[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

April 8



SOUTH AFRICA:

CapeTalk callers debate the return of the death penalty



According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime's (UNOCD), South 
Africa had the 5th highest murder rate in the world in 2015.

The rate of crime in the country sparked a discussion between CapeTalk 
listeners and hosts Africa Melane and Lester Kiewit.

Should government bring back the death penalty to stop these criminals from 
killing ask callers?

This follows a shooting of a 46-year-old man at a filling station in Kenilworth 
over the weekend.

The man was gunned down by 4 suspects who were later arrested in Goodwood and 
will appear in the Wynberg Magistrate court on murder charges.

Most listeners seem to agree that the death penalty should be brought back.

Guys caught in an act like this should get a death penalty, not long drawn out 
court cases where we as taxpayers should pay for their food and accommodation. 
You get caught in the act, you face death penalty finish and klaar. — Caller

Enshrined in the Constitution is the right to life but what about the victims 
right to life? I think it is time the government listened to the call of the 
people who are becoming victims. — John, Caller

The death penalty is coming back like it or not. Either the government catches 
up and bring it back or the people of South Africa will bring it back. Justice 
is being done in the street by vigilante groups already brings back the death 
penalty. — Sam, Caller

We don't need a death penalty if we have a proper police force. — James, Caller

When are we actually going to take criminals to task? We have criminals in our 
government and we don't know who to actually vote for. Our justice system is 
completely failing us...— Lauren, Caller

(source: capetalk.co.za)








ASIA:

Lethal Fluctuations: The Death Penalty in Asia



The Malaysian government last year expressed a surprise change of heart on a 
policy long held dear; it would reconsider the death penalty. The case of 
Muhammad Lukman, sentenced to death in August for the purchase and sharing of 
medicinal marijuana, did much to stimulate outrage. On October 10th, law 
minister Liew Vui Keong announced that it would be abolished. Doing so would 
leave such last bastions as Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.

In other parts, capital punishment is either continuing its grim dance (in 
Singapore, usage is on the rise; in Vietnam, it remains consistently high) or 
getting back in business, singing its deadly siren song. Killing people in the 
name of state vengeance is becoming vogue even as it retreats in other 
contexts. The Kingdom of Brunei, despite having it on the books since the days 
of being a British protectorate, is only now contemplating, in all seriousness, 
putting people to death who have a liking, or find themselves, committing 
sodomy. (Lesbian reverie will see a penalty of 40 lashes and a potential prison 
sentence of 10 years.)

In the Philippines, an aggressive, insistent President Rodrigo Duterte has 
proven something of a trail blazer, scorching his way through human rights 
quibbles and filling the morgues. In July 2017, he explained the rationale for 
using capital punishment without mercy in his second State of the Nation 
Address (SONA). “It is time for us to fulfil our mandate to protect our people. 
Tapos na’yan. For so long we have to act decisively on this contentious issue. 
Capital punishment is not only about deterrence, it’s also about retribution.”

Duterte’s view of the penal code is stripped of ornate reasoning. It is one of 
vengeance and pessimism, marshalled against any hope of restorative justice or 
therapeutic reform. The law, a legacy of the Spaniards and then translated into 
English, with revisions, “is the essence of retribution.” The attitude there 
involved “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. You took life, you must pay 
with it. That is the only way to even. You can’t place a premium on the human 
mind that he will go straight.”

The result has been one of carnage: over 5,000 deaths between July 1, 2016 and 
November 30, 2018, if you believe the official figures, or the greater number 
of 12,000, if you believe in activist assessments. This pool drew on a total of 
164,265 arrests (“drug personalities”, no less) as part of 115,435 anti-drugs 
operations.

In Sri Lanka, the interest has also been rekindled, inspired, in no small part, 
by the blood lust of the Philippines leader. The Sri Lankan President 
Maithripala Sirisena felt moved by Duterte’s efforts to combat drug 
trafficking, a true “example to the world”. “I hope to carry out the first 
hanging within a month or 2. I appeal to human rights organisations not to try 
to pressure us on this decision.” From a prison population of 1299 facing 
capital punishment, 48 are convicted drug offenders.

The Sri Lankan case had a twist. While Sirisena had announced an end to the 
43-year moratorium on capital punishment for drug-related crimes, complemented 
by Justice Minister Thalatha Atukorale’s clearing of the decks for five drug 
convicts to be dispatched, a reality started to sink in: the state lacked the 
necessary trained instruments of death. The moratorium had been so lengthy so 
as to make the system rust. Expertise in breaking necks, in other words, was 
lacking. The last executioner to reach retirement age left the post in 2014. 3 
others have spent short stints gazing at unused gallows without rewarded 
effort.

Advertisements to fill the vacancy were duly put out for two hangmen. In the 
Daily News, a call out for applications with “an excellent moral character” was 
made. They would also have to pass a test of “mind and mental strength”.

Such debates about the formalised death penalty in the Philippines and Sri 
Lanka avoid the obvious point. Where to with the death squads who have donned 
extra-judicial uniforms? Duterte’s encouragement of police brutality and 
extra-judicial killings (“my only sin,” he claims) is the stuff of legend. Sri 
Lanka can also count itself as an enthusiast in the extra-judicial killing 
game. In some states, the death penalty, dormant or otherwise, is a reminder 
about how state operatives go about their business of sowing terror when they 
prefer to avoid courts.

While the death penalty has, at its core, a flawed philosophy, its 
attractiveness often lies in its sheer conclusiveness. Such decisions are 
final, doing away with the problem. They are economic – a corpse is less of a 
strain on the public purse than a living inmate. To that end, imposing the 
death penalty can result from trivial impulses.

Such monstrous triviality was recently in play in Thailand. In Phuket, the 
airport authorities have been entertaining the possibility of grave punishments 
for those taking “selfies” on Mai Khao Beach, a site known for sightings of 
low, incoming aircraft.

“People and tourists will not be allowed to enter this area to take photos,” an 
emphatic Phuket airport chief Wichit Kaeothaithiam has claimed. He issued 
further warnings: no drones, no shining lights, quite frankly nothing at all to 
distract incoming planes, would be tolerated. Violating the provisions of the 
Air Navigation Act was a matter, quite literally, of death. “The maximum 
penalty is the death sentence.” Distractive idiocy, the authorities in Phuket 
suggest, is no excuse.

(source: Opinion; Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn 
College, Cambridge. He lectures at RMIT University, Melbourne----scoop.co.nz)








SRI LANKA:

EU, other countries urge Sri Lankan government to maintain moratorium on death 
penalty



The European Union and several other countries including the UK, Canada and 
Australia expressing concern over the recent measures to reestablish the death 
penalty, urged the Sri Lankan government to maintain the moratorium on death 
penalty.

The Delegation of the European Union (EU) issued the following statement in 
agreement with the Embassies of France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Romania 
and the UK High Commission, the Embassies of Norway and Switzerland, as well as 
the High Commissions of Canada and Australia.

"The Government of Sri Lanka has recently taken measures towards resuming 
executions and bringing an end to Sri Lanka's 43-year moratorium on the death 
penalty as part of its stepped up anti-drug policy. While acknowledging that 
combatting the proliferation of drugs is a serious challenge for countries 
around the world, and that action to counter the illicit drug trade is 
important and necessary, the evidence does not support the argument that the 
death penalty is an effective deterrent. We are ready to share our experiences 
in addressing the threat posed by drugs."

"More than 2/3 of countries around the world, with a variety of legal systems, 
traditions, cultures and religious backgrounds, have either abolished the death 
penalty or do not practice it. The death penalty is an unacceptable denial of 
human dignity and integrity."

"We call on the Sri Lankan Government to maintain its moratorium on the death 
penalty in line with its vote at the 73rd United Nations General Assembly in 
December 2018."

(soruce: colombopage.com)








VIETNAM:

2 Lao drug traffickers arrested in Vietnam



Border guard forces of Vietnam's central highlands Kon Tum province said Monday 
they have detained two Lao drug traffickers and confiscated nearly 40,000 pills 
of synthetic drug.

A 60-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman were caught red-handed on Sunday 
transporting the drug from Laos to Kon Tum, Vietnam News Agency reported on 
Monday.

According to the Vietnamese law, those convicted of smuggling over 600 grams of 
heroin or more than 2.5 kg of methamphetamine are punishable by death. Making 
or trading 100 grams of heroin or 300 grams of other illegal drugs also faces 
death penalty.

(source: xinhuanet.com)








PAKISTAN:

Supreme Court Converts Death Sentence Of A Murder Convict Into Life 
Imprisonment



The Supreme Court on Monday converted the death sentence of a murder convict 
into life imprisonment giving him benefit of doubt.

The trial court awarded capital punishment to Zaffar Iqbal for alleged murder 
of his brother Javed Iqbal, his sister in law and his brothers eight children 
with axe in Jhalki village of Sialkot District on April 16, 2009. The Lahore 
High Court also maintained the trial court verdict.

A 3-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khan 
Khosa and comprising Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Mushir Alam 
heard the case filed by Zaffar Iqbal against the Lahore High Court verdict.

During the course of proceedings, the chief justice observed that the 
assassination was done on property disputes as father wanted to give property 
to Javed Iqbal.

He remarked that trial court and high court awarded death sentence to the 
convict.

The Chief Justice remarked that there was no significant evidence in the 
postmortem report and the statements of witnesses.

He asked why lower courts did not examine the evidences. Is it duty of the apex 
court to examine evidences for the first time, he asked.

He remarked that despite passing 10 years nobody asked to reduce the sentence.

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah remarked that it is strange that a person killed 10 
people 1 by 1 with an axe.

Later the court converted the death penalty into life imprisonment and disposed 
of the case.

(source: urdupoint.com)



BRUNEI:

The Brunei LGBTQ Death Penalty causes world-wide hotel boycotting



The UN Human Rights Commission has condemned the new measures, and celebs like 
Elton John, George Clooney and Ellen DeGeneres are calling for boycotts of the 
Brunei Sultan’s Dorchester Collection hotel group, which includes properties 
like The Bel-Air and The Beverly Hills Hotel.

Brunei has implemented “stoning to death” under LGBTQ laws, showing the acute 
worldwide risk of “traveling while LGBTQ” for men, women, and gender 
non-conforming people.

The UN Human Rights Commission has condemned the new measures, and celebs like 
Elton John, George Clooney and Ellen DeGeneres are calling for boycotts of the 
Brunei Sultan’s Dorchester Collection hotel group, which includes properties 
like The Bel-Air and The Beverly Hills Hotel.

But this isn't a new or isolated issue. Homosexuality has been consistently 
illegal in a third of the world - and in 8 countries, it is also punishable by 
death.

Just staying at hotels is dangerous. Around the world, gay or trans travelers 
are often rejected or forced to hide their identities, book separate rooms or 
separate beds. The only solutions available to them are third-party, 
unverified, user-generated reviews.

The feature includes 30,000 curated gay-friendly, non-discriminatory hotels 
that have been hand-selected by its editorial team, with quality, exclusive, 
and verified reviews from LGBTQ travelers, making the company the only way to 
travel safely in 135+ countries while gay.

What’s more, it’s decided to boycott and ban all hotels owned by the Brunei 
Sultan from its platform.

These include "The Sultan's 10": Beverly Hills hotel / Los Angeles

Hotel Bel-Air / Los Angeles

The Dorcester / London

45 Park Lane / London

Coworth Park / Ascot (UK)

Le Meurice / Paris

Hotel Plaza Athenee / Paris

Le Richemond / Geneve

Hotel Principe di Savoia / Milan

Hotel Eden / Rome

The Brunei-owned luxury hotels facing an international boycott have hidden 
their social media accounts after backlash over laws in the country were 
enacted this week making gay sex punishable by death. The hotels, which are 
operated under the Dorchester Collection brand, have faced a celebrity-led 
international boycott after implementing the new laws.

The boycott was sparked last week in an opinion piece by actor George Clooney, 
who said a boycott of the high-end hotels is necessary to keep money from 
flowing "directly into the pockets of men who choose to stone and whip to death 
their own citizens for being gay or accused of adultery."

(source: traveldailynews.com)

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

Rising number of businesses cut ties with Brunei over gay sex death penalty



Travel agents, London's transport network and finance houses were among a 
rising number of companies on Friday to cut ties with businesses owned by 
Brunei to protest over the Sultanate's introduction of the death penalty for 
gay sex and adultery.

The small Muslim-majority former British protectorate on 3rd April rolled out 
further Islamic Sharia laws which punish sodomy, adultery and rape with death, 
including by stoning, and theft with amputation, sparking a global outcry.

The move prompted a corporate backlash after actor George Clooney and singer 
Elton John called for a boycott of hotels owned by the Southeast Asian country, 
including the Dorchester in London and the Beverley Hills Hotel in Los Angeles.

STA Travel, a global travel agency owned by privately-held Swiss conglomerate 
Diethelm Keller Group, said it would no longer sell flights on national carrier 
Royal Brunei Airlines.

"We've taken this stance to add our voice to the calls on Brunei to reverse 
this change in the law and in support of LGBTQI people everywhere," the company 
said in a statement.

Virgin Australia Airlines, the 2nd biggest airline in Australia after Qantas, 
ended an agreement that offered discounted tickets on Royal Brunei Airlines for 
staff.

Royal Brunei did not respond to requests for comment.

Transport For London, which is responsible for London's transport system, said 
it was removing adverts promoting Brunei as a tourism destination from the 
city's public transport network due to "great public sensitivity".

Deutsche Bank banned its staff from staying in the nine luxury hotels of the 
Dorchester Collection, which is owned by Brunei's state-owned Brunei Investment 
Agency.

BIA did not respond to a request for comment. The UK-based Sovereign Wealth 
Centre estimates the BIA has $US39 billion of assets under management.

The Dorchester Collection made a public appeal, saying its values were "far 
removed from the politics of ownership".

"We understand people's anger and frustration but this is a political and 
religious issue that we don't believe should be played out in our hotels and 
amongst our 3,630 employees," the Dorchester Collection said in a statement on 
its website.

But this did not prevent numerous organisations moving their events elsewhere.

British estate agent Knight Frank, property industry networking group Movers 
and Shakers, which has about 300 corporate members, and property investment 
company Landsec said they would not use Dorchester Collection hotels.

As well as owning the hotel group, the BIA holds about four per cent of 
London-listed digital tech venture capital firm Draper Esprit PLC which it 
acquired in 2018.

Draper Esprit's CEO Simon Cook said the company "naturally abhor" the moves in 
Brunei but added the BIA bought shares on the open market and has no "influence 
either on our company culture or our investment decisions".

The backlash also spread to universities.

More than 50,000 people signed a petition calling on Oxford University to 
rescind an honorary degree awarded to Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, 72, the world's 
second-longest reigning monarch and prime minister of the oil-rich country.

The university's information office said they shared the international 
condemnation of Brunei's new penal code and backed the United Nations' call to 
stop this entering into force.

"At present, the University has not taken any decision on rescinding the Sultan 
of Brunei's 1993 Honorary Degree of Civil Law by Diploma," the university said 
in a statement.

(source: sightmgazine.com.au)








UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:

Death penalty to murderer after claiming mental illness ---- He claimed that he 
was suffering from schizophrenia.



The Sharjah Criminal Court sentenced an Asian man with the death penalty for 
murdering his co-worker, and claiming he suffered from metal illness. The 
sentence was carried after the victim's family refused the blood money, Emarat 
Al Youm reported.

The victim and the accused were having an argument about a personal matter, 
which drove the accused to stab the victim till death.

The prosecutor referred the accused to court, accusing him of murder. The 
accused confessed to killing his colleague. He also claimed that he was 
suffering from schizophrenia and did not intend to murder the victim.

The victim's brother was present at the trial session, on behalf of the heirs, 
and informed the judiciary of their desire not to accept the blood money. He 
said that his brother never picked a fight with anyone, and never had enemies.

(source: khaleejtimes.com)








JORDAN:

Jordan Court Approves Toughest Sentence on 2 for Murder



The Court of Cassation has upheld a November Criminal Court ruling giving 2 men 
sentences ranging from death to 15 years in prison after convicting them of 
murdering their relative over family feuds in Amman on October 2016.

The court declared the defendants guilty of shooting and killing their relative 
and attempting to murder 2 others on October 18.

A 25-year-old defendant received the death penalty, while his 45-year-old 
relative was handed a 15-year prison term for complicity in the murder.

Court papers said the defendants decided to take revenge on the victim and his 
family members because “they published indecent photos of their female 
relatives on Facebook”.

On the day of the murder, the defendants went to the victim’s home and found 
him with his mother and brother in their vehicle, the court said.

”The defendants drew their weapons and fired at the 3, striking the victim in 
the head, while the 2 others escaped the shooting with minor injuries,” 
according to court transcripts.

The defendants had contested the ruling through their lawyers arguing that 
there were “errors in the investigation procedures”.

The defendants also argued that the court failed to examine all the evidence 
provided by the defence team.

However, the higher court rejected the defendant’s argument and ruled that the 
Criminal Court followed the proper procedures when sentencing the defendants 
and that they deserved the verdicts they received.

(source: albawaba.com)