Oct. 1
CHINA:
News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty
International
China: School trips to watch death sentences
AI Index: ASA 17/049/2004 (Public) 1 October 2004
In a bizarre holiday celebration several hundred schoolchildren were taken
to watch 6 men being sentenced to death at a public sentencing rally,
according to a Chinese internet report.
"The Chinese government regularly 'celebrates' national holidays by
executing large numbers of criminals," said Ingrid Massage, Asia director
at Amnesty International. "This year, the Mid-Autumn Festival falls in the
same week as China's National Day on Friday 1 October and there has been a
surge of executions."
The schoolchildren were part of an audience of 2,500 people. Held in a
gymnasium in Changsha, capital of central Hunan province, the sentencing
rally was timed to coincide with the Mid-Autumn Festival on 27 September.
The six men were then taken to an execution ground and shot, according to
the report on the 'Tom' web portal.
Pictured wearing their school uniforms, the children are described as
elementary and middle school students, between the ages of six and
seventeen. They heard the details of the convicts' crimes read out in
public -- including murder, assault and kidnapping -- and then witnessed
the criminals being sentenced to death.
Taking children out of school to attend sentencing rallies appears to
contravene the Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by China in
1992. This states that education should be directed at the "development of
respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms".
The 6 men in Hunan are among at least 100 people executed in recent days
in China.
Both in law and practice, Chinas criminal justice system does not
currently offer fair trials under international legal standards. This is
particularly alarming in criminal cases where the death penalty is passed.
Confessions may be extorted through torture, access to lawyers is limited
and the appeal system is fractured and decentralised. Amnesty
International opposes the death penalty in all circumstances and is
calling on China to halt all executions immediately with a view to
abolishing the death penalty in law.
To see the 'Tom' report (in Chinese), go to:
http://amnesty-news.c.topica.com/maacHX6abasT4bb0havb/
Further information on human rights in China:
http://amnesty-news.c.topica.com/maacHX6abasT5bb0havb/
*****************************************************************
You may repost this message onto other sources provided the main text is
not altered in any way and both the header crediting Amnesty International
and this footer remain intact.
INDONESIA:
News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty
International
AI Index: ASA 21/046/2004 1 October 2004
Indonesia: Return of the execution
The execution of 2 Thai nationals last night raises real fears for eight
other people awaiting execution in Indonesia. The deaths of Saelow Prasert
and Namsong Sirilak means three people have now been executed in the last
two months.
"After a de facto three year moratorium this return to executions casts
another terrible shadow over human rights in Indonesia," said Ingrid
Massage, Asia director at Amnesty International.
Saelow Prasert, 62, and Namsong Sirilak, 32, were sentenced to death for
drug trafficking in 1994, along with a 62-year-old Indian man, Ayodha
Prasad Chabey. Chabey was executed in August 2004. Amnesty International
questioned the fairness of their trials after reports that their access to
lawyers and interpreters was limited.
The three were among a group of 11 people whose appeals for clemency were
turned down in June and July this year. A total of 54 people are believed
to be under sentence of death in Indonesia.
In a briefing released today, Amnesty International calls on Indonesia to
take immediate steps towards abolishing the death penalty by halting all
executions. It highlights the irreversible dangers of applying the death
penalty in Indonesia, where the judicial system is still in need of
reform.
Indonesia in the AI Report 2004:
http://amnesty-news.c.topica.com/maacH6Mabat7Wbb0havb/
*****************************************************************
You may repost this message onto other sources provided the main text is
not altered in any way and both the header crediting Amnesty International
and this footer remain intact.
(source for both: Amnesty International)
