[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Sept. 19




NIGERIA:

Man with 86 wives appeals death sentence


Alhaji Bello Masaba, the man who says he has 86 wives, has invoked the
original jurisdiction of the Federal high court sitting in Abuja seeking
its order nullifying the death sentence (Fatwa) passed on him by the
highest Islamic body in Northern Nigeria , Jamatu Nasril Islam.

Masaba is also begging the court to declare as illegal and
unconstitutional the order of banishment issued against him by Bida
Emirate Council.

The Emirate Council is a body comprising the Emir and traditional leaders
of Nupe.

In the application for the enforcement of his fundamental human rights
lodged at the registry of the Federal high court by his lawyer, Masaba is
inviting the court to hold that notwithstanding the provisions of Islamic
laws, the provisions of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria must take precedence.

He is of the view that by the provision of the 1999 constitution, he
enjoys freedom of movement and that his choice to marry 86 wives does not
constitute a legally punishable offence at the time the marriages took
place and that the order of "Fatwa" passed on him is unknown to law.

The Administrative Judge of the Federal high court, Abuja is yet to assign
the case to any judge. But Justice G O Kolawole of the Abuja division of
the Federal high court, had during vacation, granted Masaba permission to
sue both the Jamatu Nasril Islam, and the Bida Emirate Council together
with their officials.

The court had ordered all parties in the case to stay action in the matter
pending determination of the motion on notice in the case

Kolawole J had also ordered Alhaji Masaba to serve all the court processes
including the motion on notice on all the defendants while yesterday was
given as a return date.

Although the court order was allegedly carried out to the letter by Alhaji
Masaba, both the Jamatu Nasril Islam and Bida Emirate Council were alleged
to have petitioned the police over the matter leading to the arrest and
arraignment of the man with 86 wives before an Upper Sharia court sitting
in Minna.

He is presently cooling his heels in detention.

Masaba had already reported the matter to the Federal high court, Abuja .

The court was supposed to hear him out yesterday but it appeared the case
file was yet to be assigned to any judge that would hear the substantive
case.

Vanguard however reports that both the Bida Emirate Council and the Jamatu
Nasril Islam had hired notable Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SANs) to handle
their cases and defend their positions.

Masaba came to the limelight recently when he claimed in an interview that
he had 86 wives.

Following the interview, the Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar, asked him
to divorce 82 of them or be banished from Bida.

The Etsus directive was based on the Islamic injunction that allows a
Muslim only 4 wives.

At a meeting held at the palace of the Etsu Nupe, with Masaba in
attendance, the acting Chief Imam of Bida, Malam Yakatu Adamu, read the
relevant verses of the Quran on marriage.

Adamu made references to Masaba's various interviews and said that having
86 wives was an offence in Islam.

In his response, the 84-year-old Masaba said he stopped reading the Quran
many years ago and sought to know why the Holy Book should limit a Muslim
to only 4 wives.

After a heated argument, the Etsu, who presided over the meeting,
pronounced that Masaba was not a Muslim.

"From the facts available to us, you are not a Muslim and you are hereby
given 2 days to divorce 82 of your 86 wives. "If you fail to do so, we
cannot guarantee your safety in Bida and the entire Nupe kingdom and as
such, you should pack your load and leave," he said.

Subsequently, Masaba has denied reports in the media that he was planning
to divorce 82 of his wives.

He said there was no such plan. Rather, he said, he would take more wives
if the need arose.

Until his arrest yesterday, Masaba was living in Bida with his family.

(source: The Vanguard)






IRAN:

Iran's Apostasy Death Penalty Raises U.S. Concern


An Iranian bill that would punish apostasy with death has drawn the
condemnation of a U.S. religious freedom body, which calls on the United
States and other governments to quickly speak out against the proposed law
ahead of its soon expected final approval by Irans parliament.

"The new penal code provision prescribing the death penalty for the
so-called crime of apostasy and other crimes is a huge step backwards for
human rights," criticized U.S. Commission on International Religious
Freedom chair Felice D. Gaer.

In her statement, she refuted Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameneis
charge that foreign criticism of the penal code is "global arrogance," and
denounced religious freedom in Iran as a "chimera."

Under the proposed law  which is expected to be approved by the parliament
many religious minority communities could be subjected to death sentences,
the religious freedom expert emphasized.

Christians, Baha'is, and even some Muslims would be vulnerable to
arbitrary arrest and imprisonment.

If the law passes, 2 Christians from Muslim backgrounds who are currently
in prison for apostasy - Mahmoud Mohammad Matin-Azad and Arash Ahmad-Ali
Basirat - could be given the death sentence.

"Iran's human rights record is abysmal, and the soon-to-be codified call
for the death penalty for apostasy underlines the danger that the
intolerance of the Iranian regime poses to its own people," Gaer said.

The Iranian government's recent move could result in the country's 1st
legal penal code that calls for death for the crime of apostasy, or
leaving ones faith.

Currently, the bill is in the Legislative Commission for debate on
proposed amendments and then will return to the Parliament for another
vote.

USCIRF has recommended that Iran be included on the State Department's
list of "countries of particular concern"  the blacklist for religious
freedom violators  citing the governments "egregious and systematic
violations of religious freedom and other human rights."

It has also called for the release of all religious prisoners and an end
to the government's systematic discrimination of religious minorities.

Next week, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is scheduled to visit New
York for a United Nations meeting. A group of religious leaders  including
from the Mennonite Central Committee, World Council of Churches, the
Quaker group American Friends Service Committee, and the Episcopal Church
- has invited the controversial leader to dinner.

Mark Tooley of the Institute on Religion and Democracy, criticized the
planned dinner with the Ahmadinejad.

"In the past, these church leaders have said nothing about the religious
freedom of Christians and other religious minorities in Iran," Tooley
commented. "Indeed, there has been no professed concern about human rights
in Iran.

"IRD challenges the leaders to speak up for religious freedom of Iranian
Christians and for all people in Iran, since the Iranians themselves are
not free to speak plainly."

Members of these church groups had visited Iran in February of 2007, and
held a similar event with the National Council of Churches in September
2007 also in New York.

(source: The Christian Post)






INDIA:

Papiya murder case: Shankar Shah gets death penalty


A fast track court on Friday handed down death sentence to 1 and life term
to 3 others and 2 years imprisonment to another accused in the sensational
double murder of eminent History Professor Papiya Ghosh and her
maidservant Malti in December 2006.

A day after fast track court judge Om Prakash pronounced them guilty of
the crime, he awarded capital punishment to mastermind Shankar Shah and
life imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000 each to Anil Oraon, Manohar Kumar
and Ashish Kumar Rai.

The judge, however, awarded two years imprisonment to Ramchandra Mahto, an
advocate, but granted provisional bail to allow him to appeal against the
judgement within 60 days. He was allowed provisional bail on furnishing
two sureties of Rs 10,000 each.

The court had on Thursday convicted Shah, Oraon, Kumar and Rai of the
crime under sections 396 (dacoity with murder) and 412 (dishonestly
receiving property stolen in commission of a dacoity) of IPC. Advocate
Ramchandra Mahto was convicted under Section 414 (assisting in concealment
of stolen property).

2 other accused Sanyog Rai and Mushtaqeem Mian are absconding.

Papiya, a History Professor at the prestigious Patna Women's College and
daughter of IAS officer late Ujjwal Ghosh, and her maidservant Malti were
hacked to death while resisting a dacoity bid at her residence in the posh
Pataliputra Colony on December 3, 2006.

Papiya, a spinster, lived with her maidservant.

The killing of Papiya, an extremely popular teacher, had sent shock waves
in the state capital and the matter had found its echo even in Parliament
with several RJD MPs raising the issue to target the Nitish Kumar
government for its alleged failure on the law and order front.

The four accused in the Papiya murder case. Photo: Ajit KumarThe slain
professor's sister Tuktuk Ghosh, a West Bengal cadre IAS officer and
officer on special duty to Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, drew the
attention of those in the corridors of power in Delhi following which
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh personally called up the Chief Minister to
ask him to expedite the probe and bring the culprits to justice.

There were speculations in the media that Papiya might have been killed by
land mafia with the intention of capturing the sprawling house built by
her father to construct an apartment building.

However, the investigations eventually revealed that the 2 were murdered
while trying to foil a dacoity attempt.

The 5 accused were arrested on December 15, 2006 and several articles
looted from her house were recovered from the residence of advocate
Ramchandra Mahto.

The 4 directly accused of involvement in the twin murder were denied bail
since their arrest, but Mahto had managed to secure bail a few months ago.

The charges were framed against the five on March 8, 2007.

Altogether 30 persons deposed as prosecution witnesses of whom nearly half
a dozen turned hostile, while the defence produced 5 witnesses.

(source: Press Trust of India)

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

Commutation of death sentence for Nalini vitiated by illegality: Swamy;
Nalini can not apply for premature release under section 433 A Cr.P.C.


Strongly opposing the plea for the premature release of Nalini, a life
convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, Janata Party leader
Subramanian Swamy on Thursday said the commutation of the death sentence
on her to one of life imprisonment was vitiated by illegality.

In his submissions before Justice S. Nagamuthu, Dr. Swamy said the Centre
should have either adopted the State governments argument or answered some
of the issues arising in the petition filed by Nalini.

The Centre had on Wednesday submitted that it was not filing any counter
to the petition by Nalini seeking premature release. On Thursday, it said
it was adopting the State government's argument.

In his written arguments submitted to court, Dr.Swamy said Nalini had
filed a mercy petition before the President, but its outcome had not been
disclosed by her in the present writ petition. But, according to her,
after Congress leader Sonia Gandhi had publicly stated that she had no
objection to the petitioner's death sentence being commuted to life
imprisonment, Nalini preferred an application to the Tamil Nadu Governor
for clemency and sought commutation of the death sentence. This public
statement is material evidence in the writ petition and hence the Centre
should have filed a counter affidavit and documented the statement and the
reasons for the same in its entirety. Failure to do so remained a mystery.

Dr. Swamy argued that the prayer in the writ petition seeking a direction
to the respondents to order her premature release was misconceived. Nalini
can not apply for premature release from prison under section 433 A
Cr.P.C.

That provision would apply only if the original commutation of the death
sentence to life imprisonment had been made under section 433 Cr.P.C.

Quoting a Supreme Court order, Dr. Swamy explained that unless an order of
commutation under subsection (b) of section 433 Cr.P.C was issued, life
imprisonment meant imprisonment for life. Nalini could not claim as a
fundamental right to require the appropriate government to set her free
after serving 14 years imprisonment. The discretion on whether to release
her or not rested with the appropriate government even if an order was
issued under section 433 (b) Cr.P.C. In the review in the Swami
Shraddhanand case, the Supreme Court reaffirmed the settled case law i.e.,
that a commuted sentence of life imprisonment meant imprisonment for the
physical life of the convict unless the order of commutation from death
penalty to life imprisonment specifically stated otherwise.

The Rajiv Gandhi assassination case was the rarest of rare cases and
deserving capital punishment that the Supreme Court had upheld and
reconfirmed in the review petitions filed by the convicts, including
Nalini.

The apex court's observations while upholding the death sentence were
relevant for deciding the present writ petition.

(source: The Hindu)

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

Defence wants death penalty for Banka murder accused


The defence lawyer of the Banka couple murder case will plead death
penalty for the accused, Kebol Roy. The court was to announce the quantum
of punishment on Thursday. Due to the death of a lawyer, the case has been
deferred till Saturday.

Public prosecutor Ganesh Maity said the case was among 'rarest of rare'
ones. "Roy was the domestic help of the elderly couple, who had placed
immense trust on him. Yet, he brutally murdered them. We will demand death
penalty for the accused," he added.

The Supreme Court had also used the term 'rarest of rare' case, when
Dhananjoy Chatterjee was sentenced to death in the Hetal Parekh rape and
murder case.

If the court awards death sentence in the Banka murder case, this will be
the 2nd incident in less than 30 days, when a domestic help has been
awarded death sentence for murder of the employer.

On August 29, Nikku Yadav ( 24) was sentenced to death by the Alipore
sessions court for the murder of Ravinder Kaur Luthra (51), in whose
Ballygunge Circular Road apartment he had worked for seven years. Roy also
worked as a domestic help for Tarachand Banka and wife Sarda. Both were
found brutally murdered in their Camac Street apartment 3 years ago.

(source: Express India)