[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

May 7




GAMBIA:

Gambia’s president hinted on serious human rights violations



Amnesty International delegates in a meeting with President Adama Barrow in the 
capital Banjul noted the major progress made in the two years since his 
inauguration but drew attention to serious human rights violations in Gambia 
which still need to be addressed urgently.

While acknowledging that there is still much to do to improve respect for human 
rights in Gambia, President Barrow also recognized the challenges the country 
is facing in what he considers as “a transition period”.

Referring to the Gambian Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission 
(TRRC) which began hearings on 7 January 2019, President Barrow told Amnesty 
International that at the end of its investigations, the government will look 
at the recommendations and prosecute those who are suspected to have committed 
grave human rights violations and abuses during former President Yahya Jammeh’s 
rule and ensure that they face justice.

President Adama Barrow also told Amnesty International he is committed to 
outlaw the death penalty, “as part of his legacies to the country.”

“While Gambia has come a long way regarding respect for human rights under 
President Barrow’s leadership, there are still areas that need improvement to 
achieve a better human rights record,” said Marie-Evelyne Petrus Barry, Amnesty 
International’s West and Central Africa Director.

“We still see security forces using excessive force to disperse peaceful 
gatherings. Prison conditions are desperately poor, and we have credible 
evidence that teenagers as young as 15 years old are being held with adults 
without trial. Arbitrary arrests and detention still occur. If Gambia wants to 
go way from the poor human rights record it has had for many years, the country 
must accelerate its reforms and ensure that laws restricting freedom of speech 
and assembly are changed.”

The Anti-Crime Unit in the Police Force which was created in April last year 
has been accused of arbitrarily arresting and detaining individuals.

In January this year, Omar Touray a member of the former ruling party was 
arrested and detained for five days without being presented before a judge. 
Other cases of arrests and detentions include the case of Dr Ismaila Ceesay who 
was arrested in January 2018 after he gave an interview to a newspaper where he 
reportedly criticized the president. He was later released and charges against 
him dropped.

In June 2017, youth activist and journalist Baboucarr Sey was subjected to 
arbitrary arrest and detention for leading a community initiative to protest 
the acquisition of a football field by a private company.

Amnesty International also took the occasion of its meeting with President 
Barrow to underline the need to improve the conditions in prison facilities 
such as Mile 2 and Janjanbureh, and reform relevant legislation in line with 
international standards. The situation was especially bad at Mile 2 prison, 
where Amnesty International documented that young boys of 15 and 16 years old 
were detained alongside adults for months without being brought to a court.

“We asked President Barrow to publicly instruct the Anti-Crime Unit, the army 
and the State Intelligence Services not to detain people beyond the 72-hour 
period which is permitted by law,” said Marie-Evelyne Petrus Barry.

“The President should also provide the leadership needed to ensure that 
relevant authorities move swiftly to improve the dire conditions in prison 
facilities across the country and reform relevant legislation in line with 
international standards.”

Peaceful protesters killed by police

In an extremely disturbing episode in June 2018, t3 people were killed, and 
many others injured when armed policemen opened fire on peaceful protesters in 
the village of Faraba, 40 km outside of Banjul. A commission of inquiry that 
was set up to investigate the deadly incident recommended that suspected 
perpetrators should be brought to justice, but they were pardoned by the 
President.

Cases of violations of the right to freedom of expression have been recorded 
since President Barrow was elected in January 2017. For example, the Occupy 
Westfield group which was set up to campaign against the numerous power cuts 
and water shortages in the country, was denied the right to protest.

Amnesty International has recommended during its meeting with the President 
that Gambia repeals laws that restrict the rights to freedom of expression, 
freedom of peaceful assembly and association. These include the offence of 
holding a procession without a permit under Gambia’s Public Order Act, and the 
offence of unlawful assembly under the Criminal Code.

Death penalty

The authorities publicly spoke about getting rid of the death penalty in the 
country’s future constitution and has gone further to ratify the Second 
Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 
aiming at the abolition of the death penalty. However, these important steps 
have been seriously undermined by the fact that at least three people were 
sentenced to death in 2018.

The Gambian authorities should follow up on its commitments including the 
ratification of the Second Protocol by implementing laws that abolish the death 
penalty for all crimes without delay and commuting all death sentences to terms 
of imprisonment. Today, President Adama Barrow told Amnesty International he is 
committed to outlaw the death penalty, “as part of his legacies to the 
country.”

Background

At the meeting with Gambian President Adama Barrow, Amnesty International 
discussed a series of recommendations covering 10 areas of reform. These 
include guaranteeing the rights to freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful 
assembly and association; end arbitrary arrest, detention and torture; protect 
and promote women and girls’ rights, and end impunity for human rights 
violations.

(source: newsghana.com.gh)








IRAN----executions

2 Men Hanged at Ardabil and Tabriz Prisons



2 men were executed at prisons of the Iranian northwestern cities of Tabriz and 
Ardebil on April 30 and May 4, 2019, respectively.

According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, on the morning of April 30, a 
man was hanged at Tabriz central prison for “rape charges.” The unnamed man was 
32, from the city of Maragheh. IHR could confirm the execution of one person at 
Tabriz on the same day but could not obtain more information yet.

Moreover, HRANA reports an execution at Ardabil prison on May 4, 2019. The 
prisoner was 30-year old at the time of execution and his name revealed as Ali 
Alaei. He was sentenced to death for murder charges.

According to one of Ali’s relatives, “He was arrested along with his wife on 
the suspicion of committing a murder. Ali was sentenced to death and his wife 
was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment. She is held at Ardabil prison’s 
women ward.”

None of the aforementioned executions was announced by Iranian authorities or 
media so far.

(source: Iran Human Rights)








BRUNEI:

Sultan’s speech a 1st step to repealing ‘heinous’ laws



Responding to news that the Brunei authorities have announced they will 
continue to refrain from implementing the death sentence, including under the 
newly enacted Syariah Penal Code Order, and would ratify the UN Convention 
Against Torture (UNCAT), Rachel Chhoa-Howard, Amnesty International’s Brunei 
Researcher, said:

“While the announcement that the death penalty will not be implemented is a 
welcome first step, the Brunei authorities are still defending the new penal 
code and its heinous laws. Even if death sentences are not going to be 
implemented, the death penalty and other cruel and inhuman punishments are 
still on the books and can be imposed on those found guilty.

“Merely enacting laws with penalties such as stoning and amputation has enabled 
a hateful and toxic environment. The Brunei authorities must follow suit on the 
promise that Brunei Darussalam will sign up to the UN Convention Against 
Torture. These reckless, indefensible provisions must be repealed immediately.”

Background

On 5 May, media reported a speech by the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, 
announcing that Brunei will maintain its long-standing record of not 
implementing death sentences, including after the coming into force of the new 
Syariah Penal Code Order (SPCO) last month, on 3 April.

He added: “I am aware that there are many questions and misperceptions with 
regard to the implementation of the SPCO. However, we believe that once these 
have been cleared, the merit of the law will be evident.

There is no indication that the moratorium applies to other non-lethal 
penalties contained in the SPCO, including canings and amputation.

In his speech, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah announced that Brunei Darussalam will 
ratify the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading 
Treatment or Punishment. The country has rejected all recommendations to this 
effect in its human rights review at the UN in 2014.

Under international human rights law, corporal punishment in all its forms, 
such as stoning, amputation or whipping, constitutes torture or other cruel, 
inhuman or degrading punishment, which is prohibited in all circumstances.

While Brunei retains the death penalty in law, Amnesty International considers 
it as abolitionist in practice. The last known execution in the country was 
carried out in 1957. One new death sentence was imposed in 2017, for a drug 
related offence. As of today, 106 countries have abolished the death penalty 
for all crimes and 142 are abolitionist in law or practice.

Brunei’s SPCO does not replace the existing Common Law-inspired Penal Code but 
is expected to operate alongside it – from information available, each case 
requires an initial decision to determine whether it should be prosecuted under 
civil law, or Shari’a law.

(source: Amnesty International)

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

George Clooney vows to keep up pressure on Brunei over gay-sex death 
penalty----Actor calls for sustained commercial boycott after Brunei puts 
moratorium on death penalty for gay sex



George Clooney has promised to keep up pressure on Brunei after the oil-rich 
country’s sultan, Hassanal Bolkiah, announced it would not enforce the death 
penalty for gay sex.

Gay sex remains illegal in Brunei, punishable by up to 10 years in jail.

Clooney said the moratorium on executions was a “huge step forward after a 
giant leap backwards”, but that “the law to stone their citizens is still in 
place”. He added: “For my family and me, we simply can’t walk away until this 
draconian law is no longer on the books.”

Clooney led the international outcry against Brunei’s ruling, which 
incorporated Islamic laws, or sharia, into the national penal code. The 
measures were published in 2013, and the introduction of the death penalty by 
stoning for adultery and gay sex was announced on 3 April. The actor first 
called for a boycott of hotels owned by Brunei as well as appealing to “the 
banks, the financiers and the institutions that do business with them and 
choose to look the other way”.

The United Nations has condemned the law. Celebrities including Elton John and 
Ellen DeGeneres joined in the outcry, while the UK’s Health and Safety 
Executive and the Police Federation of England and Wales suspended links with 
the country.

Having defended the introduction of the law in a letter to the European 
parliament, Brunei announced that the death penalty moratorium would be 
extended. In a speech, the sultan said: “I am aware that there are many 
questions and misperceptions with regard to the implementation of the [sharia 
penal code order]. However, we believe that once these have been cleared, the 
merit of the law will be evident.”

Clooney responded by saying: “It … sends a very crucial message to countries 
like Indonesia and Malaysia that there is a cost for enacting these laws. And 
the cost isn’t folks boycotting their hotels. The cost is that corporations and 
big banks won’t do business with you. The financial institutions stepping up 
had a huge impact. Having said that, the law to stone their citizens is still 
in place. As soon as the pressure dies down they could simply start the process 
of carrying out executions. So in reference to the boycott, everyone should do 
what they feel is correct.”

(source: The Guardian)



EGYPT:

Egypt upholds death sentence for 13 members of disbanded militant group



Egypt's top appeals court on Tuesday upheld death sentences for 13 members of a 
disbanded militant group who were convicted of launching attacks on security 
forces, a judicial source and lawyer said.

The 13 had appealed to the Court of Cassation after a Cairo criminal court 
handed them the death penalty in 2017. The Court of Cassation is the highest 
civilian court in Egypt and its rulings cannot be challenged on appeal.

The 13 were members of Ajnad Misr, or Soldiers of Egypt, a group that emerged 
in January 2014 and targeted security forces in and around the capital Cairo.

The group's leader was killed by security forces in 2015, and many of its 
remaining members are held in custody.

Egyptian security forces launched a large security operation in February 2018 
to crush Islamist militants who have waged an insurgency that has killed 
hundreds of soldiers, police and residents over many years.

Security forces have battled militants, including an Islamic State affiliate, 
in the mainly desert region of North Sinai, stretching from the Suez Canal 
eastwards to the Gaza Strip and Israel, since 2013.

(source: Reuters)








MALAYSIA:

Doctor among 4 charged with murder of foreigner



A doctor and 3 other men were charged in the Magistrate’s Court here today with 
the murder of a foreigner, in March this year.

No plea was recorded from Dr Dharma Danny Ferns, 32; P. Vengadesvaran, 31, a 
fishmonger who is also a cowherd; R. S. Sathya Deepan, 30, a marketing manager 
and Mohd Hafiz Abdul Kadar, 33, a trader, after the charge was read out before 
Magistrate Mahyun Yusof.

The 4 accused only nodded when the charge was read out by the court 
interpreter.

According to the charge sheet, all 4 accused allegedly had a common intention 
to kill A. Angu, a foreign man, in a cowshed near Jalan Dawn 1, Taman Dawn 
Seremban, between 9pm and 10.30pm, on March 16.

They were charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code read together with 
Section 34 of the same Code, which carries the death penalty upon conviction.

Prosecution was handled by deputy public prosecutor Mas Syafiqah Mahroob while 
lawyer Paul Krishnaraja represented Sathya Deepan and Mohd Hafiz, and counsel 
P. Yugan represented Dharma Danny. Vengadesvaran was unrepresented.

The court fixed June 10 for mention.

(source: thesundaily.my)








BANGLADESH:

Kushtia man gets death for killing wife over dowry



A court in Kushtia has handed the death penalty to a man for the murder of his 
wife for dowry three years ago. Seven men were also sentenced to life 
imprisonment in a separate case of murder.

The Women and Children Repression Prevention Special Tribunal Judge Munshi Md 
Moshiar Rahman and Kushtia District and Sessions Court Judge Arup Kumar Goswami 
announced the verdicts on Tuesday.

The recipient of the capital punishment, Azad Mondol alias Azad Saheb, has also 
been fined Tk 100,000.

The convicts who have been jailed for life are Jamal Pramanik, Ator Ali, Zaman 
Hossain, Asadul Mollah, Meher Ali Malitha, Rubel Malitha alias Rebel and Aslam 
Malitha. A further 6 months were added to the life sentences of each of the 
convicts due to their failure to pay a fine of Tk 20,000. The convicts were all 
in court when the verdict was passed.

According to the dossier of the case before the Women and Children Repression 
Prevention Tribunal, Tuli Hossain was killed over a dowry dispute on May 18, 
2016.

The victim's father subsequently initiated a case over the incident with the 
Mirpur Police. The trial proceedings commenced after the police filed a charge 
sheet against Azad on Oct 16.

According to the case against the 7 handed life sentences, a man named 'Dablu' 
was killed after his throat was slashed in Kushtia's Mirpur Upazila on Jun 7, 
2010.

The victim's elder brother subsequently filed a case against several 
unidentified people with the Mirpur Police. The trial proceedings began after 
the police filed a charge sheet against 7 people on Mar 14, 2012.

(source: bdnews24.com)








CHINA----executions

China executes 6 for killing workers in mining compensation scam



6 men were executed in northern China last month for killing mine workers and 
then claiming millions of yuan in compensation from the pit owners.

According to a verdict from Linfen Intermediate People’s Court in Shanxi 
province, the defendants claimed the compensation by posing as the victims’ 
relatives and saying the workers died in industrial accidents, Shanghai-based 
news outlet The Paper reported on Sunday.

The 6 farmers were sentenced to death for murder and were executed on April 12, 
the report said.

The court said the 6 men – Peng Wanjun, Guo Dejing, Wang Honglin, Zhang 
Yuanmei, Bai Yuangui and Liu Xuejun – killed 11 workers in mines in Shanxi and 
Shaanxi provinces between 2007 and 2014, cheating the mining companies out of a 
combined 3.1 million yuan (US$460,000) in compensation.

This case appears to mirror the plot in the film Blind Shaft, a Chinese movie 
that won a Silver Bear award at the 2003 Berlin International Film Festival. 
The film was based on sensational crimes committed by 3 gangs in the late 
1990s, in which some 200 workers were killed after being lured to work in 
mines.

The 6 criminals in the latest case were aged between 22 and 47 and from poor 
remote villages in Shaanxi.

They convinced rural migrant workers – usually their co-workers at other 
companies, fellow villagers, single men, or mentally disabled men – to work in 
the pits and persuaded them to use the identity cards of gang members’ 
relatives to apply for the jobs.

Eight victims were found to have used the name Fu Wanli, the cousin of ring 
leader Peng, while working in the mines, the report said.

In one of their early crimes, the gang convinced a 31-year-old man with the 
surname Yin to work at a small mine in a village in Linfen, registering him as 
Fu. Two weeks later, three gang members killed Yin in the mine by hitting him 
on the head with an axe and stones. They later received 220,000 yuan in 
compensation from the mine owner, according to the report.

In another incident, the gang set off explosions in a mine but failed to kill 
their target, a 35-year-old man surnamed Xiao. A week later, 2 of the gang 
members clubbed him with an axe and rocks, leaving him unconscious and telling 
the mine owner it was an industrial accident.

The owner told them to send Xiao to the hospital but the 3 men suffocated Xiao 
on the way there with a quilt. They cheated the mining owner out of 170,000 
yuan in compensation.

A 23-year-old worker with a surname Han sustained minor wounds after being hit 
in the head by two gang members in January 2013. He was sent to hospital in 
time to save his live and was the only survivor among the gang’s victims.

Because all the victims were poor and desperate to earn money, they were 
willing to put their lives at risk by working in the mines, the court said.

Beijing has spent decades trying to improve working conditions for its coal 
miners, but the industry remains one of the country’s deadliest.

In 2015, a court in Yangquan, Shanxi province, sentenced 4 men to death for 
murdering 3 mine workers using the same compensation scam, The Paper reported.

(source: South China Morning Post)








JAPAN:

Japan’s Secretive Death Penalty Poised to Take a Back Seat During Olympic 
Spotlight----With a new imperial year and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, death row 
inmates are likely to be spared in the coming 2 years.



Last year the Japanese government executed the highest number of prisoners in a 
single year since the death penalty resumed in 1993 after a 5 year pause.

Japan is 1 of 2 developed democracies, the United States being the other, that 
continues to use the death penalty. But unlike the United States, the death 
penalty in Japan is neglected by the media and thus dodges a heated debate.

Despite international scrutiny, Japan’s reluctance to abolish the death penalty 
and the execution method of hanging continues to draw protest by human rights 
advocates.

In Japan, capital punishment is usually reserved for the most malicious and 
remorseless homicides. But as a discretionary system there are 18 crimes 
punishable by death that don’t have to end in death. This includes treason, 
attempted murder, armed robbery and kidnap. Sentencing is dependent on the 
crime’s impact on Japanese society and minors are not excused from execution.

The Ministry of Justice justifies execution based on a yearly opinion poll that 
showing an “overwhelming” majority and boasting as high as 86 percent support 
in 2015.

Some academics believe the level of support for the death penalty isn’t as high 
as the government makes it out to be. Dr. Mai Sato is an expert in Japan’s 
criminal justice system and a researcher at Australia National University. She 
points out the government administered survey is far from objective, with 
sampling errors that are left uncorrected and results taken at face value. She 
argues the government should tailor questions to ask whether the public would 
accept or tolerate abolition instead of if the public support the death 
penalty.

Sato’s research shows that if people have access to transparent information 
about capital punishment their support declines. “Japanese people know very 
little about the death penalty which makes support based on ignorance, the lack 
of information or misinformation” she explains. ”There are arguments that Japan 
isn’t really ready to move toward abolition but that isn’t the case. The 
retentionists would accept abolition if the government were to show 
leadership.”

Until 2009 the names of executed prisoners were not publicly revealed. In the 
past one line in the newspaper would be printed without giving out names. With 
the death penalty system shrouded in secrecy, Sato believes that the government 
reveals so little in fear of public scrutiny. “With such little demand from 
media or public to disclose information – why would they?”

Japan has signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 
(ICCPR) in 1978 which obliges the government to report to the UN Human Rights 
Committee to periodically explain why they have not abolished the death 
penalty.

But Sato says a resolution isn’t getting closer. “The UN and Japanese 
government have diametrically opposed approaches stemming from human rights and 
public opinion” she said.

Amnesty International considers the death penalty the ultimate infringement of 
human rights. Japanese death row inmates are only notified on the day of the 
execution, normally one hour or 2 before. They don’t have time to contact 
lawyers or family members. Families are informed after the execution.

The Japanese government justifies this for the mental health of the prisoner. 
They argue that if prisoners knew in advance they would be unstable and meeting 
with family members would be too painful.

Sato notes that the government is likely to put on hold any executions as not 
to tarnish the beginning of the Reiwa imperial era and prevent negative 
publicity for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

(source: thediplomat.com)

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

Gov't considers amnesty in honor of emperor's enthronement



The government is considering granting amnesty to criminals in honor of new 
Emperor Naruhito's enthronement ceremony in October, sources close to the 
matter say.

If realized, it will be the country's 1st pardon since 1993, when then Crown 
Prince Naruhito married Crown Princess Masako. But only a certain number of 
petty offenders may be given the pardon, as the government is concerned that a 
large-scale amnesty can trigger criticism from the public, including crime 
victims.

Amnesty has usually been granted upon national events as well as celebrations 
and funerals regarding the imperial family. After Emperor Hirohito, 
posthumously known as Emperor Showa, died in 1989, more than 10 million people 
were given amnesty. The enthronement of former Emperor Akihito in 1990 led to 
pardons of some 2.5 million.

The government did not issue pardons in the wake of Emperor Akihito's 
abdication on April 30, the 1st by a Japanese monarch in 202 years.

But it is considering taking the measure in connection with the Sokuirei Seiden 
no gi ceremony scheduled on Oct 22, in which Emperor Naruhito will officially 
proclaim his enthronement, according to the sources.

In Japan, a pardon can be issued under a cabinet order providing the type of 
crime for which it is granted. There is also a system in which individuals can 
file a request for a pardon with a Justice Ministry panel.

2 types of pardon can be rewarded by a cabinet order -- absolving a person of 
the crime, reducing the punishment and restoring the rights suspended through 
convictions.

In past cases, many were restored their civil rights that have been suspended 
due to election violations.

Some experts say that granting pardons will serve as an incentive for 
offenders' rehabilitation, but others warn it is an act that could undermine 
the independence of the three branches of legal, administrative and judicial 
powers.

Some critics also say the restoration of rights can be seen as equivalent to 
granting amnesty to political offenders, given that those who violated the 
election law are often rewarded in that case.

(source: Japan Today)








SOUTH AFRICA:

Jimmy Manyi says ATM will “bring back hanging” for serious crimes ---- In true 
firebrand fashion, Jimmy Manyi has confirmed his ATM party will reintroduce the 
death penalty if elected, and he's endorsed the act of "hanging".



They may have been accused of being bedfellows with Jacob Zuma and Ace 
Magashule over the weekend, but the African Transformation Movement are 
certainly finding a way to differentiate themselves from the ANC. Jimmy Manyi, 
the multi-millionaire media mogul and party executive, says that ATM will 
“bring back hanging” if elected.

Addressing crowds in Emfuleni, Gauteng, Manyi moved onto the subject of crime 
and punishment – one that will always be a sore point in South Africa. He 
claimed that jail time isn’t tough enough for the worst offenders in this 
country, who soon get their freedom back.

“We have to walk with them in the streets eventually, so for us, serial rapists 
and serial murderers must hang – this is our position.”----Jimmy Manyi on 
hanging

Casually, Manyi then segued into his opposition towards high taxation on 
individuals, tenuously linking the cost of keeping prisoners to the money 
citizens have to fork out to the state.

(source: thesouthafrican.com)