[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Sept. 7


AUSTRALIA/INDONESIA:

Transcript----This is a transcript from The World Today. The program is
broadcast around Australia at 12:10pm on ABC Local Radio.

Australian QC to represent death row prisoners in Indonesia

Reporter: Josie Taylor

ELEANOR HALL: Australian Queens Counsel Lex Lasry just arrived in Jakarta
in his bid to save two of the condemned Australians.

The high profile barrister, who represented the Australian man Van Nguyen,
executed in Singapore for drug trafficking late last year, is now acting
for death row prisoners Myuran Sukamaran, and Andrew Chan.

Lex Lasry has been speaking to Josie Taylor.

LEX LASRY: Well, we're here because we had a request for assistance from
the family, the family originally for Myuran Sukamaran, but we've also
agreed to do what we can in the case of Andrew Chan.

So we arrived in Jakarta last night with a view to looking at the options
that are available to them. And of course they're probably similar options
that have to be considered by the others who have been added to the list
for capital penalty.

JOSIE TAYLOR: And what options are you pursuing?

LEX LASRY: Well, as I gather has been said in the Australian press this
morning, judicial review is one option. There's also a constitutional
argument to be had about the constitutionality of the death penalty in
Indonesia and there is in this country a constitutional court that can
hear those kinds of arguments so we'll be looking at that as well.

JOSIE TAYLOR: You of course, have had experience in this sort of case
after the Van Nguyen case in Singapore that was unsuccessful. Do you have
better hopes for these cases?

LEX LASRY: Too early to tell, Josie. We've been involved in this matter
for a little while but some of the developments in the last few days were
somewhat unexpected and I think it's quite a different case from the Van
Nguyen case, although of course the principles are the same.

And the critical thing from our point of view is to ensure that the
Australian Government is supporting these now 6 at every inch of the way
and we'd also be anxious for the Government to have a very strong and
uniform policy on capital punishment.

JOSIE TAYLOR: Do you have any indication that that isn't the case?

LEX LASRY: No not at this stage. I'm simply suggesting that, you know,
that their attitude and their approach will obviously be very important
and hopefully we can speak to them fairly soon about how this will all
play out.

JOSIE TAYLOR: Do you have any concerns that the Indonesian Government may
have actually influenced the court's decision in imposing the death
penalty?

LEX LASRY: No, I don't know that that's happened and I certainly wouldn't
be asserting that.

JOSIE TAYLOR: You did have strong support from the Australian Government
in the Van Nguyen case. Do you believe that they will be equally as
supportive in these cases in Indonesia?

LEX LASRY: I certainly hope so. All the same reasons are there to provide
that support so I can't see any reason why they wouldn't be.

JOSIE TAYLOR: And what's the next step for you?

LEX LASRY: Well, we'll be talking to some people during the day today and
tomorrow and we're really just exploring the options at the moment.

JOSIE TAYLOR: And the mood of your clients? Have you actually had a chance
to speak to them?

LEX LASRY: No I haven't.

ELEANOR HALL: Australian QC Lex Lasry speaking from Jakarta to Josie
Taylor.

(source: The World Today)

********************

Bali execution date could be sooner than first thought, Lasry warns


An Australian lawyer now acting for 2 of the condemned Bali 9 says he
fears their execution dates might be sooner than first thought.


6 of the Bali 9 are facing the death sentence for drug trafficking, after
their punishments were upgraded yesterday.

Lex Lasry QC acted for Australian Van Nguyen, who was hanged in Singapore
in December last year on drugs charges.

Mr Lasry has spent the day in Jakarta, looking at legal options to spare
the men's lives.

He told the ABC's PM many think the execution will be at least 2 years
away.

But he fears it could be sooner than that.

"The thing that worries me about it is that the Supreme Court result came
a lot quicker than a lot of people expected," he said.

"I'm not confident that there's 2 years to go, I think it might well be
less time than that and I think it's therefore important that we do the
things we have to do reasonably quickly."

Mr Lasry says he will consult local experts to see whether he has a case
for a constitutional challenge.

"Under the Indonesian constitution there seems to be an absolute right to
life and there's obviously an inconsistency between that and the
imposition of a death penalty," he said.

"This point hasn't been argued before the constitutional court. As we
understand it the constitutional court is a relatively new institution."

(source: ABC. net)






KOREA:

Death Sentences Decreasing


Although death sentences slightly decreased last year from a year ago,
life imprisonments have increased markedly, according to the Supreme Court
yesterday.

The number of people sentenced to death in criminal cases decreased to 8
in 2004 down by 2 from the previous year. Among the 8 people, only 3
including those convicted of raping teenagers had their death sentence
confirmed by the Supreme Court.

In 2005, 94 out of 114,000 people were sentenced to life imprisonment. In
2004, among 132,000 people who were convicted, 79 including murderers and
arsonists were sentenced to life imprisonment.

The Supreme Court has increasingly reversed the initial judgment taking
age and motivation of criminals into account, despite the seriousness of
their crimes, according to a court official.

(source: The Korea Times)






JAPAN:

Man on death row for murdering elderly couple loses final appeal


Japan's top court on Thursday dismissed an appeal by a man over his
conviction for murdering an elderly couple and robbing them, finalizing
the death sentence lower courts handed down on him.

Lower court rulings found that Hisashi Eto, a 64-year-old unemployed man,
planned to rob a 67-year-old man, whom he came to know through karaoke
sessions, and his wife.

Eto strangled the couple at their home in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on Oct.
30, 1997, and stole some 150,000 yen in cash from their home.

The next day, Eto drove the couple's bodies to the nearby city of
Kawachinagano and dumped them in old paddy fields.

(Source: Mainichi Shimbun)






INDIA:

Manipur rebels warn of death penalty for drug peddlers


3 separatist groups in restive Manipur have threatened to kill drug
traffickers and tobacco dealers and punish liquor vendors with a bullet in
the leg, a joint statement said.

The statement by the outlawed United National Liberation Front (UNLF), the
Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL), and the People's Revolutionary Party of
Kangleipak (PREPAK) said the ban on sale and consumption of heroin, opium,
Spasmo Provyvon tablets, chewing tobacco products would come into effect
Sep 15.

"Drug traffickers would face capital punishment without any trial and
anyone found guilty of selling liquor would get a bullet in the leg," the
rebel statement warned.

The 3 militant groups are fighting for independent homelands for the
majority Hindu Metei community in the state of 2.4 million people.

The separatists, however, exempted brewing of homemade liquor used for
religious purposes.

"Drug abuse had only compounded the problem of HIV/AIDS but also taken a
heavy toll on the mental and physical health of the youths," the statement
said.

India's northeast, which borders the heroin producing "golden triangle" of
Thailand, Laos and Myanmar, has a major problem with intravenous drug use
that is the most common cause for the spread of AIDS in the region.

According to various estimates, there could be up to 100,000 intravenous
drug users in Manipur, a majority of them believed to be HIV positive.
During the past three years, at least a dozen drug peddlers were killed by
militants in Manipur and several of them shot at their legs for failing to
reform.

A number of militant groups have, of late, turned crusaders against social
evils - an attempt seen by many to secure public support and consolidate
their hold in the society.

The KYKL 2 years ago warned of death penalty to local women in Manipur who
do not adhere to a traditional dress code.

The code prohibits women from wearing trousers or saris in public. Instead
they have to don traditional sarongs known as phaneks. The KYKL last year
shot at 10 people in the leg for helping students copy in examination
halls, besides punishing in public 3 university teachers for allegedly
tampering with some students' marks.

There are at least 19 rebel groups active in Manipur with demands ranging
from secession to greater autonomy and the right to self-determination.
More than 10,000 people have lost their lives to insurgency in the
northeastern state during the past 2 decades.

(source: Telugu Portal)