[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Nov. 12




CHINA:

China separatists face death penalty


6 Chinese separatists from the country's restive Xinjiang region have been
sentenced to death and life imprisonment, officials say.

The 6, described as members of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, were
convicted of taking part in "separatist activities, illegally making
explosives, and training up a terrorist camp" at a local court in the
northwest Xinjiang region.

5 men were sentenced to death, 2 of which had their sentences suspended
for two years. The 6th man was sentenced to life in imprisonment.

"In order to split the nation ... they carried out extreme religious
activities and advocated holy war and established a terrorist training
base," said the state media.

The 6 people were part of a "terrorist group" captured by the Chinese
police during a gun battle last January in southern Xinjiang. Eighteen of
the group members were killed in the raid and 17 others were arrested.

Turkestan State of the restive, oil-rich Xinjiang region borders Pakistan,
Afghanistan. It is home to 8 million Uighurs, a Turkic, largely Islamic
people who share linguistic and cultural bonds with Central Asian
countries.

(source: Press TV)






JAPAN:

Accused mass murderess willing to accept death penalty


Accused double murderer Suzuka Hatakeyama told her Akita District Court
trial hearing on Monday that she would be prepared to accept the death
penalty.

Hatakeyama, 34, appeared in the witness box at her trial for allegedly
killing her 9-year-old daughter, Ayaka, and his playmate, Goken Yoneyama.

Prosecutors asked Hatakeyama her opinion about the death penalty.

"If you still received the death penalty even though the court recognized
all your claims, would you appeal against it?" a prosecution lawyer asked
the defendant.

Hatakeyama replied that she would not appeal such a ruling.

Hatakeyama has denied intending to kill her daughter.

(source: Mainichi Shinbum)






YEMEN:

Yemeni Journalist Could Face Death Penalty Over Photos


The worldwide press freedom organization, Reporters Without Borders (RSF),
has called on Yemeni authorities to end the prosecution of a freelance
journalist and former editor.

The group said that all charges against Abdulkarim Al Khaiwani, the former
editor for the now closed Al Shoura should be dropped.

Al Khaiwani is charged with "publishing information liable to undermine
army morale." Under Yemen's criminal code, the maximum penalty is death.

"Khaiwani is critical of the government headed by President Ali Abdallah
Saleh but that does not make him a rebel," RSF said in a press statement.

"We remind the authorities that journalists are, by definition, neutral
observers and as such they should not be prosecuted for what they report,"
the group continued.

Al Khaiwani was arrested in June after photos he took were published that
revealed abuses committed by the army in its battle with Shia rebels in
the north of the country.

According to RSF, during his interrogation, Al Khaiwani was accused of
"terrorist activity" due to his alleged links with the rebels.

Khaiwani told RSF that he was the victim of a "political machination" and
said the judge who had been in charge of his case had been replaced by
judge Mohsen Alwan, who was "known for his hostility towards journalists
and for his links to the political and military authorities."

Yemen ranks 143rd out of 169 nations in the world press freedom index
published last month by the press freedom group.

(source: All Headline News)






IRAQ:

No hanging of 'Chemical Ali' till legal row resolved: US


US forces will not hand over "Chemical Ali" and 2 other cohorts of Saddam
Hussein for execution until a legal row is settled, the US embassy said
Monday, responding to a bitter attack by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri
al-Maliki.

"There continue to be differences in viewpoint within the government of
Iraq regarding the necessary Iraqi legal and procedural requirements for
carrying out death sentences issued by the Iraqi High Tribunal," US
spokeswoman Mirembe Nantongo told AFP.

"Coalition forces will continue to retain physical custody of the
defendants until this issue is resolved," she said.

On Sunday, Maliki accused the US embassy of playing an "unfortunate role"
in preventing the handover of the 3 condemned men, who, like other members
of Saddam's ousted regime, are in US military custody.

He told a press conference in Baghdad that his government was "determined"
that the executions be carried out.

But Nantongo was adamant the condemned men would not be handed over for
hanging before the legal hitches are resolved.

"There is still discussion within the government of Iraq over the legal
requirements in this case. We are waiting for the government to come to
consensus as to what their law requires before preparing a physical
transfer," she said.

Ali Hassan al-Majid, widely known as "Chemical Ali" for his use of
poisonous gas against Kurds; Sultan Hashim al-Tai, Saddam's defence
minister; and Hussein Rashid al-Tikriti, his armed forces deputy chief of
operations, were sentenced to death on June 24.

They were found responsible for the slaughter of thousands of Kurds in the
so-called Anfal (Spoils) campaign of 1988.

Under Iraqi law they were supposed to have been executed by October 4, 30
days after their sentences were upheld by the Iraq Supreme Court.

But Maliki made it clear he did not want the executions to take place
during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which ended on October 15,
because of the outcry that followed Saddam Hussein's execution during
another Muslim holiday.

More than a month after the deadline the sentences have not yet been
carried out and lawyers claim that since the deadline was not adhered to,
executing the men would be illegal.

Further complicating matters, two members of the presidential council,
President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, and Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, a
Sunni, have refused to sign the execution orders.

In the case of Saddam, Talabani, who is opposed on principle to the death
penalty, refused to give the order but signed a letter to the Shiite prime
minister saying he would raise no objections if the government went ahead.

He has repeatedly come out in defence of Hashim al-Tai.

"This man does not deserve execution, " Talabani said in an interview with
Dubai-based Al-Arabiya television last month.

"He was a capable and excellent officer who implemented Saddam Hussein's
strict orders. He could not disobey orders."

Vice President Hashemi fears that the execution of Hashim al-Tai could
undermine already stuttering reconciliation efforts in post-Saddam Iraq.

The vice president, too, argues that Hashim, a career military man, had
little choice but to follow orders from Saddam.

US ambassador Ryan Crocker told reporters in Baghdad on October 25 it was
essential that all legal aspects be resolved.

"This is an Iraqi judicial process. We think it is very important that the
rule of law be respected here and that, when and as necessary, that the
time be taken to be sure that all of the issues are clarified," he said.

An estimated 182,000 Kurds were killed and 4,000 villages wiped out in the
brutal campaign of bombings, mass deportations and gas attacks.

Saddam's regime said the Anfal campaign was a necessary counter-insurgency
operation during Iraq's 8-year war with neighbouring Iran.

(source: Agence France Presse)