[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

September 16





IRAN----execution

Execution of a Prisoner on Drug-Related Charges



1 prisoner was executed at Zahedan Central Prison on the charge of 
"trafficking, possessing, and selling drugs and carrying out the armed action."

According to a close source, on the morning of Saturday, September 15, 1 
prisoner was executed at Zahedan Central Prison on the charge of "trafficking, 
possessing, and selling drugs and carrying out armed action".

The prisoner, who was transferred to the solitary confinement on Wednesday, 
September 12, was identified as Aref Rigi, 31.

Habibollah Sarbazi, the Baluch civil activist, told IHR, "Aref Rigi denied 
armed action all the stages of the proceedings."

According to a report by the Baluch Activists Campaign, Aref Rigi had been in 
prison for 6 years.

The execution of this prisoner has not been announced by the state-run media so 
far.

This is the 4th drug-related execution that has been reported by the 
statistical department of IHR since the enforcement of the new drug law on 
November 14, 2017. The new drug law includes a mechanism that leads to a 
decrease in the number of death sentences and reduces the sentence of the 
death-row prisoners and those sentenced to life imprisonment.

(source: Iran Human Rights)








INDIA:

7 months, 12 death sentences in Madhya Pradesh: Here is what a trial under its 
new rape law for minors entails----Rajkumar was given death in 5 days, the 
shortest trial in Madhya Pradesh which has seen 12 death sentences in rape 
cases in 7 months. In the state that set the new rape law for under-12 girls in 
motion, MILIND GHATWAI on what such a trial entails, and doesn't.



Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said those who rape minor girls were "not 
humans", but "pishaach (devils)" and "didn't have the right to live".

LOG samjhaate rahe nabbe din tak kuchch nahin hoga (People kept reassuring us 
nothing would happen for 90 days)," says Radhabai Kol, 62. Ninety days is the 
usual deadline for police to file a chargesheet. Radhabai's son Rajkumar, 33, 
was sentenced to death in 5 - the fastest trial in the 12 death sentences 
handed out by Madhya Pradesh (MP) courts since February this year in the cases 
of rape of minors.

In December 2017, MP became the 1st state in the country to pass a Bill 
providing for the rapists of girls aged 12 or below to be hanged till death. 
The minimum punishment, the Bill stated, would be a 14-year rigorous 
imprisonment or life term till death. This would go up to 20 years rigorous 
imprisonment in cases of gang rape of girls aged 12 or less. The government 
passed the Bill after the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report 
showed that MP witnessed the highest number of rape cases in the country in 
2016.

Speaking on the Bill, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said those who rape 
minor girls were "not humans", but "pishaach (devils)" and "didn't have the 
right to live".

After MP, Haryana, Rajasthan and Arunachal Pradesh passed similar legislation, 
while J&K and Delhi resolved to do so. Even as MP's Bill was pending with the 
President, in April this year, the Centre issued an ordinance providing death 
for the rape of minors, including many provisions of MP???s legislation. In 
July, the Lok Sabha passed the Bill, which also puts a 2-month deadline on the 
trial of rape cases, a 6-month time limit for disposal of appeals, and says 
there will be no provision for anticipatory bail for a person accused of rape 
or gang rape of a girl under 16 years.

An autorickshaw driver, Rajkumar was accused of taking a 4-year-old girl he 
drove to school to a secluded spot on July 4, kissing her and penetrating her 
with his finger. The complaint was lodged on July 6, after the girl's aunt told 
police she complained of pain while relieving herself. The aunt said the girl 
accused the "auto wale bhaiyya" of slapping her and threatening to beat her up 
if she told anyone.

Rajkumar was sentenced on July 27. In his Independence Day speech, Prime 
Minister Narendra Modi cited the "5-day" Katni trial as a case that should be 
"publicised" so that "people with demonic mentality get scared".

The Kotwali Police Station, overseeing a population of about 2.5 lakh, is 
located in a single-storey building near the town's main square. Of its 
sanctioned posts of nearly 170, including sub-inspectors and assistant 
sub-inspectors, around 40 are vacant. The Investigating Officer in the Rajkumar 
rape case, SHO Shailesh Mishra, 53, is not sure of the number of cases he is 
handling. A wall outside his cabin has pictorial messages on 'good touch' and 
'bad touch' for children.

The girl's aunt visited the police station late in the night of July 6, he 
recalls. The FIR was registered at 11.35 pm. Sub-Inspector Manju Sharma, who 
recorded the minor???s statement, says she got the girl to open up through 
small talk. ???I said, 'Let's go relieve ourselves???, but she said it hurts. 
Later she identified Rajkumar as the man who drove her to school," Sharma says. 
The girl was then referred to the Katni district hospital for a check-up. The 
doctor there recorded "redness and abrasions near vagina. Sign of penetration 
but kindly co-relate with circumstantial evidence" before referring the case to 
the NSCB Medical College, Jabalpur, for expert examination. When the 
gynaecologist at NSCB told the parents the girl would have to be anaesthetised, 
they refused.

Rajkumar, who drove an autorickshaw ferrying schoolchildren, had been employed 
by the girl's family just 2 days earlier. He was arrested on July 7 from Panna 
Tiraha in Katni, about 2 km from his home. Wife Sulochana says they came to 
know only on July 8, when she was alerted by the owner of the autorickshaw. "I 
thought my husband was doing night duty," she says. The family, including 
Sulochana and Rajkumar's 2 children (11 and 9), and his parents, live in a 
corner of a cowshed. In return, the cowshed's owner requires them to look after 
the 40 cows at the shed.

The family moved here 2 years ago. Rajkumar, who has been working as an auto 
driver since his teens, paid a rent to the three-wheeler owner and earned 
around Rs 150-250 daily. The parents of the schoolchildren he ferried paid the 
owner. The 1st lawyer Rajkumar's family approached backed out, under an 
informal understanding among lawyers in district courts across the state not to 
represent the rape accused. In some cases, the bar association officially 
passes a resolution, like in the Mandsaur gang rape (which resulted in death 
for 2 on August 21, after a trial of 2 months).

Says Santosh Paroha, the vice-president of the Katni District Bar Association, 
"No one should represent accused involved in such crimes. We did not pass a 
resolution but it was decided when lawyers spoke to each other. Next time we 
will pass a formal resolution." So, like in other cases where a family can't 
find or afford a lawyer, Rajkumar was provided one under the free legal aid 
programme. The lawyers for this are sourced per district from a panel, which 
has a validity of one year. The bar association asks members who are willing to 
offer legal aid and registers their names with the district legal aid office.

The MP State Legal Services Authority decides the pay for these lawyers. 
Advocates get Rs 2,000-3,000 per trial in lower courts; Rs 4,000-6,000 if they 
appear in a Sessions Court trial, or in Special Cases under the Narcotic Drugs 
and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) 
Act; and Rs 5,000 for appeals against a death sentence and Rs 4,000 for appeals 
against life imprisonment in the high court.

The money is the same irrespective of the duration of the trial, and is paid 
after the trial is over. The rates were last revised in 2014.

Says social activist Anurag Modi, "Not only do the legal-aid advocates don't 
get enough money, no one helps them collect proof. The presence of such lawyers 
is only cosmetic." There are 35 lawyers on the roster of the Katni District 
Legal Services Authority, with 20-odd cases currently referred to it.

Cases get assigned to lawyers going by who is free. Rajkumar got B M Singh 
Rathore, 52, a lawyer with 20 years of practice. He does not have an office and 
operates from Bar Hall No. 2 at the District and Sessions Court. He also 
operates from a corridor in the old court building, where two rickety chairs 
are chained to his table. He says there are months when he has 10 clients at a 
time and days when he has none. Because trials last long, advocates like him 
make about Rs 50,000 per trial, he says.

Rathore says he got a call on July 20, the same day that the chargesheet was 
filed against Rajkumar in the Special Court that deals with cases under the 
POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act. One of the courts 
operating on the District and Sessions Court premises, the Special Court was 
set up 4 years ago, and has hundreds of cases before it, with no exact record.

The Special Public Prosecutor in Rajkumar???s case was District Prosecution 
Officer Dharmendra Singh Taran, a lawyer with 14 years of service. He says he 
gets about 20 cases every month, has handled 300-400 POCSO cases in the past 
four years, and secured both life and 10-year sentences in them.

With 12 death sentences already in the past seven months in rape cases of 
minors, Rajendra Kumar, the Director of Public Prosecution, MP, links the 
"improved conviction rate" to the government tracking and "rewarding" 
prosecutors. About 8 months ago, the government introduced the 'eProsecution 
MP' App, to track the daily activities of the 1,000-odd government prosecutors 
across the state. 2 months ago, it also devised a "reward system" to motivate 
the prosecutors to ensure speedy trials. "Though there's no monetary award yet, 
these achievements will be recorded in their annual confidential report," Kumar 
had told The Indian Express earlier.

For 2 days after charges were framed against Rajkumar, the court was closed. 
Between July 23 and July 25, 20 witnesses were examined, and on July 26, 
Rajkumar's statement was recorded. The verdict was given at 3 pm on July 27. "I 
did not even get time to speak to the accused," complains Rathore. Adding that 
Rajkumar wasn't given sufficient opportunity to defend himself, he says, "I 
have never seen witnesses turning up so fast. Often they do so only when 
summons are served."

In Rajkumar's case, among the prosecution witnesses were the victim and her 
four family members, the autorickshaw owner, another autorickshaw driver, a 
patwari, the doctors, and 6 police personnel. IO Shailesh Mishra says he went 
out of his way to ensure the witnesses deposed. "I had no reason to be in court 
but I was there for the full 5 days. We used our resources to get the witnesses 
from Jabalpur and Satna, and requested them to treat their deposition as 
priority. They didn't disappoint," he says.

Prosecution Officer Taran admits police normally don't do this, adding that 
it's often hard to ensure presence of policemen themselves for deposition. None 
of the witnesses against Rajkumar was an eyewitness. The complainant stuck to 
her version and the others either identified the accused or the scene of the 
crime or about their presence during the seizure of clothes, etc. The Katni 
doctor testified what she had mentioned in the referral letter to the Jabalpur 
hospital, and the gynaecologist at Jabalpur testified that the victim 
complained of pain. The court noted that both doctors mentioned redness and 
abrasions, and signs of penetration. There was no other medical evidence. The 
semen sample of the accused had been collected but it was not needed.

While Rathore was given a chance to cross-examine the witnesses, he couldn't 
produce any from the defence side as no one turned up from Rajkumar's family. 
He says he tried to contact his wife but was unsuccessful, and that by the time 
he got through, it was already July 26. So he just told her to remain present 
in court on the day of the verdict. When asked about Rathore's claim that the 
medical report was inconclusive, Taran says it "is almost positive". Taran says 
he sought the maximum possible penalty because the offence was "despicable". 
"There was no remorse on Rajkumar's face. He looked like a drug addict."

Attributing the quick conviction to teamwork, he says, "What's wrong with a 
quick trial? There is a provision in the CrPC and there are court judgments 
about speeding up trials." The capital punishment to Rajkumar, he adds, is "a 
historic judgment". "Why would a 4-year-old accuse someone of doing something 
he did not do? Good he was given death sentence or he could have harmed 
others." Rathore, who says he is yet to be paid his remuneration, claims he is 
waiting to get copies of witness statements to pass along to Narendra Nikhare, 
the laywer who would be defending Rajkumar in the high court now. The dairy 
owner for whom Rajkumar's family works has arranged for the advocate. Nikhare 
says he will represent Rajkumar for free because he thinks he did not get a 
fair chance. "I am sure the death sentence will be commuted to at least life." 
Of the 12 recent death sentences in rape cases, only in one has death been 
confirmed by the high court, while in another, it has been commuted to life 
(see box). Referring to the spate of death sentences, advocate Avinash 
Sirpurkar, an amicus curiae in the high court, says, "I don't think this has 
ever happened in the history of MP." Advocates on legal aid panels are usually 
inexperienced, he adds.

While the minor's family refuses to talk, Rajkumar's parents are stunned at how 
their life has turned upside down in under a month.

Before they were employed by the dairy owner, the 2, along with Rajkumar's 
family and their 2 other sons, lived in a slum in Ram Manohar Lohia ward. The 
neighbours, who don't want to be identified, say Rajkumar and his brothers 
often fought with each other. "We complained to the police many times," says a 
former neighbour, who also accuses the brothers of consuming liquor and ganja.

SHO Mishra says 2 cases, one each under the Arms Act and gambling, are pending 
against Rajkumar. The wife knows of only one.

As Rajkumar's mother Radhabai breaks down, father Purushottam, 68, says it was 
all over before they could even understand what was happening. Wife Sulochana 
admits her husband was given to drinking, but she can't believe he could rape 
anyone. "If he had actually raped the gudiya, would she have gone to school the 
next day with him?" she adds.

Struggling to tell her children what has happened, Sulochana has only told them 
Rajkumar is in jail. However, she says, the other children keep taunting them. 
"'Tere papa ko faansi lagne wali hai (Your father is going to be hanged)', they 
say."

***

Fast-tracked

ORDER IN 22 DAYS

INDORE: Naveen alias Ajay Gadke, 26, accused of raping and killing a 
3-month-old girl on April 20. Given death on May 12. No advocate defended him, 
was provided legal aid. Avinash Sirpurkar, an amicus curiae in the high court, 
says he does not think Gadke got a fair chance.

ORDER IN 27 DAYS ORDER IN 37 DAYS

GWALIOR: Jitendra Kushwah, 25, accused of raping and killing a 6-year-old girl 
on the June 20-21 night. Sentenced to death on July 27. Advocate Ravindra 
Gurjar who defended Kushwah says that though the bar association did not pass 
any official resolution, there was an understanding not to defend him.

ORDER IN 47 DAYS

SAGAR: Bhagirath alias Naran Patel, 40, accused of raping a 7-year-old girl on 
May 21. Sentenced to death on July 7. Advocate Pushpendra Singh Thakur admits 
he was reluctant to defend Patel. "The statement of the accused was recorded in 
my absence. I did not get enough time," he says.

ORDER IN 2 MONTHS

MANDSAUR: Irfan alias Bhaiyyu Mewati, 20, and Asif Mewati, 24, accused of 
raping and leaving a 7-year-old girl dead on June 26. Sentenced to death on 
August 21. The case witnessed protests across MP. The local Bar association 
passed a resolution not to defend the duo. Advocate Deendayal Bhavsar, who 
represented Asif, says public sentiments were against the accused. "We could 
not produce a single witness."

ORDER IN 3 MONTHS, 12 DAYS

CHHATARPUR: Touheed Shoukat, 19, accused of raping a 2-year-old on April 24. 
Sentenced to death on August 6. Says Mahendra Kumar Sharma, who defended him 
under the legal aid programme as no lawyer agreed to represent him, "I could 
not even visit the scene of the crime, more than 62 km away, because I did not 
have money. The father of the accused is a fakir."

ORDER IN 5 MONTHS

DHAR: Karan alias Fatia Bharat, 19, accused of raping and killing a 4-year-old 
girl on December 15-16, 2017. Sentenced to death on May 17, 2018. The labourer 
from Manavar could not afford a lawyer and was provided one, advocate Nasir 
Khan, under the legal aid programme. Questioning the need for "trials at this 
speed", Khan says, "When the accused is already in jail as an undertrial, why 
the rush?"

ORDER IN 8 MONTHS

SAGAR: Rabbu alias Sarvesh Sen, 22, accused of raping and killing a 14-year-old 
girl on December 7, 2017. Sentenced to death on August 20.

SHORTEST TRIAL: 4 DAYS

DATIA: Motilal Ahirwar, 24, accused of raping a 7-year-old girl on May 29. 
Sentenced to life on August 8.

CASES DECIDED BY HIGH COURT

SAGAR: Sunil Adivasi, 22, accused of raping and killing a 9-year-old girl on 
April 13, 2017. Sentenced to death on June 19, 2018. On August 17, the HC 
commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment.

SHAHDOL: Vinod alias Rahul Choutha, 22, accused of raping and murdering a 
4-year-old on May 13, 2017. Given death on February 28. The HC confirmed the 
death sentence on August 8.

(source: indianexpress.com)

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

NIA court awards death for 2, life term to 2 others in 2014 Assam 
massacre----Bishnu Narzary alias N Berama and Ajoy Basumatary alias Buhum were 
awarded death sentence. The charge-sheet in the case was filed by the NIA in 
July 2015.



A special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday awarded 
death penalty to 2 insurgents of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland 
(NDFB) in connection with the December 2014 massacre of Adivasis (tea garden 
community) in some places of northern Assam.

Bishnu Narzary alias N Berama and Ajoy Basumatary alias Buhum were awarded 
death sentence. 2 others, Nitul Daimary alias D Naihab and Sanju Bordoloi alias 
Sibigiri, were awarded life imprisonment.

The NIA, which probed the mayhem, had earlier registered a case under various 
Sections of IPC and Arms Act. The charge-sheet in the case was filed by the NIA 
in July 2015.

The quartet was implicated in one of the several attacks on the Adivasis. They 
had allegedly fired indiscriminately on the locals at Santipur village in 
Sonitpur district in which 6 people were killed and several others were 
injured.

At least 81 people were killed in Kokrajhar, Sonitpur, and Chirang districts by 
the heavily-armed militants of Songbijit faction of NDFB. In the aftermath of 
the massacre, Union Home Minister Rajnath had handed the cases to the NIA. At 
the same time, he had instructed the security forces to launch an all-out 
attack against the militants.

The subsequent operations by the security forces had virtually broken the 
backbone of the outfit. Over 150 of the militants were either killed or 
apprehended by the police and security forces.

Many of the militants, including NDFB chief Songbijit, had fled to Myanmar. He 
floated an outfit there and is now leading it as its chief.

A small group of the insurgents, led by the outfit's military chief G Bidai, is 
holed up in the jungles of Bhutan. The security forces have been going after 
this group for long but have not got any success. There were occasions when the 
forces came very close to Bidai but he managed to escape.

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

Karnataka: District judge awards death penalty to 5 in rape, murder 
cases----Justice BS Rekha on Saturday handed down the strictest punishment 
possible for the accused in 2 different cases of crimes committed against women 
in her judgement.



5 people, accused of crimes against women, including the accused in the murder 
of a 15-year-old student, were sentenced to death by hanging by the 2nd 
Additional District and Sessions Judge in the city on Saturday. The judge heard 
the case against Suresh Kumar (25), a contract labourer accused of murdering a 
Class 10th student, in a record 22 days and pronounced her judgement in the 
matter.

On 3rd August, the Malur police, headed by Kolar Superintendent of Police (SP) 
Rohini Katoch Sepat, had arrested Suresh Kumar for his role in the murder of 
the student, whose body was found under a railway bridge in Malur town around 
5.30 PM on 1 August. The police had then filed a 207-page charge sheet in the 
case against Kumar on 23rd August with a list of 46 witnesses. Justice BS Rekha 
on Saturday handed down the strictest punishment possible for Kumar in her 
judgement.

The other case in which the judge delivered the death penalty involves a gang 
rape which took place on 28th May 2014 in which the accused Munikrishna, 
Narayanswamy, Anil Kumar and Krishna Murthy were convicted by Justice Rekha on 
Saturday. During the time of the judgement in both cases, the court hall of the 
judge was jam-packed as many people came to witness the judgement.

Speaking to The New Indian Express, Kolar SP Sepat said, "We have satisfaction 
in giving justice to the victim's family." Central Range Inspector General of 
Police B Dayananda praised the team for executing the arrest of Suresh Kumar 
within 2 days of the crime and for collecting all evidence to form a watertight 
case.

(source for both: The New Indian Express)








CANADA:

Majority of Canadians favour return of death penalty!



Dec. 11, 2018, will mark 56 years since 2 men were hanged in Canada. These last 
state-sanctioned executions to happen took place at Toronto's infamous Don Jail 
in 1962. In 1976, Canada abolished capital punishment.

Before some Canadians take issue with Florida's use of the death penalty - a 
punishment I am against - we should take note of our own country's attitude to 
sanctioning state murder. First things first!

Believe it or not, most Canadians favour bringing back capital punishment, even 
while Americans are slowly moving away from it. Repeated polls reveal that a 
majority of Canadians to this day favour some return of the death penalty. 
According to a 2016 survey by Abacus Data, 58 % of Canadians want their country 
to join the likes of China, Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia in sanctioning state 
murder!

The ultimate punishment is wrong. Abolitionists argue the death penalty is more 
expensive than imprisonment, has little effectiveness as a deterrent and risks 
the execution of innocent people. In 1976, the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated 
the death penalty. Since then, well over 100 convicted people have been 
exonerated and freed from death row.

Most democratic governments have done away with capital punishment. Of all the 
major democracies, only 3 still execute criminals: India, Japan and the U.S. 
Capital punishment is viewed in most of the civilized world as unfair, cruel 
and barbaric. A condition of entry into the European Union specifies that any 
country wishing to join cannot practice capital punishment.

And yet a majority of Canadians want this form of punishment re-instituted 
under certain circumstances! Go figure. Amnesty International Canada should 
prioritize and focusing its efforts on educating Canadians on the immorality of 
capital punishment, not on calling upon Canadian snowbirds to advocate for its 
abolition in Florida. First things first!

EMILE THERIEN

PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY ADVOCATE

OTTAWA

(More than 700 people were executed in Canada over about a 100-year period.)

(source: theprovince.com)