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

[Rick Halperin]

Sept. 13



IRAN:

President Ahmadinejad Will Face "Wall of Shame" at the UN Headquarters via
Stop Child Executions


The President of Iran will have to get past the "Ahmadinejad Wall of
Shame" -- a visual display and demonstration across the United Nations
Headquarters -- before entering the opening of the General Assembly.

The rally will run from 12-2pm on September 23rd at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza
(47th St. & 2nd Ave.) and feature Iranian/American groups each directly
challenging Ahmadinejad on the surge in human rights abuses in Iran.

Organizing the event, Nazanin Afshin-Jam, an international human rights
activist and former Miss World Canada, will lead off the line up of the
"Wall of Shame" by asking: "Ahmadinejad why are you executing children?"

Nazanin's actions on behalf of the children on death row in Iran began
when she was told of a young girl on her namesake that was going to be
executed for stabbing one of three men who attempted to rape her. Nazanin
was instrumental in saving this girl and since then has been dedicated to
saving more lives.

"There has been 6 children hanged this year alone in Iran and over 130
children on death row awaiting execution," said Nazanin Afshin-Jam,
President and co-founder of the Stop Child Executions (SCE) organization.

"While the UN legitimizes Ahmadinejad as the leader of Iran by having the
door open to him at the General Assembly, the Iranian people feel betrayed
by the false representation. In face of the west's obsession with Iran's
nuclear development, the voices of the Iranian people have been stifled
and human rights abuses have been overshadowed. This 'Wall of Shame'
demonstration is hoping to give a 'voice to the voiceless' and address the
concerns of the vast majority of Iranian people who believe in a united,
secular, democratic Iran based on the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and no military intervention on Iran," said Nazanin.

Groups and individuals participating in the "Wall of Shame" demonstration
include those who have faced oppression under the current regime such as
women under gender apartheid, students who have been imprisoned and
tortured and ethnic and religious minorities who have been persecuted.
Focus will also be given to other human rights atrocities in Iran
including stoning to death, dismembering of limbs, and throwing people
from heights as methods of punishment.

Nazanin states, "The government of Iran cannot on the one hand expect the
international community to trust its leaders with nuclear energy while it
openly disregards the most basic internationally recognized child rights
conventions such as the UN's International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights (ICCPR) and the Charter of the Rights of the Child (CRC) to which
it is state party."

Stop Child Executions invites all media and the general public to join
this demonstration for Human Rights. SCE will release the latest list of
minors facing the death penalty, and an 8 part plan of recommendations
addressed to Iran's heads of state, Parliament, Judiciary, United Nations
and international community which will also be made available on the
http://www.stopchildexecutions.com/ website following the rally.

For Further information or an interview with Nazanin Afshin-Jam please
contact Leslie Taylor at Big Machine Media at 212-572-0760 or
leslie at bigmachinemedia.com.

Stop Child Executions is the leading organization providing information
and updates on the situation of minors on death row in Iran. It is a
volunteer based, independent, non-political human rights group whose aim
is to put a permanent end to child executions in Iran and abroad.

http://www.stopchildexecutions.com/

(source: Market Wire)






CHINA:

China police killer appeals against death penalty


Yang Jia, the jobless Beijing man who intruded into Shanghai police bureau
and killed 6 officers, has appealed against the death penalty handed down
earlier by a Shanghai court.

His appeal was received by Shanghai Higher People's Court Friday,
according to the court sources.

Yang Jia, 28, was sentenced to death on Sept. 1 in the first verdict by
the Shanghai No.2 People's Intermediate Court, for killing six officers
and injuring four others in the assault on July 1.

He stabbed a security guard at the police branch in Zhabei District and
started a fire at its gate at about 9:40 a.m.

He then forced his way into the building and attacked nine police
officers, according to the prosecution. 6 police died. Three others and
the security guard were injured.

Yang was apprehended at the scene and confessed to the killings, the
prosecution said.

The court ruled Yang had perfect capacity for criminal responsibility
according to a forensic psychiatric assessment conducted by a qualified
and specialized institute entrusted by the police. But it didn't give a
specific name.

The court revealed Yang turned down the defence lawyer his father had
found for him before turning to Xie Youming and Xie Jin, 2 lawyers with
Shanghai Mingjiang Law Office, that his mother had employed.

The court ruled that Yang was guilty of murder and sentenced him to death
penalty.

According to court investigation, Yang was questioned by officers from the
Zhabei police bureau while riding an unlicensed bicycle in Shanghai on
Oct. 15, 2007. He refused to cooperate and was taken to the police station
for interrogation.

Yang later made several complaints to the police and demanded
compensations. The police offered explanations, which was rejected by
Yang.

(source: Xinhua News)






ST. KITTS:

St Kitts opposition leader in favour of the death penalty


Leader of the Opposition People's Action Movement (PAM) in St Kitts-Nevis,
Lindsay Grant agrees with Prime Minister Denzil Douglas to carry out the
death penalty.

Grant told the media at its monthly media conference that, "I follow the
law and hanging is on the books and so when the time comes so be it."

The Sun St Kitts-Nevis reported that 4 death row inmates at Her Majesty's
Prison recently had their executions postponed. The executions were to
have been carried out in August.

At the very last minute, lawyers for the condemned men filed appropriate
papers at the High Court, which allowed for the executions to be
postponed.

Prime Minister Douglas said earlier that his government is not against
carrying out the death sentence by hanging.

Grant added that, "if we are against the death penalty, then let us have a
national consultation if we want to change that. However as it stands,
that is the law." He added, "I would give them the opportunity of all the
available defences to them. I would give them the full extent of what the
law provides for their defence."

(source: Caribbean Net News)