[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

January 19




SAUDI ARABIA:

Secretive Khashoggi Murder Trial Begins in Saudi Arabia, Five Face Death 
Penalty



The trial of 11 people accused of being involved in the murder of Jamal 
Khashoggi has begun in the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh, state media report, 
with 5 of the defendants facing execution. Prosecutors asked for the death 
penalty for the 5 during the 1st court hearing in the Khashoggi case Thursday, 
saying the journalist was murdered in a “rogue” operation by agents sent to 
persuade him to return to the kingdom. Scant information was released by state 
media—no names of the defendants have been officially released. Saudi Arabia 
has refused Turkey’s request to extradite 18 suspects for trial, including a 
hit squad of 15 alleged agents who Turkey alleges flew to Istanbul to carry out 
the killing. Khashoggi, a prominent U.S.-based critic of the Saudi royal 
family, was killed after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October of 
last year.

(source: thedaioybeast.com)








JAPAN:

The toll of 50 years on death row



Every day, in any weather, 82-year-old Iwao Hakamada walks around the small 
Japanese city of Hamamatsu for up to 6 hours. A volunteer follows a few steps 
behind to be sure he doesn't get hurt and can find his way home.

Hakamada suffers from a mental condition diagnosed as "prison psychosis," the 
result of spending nearly 5 decades on death row — thought to be the world 
record — for a quadruple murder that evidence suggests he did not commit.

In 1966, he was a 30-year-old former professional boxer working at a miso 
factory, when the manager, along with his wife and 2 children, were found 
stabbed to death in their home, which was then set on fire. Hakamada lived 
on-site and was the only suspect. No one could corroborate his alibi that he'd 
been in his dorm room and rushed to the fire to help put it out.

Police detained him for about three weeks and according to records from the 
detention center, interrogated him for up to 14 hours a day. He alleged they 
beat him with nightsticks, pricked him with pins to keep him awake and denied 
him adequate food and water until finally he confessed. He later retracted the 
confession in court.

"It's striking, almost stunning, how long the interrogations went. Day after 
day after day, before finally on day 20, Hakamada confessed," said David 
Johnson, professor of sociology and an expert on the Japanese justice system at 
the University of Hawaii. He said false confessions are a major source of 
wrongful convictions in Japan.

Overall, Japan's conviction rate is above 99 percent, meaning almost every 
criminal case that goes to trial ends in conviction. In part, that's because 
prosecutors only bring cases they think they can win, said Johnson, and many of 
those cases are built on confessions.

Hakamada was imprisoned for 48 years — 30 of them in solitary confinement. 
Every morning, he awoke at 7 a.m. to find out whether that would be the day he 
would die by hanging. Japan does not give prisoners advance warning of their 
executions.

The U.S. and Japan are the only G7 countries that still have capital 
punishment. The UNHRC has urged Japan to consider abolishing it, pointing to 
the large number of crimes that can carry a death sentence, the lack of pardons 
and the execution of elderly and mentally ill convicts.

For Hakamada, decades of living in existential limbo took a toll on his mental 
health. His decline can be charted in the letters he wrote his family that his 
sister Hideko keeps in a box at her house, where he now lives.

The earliest letters from the 1960s, are written in neat rows of Japanese 
characters and filled with hope.

"The report about the first trial showed evidence was faked and the court 
misinterpreted the facts, so I truly believe there will be a retrial and I'll 
be cleared," one reads. "I'm doing okay, so don't worry."

Then in 1980, after 12 years of appeals, the Supreme Court upheld his death 
sentence. Hideko says that was a turning point for her brother.

"Not long after that, he told me the man in the cell next to his had been taken 
away and on the way out, he said, 'so long, hope you stay well,' then never 
came back. And that was when the death penalty became real to him, and it was 
very scary."

His letters from that time show his mind starting to unravel; he writes about 
devils tormenting him in the shower.

"I could tell he was getting seriously mentally ill," said Hideko. "So I 
visited every month, but sometimes he refused to see me. I kept going though, 
to tell him his family hadn't abandoned him."

Then nearly 50 years after he was first imprisoned, Hideko filed for a retrial 
based on new DNA evidence: Hakamada's lawyers said his blood did not match 
blood from the crime scene.

A district court granted the retrial in 2014, writing it was "possible that key 
evidence had been fabricated by investigators" and that it was "unjust to 
detain him because of the clear possibility he was innocent." Hakamada was 
released to his sister.

"I remember that day so clearly. I was 81 and I smiled for the 1st time since I 
was 33," Hideko said. "It was like I became myself again."

It was also a joyful day for a judge in the original case. Norimichi Kumamoto 
was chief of the 3-judge tribunal that heard Hakamada's case in 1968. He later 
said he believed Hakamada was innocent but couldn't convince the other 2 
judges. Still, as head of the panel, he had to write the death sentence. He 
said the look on Hakamada's face when he heard the sentence haunted him. So he 
quit the bench a few months later, became estranged from his family and 
wandered the country.

When Hakamada was released, Kumamoto met him to apologize. The judge was so 
frail he couldn't speak but Hideko still thinks the visit meant something to 
her brother.

That is not the end of the story, though. Because in Japan, prosecutors can 
appeal rulings and this past June, the Tokyo High Court overturned the decision 
that set Hakamada free.

The case now goes to the Supreme Court. If Hakamada loses his appeal, he could 
be sent back to death row.

"Obviously it's a tragedy for him if he goes back to death row after being 
released," said attorney Kiyomi Tsunogae, a member of Hakamada's defense team. 
"But it's also a tragedy for this country. I don't know any other nation that 
has done this. They don't want to admit that they fabricated the evidence and 
made a mistake 50 years ago."

Tsunoga said judges are political appointees and can sometimes be more 
concerned with satisfying the government than administering justice.

Still, there were concerns about how the DNA evidence was handled — the expert 
witness failed to keep records, for example. Despite that, Johnson at the 
University of Hawaii said he thinks the court made the wrong decision and 
Hakamada should have been granted a retrial.

"I believe he's actually innocent but I can't be 100 % sure of it," said 
Johnson.

Johnson said it's possible Hakamada could be sent back to death row but then 
granted executive clemency, and that it could actually increase public support 
for the death penalty because the government would be seen as acting 
mercifully.

For now, the court has allowed Hakamada to remain free on bail at his sister's 
house and a community group formed to help care for him. Every day, a volunteer 
named Ino drives over an hour from her house to cook lunch and make sure there 
is always someone to accompany him on his walks.

Hakamada himself doesn't seem to fully grasp his situation but remains upbeat.

"I feel good, I'm healthy," he said. "The world is developing and becoming a 
good world — the companies tell you, you can make a lot of money and the 
authorities don't punish you anymore."

His sister just listens and doesn't push him to talk about his time in prison.

"Even death row inmates, they're not animals. They're still human and they 
should be treated with humanity — so I do think Japan should get rid of the 
death penalty," she said. "As for my brother, of course, I'd like the Supreme 
Court to say he's innocent but if he gets to stay out of prison, that's better 
than nothing."

(source: theweek.com)

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

A former death row inmate who was acquitted 30 years ago in a retrial has 
expressed concerns about an 82-year-old former boxer and death row inmate who 
is seeking a retrial.



"I'm worried about him," Masao Akahori, 89, said of Iwao Hakamada who was 
released in 2014 after a district court decided to open a retrial of his case. 
A high court subsequently scrapped the decision and Hakamada is appealing to 
the Supreme Court.

Akahori still harbors a sense of distrust toward the judicial authority that 
falsely convicted him over a 1954 murder case.

The resident of the central Japan city of Nagoya complained, "Police wouldn't 
listen to whatever I said." He often reads books about cases in which innocent 
people were falsely convicted, say his supporters.

Akahori visited his hometown Shimada in the central Japan prefecture of 
Shizuoka on Jan. 13 to pay his respects at his family grave.

On that night, he dined with his supporters in Shimada. "I was really glad," 
Akahori said as he remembered his release after being acquitted by the Shizuoka 
District Court on Jan. 31, 1989. A smiling Akahori added that the past 30 years 
"passed like a flash."

4 death row inmates, including Akahori, have been acquitted since the Supreme 
Court released the criteria for opening retrials of convicts in 1975.

Akahori asked a Hakamada supporter who was present at the dinner meeting if 
Hakamada was doing well.

Since his own acquittal, Akahori has been involved in activities to support 
those who were convicted and are demanding that their cases be retried.

He has also appealed for the abolition of the death penalty. In a lecture 
meeting, he said he "felt frightened every morning about the possibility of 
being sent to the execution chamber."

In 2012, Akahori was selected as a candidate for a lay judge but he declined 
the offer saying, "I distrust the judicial system."

Akahori now lives at a nursing care facility for the aged in Nagoya. He 
occasionally goes out with his supporters and enjoys karaoke.

His doctor has told him that he is in good shape saying, "You can live to be 
100."

Naoko Shimaya, a supporter for Akahori, expressed hope that he will remain 
healthy and demanded that the judicial authority prevent false convictions.

"For Mr. Akahori, the Heisei era is the 30 years after his release, when he was 
free. I hope he'll continue to be fine. Relevant authorities should stick to 
the principle of the benefit of the doubt to prevent false convictions," she 
said.

(source: The Mainichi)








NIGERIA:

8 Sentenced To Death By Hanging For Armed Robbery In Adamawa



An Adamawa High Court has sentenced 8 armed robbers to death by hanging.

The 8 condemned persons were found guilty on 9-count charges according to the 
presiding judge, Justice Abdulaziz Waziri.

Justice Waziri, while sentencing the accused persons, said the judgment 
followed a thorough review of the statements of both the prosecution and 
defence counsel in the matter.

He said the presentations of the counsel and those of witnesses proved beyond 
any doubt that the suspects were guilty of the charges of armed robbery brought 
against them.

He, therefore, pronounced the capital punishment of death by hanging on them 
but explained that they had 90 days to appeal against the judgment.

The convicted 8 included Aliyu Ardo, Sadiq Mijinyawa, Shaibu Abubakar, and Sani 
Musa; the others were Kabiru Abdullahi, Saidu Abubakar, Umar Mohammed, and 
Sanusi Ibrahim.

Armed robbery and kidnapping for ransom are on the increase in Adamawa 
following the displacement of people from their homes by insurgency and the 
recent farmers/herders clashes that have ravaged north-eastern Nigeria over the 
years.

(source: Africa Independent Television)








MOROCCO:

Justice Minister: Morocco is Taking Steps Toward Ending Death 
Penalty----Moroccan activists are still calling for the abolition of the death 
penalty, a decision that may not be so far-fetched.



The Moroccan Coalition Against the Death Penalty has reiterated its call to the 
government to remove the death penalty from the country’s Penal Code.

During a meeting with his general assembly on Friday in Rabat in the presence 
of justice minister Mohamed Aujjar, the coalition’s coordinator, Abderrahim El 
Jamii, stressed the need to“fight” for human rights and abolish the death 
penalty.

El Jamii urged Aujjar to join the Moroccans calling for abolition, while 
emphasizing that the minister’s attendance at the meeting gave hope and opened 
a new “political and human rights chapter.”

El Jamii, on behalf of the coalition, pointed out the incompatibility between 
Article 20 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to life to all human 
beings and the Penal Code, which allows the death penalty.

Although still an option, Morocco has maintained a de facto moratorium on the 
death penalty since 1993.

The new president of the National Council of Human Rights (CNDH), Amina 
Bouayach, strongly criticized the government’s “indecisiveness” towards 
abolishing the death penalty.

She said that “there is a big hesitation” on the state’s part to abolish the 
penalty and called for “a national dialogue” to make a final decision.

Morocco had six chances prior to 2018 to join the UN moratorium banning the 
practice, but each time the country chose to abstain from the vote, adding to 
activists’ frustration.

For his part, Aujjar revealed that the state is gradually showing an 
inclinations toward ending the death penalty.

“Morocco is not far from joining the growing global initiatives to abolish the 
death penalty,” he stated.

Calls for the death penalty for Imlil murder suspects

Ahmed Chaouki Benyoub, the minister delegate at the National Council of Human 
Rights, drew attention to the case of the murder of 2 Scandinavian tourists in 
Morocco in December.

Benyoub said that in the wake of the terror attack against the tourists, very 
few people would be against giving the murderers the death penalty, if the 
government were to take an opinion poll.

However, Benyoub expressed his readiness for inclusive dialogue on abolition.

Following the brutal murder of Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, from Denmark 
and Maren Ueland, 28, from Norway, in the Atlas Mountains near Mount Toubkal, 
at the hands of radicalized terror suspects, many Moroccans called for the 
death penalty.

The Moroccan Organization of Human Rights (OMDH) and the World Coalition 
Against the Death Penalty (WCADP) have been urging Morocco to join an 
international agreement ending capital punishment.

Moreover, the Swedish and Norwegian ambassadors to Morocco conveyed their full 
support for the coalition’s efforts to abolish the death penalty, which “does 
not only violate human rights but also the individual’s dignity.”

(source: Morocco World News)








TAIWAN:

Death row inmate commits suicide using rubber bands



Prisoner awaiting execution in the Taipei Detention Center was found dead 
yesterday, January 18, with more than 50 rubber bands around his neck.

Chen Yu’an (???) was handed the death penalty by the Supreme Court, January 
2013, for the murder of his father in 2010. Chen, 37 years old at the time, had 
been kicked out home, and bore resentment over favoritism shown to his 
brothers. In September of that year, Chen cut his father down with a meat 
cleaver, and stabbed him with a sashimi knife more than 100 times.

Detention center officials said that Chen had collected rubber bands which were 
used to attach a cigarette lighter in the smoking area at the center. The 
rubber bands were not contraband and prisoners were allowed to go outdoors to 
smoke.

Chen is suspected to have collected the rubber bands over time before covering 
himself with a blanket at bedtime January 17 and putting the rubber bands 
around his neck. Chen’s cellmates did not notice any abnormalities at the time.

Prison managers were alerted to the death at 6:52am and immediately sought 
medical help. Chen was sent to hospital and declared dead at 7:55am.

The Correctional Affairs Department of the Ministry of Justice are conducting 
an investigation and reviewing operating procedures at the detention center.

(source: Taiwan English News)








PAKISTAN:

Parliament to decide on extension to military courts: Pak Army



The Pakistan Army has said that the country's parliament would decide about 
another extension in the tenure of the controversial military courts. The 
military courts were first set up in January 2015 for two years for speedy 
trial of militants after the 2014 Peshawar school attack that killed nearly 150 
schoolchildren.

Their tenure was extended for another 2 years in March 2017 and there is a 
debate in the country whether there should be another extension. The Pakistan 
Tehreek-i-Insaf government of Prime Minister Imran Khan has shown willingness 
to give another term to the army-run courts but it needs the support of the 
opposition as the courts were created after an amendment in the Constitution 
which can be done by the support of 2./3 of lawmakers.

Army spokesman Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor said that military courts were formed by 
the parliament after a consensus that the criminal judicial system of the 
country was not effective in dealing with terrorism cases, Radio Pakistan 
reported. Ghafoor said parliament would decide about the further extension of 
the military courts.

He said such courts were not established on the desire of the army but because 
it was the need of the hour to deal with terrorism and to punish terrorists 
with speedy trials. He said military courts had received 717 cases during their 
four years. Of these 646 cases were finalised in which 345 terrorists were 
awarded the death penalty out of which 56 were executed.

Ghafoor claimed that due to formation of military courts now terrorists and 
their organisations were more afraid of punishment. So far it not clear if the 
government can win support of the opposition to amend the Constitution. The 
Pakistan Peoples Party of ex-president Asif Ali Zardari has said it would not 
support the government on this issue.

(source: devdiscourse.com)

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

Court hands down death penalty to rapist



A special court in Lahore on Friday handed down death penalty to an accused 
involved in rape of a medical student.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 500,000 on the accused, Waqas Khalid, 
besides awarding him life term imprisonment. Additional District and Sessions 
Judge Chaudhry Rehmat Ali, presiding officer of special court dealing with 
gender-based violence cases, conducted the trial proceedings and announced the 
verdict after hearing arguments of parties and recording statement of 
witnesses.

According to prosecution, accused Waqas Khalid raped a young woman after 
kidnapping her in the limits of Quaid-i-Azam industrial area police station in 
2016.

A case was registered against the accused under Section 376(2) (punishment of 
rape) and Section 366 (kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel her 
marriage) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

(source: thenation.com.pk)








UNITED KINGDOM:

Isil Beatles: Government right not to block death penalty, High Court rules



The High Court has rejected a challenge over the UK Government's decision to 
share evidence with US authorities about 2 suspected Islamic State terrorists 
without seeking assurances they will not face the death penalty.

El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey are accused of belonging to a brutal 
4-man cell of Isil executioners in Syria, nicknamed The Beatles because of 
their British accents, responsible for killing a number of high-profile Western 
captives.

The pair were captured in January last year, sparking a row over whether they 
should be returned to the UK for trial or face justice in another jurisdiction.

Mr Elsheikh's mother, Maha Elgizouli, challenged Home Secretary Sajid Javid's 
decision - revealed exclusively in The Telegraph - to share 600 witness 
statements gathered by the Metropolitan Police with US authorities under a 
"mutual legal assistance" (MLA) agreement without seeking assurances the men 
would not face execution if they were extradited and tried there.

The Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett and Mr Justice Garnham, who heard her case, 
convened on Friday and backed the Government's decision by ruling against the 
mother.

The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Burnett, sitting with Mr Justice Garnham, said: 
"There is no general, common law duty on Her Majesty's Government to take 
positive steps to protect an individual's life from the actions of a third 
party and that includes requiring particular undertakings before complying with 
the MLA request."

Home Secretary Sajid Javid said: "I am pleased the Court has upheld my decision 
on all grounds in this case. My priority has always been to ensure we deliver 
justice for the victims’ families and that the individuals suspected of these 
sickening crimes face prosecution as quickly as possible.

"Our longstanding opposition to the death penalty has not changed. Any evidence 
shared with the US in this case must be for the express purpose of progressing 
a federal prosecution."

(source: telegraph.co.uk)