[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

July 16


CZECH REPUBLIC/CHINA:

MOFA lauds Czech Republic's protection of 8 Taiwanese wanted by China



The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Tuesday lauded the Czech government's 
decision to provide "subsidiary protection" to eight Taiwanese fraud suspects 
detained in its capital Prague rather than extradite them to China as requested 
by Beijing.

Subsidiary protection is an international protection given to a non-EU national 
or a stateless person who does not qualify as a refugee and would face the risk 
of suffering serious harm if returned to his or her country of origin, 
according to the website of European Union (EU).

"We commend and appreciate the position of the Czech government, which showed 
moral courage and pragmatism in protecting the human rights of these Taiwanese 
and refusing China's request (for extradition)," MOFA spokesman Andrew Lee said 
at a press conference Tuesday.

It is MOFA's obligation to protect the basic human and legal rights of 
Taiwanese when they get in trouble outside the country, and the government will 
do all it can to help the eight Taiwanese and have them deported back to Taiwan 
for legal proceedings.

The eight Taiwanese were arrested in Prague by police in that country in 
January 2018 on the basis of a red alert notice issued by Interpol. They were 
accused by the Chinese government of posing as Chinese police officers and 
prosecutors to defraud Chinese nationals in their home country by phone.

A court in the Czech Republic agreed to extradite these Taiwanese to China in 
autumn 2018, believing China's claim that they would be entitled to a fair 
trial and not be given the death penalty.

Czech Interior Minister Jan Hamacek announced via twitter on Monday, however, 
that the eight Taiwanese will receive subsidiary protection, although he did 
not provide any further details, citing administrative reasons.

According to a report by the Czech News Agency (CTK), the Czech government 
feared for the safety of the Taiwanese because of concerns they could face 
inhumane treatment and even capital punishment if they were extradited to 
China.

The EU is a strong advocate of abolishing of death penalty.

Beijing has for many years requested countries in which Taiwanese fraud 
suspects were apprehended in cases with Chinese nationals as victims to 
extradite them to China, citing investigative and judicial procedures because 
the victims were in China.

Some also see the requests as Beijing's way of enforcing its so-called "one 
China principle" to diminish Taiwan's sovereignty.

According to the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), at least 650 Taiwanese crime 
suspects apprehended in a third country have been deported or extradited to 
China by host governments since 2016.

Such cases have happened as far back as 2011, however, when 14 Taiwanese were 
deported to China from the Philippines.

(source: focustaiwan.tw)








VIETNAM:

Vietnamese heroin trafficker arrested



Police of Vietnam's northern Dien Bien province on Monday arrested a local drug 
trafficker, confiscating 3.4 kg of heroin, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

Phan Van Pao, a 33-year-old man from northern Lai Chau province, was detained 
when transporting 10 cakes of heroin weighing 3.4 kg in Dien Bien's Muong Nhe 
district.

According to the Vietnamese law, those convicted of smuggling over 600 grams of 
heroin or more than 2.5 kg of methamphetamine are punishable by death. Making 
or trading 100 grams of heroin or 300 grams of other illegal drugs also faces 
death penalty.

(source: xinhuanet.com)








INDIA:

Church opposes execution of India's child sex offenders----Life is 'a gift from 
God' and should be protected, says bishop as death sentence is introduced for 
most heinous crimes



Catholic leaders say the Church cannot support the Indian government’s decision 
to amend its child protection law and include the option of imposing the death 
sentence for child sex offenders.

The federal cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 10 approved 
amendments to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) 
legislation that will allow courts to hand down stricter sentences for a range 
of child sex offences.

The amendments, described by the cabinet as an “historic decision,” are aimed 
at deterring “the trend of child sexual abuse” and to ensure the “safety and 
dignity” of children. It also “aimed to establish clarity regarding the aspects 
of child abuse and punishment,” the official statement said.

The gender-neutral POCSO Act 2012 sought to protect children below the age of 
12 from all sexual crimes and to ensure their healthy physical, emotional, 
intellectual and social development.

The latest move follows India’s introduction of a criminal law in July 2018 
allowing for the death penalty for rapes against girls under 12 in a bid to 
curb increased sexual violence against young girls across the country.

That law replaced an emergency amendment made to the criminal law in April 2018 
following the national outcry over the rape and murder three months earlier of 
an 8-year-old girl in Kashmir and other such cases.

Last year’s law increased the minimum punishment for the rape of women from 
seven to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment. It also allowed courts to impose the 
death penalty for the rape of girls under 12 and life imprisonment for the rape 
of girls aged 12-16.

The latest amendments aim to make these laws compatible with each other 
irrespective of gender, legal experts said.

However, the Catholic Church is against the death penalty for any crime, said 
Bishop Jose Chittooparampil of Rajkot in the western state of Gujarat.

“The death penalty cannot be seen as an effective deterrent to any crime, 
however horrible the crime may be,” he said. If it were an effective deterrent, 
crimes punishable by the death penalty would not have occurred anywhere in the 
world, he noted.

“The Catholic Church’s official stand is pro-life, considering life as a gift 
from God,” he told ucanews.com. “It cannot back executions because God is the 
master of life. The Church believes in the transformation of even hard-core 
criminals.”

That should not be interpreted as meaning that the Church in any way supported 
or approved of heinous crimes such as the rape of underage girls or any other 
forms of violence, he said.

“There should be stringent punishments for those playing with the life of 
innocent children in all forms of sexual offenses so as to generate fear among 
those committing such offenses,” Bishop Chittooparampil added.

Father Maria Stephan, public relations officer of the Catholic Church in the 
central state of Madhya Pradesh, said the duty of the state “is not to take 
away life but protect it.”

Even serial offenders can be reformed through psychiatric counseling and other 
corrective methods. “Taking life is easy but bringing back the offenders to 
normal life should be our main concern,” he said.

A sexual offense could be committed out of a sudden impulse and there are many 
instances of young people regretting such actions. “Should we not give them a 
chance to live?” he asked.

Holy Spirit Sister Lizy Thomas, however, said: “Rape is a cruel crime, and 
especially horrible when it is committed against a minor.”

Many men commit the offense under the influence of drugs and without realizing 
the enormity of their crime, said Sister Thomas. “The punishment should be 
severe and long enough to help them understand their mistake and come back to 
normal life,” she added.

More than 50 children are raped every day in India, according to official crime 
data released by the National Crime Records Bureau.

Rapes of children below 16 increased from 8,541 in 2012 to 19,765 in 2016, 
according to the latest available records.

Of the cases reported in 2016, some 8,000 victims — or 40 % — were below the 
age of 12, while those below the age of 6 numbered 520, the data showed.

(source: ucanews.com)