[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Jan. 26



PAKISTAN:

Public hanging of child rapists & murderers considered as Pakistan mourns 7yo 
victim



A Pakistani Senate committee has proposed to publicly hang those who sexually 
abuse or murder children. The measure is a response to the gruesome case of a 
Pakistani 7-year-old girl who was raped and killed earlier in January.

Part of the Pakistani Penal Code (PPC) on the punishment of child rapists and 
murderers currently states: "Whoever kidnaps or abducts any person under the 
age of 14 in order that such person may be murdered or subjected to grievous 
hurt... shall be punished with death (sic)." Chairman of the Senate Standing 
Committee on Interior Rehman Malik is now seeking to add the phrase "by hanging 
publicly" after the word "death."

The amendment has been proposed just 1 day after Pakistani authorities arrested 
a key suspect behind the murder of 7-year-old Zainab Ansari. The girl was 
abducted and later found raped and murdered near the eastern city of Lahore 
earlier in January. The case prompted mass protests and shockwaves across the 
country, with demonstrators accusing the government of inaction.

On Tuesday, police detained a 24-year-old man whose DNA matched samples found 
on the girl's body, according to Shahbaz Sharif, chief minister of Punjab 
province. The suspect has been identified as Imran Ali, and was a neighbor of 
Zainab.

He later confessed to having killed at least 8 girls including Zainab. The 
confession was recorded in a video released by local media. "I want Imran Ali 
to be hanged publicly... I will request the political parties to support my 
wish," Sharif later said.

Over 1,700 children were abused in Pakistan in the 1st 6 months of 2017, 
according to the data from the Islamabad-based Sahil group, which works on 
child protection, local media said. In 2016, the total number of reported child 
abuse cases was over 4,000, meaning that an average of 11 children were abused 
in Pakistan every day.

Yet there are those who oppose the drastic measure. "[The] Zainab incident is 
unfortunate but the demand for public hanging is also not correct," Senator 
Hasil Bizenjo said. According to Senator Farhatullah Babar, if the law is 
amended, there'll be "calls for hanging everyone."

In the meantime, a petition on change.org calling to hang Zainab's killer has 
gathered over 320,000 signatures. "The rapists of innocent Zainab should be 
hanged publicly in front of a large crowd so that other potential rapists learn 
a lesson," the petition said. The petition, however, was closed, failing to 
gain 500,000 signatures.

(source: rt.com)

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

2 get death penalty in murder case



A court on Thursday awarded death sentence to 2 convicts for killing their 
relative over domestic dispute in Puleena Jabbar area. The court also imposed 
Rs0.2 as fine on both murder convicts.

The court also awarded life imprisonment to another accused involved in the 
murder whereas acquitted the 4th accused for lack of evidence against him.

Additional and Session Judge (ASJ) Gujar Khan Aslam Gondal took up the murder 
case and awarded capital punishment to 2 convicts namely Raja Faisal and Raja 
Abbas for killing Raja Saqlain over some domestic dispute in 2014 within limits 
of Police Station Gujar Khan.

The judge given life imprisonment to 3rd accused Raja Yasir and dropped charges 
against Raja Asad and ordered police to release him. The judge also ordered 2 
murder convicts to pay Rs0.2 fine each.

Gujar Khan police had registered a murder case number 603/14 under section 
302/34 against 4 men for killing Raja Saqlain.

(source: The Nation)








INDIA:

Maharashtra now has most prisoners on death row, overtakes UP----Judges in 
Maharashtra have traditionally been very heavy-handed in their infliction of 
the death penalty, said Yug Chaudhary, a Mumbai-based lawyer who has 
represented the appeals of several death row inmates.



Maharashtra has overtaken Uttar Pradesh as the state with the most prisoners on 
death row, according to a report published on Wednesday by researchers at the 
National Law University in Delhi.

"UP almost has double the population of Maharasthra and has been the leader for 
a while," said Anup Surendranath, director of the Centre on the Death Penalty, 
which compiled the report. "It's interesting to see that Maharasthra has 
overtaken UP."

Maharashtra had 67 prisoners on death row at the end of 2017, up from 47 a year 
before. Uttar Pradesh, meanwhile, had 65 death row prisoners, down from 77. The 
states' populations are about 11 crore and 20 crore, respectively.

Why does Maharashtra have so many death row prisoners? Violent crime doesn't 
account for it. Maharashtra's murder rate in 2016, the most recent year for 
which data is available, was about 2 for every one lakh people. That's lower 
than both that of UP and the country as a whole, both of which recorded murder 
rates of about 2.5 per lakh.

Instead, it may simply be the result of a self-reinforcing pattern of strict 
sentencing among the state's trial court judges, said Yug Chaudhary, a 
Mumbai-based lawyer who has represented the appeals of several death row 
inmates in Maharashtra and across the country. "Once it starts," he said, "the 
ball keeps rolling."

No matter the reason, Chaudhary said, "judges in Maharashtra have traditionally 
been very heavy-handed in their infliction of the death penalty."

The report also confirms previous figures which suggest that those who receive 
the death penalty are unlikely to ever be executed. Of the 99 death row 
prisoners whose cases were reviewed by higher courts last year, 53 had their 
sentences commuted while 35 were acquitted entirely. In other words, high 
courts rejected the judgements of trial courts 90% of the time.

"Almost all of these sentences get overturned in the high courts or in the 
Supreme Court," Chaudhary said. "In spite of this, the judges are not 
learning."

Though Maharashtra has the highest number of death row prisoners, perhaps a 
better measure of judges' likelihood to hand down the death penalty is the 
number of sentences imposed as a proportion of the state's population. All else 
being equal, less populous states ought to have fewer people on death row. By 
that measure, judges in Jammu and Kashmir are the most likely to impose the 
death penalty. The state has more than 9.5 people on death row per 1 lakh 
population, far more than any other state. Haryana has 6.7 death row prisoners 
per lakh population, the 2nd highest rate, while Maharasthra comes 3rd, with 
about 6 death row prisoners per lakh people.

To collect information on death row prisoners, researchers at the Centre on the 
Death Penalty have spent years combing through news reports and filing hundreds 
of public records requests through the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

In addition to creating the 1st database of information about each death row 
prisoner, the researchers have discovered that official figures published by 
the National Crime Records Bureau are not entirely accurate.

"In my experience looking at official documents, sometimes - most times - some 
names or others are missing," said Poornima Rajeshwar, 1 of the 3 lead 
researchers and writers of the report. "News links are the most reliable source 
of information. [Some names of death row prisoners] are not likely to be 
available in prison lists or RTIs, because they are not updated regularly."

(source: Hindustan Times)








BARBADOS:

Strike it out!----CCJ to rule on Barbados' mandatory death sentence



A senior Trinidadian attorney today argued strongly for the removal of the 
mandatory death penalty from the statute books of Barbados, deeming it to be 
"unconstitutional".

Appearing before the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on behalf of two 
condemned men, senior counsel Douglas Mendez therefore called on the CCJ to 
exercise the power vested in it as the island's final court of appeal to make 
it amend the relevant portions of the Offences Against the Persons Act to 
conform with Section 11 of the Barbados Constitution which he said prohibits 
arbitrary laws.

"There isn't any result to come out of the criminal justice system worse than 
being punished in excess of your wrongdoing. You can't by some form of osmosis 
provide protection that is accorded to one section of the Constitution that the 
Constitution doesn't say extends to other sections and that is what we are 
relying on," he said. His comments came on Day 2 of hearings into the appeal 
brought on behalf of Dwayne Omar Severin who was sentenced to death for the 
November 30, 2009 killing of Virgil Barton near his home at Lucas Street, St 
Philip, and Jabari Sensimania Nervais who was handed the same sentence for the 
November 17, 2006 shooting death of former Perseverance Drive, Jackson, St 
Michael resident Jason Ricardo Burton.

Both men, who have exhausted all domestic grounds for appeal, are making a last 
ditch effort to have their cases overturned by the CCJ, which is the court of 
last resorts.

While arguing that the mandatory death penalty is in violation of the island's 
international obligations, Mendez, who along with Barbadian Andrew Pilgrim, QC, 
is representing the condemned men, complained today to the seven-member panel, 
led by Sir Dennis Byron, that the political directorate appeared to be lacking 
the will to do so.

"If the legislature wishes to put the mandatory death penalty back on the 
statute books then they have to do their job. They have to account to the 
electorate for what they do. They can't hide, which is what, unfortunately has 
been happening with the death penalty, and the mandatory death penalty in 
particular," Mendez said, while strongly lamenting that "politicians play 
games".

"Everybody talks about the death penalty, about carrying it out, then they 
don't do it because it goes good with the electorate," he said.

In response, Principal Crown Counsel Anthony Blackman informed the regional 
court that the bill to abolish the mandatory death penalty had reached the 2nd 
reading stage in Parliament.

However, he could not explain why it had not been given final approval.

"Why it is taking so long? We cannot assist this honourable court with the 
reason why it is taking so long. What we would try to assist this honourable 
court with, is to remind this honourable court that, based on the Constitution 
of Barbados, a 2/3 majority is needed for this to pass," Blackman said.

It was at this point that one of the judges queried why a 2/3 majority was 
required, suggesting when a "simple majority" would suffice.

However, when asked what was Government's policy on the mandatory death 
penalty, Blackman could not provide a credible answer.

"We are unable to assist the court in relation to any policy statement or any 
definitive policy direction as it relates to that aspect. So I must apologize 
to this honourable court for not being in a position to give you that 
information," he said.

It is now left to the CCJ to issue its decision on the matter.

(source: Emmanuel Joseph; Barbados Today)








INDONESIA:

Send Home Terminally Ill Pakistani on Indonesia's Death Row----Pakistani Leader 
Should Raise Case with Visiting President Jokowi



This week's visit by Indonesia President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to Pakistan may 
determine how Zulfiqar Ali spends his final days - on death row in Indonesia, 
or with his family back home in Pakistan.

Ali, a 53-year-old father of 5 from Lahore, was arrested in 2004 in Indonesia, 
charged with possession of 300 grams of heroin, and sentenced to death. In 
2016, Indonesia informed the Pakistani embassy in Jakarta that Ali would be 
soon executed.

Ali's lawyers alleged egregious violations of due process at every stage of the 
trial and appeal process. They say he has been diagnosed with advanced liver 
cancer with a life expectancy of 3 months.

Indonesia ended a 4-year unofficial moratorium on the death penalty in March 
2013. The Indonesian government has termed the execution of convicted drug 
traffickers as "shock therapy" and President Jokowi has made it a signature 
policy issue.

Ali was scheduled to be executed in July 2016, but received a last-minute 
reprieve after diplomatic intervention by the Pakistani government and pressure 
from human rights groups. But he remains on death row.

The flaws in Indonesia's use of the death penalty were highlighted in a July 
2016 investigation by the Indonesian ombudsman who found denial of legal rights 
in a case involving a Nigerian national. In January 2015, the execution of a 
Brazilian national led to a diplomatic crisis between Indonesia and Brazil. 
President Jokowi admirably seeks to prevent executions of Indonesians convicted 
abroad, which is undercut by his easy acceptance of the death penalty at home.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi should urge President Jokowi to 
commute Zulfiqar Ali's sentence and release him on medical grounds so he can 
spend his last days with his family. But the Pakistani government can also make 
its case stronger - and bring Pakistan within a growing circle of nations - by 
halting its own executions.

Prime Minister Abbasi and President Jokowi could each end these killings by 
recognizing the well-documented failure of the death penalty as a crime 
deterrent and reinstating their unofficial moratoriums on capital punishment - 
as a 1st step to banning this inherently cruel practice.

(source: Human Rights Watch)

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

Australian accountant facing death penalty for drug smuggling in Bali is 
admitted to hospital after 'raging and talking to himself in his prison cell'



An Australian man facing the death penalty in Bali after being caught with 
crystal meth and ecstasy pills is back in hospital.

Isaac Emmanuel Roberts was taken to a police hospital on Tuesday and seen by an 
ear, nose and throat specialist before being locked in a cell there.

The once high-flying accountant was hospitalised after complaining of feeling 
sick and appeared to be raging and talking to himself in his prison cell.

He was taken to a police hospital on Tuesday and seen by an ear, nose and 
throat specialist before being locked in a cell there.

His lawyer Edward Firdaus Pangkahila blamed his condition on prison doctors' 
efforts to reduce his addiction to medications, including sedatives.

'I seem to be having tremendous difficulty with my lifestyle,' Roberts said as 
he emerged from the doctor's office in handcuffs.

The 36-year-old was held at the Trijata police hospital in Bali's Denpasar 
ploice headquarters.

He was allegedly found with 6.22 grams of ecstasy, 14.32 grams of 
methamphetamine and 22 mils of a psychotropic substance at Denpasar Airport.

Roberts was a month ago rushed to hospital suffering from shock, and his lawyer 
said he suffered from depression and was at risk of committing suicide.

'He got sick. He was shocked after the press conference today,' another of hos 
lawyers, Deni Sedana, said.

'He has a big tendency to do suicide because he often feels depression. He has 
a mental disorder.'

Mr Sedana said Roberts had planned to fly from Bangkok, Thailand to Australia, 
but was convinced by a friend to go to Bali instead.

Roberts was allegedly caught with the drugs hidden in his suitcase on December 
4, but his arrest was kept hidden from the public for more than 2 weeks.

The chartered accountant confessed to being a prolific drug user and told 
waiting media he was a 'f***ing addict', but alleged he was not a dealer.

Roberts ran as a Liberal Democrat candidate in the seat of Higgins in Melbourne 
in 2009. He was unsuccessful, polling 8th out of 10 candidates.

His social media accounts reveal the alleged drug user to be a dedicated gym 
junkie who regularly visits the Indonesian island and Thailand.

Pictures on his Instagram show his frequent travels to Asian destinations such 
as Sukhumvit in Bangkok, Thailand.

Roberts was travelling from Bangkok into Bali when he was allegedly caught with 
the drugs.

He works as a professional accountant and was last registered as an employee of 
M-Tax Accountants in Queensland.

His career in accounting has taken him to Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.

Shocking photographs surfaced on Tuesday showing him sitting in a media 
conference wearing orange prisoner garb and a black balaclava over his head.

He was pictured beside 2 other suspects guarded by police officers who wore 
balaclavas and carried rifles.

Details of his arrest were kept secret for weeks, when the drug bust was 
announced by Indonesian officials.

'We have arrested an Australian, IER, for bringing drugs into Bali,' Customs 
and Excise Officer Husni Syaiful said.

The drugs were allegedly discovered when his luggage was X-rayed.

Indonesia carries the maximum death penalty for drug importation crimes.

Speaking to media after the conference, Roberts reportedly said he was invited 
to Indonesia by a customs officer.

'I was working with a customs officer and they knew I was going to bring 
something,' he told reporters in Bali.

'I'm just a f*****g addict. They want to waste resources on addicts, they want 
to punish addicts? This is ridiculous. What about the f.....g importers? I 
wasn't going to sell it to anyone here, no one was going to use it here. This 
is ridiculous. This is an embarrassment.'

Indonesian police alleged Roberts admitted to being a drug user, but denied he 
was a dealer.

When the police investigation is finished, he will be transferred to Kerobokan 
prison - where he will await trial.

Roberts describes himself as a Chartered Accountant and Registered Tax Agent on 
his personal website.

'I specialise in personal income tax returns, however years of experience in 
corporate tax have given me the confidence to service many business clients,' 
he said.

(source: Daily Mail)








CHINA:

Chinese Court Rejects Appeal of Petitioner on Death Row For Killing a Policeman



Authorities in the central province of Henan on Thursday rejected an appeal 
from a man sentenced to death for killing a police officer who was forcibly 
escorting him home from a petitioning trip in the Chinese capital.

Veteran activist Xu Youchen and his wife Zhang Xiaoyu were initially both 
detained on suspicion of killing the police officer on July 17, 2014 as they 
were being escorted home from Beijing to prevent them from complaining about 
the local government.

The couple were both formally charged with intentional homicide on Aug. 2, but 
Zhang's charges were later changed to "picking quarrels and stirring up 
trouble," for which she received a 3-year jail term on Dec. 12, 2016.

Xu was sentenced to death for the killing of a police officer on the same day 
by the Sanmenxia Intermediate People's Court in Henan.

At his trial, he admitted intending to injure the police officer, but his 
lawyers said the court had failed to prove that he intended to kill the man.

Rights groups have also cited procedural irregularities with the handling of 
the policeman's death.

Authorities cremated the body of the policeman allegedly killed by the couple 
just 4 days after he died, making it impossible to re-examine the exact time 
and cause of death, Amnesty International reported.

But the Henan Provincial High People's Court rejected his appeal on Thursday, 
upholding the original verdict and sentence, Xu's lawyer told RFA.

"The appeal court upheld the death penalty, which won't now be implemented 
until the case has been reviewed by the Supreme People's Court," defense 
attorney Lin Qilei said.

"This isn't the kind of case in which the sentence would be carried out 
immediately; we could still achieve our aim if the Supreme Court rejects the 
death penalty during the review process," Lin said.

"But if it approves the death penalty, then they will carry out the sentence."

'We don't feel very optimistic'

Lin said Xu's defense had been based on the argument that he hadn't intended to 
kill the police officer.

"The appeal court's decision was unfair, because this wasn't intentional 
homicide," he said. He said the authorities had refused to release surveillance 
footage surrounding the police officer's death.

"They haven't dared to let the lawyers see it," Lin said.

Xu's son said he had expected his father's appeal to be rejected, however.

"We felt during the appeal that the attitude of the prosecution had hardened a 
good deal; it was as if they wanted [the death penalty] at all costs," the 
younger Xu said.

"But I don't think my father should bear all of the responsibility; I think 
that 40-60 % of the blame lies with the local government, who acted like 
bandits in arbitrarily depriving people of their liberty," he said. "Overall, 
we don't feel very optimistic about the outcome."

Last August, a court in the eastern province of Shandong commuted the death 
sentence handed down to Ding Hanzhong, a forced evictee who killed two workers 
who came to demolish his home in 2013, to an effective life sentence in prison.

The decision came after the Shandong High People's Court ordered a retrial on 
appeal, citing a failure to prove the material facts of the case.

And in May 2015, authorities in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu on 
Friday handed down an 8-year prison term to a retired People's Liberation Army 
(PLA) soldier for attacking members of a demolition gang who came to raze his 
home.

Fan Mugen was found guilty of "intentional wounding" by the Suzhou Intermediate 
People's Court following his trial in early February.

Retired PLA soldier Fan allegedly attacked 2 members of a demolition gang that 
came to evict his family from their home on Dec. 3, 2013, and who he said beat 
up his wife. The 2 men later died.

Cases like Xu's, Ding's and Fan's are politically sensitive, as they come amid 
growing public anger over the use of violent forced evictions, often with no 
warning or due process, by local governments to reclaim land for lucrative 
redevelopment or speculation.

(source: rfa.org)