[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 23



NIGERIA:

Time To Abolish Death Penalty In Nigeria



The recent decision by Malaysian authorities to abolish death penalty is a 
welcome development and a reminder for Nigeria to join the evolving global 
trend. While announcing the proposed bill to the Malaysian Parliament, its Law 
Minister, Liew Vui Keong, also called for a halt on all executions until the 
decision is in effect.

If Malaysia succeeds in abolishing the death penalty law, it would be the 
latest in the series of countries that have done same. It is interesting that 
today about 106 countries around the world have succeeded in abolishing capital 
punishment for all crimes in law. It must also be noted that there have been a 
global wave of disapproval for the tiny spectrum of the globe which still 
practice death penalty. The aim of such global campaign is to ensure that 
capital punishment is abolished the world over.

Indeed, the global advocacy for countries to end capital punishment is hinged 
on the fact that the right to life is the most fundamental of all human rights, 
and it is a universal right. According to United Nations Commission on Human 
Right, "the right to life is a fundamental right in any society irrespective of 
its degree of development or the type of culture which characterises it...The 
preservation of this is one of the essential functions of the state and the 
numerous provisions of national legislation establish guarantees to ensure the 
enjoyment of the right".

In recent times, there have been a number of international and regional 
instruments against death penalty. Research reveals that every year, since 
1997, the United Nations Commission on Human rights has passed a resolution 
calling on countries that have not abolished the death penalty to establish a 
moratorium on executions.

Unfortunately, death penalty still remains constitutionally legal in Nigeria. 
This is enshrined in section 33 (1) of the 1999 constitution which provides 
that "Every person has a right to life, and no one shall be deprived 
intentionally of his life save in execution of the sentence of a court in 
respect of a criminal offence of which one has been found guilty in Nigeria".

According to Amnesty International Nigeria's 2016 global review of death 
penalty, te country handed down 527 deaths sentences in 2016, which is triple 
of its 2015 figure and placing it second only to China in death sentences 
recorded throughout the world in 2016. The report also shows that Lagos State 
recorded the most executions in Nigeria in 2016 with 68, closely followed by 
Rivers State with 61 executions. It is therefore worrisome that that Nigeria's 
death sentences are the highest in sub-Saharan Africa.

Indeed, there has been a national debate on whether or not to expunge death 
penalty from the country’s penal code. On the one hand, proponents of death 
penalty argue that a murderer, for instance, has given up his human rights, 
including the right to life, and therefore death penalty becomes a retributive 
measure. More so, letting such individual stay alive would make him a threat to 
others. To that extent, just as the individual has the right to safeguard as 
well as take his life whenever he pleases, the state has the right and duty to 
take the life of a citizen in order to increase its welfare. It is also argued 
that the death penalty acts as a deterrent to future crimes.

Furthermore, it has also been argued that abolishing the death penalty would 
lead to an increase in the number of extra judicial killings by overzealous 
security agents and hardened criminals when they know that they would only get 
life sentences with a possibility of a state pardon.

But we are averse to capital punishment considering that death penalty is 
irreversible and that absolute judgments may lead to people paying for crimes 
they did not commit. This is because there have been cases where new evidences 
have emerged in a case where a defendant has already been sentenced to death 
which has ended up turning the verdict in the convict's favour.

Again, we also believe that the argument that death penalty serves as 
deterrence to crime more than a prison term is a hasty conclusion, considering 
that there is no evidence to support suc argument. On the contrary, available 
information reveals that since Canada abolished death penalty in 1976, the 
country's murder rate has steadily declined and was the lowest in 2016 since 
1966. Again, according to United Nations, UN, human rights, considering that 
most death sentences are executed publicly, it is a gross desecration of human 
dignity.

Death penalty is a gross violation of the inherent dignity of every human 
person. Moreover, considering that its application as retribution to certain 
crimes is increasingly going out of fashion around the world, it has become 
essential that Nigeria strongly considers joining the global death penalty 
abolition fray.

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

Okowa Calls For Abolition Of Death Penalty



Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, has called for the abolition of death 
penalty in Nigeria.

Governor Okowa made the call yesterday in Asaba, the state capital, when he 
received members of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Prerogative of Mercy 
led by William Alo.

He said Nigeria is a major player in the international community and since the 
world is moving away from death sentence, the country needs to follow the same 
steps.

"Let us ask ourselves if death sentence is still relevant in our society? In 
many states, many governors are not ready to sign the death warrant, why are 
they not signing the death warrant?

While decrying the congestion in Nigerian prisons, Governor Okowa urged the 
Federal Government to improve on the facilities in the prisons.

"We need to evolve measures that will make Nigerian Prisons to be truly 
reformatory centres, so that ex-convicts can become better citizens," he said. 
"There is no doubt that most of our prisons are crowded, even in Delta State; 
there is the need to have reforms that will change the minds of the prisoners 
for them to be useful to the society. I pray that the committee keeps this 
advocacy on what to do to carry out reforms to make prisoners come out as 
better persons," he said.

Governor Okowa continued: "We need to make them see life differently and 
acquire skills to live better life after imprisonment. We need to have a total 
rethink to carry out a total reformation of prisoners because if we reform 
their lives and do not provide skills, many of them will return to their old 
ways."

Earlier, Alo had said they were on advocacy visit to prisons in the state, 
adding that it was important for suggestions to be made on how to improve on 
the services in the Nigerian Prisons.

(source for both: independent.ng)








BANGLADESH:

4 to die for killing college student



A court here yesterday sentenced 4 people to death and 1 man to rigorous 
imprisonment for life in a college student murder case in the district.

District and Sessions Judge Shahidul Alam Jhinuk handed down the verdict.

The death penalty awardees are Badsha Mia of Shimulia village in Shivalaya 
upazila, Lal Mia of Bhatirchar village in Singair upazila of Manikganj, Ajgar 
Chowdhury of Koshla village in Kotalipara upazila of Gopalganj and Anwar 
Hossain of Sangkar village in Chirirbandar upazila of Dinajpur.

The lifer is Akter Hossain Jamal of Kaliarchar-Hajirtek village under Araihajar 
upazila of Narayanganj.

The court fined the convicts with death penalty Tk 20,000 each and the lifer 
was fined Tk 50,000, in default, to serve 1 year more in jail.

However, Md Alam, Md Masud and Shukkur Ali of Shimulia village were acquitted 
as the charges brought against them could not be proved, said advocate Abdus 
Salam, public prosecutor (PP) of Manikganj Judge's Court.

Death penalty awardees Badsha Mia, Lal Mia and the acquitted people were 
present at the court during announcement of the verdict, the PP said.

According to the case statement, Badsha Mia took his nephew Monir Hossain, a 
1st year intermediate student of Khan Bahadur Awlad Hossain College, to Savar 
on September 9, 2015 in the name of giving him a job in Bangladesh Army.

Badsha demanded ransom of Tk 20 lakh from Monir's family the next day.

Badsha said he, with the help of his accomplices, killed Monir on September 10 
after his family refused to pay the ransom, adding that they tied stones with 
the body and dumped it into the Bongshai river.

Victim's mother Maleka Begum filled a case with Manikganj Police Station on 
September 10.

Police arrested Badsha from Savar the same day after tracking his mobile phone. 
Munir's body was recovered from the river on September 13.

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

3 sentenced to death, 2 jailed over 2016 murder in Meherpur



A Meherpur court has sentenced 3 people to death and jailed 2 others in a 2016 
murder case.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Md Nurul Islam passed the verdict on 
Tuesday.

The convicts who received death penalty are Alamgir Hossain, Mamun Hossain, and 
Wasim Ali while Firoz Hossain and Kablu Islam were jailed for 3 years.

Enayet Hossain Khokon, an autorickshaw driver, went missing after he left home 
on Oct 27, 2016. A day later, police found him dead with his hands and legs 
tied in a Tengramari field, said Public Prosecutor Pallab Bhattacharya, citing 
the case.

Khokon was a resident of Hotel Bazar Para in the district town. His wife Rokeya 
Akter Ruma started the case.

(source: bdnews2.com)

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

Narcotics Control Bill Placed at JS----Death penalty for carrying yaba, heroin



The Narcotics Control Bill 2018 was placed in parliament last night, with 
provision for death sentence or life-term imprisonment for carrying, producing, 
trading and using more than 5 grammes of yaba, and more than 25 grammes of 
heroin and cocaine.

Home minister Asaduzzaman Khan placed the bill, which was sent to the 
respective parliamentary standing committee for further examination. The 
committee was asked to submit its report within two days.

In the existing law, Narcotics Control Act 1990, there is no provision for 
death sentence or life imprisonment for offences related to heroin and cocaine. 
The maximum punishment is 15 years.

According to the proposed law, punishment for transporting, trading, storing, 
producing, processing, applying and using more than 5 grams of yaba or 
methamphetamine will be death penalty or life-term imprisonment.

For less than 5 grammes of the substance, the punishment will be minimum 1 year 
to maximum 5 years of jail, alongside the fine.

According to Department of Narcotics Control, about 50 methamphetamine pills 
weigh 5 grammes.

Methamphetamine substances were also included into A-category narcotics in the 
proposed law, as it is not in the existing act.

Shisha, khat and dope tests were incorporated in the draft bill, as the 
existing law do not address these.

Punishment for transporting, trading, storing, producing, processing, applying 
and using more than 25 grammes of narcotics originated from heroin, cocaine and 
coca will be death penalty or life-term imprisonment, while for less than 25 
grammes of the A-category narcotics, the penalty will be 2 years to 10 years of 
jail.

The maximum punishment for any individual or organisation financing or 
patronising drug dealing will be death penalty.

On October 8, the cabinet approved draft of the act to update the existing one 
in line with relevant UN conventions, of which Bangladesh is a signatory.

(source for both: The Daily Star)

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

19 Sentenced To Death Over Bangladesh Grenade Attack



On October 10, a Bangladeshi court announced the sentence for those responsible 
for the deadly grenade attack carried out in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 2004. The 
attack has been investigated multiple times over the years. The Associated 
Press reported there were 49 defendants. They reported that 19 people were 
issued the death penalty and an opposition leader's son, Tarique Rahman, was 
issued a life sentence for conspiracy charges. The BBC reported that the death 
penalty would be through hanging; a former minister and deputy minister, both 
Bangladesh National Party (BNP) leaders, were among those sentenced to death.

The grenade attack took place during a political rally held by the current 
prime minister, Sheikh Hasina. According to BBC reports, there were about 
20,000 people gathered outside the Awami League headquarters when the 
explosions began. Hasina barely escaped. According to Al Jazeera, several of 
her party leaders protected her as human shields. The Associated Press reported 
that the grenade attack wounded approximately 300 people and killed 2 dozen, 
and was the culmination of tension, distrust, and animosity between the Awami 
League and the former government. In 2005, the Economist regarded it as a 
symptom of pervasive political violence between both major parties.

Recent news coverage implies that little has changed. According to the BBC, the 
BNP suggested that the court case was politically motivated to destroy the 
party leaders' images. According to Al Jazeera, one of the main prosecutors, 
Sayed Rezaur Rahman, said that "the grenade attack is considered one of the 
most heinous crimes in the country's history. This is not a politically 
motivated case, rather a criminal one." Al Jazeera also reported that Mirza 
Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, BNP's secretary general, said that the verdict was "just 
another example of using judiciary for political revenge". The BBC reported 
that Rahman's mother, BNP leader Khaleda Zia, was one of Hasina's rivals. She 
was sentenced to a 5-year jail sentence for corruption in February. Al Jazeera 
reported that Rahman, the acting chairman of the BNP, was also jailed for 10 
years for the same case. They reported that he has been in exile since 2008.

Several believe that the courts have not done enough to bring justice to the 
victims. Ummey Razia Kajol, the Swechchhasebak League Assistant Women's Affairs 
Secretary, told BD News, "I am not happy. I will never be satisfied until 
Tarique, Harris, and others sentenced to life in prison are hanged." She also 
said that she hoped all 49 defendants would be sentenced to death. According to 
BD News, Kajol was present during the attacks and still has grenade splinters 
in her body. Al Jazeera also reported that Anisul Haque, the country’s Law 
Minister, suggested that the government will bring Rahman to a higher court to 
seek the death penalty for him as well.

This verdict remains significant as it highlights the political division within 
Bangladesh and features several issues that the country has repeatedly 
struggled with: fair court proceedings, the death penalty, and political 
violence. Judge Shahed Nuruddin highlighted some of these issues when 
announcing the verdict. According to BD News, he said that "killings for 
political gains are not the signs of democratic thinking...ordinary people 
don't want this type of political practices in their midst."

(source: Dhaka Tribune)








MALAYSIA:

Rethinking the death penalty



The recent announcement by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Liew Vui 
Keong that the government is looking to abolish the death penalty has created 
public controversy. I would like to share my thoughts on the issue, being 
someone who has been directly involved in the campaign to abolish the death 
penalty since 2011. It is important to have a rational discourse on this 
difficult subject.

In June 2011, when I was the MP for Bukit Bendera, the then de-facto law 
minister Nazri Abdul Aziz invited me to a meeting with the then European Union 
head of delegation to Malaysia, Vincent Piket. I assisted Nazri and the EU 
delegation to organise a cross-party parliamentary roundtable on the abolition 
of the death penalty.

The roundtable further strengthened my conviction that the death penalty in 
itself does not have a significant deterrent effect. In my view, police reform 
is the most important method to curb crime and deter criminals from committing 
acts of crime.

The parliamentary roundtable in June 2011 passed three resolutions. First, the 
abolition of the death penalty as a long-term goal. Second, the government 
should abolish the mandatory death penalty in the short term, especially for 
Section 39(B) of the Dangerous Drugs Act. Third, the government should declare 
a moratorium to suspend the execution of inmates currently on death row.

No room for discretion

I talked to several retired judges who shared their psychological struggles 
when passing the death sentence. It is a huge psychological burden to make the 
call to end a person's life - even in the course of duty. It weighed on the 
judges' consciences so much so that they had to pray and deliberate for days to 
make the right decision.

In the case of the mandatory death penalty, if the judge finds sufficient 
evidence, he has no other option but to sentence the accused to death. There is 
no room for the judge to exercise discretion and take into account the 
possibility of corruption or undue influence in the accused’s arrest, or any 
other circumstantial evidence.

Take for instance a case handled by (now Minister) Gobind Singh Deo at the 
Seremban high court in October last year. In the case, a 20-year-old Korean 
student was arrested during a police raid where 219g of marijuana was found in 
the apartment premises. The police insisted that the student was the sole 
person on the scene, until the defendant's lawyer showed a CCTV recording of 
other people on the scene.

Eventually, the witness who had testified against the accused admitted that he 
lied, and the defendant was freed. Imagine if there was no CCTV recording!

It is hard to know how many such stories exist in our police and judicial 
system. Judges whom I met have told me that if there was no death penalty, at 
least if the case is overturned after 10 years, the person would still be alive 
in jail.

The long road

The government's 2018 announcement has been a long time in the making. After 
Pakatan Harapan won in the May 9 election, I finally had access to the 
documents showing the impact of our 2011 parliamentary roundtable on the death 
penalty.

During a cabinet meeting on November 2, 2012, the government had already 
decided to suspend the execution of death sentence for prisoners under the 
Dangerous Drugs Act. The same decision was made in December 2013; while in 
November last year, Parliament passed the bill on abolition of the mandatory 
death penalty in Section 39B, but the decision did not apply retrospectively to 
the death row prisoners serving their sentence.

Nazri and even his successors, Nancy Shukri and Azalina Othman Said, had all 
told me that ministers and government officials were aware that the death 
penalty was not an effective deterrent. However, the government at that time 
did not want to deal with the prevailing public opinion of "an eye for an eye". 
Many people still believe that the death penalty can "eliminate" crimes and 
extract revenge. Another common argument is that it is cheaper to end their 
lives instead of spending taxpayers' money to imprison them.

This is a fallacy. It actually costs more to maintain prisoners in death row 
under high security detention as well as facilities for execution. In fact, 
most death row prisoners are kept in prison for an average of 10 to 15 years 
before execution, such as Yong Vui Kong who was arrested in 2007 and whose 
final appeal was in 2014.

Low- and middle-class citizens make up the vast majority of those sentenced to 
death row. Why? Rich traffickers can afford to use drug mules to do the "dirty 
work", or afford to hire top lawyers to get themselves off the hook.

Collective will

In my 10 years as a member of parliament, I have been asking in Parliament 
every year for the number of death row prisoners. From 1960 to February 2011, 
there were 411 death row prisoners, 228 cases of which involved drug 
trafficking, 78 involved murder, 130 involved illegal possession of guns, 4 
involved declaring war on the head of state, and 1 involved kidnapping.

In February 2011, there were 696 death row prisoners in prison. In 2013, the 
number of death row inmates increased to 964.

As of October 2018, there were 1,279 death row prisoners, 932 of which involved 
drug trafficking, 317 involved murder, 13 involved illegal possession of guns, 
5 involved kidnappings, 9 involved declarations of war on head of state, and 2 
involved collective robberies and murders. One person was charged under the 
now-repealed Internal Security Act.

All these sentences were made in the name of "national interest". All these 
people were executed in the name of you and I. In other words, executing a 
death row prisoner is our society's collective decision.

I have several observations about the controversy over the abolition of the 
death penalty:

First, the media seems to portray that "the government had a sudden thought 
yesterday and decided to implement it immediately tomorrow". In fact, Liew did 
not say it would be implemented immediately. Besides, as explained above, the 
abolition of the death penalty was a bipartisan process started since the Najib 
administration in 2012, 2013, and 2017.

Second, on the perception that the abolition of the death penalty will lead to 
an increase in crimes. In fact, the key to effective police reform is to ensure 
that criminals understand they will be caught and brought to justice. We must 
deal with the problem of corruption within our police and judicial system.

I have been directly involved in the discussion of the death penalty since 
2011, while the late Karpal Singh was a leading light in the global campaign to 
call for abolition of the mandatory death penalty in Malaysia as early as 
1980s. He acted for many defendants in death penalty cases.

Prisoners do not vote, but as politicians and as a government, we must fulfil 
justice, balance social peace and security, while preventing injustice to any 
person. It is not easy to draw this fine line, but let us discuss it 
rationally.

(source: Liew Chin Tong is the deputy defence minister of 
Malaysia----themalaysianinsider.com)

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

Retired insurance clerk arrested overseas - faces possible death penalty



A retired insurance clerk could face the death penalty in Malaysia after she 
was arrested in connection to the fatal stabbing of her husband.

Somerset, England native Samantha Jones, 62, was charged for allegedly stabbing 
her husband John, also 62, in their home on the holiday island of Langkawi, the 
Independent reported. Police said that the attack happened in the early morning 
of October 18, resulting from an altercation between the couple.

"She confessed that she stabbed her husband in the chest during a heated 
argument but this is still under investigation," police chief Mohamad Iqbal 
said.

Officers responded to calls from the Jones's neighbours and proceeded to their 
bungalow at 2:30am. They found the victim, a former firefighter, dead in the 
bedroom and proceeded to arrest the suspect. She remains in custody and is set 
to face the Alor Setar High Court today.

The Joneses have lived in Langkawi for 11 years as part of the government's "My 
Second Home" program.

The crime of murder carries a death sentence by hanging in Malaysia, but the 
government is currently considering the abolition of the death penalty.

(source: insurancebusinessmag.com)








SAUDI ARABIA:

Secretive Saudi court may soon decide to execute female rights activist Israa 
al-Ghomgham



Israa al-Ghomgham, reportedly the first female human rights activist to face a 
possible death penalty for non-violent protest in Saudi Arabia, is due to 
appear in the country's secretive anti-terrorism court on October 28.

Saudi Arabia's crackdown on dissent is attracting fresh attention following the 
killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and rights groups are worried 
about al-Ghomgham's fate resting with the Specialized Criminal Court (SCC), 
which has a history of unfair trials resulting in death sentences.

The SCC was created in 2008 to hear cases against people accused of terrorism. 
Many of the first people to be accused and tried by the court were alleged al 
Qaeda operatives involved in attacks in the kingdom.

Around 2010, however, the government started using the court to try protesters 
and, eventually, human rights advocates, international human rights lawyer 
Oliver Windridge tells CBS News.

"The definitions that are used for 'terrorism' in Saudi Arabia are broad -- 
some would say extremely broad, to the point of… allowing almost any kind of 
action to be defined as terrorism," Windridge says.

Accusations against Israa al-Ghomgham

Al-Ghomgham has been in detention since 2015, when she was arrested for 
non-violent activism. She has reportedly appeared in court once since then, 
when the charges against her were presented. The United Nations says she has 
been denied access to a lawyer.

According to official court documents obtained by CBS News, al-Ghomgham is 
facing multiple charges which include:

Inside the "Specialized Criminal Court"

Windridge reviewed a 2014 judgment by the SCC to assess the court's compliance 
with Saudi Arabia's international human rights commitments.

The kingdom is party to a number of human rights regulations, including the 
United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or 
Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and the Arab Charter on Human Rights. Also, 
as a member of the United Nations, Saudi Arabia is "generally obligated" to 
respect the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, Windridge says.

The 2014 case Windridge reviewed involved 3 male activists, one of whom, 
Mohamed al-Shioukh, was held for nearly two years in pre-trial detention 
without access to legal representation.

Al-Shioukh said that he was subjected to interrogation techniques including 
beatings, electric shock and sleep deprivation, according to the judgement 
Windridge examined. Those techniques would amount to torture, which is banned 
under international law, and all allegations of torture must be investigated. 
The SCC not only failed to investigate al-Shioukh's allegations, Windridge says 
it used a confession gained as a result of the interrogations as the sole 
evidence to convict him and sentence him to death.

"The Special Criminal Court has implemented the death penalty where there have 
been what appear to be clear violations of international law, which in and of 
itself is another breach of international law," Windridge tells CBS News.

Al-Shioukh's case is just one example of many. A student named Mojtaba Nader 
Abdullah Suwaiket was arrested in 2012 in relation to pro-democracy protests. 
According to information given to the United Nations, he was never told why he 
was arrested or given access to a lawyer, and was routinely subjected to 
torture, including being suspended from his hands and feet, beaten, and burned 
with cigarettes. He finally confessed to armed disobedience against the king 
and attacking and injuring security forces and civilians, and was convicted by 
the SCC and sentenced to death by crucifixion. Crown prince of reform, or "a 
dictator"?

A report published by the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights 
earlier this year concluded that Saudi Arabia was misusing its counterterrorism 
laws to stifle freedom of expression and political dissent in the kingdom.

"Far from a gradual modernisation and improvement of the human rights situation 
that the government is keen to portray internationally, the true picture seems 
to be that Saudi Arabia is backsliding into ever more severe political 
repression," says the report.

(source: CBS News)








BAHRAIN:

Court accepts request to retry death row convicts



The Cassation Court accepted the request to retry 2 men facing the death 
penalty in light of new medical reports, announced the Public Prosecution.

The 2 Bahraini defendants are implicated in a bomb blast that killed an officer 
and injured 5 others. Mohammed Ramadan Hussein, a 31-year-old former employee 
at the Bahrain International Airport, and Hussein Moussa Mohammed, a 
27-year-old former hotel employee, received the capital punishment after they 
were convicted of premeditated murder, attempted murder, detonating and 
possessing an explosive device, participating in an illegal gathering and 
possessing Molotov cocktails. 7 other men accused in the case were sent to 6 
years behind bars each.

(source: newsofbahrain.com)








IRAN----execution

Prisoner Hanged at Sirjan Prison



A prisoner was executed on a murder charge at Sirjan Central Prison last 
Thursday. Sirjan is a city and the capital of Sirjan County in the Iranian 
province of Kerman.

According to HRANA, on the morning of October 18, 2018, a prisoner was hanged 
at Sirjan Prison. He is identified as Hassan Nosratabadi, 37. Hassan killed a 
person while trying to rob a home 2 years ago. He was sentenced to qisas 
(retribution in kind) and the execution was carried out at Sirjan prison.

The Iranian media outlets have not published news related to the aforementioned 
execution so far.

According to Iran Human Rights annual report on the death penalty, 240 of the 
517 execution sentences in 2017 were implemented due to murder charges. There 
is a lack of a classification of murder by degree in Iran which results in 
issuing a death sentence for any kind of murder regardless of intensity and 
intent.

(source: Iran Human Rights)

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

5 Detained Environmentalists Face New Charge Carrying The Death Penalty



The charge against five detained environmentalists has been changed from 
"espionage" to "Corruption on Earth" after the examining magistrate received a 
letter from the Iranian Army, one of the former lawyers of the accused cited 
Tehran Prosecutor-General as saying.

Speaking to Radio Farda on Sunday, October 21, veteran lawyer, Mohammad Hossein 
Aghasi said that he has found out by chance that the army letter came via the 
Islamic Republic's Supreme National Security Council.

Based on the Islamic Penal Code, corruption on earth is punishable by death.

Eight environmentalists, Niloufar Bayani, Houman Jokar, Sepideh Kashani, Amir 
Hossein Khaleqi, AbdolReza Kouhpayeh, Taher Qadirian, Sam Rajabi and 
Iranian-American dual citizen Morad Tahbaz have been held in temporary custody 
by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps' Intelligence Organization since last 
January.

Iranian-Canadian founder of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation, Professor 
Kavous Seyyed-Emami, who was detained alongside the eight ecologists, 
mysteriously died last January in Tehran's infamous prison, Evin.

The authorities maintain that Seyyed-Emami committed suicide behind bars, an 
allegation categorically denied by the environmentalist's relatives.

Mohammad Hossein Aghasi who represented three of the detained 
environmentalists, Houman Jokar, Taher Qadirian and Sam Rajabi, was recently 
rejected by the Islamic Republic's judiciary and replaced by two assigned 
Public Counsels.

Iran Environmentalists In Prison For Months 'Without Sufficient Evidence'

Based on a controversial clause in Iran's Article 48 of Criminal Procedure Act, 
the lawyers representing suspects in preliminary stages of security related 
cases should be appointed by the Islamic Republic's judiciary.

The clause has been dismissed by several legal experts and attorneys as 
"unfair" and "against the country's Constitution".

In his interview with Radio Farda, Aghasi admitted that he is unaware of the 
content of the Iranian Army's letter, but speculated that it could be a 
response to the Prosecutor-General's enquiry which has led to changing the 
charge against the accused.

In such cases, as a rule, Aghasi suggested, "The prosecutor and the Examining 
Magistrate differ over the charges, but, in the environmentalists' case, the 
Examining Magistrate has accepted the Prosecutor's opinion and changed the 
charge from espionage to Corruption on Earth."

Several websites, including Kalemeh, have listed the accused as Niloufar 
Bayani, Houman Jokar, Sepideh Kashani, Taher Qadirian and Morad Tahbaz.

Judicial authorities earlier insisted on the charge of "espionage" and 
"rendering classified information on sensitive facilities to foreign 
intelligence services". But now the new charge can carry the death penalty.

According to Article 228 of the new Islamic Penal Code adopted in 2013, 
"corruption on earth" is defined as: "Any person who extensively commits felony 
against the...people, offenses against 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...shall be considered as 'corrupt on 
earth' and shall be sentenced to death."

However, "The new charges against the detained environmentalists have not yet 
been officially announced", Aghasi cited the head of Department of Environment 
(DoE), Isa Kalantari as saying.

The Islamic Republic's Intelligence Ministry has repeatedly insisted that there 
is no evidence of espionage by the environmentalists, who were arrested by the 
IRGC.

In the meantime, social media posts on October 22 have referred to the 
mysterious murder of a prominent environmentalist, Farshid Hakki.

The managing director of "Economic Reviews" monthly magazine, Abdolreza Davari 
has tweeted, "The news was shocking. Sadly, legal expert, economist and 
scientific advisor of the Economic Reviews, Dr. Farshid Hakki was murdered in a 
tragic way."

Reportedly, Hakki was stabbed to death near his house in Tehran and his body 
burnt by the murderer(s).

Dr. Haki was a human rights activist, opposing child labor and member of 
environmental campaign "Supporting Kind Zagros" or the "Sound of Water 
footsteps".

In an open letter, Davari has called upon the Islamic Republic's authorities to 
investigate Dr. Hakki's mysterious murder.

(source: radiofarda.com)

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

Iran's Supreme Court upholds death sentences for corruption



In an attempt to stamp out economic crimes, Iran's judiciary has once again 
resorted to its most severe punishment: the death penalty. On Oct. 21, Iran's 
Supreme Court confirmed death sentences for Vahid Mazloumin, known as the 
"Sultan of Coins" in Iranian media, and Mohammad-Ismael Ghassemi.

According to Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, the spokesman for Iran's judiciary, 
the death sentences for the 2 men were upheld and "would be carried out soon." 
>From the 1st day of the trial to the confirmation of their death sentences, it 
took just 43 days to convict and sentence Mazloumin and Ghassemi - a point 
noted by Mohseni-Ejei when highlighting the judiciary's speed in confronting 
economic corruption.

Mazloumin and Ghassemi were part of a group of 15 defendants charged with 
"corruption on Earth through disturbing the economic system" and creating 
illegal financial networks for coins and currency. Their sentencing comes after 
Iran's currency experienced unusually high levels of fluctuation in August and 
September.

Morteza Tork, a representative of the prosecution, said Sept. 8, at the 
beginning of the trial, that Mazloumin had sources within the economic 
decision-making centers that he used to "create disturbances," specifically in 
the fluctuation of gold coins and currency prices.

Mohseni-Ejei said that the judiciary hopes to reach conclusions for the other 
economic corruption cases soon. He also thanked the police, the Intelligence 
Ministry and the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard 
Corps (IRGC) for helping in the case. The sentence, he said, is a "warning for 
opportunists to not create more economic pain for the livelihood of people 
under the current pressure of the enemy."

The charge of "corruption on Earth" carries the death penalty in Iran and can 
be applied in a variety of cases. According to the lawyer representing a group 
of environmentalists arrested in February, some of the defendants recently had 
their charges changed from "spying" to "corruption on Earth." Their lawyer, 
Mohammad Hossein Aghasi, said the charge was changed after the prosecutor's 
office received a letter from the army, though it is not clear what the letter 
stated or if it even demanded anything of the judiciary.

The Intelligence Organization of the IRGC is currently holding 8 
environmentalists: Saam Rajabi, Amir Hossein Khaleghi, Hooman Jokar, Sepideh 
Kashani, Niloufar Bayani, Taher Ghadirian, Abdulreza Kohpayeh and Morad Tahbaz. 
Canadian-Iranian environmentalist Kavous Seyed Emami was among those originally 
arrested. He died in prison Feb. 8. Authorities claim Seyed Emami committed 
suicide. His family has rejected the claim and has unsuccessfully sought 
answers from the authorities.

While President Hassan Rouhani might, under normal circumstances, be vocal 
about judiciary cases, especially ones involving such severe charges against 
activists, he is currently consumed with another Cabinet shuffle involving his 
economic team. In his latest move, Rouhani has appointed Farhad Dejpasand as 
the minister of economic affairs and finance; Reza Rahmani as the industry, 
mines and trade minister; Mohammad Eslami as the roads and urban development 
minister, and Mohammad Shariatmadari as the cooperatives, labor and social 
welfare minister. The nominees will have to be approved by parliament.

(source: al-monitor.com)

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

Iran upholds death sentence for 2 convicted of fraud



Iran's state TV is reporting that the Supreme Court has upheld the death 
sentences for 2 individuals convicted of financial crimes.

Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejehi said Monday that the 2 were 
convicted of "spreading corruption on earth," a term used for crimes punishable 
by death in the Islamic Republic.

Iranian authorities have identified them as Vahid Mazloumin and Mohammad Esmail 
Ghasemi, whom local media dubbed the "Sultan of Coins" after he was arrested 
after hoarding 2 tons of gold coins in an attempt to manipulate the local 
currency.

Iranians have stocked up on gold coins and other safe-haven investments as the 
local currency has plummeted in recent months. Iran has meanwhile set up 
special courts as part of a campaign against financial crimes.

The death penalty in Iran is most often carried out by hanging.

Other counties that impose the death penalty for corruption or fraud include 
China, North Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Morrocco.

(source: nzherald.co.nz)