death penalty news April 8, 2005
YEMEN: Yemeni President orders to stop juvenile execution President of Yemen Ali Abdulla Saleh stopped on Wednesday the execution of a 17-year juvenile in Taiz at the last moment. Hafez Ibrahim,17 years, was convicted for killing a man last year and he was supposed to be executed on Wednesday. The order of the president, who is the head of the Supreme Judicial Council, came to postpone the execution to give the authorities chance to convince the relatives of the killed man to accept reconciliation. Amnesty International pleaded with President Saleh on Wednesday to commute the death sentence, arguing that the Yemeni law bans the execution of juveniles under 18. (surce: Kazinform) INDONESIA / AUSTRALIA: Minister steps in over Corby and death penalty Federal Justice Minister Chris Ellison has asked the Indonesian government not to seek the death penalty if a Bali court delivers a guilty verdict against accused drug smuggler Schapelle Corby. The 27-year-old former beauty student from the Gold Coast faces possible death by firing squad after being caught with 4.1kg of high-grade cannabis in her unlocked bodyboard bag at Bali airport last October. The trial was yesterday adjourned until April 14 after Corby said she was too sick to continue this week. Senator Ellison said he had spoken with Indonesian Attorney-General Abdurrahman Saleh overnight in Jakarta. "I indicated to the Indonesian attorney-general that Australia was opposed to the death penalty and that in the event of Schapelle Corby being found guilty that we would plead with the Indonesian government that the death penalty not be sought," Senator Ellison told ABC radio. "At this stage of the court proceedings I understand there is an avenue for the attorney-general in Indonesia to make representations to the prosecution in the preparation of their submission on sentencing." Senator Ellison said he believed Mr Abdurrahman had listened carefully to his argument. "I believe that the Indonesian government are treating this seriously," he said. "I believe they understand the concern that many Australians hold in relation to this matter. "But we must remember that this is a court proceeding which is pending in an Indonesian court and I stressed to the attorney-general that we fully respected the judicial process. "And, as I said to Schapelle Corby's lawyers I would not be making any request of the attorney-general which was an improper request or an inappropriate one having regard to the laws of Indonesia." Senator Ellison said he had secured support from the Indonesian Justice Minister to start talks about putting in place an agreement to allow the transfer of prisoners. This would allow Corby, if she was found guilty and given a prison sentence, to serve her sentence in Australia. "We will be having our officials visit Indonesia to work on this and progress it," he said. "I'm very keen that it be put in place as soon as possible." (source: AAP) IRAN: Iranian Christian faces death penalty An Iranian Christian is facing the death penalty in an Islamic court, according to the human rights group Christian Solidarity Worldwide. Hamid Pourmand, 47, is scheduled to go on trial in a Shari'a court next week on charges of apostasy from Islam and seeking to evangelize Muslims. Under Islamic law, a Muslim who tries to convert to another religion can be put to death. Pourmand was a colonel in the Iranian army and a member of an Assembly of God church in the port city of Badar-i-Bushehr. He was arrested along with 85 other Christians at a meeting of the church last September. Local human rights groups said he was the only one not released shortly after being arrested. On February 16, he was tried in a military court on charges he misled his superiors about his conversion 25 years ago. Non-Muslims are not allowed to become officers in the military. While Pourmand testified that his superiors knew about his faith, the evidence he presented was rejected and he was sentenced to three years in prison. His wife and children were evicted from their home and lost his pension. Pourmand is the first Iranian to be charged with apostasy since 1993. (source: CWNews.com) SOUTH AFRICA: Death penalty appropriate now, says Leon Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon this week defended his change of heart on the death penalty, but says his party still subscribes to a liberal approach to dealing with the issue. Leon came under pressure last year ahead of the national election when he came out in support of the death penalty. His detractors accused him of turning his back on his party's liberal values in favour of a more populist message in search of votes. In a lecture on liberalism honouring veteran politician Helen Suzman, Leon said he had long opposed the death penalty under apartheid. "I devoted the final speech I made in my campaign for the parliamentary seat of Houghton, on the eve of the 1989 election, to a passionate attack on the National Party's use of the death penalty." Leon said that was an appropriate stance in an era where the death penalty was part and parcel of the repressive state apparatus and where there were few, if any, safeguards for accused persons. But the South Africa of 2005 was very different to that of 1985 or 1975, in at least two ways. South Africa's legal system today provided far greater guarantees and protections for the accused, while citizens were currently living through an unprecedented crime wave that had seen a quarter of a million South Africans killed in the past decade. "In that context, I believe that the death penalty may be an appropriate punishment for exceptionally limited cases and extremely violent crimes, such as murder with aggravating circumstances." Leon acknowledged that the case against the death penalty remained a compelling one. "Faced with the liberal dilemma on this issue, the DA has chosen a liberal way to address it: to allow our public representatives a free vote on the death penalty and other issues of conscience, such as abortion." (source: The Star)
