Dec. 19
SAUDI ARABIA----executions
Saudi Arabia executes Iraqi smugglers
Saudi Arabia Sunday beheaded 2 Iraqis who had been convicted of smuggling
drugs into the kingdom.
The Saudi interior ministry said in a statement Mohammad bin Ali al-Slami
and Faisal bin Karim al-Shiblawi were beheaded by a sword.
The statement the 2 men had been convicted of smuggling large amounts of
hashish and were sentenced to death in accordance with the kingdom's laws,
which applies Islamic sharia religious rules.
Sunday's executions brought to 30 the number of people executed this year.
Last year, 52 people were beheaded in Saudi Arabia.
(source: United Press International)
INDIA:
Convict demands execution date, goes on hunger strike
A convict in Jalpaiguri, sentenced to death for murder of a minor boy, is
on a hunger strike demanding his hanging date be fixed soon to save him
mental trauma.
Sagar Saha, a 32-year-old convict, had kidnapped the boy from his village
and hacked him to death after 2 days. His wife and mother-in-law, who
helped him commit the crime, were sentenced to life imprisonment.
Police said Saha began the hunger strike 2 days back and had to be shifted
to the hospital as his condition deteriorated.
"Yesterday evening at about 7.30 p.m. we shifted him from Jalpaiguri
correctional home to our prisoners cell. We have assisted him clinically
also and today we have constituted a medical board comprising physicians,
psychiatrists and our social welfare officer of this department. They have
assisted him though he is clinically more or less stable, all parameters
are fine," said S. Chakraborty, Superintendent of Jalpaiguri jail.
(source: ANI)
BANGLADESH:
5 to die in murder case
5 young men were today awarded death penalties, 4 in absentia, and 8
others given life imprisonment for murdering 3 siblings at Kazipara in
Hathazari upazila 18 months ago. Kazi Mobarak Hossain, upazila JCD
joint-secretary, was handed down the death penalty in a crowded courtroom.
His associates Mohammad Osman, Mainuddin alias Betta, Imamuddin alias
Mujib and Mohammad Lokman were awarded death sentences in absentia. They
were found guilty of shooting down three siblings and Jubo League
activists Abul Kashem, Abul Bashar and Badshah Alam over land dispute. The
prosecution said the convicts on May 26, 2003 went to the house of three
brothers at Kazipara for resolving a land dispute. At one stage, they shot
down Abul Kashem. As his 2 brothers tried to resist the gunmen they were
also shot dead.
(source: The Financial Express)
(in) ENGLAND:
Prince works for end to Muslim death law
Britain's Prince Charles was leading efforts Saturday to end the death
penalty for Muslims who convert to other faiths, the Telegraph reported.
Charles held a summit with Christian and Muslim leaders at Clarence House
to discuss an Islamic law that mandates persecution and even executions of
those who convert from the religion.
The summit followed reports of poor treatment for Muslims who have
converted to Christianity in a number of Islamic states.
(source: United Press International)
INDONESIA:
Convicted Murderers Execution Imminent
Police in South Sumatra province have formed a 14-member firing squad to
execute convicted murderer Jurit bin Abdullah, but the date of his
execution remains a secret.
Jurit (38) was in 1997 sentenced to death by Sekayu District Court for 2
murders. His 1st clemency appeal was rejected in February 2003. The
Supreme Court recently rejected his final plea for a judicial review.
"We have received word from the National Police chief to carry out the
execution, but we don't yet know the date or location," chief of the South
Sumatra Mobile Brigade (Brimob) Police, Sukamso, was quoted as saying
Saturday (18/12/04) by detikcom online news portal.
Under Indonesian law, police conduct executions in secret in isolated
locations. Several of the weapons used contain blanks so the officers will
not know who fired the fatal shots.
Sukamso said a team of 14 Brimob officers has been training over the past
month for the execution of Jurit.
According to information from the Sekayu Attorney Generals Office, the
execution will take place in the Sukajadi region of Banyuasin district,
detikcom reported.
Authorities earlier this year executed 3 foreigners for smuggling 12.29
kilograms of heroin into the country.
Indian national citizen Ayodhya Prasad Chaubey was executed at a golf
course on the outskirts of Medan, North Sumatra, on August 5. His two
accomplices, Thai citizens Saelow Praseart and Namsong Sirilak, were
executed on October 1.
There are now about 45 people on death row in Indonesia, including 3
militants convicted over the October 12, 2002, Bali nightclub bombings
that killed 202 people.
Only a few official executions have been carried out in Indonesia since
1995, mainly due to international pressure.
Rights groups argue that Indonesia, as a member of the United Nations,
should comply with the world organization's opposition to the death
penalty for drug-related crimes.
Most of the 30 people now on death row in Indonesia for drug offenses are
foreigners, including several Africans.
Critics complain that Indonesia's notoriously corrupt courts have failed
to mete out similar harsh justice to members of the security forces
allegedly involved in narcotics trafficking. There are also complaints
that children of powerful military officers and politicians are rarely
punished, let alone put to death, for drug offenses.
Indonesia is among 90 countries that impose the death penalty, but data
from Amnesty International shows that most of the world's executions are
carried out by only a handful of countries: China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and
the US.
Capital offenses in Indonesia include: terrorism, crimes against national
security, subversion, assassination of senior state officials, murder,
theft resulting in murder, gross human rights violations, maritime piracy
and drug offenses.
Prisoners sentenced to death by civilian or military courts have the right
to appeal to a higher court and then the Supreme Court. A request for
presidential clemency can be made immediately after the initial sentence,
but is usually made only if courts of appeal uphold the death sentence.
(source: Laksamana.Net)
