[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide----INDIA, MALAY., PAKIS., JAP., LEBAN., IRAN

[Rick Halperin]

October 13



INDIA:

Allahabad HC upholds death sentence of man convicted for rape, murder of minor 
girl



The Allahabad High Court on Friday upheld the death penalty awarded to a 
31-year-old man convicted of raping and murdering a minor girl.

Considering the aggravating and mitigating circumstances of the case, 
imposition of the extreme penalty of death sentence on Putai is fully 
justified, the court said.

The court also upheld the life imprisonment awarded to co-accused Dileep, who 
was convicted for the same offences.

The two had filed separate appeals challenging a 2014 sessions court order. The 
appeals were dismissed by the Lucknow bench of Justice R R Awasthi and Justice 
Mahendra Dayal.

"The manner in which the crime has been committed reflects the mental condition 
of the appellants..In order to satisfy their lust, (they) committed rape on a 
minor girl and thereafter killed her and also tried to conceal the evidence by 
throwing her body in a nearby field...," the bench said.

"The injuries found on the body of the deceased girl also reflect the manner in 
which she was subjected to rape and one can imagine as to how much pain she 
must have suffered during the commission of crime by the appellants," it added.

Government advocate Vimal Srivastava contended that the additional sessions 
judge of Lucknow had rightly convicted and sentenced the appellants in 2014 on 
the basis of circumstantial evidence which clearly proved that the 2, who were 
neighbours, had not only raped a minor child but also strangled her after 
beating her black and blue.

He stressed that the appellants did not deserve any leniency.

According to the FIR lodged by the victim's father, the girl (12) went out on 
the evening of September 4, 2012, to relieve herself but did not return. Her 
father and others launched a search but in vain.

The girl's disrobed body was found in a field the next day, following which her 
father lodged an FIR against unknown persons. Blood stains were also found near 
the body.

Suspicious conduct of Putai and Dileep and evidence found during the 
investigation helped nail them.

(source: Press Trust of India)








MALAYSIA:

Let judges decide on death sentence, say legal eagles



Legal experts have proposed that judges be given the discretion to impose the 
death penalty on accused persons who commit violent crimes.

They cautioned against a blanket removal of the capital punishment, saying it 
would send the wrong message to would-be offenders that their lives would be 
spared even if they are found guilty.

Retired Federal Court judge Gopal Sri Ram said public interest might demand the 
retention of the death penalty in cases such as the rape or murder of children.

"The circumstances surrounding the crime may be so gruesome that it requires 
the offender be put to death," he told FMT.

Instead of scrapping the death penalty for all offences, he suggested that the 
courts be given the discretion to impose either a prison term or the death 
sentence.

He said this had been the practice prior to 1983, when judges were given the 
option to impose a custodial sentence or order the hanging of convicted persons 
in drug trafficking cases.

He was responding to the announcement by de facto law minister Liew Vui Keong 
that amendments to abolish the death penalty would be tabled in the coming 
Parliament sitting.

The mandatory death sentence is currently imposed for drug trafficking, 
kidnapping, possession of firearms and waging war against the king.

Lawyer A Srimurugan suggested that Malaysia emulate India, where courts are 
allowed to decide whether to take the life of a convicted person.

"This is also known as the rarest of rare case tests, as pronounced by their 
Supreme Court in two cases," he said.

In India, he said, life imprisonment was the norm while the death sentence was 
the exception.

In Malaysia, he added, once the prosecution proves the crime of murder or 
trafficking, the court has no choice but to impose the capital punishment.

"A jail term is allowed only if the trial court orders the accused to enter 
defence on a reduced charge, or the prosecution amends the charge to culpable 
homicide not amounting to murder or possession of drugs."

He said the government’s decision to abolish the death penalty was a knee-jerk 
reaction to please the public, as pledged in Pakatan Harapan's election 
manifesto.

He urged for a detailed study to be carried out on the implications of a 
blanket ban on the death penalty.

Srimurugan also suggested that those charged with trafficking who were proven 
to be mere carriers be exempted from the death sentence.

"But kingpins and drug manufacturers should not be spared as they are 
responsible for untold suffering for the nation and its citizens," he said.

Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali agreed that discretion should be given to judges as 
they were the triers of facts and law.

"Judges are trained in law and have wide experience before they are elevated to 
the bench," he told FMT. "Discretion must be placed in their hands."

He proposed that the government set up a select committee to obtain feedback 
from the public before amending the law.

He said the committee should also study the prison system and the expense to 
the government if serious offenders are made to serve long years behind bars.

The criminal justice system, including the measure of punishment, should be 
tailored to local needs and circumstances, he said.

"We should be master of our destiny, and not be influenced by what is happening 
elsewhere, including in the West."

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

UN chief praises Malaysia's death penalty repeal as 'major step forward'



Malaysia has announced that it plans to abolish executions, a move hailed by 
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres on Thursday, as a "major step forward."

The nation joins some 170 other States that have implemented a moratorium, or 
ended the practice of the death penalty; a policy that the Secretary-General 
endorsed earlier this week, commemorating the World Day against the Death 
Penalty, on 10 October.

Spokesperson for Mr. Guterres, Stephane Dujarric, said in a statement that the 
UN chief saw the decision as a stride toward eliminating the death penalty 
worldwide.

"The Secretary-General commends this decision as a major step forward in a 
global movement towards the universal abolition of the death penalty," said the 
statement.

In the United States on Thursday, the Pacific north-western state of 
Washington's supreme court also announced that it was striking down the death 
penalty on constitutional grounds, making Washington 1 of 19 US states who've 
imposed a ban.

Earlier this week, the UN Chief urged all nations to "put an end to the death 
penalty now," noting that in some parts of the world, executions are still 
carried out in secret, or without due process.

Mr. Dujarric said that in Secretary-General's salute to Malaysia's repeal, the 
chief "seizes this opportunity to call on all countries which still retain it, 
to follow the encouraging example of Malaysia."

(source: news.un.org)

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

Federal Government will look into repatriating back home, Malaysians who had 
been sentenced to death in countries abroad.



This matter will looked into after amendment’s to abolish the death penalty is 
tabled in the Dewan Rakyat said Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Marzuki Yahya.

He assured that the government would come up with a solution for Malaysian 
facing execution abroad.

"This is in the best interest of the rakyat, we will try to do our part for our 
citizens through our embassy abroad.

"In some countries, similar process had been undertaken, detainees sentenced to 
death then they changed it (the death penalty). So we will try as well," he 
said after launching the National Sports Day celebration at Sekolah Kebangsaan 
Jelutong here today.

He was commenting on a proposal by civil group Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) which 
urged the government to save Malaysians from the death penalty for offences 
committed in countries abroad.

Recently, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Liew Vui Keong 
revealed that the death penalty in Malaysia would be abolished.

The amendments to the existing laws involving the death penalty, to abolish the 
capital punishment would be tabled in the upcoming Dewan Rakyat session.

Marzuki also said he would welcome suggestions from the non-governmental 
organisation's or like-minded organisations on their views relating to abolish 
the death penalty.

"However everything must be done through the existing legal process, but anyone 
can give their suggestions.

"The government will negotiate with the countries which we have diplomatic 
ties," he added.

(source: nst.com.my)

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

Deaf gets death for killing ex-girlfriend



A 21-year-old deaf was on Friday sentenced to death by the High Court here for 
murdering his former girlfriend in Kota Marudu, 2 years ago.

Judge Datuk Nurchaya Arshad found Mohd Faizul Abdul Latif guilty and convicted 
him of the charge.

Mohd Faizul, unemployed, was accused of murdering one Asrina Sahran, 15, at 
9.10pm on Oct 11, 2016 in front of a house at Kg Ranau.

The offence under Section 302 of the Penal Code carries the death penalty on 
conviction.

Mohd Faizul appeared calm after knowing the decision through a sign language 
interpreter.

He had, on Aug 7, given an unsworn statement in his defence after being ordered 
to enter his defence on June 4.

In his statement, Mohd Faizul stated that he had never intended to harm or kill 
Asrina because he loved her.

He stated that he confessed to a police officer at the police station by 
telling the officer through a sign language that he did stab Asrina but he had 
no intention to kill or injure her.

He also stated that he came to know Asrina in 2013 and that they were an item 
before Asrina broke off with him in 2014 and after that Asrina always mocked at 
him whenever they came across, which to him was an insult.

He said he always wanted to get back with Asrina as he loved her.

He stated that prior to the incident on the said day, he had bought a knife and 
a chopping block for his grandmother in town and that after purchasing them, he 
went to Asrina's house to meet her as he had told her before that he wanted to 
meet her to discuss their relationship.

During their meeting, Mohd Faizul said Asrina ignored her and scolded her which 
angered him.

"Without me realising, I took the knife from a plastic bag and stabbed Asrina. 
I do not know which part of her body was stabbed as the place was dark," said 
Mohd Faizul, adding that he was stunned when seeing Asrina's reaction of 
screaming.

He panicked, ran away and drove off his uncle's vehicle before stopping at the 
roadside where the police later came and brought him to the police station.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Gan Peng Kun prosecuted while Mohd Faizul was 
represented by engaged counsel Hamid Ismail.

(source: Daily Express)

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

Put death-row inmates to work instead sentencing them to death



The recent announcement of the government's plan to abolish death penalty has 
caused significant uproar. Among the comments found on Facebook are:

"Oh, now the drug lords' businesses will boom."

"Why do criminals deserve human rights when they did not consider the victims' 
rights while committing the crime."

"I do not want my tax money to be used to sustain these criminals for life."

"An eye for an eye."

Yes, the abolition of the death penalty does sound benevolent in the name of 
human rights, taking into account of the fallibility of the criminal justice 
system and the fact that the existence of death penalty all this while has 
failed to reduce the rates of capital offences.

But what is the alternative?

Commutation of a death sentence to life imprisonment with no possibility of 
parole is merely a cosmetic change in the name of human rights if the 
conversion is to be carried out without a concrete plan to rehabilitate the 
inmates or integrate them into a new system.

Rehabilitative programmes may be planned by the prison board in collaboration 
with NGOs and religious bodies. However, for death-row inmates whose sentences 
are to be commuted to life sentences without any possibility of parole, how do 
we make them, or rather give them the option of contributing back to society?

Historically, the concept of prison labour is not new. The death penalty may 
sound cruel, but what if we give the death row inmates a choice of escaping the 
gallows in exchange of a life sentence without possibility of parole where they 
have to work certain jobs at a particular rate calculated to sustain their own 
lives in prison? They should be allowed to choose between their death sentence 
or a life sentence with a labour plan.

Of course, suggestions like this may trigger another set of human rights 
argument as to "forced labour". However, the fallibility of the criminal 
justice system should also not be used as a blanket immunity against 
"punishment" imposed on the inmates.

Ideally, a death-row inmate should not have the best of both worlds - after 
committing a heinous crime and having his life spared, a convict shouldn't be 
sustained at the taxpayers' expense until he dies.

Realistically, the Home Ministry probably has an allocated budget to sustain 
each inmate. If death-row inmates who choose to work as an alternative to being 
hanged to death, it would be a win-win situation for both the country and the 
inmates.

One possibility would be to allow companies that produce items of necessity to 
set up factories within the vicinity of prisons and prisoners may be ferried 
there by prison bus.

These factories may hire inmates to work at a lower-than-usual rate. This would 
lead to the lowering of production costs for those items, which would be 
advantageous to consumers. While inmates get to escape the gallows, they would 
work to sustain their prison stay, thereby shifting the burden of their living 
costs away from the taxpayers.

In the event their wages cover more than the cost of sustaining their prison 
existence, the inmates may be given the extra money. Also, in the event the 
inmate is repeatedly subjected to disciplinary action, something like the 
California 3-strike rule could apply whereby the inmate's sentence shall be 
reverted back to his original sentence for his lack of remorse.

(source: Letter to the editor, Jean Siow----malaysiakini.com)








PAKISTAN:

Petition filed in Pak court seeking death for killer of minor girl



A petition was filed in the Lahore High Court on Saturday seeking the death 
penalty for a killer of a minor girl in Punjab province of Pakistan.

The anti-terrorism court here on Friday issued death warrants for Imran Ali, 
23, to be hanged on October 17 in central jail in Lahore.

In January, police arrested Ali 2 weeks after he allegedly raped and killed a 
7-year-old girl and threw her body into a garbage dump in the city of Kasur, 
some 50 kms from Lahore. The murder drew nationwide outrage and condemnation, 
and triggered violent protests that claimed 2 lives.

On Saturday, Amin Ansari, the father of the girl, filed another petition in the 
high court seeking "public hanging" of Ali.

The petitioner said, "The murderer of my daughter should be given exemplary 
punishment so as to avoid any such tragedy in future".

In his previous petition, Ansari had demanded that the murderer of his daughter 
should be hanged on the spot where he had killed her. The girl's mother had 
said that the suspect should be stoned to death.

A 2-member LHC bench comprising Justice Sardar Shamim Ahmed and Justice Shahbaz 
Rizvi will hear the appeal on October 15.

The Lahore High Court, the Supreme Court and the president had rejected Ali's 
mercy plea.

Ali reportedly confessed to his crime, saying he became a "pervert" due to an 
addiction of watching child pornography on the Internet, a law officer 
informed.

(source: buseiness-standard.com)

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

Man gets death penalty for 8 murders



The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) awarded 9 times death sentence to a man involved 
in a murder case in Bhalwal police station limits. The verdict was announced by 
ATC Judge Atiqur Rehman Bhindar.

The prosecution told the court that accused Arshad had murdered 8 people, 
including women and children in a village over family dispute on August 21, 
2012.

The local police registered a case against the accused and presented challans 
in the ATC court for trial. After completion of the arguments and analysing 
evidence, the judge awarded 8 times death sentences to the culprit over murder 
and one time death sentence under ATC Act along with 97 years additional 
imprisonment. Besides, the court also imposed a fine of Rs3.5 million on the 
convict for possessing illegal weapons. The culprit was shifted to District 
Jail Sargodha.

Man kills mother for 'eloping with paramour' in Peshawar

Earlier, a court handed down a death sentence to a convict for his involvement 
in a murder case in Multan.

The prosecution told the court that Shahbaz, in connivance with Qaiser, 
Muhammad Tariq, Muhammad Fayyaz, Ali Raza and Muhammad Sajid, gunned down a 
woman named Shamim Akhtar over a dispute on October 9, 2017.

The local police registered a case against the accused and presented the 
challan before the court. After hearing the arguments, the judge handed down a 
death sentence to Shahbaz. The court also imposed a fine of Rs0.2 million on 
the convict.

(source: The Express Tribune)








JAPAN:

"Management and coexistence': Japan's justice minister calls for balance in 
dealing with foreign nationals



10 days into his new job, Justice Minister Takashi Yamashita said one of his 
major goals is to strike a balance between management and coexistence when it 
comes to foreign nationals in Japan.

"As we accept foreigners to Japan, I believe the government must carry out 
proper residency management including getting an accurate account of foreign 
residents' status to avoid problems such as illegal employment," Yamashita said 
in a group interview with media organizations on Thursday.

"On the other hand, it is important for the country to have some responsibility 
to provide support to foreigners," he said, adding that the Justice Ministry is 
working on compiling comprehensive measures related to living alongside foreign 
nationals by the end of this year. "We must balance management and 
coexistence."

The interview took place as the ministry is preparing to submit a bill to the 
upcoming extraordinary Diet session that would revise relevant laws to allow 
blue-collar foreign nationals with specific skills to obtain new types of visas 
to work in Japan from next April.

"This new system will allow us to accept foreign human resources who are 
industry-ready, against the backdrop of the situation in our country where 
there is a serious shortage of labor (in some areas) and have them work and 
play an active role in Japan," said the 53-year-old lawmaker, who is serving 
his third term in the Lower House.

"Japan already has 2.6 million foreign residents, and 1.3 million of them are 
working. We also had 28 million inbound visitors (last year). With Japan making 
great strides toward internationalization, we are moving toward accepting 
foreign human resources with certain expertise and skills who can immediately 
contribute to the workforce," Yamashita said.

The Okayama native said he expects Japan to further expand its acceptance of 
foreign workers down the line and emphasized the importance of creating a 
welcoming environment that would allow them to work hard and live in 
communities along with Japanese nationals.

On the topic of capital punishment, Yamashita said it is important for him to 
heed court decisions.

"The death penalty is a truly serious punishment that ends one's life, and 
execution should be handled very cautiously," said Yamashita, a graduate of the 
University of Tokyo's Faculty of Law who has experience working as both a 
prosecutor and defense lawyer. "But the death penalty is something that courts 
hand down after exhausting careful examinations on someone who has committed an 
extremely atrocious and grave crime. A justice minister must respect the 
decisions of the courts."

Under his predecessor, Yoko Kamikawa, all 13 Aum Shinrikyo cult members on 
death row were executed in July.

In relation to a case in April in which a prisoner escaped from an open prison 
in Ehime Prefecture and was on the run for three weeks before being recaptured, 
Yamashita said that despite the incident, it is important to have such 
correctional facilities designed to help convicts rehabilitate.

"There is a big difference in the treatment (of inmates) at open facilities 
compared with that at ordinary prisons, and I believe these facilities play a 
very large role in having convicts make a change for the better, rehabilitate 
and make a smooth return to society," said the minister, who was serving as 
parliamentary vice minister of justice when the escape occurred.

He said the 4 open-type prisons in the country each offer unique correctional 
programs, with the cooperation of local residents, to encourage inmates to gain 
confidence in reintegrating into society.

Yamashita, whose experience includes working as a diplomat at the Japanese 
Embassy in Washington, said he hopes to publicize the ministry's policies and 
activities in simple language.

"People in the legal profession tend to explain difficult things in a difficult 
manner and even simple things in difficult ways," he said. "I think it's 
important to talk about simple things simply of course but also to explain 
difficult things about legal administration - something that is close to 
people's lives - in easy-to-understand words that would reach people's heart 
and make them feel that it is something familiar."

(source: Japan Times)








LEBANON:

French Ambassador Calls On Lebanon To Abolish Capital Punishment



French Ambassador Bruno Foucher Wednesday called for Lebanon to formally 
abolish capital punishment, at a conference commemorating World Day Against the 
Death Penalty.

Though Lebanese courts still distribute death sentences, none have been carried 
out since 2004, amounting to a de facto moratorium on the punishment. Former MP 
Ghassan Moukheiber attributed the moratorium to international pressure against 
execution, particularly from the European Union.

This international pressure, he told The Daily Star, often competes with 
domestic support for the death penalty especially when egregious crimes capture 
national attention. Moukheiber said the aftermath of the murder of 22-year-old 
Roland Chbeir was a period of notable pressure in favor of capital punishment, 
with the victim's family leading the charge.

The emotional pitch of the debate has been heightened also by the question of 
how to punish terrorist groups. So far in 2018, the Military Tribunal has 
sentenced 4 people 4 of them alleged members of Daesh (ISIS) to death for the 
murders of Lebanese soldiers.

(source: albawaba.com)








IRAN:

Women watch the 2018 FIFA World Cup match between Iran and Portugal in a public 
viewing event at Azadi Stadium in Tehran, Iran on June 25, 2018.



Last week, Iranian authorities executed Zeinab Sakaavand for allegedly 
murdering her husband when she was 17. During her trial the court discounted 
Sakaavand's claims that her husband frequently beat and abused her. She was 
only 15 when they were married.

Sakaavand is the 5th child offender that Iran has executed this year. On 
January 30, Mahboubeh Mofidi was executed for allegedly murdering her husband 
when she was 17. The same day, Ali Kazemi was executed for a murder he 
allegedly committed at 15. Amirhossein Pourjafar was also executed in January 
for the rape and murder of a 3-year-old girl when he was 16. In June, 
authorities executed Abolfazl Chazani for an alleged murder he committed at 14.

Iran is 1 of only 4 countries known to have executed child offenders since 
2013. Amnesty International has identified 49 alleged child offenders at risk 
of execution in Iran, and the United Nations Secretary-General reported that 
there were 160 child offenders on death row in Iran as of late 2014.

Iran changed its laws in 2013 to limit when child offenders could face capital 
punishment - they granted judges the discretion to not sentence to death a 
child offender who could not comprehend the nature and consequences of the 
crime when it happened.

Yet the law allows courts to rely on a forensic doctor's opinion as to whether 
a defendant understood the consequences of their actions. In the case of 
14-year-old Chazani, the Legal Medicine Organization of Iran reportedly 
concluded he had reached "developmental maturity" at the time of the crime. 
Even with this flawed approach to the death penalty, research shows children 
are far more predisposed toward impulsive decisions.

Especially troubling is the cases of the 2 young women executed for killing 
their husbands who both were victims of child marriages and possible domestic 
abuse. In Iran, girls can marry at 13 and boys at 15. Girls who marry as 
children face a higher risk of physical and sexual abuse than women who marry 
later.

Under Iran's Qisas law, an intentional murder is punishable by death but 
victims’ families can forgive the accused to save them from execution. This 
means the burden has been on activists and mourning families to work around the 
law. It is time for Iranian authorities to recognize their own responsibility 
and end the execution of child offenders once and for all.

(source: Human Rights Watch)

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

Criticism of Iran's Practices at "World Day Against the Death Penalty" 
Conference in Paris



The Mayor of the 5th District in Paris hosted a conference against the death 
penalty in Iran, which was organized by the Committee for the Support of Human 
Rights in Iran (CSDHI) on Wednesday, October 10th, 2018 marking the World Day 
Against the Death Penalty. Speaking at the conference were mayors, politicians, 
and celebrities.

Maryam Rajavi read a message at the conference, recalling the 120,000 Iranian 
dissidents who were executed by the clerical regime. She reminded attendees 
that the ordeal continues, with thousands of death row inmates in the regime's 
prisons. She said that Iran is the number one state executioner of minors in 
the world - in violation of international conventions. She added that the 
executions serve to maintain terror and that they are instruments of the 
Iranian regime's survival. She also explained that terrorism abroad is an 
extension of the policy of executions and torture in Iran.

Mrs. Rajavi is the president of the National Council of Resistance of Iran 
(NCRI). She called on governments around the world to make their political and 
economic relations with the Iranian regime conditional upon their stopping the 
torture and executions, and that they dismantle terrorist apparatus.

Mayor of the 5th District of Paris, Florence Berthout, hailed the fight of the 
National Council of Resistance of Iran. She quoted Victor Hugo: "The death 
penalty is the eternal sign of barbarism..." She added, "On this World Day 
Against the Death Penalty, we raise a cry of alarm to Iran."

Tribute was paid to the 30,000 victims of the 1988 massacre in Iran by 
Jean-François Legaret, Mayor of the 1st District, who said that "these 
barbarities still continue." He also discussed the foiled bombing against an 
Iranian opposition rally in Paris last June. "An Iranian minister sponsored the 
attack on Villepinte," he said. "The Iranian regime is desperate and is trying 
to execute those outside, who stand in solidarity with the resistance in Iran." 
Legaret continued, "I call on the French government to launch an international 
investigation under the auspices of the UN to shed light on this state 
terrorism and the barbarities in Iran."

The former FARC hostage and Colombian presidential candidate, Ingrid 
Betancourt, emphasized it is the Iranian diplomatic network who set up this 
terrorist plot to "eliminate once and for all, a friend who is dear to us, Mrs. 
Rajavi, who carries the torch of this Iranian opposition." She praised the 
French government for its courage, for standing up to Iran's pressure, and for 
demanding accountability. She called on EU foreign policy chief Federica 
Mogherini "who did not have a word to denounce the facts of the terrorist 
attack in Villepinte," and asked all those who, like her, were in Villepinte, 
to file a civil suit case now opened in Belgium regarding this attack.

"Iran is, unfortunately, the world champion, the world record holder of 
executions," said Gilbert Mitterrand, the President of the Danielle Mitterrand 
Foundation. He said that the 1988 massacre perpetrators, "are there, whereas 
the institutions exist, whereas the legal instrument exists, whereas the proofs 
have been established for a long time, while the procedures exist."

Former magistrate Francois Colcombet said, "The regime in Iran is using the 
death penalty to stay in place, just like state terrorism."

"We must fight on this subject and find international structures to crack 
down," added the Jean-Pierre Bequet, former Mayor of Auvers-sur-Oise, who 
congratulated the Iranian Resistance for having abolished the death penalty in 
its plan for the Iran of tomorrow. "When we went to Tirana to see the 
Ashrafians who had just arrived, with many wounded and maimed as a result of 
the regime's attacks. These people had no hatred or revenge," he said.

Pierre Bercis, in reference to the June terrorist plot near Paris, said, "This 
fight for freedom in Iran is a long marathon; the one who knows how to suffer 2 
minutes more is triumphant."

Jean-Pierre Muller, Mayor of Magny-en-Vexin said, "The People's Mojahedin, 
Maryam Rajavi, they are not terrorists; they are brave men and women who fight 
for freedom, equality, and fraternity." He added, "There are no moderates in 
Iran, only barbarians," and proposed to declare a day of solidarity between the 
people of France and the PMOI/MEK.

Also in regards to the June terrorist plot near Paris, Jean-Pierre Brard, Mayor 
of Montreuil, emphasized "the attack not only targeted the resistance, but it 
also targeted our country. This embodies the hate seen in the mullahs." Mr. 
Brard also rejected the moderates' thesis in Iranian politics. "A fascist is 
always a fascist," he said. He also allied with Ingrid Betancourt in the idea 
to launch a civil case regarding the foiled Paris plot.

Bruno Mace, Mayor of Villiers-Adam, spoke about visiting the PMOI/MEK in 
Albania. "I saw in Tirana people who want to set up this secular democracy that 
we all aspire to."

(source: ncr-iran.org)