Oct. 14 CHILE: CHILE'S SEN. NARANJO CALLS FOR COMPLETE ABOLITION OF DEATH PENALTY Politicians and activists around the world commemorated the International Day Against the Death Penalty last Friday by protesting against death as a means of punishment. Chile was no exception: Socialist Party (PS) Sen. Jaime Naranjo Ortiz called on the Chilean government to completely abolish the death penalty and encouraged other countries to ratify the U.N. resolution against it. Although Chile abolished the death penalty in civilian courts in 2001, military tribunals can still sentence criminals to death for serious crimes committed during times of war. On Friday, Naranjo pushed for the complete abolition of the death penalty, which he called an inhumane and useless practice. "The death penalty is much more than a punishment. It's an inhumane practice, and because of this, it should be abolished," Naranjo said. "Those who defend its use dont want to recognize that its implementation isn't effective. While it's true that the death penalty eliminates the criminal, it doesn't put an end to the economic, social, or political motives that generate the crimes. Lastly, and this is an important fact, the death penalty violates the right to life as stated by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights." Naranjo made an international request asking countries to ratify a U.N. resolution against the death penalty that was passed on December 18, 2007 during a visit by Chilean President Michelle Bachelet. President Bachelet promised the assembly that Chile would "fight as a country so that (the death penalty) will be abolished for good at an international level." Naranjo said that to make good on Bachelet's promise, Chile's "imminent task is to eliminate every vestige of the penalty from our legislation." The senator expressed hope that Chile would use October 10 "to reaffirm our promise as a country to continue fighting for the total abolition of the death penalty around the world. The death penalty cannot continue to be a form of the State's or society's revenge against those who have infringed on the law." Naranjo said he was pleased with the progress the world has made toward abolishing the death penalty, but believes there is still a long way to go. Recent Amnesty International figures show that 92 countries almost 2/3 of the world have abolished the death penalty in law and practice. However, at least 1,252 people were executed in 2007, and 88 % of these executions took place in 5 countries: China, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United States. Sen. Naranjo is known for his leading stance on social justice and human rights issues. A former head of the Senate's Human Rights Commission, he has sponsored a number of justice-oriented bills, including one that would strip human rights violators of military perks (ST, July 10). His call to abolish the death penalty is the latest in a long history of human rights advocacy. (source: The Santiago Times) MOROCCO: Morocco debates abolition of death penalty A seminar on death penalty in Morocco ended on Sunday evening without deciding whether it should be abolished in the Moroccan Kingdom but it admitted it was a disputed and problematic issue. Organized jointly by the Consultative Council on Human Rights (CCDH) and the French association "Together against death penalty" (ECPM), the Rabat seminar called for an "objective debate" on the issue considering its sensitivity as it is intrinsically linked to Islamic law . Only a \scientific and dispassionate debate" can clarify this "fundamentally-problematic" issue, the participants from various parts of the country said. This is the 1st meeting of its kind in Morocco under the auspices of the CCDH. As a de facto abolitionist, Morocco continues sentencing convicts to death but executions are not carried out. The last execution was in 1993 when a commissioner convicted of rape and abuse of power was executed. According to the CCDH, the country's courts have passed 350 death sentences since independence in 1956, 211 of which have been enforced. Some 150 people are still languishing in death row, CCDH said. The abolition of the death penalty in Morocco remains "delicate" without a "consensus" among "positivist" lawyers and Ulema (Islamic scholars), reliable sources in Rabat said. (source: African Press Agency News) SAUDI ARABIA: Foreign workers in Saudi Arabia 'pay with lives'---- Saudi Arabia 'disproportionately uses death penalty against poor foreign workers' Saudi Arabia is disproportionately using the death penalty against poor foreign workers, Amnesty International has found. A report from the charity has released a report estimating there were at least 1,695 executions between 1985 and May 2008 and of these, 830 were foreign nationals and 809 Saudis. Given that foreigners make up about a quarter of the population, this is a "highly disproportionate use of the death penalty against foreigners" Amnesty said. Foreigners facing capital trials in the Kingdom are frequently unable to understand any of the proceedings if they are not Arabic speakers, are often not even represented by a lawyer and are routinely held for long periods in harsh conditions and coerced into false 'confessions'. In addition, they also lack the financial means or the contacts to negotiate pardons via 'diya' or 'blood money' arrangements. Amnesty International UK director, Kate Allen, said: "Poor foreign workers are literally paying with their lives when accused of capital crimes in Saudi Arabia. "The use of capital punishment in Saudi Arabia is a disgrace. The Kingdom should introduce a moratorium immediately." William Sampson, a joint UK-Canadian national who was tortured and sentenced to death in the country along with several British and other foreign nationals in 2001, said: "As someone unfortunate enough to have experienced all that the Saudi system can throw at you, I know intimately the barbaric, arbitrary and inhuman manner in which Saudi justice is implemented. "What further appalls me is the muted observance of these facts by countries such as ours - ones that claim to support and uphold human rights." (source: InTheNews.co.uk) ******************* Sri Lankan Consulate General in Jeddah to assist death row convicts The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been informed by the Sri Lankan Consulate General in Jeddah that 3 Sri Lankans had been sentenced to death and 3 others sentenced to jail terms and lashing, by a Jeddah Court on Sunday upon being convicted for the crimes of robbery, sowing dissension and threatening public order and peace. In this case, K.A.P. Gayan Uditha Nanayakkara, Thushara Dinesh Perera alias Isaac Christy Vedamanikkam and W.M. Nilantha Bandara Tennakoon were sentenced to death and P.R.M. Ranjith Wasantha Kumara, Noora Mohamed and Rajiya Abdul Samad sentenced to 10 years, 4 years and 2 years imprisonment respectively as well as lashing, after being found guilty to robbery and murder of a Yemeni national, Omar Yeslam in May 2007. It may be noted that 5 Indian nationals who had also been involved in the crime were sentenced by the Court to varying terms of imprisonment and lashing. The Sri Lankan Consulate General in Jeddah has been providing consular assistance to the above Sri Lankans from the time of their arrest through their Court trial, and would facilitate the appeals against the death sentences on the 3 Sri Lankans. The 3 Sri Lankans who have been sentenced to jail terms and lashing have accepted the verdicts against them, and do not intend to appeal. According to the Saudi Arabian regulations, the appeals against the verdicts have to be filed before the Court, within 1 month of the written judgment being delivered, which is expected shortly. The Foreign Ministry has directed the Consulate General in Jeddah to closely follow all developments in this case and continue to provide consular assistance to the Sri Lankan nationals, as well as facilitate the filing of the appeals. (source: Sri Lanka Daily News) INDONESIA: Execution delays could turn terrorists into martyrs The planned executions of the 3 Bali bombers on death row have been politicized to gain Muslim support ahead of next year's elections, observers said Monday. They said the political tug of war that had seen the executions continually delayed would increase the chances of the 3 convicted terrorists -- Amrozi, Imam Samudra and Ali Ghufron -- attaining martyr status. The more the sentence is delayed, the harder it will be for the government to uphold the law as sympathy for the bombers will grow, observers said a day after the 6th anniversary of the bombings that killed 202 people in Bali. Some of the survivors of the blast questioned the government's reluctance to execute the 3 convicts. Political expert at the University of Indonesia Bantarto Bandoro said he suspected that some hard-line legislators at the House of Representatives had managed to lobby for more time for the convicts in the hope that the delay would lead to public sympathy to overturn the sentences. "I think it's late already as the executions should have been performed long before Ramadan. The government seems to (be attempting to) appease the Muslim community to gain popularity ahead of the elections," he said. Bantarto said the delays would weaken the fight against terrorism and undermine the potential for the death penalty to deter crime. "With all eyes on Indonesia, we will be seen as lenient and compromising by the international community if the executions are postponed," he said. Legislator Andreas Pareira of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) accused the government of hiding behind a wall of legal nonsense to gain political support. "All legal means have been exhausted so the executions should be performed quickly. It will be chaotic if political and legal issues are mixed," he said. Andreas said the delays could cultivate an air of injustice because the government had been quick to execute in 2006 Fabianus Tibo, Dominggus da Silva and Marinus Riwu, who were convicted of mass killings during the sectarian conflict between Christians and Muslims in Poso, Central Sulawesi, in 2000. The Supreme Court rejected in September last year a case review demand filed by Amrozi, Samudra and Ghufron, which was the last legal resort available to the 3 terrorists. However, the Attorney General's Office (AGO) has continually prolonged the lives of the bombers, most recently by delaying the executions beyond the holy month of Ramadan, which ended Sep. 30. The AGO on Monday denied accusations it had delayed the executions for political reasons, promising in a public announcement that the three would be killed Friday. "The allegations are untrue. We have no intention of delaying the executions. We need to consider many things before we can carry them out," AGO spokesman Jasman Simanjuntak said. Lars Bergander, a Swede whose teenage daughter was killed in the 2002 Bali bombing, said he eagerly awaited the executions. "I'm glad that your government managed to arrest the terrorists. But I don't understand why they have repeatedly postponed the executions," he was quoted as saying by AFP. (source: Jakarta Post)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Rick Halperin Tue, 14 Oct 2008 00:21:58 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide Rick Halperin