IRAN:
URGENT ACTION APPEAL UPDATE
----------------------------------
28 January 2005
Further Information on EXTRA 44/03 issued 25
September 2003 and re-issued 23 October 2003,
and 2 August 2004 - Fear of imminent execution
IRAN Afsaneh Norouzi (f), aged 35
On 26 January 2005, Afsaneh Norouzi was reportedly
released from detention. She had been sentenced to
death after allegedly killing a senior police official,
Behzad Mozaffar Moqaddam, in 1997.
On 28 July 2004, Branch 26 of the Supreme Court
reportedly overturned the death sentence (qesas, or
retribution), following consideration of a five-person
report which concluded that she had acted in self-
defense. The Supreme Court also reportedly found
'flaws in the investigation' into his death (naqs-e
tahqiqat). Accordingly, the case was returned to
Branch 101 of the Kish Criminal Court, on the island
of Kish, southern Iran, where it was heard on 20
December 2004. The Kish Criminal Court found that
Afsaneh Norouzi acted in self-defense and acquitted
her of murder.
Afsaneh Norouzi, a mother of three, was convicted of
the murder around three years ago. She reportedly
maintained that she acted in self-defense in order to
protect herself from being raped. She was initially
tried before Branch 1 of the General Court in Kish and
sentenced to death. In August 2003, the sentence
was reportedly initially upheld by Branch 26 of Iran's
Supreme Court, which apparently later amended its
decision in light of the five-person report.
The compensation (diye) paid to the family of the
police official was considerably larger than that
normally allocated. According to a 26 January 2005
report compiled by the Prague-based radio station,
Radio Farda, the provincial Office for Compensation
(Setad-e Diyat-e Ostan) in Kish has taken
responsibility (dar nezar gereftan) for the payment of
the compensation, which would normally be paid by
the person convicted of the man's murder and their
family. As Afsaneh Norouzi was acquitted of the
murder of the police official, and in the absence of any
law relating to manslaughter, the State will pay the
compensation
Afsaneh Norouzi's lawyer, Abdolsamad
Khorramshahi, reportedly commented that his client
never sought mercy because she believed she had
justly defended herself. A judiciary official,
Mohammad Javad Yavari, allegedly said the death
sentence cannot be brought against Afsaneh Norouzi
again for this offence.
No further action is requested from the Urgent
Action Network. Many thanks to all those who
sent appeals.
Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
PO Box 1270
Nederland CO 80466-1270
Email: [email protected]
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: 303 258 1170
Fax: 303 258 7881
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END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
----------------------------------
BRITAIN:
On This Day--1953: Derek Bentley hanged for murder
Teenager Derek Bentley has been executed at Wandsworth Prison in London
for his part in the murder of Pc Sidney Miles.
The 19-year-old was hanged at 0900 hours after last-minute appeals for
clemency were rejected.
Bentley was sentenced to death on 11 December for killing Pc Miles during
a bungled break-in at a warehouse in Croydon, Surrey.
The court was told his co-defendant, Christopher Craig, fired the fatal
shot but because he was still a juvenile in the eyes of the law he escaped
the death sentence and was ordered to be detained at Her Majesty's
pleasure.
Bentley must not die
A large crowd began gathering outside Wandsworth jail from early this
morning. Some sang the hymn Abide With Me and the 23rd Psalm.
Others began booing when a prison warder came out carrying a glass-covered
board containing the execution notice.
Bentley's sentence was sealed last night when the Home Secretary, Sir
David Maxwell Fyfe, said he could not see any reason for intervening in
the case.
A deputation of MPs had earlier gone to see the home secretary with a
petition, said to have been signed by about 200 members.
They urged him to ask the Queen to exercise her royal prerogative of
mercy.
They pointed out Craig was the ringleader of the 2 and that Bentley's
mental age was probably younger than his partner - a fact that had not
been disclosed to the jury.
They also claimed big public support for a reprieve.
But the home secretary said he could see no grounds for modifying the
sentence. Earlier, he had written to Bentley's parents saying the same
thing.
A crowd of up to 300 gathered outside the Houses of Parliament last night,
chanting "Bentley must not die!" The demonstrators marched to the Home
Office and later to Downing Street.
The crowd eventually dispersed in the early hours of this morning after
handing in a petition at Deputy Prime Minister Anthony Eden's home.
Bentley's execution comes just 3 months after the warehouse break-in in
Croydon in which Pc Miles died.
Bentley was convicted on the basis of police evidence. Three officers told
the court they had heard him encourage Craig to shoot by shouting "Let him
have it".
Bentley's defence claimed he was already under arrest at the time the
shots were fired and was simply urging Craig to give up his gun.
*******************
Derek Bentley's family began a campaign to clear his name.
His sister, Iris, claimed her brother had learning difficulties and had a
mental age of an 11-year-old and was also an epileptic, unable to read or
write.
For years she kept his case in the public eye, writing letters to
politicians, giving interviews and talks and writing a book.
In 1991 a film Let Him Have It was made of Bentley's story highlighting
the injustice of the case.
Eventually, in 1993 the then Home Secretary Michael Howard granted Bentley
a partial pardon, saying it was clear he should never have been hanged but
he remained guilty of taking part in the murder.
In 1998 the Appeal Court quashed Bentley's conviction on the grounds the
original trial judge was biased against the defendants and misdirected the
jury on points of law.
Scientific evidence also showed the 3 police officers who testified about
Bentley shouting "Let him have it" had lied under oath.
Iris Bentley died in 1997 before the case was referred back to the Appeal
Court.
Craig served 10 years before being released.
(source: BBC News)
CHINA/CANADA:
Couple flees to B.C. after $30 million swindle in China
Like others before them, Deng Bowen and Zhang Xiuzhi planned their escape
to Canada even as they schemed to rip off their friends and business
associates in China.
Last December 8, the couple from the Chinese province of Hunan
disappeared.
They join a growing number of Asian fugitives seeking refuge behind a soft
Canadian system which allows them to wage long drawn out court battles to
avoid deportation.
Today Deng and his wife, who are said to have conned investors of more
than 200 million yuan (about C$30 million) are in Canada after sending
their loot abroad through secret channels.
Sources in the Lower Mainlands Chinese community told The Asian Pacific
Post that the couple have bought property in Vancouver and are believed to
be in B.C.
The Guangzhou-based New Express in exposing the scam reported their flight
to Canada.
The paper said Deng and his wife Zhang, both in their 40s, started the
scam in April 2002. They circulated a fabricated picture of a Chinese
state leader posing with a woman they claimed was their godmother.
The pair said the woman could get quotas for scarce cigarettes from the
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation which could be
sold to tobacco sales firms in Guangdong, the paper reported.
The couple claimed long-term cigarette supply contracts had been signed
with those tobacco sales firms and investors could buy the quotas and cash
in with monthly returns of 8 % or more.
The newspaper said the couple lured many people from Zhuhai, Beijing,
Macau and Taiyuan , Shanxi province to pour money into the scheme and
enjoyed a good initial reputation in Zhuhai by returning some principal
money and profit to investors.
The "godmother" in the picture, later said she was not related to the
couple and was a victim of the scheme.
With the money earned from the scheme, the couple set up a mortgage firm,
a pawnbrokers firm and an investment company.
Chinas Public Security Bureau is reportedly investigating the scam after
stating that tobacco quota trading scheme was a fabrication.
Among those conned were Macau businessman Jiang Linshan who had reportedly
lost more than 46 million yuan (C$6.7 million) and Zhuhai businessman
Zhuang Zhihao who lost about 30 million yuan (C$4.4 million).
Of the 26 victims identified so far - mostly businessmen but also
including workers and retirees - who joined the scheme, seven said they
lost more than 10 million yuan (C$1.4 million).
Victims from other places in China have also continued to report losses to
the Zhuhai Public Security Bureau since the case was revealed.
According to China Daily, Wang Jinglun, the owner of a Macau food trading
company who pumped some three million yuan into the scheme was shocked to
learn that the couple had fled to Canada.
The paper said the couple had opened a pawn shop within a month, a
business for which it is hard to get a licence for ordinary business
people in Zhuhai.
The couple allegedly obtained extra quotas of tobacco, which is a State
monopoly in China, from their alleged adoptive mother and then distributed
it to other places through their company.
Deng and Zhang collected money from private sectors at a high interest
rate to expand their booming tobacco business. By using one lenders money
to pay another and paying interests from profit made from their tobacco
business, the snowball kept growing.
But the link was broken when their privilege in the tobacco business was
prohibited in early 2004 for unknown reasons and they failed to get enough
working capital, Wang told China Daily.
Wang claimed that last July, Deng and Zhang had deceived him about
planning a big power plant in Hunan Province, which needed an investment
of 10 billion yuan (C$1.4 billion).
Wang then loaned them nearly 10 million yuan (C$1.4 million).
"I trusted them because they had prepared government confidential
documents," said Wang. "Even now, I couldnt figure out if their plan was a
fraud and how could they make fake documents so real."
The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post in an opinion piece said its
never been easier to be a con artist in China.
"As long as one says the magic words - claiming to be the son or daughter
of a senior mainland official - businessmen and local officials will line
up to offer money to curry favour, no matter how whimsical the
fabrication.
"The beauty of the scam is that it is very difficult to verify such
claims. Contact details for the offices of top mainland leaders are state
secrets, as is information about their family members," the paper said,
calling for more transparency in Beijing to scare away con artists and
help safeguard the reputations of senior officials.
The use of family members of top Chinese officials as a shield against
prosecution and leverage to attract victims is a well documented phenomena
in China.
Among the biggest cases involves alleged smuggling kingpin Lai Changxing
who now lives in a Burnaby condo fighting deportation. He is said to have
used so-called Chinese "princelings" to help him avoid detection.
The Chinese authorities have alleged that Lai was the mastermind behind a
massive smuggling case in southern Xiamen city, Fujian province, which
involved goods worth billions of dollars.
Eight people have been executed for their roles in the racket.
Lai fled to Vancouver with his wife and 3 children in 1999 where he has
claimed refugee status.
A desperate and frustrated China has promised not to give Lai the death
penalty should he be returned.
Another case involved a trio of Chinese bankers who fled to B.C. after
helping embezzle US$485 million in the Bank of China scandal that damaged
the communist nations banking system.
The Asian Pacific Post in February 2000 reported that the three had
entered Canada via Vancouver using false identities.
The trio had deposited large amounts of cash into accounts at the Royal
Bank Canada branch on Ackroyd Road in Richmond and the Vancouver area
branches of the Hongkong Shanghai Banking Corporation and the Canadian
Imperial Bank of Commerce.
Asian organized crime investigators tracking the three spotted them at a
house in Richmond which was once used as a marijuana grow operation and
later had information that they fled to Las Vegas and California.
One of them, Yu Zhendong, 41, was handed over to Chinese authorities in
Beijing last year after pleading guilty to racketeering charges in a court
in Las Vegas.
It was on condition that he not be tortured or put to death.
The handover of Yu was highly unusual for the U.S. and China, which have
no extradition treaty but are trying to improve co-operation between their
law-enforcement agencies.
According to the Supreme Peoples Procuratorate in China, Yu is one of over
500 fugitive corrupt officials whom it has brought back from overseas
since 2003.
Another high-profile fugitive in B.C. is Thailands most wanted man Rakesh
Saxena who now lives in Richmond.
Saxena, arrested in 1996 in Whistler is charged in Thailand with
embezzling C$88 million from the Bangkok Bank of Commerce, which led to a
1996 run on the banks deposits, causing its collapse and the Asian
financial crisis.
He lives in a unique court-approved self-financed home prison while
working his way through the Canadian court system.
This month in Bangkok, Saxenas former boss Krirkiat Jalichandra was found
guilty of embezzling millions of baht from the now defunct bank.
Government attorney Trakul Winitnaiphak told Thai media, that he was now
working to gain the full ruling on Krirkriats case to send to attorneys in
Canada, in an attempt to win Saxenas extradition.
Also residing in Richmond with their children is a fugitive couple from
the Philippines - Faustino Chingkoe and Gloria Eng Eng Chingko.
They are wanted by Manila authorities for a multi-billion peso tax scam.
The Chingkoes have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars buying up real
estate in Richmond since they moved into Canada.
(source: The Asian Pacific Post)
************************
Jailed Monk's Family Insist on His Innocence
Relatives of a jailed Tibetan monk whose death sentence was commuted this
week insisted Thursday that Tenzin Delek Rinpoche is innocent and called
for more international pressure on Beijing to release him.
"We have never accepted that [Tenzin Delek] Rinpoche is guilty," said one
relative in the Kham region of Sichuan Province, a traditionally Tibetan
area that now falls under the administration of Sichuan Province in
southwestern China.
"He has been in prison for 2 years and no one has been allowed to see him.
We cannot accept such a decision. If they found him guilty, they need to
provide evidence," the relative said. "We are extremely disappointed. We
would like to appeal to all organizations and nations to continue their
support and campaign for Rinpoche's release."
Another relative, also in Sichuan, said she hadn't received any word of
his fate either.
"I didn't hear anything. In the last two years, not a single person from
our side has been allowed to see our lama," she said. "We also don't know
where he is detained. Even this time we were not informed about the
decision. Nobody knew and everything is quiet here."
"My wish and hope is to see him. We did ask the local Chinese officials
but they claimed that they didn't know anything. They assured us they will
inform us if any decision was made," she said.
Both relatives asked not to be named.
"We are really worried, and we have many concerns to express but there is
no way to express anything. It is well known that our Lama is innocent. He
committed no crime," she said. "We know America and other nations
supported him in the past. We are very thankful and please support for his
release. There is not even single person with him to help."
On Jan. 26, the Sichuan Province high court announced that Tenzin Delek
Rinpoche would be spared the death penalty but spend the rest of his life
in prison. Tenzin Delek Rinpoche's conviction and sentencing in connection
with a series of bombings in Sichuan prompted an international outcry.
The official Xinhua news agency said the court had commuted the sentence
because Tenzin Delek Rinpoche obeyed unspecified legal conditions during a
two-year reprieve.
In January 2003, Tenzin Delek Rinpoche made an audio tape that was
smuggled out of prison to RFA's Tibetan service, in which he reiterated
his innocence.
Another man, Lobsang Dhondup, was simultaneously sentenced to death in the
same case and executed on Jan. 26, 2003.
In its 2003 report on human rights around the world, the U.S. State
Department said the Chinese government's 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 said.
"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."
(source: Phayul News)
INDONESIA:
Student goes on trial for smuggling drugs to Bali
An Australian student accused of smuggling a large bag of cannabis into
Indonesia's Bali resort island went on trial yesterday on charges for
which she could face the death penalty.
Schapelle Leigh Corby, 27, was arrested at the island's main airport in
Denpasar last October after police said she was found with 4.2kg of the
drug concealed inside a surfer's bodyboard bag.
Authorities have said it was the largest quantity of cannabis ever seized
being taken into Bali.
The beauty therapy student from the Gold Coast in Australia's Queensland
state, who appeared in court has maintained her innocence.
Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has said his country will
appeal for clemency if Corby receives a death sentence.
Prosecutor Ida Bagus Wismantanu told the court that customs officers found
the drugs shortly after Corby arrived at the airport from Sydney.
When questioned, she insisted she was carrying a bag of dried flowers.
Corby's legal team said the Australian woman was unlikely to have
transported narcotics to Indonesia, where they can already be bought at
much lower prices.
"I'm sure my client is not guilty, it is absurd to carry marijuana from
Sydney to Bali, the price is more expensive in Sydney," said lawyer Erwin
Siregar.
Lili Lubis, another member of Corby's legal team, said customs officials
had failed to wear gloves when examining the bag, leaving it covered with
fingerprints. "This is strange," she said.
(source: The (Gulf) Daily News)
****************
Ba'asyir, lawyers storm out of court
Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, who is being tried on charges of involvement in acts
of terror, and his lawyers walked out of the courtroom on Wednesday in
protest against the judges' decision to allow the prosecution to read out
the sworn statements of 4 witnesses in their absence.
The lawyers rejected the prosecutors reading out witnesses' statements in
the case files that identified Ba'asyir as the leader of the regional
Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) terror group.
The 4 witnesses were Wan Min Wan Mat, Ahmad Faisal and Ahmad Saefullah
Ibrahim, all being detained in Malaysia, and Fariz Abubakar Bafana who is
currently imprisoned in Singapore. They have been charged under the
Internal Security Act for alleged involvement in JI.
"With due respect, we are leaving this room until the reading is over,"
Muhammad Assegaf, chief counsel for the 66-year-old cleric, told the
judges.
Seconds later, Ba'asyir also walked out. "I cannot stay here without my
lawyers. I have to leave the hearing too."
Assegaf said the judges' decision contravened Article 162 of the Criminal
Law Procedures Code (KUHAP), which allows for the reading out of a
witness' disposition only under three circumstances.
"First, if the witness dies. Second, if he or she cannot attend due to
legal obstacles or because of long distance, and 3rd, for other reasons
related to the state's interests," he told the court.
Chief prosecutor Salman Maryadi challenged the argument, saying his office
was trying Ba'asyir under Article 27 of Law No. 15/2003 on terrorism.
"Remember that this case is being tried under the Antiterrorism Law, a lex
specialis (specific law) which regulates matters that are not covered by
KUHAP," he said.
Salman said that Article 27 stipulates that information given verbally
could be used in terror trials, so that the results of investigations
conducted in Malaysia and Singapore could be presented to the court.
Presiding judge Soedarto accepted the prosecution's argument and
instructed that the readings proceed, even without the presence of the
lawyers.
Four prosecutors took turns reading the interrogation files of the 4
witnesses, in which they admitted to having met with Ba'asyir at the
Hudaibiah camp in the southern Philippines, allegedly set up by JI.
Earlier, Mubarok alias Hutomo Pamungkas, one of the convicted Bali
bombers, appear at Thursday's trial but refused to testify, arguing that
he had told all that he knew to police during his interrogation.
"I don't want to testify. All that I said is in the case file," Mubarok
said.
Ba'asyir stands accused of being involved in the Bali nightclub bombings
in 2002 and the JW Marriott Hotel attack in 2003. He could face the death
penalty if convicted.
(source: Jakarta Post)
SOUTH AFRICA:
Immigrant N1 murderers get life sentences
"My husband got the death penalty and they got life. I would like to see
the return of the death penalty."
This was the reaction of Desrae Cheary to the life imprisonment sentence
imposed by the Johannesburg High Court yesterday on 2 illegal Mozambican
immigrants convicted of killing her husband.
On Wednesday, Judge Kathy Satchwell convicted Isaac Lubisi (28) and
Domingo Kumbana (29) on eight charges each, 2 of murder, 2 of aggravated
robbery and 4 firearms charges.
Lubisi and Kumbana preyed on motorists whose cars had broken down on the
N1 highway near the Hans Strijdom off-ramp in Randburg in November 2003.
They robbed them and shot them execution-style.
Their 1st victim was Ramesh Maharaj. 3 weeks later, a similar fate befell
Mohammed Riaz Essop. The murderers were arrested in early December of that
year.
Before sentencing, the 2 pleaded with the court to show mercy by imposing
a lenient sentence and giving them a 2nd chance. But this provoked the ire
of Judge Satchwell, who said they had not shown mercy to Maharaj and Essop
when they killed them in cold blood.
The court found no mitigating factors that warranted any sentence other
than the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment for murder.
"They (Lubisi and Kumbana) are old enough to make children. They are old
enough to plan a crime. They are old enough to pull a trigger. You are old
enough to spend the rest of your life in jail," said the judge.
Lubisi and Kumbana had killed the men out of greed.
"It is unlikely you will see your families again. You will probably never
see Mozambique again.
"Your contribution to this country was firstly to kill 2 men, secondly to
harm their families and thirdly to fuel xenophobia," said Satchwell.
The 2 were a financial burden on South Africa because taxpayers had paid
for the police investigation into the murders and for the men's legal
representatives, and they would pay for their well-being in prison until
they died.
Lubisi and Kumbana were each sentenced to 2 life terms for the murder of
Maharaj and Essop. During sentencing, the men showed no remorse.
(source: The Star)
MALAYSIA:
Pinoy seaman meted death penalty in KL
A Filipino sailor has been sentenced to death in Malaysia for drug
trafficking after the court rejected his plea for mercy, local media
reported.
Nelson Tanoja Diana, 50, was found guilty of trafficking in 508.6 grams of
cocaine after being arrested at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on
August 22, 2002, on his way to Bangkok from Amsterdam.
Manila will appeal Dianas case, the Department of Foreign Affairs said
Friday.
Foreign Undersecretary Jose Brillantes issued urgent instructions to the
Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur to exhaust all legal means to help the
Filipino sailor Nelson Diana, who was sentenced to death by hanging by a
Malaysian lower court on Wednesday, a DFA statement said.
Brillantes told the embassy to ask Dianas court-appointed lawyer to appeal
to the Malaysian Court of Appeals, the DFA said.
At his trial on Wednesday, Diana told the judge through an interpreter: "I
know you have to follow the law but I have never done this before. I have
a big responsibility for my children and for my childrens sake I beg for
leniency." High Court judge K.N. Segara said, however, "Most unfortunate.
There is only one punishment for this offence and that is the death
sentence."
The death penalty is mandatory for drug trafficking in Malaysia. The
sentence is carried out by hanging.
Segara said Diana had admitted he was aware he was carrying the drugs, the
New Straits Times reported.
"All the way from Amsterdam to Malaysia you held on very carefully to the
bag and landed in Malaysia with a view to taking it to Thailand.
"That in law is already an offence, even though you were going to deliver
it in Bangkok," Segara said.
(source: The Manila Times)
