death penalty news October 7, 2004
WORLD: Death penalty slammed at Montreal conference Delegates to an international conference against the death penalty have been told that even Osama bin Laden should be protected from execution. Hundreds of activists from around the world are in Montreal for the four-day World Congress Against the Death Penalty. Several speakers say that executing terrorists would make them martyrs and that's what many of them live for. Amnesty International opposed the execution of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. Bud Welsh, who lost his daughter in the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995, is opposed to the death penalty. He testified at co-bomber Terry Nichols' sentencing hearing, trying to convince the state not to put Nichols to death. "Maybe it doesn't resonate with you so much until you've had a loss like that. Then you understand what killing is all about. That's why it really registered with me... it's vengeance. It's hate," Welsh says. Welsh says international political pressure could help his country abolish the death penalty. Conference organizers say they chose Montreal because Canada has rejected the death penalty while its neighbour, the United States, has not. Some Americans speaking at the conference say it's time for the US to change that. The head of Amnesty International, Ir?ne Khan, says that will be difficult in the atmosphere of heightened security in the wake of Sept. 11. "There is a risk that the death penalty could be used more frequently, or those who now have a moratorium in practice might go back to applying it," Khan says. The conference will conclude Saturday with a march through downtown Montreal. Info: Capital punishment More than 1,100 people were executed in 2003 around the world 84% of the deaths were carried out in four countries: the US, Iran, China and Vietnam 66 countries still apply the death penalty (source: CBC Montreal) ============================= JAPAN: Lawyers discuss death penalty, foreigners' human rights The Japan Federation of Bar Associations began its annual human rights meeting in Miyazaki, on Thursday, focusing mainly on the issue of capital punishment. The federation will adopt a declaration at the end of the two-day meeting to urge the government to suspend executions and disclose more information about them. Another focus of the meeting is on protecting the human rights of foreigners living in Japan. A resolution to be adopted Friday will seek to establish legislation to guarantee foreigners' voting rights in local elections and their right to ethnic and mother-tongue education, in addition to Japanese language education. (source: Japan Today) ----------------------------- Lawyers start discussion about death penalty The Japan Federation of Bar Associations started its annual human rights meeting in Miyazaki, southwestern Japan, on Thursday, focusing mainly on the issue of capital punishment. At a symposium, panelists from South Korea and Taiwan reported their countries are now seeking to abolish capital punishment, while a European Commission diplomat harshly criticized the secrecy surrounding the Japanese death penalty system. Recognizing that the human rights of death row inmates are not guaranteed in Japan and that executions are carried out in secret, the federation will adopt a declaration at the end of the two-day meeting to urge the government to suspend executions and disclose more information about them. It is the first time that the lawyers' group has brought up the issue of capital punishment at its human rights meeting. Cha Hyung Geun, a lawyer from South Korea, told the symposium that executions have been suspended for six years and nine months there but violent crimes have not increased. Hu Ching-shan, assistant professor at Tamkang University in Taiwan, said the number of executed inmates has been decreasing over the past five years and that senior government officials have clearly said they aim to terminate capital punishment soon so that their human rights protection system will meet international standards. Meanwhile, Michael Reiterer, deputy head of delegation of the European Commission in Japan, said he expects Tokyo to stop such practices as executing inmates in a cruel manner -- hanging -- without informing their lawyers or relatives. Japan's death penalty system has faced extensive international criticism because of the harsh treatment of death row inmates. They are detained in solitary confinement and their contact with the outside world is restricted. They are only given about one hour's notice of their execution, so they cannot see relatives beforehand or make final appeals. Public access, including by lawyers, to execution facilities is denied, and the government announces only the number of executed inmates, refusing even to disclose their names. Under such conditions, the federation proposed in November 2002 that the government should suspend executions until public debate on capital punishment reaches a consensus. The expected declaration will be in line with this proposal, according to the federation sources. ''We lawyers are still divided over the pros and cons of capital punishment, but at least we have a consensus that the Japanese death penalty system has many defects,'' said Kazuhiro Terai, a lawyer playing a key role in compiling the declaration draft. Given the death sentence against AUM Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara over the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system and other charges, as well as the speedy execution of Mamoru Takuma for the murder of eight schoolchildren, ''we are in a tough situation this year in discussing capital punishment,'' Terai said. ''But we have to be aware now that the world trend is toward abolition of the death penalty and our system is really problematic,'' he added. As of September 2004, 118 countries had abolished capital punishment wile 78 nations including Japan and the United States maintained it, according to the federation. In Japan, there are currently 62 inmates whose death sentences have been finalized. The federation has held a series of nationwide symposiums on capital punishment during the past half-year in nine cities in order to intensify public debate. The symposiums have found there are various views among the public on capital punishment that defy simple categorization into being for or against it. Some approve of terminating capital punishment if life imprisonment without parole is introduced, while others insist a life sentence is crueler than execution. Another focus of the human rights meeting is on protecting the human rights of foreigners living in Japan. A resolution to be adopted Friday will call for legislation to guarantee foreigners' voting rights in local elections and their right to ethnic and mother-tongue education in addition to Japanese-language education. It will also call for putting foreign workers under the protection of Japan's labor laws and allowing foreigners to assume public posts. (source: kazinform)
