[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

July 29



NIGERIA:

Don't execute 2, 359 inmates, CURE-Nigeria urges FG


A group, Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants (CURE-Nigeria), has 
appealed to the Federal Government against execution of 2, 359 prison inmates 
on death row in different prisons across the country.

In a statement by its executive director, Sylvester Uhaa, the group condemned 
recent discussions between the presidency and state governors considering 
approval for execution of the inmates.

The organisation championing the cause of prison inmates said: "It is quite 
worrying Nigeria is contemplating executing people at a time nations of the 
world are doing away with the death penalty and trying to find permanent and 
workable solutions to reducing violent crime.

"It is not true, as claimed by the governors and the Attorney-General of the 
Federation that death row inmates in Nigeria pose the greatest security risk to 
the prison service and society because they constitute about 2 % of the prison 
population."

It went on: "It is awaiting trial inmates, who constitute over 70 % of our 
prison population, that pose the greatest security threat to the prisons, their 
host communities and to the nation at large.

"So, if the governors and Federal Government are serious about finding 
solutions to the problems hindering the effective management of prisons, they 
should decongest and invest in prison education and other rehabilitation 
programs, access to justice, and crime prevention, not planning to carry out 
mass executions.

"The death penalty is not a deterrent to violent crime and is only propagated 
by people who are reluctant to address the root causes of crime but want to 
create a false impression that they are serious about fighting crime.

"As you know Nigeria has the highest number of people on death row in West 
Africa. This invariably means that Nigeria has the highest violent crime rate 
in the region."

(source: thenationonlineng.net)

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

Resolving prisoners on death row enigma


Nigeria's prisons are in dire straits. Congestion, lack of health care, access 
to legal representation and shortage of personnel are inexorably their sordid 
features. One of these shortcomings - congestion arising from the high number 
of inmates on death row - has moved the Attorney-General of the Federation and 
Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, to lament.

A total of 1,832 inmates have been waiting for the hangman's noose for a long 
time due to the failure of state governors to sign death warrants, which they 
are officially obligated. Moral, religious and political suasions appear to be 
obvious rampart. Malami says the ministry "is presently preparing a memorandum 
to the National Economic Council to apprise the governors of this issue and 
seek their cooperation in addressing this challenge."

This is not the 1st time the issue would engage their attention. In February 
2017, the Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo, called on the governors to discharge 
this constitutional obligation at a NEC meeting, which he presided over. He got 
firm assurances, but they were observed in the breach. Adams Oshiomhole, as the 
then Edo State governor, is the only one that has risen to the challenge since 
1999. In 2012, he signed the death warrants of 2 convicts, reviewed the cases 
of 4 others: 2 of them were set free, while the other 2 had their death 
sentences commuted to life imprisonment.

The Oshiomhole example recommends itself to governors. Doing so will help in 
decongesting the prisons. However, it is irreconcilable that governors who 
dither over the signing of death warrants are at the same time recommending 
capital punishment as an antidote to kidnapping in their states. Virtually all 
the states in the Southern part of the country have enacted this stringent law.

Governor Nyesom Wike, for instance, in signing the Rivers State Neighbourhood 
Safety bill into law in March this year, forcefully conveyed the message: "If 
you are convicted of kidnapping and the Supreme Court affirms your conviction, 
I will sign the death warrant without looking back." His counterpart in Lagos 
State, Akinwunmi Ambode, avowed similarly. While initialling the 
anti-kidnapping legal instrument, he said, "We are confident that this law will 
serve as a deterrent to anybody who may desire to engage in this wicked act 
within the boundaries of Lagos." In Abuja, the National Assembly toed the same 
line when the Senate enacted capital punishment for kidnappers in September 
last year.

Sending condemned criminals to the gallows is a controversial human rights 
issue globally, which legions of rights crusaders oppose. A total of 106 
countries have no capital punishment. Among them are Germany, France, Italy, 
South Africa, Senegal, Burundi, Angola and Guinea. Nevertheless, some states in 
the United States like New York, California, Florida, Tennesse, Kentucky, Utah 
and Washington, still uphold the death sentence by hanging, gas inhalation and 
firing squad.

Decongesting Nigeria's 239 prisons is a critical challenge the governors should 
embrace by either signing the death warrants or commuting death sentences to 
life imprisonment, in line with the dictates of the law. This will put a 
closure to the psychological, moral and financial burden the situation inflicts 
on the convicts and their families, on the one hand, and the state, on the 
other. Under a true federal arrangement, the management of prisons is under the 
purview of both the central and state governments. This recognition explains 
why it was one of the items in the Exclusive Legislative List that the 2014 
political conference delisted in its recommendation on devolution of power. 
Nigeria's prisons had inmates' population of 73,631 as of July 16, 2018, 
comprising 72,156 males and 1,475 females. Out of this number, 23,472 persons 
are convicts, while 50,159 prisoners are awaiting trial.

Prison congestion subjects inmates to inhuman conditions like hunger, disease 
and filthy environment, which quite often provoke them into rebellion. In 2014, 
the Koton-Karfe Prison in Kogi State recorded a jail break, which 145 inmates 
took advantage of to flee; in 2009 a similar incident occurred and bandits 
released 199 inmates awaiting trial. Between 2009 and 2014, a total of 2,255 
inmates had escaped during these security breaches, according to the prison 
authorities.

The Minister of Interior Abdulrahman Dambazzau's observation, when he made an 
unscheduled visit to the Port Harcourt Prison in January, is instructive: "I 
can tell you that anyone who goes to that prison will come out as an animal." 
The 100-year-old facility, originally designed for 800 prisoners, now 
accommodates 5,000 inmates.

However, prisons in well organised societies serve as reformist or correction 
centres, rather than punitive places. International protocols such as the 
Geneva Convention, UN Convention against Torture and International Convention 
on Civil and Political Rights that forbid any form of brutality or indignities 
against convicts, are enforced. The newest jail in Britain - HMP Berwyn, 
located in Wrexham, with the capacity to house 2,100 prisoners - epitomises 
this paradigm. An inmate there is kept in a two-man room with a laptop, phone, 
shower and a toilet to boot. But a prison cell in Nigeria animalises, according 
to Dambazzau.

The 36 states governors, therefore, should take the bull by the horns.

(source: punchng.com)






KUWAIT:

Egyptian teacher sentenced to death for killing Lebanese wife


An Egyptian teacher living in Kuwait has today been sentenced to death for 
killing his Lebanese wife in the governorate of Hawali.

The Criminal Court convicted him of murdering the victim and sentenced him to 
capital punishment by hanging, reported Alqabas daily newspaper.

The 42-year-old man stabbed his wife to death. The victim also worked as a 
teacher.

A viral video was then posted on social media websites showed the policemen as 
they were arresting the suspect, who was in a hysterical state.

(source: gdnonlince.com)






INDIA:

Death sentence a blow to Kerala police image----The police has been accused of 
human rights violations.


A CBI special court delivering capital punishment to 2 Kerala police officers 
for the brutal killing of an innocent 26-year-old youth in custody 13 years ago 
could not have come at a more appropriate time. This is perhaps for the 1st 
time in the country that 2 serving senior civil police officers have been 
sentenced to death. The court has also awarded 3-year imprisonment to 2 retired 
SPs and one Deputy SP "for attempting to cover up the crime by destroying 
evidence and falsifying police station records". The judgement has come at a 
time when at least 13 people have died under questionable circumstances while 
in police custody in the state in the past 2 years. Another 36 people have been 
tortured by law enforcement authorities ever since the CPM-led Left Front came 
to power in May 2016. Kerala is still reeling under the shock of the arrest and 
death of another 26-year-old taken into custody by mistaken identity in 
Varapuzha, Kochi, in central Kerala in April this year. The state government 
has been accused of shielding a top police official, who had reportedly acted 
at the behest of the CPM leadership of the area, by refusing to hand over the 
case to CBI, a demand still being pursued by the deceased man's family. Instead 
of taking action against the officer, the party has been trying to settle the 
case by offering Rs10 lakh to the family and promising a job to the young 
widow. Still the Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, who is also the Home 
Minister, keeps on assuring the state that everything is all right with his 
police force.

It was in 2005 pre-Onam, the most important festival in Kerala, that the young 
Udayakumar succumbed to third degree measures in the Fort police station of the 
state capital Thiruvananthapuram. A rag- picker working for a scrap dealer, 
Udayakumar was picked up from a nearby park on charges of petty theft. During 
the Emergency, Kerala police's method of torturing by rolling a wooden pin from 
person's waist to the toes had become notorious. The most famous victim of that 
time was a young engineering student, Rajan, who was accused of being a 
Naxalite. Rajan vanished without a trace and the futile attempts of his 
grief-stricken father, a professor, for more than 2 decades to trace at least 
the body of his son still haunts a generation back in Kerala. Udayakumar too 
was meted out the same treatment while being questioned about Rs 4,000 in his 
possession, which later turned out to be the Onam bonus given by his employer. 
After his death, police tried to cover up the torture by filing a fresh FIR. 
The case was finally handed over to the CBI following a public outcry and the 
legal battles of a persistent mother. It was the CBI that brought out the 
heinous role of senior police officials in the cold-blooded murder. Statements 
of three women constables present at the station that they had seen the accused 
officers trying to revive a slumping Udayakumar turned crucial. The same night 
the police rushed him to hospital, where he was pronounced brought dead. "Law 
enforcers are the protectors of life and property, and no death dealers," CBI 
judge Nazir said while handing down the death penalty to the 2 police officers. 
They had killed an innocent in their custody. "They deserve no clemency," the 
judge ruled, remarking that the crime fell in the rarest of the rare category 
that deserved death. Udayakumar's 67-year-old mother, Prabhavathiamma, who was 
present in the court said, "They killed my son during an Onam 13 years ago. Now 
they will spend their Onam in prison. No court will pardon them. They killed an 
innocent man. God has heard a mother's prayer."

During the past 2 years, Kerala police have been accused of many human rights 
violations and public resentment has been building up against them. Initially, 
the CM tried to play down those instances by saying they were isolated 
incidents and the force was suffering from the hangover of the previous regime. 
Then the blame was shifted to the growing saffronisation of the force. But once 
isolated incidents started recurring, it was clear that the rot is deep within. 
Following Sreejith's murder and the subsequent political inaction against the 
accused had brought to light the dark side of the force in Kerala. According to 
a confidential report by the current DGP, Crime, which was submitted to the 
state police chief months ago, a total of 1,129 officers belonging to the 
Kerala police have criminal cases slapped against them, many of them grievous 
ones. No action has so far been taken against any of them. Not only that, many 
of them enjoy political patronage too. They continue to hold plum posts. The 
crime graph has been steadily rising, with political murders at an all time 
high ever since the current DGP, Loknath Behera was brought in by the new 
regime. The CM had appointed a disgraced former DGP as his advisor. 
Politicisation of the police was in the open, for all to see, when a whole 
contingent of policemen from CPM stronghold Kannur attended a police convention 
wearing red shirts and raising revolutionary slogans in the presence of the 
Chief Minister and DGP. Incidentally, on the day of the judgement the courtroom 
was teeming with policemen in mufti who had come to show solidarity with their 
comrades in arms! Confidence over the police force among the general public is 
at its lowest in present day Kerala. Instead of patronising lenient policemen, 
it is time for the government to restore that lost image of the police in the 
state. The death sentence is a pointer towards that.

(source: sundayguardianlive.com)






JAPAN:

AUM Shinrikyo cases still not closed: Author Haruki Murakami


On July 26, the 2nd batch of executions of members of the AUM Shinrikyo cult 
were carried out following the first batch on July 6, meaning all 13 former 
members of the cult who were given the death penalty are now dead. Everything 
happened very quickly.

As a general argument, I adopt a stance of opposition toward the death penalty. 
Killing a human being is a serious crime, and naturally, the crime must be 
atoned for. However, there is supposed to be a fundamental difference in 
meaning between 1 human being killing another, and the system, or institution, 
killing a human being. And the view that death is the ultimate form of 
atonement is, from a global perspective, starting to lose its position as the 
consensus. Moreover, the surprising number of wrongful convictions indicates 
that the current judicial system cannot completely exclude the possibility of 
making mistakes -- either technical or fundamental. In this sense, the death 
penalty, literally, can be described as an institution with fatal dangers.

On the other hand, as someone who interviewed those who suffered or lost loved 
ones in the sarin gas attack on Tokyo's subway system for a full year during 
the process of writing the book titled "Underground" and witnessed their 
sadness, agony and fresh anger with my own eyes, I cannot publicly state, as 
far as this case is concerned, "I am opposed to death penalty." I have a 
painful awareness of the feelings of some bereaved families: "We cannot forgive 
these perpetrators. We want death penalty carried out as soon as possible." By 
encountering this incident, many people had the courses of their lives changed 
in one way or the other. There must be more than a few people who feel that 
they cannot return to their former lives in various senses, tangible or 
intangible.

I rarely reread my own books and cry, but I find tears in my eyes when I go 
back and read some parts of "Underground," out of necessity. The atmosphere of 
the interviews, and the feeling and sounds and the air that existed, vividly 
return and choke me up. You may call me sentimental, but as a human being who 
writes books (novels), I don't want to suppress such natural feelings, and 
would like to convey them to readers if possible. I myself sense that something 
inside me surely changed over the process of writing this one book.

The feelings of those who lost loved ones, however, are a difficult matter. For 
example, if a husband, whose wife and children were murdered, takes the witness 
stand and makes a tearful plea, saying, "I hate this culprit so much. Just one 
death is not enough. Execute him as many times as possible," the jurors would 
probably lean to some degree toward the death ruling. On the other hand, if the 
husband were to declare, "I hate this culprit so much that I want to strangle 
him. I just hate and hate him. But I don't want to see people die any more. 
Therefore, please spare him from the death penalty," the jurors would perhaps 
lean away from the death penalty. Is it a fair thing that "the feeling of 
bereaved families" can affect the life or death of one human being? I do not 
have a clear-cut answer to this. What do you think of this question?

After publishing "Underground," I attended hearings in the trials on the sarin 
subway attacks held at the Tokyo district and high courts. I was travelling for 
business and could not attend every hearing, but I did listen in on the 
proceedings when I was in Tokyo and when time allowed. I mainly followed the 
trial of Yasuo Hayashi out of interest. The reason behind my interest in his 
trial was because the train carriage on the Hibiya Line heading to Nakameguro, 
in which he dispersed the sarin gas, had the largest number of victims, and 
eight of those people lost their lives. Most of the people I interviewed were 
in that carriage. Unlike other perpetrators who punctured two vinyl bags 
containing sarin solution with the sharpened tip of an umbrella, he voluntarily 
requested to have three bags, in which he pricked holes. That action is said to 
have led to the large number of casualties. What kind of person was this Yasuo 
Hayashi? Why did he come to commit such a serious crime? I wanted to see him 
myself. I wanted to learn first-hand information, not hearsay.

Consequently, I came to develop the impression that Yasuo Hayashi was an 
individual carrying substantially complicated feelings. Asserting now, "He is 
this kind of person," is far beyond me. I observed his trials on many 
occasions, but it was difficult to determine his true feelings -- what he was 
thinking and feeling as he sat in the dock. It appeared to me that he tended to 
take the quiet approach of placing things that were dear to him inside a shell 
to hide them from others. This attitude might have incorporated something like 
the strong guard he had developed during his long period on the run. I also 
received the impression that he was holding inside himself a number of 
conflicting feelings, unable to consolidate or process them. I nevertheless 
heard that he regretted his own actions, and was cooperating with the trial 
process all the way till the end.

According to testimonies of his former friends and acquaintances, he was 
originally a forward-looking, straight-thinking, mild young man. He had some 
weakness in his character and emotional scars, but he did have some will to 
control himself. Many people seemed to have favorable feelings toward him. 
However, it appeared that it had been difficult for him to place himself in a 
position in which he could effectively utilize his own sincere, positive 
inclinations. That is something one could say ran in common between many former 
AUM Shinrikyo followers judged in this trial ... And a new context named 
"training" would suck up their unfulfilled yearning deftly, effectively, and 
with malevolence in the end.

One thing I remember very well about the trial of Yasuo Hayashi was the 
constant presence of his mother. Someone told me, "That is Hayashi's mother." A 
petit woman, she was often sitting in a seat in front of me. She never budged a 
bit throughout the proceedings, perhaps looking toward her son in the 
defendant's seat. The only time she did not appear in the court was the day 
when the judgment was announced. I wonder if she sensed that an ultimate 
penalty was going to be handed down on her son, and could not bear to hear it 
with her own ears. I feel pains when I think of her -- Is she still doing fine? 
What is she feeling regarding the news of the execution?

Another thing that left a deep impression on me about the trial of Yasuo 
Hayashi is the fair and careful management of the trial by Kiyoshi Kimura, the 
presiding judge. An unspoken guideline of "giving death to perpetrators and 
life to their drivers" effectively existed from the beginning of the trial 
(although there was an exception for Ikuo Hayashi, who is serving a life 
sentence), and I thought that he must have had to overcome many difficulties to 
go ahead with the trial, but I also felt occasionally as I observed the 
proceedings, "Perhaps one could be resigned to accept a death penalty if it 
were handed down by this person."

To be honest, at the district court and at the high court, I did occasionally 
encounter scenes that made me aghast or dismayed me. Some lawyers, prosecutors 
or judges surprised me, and I thought, "Doesn't this person lack common sense?" 
I also felt strongly, "If I am going to be judged in such trials, I cannot 
commit a crime." However, as far as the judgments of presiding judge Kiyoshi 
Kimura were concerned, I concurred with almost all of them. The text of the 
ruling was to the point, and full of serene, humane considerations.

"Making a mistake in selecting one's mentor is the worst misfortune, and 
defendant Hayashi, in this sense, can be said to be unfortunate and unlucky ... 
considering the situations for defendant Hayashi as much as possible, this 
court has no choice but to deliver the ultimate punishment."

I think that the ruling did strongly convey the judge's feelings, and it was 
good. After this long trial with almost no room for hope, the ruling was 
something like a thin spot of light that started to shine at all last.

After hearing a death sentence for the 1st time in my life, with my own ears in 
a court of law, I had trouble returning to the normal course of life over the 
next several days. I felt like a blunt weight was inside my chest. The moment 
the presiding judge announced death penalty, death reared its head in the 
court.

And now, after receiving the news that all 13 death row inmates in the 
AUM-related cases have been executed, I similarly feel the existence of that 
weight in my chest. A heavy silence that defies words exists inside me. The 
death that appeared in the courtroom took away its share.

I suspect that it is not possible to assert, to make a black or white judgment, 
here and now that the decision to go ahead with the mass execution (I dare use 
the expression) of 13 people was right. The faces of too many people emerge in 
the back of my head, and the emotions of too many people are still in the air. 
Just one thing I can say now is that the AUM-related cases did not come to a 
close with the latest executions. If there was any intention of "bringing a 
closure to those cases," or an ulterior motive of making the institution called 
the death penalty a more permanent one by using this opportunity, that is 
wrong, and the existence of such a strategy must never be allowed.

There are many things we, including myself, have to learn from in connection 
with those AUM-related cases, and the death of the 13 individuals did not close 
the door to such a learning process. What we should do is to think deeply again 
about the meaning of "unfortunate and unlucky" while facing their deaths and 
feeling the weight of their lives that are gone forever.

(source: Author Haruki Murakami contributed this article to the Mainichi 
Shimbun following the executions of 13 former members of the AUM Shinrikyo cult 
in July 2018----The Mainichi)






EUROPE/UNITED KINGDOM:

European human rights judges will rule 'Isil Beatles' plan illegal, say experts


European human rights judges would rule Britain's plan to waive death penalty 
assurances for 2 suspected members of the Isil 'Beatles' terror cell illegal, 
experts say, and could order the UK to seek US guarantees and even pay the men 
damages.

The decision by Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, has already been challenged 
with a judicial review in the High Court.

Even if British justices decide the failure to seek guarantees for Alexanda 
Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh is legal, a case could be brought to the European 
Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg, France.

"The Home Secretary's decision in this case is in the clearest possible breach 
of the European Convention on Human Rights," Ben Emmerson QC, the former UN 
Special Rapporteur on Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights, who currently sits as 
a judge for the UN International Criminal Tribunals, told The Telegraph.

The Convention has a protocol that abolishes the death penalty in all 
circumstances and an article guaranteeing the right to life.

Article 3 of the Convention, which forbids "inhuman and degrading treatment" 
has been used in the past to fight extraditions from Britain to the US because 
a prisoner would face the death penalty. The Convention is given force in 
British law in the Human Rights Act 1998.

"The Home Secretary's decision in this case is subject to a general provision 
of that statute that makes it unlawful for a minister to take a decision that 
is incompatible with the Convention rights," said Mr Emmerson, of Matrix 
Chambers, London.

Ben Keith, a human rights barrister at 5 St Andrew's Hill said "If the High 
Court was to refuse to hear or dismiss the challenge, European proceedings 
could follow quite quickly, in a matter of months," he said.

"To my knowledge the US has never failed to give assurances to Britain over the 
death penalty when asked," he added, "It is bizaare, surreal they have not been 
asked to provide them."

The court is not a European Union institution but associatied with the Council 
of Europe, a separate international body to the EU with 47 member states.

--

At a glance | The UK's human rights regime

European Convention on Human Rights----An international treaty ratified in 1950 
intended to safeguard human rights and freedoms in Europe. It was drafted by 
the Council of Europe, a post-WWII supranational organisation that should not 
be confused with the European Union.

European Court of Human Rights----The Strasbourg court formed to enforce the 
terms of the Convention. It adjudicates on cases involving states that are 
alleged to have breached their human rights obligations. Its judgements have 
the power to strike down secondary legislation in the UK (ie. anything short of 
an Act of Parliament) and UK judges are obliged to take into consideration its 
case law when deciding relevant cases.

Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union----Legislation brought in 
by the EU to make the Convention on Human Rights enforceable by European Union 
courts. It achieved the force of law in 2009. The Charter means that EU 
institutions and member states must obey the Convention when implementing new 
laws. This has implications for the UK post-Brexit, if it is brought into UK 
law via the Great Repeal Bill.

Human Rights Act 1998----The HRA incorporated the rights of the European 
Convention into British domestic law. It enabled British human rights cases be 
be decided in British courts; it enforced public sector adherence to Convention 
rules; the UK Parliament will seek to avoid secondary legislation that would be 
struck down by the European Court.

British Bill of Rights----A long-held Conservative Party ambition (since 2005) 
is to replace the HRA with legislation that would allow the UK more leeway in 
interpreting human rights law. There is little detail publically available, but 
points of the HRA that this Act could modify:

Inability of the Home Office to deport nationals who face persecution in their 
own countries

Lack of discretion in negotiating various rights of EU nationals in the UK

Constitutional muddle, which allows the UK Supreme Court to effectively ignore 
the European Court, while putting Parliament under that same court's 
jurisdiction. The Supreme Court should always hold less power than Parliament.

--

Theresa May has suggested the UK could leave the Convention in the past, which 
according to Council sources, would take just 6 months.

Her Brexit White Paper promises European Union negotiators that Britain will 
never leave the Convention to win their backing for a UK-EU extradition treaty 
to replace the European Arrest Warrant after Britan leaves the bloc.

"If it is still too difficult to prosecute here at home those who have gone to 
work for or to assist Daesh/ISIL abroad, and if that is because of some 
obligation under the European convention on human rights, is it not time to 
take back control?", demanded Michael Fallon MP in the House of Commons on 
Monday.

After a landmark 1990 ECHR case, Jen Soering, a German national facing double 
murder charges, was only extradited from Britain to the US once death penalty 
assurances were offered.

In 2010, the ECHR overturned a High Court decision and ordered the UK to pay 
damages to Faisal al-Saadoon and Khalef Hussain Mufdhi, 2 Iraqis accused of 
murdering capitive British soldiers. They faced the death penalty after the 
army handed them over to Iraqi authorities for trial.

In 2014, the ECHR ordered Poland to seek assurances from the US that 2 terror 
suspects would not face the death penalty after they were allegedly transported 
from a Polish CIA black site to Guantanamo Bay.

(source: telegraph.co.uk)