[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

June 13





INDIA:

Death penalty for rapists of girls below 12 as President signs the ordinance



President Ram Nath Kovind signed an important ordinance on Thursday which will 
pave the way to provide tougher punishments in rape cases. This ordinance also 
includes a provision to give the death penalty for rapists of girls below 12 
years of age.

This comes in just a day after Union Cabinet approved the Ordinance. New 
fast-track courts will be set up for such cases and special kits will be 
provided to the police stations and government hospitals to conduct probe in a 
better manner.

Additionally, the minimum term for punishment in case of rape has been 
increased to 10 years of rigorous punishment from the existing 7 and this may 
also be turned into a life punishment based on the brutality of the case, the 
ordinance said. Also, in case of rape of girls between 12 to 16 years, the 
punishment from 10 years has been increased to 20 years and can be extended to 
life term which means that convict has to spend jail term for the rest of his 
natural life.

With this ordinance, the Indian Penal Code, Evidence Act, Code of Criminal 
Procedure and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POSCO) will stand 
amended. The deadline for trial in all rape cases will be 2 months. 
Additionally, no provision of anticipatory bail in relation to rape of girls 
below 16 years will be available.

(source: newssting.in)








SAUDI ARABIA----execution

Saudi Arabia executes Asian man for smuggling drugs



The Ministry of Interior in Saudi Arabia today issued a statement implementing 
the death sentence on a Pakistani prisoner in Dammam.

The execution was carried out in the city of Dammam in the eastern province on 
Thursday.

The Ministry of the Interior made the announcement to affirm to the public 
Saudi Arabia's keenness to fight drug dealing and use in the country.

The accused, Mohammed Allah Akho Nezad Kal, was arrested for smuggling heroin.

According to investigations, he was sentenced to the death penalty and the 
ruling was supported by the court of appeal and the supreme court, Saudi Press 
Agency (SPA) reported.

A royal order was issued to enforce the execution.

(source: Khaleej Times)








IRAN:

4 Prisoners Hanged at Rajai-Shahr Prison



According to the Iran Human Rights statistic department, most of Iran’s 
executions in 2018 were carried out at Rajai-Shahr prison.

3 prisoners were hanged this morning and 1 prisoner was hanged last Monday at 
Rajai-Shahr prison.

According to IHR sources, on the morning of Wednesday, June 12, 3 prisoners 
were executed at Rajai-Shahr prison in the Iranian city of Karaj. All of them 
were sentenced to death on the charge of “corruption on earth and rape.” IHR 
could identify one of them as Amir Tahmaseb.

Moreover, on Monday, June 10, 1 prisoner was hanged at Rajai-Shahr prison. He 
was charged with Moharebeh (waging war against God) by armed robbery.

The aforementioned executions are not announced by Iranian authorities or media 
so far.

According to the Iran Human Rights statistic department, most of Iran’s 
executions in 2018 were carried out at Rajai-Shahr prison.

(source: Iran Human Rights)

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

Openly gay reporter presses Iran's top diplomat on death penalty for 
homosexuals



An otherwise standard press conference in Tehran got turned up a notch on 
Monday when a German reporter hit Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif with a 
somewhat surprising question.

“Why are homosexuals executed in Iran because of their sexual orientation?” 
asked Paul Ronzheimer, the Berlin-based chief correspondent for the tabloid 
Bild.

Zarif, who conducted the press conference alongside his visiting German 
counterpart, Heiko Maas, responded that his “society has principles.”

“And we live according to these principles. These are moral principles 
concerning the behavior of people in general,” he continued. “And that means 
that the law is respected and the law is obeyed.”

According to Germany’s public broadcaster ZDF, Ronzheimer's question sparked a 
notable fracas among other Iranian officials and press in the room and came as 
a jolt to the top Tehran official. The question along with Zarif’s answer was 
subsequently edited out of a news release issued by the Ministry following the 
German official's stopover.

The Washington Post reported that Ronzheimer's American boyfriend, who is based 
in Berlin, had helped the reporter craft the question in English ahead of the 
confrontation.

Zarif’s defense of his country’s execution policy for gays has attracted the 
ire of the U.S. ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, who told the German 
Press Agency that the “Iranian regime has violated the basic principles of the 
United Nations.”

Homosexuality is currently outlawed in Iran and the court system is known to 
use accusations of male rape and gay sex to trigger death penalty sentences, 
despite protests from human rights activists who claim that suspicions over 
one’s sexuality or even an attempt to intimidate or embarrass a heterosexual 
person are often the real reason they are arrested and charged.

While there are no official statistics, many officials contend that thousands 
have been executed for their sexuality since the 1979 revolution.

Both men, women, and juveniles are also issued lashes or life imprisonment for 
convictions of homosexual offenses.

A similar confrontation to Monday's unfolded in 2007 at Columbia University in 
New York City when then-Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made a 
controversial appearance at the Ivy League school during the United Nations 
General Assembly.

“In Iran, we don’t have homosexuals like in your country,” Ahmadinejad said at 
the time.

Iran is just 1 of 73 countries where homosexuality is criminalized, and 1 of 8 
nations – alongside Afghanistan, Brunei, Mauritania, Sudan, Nigeria, Yemen, 
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Somalia – where it is classified as an offense 
punishable by death.

(source: Fox News)








NIGERIA:

Buharimeter: Nigerians ‘want’ death penalty for corrupt persons



Nigerians want President Muhammadu Buhari to declare death sentence for public 
officials found guilty of corrupt practices, according to Buharimeter, a survey 
by the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD).

The perception survey was released by CDD on Wednesday.

Signed by Idayat Hassan, director, CDD-West Africa, the organisation said the 
survey was based on interviews with 5,019 citizens above 18 years across the 36 
states of the country.

According to the survey, “the two broad themes seeking critical attention from 
public opinion are: the revamping of the country’s economy and improving the 
state of security”.

“The findings clearly revealed that job creation (35 %) and security (24 %) are 
the top 2 most important policy priorities that Nigerians across gender, age 
group, locality and geopolitical region want President Buhari to focus on in 
the next 4 years,” the report read.

“One-in-ten (10%) of respondents advised the government to focus on job 
creation, poverty reduction and economic development while a similar percentage 
advocated for good governance, justice and fairness to all citizens.

“On the issue of security, the leading and most prevalent security challenge 
affecting Nigerians is kidnapping (24 %). Next is Boko Haram and other 
insurgencies (19 %), cultism, political thuggery, hooliganism and terrorism (18 
%), armed robbery, theft or burglary (17 %) and the farmers-Fulani herdsmen 
crisis (12 %). While most attention is currently focused on insurgency, it is 
very clear from the findings that Nigerians are besieged by a multifaceted 
security crisis.

“To tackle the security challenges, experts recommend that government comes up 
with a clearly defined national security strategy that is both comprehensive 
and effective in responding to the country’s security challenges. They 
recommend the need for the president to urgently formulate and implement 
comprehensive reform of the security and rule of law sectors.”

The fight against corruption is 1 of 3 major promises that Buhari hinged his 
campaigns on—the others being security and improved economy.

The report added that respondents want Buahri to leave, at the end of his 
second term in office, a legacy of good governance and a stable economy.

(source: thecable.ng)