Dec. 3
UZBEKISTAN:
Uzbek president opposes death penalty
Uzbek President Islam Karimov said he supports the abolition of the death
penalty in his country, but not just yet, Interfax news agency said
Thursday.
"We must abolish the death penalty as the capital punishment," the leader
of the former Soviet republic in Central Asia said during a break in a
parliament session on Thursday.
However, the public in Uzbekistan is not ready for this decision, Karimov
said. Public opinion polls show that the majority of citizens support the
death penalty, he said.
Uzbekistan faces a security challenge from Islamist extremists and Karimov
has sought to counter this by retaining close relations with Russia.
(source: United Press International)
CHINA:
China Hasn't Said If Monk Will Face Death Penalty
Relatives of a jailed Tibetan monk whose 2-year stay of execution expires
Thursday say they still havent been told if Tenzin Delek Rinpoche will
face the death penalty.
"We are really very worried about his fate. We don't know what will happen
to him. The authorities are not telling us anything," one relative told
RFAs Tibetan service.
Suspended death sentences are almost always commuted to long jail terms in
China, but Tenzin Delek Rinpoches family fears he may be singled out for
harsher treatment.
Tenzin Delek Rinpoche was sentenced to death with a 2-year suspension on
Dec. 2, 2002, in connection with a series of bombings blamed on supporters
of Tibetan independence.
Another man, Lobsang Dhondup, was simultaneously sentenced to death in the
same case and executed on Jan. 26, 2003. Both men denied the charges, and
the case prompted an international outcry.
Relatives said they have made inquiries to both the Kanze Prefecture
Intermediate Court and the Prefecture Public Security Bureau but been
rebuffed.
Repeated phone calls during business hours by RFA reporters to the same
government offices initially went unanswered. Later, officials who
declined to identify themselves said they were no longer handling the case
and had no information to share.
4 relatives who protested Tenzin Delek Rinpoches innocence when he was
sentenced 2 years ago have since been barred from traveling from their
home villages, sources said.
U.S. voices concern
On Nov. 19, a spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department voiced serious
concern about Tenzin Delek Rinpoches closed-door trial in 2002.
The United States has stressed "the need to provide clear and convincing
evidence of guilt in all capital cases and noted widespread international
concern over Tenzin Delek [Rinpoches] case," spokeswoman Darla Jordan told
Radio Free Asia (RFA).
"The United States has been following the case of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche
very closely since learning of his arrest in connection to several
bombings in Sichuan Province and Chinas imposition of the death sentence
in this case, she said.
The death sentences handed down to Tenzin Delek Rinpoche and Lobsang
Dhondup prompted an international outcry, and human rights organizations
called for an open re-trial of the case.
Washington "has repeatedly expressed serious concern to People's Republic
of China officials that Tenzin Delek was not accorded due process during
his closed trial and that, despite repeated assurances to the contrary by
Chinese officials, Tenzin Delek Rinpoches sentence was not reviewed by the
Supreme Peoples Court," the U.S. spokeswoman said.
"We have recently raised our concerns about Tenzin Delek Rinpoche's
situation here in Washington with the Chinese Embassy, in Beijing with the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and with authorities of Sichuan, where Tenzin
Delek is imprisoned," Jordan said.
"We have emphasized the need to provide clear and convincing evidence of
guilt in all capital cases and noted widespread international concern over
Tenzin Deleks case," she said. "No individual should be detained solely
for expressing personal views or engaging in other peaceful legitimate
activities."
"We consider him a political prisoner," said T. Kumar, Washington-based
director of Asia Advocacy at Amnesty International said last month.
"Amnesty International urges the Chinese authorities to stop all
executions, and in particular the execution of political prisoners such as
Tenzin Delek Rinpoche."
Smuggled audiotape
In its 2003 report on human rights around the world, the U.S. State
Department said the Chinese governments human rights record in Tibetan
areas of China "remained poor, although some positive developments
continued."
"The trials of both Lobsang Dhondup and Tenzin Delek Rinpoche were closed
to the public on 'state secrets grounds, and they were denied due process,
including access to adequate representation," the report.
"Lobsang Dhondup's execution the same day he lost his appeal to the
Sichuan Provincial Higher People's Court, as well as the failure of the
national-level Supreme People's Court to review the case as promised to
foreign officials, raised serious concerns in the international
community."
In January 2003, Tenzin Delek Rinpoche made an audio tape that was
smuggled out of prison to RFAs Tibetan service, in which he reiterated his
innocence.
(source: Phayul News)
SCOTLAND:
Calls to bring back death penalty for murder of policemen
The murder of PC Ian Broadhurst has increased calls from campaigners to
bring back the death penalty for killers of police officers on duty.
The film director Michael Winner, who is chairman of the Police Memorial
Trust, yesterday called for all officers to be armed to protect
themselves, and claimed there was a growing public consensus that the
death penalty should be reintroduced in such cases.
He said: "PC Broadhurst was a brave police officer just doing his job. He
was turning up for work without regard for the dangers."
Putting his case for the arming of PCs on the beat, he added: "Of the 36
officers we have memorials for, I think at least 30 would be alive if
armed. I think it is ridiculous. Police officers around the world are
armed."
Mr Winner founded the Police Memorial Trust in the wake of the death of PC
Yvonne Fletcher outside the Libyan embassy in 1984.
The parents of the last policeman slain in Scotland have vowed to help the
family of PC Broadhurst. PC Lewis Fulton, 28, was stabbed by teenager
Philip McFadden when trying to arrest him in Glasgow 9 years ago.
Yesterday, his mother Georgette, 63, from New Cumnock, offered to help PC
Broadhursts widow, Eilisa. She said: "The family will be devastated. Right
now this family will not believe that there is anyone else who has had to
endure similar grief - but there are families who have, and they can
help."
PC Fultons parents and his widow are setting up a support group for
families of other murdered officers.
McFadden, who was just 18 at the time of the attack, was jailed without
limit of time for the killing of PC Fulton.
The schizophrenic killed the father-of-one 7 months after he stopped
taking medication for the condition. Earlier this year, he was moved from
Carstairs State Hospital to minimum-security Leverndale Hospital.
In the past, Mrs Lewis has demanded that the death penalty be brought back
for all police killers. She said: "I believe in a life for a life, and we
should bring back hanging."
(source: The Scotsman)
PAKISTAN:
Death Sentences On Rise In Country
The number of prisoners awarded death sentence is rising to an alarming
stage in the country and as many as 468 convicts involved in different
cases in Adyala Jail have been sentenced to death, says president of
Global Foundation Ulfat Kazmi in his survey report here on Thursday.
He said that these prisoners have been captivated in 72 death cells and
6-8 prisoners are caged in one death cell due to lack of cells. The 32 new
constructed cells are lying vacant, he added. He maintained that 8 out of
these prisoners are facilitated into B class while 12 well-off prisoners
are admitted in jail hospital. He added that 12 detainees are waiting for
the decision of cases submitted to president for clemency after rejection
of their appeals in Supreme Court.
He informed that 69 prisoners have filed cases in SC while 387 have
approached to High Court against the decision of Session Courts. He,
however, said no prisoner was hanged by the end 2004.
(source: Pakistan News Service)
