Sept. 30
EUROPEAN UNION/KAZAKHSTAN:
EU hopes Kazakhstan will fully abolish death penalty
The European Union hopes that a moratorium on the death penalty that
Kazakhstan imposed on December 17, 2003 will lead to its absolute
abolishment, Dutch Ambassador to Kazakhstan Peter van Leeuwen said at a
press conference in Almaty on Wednesday.
The Netherlands is currently presiding in the European Union.
Director of the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule
of Law Yevgeny Zhovtis aired a similar opinion.
(source: Interfax)
INDONESIA:
Amnesty issues clemency appeal for Thai convicts in Indonesia
Rights watchdog Amnesty International has launched an 11th-hour appeal for
2 Thais convicted of drugs charges in Indonesia, facing imminent
execution.
Namson Sirilak, 32, and Saelow Prasert, 62, were due to be executed in the
next few days for possession of 12 kilograms of heroin despite repeated
international calls for Indonesia to abolish death penalty.
In a letter urging people to register objections with President Megawati
Sukarnoputri, who has rejected appeals for clemency from the Thais and 8
others at imminent risk of execution, Amnesty questioned the convictions.
"Amnesty International believes that their trials may not have been fair,
because they did not have access to legal representation before their
trial or to interpreters during the police investigation," the
London-based group said.
Namson and Saelow are being held in the city of Medan on Sumatra island,
where Indian national Ayodhya Prasad Chaubey, who was arrested alongside
the Thais in 1994, was executed last month.
His death by firing squad was the 1st execution in Indonesia since 2001.
Megawati is due to leave office next month after election defeat at the
hands of her former security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Her
government pledged to get tough on the growing problem of drug abuse in
Indonesia.
(source: Agence France Presse)
PAKISTAN:
Muridke black magic case: Death sentence for child murderers
In Lahore, an anti-terrorist court has sentenced 2 men to death for the
rape and murder of a 3-year-old girl.
Qaiser Mehmood and Shahban were disciples of black magician Imdad Hussain
in Muridke, the scene of a series of gruesome child murders this year all
connected to Hussain. He and another of his disciples, Hafiz Arshad, are
being tried for the murder of 3 children in Muridke. According to the
prosecution, Hussain instructed his disciple he needed the blood of three
children to become a black magician. Arshad then allegedly murdered
Tehmina Riaz, Ramzan and Tehsin at Daokay village.
A similarly gruesome murder shook Kasur in April, when Hanif Masih, a
black magician, reportedly told 2 clients, Muhammad Ramiz and Muhammad
Aziz, to bring him blood from the jugular vein of a 7-year-old girl who
had been raped. The 2 clients, butchers by trade, were to be revealed the
winning numbers of a prize bond draw that carried a Rs 50 million bounty
in return. The 2 butchers and the black magician were arrested and are
being tried for the rape and murder of Darakshan, 7. Apart from these
extreme examples, there are increasing reports of people being duped by
black magicians who claim to be able to foresee the outcome of lotteries
and arrange good matches for clients daughters and sons.
The naib nazim of Lahore, Farooq Amjad Mir, admitted that the district
government was unable to tackle the problem because no relevant law
existed.
(source: Daily Times)
