[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

May 14




PAPUA NEW GUINEA:

AG to announce how death penalty will be executed



The death penalty will be applicable to murder, piracy, treason, rape and other 
major criminal cases, depending on their severity, says Minister for Justice 
and Attorney-General Alfred Manase.

He told The National that he was still waiting to receive an updated report on 
it.

“Hopefully, the report will be on my desk this week or early next week,” he 
said.

“Once I receive this report, I will issue a statement on what methods will be 
used in implementing the death penalty and on what crimes will it be applicable 
to.”

According to previous reports in The National, the death penalty was passed in 
Parliament in 2013 and since 15 people had been placed on death row.

However, 2 have died in custody and 2 were recently acquitted by the Supreme 
Court in Port Moresby last Dec 2017.

Father and son Selman and Misialis Amos were acquitted by the Supreme Court on 
Dec 11, 2017 of the murder charges against them, citing errors by the trial 
judge who convicted them. Both have since rejoined their families in East New 
Britain and New Ireland.

The 2 who died while in custody were Gregory Kiapkot, 41, from Lokanai in New 
Ireland, convicted of murder and sea piracy, and Martin Pigit, 39, from New 
Ireland, also convicted of murder and sea piracy.

The remaining 7 on death row are either at the Kerevat prison in ENB or at 
Bomana in Port Moresby.

(source: The National)








MALAYSIA:

George Clooney: Brunei boycott over gay death penalty 'warning shot' to 
Malaysia, Indonesia



The hotels boycott that forced the Sultan of Brunei to back down from imposing 
the death penalty for homosexuality will serve as warning for other countries 
considering this, US actor-producer George Clooney said.

Speaking on US talk show Ellen, the Hollywood celebrity singled out Malaysia 
and Indonesia as among countries purportedly considering such laws.

Clooney earlier said that while shaming was ineffective from deterring 
countries from pushing such laws, going after their finances and business ties 
have now been shown to work in forcing them to reconsider.

“[...] And more important is the reason for this is this is something that is 
manageable, because it sends a warning shot over to countries like Indonesia 
and Malaysia who also are considering these laws, that the business people, the 
big banks , those guys are going to say ‘don’t even get into that business, so 
that’s the reason you do it,” the Hollywood celebrity said.

Brunei controversially announced on April 3 that it was imposing death by 
stoning for homosexuals as part of the country’s shariah laws.

This triggered an international outcry and boycott of hotels Sultan Hassanal 
Bolkiah owned across the world, leading to the Brunei ruler to announce a 
moratorium on the penalty this month.

“The way you make it difficult is by boycotting his hotels. That doesn't matter 
so much to a rich guy, you can’t shame the ‘bad guys’, but you can shame the 
people who do business with them.

“And when the banks and financial institutions started saying ‘well, we are out 
of the Brunei business’, then he backed off, and changed and said ‘put a 
moratorium’ on it,” Clooney said, referring to Brunei-owned hotels such as the 
Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles and the Dorchester in London.

Malaysia does not have laws against homosexuality per se but criminalises 
unnatural sex in its Penal Code. (source: malaymail.com)








CHINA:

Canadian officials visit former diplomat Michael Kovrig in custody in China



Diplomats have visited a Canadian whose detention in China is believed to be an 
attempt to pressure Canada to release Huawei executive Sabrina Meng Wanzhou.

Consular officials visited Michael Kovrig on Monday, the country’s diplomatic 
service said.

Chinese state media have accused Korvig, a former diplomat and Asia expert at 
the International Crisis Group, acted with Canadian businessman Michael Spavor 
to steal state secrets.

Both were arrested on December 10 after Meng was arrested in Vancouver on 
December 1 at the request of US authorities who want her extradited to face 
fraud charges in connection with US sanctions against Iran.

Global Affairs Canada said it was concerned about the men’s “arbitrary” 
detentions and called for their immediate release.

Meng, the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, is accused of lying to banks 
about the company’s dealings with Iran in violation of US trade sanctions. Her 
lawyer argued that comments by US President Donald Trump suggested the case 
against her was politically motivated.

Washington has pressured other countries to limit use of Huawei’s technology, 
warning they could be opening themselves up to surveillance and theft of 
information.

(source: South China Morning Post)








BAHRAIN:

Court Upholds Death Sentence For Smuggling Hashish



The Supreme Court of Appeals yesterday upheld the death sentences issued 
against 2 men who were previously found guilty of trafficking 68 kilograms of 
Hashish into Bahrain from iran through the sea. The case involved 7 suspects 
who were sentenced by the High Criinal Court on December 31, 2018.

2 of the defendants were sentenced to death, 1 to a life term, 3 to a 1-year 
jail term and another to 6 months in prison. Chief Prosecutor Adnan Al Weda'ee 
confirmed. Court also ordered the suspects who were awarded capital punishments 
to pay a fine of BD10,000 each and the 3rd defendant who received life 
imprisonment ot pay a fine of BD13,000.

Suspects were arrested following a tip-off received from the Interior Ministry 
Anti-Narcotics Department on an attempt to smuggle narcotic substances through 
Bahrain's territorial waters from Iran. The information said, "Large quantities 
of narcotic substances will be entering Bahraini waters with the help of an 
Iranian supplier."

(source: newsofbahrain.com)