May 31
GLOBAL:
Amnesty International 2004 Report--117 countries have abolished death
penalty up 5 from 2003.
EXECUTIONS AROUND THE WORLD
In 2004, there were at least 3,797 executions in 25 countries around the
world. China, Iran, the United States, and Viet Nam were responsible for
94 percent of these known executions. The following countries executed
defendants in 2004 (most figures are only of confirmed executions):
Most Executions in 2004
1. CHINA (At least 3,400 Executions)
2. IRAN (Approx. 159)
3. VIET NAM (Approx. 64)
4. UNITED STATES (59)
5. Saudi Arabia (33)
6. Pakistan (15)
7. Kuwait (9)
8. Bangladesh (7)
9. Egypt (6) -- Singapore (6) -- Yemen (6)
(source: Amnesty International)
PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY:
Palestinians shelve collaborator execution plans
The Palestinian Authority has suspended plans to execute 2 dozen men
convicted of collaborating with Israel.
After the election of Mahmoud Abbas as president earlier this year, the
Palestinian Authority announced it would resume the execution of
informers.
About 2 dozen Palestinians convicted of collaborating with Israel are on
death row.
In response to Israeli appeals, the Palestinian Authority has suspended
its plan to carry out the executions, a spokesman saying it would inflame
tensions with Israel.
Dozens of Palestinians suspected of informing on their fellow citizens
have been murdered by vigilantes in the past few years.
(source: ABC Radio Australia News)
YEMEN:
Zaidi rebel gets death sentence in Yemen for spying for Iran
A Yemeni court on Sunday sentenced a member of a rebel Zaidi movement to
death after he was convicted of spying for mainly Shiite Iran.
Yehya Hussein Mohammad al-Dailami, 40, was given the death penalty for
"making contacts with a foreign country, namely Iran," said judge Najib
Qaderi.
He was also accused of supporting a rebellion by members of Yemens Zaidi
minority, which has left hundreds dead in fighting between insurgents and
security forces.
The state security court also sentenced another Zaidi defendant, Mohammad
Ahmad Muftah, to 8 years in prison for supporting the revolt.
A defense lawyer said he would appeal the sentences.
The Zaidis are a Shiite Muslim sect dominant in northwestern Yemen but in
the minority in the mainly Sunni country.
(source: Agence France Presse)
JAPAN:
Bar association group compiles bill to suspend executions
The Japan Federation of Bar Associations proposed Saturday to suspend
executions while the Diet discusses whether Japan should maintain capital
punishment.
The largest lawyers' group in Japan urged the Diet to set up study panels
on death penalty at both upper and lower houses to research the
international trend over capital punishment or the possibility of another
punishment to replace the death penalty. Under the bill, the government is
required to disclose information about the death penalty so the panels
will be able to conduct full research.
(source: Kyodo News)
LIBYA:
RULING ON DEATH SENTENCE FOR BULGARIAN NURSES DELAYED
In Tripoli, Libya's Supreme Court has delayed the ruling on a appeal
against the death penalty for four Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian
doctor who were charged with injecting more than 400 children with HIV.
The 6 Libyan judges were due to rule on Tuesday after 2 months of
deliberation but have now postponed their decision till 15 November. The
ruling was postponed to complete the delibration on the case which has
damaged ties between Libya and the European Union.
In May 2004, a court in Benghazi in northern Libya sentenced the five
nurses and a Palestinian doctor to death for allegedly infecting more than
400 Libyan children with HIV and causing the death of 46 more, in an
attempt to discover a cure for the deadly virus which causes AIDS. All of
the defendants deny the charges and say the HIV outbreak at the hospital
was caused by poor hygiene. They have all spent 5 years in detention.
According to Bulgarian news reports, the court ignored evidence from
international experts who said the infections at the children's hospital
may have begun as long ago as 1994, due to bad hygiene practices at the
hospital and the re-use of syringes, while the hospital only hired the
Bulgarian nurses in March, 1998. The reports did not mention when the
Palestinian doctor had been employed.
The European Union has denounced the verdict, with the leaders of several
countries calling for the release of those accused. However angry
relatives of those who infected, have demanded that the sentence be
carried out, if they do not get any compensation.
Reports say that the Supreme Court will either reaffirm the death penalty
verdict or allow the case to be retried in a criminal court. The lawyers
for the foreigners have asked that a retrial be conducted based on the
fact that alleged false confessions were extracted from the foreigners who
they claim were tortured while in detention.
Bulgaria has ruled out paying compensation to Libya in exchange for the
medics' release, saying this would be tantamount to a confession of its
medical workers' guilt. The Bulgarian press said the medics were turned
into scapegoats by the Libyan authorities in an attempt to assuage public
outrage in the country over the epidemic. Libya wants compensation equal
to that paid by Libya to relatives of the victims of the Lockerbie plane
bombing carried out by its secret service in 1988.
(source: AKI)
