[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

April 30



TRINIDAD:

The death penalty in the region



The year 2018 was a year of many firsts when it came to the death penalty in 
the Caribbean.

For the first time since Amnesty International began its monitoring in 1979, no 
new death sentences were known to have been imposed by courts in Trinidad and 
Tobago, leaving Guyana and the US as the only countries that imposed such 
punishment in the Americas.

While hanging to death is still a punishment under the laws of all 
English-speaking Caribbean countries, for the 1st time, the number of Caribbean 
countries whose death rows sat empty has risen to 9, after St Kitts and Nevis 
commuted its last known death sentence.

For the 1st time, in December, the Americas passed a decade without any 
executions outside the US. And in the same month, for the 1st time, a country 
from the English-speaking Caribbean—Dominica—supported and co-sponsored a UN 
call for a global moratorium on executions, receiving record-high support from 
121 out of 193 UN member states, with 32 abstaining at the vote.

These were in addition to some other positive news at the global level. 
Excluding the thousands of executions believed to have been carried out in 
secretive China, the total number of executions that Amnesty International 
recorded was the lowest it has been in at least a decade, after Iran, Iraq, 
Pakistan and Somalia—all countries that have historically accounted for many of 
the world’s executions—reported significant drops in their yearly totals. While 
some countries including the US, Japan, South Sudan and Vietnam bucked this 
trend by increasing executions, overall state killings were down by over 30 per 
cent.

The global figures on the use of the death penalty from last year tell a clear 
story: it is just a matter of time before the death penalty is consigned to the 
history books. In the Caribbean, the number of people on death row dropped by 
over 70 % in the past 25 years, as a result of judicial standards set by 
regional and international bodies as well as progressive decline in the resort 
to the death penalty as a sentencing option. With 80 people left on death row 
in just 5 countries, there is no doubt that the death penalty is on its way out 
in this region, too.

The decline in the death penalty, in a region with constantly high murder 
rates, comes at a time when it is abundantly clear that it does not work as a 
deterrent. Studies have consistently shown that the death penalty has not had a 
unique deterrent effect and has in many ways been a false “solution’’ to crime 
rates in the Caribbean. In St Kitts and Nevis, the number of murders increased 
from 23 to 27 in the year following the execution of Charles Elroy Laplace in 
December 2008.

A study carried out in Trinidad and Tobago also found that over a span of 50 
years neither imprisonment nor death sentences nor executions had any 
significant relationship to homicides.

Experts have pointed out that certainty of punishment has a greater deterrent 
effect than its severity, and the fact that just 83 out of 517 murders were 
classified as “detected’’ by the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service in 2018 
provides a damning commentary on a criminal justice system that has failed to 
get a grip on crime. The figures speak volumes about failed crime 
investigations; of ready-available weapons, abandoned communities and broken 
trust in the state institutions; of the backlog of cases before courts and of 
overworked officials—just to name a few concerns that are frequently shared. 
While this cruel and inhumane punishment is put behind us, we must look for 
long-term solutions that can effectively deliver the justice crime victims 
deserve.

More and more governments around the world are coming to the realisation that 
the death penalty and its proponents have failed us in their promise of safety. 
Last year, Burkina Faso removed the death penalty from its Penal Code; the 
death penalty was declared unconstitutional in the US state of Washington; and 
Gambia and Malaysia declared moratoriums on executions. Just a few weeks ago, 
the governor of California, Gavin Newsom, followed suit.

In explaining his decision, Newsom noted that: “Our death penalty system has 
been—by any measure—a failure. It has provided no public safety benefit or 
value as a deterrent. It has wasted billions of taxpayer dollars. But most of 
all, the death penalty is absolute, irreversible and irreparable in the event 
of a human error.”

It now is time for the Caribbean to pull down the curtain on the death penalty 
and oversee the long-overdue changes in the criminal justice systems across the 
region to improve safety in the region and deliver justice for all.

• Chiara Sangiorgio is an adviser on the Death Penalty at Amnesty International

(source: trinidadexpress.com)








PAKISTAN:

Lawyer of Pakistani Christian Asia Bibi Nominated For Rights Award



Lawyer Saif-ul-Malook, who prevented the execution of a Pakistani Christian 
woman, has been nominated by several European Parliamentarians for a top rights 
award. Legislators say the lawyer should receive the Roosevelt Four Freedoms 
Award for his courage in defending Asia Bibi, who faced the death penalty in 
Pakistan on charges of blasphemy against Islam.

In November 2018, he fled Pakistan because of death threats from Islamists 
after Pakistan’s Supreme Court decided to acquit Bibi from all accusations of 
blasphemy.

When the Supreme Court decided to review the acquittal, Saif-ul-Malook returned 
to Pakistan to represent Bibi. “The courage Saif has shown in the whole case is 
remarkable,” said Dutchman Peter van Dalen of the ChristianUnion-SGP faction in 
the European Parliament. His office told BosNewsLife that several other 
European lawmakers also nominated the lawyer including Manfred Weber, the 
chairman of the influential European Peoples Party, and other parliamentarians.

The Four Freedoms Awards are presented annually to those showing a significant 
commitment to one of four principles proclaimed by late U.S. President Franklin 
D. Roosevelt as essential to democracy: ‘freedom of speech and expression,’ 
‘freedom of worship,’ ‘freedom from want’ and ‘freedom from fear.’

SPECIAL PRIZE

The prize is given in alternate years in New York City by the Roosevelt 
Institute to Americans and in Middelburg, The Netherlands, by the Roosevelt 
Foundation to non-Americans. Legislators nominate Saif-ul-Malook under the 
‘freedom of fear’ category because of “the great courage” he showed while 
defending Bibi, explained Van Dalen. “Despite the tensions surrounding the case 
and the threats to himself and his family, Saif-ul-Malook stood firm. He 
ensured that Asia Bibi had a strong defense”, Van Dalen he said in a statement.

Van Dalen described the lawyer as “a modern-day Good Samaritan and an example 
of how we can help each other regardless of differences in our religions or 
beliefs” and added that it “is an honor to represent him for this prize.”

He was among those greeting Saif-ul-Malook at the airport when the lawyer 
arrived in The Netherlands. Van Dalen had been advocating Bibi’s case and 
arranged essential meetings between the lawyer and various European government 
officials.

It was not immediately clear when and if the lawyer will be able to receive the 
Roosevelt Four Freedoms Award. But the announcement comes amid mounting 
pressure on Pakistan to allow Bibi to leave the country and to secure the 
safety of her lawyer. In November, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 
confirmed that his country was in talks with Pakistan about helping Bibi.

WELL CONFRONTATION

Bibi’s ordeal began in 2009 when two fellow Muslim farm workers refused to 
drink from the same container as the Christian woman. During the confrontation, 
she reportedly said: “Our Christ sacrificed His life on the cross for our 
sins…Our Christ is alive.”

Soon after, Bibi was accused of “insulting Prophet Muhammad” and “of 
contaminating” the well by Muslims.

In 2010, a lower court eventually sentenced her to death by hanging. After 
years of delays, the court confirmed the sentence in October 2014. The 
Christian mother-of-five appealed, and nearly two years later she was to appear 
in front of Pakistan’s Supreme Court. But the appeal was adjourned amid 
pressure from angry Muslims who packed the courtroom to demand her execution.

Her conviction was eventually overturned in October 2018, prompting protests 
from religious hardliners calling for her death and demanding that the 
government prevent her from leaving Pakistan. Bibi has been in hiding since the 
Supreme Court freed her in October, after 8 years on death row. She has always 
denied committing blasphemy.

DANGER REMAINS

Bibi and her lawyer, as well as family members and friends, remain in “great 
danger,” Christians and activists say.

The case of the middle-aged woman isn’t the only challenge facing minority 
Christians in Pakistan, a heavily Islamic nation.

Salmaan Taseer, the governor of Punjab province, was killed in 2011 after he 
visited Bibi in jail and criticized Pakistan’s blasphemy legislation. In that 
same year militants also shot and killed Pakistan’s Minister for Minorities 
Shahbaz Bhatti, a Christian, who also supported Bibi’s case, challenged the 
blasphemy laws and demanded more rights for minority Christians.

More than 60 people, including Christians, have reportedly been killed in 
Pakistan after being accused of blasphemy since 1990. Christians comprise 
roughly 3 % of Pakistan’s 205 million people.

(source: bosnewslife.com)








YEMEN:

Yemen Court must not punish faith with death – UN experts



UN human rights experts* have urged the de facto authorities in Sana’a to quash 
immediately the death sentence against Hamid Kamali bin Haydara, a follower of 
the Bahá’í faith.

"We cannot accept the injustice of having anyone punished by death on the 
grounds of his religion or belief and for belonging to a religious minority," 
the experts said.

"Not only would such a sentence amount to a serious violation of an 
internationally protected human right, but the Court would also be sending a 
wrong signal to the whole nation and the world if it upheld the decision of a 
death sentence against Haydara.

"The right to life and the right to freedom of religion or belief are 
non-derogable rights and must be respected at all times," the experts said.

The Specialized Criminal Court handed down a death sentence on Haydara on 2 
January 2018, for "compromising the independence of the Republic of Yemen", 
based on unfounded allegations of his collaboration with Israel and members of 
the global Jewish community, as well as for spreading the Bahá’í faith in the 
country. Haydara’s appeal against the decision was last heard on 2 April 2019 
in Sana’a.

"The charge of ‘compromising the independence of the Republic of Yemen’ does 
not meet the threshold of 'most serious crimes' warranting the death penalty 
under international law," the experts said.

"We deplore the blatant denial of the right of individuals to choose, have or 
adopt a religion or belief of their choice, and are deeply disturbed by the 
Prosecutor’s use of his personal religious commitments as a basis to reject the 
validity of the case made by the appellant.

"Not only did the Prosecutor demonise and deride the Bahá’í faith in his memo, 
but openly threatened anyone working in Haydara’s defence to be considered as a 
traitor to the nation and religion.

"The de facto authorities should release Haydara promptly following the 
annulment of his death sentence, and desist from harassing or intimidating 
defence lawyers."

The experts urged the Yemeni Government and the de facto authorities to respond 
to their concerns and end the persecution of the Bahá’í community in Yemen.

(source: reliefweb.int)








CHINA:

2nd Canadian sentenced to death in China for drug smuggling



Hong Kong (CNN)A Canadian citizen has been sentenced to death in China for 
producing and trafficking a large amount of methamphetamine, a Chinese court 
announced Tuesday.

The verdict marks the 2nd time a Canadian citizen has been sentenced to death 
on drug charges in China this year, amid escalating tensions between the 2 
countries over the arrest of a Huawei executive.

According to a statement issued Tuesday by the Jiangmen Intermediate People's 
Court in Guangdong province, a total of 11 people were sentenced at the 
hearing, including 1 American and 4 Mexican citizens.

Only the Canadian, who name is translated as Fan Wei, and a Chinese national, 
Wu Ziping, received the death penalty.

The harsher sentence was due to their role in helping to organize the 
trafficking operation in March 2012, according to the court statement. In 
total, they were found to have trafficked 63 kilograms (139 pounds) of 
methamphetamine.

The American and Mexican citizens received either a suspended death sentence or 
life imprisonment. The statement noted all defendants could appeal the verdict 
within 10 days.

In January, Canadian national Robert Lloyd Schellenberg was also given a death 
sentence after a rapid retrial, a move which plunged relations between Canada 
and China to a new low.

The sentences come as 2 other Canadian men -- ex-diplomat Michael Kovrig and 
businessman Michael Spavor -- remain in detention in China on suspicion of 
espionage.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called for the immediate release of 
both Korvig and Spavor, describing their detentions as "arbitrary."

The cases have previously been interpreted in Canada as retaliation for the 
country's decision to arrest Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Chinese 
tech giant Huawei.

Meng was taken into custody on December 1, 2018, in Vancouver on behalf of the 
United States on charges of working to evade Iran sanctions. The Chinese 
government has repeatedly protested Meng's detention, saying the arrest was 
political.

"Both Canada and the US abused their bilateral extradition treaty and took 
forced actions on a Chinese citizen. This severely infringed a Chinese 
citizen's legitimate rights," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said in March.

Meng is currently under house arrest in Vancouver and is facing extradition to 
the US.

(source: CNN)




BRUNEI:

Wall Street banks boycott Brunei-owned hotels after kingdom makes homosexuality 
punishable by death



A growing list of multinational banks are banning employees from staying at 
hotels owned by the sultan of Brunei, where homosexuality and adultery is 
punishable by death.

J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs and others — called to task by celebrities such as 
Elton John, George Clooney and Ellen DeGeneres — have barred staff from staying 
at properties owned by the Dorchester Collection hotel group, run by the Brunei 
state-owned investment agency. The ban includes luxury names such as Los 
Angeles’ Beverly Hills Hotel and Hotel Bel-Air, and London’s Dorchester and 45 
Park Lane.

The news was first reported by the Financial Times. A spokesperson for J.P. 
Morgan confirmed the report to CNBC but declined to comment further.

Deutsche Bank announced its boycott of Brunei-owned properties in early April 
as a sign of support for LGBTQ rights. Goldman Sachs and Bank of America have 
confirmed to CNBC that they are no longer using the Dorchester Group. 
CitiGroup, Jefferies, Morgan Stanley and Nomura have also banned employees from 
staying at nine luxury hotels owned by the small Southeast Asian nation, 
according to Financial News Network.

“The new laws introduced by Brunei breach the most basic human rights, and we 
believe it is our duty as a firm to take action against them,” Stuart Lewis, 
chief risk officer and member of the management board at Deutsche Bank, said in 
a statement. “We are proud to support LGBTIQ rights around the world, and as 
part of this we regularly review our business partnerships to ensure that they 
are aligned with this principle.”

Earlier this month, Brunei introduced laws that make gay sex punishable by 
death by stoning. Adultery, rape, sodomy, extramarital sexual relations for 
Muslims, robbery, and insult or defamation of the Prophet Muhammad are also 
banned — and prosecuted the same way. Homosexuality has always been illegal in 
the small, oil-rich nation, but the new, stricter Islamic laws introduce the 
death penalty as punishment.

In response to the boycotts, the Dorchester Collection said in a statement that 
they “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.”

Singer Elton John and George Clooney have called for corporate boycotts. In a 
column published in Deadline last month, Clooney said, while you can’t shame 
“murderous regimes,” you can “shame the banks, the financiers and the 
institutions that do business with them and choose to look the other way.”

The United Nations has also condemned the laws. U.N. High Commissioner for 
Human Rights Michelle Bachelet called them cruel and inhumane punishments that 
breach international human rights law. According to Amnesty International, gay 
sex is a crime in 72 countries and punishable by death in 8, including Saudi 
Arabia.

Still, in a recent interview Brunei’s billionaire leader, Sultan Hassanal 
Bolkiah, who has an estimated $20 billion fortune, called for “stronger” 
Islamic teachings in the country, according to French news agency AFP. The 
sultan has been in power since 1967.

(source: CNBC News)








PHILIPPINES:

De Lima stresses prosecution, judicial reforms – not death penalty – needed in 
PH



Senator Leila de Lima on Monday urged her colleagues in Congress to address the 
country’s problem with criminality by pushing for bills on prosecution and 
judicial reforms.

De Lima made the appeal as she maintained her opposition to the proposed 
revival of the death penalty in the Philippines, specifically for heinous 
crimes.

The lawyer and human rights advocate said the “oft-repeated” calls to reinstate 
capital punishment, “and to equate death with justice is a patently fallacious 
and iniquitous way” of dealing with the issue.

“Criminality is a more complex and nuanced matter than politicians will care to 
admit. The problem requires a multi-dimensional and multi-level approach 
considering how aggravating and aggravated the situation is,” de Lima said.

“Politicians will try to pander with tough talks and promises of harsh 
punishment against criminals. However, they are all cheap and meaningless if 
they do not translate to actual arrests, prosecutions, and convictions,” she 
added.

The bill reinstating the death penalty for drug-related offenses has been 
approved on 3rd and final reading in the House of Representatives.

Its counterpart in Senate, however, has yet to be discussed at the committee 
level since senators, including allies of the President, have shown 
reservations on the proposal.

De Lima, for her part, said she was against the imposition of the death penalty 
because “all too often, we have seen convictions reversed years later after 
pieces of evidence have surfaced that would exonerate the accused.”

She noted the Supreme Court acknowledged in July 2004 that the majority of 
trial courts had committed “errors” and wrongfully sentenced the death penalty 
during the time it was sanctioned.

She reiterated that the imposition of the death penalty “only targets people 
from poor families and often saves the rich and powerful.”

De Lima said Congress should legislate measures that will provide for a more 
effective justice system.

Capital punishment was reimposed under the administration than President Fidel 
Ramos, until it was abolished in 2006, under the term of former President 
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

(source: Manila Bulletin)








UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:

Still On 8 Nigerians Sentenced To Death In UAE



There is no better time than now for Nigerians abroad to desist from engaging 
in bank robberies, hard drug-related activities, as well as other forms of 
criminality in their respective host-countries as these avoidable irresponsible 
and disgusting acts are seriously tarnishing the image of Nigeria before the 
international community.

The incessant involvements of some Nigerians in criminal activities in foreign 
countries have assumed worrisome dimension in spite of constant entreaties from 
the Federal Government, corporate bodies and well-meaning Nigerians for them to 
retrace their steps and be law-abiding and good ambassadors of Nigeria in their 
host-countries.

Unfortunately, the unending reports concerning number of Nigerians sentenced to 
death or jailed abroad for various criminal offences are clear indications that 
such entreaties are apparently falling on deaf ears. Just last week, another 
shameful report concerning Nigerians sentenced to death in the United Arab 
Emirate (UAE) was trending globally, thereby further portraying the seemingly 
battered image of Nigeria in bad light.

These Nigerians just sentenced to death, were reported to have robbed a bureau 
de change in Sharjah in 2016 along with 12 other suspects. They reportedly 
attacked security guards in 4 violent incidents at ATM points and money 
exchange locations across Sharjah sometime in 2016. Of the 20, nine, including 
the eight Nigerians, were convicted last week.

Unfortunately, as clear indication that more Nigerians seem emboldened to 
engage in crime in UAE despite the stiff penalty the Saudi Arabian Government 
insists it would continue to enforce, another group of 5 recalcitrant Nigerian 
youths reportedly robbed a bureau de change in the popular Sharjah, UAE of 
Dh2.3 million ( N196,016.400.00) a fortnight ago and fled but they were later 
arrested.

2 weeks ago, according to Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu 
Buhari on Foreign Relations and the Diaspora, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, a 
Nigerian widow and mother of 2 children, was executed for drug-related 
malfeasance. As a result of this sad development, number of Nigerians executed 
in Saudi Arabia since 2016 is 8 although there are 23 others currently on death 
row for drug-related offences. About 500 Nigerians are believed to be serving 
jail terms in various prisons in the well-organised oil-rich country.

Although Dabiri-Erewa was reported to have said federal government regretted 
sentencing of the eight Nigerians to death for robbery, as well as execution of 
the Nigerian woman for drug-related offence, it was clear indication of Saudi 
Arabian Government’s unwavering commitment to total enforcement of its laws.

This is a country that has warned repeatedly, it would religiously apply its 
laws concerning offences that attract death penalty and that nobody from other 
countries found culpable, will be spared. This is a country where institutions 
work seamlessly unlike Nigeria where institutions have virtually become 
“impotent” since powerful individuals do not obey laws. In climes like UAE, 
China, Malaysia, Japan, Taiwan, Spain and Italy, etc, death sentence is 
punishment for certain offences.

It is an irony that in spite of rising level of criminality, resulting in 
bloodbaths in some parts of the country, the rate at which Nigerians migrate 
illegally abroad and end up flouting laws of their host-countries, is alarming. 
Virtually every week, there are reports concerning Nigerians abroad who are 
either sentenced to death, executed or deported for various offences. What 
government can do is to ensure such citizens, with active involvement of 
Nigeria’s Embassies abroad, have full legal representation to ensure they get 
justice.

Before the end of last week, news broke that a 37-year-old Nigerian who claimed 
to be a businesswoman, was arrested at the Hong Kong International Airport on a 
flight from Lagos via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with more than half a kilogramme of 
cocaine hidden in her body.

When arrested by Customs officials, 215 grams of cocaine in condoms and plastic 
bags found in her vagina, were recovered while she reportedly later discharged 
24 capsules of cocaine, each weighing 14 grams from her body. Total cocaine 
weighed 550 grams and estimated to cost HK $522,000 (US $66,900).

This clearly shows how daring and desperate some Nigerians are in their 
inordinate bids to get rich overnight. The penalty, if caught which is outright 
execution in some countries, does not seem to deter them. In this case, does 
the Nigerian government have moral right to save them from the hangmen?

Those involved in criminality abroad and have been deported, jailed or executed 
are not only making things difficult for other Nigerians wishing to travel out 
for justifiable reasons but they are also dragging the name of our country in 
the mud. Government, parents, religious organisations, traditional rulers, 
community leaders and civil society groups should organise enlightenment 
programmes concerning need for those travelling abroad to follow due process 
and refrain from committing offences in their locations. Travelling out of 
Nigeria must not be a do-or-die affair.

Nigerians abroad convicted for various offences should face consequences of 
their misdeeds. Enough is enough!

(source: independent.ng)








MOROCCO:

Trial for murder of Scandinavian hikers to open in Morocco



2 dozen suspects are set to go on trial in Morocco Thursday for offences linked 
to the gruesome murder of 2 young Scandinavian hikers late last year that 
shocked the North African country.

Danish student Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, and 28-year-old Norwegian Maren 
Ueland had their throats slit before they were beheaded in December at an 
isolated site in the High Atlas mountains.

3 main defendants accused of direct involvement in the murders and who 
allegedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State jihadist group could 
theoretically face the death penalty.

A total of 24 defendants are due to appear before a criminal court in Sale to 
answer charges including promoting terrorism, forming a terrorist cell and 
premeditated murder.

A Spanish-Swiss convert to Islam is among the suspects who are due to face 
justice in the city near Rabat.

But families of the slain hikers and their lawyers will not attend the trial, 
according to information obtained by AFP.

Nature lovers, the two friends shared an apartment and went to Norway's Bo 
University where they were studying to be guides.

They had travelled together to Morocco for their Christmas holidays.

Their lives were cut short in the foothills of Toubkal, the highest summit in 
North Africa, some 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the city of Marrakesh, a 
tourist magnet.

- 'Enemies of Allah' -

After the bodies were discovered, the Moroccan authorities were initially 
cautious, referring to a "criminal act" and wounds to the victims' necks.

But that all changed when a video showing one of the victims being beheaded -- 
filmed by one of the killers on a mobile phone -- circulated on social 
networks.

1 of the killers refers to "enemies of Allah" and revenge for brothers in 
Syria.

The video did the rounds online in Morocco, Norway and Denmark.

Danish police said last month they had launched prosecutions against 14 people 
suspected of sharing the gruesome video.

A separate video in the initial aftermath of the murder showed the alleged 
killers pledging allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, under the 
jihadist organisation's banner.

Police quickly arrested a 1st suspect in the suburbs of Marrakesh, and 3 others 
were arrested a few days later when they tried to leave the city by bus.

Aged from 25 to 33, all had struggled to get by in poor districts of Marrakesh.

They made a living from "small jobs" and were educated to a "very low" level, 
according to investigators.

They had recently embraced Salafism, an ultra-conservative branch of Sunni 
Islam, according to friends, neighbours and some family members.

The "terrorist cell" was inspired by IS ideology, according to investigators.

But Morocco's anti-terror chief has said the accused had no contact with the 
jihadist group in conflict zones.

And IS has never claimed responsibility for the double-murder.

- Death penalty petitions -

Abdessamad Ejjoud, a 25-year-old street vendor referred to as the emir of the 
group by peers, is the suspected ringleader of the operational cell and a wider 
group he formed in Marrakesh, according to investigators.

Twenty others are due to face justice in Sale for links to the alleged killers.

Among them is Kevin Zoller Guervos, a Spanish-Swiss citizen living in Morocco.

Authorities allege he subscribes to "extremist ideology".

He stands accused of teaching the main suspects how to use encrypted 
communications and how to fire a gun, according to investigators.

Suspected of being a recruiter, he denied all charges when brought in front of 
an anti-terror judge.

Another Swiss citizen arrested after the double-murder was tried separately and 
sentenced in mid-April to 10 years in prison for "forming a terrorist group" 
and for his links to another extremist network.

Until last year, Morocco had been spared jihadist attacks since 2011, when a 
bomb attack on a cafe in Marrakesh's famed Jamaa El Fna Square killed 17 
people, most of them European tourists.

Attacks in the North African state's financial capital Casablanca killed 33 
people in 2003.

Those attacks -- carried out by 12 suicide operatives who came from one of 
Casablanca's main shanty towns -- greatly affected public opinion.

Morocco has since improved its security and legal framework, alongside boosting 
supervision of religious affairs and anti-terror cooperation with other states.

Petitions on the internet have called for anyone convicted of the Scandinavian 
hikers' double murder to face the death penalty.

Death sentences are sometimes still handed down in Morocco, but a de facto 
moratorium on carrying out executions has been in place since 1993, and there 
is an ongoing debate over potential abolition.

(source: Yahoo News)








IRAN----executions

Man hanged at Kerman Prison for Drug Charges



A man was hanged at Kerman Central Prison for drug-related charges on April 27.

According to IHR sources, a prisoner who was sentenced to death for 
drug-related charges was hanged at Kerman prison on the morning of Saturday, 
April 27, 2019. The prisoner, Kamal Shahbakhs, was from Hajiabad village, near 
the Iranian southeastern city of Zahedan. He was at the prison for six years 
before his execution.

Baluchi activist Habibollah Sarbazi told IHR, “his funeral will be held on 
Saturday at his native village.”

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.

IHR’s Annual Report on the Death Penalty in Iran shows that the number of 
drug-related execution has been reduced from 230 in 2017 to 24 people in 2018. 
Half of those 24 people were executed at Kerman prison in 2018.

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

Man Hanged at Babol Prison



A man was executed on murder charges at Babol Prison on April 24.

According to Rokna, on the morning of Wednesday, April 24, a man was hanged at 
the Iranian northern city of Babol’s prison. His identity was not revealed and 
his name was mentioned as “A.GH” in the news. He was sentenced to death for 
murdering a man around 5 years ago.

According to the Iran Human Rights statistic department, the majority of 
executions in 2017 and 2018 in Iran was for murder charges. At least 188 
prisoners were executed for murder charges in 2018. Only 33% of executions were 
announced by Iranian authorities in 2018.

There is a lack of a classification of murder by degree in Iran which results 
in issuing a death sentence for any kind of murder regardless of intensity and 
intent.

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

Man Hanged for Drug Offenses



A man was hanged at Kerman Central Prison on drug charges yesterday. This is 
the 2nd execution for drug charges in Kerman prison in 2 days.

According to IHR sources, on the morning of April 28, 2019, a man hanged at 
Kerman Central Prison on drug charges.

Baluchi Activists Campaign revealed the prisoner’s name as Mohammad Bameri, 24, 
from Dalgan county of Sistan and Baluchistan province.

Baluchi activist Habibollah Sarbazi told IHR, “He was a poor student who has 
gone this way (drug trafficking) to earn some money for his college expenses. 
His execution made his family’s condition even worse.”

A day before, on April 27, prisoner Kamal Shahbakhs was executed at Kerman 
prison for drug offenses.

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.

IHR’s Annual Report on the Death Penalty in Iran shows that the number of 
drug-related execution has been reduced from 230 in 2017 to 24 people in 2018. 
Half of those 24 people were executed at Kerman prison in 2018. The recent 
executions raise concerns about a new wave of drug-related executions in Iran.

(source for all: Iran Human Rights)








GLOBAL:

The Changing Face of the Death Penalty for Drug Offences: An Interview with 
Aurélie Plaçais



Drug offences are punishable by death in at least 35 countries and territories 
worldwide, and that number may grow.

Over the past year, authorities in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have reintroduced 
the death penalty as a possible punishment for drug offences, while the 
presidents of the Philippines and the US have expressed support for executing 
people involved in the drug trade. At the same time, Iran and Malaysia have 
made moves to reduce the use of the death penalty for non-violent drug 
offences.

TalkingDrugs spoke with Aurélie Plaçais, the director of the World Coalition 
Against the Death Penalty, to gain insight on how the use of the death penalty 
for drug offences is changing.

TalkingDrugs: What have been the most significant recent developments in the 
use of the death penalty for drug offences? Why have they taken place?

Aurélie Plaçais: In Iran, the government has ended the mandatory death penalty 
for drugs, and many people have had their death sentences commuted to lower 
sentences. Reform is also taking place in Malaysia, where the mandatory death 
sentence for drug offences is being removed. This is a global trend; many 
countries are realising that you cannot end drug trafficking by handing a death 
sentence to a “drug mule” – a person who has limited power or control in 
trafficking.

Another reason is the important work that the international death penalty 
abolition movement has been doing – especially the Harm Reduction International 
campaign, but also work by other organisations in the World Coalition Against 
the Death Penalty – putting pressure on the UN to ensure that policies being 
implemented don’t lead to executions.

Since HRI first published [their death penalty research] in 2007, there has 
been a real shift in the way that the UN is working on this issue.

TD: Malaysian authorities announced in 2018 that they would be abolishing the 
death penalty, but seem to have changed their mind. Why do you think this is?

AP: When they first made the announcement, we were very excited! But then we 
thought, “Is this really going to happen?” Now we see them backtracking, and 
saying it’s only the mandatory death penalty for drug offences that will be 
abolished. But for abolition to happen, you still need to have the support of a 
significant proportion of fellow citizens, and of people who have power, and in 
Malaysia – it was a bit too early.

For us, the fact that they put it on the agenda, that they were so strong about 
it, and that they even voted in favour of the UN General Assembly’s resolution 
on a death penalty moratorium [in 2018], show that they really tried. That is 
something. It’s something we can work from. We are not too disappointed, as we 
see progress anyway. We now know that it’s possible.

TD: How does gender inequality interplay with the use of the death penalty for 
drug offences?

AP: There is so much gender-specific discrimination when it comes to the death 
sentence. Women often get harsher sentences than men for being accomplices [in 
drug trafficking cases].

For example, in many cases where a woman is an accomplice to a crime – say, 
carrying drugs in her luggage – she will be caught with others, often a husband 
or male relative. The male relative will often put blame on the woman or give 
more information to the police, so the police will ask for lesser sentence for 
him. Meanwhile, the woman, not knowing how it works, will be accused for the 
whole crime and get a harsher sentence.

Most [women sentenced to death for drug crimes] are foreigners, most have 
suffered terrible abuse or sexual violence, and most of them have some kind of 
psychosocial disability. It’s a real accumulation of factors. If they were 
provided with mitigating circumstances and a good lawyer, they would never be 
sentenced to death. But because they are often from poor social backgrounds and 
can’t afford a lawyer, they are often sentenced to death.

TD: How can marginalised women affected by these policies be better empowered 
or protected?

AP: The first thing we are trying to do is build a movement.

Previously within the movement, we didn’t take specificities of death row into 
account. This includes basic things like the conditions on death row; prisons 
are often not made for women – necessities are not there. Another issue is 
access to justice; the overwhelming majority of people in prison are male, so 
are most judges and lawyers, so the specificities of women in the criminal 
justice system are not taken into account. It’s the job of the abolition 
movement to make that specificity more important.

When it comes to mitigating circumstances, it’s the job of lawyers presenting 
the cases to court to make sure they know the specific discrimination that 
women face – especially when they face multiple types of discrimination for 
being a woman, for having a psychosocial disability, or from having experienced 
terrible violence in childhood.

So firstly, we start with ourselves, because this is something we haven’t take 
into account enough. Secondly, we try to raise awareness with partners and work 
with influential communities – judges, policymakers, and the UN – in terms of 
setting guidelines and setting international standards.

(source: talkingdrugs.org)