[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

July 8



TUNISIA:

Gay Tunisian politician Mounir Baatour is running for President



A gay politician has announced he is running to become President of Tunisia, 
where homosexuality is still illegal.

Mounir Baatour, the head of the country’s fringe Liberal Party and a well-known 
campaigner for LGBT rights, has announced he will contest the country’s 
Presidential elections on November 10.

The move is a bold step in Tunisia, where where gay sex is still illegal and 
LGBT+ people face routine discrimination and even forced anal probes.

Mounir Baatour is running for President of Tunisia

The 48-year-old lawyer, who has faced arrest himself previously, has led 
efforts to challenge the law via Tunisian LGBT+ group Association Shams.

Baatour says he would stand for a progressive and modern Tunisia that defends 
the rights of all people and fights against corruption.

He said: “Tunisia needs a democratic programme that can include the different 
identities, cultures, beliefs, and languages of this country.

“Our programme aims to democratise power, strengthen the Parliament and give 
more weight to local institutions.”

Incumbent president Beji Caid Essebsi is not seeking reelection in November.

However, Baatour faces a steep climb to ever gain power, with many in the 
country rejecting the prospect of a gay leader.

If elected, he would be the first out leader in the Arab world.

Decriminalising homosexuality needs ‘political will’

Speaking to International Policy Digest, Baatour added: “Political will is 
needed to reduce homophobia in society.

“When in 1956 President Bourguiba banned polygamy, allowed abortion and 
adoption and banned the repudiation of women, at that time the Tunisian people 
were very conservative but there was enough of political will to impose these 
reforms.

“Today too, political will is needed to decriminalise homosexuality and fight 
homophobia.

“Even though the people are conservative, they will adapt to the reforms.”

The candidate would also delete provisions that prohibit non-Muslims from 
running for high office.

He said: “Tunisia has more than three million years of history, many 
civilisations have passed through it.

“Tunisian Identity is plural and all the cultures and beliefs that make up the 
current Tunisian civilisation must be respected.”

Tunisia was the birthplace of the so-called Arab Spring, with protests dubbed 
the Jasmine Revolution managing to overthrow dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali 
in January 2011. A democratic system of representation has since been 
established in the country.

While democratic rights have been slow to affect the LGBT+ community, an 
increasing number of political figures have been advocating for lifting the ban 
on homosexual acts.

In 2018, a commission called for the decriminalisation of homosexuality as well 
as the removal of the death penalty and equal rights for women.

(source: pinknews.co.uk)








RUSSIA/TOGO:

Russia to Deport Togolese National Facing Death Penalty at Home



A former presidential guard from the West African nation of Togo who faces the 
death penalty for helping his country’s opposition will be deported from 
Russia, Moscow-based activists have said.

Russia has for the past 5 years denied refugee status to Bozobeyidou Batoma, 
42, a former member of the Togolese commando guard force, Russia’s Civic 
Assistance Committee said. A Russian court ruled last month to deport Batoma 
back to Togo, which he had escaped after allegedly being imprisoned and 
tortured and where he faced the threat of extrajudicial execution.

He could be sent back to Togo on a Monday morning flight via Casablanca, 
Morocco, the Civic Assistance Committee, a primary point of contact for 
refugees in Russia, wrote on Facebook Sunday.

The NGO said it appealed the court’s decision last week and a new court date 
has been set for July 22, but police in the Bryansk region near the Belarussian 
border had reportedly taken him to Moscow ahead of his deportation.

“Bozobeyidou Batoma can’t be put on a plane and forced to return to Togo, death 
awaits him there!” the activists warned.

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, in 2018 had recognized Batoma as a person in need 
of international protection, the Civic Assistance Committee added.

Russia has called the charges against him in Togo "speculation" when denying 
him asylum, the MBKh Media news website cited authorities as saying.

A flight had departed toward Casablanca from Domodedovo Airport earlier on 
Monday and is scheduled to arrive in Lome, Togo, early Tuesday.

(source: TheMoscow Times)








GREECE:

Greek elections: Conservatives win power from Syriza



Conservative Kyriakos Mitsotakis is to become the next Greek Prime Minister 
after voters gave his New Democracy party a parliamentary majority on Sunday.

It was the sixth time in just a decade — and the first time since the country 
successfully exited its bailout programme in August 2018 — that Greeks went to 
the polls to elect a new government.

The contest, called on May 26 by Tsipras after his SYRIZA party's disastrous 
result in the European as well as local and regional elections, had largely 
been seen as a battle for the middle-class which was severely impacted by 
austerity measures following the country's near-bankruptcy and assistance from 
international creditors.

Prime Minister-elect Mitsotakis had focused his campaign on the economy and 
security.

Country swings to the right

With 39.84% of the vote (with 98% of ballots counted), New Democracy secured 
158 of the 300-seat parliament — an absolute majority.

In his victory speech delivered at 2100 CET (2200 local time), Mitsotakis 
thanked the electorate for the "strong mandate" which he said would help him 
"change Greece".

He pledged to work hard to ensure every Greek citizen, particularly the young 
who were disproportionately impacted by the financial crisis and its aftermath, 
would be given the opportunity to "fulfil their potential."

He also reiterated that his government will reduce tax, increase wages, boost 
investment and employment and added that he will make Greece's voice stronger 
on the European stage.

He will be sworn in on Monday at 1200 CET. His cabinet should be announced 
later in the day and be sworn in on Tuesday.

Tsipras to continue political fight in opposition

The electoral drumming which started on May 26 continued on Sunday for SYRIZA. 
The left-wing party finished 2nd with 31.54% of the vote.

"Today, with our head held high we accept the people's verdict. To bring Greece 
to where it is today we had to take difficult decisions (with) a heavy 
political cost," Tsipras said during his concession speech.

The outgoing Prime Minister said he would hand the country to Mitsotakis in a 
better state than when he had inherited it with "restored credibility" and 
"positive growth rates."

The party will command 86 seats in parliament and thus become the country's 
main opposition party, a statute they will use to "defend the interests of the 
people," Tsipras said.

Far-right not weakened

The ultra-nationalist Golden Dawn party — which first entered the Hellenic 
parliament in 2010 — failed to secure the 3% of the national vote necessary to 
gain seats. In the last parliamentary election in September 2015, it had 
commandeered 18 seats.

The party — which is still on trial for the murder of musician Pavlos Fyssas 
and migrant worker Sahzat Lukman and attacks on migrants — will, however, be 
represented at the Europan parliament as it secured 2 seats in May.

But the far-right populist party, Greek Solution, has made it into parliament 
with 3.7% of the vote. Its leader, Kyriakos Velopoulos, was one of the party's 
2 members to be elected an MEP in May. Velopoulos, a televangelist, advocating 
for the death penalty and closed borders, drew ridicule online for marketing 
letters he said were written by Jesus Christ.

The reactions EU chief Jean-Claude Juncker — whose term expires on November 1 — 
said in a letter to Mitsotakis that "one of the proudest achievements" of the 
Commission he presided over for the past five years "has been to help Greece 
turn the page of the crisis and create a future for itself."

He added: "I have full confidence in your personal capacity and in the capacity 
of the Greek people to open a new, brighter chapter in the history of your 
country."

(source: euronews.com)








UNITED KINGDOM:

Tory members back death penalty, believe Islam is a threat and think Trump 
would make a good PM, poll finds----Survey comes as Islamophobic Facebook posts 
by Conservative members revealed: ‘I would ban all Muslim (sic) from entering 
the whole of Great Britain’



Conservative Party members want to bring back the death penalty, believe Islam 
is a threat to the British way of life and think Donald Trump would make a good 
prime minister, a new poll has revealed.

The YouGov survey suggested 58 % of Tory members believe the death penalty 
should be allowed for certain crimes, against 37 % who do not back the return 
of capital punishment.

Some 56 % of members surveyed said Islam was “generally a threat” to the 
British way of life, while just 22 % thought it was “generally compatible”. It 
comes as the party struggles to shake off accusations it has failed to deal 
with Islamophobia.

On the question of Mr Trump’s leadership, 54 % said they believed he would make 
a good prime minister of the UK, with 43 % saying he would be bad.

The survey, commissioned for Channel 4’s Dispatches, also found that 42 % 
thought having people from a wide variety of racial and cultural backgrounds 
has damaged British society.

The programme, which will be broadcast at 8pm on Monday, highlights 
Islamophobic posts on Facebook from self-identifying members of the Tory party.

One member of the Boris Johnson Supporters Group said: “I would ban all Muslim 
(sic) from entering the whole of Great Britain.”

A member of the Jacob Rees Mogg Appreciation Society said: “2 mega mosques 
agreed planning permission in Maidstone and Worcester, how we feel about this?” 
Another person posted: “WRONG.”

The YouGov poll also reveals scepticism about the threat posed by climate 
change, with 46 per cent of Tory members saying concerns about climate change 
had been exaggerated, while 45 % said the danger is every bit as real as 
scientists have said.

Some 49 % of members said schools should not be required to educate children 
about LGBT relationships, and 51 % thought most people on benefits could get a 
job if they tried hard enough.

YouGov questioned 892 of the Tory members – currently choosing between Boris 
Johnson and Jeremy Hunt as party leader and the next prime minister – between 
11 June and 14 June.

A later study by the same firm, carried out after Mr Johnson and Mr Hunt had 
made it through to the final stage of the process, found the majority of 
members thought the former London mayor would make the “most trustworthy” prime 
minister.

The poll of 1,119 members carried out between 1 July and 5 July found 52 % 
backed Mr Johnson to make the most trustworthy premier, with 32 % favouring Mr 
Hunt.

A Conservative spokesman responded to the social media posts highlighted by 
Dispatches.

“Those people making these posts that we have found to be members of the party 
have been suspended pending investigation,” he said. “Discrimination or abuse 
of any kind is wrong and will not be tolerated.”

Mr Rees-Mogg said the Jacob Rees Mogg Appreciation Society Facebook group is 
not an official supporters’ group, adding: “I absolutely condemn such 
behaviour. Anyone who behaves in such a way is not one of my supporters and 
should be reported.”

Miqdaad Versi on the fundamental failures in Conservative Party over 
Islamophobia

In June ex-Tory chairwoman Sayeeda Warsi welcomed Conservative leadership 
contenders pledging to hold an internal inquiry into Islamophobia in the party, 
but said it was shame they had to be dragged “kicking and screaming”.

Miqdaad Versi, a spokesperson for the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), last 
month revealed he had documented “hundreds of cases” showing Islamophobia in 
Tory ranks.

The MCB has submitted more than 20 pages of evidence to the Equality and Human 
Rights Commission, urging independent investigators to launch an official probe 
into accusations within the party.

(source: The Independent)








BANGLADESH:

Rape of children: Death penalty sought for rapists----Incident of child rape 
increased by 41%, BSAF says



Shishu Adhikar Forum (BSAF) today issued a statement demanding death penalty 
for the rapists of children by bringing them under the law at the quickest.

According to the statement signed by BSAF Director Abdus Shaheed Mahmud, a 
total of 496 children were raped in the first 6 months of this year and of 
them, 53 were gang-raped.

27 out of the 496 children were physically challenged while 23 children were 
killed after rape, the statement said.

Besides, 74 children were made victims of attempted rape in the last 6 months, 
it added.

This year, the incidents of child rape have increased by 41 % from last year. A 
total of 571 incidents of child rape took place in 12 months last year.

“We are very alarmed at the rate of these kinds of incidents”, it said urging 
the authorities to change the current law with a provision for death by hanging 
as punishment for the rapist of children.

The statement also identified lack of exemplary punishment, weak charge sheets, 
lengthy trial processes and decay of social values as reasons for increasing 
such crimes.

It is the demand of time that the authorities and people in general do their 
best to ensure the safety of every child by giving them a proper childhood, the 
statement said.

(source: The Daily Star)








SINGAPORE:

Singapore’s double-murder trial: Accused visited sex forum 132 times on eve of 
killings



A day before he strangled his pregnant wife and four-year-old daughter, former 
property agent Teo Ghim Heng visited an online sex forum 132 times.

Teo was a frequent visitor of the Sammyboy Forum in the weeks leading to the 
killings, which government psychiatrist Derrick Yeo said casts doubt on whether 
he showed symptoms of depression.

The issue of whether Teo, 43, was suffering from major depressive disorder 
(MDD) was hotly debated in the High Court on Friday (July 5), the 4th day of 
his trial.

Teo faces the death penalty on two counts of murder for strangling his wife 
Choong Pei Shan, 39, and their daughter Zi Ning, at their Woodlands flat on Jan 
20, 2017.

The defence, relying on a report by private psychiatrist Jacob Rajesh, 
contended that Teo had MDD at the time and the condition reduced his mental 
responsibility for the killings.

Dr Rajesh's report said Teo had symptoms of depressed mood, poor sleep, a 
constant sense of worthlessness, low self-esteem and hopelessness, but tried to 
"act normal" in front of his family.

The disorder was brought on by his mounting debts and sense of helplessness , 
he added.

However, Dr Yeo, who is from the Institute of Mental Health, maintained that 
Teo did not have any mental disorder at the time. He said Teo expressed 
optimism that he would be able to turn his fortunes around.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Han Ming Kuang presented evidence that Teo used his 
mobile phone to surf the Sammyboy Forum almost every day between Dec 1, 2016, 
and Jan 19, 2017, sometimes making multiple visits each day.

On the eve of the killings, Teo visited the online forum 132 times. 4 days 
after the killings, he surfed the site 15 times - using Choong's phone.

The court heard that for someone to be diagnosed with MDD, the person has to 
show at least 5 symptoms from a list of 9. These include a loss of interest or 
pleasure in all activities.

Dr Yeo said the fact that Teo was enjoying pornography regularly in the weeks 
before the killings "cast an objective doubt" over whether he showed this 
particular symptom.

Teo's lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam highlighted that Teo, once a successful 
property agent, had "fallen" in status to a renovation firm employee. The 
lawyer cited anecdotes that Teo looked like a "different person" in January 
2017 and that he wore the same shirt at work on most days.

Dr Yeo said Teo had some symptoms but none of them were clinically significant.

He did not place much weight on Teo's claim of having had suicidal thoughts for 
a year, given that the accused had initially lied to him that there was a 
suicide pact.

If Teo was really suicidal, he would have jumped over the parapet when the 
police were at his door, Dr Yeo said.

Teo also claimed that Choong had an extramarital affair.

He told Dr Rajesh that in 2014, he came home to find the man in his bedroom. 
Teo also said he and Choong started dating when they were still married to 
their respective spouses.

He told Dr Yeo that he suspected Zi Ning was not his biological daughter.

The trial has been adjourned. Hearing dates have yet to be fixed.

(source: thestar.com.my)

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

MHA explains why Nigerian spared death sentence for importing about 2kg of Ice



A Nigerian man who was originally sentenced to death for importing about 2kg of 
drugs was spared the gallows upon appeal because he was found not to know of 
the presence of the drugs, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Home Affairs 
Amrin Amin said in Parliament on Monday (Jul 8).

He was responding to a question from Member of Parliament for Holland-Bukit 
Timah GRC Christopher de Souza.

Mr de Souza asked whether there was a need to review the provisions of the 
Misuse of Drugs Act in light of the Court of Appeal's judgement in the case. He 
also asked how the presumptions in the Act will continue to function as "key 
legal tools to battle trafficking within, into or through Singapore".

Adili Chibuike Ejike, who was arrested at Changi Airport in November 2011 with 
methamphetamine - commonly known as Ice - concealed in the inner lining of his 
suitcase was acquitted in May after the Court of Appeal heard his case in the 
High Court.

Mr Ejike had said that an acquaintance in Nigeria had told him to pass the 
suitcase to an unknown person in Singapore, and that he was given about 
US$5,000 (S$6,800) for his travel expenses.

He claimed that he did not know what the suitcase contained, why he had to 
deliver it, and he did not ask those questions of his acquaintance.

Advertisement According to court documents, Mr Ejike had been jobless in 
Nigeria after his business failed. He approached an acquaintance in Nigeria for 
help and that person agreed to give Mr Ejike a sum of money if he delivered a 
suitcase to an unspecified person in Singapore.

Mr Amrin explained that a person will be guilty of importing under Misuse of 
Drugs Act if he is in possession of the drugs, knew of their presence and their 
nature and brought the drugs into Singapore without prior authorisation. 
Trafficking more than 250g of Ice into Singapore comes with a possible death 
penalty.

"In practice, it can be difficult to prove a person’s state of mind," Mr Amrin 
said.

To address this, the Act builds in presumptions and when these presumptions 
apply, a person charged with importing prohibited drugs can be presumed to know 
of their presence, as well as their nature, he said.

It is then for the accused to give sufficient evidence to rebut the 
presumptions.

“The one key issue was whether Adili could rebut the presumption that he knew 
the nature of the drugs in his suitcase,” he said, adding that the Court of 
Appeal noted that the prosecution conceded that Mr Ejike did not actually know 
of the presence of the drugs.

“Members will appreciate that once the prosecution accepts that the accused did 
not know of the presence of the drugs, then the presumption cannot apply.

“This legal reasoning is neither novel nor new, and is not in any way different 
from the Government’s understanding of the law,” he said.

As a legal concept, wilful blindness means that a person will be treated as 
having knowledge of a fact, if it can be shown that he suspected something was 
amiss, yet, did not verify his suspicion, out of fear of legal consequences and 
he had reasonable means of discovering the truth, Mr Amrin said.

According to a written judgment, the court found that Adili had not been 
wilfully blind to the existence of the drugs in his suitcase. This was because 
it would not have been possible for Adili to have discovered the drug bundles, 
which were found only after the inner lining of the suitcase was cut open.

He also could not have found out about the drugs by asking the people who had 
handed him the suitcase in Nigeria, since they were intent on keeping the truth 
from him, and would not have told him about the hidden drug bundles even if he 
had asked, said the judges.

"There are other observations made by the Court of Appeal on wilful blindness. 
We are studying those observations carefully, and will set out the Government’s 
views in due course and whether any legislative amendments are necessary," Mr 
Amrin added.

Mr de Souza then asked if arising out of this decision, a suspect can claim the 
drugs being well-concealed as a defence.

To this, Mr Amrin said that the fact that the drugs are well-concealed alone 
will not lead to such a decision, and the case is assessed holistically.

"The courts, in the past, have carefully scrutinised such claims," Mr Amrin 
said.

(source: channelnewsasia.com)