[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

March 4



INDONESIA:

French drug suspect faces death penalty in Indonesia



A French man faces execution under Indonesia's strict drug laws after he was 
caught using a false-bottomed suitcase to smuggle narcotics into the Southeast 
Asian nation, an official said on Monday (Mar 4).

Prosecutors have accused Felix Dorfin of trafficking 4kg of cocaine, ecstasy 
and amphetamines.

The 35-year-old from Benthune in northern France was arrested after arriving at 
Lombok island's airport from Singapore in September.

"We are charging him with drug possession, carrying drugs to Indonesia from 
abroad, and trafficking drugs," lead prosecutor Ginung Pratidina told the 
court.

He faced a potential death sentence if convicted, Pratidina added.

Dorfin was read the charges with the aid of an English translator.

The Frenchman escaped from jail in late January by sawing through bars on the 
2nd floor window of the prison and rappelling to freedom with a sarong.

He spent nearly 2 weeks on the run before he was captured again in a forest in 
North Lombok.

Police said Dorfin tried to bribe officers to let him go.

A female police officer was arrested for allegedly helping Dorfin escape from 
jail in exchange for Rp 14.5 million (around US$1,000).

Indonesia has some of the world's strictest drug laws - including death penalty 
sentences for drug traffickers.

It has executed several foreign drug smugglers in the past including 
Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, which sparked diplomatic tensions 
between the 2 countries.

Indonesia has not executed anyone since 2016, but a number of foreigners are 
still on death row.

Serge Atlaoui, a convicted French drug smuggler, has been on death row since 
2007, while British grandmother Lindsay Sandiford has been on death row since 
2013.

(source: channelnewsasia.com)








SRI LANKA:

Sri Lanka’s Drug Scourge – Analysis----Sri Lanka’s recent move to bring back 
capital punishment for convicted drug offenders has put a spotlight on growing 
narcotics related crime in the country. The government’s apparent tough stance 
is in response to concerns that Sri Lanka is re-emerging as a transit hub for 
global drug trafficking networks.



Sri Lanka has announced it will start to hang convicted drug offenders, ending 
a near-half-century moratorium on executions, in a move that closely mirrors 
the controversial tactics employed by Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte in his 
country’s war on drugs.

During a state visit to the Philippines in January, Sri Lankan President 
Maithripala Sirisena acknowledged the pro¬liferation of illegal drugs in Sri 
Lanka and lauded Philippines’ strategy in dealing with the issue. His praise of 
the “decisive action” of President Rodrigo Duterte and characterisation of his 
counterpart’s efforts as “an example to the whole world,” was met with 
criticism from international human rights groups. Duterte has run a 
controversial law-and-order operation which has seen at least 5,000 drug 
offenders killed since 2016. More than 200 people in Bangladesh have also been 
killed by police in a similar campaign.

In Sri Lanka, President Sirisena, who has been in office since 2015, has 
indicated that the government will shift its stance and also deploy the 
military in anti-narcotics operations. Authorities say a tougher approach is 
required to deal with drug-related crime, amidst concerns international drug 
smugglers are using Sri Lanka as a transit hub in Asia. The re-introduction of 
capital punishment is also significant as although criminals are regularly 
given death sentences for murder, rape and drug-related crimes, until now, 
their punishments have been commuted to life imprisonment. Nobody has been 
executed in the country for 42 years.

Regional Distribution Hub

Although not a major producer of contraband drugs, Sri Lanka’s strategic 
location along important maritime and aviation shipping routes between Europe 
and Southeast Asia has made it an attractive gateway for international drug 
trafficking cartels. Law enforcement officials say organised gangs seek to 
conceal their shipments to Australian and European markets by bringing them 
into Sir Lanka, before switching the cargo into Sri Lankan containers and 
sending them onwards. The high volumes of traffic in the Colombo port and lack 
of effective security checks on cargo, makes it an attractive trans-shipment 
point.

According to government officials, a recent spike in large scale cocaine 
seizures, a drug previously uncommon to Sri Lanka, is a clear indication that 
the country is emerging as a key transit point for drug-smugglers. 
Counter-narcotics operations had traditionally focused their efforts on heroin 
and synthetic drugs.

In December 2016, 928 kilograms of cocaine – the largest cocaine haul in South 
Asia – was discovered in a container of timber aboard a Colombian ship bound 
for India, one of several high value cocaine seizures in recent years. This 
month, Sri Lanka’s police seized nearly 300 kilograms of heroin, estimated to 
be worth US$17 million, the island’s biggest haul of the narcotic, and arrested 
2 people. The growing evidence of Sri Lanka being used as a regional drug 
distribution hub raises the risk that it will create a local user base as well. 
As such, substantial focus needs to be given to eradicating traffickers who 
smuggle illicit drugs into the country.

Domestic Abuse

According to statistics from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board 
(NDDCB), the central government agency in charge of combating drug use, there 
were 79,378 drug-related arrests in 2016, which represents a sharp rise from 
four years prior in 2012, of 47,926 cases. The government maintains that the 
high conviction rates are a result of enhanced law enforcement operations, 
although experts argue that the growing convictions can at least partly be 
explained by a larger number of both drug traffickers and users in the country. 
The majority jailed for drug offences were men aged 18-50. Reports indicate 
such offenders typically come from broken families in which their addiction to 
drugs and inability to play the role of family breadwinner has led to domestic 
strife.

Policy Recommendations

Before Sri Lanka becomes established as a drug transit hub, the authorities 
need to continue to apprehend traffickers, drug abusers and rehabilitate 
addicts. Among other initiatives, the President has set up a task force on drug 
prevention directly under his purview which implements and supervises a 
national drug prevention programme at the grassroots and national levels. Law 
enforcement and the military have also stepped up their operations, while 
amendments made to the National Policy for the Prevention and Control of Drug 
Abuse of 2005 have strengthened legislation against the production, smuggling, 
trafficking and use of illicit drugs in the country. Sri Lanka has also sought 
international assistance. For example, Singapore, which also takes a tough 
stance on drug crimes, is providing technical expertise on programs conducted 
by Sri Lanka to prevent and control drug trafficking.

One challenge to overcome is the lack of financial and human resources 
committed to capacity-building such as training anti-narcotic officers. A low 
number of drug users also enter rehabilitation programmes, while treatment 
facilities in prisons also have few takers. The government needs to allocate 
more money to the rehabilitation of drug users and reintegration programs for 
the victims of drugs, particularly the youth.

Moreover, it is significant to consider that capital punishment was previously 
re-introduced in the country after a heroin crisis in 1984 and again in 2004, 
after a noted judge known for handing out tough sentences was gunned down. 
However, both instances were followed by symbolic implementations of the 
penalty amidst opposition from domestic human rights groups and significant 
public opinion against the use of capital punishment.

The current government will also have to overcome both domestic and 
international opposition, from those who do not endorse the death penalty for 
drug trafficking. In an open letter, Amnesty International recently called on 
Sirisena to halt plans to execute at least 13 people for drug-related crimes 
and review all cases of people currently under sentence of death with a view to 
commuting their sentences to terms of imprisonment. Moreover, several Western 
countries often provide information on drug trafficking networks operating 
internationally on the condition that prosecution will not lead to the death 
penalty. By ignoring the moratorium on the death penalty, Sri Lanka risks 
alienating nations whose help is needed to combat drug trafficking. As such, 
while the current government appears to be getting tough on drug crimes and has 
ramped up anti-narcotic operations, there are several challenges ahead.

(source: Amresh Gunasingham is an Associate Editor with the International 
Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, a constituent unit of the 
S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological 
University (NTU), Singapore----eurasiareview.com)








MALAYSIA:

Abolish death penalty, Bar Council and civil groups tell govt



The Bar Council and civil society groups have called on Putrajaya to keep its 
promise to abolish the death penalty.

Malaysian Bar president George Varughese said there have been pushbacks against 
the move especially from the families of the victims of crime.

(source: themalaysianinsight.com)








PHILIPPINES:

Bong Revilla supports death penalty for plunderers despite corruption 
accusations against him



Yes to capital punishment for corrupt officials.

That was former senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr.’s answer today when asked by 
reporters at a press conference whether he was in favor of punishing convicted 
plunderers with the death penalty.

Ironically, Revilla said this despite still facing 16 counts of graft himself.

He was in fact, just acquitted by the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan of plunder 
in December in connection with his alleged misuse of his Priority Development 
Assistance Fund (PDAF), a decision that was widely criticized by the public.

Revilla, who’s running for senator in this year’s elections, has repeatedly 
said he was innocent of corruption and refused to return the millions that he 
allegedly stole from the government.

Other than corrupt officials, he believed that other people deserve the death 
penalty, too. Throwing shade at those who had tried to prosecute him, he told 
reporters: “False accusers should also be punished with the death sentence. 
Because it’s wrong when you’re accusing something false.”

He then complained that he was behind bars for several years because of these 
so-called false accusers, who allegedly ruined the lives of his family.

Revilla appeared serious when he said that corrupt officials deserve to die. He 
added: “Those who plunder, those who steal from the country, they should be 
given the death sentence just so that they will stop.”

Wow, intense.

He’s not the only senatorial candidate who said such a thing. Just last night, 
Senator JV Ejercito, who’s running for re-election, said in the ABS-CBN debate 
show Harapan 2019 (Face-to-Face) that corrupt officials should be given the 
capital punishment.

This elicited a lot of amusement from netizens because Ejercito’s father, 
former President Joseph Estrada, was convicted of plunder in 2007 and was only 
pardoned by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. His half-brother former 
senator Jinggoy Estrada, who’s also running for the Senate, was their father’s 
co-accused but was acquitted.

Even Ejercito himself was accused of corruption years ago. In 2016 and 2017, 
the Sandiganbayan acquitted him for two graft cases stemming from his alleged 
misuse of San Juan’s funds when he was still the city mayor.

His half-brother Jinggoy meanwhile is currently facing a fresh plunder charge 
for allegedly misusing his PDAF but is out on bail. Ironically, CNN Philippines 
reported last month that Jinggoy also said he wanted the death penalty for 
plunderers.

Both Jinggoy and Revilla are controversial figures, with many questioning why 
they were still allowed to run in this year’s elections.

Just yesterday, Revilla became the butt of netizens’ jokes when The Philippine 
Daily Inquirer reported that an unidentified person threw a plastic water 
bottle at him (but barely missed) when he appeared at the Panagbenga Festival 
in Baguio City. Revilla showed up with other candidates despite organizers’ 
rule that campaigning was prohibited during the annual festival.

(source: coconuts.co)




IRAN:

Iran Executions Report 2018: Rouhani vs Ahmadinejad



The 11th Annual Report on the Death Penalty in Iran, by Iran Human Rights 
(IHR), is being published 18 months into the second term of Hassan Rouhani’s 
presidential period. According to reports by IHR at least 3500 people have been 
executed during the 5.5 years of the presidency of Hassan Rouhani.

The figures above show the reported execution numbers during the 2 presidential 
terms of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (from June 2005 to June 2013) and 5.5 years of the 
presidency of Hassan Rouhani (July 2013 to December 2018). The figures are 
based on reported numbers and the actual numbers are probably higher. There are 
bigger margins for error for the numbers under the 1st round of Ahmadinejad’s 
presidency.

A review of Mr. Rouhani’s 5.5 years as President shows that the average monthly 
number of the executions under his presidency was 53, compared to an average of 
35 monthly executions during the 2 periods of the previous president, Mahmoud 
Ahmadinejad.

(source: Iran Human Rights)








SOMALIA:

Somalia's Puntland to Impose the Death Penalty on Rapists----5 Men Sentenced to 
Death in Somalia Rape Case



Somalia's northeastern regional state of Puntland has vowed a death penalty for 
everyone who commits rape in the region. A court in Nugal region of Puntland 
State sentenced 5 young men to death, officials said on Saturday.

The young men were accused of gang-raping a woman in Galkayo, the regional 
capital of Mudug region in central Somalia. In a ruling on Saturday morning 
from the Magistrate Court in Nugal region said the five young men were 
convicted of the rape case.

Four rapists fled to Qardho town while the fifth one was arrested in Galkayo as 
he tried to flee authorities. However, this verdict is not connected to the 
rape and killing of the 12-year old Aisha Ilyas allegedly raped, tortured and 
killed the previous week in Galkayo city Puntland.

Four men were las arrested in Galkayo, Puntland in connection with the rape and 
killing of 12-year old girl on Sunday. The men were arrested on Tuesday 
afternoon by local authorities as the net is cast wide to nab the remaining 
three suspects.

12-year Aisha Ilyas was raped, brutally tortured and killed on Sunday by 7 men. 
Her mutilated body was later dumped at her parents' home. Residents said they 
were shocked by the incident.

The regional head of Mudug, Abdulkadir Hussein Nur Dirir has confirmed the 
arrest saying that "the suspects if convicted, would be shot in public."

"If the court finds them guilty, we would shoot them in public at the full 
glare of all so as to serve as a warning to any man contemplating such an ugly 
move," Abdulkadir described.

He also warned about solving the matter by local traditional way known as 
Maslaha. Maslaha, is a system of resolving disputes in the Somali community. A 
group of elderly men gathers to find alternative dispute resolution in cases 
where the criminal justice system is deemed an open option.

It's a widely celebrated system, particularly in other contexts.However, it has 
been widely castigated when it comes to solving cases of sexual violence 
against women.

Women dismiss the "Maslaha" as a council of men who decide for women's concerns 
stating that no woman sits when verdicts are pronounced.

(source: allafrica.com)








INDIA:

Nirbhaya gang-rape case: Swati Maliwal writes to President for expedition of 
justice----3 of the 4 convicts in the case, who were sentenced to death, are 
likely to file a curative petition challenging the death penalty soon.



Delhi Commission for Women chairperson Swati Maliwal requested President Ram 
Nath Kovind to streamline the judicial process to ensure hanging of the 4 
convicts in the 2012 gang rape-and-murder case.

3 of the 4 convicts in the case, who were sentenced to death, are likely to 
file a curative petition challenging the death penalty soon. A 23-year-old 
paramedic student, who later came to be known as Nirbhaya (fearless), was raped 
on the intervening night of December 16-17, 2012 inside a running bus in South 
Delhi by 6 persons and severely assaulted before being thrown out on the road.

She died on December 29, 2012 at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore.

1 of the accused, Ram Singh, had hanged himself in the jail and another, a 
juvenile, was convicted of rape and murder and given the maximum sentence of 3 
years' imprisonment in a reform facility.

In a letter addressed to President Kovind, Maliwal said there should be a fixed 
timeline within which the entire judicial process needs to be completed to 
avoid such cases from dragging on.

"If deemed fit, your hon'ble self may kindly direct the Union Government to 
immediately introduce an ordinance in the country that ensures that in the 
cases of rape, the trial is completed within 3 months of the crime and further, 
all appeals, review petitions and curative petitions are disposed within the 
next three months. There should be guarantee of justice within 6 months," she 
said, in the letter to the president.

She urged President Kovind to set a definite mechanism to give justice to 
victims of rape.

"Further, I sincerely hope that your hon'ble self will issue strict directions 
to expedite the judicial process in the case of Nirbhaya and ensure that the 
convicts are hanged at the earliest," she said.

(source: New Indian Express)








PAKISTAN:

Contradictory statements: SC acquits 2 murder suspects after 12 years



The apex court has acquitted 2 accused persons after finding the contradiction 
in statements in a murder case, ARY News reported on Monday.

Abdullah Nasir and Tahir Abdullah were handed capital punishment by a trial 
court for murdering a citizen in 2007 and later the death penalty was converted 
into life imprisonment by the high court.

Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa delivered strict remarks while hearing the 
murder case, said that witness would be responsible in the matter but not the 
court as it was difficult to analyse the volume of lie diluted in the 
statements.

“It was impossible to believe the statement that had come from a witness, Abdul 
Majeed, that he had laid to the ground for half an hour after being injured,” 
remarked Justice Khosa, adding that the witness gave a different statement in 
the court.

“A trial court had pronounced death sentence to both of the accused persons 
while high court converted their penalty into life imprisonment,” added the 
chief justice.

The top judge remarked the apex court was told that motive behind the murder 
was land, whereas no clarification was seen after observing crime records. The 
person who had been killed and the killers would be finished at all, he added.

Later, the top court wrapped up the murder case and directed to acquit the 
accused persons.

(source: arynews.tv)

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

‘You Can Stop This At Any Time’ — a harrowing experience at the 10th Karachi 
Literature Festival



Aftab Bahadur was hanged to death in Lahore at 4:30am on Wednesday, June 10, 
2015, despite evidence proving that he was innocent. He was sentenced to death 
when he was a child – in violation of both international and Pakistani law.

Aftab was just 15 when he was sentenced to death. He was convicted of murder 
based on evidence extracted by torture – the 2 eyewitnesses both recanted their 
statements against him, explaining that they had been given under duress.

According to the doctor who examined Bahadur, he was subjected to torture with 
a sharp-edged instrument for 24 to 38 hours before he made his 'confession'.

Bahadur was hanged from his hands when he was being tortured due to which his 
shoulders were disjointed. The police also made him leave his fingerprints on a 
cupboard with grease at the scene of the crime. He spent his whole life in jail 
even though he was innocent.

This harrowing story echoed in a small yellow box, a room barely big enough to 
fit two people, at the Karachi Literature Festival. The yellow exterior of the 
8x8 foot box was jarring when contrasted with the dark interior that brought 
people face to face with the human cost of the death penalty.

Inside the box was an art installation called “You Can Stop This At Any Time”. 
It brought participants face to face with a death row prisoner while the 
disturbing details of his story were narrated in the background. In between the 
2 was a red button that the participant could press at any point during the 
performance which indicated their desire to stop the injustice. Each 
performance lasted for 3 minutes.


Produced by the Justice Project Pakistan and Highlight Arts, the piece was 
installed at the 10th Karachi Literature Festival that took place at Beach 
Luxury Hotel from March 1 to 3. The installation was designed by Asma Zia of 
Cocoon Arts and Entertainment. The audio track was composed by Afzal Saahir and 
Muhammad Usman.

The project was based on the true story of a victim of the death penalty, Aftab 
Bahadur, and the performance isolates the participants from their preconceived 
notions about crime and punishment. By humanising death row prisoners, the 
performance aimed to give people an opportunity to choose between the moral 
choice of stopping a wrongful execution or letting it happen.

“The need for criminal justice reforms is dire in Pakistan. People tend to look 
the other way because topics like torture and the death penalty make them 
uncomfortable. The art piece is aimed at putting people face to face with the 
harsh realities of our system,” said JPP's spokesperson Muhammad Shoaib.

“The main idea behind this installation is an attempt to raise awareness and 
challenge the general public’s indifference towards a sensitive topic,” said 
the man behind the concept of the art piece Ryan Van Winkle.

Last year, the JPP presented No Time To Sleep, a 24-hour live stream charting 
the final hours of a death row prisoner’s life in prison leading up to his 
execution. It received critical acclaim both domestically and internationally 
with 1.4 million views, 6,000 tweets and a hashtag that trended on Twitter for 
several hours throughout the performance.

(source: samaa.tv)