Oct. 11
INDONESIA:
Student denies smuggling drugs
Doubts have been raised about allegations that a Gold Coast woman detained
in Bali tried to smuggle in a huge amount of cannabis from Australia.
Schapelle Leigh Corby, 27, of Tugun, faces the death penalty under
Indonesia's tough anti-drugs law after customs officers at Bali airport
found 4.2kg of cannabis in her luggage on Friday.
Ms Corby is being held at police headquarters in Bali capital Denpasar.
Ms Corby was detained after an X-ray scan of her luggage at the airport
revealed a package inside her bodyboard bag.
Customs officers opened the bag and found a plastic package containing
cannabis leaf and heads, police said.
Legal sources described the case as bizarre, saying most drug offences are
for smuggling drugs out of Indonesia, not in.
"It seems very strange. There was no real attempt to conceal the package,
it was just thrown loosely inside the bodyboard bag, and what's also
interesting is how she managed to pass through Australian airport security
undetected," a source said.
Ms Corby, who was "extremely upset", told her lawyer she was as shocked as
the customs officers who opened her bag, the source said.
"She said when they opened the bag, the smell of the marijuana hit her in
the face. She couldn't believe it.
"She said, 'Why would I do that? I've never touched drugs in my life',"
the source said.
Bali police anti-drugs squad director Bambang Sugiarto said police were
investigating the possibility she was part of an organised drug network.
If the investigation found she was part of a network of drug smugglers,
she could get the death penalty, he told AAP.
However, Ms Corby could also be charged with a lesser offence of importing
and possessing the drug, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in
prison and a one billion rupiah ($150,000) fine.
Ms Corby's travelling companions, a brother, 2 friends and a sister who is
understood to live in Bali, were just as shocked, the source said.
Her brother was questioned by police before being released on Friday.
The group, travelling on an Australian Airlines flight from Brisbane via
Sydney, were understood to have booked a two-week holiday in Bali,
including accommodation at a resort in the main tourist strip, Kuta.
Ms Corby could remain in custody for up to 60 days without being charged.
Michael Corby, from the Gold Coast, said his daughter could not have
packed drugs in her body board bag.
He said he saw Schapelle pack the bag and did not know how the package got
into her luggage or how it was not picked up at Australian airports.
"She's innocent, she's not a dope head," he said.
Ms Corby is being held in Polda prison - home to the Bali bombers - and
the charge carries the death penalty. She was stopped at the airport.
Narcotics agent Captain Made Wijana said Ms Corby had not been formally
interviewed and had made no admissions to police about the drugs.
The Australian Consulate-General in Bali said Ms Corby was receiving
consular assistance and had employed a local lawyer to represent her.
This is the 2nd Bali drug case involving an Australian in the past month.
Darwin resident Christopher Currall, 37, was arrested in Kuta last month
for trying to send pseudoephedrine, a key component in the manufacture of
methamphetamine, to Darwin.
(source: Herald Sun)
*******************
Capital punishment must be abolished
Few will dispute that drug abuse, if allowed to continue, poses a menace
to the welfare of society. Most agree that those who break the law on
drugs deserve harsh punishment. Those in possession of ecstasy pills, for
instance, have often been arrested and put in jail. Sometimes, drug
addicts, people who are really sick, both physically and mentally, have
faced the same fate.
The law on drugs is directed particularly against the producers,
distributors and sellers of drugs. This is also true of foreigners
visiting this country, when found guilty of drug trafficking.
The prevailing law stipulates, as far as I know, that any visitor to this
country found in possession of more than 12 kilograms of narcotics will
not only risk arrest, but could also face the death penalty.
I am intrigued by the question of why Indonesia still uses capital
punishment in sentencing drug traffickers, while many countries in Europe
have abolished the death penalty for criminal violations.
To be precise, I am in principle against capital punishment, as it is
against the spirit of the state philosophy Pancasila. At any rate, the law
allowing capital punishment should be revoked. Or the courts should show
more leniency in meting out sentences relating to drugs.
The president has the power and responsibility to commute a death sentence
to life imprisonment, especially when it concerns foreign nationals. They
should be expelled from the country instead of killing them by firing
squad in the name of justice. Do not we get rid of them this way, too?
This is a controversial issue that needs to be addressed by lawmakers.
Following three recent executions (one Indian, two Thai nationals), I was
deeply moved and experienced a sense of guilt, wondering why their lives
could not have been spared. Strangely enough, indeed, as if I had the
right to revolt against such an universal injustice.
GANDHI SUKARDI - Jakarta
(source: Letter to the Editor, Jakarta Post)
INDIA:
Call for removal of death penalty
The International Day Against the Death Penalty was observed today in a
function organised by the Peoples Rights Organisation, Manipur under the
aegis of Amnesty International, India at Hotel Imphal.
Altogether, 10 eminent persons of the state decorated the dias of the
Hotel Imphal conference hall.
Oganised with the slogan 'Live Live to Your Fullest' the international day
has been observed with the firm belief that crimes in this world cannot be
lessened by imposing death penalty to the culprit, said Munindro Waikhom,
CEO of the organisation.
Todays function was marked by prayers for peace in the state performed by
Meitei Maichous, a Christain priest, ISKCON disciples and Muslim Imams.
Earlier, the presidium members also released a banner for the occasion.
The presidium members who spoke on todays occasion also walked the
tightrope of supporting the motion against the death penalty and the
public demands for punishment for the culprits involved in the killing of
Thangjam Manorama.
Advocate A Jiten Singh, general secretary of the All Manipur Bar
Association talked on the laws governing the death penalty.
Vice-Chancellor of the Manipur University, Prof. Ng Bijoy highlighted that
118 countries in the world have abolished the death penalty either in
practise or in law.
Highlighting on the extrajudicial killings, Prof. Bijoy also criticised
the monitoring system to check on such killings. He also stated that
cautious tackling of specific cases is needed where the need of death
penalty could arise.
Opposition leader O Joy Singh and MPP president highlighted that 2750
death sentences were pronounced in last year alone. But the crimes and
criminals has never come down.
He also stated that death penalty is not a good sign of a human
civilization as it does not preserve human values and human progress.
Prof. Gangmumei Kamei, former law minister lamented on the killing spree
by the paramilitary forces in the state.
He said, the state is a symbol of imperfections of man and hence there are
police, army and the law to control the society.
Justice WA Shishak, chairperson said, capital punishment though still
relevent in the legal areas, efforts should be made to rule out the
corporal punishment.
Quoting Bible, he said only the God have the power to wreck vengeance for
sins done. So we should all leave the taking of lives to the hands of God,
he said.
Former member, Manipur Human Rights Commission, Yambem Laba stated that
death is the ultimate end of human beings and the need doesnt arise to
impose the death penalty.
Laba also criticize the death penalty imposed by both state and non-state
entities.
Thoudam Devendra, minister PWD and law stated that even great men like
Rabindranath Tagore had wished to live long as life permits.
Devendra also said that the need for integration of the mind, body and
spirit is needed so that we do not commit crimes against oneself and the
humanity.
Education minister Francis Ngajokpa stated that observation should be made
relevant to the state.
The death of the unborn and the uknowns should also be prevented. He also
criticised both the Army and the paramilitary forces for conducting
extra-judicial killings.
Shamjai Wangkhemcha, president AMWJU said that one needs to know the human
value and the preciousness of human life. The voice against the death
penalty should be advocated, he added.
(source: The Imphal Free Press)
GLOBAL:
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
AI Index: ACT 50/017/2004 (Public)---News Service No: 250
7 October 2004
Death Penalty: Speech by Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty
International, Second World Congress against the Death Penalty
"From goal to reality: Strategies to create a world without the death
penalty"
Amnesty International is proud to be here at this Conference as a member
of the World Coalition against the Death Penalty.
This Second World Congress against the Death Penalty offers a great
opportunity for all of us to reflect on our work, to exchange ideas and to
forge common strategies and working relationships.
As you know, abolition of the death penalty has been a hallmark of Amnesty
International's concerns from the time the organisation was created in
1961. In opposing it, Amnesty International members spoke out against what
was permissible under international law. For us, it was and is a matter of
human values, going beyond law.
We are proud to join organisations and people from around the world, of
different nationalities, faith, age and gender, in a common struggle to
end the death penalty globally. Just look at the diversity in this room.
The death penalty is the ultimate, irreversible denial of human rights,
because it contravenes the essence of human values. It is often applied in
a discriminatory manner, follows unfair trials, or is applied for
political reasons. It is not a unique deterrent against crime, and is an
irreversible error when there is miscarriage of justice.
In 1977, Amnesty International organised its first International
Conference on the Death Penalty in Stockholm bringing together 200
participants from five continents. That was the start of our public
campaign to abolish the death penalty. It was followed by a global survey
of capital punishment and a public campaign which culminated in 1980, with
an appeal to the UN which was signed by Nobel Laureates, prominent
personalities and ordinary people from over 100 countries.
Things have changed considerably since then. In 1977, when Amnesty
International organised its first International Conference on the Death
Penalty in Stockholm, only 16 countries had abolished the death penalty
for all crimes. Today, we face a very different situation -- 5 times that
figure, 80 countries, have now abolished the death penalty for all crimes,
15 countries have abolished it for all but exceptional crimes, and another
23 have the death penalty on their books but have not carried out
executions for the past 10 years or have made an international commitment
not to use the death penalty. Turkey is the most recent to join the ranks
of abolitionists.
As you know, there are now 4 abolitionist treaties, the Second Optional
Protocol to the ICCPR, the 2 European Protocols and the Protocol to the
American Convention on Human Rights to abolish the death penalty.
Abolition is winning but there is still a long way to get there. During
2003, at least 1146 persons were executed in 28 countries. At least 2756
persons were sentenced to death in 63 countries. These numbers reflect
only cases known to Amnesty International. The true figures are certainly
higher.
In 2003, 84 % of all known executions took place in China, Iran, USA and
Viet Nam.
A heightened concern for security and crime control continue to be drivers
for the death penalty in many countries of the world.
Earlier this year Afghanistan carried out its 1st execution since the
interim government in December 2001. Abdullah Shah, a military commander,
was executed in Kabul in on 19 April 2004. He had been convicted in
October 2002 on 20 counts of murder in special court proceedings which
fell far short of international fair trial standards. He had no defence
lawyer at his trial, the hearing was held in a closed court and the chief
judge in the initial trial was found to have accepted bribes.
Last year, I visited Kabul and in my meeting with President Karzai, I
urged him to maintain the moratorium. Earlier this year, his office had
assured us that the President would not approve any judicial executions
until the criminal justice system was reformed. After we issued a public
statement protesting against Abdullah Shah's execution, the government
publicly stated that all judicial executions would be suspended for the
time being.
In Iraq, one of the first acts of the interim government was to reinstate
the death penalty for murder, national security and drug trafficking. I
hope this does not bode ill for the future human rights record of the
country.
In Thailand, the government is using capital punishment as its principal
tool to fight what it calls the "drugs war". Human rights abuses committed
in the context of this crime control campaign, including the use of the
death penalty, are of great concern of Amnesty International and I took it
up with senior ministers of the Government during my visit to Thailand in
July this year.
The number of people on death row has reportedly tripled over the past two
years to nearly 1000 men and women, the majority of them sentenced for
drug offences. At the end of 2003, more than 60 men and women condemned to
death had exhausted all appeals and may be in imminent danger of
execution. The government has repeatedly made public announcements that it
will speed up executions of drug offenders as a "deterrent" against drugs
production and trafficking. Ironically, both are on the rise, possibly
proving what we have known elsewhere -- that the death penalty has never
been shown to deter crime more effectively than other punishment.
The "war on terror" and the revenge of callous criminal acts by terrorists
create the risk of a backlash, examples are the new law in Morocco, or the
military Commission at Guantanamo Bay.
This is not a time for complacency. Despite important gains for the past
four decades, there is still a long way to go to free the world from the
death penalty. And, as we speak among the "converted" here, the key
question is: how do we get there?
The global picture on the abolition of the death penalty is a mottled one,
showing great progress in many parts but also problems in others, and
within those, a range of different situations from total abolition to
frequent executions. To address this differentiated situation, we too must
adopt a differentiated campaigning strategy, varying according to regions
and countries.
At the regional level, Europe has become a force for world-wide abolition.
Promoting worldwide abolition of the death penalty is an official policy
of the European Union. In Europe and Central Asia, Belarus and Uzbekistan
are the only countries still carrying out executions. We must make Europe
a death penalty free zone.
Like Europe, Latin America also has a long abolitionist tradition and
should become a vigorous promoter of abolition elsewhere, particularly in
the Caribbean right on its doorstep.
In Africa, we should persuade the remaining retentionist countries to draw
from the experience of their abolitionist neighbours. The African Union
should be persuaded to take up the issue in the same way as the European
Union.
At the level of countries, if a country has abolished the death penalty
for ordinary crimes, then the task is to seek total abolition. If it is
abolitionist in practice, then the task is to abolish it in law. If a
country is still executing, the task is to stop executions and move on to
abolition in law.
For countries that have abolished the death penalty it is important that
they remain abolitionist. One way to ensure that is for them to ratify the
international treaties on abolition. Such action not only solidifies their
own position, it is also an act of international solidarity which
encourages others. I hope very much that the country where we hold this
conference today, Canada, which removed the death penalty from its books
years ago, will also soon ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the
ICCPR.
For countries that retain the death penalty, it is important to recognise
their different practices, and to target them accordingly. Of the 78
countries that retain the death penalty, some 17 countries regularly carry
out executions and they appear year after year in Amnesty International's
worldwide list of executions. Another 44 countries and territories execute
only sporadically. Twelve countries have not carried out executions for 10
years but do not have a policy suspending executions, and five countries
are currently observing moratoria on executions.
We should work to diminish the number of executions in all these
countries. We must campaign for the introduction of a moratorium on
executions where there is none and persuade those that have introduced
moratoria to move on to abolition in law. We can also seek to reduce
executions, for instance, by cutting down the types of crimes for which
people can be executed. One particular area for immediate action must be
the global abolition of the death penalty for juveniles, and as in so many
areas, the U.S. will be key here.
Experience has shown that the real force for change is from within a
country. This makes national abolitionist movements a critical factor.
They must be supported and encouraged to grow. As we heard from Michel
Taube this morning, the World Coalition against the Death Penalty offers
great potential for bringing together organizations operating at the
national level with those working internationally. The Coalition must be
strengthened so that it can fulfil this important task.
As an organisation with 74 national chapters, I know I speak on behalf of
Amnesty International members worldwide of our own commitment to work both
nationally and internationally to abolish the death penalty. Amnesty
experts from 21 countries working on the death penalty around the world
held a meeting yesterday -- and I know they are excited by the
opportunities and determined to confront the challenges that lie ahead in
our common struggle to abolish the death penalty.
The global abolition of the death penalty will not be an easy task -- no
one ever said it would. As recently as April 2004, 64 countries explicitly
dissociated themselves from a resolution favouring abolition in the UN
Human Rights Commission. Public opinion in many parts of the world still
feels that the death penalty is needed to deter crime or "terrorism". Some
believe that justice is served by execution, for others it is required by
religious laws. Some governments themselves are convinced along those
lines, others hide behind the excuse of lack of public support.
We must build greater public support for abolition. But we must also ask
governments to show leadership on this issue.
These are tough times for human rights and we must be determined in our
response to hold up the values in which we believe.
Human rights are for the best of us and the worst of us. Human rights are
for the guilty as much as the innocent. That is why the death penalty must
be abolished world-wide and we must use this Conference to set out clearly
the path to that goal.
****************************************
For more information please call Amnesty International's press office in
London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566 ---- Amnesty International, 1 Easton St.,
London WC1X 0DW. web: http://www.amnesty.org
For latest human rights news view http://news.amnesty.org
*******************************************************************
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE
AI Index: ACT 50/018/2004 (Public)
News Service No: 250 ---- 7 October 2004
World Day Against the Death Penalty: "War on Terror" is no justification
for executions
The "War on Terror" must not be used to justify reversing progress on the
abolition of the death penalty, Amnesty International said as more than 90
countries prepared to mark the World Day against the Death Penalty this
Sunday.
The warning came from the Secretary General of Amnesty International Irene
Khan in a speech to the Second World Congress against the Death Penalty in
Montreal this week, organised by the World Coalition against the Death
Penalty.
"The death penalty is the ultimate, irreversible denial of human rights,
because it contravenes the essence of human values. It is often applied in
a discriminatory manner, follows unfair trials, or is applied for
political reasons. It is not a unique deterrent against crime, and is an
irreversible error when there is miscarriage of justice," said Irene Khan.
Over half the countries of the world, 118, have now abolished the death
penalty in law or practice, Turkey being the latest. In Europe and Central
Asia, only Belarus and Uzbekistan are known to carry out executions while
all but 5 states (China, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran, Pakistan and
USA) have banned the execution of children. However, there have also been
setbacks.
In April this year, Afghanistan carried out its first execution since the
establishment of the interim government in December 2001 and in Iraq, one
of the 1st acts of the interim government was to reinstate the death
penalty for murder.
"A heightened concern for security and crime control continue to be
drivers for the death penalty in many countries of the world", said Irene
Khan. "Public opinion in many parts of the world still feels that the
death penalty is needed to deter crime or 'terrorism'. We must build
greater public support for abolition. But we must also ask governments to
show leadership on this issue".
"These are tough times for human rights and we must be determined in our
response to hold up the values in which we believe. Human rights are for
the best of us and the worst of us. Human rights are for the guilty as
much as the innocent. That is why the death penalty must be abolished
world-wide," said Irene Khan.
Background
A Lawyers Declaration Against the Implementation of the Death Penalty on
Child Offenders in the USA is being presented to the Second World Congress
by Amnesty International. The Declaration has been signed by 798 lawyers,
including almost 100 from the USA. It calls on the legislatures of US
states whose laws still allow the execution of child offenders to raise
the minimum age to 18.
During this World Day against the Death Penalty on 10 October, Amnesty
International sections around the world will promote two of the
organisations current campaigns: Stop Child Executions! and Towards a
Central Asia free from executions. Amnesty International members will hold
public events, distribute information packs and leaflets as well as
collect signatures from the public on specific appeals.
In 1977, when Amnesty International organised its first International
Conference on the Death Penalty in Stockholm, only 16 countries had
abolished the death penalty for all crimes. Today, 5 times that figure, 80
countries have now abolished the death penalty for all crimes, 15
countries have abolished it for all but exceptional crimes, and another 23
have retain the death penalty in law but have not carried out executions
for the past 10 years or have made an international commitment not to use
the death penalty.
International standards prohibit the execution of child offenders --
people who were under 18 years old at the time of the crime. These
standards include the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the American Convention
on Human Rights and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the
Child. This prohibition is now so widely accepted as to constitute a
principle of customary international law. The relevant standards are
respected by the overwhelming majority of the 80 countries which still
retain and use the death penalty.
The World Coalition against the Death Penalty was founded in 2002 and is
composed of human rights and legal organizations in the field of human
rights, and local authorities who have joined forces to abolish the death
penalty around the world. The Coalition's objectives are to stimulate
public debate and strengthen opposition to the death penalty; apply
pressure on retentionist states to cease executions and abolish the death
penalty; establish contacts with other local organizations and affiliate
them to the World Coalition; and to promote events at the global level,
such as the World Day.
For a copy of the speech by the Secretary General of Amnesty International
Irene Khan to the Second World Congress against the Death Penalty please
see: http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engact500172004
(source: Amnesty International)
**********************
Deneuve a death penalty activist
Legendary French actress Catherine Deneuve was in Montreal in a new role:
acting as a spokeswoman in favour of abolishing the death penalty, a cause
close to her heart.
Bianca Jagger, a rights activist and former wife of rocker Mick Jagger;
Irish former president and ex-UN rights official Mary Robinson; and former
world rally champ Ari Vatanen of Finland were among other personalities
joining Deneuve at the 2nd world congress against the death penalty.
"It is something that appalls me," Deneuve told reporters.
"I think that a for a human being to deem that the only way to punish
someone for a crime he has committed, whatever it may be, is to take his
life, is a sign of terrible weakness for civilised beings," she said.
"I am a pessimist by nature, but I am optimistic about this cause," the
actress said.
The Montreal meeting culminated with a mass rally against capital
punishment on Sunday with some 3500 activists dressed in mourning black.
The protest is meant to symbolise the number of people currently waiting
in "death row" prisons around the US, according to organisers.
(source: The Australian)
