[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 10




GLOBAL:

Death Penalty Day: EU/Council of Europe joint statement----Joint Declaration by 
the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on behalf of 
the European Union and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe on the 
occasion of the European and World Day against the Death Penalty, 10 October 
2019



The European Union (EU) and the Council of Europe firmly oppose the death 
penalty at all times and in all circumstances. The death penalty is a cruel, 
inhuman and degrading punishment contrary to the right to life.

The death penalty means revenge, not justice, and its abolition contributes to 
the enhancement of human dignity.

142 countries, representing 74% of the UN member states, have already stopped 
using the death penalty, either by removing it from their penal code or not 
carrying out executions for a long time. The abolitionist trend is continuing, 
with the number of death sentences and executions also falling. In 2018, 
executions were carried out in 20 countries, representing a historic low of 10% 
of the countries of the world.

The Council of Europe member states which have not yet acceded to Protocols No 
6 and 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights are called upon to do so 
without delay. The Council of Europe and the EU once again urge Belarus to 
abolish the death penalty and join the community of nations that have chosen to 
replace vengeance with human dignity. They also invite those observers to the 
Council of Europe who have not yet abolished death penalty to engage in 
dialogue on the obstacles blocking their path towards abolition.

The EU and the Council of Europe encourage all countries to join the global 
Alliance for Torture-Free Trade, which currently involves 62 States committed 
to restricting the trade in goods used to carry out torture and the death 
penalty. Global cooperation against the death penalty can trigger change. It 
will also help to fight international organised crime, since abolitionist 
states will often not extradite suspects to countries where they could face 
capital punishment.

An ever-growing majority of people and leaders share the view that the death 
penalty is no better a deterrent to crime than other punishments, and that it 
does not contribute to public safety. The death penalty disproportionately 
affects members of vulnerable groups, who cannot afford experienced defence 
lawyers, and death row prisoners continue to represent the most marginalised 
sections of society.

The impact of this cruel punishment also affects the relatives of people 
subjected to the death penalty, first and foremost their children. Denying 
children and families a burial or cremation violates their human rights, 
notably their right to be free from cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. 
Children who have lost parents because of executions suffer deep and lasting 
grief and trauma. No-one is better placed than these unseen victims to 
understand the impact the death penalty can have.

The EU and the Council of Europe recognise the importance of a fully-informed 
public debate about the death penalty. It has been shown that the more people 
know about the execution process, the arguments for abolition and alternatives 
to capital punishment, the more they agree with abolition.

(source: coe.int)

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

WORLD DAY AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY



October 10th Day Against the Death Penalty: Civil Society Engagement on the 
rise

>From today, World Day for Abolition, there will be increased visits to death 
rows on different continents - The mobilisation of civil society is growing: 
since the beginning of 2019 a thousand people have asked the Community to 
correspond with a convicted person, furthermore, many signatures have been 
collected to ask for an end to executions.

The Community of Sant'Egidio, for years close to those who are condemned to 
death on different continents, participates in the World Day against the death 
penalty by increasing, until the end of October, visits to death rows in the 
United States and several African countries.

Before those who want to maintain or even, in some cases, reintroduce the death 
penalty, it is necessary to keep alive, at every level of society, institutions 
and governments, this great commitment of Civilization and Humanity that has 
allowed in recent years to take important steps towards the total abolition of 
the death penalty. Encouraging signs come from California, which has suspended 
all execution and dismantled the local death row. While the American Church has 
also mobilized for the abolitionist campaign. A delegation from Sant'Egidio is 
currently in Washington to draw, along with other organizations, possible paths 
of abolition in the states of the federation in which it is still in force. We 
are also encouraged by the decision of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia to 
ask Republika Srpska to remove from its laws any reference to the death 
penalty.

In recent months the interest of civil society in the abolition of the death 
penalty has also been confirmed, with a thousand people who have turned to 
Sant'Egidio only since the beginning of the year to ask to correspond with a 
person sentenced to death. In addition, thousands of citizens, in Europe and 
throughout the world, have mobilised in defence of the lives of some condemned 
people, signing appeals to stop certain executions.

(source: Carlo Santoro, Sant'Egidio community)








PAKISTAN:

The long lost



17 years ago, death-row prisoner Kanizan, rendered mute as a result of 
unspeakable acts of torture on her person, had already lived in silence for 13 
years. Azam was a 21-year-old juvenile offender in prison, still hopeful that 
the procedural delay resulting in his unlawful death-row status would change 
any day. Basit, having contracted meningitis while on death row in a filthy 
prison, had recently become paraplegic as a result, and now lay on his cell 
floor, unattended.

In 2002, the first World Day Against the Death Penalty was organised, in the 
hopes that capital punishment would soon be recognised as barbaric and 
eliminated as a form of retributive justice. Every year since, the day lends 
focus to a specific issue related to death row. In 2019, it hopes to shed light 
on the impact of the death penalty on the children of prisoners who have been 
sentenced to death — their peace of mind and physical security now the 
collateral damage of the criminal justice system.

Under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), no one can be 
sentenced to death for a crime they committed as a child. The International 
Convention on Civil and Political Rights, which has also been ratified by 
Pakistan, reiterates this principle. The death penalty for children is a clear 
human rights violation, the trauma faced by its victims is recognised, and it 
has been declared violative of national and international law.

However, it is not just underage offenders who are at risk. The innocent 
children of death-row prisoners face inescapable ostracisation, neglect and 
trauma due to the sentences given to their parents. The scars of this suffering 
will be carried by these children into adulthood, not only affecting their own 
lives but the lives of everyone they touch.

These children are invisible victims of the death penalty.

Zulfiqar, another death-row prisoner, whose execution was scheduled and halted 
several times, had two daughters who visited him every time the death warrant 
arrived. They said goodbye to their father — a venerated and beloved teacher to 
his fellow inmates, a model prisoner who was well liked by the jail staff, and 
a sad example of the flaws in our judicial system — not once, but over and over 
again.

The impact of this ‘final’ meeting, a recurring nightmare, on 2 young girls 
from a family which lost their sole breadwinner is lifelong and crushing. One 
can only imagine what they felt when they realised there would be no more final 
meetings, and the quiet violence of the years of uncertainty had ended with a 
deafening snap.

Yet there are no resources made available for children who face the mental and 
physical distress of losing a caregiver in such a public and terrifying way. 
They face protracted anxiety during the long periods between arrest and 
sentencing, and then between sentencing and execution.

At increased risk of abuse, and unable to process the grim realities to which 
they are privy, these children are invisible victims of the death penalty, 
unseen by their remaining caregivers as they rush to save the incarcerated 
parent’s life. The unmitigated violence our criminal justice system inflicts on 
children is layered, systemic and unrelenting.

Today, Kanizan and Azam, who were juveniles at the time of their alleged 
crimes, are still on death row.

Basit too remains on death row. He was not a juvenile offender, and instead had 
2 young children of his own when he was first sentenced. These children watched 
their father abruptly go to prison, with the knowledge that he would be hanged 
sooner or later. Once under the impression that those were his last days and 
hoping for more time, they instead watched him live a long, nightmarish life as 
a very ill man. Today, they can only identify him as a skeletal figure that 
lies listless on the floor of a prison cell.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the UNCRC, a widely ratified commitment 
by nearly every country in the world to secure ‘every right for every child’. 
The death penalty’s enforcement against parents of minors violates the very 
core of the UNCRC. Pakistan must acknowledge a child’s right to healthcare, 
education, non-separation from parents and protection against torture, among 
others, when sentencing their parent.

Without considering all the rights of the child during sentencing, the 
repercussions of the death penalty will continue to be generational; creating 
senseless, widespread pain and suffering instead of providing retribution. 
These traumatised children are fated to grow up to be vulnerable adults. 
Seventeen years on from the first World Day Against the Death Penalty, we must 
choose to act now if we ever hope to break the cycle of poverty, crime and 
victimisation.

(source: Sana Farrukh|--The writer is a lawyer working with Justice Project 
Pakistan----dawn.com)

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

Letters from Death Row: Life after Prison in Pakistan----A man who survives 2 
decades on death row struggles to build a new life after prison.



Mazhar Farooq remembers being freed after two decades behind bars

"After living 21 years in an eight-by-eight foot cell the world seems very 
strange. I could not even walk properly and would bump into things. Even a 
caged lion can't walk when set free," says the former inmate from Kasur, 
Pakistan.

He was just 22 years old and a university student when he was imprisoned. His 
father had been murdered and he was in line to inherit his family's land. But 
before he could, he was implicated in the murder of a local man. There was no 
supporting evidence; he says his name replaced a suspect's and the medical 
report was false. The murder weapon was also not his.

"In Pakistan, whoever is politically strong can exert influence. In jails, in 
court, everywhere. An ordinary person can't do anything," he says.

He was given the death penalty, and spent his adulthood on one of the largest 
death rows in the world, among an estimated 5,000 prisoners in line to be 
executed in Pakistan.

Farooq describes living in a small cell, crammed with up to 15 people. All 
activities - eating, praying, going to the toilet - happened inside the cell. 
The inmates were allowed outside for 1 hour each day, still handcuffed. They 
were beaten and tortured. And all the while, their sentences loomed.

"Two days before an execution, they isolate the condemned man. He meets other 
prisoners and asks them to pray for him. It's terrifying. You realise we are 
all passengers on the same train. Some are boarding and others departing. When 
you can see your own death, only a few can actually walk up to the gallows."

As years passed he wrote letters to his family and leaned into his faith to 
find patience and strength. The Lahore High Court rejected his appeal after 11 
years on death row, and he appealed to the Supreme Court. He would eventually 
send a letter to the chief justice in a last bid for appeal, which was finally 
granted.

But gaining his freedom was just the first step. Now Farooq must build a new 
life for himself, find a new career, and reckon with a past that still guides 
his every step.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

FILMMAKER'S VIEW

By Tazeen Bari

In 2015 I came across the last letter written by a man on death row: "Since I 
was just 15 years old I have been stranded between life and death. I doubt 
there is anything more dreadful than being told that you are going to die, and 
then sitting in a prison cell just waiting for that moment. I hope I do not die 
on Wednesday … I have not given up hope, though the night is very dark."

Sentenced as a juvenile, and despite witnesses recanting their testimonies, 
Aftab Bahadur was hung just a few days after writing this.

His words got stuck in my head. I began to contemplate the state of mind of a 
person on death row awaiting execution. Could there possibly be any worse form 
of psychological torture? Death is the ultimate final end. The giving of an 
ultimate punishment would presuppose that there were perfect systems of 
dispensing justice. But how can imperfect systems hand out such irreversible 
punishments?

In 2015 Pakistan became one of the most prolific executioners in the world, 
carrying out executions at the rate of nearly 1 death per day. Pakistan had 
placed a 7-year moratorium on executions, which was lifted in the wake of the 
attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar where over 130 children were 
brutally killed by terrorists. The brutality of killing so many young children 
was impossible to comprehend. The whole country was stricken with grief and 
anger - and the anger grew. As this sentiment took over the nation, 
capitalising on the collective emotions of grief and retribution, the state 
resumed executions.

Initially, the moratorium was only lifted on terrorism-related cases but in 
March 2015 the moratorium was lifted completely. But as the numbers of those 
receiving black warrants rose, so did the reports of wrongful executions. 
Pakistan executed prisoners with mental disorders and physical disabilities and 
those convicted before the age of 18.

Furthermore, most of the people on death row came from lower-income groups and 
did not have access to the kind of lawyers that could help them fight their 
cases effectively. There are no legal aid provisions in Pakistan, so often due 
process and a fair trial are only available to those who can afford it.

I knew that this was a story I needed to tell, so I started collecting letters 
and accounts written by those who were executed. I also found a radio jockey in 
Lahore who regularly received letters from people on death row. But then, I met 
Mazhar Farooq. Recently acquitted, he was living in Lahore. He was afraid to 
return to his hometown of Kasur at the time as he still felt threatened by the 
people who had falsely implicated him in the murder case.

Farooq was angry and wanted to share his story and experiences on death row.

I remember the first time I interviewed him, I was struck by how seemingly 
together he was despite the trauma and torture he had endured. But it was in 
the silences between his words that I saw his pain. His motivation to share his 
experiences with the world drove me to follow him over the next 2 years.

When examining cases of wrongful incarceration we often come across exceptional 
stories with bizarre twists and turns. But Farooq's story is important 
precisely because it is about a very shocking systemic norm and not an 
exception. Due to corruption, inadequate legal support and arbitrary laws, once 
convicted a person will get stuck in the system, and due to delays people 
regularly lose years of their life in jail just awaiting trial.

During my research, I read Albert Camus's scathing criticism of the death 
penalty before it was abolished in France. He wrote: "When the imagination is 
not functioning … a deaf public scarcely registers a man's condemnation to 
death. But, expose the machinery, make people touch the wood and the iron, let 
them hear the thud of heads falling, and a suddenly aroused public imagination 
will repudiate both vocabulary and punishment alike."

Abolition of the death penalty has become history for many countries across the 
globe, but in many others it remains. Farooq and those like him who speak out 
are doing the critical job of awakening the public imagination, and this is the 
first step towards reform and better systems of justice.

(source: Al Jazeera)








PHILIPPINES:

QCPD legal officer says no to death penalty



A Quezon City police official on Thursday openly denounced the reimposition of 
the death penalty.

“I am not in favor of the death penalty,” lawyer Jay Borromeo, a legal officer 
of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) said at the National Congress Against 
Death Penalty forum in Pasig City. “I am a Christian, and if you read the 
Bible, there are so many injustices that have been committed. Our Lord Jesus 
Christ, the Christians during the imposition, this should not happen again, we 
should not repeat this again,” he said.

“The right to life is essential to human rights, that’s why we lawyers, the 
lawyers who are with me today, teach the PNP to respect human rights,” he 
added.

Asked to comment on PNP chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde’s support for the 
reimposition of capital punishment, Borromeo replied: That’s his opinion.”

“As lawyers, we are entitled to think and in giving our opinion on a legal 
matter,” he told INQUIRER.net.

(source: newsinfo.inquirer.net)

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

CHR: Reviving death penalty will lead to cycle of violence in PH----On the 
World Day Against the Death Penalty, CHR Commissioner Karen Gomez Dumpit notes 
the suffering of 'unseen victims' of capital punishment, including the children 
of people sentenced to death



The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Thursday, October 10, urged the public 
to resist any move to reimpose the death penalty in the Philippines, warning 
that capital punishment would only lead to violence.

In a statement marking the World Day Against the Death Penalty, CHR 
Commissioner Karen Gomez Dumpit noted the psychological and emotional suffering 
of the "unseen victims" of capital punishment, including the children of people 
sentenced to death.

"The suffering extends to [the convicted person's] loved ones, especially their 
children whose anguish can even be more severe than the person [on] death row," 
she said.

"This perpetuates the cycle of violence and despair as the children of those 
executed bear the stigma from the community, experience psychological trauma, 
and may carry the emotional burden into adulthood which may be passed on to 
their own children," Dumpit added.

After the death penalty was abolished in the country in 2006, debates about 
reviving it surfaced again after President Rodrigo Duterte deemed it necessary 
for drug crimes and plunder, specifically during his 4th State of the Nation 
Address. (READ: A lethal mix? Death penalty and a 'flawed, corrupt' justice 
system)

In the 18th Congress, 12 bills at the House of Representatives have been filed 
seeking to reimpose capital punishment.

But the CHR reminded the government that reintroducing the death penalty "will 
be a serious breach of international law."

It added that the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on 
Civil and Political Rights, which the Philippines ratified in 2007, does not 
allow for withdrawal or denunciation. (READ: UN on death penalty: PH will break 
int'l law)

Dumpit also said the death penalty is "futile" as it leads to a cycle of 
violence and that crimes should be "punished through an efficient and incorrupt 
justice system."

"Death penalty can breed more problems and do more harm without resolving what 
it purports to stop in the first place. The obligation to deliver justice must 
not breed further injustice," she said.

(source: rappler.com)








SOUTH KOREA:

S. Korean activists call for death penalty abolition



South Korean civic and religious groups on Thursday called for a complete 
abolition of capital punishment in the country, where a debate over the issue 
occasionally emerges in the aftermath of serious crimes.

"We need to cut the vicious circle of violence, in which horrendous punishment 
is used against horrendous crimes. ... Efforts are needed to clear fundamental 
reasons for crimes and solve social contradictions," the organizations said in 
a joint statement.

They referred to the recent identification of Lee Chun-jae, a jailed man in his 
50s, as a suspect in a series of murders in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, that 
happened between 1986-91.

"The fact that the criminal who made headlines was identified decades after 
(the incident) ironically shows that the death penalty must be abolished," they 
said, voicing concern about the possibility of wrongful execution.

An association of 14 religious and civic groups in South Korea -- including 
Amnesty International Korea, Lawyers for a Democratic Society, and the Catholic 
Justice and Peace Committee -- released the statement in line with the 17th 
World Day Against the Death Penalty.

The organizations called for the establishment of a safety net to protect the 
public from crimes, as well as more efforts to help victims and families of 
victims who have been hurt by serious crimes.

The organizations said that a group of around 70 lawmakers have jointly 
submitted a motion for abolishing the death punishment at the National Assembly 
for the sixth year in a row.

South Korea is classified as an "abolitionist in practice country," which means 
that the government retains the death penalty but has not actually executed a 
criminal for the past 10 years or longer.

The last execution that took place here dates back to Dec. 30, 1997, more than 
20 years ago.

(source: yna.co.kr)








MALAYSIA:

Unfair trials, secretive hangings and petty drug convictions reveal ‘cruel 
injustice’ of the death penalty



Malaysia must start to fulfil its promise to abolish the death penalty in 
forthcoming legislation by ending its use for drug-related offences and 
eliminating the mandatory death sentence, Amnesty International said today, as 
it launches a new report to mark the World Day Against the Death Penalty.

The report, Fatally flawed: Why Malaysia must abolish the death penalty, 
reveals the use of torture and other ill-treatment to obtain “confessions”, 
inadequate access to legal assistance, an opaque pardons process and other 
serious violations of the right to a fair trial that have put people at risk of 
execution.

"From allegations of torture and other ill-treatment to an opaque pardons 
process, it's clear the death penalty is a stain on Malaysia's criminal justice 
system."----Shamini Darshni Kaliemuthu, Executive Director of Amnesty 
International Malaysia

The report also highlights how 73% of those on death row – 930 people – have 
been sentenced to death for drug-related offences in contravention of 
international human rights law. More than half of them (478) are foreign 
nationals.

"Malaysia has a golden chance to break with decades of cruelty and injustice, 
disproportionately inflicted on some of the most marginalized," said Shamini 
Darshni Kaliemuthu, Executive Director of Amnesty International Malaysia.

"Our research found a pattern of unfair trials and secretive hangings that 
itself spoke volumes. From allegations of torture and other ill-treatment to an 
opaque pardons process, it's clear the death penalty is a stain on Malaysia's 
criminal justice system."

The death penalty is currently retained as the punishment for 33 offences in 
Malaysia and is mandatory for 12 of these. In recent years, it has mostly been 
used for murder and drug trafficking convictions.

A year ago, the newly-elected Malaysian government announced it would repeal 
the death penalty for all crimes, having already established a moratorium on 
executions in July 2018. But in a new parliamentary session starting this 
month, the government is expected to table legislation that will remove the 
mandatory death penalty only, and for just 11 offences – way short of full 
abolition.

Amnesty International is calling on the authorities to continue to observe the 
moratorium on executions until the death penalty is fully abolished and use the 
anticipated legislation to repeal the mandatory death penalty for all crimes – 
including drug trafficking.

Death row for the most marginalized

Of the 1,281 people reported to be on death row in Malaysia as of February 
2019, 568 (44%) are foreign nationals, who face serious obstacles to access 
adequate consular assistance and interpretation.

Amnesty International has also found that some of Malaysia's ethnic minorities 
are over-represented on death row, and data seen by the organization points to 
a large proportion of people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Amnesty International found that most people (73%) on death row were convicted 
of drug trafficking, more than half of them foreigners. Many of them claimed 
they were coerced or manipulated into bringing small amounts of drugs into the 
country and had not used any violence. Under international law, countries that 
have not yet abolished the death penalty must limit its use to the “most 
serious crimes,” such as murder.

The cases of many women on death row show the devastating impact of Malaysia’s 
draconian anti-drugs law combined with the mandatory death penalty. Nearly nine 
out of 10 women facing the gallows are foreigners convicted of drug 
trafficking. In some cases, women said they were in financial trouble or were 
coerced into carrying the drugs. However, the mandatory death penalty means 
judges have no opportunity to give any consideration to these circumstances.

“A system this secretive denies Malaysians the full picture.”---- Shamini 
Darshni, Amnesty International Malaysia

Unfair trials

Lawyers and relatives told Amnesty International that it was common for 
defendants who could not afford a lawyer to go without any legal assistance 
until charges were brought before a court. They also described a critically 
under-resourced legal aid system that left many defendants without legal 
assistance for long periods, often until the very start of their trial.

Suspects in death penalty cases can be detained up to 14 days, and interviewees 
told Amnesty International that it was common for defendants to “get beaten up” 
to extract “confessions”. The practice continues to this day, despite ongoing 
outcry from Malaysian NGOs. A UN working group’s 2011 investigation already 
found that “virtually all detainees” had suffered torture or other 
ill-treatment during their interrogations.

Despite the very high rate of foreigners sentenced to death, as well as the 
numerous languages spoken inside the country, Malaysian law does not provide 
for any interpretation services to support defendants who do not speak Malay 
other than in courtroom proceedings. Amnesty International heard cases of 
people being asked to sign documents in Malay despite not understanding the 
language.

Hoo Yew Wah, a Malaysian national of Chinese ethnicity, was arrested aged 20 in 
2005 with methamphetamine and convicted based on a statement he made in 
Mandarin, his mother tongue, but which police recorded in Malay. He says the 
statement they made him sign is inaccurate, that police broke his finger during 
the interrogation, and further threatened to beat his girlfriend if he refused 
to sign it. He did not have the assistance of a lawyer during the period in 
question. Hoo Yew Wah has been on death row since 2011.

An opaque and secretive system – and a chance for change

Malaysian law does not define the pardon process in any detail, nor does it set 
out the criteria for a pardon or how prisoners or their families are notified 
of a decision.

Defendants are not guaranteed a lawyer when they apply for a pardon, and many 
go without. Others fail to apply for a pardon altogether, either out of despair 
or because they do not want to admit guilt for a crime they say they did not 
commit.

While some pro-bono initiatives exist, access to these services is controlled 
by prison officials, and there is no transparency over how access is granted or 
not. While the criteria used are not known, they appear to affect foreign 
nationals: half of them have not filed a pardon application.

“A system this secretive denies Malaysians the full picture,” said Shamini 
Darshni.

“Amnesty International’s research shows why this government must now honour its 
pledge to abolish this ultimate cruel and inhumane punishment without delay.”

(source: Amnesty International)

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

Amnesty International urges Malaysia to end death penalty



Amnesty International urged Malaysia’s government on Thursday to keep its 
promise to abolish the death penalty, saying unfair trials and the use of harsh 
treatment to obtain confessions put people at risk of execution.

The rights group released details of nearly two years of research on 150 cases 
as well as interviews with prisoners’ families, lawyers and embassy officials 
in a report that it said showed the use of the death penalty was “fatally 
flawed.”

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s government promised shortly after taking 
power in May 2018 to scrap capital punishment, which mandates hanging as 
punishment for a wide range of crimes including murder, drug trafficking, 
treason, kidnapping and acts of terror.

But the government backtracked after public objection. Parliament, which 
resumed meeting this week, will instead remove mandatory death penalties for 
some offenses and give courts discretion in imposing the sentence.

The report said 73% of the 1,281 people on death row as of February were 
convicted of drug offenses, including 568 foreigners from 43 countries and many 
poor members of ethnic minorities.

It said some prisoners were tortured and beaten to make them confess. In one 
case, a Malaysian man detained in 2005 for possessing drugs and later sentenced 
to death had his finger broken by police, who also threatened to beat up his 
girlfriend, it said.

Those who are poor often go without legal assistance until they are brought to 
court, it said. Some were asked to sign documents in the Malay language that 
were not translated for them, according to the report.

The group said the pardon process was also not transparent, with no clear 
criteria and access to pro-bono legal services controlled by prison officials. 
It said half of the foreigners on death row didn’t seek pardons.

“Our research found a pattern of unfair trials and secretive hangings that 
itself spoke volumes. From allegations of torture and other ill-treatment to an 
opaque pardons process, it’s clear the death penalty is a stain on Malaysia’s 
criminal justice system,” Amnesty Malaysia director Sharmini Darshni Kaliemuthu 
said. The group said its requests to meet Malaysian authorities including the 
police and officials in the attorney-general’s office for more details were 
rejected or unanswered.

It said government sources indicated 469 people had been executed since 
Malaysia’s independence from Britain in 1957, half of them for drug 
trafficking.

The death penalty is currently retained for nearly three dozen offenses. 
Amnesty International urged Malaysia to move toward scrapping capital 
punishment by repealing mandatory death sentences for all crimes and 
maintaining a moratorium on executions until then.

Government officials couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

Many Asian countries including China, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and 
Vietnam impose capital punishment.

(source: Associated Press)

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

Abolition of mandatory death penalty should happen in this parliamentary 
session - Charles Hector



On the occasion of the World Day Against the Death Penalty, which falls on 
October 10, MADPET (Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture) notes sadly 
that Malaysia has yet to abolish the death penalty, let alone the mandatory 
death penalty.

In 2018, on the World Day Against Death Penalty, it was announced that the 
Malaysian Cabinet had decided to abolish the death penalty not just the 
mandatory death penalty.

This abolition would have facilitated the return of Sirul Azhar Umar, now in 
Australia, an abolitionist nation, that refuse to repatriate him back to 
Malaysia as he faces the risk of execution. Sirul was seen by many as an 
important witness that may lead to the identification and prosecution of the 
other persons who were behind the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu, the Mongolian 
mother of two.

The abolition of the death penalty would also eliminate the possibility of 
execution of innocent persons ? miscarriage of justice. The police, 
prosecutors, judges and even lawyers of the accused, all being human beings, 
are not infallible and could cause the wrongful execution of persons. We recall 
the case when in January 2011, when Taiwan’s Ministry of Justice admitted that 
Chiang Kuo-ching, a private in the Air Force, had been executed in error in 
1997 for a murder committed 15 years previously.

In Malaysia, it has also been shown that death penalty, even the mandatory 
death penalty has not deterred crime. In 2017, it was revealed in Parliament 
that there was an increase of drug cases every year despite the drastic 
measures taken by the police, which we could take as including the fact of the 
existence of the mandatory death penalty for section 39B DDA 1952 – drug 
trafficking. It may be same for murder, but it is difficult as Malaysia stopped 
revealing actual statistics under the previous government.

The failure of government resulting in poverty may also be the cause of many 
crimes including those that now carry the death penalty.

On October 10, 2019, the 17th World Day Against the Death Penalty aims at 
raising awareness on the rights of children whose parents have been sentenced 
to death or executed. Malaysia, a party of the Child Rights Convention, now 
should have the best interest of the child has become a major concern. The 
execution of a parent, sibling or relative of any child is certainly never in 
the best interest of the child.

The abolition of the death penalty is also consistent with the Malaysian policy 
with crime and sentencing. We believe in second chances. When one pleads 
guilty, the sentence is reduced by a third. For those in prison, good behaviour 
and rehabilitation will lead to remission of sentence and early release. All 
these values and principles cannot apply when one is sentenced to death or 
mandatory death penalty.

U-turn on decision to abolish death penalty

However, on March 13, 2019, Malaysian cabinet did a U-turn on abolishing the 
death penalty for all 33 offences, and instead agreed to abolish the mandatory 
death penalty for all 11 mandatory death penalty offences.

Since the Pakatan Harapan is a coalition government made up of four to five 
parties, it would be interesting to know which party changed its position on 
abolition and why. Through its MPs, we believe that DAP was an abolitionist 
party, but its current position now is a mystery.

Sadly, we have yet to see any tabling any Bills in Parliament to date that will 
effectively abolish the mandatory death penalty. The earlier indication was 
that these Bill/s will be tabled in the current Parliamentary session which 
began in October 2019.

MADPET was concerned about the recent setting up of a special committee in 
September 2019 to look into alternatives to the death sentence would just be 
another excuse to delay abolition of the mandatory death penalty. Such 
committees or task force could have been set up last year since the decision to 
abolish the death penalty. It could have been even earlier, for the abolition 
of the mandatory death penalty was an election promise of Pakatan Harapan.

We reiterate that the mandatory death penalty could be immediately abolished, 
which will mean that judges will then have the discretion to sentence people to 
imprisonment or death. For the time being, it could simply be life imprisonment 
or natural life imprisonment. Later, if a better “alternative sentence” comes 
from this or that “committee”, “task force” or consultations, the Act can 
always be further amended later.

The abolition of the mandatory death penalty should not be further delayed by 
the government.

Accused persons now on trial or whose trial starts before the abolition will be 
greatly prejudiced as both prosecution and defence lawyers may be adducing 
evidence only towards finding of guilt or innocence. They will not be adducing 
evidence as to why a person should receive a lesser sentence since the courts 
have no discretion as to sentence when they can only provide the one mandatory 
sentence.

MADPET is also against all mandatory sentences, as it removes judicial 
discretion when it comes to sentencing. Laws should only provide for maybe 
maximum sentences, and trust in our judges to impose a just sentence on each 
and every convicted after taking all facts and circumstances into 
consideration.

Malaysia created history in December 2018, when it voted in favour of the 
United Nations General Assembly Resolution on the abolition of the death 
penalty.

MADPET hopes that the abolition of the mandatory death penalty is just the 
first step, towards a total abolition of the death penalty which we hope will 
happen soon, certainly before the next general elections.

MADPET calls for the immediate tabling of the Bill/s to abolish the mandatory 
death penalty in this current Parliamentary session, for any other additional 
amendments could very easily be brought in by subsequent amendments later on;

MADPET calls for the passing of an Act of Parliament that will have the effect 
of commuting the death sentence of about 1,200 on death row, especially those 
that have exhausted their appeals in court;

MADPET also calls for further amendment to the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, where 
mandatory death penalty has already been abolished, to allow judges to consider 
all mitigating and aggravating circumstances and remove the 
limitations/conditions now in that law;

MADPET calls for a moratorium on all executions, pending the total abolition of 
the death penalty in Malaysia.

(source: Opinion, malaymail.com)

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

Bill to abolish mandatory death penalty will be tabled in March 
2020----Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Liew Vui Keong says a 
special task force will be organising consultation sessions with stakeholders.



The bill to abolish the mandatory death penalty for 11 serious offences is 
expected to be tabled in the next parliamentary sitting in March next year, 
according to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Liew Vui Keong.

He said a special task force will be conducting holistic and independent checks 
on the law and organising consultation sessions with stakeholders to gather 
their views.

“The findings and the task force’s report will be presented to the monitoring 
committee before being handed over to the Cabinet.

“The study is expected to be completed in three months (by the end of 2019). 
The special task force had its 1st meeting on Sept 20,” he said in a statement 
today.

The task force, formed in August, comprises representatives of government 
agencies, academia, civil society and other relevant parties.

It will study the technical aspects relating to the abolition, apart from 
looking at alternatives to the maximum penalty.

Liew reiterated that this was in line with Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) election 
manifesto and showed the government’s commitment to the protection and 
preservation of human rights.

The bill to repeal the mandatory death penalty was expected to be tabled in 
Parliament this month once the government had decided on appropriate prison 
terms for 11 serious criminal offences covered by it.

Currently, the 11 offences fall under 2 acts — 9 under the Penal Code, 
including murder, waging war against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and committing 
terrorist acts — and 2 under the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971.

(source: freemalaysiatoday.com)

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

Nearly 1/2 facing the gallows are foreigners, Nigerians the majority



Almost 1/2 of prisoners facing the noose in Malaysia are foreign nationals, 
with Nigerians making up the majority.

According to a report released by Amnesty International Malaysia (AIM), 568 
foreign nationals from 43 countries are on death row as of February this year.

Nigerians make up 21% of the foreigners on death row, followed by Indonesians 
(16%), Iranians (15%), Indian (10%), Filipinos (8%) and Thais (6%).

Almost 73% of the foreigners were given the deatch sentence for 
drug-trafficking crimes, while 25% were guilty of murder, according to the 
report released on Thursday (Oct 10), in conjunction with World Day Against the 
Death Penalty.

As of February, there were altogether 1,281 prisoners on death row, with 89% of 
them being male.

As for the 713 Malaysians on death row, 48% were Malays, 25% (Indians), 24% 
(Chinese) and 4% (other ethnic minorities).

The AIM report was based on data provided to them by official sources.

AIM executive director Shamini Darshni Kaliemuthu said the death penalty was a 
stain on the country’s criminal justice system.

“Malaysia has a golden chance to break with decades of cruelty and injustice, 
disproportionately inflicted on some of the most marginalised, ” she said 
during the launch of the report.

She added that the government should abolish this “cruel and inhumane” 
punishment without delay as the system had many flaws.

In October last year, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Liew 
Vui Keong said the Cabinet had decided to abolish the death penalty with a 
moratorium for those on death row.

In March this year, however, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department 
Mohamed Hanipa Maidin announced in Parliament that the government was proposing 
to introduce sentencing discretion for 11 offences under the Penal Code and 
Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971, which currently carry the mandatory 
death penalty.

Meanwhile, MADPET (Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture) said it hoped 
the abolition of the mandatory death penalty was just the first step towards a 
total abolition of the death penalty.

They said the abolition of the death penalty would also eliminate the 
possibility of execution of innocent persons, which was a miscarriage of 
justice.

“The police, prosecutors, judges and even lawyers of the accused, all being 
human, are not infallible and could cause the wrongful execution of persons, “ 
they said in a statement.

(source: thestar.com.my)