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

[Rick Halperin]

July 21



PAKISTAN:

Russian gets death penalty in Pakistan


A Russian man has been given the death penalty for an assassination
attempt on the Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. However, his family
claims that he confessed under duress.

According to Pakistani authorities, Akhlas Akhlak participated in the 2003
assassination attempt and confessed to that upon his arrest. Relatives of
the young man say this statement was made under great duress.

"There is no evidence that he wanted to assassinate the president
whatsoever. He is also accused of speaking out against the current
Pakistani government. But he was in Russia at the time they say he was
doing this. And I have proved this. I send money to him through the
foreign ministry at that time," Akhmad Akhlak, the mans father says.

Akhlas's parents have only been able to see their son once since his
arrest. They have now turned for help to the human rights representative
of their native region.

Mikhail Tarantsov, the head of regional human rights body, says he has
been working closely with Russia's Foreign Ministry.

"Although his fathers evidence may be considered as coming from an
interested party, what he says shows that his son was arrested during
circumstances which, mildly speaking, are very controversial and the facts
that his father is suggesting are very serious. One of the examples is
that his son is accused of committing a crime when he wasn't in the
country. And this is proven by documents. In general, there are a lot of
weaknesses in the legal case against his son," Mr Tarantsov commented.

The young man's parents plan to appeal the death verdict on the basis that
their son - a civilian - was tried by a military court. And that is
something Pakistan's law prohibits.

Nevertheless, Pakistani Ambassador to Russia, Mustafa Kamal Kazi, does not
believe the case is anything other than closed.

"This person was arrested as a citizen of Pakistan. He had all Pakistani
documents at the time of his arrest. And there is no dual nationality
agreement between Russia and Pakistan. The question is how he could have 2
nationalities while there is no agreement of 2 nationalities between the 2
countries," the ambassador stressed.

The convicted man, however, has so far been denied a meeting with Russian
embassy representatives in Islamabad. Akhlas Akhlak remains in prison on
death row.

(source: Russia Today)






TRINIDAD & TOBAGO:

Death sentence for cop who shot partying youth


The Appeal Court yesterday affirmed the death sentence on a police officer
who shot and killed a Cunupia teenager at a Carnival party in 2004.

A jury dismissed PC Dave Burnett's claim that he had been acting in
self-defence when he shot 18-year-old Kevin Cato in the chest at the
Outrageous in Red fete held at Pier 1, Chaguaramas, on January 24, 2004.

Among the several grounds argued by English Queen's Counsel, Lord Thomas
of Gresford, was that the trial judge should have asked the jury to
consider whether Burnett was guilty of the lesser offence of manslaughter
on the basis that he had been provoked into shooting Cato.

Delivering the judgment yesterday, acting Chief Justice Roger Hamel-Smith
said there was no evidence the officer had lost his self-control, and
therefore the argument failed. Cato's friends were the main witnesses for
the prosecution. They claimed that they were jumping around to music and
accidentally bumped Burnett and he slapped one of them, Ryan Solomon.
Solomon slapped the officer and fell forward, at which point Burnett shot
him and Cato.

PC Burnett claimed members of the group had been continually bumping into
him, and they eventually attacked him. He said some of them were trying to
reach for his gun, so he pulled it out and fired at them.

Dana Seetahal SC and Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Carla
Brown-Antoine represented the State in the appeal, which was also heard by
Justices of Appeal Stanley John and Paula Mae Weekes.

(source: Trinidad Express)






CHINA:

Chinese man given suspended death penalty for multiple murders


A mentally ill man in south China's Guangdong Province has received a
suspended death sentence for murdering 5 family members and an employee
with a hammer.

Huang Wenyi, 34, murdered his wife Cai Qiuyi, his 7-year-old son, his
mother-in-law, sister-in-law and a woman who worked in his pharmacy on
December 28, 2006, in his home in Nanhai District, Foshan City, following
a dispute with his wife.

1 hour after the murders, Huang drove a motorcycle and lured another
sister-in-law into a garden at Foshan No 1 People's Hospital only to kill
her with the same hammer.

In its verdict, the court said the judiciary appraisal showed Huang was in
a state of mental illness when he carried out the murders, and suspended
the sentence for 2 years.

Under Chinese law, leniency can be considered when courts mete out
sentences for those confirmed to be suffering mental illness at the time
of committing crimes.

Before the murders, Huang had feared he would be implicated after his
relatives had been arrested by police for economic crimes and that he
would be murdered by his wife or others, the court was told.

Huang was arrested on January 1 at a hotel in Guangzhou, capital of
Guangdong.

(source: Times of India)