[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

March 19



INDIA:

Gujarat HC Sets Aside Death Penalty Imposed On A Woman For Lack Of Inquiry 
About Her Mental Condition



The Gujarat High Court has set aside the death sentence imposed by the Trial 
court on a lady accused in a double murder case and directed it to ascertain 
her mental condition before conducting re-trial. Manjuben was accused of murder 
of her mother and sister. Perusing the evidence on record while hearing her 
appeal, the bench comprising of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice AC Rao noted 
that though plea of insanity was not raised before the Trial Court, and no 
evidence was led in that regard, the FIR itself stated that the mental 
condition of the accused was quite unstable and she was undergoing treatment in 
this regard past 2 years. Thus, the bench observed that the Trial Court had an 
obligation to undertake an inquiry under Section 329 of the Criminal Procedure 
Code so as to ascertain whether the accused was capable of making her defence.

The bench observed: "The case on hand is quite unusual. As noted above, neither 
the Public Prosecutor nor the Investigating Officer including the defence 
counsel invited the attention of the trial court to the materials on record as 
regards the mental ailment of the accused. However, as it has come to our 
notice, as an Appellate Court, it is our duty to rectify the error so that no 
doubt remains of any nature in our mind."

Directing the Trial court to conduct an inquiry, the bench said that, if the 
trial court is convinced that the accused is capable of making her defence, 
then it shall resume with the trial by framing the charge afresh. Inquiry Even 
If No Plea Of Insanity Is Raised Explaining the scope of Section 329 CrPC, the 
bench observed that even if the accused had not raised such a plea and even if 
the defence counsel had not bothered to look into it, still if the materials on 
record in the form of the documents disclose something about the mental 
condition of the accused, then it is the duty of the trial court to look into 
the materials and ascertain the capacity of the accused to enter the defence in 
accordance with the provisions of Section 329 of the Code.

The court said: "The satisfaction of the trial court should be recorded in so 
many words. The provisions of Section 329 do not embrace an idle formality but 
are calculated to ensure to an accused person a fair trial which cannot 
obviously be afforded to an insane person and the non-observance of those 
provisions must be held to convert a trial into a farce. The courts must, 
therefore, guard against dealing with the matter of suspected sanity of an 
accused person in a perfunctory manner as such a course is bound to result in 
the trial Judge, more often than not, coming to an incorrect conclusion about 
the sanity of the accused before him"

Appoint Experienced Criminal Lawyers The court said that, if the trial Judge is 
of the view having regard to the serious nature of the crime that the 
assistance of a seasoned and experienced criminal side lawyer is required, then 
it would be the duty of the trial Judge to appoint one by fixing appropriate 
remuneration one befitting to the stature of the said lawyer concerned and 
thereafter recover the amount from the State Government and pay the same to the 
concerned lawyer.

The bench further said: "If inexperienced advocates alone are available to 
defend such unfortunate accused, the court has a primary duty to come to the 
aid of the accused by putting timely and useful questions and warning the 
advocates from treading on dangerous grounds"

The bench also issued these general directions: Whenever any accused person is 
arrested and there is any history or the conduct of the accused indicating that 
he is not mentally sound, it is the duty of the Police Officer who has arrested 
him to produce him before the Medical Officer for his examination with regard 
to his unsoundness of mind and to obtain the necessary certificate. If he is 
suffering from any unsoundness of mind, he should be forwarded to a mental 
hospital for treatment and until certificate of his fitness is received, the 
matter cannot proceed further.

If the Investigating Officer fails to perform his duty of getting the accused 
person examined, it is the obligation of the Judicial Magistrate before whom he 
is produced for the first time. If he finds at the time of first remand that 
there is history of insanity or symptoms of the accused showing insanity, he 
should refer the accused for medical examination and find out whether the 
accused is suffering from mental or legal insanity or not.

In case of mental insanity, he should be provided with appropriate medical 
help. It should be also borne in mind by the trial Judges that, no criminal 
case particularly inviting the substantial sentence should be conducted without 
appointment of advocate. If the accused is not represented, appropriate legal 
assistance should be provided to him at the state expenses.

In case of sessions triable offence, it is the duty of the Sessions Judge that 
sufficiently experienced lawyer be provided for conducting the case of accused 
person. The inquiry should be made whether he has conducted sessions cases or 
not and his length of practice would not suffice for his appointment. In case 
of sessions cases of complex or peculiar facts it should be inquired whether he 
has conducted such case or not.

The legal aid to be provided at the State expenses should not be for the 
namesake. Upon such inquiry only he should be appointed as the advocate for the 
accused, and that too, after recording his satisfaction of the competency of 
the advocate.

The Directorate of Prosecution, Legal Remembrancer and the Principal Secretary, 
Home Department, must regularly review the manner in which the Public 
Prosecutors in-charge of the sensitive cases are conducting the trial. Such 
review should be on a periodic basis and records in this regard shall be 
maintained. (source: livelaw.in)

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

Gujarat High Court quashes death penalty of teen killer



The Gujarat High Court on Monday quashed the death penalty awarded to a teenage 
girl, who had allegedly killed her mother and sister, and asked the trial court 
to first verify the girl's mental condition.

The Bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and AC Rao quashed the death sentence 
awarded to Manju Kunvariya, a resident of Gandhidham, for the murders of her 
mother Rajiben and sister Aarti.

According to the FIR registered by her brother Vijay, Manju, who was 19 at the 
time, inflicted several blows of a sword on her mother Rajiben, and her sisters 
Aarti and Madhu, in the early hours of February 17, 2017. The victims were 
sleeping when they were attacked. Rajiben and Aarti died of the injuries, while 
Madhu survived.

The FIR said that Rajiben had reprimanded and slapped Manju over household work 
a day earlier, and the assault on her and her daughters was a result of the 
grudge her youngest daughter bore about it. Manju was convicted for murder by 
the additional sessions court of Gandhidham, which awarded death sentence to 
her on March 15 last year. The court also sentenced her to five years' rigorous 
imprisonment for attempt to murder.

Manju later filed an appeal in the high court challenging the trial court 
judgement.

In its order, the high court bench said that the girl, who was just 19 at the 
time, had indeed behaved in a very abnormal manner. It said that going by the 
materials on record, the accused was prima facie a patient of schizophrenia 
(psychosis), but noted that the trial court had not assessed her mental 
condition.

The HC said that FIR by the accused's brother mentioned that her mental 
condition was quite unstable, and she was undergoing treatment for two years, 
but noted that neither the public prosecutor nor the investigating officer 
brought the aspect to the trial court's attention. The HC also said that if the 
defence counsel had read the papers, he would have got an idea that something 
was wrong with the mental condition of the accused. "We take notice of the fact 
that trial court overlooked something very important and the omission on the 
part of trial court has rendered the judgement and order of conviction and 
sentence susceptible to the complaint that the same is illegal," the HC bench 
said.

The HC bench remitted the case to sessions court for fresh trial, and directed 
it to first verify the mental condition of the accused. "If the trial court is 
convinced that the accused is capable of making her defence, it shall resume 
with trial by framing charge afresh."

HC BENCH SAYS LEGAL AID A FARCE

The high court made scathing remarks in its order about the legal aid provided 
to the 19-year-old accused. The HC said that the girl could not have managed to 
engage a seasoned trial side lawyer, and the legal aid provided by District 
Legal Services Authority was nothing but a farce. “This is a 2nd matter in last 
15 days which we have noticed that the legal aid being provide in just for 
namesake,” it said, adding, “Cross-examination of witnesses in a serious 
offence like murder is not child’s play. It is very unfortunate to note that in 
the case on hand there is practically no cross-examination,” it said, adding 
whether the girl was given a fair trial and effective opportunity to defend 
herself.

(source: Daily News and Analysis)








INDONESIA:

Foreigners convicted for drug trafficking escape death penalty



A Cambodian man and a Vietnamese woman escaped the gallows when a Federal Court 
here allowed their appeal today.

The Federal Court replaced the death penalty with a conviction under Section 12 
(2) Dangerous Drug Act (DDA) 1952 and sentenced the duo to 20 years in jail, to 
commence from the date of their arrest.

The apex court held that the learned trial judge of a Sibu High Court had 
misdirected himself on the usage of the presumption under Section 37 DDA 1952 
before convicting the duo with separate drug trafficking offences.

On May 18, 2016, the Sibu High Court sentenced the Cambodian man and a 
Vietnamese woman to death for trafficking dangerous drugs in 2013 after finding 
them guilty following their failure to cast any doubt on the prosecution’s 
case.

Cambodian Kong Rin was convicted of trafficking over 2.22kg of methamphetamine 
in front of the exit gate at the arrival hall of Sibu Airport at 11.38am on Nov 
27, 2013.

Nguyen Thi Kim Tuyen was convicted of trafficking over 2.15kg of 
methamphetamine in front of the exit gate at the arrival hall of Sibu Airport 
at 11.40am on the same day.

Both charges were framed under Section 39B (1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 
1952 and punishable under Section 39B(2) of the same Act.

Counsels Wilfred Yap and Wit Malang represented the appellants respectively.

(source: The Borneo Post)








TAIWAN:

British Office Taipei calls for Taiwan to end death penalty



The British Office Taipei, which maintains and develops relations between the 
United Kingdom and Taiwan, called on Monday for Taiwan to abolish the death 
penalty on the basis of human rights.

Capital punishment should not exist in a democratic society where human rights 
are respected, according to the U.K.'s representative to Taiwan Catherine 
Nettleton.

Speaking at a press conference in Taipei to discuss the reports "For or against 
abolition of the death penalty: Evidence from Taiwan," and "Unsafe convictions 
in capital cases in Taiwan" released Sunday, Nettleton said in the mind of the 
British, the "death penalty" is no longer an option.

The reports were jointly compiled by the London-based Death Penalty Project 
(DPP) and Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty (TAEDP), which revealed 
concerns over the administration of criminal justice in Taiwan.

They also demonstrated evidence that the death penalty may be enforced 
improperly, resulting in the risk of unsafe or wrongful convictions.

Saul Lehrfreund, executive director of the penalty project, said the reports 
were compiled to "stimulate a more informed discourse by challenging previous 
perceptions about Taiwanese public opinion on this subject, and hopefully, to 
remove one of the main barriers to progress towards the goal of abolition."

The report on whether Taiwanese are for or against the death penalty was based 
on a survey of 2,039 face-to-face interviews, which found that more than 80 % 
of respondents remained opposed to abolishing the death penalty, consistent 
with past surveys in Taiwan.

On the question of abolishing capital punishment and replacing it with life 
imprisonment without parole, however, there was more support, though the 
results depended on when the question was asked in the lengthy survey of over 
100 questions.

Among the respondents who answered the question at the beginning of the survey, 
only 34 % backed replacing the death penalty with life imprisonment without 
parole, compared to 63 % against.

But when the question appeared near the end of the survey after several other 
questions had forced respondents to think about the issue and consider its 
complexities, opposition to abolition of the death penalty fell slightly.

In that case, nearly 1/2 (48 % for vs. 49 % against) backed the idea of life 
imprisonment without parole instead of the death penalty.

TAEDP head Lin Hsin-yi urged the government not to use so-called "public 
opinion" as an excuse to maintain the capital punishment system in Taiwan, 
because based on the survey when people learned about other alternatives to the 
death penalty, their support for the death penalty fell.

Nettleton argued that the death penalty should not continue to exist in a 
democracy such as Taiwan, where human rights are respected within all levels of 
society.

(source: focustaiwan.tw)

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

Poor knowledge underlines death penalty support: study



Newly published research found most Taiwanese have limited knowledge about the 
death penalty and have a shifting attitude toward its abolition, the Taiwan 
Alliance to End the Death Penalty and the UK-based Death Penalty Project said 
yesterday.

While the government has long procrastinated about abolishing the death penalty 
on the grounds that the majority of the public opposes it, a new report 
revealed a more complex picture, the alliance said.

The report, For or Against Abolition of the Death Penalty: Evidence From 
Taiwan, based on a survey conducted from 2013 to 2014, found that “members of 
the public have very limited knowledge about the practice of the death penalty 
in Taiwan and abroad, yet their knowledge affects whether they support 
abolition,” said Chiu Hei-yuan, an honorary professor at Academia Sinica’s 
Institute of Sociology who conducted the research.

Respondents were asked to answer four factual questions about the death 
penalty.

More than half, or 55 % of the respondents, failed all 4, while only 0.2 % 
answered all of them correctly, he said.

While 88 % of respondents oppose abolition, the number dropped to 82 % if they 
were first asked questions about their trust in the judicial system and tested 
on their knowledge about the death penalty, he said.

Moreover, when given detailed scenarios to consider whether a defendant should 
be given the death penalty, respondents who support it dropped significantly.

For example, when asked if a poor man who accidentally killed a homeowner 
during a burglary should be sentenced to death, only 33 % of respondents said 
“yes,” he said.

Instead of basing its policies on general public opinion, “the government 
should take a closer look into it and plan its policies based on a subtle 
understanding of public opinion,” he said.

Meanwhile, another report, entitled Unsafe Convictions in Capital Cases in 
Taiwan, conducted by University of Oxford professor Carolyn Hoyle, reviewed 62 
cases of capital convictions from 2006 to 2015 and found 10 judgements to be 
“seriously flawed,” Death Penalty Project coexecutive director Saul Lehrfreund 
said.

Errors found in the cases include torture of suspects while in police custody, 
failure to collect and preserve evidence, and failure to establish an intent to 
commit murder, he said.

No matter how well-developed, resourced and sophisticated a criminal justice 
system may be, it cannot eliminate human errors, he said.

“Once the inevitability of error is accepted, the question is not whether an 
individual deserves to be sentenced to death and executed, but whether the 
state maintains the right to deprive an individual of the most basic human 
right, namely the right to life,” he said.

The reports show that public opinion on abolition is ever-shifting and never 
black-and-white, British Representative to Taiwan Catherine Nettleton said.

“Public opinion was used as an argument against abolition in the UK when it 
abolished it half a century ago, but today death penalty just does not come up 
as an option in the mind of a British person,” she said.

Hopefully, the reports would provide evidence for more objective discussion on 
abolition, she said.

“We firmly believe the death penalty should have no place in a democratic and 
human rights respecting society such as Taiwan,” she added.

(source: Taipei Times)








PHILIPPINES:

Should we restore death penalty?



I ORIGINALLY wrote this as a Facebook post. However, I felt the need to share 
this to a wider audience, hence having this as an article for this column with 
slight modifications.

The re-imposition of death penalty won't guarantee an automatic payment of life 
by the accused. Our justice system provides that an accused should first be 
brought to trial. He may get a lawyer or the government should give him one. 
Evidences have to be produced and witnesses have to be crossed examined. All 
legalities may be invoked all in the name of due process. Anyone who has 
studied Philippine Politics and Governance should know that even if convicted, 
reversal of a lower court’s decision by a higher court is possible. If the 
accused is rich he can invoke as many legal remedies possible. Like it or not 
the system after all affords him of such. The procedures are long and winding; 
long enough for the decomposition of the victim to complete much much earlier.

This is our current justice system whether we like it or not. It's not that 
justice is delayed. It's just that, and perhaps unfortunately, justice is not 
and cannot just be an immediate reaction to achieve automatic satisfaction. 
Without facts it is impossible to figure out the truth, and without the truth 
it is impossible to render justice. There is no question that we have to let a 
rapist pay the price but who is the rapist in the first place? How sure are we 
that the one who is accused is the one who raped? It is obviously not sound to 
just send someone or anyone to jail just because we have been hurt or angered. 
The truth, scripture says, will set us free. Truth be told, the truth is just 
out there but remains so difficult to find.

For justice to be delivered we have to lobby for the improvement of our system. 
If the totality of our system remains weak and wanting in terms of mechanisms 
and procedures in criminal investigation, then having death as the highest form 
of penalty is still no guarantee towards a civilization of justice. Yes we can 
restore death penalty. This can be done, practically, within a year. But what's 
the point restoring it if the much broader system is not even effective and 
efficient in identifying suspects. Truth remains that authorities are lacking 
in orientation in forensic science. Reliance for example in testimonial 
evidences is still common a practice. Can someone for example explain why the 
suspected killer of a brutally murdered girl in Cebu, was captured in Davao? 
Have we captured the real fish or are we simply getting just any fish from the 
ocean for the sake of public presentation?

But why are we still clamoring for death penalty. The answer is simple: we are 
angry. A more accurate description in fact is this: those who are so angry at 
the situation are not really asking for death penalty they simply want the 
perpetrators dead, as much as possible in fact...immediately and without trial.

So unless we change our system to something that is apparently uncivilized, say 
immediate stoning to death of a suspect, no penal system could exhaust our 
anger. Not even a restoration of death penalty can satisfy our anger. The issue 
is not the maximum penalty but in the ability of the law enforcing agencies to 
fairly defend us within the context of our system.

Is it the purpose of our criminal justice system to subside our angers? Our 
personal angers are rooted in our own issues and we ought not create a grand 
scale system merely based on what we feel. We may kill anyone, and in fact we 
can kill everyone so that we can satisfy our anger. But is this the road to 
justice? We refuse to admit, we are not fighting for justice, we are simply mad 
and we want revenge.

In addition therefore to the many arguments against death penalty, I am not in 
favor of it not really because of plain and simple moralism, but because its 
proponents have not been convincing enough with all their reasons, why other 
than hatred killing criminals is the best way for us to be the most just 
society.

Go back to the drawing board. Study. Come back when you're not angry, and then 
we shall listen... there is a thin line between anger and insanity.

(source: RHODERICK JOHN S. ABELLANOSA, Sun-Star)




NIGERIA:

Okowa appeals for abolishment of death penalty in Nigeria



Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta on Monday called for the abolishment of death 
penalty in Nigeria.

The governor made the call when members of the Presidential Committee on 
Prisons Reforms led by its Chairman, Justice Ishaq Bello paid him a courtesy 
visit in Asaba.

According to him, death penalty should be abolished and those who are already 
sentenced to death be converted to life imprisonment, more so now that most 
state governments are unwilling to sign the death warrant.

He also called for the reformation of the prisoners to make them better 
citizens of the country.

Okowa condemned a situation where prison inmates coordinate criminal activities 
such as kidnapping from the prisons, adding that reforming the prisoners was 
apt for a sustainable crime-free society.

“We need to reform the minds of the prisoners, a programme to reform the mind 
of prisoners is very important because once you are able to reform their minds, 
they will become better citizens.

“As a state government, we are extending our skills acquisition programmes to 
the prisons.

“But, it will be such that the prisoners would be given starter packs as they 
are leaving the prisons to enable them to start their own businesses and be 
useful members of the society,’’ he said.

According to the governor, setting up of the committee for Prisons Reforms is 
timely and urged it to ensure a thorough job.

He noted that the crime rate in the country was on the rise and available 
prisons infrastructure had been stretched beyond their limits.

Earlier, Bello said that they were in the state to have as part of their 
activities to reform the Nigerian Prisons Service.

He said that the committee had visited more than 13 states in that regard.

(source: pmnewsnigeria.com)








SAUDI ARABIA:

Jordaniain citizen sentenced to death looks into questionable judiciary in 
Saudi Arabia



Another case of a questionable arrest, forced confession and death penalty 
sentence in the world of Saudi Arabian justice.

According to Amnesty International, there were some 993 executions in 23 
countries in 2017, with the greatest number of executions taking place in 
China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Pakistan, in that respective order.

The figures for 2018 have yet to be published, but countries that maintain the 
death penalty are now in the minority.

Here in France, the National Assembly voted to abolish the death penalty in 
1981 and the most recent country to abolish capital punishment for all crimes 
is Guinea in 2017.

At present, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia is under considerable international 
pressure with regard to its poor human rights record, particularly in cases 
related to those who speak-up against the country, such as activists and 
journalists.

In 2019 alone, there have been a reported 23 executions, with 150 executed in 
2018. In 2017 that number was 146.

45 people are believed to be on death row in the kingdom since the end of 2017.

A familiar tale

On May 18th 2014, Jordanian national Hussein Abulkheir was arrested upon 
returning to his month-old job as a driver in Saudi Arabia.

Speaking to RFI from Geneva, his sister Zeinab recounted his story as she tries 
to find a way to get her brother acquitted.

She says her brother was arrested after returning from a visit to his hometown 
Aqaba, Jordan where his wife and 8 children live.

He had just begun working in the Saudi city of Tabuk, after finding it hard to 
make ends meet running his own tyre repair shop in Aqaba.

After a month of work in Tabuk, he returned home for a visit.

But when crossing the border, he was asked step out of the car in which he was 
traveling, and the vehicle wa then searched.

Drugs were then allegedly found in his car – specifically Captagon, which 
contains an amphetamine-like stimualnt known as Fenethylline - and he was 
immediately arrested.

Over the following 12 days, Abulkheir was allegedly tortured and then forced 
into signing a confession.

8 months later, without access to a lawyer, he was tried in court and found 
guilty of smuggling drugs and sentenced to death by beheading.

Abulkheir appealed this sentence and another trial was held, again with no 
access to a lawyer.

He was once again sentenced to death by the sword.

Eye-for-an-eye punishment

The charge of smuggling drugs into the kingdom is a crime that is not 
necessarily met by death; that is at the discretion of each judge.

The penal code system in Saudi Arabia is based on the Islamic law principle of 
qisas, or ‘tit-for-tat’ retributive punishment.

For example, murdering someone is a crime met by the same sentence, death.

But in the case of drug smuggling, there is no exact equivalency, thus a judge 
is free to decide on the best sentence, as he sees fits.

The judge may also rely on a 1987 fatwa (a non-binding legal ruling on a point 
of Islamic law given by a recognized authority) declared by the kingdom’s 
Council of Senior Religious Scholars that suggests death for any drug smuggler.

According to Human Rights Watch, between 2014 to 2018 the kingdom has executed 
over 200 people in drug-related cases.

International standards

The League of Arab states put forward ‘The Arab Charter on Human Rights’ that 
was adopted in Cairo on September 15, 1994.

The charter lays out certain regulations and practices pertaining to 
humanitarian values.

Such articles include the use of the death penalty, as stated in Part II, 
Article 10

The death penalty may be imposed only for the most serious crimes and anyone 
sentenced to death shall have the right to seek pardon or commutation of the 
sentence.

Part II, Article 10 Arab Charter on Human Rights

Saudi Arabia ratified the charter in 1994, yet since cases of drug smuggling 
are still being met with capital punishment, one can assume that drug smuggling 
is regarded as a “most serious of crimes” that warrants death.

Pressure to abandon capital punishment?

Saudi Arabia has faced numerous calls from across the globe to end the death 
penalty, or at least adopt a “moratorium on executions” says Human Rights 
Watch.

But, despite the veneer of reforms introduced by the young Crown Prince 
Mohammed bin Salman bin Adbulaziz Al Saud, or MBS as he’s often referred to, 
2018 alone saw a rise in the number of cases being referred to the death 
penalty.

These included cases against dissidents, that did not include accusations of 
violence.

A Mecca for Captagon

According to the European Union Institute for Security Studies, there have been 
reports about Captagon’s “proliferation in the Middle Eastern markets, 
especially in Saudi Arabia”.

Another article in the online journal ‘Raseef22’ notes that “Saudi Arabia is 
considered the largest market for importing Captagon…and considered one of the 
toughest challenges for Saudi Arabian authorities.”

In the black market, a tablet can retail at 12 US dollars. A seizure can be 
worth nearly 294 million US dollars “according to 2015 prices,” reports EUISS.

The counter-narcotics strategy is run by the Saudi Interior Ministry and is 
considered “more of an imported security threat rather than a domestic social 
problem” states EUISS.

In a way, the war against Captagon is similar to the American war on drugs.

Given the opaque legal proceedings against those allegedly charged in 
connection with Captogon, such as in the case of Abulkheir, it wouldn’t be 
surprising if a few people were being used as an example to show authorities 
and locals that the counter-narcotics strategy is in fact working; even if 
those very people had nothing to do with the drug.

(source: rfl.fr)








IRAQ:

Iraq sentences Belgian man to death for belonging to Islamic State



An Iraqi court sentenced a Belgian man to death by hanging on Monday for being 
part of the Islamic State militant group, one of dozens of foreign nationals 
facing the death penalty in Iraq.

Iraq has put hundreds of suspected members of the ultra-hardline jihadist group 
on trial, many of whom were arrested as Islamic State lost a string of 
strongholds to U.S.-backed military campaigns throughout Iraq.

The Central Criminal Court in Baghdad handed Belgian national Bilal 
al-Marchohi, 23, the death penalty for belonging to and conducting operations 
on behalf of Islamic State (IS).

During an hour of proceedings, the presiding judge read out portions of 
Marchohi’s signed confession and showed a video and photographs that he said 
proved his membership of IS.

The images from a phone found in his possession at the time of his arrest 
showed Marchohi carrying a gun and making a hand gesture affiliated with the 
militants. Several pictures showed him cradling his infant son.

Marchohi denied all allegations against him in open court, including that he 
was a member of IS at any time.

“I shouldn’t be prosecuted in Iraq,” Marchohi said. “I should be prosecuted in 
Belgium. I am a Belgian citizen.”

Judge Jumaa Saidi told the court that the photographs were clear evidence 
Marchohi was a member of Islamic State.

A translator was appointed by the judge for Marchohi, who spoke in English 
throughout the trial. He was also given a court appointed lawyer but had no 
contact with him during the trial.

Belgian consular representatives attended the proceedings.

The Belgian Foreign Ministry said it had no power to intervene but had made 
clear to the Iraqi government its opposition to the death penalty. “We have 
done it a few times - even before Mr al-Marchohi and Mr Jadaoun were put to 
trial,” a ministry spokesman said in Brussels.

Marchohi’s family, who live in the Belgian city of Antwerp, declined to 
comment.

Islamic State redrew the map of the Middle East in 2014 when it declared an 
ultra-radical Sunni Islamist “caliphate” spanning parts of Syria and Iraq and 
established a rule known for mass killings, sexual enslavement and punishments 
like crucifixion.

Marchohi is the 2nd of 2 Belgians held in Iraq known to have been sentenced to 
death for a role in Islamic State. Tarek Jadaoun, 30, also known as Abu Hamza 
al-Beljiki, was sentenced to death in May 2018. A senior member of Islamic 
State, Jadaoun featured prominently in the group’s propaganda videos which 
threatened attacks on European soil.

Human rights groups have accused Iraqi and other regional forces of 
inconsistencies in the judicial process and flawed trials leading to unfair 
convictions.

Islamic State captured 1/3 of Iraq in 2014 but was largely defeated both there 
and in neighboring Syria last year.

(source: Reuters)








IRAN----execution

Man Hanged at Zahedan Prison



A prisoner was hanged at Zahedan Central Prison for murder charges last 
Saturday.

According to IHR sources, on the morning of Saturday, March 16, a prisoner 
identified as Enayatollah Totazehi, 25, was executed at Zahedan Central Prison 
for murder charges.

According to HRANA, he was arrested 7 years ago.

The aforementioned execution has not been reported by Iranian media so far.

According to the Iran Human Rights statistic department, the majority of 
executions in 2017 and 2018 in Iran was for murder charges. At least 188 
prisoners were executed for murder charges in 2018. Only 33% of executions were 
announced by Iranian authorities in 2018.

There is a lack of a classification of murder by degree in Iran which results 
in issuing a death sentence for any kind of murder regardless of intensity and 
intent.

(source: Iran Human Rights)