[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

July 19




MOROCCO:

Moroccan court orders death penalty for jihadists who beheaded tourists----3 
men who killed Scandinavian women hiking in High Atlas face death sentence



A Moroccan court has condemned 3 Islamic State group supporters to death for 
the murder of 2 Scandinavian women who were beheaded while on a hiking trip in 
the High Atlas mountains.

The suspected ringleader, Abdessamad Ejjoud, and 2 companions received the 
maximum penalty for the murders in December of Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, a 
24-year-old Danish tourist, and her 28-year-old Norwegian companion, Maren 
Ueland.

The anti-terrorist court in Sale, near the Moroccan capital, Rabat, issued 
verdict on Thursday following an 11-week trial in a case that has shocked the 
north African country.

The 3 admitted to killing the women and said they had been Isis supporters, 
although the group itself has never claimed responsibility for the murders.

Ejjoud, a 25-year-old street vendor and underground imam, had confessed at a 
previous hearing to beheading one of the women.

Younes Ouaziyad, a 27-year-old carpenter, confessed to the other murder, while 
Rachid Afatti, 33, had videoed the murders on his mobile phone.

Prosecutors had called for the death penalty despite Morocco having a de facto 
freeze on executions since 1993.

“We expect sentences that match the cruelty of the crime,” said Khaled El 
Fataoui, a lawyer speaking for the family of Jespersen, told AFP.

Helle Petersen, her mother, said in a letter read out in court last week: “The 
most just thing would be to give these beasts the death penalty they deserve.”

The prosecution labelled all 3 “bloodthirsty monsters”, pointing out that an 
autopsy report had found 23 injuries on Jespersen’s decapitated body and 7 on 
that of Ueland.

The defence lawyers argued there were “mitigating circumstances on account of 
their precarious social conditions and psychological disequilibrium”.

Coming from modest backgrounds, with a “very low” level of education, the 
defendants lived for the most part in poor areas of Marrakesh, a tourist 
hotspot.

However, the court ordered the three men to pay 2m dirhams (£170,000) in 
compensation to Ueland’s parents.

Jespersen’s lawyers accused the authorities of failing to monitor the 
activities of some of the suspects before the murders. But the court rejected 
the Jespersen family’s request for 10m dirhams in compensation from the 
Moroccan state for its “moral responsibility”.

The prosecution has called for prison terms of between 15 years and life for 
the 21 other defendants on trial since 2 May.

(source: The Guardian)








IRAN----female execution

91st woman executed in Iran during Rouhani’s presidency



A Kurdish woman named Maliheh Salehian was executed in the central prison of 
Mahabad. She is the 91st woman to be executed in Iran during Rouhani’s term in 
office since 2013.

Maliheh Salehian from Miandoab was hanged on Tuesday, July 16, 2019, on charges 
of murder in the central prison of Mahabad.

In the last 2 days, 13 people have been executed in different cities of Iran.

On Wednesday, July 17, 2019, another female prisoner, Zahra Safari Moghadam, 
43, was hanged in the Prison of Nowshahr, in northern Iran. Zahra Safari 
Moghaddam was in prison since July 2016.

Less than a month ago, on June 19, a woman identified as Fatemeh Nassiri was 
hanged in Gohardasht (Rajaii-Shahr) Prison of Karaj. She had been imprisoned 
since 11 years ago in Qarchak prison. She was said to have undertaken the crime 
committed by her son.

There are unconfirmed reports of the hanging another woman by the name of 
Fariba, along with Fatemeh Nassiri on June 19.

Maliheh Salehian is the 91st woman to be executed during 6 years of Rouhani’s 
presidency.

Iran is the world’s record holder in per capita executions. More than 3700 
persons have so far been executed during 6 years of Rouhani’s terms in office.

The Iranian regime deploys execution and the death penalty as a tool for 
maintaining its grab on power and for silencing a disgruntled populace the 
majority of whom live under the poverty line, while unemployment is rampant in 
the country and there is no freedom of speech.

Rule 61 of the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and 
Non-Custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules) reads, “When 
sentencing women offenders, courts shall have the power to consider mitigating 
factors such as lack of criminal history and relative non-severity and nature 
of the criminal conduct, in the light of women’s caretaking responsibilities 
and typical backgrounds.”

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance 
of Iran, has consistently emphasized the need for abolition of the death 
penalty in Iran.

(source: ncr-iran.org)

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

Man Hanged at Mahshahr Prison



A man was hanged at the southern Iranian city of Mahshahr’s Central prison 
Wednesday.

According to Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), a man was hanged at the 
southern Iranian city of Mahshahr’s Central prison on Wednesday, July 17. He 
reportedly killed his tenant with the assistance of his wife by a firearm. IRNA 
has not mentioned the man’s name.

At least 110 people were executed in Iran in the 1st half of 2019; Only 37 of 
the executions have been announced by authorities or Iranian media. Iran Human 
Rights (IHR) could confirm 73 more through its sources. IHR only reports the 
unannounced executions if it could confirm those with 2 separate credible 
sources. Therefore, the actual number of executions may be even higher than 
reported.

(source: Iran Human Rights)








TANZANIA:

Tanzania rules to uphold the death penalty.

Tanzanian High Court has ruled to uphold or keep the death penalty, stating 
that there is not enough evidence to challenge the death penalty, which means 
that it will remain in place and operating.

WHY IT MATTERS: Human rights activists in Tanzania grouped in ‘Tanzania Legal 
and Human Rights center’ had filed a complaint saying it is unconstitutional as 
it breaches the right to life.

But, today, the High Court judged to keep it despite the outcry of the Human 
Rights activists.

BBC reports that some 500 convicts in Tanzania’s jails face the death penalty 
or have seen their sentences changed to life prison terms.

Tanzanian laws state the crime and murder are punishable by the death penalty, 
even though since 1994 no one has been executed, BBC added.

Of the 195 countries of the United Nations, 55 are still under penalty of 
death, in the United States of America, Botswana, Egypt, Nigeria, Sudan, and 
South Sudan, China, and many other Arab and Asian countries.

Other countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, 
Ethiopia are in the process of abolishing the death penalty sentence.

Rwanda and Burundi and some other countries have already abolished the death 
penalty altogether.

(source: regionweek.com)








MALAYSIA:

Man, 35, detained for allegedly trafficking drugs at Miri waterfront



Police have arrested a man for allegedly trafficking drugs at the busy Miri 
waterfront commercial centre.

A team of cops ambushed the 35-year-old suspect at the carpark at about 8pm on 
Thursday (July 18) night.

Miri police chief Asst Comm Lim Meng Seah said police have classified the case 
under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act for trafficking due to the type 
and amount of drugs found.

"He was found with 20 packs of Nimetazepam pills and one packet of ketamine (in 
powder form).

"The market value for these drugs is about RM10,000.

"We are probing him under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act," ACP Lim told 
reporters here on Friday (July 19).

The offence under Section 39B carries the mandatory death penalty upon 
conviction.

(source: thestar.com.my)