May 12
INDONESIA:
Death sentence demanded for civil servants involved in corruption
Islamic missionary society Hidayatullah demanded on Thursday that civil
servants and other state officials involved in corruption be handed the
death sentence or have their hands amputated to help curb rampant
corruption.
The demand was voiced during a meeting between Hidayatullah
representatives and Vice President Jusuf Kalla held in advance of the
organization second working conference from June 9 to June 13.
"The Vice President said that the death sentence forcorruptors was not
available in Indonesia, with a life sentence being the maximum available,"
recounted Abdul Rahman, Hidayatullah's chairman.
He said that his organization, which claims to have total membership of
five million, with 5,000 preachers, fully supported the imposition of the
death sentence and hand amputation should the amount of money embezzled by
sufficiently large.
"Such punishments will definitely discourage them from engaging in
corruption," he said.
The severe punishments were proposed by Hidayatullah as it was very
concerned by the fact that Indonesia, the world's largest majority Muslim
country, is ranked as one of the most corrupt countries in the world.
"Everywhere, at all levels in government institutions, corruption is
either taking place openly or covertly," he added.
(source: Jakarta Post)
SINGAPORE:
Singapore's President Rejects Bid To Stop Execution
Singapore's president has rejected a last-ditch bid to stop the execution
of a drug trafficker in a case that has generated unprecedented debate on
the death penalty in Singapore.
Shanmugam Murugesu, 38, arrested at the Malaysian border with 1.03 kg
(2.27 lb) of cannabis, lost an appeal against a conviction of drug
trafficking and had his clemency bid rejected by Singapore's President
S.R. Nathan last month.
His twin 14-year old sons, Gopalan and Krishnan Murugesu, have handed out
hundreds of flyers in shopping districts to seek public support to stop
Friday's execution.
Shanmugam's lawyer M. Ravi on Tuesday called for the president to convene
a constitutional court to review Shanmugam's case.
The lawyer argued that Shanmugam's trial had been treated differently from
six similar recent cases, where traffickers arrested with more than 700
grams of cannabis had seen their charges reduced to below 500 grams -- the
limit above which the death sentence is mandatory.
But in a May 11 letter to Ravi seen by Reuters, the Prisons Department
said Singapore's president was ``unable to accede" to his request. The
president's office was not available for comment. The authorities on
Monday informed Shanmugam's mother that he will be hanged on Friday at
6:00 a.m. (2200 GMT on Thursday).
In the past weeks, local groups have campaigned for Shanmugam, organizing
performances, forums and vigils in a rare display of activism for
Singapore.
Ravi said that despite the president's response, he would keep trying new
legal avenues even in the last hours.
"I'm still trying to file an application in court later today to stave off
the execution," Ravi told Reuters.
Singapore enforces some of the world's toughest drug laws. Anyone aged 18
or over convicted of carrying more than 500 grams (17.6 ounces) of
cannabis faces mandatory execution by hanging.
In its 2004 report, rights group Amnesty International said about 400
people have been hanged in Singapore since 1991, mostly for drug
trafficking, giving the wealthy city-state of 4.2 million people possibly
the highest execution rate in the world relative to its population.
Amnesty said only 6 people sentenced to death in Singapore have been
spared execution.
Singapore has staunchly defended its use of the death penalty and
maintained that capital punishment has deterred major drug syndicates from
establishing themselves in Singapore.
(source: Reuters)
INDIA/GULF NATIONS:
DEATH PENALTY TO INDIANS IN GULF COUNTRIES
The Minister of State for External Affairs, Shri E. Ahamed informed
the Rajya Sabha today that Death penalty has been awarded to Indian
nationals in 43 cases in the Gulf countries during the last 5 years.
According to information made available to our Missions abroad, by the
host Governments, death penalty to Indian nationals has been awarded in
Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, UAE, Indonesia and Iran, he added.
The Minister further said that Missions abroad take up generally such
cases at different levels with the local authorities and supports Indian
national with legal assistance in filing appeals in Appellate Courts and
Supreme Court. Mercy petitions received from spouses are also forwarded by
the Mission to the authorities concerned. Finally, the matter is taken up
with the highest authority in the host country for grant of
pardon/commutation of sentence.
The information was given by Shri Ahmed in reply to a question by Shri
Kalraj Mishra.
(source: PIB Press Release)
