[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

May 22



SINGAPORE:

NGO wants Putrajaya to stop Malaysian’s execution in Singapore



Amnesty International Malaysia urged Putrajaya to intervene in a Malaysian’s 
scheduled execution for drug possession in Singapore this Friday.

The human rights group pointed out that during Pannir Selvam Pranthaman’s 
trial, he had maintained his innocence by denying knowledge that he was 
carrying prohibited drugs and the Singapore High Court had found that he was a 
drug mule.

According to Pannir’s lawyer, he had assisted Singapore authorities by 
providing information about a fellow Malaysian who alleged duped him into 
carrying the drugs to the city-state.

Under Singapore’s Misuse of Drugs Act, the court has the discretion not to 
impose the death penalty if the convicted offender is a courier and has been 
issued a certificate by the public prosecutor stating that he had cooperated 
with authorities, the statement added.

“Singapore authorities must immediately halt plans to kill Pannir Selvam 
Pranthaman and put a stop to this continuous wave of callous executions.

“The Malaysian government should do all in its power to urge the Singapore 
government to stop the execution of another of its nationals,” Amnesty 
International Malaysia executive director Shamini Darshni Kaliemuthu said in a 
statement.

Pointing out that the number of executions last year in Singapore had risen to 
double digits for the 1st time since 2003, Shamini had called for Singapore to 
emulate Malaysia’s initiative in abolishing the mandatory death penalty.

“The death penalty is a degrading and inhuman punishment. We denounce its use 
in all circumstances. It is time for Singapore to follow the government of 
Malaysia’s example, who have suspended all executions and announced plans to 
abolish the mandatory death penalty, as a first step towards abolition,” she 
said.

The group also noted that Singapore had carried out 13 executions in 2018 and 8 
in 2017 for drug-related offences, with the hanging of another Malaysian, 
Michael Anak Garing, carried out on March 29 this year.

In a Bernama report yesterday, Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah was 
quoted as saying that Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Liew 
Vui Keong was trying to convince the Singaporean government to save Pannir from 
the death penalty.

Pannir was convicted of possession of diamorphine in 2017 in Singapore.

(source: Malay Mail)

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

Putrajaya trying to convince S'pore to spare M'sian on death row



The government is seeking to help a Malaysian scheduled to hang in Singapore on 
Friday for drug trafficking, Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said today.

Saifuddin said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Liew Vui Keong is 
attempting to try and convince Singapore to spare P Pannir Selvam from the 
hangman’s noose.

“Just now I discussed this with Liew, and he is working on behalf of Putrajaya 
to try and convince the Singapore government to spare Pannir the death 
penalty,” he told reporters at a Ramadan programme in Kampung Tengah, Kluang 
today.

Saifuddin was asked to comment on a request from Pannir’s family for Putrajaya 
to intervene, because he had allegedly not been given enough opportunity to 
apply for clemency under the republic’s laws.

Saifuddin said in similar cases in the past, the government had also taken the 
same approach of trying to get lighter sentences for those on death row.

This is in line with Malaysia’s move to place a moratorium on the mandatory 
death sentence.

Asked how Putrajaya could resolve the allegedly short notice for carrying out 
the death sentence, he said there was nothing much it could do.

“Because this is how Singapore administers their law. There is not much room 
for us to complain, but normally what we do is we will try our best to help our 
people,” he said.

Today, Pannir's family through human rights group Lawyers for Liberty turned to 
Putrajaya as their last hope to save him from the death penalty.

This followed their unsuccessful attempts to save him, including a final 
clemency appeal to Singapore President Halimah Yacob.

Pannir, 32, was convicted of trafficking drugs by the Singapore High Court on 
June 27, 2017.

(source: malaysiakini.com)








MALAYSIA:

2 Vietnamese women arrested in Miri drug raid



3 drug pushers, including two Vietnamese women were arrested in a raid on a 
luxury residence in Tanjung Lobang yesterday.

Sarawak Narcotic Crime Investigation Department chief Supt Sahar Abdul Latif 
said in the 11am raid, various types of drugs, including ecstasy, Eramin 5, and 
ketamine pills and powder worth RM82,201 were seized.

“The 3 suspects comprise a 24-year-old local man from Jalan Pujut, Miri, and 2 
Vietnamese women in their 20s,” he said in a statement here today.

Sahar said also seized were jewellery and 28 pieces of gold-plated keys worth 
RM30,752.

“Their activities began in 2018 and they focused mostly on entertainment 
centres around Miri. The man was also tested positive for drug, while the women 
were tested negative,” he said, adding that the case was being investigated 
under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act, which carries mandatory death 
penalty upon conviction.

(source: malaymail.com)








BANGLADESH:

Impose capital punishment for food adulteration: Nasim



Former health minister Mohammed Nasim has called for the capital punishment to 
be imposed on rogue businessmen who adulterate food.

He placed the demand at a discussion on the adulteration of food in the Ramadan 
during an Iftar programme at the parliament building on Monday.

Several government bodies have launched anti-adulteration drives during the 
Ramadan. A number of popular brands have been fined for producing substandard 
food products amidst the crackdown.

"On behalf of the 14-party alliance, we demand strict punishment against those 
who are mixing adulterants with food," said Nasim, a member of the Awami 
League's presidium.

According to Nasim, a fine alone is not an adequate punishment for the 
adulteration of food. "We demand that these miscreants are handed the death 
sentence. They shouldn't be forgiven under any circumstance."

Recently, the courts, also irked by the issue, urged the government to 'declare 
war' on food contamination.

The Director General of Rapid Action Battalion Benazir Ahmed, too, called for 
an amendment to the Food Safety Act to incorporate the death penalty for the 
adulteration of food.

Despite the absence of the capital punishment from the Food Safety Act, the 
Special Powers Act allows for the death penalty to be imposed for tainting 
food. However, the provision has not been applied so far.

(source: bdnews24.com)








PAKISTAN:

Model courts ‘silent revolution’ in judicial history



Although the success of model courts set up by Chief Justice of Pakistan Asif 
Saeed Khosa has not been publicised by the media, they are being considered a 
‘silent revolution’ in the judicial history wherein murder trials, which 
remained pending for years, are concluded in a matter of a few days.

A total of 1,577 and 2,496 murder and narcotics cases respectively have been 
decided by model courts by May 20.

Presently, 110 model courts all over the country are dealing with murder and 
narcotics cases since April 1. Interestingly, these courts functioned for 33 
days only because of lawyers’ strikes and weekends.

The cost of litigation has also decreased because of the expeditious disposal 
of cases.

Model courts have recorded the statements of 18,302 witnesses. A total of 128 
death sentences were handed down and 349 people awarded life imprisonment.

Justice Khosa sets record in deciding criminal cases

Likewise, 961 convicts were awarded other sentences, the collective duration of 
which is 3,093 years, 11 months and 27 days. Model courts have also imposed 
fines to the tune of around Rs176 million.

It has been learnt that there is zero pendency of murder and narcotics cases in 
6 districts; therefore there are no model courts functioning there.

There were 116 model courts functioning in April and the number has now come 
down to 110.

In Islamabad, 2 model courts have decided 65 murder and 106 narcotics cases. 
There will be zero pendency of murder cases by July 1 in Model Court Islamabad 
West, which is presided over by District and Sessions Judge Sohail Nasir, who 
is also the director general of the Monitoring Cell of Expeditious Justice 
formed by CJP Khosa.

Legal experts believe that it is major achievement that all murder and 
narcotics cases will be decided in the federal capital in the next couple of 
months. 8 convicts have been awarded the death sentence while 6 handed down 
life imprisonment.

A total of 677 witnesses testified before the courts. Fines to the tune of 
almost Rs18 million were imposed.

In Punjab, 36 model courts have decided 463 murder and 1,042 narcotics cases. 
Likewise, the courts recorded the statements of 8,189 witnesses. A total of 75 
death penalty, 127 life imprisonment and 474 other sentences were handed down 
and fines of Rs71 million imposed.

In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), 26 model courts concluded trials in 456 murder and 
751 narcotics cases while 3,991 witnesses recorded their statements. 10 death 
penalty, 57 life imprisonment and 311 other sentences were awarded and Rs44 
million in fines were imposed.

In Sindh, 401 murder and 308 narcotics cases have been decided by 27 model 
courts. A total of 3,961 witnesses recorded their statements. Thirty capital 
punishment, 116 life imprisonment and 39 other sentences were handed down while 
fines to the tune of over Rs25 million were imposed.

In Balochistan, 19 model courts decided 192 murder and 217 narcotics cases. A 
total of 1,484 witnesses testified before the courts. 5 death penalty, 43 life 
imprisonment and 103 other sentences were awarded while fines to the tune of 
Rs17 million were imposed.

A total of 22 murder cases, which were registered in the ongoing year, have 
been decided in May. It has also been learnt that a model court in K-P has 
decided a 40-year-old murder case this month. The case was registered in 1979. 
Likewise, trial has also been concluded in a 25-year-old murder case in Sindh. 
The case was registered in 1994.

Likewise, 5 20-year-old murder cases have been concluded and 35 15-year-old 
cases decided in the ongoing month.

Challenges

Although model courts are performing effectively, they are also facing 
challenges.

There is criticism of the high acquittal rate. Over 4,000 people have been 
acquitted by 110 model courts since April 1. A senior official believes that 
the acquittal rate is high because of the poor standard of investigation and 
police’s failure to collect forensic evidence.

It has also been learnt that special courts would be formed in high courts for 
early decisions on cases adjudicated by model courts.

Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) Vice Chairman Amjad Shah told The Express Tribune 
that the legal community was satisfied with the present functioning of model 
courts.

Earlier, lawyers had protested against model courts and it was later decided 
that case scheduling would be carried out with the consent of lawyers 
concerned.

“The investigation and prosecution should be effective for a higher conviction 
rate,” the PBC vice chairman said.

He also criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government for failing to 
introduce new legislation to improve the criminal justice system.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Asif Saeed Khosa: a literary genius

PBC executive member Raheel Kamran Sheikh believes that a mechanism should be 
put in place to keep a record of the causes of acquittals: whether it was 
result of (i) defective investigation such as failure to collect incriminating 
evidence or falsely accusing in the absence of any incriminating evidence (ii) 
failure of the prosecution to adduce evidence properly or (iii) inconsistencies 
or lies of the prosecution witnesses.

“Not only will this allow ascribing the responsibility of each segment towards 
the acquittal rate but also help in developing targeted measures to improve the 
dispensation of justice”, he added.

On March 20, the Supreme Court declared that the rule “falsus in uno, falsus in 
omnibus” (false in one thing, false in everything) would be an integral part of 
jurisprudence in criminal cases and it would be followed and applied by all 
courts in the country in its letter and spirit.

The Latin rule holds that a witness who testifies falsely about one matter is 
not credible to testify about any matter because “the presumption that the 
witness will declare the truth ceases as soon as it manifestly appears that he 
is capable of perjury” and that “faith in a witness’s testimony cannot be 
partial or fractional”. Currently, the country’s courts are following the same 
principle.

In the 31-page verdict, CJP Khosa also directed that a witness found by court 
to have resorted to deliberate falsehood on a material aspect “shall, without 
any latitude, invariably be proceeded against for committing perjury”.

The court noted that the rule “falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus” had been held 
by the superior court of this country in the past to be inapplicable to 
criminal cases which had gradually encouraged and emboldened witnesses 
appearing in trials of criminal cases to indulge in lies, making it 
increasingly difficult for courts to discover the truth and dispense justice.

(source: The Express Tribune)




JAPAN:

Death sentence confirmed after killer of two Osaka junior high school students 
drops appeal



A death sentence given to a man for murdering 2 junior high school students in 
Osaka has been confirmed after he dropped an appeal, it was learned Tuesday.

According to the Osaka High Court, the appeal against the Osaka District Court 
ruling in December last year was withdrawn Saturday.

In a lay judge trial, the district court sentenced Koji Yamada, 49, to death, 
ruling that he strangled Ryoto Hoshino, 12, and Natsumi Hirata, 13, who were 
both students at a junior high school in Neyagawa, Osaka Prefecture.

“The criminal responsibility is extremely grave. The choice of the ultimate 
penalty is unavoidable,” the court said.

The defense team claimed that Hoshino died due to health problems. Regarding 
the death of Hirata, the team said that the girl stopped moving after Yamada’s 
hands, which he had put on her mouth, moved to her neck when the girl shouted.

According to the ruling, Yamada strangled Hirata in or near Osaka on Aug. 13, 
2015. Hoshino was also strangled the same day.

On Tuesday, an attorney for Hoshino’s family said that the dropped appeal won’t 
bring the boy back.

“His family is living in unimaginable grief,” the lawyer said.

(source: japantimes.co.jp)








VIETNAM:

Vietnamese woman arrested for smuggling 30 heroin cakes



Police of Vietnam's Hai Duong province have detained a local woman for 
transporting 30 cakes of heroin weighing 10.5 kg, Vietnam News Agency reported 
on Tuesday.

The police detained Dao Thi Hai, a 51-year-old woman from northern Hai Phong 
city, on Monday when she was smuggling the drug in a car in the province. The 
detainee confessed to transporting the drug for a strange man from northern 
Thai Binh province to the city with a wage of 20 million Vietnamese dong 
(nearly 870 U.S. dollars).

This is the biggest-ever drug transporting case detected by police of Hai 
Duong, the agency quoted the provincial police as reporting.

According to the Vietnamese law, those convicted of smuggling over 600 grams of 
heroin or more than 2.5 kg of methamphetamine are punishable by death. Making 
or trading 100 grams of heroin or 300 grams of other illegal drugs also faces 
death penalty.

(source: xinhuanet.com)








SAUDI ARABIA:

Saudi Arabia to execute three prominent moderate scholars after Ramadan----The 
treatment of Salman al-Odah, Awad al-Qarni and Ali al-Omari, all facing charges 
of 'terrorism', has been condemned by rights groups Salman al-Odah, Awad 
al-Qarni and Ali al-Omari are all set to be executed after Ramadan



3 prominent moderate Saudi Sunni scholars held on multiple charges of 
“terrorism” will be sentenced to death and executed shortly after Ramadan, 2 
government sources and 1 of the men’s relatives have told Middle East Eye.

The most prominent of these is Sheikh Salman al-Odah, an internationally 
renowned scholar known for his comparatively progressive views in the Islamic 
world on Sharia and homosexuality.

Odah was arrested in September 2017 shortly after tweeting a prayer for 
reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and its Gulf neighbour Qatar, 3 months 
after Riyadh launched a blockade on the emirate.

The other 2 slated for execution are Awad al-Qarni, a Sunni preacher, academic 
and author, and Ali al-Omari, a popular broadcaster. They too were arrested in 
September 2017.

All 3 had massive followings online. Odah's Arabic Twitter account boasts 13.4 
million followers alone, and the hashtag #freesalmanalodah emerged after his 
arrest. Omari’s TV station “For Youth” also had a huge audience.

2 Saudi government sources independently confirmed the plan to execute the 
three men, who are currently awaiting trial at the Criminal Special Court in 
Riyadh. A hearing was set for 1 May, but was postponed without setting a 
further date.

One source told MEE: “They will not wait to execute these men once the death 
sentence has been passed.”

A 2nd Saudi government source said the execution of 37 Saudis, mostly Shia 
activists, on terrorism changes in April was used as a trial balloon to see how 
strong the international condemnation was.

“When they found out there was very little international reaction, particularly 
at the level of governments and heads of state, they decided to proceed with 
their plan to execute figures who were prominent,” said the source, who like 
the first spoke on condition of anonymity.

The timing of the executions will also be dictated by the current rise in 
tensions between the United States and Iran.

“They are encouraged to do it, especially with the tension in the Gulf at the 
moment. Washington wants to please the Saudis at the moment. The [Saudi] 
government calculates that this enables them to get away with this,” the first 
source said.

A member of one of the scholars’ families told MEE: “The executions, if they go 
ahead, would be very serious, and could present a dangerous tipping point.”

Middle East Eye has approached the Saudi authorities for comment.

Provoking condemnation

The detention of the 3 scholars has already provoked the condemnation of the 
United Nations and the US State Department, as well as rights groups Human 
Rights Watch (HRW), Reprieve and Amnesty International.

In September, a year after his arrest, Odah appeared at a closed hearing of the 
Special Criminal Court, a tribunal set up by the interior ministry to try cases 
of terrorism. Odah was then accused by the special prosecutor of 37 charges of 
terrorism.

These included alleged affiliation to “terrorist organisations”, which the 
prosecution named as the Muslim Brotherhood and the European Council for Fatwa 
and Research, two prominent international Islamic organisations.

A 2nd set of charges accused him of exposing “injustices towards prisoners” and 
of “expressing cynicism and sarcasm about the government’s achievements”.

The 3rd set of charges alleged an affiliation with the Qatari royal family and 
cited Odah’s public unwillingness to support the Saudi-led boycott on the 
peninsula emirate.

2 days before his own brutal murder at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, the 
Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi told friends in London that these 37 charges 
revealed everything they needed to know about the rule of law in the kingdom 
under its de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

“He will crush dissent at all cost. These charges must be publicised,” 
Khashoggi said at the time. “Odah will be executed not because he is an 
extremist. It’s because he is a moderate. That is why they consider him a 
threat.”

Reacting to Middle East Eye's report, HRW's Middle East director Sarah Leah 
Whitson said: "Any further executions of political dissidents is a direct 
consequence of the Trump administration’s enabling environment, and its 
repeated, public vice-signalling: no matter what heinous abuse you commit 
against your people, we’ve got your back."

In January last year, a UN panel of experts, part of the Human Rights Council, 
accused Riyadh of ignoring repeated calls to halt violations as it arrested 
religious figures, writers, journalists and activists “in a worrying pattern of 
widespread and systematic arbitrary arrests and detention”.

The panel of experts said: “We are also seeking the government’s clarification 
about how these measures are compatible with Saudi Arabia’s obligations under 
international human rights law, as well as with the voluntary pledges and 
commitments it made when seeking to join the Human Rights Council.

“Despite being elected as member of the Human Rights Council at the end of 
2016, Saudi Arabia has continued its practice of silencing, arbitrarily 
arresting, detaining and persecuting human rights defenders and critics.”

The US State Department also cited the trial of Odah and the two other scholars 
in an annual report on human rights earlier this year.

"The public prosecutor brought 37 charges against [Odah], the vast majority of 
which alleged ties with the Muslim Brotherhood and Qatari government, in 
addition to his public support for imprisoned dissidents," the report said.

"None referred to specific acts of violence or incitement to acts of violence, 
according to a HRW statement on 12 September.”

(source: middleeasteye.net)








BAHRAIN:

OHCHR Calls On Bahrain To Cancel Executions Of 2 Individuals Over Alleged 
Torture



Experts of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) 
called on Bahrain not to execute 2 individuals, Ali Mohamed Hakeem al-Arab and 
Ahmed Isa Ahmed al-Malali, as they were allegedly subjected to torture prior to 
making confessions.

"We urge the Government of Bahrain to immediately halt the executions of the 2 
men, to annul the death sentences against them and to ensure that they are 
retried in accordance with international law and standards ... The 2 
individuals should have never been convicted on the basis of what appears to be 
seriously flawed trials. Executions in these conditions would amount to 
arbitrary executions," the experts said, as quoted by OHCHR statement.

The statement said that al-Arab was charged with killing a police officer, gun 
possession and attempted prison break. He was reportedly tortured when forcibly 
disappeared for a month. The man was denied the right to legal counsel.

Al-Malali, who was sentenced to death for gun possession, being a member of a 
terrorist group and alleged killing of a security officer, was reportedly shot 
twice in his hand, and the bullets were removed only 23 days later. Al-Malali 
also reportedly confessed right after tortures.

According to the statement, the experts called on Bahrain's government to halt 
all executions "with a view to abolish the death penalty."

(source: urdupoint.com)








IRAN:

Iran sentences political prisoner to death for supporting the PMOI/MEK



Tehran’s Revolutionary Court on Sunday sentenced 4 men affiliated with the 
People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI/MEK) to prison and death.

The branch 28 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court headed by notorious judge, 
Mohammad Moghiseh, has sentenced 34-year-old Abdullah Ghasempour to death and 8 
years behind bars on the charges including “waging war on God,” “assembly and 
collusion,” and “membership in the MEK.”

The court said that Abdullah Ghasempour had set fire to a Revolutionary Guards 
(IRGC) Basij base affiliated to the terrorist-designated IRGC, filmed the event 
and sent it to the MEK media.

3 other men, Mohammad Hossein Ghasempour (Abdullah’s brother), 32, Alireza 
Habibian, 30, and Akbar Dalir, 34, were sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison each 
for “assembly and collusion.”

The trio have curently been held in Ward 4 of Tehran’s Evin Prison.

All the 4 had been arrested on May 21, 2018, in Tehran and were transferred to 
Evin Prison. They were kept in a state of limbo for nearly a year before being 
tried.

The opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran, the coalition which 
includes the MEK , in a statement issued on May 17, 2019, announced the names 
of 11 arrestees in late April.

The NCRI said: “The transfer of Hash al-Shabi forces from Iraq to the flood-hit 
areas, launching night patrols and “neighborhood-based security patrols”, 
called the Razavioun, and the new wave of arrests throughout the country, 
especially among the supporters of the MEK , are part of the repressive 
measures of religious fascism to prevent popular uprisings. “

This comes after Iran’s intelligence officials announced that dozens of the 
PMOI supporters were arrested last year.

On April 19, Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi reported the arrests of 116 
teams associated to the MEK in the past year.

Subsequently, the Director General of the intelligence in East Azarbaijan 
Province on April 24, 2019, gave the figure of 110 arrests and encounter with 
the Mojahedin in the province in 2018.

The NCRI, however, said that the actual number of arrests is much higher whit 
the the IRGC, the IRGC’s intelligence, law enforcement, and prosecutors, having 
their own arrests.

The names of 29 detainees announced by the MEK are as follows:

Farshad Etemadifar, 24, Gachsaran, June 2018

Omid Javid Nasab, 20, Gachsaran, June 2018

Farshad, 21, Gachsaran, June 2018

Farshid Baharan, 21, Yasouj, Khordad 2018

Mehrzad Baharan, 27, Yasouj, June 2018

Amir Ramin Fard, 38, Tabriz, June 2018

Shahyad Ghanavati, 32, Ahvaz, September 2018

Afshin Barzegar Jamshidi, 29, September 2018

Majid Mahmoudian, 37, Tabriz, September 2018

Mohammad Reza Hasan Maleki, 33, Semnan, October 2018

Zarir Hadipour, 56, Kohdasht, October 2018

Farhang Khorshidi, 41, Kohdasht, October 2018

Alireza Barzegar, 40, Karaj, October 2018

Pouriya Vahidian, Tehran, November 2018

Manoochehr Farhadi, 50, Isfahan, February 2019

Seyyed Mehdi Vafaie, 35, Tehran, February 2019

Hossein Noori Derakhshan, 36, Tehran, February 2019

Hamid Kashani, Ghaemshahr, February 2019

Vahid Bani Ameriyan, 26, Tehran, March 2019

Pooya Ghobadi, 26, Tehran, March 2019

Sina Zahiri, 36, Tehran, March 2019

Mohsen Farid, 44, Tehran, March 2019

And 24. Parsa Sedighi Hamedani, 22, with her sister, Urmia, March 2019

Ebrahim Khalil Sedighi Hamedani, Urmia, 60, March 2019

Afshin Shahsavari, 27, Tehran, March 2019

Abbas Shahbazi, 41, Ahvaz, March 2019

Najah Anvar Hamidi, 60, Ahvaz, March 2019

Najah Anvar Hamidi, 60, Ahvaz, March 2019

(source: Iran Human Rights)