[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

June 24



UGANDA:

Ssebuufu Found Guilty of Murder



The proprietor of Pine Car Bond, Muhammad Ssebuufu has been found guilty of 
murdering Betty Donnah Katushabe, a business woman, over a Shs9 million debt.

Katushabe was tortured to death on October 23, 2015 over a car debt she could 
not readily pay to Ssebuufu.

Prosecution proved to court that was presided over by Justice Flavia Anglin 
Senoga, that Ssebuufu and his 8 co-accused guilty of murder, aggravated robbery 
and kidnap.

Prosecution led by Mr Alex Ojok, a state prosecutor, placed the all the accused 
at the scene of crime.

Prosecution also proved that the convicts deceived Katusabe into believing that 
they would settle the debt matter at Pine Car Bond but when she went there, the 
convicts assaulted her with sticks, a panga and other objects leading to her 
death.

Katushabe bought a car from Pine Car bond at Shs13 million but she paid only 
Shs5 million leaving a balance of Shs9 million.

Ssebuufu and the other eight convicts had been jointly indicted with the former 
Kampala CPS DPC Aaron Baguma for Katushabe's kidnap and murder but at the 
beginning of the trial this year, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr Mike 
Chibita, without giving any reason to court, dropped charges against Mr Baguma 
and continued with the trial of Ssebuufu and the rest .

Justice Senoga cancelled Ssebuufu's bail which he secured in 2016, since he is 
no longer a suspect but a convict.

Murder and aggravated robbery offences attract a maximum penalty of death by 
hanging.

The group will be brought to court on July 4, for mitigation and sentencing.

(source: allafrica.com)








NIGERIA:

Oyo Senator recommends capital punishment for kidnapers, bandits



The Senator representing Oyo North senatorial district, Abdulfatai Buhari, on 
Sunday recommended capital punishment for kidnappers, bandits and other 
criminals in the country.

Buhari said the rate of kidnappings and other forms of crimes called for a 
national emergency.

Speaking with journalists on Sunday, in Ibadan, Buhari, a former Chairman, 
Senate Committee on ICT and cybercrime, lamented spate of kidnapping which 
started few years ago in the South-South and Southeast but now spread across 
the country, saying the act was fast becoming a lucrative business for those 
involved in it.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) senator said he’s specifically worried over 
the current incessant kidnappings in Southwest, Nigeria, urging elders in the 
region to speak up and tackle the menace.

“This heinous crime against humanity has gone beyond the normal Fulani herdsmen 
attack and has become a real trade for those who engage in it.

“Let me be honest with you, the situation is nationwide and very worrisome. I 
am afraid because Nigerians themselves are yet to take a drastic measure.

“I believe by the time anyone caught in the act faces death penalty other 
people will learn and stop. Kidnappers have been arrested and nothing has been 
done to them. I believe taking them to court is a longer process,’’ he said.

He recalled how increasing rate of drug peddling was stemmed in the 80s through 
drastic measure, adding that lots of people abandoned the trade as soon as 
government made those caught in the act face firing squad.

The lawmaker said that the absence of such punitive measure gave those involved 
in the recent inhuman activities liberty to continue recruiting young people.

According to him, “today, going to Saudi Arabia, Bangkok, Singapore or India 
with drugs or to commit other forms of crime attracts death penalty and such 
had to an extent stem the trend.

“Nigerians are very stubborn people; they won’t change except there is a 
deterrent. These people collect cash from victims and take it to banks but the 
banks have not been reporting receipt of strange monies."P> He called on 
Nigerians to collaborate with security agencies by supplying them with vital 
information on every strange movement around them.

Buhari recalled the recent abduction of a former minister’s son in Oyo, saying 
the culprits can’t operate without information.

“I am sure some people would have supplied information to the culprit on the 
movement of the former minister’s son and the location of his farm. Nobody will 
tell me that Fulani herdsmen came from Niger Republic to abduct him without 
information,’’ he said.

The lawmaker called on the government to wake up and do the needful, saying the 
major function of any government was security of lives and property.

He assured that the National Assembly would deliberate on the spate of 
insecurity in the country when it reconvened, adding that they would seek 
expert opinion and give the necessary backing.

Buhari cautioned Nigerians on possible politicization or colouration of 
whatever measure evolved to stem the trend, saying insecurity knows no 
political party, tribe, religion or status of any individual.

(source: dailytrust.com.ng)








BOTSWANA:

It Is Time To Face Death Penalty In The Eye



If he was a brother from our good neighbours, Zimbabwe, he would be called 
Happiness. The name for ever smiling peaceful children; a blessing, a reason 
for all that is good and joyful. But Thabo Masilo cannot be said to have lived 
to the good his name denotes. Not to the nation at least.

With violent crime now a permanent feature in our lives, it is no wonder that 
Masilo’s murder trial has always evoked strong emotions. When the then Botho 
College student was found hiding in a ceiling of a house in Phase 4 in 
Gaborone, and a young Kgale Hill college student, who had just written her 
final year exams, lying in a pool of blood, the anger was beyond measure.

The gruesome murder, after the rape of young Tshepang, once again brought to 
the fore the vulnerability of women and children. It showed that one needs not 
leave home to fall prey to rapists and murderers. Then, former Gaborone West 
legislator, Botsalo Ntuane, led a public outrage mass movement for Masilo to be 
hanged by the neck, even before he could appear in court to answer to his 
deeds.

Masilo’s court appearances has always attracted crowds, mostly in support of 
the family of the deceased, wanting to see justice done. During that period 
Masilo stood accused in another case for sexual assault and theft. His 
conviction in the first case, must have given many the assurance that once 
convicted for Tshepang’s murder, Masilo will meet the Maker. It seemed a 
foregone conclusion that despite the strong representation by one of the 
country’s best legal minds, Kgosi Ngakaagae, the court will condemn him to 
death. It was not to be. Convicted, yes, Masilo was. But he is not headed for 
the gallows. Last Thursday Masilo left the court house back to holding cells to 
await a possible jail term, as Justice Abednico Tafa found that he was not 
candidate for capital sentence as his was not a pre-meditated murder. He did 
not enter the young girl’s family home that fateful afternoon with the 
intention to kill. The court pronouncement has outraged majority of Batswana, 
reading from the different media platforms.

The shock is more pronounced as the sentence comes at the back of the gruesome 
discovery in Gaborone of a murdered family of 3, including a 3-year-old child. 
Masilo escaping the noose has once again brought to focus the challenges the 
courts face in murder conviction. Many see any other sentence as letting murder 
convicts ‘walk’.

Once again, the nation’s mood has turned not only to anger, but also fear. The 
fear of criminals. It now looks like the courts are failing the victims of 
crime. In anger and fear, the issue of whether capital punishment has a place 
in modern Botswana is lost. The debate of whether death penalty is a deterrent 
to murder, has gone mute. In the face of anger, opponents of capital 
punishment, choose not to speak out. It can only be worse for politicians.

With the general election around the corner, political parties, may just choose 
not to take part, let alone lead in the discussions around capital punishment. 
Speaking out in justification of Justice Tafa’s decision can dent any party’s 
election prospects. Just as with the recent judgement decriminalising 
homosexuality, pronouncement on the matter, in support especially, can be 
politically suicidal. For no matter how much we can argue that Botswana is a 
secular state, we are a predominately Christian nation, who hold strong views 
on these issues. Instead of hiding our heads in the sand, it may be time for 
all of us to rally around these controversial issues. It is at this juncture, 
during the electioneering, that the voters may just have to push capital 
punishment debate top of the agenda. This is the time those aspiring for 
political office need to come forth to give a clear stand. In the on-going 
radio debates around the country, our anchors have to take on candidates and 
their political parties on these critical issues. Since the manifestos of all 
the political parties speak of fighting gender-based violence, for an example, 
we need to know their position on capital punishment. The Masilo judgement 
should be a test for all.

The judiciary is independent, and ours has in majority of cases proven to be 
guided by nothing but the law. Bearing in mind that this is not the first case 
the court had to make an unpopular decision, we may have to take this 
opportunity to tackle the elephant in the room, capital punishment.

Judges being human, and dictated to by the law, are faced with making decisions 
that at times based on personal believes. A liberal judge, a human rights 
activist would not just send a murder convict to the gallows as would a 
colleague who is an advocate of the capital punishment. Add to that the fact 
that even after a death sentence, the President of the day, even one in acting 
capacity, makes the last call. The decision once again lies in the hands of one 
person, whose personal convictions would without doubt be of greater influence.

Maybe the answer lies in Parliament, to repeal the death penalty. And the 
chance to engage on the matter is now, in the period of electioneering.

(source: Pamela Kelepang, Mmegi Online)








NORTH KOREA:

Kim's killing fields: Terrifying map reveals scale of public executions in 
North Korea – often at river banks, markets or in schools - for offences such 
as stealing cattle or petty theft

--Of 715 charges resulting in execution, 238 were due to theft or property 
damage

--4 out of 5 interviewees said they'd witnessed an execution

--The youngest witness to an execution was a 7-year-old



A stark map has revealed the 318 places in North Korea where people have been 
publicly executed - most commonly for theft or damage to property.

Using testimonies from more than 600 defectors the human rights researchers 
found executions commonly took place on river banks, fields, market places, 
hills and mountains, sports and school grounds.

Of the 715 mentions of charges resulting in an execution it was most commonly 
related to theft or damage to property, including food and livestock (238 
times) followed by violent crime (115 times) and political crimes (73 times).

Witnesses also told the Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG) - the 
organisation which undertook the research - that they were often forced to 
watch the executions.

The size of the assembled crowds at each public execution varying in size from 
hundreds to thousands - with 4 in 5 of those interviewed saying they had 
witnessed a public execution in their lifetime - the youngest witness to a 
public execution was 7.

The findings and testimonies come from a report out this month titled; Mapping 
the Fate of the Dead; Killings and Burials in North Korea.

It analysis four years of research to present a report into what it described 
as state-sanctioned killings.

It is an update on a similar report first published in 2017 by the TJWG - a 
Seoul-based NGO of human rights advocates and researchers from five different 
countries.

In the 2019 report's executive summary, the authors wrote: 'Extra-judicial 
killings in state custody have continued under the leadership of Kim Jong-un 
despite international criticism of the DPRK's application of the death penalty 
without due process.'

It said almost all of the state-sanctioned killings were carried out by firing 
squad -often after a brief trial undertaken on the spot.

During the trial, which commonly took place without legal council, a charge was 
laid sentence given and execution carried out moments later.

While witnesses cited the most common reason for execution was related to 
property theft or damage, the authors said the lack of due process in North 
Korea meant it was difficult to know whether the charges laid at trial 
'actually match the act committed by the accused'.

Following the executions, the report said, the bodies of those killed were 
often not returned to family members, nor were their burial sites revealed to 
the families.

'The inability to access information on the whereabouts of a family member 
killed by the state, and the impossibility of giving them a proper burial, 
violates both cultural norms and the 'right to know'.

'The North Korean government's routine killing of its citizens and the denial 
of the right of family members to give the dead a proper burial has profound 
effects that last long after the event,' it said.

'For many, grieving for the lost involves remembering scenes of a public 
execution, or wondering about the fate of a relative or friend sent to a 
political prison camp.'

>From its research the group found 25 reports of sites, most often in remote 
locations such as mountainsides and ravines, where dead bodies were said to 
have been disposed of by the state.

7 of these sites are reported to contain more than 2 bodies together.

The researchers hoped the data gathered may one day help 'discover the truth of 
the injustices committed and to provide families and communities with knowledge 
about those who have been killed or disappeared by the state'.

It said the data could also be used in the event of an investigation into 
serious violations of international criminal, human rights and humanitarian law 
in North Korea.

(source: dailymail.co.uk)








IRAN----execution

Jamal Haji Zavareii accused of spying hanged in Tehran



A man by the name of Jamal Haji Zavareii was executed on Friday, June 21, in an 
unknown location in Tehran.

Jamal Haji Zavareii, 47, a former employee of the IRGC Aerospace, had been 
arrested on September 5, 2017, along with his wife Leila Tajik, on the charge 
of “spying for an enemy state.”

Prior to his execution, Jamal Haji Zavareii was being held in one of the safe 
houses of the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in a place called the “death 
cell.”

He had been under interrogation for a long time, and had been severly tortured 
by various methods, including electric shocks.

Leila Tajik is sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment and is held at Kachouii 
Prison in Karaj. She has two teenage children and has been threatened 
repeatedly with their arrest.

The couple were not allowed to have a defense lawyer of their own choice during 
their legal proceedings.

Leila Tajik suffers from rheumatoid arthritis and is denied access to proper 
medical treatment in prison.

Other executions carried out recently

The death sentences of 5 inmates including a woman were carried out on June 19, 
2019. Another 3 inmates were hanged in Gohardasht Prison in Karaj on June 12, 
2019. Another convict was hanged in the Prison of Ardabil. A man, married with 
3 children, was hanged in the Prison of Gorgan on June 9, 2019.

According to the IranHRM annual report 2018, at least 285 people were executed 
in that year, 11 of them in public. They included 10 political prisoners and at 
least 4 women. 6 individuals were executed for crimes they allegedly committed 
as minors.

The death penalty has served as a tool for the Iranian regime to hold its grab 
on power. The Iranian regime uses executions to silence a disgruntled public 
the majority of whom live under the poverty line, are unemployed and deprived 
of freedom of expression.

(source: Iran Human Rights Monitor)








SAUDI ARABIA:

Anti-Wahhabi Saudi thinker faces execution: HRW



Human Rights Watch has condemned the Saudi authorities for seeking the death 
penalty against a reformist religious thinker and critic on charges that bear 
“no resemblance to recognized crimes.”

Hassan Farhan al-Maliki was arrested in September 2017 and has been held in 
detention since then. The Saudi authorities finally brought charges against him 
in October 2018.

HRW said al-Maliki’s prosecution for peacefully expressing his religious views 
contradicts Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s claims in October 2017 that he 
wanted to “revert” the kingdom to “a moderate Islam open to the world and all 
religions.”

“Mohammed bin Salman has consistently pledged to support a more ‘moderate’ 
version of Islam while his country maintains a prosecution service that seeks 
the death penalty against religious reformers for expressing their peaceful 
ideas,” Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at HRW, said.

“Saudi Arabia’s real road to reform lies in allowing religious thinkers like 
al-Maliki to express themselves without fear of arrest and possible execution,” 
Page added.

According to the US-based rights group, al-Maliki is currently on trial over 14 
charges, nearly all of them having "no resemblance" to crimes recognized by 
law.

HRW, which reviewed al-Maliki’s charge sheet, said the first two charges relate 
to his peaceful expression of his religious opinions about the veracity of 
certain sayings of the Prophet (PBUH) and his criticism of several seventh 
century Islamic figures.

Maliki was also charged with “insulting the country’s rulers and the Supreme 
Council of Religious Scholars, and describing them as extremist”, and accusing 
Arab countries of the Persian Gulf of supporting the Daesh terrorist group.

The Other charges included praising Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, Secretary General 
of Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement, and “having sympathy” for the 
Yemen's Houthi Ansarullah movement.

He is also facing charges for voicing his religious views in television 
interviews, attending discussion groups in the kingdom, writing books and 
studies and publishing them abroad.

The rights group cited a Saudi activist as saying that the Specialized Criminal 
Court in Riyadh, which specializes in terrorism trials, has held at least three 
trial sessions on the cleric’s case. The next hearing has not yet been 
scheduled.

Saudi Arabia has lately stepped up politically-motivated arrests, prosecution 
and conviction of peaceful dissident writers, human rights campaigners and 
independent clerics.

Saudi officials have also intensified security measures in the Shia-populated 
Eastern Province.

Eastern Province has been the scene of peaceful demonstrations since February 
2011. Protesters have been demanding reforms, freedom of expression, the 
release of political prisoners, and an end to economic and religious 
discrimination against the oil-rich region.

The protests have been met with a heavy-handed crackdown by the regime, with 
security forces increasing security measures across the province.

Over the past years, Riyadh has also redefined its anti-terrorism laws to 
target activism.

In January 2016, Saudi authorities executed Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr Baqir 
al-Nimr, who was an outspoken critic of the Riyadh regime. Nimr had been 
arrested in Qatif, Eastern Province, in 2012.

(source: AhlulBayt News Agency)








MALAYSIA:

Dental technician charged with murdering his girlfriend



A dental technician has been charged at a Magistrate’s Court here with 
murdering his girlfriend.

Lim Siang Kim, 35, nodded to indicate that he understood the charge when it was 
read to him in Mandarin before magistrate Noor Aisyah Ahmad yesterday.

Lim is accused of murdering Teo Kang Ling, 35, in Jalan Setia 3/5, Taman Setia 
Indah, at around 8am on June 3.

He was charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder, which carries 
the mandatory death penalty upon conviction.

No plea was recorded and Noor Aisyah set Aug 29 for next mention of the case 
pending a post-mortem result.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Adilah Nur Yahya prosecuted the case while lawyer G. 
Ravi represented the accused.

Earlier reports said Lim had allegedly killed his partner during a heated 
quarrel, and later dumped her body in a wooden box before throwing it by the 
roadside.

The victim’s body was discovered inside the box after the boyfriend led police 
to an area in Taman Setia Indah on June 10.

(source: thestar.com.my)