[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

June 27



PAKISTAN:

Pakistani militants hold public execution of 2 Afghans


Pakistani militants publicly executed 2 Afghans before thousands of
cheering supporters on Friday, saying that the men spied for U.S. forces
and helped orchestrate a suspected U.S. missile strike that killed 14
people in a border village last month.

The execution in front of 5,000 people in the Bajur region - 1 man was
decapitated and the other shot - underscored the power of the local
Taliban forces in the lawless tribal areas near the Afghan border.

Celebratory gunfire after the executions killed 2 bystanders and wounded
6, said Fazal Rabbi, a local official.

The new government of Pakistan has supported negotiations for peace talks
with militants and the military's efforts to calm restive areas. The
United States says those agreements will only allow Taliban and Al Qaeda
forces in the border region to regroup for more attacks on neighboring
Afghanistan.

Before the executions, Waliur Rehman, a local Taliban commander, told the
crowd that the two men had confessed to aiding in the May 14 missile
attack on a house in the town of Damadola that killed 14 people. The
Pakistani Army lodged a formal protest over the strike, which has been
blamed on U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

"These 2 men admitted they led the Americans in the attack in Damadola and
they have given us names of more spies," Rehman said. He promised the
cheering crowd he would catch and kill others involved in the attack.

Taliban militants wielding daggers stabbed one of the men, identified as
Jan Wali, 36, cut off his head and waved it to the crowd. The militants
then argued over how to kill the other man, before one Taliban lost his
patience and shot him with his assault rifle. The crowd erupted in cheers
of "God is great."

(source: International Herald Tribune)






CHINA:

China executes 6 more drug dealers


China executed 6 more drug dealers on the International Day Against Drug
Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, vowing to continue the country's tough
anti-narcotics campaign.

The dealers accused of producing, trading and smuggling drugs in Yunnan
and Henan provinces and Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region were sentenced to
death by local courts, while the Supreme People's Court (SPC) upheld their
verdicts.

Early this week, China had executed 3 drug dealers and sentenced 5 more to
death in a mass sentencing aimed at turning the spotlight on drug abuse
and to reflect China's determination to battle drug-related crimes.

SPC spokesman Ni Shouming was quoted by official Xinhua news agency as
saying it would firmly support the crackdown on drug dealings and would
approve any verdicts of lower courts which would provide enough evidence
for death penalty.

Under the law, dealing in a minimum of 50 grams of heroin warrants death
penalty in some provinces in China, but it differs in some others.

"The number of drug-related cases have been growing with more gangs,
families and organisations involved," Ni said, adding, the country's
anti-drug campaign would remain tough, according to state-run China Daily.

The SPC, the Supreme People's Procuratorate and Ministry of Public
Security issued new judicial interpretation and penalties to be imposed
for drugs such as ketamine and methadone, last year.

A person smuggling, trading, transporting, manufacturing or possessing one
kg of drugs is liable to a minimum of 7 years imprisonment or capital
punishment, depending on the severity of the case.

The transportation of drugs is becoming more complex as pregnant women or
nursing mothers are being used, Ni said.

The SPC would not change its stance on drug crimes and punishment, he
said, with reference to review of death penalties, a function that was
returned to the SPC in January last year.

Beijing has often come under criticism of human right groups for resorting
to death penalty frequently but China maintains that it is being used
sparingly and judiciously with public support in its favour.

(source: Express India)

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

China's top court overturns 15% of death sentences


CHINA'S supreme court overturned 15 % of all death sentences handed down
by lower courts in the 1st 1/2 of 2008, state media said today.

Gao Jinghong, presiding judge of the supreme court's Third Criminal Law
Court, said most of the sentences were overturned because they were
"inappropriate" or lacked sufficient evidence, the China Daily reported,
without further detail.

The report said the reversals showed China was following the global trend
of reducing the number of death sentences, after the supreme court was
permitted in 2007, after a hiatus of almost 20 years, to review capital
punishment cases.

China is not yet prepared to abolish the death penalty, officials and
experts say, citing public pressure and high violent crime rates.

"Some people are strong believers in 'the man who kills shall die'. In
many cases they call for immediate execution of the murderers," Gao said.

"High courts and the (Supreme People's Court) are often under tremendous
pressure because of this."

International rights group Amnesty International estimated in April that
at least 1,200 confirmed executions were carried out around the world last
year, with China leading the way with at least 470.

The supreme court was not available to comment.

(source: Agence France Presse)