[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

July 5



IRAN----executions

2 Men Executed at Rajai-Shahr Prison



At least 2 prisoners were hanged at Rajai-Shahr prison.

According to IHR sources, on the early morning of Wednesday, July 3, at least 2 
prisoners were hanged at the Iranian city of Karaj’s Rajai-Shahr prison. IHR 
sources have identified them as Mehdi Assadi and Hassan Baradaran.

Iranian website Rokna has also reported about the executions without mentioning 
the prisoners’ name. Both men were sentenced to death for murder charges.

According to the Iran Human Rights statistic department, at least 273 people 
were executed in Iran in 2018. At least 188 of them executed for murder 
charges.

(source: Iran Human Rights)








PHILIPPINES:

More senators back death penalty



The push to revive the death penalty gained more supporters in the Senate, as 
more bills were filed to bring it back to life.

Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa formally filed his version that would impose death 
on drug traffickers and manufacturers, as did Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, who 
wanted the penalty to cover other heinous crimes.

Earlier, Senators Manny Pacquiao and Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go filed their 
own versions.

Opposition

The proposals are expected to be met with opposition from the Catholic Church 
and human rights groups, who contend that imposing the death penalty does not 
deter criminals, and that it only tends to target the poor.

Lacson’s measure seeks to impose the death penalty on those who commit plunder, 
treason, qualified piracy, qualified bribery, parricide, murder, rape, 
kidnapping and serious illegal detention, robbery with homicide, destructive 
arson, drug trafficking and other related drug offenses, human trafficking and 
arms smuggling.

It prescribes the use of lethal injection to carry out the punishment.

In pushing for the measure, Lacson said the “alarming surge of heinous crimes 
in recent years” showed that imposing reclusion perpetua as the harshest 
penalty did not prove to be a deterrent.

Rule of law

“Hence, to reinstate public order and the rule of law, there is an impending 
need to revisit and reimpose the death penalty on certain heinous crimes,” he 
said.

Dela Rosa, for his part, believes it would be easier to revive the death 
penalty if it would be limited to drug trafficking.

He said a frequent criticism of the measure was that it was antipoor, but drug 
traffickers tended to be rich and powerful.

“There are no poor drug traffickers, many of them are big time, so I expect 
support from my colleagues,” Dela Rosa said.

He is also hoping that the Catholic Church would support his measure, since he 
said the Bible also speaks of the death penalty.

(source: newsinfo.inquirer.net)

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

Drilon admits stopping death penalty bills an uphill battle



Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon admitted Friday that anti-death penalty 
senators faced an uphill battle against the proposed re-imposition of the death 
penalty.

“It will be a tough fight considering that it is an administration-backed 
legislation and a number of senators have openly endorsed its passage. Let 
alone our diminished number in the Senate,” Drilon explained in a press 
statement.

At least 4 senators, 3 of them close allies of President Rodrigo Duterte, have 
filed bills seeking the re-imposition of death penalty: Senators Manny 
Pacquiao, Ronald dela Rosa, Christopher ‘Bong’ Go, and Panfilo Lacson.

Those who expressed support for the bills included Senators Sherwin Gatchalian, 
Cynthia Villar, Imee Marcos, Aquilino Pimentel III, Juan Edgardo Angara, Pia 
Cayetano, Bong Revilla, Francis Tolentino, and Lito Lapid.

Nevertheless, Drilon, a former Justice Secretary, vowed to fight “tooth and 
nail” to block the proposal.

“We strongly and unequivocally oppose the re-imposition of the death penalty. 
We are prepared to fight it all the way,” he emphasized.

“Notwithstanding these difficulties we will do our best to prevent it. We will 
never allow the 18th Congress to give license to authorities to kill the poor.”

Drilon explained that given the inadequacies of the criminal justice system, it 
was likely that death sentences would only be handed out to the poor - the sole 
victims of this cruel and inhumane punishment.

“It has been proven time and again that capital punishment is not an effective 
deterrent to crimes. Only the poor will be made victim of this measure,” he 
said.

International treaties

Furthermore, Drilon pointed out that in 2007, the Philippines signed and 
ratified the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil 
and Political Rights, mandating the abolition of capital punishment.

The Protocol did not provide for any withdrawal or derogation mechanism, which 
meant that parties to the Protocol could not reinstate the death penalty 
without violating international law.

And the Philippines was mandated by no less than by the Constitution to honor 
its obligations under international treaties which it had ratified.

“Unless this issue is resolved, we cannot have a complete debate, because we 
will be back to the same question: can the Philippines reimpose the death 
penalty without any regard to our treaty obligation?” he asked.

aside from Drilon, minority Senators Francis Pangilinan, Risa Hontiveros, and 
Leila De Lima, who is detained, also opposed the bills.

“No justice will be served if it involves taking a life. Let’s be more 
rational, humane, independent, and conscientious in handling this very 
sensitive issue,” Drilon said.

He added the anti-death penalty senators would count on the support of the 
electorate, a majority of whom strongly opposed the restoration of the death 
penalty.

(source: GMA News Online)








SRI LANKA:

Sri Lanka's top court delays first executions in 43 years



Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has delayed the death penalty for 4 people convicted 
on drug-related offences, one of their lawyers said on Friday, in what would 
have been the first executions in 43 years.

President Maithripala Sirisena signed death sentences last month for the four 
convicted on charges of trading and trafficking in drugs, ending a moratorium 
on capital punishment since 1976.

The top court granted interim relief and will hear the appeal on Oct. 29, said 
M.A. Sumanthiran, a lawyer representing 1 of the appellants.

Sirisena was elected as a reformist in January 2015, but has struggled to 
fulfill pledges such as addressing human rights abuses, eliminating corruption 
and ensuring good governance.

(source: Reuters)

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

Death row prisoners win a temporary reprieve



Responding to a court decision to hold off all executions until petitions are 
heard after October, Amnesty International’s South Asia Director, Biraj 
Patnaik, said:

“No one should have to fear that they will be hanged. The temporary reprieve 
given to these death row prisoners should become permanent and their death 
sentences should be commuted immediately.

“The court decision comes against the backdrop of widespread opposition to 
plans to implement the death penalty in Sri Lanka. There has been resistance in 
the courts, in the media, on the streets, on social media, from all sides of 
parliament, and from the international community. The only sensible thing to do 
is to heed these voices, respect human rights and stay true to Sri Lanka’s 
record of shunning executions for more than 4 decades, and abolish the death 
penalty once and for all.”

Background

Amnesty International has been campaigning against the decision of President 
Maithripala Sirisena to carry out executions for drug-related offences, in 
violation of international law.

President Sirisena said that he had signed warrants for executions that would 
be carried out in a matter of days.

On 5 July 2019, the Supreme Court ruled that the death row prisoners should not 
be executed until the petitions are heard in full. The next court date is on 29 
October 2019.

Amnesty International absolutely opposes the death penalty in all cases and has 
been involved in a sustained campaign to stop the revival of the executions in 
Sri Lanka since July 2018.

(source: Amnesty International)

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

Justifying death penalty by exception



I read with interest, several articles and statements issued by human rights 
defenders, civil organisations and some of the countries in the ‘western bloc’, 
on the subject of ‘Death penalty’ which appears to have disturbed a hornet nest 
both locally and internationally in the wake of Sri Lanka’s decision to 
reactivate death penalty.

Almost all of them have tried to justify abolition of death penalty in general 
on grounds of a) Absence of evidence to prove the deterrent effect of imposing 
death penalty, b) prevailing loopholes and delays in the existing legal 
systems, c) deemed unethical practice of Govts. robbing the right to life of 
human beings and d) mistakes of judgement by the judiciary in regard to 
individuals involved in homicide triggered by personal conflicts.

Let me deal with a few statements carried in some of them. One article first 
states ‘Media quoted Prison officials saying most on the death row were 
stressed, not eating and feeling faint’ proving that even for convicted 
prisoners, death penalty clearly operates as a deterrent. Then, later it states 
‘There is no evidence in Sri Lanka or any part of the world that the death 
penalty has prevented or reduced crimes. I found the latter statement as a 
highly generalized, stock statement made by almost all human rights defenders 
both local and international.

In the first place, I doubt whether strong empirical evidence is in fact 
available for the latter statement which obviously is tantamount to a 
contradiction of the former statement. Besides, one can never find concrete 
statistical evidence to prove the point beyond doubt, as the deterrent effect 
of death penalty at the outset operates in the mindset of hundreds and 
thousands of potential killers who surely would have been compelled to give up 
their devious plans to assassinate human beings. A net increase in murder 
crimes can happen due to demographic reasons.

Behaviour of Inernational Community

Also, it further states, ‘All those on the death row, and all of their 
families, must be in agony and trauma, not knowing whether they or their loved 
ones are amongst the first four to be executed or when their turn might come.’ 
What about the agony and trauma of those numerous families whose innocent 
members were summarily robbed of their right to life by the anti-social, 
extremist killers as in the case of the brutal Easter Sunday attack and the 30 
year old war?

In such context, perpetrators of ‘Suicide Bombing’ and ‘serial killers’ who 
have repeatedly robbed the right of life of several innocents, should not be 
allowed the right of life as they pose an insurmountable threat to the peaceful 
society at large like a malignant cancer.

In our view, those charged for drug related crimes are also de facto ‘Serial 
killers.’ Years ago, it was the international community that marketed the death 
penalty for drug traffickers. The human rights defenders have conveniently side 
lined the latter 03 categories.

We meekly take for granted super powers like USA, Russia, Japan, India and most 
of the oil rich Middle-East countries who continue to have death penalty in 
their law books. What kinds of embargoes are imposed on them?

It is grossly unfair for developed countries to link economic support schemes 
such as GSP + in developing countries to issues like death penalty. It is an 
accepted global dictum that every rule can have exceptions. It is more so in 
social sciences. Therefore, we see no harm in resorting to exceptions in the 
practice for brazenly premeditated murder crimes by ‘serial killers, 
perpetrators of ‘suicide bombings’ and drug related criminals who by their 
continued existence pose a continuing threat to humanity. Isn’t it fair to 
assume that such individuals by their repeated mass killings have themselves 
renounced their own right to life? Their convictions in any court of law would 
be easy to establish and can safely be regarded as irreversible.

If the mass murderer Prabhakaran was apprehended live, what would have been his 
plight?

In this context, it is relevant to recognize that death penalty in the law 
books will greatly reduce extra-judicial killings such as those that happened 
during the 1971 and 1989 insurrections as well as state-driven terrorism in Sri 
Lanka. We cannot overlook global examples in the extra –judicial killings of 
Bin Laden and Muammar Gaddafi!

Alternative solution

Taking the foregoing in to consideration I venture to suggest the following 
strategic steps to solve the current death penalty conundrum in Sri Lanka.

1) Continue the existing moratorium on death penalty.

2) Exceptions to the existing moratorium to be struck on death sentences to be 
passed from a specified future date until further notice in regard to following 
categories.

a) Perpetrators of mass ‘Suicide bombings’,

b) Big time Drug-traffickers (A definition has to be evolved to exempt small 
scale culprits) and

c) Serial killers.

(This means all those presently in death row will continue to enjoy the 
moratorium.)

3) Concurrence of the concerned International community should be obtained for 
the above exceptions, the currency of which can be reviewed annually with a 
view to annulling them as early as possible.

In short, the proposal shall operate as a temporary measure to create a 
deterrent impact (however small), on the aforesaid categories of killers.

(source: Bernard Fernando, dailynews.lk)








MALAYSIA:

Malaysia’s repeal of death penalty opens deep wounds, including that of 
Mongolian model murder



Malaysia’s is looking into the repeal of the death penalty but the idea is 
creating waves of discontent among survivors of attempted murder and family 
members of murder victims, though there is some hope it will help solve the 
politically charged murder of the Mongolian model Shaaribuugiin Altantuyaa.

Malaysia has 1,200 prisoners on death row (according to Al Jazeera) but 1 such 
prisoner escaped the country and is living in detention in Australia, awaiting 
extradition. But his extradition will only be possible if Malaysia does not 
have the mandatory death penalty.

Malaysia is in a dilemma over the repeal because if it is retroactive, it means 
all the prisoners on death row will escape the gallows, which is not what the 
murder victims families would want.

Yet, if the repeal is not retroactive, Malaysia will not be able to get police 
corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, who fled to Australia back home. Sirul is one of 
Malaysia’s most wanted prisoners due to the high profile nature of his crime.

Sirul, a former bodyguard lost his appeal for political asylum in Australia but 
the Australian authorities have not expelled him because he will face death in 
Malaysia.

Together with chief inspector Azilah Hadri, Sirul was sentenced to death in 
April 2009 for the murder of Mongolian model Shaaribuugiin Altantuyaa, also 
known as Altantuyaa.

The news of the repeal received backlash from Malaysians and families of murder 
victims. They insist capital punishment must remain as it is the only way to 
deliver justice to their loved ones.

The high profile murder of Altantuyaa, linked to an adviser of ex-PM Najib 
Razak, Abdul Razak Baginda, is still unresolved.

Who asked the police men to kill the model? This is the question that 
Malaysians have been asking since the uncovering of the gruesome murder in 
2007.

>From his Aussie cell, Sirul made wild claims about the events that led to the 
murder of the Mongolian woman.

His SMS messages to a high official of the Malaysian authorities, said to be 
close to Abdul Razak and allegedly close to ex-PM Najib Razak have gone viral 
in Malaysia.

The messages mention purported negotiations between the high official and Sirul 
on his return to Malaysia and on cash offers made to keep his mouth shut.

The model was murdered with C-4 explosives and her remains destroyed on October 
18, 2006 in a deserted area in Shah Alam, Malaysia near Kuala Lumpur.

Aside from this, another high profile murder of a local businesswoman, 
Sosilawati Lawiya is also in the limelight. Sosilawati disappeared while on a 
business trip in 2010 and is believed to have been killed and her body burned.

The daughter of the businesswoman is adamant that capital punishment should be 
imposed.

Proposed changes to the existing law include removing the word “mandatory” for 
11 serious death offences, such as murder, armed robbery and offences against 
the state and Rulers.

Once passed, judges would have the discretion to impose either life 
imprisonment or 30 years jail, thus eliminating the death penalty option.

According to Malay Mail, 9 offences fall under the Penal Code while another 2 
under the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971.

But Malaysia will keep the death sentence under Section 39B of the Dangerous 
Drugs Act 1952.

There is no indication whether the bill will be retrospective in nature, as 
this is still under consideration.

It is this section that will create opposition from the public at large, 
particularly from those who have lost loved ones at the hands of murderers.

The number of prisoners isn’t small either with 1,200 prisoners in the country 
currently on death row. For the prisoners, this is an unexpected turn of events 
and it gives their families hope that they may be released

(source: theindependent.sg)








SINGAPORE:

NGO questions Singapore's refusal to issue cert that could save M'sian from the 
gallows



Legal advocacy group Lawyers For Liberty has questioned Singapore's refusal to 
issue a certificate of substantive assistance that would spare Malaysian P. 
Pannir Selvam from the gallows in the island nation.

Its advisor N. Surendran said Pannir, who was convicted in 2017 of trafficking 
51.84g of diamorphine at Woodlands Checkpoint on Sept 3, 2014, had assisted 
authorities in Singapore.

A certificate of substantive assistance can be granted by the Singapore's 
attorney general's chambers (AGC) to say that a person who has been convicted 
for drug offences has assisted the authorities.

He said Singapore's refusal to issue the certificate would deprive Pannir of 
his life.

"The facts are clear, Pannir has assisted the authorities in Singapore.

"He has also said that he was duped by drug kingpins in Malaysia, so we are 
very surprised why the Singapore AGC did not issue the certificate," said 
Surendran in a press conference on Friday (July 5).

Also present were Pannir's siblings P. Angelia, P. Joshua and P. Isaac.

Surendran said the certificate was crucial as it would enable the court to 
sentence a person to life imprisonment instead of the mandatory death penalty.

He said the family would be challenging the Singapore's AGC's failure to issue 
the certificate.

"Here you have the (Singapore) AGC holding the power of life and death in 
Pannir's case.

"Not just his, many other Malaysians (caught for similar offences) also haven't 
gotten the certificate and are facing the gallows," he added.

Surendran said the clemency process of obtaining pardon was fundamentally 
flawed as letters saying he would be executed and another rejecting clemency 
were issued on the same date.

"How can that be? This indicates a serious flaw because surely the prison would 
not know the clemency has been rejected when the letter from the President's 
office had not been issued yet," said Surendran.

Pannir was granted a stay of execution on May 23, a day before he was to head 
to the gallows.

Surendran said the court had granted the stay to Pannir, on the grounds that 
the latter would be given time to file a judicial review to challenge the 
clemency process.

The hearing of the judicial review would be on July 19, he added.

Pannir's sister Angelia said her brother was a kind and helpful man who was 
active in sports during his younger days.

His younger brother Joshua said in the past people took advantage of his 
brother's kindness and tricked him.

Since Pannir, who will turn 32 on July 31, was sentenced, his family has been 
visiting him every month.

Angelia said the family had been struggling and even sold off some of their 
belongings to finance their trips to Singapore.

The family also urged the public to sign a petition at www.savepannir.info.

(source: thestar.com.my)

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

8 arrested in murder case after man collapses at Orchard Towers



6 men and 2 women have been arrested in connection with a case of murder after 
a man collapsed at Orchard Towers on Tuesday morning (Jul 2).

The police said they received a call for assistance at 6.25am, adding that a 
31-year-old man was found motionless at the scene.

He was taken unconscious to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, where he was pronounced 
dead.

The suspects are aged between 22 and 27, said the police.

5 of them will be charged in court on Thursday for murder with common 
intention, which carries the death penalty.

CCTV footage obtained by 8world News showed a man walking slowly in front of an 
escalator before collapsing, prompting onlookers to rush forward to check on 
him.

Photos taken by the news outlet also showed a pool of blood on the floor near 
the building's entrance.

Police were seen cordoning off an area outside Orchard Towers.

Police said investigations against 3 of the 8 suspects are ongoing.

(source: channelnewsasia.com)




INDIA:

1984 anti-Sikh riots: 50 accused move SC against Delhi HC conviction 
order----The FIR registered in this case noted that 95 people were killed and 
around 100 houses were set on fire in Trilokpuri over a few days. Over 100 
people were later arrested for rioting, arson and violation of curfew. Of 
these, a Delhi trial court convicted 88 in 1996. While many of the convicts are 
no longer alive, those who are, had appealed against the convictions in the 
Delhi High Court.



On Friday, after the Supreme Court acquitted 20 individuals citing lack of 
evidence in the 1984 Trilokpuri case, 50 other individuals moved SC against the 
Delhi High Court order of conviction.

The SC has issued a notice to the Delhi Police and will hear pleas by the 
riot-accused on 23 July.

The Delhi High court had upheld the conviction of 88 people by a trial court in 
connection with 1984 anti-Sikh riots in East Delhi's Trilokpuri area.'

Those convicted were charged with rioting and violation of curfew, among other 
charges for the pogrom in Trilokpuri area of east Delhi in November 1984, 
following the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh 
bodyguard.

The court dismissed the petitions of the 88 convicts and directed them to 
surrender within 4 weeks. All the accused have been out on bail.

"That the criminal justice administration may falter or crumble, or lose its 
potency, is no longer a distant doomsday scenario," the court observed sharply. 
"It appears to have arrived and stared at us in the face. The question as to 
whether the guilt of the appellants for complicity in rioting and mischief by 
fire was correctly concluded or not has come up for determination 34 years 
after the crimes were committed, and 22 years after the trial court had 
rendered its decision."

The FIR registered in this case noted that 95 people were killed and around 100 
houses were set on fire in Trilokpuri over a few days. Over 100 people were 
later arrested for rioting, arson and violation of curfew. Of these, a Delhi 
trial court convicted 88 in 1996. While many of the convicts are no longer 
alive, those who are, had appealed against the convictions in the Delhi High 
Court.

On November 20, a Delhi trial court awarded the first death penalty in the 
anti-Sikh riots: Yashpal Singh was found guilty of killing 2 men in the pogrom. 
The other convict, Naresh Sehrawat, was awarded life term. The special 
investigation team had reopened eight cases in 2015 and this was the first 
conviction from the five cases that have been probed till now.

(source: Daily News & Analysis)

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

Rohtak gangrape-murder: SC stays execution of 7 death row convicts



The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the execution of death penalty awarded to 
7 men convicted of raping and murdering a mentally-challenged woman in Rohtak 
in 2015.

While staying the execution of convicts Rajesh, Pawan, Sunil aka Mada, Padam, 
Sarwar, Manbir and Sunil aka Sheela, a Bench of Chief Justice of India Ranjan 
Gogoi and Justice Deepak Gupta also admitted their appeals against the Punjab 
and Haryana High Court’s March 19 verdict upholding the trial court’s decision 
to award them capital punishment.

The convicts contended that neither the trial court nor the high court made any 
individual assessment of the mitigating circumstances in favour of each of the 
accused. The courts below simply went by the brutal nature of the crime, said 
senior advocate Vibha Datta Makhija – who represented the convicts before the 
Supreme Court.

The 27-year-old victim — a differently-abled woman brought from Nepal was 
residing with her sister in Rohtak. Acting on a tip-off, the police had 
arrested Padam, who spilled the beans during interrogation leading to arrest of 
other 6 accused. Seventh accused – Somvir – had committed suicide in the 
national capital the day Padam was arrested.

The trial court had in December 2015 sentenced them to be “hanged by neck till 
they are dead” for murder and criminal conspiracy under Sections 302 and 120-B 
of IPC and were also awarded imprisonment for rest of their natural life for 
gang rape under Section 376-D of the IPC.

The High Court was shocked to see the number and nature of injuries inflicted 
through “brutal and predatory acts of perpetrators of the barbaric crime”.

While upholding their capital punishment, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had 
also imposed a fine ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 50 lakh on them.

Death sentence was not enough and properties of convicts in heinous crime cases 
should be sold for recovery of heavy fine to be slapped on them, the HC had 
said and directed Rohtak Deputy Commissioner to identify immovable properties 
of all convicts within a month and sell the attached assets two months 
thereafter.

“We think imposition of heavy fine, which if recovered by sale of the 
properties of the guilty, would prove additional deterrent,” the HC had said, 
adding the victim or relatives would also find some solace, if they were 
compensated by selling the properties of those found guilty.

(source: tribuneindia.com)








CHINA:

Death sentence upheld for 'wife in freezer' killer



Zhu Xiaodong stands trial at Shanghai Higher People's Court on Friday.

Shanghai Higher People's Court rejected an appeal made by a man who was 
sentenced to death after killing his wife and storing her body in a freezer for 
3 months, upholding the death sentence on Friday morning.

The verdict will be reviewed by the Supreme People's Court.

Zhu Xiaodong, 31, was convicted of strangling his wife Yang Liping to death on 
October 17, 2016, during an argument. He wrapped the corpse in a bed cover and 
hid it in a freezer on the balcony of their home in Hongkou District.

Dressed in a black shirt and blue shorts, Zhu remained impassive during the 
hearing. As the court announced the verdict, his mother burst into tears.

The court gave its decisions on the three matters of dispute during the 2nd 
instance on December 13 last year, when Zhu and his lawyer argued that it was a 
crime of passion and not an intentional homicide. The lawyer also attempted to 
seek leniency for Zhu by claiming that he was a 1st offender who turned himself 
in to the police.

Zhu’s defense team presented a series of Yang's Weibo screenshots which they 
said showed Yang and Zhu had a stormy marriage. The court ruled the screenshots 
were insufficient to prove it was crime of passion, and said there was no 
evidence that Yang herself had made the postings.

On the question of Zhu's intent, the court found that Zhu had several affairs 
after he and Yang married in 2015. In August 2016, two months before the 
murder, Zhu told his mistress that he and Yang had divorced. In the same month, 
he bought some "true crime" books and had them delivered to the residence of 
his father. The way he murdered Yang was almost exactly the same as a case in 
one of the books.

In September, he bought a large freezer online, which neither fitted in their 
home nor was in line with their ordinary lifestyle.

He took Yang to the primary school where she worked and had her resign, saying 
she would be going to Hong Kong with Zhu because he had been promoted. Yang's 
resignation was accepted a few days before she was killed, so the school had no 
knowledge of her movements in the following 3 months.

After he killed Yang on October 17 morning, he transferred the remaining 45,000 
yuan (US$6,544.12) in Yang's Alipay account to his own account and booked air 
tickets to and from South Korea on the same day. He also went out for drinks 
with friends at night and stayed overnight at the pub.

Later he overdrew more than 100,000 yuan with Yang's credit cards and 
squandered the money for personal pleasure.

He also installed devices which can allow him to monitor the condition of the 
freezer on his cellphone and see if someone discovered the secret in it.

Over the 3 months Yang's body was kept in the freezer, Zhu used her WeChat 
messaging account to impersonate her in communications with her friends and 
relatives and used her Weibo account to write postings.

The court said his calm behaviors after committing a murder is unlike an 
offender of impulse crime, who usually shows panic and regret, and thought he 
had enough psychological preparation.

For the argument on if the death penalty is too heavy and he should be given 
lighter penalty, the court said Zhu's deeds are completely generated from his 
extreme selfishness and "break the bottom line of humanity."

Fan Yong, lawyer for Yang's family, told Shanghai Daily that the victim's side 
was satisfied with the verdict and felt justice had been done.

"More than us, today the whole of society witnessed the fairness and justice," 
said Fan. "However, as a lawyer, I still felt some sadness that the lives of 2 
young people and their families have been destroyed. There is a lot for the 
public to ponder about the case, and what we can do to prevent such a tragedy 
happening again. "

Yang Liping's father Yang Ganlian said he would go to his daughter's tomb in 
the afternoon to tell her the news.

(source: shine.cn)








JAPAN:

Debate on death penalty not spirited 1 year after AUM executions

July marks 1 year since the founder and 12 former senior members of the AUM 
Shinrikyo cult were executed after being convicted of murders, including the 
1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system.

The executions could have sparked a vigorous debate on the death penalty in 
Japan, but they have not led to any major movement calling for its abolition 
despite international criticism, and polls suggest many Japanese are supportive 
of capital punishment.

The unprecedented group execution of AUM founder Shoko Asahara, whose real name 
was Chizuo Matsumoto, and the former senior members occurred on July 6 and 26, 
2018.

It brought the total number of annual executions in Japan to 15 in 2018 from 
the previous year's 4, according to the Justice Ministry.

Human rights organization Amnesty International said Japan is among 56 
countries and regions that conduct capital punishment while more than 2/3 of 
world states have abolished it in law or in practice as at the end of 2018.

Approval of capital punishment is high in Japan.

A 2014 opinion poll by the Cabinet Office showed only 9.7 % believed the death 
penalty "should be abolished" while 80.3 % said its existence "could not be 
helped".

Among the latter, 57.5 % did not support its abolition in the future, although 
40.5 percent did "if the situation changes."

Yoshio Urushibara, a former politician and advisor to the Komeito party, the 
coalition ally of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party, argues 
for abolishing executions due to the possibility of wrongful convictions.

"It would mean that the state kills innocent people," Urushibara, a lawyer, 
said.

But he also believes that any future legislation to abolish the death penalty 
would have to consider the feelings of the families of crime victims.

Many such families have mixed feelings.

"What about the lives of the victims who were killed as if they were less than 
bugs?" said Minako Ogino, whose 21-year-old daughter Yukari was murdered 10 
years ago.

Without the death penalty, "I would like a punishment that makes (the 
perpetrators) feel that being alive is excruciating," she said.

Although no changes to the books have been made relating to the death penalty, 
the former AUM members' executions may have stirred something.

"It would have been impossible to have a discussion about capital punishment 
prior to the executions," a senior official of the ministry said, suggesting 
people may now feel more open to discussing the death penalty.

Lawmakers formed a cross-party group last year, calling for "a candid 
discussion" involving both sides of the debate.

Public safety authorities remain wary, meanwhile, of potential violence by 
AUM's successor and splinter organizations and have been monitoring their 
activities as the founder Asahara continues to wield influence even after his 
death.

Police sources say members of the successor organization, which branded itself 
as Aleph, have walked around the Tokyo Detention House where Asahara was long 
held and executed, believing it to emanate mystical energy.

The members have been recently doing so individually to attract less attention, 
the sources say.

Authorities also remain vigilant of a movement among the members to name 
Asahara's 2nd son as their leader.

"We cannot deny the possibility that a new charismatic sect leader could 
appear," 1 of the sources said.

Recruitment is also a point of concern, especially among youths who either do 
not know or remember little of AUM's past.

The organizations have a total of 1,650 members with Aleph gaining 100 new 
members annually, according to the police.

Recruiters often engage their targets at public events, only later revealing 
their affiliation as relationships deepen, according to the sources.

"There are many young recruits who do not know the past cases (caused by AUM). 
We are afraid of them blindly accepting dangerous beliefs and becoming 
violent," said a former investigator who was involved in the cases.

Authorities are also concerned about the future of Matsumoto's remains, which 
they fear may lead to his "deification" or spark a violent leadership fight. 
The remains are currently being kept at the detention house, as family members 
dispute who should receive them.

(source: The Mainichi)








SOMALIA----executions Al-Shabaab Executes 5 Men Over Spying Claims in Jubbaland



The Al-Qaeda branch in Somalia, Al-Shabaab militia group executed 5 Somali men 
in Hagar area of Lower Jubba region of Somalia on claims of spying.

Al-Shabaab court on Wednesday 3rd July 2019 sentenced the 5 Somali men death 
penalty on allegation that they were spying the group's activities on behalf 
the Federal government of Somalia and its foreign allied partners.

Al-Shabaab which has suffered major losses on their side mainly inflicted by 
precision airstrikes and successful ground combat ambushes on their training 
camps and hideouts in various parts of Somalia view that its own fighter leaks 
the group's plans to locals who in turn shares the gathered intelligence to 
Federal government of Somalia and its foreign allied partners prompting the 
successful operations against the group.

The 5 Somali men who were executed were identified as follows;

Osman Abdulle Abdullahi; who was accused of spying for U.S. Security Agency.

Abdkarim Mumin Ahmed; who was accused of working with the Danab Forces (U.S. 
trained forces).

Hassan Barre Ishaaq; who was accused of working with the Kenyan Government and 
its security agencies.

Omar Hassan Ahmed; who was alleged of having links with the U.S. CIA agency.

Ahmed Abdullahi Warsame; who was also accused of spying on behalf of U.S. CIA 
Agency.

The men were executed by Al-Shabaab firing squad at a public place in Hagar 
town a stronghold of Al-Shabaab in the Lower Juba region. The reason Al-Shabaab 
executes people at a public place is to instill fear among its own members and 
more so to locals against collaborating with government and the foreigner 
allied forces.

Al-Shabaab has executed more suspects including its own fighters over foreign 
spying allegations in South and Central Somalia; and especially Kenyan fighters 
within Al-Shabaab ranks have suffered the brunt of Al-Shabaab spying suspicion 
and subsequent executions charges on them.

(source: menafn.com)