[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 20



NORTH KOREA:

2 North Korean Guards Sentenced to Execution, BBC Reports----The DailyNK
first to report. Amnesty International calls for international pressure


Sourcing Amnesty International, the U.K.'s BBC reported on the 19th that 2
North Korean citizens were planned to be executed for assisting defectors.

Amnesty revealed that the two guards had originally been sentenced for
execution in January, however the date was postponed for after Kim Jong
Il's 65th birthday (Feb 16th), a national holiday, reported the BBC. In
response, Amnesty has sent an urgent worldwide petition to pressure Kim
Jong Il on the issue.

The first report of these two guards was reported by the DailyNk on the
1st.

Controversies of capital punishment remains a mystery in this enclosed
communist state, however according to Amnesty at least 70 were considered
to have been put to death in 2005, whether by open fire or hanging,
reported BBC.

BBC said that every year, thousands of North Korean citizens attempt
crossing the border to escape oppression and starvation but are caught
while doing so. The result, either being sent to political concentration
camps or ultimately facing death.

Amnesty is making efforts to ensure that the 2 men, a commander and deputy
will not be executed and have made an international petition. It seems
that the 2 men were arrested in China in January for assisting other North
Koreans defect and are now awaiting repatriation back to North Korea.

In an interview with BBC, Tim Hancok Amnesty Campaigns Director said
"These men are now at serious risk and Amnesty International is calling on
the North Korean authorities to guarantee they will not be executed."

He said that the issue of execution in North Korea is well hidden but
hoped that this case would provide the opportunity for such incidents to
be acquitted.

An affiliate of the North Korean Human Rights Organization said "After the
DailyNK made the report on the 2 guards, Amnesty confirmed the facts via
other sources to verify the information" and added "It seems that Amnesty
has acted upon the data received from this affiliation and has taken
action with countermeasures to alert the case" throughout the world.

(source: The Daily NK)






SAUDI ARABIA:

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL


Public Statement

AI Index: MDE 23/011/2007 (Public)

News Service No: 035

19 February 2007

Saudi Arabia: Amnesty International appeals to King Abdullah to commute
all death sentences Amnesty International is deeply concerned at the
alarming increase in the rate of executions in Saudi Arabia after four Sri
Lankan men were executed this morning bringing the total number of those
executed so far this year to at least 17 people. The organization fears
that other executions may be imminent and is urging King Abdullah to
commute all death sentences and ensure respect of fair trial guarantees
for those facing the death penalty.

This morning four Sri Lankan men were executed in the capital Riyadh.
Amnesty International had repeatedly appealed to the Saudi Arabian
authorities on behalf of three of the men. D.D. Ranjith De Silva, E.J.
Victor Corea, Sanath Pushpakumara and Sharmila Sangeeth Kumara were
reportedly arrested in 2004 in connection with a series of violent armed
robberies. While the first three named men were sentenced to death,
Sharmila Sangeeth Kumara believed that he had been sentenced to 15 years
imprisonment and was not at risk of death. The men received an unfair
trial and were sentenced in the absence of legal and consular
representation. The mens families and the Sri Lankan authorities were not
informed of their executions beforehand.

Saudi Arabias secretive judicial system is such that in many cases those
sentenced to death and their families are not informed of the charges or
the progress of the legal proceedings against them. In a similar situation
in April 2005 6 Somali men were executed after an unfair trial. All the
men were unaware that they were at risk of death and believed that they
had served their sentences and were awaiting release despite having
completed their sentences.

Furthermore, defendants may be convicted solely on the basis of
"confessions" obtained under duress, including torture or other
ill-treatment and trials invariably fall short of international standards
for fair trial. Trial proceedings take place behind closed doors, without
the defendants being given the right to legal representation, and in the
case of foreign nationals, without adequate or no access to consular
assistance.

Amnesty International recognizes the right and responsibility of all
governments to bring to justice those guilty of recognizably criminal
offences. However, the organization opposes the death penalty as the
ultimate violation of the right to life. The organization is committed to
defending all people against the violations of these fundamental and
internationally recognized rights.

The organization repeats its earlier calls to King Abdullah of Saudi
Arabia to commute all outstanding death sentences and ensure that all
trial proceedings of people facing such punishment are conducted strictly
in accordance with international standards for fair trial.

Background

Those executed so far this year include 4 Sri Lankans, 3 Pakistanis, 2
Iraqis, 1 Nigerian and 7 Saudi Arabians including 1 woman.

(source: Amnesty International)






JAPAN:

Number of death row inmates set to hit 100


The number of inmates on death row in Japan was set to hit 100 - almost
twice the figure a decade ago - after the Supreme Court upheld the death
penalty for a convicted murderer, anti-death penalty activists said
yesterday.

Kazuo Shinozawa, 55, had been convicted of killing six female employees at
a jewellery shop in 2000, binding them with rope and setting the store on
fire, Kyodo news agency reported. He also stole jewellery worth 140
million yen (Dh4.29 million), it said.

"The consequence of taking six innocent people's lives is extremely grave
and bereaved families request a harsh penalty, and the death penalty is
therefore unavoidable," Kyodo quoted the presiding judge, Kohei Nasu, as
saying.

A public perception that violence is on the rise, a vocal victims' rights
movement and intense media coverage of violent crimes have been pushing
Japanese courts to hand down stiffer penalties - including more death
sentences, experts and activists say.

Japan hanged 4 death row inmates last Christmas Day including, an
anti-death penalty group said, a 75-year-old convicted killer who was
confined to a wheelchair.

Since then, another 6 death penalty verdicts have been confirmed, said the
group, called Forum 90.

Contrast

"This increase is not because of a rise in violent crime," Forum 90 said
in a statement, noting that a government report on crime issued last year
showed a 1.9 % decline in murders.

"It is merely because sensational media reports have caused a
deterioration in people's sense of security."

The mood in Japan contrasts with that in the United States, which along
with Japan is one of the few developed countries to execute criminals.

Death sentences in the United States fell to a 30-year low in 2006 and
capital punishment is now under what appears to be an unprecedented review
amid eroding support.

Executions in Japan are shrouded in secrecy.

Neither inmates nor their families are given advance warning of hangings.
Only prison officials and a priest are present, and the Justice Ministry
announces hangings only after they have taken place.

(source: Reuters)






VIRGINIA:

New evidence could free Wolfe


Terri Steinberg says all she has is hope - a hope that something can be
done to take her son off death row.

Steinberg's son, 25-year-old Justin Wolfe, received the death penalty in
2001 for hiring Owen Merton Barber IV to kill 21-year-old Daniel Petrole
Jr. of Braemar in 2000. Petrole was Wolfe's marijuana supplier.

In December 2005, both Barber and his cellmate, Carl L. Huff Jr., at
Wallens Ridge State Prison in Big Stone Gap filed affidavits in federal
district court stating that Barber had killed Petrole on his own
initiative, according to Wolfe's attorney, Jane C. Luxton.

Barber withdrew his confession in April 2006, but Luxton said she hopes to
use the cellmate's affidavit stating that Barber confessed, as well as the
complaints about previous hearings and missing evidence, to get Wolfe
another hearing, or even a finding of actual innocence.

Luxton has petitioned to the U.S. Eastern District Court in Norfolk for an
evidentiary hearing to formally present Huff's affidavit and other
evidence to get Wolfe a new trial.

Wolfe's attorneys also motioned to amend his existing federal habeas
corpus petition to include the new information from the affidavits, but a
federal judge denied that motion in September 2006.

Steinberg is hopeful that Huff's affidavit will help to get her son a new
trial, but for now, all she can do is wait.

"There's a lie out there somewhere, and you can't just ignore that with
someone's life on the line," she said. "It's hard for me to accept that."

Luxton said the court has not yet ruled on the motion for the evidentiary
hearing and there is no time limit to do so.

Steinberg said she has always believed Wolfe had nothing to do with
Petrole's death and hopes this experience will teach a lesson to other
youths who might be considering getting involved with drugs.

"Justin thought it was just marijuana and he never would have dreamed his
life could end up like this," Steinberg said. "Owen's life is ruined,
Danny lost his life and Justin might lose his."

Wolfe, Petrole and Barber, of Chantilly, had all been involved in a
marijuana ring operating throughout Northern Virginia.

Wolfe, of Centreville, was indebted to Petrole, and Barber was indebted to
Wolfe. The quantity of marijuana discovered in Petrole's Braemar town
house was one of the largest seized in Prince William - 50 pounds of
marijuana and 2,000 Ecstasy tablets worth more than $300,000.

Barber pleaded guilty to killing Petrole in 2001 and testified against
Wolfe. Under his plea deal, Barber was sentenced to 38 years in prison.

Wolfe was initially sentenced to be executed July 27, 2005, after making
several appeals. His attorneys argued that there were trial errors in
Wolfe's first trial and that his trial attorney was unqualified.

His execution date was later stayed because his attorneys have not
finished pursuing all possible appeals. Wolfe is on death row at Sussex I
State Prison in Waverly.

(source: Potomac News)






MOROCCO:

Moroccan court hands down death sentence against EU diplomat killer


A tribunal in the city of Sala, near the Moroccan capital Rabat, on
Tuesday handed down a death sentence against a 25-year-old man convicted
on stabbing to death an EU diplomat and his wife.

The man, Karim Zimach, admitted ... murdering Alessandro Missir di
Lusignano, an official attached to the Commission's delegation in Morocco,
and his wife Arianne Lagasse de Locht at their home in a Rabat locality
"while under the influence of drugs." He was arrested on September 19
shortly after committing the murders while driving an EU Commission car he
stole from the couple's home.

A woman, called Bahija Al-Saadi was sentenced to five months in jail and a
fine for involvement in the crime.

Another woman, Latifa Al-Suteiti, was sentenced to three months in jail
with a stay of proceedings while a man called Mohammad Al-Buziyi was
acquitted from any charges regarding the double crime.

The prosecution had called for the death sentence against the culprit and
maximum punishment against the 3 others.

(source: Kuwait News Agency)






FRANCE:

France adopts constitutional amendment, abolishing death penalty


The French parliament on Monday adopted a constitutional amendment in
Versailles, west of Paris, formally abolishing the death penalty in the
country.

The amendment, which won support from the majority of the nearly 900
legislators, says "no one can be sentenced to the death penalty" in
France.

Although France banned the capital punishment with a 1981 law, President
Jacques Chirac has said he wants to go further by inscribing the abolition
of the death penalty into the constitution.

Chirac decided in early February this year to call a joint legislative
session instead of a national referendum to vote on the amendment in order
to achieve his goal before leaving office.

Under the current constitution, a bill to change the constitution can take
effect after it is ratified by a national referendum. The only alternative
lies in the hands of the president, who can call a joint legislative
session instead of a national referendum. The bill must get 3/5 of the
legislators' support to pass.

France's official data shows that altogether 78 countries all over the
world uses the death penalty at present.

Another amendment to the constitution was also adopted by the Senators and
representatives of the National Assembly during the joint session to
broaden parliament's power to impeach a president.

The law would allow a president to be removed from office, "for failing to
carry out his duties in a manner manifestly incompatible with the exercise
of his mandate," by a two-thirds majority of both houses of parliament.

Previously, a president could only be impeached for treason in France.

(source: Xinhua News)