[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Jan. 28




SAUDI ARABIA----executions

Nigerian drug convicts executed in Saudi Arabia



2 Nigerians convicted of drug offenses in Saudi Arabia have been executed, the 
Vanguard reports on Saturday, quoting prison sources in the kingdom.Local news 
reports suggest that since Ibrahim Ciroma and Maimidu Issah were executed by 
hanging last week, a sense of trepidation has gripped other Nigerian convicts 
being held in Saudi jails over similar infractions.

Ciroma and Issah, hailed from Northern Nigeria.

15 Nigerians are currently on death row in Saudi Arabia and could face the 
hangman's noose in the next few weeks, the Vanguard says.

The latest executions come 4 months after a Nigerian was executed in Saudi 
Arabia for an alleged drug offence.

The Nigerian government led by President Muhammadu Buhari has made several 
unsuccessful interventions to save its citizens facing the death penalty in 
Saudi Arabia.

It tried to request for their extradition to Nigeria where they would serve 
their jail sentence or be executed and given decent burials.

Such requests to the Saudi authorities have fallen on deaf ears.

(source: journalducameroun.com)








PAKISTAN:

Execute reforms not people



We have a history of taking temporary fixing measures but never focus on taking 
cogent steps that can permanently reform our flawed criminal justice system.

The tragic rape and murder of a minor girl, Zainab, has again kicked up a 
public debate on the mode of punishment. If we recall, Pakistan has been facing 
extraordinary circumstances since the 70s, when different governments 
introduced parallel judicial systems. But no government has so far been 
successful in reforming the criminal justice system (CJS).

Examples of temporary measures being taken can be traced back to our recent 
past. In 1998, when civil order in Karachi was in decline, military courts were 
introduced for the first time to try civilians. The law was introduced after 
the president had promulgated the Pakistan Armed Forces (Acting in Aid of Civil 
Power) Ordinance 1998, under Article 245 of the Constitution. The government at 
that time had argued that the law has been put in place for a short period of 
time and is for a specific area with the objective to restore security and 
peace and maintenance of law and order. The law was later repealed because it 
was declared arbitrary to the constitution by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 
the case reported as 'Liaquat Hussain versus Federation of Pakistan'. At that 
time too the federal government maintained that it was forced to take these 
extraordinary steps to secure peace. But it never gave due attention to 
reforming the outdated CJS.

Similarly, on January 7th 2015, after the Army Public School incident, 
parliament unanimously allowed military courts to hold trials of terrorism 
suspects, by introducing changes to the Pakistan Army Act 1952 through the 21st 
Constitutional Amendment. Again it was said that the promulgation is temporary 
as it has a sunset clause of 2 years. However, it was later extended for 
another 2 years. And this time too the objectives were to carry out speedy 
trials and curtailment of terrorist activities in the extraordinary situation 
the country was facing.

At the time it was assumed that ordinary courts were not in the position to 
cope with the challenges. Hence, the government promised to reform the criminal 
justice system and ensure speedy and affordable justice for all. Now the 
military courts are in their 4th and final year. But have any reforms been 
introduced in the centuries-old law and justice system? The day is not far when 
people will ask military courts to also settle their fiscal and property 
disputes. Why have people been forced into believing that they cannot get 
justice form ordinary courts?

We have a history of taking temporary measures to deal with the long-standing 
problems plaguing our criminal justice system. But still we never bother to 
search for permanent solutions and introduce workable reforms in our judicial 
system. Similarly, there is no evidence that public executions or even sending 
people to the gallows has ever deterred criminals, but what is certain is that 
it could further encourage the desire for vengeance and violence in society.

After APS, the moratorium on the death penalty was lifted; at least 487 people 
have been executed since then. Even those who believe in the philosophy of 
deterrence would agree that the crime ratio in the county has not come down. 
The people need to know why there has been such a delay in reforming the CJS? 
Why do we have the lowest conviction rate in ordinary criminal cases? Why are 
cases tried for decades, while people remain confined in pre-trial detentions?

We, the public, should also rethink our criticism about the police being the 
only institution responsible for all the weaknesses in the criminal justice 
system. Why do we forget the systems of prosecution, parole, prison probation 
and the judiciary? There may be a few steps the government took to reform the 
police department, but it seems it has done nothing practical to reform other 
important departments.

The political pressure and public opinion calling for prompt action in 
punishment for the Zainab case cannot be ignored, especially when the Senate's 
Standing Committee on Interior suggests amending Section 364A of the Pakistan 
Penal Code (PPC) to include the terms 'public hanging' in the clause. How about 
we ask this committee, parliament and the government how much they have done to 
reform the criminal justice system - as they had promised to do after the APS 
incident? Because it is a universal truth that our people want affordable, fast 
and accessible justice and that our existing criminal justice system is flawed 
and needs reforms. The government needs to take concrete steps to improve the 
implementation mechanism of existing laws and reform the the justice system.

Will public hangings deter criminals? Or will a reformed criminal justice 
system, with modern forensics, updated means of investigation, trained 
prosecution officers and an improved judicial system ensure our safety?

Laws, rules, and regulations should be adopted in order to strengthen the 
processes of investigation and prosecution. Protection should be provided for 
witnesses, lawyers and judges of the existing regular criminal courts. 
Restoration of public hangings should not be a priority, instead practical, 
durable and everlasting reforms in the criminal justice system are what will 
benefit the whole country.

If this same committee, parliament and government wish to change the justice 
system, they can bring reforms within days. We need a collective effort and not 
temporary, fatal and outdated decisions. Parliament should soon take durable 
steps to ensure justice is provided to all and the government should ensure 
that rule of law prevails.

(source: Opinion; Irshad Ahmad----The writer is a Peshawar-based lawyer----The 
News)