[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

October 31



ENGLAND:

Prison cell of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be executed in the UK, recreated 
for exhibition



The prison cell that was home to Ruth Ellis - the last woman to be executed in 
this country - has been recreated for a new art show.

Artist Christina Reihill consulted the original prison diary recording her 
final days to build the installation.

Ellis was hanged at Holloway Prison in 1955 after being found guilty of 
murdering her abusive lover David Blakely after shooting him five times at 
point blank range outside a Hampstead pub.

The case, which was filmed in 1985 as Dance With A Stranger with Miranda 
Richardson and Rupert Everett as the doomed lovers, is often cited as helping 
turn public opinion against the death penalty.

There was a huge outcry at the plight of Ellis, a former nightclub hostess and 
prostitute, who had earlier suffered a miscarriage after being attacked by 
Blakely.

Tens of thousands of people signed a petition begging for a reprieve and US 
crime novelist Raymond Chandler - the creator of private eye Philip Marlowe - 
wrote a letter to the Evening Standard decrying the "medieval savagery" of the 
courts.

The show, at the Bermondsey Project Space, is inspired by letters she wrote 
from her cell as well as prison reports that were regularly updated tracking 
her state of mind up until her execution.

Ms Reihill said she was attracted by Ellis's personality and her determination 
to "live her own life".

She said: "I love her honesty, she said having killed him 'He deserved it', she 
didn't hide from it."

The installation also includes a poem written by Ms Reihill from the viewpoint 
of Ellis addressing Blakey and a video interview explaining her fascination 
with the killer.

She said she believes Ellis wanted to die and fell back on her hostess persona 
while in the cell waiting for her sentence to be carried out.

(source: standard.co.uk)








BELARUS:

'Child abuser' faces execution by shooting after baby found decapitated in 
Belarus



A man could face the death penalty by being shot in the back of the head after 
a baby was found beheaded, law enforcement sources in Belarus have said.

The man has been identified only as Viktor, 47. The 8-month-old girl's mother 
Natalia Klob, 25, was also detained over the vicious crime but women can't be 
executed in the ex-Soviet state.

Klob had been with Viktor - a family friend - when the child known only as Anna 
was killed with a kitchen knife at a house in Luninets.

Reports claim the baby had also been badly beaten before she was killed.

When Klob's husband Leonid, 28, arrived home with the couple's 2 sons "he saw 
his daughter lying in a pool of blood, her head severed".

A paramedic doctor fainted when she arrived and saw the blood-soaked scene in 
the province of Brestkata Oblasts.

A neighbour said: "When Leonid came into the flat he saw a scene out of the 
horror movies.

"The ambulance doctor fainted when she came in."

According to reports, the mother and her friend had been drinking.

Neighbours claim the young family were "happy" and had recently baptised the 
child in the Orthodox Church.

The man and the child's mother now face a criminal case for the murder of a 
child with "particular cruelty".

Under law in the ex-Soviet state, the maximum punishment for this crime is 
death, while for women it is up to 25 years in jail.

Belarus is the only remaining country in Europe which continues to carry out 
the death penalty, with the national constitution prescribing this punishment 
for "grave crimes".

It has been part of the country's legal system since it gained independence 
from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Before execution, all death row prisoners are transferred to the Minsk 
Detention Centre No. 1 in the Belarusian capital.

According to the book The Death Squad by Oleg Alkayev, the convict is 
transported to a secret location on the day of the execution where he is told 
by officials that all appeals have been rejected.

The person is then blindfolded and taken to a nearby room, where 2 officials 
force him to kneel in front of a bullet backstop.

The executioner then shoots the convict in the back of the head with a PB-9 
pistol fitted with a suppressor.

Following the shooting, a death certificate is prepared and the remains of the 
person are buried secretly, with their family informed of the execution.

But Belarus' methods of capital punishment have been widely condemned by 
international organisations, including the United Nations.

The use of capital punishment is believed to be one factor keeping the country 
out of the Council of Europe - the international organisation which aims to 
uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law in the continent.

(source: express.co.uk)








KENYA:

Father and his 2 sons get death sentence for killing boy



A father and his 2 sons have been sentenced to death after they were found 
guilty of killing a herdsboy 3 years ago in Chidi, Kwale County.

In his judgment, Justice Asenath Ongeri said there was evidence that Mudata 
Mwamumbo Ndolo and his 2 sons Mwachodo Mudata and Mwamumbo Mudata alias Madvi 
killed the minor by breaking his neck before dumping his body in a water pond.

CRIME

"Upon evaluation of the evidence on record, I find that the accused persons 
acted jointly to murder Silipano Ndooki. Ndolo, who broke the boy's neck, was 
assisted by Madvi, who got hold of the deceased, while Mudata carried the body 
to the water pond and placed a stone on it," Justice Asenath Ongeri said.

The judge said there was evidence that the accused persons had a vendetta 
against the boy's family after threatening to take revenge when about 800 herds 
of cattle belonging to the victim's father entered his farm and destroyed 
crops.

Ndolo refused to take Sh7,000 in compensation offered by the victim's family 
for the destroyed crops and demanded Sh60,000. The court was told that Ndolo 
threatened to revenge if the money was not paid.

The court said that prosecutor Ngina Mutua proved that the vendetta against the 
victim’s family supplies the motive for the crime.

Medical report produced in court confirmed the victim died of cervical spine 
fracture as a result of twisting of his neck.

While sentencing the suspects, Justice Ongeri said the accused killed an 
innocent boy and hence did not deserve leniency.

"I find that the accused committed such a heinous act against an innocent 
herdsboy, they do not deserve leniency, though they have families that depend 
on them. A life has been lost and the deceased's family have lost him forever," 
she said.

The convicts have 14 days to appeal.

(source: nation.co.ke)








ZIMBABWE:

Any Citizen Who Calls For Sanctions Must Be Sentenced To Death: ZANU PF


Zanu PF Member of Parliament for Chegutu West, Dexter Nduna has called for a 
stiffer penalty on anyone found guilty of calling for sanctions against 
Zimbabwe.

Nduna said the punishment should be death sentence by a firing squad with 
automatic machines guns and not small weapons.

(source: zimeye.net)








MALAYSIA:

'Only 15 seconds to end a life'



It takes only 15 seconds and RM1,975 to end the life of an inmate on death row, 
says Datuk Liew Vui Keong.

"I visited a prison and was shown the process of how an inmate on death row is 
hung.

"They are kept in a room the night before the capital punishment is meted out.

"The following day, they are brought to the hanging room and the entire process 
takes only 15 seconds," said the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department 
when winding up his ministerial reply on issues raised during debates on the 
mid-term review of the 11th Malaysia Plan in Parliament.

(source: thestar.com.my)

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

Law minister says abolishment of death penalty pending AGC feedback



The government will take the step of getting the mandatory death sentence 
abolished in Parliament after getting feedback from the Attorney-General’s 
Chambers (AGC), said Minister-in-the-PrimeMinister’s Department Datuk Liew Vui 
Keong.

He said the government was still waiting for the feedback and comprehensive 
review of the matter from the AGC before bringing it to Parliament for further 
action.

"At the moment the process is still with the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC). 
It has not come to the Cabinet yet. As for how long this process will take I 
hope it will be done by next month, hopefully after the budget (2019 Budget) 
tabling," he told reporters at the Parliament lobby today.

Liew said that he had been instructed to issue a moratorium to the Pardons 
Board to defer executions of those on death row.

Earlier, when winding up debate on the 11th Malaysia Plan mid-term review for 
his ministry in the Dewan Rakyat, Liew said the government would not be hasty 
on abolishing the death sentence.

He said the government would take into consideration all views and do a 
comprehensive study on the proposal to do away with the death sentence, which 
involves 32 offences under eight acts of law.

Liew said the government had carried out a study on abolishing the death 
penalty which was done by I-CeLLS, an organisation under the auspices of the 
AGC and also involved renowned Professor Roger Hood from the University of 
Oxford.

"The previous government had undertaken the study, if I am not mistaken in 
2013, but the government then might have lacked the political will to see it 
through (completely abolish the death penalty)," he said.

He was replying to Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong (BN-Ayer Hitam) who advised the 
government not be hasty about abolishing the death penalty.

(source: malaymail.com)

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

Wrong decisions can be made, ex-judge says on death penalty



A retired judge yesterday spoke against use of the death penalty, warning that 
the risk of executing innocent people is both real and serious.

Jagjit Singh, a former Sessions Court judge, said mistakes could be made by the 
courts, leading to irreversible outcomes.

"The risk of executing innocent persons is very serious. We need to bear this 
in mind.

"Do we have honest, trustworthy, responsible and credible enforcement, 
investigation and prosecution officers?" he said at a talk on the death penalty 
at St Ignatius Church last night.

He gave the example of his own experience as a deputy public prosecutor 25 
years ago, when he and fellow retired judge Mah Weng Kwai were on opposite 
sides of the court.

Jagjit had been prosecuting a person charged with trafficking drugs, an offence 
punishable by death. Mah meanwhile was defending him.

Jagjit said both he and Mah had appeared before then-High Court judge Nik 
Hashim Nik Abdul Rahman. In the witness box was a very senior police officer 
with the rank of assistant superintendent.

Jagjit recalled the testimony of the raiding officer that he had administered a 
cautioned statement, and that the suspect had confessed to trafficking the 
drugs.

"It was in the police report," he added. "The case was watertight. The accused 
would have been sentenced to death if not for Mah."

During his cross-examination of the officer, Jagjit said, Mah had asked the ASP 
to read out the cautioned statement. The officer replied that he did not 
remember but that he had it written on a piece of paper.

When asked to produce the paper, the officer took out his wallet and showed a 
piece of paper stuck to a telephone card.

"Mah took the paper and turned it here and there. I was observing him, trying 
to figure out what he was doing," Jagjit said.

He said Mah had prodded the officer on the cautioned statement, suggesting that 
the officer had not read it to the suspect and that the paper had not existed 
at the time of the arrest.

The officer disagreed on both counts, he added.

"Then Mah said, 'Officer, peel off the paper from the card.' And true enough, 
the card was a World Cup football telephone card which had not existed at the 
time of the accused's arrest.

"If it had not been for Mah, another innocent life would have been lost," he 
said. "Can we place our lives, the lives of our children and relatives, in the 
hands of so-called dedicated and committed senior raiding enforcement 
officers?"

Twenty years later, Jagjit said, Mah would go on to become a Court of Appeal 
judge. Almost every week, there were drug trafficking and murder cases which 
carry the mandatory death penalty.

Other common offences punishable by death include treason, waging war against 
the king, and discharging firearms.

Noting that there were 1,267 people currently on death row, Jagjit questioned 
how effective the death penalty was in deterring such offences.

"There is no data to show that it serves as an effective deterrent," he said. 
"There has been no significant reduction in the number of crimes, especially 
murder and drug trafficking."

He gave examples of high-profile executions, including that of Botak Chin 
(armed robbery), Mona Fandey (murder) and members of the Al-Ma'unah militant 
group who were charged and convicted with waging war against the king.

"Did the executions serve as a deterrent? The answer is no.

"There is still the Altantuya murder case. Where is the deterrent?"

He gave the example of another case he had taken on as a lawyer in 2015 
involving 2 sisters, aged 19 and 21, in Johor Bahru who were wrongly accused of 
drug trafficking.

He said the cops had claimed they were able to see one of the girls placing a 
packet of drugs in the refrigerator when this was in fact impossible as the 
window was heavily tinted.

The girls were eventually acquitted but not before having to spend 2 years 
under remand over the drug trafficking charge, he said.

De facto law minister Liew Vui Keong has said that amendments to abolish the 
death penalty will be tabled at the current parliamentary sitting.

Under the proposed abolition, he said, death row inmates would serve 30 years' 
life imprisonment.

(source: freemalaysiatoday.com)








SINGAPORE:

Singapore becomes one of world's top executioners for drug offences



On Friday 26th October, Singapore executed two men for drug trafficking, 
bringing the total number of executions this year to 9. Our research indicates 
that all are for drug-related crimes, making Singapore one of the world's top 
executioners for non-violent drug offences, along with Saudi Arabia and China.

Compared with the international trend towards abolition, Singapore is 
increasing its use of the death penalty, executing more people in 2018, than in 
2017. This sits in stark contrast to Malaysia's move toward abolition of the 
death penalty, and the over 90% fall in executions for drug offences seen in 
Iran this year.

All executions occur under Singapore's draconian and stringent drug laws, which 
- with few exceptions - do not allow judges to evaluate the circumstances of 
each case, thus making the death sentence effectively mandatory for drugs 
offences.

Sadly, the upward trend in executions shows little sign of abating. On 25th 
October, Gobi Avedian, a 30-year-old father, was sentenced to death following a 
conviction for trying to smuggle a few grams of heroin into the country.

As with most people on death row for drug-related crimes, Gobi was a low-level 
courier who resorted to trafficking out of a mixture of ignorance of the 
country's harsh laws, exploitation, and poverty: he states he was aiming to 
earn money to pay for his daughter's medical fees.

(source: Harm Reduction International)








BANGLADESH:

Harm Reduction International Condemns New Bangladesh Law Expanding Use of the 
Death Penalty for Drugs



Bangladesh's parliament passed a bill on 27 October that expands use of the 
death penalty for drug offenses in the country. The Narcotics Control Act 2018, 
an update to the 1990 Act, now makes the manufacture and distribution of 
methamphetamine pills - known as 'yaba' - punishable by death. Crimes related 
to other illicit substances, such as heroin and cocaine, already face the death 
penalty in Bangladesh under the 1990 Act. It is unclear if the country has ever 
executed anyone for drug offenses. Bangladesh's government launched a brutal 
crackdown on the drug trade in May, which has resulted in the possible 
extrajudicial killings of over 200 people, and imprisonment of more than 
25,000.

Naomi Burke-Shyne, executive director of Harm Reduction International, said: 
"There is no evidence that imposing the death penalty for drugs offences has 
any impact on the drug trade. This punishment is in clear violation of 
international human rights law, and most often impacts upon the most poor and 
vulnerable people. Bangladesh's violent drug war and regressive move to expand 
the scope of its death penalty laws will only lead to a further breakdown of 
human rights in the country."

According to Harm Reduction International's research, at least 33 countries 
have the death penalty for drugs in law, though only a handful - such as Saudi 
Arabia, China, Iran, Indonesia and Singapore - have carried out executions in 
recent years. This year has seen a marked decline in the number of executions 
carried out for drug offences, primarily due to a 2017 law reform in Iran.

Burke-Shyne added: "There is a clear trend globally toward ending use of the 
death penalty for drugs, highlighted by Malaysia's recent announcement of plans 
for total abolition. Our research shows that only those countries on the 
extreme fringe of the international community remain committed to executing 
people for drugs. Bangladesh's move bucks the trend toward abolition, and risks 
placing the country firmly in the category of pariah state."

Over 4,000 people have been executed for drugs in the past decade, while the UN 
Office on Drugs and Crime admitted in 2018 that "both the range of drugs and 
drug markets are expanding and diversifying as never before."

NOTES:

Harm Reduction International is a leading NGO dedicated to reducing the 
negative health, social and economic impacts of drug use and drug policy. We 
promote the rights of people who use drugs and their communities through 
research and evidence-based advocacy to help achieve a world where drug 
policies and laws contribute to healthier, safer societies.

Harm Reduction International actively monitors use of the death penalty for 
drug offenses, and has published regularly on this subject since 2007.

(source: Harm Reduction International)

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

Bangladesh's Deadly War on Drugs----While the death penalty for drugs has 
existed in Bangladesh for decades, it has rarely been used. This could change 
dramatically if Parliament approves a government bill that could subject people 
who use drugs and low-level dealers to the ultimate punishment.



The audio quality is poor and the sound of gunshots muffled, but the agony in 
Ekramul Haque’s voice is unmistakable. On May 26, while speaking with his 
family by phone, Haque, an elected official in southern Bangladesh, was gunned 
down by police in an apparent extrajudicial killing.

Bangladeshi authorities insist Haque was a drug dealer who died in an exchange 
of gunfire, but the audio evidence - captured by his wife as she listened to 
her husband die - suggests that the officers involved killed him and then 
planted drugs at the scene. The recording casts a disturbing light on 
Bangladesh's new drug-control strategy.

Since May, when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina revamped her government's war on 
drugs, an estimated 25,000 people have been arbitrarily imprisoned, and at 
least 200 have died in alleged shootouts. The parallels to President Rodrigo 
Duterte's brutal drug crackdown in the Philippines are chilling. There, human 
rights are routinely violated and more than 20,000 people have been slaughtered 
since 2016. While Duterte’s campaign has drawn international condemnation, 
Hasina's purge has been subject to less scrutiny.

The relative lack of international criticism seems to have emboldened the 
government to act even more ruthlessly. In early October, the authorities 
doubled down by proposing a draft law, which has now been submitted to 
Parliament, to expand the use of capital punishment for drug offenses. Under 
the proposal, possession of more than 5 grams of "yaba" - a 
methamphetamine-based drug targeted by the government's crackdown - could be 
punishable by death.

While the death penalty for drugs has existed in Bangladesh for decades, it has 
rarely been used. This could change dramatically if Parliament approves the 
government's bill. The ferocity of the authorities’ anti-drug campaign, 
together with the extremely low threshold for yaba possession, means that even 
people who use drugs and low-level dealers could face execution.

Despite what governments claim, the death penalty for drug offenses does not 
target kingpins. It is the poor and the most vulnerable who suffer. This would 
certainly be the case in Bangladesh, where some Rohingya refugees - who have 
fled horrific persecution in neighboring Myanmar - rely on the drug trade for 
economic survival.

Moreover, there is simply no evidence that the death penalty for drug use 
lowers rates of consumption or trafficking. Almost 4,000 people have been 
executed for drug offenses in the past decade, and the UN Office on Drugs and 
Crime admits that the drug market is still booming. Death penalty laws are 
little more than grotesque grandstanding by governments seeking to appear 
"tough" on drugs while blindly ignoring the facts.

Bangladesh's legislation move would move the country to the extreme fringe of 
the international community and buck the global trend toward abolishing capital 
punishment. According to Harm Reduction International's research, of the 33 
countries that retain the death penalty for drug offenses, only a handful - 
mainly Saudi Arabia and China - actually carry out executions. Most other 
countries have changed tack.

For example, drug-related executions in Iran fell dramatically after judicial 
reforms late last year (although the country still applies the death penalty 
for other offenses). Meanwhile, Malaysia's cabinet is considering a bill to 
abolish the death penalty for all crimes. If it passes, the measure would 
commute the sentences of the 1,267 people currently on death row in the 
country, including 900 convicted of drug-related crimes.

Unfortunately, Bangladesh is not alone in favoring extreme measures. Sri Lankan 
President Maithripala Sirisena recently said that his country would end a 
42-year moratorium on executions and begin killing people convicted of drug 
crimes. While it is unclear if Sirisena will follow through, his threat is part 
of a worrying trend among populists who view the death penalty as a panacea for 
the drug trade. In a rambling speech earlier this year, US President Donald 
Trump suggested that he, too, supports such a policy.

The European Union has urged Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to reconsider their 
strategies, arguing that "the death penalty doesn't act as a deterrent to 
crime, and any error of judgment is impossible to correct." These are wise 
words, and countries everywhere - especially EU member states - must do more to 
reinforce this view.

Bangladesh's Parliament still has an opportunity to reject the draft law and 
move the country toward a more effective drug-control policy. Enacting the 
death penalty would only exacerbate an already deteriorating human-rights 
situation. Around the world, countries are recognizing that executions, much 
less extrajudicial killings, have no effect on the drug trade. Bangladesh must 
recognize this, too.

(source: Commentary; Naomi Burke-Shyne is Executive Director of Harm Reduction 
International----Project Syndicate)

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

2 muggers sentenced to death for killing gang member in 2005



A Dhaka court has sentenced two muggers to death and 4 others to life in prison 
for killing one of their gang members over sharing the looted money in 2005.

Judge Abdur Rahman Sardar of Speedy Trial Tribunal-4 of Dhaka passed the order 
on Wednesday, more than 13 years after the killing.

The convicts who received death penalty are Moazzem Hossain and Babu alias Kana 
Babu.

The judge sentenced Akir Hossain, Monir Hossain, Amir Hossain and Abdul Aziz to 
life in prison. Akir, Monir and Amir are on the run.

The muggers targeted a member of the same armed gang, Abdul Latif, as he 
possessed Tk 70,000 in looted cash.

Ferdous, a leader of the gang, ordered other members to kill Latif. Later, his 
body was found on the rooftop of a building in Shahjahanpur, according to the 
case.

Motijheel police recovered the body of Latif and filed a murder case soon 
after. Police pressed charges against the 6 suspects in 2007.

Ferdous, the alleged mastermind of the killing, was left out of the 
chargesheet.

The judge raised questions over the professional competence and honesty of the 
investigation officer, SI Shahab Uddin, who cleared Ferdous of the charges.

But the judge did not order any departmental action against the police officer 
as he retired from the job, said court official Abul Kalam Azad.

(source: bdnews24.com)