 1 of 2 men hanged in July, marking the 1st time in 17 years that a 
prisoner seeking a retrial was executed.

Then, in December, another 2 men hoping for a retrial went to the gallows.

The Justice Ministry has failed to disclose the reasons the 2 inmates were 
selected for execution in July 2017.

Most of the pages of relevant documents obtained from the Justice Ministry by 
The Asahi Shimbun last year under the freedom of information law were blacked 
out.

The Asahi Shimbun has filed requests for but has yet to receive the documents 
regarding the December executions.

In addition, the death of 1 of the men in December marked the 1st execution in 
20 years of an inmate on death row for a crime committed as a minor.

There are now 122 inmates on death row in Japan as of Dec. 27, according to the 
ministry. Among these, 95 are seeking a retrial.

7 types of document were released last year by the Justice Ministry in response 
to the requests filed by The Asahi Shimbun regarding the executions in July.

The other inmate executed in July did not seek a retrial. The death sentence 
given under the lay judge system has also been questioned because he only 
killed one person.

The number of inmates on death row has surpassed 120, marking an increase in 
excess of 70 in the last 20 years. The trend seems to have prompted the Justice 
Ministry to change gears to carry out executions that it previously avoided.

THE JULY HANGINGS

1 of the 2 men executed in July was Masakatsu Nishikawa, 61. He was convicted 
of murdering 4 female "snack" bar operators in Hyogo, Shimane and Kyoto 
prefectures, and assaulting a female "rakugo" comic storyteller in Osaka 
Prefecture, over a 1-month period since December 1991.

The other inmate, Koichi Sumida, 34, was convicted of murdering a former female 
colleague, who was working as a dispatch worker, in Okayama in September 2011.

According to the disclosed documents, the superintending prosecutors at the 
high public prosecutors offices submitted petitions to the justice minister 
requesting the sentences be carried out, 5 months after the death sentence was 
finalized for Nishikawa in June 2005 and 3 months after an execution judgment 
for Sumida had become final and binding in March 2013.

The move appeared to reflect the Criminal Procedure Law stipulating that the 
execution must be implemented within 6 months after a death sentence was 
finalized.

However, it's rare that convicts have been executed so quickly.

Nishikawa was sentenced to death by a district court and a high court, and the 
Supreme Court rejected his appeal in June 2005.

But he repeatedly requested a retrial after his death sentence was finalized.

His execution was the 1st for a death-row inmate seeking a retrial since 
December 1999.

Who is to be executed is decided by the Justice Ministry's Criminal Affairs 
Bureau but why Nishikawa and Sumida were picked to be hanged has remained 
unclear. The bureau chose Nishikawa and Sumida 11 1/2years and 4 years, 
respectively, after their sentences were finalized.

SOMBER PROCESS

The execution procedures for Nishikawa and Sumida began with a document dated 
July 10, 2017, titled "Kessai, Kyoran, Hokoku," (approval, display, report) and 
stamped by six executives of the Justice Ministry's Correction Bureau and 
Rehabilitation Bureau.

The document was 25 pages for 1 of the convicts and 10 pages for the other. But 
the ministry only disclosed 4 pages of them for each convict. A final decision 
and an outline for an execution order were indicated in the pages handed over. 
The rest was blacked out.

A document titled "Shikko Soto" (suitable for execution), also dated July 10, 
was created with the aim of approving the execution with seals from 7 
executives of the ministry--then Justice Minister Katsutoshi Kaneda, the state 
minister of justice, vice minister of justice, deputy vice minister of justice, 
director of the Secretarial Division, director-general of the Criminal Affairs 
Bureau and director of the General Affairs Division of the bureau.

Within the day, the Justice Ministry then sent execution orders for the 2 
convicts to the superintending prosecutors at the high public prosecutors 
offices. The prosecutors sent replies acknowledging they had received the 
orders.

The 2 inmates on death row were executed July 13, and 2 types of documents 
dated the same day, including an initial brief report of the execution, were 
created for each dead man.

But in the disclosed documents, the times of the executions, the names of 
witnesses apart from the detention house wardens, which are the names of the 
prosecutors and administrative officials of the high public prosecutors 
offices, the circumstances of the executions, and the 2 inmates' last 
testaments were blacked out.

In Japan, nearly 80 % of death row inmates are currently applying for retrial 
and some repeatedly file a petition. There has been a long-festering view among 
ministry officials that the retrial system is exploited by some inmates to 
delay the carrying out of their death sentences.

However, there was a case of Iwao Hakamada, now in his 80s, a former boxer who 
was wrongly convicted of multiple slayings in 1966. He spent decades on death 
row, but was released from prison in March 2014 after the Shizuoka District 
Court ordered a retrial.

With rising opposition against the death penalty, it remains to be seen if the 
Justice Ministry will disclose sufficient information to deepen discussion on 
the issue.

(source: The Asahi Shimbun)

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

Aum trials seen near completion as top court upholds life term for Katuya 
Takahashi



The trials related to Aum Shinrikyo, the doomsday cult that executed the deadly 
sarin attack on the Tokyo subway system in 1995, are close to ending after the 
Supreme Court rejected an appeal by a former cultist.

The top court's decision dated Thursday upheld a high court's life sentence on 
Katsuya Takahashi, 59, who was accused of murder in the sarin attack. He was 
the last of the former members still being tried.

With the conclusion of all of the trials, judicial authorities will likely 
shift their focus to the possible execution of Aum founder Shoko Asahara, whose 
real name is Chizuo Matsumoto. Asahara was given the death penalty for 
masterminding the 1995 attack, among other charges.

In connection with the sarin attack and other crimes, death sentences have been 
finalized for 13 members of the cult, while life sentences have been finalized 
for 5 others.

Around 190 people with ties to the cult had been indicted over the sarin 
attack, which killed 13 people and injured thousands, as well as other cases.

The Tokyo High Court ruled in September 2016 that Takahashi, the driver for 1 
of the cult members who released the poison in subway carriages, was aware that 
a toxic substance would be released.

The high court also found Takahashi guilty of 4 other attacks orchestrated by 
Aum.

Takahashi's ruling followed the case of ex-Aum member Naoko Kikuchi last month.

The Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that acquitted Kikuchi over her 
role in a 1995 parcel bombing at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building.

Rejecting an appeal filed by prosecutors, the top court's First Petty Bench 
said in its decision dated earlier in the month that the Tokyo District Court's 
2014 ruling that Kikuchi was guilty of assisting in attempted murder was based 
on an error, and that it endorses the Tokyo High Court's 2015 decision to 
overturn the lower court's verdict.

Her acquittal was finalized later.

Kikuchi, 46, was arrested in June 2012 after 17 years on the run. She was later 
indicted over her role in the parcel bombing in May 1995, 2 months after the 
Tokyo subway sarin gas attack orchestrated by Aum Shinrikyo killed 13 people 
and made more than 6,000 others ill.

In the bombing incident, members of Aum sent a parcel containing a bomb to the 
Metropolitan Government head office, resulting in an explosion that seriously 
injured a government employee.

(source: Japan Times)








CHINA:

Shanghai extends legal aid to foreign suspects



Shanghai has promised to extend legal aid to foreign suspects, local justice 
authorities said.

In 2017, legal aid was provided to foreign suspects in 119 criminal cases, up 
19 % from the previous year, said Zhang Ming, deputy director of Shanghai Legal 
Aid Center.

Most foreigners who received aid were suspected of theft, fraud and drug 
trafficking, Zhang said.

Starting last October, China launched a pilot program to ensure all criminal 
defendants have access to defense lawyers for their trials. The program has 
been carried out in Shanghai, Beijing, Zhejiang, Anhui, Henan, Guangdong, 
Sichuan and Shaanxi.

On Dec. 29 last year, Shanghai published a regulation on how to carry out the 
pilot program. According to the regulation, if criminal suspects do not hire 
their own attorneys, legal aid lawyers will be provided to them. Interpreters 
will be also provided to the suspects.

At present, a defense lawyer is only mandatory for juveniles and defendants 
with certain physical or mental disabilities, or in cases in which defendants 
face life imprisonment or the death penalty.

(source: xinhuanet.com)



PAKISTAN:

Army chief confirms death penalty for 10 terrorists



Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Bajwa on Friday ratified death 
sentences awarded to 10 terrorists and imprisonment to 3 other convicts for 
varying periods by the military courts.

The military's media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in a statement 
said that the terrorists were involved in the killing of 41 people, including 
security personnel.

"The convicts were involved in terrorist activities, killing of innocent 
civilians, attacks on educational institutions, slaughtering of soldiers and 
attacking law enforcement agencies and the armed forces," said the ISPR.

However, no details were given about the affiliation of the convicted 
terrorists but apparently they belonged to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban 
Pakistan and carried out these attacks in Swat.

The ISPR identified the terrorists sentenced to death as Samiur Rahman, Azeem 
Khan, Arshad Bilal, Anwar Ali, Muhammad Aleem, Fazal Aleem, Rasool 
Muha???m???mad, Sohail Ahmed, Naimat Ullah, and Rahmat Ali.

The identity of those awarded jail terms was not made public.

Last year the tenure of military courts was extended for another 2 years.

(source: dawn.com)








INDIA:

Haryana govt to enact law of capital punishment for raping minors



The Haryana government on Saturday said it will enact a law to provide for 
capital punishment for those found guilty of raping girls aged 12 years or 
below.

The state government would make a request for setting up fast-track courts for 
dealing with rape cases to ensure speedy justice to the victims, Chief Minister 
Manohar Lal Khattar said in Karnal after laying the foundation stone for a new 
sugar mill.

Expressing anguish and concern over the recent incidents of rapes in the state, 
Khattar said although the police were dealing with such cases as required under 
the law, it had been decided to make provisions for harsher punishment for 
rape.

(source: timesnownews.com)

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

2013 Sonai murders: Nashik court awards death sentence to 6



Traumatized by the horrific murders, the families of the kin were forced to 
shift residence for fear of their lives.

More than 5 years after the gory murders of 3 Dalit youths in Ahmednagar's 
Sonai village shook the State, the Sessions court in Nashik on Saturday 
pronounced the death sentence on the 6 persons convicted of the crime.

Earlier this week, the court convicted 6 of the 7 men accused in the gory 
murders that occurred in Sonai village in Ahmednagar where three Dalit youths, 
Sachin Gharu (24), Sandeep Thanvar (25) and Rahul Kandare (20), were brutally 
murdered and their mutilated body parts scattered in a septic tank and a 
dried-up well.

The 6 accused of the crime include Ramesh Darandale (43), Prakash Darandale 
(38), Ragunath Darandale alias 'Popat' (52), Ganesh alias Praveen Darandale 
(23), Sandeep Kurhe (37) and Ashok Phalke (44). Ramesh, Prakash and Popat are 
brothers, while Sandeep Kurhe is a relative of the Darandales.

"It was the opinion of the court that caste prejudices ought to checked like 
one curbs the spread of a malignant disease. Persons who arrogantly flaunt the 
'superiority' of their caste by keeping up an unfair status quo through means 
of violence and other means of spreading hatred should not be allowed to roam 
scot-free," said Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Ujjwal Nikam, speaking outside 
the courtroom after the verdict.

The court directed all convicted to deposit a penalty of 20,000 each, of which 
1/2 the amount would be given to the families of the 3 victims.

Concluding arguments

Earlier, Advocate Nikam, presenting his concluding arguments, had urged the 
court to award the death penalty to the 6 convicted for the crime based on 13 
parameters which drew on the evidence after cross-examining more than 50 
witnesses.

"The murders are a blot on humanity and a cruel reminder of prevailing caste 
prejudices. A conspiracy was hatched by the Darandales (who belong to the 
Maratha community) and the plan was carried out with incredible brutality just 
because a boy from 'backward' caste fell in love with a girl from a 'higher' 
caste and the duo were set to marry," Mr. Nikam had said.

All 3 youths, who were their respective families' sole breadwinners, were 
hacked to death by the Darandales in the latter's village in Sonai between 3:30 
and 8 p.m. on January 1, 2013. The victims belonged to the backward Mehtar 
(Bhangi) community.

The trigger for the gruesome crime was because Sachin Gharu reportedly fell in 
love with the daughter of 1 of the Darandales.

According to the FIR lodged at Sonai police station, Sachin and his colleagues, 
who worked as sweepers, were summoned by the Darandale family to their home on 
the fateful evening of January 1 to clean their septic tank.

After committing the horrific murders, Ramesh and Prakash Darandale then 
contacted the police and reported that Sandeep allegedly drowned while cleaning 
the septic tank.

This version roused the suspicions of the police when they pulled out the body 
Sandeep - a 6-footer - from a tank that barely contained 2 ft. water.

On further grilling, Ramesh Darandale later changed his story and alleged that 
Sachin and Rahul murdered Sandeep, dumped his body in the tank and fled.

On probing further, the police later discovered Sachin's decapitated body, with 
his limbs severed from the trunk from a nearby well.

Rahul's mutilated body was later found with severe injury marks. Sachin and his 
colleagues worked at the Trimurti Pavan Pratishthan School and College in 
Ahmednagar's Nevasa Phata, around 30 km from Sonai village. The girl studied at 
the same place.

Traumatized by the horrific murders, the families of the kin were forced to 
shift residence for fear of their lives. The case itself was shifted from 
volatile Ahmednagar to neighbouring Nashik on request from the kin of the 
victims.

(source: thehindu.com)








BELARUS:

Urgent Action Update: Execution Imminent After Death Sentence Upheld (Belarus: 
UA 195.17)



The death sentences of Ihar Hershankou and Siamion Berazhnoy were upheld by the 
Supreme Court of Belarus on 20 December 2017. The 2 men were convicted and 
sentenced to death by the Mahiliou Regional Court, in eastern Belarus, on 21 
July 2017. In the likely event that their appeal for clemency is rejected by 
the President, both men will be at risk of imminent execution.

TAKE ACTION

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

Urging the President to grant clemency to Ihar Hershankou and Siamion 
Berazhnoy;

Calling on the President to introduce an immediate moratorium on executions 
with a view to abolishing the death penalty;

Stress that whilst we are not seeking to downplay the seriousness of the crime, 
research shows that the death penalty does not have a unique deterrent effect 
and is the ultimate denial of human rights.

Contact these 2 officials by 23 February, 2018:

President

Alyaksandr Lukashenka Vul. Karla Marksa

38220016 Minsk

Belarus

Fax: +375 17 226 06 10 +375 17 222 38 72

Email: contact at president.gov.by

Salutation: Dear President,P> Charge d'Affaires Mr. Pavel Shidlovsky

Embassy of Belarus

1619 New Hampshire Ave NW

Washington DC 20009

Phone: 202 986 9420 OR 1 202 986 1606

Fax: 202 986 1805 OR 1 202 986 1805

Email: us at mfa.gov.by

Salutation: Dear Ambassador

(source: Amnesty International USA)