[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

August 23




INDONESIA:

Australian convicted of cooking up his own cocaine could now face death penalty 
in Bali----Ryan Willaims was already jailed for 5 years. But a bizarre legal 
loophole could see him face the death penalty.



An Australian man sentenced to a shock 5 years in a Bali jail for cooking up 
his own cocaine and who decided not to appeal and risk the death penalty has 
now been told the death penalty is back on the table.

Bizarrely it comes as Sydney man Ryan Scott Williams finds himself with an 
unlikely ally wielding a double-edged sword.

His accusers, whose actions in appealing for a lighter sentence for him have 
again opened the door to the very thing he hoped to avoid by not appealing 
himself - the death penalty or a higher sentence.

This is because, on appeals, it is open to the High Court to increase 
sentences, not just decrease them.

Prosecutors have decided to lodge an appeal against the 5-year sentence handed 
down to Williams on the basis, they argue, that the law used against him was 
not appropriate to his crime.

The 45-year-old was convicted in Denpasar District Court earlier this month of 
producing 38.72 grams of cocaine and jailed for 5 years.

Ryan Scott Williams has apologised to a Bali court after being arrested earlier 
this year for allegedly cooking up his own cocaine.

He had faced court on the more severe charge of producing a narcotic, which 
carries the death penalty as its maximum, andthe alternative charge of using 
the drugs for himself, which carries a four-year maximum and the possibility of 
rehabilitation rather than jail.

During the trial prosecutors recommended that Williams only be convicted of the 
lesser offence, personal use, and sentenced to just 15 months in jail.

Prosecutor’s sentence demands are not binding on judges, who can deliver 
whatever sentence they deem is appropriate but are usually a good guide to the 
eventual sentence - except in Williams’ case.

Ryan Scott Williams, 45, was arrested in Bali in March this year.

The acting spokesperson at the Bali Prosecutor’s office, Ketut Sudiarta, 
confirmed the appeal to 7NEWS.com.au.

“We confirm that related to the drug case of the defendant Ryan Scott Williams, 
the prosecutor has decided to appeal the Judge’s verdict.

"Prosecutors can appeal for many reasons, including because the prosecutor 
disagrees with the article (law) used by the Judge,” Mr Ketut said today.

“We feel convinced the defendant (Williams) has violated Article 127 of drugs 
laws (for personal use)."

The court had found him guilty of Article 113 of drug laws, for producing 
cocaine.

“We have lodged the appeal because we are yet to accept the verdict,” Mr Ketut 
said, adding that prosecutors believed the more serious charge had not been 
proven in court.

“It’s not about the length of the sentence. It’s about the article used to 
charge the defendant.”

Williams and his legal team were shocked when the 5 year sentence was handed 
down, describing it as illogical but later decided not to appeal because the 
risk of the death penalty from a higher court was too great.

But the very thing they hoped to avoid, by accepting five years, is now very 
much back on the table with the latest news that prosecutors will appeal.

Prosecutors seeking death penalty

The rationale for the appeal is that the prosecution is bound to stand by its 
own case and sentence demand and therefore needs to take it to appeal in the 
same way they are bound to appeal if a sentence is much lower than what they 
demanded.

The prosecution appeal now opens up a whole new nightmare for Williams, a 
father of three, who faces an anxious wait in Bali’s Kerobokan jail for his 
appeal to be heard.

It’s a situation other Australians and foreigners have become mired in with 
disastrous results. In 2006 four members of the Bali Nine heroin gang - Scott 
Rush, Matthew Norman, Si Yi Chen and Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen - who had all 
initially been sentenced to life in jail, had their sentences increased to 
death on appeal to the Supreme Court, Indonesia’s highest court.

They eventually all won a reprieve and got life sentences after winning 
judicial reviews of their cases.

And Sierra Leone national, Emanual Otchejirika, also then jailed in Bali on 
drugs charges, appealed his life sentence, only to be handed a death sentence.

He remains on death row. Indonesia runs a harsh anti-drugs regime and it was 
for this reason that Williams had decided not to risk all with an appeal.

'5 years is lenient'

His lawyer, Edward Pangkahila, said at the time of his sentence that an appeal 
was too risky.

“If we appeal the risk is way too much. So, it is better for him to serve the 
sentence ... especially because the charge carries a maximum death sentence.

"5 years is actually lenient.

"If we appeal the result is uncertain, it could be heavier. Our State has 
declared an emergency on drugs.”

(source: 7news.com.au)








INDIA:

Tripura youth gets death penalty for minor’s rape and murder----After hearing 
21 witnesses and examining evidences, the district & sessions judge of North 
Tripura pronounces judgment in case; incident happened Sept 24 last year



For the 1st time in Tripura, a special fast-track court on Wednesday ordered 
death sentence to 27-year-old man accused of kidnapping, raping and killing a 
minor girl in North Tripura district.

The 7-year old was killed after being raped by the accused, Sanjoy Tati, on 
September 24 last year.

Public prosecutor Sudharshan Sharma said that the incident took place at 
Mohanpur area under Kadamtala police station of North Tripura district. The 
minor was kidnapped on September 24 while on her way to tuition classes. 3 days 
later, the body was recovered from a nearby jungle.

The district and sessions judge of North Tripura, Goutam Sarkar, on Wednesday 
pronounced his judgment in the case after hearing the views of 21 witnesses and 
examining evidences under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 
302, and Protection of Children from Sexual Offence (POSCO) Act.

The court also asked the accused to pay a compensation of Rs 50,000 to the 
family of the deceased or face an additional year in jail.

(source: eastmojo.com)








NIGERIA:

More Than 2,000 Nigerians On Death Row -Coalition For Abolition Of Death 
Penalty ---- The coalition included the World Coalition for the Abolition of 
Death Penalty; Community of Sant’Egidio and Life Wire International Foundation.



At least there are more than 2,000 Nigerians condemned to death in Nigeria, 
says a coalition of international organizations.

This was disclosed during a press conference held in Abuja on Thursday after 
visiting different prisons across Nigeria, including Ikoyi, Kirikiri, Port 
Harcourt and Enugu.

The coalition included the World Coalition for the Abolition of Death Penalty; 
Community of Sant’Egidio and Life Wire International Foundation.

The Vice-President, World Coalition for the Abolition of Death Penalty, Ms. 
Annemarie Pieters, said they welcomed the fact that the new law provided the 
possibility to change capital punishment to life imprisonment after 10 years.

“The death penalty is not carried out frequently, only 7 in the last decade, 
resulting in a kind of ‘de facto moratorium’ on execution.

“We express concern for the fact that Nigeria continues to have many death 
sentences, despite the proven fact that this is not a deterrent factor for new 
crimes to be committed.

“By the end of 2018, there are over 2,000 people on death row in Nigeria, 
including at least 46 people that have been sentenced to death that year, which 
is the highest number of people on death row in the region by the end of 2018,” 
said Pieters.

(source: saharareporters.com)








TANZANIA:

Follow Uganda, Kenyas' lead on death penalty



Uganda has followed Kenya into moving towards ending the death sentence. The 
Ugandan parliament on Wednesday passed a law that abolishes the mandatory death 
penalty for certain crimes.

If approved by President Yoweri Museveni, the amendments will restrict the 
death penalty to just the most serious of crimes and only at the judge's 
discretion.

This is a significant step into complete abolition of capital punishemnt. Kenya 
already moved into that direction when the Supreme Court, in 2017, declared 
mandatory death sentence unconstitutional.

And the ball is now in Tanzania's court. Death sentence in Tanzania is 
maintained for 4 major offenses, which are murder, treason, terrorism and in 
miliatary punishments.

Capital punishment is provided for by the Penal Code (Chapter 16) and the 
Terrorism Act in 2002. In fact the Constitution of the United Republic of 
Tanzania of 1977 does not absolutely guarantee the right to live as article 14 
states that protection of a person;s life by the society should be subjected to 
the laws of the land.

The same Constitution vests the President with powers to sign the death warrant 
and commute death sentence into life imprisonment.

(source: Editorial, The Citizen)








MALAWI:

IBAHRI denounces death sentence delivered against 3 in Malawi



The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) is deeply 
concerned about the recent decision in Malawi to sentence 3 individuals to 
death for killing and dismembering a person with albinism in August 2015. The 
IBAHRI fully supports the enjoyment of all rights by persons with albinism and 
recognises the challenges Malawi is facing in curbing the heinous attacks 
against persons with albinism. Despite this, the IBAHRI maintains that the 
death penalty is not the solution to preventing such odious crimes and goes 
against the international trend towards its abolition.

IBAHRI Co-Chair, the Hon Michael Kirby AC CMG, commented: ‘To stop the 
commission of crimes against human rights, penalties that violate the same 
fundamental rights cannot be imposed. Attacks against persons with albinism 
must end, but the punishment that the perpetrators should face must respect 
international human rights law. We exhort the Malawi government to revise this 
judgement.’

Gallows

On Tuesday 14 August 2019, at the High Court in the Mchinji district, Central 
Malawi, Judge Esmey Chombo passed death sentences on three individuals: Douglas 
Mwale, Sophie Jere and Fontino Folosani – who were found guilty of murdering 
and mutilating Priscott Pepuzani, who had albinism, in August 2015. In her 
ruling, Judge Chombo said the death sentences would send a strong message to 
other would-be offenders and put an end to such malpractices.

Since 1992, Malawi has had a moratorium on the death penalty, and the mandatory 
death penalty for murder was eliminated in 2007. African regional standards 
established by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, including 
General Comment No.3 on the right to life, Resolutions 42 and 136, as well as 
the Cotonou Declaration on the Abolition of the Death Penalty in Africa, call 
on State Parties to move towards the abolition of the death penalty. 
Nevertheless, this is not the first time in recent years that the death penalty 
has been imposed for this kind of crime. In May 2019, Willard Mikaele was 
sentenced to death for the murder of Mphatso Pensulo, another person with 
albinism.

In the denunciation of this recent judgement, the IBAHRI reiterates its 
recognition of the difficult situation for people with albinism, which is 
particularly worrying in Malawi and other countries of the region due to 
frequent ritual killings and trading of body parts. In its 2018 report 'Waiting 
to disappear' International and Regional Standards for the Protection of the 
Human Rights of Persons with Albinism, the IBAHRI suggests that the legal 
protection of the rights of persons with albinism needs to be dramatically 
improved.

The IBAHRI condemns all attacks against persons with albinism and the violation 
of their rights, but believes that the imposition of the death penalty 
infringes the universally guaranteed right to life and amounts to cruel, 
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, contrary to both the the 
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention against 
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

IBAHRI Co-Chair, Anne Ramberg Dr jur hc, stated: ‘The death penalty is amongst 
the worst of human rights violations, where the right to life and the right not 
to be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment are completely 
ignored. The decision to resort to the death penalty is incompatible with a 
country that supports the rule of law and good governance.’

In 2008, the IBAHRI Council passed a resolution stating: ‘the Human Rights 
Institute shall in the future actively promote the abolition of the death 
penalty’.

Notes to the Editor

1.Click here to download the 2008 IBAHRI Council Resolution on the Abolition of 
the Death 
Penalty----www.ibanet.org/Document/Default.aspx?DocumentUid=1E784AEC-DDD0-4378-8059-1DF9B96F898B

2. Click here to download the report 'Waiting to disappear' International and 
Regional Standards for the Protection of the Human Rights of Persons with 
Albinism----www.ibanet.org/Human_Rights_Institute/HRI_Publications/Waiting-to-disappear-albinism.aspx

3. The International Bar Association (IBA) – the global voice of the legal 
profession – is the foremost organisation for international legal 
practitioners, bar associations and law societies. Established in 1947, shortly 
after the creation of the United Nations, it was born out of the conviction 
that an organisation made up of the world's bar associations could contribute 
to global stability and peace through the administration of justice.

In the ensuing 70 years since its creation, the organisation has evolved from 
an association comprised exclusively of bar associations and law societies to 
one that incorporates individual international lawyers and entire law firms. 
The present membership is comprised of more than 80,000 individual 
international lawyers from most of the world’s leading law firms and some 190 
bar associations and law societies spanning more than 170 countries.

The IBA has considerable expertise in providing assistance to the global legal 
community, and through its global membership, it influences the development of 
international law reform and helps to shape the future of the legal profession 
throughout the world. The IBA’s administrative office is in London, United 
Kingdom. Regional offices are located in: São Paulo, Brazil; Seoul, South 
Korea; and Washington DC, United States, while the International Bar 
Association’s International Criminal Court and International Criminal Law 
Programme (ICC & ICL) is managed from an office in The Hague, the Netherlands.

The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), an 
autonomous and financially independent entity, works to promote, protect and 
enforce human rights under a just rule of law, and to preserve the independence 
of the judiciary and the legal profession worldwide.

(source: ibanet.org)