[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Jan. 27



EGYPT:

U.N. experts call for Egypt to halt executions



Egypt must stop executions until it has reviewed all death sentences and retry 
any convictions that are found to rest on unfair trials, 5 independent U.N. 
human rights experts said on Friday.

Egypt's mission to the United Nations in Geneva did not immediately comment on 
the appeal, but Egyptian prosecution and judicial sources rejected the 
criticism.

"We have raised multiple specific cases with the Egyptian authorities and 
continue to receive more. In the light of these persistent serious allegations, 
we urge the Government to halt all pending executions," the experts said in a 
statement.

"The authorities should ensure that all death sentences are reviewed and, where 
convictions were based on unfair trials, ensure that individuals have retrials 
during which Egypt's human rights obligations are fully respected."

An Islamic State insurgency in North Sinai has expanded to include civilian 
targets in the past year. Egypt this month renewed its state of emergency for 3 
more months, broadening the power of authorities to crack down on what it calls 
enemies of the state.

The 5 experts who issued the statement - special rapporteurs reporting to the 
U.N. Human Rights Council - said the death penalty should be used only for the 
most serious crimes and after a process with all legal safeguards.

The experts were Jose Antonio Guevara Bermudez, Agnes Callamard, Bernard 
Duhaime, Nils Melzer, and Fionnuala D. Ni Aolain, who report to the Council on 
arbitrary detention, extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, torture 
and the protection of human rights while countering terrorism.

"We are particularly concerned by an apparently continuing pattern of death 
sentences handed out on the basis of evidence obtained through torture or ill 
treatment, often during a period of enforced disappearance," they said.

Egyptian prosecution and judicial sources said verdicts in all cases were based 
on proof from investigations, confessions and forensic evidence, but courts did 
not rely on confessions they believed were a result of torture or coercion.

Speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, the sources said the U.N. 
statement constituted meddling in Egypt's judicial affairs, and said death 
sentences had only been carried out after fair trials where the rights and 
defence of the accused were guaranteed in accordance with the law.

They also said that those who were convicted had committed crimes that resulted 
in the deaths of innocent people and threatened national stability and security 
- which are capital offences in Egypt.

(source: Reuters)








IRAN:

Detainees Arrested in Iranian Protests Facing Charges That Carry Death Penalty



Some detainees arrested in the protests that broke out in Iran's Hamadan and 
Khuzestan provinces in December 2017 are facing charges that are punishable by 
death, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) has learned.

"Some of them have been investigated, interrogated and charged with 
'rebellion,'" said a legal source in the city of Izeh, Khuzestan Province, who 
spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

"The families of the freed detainees have been threatened a lot and are too 
afraid to talk," added the source. "Most of them say that they are being 
slapped with serious charges and if they do anything wrong, they could be given 
heavy sentences."

During the protests approximately 400 people were arrested in Izeh. To date, 
approximately 50 of them remain in detention.

A legal source in Hamedan Province told CHRI that the exact number of detainees 
there is not known, but many of them, arrested mainly in the cities of Asadabad 
and Touyserkan, have been charged with "corruption on earth" and "rebellion," 
which could result in the death penalty.

Exact casualty figures have not been released but according to official 
sources, 3 to 6 people died in those cities during the protests. Their 
identities have not been revealed.

According to Article 279 of Iran???s Constitution: "Moharebeh (rebellion) is 
defined as drawing a weapon against the life, property or chastity of people or 
to cause terror as it creates the atmosphere of insecurity."

Officials have not indicated who has been charged with drawing a weapon at the 
protests, however, security forces harshly repressed the demonstrations, which 
occurred in dozens of Iranian cities, with water cannons, tear gas, rubber 
bullets and live fire.

Iranian officials have also referred to the protests as "blind, violent riots."

According to Article 286 of the Constitution: "Any person, who extensively 
commits felony against the bodily entity of people, offenses against the 
internal or international security of the state, spreading lies, disruption of 
the economic system of the state, arson and destruction of properties, 
distribution of poisonous and bacterial and dangerous materials, and 
establishment of, or aiding and abetting in, places of corruption and 
prostitution [on a scale] that causes severe disruption in the public order of 
the state and insecurity, or causes harsh damage to the bodily entity of people 
or public or private properties, or causes distribution of corruption and 
prostitution on a large scale, shall be considered as mofsed-e-fel-arz [corrupt 
on earth] and shall be sentenced to death."

Several protesters arrested in Iran's 2009 demonstrations were also issued 
harsh legal charges. The defendants were ultimately spared the death penalty, 
however, two political prisoners were executed during that time.

At least 25 people died and more than 3,700 were arrested during the weeklong 
protests that broke out across dozens of Iranian cities on December 28, 2017. 
Human rights organizations and lawyers have expressed serious concerns for 
detainees, many of whom are being held without access to a lawyer.

At least 2 protesters have died in custody.

(source: Iran Human Rights)








SINGAPORE:

8.8kg of heroin seized in largest single heroin haul in the past 3 years: 
CNB----Heroin recovered from the motorcycle of a 35-year-old Malaysian man in 
an operation by the Central Narcotics Bureau on Jan 26, 2018.

A whopping 8.8kg of heroin was seized on Friday afternoon (Jan 26) in what was 
the largest single heroin haul in the past 3 years, the Central Narcotics 
Bureau said in a statement on Saturday.

More than 15g of pure heroin trafficked alone can earn a person the death 
penalty, while 8.8kg of heroin is sufficient to feed the addiction of about 
4190 abusers for a week, CNB said.

On Friday afternoon, CNB officers were deployed around HarbourFront Centre to 
observe 2 suspected drug traffickers: A 32-year-old Singaporean man and a 
35-year-old Malaysian man.

The pair were spotted entering a toilet in HarbourFront Tower 2.

Shortly after, they left the toilet separately.

The Singaporean returned to his car while the Malaysian stayed inside 
HarbourFront Tower 2.

CNB officers tailed the vehicle driven by the Singaporean, moving in and 
arresting him in his vehicle at the opportune moment.

Another Singaporean man, 39, who had entered the car, was also arrested.

About 2.2kg of heroin, 460g of "ice" or methamphetamine, and 70 Erimin-5 
tablets were found in the car, along with a digital weighing scale and several 
empty plastic packets.

Meanwhile, another group of CNB officers arrested the Malaysian man at his 
workplace inside HarbourFront Tower 2.

Officers escorted the 35-year-old to his motorcycle parked nearby, and a search 
of the motorcycle uncovered about 6.6kg of heroin, packed in different bundles.

In total, about 8.8kg of heroin, 460g of "ice" or methamphetamine and 70 
Erimin-5 tablets were seized in the operation. The drugs are estimated to be 
worth more than $666,000.

Investigations into the drug activities of all the suspects are ongoing.

The Misuse of Drugs Act provides for the death penalty if the amount of 
diamorphine (or pure heroin) trafficked exceeds 15g. That amount of diamorphine 
is equivalent to 1,250 straws, which is sufficient to feed the addiction of 
about 180 abusers for a week.

(source: straitstimes.com)








PAKISTAN:

The spectacle of the scaffold



We are all terrified that it could happen to us and that our children are not 
safe in their schools, homes or even on the streets. What happened to that 
beautiful little girl is everyone's worst nightmare - and for her parents, an 
excruciating reality.

There are no words. But there is anger. Anger at how familiar all this seems 
and why it keeps happening. And fear that this isn't the last of it.

When channelled constructively, this can lead to transformative change. This 
means better policing, use of forensic evidence, profiling of abusers and, more 
importantly, implementation of existing child protection mechanisms. In the 
wake of this horrific case, this is starting to happen.

But these action points are not flashy and don't win elections. The concerted 
efforts don't yield immediate results. The government is still reeling from its 
mismanagement of the Kasur child abuse racket in August 2015. Unfortunately, 
this means that an even bigger spectacle is needed to assuage the people's 
collective anger.

Calls for a public execution have come in many forms in light of this tragedy - 
through a Twitter trend, emotional columns, tirades on talk shows and, most 
worryingly, a resolution in the Senate. There is a reason why it feels like 
we've been here before. Because we have. The death penalty has always been used 
a tool by various regimes across the world for political point-scoring. Public 
executions are not a ground-breaking idea - not anywhere in the world and 
certainly not in Pakistan.

Proponents of public hangings grossly overestimate its use as a deterrent and 
often cite the example of the Pappu murder and rape case where the culprits 
were publically hanged 37 years ago at the behest of General Ziaul Haq.

All of us wish to live in a world where no child was hurt in Pakistan after the 
public hanging of a child molester. But a cursory reading of newspaper archives 
from the decade that immediately followed this execution reveals the truth. 
Between 1983 and 1992, there were at least 11 reported cases of rape committed 
against children in Pakistan as young as 4 years of age. At least 4 of these 
cases surfaced in Lahore where the public execution of Pappu's murderer and 
rapist took place.

Enthusiasts of public executions cite the examples of Iran and Saudi Arabia 
that carry out hangings and beheadings in city squares and credit their low 
crime rates to this phenomenon. But Saudi Arabia has experienced a 102 percent 
rise in crimes, including murder, between 2012 and 2013 even though public 
executions were rampant during this period. Iran, which is consistently ranked 
as one of the top executioners in the world, increased the number of public 
executions from 2010 to 2015. There have also been multiple hangings for rape. 
But until March 2012, the country had failed to deter 900 rapists.

More disturbing is the eagerness with which we want children to witness these 
hangings. In 2013, a 12-year-old boy was accidentally hanged by his 8-year-old 
brother in Iran when he attempted to replicate an execution they had seen 
earlier in the week. A public execution would endanger the very people we are 
trying to protect. It's easy to succumb to the most tempting, yet least 
effective solution.

The Supreme Court was cognisant of this seductive option back in 1992 when it 
took suo motu action on the issue of public hangings as a matter of public 
interest. In 1992, the government tried the same 'special measures' approach 
with the Special Courts for Speedy Trials Act. Under Section 10, the government 
sought the option to specify "the place of execution" of any sentence passed 
under the 1992 law, "having regard to the deterrent effect which such [an] 
execution is likely to have".

The Supreme Court, in its wisdom, saw through the brutality of this practice 
and had little patience for this assumption as the data does today. The apex 
court categorically stated that "public hanging, even for the worst of 
criminals, was a violation of human dignity and, therefore, unconstitutional".

So why are we staying true to the definition of insanity by repeating the same 
mistakes over and over again and expecting different results? The answer is 
simple. The aftermath of Zainab's murder has seen several lawmakers scrambling 
to maintain the appearance of looking tough on crime, exploiting public 
sentiments in the wake of yet another tragedy and indicating through their 
actions that the 24-hour hunt has been little more than political 
point-scoring.

We all want justice for Zainab. But justice doesn't look like violence. Justice 
doesn't demand blood. Justice doesn't deserve to be tainted with a rotting body 
on a noose. We must not confuse insanity with justice.

(source: Sarah Belal; The writer is the executive director of the Justice 
Project Pakistan----The News)