[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Sept. 22



AUSTRALIA:

Push for clear line on death penalty


PRESSURE is mounting on the Rudd Government from the Labor back bench to
adopt a tougher stand against the death penalty.

With 3 Australians on death row in Indonesia - including the 22-year-old
convicted drug mule Scott Rush - a push is on for the Government to voice
more publicly throughout the region its position as an abolitionist
country.

The NSW MP Chris Hayes has lodged a notice of motion in Parliament calling
on the Government to take a number of steps, including passing laws making
it illegal for states and territories to reintroduce the death penalty.
The current legal position means states and territories could reintroduce
it, should they wish.

This would incorporate Australia's obligations under the Second Optional
Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
aimed at the abolition of the death penalty, into domestic legislation.

Such a move, advocates believe, would send a clearer message
internationally on Australia's position, and strengthen its arguments for
Australians on death row overseas to be spared.

The notice of motion also calls on the Government to lobby the Indonesian
Government "as and whenever appropriate" to grant clemency to the 3
Australian Bali 9 members on death row.

It also asks Indonesia to "understand Australia's principled position in
relation to the imposition of the death penalty".

"Abhorrence of the death penalty is a fundamental value in Australian
society and there is bipartisan opposition to the death penalty within the
Australian Parliament," it says.

The notice of motion will be debated in Parliament in the next sitting
period, in a fortnight.

The Victorian Labor MP Mark Dreyfus, who is a QC, will also argue in
support of the motion.

Mr Dreyfus told the Herald yesterday "all my adult life I've been opposed
to the death penalty. We have abolished the death penalty in Australia and
we need to work for the abolition of the death penalty every where in the
world."

The Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, while opposition leader, dismayed civil
libertarians and supporters of Australians on death row when he censured
his now-Attorney-General, Robert McClelland, for arguing for a more
principled approach to the death penalty, one that opposed executions for
citizens regardless of nationality or crime.

It is believed by those backing a stronger approach that it would clarify
the position of Australian law enforcement agencies who co-operate in
transnational investigations into crimes which attract the death penalty
overseas. This follows criticism of the Australian Federal Police who were
involved in the arrests of the Bali 9.

Colin McDonald, the barrister for Rush, said: "It will then become a
relevant legal consideration for the AFP in the conveyance of information
that might predictably lead to the imposition of the death penalty on
Australian citizens."

2 other Australians, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran of the Bali Nine,
are on death row. The 3 men can seek a judicial review of their death
sentences, and appeal to the Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono, for clemency.

Mr McDonald says Mr Hayes's notice of motion is "historically
significant". Mr Hayes is the member for Werriwa. It was under the prime
ministership of another member for Werriwa - Gough Whitlam - that
Australia abolished the death penalty for federal offences, in 1973.

(source: Sydney Morning Herald)






IRAN:

Iran Moves One Step Closer to Mandating Death Penalty for Apostasy


Iran's parliament, the Majlis, voted by an overwhelming majority on
September 9 in favor of a draft law that would mandate the death penalty
for apostates. According to reports, the parliament passed an umbrella
bill that contains articles requiring the death penalty for apostates. The
articles now return to committee for further consideration before
lawmakers vote on them again.

Iranian law currently requires punishment for apostates, that is, those
who leave Islam and convert to another religion. However, the type of
punishment is left to the discretion of the judge. If the new provisions
pass all stages of Irans legislative process, apostates will receive only
one punishment: death.

The draft penal code has been under consideration since February, and
includes security provisions that would give Iran jurisdiction even over
actions taken and deemed threatening to the state outside of Iran. The
code also distinguishes between apostates born to at least one Muslim
parent (innate) and those whose parents were not Muslims at their
conception (parental). The Cutting Edge News has been covering the draft
law.

Article 225-7 of the code states, "Punishment for an Innate Apostate is
death," while Article 225-8 says, "Punishment for a Parental Apostate is
death, but after the final sentencing for 3 days he/she would be guided to
the right path and encouraged to recant his/her belief and if he/she
refused, the death penalty would be carried out."

(source: The Cutting Edge)