July 14
TURKEY:
Death Sentence Excluded From Turkish Laws
Turkish parliament ratified a draft law on Wednesday changing the
expressions of "execution of death sentence" and "death sentence" in laws
as "heavy life imprisonment" in order to conform to recent constitutional
amendments.
The draft law envisaged changes in 46 articles of the Turkish Penal Code
(TCK) and in many other laws in line with the amendments to articles 15,
17 and 87 of the Constitution about the death sentence.
All expressions of "execution of death sentence" and "death sentence" in
laws were changed as "heavy life imprisonment."
The draft also envisaged an amendment to the law enabling the General
Staff to appoint a member to the Higher Education Board (YOK).
Under the draft, representative of the National Security Council (NSC)
will not take place among members of the Supreme Board of Radio and
Television (RTUK) any longer.
Turkish parliament, which signed the Appendix Protocol no: 13 of the
European Convention for Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental
Freedoms, approved a package of constitutional amendments earlier in the
year to adapt Turkey to new democratic initiatives in the world, and to
increase fundamental rights and freedoms to the level of universally
accepted standards and norms and of the European Union (EU) criteria.
(source: Anadolu Agency)
NIGERIA:
Hope for Nigeria death row
23 Nigerians waiting in jail to be stoned to death or amputated under the
strict Islamic sharia code may soon be reprieved, the Director-General of
the Legal Aid Council, Uju Hassan-Baba, said in Abuja on Tuesday.
The convicts had been kept at the Bauchi prisons in Nigeria's north since
their conviction between 2002 and 2003.
Under the sharia code adopted by most of the 19 states in the
predominantly Moslem north, thieves would have limbs amputated, adulterers
stoned to death, and consumers of alcohol caned publicly.
Hassan-Baba, who heads the Nigerian governments agency that provides
succour for people in legal tangles, said she met with the governor of
Bauchi State on Tuesday and got an assurance that something positive would
be done to give the convicts some reprieve.
She said the governor was sympathetic with the plight of the convicts and
said it was not necessary to punish them any more.
"It is improper and against the laws of natural justice and democracy to
keep these people in jail for so long without executing their
convictions," Hassan-Baba said. "It is additional punishment."
She said the administrator of the Bauchi prison where the convicts were
kept told her that the convicts would remain in jail until the governor
ratified their sentences.
The official also told the Legal Aid Council boss that the convicts would
not be able to appeal against their sentences until the governor announces
the ratification or otherwise.
Notable among the convicts are 45-year-old Hussaini Midiyi, who chopped
off his wife's leg on an allegation of adultery, and Unused Rafinchiwa who
confessed to have made love to his friends wife on at least 13 occasions.
Maidiyi accused his wife, Amina, of exposing her buttocks to receive an
injection from a male doctor to whom he had taken her when she was ill.
Rafinchiwa is scheduled to be stoned to death for adultery alongside
45-year-old Umaru Tori who was convicted for impregnating his 15-year-old
step-daughter.
(source: South Africa Press Agency)
