[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

May 1



SOMALIA:

A court in S0malia slaps 3 with death penalty for murder over love match



A regional court in Mogadishu, the Somali capital on Tuesday, April 30 has 
sentenced 3 people, including a woman, to death for "burning man alive" last 
year, Garowe Online reports.

< The 3 defendants, 2 from the same family and a woman were all found guilty of 
brutally killing Ahmed Mukhtar Salah "Ahmed Dowlo" last September after his 
nephew married their daughter secretly.

Ahmed Dowlo from ethnically dicriminated Bantu clan was torched to death by a 
lynch-mob from in-laws after his nephew married to a different so-called 
"high-ranking" clan in a Garage in Yaqshid district.

The court has acquitted 4 others convicted for involvement in the murder case 
while 1 of the 3 people sentenced to death on Tuesday is at large, according to 
the victim's family.

Mohamed Mukhtar who is the brother of the victim, said still justice has not 
been serviced, arguing that others involved the case, including the bride's 
mother who allegedly orchestrated the killing, are free.

The father of the bride had accepted the marriage and give the couple his 
blessing but, the mother's side protested according to a relative and 
subsequently committted the heinous killing.

Unfortunately, the couples were on their honeymoon in somewhere in Mogadishu at 
the time of the murder which caused shock and outrage in the country, 
triggering calls from the public for justice.

(source: garoweonline.com)








MALDIVES:

High Court upholds death penalty for Hussain Waheed’s killer



The High Court on Tuesday upheld capital punishment for 1 of 2 culprits 
convicted of murdering Hussain Waheed with a sharp weapon in capital Male', in 
December 2013.

The Juvenile Court passed the death sentence in 2015 on the two individuals, 
who were minors at the time of the crime. The High Court upheld the verdict for 
one of the culprits in November 2017. While the two were of age at the time of 
their sentencing, their identities are protected as per the Child Protection 
Act.

Following the appeals, the High Court read the verdict for the 2nd culprit on 
Tuesday, upholding the Juvenile Court's death sentence.

The court stated that witness testimonies proved that the individual had driven 
to the crime scene on the back of a motorcycle and stabbed Hussain Waheed. It 
also noted that doctors' testimonies and Waheed's death certificate showed that 
his passing was caused by the injuries he sustained from the attack.

Highlighting that the weapon was a knife, the High Court stated that such an 
object could be used for murder, and that the attacker's murderous intention 
could be deduced from the fact that Waheed was stabbed in the chest. The 
verdict also stated that intentions, crime scene, and the manner in which the 
crime is carried out must be taken into account in murder cases, as per Islamic 
Sharia.

Touching upon the witnesses put forward by the prosecutors, the verdict stated 
that the testimonies of 2 witnesses were rejected as they had criminal records. 
However, the verdict read that there were no grounds to doubt the integrity of 
the rest of the witnesses, and that their testimonies proved that the defendant 
had stabbed Waheed.

The sentence also noted that Islamic law holds everyone who has reached puberty 
accountable for their actions despite being minors, and that anyone aged 
fifteen is regarded as having reached puberty. While the defendant was 17 years 
old at the time of the crime, the court stated that Maldivian law holds 
individuals above the age of 15 accountable for any criminal offences they 
commit.

The court further noted that all inheritors of Hussain Waheed have declared for 
the death penalty.

Hence, the judges bench comprising Hussain Shaheed, Abdul Rauf Ibrahim and 
Shujau Usman, declared to uphold the Juvenile Court's verdict of capital 
punishment.

Chief Judge Shujau Usman presided over the case.

As per Maldivian law, capital punishment can be executed only after exhausting 
all the stages of the appeal process.

(source: edition.mv)








INDIA:

Bombay HC sets aside man's death penalty for killing woman, child



The Bombay High Court Tuesday set free a Nashik man who was sentenced to death 
last year by a court here for killing a 32-year-old woman and her 6-year-old 
child.

A bench of justices BP Dharmadhikari and P D Naik held that the police failed 
to carry out proper investigation and build a watertight case against convict 
Ramdas Shinde.

The bench, therefore, dismissed the Maharashtra government's plea seeking 
confirmation of the death penalty, and upheld Shinde's appeals challenging his 
conviction and sentence.

On April 26 last year, the court in Nashik had convicted and sentenced Shinde 
for stabbing to death the woman and her child, who stayed as tenants in his 
father's property.

The prosecution had claimed that the victim woman had snubbed Shinde's sexual 
advances and, therefore, on April 18, 2016, while his wife and children were 
away, he went to the victim's house and killed her and her son.

The victim's body had 24 stab wounds, including wounds on her private parts, 
and the child's body had 28 stab wounds, the prosecution claimed.

However, Shinde approached the high court last year challenging his conviction 
and sentence through pleas filed through his counsel advocate Aniket Nikam.

Nikam told the high court the police had failed to investigate the case 
properly and that there existed several loopholes in the prosecution's theory 
and the evidence presented on record.

He argued that the prosecution's case relied mainly on circumstantial evidence, 
but the prosecution had failed to establish a cogent chain of evidence.

He pointed out that the police had failed to produce Shinde's clothes and 
possessions before the trial court even though it claimed the clothes and 
possessions had blood stains on them.

The police had also relied upon the recording of 2 phone calls made by Shinde 
to his friend Subhash on the night of the incident, whereby, he allegedly 
confessed to the crime.

Nikam, however, pointed out that while Subhash had initially recorded a 
statement before a magistrate confirming such calls, he had later turned 
hostile and alleged that the police had coerced him into making the initial 
statement.

Besides, he said, the police had also failed to seize Subhash's mobile phone 
till about 2 weeks after the crime.

Therefore, there was enough chance of tampering of evidence, Nikam said.

The prosecution, through advocate Prajakta Shinde, denied the charges of 
tampering of evidence.

However, the court held that Nikam's arguments on insufficient and unconvincing 
probe could not be ignored.

"We find that the Investigating Officer has not investigated all links and 
clues to ensure that nobody else could have committed the ghastly double 
murder, or to show that the accused could be the only culprit," the bench said.

"The material on record is insufficient to rule out the involvement of any 
other person in the matter," it said while setting aside the Nashik court 
order.

(source: business-standard.com)








CHINA:

2nd Canadian faces execution in China — a look at the country’s death penalty 
laws



Another Canadian citizen has been handed the death penalty in China on drug 
charges, a Chinese court announced Tuesday.

The Canadian was among 11 people sentenced for conducting an international 
methamphetamine operation. The Canadian was identified as Fan Wei.

“Canadian officials attended the April 30th, 2019, verdict and sentencing of 
Mr. Fan. We call on China to grant clemency. It is of extreme concern to our 
government that China has chosen to apply the death penalty, a cruel and 
inhumane punishment,” a Global Affairs spokesperson told Global News.

The verdict marks the 2nd time a Canadian has been handed the death sentence in 
China in less than 5 months.

On Jan. 14, Canadian Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, originally sentenced in 2016 to 
a 15-year term for drug smuggling, had his sentence changed to the death 
penalty. He has appealed the sentence, and the matter is still before the 
courts.

“We know the judiciary and criminal system in China are not independent of 
(politics) and can work under the party,” Lynette Ong, an associate professor 
of political science at the University of Toronto, said.

Ong said because of this, the chance of Schellenberg winning his appeal may be 
“very low,” as many experts say his death sentence is seen as punishment for 
Canada’s arrest of Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of the Chinese telecom 
company Huawei.

“We know the party can interfere in the judicial decision — that is how the 
system works,” she said.

But what happens to individuals who are handed the death sentence in China? The 
question is difficult to answer, according to organizations such as Amnesty 
International, which says information on China’s death penalty is “shrouded in 
secrecy.”

China executes more people than any other country in the world, according to 
Amnesty International. But it is difficult to determine the number of death 
sentences imposed and the number of executions carried out.

Many cases are classified as a state secret. However, occasionally, death 
penalty cases are very public, as in the case of Schellenberg. How many people 
are sentenced to death in China?

The Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide provides a database of the 
death penalties in 87 countries, including China. The organization notes that 
although information on some countries’ death penalty laws is a state secret, 
it still “offers a cautious, informed assessment of state practice.”

In the case of China, Death Penalty Worldwide says there are “possibly 
thousands” of individuals executed every year.

It is difficult to asses the exact number, as many prisoners do not linger on 
death row — they are either executed immediately or given a suspended 2-year 
sentence, after which they are either executed or have their sentence commuted, 
the centre said.

The death sentences reported in the media are also a “fraction of those that 
are imposed,” the organization added. That includes foreign nationals given the 
death sentence for drug-related crimes.

But it is estimated that China sentences thousands of people to death every 
year, more than the rest of the world put together.

For example, it was reported that 2,000 people were executed in China in 2018. 
In comparison, 501 individuals were reportedly executed in the Middle East and 
North Africa region in 2018 (Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Yemen).

What happens when an individual is sentenced to death?

In 2007, the Chinese Supreme People’s Court was granted the power to review 
death penalty cases.

“All death sentences are meant to be reviewed by higher courts in China … but 
do these reviews result in a different outcome? Not necessarily,” said Sophie 
Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch.

She said it’s very difficult to know how a Chinese court came to its decision 
after a trial.

In the case of foreign individuals — such as the 2 Canadians — being handed the 
death penalty, Ong said an embassy in Beijing could try and discuss the case 
with the Chinese government.

“But China could turn around and say the behaviour was conducted on their 
territory and sovereign rights overrule this so China does not have to disclose 
any other information,” she said.

Once an individual is handed a death sentence, such as Tuesday’s case of the 
Canadian, the Chinese government could detain the individual for years before 
the sentence is carried out, Ong said. But, she added, it’s also quite common 
to execute people right away.

What crimes are punishable by death in China?

China allows the death penalty to be imposed for 68 crimes, 44 of which do not 
involve violence, according to Dui Hua, a U.S. organization that advocates for 
prisoners in China.

These include murder, rape, drug trafficking, robbery, treason, espionage, 
prison riots and producing or selling tainted food or medicine.

For example, in 2009, China’s state media reported that the government executed 
a dairy farmer and a milk salesman for their role in a tainted infant formula 
scandal that killed 6 children and made 300,000 ill.

“The majority of the crimes eligible for the death penalty in China (are) not 
definitely violent ones, which is of concern,” Richardson said. “Add on top of 
this the chronic challenges of getting a fair trial in China.”

Methods of execution

Most executions in China are reportedly carried out by lethal injection, with 
firing squads as a method being phased out.

Death Penalty Worldwide reported that lethal injection and shooting are the 
only methods authorized by China’s Criminal Procedure Law of 1996. However, as 
of 2010, shooting executions aren’t reportedly used anymore, the organization 
added.

“In June 2009, the Chinese government announced that it was a long-term 
objective to replace the firing squad with lethal injection,” the organization 
stated.

(source: globalnews.ca.)








SAUDI ARABIA:

Commons outcry over Saudi executions



FOREIGN OFFICE Minister Sir Alan Duncan joined the chorus of disapproval 
following the execution of 37 prisoners in Saudi Arabia.

In the House of Commons on Wednesday, April 24, Sir Vince Cable asked the 
Government to make a statement on the executions which took place the previous 
day.

Amnesty International has condemned the executions, which included the killing 
of a man who was under 18 at the time of his arrest, in contravention of 
international law.

The Middle East research Director of Amnesty International, Lynn Maalouf called 
it “another gruesome indication of how the death penalty is being used as a 
political tool to crush dissent from within the country’s Shi’a minority”.

The humanitarian organisation, which opposes capital punishment, say that the 
executions followed torture, unjust trials and forced confessions.

The Saudi authorities are thought to have executed 104 people so far in 2019.

Those executed yesterday were charged with terrorism offences. One man was 
crucified. Another had his headless body displayed in public.

Responding to the urgent question, Minister of State for Europe and the 
Americas, Sir Alan Duncan said: “We are very concerned by the executions of 37 
men in Saudi Arabia and the Foreign Office is working to establish the full 
facts.

“The UK Government opposes the death penalty in all circumstances and in every 
country, including Saudi Arabia. We regularly raise human rights concerns, 
including the use of the death penalty, at the highest levels with the Saudi 
Arabian authorities.”

In response, Sir Vince Cable said: “We are in urgent need of a reappraisal of 
our relationship with Saudi Arabia given the fact that the continued mediaeval 
barbarism of the regime does not constitute the basis for a friendly alliance 
and indeed makes it an enemy of our values and our human rights.”

The UK Government encourages arms sales to the Saudi kingdom and trains members 
of the country’s security services in this country. Saudi Arabia is engaged in 
a war of attrition with neighbouring Yemen, for which it has attracted 
widespread condemnation for targeting Yemeni civilians.

The MP for Leeds North East, Fabian Hamilton said: “Publicly pinning one of the 
headless bodies to a pole as a warning is not only disturbingly barbaric and 
medieval in nature, but an abhorrent violation of human rights.

“According to the families of those executed, there was no prior notice that 
the executions would be carried out. That is a blatant flouting of 
international standards set out by even the most brutal of regimes that still 
use the death penalty.

“We know that some, if not all, of those executed, were convicted in Saudi 
Arabia’s Specialised Criminal Court, which has been widely condemned by human 
rights groups as secretive, and which has in the past been used to try human 
rights activists, whom the state often wrongly regards as terrorists.

“We also know that at least three of those executed were juveniles—a clear 
violation of international law, which the Saudi regime appears to care very 
little about.

“Abdulkarim al-Hawaj was charged with participating in demonstrations, 
incitement via social media and preparing banners with anti-state slogans. 
Reports from human rights watchdogs in the country claim that he was beaten and 
the so-called confessions extracted from him through various means of torture.

“Mujtaba al-Sweikat was a student about to begin his studies at Western 
Michigan University when he was arrested at King Fahd airport, beaten and 
so-called confessions extracted through torture.

“Salman Qureish was just 18 when he was executed, but he was convicted of 
crimes that allegedly took place when he was still a child. The UN has 
condemned his sentencing and the use of the death penalty against him after he 
was denied basic legal rights, such as access to a lawyer.”

Carmarthen East & Dinefwr MP Jonathan Edwards said: “The vast majority of those 
executed yesterday were Shi’a Muslims. To what degree do the British Government 
consider that the Saudi regime is using the death penalty as a means of 
quashing dissent among a persecuted religious minority within its borders?”

Sir Alan Duncan replied: “I do not think that this is the moment for me to give 
an extended thesis on such matters, but I understand the hon. Gentleman’s 
suggestion. In many parts of the Middle East, the Sunni-Shi’a conflict is very 
intensive and creates enormous tension, difficulty and strife.”

(source: The Llanelli Herald)

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

Senate moves to save Nigerian lady from Saudi’s death sentence



Senate on Tuesday set up a committee to intervene in the arrest of Miss Zainab 
Habibu Aliyu who was arrested in Saudi Arabia over drug-related crimes.

In a motion sponsored by Senator Kabir Gaya representing Kano South Senatorial 
district, he explained that the ordeal of Zainab who is a citizen of Kano State 
was caused by a notorious cartel within the ranks of Aminu Kano International 
Airport.

“Mr. President, distinguished Colleagues, we cannot allow Miss Zainab Habibu 
Aliyu who was arrested in Saudi Arabia to be executed over drug crimes which 
was planted in her travelling bag by criminal elements.”

The lawmaker calls for urgent intervention, saying that, “Saudi Arabia operates 
capital punishment leading to death penalty.”

In his contribution, Senator Ali Ndume representing Borno South Senatorial 
district explained that the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki who was recently 
appointed as Ambassador to the International Human Rights should see this as 
his 1st assignment.

He added that the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, elder statesmen like 
Senator Abdullahi Adamu and Kabir Gaya should wade into the matter.

Senator Binta Marshi applauded government’s effort, adding that Hon. Abike 
Dabiri, Special Adviser to the President on Diaspora was doing a lot for the 
release of Miss Zainab.

After amendment of prayers, the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki sustained 
suggestions from Senator Ali Ndume who suggested that a Committee be set up to 
wade into the matter.

(source: dailypost.ng)








IRAN----juvenile executions

2 Juveniles Executed; One With Mental Disability



2 juvenile offenders were among the prisoners executed at Shiraz Central Prison 
on April 25. Both were 15 at the time of the arrest and hanged at the age of 
17. One of them suffered from a mental disability.

I ran Human Rights (IHR) urges the international community to react swiftly and 
decisively to the execution of juvenile offenders in Iran. IHR director Mahmood 
Amiry-Moghaddam, said: “Executions of these juveniles are among the many crimes 
that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the newly appointed Head of 
Judiciary Ebrahim Raeisi must be held accountable for. We call on the 
international community, particularly the EU and the Norwegian government to 
strongly condemn these executions and put the abolition of the death penalty 
for juveniles on top of the demands in their dialogue with the Iranian 
authorities.”

On the morning of Thursday, April 25 2019, two juvenile offenders were executed 
at Shiraz Central Prison, also known as Adel-Abad Prison. IHR could identify 
them as Mehdi Sohrabi and Amin Sedaghat. Amnesty International had first 
reported about the aforementioned juvenile executions. IHR can confirm the fact 
with some additional information.

Mehdi Sohrabifar was born on October 29, 2001, and Amin Sedaghat was born on 
September 28, 2001. The two cousins were arrested in the spring of 2017 for an 
alleged rape and robbery case. One of their relatives told IHR that they were 
innocent and the rapist was someone else involved in the robbery. “They were 
tortured in order to extract the false confessions,” the relative added.

According to the documents seen by IHR, Mehdi Sohrabifar had suffered from a 
mental disability and was studying at a school for exceptional students (See 
the Persian version for the documents).

Under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Iran is a 
signatory to, the Iranian authorities have an obligation to not issue the death 
sentence for offenses committed under the age of 18. However, at least 7 
juveniles were executed in 2018 in Iran.

(source: Iran Human Rights)