death penalty news August 9, 2004
IRAQ: IRAQ DEATH PENALTY RETURNS Iraq brought back the death penalty yesterday in a bid to stamp out the 15-month-old rebellion. But battles continued to rage as interim prime minister Ayad Allawi visited the Shia holy city of Najaf, where the uprising began and hundreds have died in recent days. Allawi, who met governor Adnan al-Zurufi, called on militants to lay down their weapons. But nearby, security forces battled with guerrillas loyal to militant Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Gunfire and explosions could be heard as US helicopter gunships circled overhead. The death penalty had been suspended during the US occupation. Minister of state Adnan al-Janabi said it would only apply to murder, endangering national security and drug-dealing, rather than the 114 offences specified under Saddam. He added: 'This is not an open door to execute anyone ... or people whom the government dislike.' Meanwhile, militants yesterday announced they had kidnapped Faridoun Jihani, the Iranian consul to the Iraqi city of Karbala. The kidnappers warned Iran not to interfere in Iraq's affairs but did not threaten Jihani directly. (source: Daily Record, UK) ---------------------------- Iraq brings back death penalty as Allawi calls on militants to disarm Iraq's United States-backed interim government yesterday reinstated the death penalty - suspended since the fall of Saddam Hussein - as Iyad Allawi, the Prime Minister, visited Najaf amid heavy security and called on Shia insurgents in the city to lay down their arms. The reimposition of the death penalty for capital crimes, including murder and kidnapping, was announced a day after Mr Allawi's government unveiled an amnesty for lesser crimes in the hope of containing an insurgency which last week spread once again to gunmen loyal to the radical Shia cleric Muqtada Sadr. Ministers said the death penalty would last until security stabilised. It is intended to apply immediately, but it remained unclear last night whether it could be imposed retrospectively or apply to Saddam Hussein at the end of his trial. Protected by a 100-strong contingent of American and Iraqi troops, police and foreign security contractors, Mr Allawi declared on his hour-long visit to the volatile Shia holy city that "those armed should leave the holy sites ... as well as leave their weapons and abide by the law." Within hearing distance of gunfire and explosions from continuing engagements between police and gunmen, Mr Allawi and two of his ministers met Adnan al-Zurufi, the Governor of Najaf, who on Friday set a still-unfulfilled 24 hour deadline for the insurgents to withdraw. Although there were no detailed casualty figures, Iraqi government officials said more than 40 Iraqis were killed in overnight fighting in Najaf and the mainly Shia Baghdad suburb of Sadr City. Members of Sadr's Mehdi Army, which was in control of the compound surrounding the sacred Shrine of Imam Ali, carried automatic rifles and rocket-propelled launchers as they searched cars at improvised checkpoints in the old city. Mr Allawi said in Najaf that there were no plans to arrest Sadr but insisted there would be no negotiations until the militia laid down their arms. He added: "There are some elements who have broken the law and hurt this city. The situation will be defused soon." An Iraqi National Guard Officer, Lt Aqil Khalil, said yesterday that national guard troops had on Saturday chased Sadr militiamen to the cleric's house after a police patrol had come under fire. The troops had arrested the gunmen at the house but Sadr had not been there. After Mr Allwai's visit, two US helicopter gunships attacked Shia militia positions close to Najaf's ancient cemetery where Mehdi Army militants have been hiding. And the television station al-Arabiya said one of its editors, Mou'yad Mousa, had been slightly wounded in yesterday's fighting. In Sadr City, three US soldiers were reportedly wounded and an American observation helicopter made an emergency landing near the suburb after coming under fire, but without injuries to the crew. Jubilant armed men brandished the helmet of one of the crew. And there were at least six explosions in central Baghdad last night, including one which wounded at least three people close to the Baghdad Hotel, which is used by foreigners. In Amarah, 110 miles south-east of Baghdad, which has been the scene of frequent clashes between insurgents and British troops, the Health Ministry said that four Iraqis had been killed in fighting between police and militants. And in Basra, police said that two insurgents had been killed in a battle with Danish troops in the southern town of Qurnah. The restoration of the death penalty was announced yesterday by Adnan al-Janabi, a Minister of State, and Bakhtiar Amin, the Human Rights Minister, hitherto an opponent of the death penalty. Mr Amin said: "This is the most difficult day of my life." While the new list of capital offences will include drug-running, Mr Amin said it would be applied only in "exceptional cases". Mr Janabi said the death penalty would remain in force until security was deemed more stable. "The law is to protect the Iraqi people in the face of ... indiscriminate murder. I think it may help," he said. The Allawi government's 30-day ban on the Arab satellite television network al-Jazeera was criticised yesterday by Adnan Pachachi, the former member of the Iraqi Governing Council who in June turned down the interim presidency. In an interview with The Independent, Dr Pachachi recognised concern about the network transmitting film of hostage takers, but he added: "As a matter of principle I don't think we should try to intimidate or punish any news media." Dr Pachachi also said he was "very upset" by the death toll in Najaf - estimated by US Marine officers on Friday at a contested and uncorroborated figure of 300 insurgents - and welcomed an offer by Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general, of mediation. ? Iraq has issued an arrest warrant for Ahmed Chalabi, a former governing council member, on money laundering charges and another for Salem Chalabi, the head of Iraq's special tribunal, on murder charges. (source: The Independent) ====================================== MEXICO: Death penalty gaining support among Mexicans - But not when it comes to their countrymen on death row in the United States When some people in Mexico's crime-ridden capital were asked what should be done with kidnappers and rapists, they replied in no uncertain terms. "Why waste money keeping the rats in prison? Just hang them up and let them die slowly," said Francisco Ramirez, 37, a stocky salesman hawking cable TV packages in a downtown shopping mall. "Dispose of them," said taxi driver Rafael Galvan, 41, as he cruised past a bustling marketplace. "Garbage like them pollutes the environment." Although Mexicans express opposition to the execution of their countrymen in the United States, many are supporting the notion of applying the death penalty in Mexico, which has been plagued by a decade-long crime wave. Under current Mexican law, only military tribunals can hand out death sentences, and then only in cases of treason, premeditated murder and arson. In practice, though, no prisoner has been executed here in nearly five decades. Mexico's influential Roman Catholic Church and politicians from all parties have long spoken out against the death penalty. But a recent survey by the market research company Parametria suggested that attitudes among the general public have shifted. The poll found that 63 percent of Mexicans now believe that rapists should be executed, and 55 percent think convicted killers should be put to death. Several other surveys reported similar attitudes. Some politicians and high-ranking officials have joined the chorus calling for capital punishment. Federal Attorney General Rafael Macedo de la Concha and Public Safety Secretary Alejandro Gertz Manero recently urged Congress to study the issue. The increasing support for the death penalty follows a surge in public outrage over crime. In June, an estimated 250,000 people marched through downtown Mexico City to protest the authorities' failure to control lawlessness. Some demonstrators held banners demanding that criminals be put to death. A crime wave has engulfed Mexico since a 1995 economic recession threw millions of people out of work. Many now feel threatened by the seemingly high number of kidnappings, murders and rapes in urban areas. Just last week, Mexico City authorities found the body of an abducted physician who had been honored for her work in rehabilitative medicine. Across Mexico, 3,000 people were kidnapped for ransom last year, according to Kroll Inc., a New York-based security company. "When I was young, it was safe to walk streets. Now, I won't let my children go out alone at night," said Irma Sanchez, 42, a maid. "If the criminals won't stop, I say we have to kill them." Many analysts and politicians, however, doubt that the Congress will overhaul the nation's capital punishment laws any time soon. Pollster Maria de las Heras said many people are displaying knee-jerk reactions to crime when they talk about putting criminals to death. "People are angry and desperate," she said, "so when you ask them if kidnappers should be killed, they say, 'Yes.' "But as soon as the first convict is taken to the electric chair and the first crying mother is shown on television, they will change their minds," she said. "Mexicans do not like violence." Other analysts say that with the country's justice system widely distrusted, any ruling that condemns a prisoner would provoke a public outcry. "While there are still reports of torture and forced confessions, it would be crazy for Mexican judges to hand out the irrevocable death penalty," said Rep. Eliana Garcia of the center-left Democratic Revolution Party. Garcia, like many on the Mexican left, blames economic conditions for the crime wave. More than half of Mexico's 104 million people live below the poverty line, existing on less than $10 a day, according to the World Bank. Opposition to the death penalty here also runs strong through the ranks of conservative politicians. President Vicente Fox, a devout Roman Catholic, has expressed fervent opposition to capital punishment. In May, he sent Congress a bill that would prevent military tribunals from sentencing defendants to death. Fox, of the right-of-center National Action Party, has also been outspoken in championing the cause of Mexicans on death row in the United States. In August 2002, the Mexican leader canceled a visit to President Bush's Crawford ranch after the Texas state government refused to spare the life of Mexican citizen Javier Suarez Medina. Suarez Medina was subsequently executed for the 1988 killing of a Dallas undercover police officer. After Suarez Medina was put to death, his body was returned to Piedras Negras, Mexico, where more than 3,000 people attended his funeral. However, pollster de las Heras said the popular opposition to the killing of Mexicans in the United States is fueled by nationalism rather than opposition to the death penalty. Some of the same people who condemn executions north of the border clamor for the death penalty here, she said. "When the victims are brought back from the United States, they are given a national hero's welcome," de las Heras said of the condemned convicts. "Mexicans cannot stand to see the gringos execute one of their countrymen." **** MEXICO'S VOW President Vicente Fox's administration has pledged to save the lives of Mexicans on U.S. death rows. ? 50: Number of condemned Mexicans in the United States. ? 16: Number of condemned Mexicans on Texas' death row. (source: Houston Chronicle)
