[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

Tue Apr 16 08:35:10 CDT 2019

April 16

TAIWAN:

Drunk Drivers Who Kill People To Be Punished With Death Penalty In This Country

Some countries believe that the death penalty is the right way to go for 
certain reprehensible crimes. Whether they are the sexual assault of a child or 
murder, every country has its own rule. Kenya, recently, for example, has 
decided to institute the death penalty for poachers caught killing the 
country’s most beautiful animals. Taiwan has decided to increase the penalty 
for convicted drunk drivers to be death by lethal injection – and most people 
are cheering at the change.

In Taiwan, the government wants people who get behind the wheel while 
intoxicated to be fierce. Because people put other lives at risk when they 
drive drunk, Taiwan wants its motorists to understand the risk – to their own 
lives. If someone kills another person while driving drunk, then they will face 
the death penalty.

In late March, Taiwan’s cabinet has approved a draft of an amendment to the 
Criminal Code that would allow prosecutors to pursue the death penalty for any 
person who killed another while driving drunk. The change to the law would make 
it possible for homicide by drunk driving to be indictable as a murder offense 
and not just manslaughter or something less dangerous in the courts. If the 
deed is found to be “intentional,” which most drunk driver cases are, then the 
death penalty could be the punishment.

Although the death penalty for drunk driving position has not yet been approved 
– it is pending final say by the parliament, it has been met with a lot of 
support, and just as much resistance.

The maximum penalty that people can get for killing someone while drunk driving 
is only ten years behind bars. That’s not enough many people believe. Residents 
of the Asian country want perpetrators to face the wrath of the government, 
especially since they put people at risk when they get behind the wheel drunk.

The new law would not just institute the death penalty. It would also increase 
the length of jail sentences and have stricter punishments for repeat offenders 
– those who commit another offense within 5 years.

“Cases of drunk driving leading to death are rampant… drink drivers recklessly 
caused accidents that took lives and destroyed families to result in 
irreparable regret,” the Justice Ministry said in a statement.

In January, a 40-year-old man got behind the wheel while intoxicated. He 
smashed his car into a taxi. He killed three people and injured three others, 
including himself.

Taiwan believes that men like him deserve to face the death penalty. The people 
want drunk drivers to know how serious their actions are.

Few countries seek the death penalty for such cases. China and the United 
States have been known for putting murderous drunk drivers to death. Texas, for 
example, does not hesitate to use lethal injection to punish people indicted on 
“capital murder” if they do something truly heinous while behind the wheel of 
their car drunk. In 2014, one Texas man plowed his vehicle into a crowd, 
killing four. But prosecutors instead sought life in prison for him.

(source: opposingviews.com)

PAKISTAN:

K-P cabinet approves draft bill proposing death sentence for possessing over 
1kg of meth-ice

The provincial cabinet on Monday cleared the draft of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 
Control of Narcotics Substances Bill 2019 which proposes death penalty or life 
imprisonment for people found possessing more than 1 kilogramme of 
methamphetamine, popularly known as ice.

K-P Information Minister Shaukat Ali Yousafzai and CM’s Adviser on Merged 
Districts Ajmal Wazir said this at a press conference in Ghalnai.

It was for the 1st time that a meeting of the provincial cabinet was held at 
Ghalanai, the district headquarters of Mohmand. Chief Minister Mahmood cired 
the meeting attended by provincial ministers and chief secretary and 
administrative secretaries of various departments.

After the meeting, K-P Information Minister Shaukat Ali Yousafzai and CM’s 
Adviser on Merged Districts Ajmal Wazir told a press conference that K-P 
Control of Narcotics Substances Bill 2019 proposes severe penalties for those 
involved in the business, trafficking and use of narcotics with special focus 
on methamphetamine popularly known by street name of ice.

They said that in order to eliminate the use of ice in educational 
institutions, the law proposed a penalty of two-year imprisonment and fine or 
both if ice up to 50 grammes was found in someone’s possession, for more than 
50 grammes and less than 100 grammes, three-year imprisonment and a fine of 
Rs500,000 to 100,000, for more than 100 grammes and less than 1 kilogramme, 
7-year imprisonment and a Rs100,000 to Rs300,000 fine.

Similarly, judges could award death sentence or life imprisonment if the 
accused was found in possession of more than one kilogramme besides fine of 
Rs0.5 million to Rs1 million.

A special Narcotics Wing will be established in Excise department to implement 
the law.

(source: The Express Tribune)

IRAN ----executions

Man Hanged for Drug Offenses

A man who was sentenced to death for drug charges, hanged on Monday morning at 
Dastgerd Prison in the Iranian city of Isfahan.

According to IHR sources, prisoner Abdollah Ghanbarzehi, 29, was executed on 
April 15, 2019. He was from the Iranian southeastern province of Sistan and 
Baluchestan.

A well-informed source told IHR, “Ablollah was arrested with 9 kilograms of 
drugs in the city of Isfahan.” Baluchi Activists’ Campaign published Abdollah’s 
photos (See below) and mentioned that he was arrested on September 28, 2017.

The new amendment to Iranian Anti-drug law which was enforced on November 14, 
2017, includes a mechanism to limit the use of the death penalty and reduce the 
sentences of those sentenced to death or life imprisonment. The law was 
retroactive and could potentially save many prisoners’ lives after their 
case-review process.

The amendment specifies that the death penalty should be limited to those who 
have been carrying or have used weapons while trafficking, sponsoring or 
organizing narco gangs and inducting children under the age of 18 or people 
with intellectual disabilities into such gangs. Those with a prior prison term 
of more than 15 years would also be excluded from the commutations under the 
amendment.

Following the enforcement of Iranian Anti-drug law in November 2017, the number 
of drug-related executions is significantly decreased compared to the past 
years. IHR’s Annual Report on the Death Penalty in Iran shows that the number 
of people executed in 2018 for drug charges, is significantly reduced. 24 
people were executed on drug charges in 2018. The number for 2017 was 230. 
However, there is a risk that a new wave of drug-related executions starts 
after completing the case review process.

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

Iran execute 4 prisoners in the cities of Gorgan, Isfahan and Shiraz

Iranian regime has executed at least 4 prisoners since April, in the prisons of 
Gorgan, Adelabad and Dastgerd.

On Monday, April 15, 2019, a prisoner identified as Abdal Zahedani 
(Ghanbarzehi) was executed on drug related charges in Dastgerd Prison of 
Isfahan, central Iran.

Also on Thursday, April 11, 2019, the Iranian regime executed 2 prisoners in 
Adelabad Prison in Shiraz, south-central Iran.

The victims, Taha Shirdokht and Kazem Minayi were found guilty of drug charges 
and murder.

They were transfered to solitary confinement along with 4 other death row 
prisoners on April 7.

Just days prior to that, on April 7, 2019, a prisoner identified as 36-year-old 
Davoud Mohebzadeh was hanged in the central prison of Gorgan, northern Iran. He 
had been transfered to solitary confinement on April 6. No information is 
available on the fate of 4 other prisoners.

Iran has remained among the world’s top 5 executioners despite an overall drop 
in the number of death sentences, according to a new report by Amnesty 
International.

The Iranian regime has a dismal report card of at least 286 executions in 2018, 
including the execution of 10 political prisoners, four women and seven 
individuals who were sentenced to death for crimes they allegedly committed as 
children.

The real numbers were likely to be much higher as use of capital punishment in 
Iran is often shrouded in secrecy.

(source for both: Iran Human Rights)

BRUNEI:

Canada-led rights coalition slams Brunei death penalty for gay sex

More than 30 countries led by Canada have called on Brunei to repeal its 
newly-adopted death penalty for gay sex and other harsh punishments for 
robbery, rape, and adultery.

In a weekend statement, the intergovernmental Equal Rights Coalition (ERC) 
expressed "profound dismay" that the sultanate adopted the "extreme penalties" 
among several harsh new sharia laws.

"We urge the government of Brunei to repeal the new penalties, and to ensure 
that any measures that are introduced are consistent with Brunei's 
international human rights obligations and commitments," it said.

A tough penal code in the tiny country on tropical Borneo island -- ruled by 
the all-powerful Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah -- came fully into force last 
Wednesday after several years of delay.

It has sparked a storm of global criticism from politicians, celebrities, and 
rights groups.

The ERC, currently co-chaired by Canada, was launched in 2016 at an LGBT rights 
conference in Montevideo, Uruguay to promote international equal rights for 
all.

Its declaration on Brunei was signed by Britain, France and several other 
European powers, the United States and Canada, Australia and New Zealand, 
Israel and a handful of Latin American nations, including Uruguay and Mexico.

The group said the penalties introduced by the southeast Asian country have "a 
detrimental impact" on vulnerable groups in Brunei, including LGBT people, 
women, and children.

The measures, it said, exacerbate their marginalization and "increase the risk 
that they will be exposed to discrimination, persecution and violence, even if 
they are not prosecuted for having violated the Code."

(source: abs-cbn.com)

SRI LANKA:

Commute Death Sentences of 13 Prisoners (Sri Lanka: UA 45.19)

Urgent Action

After 43 years without using the death penalty, the President of Sri Lanka, 
Maithripala Sirisena, is reportedly planning to execute prisoners on death row. 
There is complete secrecy around identities of the prisoners who are expected 
to be imminently executed. No information about their case histories has been 
shared. It is unknown whether the individuals had fair trials, access to 
lawyers or whether they were able to engage in a meaningful clemency process. 
The last execution in Sri Lanka was in 1976. 2019 cannot be the year that we 
see this this progress reversed.

Write a letter in your own words or using the sample below as a guide to one or 
both government officials listed. You can also email, fax, call or Tweet them.

President Maithripala Sirisena

Presidential Secretariat

Galle Face

Colombo 01

Colombo, Sri Lanka

Fax: +94 (11) 2340340

Email: ps at presidentsoffice.lk

--

Charge d'Affairs Sarath Dissanayake

Embassy of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

3025 Whitehaven Street NW,

Washington DC 20008

Phone: 202 483 4025 // 4026 I 4027 I 4028

Fax: 202 232 7181

Email: slembassy at slembassyusa.org, da at slembassyusa.org

Salutation: Dear Ambassador

--

Dear H.E. President Maithripala Sirisena,

I write to you to plead for the lives of the 13 prisoners whom you have said 
you will be executing in the coming days.

We understand that you are determined to combat drug use and drug-related crime 
in Sri Lanka. However, executions will not help with that.

There is no evidence that implementing the death penalty will end drug-related 
crime. Many of the shrinking number of countries that still use executions for 
drug-related crime recognize the failure of the death penalty to act as a 
deterrent, including Iran and Malaysia.

There is no coming back from a flawed judicial process. The punishment is 
absolute. The mistakes are irredeemable, which can lead to someone innocent 
paying the ultimate price.

If you implement the death penalty, President Sirisena, it is a line you cannot 
uncross.

I implore you to reconsider your decision to hang these 13 prisoners, and 
commute their sentences. Please retain Sri Lanka’s positive death penalty 
record and establish a moratorium on all executions with a view to abolish the 
death penalty entirely.

Yours sincerely,

(source: Amnesty International)

INDIA:

Post-conviction Mental Illness is a Mitigating Factor for Commutation of Death 
Penalty, Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has held that post-conviction mental illness will be a 
mitigating factor while considering a plea for commutation of death penalty.

The judgment was rendered by a Bench of Justices NV Ramana, Mohan M 
Shantanagoudar, and Indira Banerjee in a review petition filed by a convict who 
had been sentenced to death for rape and murder of 2 underage girls.

The trial court had sentenced him to the death in 2001. This decision was 
confirmed by the High Court and was later challenged before the Supreme Court 
which dismissed the appeal. A review petition was filed against the same in 
which the Court commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment on the ground 
of his mental illness.

Submissions

During the hearing of the review petition, two issues were raised by the 
Counsel for the accused. Advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan argued that the accused 
was not given a separate pre-sentencing hearing by the trial court as is 
provided for in the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). The 2nd issue raised 
pertained to the post-conviction mental illness of the accused. It was argued 
that the execution of persons suffering from mental illness or insanity 
violates Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. Hence, this was a fit case that 
warranted commutation of the death sentence to life imprisonment.

Counsel for the State of Maharashtra, Nishant Katneshwarkar, argued that the 
trial court proceedings would not stand vitiated merely on the ground that the 
pre-sentence hearing was not conducted on a separate day. As regards the mental 
illness of the accused, the State refuted the claim and submitted certain 
medical reports to substantiate its stand that the accused was not suffering 
from any mental illness.

Verdict

On the issue concerning pre-sentence hearing, the Court was of the view that a 
hearing on a separate date is not mandatory as long as the accused is provided 
adequate time to present his case, bring material on record, and the spirit of 
the provisions of the CrPC is upheld.

The Court then proceeded to consider the aspect of sentencing and the impact of 
post-conviction mental illness on sentencing.

At the outset, the Court noted the position in India as regards sentencing 
which is something midway between judicial intuition and strict application of 
rule of law.

As much as we value the rule of law, the process of sentencing needs to 
preserve principled discretion for a judge. In India, sentencing is mostly led 
by ‘guideline judgments’ in the death penalty context, while many other 
countries like the United Kingdom and the United States of America, provide a 
basic framework in sentencing guidelines, the Court noted.

The Court elucidated the general aspects of sentencing as evolved from various 
judgments. It then proceeded to consider the aspect of post-conviction mental 
illness as a mitigating factor in the analysis of ‘rarest of the rare’ doctrine 
which has come into force after the Bachan Singh case.

Usually, mitigating factors are associated with the criminal and aggravating 
factors are relatable to the commission of the crime. However, the ground of 
post-conviction mental illness arises a long time after the crime and 
conviction. Hence, the justification to include the same as a mitigating factor 
does not tie in with the equities of the case, rather the normative 
justification is founded in the Constitution as well as the jurisprudence of 
the ‘rarest of the rare’ doctrine.

Thus, the Court resorted to Articles 20 and 21 of the Constitution and Section 
20(1) of the Mental Health Act and the Prison Rules of various States to hold 
that post-conviction mental illness is a mitigating factor in a death penalty 
case.

It then considered the test for recognizing an accused eligible for such 
mitigating factor. Placing reliance on ‘International Classification of 
Diseases (ICD)’, which is accepted under Section 3 of the Mental Health Care 
Act, 2017 and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), it 
held that there can be no set disorders/disabilities for evaluating ‘severe 
mental illness’. However, a ‘test of severity’ can be a guiding factor for 
recognizing those mental illnesses which qualify for an exemption.

The Court laid down the following directions to be followed in future cases:

That the postconviction severe mental illness will be a mitigating factor that 
the appellate Court, in appropriate cases, needs to consider while sentencing 
an accused to death penalty.

The assessment of such disability should be conducted by a multidisciplinary 
team of qualified professionals (experienced medical practitioners, 
criminologists etc), including professional with expertise in accused’s 
particular mental illness.

The burden is on the accused to prove by a preponderance of clear evidence that 
he is suffering with severe mental illness. The accused has to demonstrate 
active, residual or prodromal symptoms, that the severe mental disability was 
manifesting.

The State may offer evidence to rebut such claim.

Court in appropriate cases could setup a panel to submit an expert report.

‘Test of severity’ envisaged predicates that the offender needs to have a 
severe mental illness or disability, which simply means that objectively the 
illness needs to be most serious that the accused cannot understand or 
comprehend the nature and purpose behind the imposition of such punishment.

In the instant case, however, the Court noted that while the exact mental 
illness which the appellant was suffering from was not clear, it was evident 
that he had been reeling under bouts of some form of mental irritability since 
1994. Moreover, the Court also took into account the fact that he had suffered 
long incarceration as a death row convict

However, highlighting the barbaric nature of the offence committed, the Court 
ruled out commuting the term to a life-sentence simpliciter but commuted the 
death penalty of the accused to a life sentence for the remainder of his life.

“It is extremely clear that the Petitioner poses such a grave threat to society 
that he cannot be allowed to roam free at any point whatsoever. In this view of 
the matter, we deem it fit to direct that the Petitioner shall remain in prison 
for the remainder of his life”

The Court thus allowed the appeal. It also directed the State Government to 
consider the case of the accused under the appropriate provisions of the Mental 
Healthcare Act, 2017 and if found entitled, provide for his rights under that 
enactment.

(source: barandbench.com)

BANGLADESH:

Couple murder: SC sets aside death warrant against man

The Supreme Court on Tuesday set aside the death warrant issued against T 
Kattaivellai alias Dhivakar, for killing a 20-yr old college girl and her lover 
in Theni district in May 2011, after noting the convict has yet not exhausted 
all legal remedies, including appeal, before it.

A bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv 
Khanna said that the warrant was issued in violations of the law laid down in 
the 'Shabnam vs Union of India & Ors' (2015) in this regard.

The court allowed the writ petition filed by the convict without even issuing a 
notice to the state government and quashed the warrant.

The court was told senior advocate Siddharth Dave that the convict was yet to 
file the appeal against the March 13 Madras High Court's judgement which had 
affirmed the capital punishment awarded to the convict.

He also submitted the principal district and sessions judge who on March 27 
issued the warrant for the execution of the death penalty, had on Monday 
withdrawn it.

“Be that as it may, as the period for filing appeal within 60 days time is yet 
to be over, we are of the view that the warrant issued on March 27 is contrary 
to the law laid down. Accordingly, we deem it proper to set aside the death 
warrant issued for the execution of the death sentence,” the bench said.

The counsel said the convict would soon be filing the appeal.

The high court had on March 13 affirmed the death sentence awarded by the trial 
court in March 2018 to Kattaivellai, 28-year-old coconut plucker, rape and 
murder of the college student, near Suruli falls in Theni district. The high 
court had noted the convict had committed the murder in a gruesome manner. He 
had also killed the girl's lover when he tried to protect her.

(source: deccanherald.com)

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

RU Prof Shafiul Murder-----3 accused handed death penalty

A Rajshahi court yesterday sentenced 3 people to death for killing Rajshahi 
University teacher Prof AKM Shafiul Islam in 2014.

Judge Anup Kumar of Rajshahi Speedy Trial Tribunal awarded death penalty to 
Abdus Samad Pintu, Ariful Islam Manik, and Mohammad Sabuj at 12:15pm, said 
public prosecutor Entajul Haque.

In addition to the capital punishment, each convict would have to pay a fine of 
Tk 10,000, he said.

Among the convicts, Pintu, a Jubo Dal activist, and Manik, former Katakhali 
municipal unit Jubo Dal organising secretary, were present at the court, while 
Sabuj was absconding.

Haque said the murder was planned after the Prof Shafiul misbehaved with 
Pintu’s wife Reshma Khatun, a staff of the university. Pintu threatened the 
teacher for this before committing the murder, he added.

Announcing the brief judgement, the judge left the courtroom as the 2 convicts 
burst into tears. Pintu wailed, “Everyone knows we are not the killers, yet we 
are punished.”

The court also acquitted 8 other accused in the case, as prosecution could not 
prove the allegations bought against them beyond doubt, the judge said in his 
verdict said.

Expressing dissatisfaction over the verdict, defence lawyer Golam Mortuza said 
the convicted persons are innocent as well, as the prosecution side could not 
prove their involvement beyond doubt.

“The victim was a university teacher; that is why the investigation of his 
murder case was politically motivated,” he said, adding that none of the 34 
witnesses mentioned names of the accused persons being involved in the killing.

On the other hand, Soumin Shahrid, son of the slain professor, said he would 
not comment on the verdict as it took place in accordance with the 
investigation. “And the investigation could not establish the motive of the 
murder logically”.

“The reason for the murder of a university professor cannot be as trivial as 
misbehaving with a person,” he said.

Soumin said he was a 2nd year student of Dhaka University during the 
investigation. He could not submit a no-confidence petition on it as the 
university authority assured him of supervising the case proceedings properly.

“Instead of me, it was the then RU authority who filed the case, and they asked 
me to concentrate on my studies; they neglected the issue,” he said.

Soumin claimed that Rab interfered in the case, saying, “They misled the 
investigation.”

The defence lawyer said the prosecution recovered a machete from the place of 
the occurrence, and an “S” was inscribed on it. Police identified Sadhan 
Karmaker, a blacksmith from Bogura, who made the machete.

Sadhan told the court that he sells his weapons through Amol Kumar Mohonto, a 
hardware businessman of the district. Amal told police that he sold this weapon 
to a tall fair youth, but the police did not present the accused persons before 
Amal to identify the youth.

“We think police did not do that, because Amal Kumar did not find the buyer of 
the machete among any of the accused persons,” he said.

However, the public prosecutor said the reactions of the defence lawyers and 
the professor’s son were “not based on facts”.

CASE HISTORY

Assailants stabbed Prof Shafiul, 48, to death on November 15, 2014 when he was 
returning home in Rajshahi city's Choddopai area, near the then Rajshahi Rab 
headquarters and the campus.

Shafiul was known as a progressive teacher and a Lalon song enthusiast.

The then RU registrar filed the murder case the following day, accusing unknown 
persons.

Hours after the killing, banned Islamist outfit Ansar Al Islam Bangladesh-2 
claimed responsibility for the murder on social media, and police arrested 
three militants over the claim.

Senior police officials then told media that they found militant link behind 
the murder, and the victim's son Soumin Shahrid suspected the same.

One week later, the investigation of the case took a turn when Rapid Action 
Battalion held 6 pro-BNP men and presented them before the media in Dhaka, who 
confessed that they are involved with the murder.

On November 30, 2015, Inspector Rezaus Sadik of police's Detective Branch 
submitted the charge sheet, and ruled out any militant outfit's involvement in 
the murder.

He accused Anwar Hossain Ujjal, a former convener of Rajshahi district unit of 
Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal, and 10 others for the murder.

Other accused are: Nasrin Akhter Reshma, an assistant section officer of RU; 
her husband Pintu, Manik, Sirajul Islam Kalu, Mohammad Sabuj, Al Mamun, 
Mohammad Arif, Mohammad Sagor, Zinnat Ali, and Ibrahim Khalil alias “Tokai 
Babu”.

According to the charge sheet, Sabuj, Sagor, Arif, Zinnat and Ibrahim hacked 
Prof Shafiul upon instructions from Ujjal and Manik.

The charges were based solely on the judicial confession of accused Nasrin 
Akter Reshma, who claimed Prof Shafiul was killed because “he misbehaved with 
her”, said public prosecutor Entajul.

He said the killers were annoyed at the professor for his love for Lalon as the 
victim organised functions of Lalon songs at his home twice a week.

(source: The Daily Star)

AFRICA:

These 9 African countries have the highest number of people on death row

Amnesty International, a non-governmental organisation that focuses on human 
rights, has revealed that 6 African nations performed execution on death row in 
2018 with sub-Saharan African accounting for 90% of it.

According to its global report on "Death sentences and executions 2018," 
Amnesty International said despite the decline in executions in the world in 
2018, 20 countries performed at least 690 executions compared to at least 993 
executions in 2017.

The figure represents the lowest number of executions that Amnesty 
International has recorded in the past decade. From the figures, the most 
executions took place in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, VietNam and Iraq – in that 
order.

In Africa, Egypt, Botswana, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan – carried out 
executions in 2018.

The human right group said progress against the use of the death penalty in the 
sub-Saharan Africa region was relatively positive in 2018 as there was decrease 
in recorded executions from 28 in 2017 to 24 in 2018.

Country Death Row (as of 2018) Recorded Death Sentences in 2018 alone

Nigeria 2,000 46

Tanzania 500 4

South Sudan 345 8

Zambia 252 21

Ghana 172 12

Kenya 158 12

Uganda 145 5

Somalia 139 15

Mauritania 115 3

(source: pulse.com.gh)

EQUATORIAL GUINEA:

Equatorial Guinea to abolish death penalty – but democratically

The last time Equatorial Guinea applied the death sentence was in 2014 but 
President Obiang Nguema has given a strong hint that the judicial measure will 
soon be abolished.

The abolition is premised not on the years of advocacy by human rights groups 
but from pressure by a political bloc that the country belongs to, the 
Community of Portuguese Language Countries, CPLP.

President Nguema’s assurance on the decision to abolish was during a visit to 
Cape Verde where he said the abolition of death sentence was all but done but 
he only wanted the process to be democratic.

“So my government will soon put this question to parliament, where my party has 
a majority. I am sure that this proposal will be approved,” he is quoted as 
saying.

The country has been a member of the CPLP since 5 years ago. As part of reforms 
they were tasked with on joining, the need to abolish the death penalty was 
listed. The government has routinely been accused of muzzling opposition and 
press with arbitrary arrests and detention.

The death sentence remains on the books of most African countries though it is 
hardly implemented. Persons slapped with the sentence usually have their 
sentence commuted to life imprisonment.

A recent report noted that only 5 African countries carried out the measure in 
2018, Egypt, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan and Botswana.

Despite being a former Spanish colony having attained independence in 1968, the 
country has 3 official languages – Spanish, French and Portuguese, and it 
officially uses the Central Africa CFA franc.

President Nguema has been in charge since 1979 making him the longest serving 
African leader. His son, Teodorin, a former minister of agriculture is the 
current vice-president.

(source: africanews.com)