[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

June 26



SRI LANKA:

Sri Lanka reinstates death penalty for drug crimes ahead of polls



Sri Lanka's president on Wednesday signed death sentences for 4 people 
convicted of drug-related offences in a decision analysts said is aimed at 
boosting his chances of re-election later this year.

Maithripala Sirisena was elected as a reformist in January 2015, but has 
struggled to fulfill pledges including addressing human rights abuses, 
eliminating corruption and ensuring good governance.

He has been under increasing pressure since a political crisis last year, and 
more recently faced criticism for his handling of Easter Sunday bomb attacks 
that killed more than 250 people.

"I have already signed the death penalty for four (convicts). It will be 
implemented soon and we have already decided the date as well," Sirisena told 
reporters in Colombo, without giving details.

He said the four could appeal their convictions on charges of trading and 
trafficking in drugs.

Many Sri Lankans, including several influential religious leaders, are in favor 
of reinstating the death penalty to curb rising crime, though rights groups 
have warned that such a measure would be ineffective.

"The death penalty does not deter crimes any more effectively than other 
punishments," said Kumi Naidoo, secretary general of rights group Amnesty 
International.

"Executions are never the solution," he added.

The last execution in Sri Lanka was 43 years ago.

The country's last hangman quit in 2014 without having to execute anyone, but 
he cited stress after seeing the gallows for the first time. Another hangman 
hired last year never turned up for work.

The president's hardline policy is in part inspired by the Philippines' 
so-called "war on drugs," where thousands have died in encounters with police.

"He is trying to project himself like the Philippines president ... but I doubt 
whether it is enough. It won't give him much political mileage now," political 
columnist Kusal Perera told Reuters.

Sirisena declined to comment on whether he will stand as the presidential 
candidate for his center-left Sri Lanka Freedom Party, which has recommended 
him as the candidate for the election expected in the last 2 months of 2019.

(source: Dhaka Tribune)

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

Sri Lanka president signs death warrants to end moratorium----Executions by 
hanging would be the first carried out in Sri Lanka since 1976 when a 
moratorium was implemented.



Sri Lanka's president signed death warrants on Wednesday for 4 drug offenders 
who will "very soon" become the first people executed in decades on the island.

Maithripala Sirisena said he completed formalities to end a 42-year-old 
moratorium on the death penalty, which he said was needed to clamp down on a 
rampant narcotics trade.

"I have signed the death warrants of four. They have not been told yet. We 
don't want to announce the names yet because that could lead to unrest in 
prisons," Sirisena told reporters at his official residence.

He did not say when the executions would be carried out, only that it would be 
"very soon".

An official in Sirisena's office said the president wanted the hangings to be a 
powerful message to the illegal drugs trade.

Sirisena said there were 200,000 drug addicts in the country and 60 percent of 
the 24,000 prison population were drug offenders.

His remarks came a day after Amnesty International said it was "alarmed" over 
media reports of preparations to resume executions.

"Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena must immediately halt his plans to 
resume executions," Amnesty said in a statement.

Sri Lanka is a party to the international convention on civil and political 
rights, which sets the abolition of the death penalty as a goal to be achieved 
by countries, it added.

No executioner

Sirisena in February announced the country would carry out the first executions 
in decades, saying he had been inspired by President Rodrigo Duterte's deadly 
anti-drug campaign in the Philippines.

The president has also appealed to human rights organisations not to pressure 
him.

Criminals in Sri Lanka are regularly given death sentences for murder, rape, 
and drug-related crimes. But since 1976 their punishments have been commuted to 
life imprisonment.

The country currently has no executioner.

The justice ministry said more than a dozen people had been shortlisted to fill 
the position, but no formal appointment has been made.

While Sri Lanka's last execution was more than four decades ago, an executioner 
was in the post until his retirement in 2014. 3 replacements since have quit 
after short stints at the unused gallows.

(source: aljazeera.com)






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

‘Sri Lanka gearing up to hang drug offenders’----Prisons authorities say they 
have not received any official communication



Following up on his earlier pledge to hang drug offenders, Sri Lankan President 
Maithripala Sirisena has recently signed papers for the execution, according to 
a top government source.

The move is in connection with the ‘National Drug Prevention Week’ being 
observed from June 23 to July 1, the senior official source told The Hindu, on 
condition of anonymity.

The government or the President’s office has so far not officially commented on 
the development, which comes three months after President Sirisena announced 
that he had fixed a date to hang convicted drug traffickers, effectively 
lifting a 4-decade-old moratorium on capital punishment.

Rights watchdog Amnesty International on Tuesday said it was “alarmed to learn” 
that the Sri Lankan government was preparing to execute at least 13 prisoners 
convicted in drug-related crimes. In a statement, Amnesty urged Mr. Sirisena to 
immediately halt his “plans to resume executions” for drug offenders, referring 
to earlier media reports suggesting “preparations are under way”.

However, Sri Lanka’s Commissioner General of Prisons T.M.J.W. Thennakoon 
dismissed the reports as “completely wrong”. “As of June 25, 8 p.m., I have 
received no official communication from the Presidential secretariat regarding 
this,” he told The Hindu, when contacted on Tuesday.

Last week, local media reported that President Sirisena was considering signing 
papers to execute drug offenders. In a full-page government advertisement on 
the ‘National Drug Prevention Week’, carried in the state-run Daily News on 
Monday, the words ‘Death penalty for drug dealers’ were highlighted in bold, 
red font within a circle, resembling a stamped seal.

Sri Lankan courts have sentenced many convicts to death in the past, but no one 
has been executed since 1976, with their sentences invariably commuted to life. 
The most recent verdict came last week, when the Colombo High Court awarded 
death sentence to a man found guilty of possessing 4.40 grams of heroin in 
2013.

“We are dismayed by these reports that will see Sri Lanka surrender its 
positive record on the death penalty. Executions will not rid Sri Lanka of 
drug-related crime. They represent the failure to build a humane society where 
the protection of life is valued. The last thing that Sri Lanka needs right now 
is more death in the name of vengeance,” said Biraj Patnaik, South Asia 
Director at Amnesty International, Colombo.

Amid growing instances of drug trafficking in and via Sri Lanka, President 
Sirisena has repeatedly made a case for severe punishment for drug offenders. 
After his announcement on reviving the death penalty, authorities advertised 
for a hangman with “excellent moral character”.

The recruitment process is going on, but the Department of Prisons is yet to 
appoint anybody to the position, Mr. Thennakoon said.

According to official figures, nearly 460 persons currently in prison, 
including 5 women, have been awarded confirmed death sentences.

(source: The Hindu)

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

Urgent Action



Amnesty International has received reports indicating that the President was 
due to consider signing execution warrants as early as the week of 24 June. 
Should this be confirmed, up to 13 prisoners would be put at imminent risk of 
execution There is completely secrecy around the dates of any scheduled 
executions, as well as identities of the death row prisoners most at risk. 
Amnesty International has not been able to confirm whether the individuals had 
fair trials, access to lawyers or whether they were able to engage in a 
meaningful clemency process. Sri Lanka has not implemented this ultimate cruel, 
inhuman and degrading punishment for more than four decades. It should continue 
to honor a tradition that chooses life instead of vengeance.

Write a letter in your own words or using the sample below as a guide to one or 
both government officials listed. You can also email, fax, call or Tweet them.

President Maithripala Sirisena

Presidential Secretariat

Galle Face

Colombo 01

Colombo, Sri Lanka

Fax: +94 (11) 2340340

Email: ps at presidentsoffice.lk

Ambassador Rodney Perera

Embassy of Sri Lanka

3025 Whitehaven Street NW

Washington DC 20008

Phone: 202 483 4025 // Fax: 202 232 7181

Email: slembassy at slembassyusa.org

Salutation: Dear Ambassador

Dear H.E. President Maithripala Sirisena,

I write to you to express my concern about the decision to consider signing 
execution warrants to execute the 13 prisoners who are currently on death row.

Executions are not a show of strength, but a display of weakness. They 
represent the failure to create a humane society where the right to life is 
protected. Sri Lanka does not need more lives to be taken in the name of 
vengeance.

I understand that you are determined to combat drug use and drug-related crime 
in Sri Lanka. However, there is no evidence that implementing the death penalty 
will help achieve that goal.

By seeking executions for drug-related crimes, the death penalty in Sri Lanka 
is being used in circumstances that violate international law and standards. 
Executions have failed to act as a unique deterrent to crime in other 
countries, could claim the lives of people who may have been convicted through 
unfair trials, and could disproportionately affect people from minority and 
less advantaged socio-economic backgrounds.

I implore you to reconsider your decision to hang these 13 prisoners, and 
commute their sentences Please retain Sri Lanka’s positive death penalty record 
and establish a moratorium on all executions with a view to abolish the death 
penalty entirely.

Yours sincerely,

(source: Amnesty Internatnional)








MALAYSIA:

4 Indians arrested in Malaysia on charges of drug-smuggling



Malaysian authorities have arrested 4 Indians and seized more than 14 kgof 
drugs and over 5,000 turtles from their luggage at the Kuala Lumpur airport.

Senior customs official Zulkarnain Mohamed Yusof said Wednesday that agents 
found a total 5,255 red-ear slider baby turtles kept in small baskets from the 
luggage of 2 Indian nationals who flew in from Guangzhou, China on June 20.

The red-ear sliders are one of the world’s most commonly traded turtles meant 
for the pet and meat markets. Permits are required as young turtles are 
susceptible to carrying salmonella and pose health concerns.

Separately, Zulkarnain said officials also found a total of 14.34 kg of 
methamphetamine worth 717,000 ringgit ($174,000), hidden in special 
compartments in boxes that were hand-carried by 2 men. One of them flew in from 
Hyderabad, India on June 19 and another on June 20 from Bengaluru, he said in a 
statement.

The 2 men, believed to be drug mules, are expected to be charged and face the 
death penalty if convicted.

(source: The HIndu)








PHILIPPINES:

Firing squad for drug traffickers: Senator-elect Bato



Retired Philippine National Police (PNP) chief and Senator-elect Ronald dela 
Rosa on Wednesday reiterated that he will push the reinstatement of the death 
penalty, particularly firing squad, for drug traffickers.

“I have no other campaign promise or platform when I run for Senator except for 
death penalty for drug trafficking. I have to do that. The people voted for me 
and I won with that platform," dela Rosa told reporters during the PNP Civil 
Security Group – Supervisory Office for Security and Investigation Agency 
(SOSIA) 2019 Stakeholders’ Summit in Camp Crame, Quezon City.

Dela Rosa said this method of death penalty, which he wants to be made public, 
is a good deterrent against drug trafficking.

"If you want, we can have it through firing squad in a plaza covered live by 
media so that the people will be reminded not to be lured into this activity," 
he said in Filipino.

The former top cop, however, clarified that only big-time drug traffickers 
should be punished with the death penalty.

“Not for all crimes. As I have said, small-time drug peddlers, pushers or users 
won't be included. My version of death penalty is for drug trafficking, those 
who flood the country with illegal drugs. There should be a ceiling. For 
example, if you are caught in possession of at least 1 kilo of shabu, you are 
classified as drug trafficker. It can be like that,” dela Rosa explained.

He also vowed to create a law that would benefit the national police agency.

"For now, I am asking them (PNP) for input. What do they want me to do in the 
Senate? Some officials have made suggestions on what can I include in my 
legislative agenda. We still have to talk about it,” he said.

Dela Rosa, who was the guest of honor and key speaker at the summit, also 
underscored the crucial role of the civil security sector in ensuring a safe 
and secure environment for industries to grow, generate jobs, and spur 
socio-economic development.

With the theme, “Genuine Transformation Towards a Better Private Security 
Industry and Secured Nation", CSG Director, Maj. Gen. Reynaldo Biay said the 
summit is designed to gather inputs and recommendations from our stakeholders 
for policy review and possible amendment of the Republic Act 5487 or the 
Private Security Agency Law.

The Philippine private security sector has a manpower complement of some 
400,000 “blue guards” and security professionals who can provide potent support 
services as force-multipliers of the PNP in law enforcement and public safety 
operations.

About 200 heads of private security providers, security agency operators, and 
private security training institutes attended this year’s summit.

Republic Act 5487 was enacted into law in 1969 and was further amended by 
Presidential Decree No. 11 in 1972.

(source: Philippine News Agency)

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

Philippine church leaders wary of return of death penalty----Bishops issue 
warning against capital punishment after new lawmakers voice support for its 
return



Church leaders in the Philippines have warned against any moves to pass a law 
that will revive the imposition of capital punishment.

The Episcopal Commission on Prison Pastoral Care issued a statement this week 
reminding newly elected legislators of their responsibility "to defend human 
life."

Moves to revive the death penalty failed in the last Congress, but church 
leaders said recent statements made by new legislators on the re-imposition of 
the death penalty are "disturbing."

"They have a grave and clear obligation to oppose any law that attacks human 
life," said Rodolfo Diamante, executive secretary of the commission of the 
Philippine bishops' conference.

"We argue that there are other more deeply-rooted reasons for a lack of peace 
and order in our society that leaders have failed to appreciate and 
acknowledge," Diamante said.

He said church leaders maintain that capital punishment is "an affront to the 
human dignity of both those on whom it is inflicted and that in whose name it 
is employed."

Diamante appealed to legislators to resolve to live the "Gospel of Life fully 
and faithfully."

Political leaders, however, expressed optimism that the death penalty will make 
a comeback in the next Congress.

"In the new Senate, there’s a possibility of 13 [votes for the death penalty] 
for high-level drug trafficking alone," said Senate President Vicente Sotto III 
in a statement.

Allies of President Rodrigo Duterte in Congress have consistently pressed for 
the reinstatement of capital punishment.

Opposition Senator Leila de lima, however, said the solution in fighting 
criminality should be done through legislation and judicial reform.

"In these times where great powers are concentrated on a single human being who 
with mere words — God forbid — can masterfully orchestrate a holocaust, we 
should be ever vigilant, ever firm with our stand against its re-imposition," 
said the legislator.

De Lima’s statement was read as church leaders marked the 13th anniversary of 
the abolition of the death penalty in the Philippines last week.

"In a country where the poor outnumber the wealthy by a mile, socio-economic 
realities have skewed the implementation of the law on death penalty against 
the former," she said.

She pointed out that despite 7 executions from 1998 to 1999, the crime rate 
increased by 15.3 %. The senator also said that even the Philippine Supreme 
Court has admitted that the courts have committed a judicial error rate of 
71.77 % when the death penalty was still imposed.

The death penalty was abolished under the 1986 constitution, but the charter 
gave Congress the power to reinstate it for heinous crimes.

Capital punishment returned under the administration of former president Fidel 
Ramos, but was abolished again under president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The Philippines is also a signatory to the Second Optional Protocol to the 
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which commits countries 
to abolishing the death penalty.

(source: ucanews.com)








IRAN:

Child Sexual Abuse Case Against Quran Reciter In Iran Remains Closed



The Islamic Republic Prosecutor-General denied on Monday, June 24, that the 
lawsuit against a prominent Quran reciter accused of child abuse has been 
reopened.

Hours earlier, an outspoken member of parliament Mahmoud Sadeqi had twitted 
that "some of the complainants in the legal case against Saeed Toosi have 
requested the reopening of his case, and their request has been approved."

Responding to Sadeqi's tweet Prosecutor Mohammad Jafar Montazeri demanded, 
"What is Mr. Sadeqi's source?"

The judiciary's official website, Mizan, also quoted Montazeri as saying, "We 
have never said such a thing. We do not confirm it. You'd better ask Mr. Sadeqi 
about it."

Mohammad Tousi, publicly known as Saeed Toosi (or Tousi), 49, is a prominent 
Iranian Quran reciter and teacher who recites Quran at state events attended by 
senior officials, including the Islamic Republic Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali 
Khamenei. He was accused in 2017 by some of his former students of sexual 
molestation and rape.

In October 2017, VOA's Persian Service shed light on Toosi's case in which he 
was accused of sexually abusing 19 of his underage Qur'an students over the 
past years. It is not known whether the charges included sodomy, which could 
carry the death penalty in the Islamic Republic.

The plaintiffs claimed at the time that complaints made through legal channels 
were covered up or ignored by the authorities to protect the reputation of the 
Iranian government.

Toosi, for his part, issued a denial statement rejecting all of the claims, 
which he called "total lies". The allegations were "aimed at discrediting the 
state's religious foundations and its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei," 
Toosi maintained. He also insisted that he had never engaged in "such sins" and 
"actions incompatible with chastity."

However, despite convincing documents published by the accusers on social 
media, the justice department acquitted Toosi in February 2018.

In an exclusive interview with Radio Farda, two of the plaintiffs have asserted 
that after a direct intervention by Ali Moqaddam, who is in charge of Ayatollah 
Khamenei's communication affairs, the head of the judiciary and Tehran's 
Prosecutor-General decided to shelve the case against the prominent Quran 
reciter.

(source: radiofarda.com)