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

[Rick Halperin]

April 18



SAUDI ARABIA----executions

4 executed in Saudi for drug smuggling, rape


2 Syrian men convicted of drug trafficking, and 2 Saudis found guilty of
rape were beheaded by the sword in Saudi Arabia on Friday, the interior
ministry said.

Firas Faisal al-Aghbar and Firas Hussein Maktabi were found guilty of
taking delivery of a shipment of hallucinogenic drugs and were executed in
the northwestern city of Tabuk, said a ministry statement carried by the
official SPA news agency.

Meanwhile, Saudi Abdul Rahman al-Zahrani was convicted of kidnapping and
raping a female expatriate while his compatriot Abdul Rahman al-Fifi was
found guilty of aiding and facilitating the attack.

Both of them soldiers, they had stopped an expatriate who was in a car
with his 20-year-old daughter and ordered him to step down, terrorising
him with their military identification cards, SPA said.

Zahrani drove away with the victim's car and daughter, while Fifi held the
father at knifepoint in another car, allowing his accomplice to head to a
deserted area where he raped the woman.

They were both executed in Riyadh.

The executions bring to 49 the number announced by Saudi Arabia this year.

Last year, a record 153 people were executed in the Gulf kingdom, which
applies a strict version of sharia, or Islamic law. This figure compared
with 37 beheaded in 2006, and the previous record number of 113 executions
in 2000.

Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking can all carry
the death penalty in the ultra-conservative country, where executions are
usually carried out in public.

(source: Agence France Presse)






FIJI:

Rabuka calls for capital punishment for future Fiji coups


Fiji's first coup leader, Sitiveni Rabuka, has called for the return of
capital punishment for treason.

But he wants to give the current coup leader, Commodore Voreqe
Bainimarama, immunity from any prosecution and a full prime ministerial
pension in return for his retirement.

Rabuka's proposals in the Fiji Sun come amidst fears that Bainimarama's
military council will revoke the country's constitution and re-impose a
state of emergency shortly.

Rabuka staged Fiji's first 2 coups in 1987 while Bainimarama in December
2006 overthrew the government of Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase.

Because Rabuka's coups were successful he had successive constitutions
amended to give him immunity from prosecution.

In the 2000 George Speight coup the main perpetrators were convicted of
treason which, at the time, was a capital offence. Parliament quickly
changed the law so that the death penalty was removed.

Now, as part of a package, Rabuka wants hanging returned.

Rabuka is concerned that the 87-year-old ailing President Josefa Iloilo
might be about to die.

When that happens, he said, "Fiji would face a crisis worse than a
military takeover".

The only way out would be for Bainimarama to take over as president and
that would create a further crisis.

Rabuka told the Fiji Sun that before Iloilo dies, the deposed parliament
should be restored and made to change the constitution so that Bainimarama
and his ministers and supporters are given immunity from prosecution.

Parliament should then be dissolved and an "interim bureaucratic
government" of heads of departments installed and an election called.

"These need to be stage - managed to ensure the sacrificial co-operation
of all concerned.

"(Bainimarama) can then be retired on full-term prime ministerial pension
that is 5-year PM's pension, plus his normal (Fiji National Provident
Fund) pension once he attains the pensionable age of 55."

Once a new parliament is in place "capital punishment for capital crimes
reactivated so that any future treasonable activities will face the full
brunt of the law," Rabuka told the Sun.

"These seem drastic and 'way out' solutions but we must remember that
drastic situations demand drastic solutions."

Fears that the Bainimarama military government may abrogate the
constitution are linked to a case before the Supreme Court taken by Qarase
who questioned the legality of the government.

The case has been argued and the country is now awaiting a judgment. Legal
circles expect the court to rule the coup was illegal, prompting
Bainimarama to abrogate the constitution.

Rabuka said the nation would not want that and nor would neighbouring
nations.

"It cannot be a good move, wise or not, because it will only speed up our
economic decline and cost us many more heartaches. We will lose more of
our people and investors who will migrate to more manageable futures in
other politically stable countries," Rabuka told the Fiji Sun.

"Our credibility will be totally erased making it very difficult to
rebuild at the end of the political reconstruction and constitutional
re-engineering phase the government will lead us into with the abrogation
of the constitution. While it is a way out, it is not a good one."

(source: Stuff.co.nz)






SCOTLAND:

Freed death row inmate 'has cancer'


Freed Death Row Briton Kenny Richey has been diagnosed with mouth cancer,
it has been reported.

Richey, who spent more than 2 decades in an American jail awaiting
execution, wept after doctors told him he was suffering from the disease.

But the 43-year-old from Edinburgh said he was determined to fight the
illness so he could return to the US and visit his grandchildren.

Richey told the Scottish Sun: "When my specialist told me the tests were
positive I just broke down in tears.

"I had tried to prepare myself for the worst but actually hearing the news
was just devastating. After spending 21 hellish years in prison I thought
I had been given another chance at life."

Richey is due to have a malignant growth on the inside of his cheek
removed next week. He will then undergo a course of radiotherapy.

Richey left Scotland at the age of 18 to go and live with his father in
Ohio.

The former marine was put on death row in January 1987 after being
convicted of an arson attack in which a 2-year-old girl died. He was freed
after reaching a plea deal last year with American prosecutors, and has
been back in Britain since January.

On his release, Richey, who once came within an hour of execution, was
told to stay out of Putney County in Ohio for five years. He is, however,
free to visit other parts of the country and had ben planning to visit his
son and grandchildren, who live in Minnesota.

Richey has always denied setting fire to the building in which toddler,
Cynthia Collins, died.

(source: Associated Press)






IRAQ:

Amnesty International Raises Concern about 28 Executions in Iraq After
Seemingly Hasty and Unfair Trials


The execution of 28 people this week following what appears to be hasty
and unfair trials makes it urgent for the Iraqi authorities to establish a
moratorium on the death penalty, Amnesty International said today.

"Those executed were arrested in clashes that took place in the past 3
weeks. For them to be arrested, sentenced and executed within such a short
period raises serious concerns about the trial process," said Amnesty
International. "The Iraqi authorities must disclose all relevant
information about these trials, including whether those executed had
access to legal representation or not."

Amnesty International has repeatedly expressed its concerns about the
trials conducted by criminal courts in Iraq, and whose procedures fall
short of international standards for fair trials.

"The Iraqi government argued in 2004 that reinstating capital punishment
would curb the widespread violence in the country," said Amnesty
International. "The reality, however, is that violence has continued
unabated and the death penalty has not been a deterrent."

The death penalty has been used extensively since its reintroduction in
2004 and hundreds of people have been sentenced to death after grossly
unfair trials. Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all
circumstances as a violation of the right to life and as the ultimate
cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.

(source: Amnesty International)






INDIA:

2 awarded death for former Tamil Nadu minister's murder


A judge in Tirunelveli has awarded death sentences to 2 people found
guilty of murdering former TN law minister Aladi Aruna in December 2004.

Principal Sessions' Judge Bhasker sentenced to death Bala alias Bala
Murugan and Azhagar, who were declared guilty a day ago. A 3rd accused,
Veldurai, was awarded 3 years' rigorous imprisonment.

There was heavy police presence in the court as the sentences were handed
down. The city is located 600 km south of Chennai.

According to the prosecution, Aruna, a leading member of the ruling DMK,
was murdered in Alankulam near here by hired assassins.

Local educationist SA Raja, charged with organising the killing, was
acquitted Wednesday.

(source: Hindustan Times)