[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

August 3



SRI LANKA:

Sri Lankan Prime Minister proposes to end death penalty



Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, has introduced a bill to 
abolish the death penalty in the lead up to the execution of 4 drug convicts.

The proposed bill would abolish the death sentence in the future and commute 
the sentences of those already on death row to life imprisonment. The bill was 
introduced to parliament on Thursday and will take a vote in 14 days if no one 
challenges it will pass.

This, however, is unlikely as President Sirisena is a vocal opponent claiming 
that those who oppose executions oppose building a decent county. The 
Washington Post further reports that Sirisena has described narcotics as “the 
root cause of all other major crimes” and he views the decision to execute 
prisoners “for the betterment of future generations”.

Sirisena has claimed that his position was influenced by what he views as 
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's successful “war on drugs”.

Sri Lanka’s stance on the death penalty has been widely panned by the 
international community.

The European Union has stated that if Sri Lanka moves towards implementing the 
death penalty it will be in contradiction with its commitments to the UN 
General Assembly to maintain a 43-year moratorium on the death penalty.

The EU has warned this may send the wrong signals to the international 
community and investors. Sri Lanka is currently a beneficiary of the GSP+ 
agreement with the EU which enables a preferential trade scheme but is 
dependent upon Sri Lanka fulfilling its commitments to human rights.

Wickremesinghe has stated that he opposes the death penalty and the under the 
coalition government Sri Lanka supported a UN resolution for a moratorium on 
the death penalty in 2016 and 2018.

The Sri Lanka government has not had formally hanged a prisoner since 1976 even 
though courts routinely pass death sentences.

(source: Tamil Guardian)








SINGAPORE:

Drug trafficking on the rise despite increased awareness of death penalty in 
Singapore



Despite Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam’s claim that drug traffickers 
are aware of the mandatory death penalty sentence in Singapore, there has been 
a spike in the number of attempts related to drug trafficking into the 
Republic, he told Reuters on Wed (31 Jul).

While Mr Shanmugam told the 2nd Asia-Pacific Forum Against Drugs in Oct last 
year that the death penalty for drug traffickers cannot serve as a panacea for 
all drug-related issues plaguing Singapore society, the Minister maintained 
that the government, albeit reluctantly, must retain the death penalty “for the 
greater good of society”, as it “saves more lives”, referring to those who will 
be spared from falling into drug addiction.

Stating that drug traffickers are fully aware of the risks of being arrested, 
prosecuted, and - in most cases - sentenced to death, Mr Shanmugam said that 
the prospect of facing the gallows "has a very powerful influence on those who 
seek to traffic drugs into Singapore", as "the stakes are made very clear 
upfront".

"You have to focus on reducing supply, and the death penalty comes within the 
context of trying to reduce the supply by making it clear to traffickers that 
if they get caught, they will face the death penalty," he said at the opening 
of the forum.

Mr Shanmugam told Reuters on Wed that Singapore is adamant on keeping the death 
penalty because crime rates have 'gone up' in countries where marijuana has 
been legalised, adding that "medical costs and hospitalization costs" in such 
places "have gone up significantly, much more than the tax dollars that the 
state had hoped to receive".

Additionally, he said that Singaporeans have continued to demonstrate "very 
strong support for the government’s current position" on the war against 
drug-related crimes in spite of neighbouring countries’ move to slightly relax 
their drug laws.

13 executions took place in Singapore last year, 11 of which were for 
drug-related offences. Mr Shanmugam said that the Singapore government’s 
decision to pause judicial executions for several years was behind the high 
number of such executions last year, adding that the break in executions was in 
line with the government’s review of the death penalty.

The Law Minister has frequently reiterated the government’s stance on the use 
of recreational drugs, and has criticised the way certain States and human 
rights groups have framed the discourse on such drugs only from the perspective 
of public health and personal freedoms.

"Human rights is ‘my individual freedom to consume drugs’ - that is how it was 
put forward. What about the impact on society? If you take that argument, then 
you would have the human right to do almost anything you like," Shanmugam was 
quoted by TODAY as saying in late May this year.

He added that the financial backing of lobbyists has compelled legislators to 
amend or revamp anti-drug laws in certain countries, in addition to influencing 
the media and advertising industries in 'pushing' cannabis "as healthy and 
safe" in such countries, which is, in his view, a "misleading and unscientific" 
message to convey to the public.

Neighbouring countries relax drug laws for medical purposes, more 'scientific' 
rehabilitative processes

Meanwhile, the first batch of cannabis oil is set to be distributed across 
hospitals in Thailand for medical purposes after the government had passed a 
law legalising the use of medical marijuana, according to a government official 
on Thu (1 Aug), while Malaysia moves to remove the mandatory death penalty for 
drug trafficking and to decriminalise drug addiction.

Malaysian Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad, in an official statement in late 
Jun, quoted former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s stance on 
governments’ approach in the war against drugs, in which he said: "Drugs have 
destroyed many lives, but wrongheaded governmental policies have destroyed many 
more. I think it’s obvious that after 40 years of war on drugs, it has not 
worked. There should be decriminalization of drugs."

Calling the move 'significant' and a 'game-changer', Dzulkefly recognises that 
"drug use and addiction is admittedly a complex chronic relapsing medical 
condition", and that there are multiple factors that may contribute to 
substance abuse and addiction, ranging from genetic predisposition to external 
factors such as poor living conditions and peer pressure.

"If someone continues to take drugs, biological changes start happening in 
their brain. Therefore it is not so easy to reverse that biological change.

"Certainly putting them in prison is not going to change that. It is not just a 
matter of someone having a weak willpower," added the Health Minister.

"Drug decriminalisation will indeed be a critical next step towards achieving a 
rational drug policy that puts science and public health before punishment and 
incarceration. An addict shall be treated as a patient (not as a criminal), 
whose addiction is a disease we will like to cure," Dzulkefly proposed.

He added that research has shown that decriminalisation does not exacerbate 
drug abuse and drug-related crimes, and in fact it reduces the costs borne by 
the criminal justice system as a result of incarcerating and punishing those 
who use drugs.

"Decades of evidence has clearly demonstrated that decriminalisation is a 
sensible path forward that would reap vast human and fiscal benefits, while 
protecting families and communities," said Dzulkefly.

Malaysian Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin revealed that around 70,000 prisoners 
in Malaysia’s jails were drug addicts, and that the decriminalisation of drug 
addiction will give them more opportunities for rehabilitation and treatment, 
particularly when supported by their family members and the community.

Drug trafficking, however, remains a crime punishable by death, as Dzulkefly 
stressed that the removal of criminal penalties will only apply to the 
possession and use of "a small quantity of drugs".

(source: theonlinecitizen.com)








INDIA:

Shweta Agarwal: Killed in a scuffle by lover, court pronounces death penalty 
for accused



The Shweta Agarwal murder case gets a new turn on Saturday as justice prevailed 
over crime and criminals. The prime accused in the Shweta murder case, Govind 
Singhal, gets the death penalty for the gruesome murder of the meritorious girl 
two years back. Notably, Shweta Agarwal was found dead at Singhal’s home in 
Bharalumukh on December 4, 2017. At the same time, his mother and sister get 
life imprisonment for assisting Govind in burning the body of the deceased 
girl.

The long-sought justice by Shweta’s family, friends and the masses is finally 
delivered on Saturday today as the Fast Track Court pronounced the much sought 
and requested verdict of the death penalty for the accused.

Before this, on Tuesday, the fast-track court convicted Govind Singhal, his 
mother Kamala Devi Singhal and sister Bhawani Singhal in the gruesome murder 
case.

December 4, 2017

December 4, 2017 was the cursed day of her life when Shweta, the brilliant girl 
with a promising future, was pushed to death by her love interest Govind 
Singhal. Reportedly, Shweta Agarwal was a TDC 5th semester student of KC Das 
Commerce College in Guwahati. She was acclaimed as a meritorious student for 
her bright results in the Higher Secondary Examination. This has to be 
mentioned here that Shweta was in the merit list of the commerce stream in the 
2015 Higher Secondary Examination.

Shweta was in a relationship with Govind Singhal with whom she had dreamt of 
moving ahead in life, but hardly did she know that her lover will one day put 
an end to her life. She was found dead on December 4, 2017 in his rented house 
at Bharalumukh. As per report, Govind had taken Shweta to his rented residence 
on his bike, but in a bitter turn of a scuffle between the two over a certain 
matter, Govind pushed Shweta hard. She, due to the push, hits against the wall 
of the room and died due to her injury in the head. Clueless and later, 
deliberate to conceal the crime, Govind carried Shweta’s body to dispose of it 
in the Bharalu river on a bike. However, he could not dispose of the body there 
and had to take it back home in the fear of being caught. He then torched the 
body inside the bathroom. His sister and mother had also assisted him in 
burning the body inside the bathroom of their house.

The police submitted the charge sheet against Govind Singhal, his mother Kamala 
Devi Singhal and sister Bhawani Singhal under Section 302/120(B)/ 201 for 
murder, conspiracy and destroying evidence. The bench was to pronounce the 
quantum of punishment to the trio on August 1, 2019 and this was later followed 
by the final verdict of the Fast Track Court on Saturday. in the final verdict, 
Govind Singhal gets the death penalty and at the same time, his mother and 
sister get life imprisonment for assisting Govind in burning the body of the 
deceased girl.

(source: The Sentinel)

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

India rejects Pak terms on consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav----Pakistan had 
reportedly proposed consular access in an offer made about 4 days ago.



India on Friday rejected Pakistani terms and conditions for consular access to 
imprisoned former Indian naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav, with New Delhi 
telling Islamabad through diplomatic channels “to provide unimpeded consular 
access” to Jadhav “in an environment free from the fear of intimidation and 
reprisal, in the light of the orders of the International Court of Justice 
(ICJ).

New Delhi is awaiting Islamabad’s response now, sources said. Pakistan had 
reportedly placed 2 conditions — the 1st being presence of a Pakistani official 
at the proposed meeting and the second being the presence of CCTV cameras in 
the room where the meeting would take place. Islamabad had also reportedly 
suggested that the meeting take place at about 3.30 pm (3 pm Pakistan time) on 
Friday but now will have to first come up with a response to New Delhi.

Quite clearly, New Delhi feels that the Pakistani terms and conditions imposed 
are an 'impediment' that is not in line with the ICJ verdict and the Vienna 
Convention on Consular Relations as these conditions would result in the 
intimidation of Jadhav at the meeting and leave him vulnerable to reprisals in 
Pakistani custody.

Sources on Friday said, "Pakistan has been asked yesterday to provide unimpeded 
consular access to Mr. Kulbhushan Jadhav, in an environment free from the fear 
of intimidation and reprisal, in the light of the orders of the ICJ. Their 
(Pakistani) response in now awaited."

New Delhi had on Thursday only confirmed that it had received a Pakistani 
proposal to provide consular access and had said it was "evaluating the 
proposal in the light of the judgement of the ICJ".

Pakistan had reportedly proposed consular access in an offer made about 4 days 
ago.

India had last week said it expected 'full consular access' to Jadhav in line 
with the ICJ verdict, thereby indicating that New Delhi wants to play strictly 
by the book and does not want any deviation by Pakistan from the norms of 
consular access as laid down in the Vienna Convention.

Mr. Jadhav had been handed a death penalty in Pakistan in April, 2017, by a 
military court there on charges of espionage and sabotage. New Delhi had 
dismissed the Pakistani charges.

The ICJ in its verdict on July 17 this year had slammed Pakistan for not 
granting India consular access to Jadhav in violation of the Vienna Convention.

(source: The Asian Age)








IRAN----excecutions

Man Hanged at Gorgan Prison



A man was hanged at the Iranian northern city of Gorgan’s prison for an alleged 
murder charge. He had always insisted that he is innocent.

According to IHR sources, a man was hanged on Wednesday, July 31, at Gorgan 
prison (Amirabad prison). IHR identified him as Hamid Samaei.

"In a wedding, a gang fight happened. A drunk man who attacked others by a 
sword, was ultimately killed by a knife. Several people testified that Hamid 
was not the man who stabbed the victim," a well-informed source told IHR.

Iran Human Rights (IHR) has seen at least 8 signed-testimonies confirming 
Hamid’s innocence. However, he was sentenced to Qisas (retribution in kind).

His execution has not been announced by Iranian authorities or media so far.

At least 110 people were executed in Iran in the 1st half of 2019; Only 37 of 
the executions have been announced by authorities or Iranian media. Iran Human 
Rights (IHR) could confirm 73 more through its sources. IHR only reports the 
unannounced executions if it could confirm those with 2 separate credible 
sources. Therefore, the actual number of executions may be even higher than 
reported.

(source: Iran Human Rights)

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

Iranian Regime Executes 2 More Prisoners, More Expected in Coming Days



2 prisoners were executed at dawn on Thursday, August 1, 2019 in Rasht Central 
Prison, northern Iran.

The prisoners had been transferred to solitary confinement in the previous 
days.

They were accused of murder.

One of those executed was identified as Kusha Motaghi. The identity of the 
other victim has not yet been determined.

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

Meanwhile, Ali Salehi, Chief Justice of Hormozgan province, announced 2 death 
sentences for a single prisoner. He said a prisoner in Minab city, Hormozgan 
province, was sentenced twice to public hanging for the murder of 2 navy guards 
of Minab city.

Another report from the city of Zahedan, Sistan and Baluchestan province, also 
indicates the transfer of 3 prisoners to solitary confinement on Tuesday and 
Wednesday. The prisoners are expected to be executed in the coming days.

Iran is 1 of 23 countries that have not yet abolished the death penalty.

UN human rights bodies have condemned the Iranian regime on 65 occasions for 
its gross human rights violations.

(source: irannewsupdate.com)