[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Sept. 21



SAUDI ARABIA:

Rights groups fear peaceful activism could now cost Saudi women their lives



Human rights groups are concerned that Saudi Arabia has set a new legal 
precedent that could see women executed for peaceful activism. In an apparent 
first, Saudi prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against a female 
activist charged with non-violent offenses.

"Saudi Arabia has always had, sort of, red lines. There were certain things 
that they just didn't do," said Rothna Begum, a senior women's rights 
researcher at Human Rights Watch.

The fact that authorities are now seeking the death penalty in Israa 
al-Ghomgham's case suggests they "may want to do something very similar to the 
(other) women's rights activists," Begum said.

Women have been executed before in Saudi Arabia, which has one of the highest 
rates of execution in the world, notes Rachel Vogelstein, director of the Women 
and Foreign Policy Program at the Council on Foreign Relations, a think tank.

"The fact of execution in and of itself -- that's clearly not what is unique 
about this," Vogelstein told CBS News. "It is connecting the severity of this 
punishment to women's activism."

Samah Hadid, Amnesty International's Middle East director of campaigns, said in 
a statement last month that sentencing activist al-Ghomgham to death "would 
send a horrifying message that other activists could be targeted in the same 
way for their peaceful protest and human rights activism."

"The charges against Israa al-Ghomgam, which mostly relate to her peaceful 
participation in protests, are absurd and clearly politically motivated to 
silence dissent in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia," she said.

Al-Ghomgham is well known for both taking part in -- and documenting -- 
demonstrations in the province that started in early 2011, the year Arab Spring 
uprisings swept the region, says Human Rights Watch. Amnesty, citing court 
documents, says the charges against her are:

Violating Royal Decree 44/A for "participating in protests in al-Qatif and 
documenting these protests on social media"

"Providing moral support to rioters by participating in funerals of protesters 
killed during clashes with security forces"

"Violating Article 6 of the Anti-Cyber Crime law" by, among other things, 
posting videos and photos of protests on Facebook as well as advocating for 
protests

"Committing forgery by using the passport photo of another woman on her 
Facebook account"

Al-Ghomgham is facing the charges after several years during which the women's 
rights movement in Saudi Arabia has picked up steam. In wake of the Arab Spring 
protests, the field of activism, which had been dominated by men, started to 
see more female participants.

The government's response to the evolving role of women activists was initially 
limited.

"Before, (if a woman got in trouble with authorities for any sort of activism) 
they were only investigating or asking (the woman) to not do that activity 
again," Saudi activist Ali Adubisi told CBS News.

Adubisi, who now lives in Germany, gave an example of a time in 2011 when he 
and his wife were taken into custody in Saudi Arabia. She was quickly released, 
while he was placed under arrest. Adubisi said this wouldn't be the case today.

"Now the government wants to stop and shut down all the women's activity in 
Saudi Arabia," he said. "They want to send a strong message to women by 
arresting them for a long time and by giving them very harsh charges."

Just weeks before Saudi Arabia lifted the world's only ban on women driving in 
June, the government launched what HRW has called an "unprecedented" crackdown 
on the women's rights movement. More than a dozen women's rights activists were 
arrested and several were accused of "grave crimes" that appear to be linked to 
their activism, the organization said.

The crackdown has come as women in the country have gained some freedoms. In 
addition to the repeal of the female driving ban, women can now apply to serve 
in the military and attend sports events at public stadiums.

"We're seeing these changes, they're significant changes, and yet the message 
the government is sending is that further reform and activism will be met with 
severe crackdowns," said Vogelstein at the Council on Foreign Relations.

In addition to al-Ghomgham, 4 other Eastern Province activists are facing a 
possible death sentence, says Human Rights Watch. They are being tried in a 
counter-terror court. October 28 is their next scheduled court date.

They are "facing the most appalling possible punishment simply for their 
involvement in anti-government protests," said Amnesty's Hadid. "We are urging 
the Saudi Arabian authorities to drop these plans immediately."

(source: CBS News)








MALAYSIA:

Malaysian death sentences commuted for 3 Mexican brothers



The deaths sentences against 3 Mexican brothers convicted of drug trafficking 
in Malaysia have been commuted to prison terms, a lawyer said Friday.

Lawyer Hisyam Teh Poh Teik said the prison department confirmed the sentences 
had been commuted by the state sultan on March 26.

They are serving new sentences of 30 years in prison, starting from the date of 
the royal pardon. Teh was 1of 2 lawyers for the brothers during their trial but 
said he didn't handle their bid for a royal pardon.

The brothers from Mexico's Sinaloa state were arrested at a secluded Malaysian 
drug factory in 2008 and said they had been cleaning the place.

Police found more than 29 kilograms (63 pounds) of methamphetamine at the 
factory.

Malaysia's High Court convicted the brothers - Jose Regino, Simon and Luis 
Alfonso Gonzalez Villarreal - of drug trafficking in May 2012. The crime 
carries a mandatory penalty of death by hanging.

Their appeals to higher courts had failed with the country's top federal court 
upholding the death sentences in 2015.

Sinaloa state is the cradle of Mexico's drug trade, but the brothers had no 
criminal record at home. They had worked making and selling bricks in Mexico, 
and their family said the brothers left for a job opportunity abroad and there 
were no signs they were involved in the drug trade.

(source: Associated Press)

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

Law Minister agrees medical marijuana case should be reviewed



Datuk Liew Vui Keong believes the case of a 29-year-old man sentenced to death 
for distributing medical marijuana should be reviewed.

The de facto law minister said he agreed with Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir 
Mohamad who indicated that the government would review the case of Muhammad 
Lukman, a 29-year-old father of one, who was convicted of possessing, 
processing and distributing medical marijuana (cannabis oil).

"I'm confident that the rule of law shall prevail in this particular case, and 
that he will be vindicated if he is innocent of the capital offence," Liew said 
in a statement on Friday (Sep 21).

He said anyone convicted and given the death penalty would get to appeal their 
case automatically at the Court of Appeal, and if he or she loses there, the 
case would then go to the Federal Court.

Lukman was arrested along with his five-month expectant wife in December 2015 
for the possession of 3.1 litres of cannabis oil, 279 grams of compressed 
cannabis, 1.4kg of substance containing tetrahydrocan nabinol (THC).

He was handed the death sentence by the Shah Alam High Court on Aug 30.

According to Liew, the execution would not happen until all the avenues for 
appeal, including the pardon board, had been exhausted, a process that would 
take several years.

(source: thestar.com.my)








PAKISTAN:

Man gets death penalty in murder case



A court handed down a death sentence to a suspect 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. The amount would be paid to the legal heirs of the deceased.

However, the judge acquitted the other 5 other co-accused, giving them the 
benefit of doubt.

Earlier, a court awarded death penalty to a convict for his involvement in a 
murder case in Faisalabad. Additional Sessions Judge Asadullah Siraj announced 
the verdict.

Convict Fakhar Imam had killed his wife Hina and son Hasnain Ali over a 
property dispute in 2015.

(source: The Express Tribune)



ST. LUCIA:

PM: Capital punishment will not solve crime problems



Speaking against the backdrop of Saint Lucia's latest homicide Thursday 
morning, Prime Minister Allen Chastanet told reporters that he is not one of 
those persons who believes that capital punishment will solve crime.

Chastanet said he knows that there are conflicting opinions on the subject and 
people think capital punishment, which is still on the book here, is the 
solution to a lot of the crimes that are occurring.

"I am not one of those people who believes that capital punishment is going to 
solve those problems," the PM explained.

He said the problems of crime and deviant social behavior are more deep rooted 
and require a greater intervention.

"That's why my government is looking at holistic plan towards crime," Chastanet 
disclosed.

He told reporters that the plan includes improving the justice system.

"A simple thing like having better courthouses ," Chastanet stated.

He disclosed that he was very disappointed when he came into office and offered 
the court system the financial centre building.

The PM recalled that after months of showing how the building could be 
retrofitted and to the disappointment of hundreds of workers who were expecting 
to work on the structure, the government was told that the justice system did 
not want to go in.

He said attention was then given to putting a temporary facility at Barnard 
Hill.

"A project that stared off at about 25 to 26 million dollars, after everybody's 
intervention ended up about 50 million dollars - 50 million dollars, I have to 
say 'Okay, it is better to build a permanent building'" he remarked.

Chastanet said private sector involvement was solicited to build new 
courthouses and the price tag was $US 65 million.

He explained as much as justice is a priority for him, there is no way he can 
find $US 65 million to undertake that expense.

"We have now decided that we are going to build independent court structures - 
one of them, we think the most important one really, is the criminal court 
which is actually in the Nyerah building right now," the PM stated.

But he declared that the court is 'grossly inadequate'.

Chastanet said the decision was taken to move the proposed new police 
headquarters from Golden Hope and demolish the old Castries prison to build the 
new headquarters at that site.

The demolition had been halted by a High Court order, issued after the Saint 
Lucia National Trust filed an injunction to stop ongoing works at the site of 
the old prison.

(source: St. Lucia Times)








PAPUA NEW GUINEA:

Deathrow man beats the noose



A man sentenced to death for the willful murder of an alleged sorceress in 2005 
has avoided capital punishment after his sentence was reduced to life 
imprisonment by the Supreme Court yesterday.

Sedoki Lota, 33, from Salakahadi village in Esa'ala district, Milne Bay 
Province, and his accomplice Fred Abenko were sentenced to death in 2007 after 
they pleaded guilty to being hired to and murdering Marcia Kedarossi. Chief 
Justice Salamo Injia, on behalf of a Supreme Court bench, yesterday stressed 
that the decision to commute Mr Lota's sentence was based on 3 extenuating 
circumstances.

Firstly, the bench considered that although both men had been hired by a 3rd 
party (they were paid K1500 and some traditional money) to seek out and kill 
Kedarossi (who was believed to be a sorceress), they were not what the court 
described as "professional hitmen".

The court also considered that the murder was explicable, in the fact that the 
appellant was under the firm belief that the victim had killed both his father 
and his mother through the use of sorcery. Furthermore, the court highlighted 
that the sum of money which was offered to hire the 2 men was meager in the 
context of the current PNG economy.

In light of these factors, the Supreme Court had ruled to allow the appeal 
against Sedoki's death sentence.

However, an application by the appellant to reduce his sentence to 30 years 
imprisonment was dismissed by the court. Sedoki was 1 of 8 men currently on 
death row at Bomana jail who are still awaiting their death penalties to be 
imposed.

(source: Post-Courier)








BELARUS:

The Last Refuge for the Death Penalty in Europe



Highly controversial and widely criticized in the EU and around the world, the 
death penalty continues to be legal under the Belarusian constitution and 
justified by the Belarusian people in cases of grave crimes. Whether it is 
morally acceptable or ethically wrong, the issue of capital punishment has 
thrown a spanner in the works of Belarusian politicians vying for a seat in the 
Council of Europe, with Belarus being the only European country to allow the 
executions of its prisoners.

History of the death penalty in Belarus

The death penalty has been a part of the country's policy since it gained 
independence from the Soviet Union. Article 24 of the National Constitution 
prescribes this punishment for "grave crimes" that occur against the state or 
against individuals. A number of non-violent crimes can also be punishable by 
death. Under the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus these crime include 
terrorism (both domestic and international), treason, sabotage, conspiracy to 
seize state power, aggressive warfare and violation of war laws, genocide, 
acquisition of weapons of mass destruction and crimes against humanity, murders 
of a police officer or of a diplomat, as well as murders of civilians committed 
under aggravating circumstances. Statistically, the last one is the most common 
charge brought against those that would later find themselves on the death row.

Over the years the number of crimes punishable by death has been reduced 
excluding a number of economic crimes, however, terrorism has since been added 
to the list. On March 1, 1994, the decision was made to pronounce women 
ineligible for capital punishment. As of January of 2001 same goes for persons 
under the age of 18 at the time when they committed the crime or over 65 at the 
time of sentencing. Furthermore, under Article 84 of the Constitution, the 
president of the Republic of Belarus "may grant pardons to convicted citizens". 
There is reliable information that President Lukashenko granted at least 2 
presidential pardons in his time in office.

The retention of the death penalty in Belarus has for years been criticized by 
European officials and institutions. In 2000 the Parliamentary Assembly of the 
Council of Europe issued the following statement:

"We condemn in the strongest possible terms the executions in Belarus and 
deplore the fact that Belarus is currently the only country in Europe where the 
death penalty is enforced and, moreover, is regularly and widely enforced".

By choosing to abstain during the vote on the UN Moratorium on the Death 
Penalty (adopted by the UN General Assembly on 18 December 2008) the Republic 
of Belarus showed its intention to pursue its own national interests and avoid 
taking steps towards abolishing capital punishment.

Belarus is known as the only European country to have carried out executions in 
the 21st century. This issue has been quoted as the reason for Belarus being 
denied a seat as a temporary or honorary member of the European Council, as its 
current members have suggested a number of times that Belarus should abolish 
capital punishment before it can apply for membership in the Council.

Furthermore after the abolishment of death penalty in Uzbekistan on January 1st 
2008 Belarus remains the last post-Soviet state where this kind of penalty is 
still utilized.

In its yearly review, presented in May 2008, the international human rights 
organization Amnesty International called Belarus the 'last hangman in Europe'. 
Over the years the organization has often addressed the Belarusian authorities 
with the urge to refrain from the death penalty, criticizing both its presence 
in the legal system and the procedure of its implementation, as well as quoting 
the Belarusian Constitution. Article 24 proclaims 'Everyone has the right to 
life. The state protects human life from all unlawful attempts'.

Methods and number of executions

The precise details of the executions are usually kept secret, yet it is 
certain the official method used to carry out the death sentence in Belarus is 
execution by shooting. On the day of the execution the death-row inmate is 
believed to be transported to a secret location, where he is told that his 
appeals were rejected. The procedure is thought to be quick with no relatives 
in attendance. Doctors on sight pronounce the inmate dead, give out the death 
certificate and the body is then buried, once again, in an undisclosed 
location. The family members are later notified of the fact that the execution 
has taken place in an official letter, omitting the details of the execution 
and of the site of the offender's grave.

Such method of execution does not sit well with many European officials and 
human rights groups, who have previously called such practices inhumane.

There is as much mystery surrounding the exact number of death penalty 
sentences carried out annually. Some reports suggest the number has varied from 
2 to 9 persons a year in the last 2 decades.

The website of the Belarusian Ministry of Internal Affairs provides the 
following information:

Time period Number of executions

1990-1995 148

1996-2000 139

2001-2005 19

2006-2010 19

2011-2015 9

2016 4

2017 Not known

There is speculation that the official numbers may be inaccurate due to the 
lack of transparency on the part of Belarusian authorities and their desire to 
avoid death penalty related publicity. What is undoubtedly true, however, is 
that the number of executions has dramatically dropped since the 90's and 
briefly in 2012-2015 while the negotiations with Europe were underway the 
executions almost stopped.

Public opinion

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has multiple times reminded the 
Belarusian people and the rest of the world that the Belarusian citizens 
themselves at the 1996 referendum overwhelmingly voted for the retention of the 
capital punishment. According to the Belarusian Constitution issues and 
proposals approved and implemented by a referendum may only be overturned by 
another referendum. Lukashenko has said that he is certain that if there were a 
new vote the result would be the same as back in 1996.

According to some reports the support for the retention of the death penalty 
surged even higher after the terrorist attack on the Minsk metro that took 
place on the 11th of March 2011 and shocked and devastated a traditionally 
secure and peaceful country. The terrorist attack left 15 dead and 203 injured 
sending Belarusian people into mourning and disbelief.

The investigation and manhunt that followed kept the country on its toes and 
the sigh of relief was palpable as two alleged culprits were apprehended. Both 
of them were found guilty and sentenced to death. The Belarusian authorities 
promptly after the sentencing officially announced that the executions had been 
carried out.

The reactions to these executions were mixed with human rights groups and 
opposition parties expressing their concern about some of the practices 
employed by officials during the investigation, yet a large number of 
Belarusians admitted to feeling safer after the threats were neutralized.

UNDP Conference "Death Penalty: Transcending the Divide"

On March 10th 2016 Minsk together with the United Nations hosted the "Death 
Penalty: Transcending the Divide" conference with the aim of building bridges 
between Belarus and Europe. The conference was a landmark event, according to 
the EU Special Representative for Human Rights Stavros Lambrinidis. He noted 
that the 20th century saw a considerable increase in the number of countries 
that chose to abandon capital punishment, including moratoriums and full 
prohibition (as of 2017 more than 150 countries). According to Lambrinidis, it 
is essential that life sentences become the most severe form of punishment. He 
added that in many countries, the majority of the population was against 
abandoning the death sentence but the leaders made a political decision to go 
through with it, and with time, the citizens got on board.

Belarus plays an important role in resolving international crises, Andrea 
Rigoni, PACE rapporteur on Belarus, said at the conference. Mr. Rigoni then 
stated that he wanted Belarus to return to the Council of Europe. "I consider 
it necessary to move in this direction with greater determination in order to 
accelerate the process of rapprochement of Belarus with the Council of Europe 
and with the values of the Council of Europe. It is a long process and we are 
here to protect our views, our values and to support a moratorium on the death 
penalty, which is one of our fundamental values. Having started this process 
together, we should keep moving together, making small steps towards our common 
goal. I believe that the EU should have more influence on this process and make 
more of an effort to see the results," Andrea Rigoni said. Meanwhile, he noted 
that the position of the Council of Europe on the death penalty is that it 
should be fully abolished. Rigoni added that the moratorium could allow Belarus 
to return to the PACE as a special guest.

As of 2017, the future of the capital punishment in Belarus is unknown. The 
arguments presented by the supporters of life sentences, such as the assumption 
that a life sentence may be a more severe form of punishment on the offender, 
do not seem to have resonated with the Belarusian public or statesmen. The 
pressure from the outside and the media campaigns did little to sway the 
majority or bring enough attention to the issue for it to be discussed in 
offices or households. Although there is talk of potentially addressing the 
issue on the governmental level or holding a state-wide referendum, as of 2107 
no definite steps in this direction have been taken.

(source: expatreporter.com)