Oct. 20
BANGLADESH:
Fugitives get death penalty for killing Bangladesh independence heroes
3 Bangladeshis were sentenced to death in their absence Wednesday for
their part in the 1975 "Jail Killings" of 4 people seen as heroes of the
independence struggle.
12 others were jailed for life, 9 of them in their absence, and 5 were
acquitted.
"It is a great irony that those who played such a vital role in the
independence of Bangladesh came to be killed by citizens of an independent
Bangladesh," said Judge Matiur Rahman.
The country has been riveted by the highly politically sensitive case for
nearly 3 decades.
The 4 close associates of Bangladeshs 1st president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
were shot at close range inside Dhaka Central Jail before dawn on November
3, 1975.
The killings took place soon after Sheikh Mujib, who had led a bloody
struggle for independence from Pakistan in 1971, was assassinated in a
coup along with more than 20 members of his family.
Twenty-one politicians and army officers were charged in 1975 with the
jail murders but one has since died.
Of the 20 defendants still alive, 3 were in custody for their role in the
assassination of Sheikh Mujib and 5 were on bail. The remaining 12 are
believed to have fled the country and were tried in their absence.
The 5 who were on bail were all acquitted.
The verdict was postponed twice last month and all hearings have taken
place amid heavy security.
No action was taken for many years in the case but it was revived in 1996
when Sheikh Mujibs daughter Sheikh Hasina Wajed, leader of the Awami
League party, became prime minister.
Opponents have accused her of waging a vendetta against her late fathers
political opponents.
The assassination of Sheikh Mujib, who had tried to turn Bangladesh into a
one-party state, was followed by 15 years of political instability
punctuated by coups and episodes of martial law and military rule.
Although democracy was restored in 1990, politics has been dominated by
the rivalry between the leaders of the 2 main parties.
Prime Minister Khaled Zia, leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist party, is
the widow of military dictator General Zia Rahman who was assassinated in
1981.
(source: Khaleej Times)
NIGERIA:
Hajara Ibrahim's Family Appeals Against Death Sentence
Dissatisfied with the death sentence passed on Hajara Ibrahim by a Sharia
court in Lere, Tafawa Balewa local government area of Bauchi State for
being pregnant outside wedlock, the family of the convict has appealed
against the judgment at an upper Sharia court in Dass, praying the court
to upturn the lower court judgment.
The family held in the appeal that, Hajara has never married, hence she
cannot be said to have committed adultery to attract such a capital
punishment of death.
Hajara Ibrahim, an 18 year old lady now faces death by stoning, following
her conviction by a Sharia court, an offence contrary to section 130 of
the Sharia penal code as practised in Bauchi.
The convict is the fifth person so far convicted and condemned to death by
stoning, since the introduction of Shaira legal system in Bauchi two and
half year ago, and the second woman to be convicted.
Mallam Ibrahim Auta Liman, the adopted father while appealing the lower
Sharia court verdict explained that he gave out the convict in marriage to
someone in Lafia, Nasarawa State sometimes last year, but revealed that
the marriage was never consummated that as Hajara refused to accept the
man and absconded.
He explained that because of her refusal to accept the man, the marriage
became still born, and in his opinion he said, his daughter should not
have been convicted for adultery, but fornication, which carries lesser
punishment.
Hajara who now lives with her mother at Machien-Bello village 120
kilometer away from Bauchi State capital was in high spirit when Vanguard
visited the place, believing that God will vindicate her.
Although she withdrew to the inner compound on citing 'strange' visitors
she later came out on the invitation of her mother Adama.
Hajara told Vanguard that she was not happy with the judgment "because I
was the only one convicted. Dauda Sani who is responsible for my pregnancy
was set free by the court and I have never known any man except him".
(source: Vanguard)
VIETNAM:
Vietnam favours execution machine over squad
Vietnam's government has asked the police to consider abandoning firing
squads in favour of a mechanised gun to execute criminals because shaky
individuals can miss their target.
"Execution should be changed to automatic shooting, which has high
accuracy," Bui Duc Long, head of the Supreme Prosecution Institute's
execution inspection department, was quoted by the Ho Chi Minh City Law
newspaper on Wednesday as saying.
"The executioner will have to just push a button," Long, who is advising
the Police Ministry on changes in capital punishment, told the newspaper
in an interview.
Long did not describe the favoured machine, but said opinion was moving
away from switching to lethal injection as too painful for the condemned.
The government has cut the number of crimes punishable by death to 29 from
43, but says serious crimes such as murder, drugs trafficking or
corruption must be punished severely. Statistics on capital punishment are
a state secret.
But it has maintained execution by a 7-man firing squad despite criticism
by some human rights groups. 6 members of the squad fire rifles while the
captain fires a final shot to the head from a handgun.
The newspaper cited a police study as showing only 30 % of police firing
squads were volunteers, most of them were young and 7 % of them tremble
enough to miss the target.
(source: Reuters)
*************************
'Too nervous' for death penalty
Vietnam's communist government is exploring new ways to carry out death
sentences because nervous members of firing squads often miss their
target, state media said on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Phan Van Khai instructed the public security ministry last
week to examine other execution methods, including using poison or a
mechanised gun to eliminate human error, the Ho Chi Minh City Law
newspaper reported.
"Execution should be changed to automatic shooting, which has high
accuracy," Bui Duc Long, head of the judiciary's execution inspection
department, told the paper.
Long said the ministry favoured the use of the mechanised gun because 30%
of policemen selected to take part in firing squads missed the target
because of nerves.
"The executioner will have to just push a button because if we use poison
it takes time for it to work and it causes suffering to the condemned
prisoner," he said.
International human rights groups have long called on Vietnam to suspend
the death penalty.
At least 94 people have been sentenced to death this year in the communist
nation and 62 have been executed by firing squad, according to figures
compiled from state media and court officials.
(source: News.24)
