Oct. 8
EGYPT:
Egypt continues executions while use of death penalty decreases worldwide
As the world prepares to mark the International Day Against the Death
Penalty this Sunday, Egypt continues to carry out executions.
While the use of the death penalty is decreasing worldwide, it has
increased in Egypt over the past decade.
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE120172002?open&of=ENG-EGY.
Amnesty International has continued to urge the Egyptian Government to
commute all death sentences and put a moratorium on executions, with a
view to abolishing the death penalty in the future.
Crimes punishable by death in Egypt include offences under the so-called
"anti-terrorism" legislation, as well as premeditated murder, rape and
drug related offences. Over the past decade death sentences have been
pronounced for all these offences.
There is very little official data available on death sentences and
executions in Egypt. Between 1996 and 2001, Amnesty International recorded
382 death sentences. However, the organization believes the actual number
to be much higher than those it recorded.
The latest group to be executed were reportedly 6 members of Abdelhalim
family. They were reportedly hanged on 22 September in Qina Prison in
Qina, Upper Egypt, after being convicted of killing members of a rival
clan.
The killings took place in August 2002 when a group from Abdelhalim family
allegedly killed 22 people from al-Hanayshat family. The killings, in
Sohag, Upper Egypt, were branded by the local press as the "Beit Allam
massacre". The Sohag Criminal Court handed down the death sentences in May
2003 after it found 6 men guilty of murder. 10 other people received life
sentences in the same case for the illegal possession of weapons, some of
which were reportedly used in the killings. 3 others were acquitted.
The death sentences were later confirmed by the Court of Cassation. In
Egypt, the Public Prosecution has to submit every death sentence,
accompanied by a note of its opinion on the case, to the Court of
Cassation. Therefore, all death sentences passed by a criminal court can
only be appealed against by review or cassation before the Court of
Cassation. However, the grounds for appeal are limited and must be made on
points of law, rather than on the facts of the case. In the event that the
Court of Cassation turns down an appeal, the verdict is final and may not
be appealed against before another tribunal.
The execution on 22 September of the 6 members of the Abdelhalim family -
the latest execution known to Amnesty International - came days after
local activists met in a seminar, the first of its kind in Egypt, to
discuss prospects for abolishing the death penalty, or reducing its scope
and ensuring better safeguards for all suspects who might face it. The
seminar entitled "Death penalty: between retention, contraction and
abolition" was organized by the Egyptian human rights organization, the
Human Rights Association for the Assistance of Prisoners (HRAAP), as part
of a series of seminars under the title "Islam and human rights".
In a country like Egypt where capital punishment is frequently handed down
for a wide range of crimes, the seminar was an important step forward,
providing a forum for human rights activists, members of the judiciary and
legal experts, among others, to take a fresh look at the death penalty and
consider its possible abolition.
Participants of the seminar were generally agreed on the fact that the
death penalty is currently being applied too broadly in Egypt. On this
basis, they recommended a complete revision of Egyptian penal legislation,
with a view to restricting the scope of applicability of the death penalty
to "the most serious crimes", as required by the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Egypt is a State Party.
Several UN Commission on Human Rights resolutions have defined what these
should include. Many of the crimes punishable by death under Egyptian
legislation do not fall within that category.
An additional suggestion was made to introduce a moratorium on the death
penalty for two years, with the aim of assessing its efficacy as a
deterrent to crime. Participants equally noted the need for further
guarantees for fair trial for those sentenced to death by military courts,
which fall far short of international standards for fair trial.
While Amnesty International may not share all the views expressed by
participants in the seminar, the organization welcomes the debate on the
death penalty. The conclusions of the seminar mark a precedent in the
discussion on the death penalty in Egypt. They follow on from important
initiatives taken in March 2004 by NGOs in the Middle East and North
Africa at The First Civil Forum Parallel to the Arab Summit, held in
Lebanon. Participants at one of the Forums workshops unanimously agreed to
call on all Arab governments to abolish the death penalty, or abolish it
for political crimes at least. Both events mark a crucial step towards the
commitment of civil society activists in the region to abolish the death
penalty.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without
exception. It considers the death penalty a violation of the right to
life, as set out in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, and the most extreme form of cruel, inhuman or degrading
punishment. Further, the death penalty should not be imposed in cases
where there are doubts about the fairness of the trial. These rights and
guarantees are enshrined in international human rights treaties, including
the ICCPR, to which Egypt is a state party.
(source: Amnesty International)
PHILIPPINES:
High Court affirms death sentence for rape convict
The Supreme Court has reaffirmed the death sentence on a rape convict who
earlier questioned the tribunals previous ruling affirming his sentence
due to a lack of quorum.
In a 22-page ruling, the high court affirmed the death sentence on Gerry
H. Ebio for raping his daughter in Sorsogon in June 2000.
"[Ebio] is clutching at straws. He was convicted on the basis of the
evidence presented by the prosecution and not on his guilty plea," the
tribunal said.
The court did not rule on the constitutional question on the number of
justices required to constitute a quorum when the high court holds an en
banc session.
On Sept. 7, the tribunal recalled its October 2002 decision affirming
Ebios death sentence after he pointed out that only 7 of the 14 high court
justices signed the ruling affirming his conviction. The 7 other justices
were on leave at that time.
After re-deliberation, the Court said the Sorsogon Regional Trial Court
was correct in finding Ebio guilty beyond reasonable doubt and in
sentencing him to death.
(source: INQ7 News)
SAUDI ARABIA:
Court Drops Death Sentence for 3 Gang Members
In Jeddah, the Court of Cassation has dropped the death sentence for 3 men
accused of taking part in a series of armed robberies targeting a number
of local Saudi banks and replaced it with imprisonment, but upheld the
death sentence for a fourth suspect described as the leader of the
4-member gang. The four had earlier appealed the sentence.
The court ordered the revision of the death sentence imposed by an earlier
three-judge special judicial committee.
The four suspects are three Saudi nationals and a Pakistani. 2 Saudis and
the Pakistani had their death sentences dropped while the court upheld the
death sentence for the fourth, the Saudi gang leader, according to Okaz.
The group was wanted in connection with drug trafficking, prostitution and
blackmail. The suspects were arrested shortly after committing their last
two robberies in October last year.
The Court of Cassation took into consideration the young age of the three
men and the fact that they had no previous criminal record. Two of the
three are younger brothers of the gang leader and were said to have been
tempted into joining the gang.
A woman involved with the gang was sentenced to 5 years in prison.
A police investigation following the arrests revealed that the suspects
had been involved with a mother and her 19-year-old daughter. The mother
would invite various wealthy businessmen to her house to engage in sexual
acts with the daughter for money. The gang would then burst into the room
and claim to be the brothers of the 19-year-old woman and demand money to
spare his life.
In two cases the gang managed to take SR1 million from one man and
SR500,000 from another.
(source: Arab News)
