[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Aug. 19



JAMAICA:

Judge criticises government position on death penalty


Supreme Court Judge Donald McIntosh has criticised the Government for not
carrying out the death penalty.

The judge made the criticism, after sentencing a 25 year old fisherman to
be hanged for a double murder.

Junior Campbell, of August Town, St. Andrew was earlier convicted of the
murder of a couple, who was shot dead at their home in August Town in
February 2005.

A Home Circuit Court jury convicted Campbell on May 5 of the murders of
Marlene Brown and her common-law-husband Stanford Hall.

The couple were at home with their 5 young children on the night of
February 5, 2005 when gunmen kicked down the door and shot them.

The court was told that the persons taking care of the children were
having a difficult time doing so.

The Judge on hearing this called for the government to put facilities in
place to take care of children, who have lost their parents through
violence.

(source: Go Jamaica)






IRAN:

A man was hanged in Zahedan, Iran, on charges of adultery. According to
the public relations unit of the main judiciary department of
Sistan-Baluchestan Province, the suspect Hasan Sadeqpur was sentenced to
death by hanging on charges of adultery following a sentence handed down
by the provincial penal court. This sentence was carried out in the
courtyard of the central Zahedan prison after it was upheld by supreme
judiciary bodies and the provincial pardon commission opposed the
pardoning of this person.

(sources: BBC)






SUDAN:

Darfur Death Sentences Setback for Peace


The death sentences meted out this week to 8 members of Darfurs rebel
Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) could be a setback in resolving the
5-year long conflict in western Sudan, local observers note.

A Sudanese court sentenced the JEM members to death on Sunday, bringing
the number of Darfuri rebels condemned to death up to 38. The convicts
were caught after an unprecedented assault of Darfuri rebels on the
outskirts of the capital Khartoum in May.

More than 200 people were killed in the attack. The death sentence is not
new in Sudan, but this particular sentence is unique in that in previous
attacks Darfuri rebels were rarely arrested and brought to justice.

The sentence is subject to an appeal procedure in a higher court and also
requires the signature of the president.

On the one hand, the sentences will positively affect the credibility of
the Sudanese government in the eyes of the Sudanese people, who see that
the government and the judiciary are acting to resolve the conflict,
'Abdallah Adam Khatir, a Darfuri journalist based in Khartoum told The
Media Line.

But he added that if the executions do go through it would be a "disaster"
for the whole country. Khatir said the JEM also has captive soldiers from
the Sudanese military, and if the eight are executed, the soldiers being
held by the JEM will likely face a similar fate.

People don't believe it's right for these people to be sentenced to
death," Khatir said, adding that it "most likely" they would not be
executed but rather used as bargaining chips in future negotiations.

Dr. Safwat Fanous, a political scientist at the University of Khartoum,
tends to agree.

"The JEM movement may refuse to negotiate if or when its members are
executed," he told The Media Line.

"According to the constitution the president has the right to pardon death
sentences. So maybe for political reasons the president will reduce the
sentence to life imprisonment, so that if there's a peace settlement,
these people can be pardoned as part of a reconciliation process."

The conflict in Darfur began in early 2003 when local rebel groups rose up
against the central government in Khartoum, protesting against decades of
discrimination. The government has been accused of unleashing aggressive
armed groups called the Janjaweed to counter the rebels.

According to international estimates, more than 200,000 people have been
killed and 2.2 million displaced in what some governments are calling
genocide.

The Sudanese government is downplaying the death toll of the Darfur
conflict, and says it is closer to 10,000.

The conflict has also caused many Darfur residents to flee to neighboring
countries, especially to Chad and the Central African Republic.

Last month the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Luis
Moreno-Ocampo asked for an arrest warrant to be issued against Sudanese
President 'Umar Al-Bashir for genocide, crimes against humanity and war
crimes in Darfur.

The request requires the approval of ICC judges who are reviewing the
case.

Sudan has repeatedly rejected this ruling and insists its own courts are
effective enough in bringing war criminals to justice.

Al-Bashir is attending an economic summit of African leaders in Turkey on
Tuesday, his 1st trip outside Sudan since the ICC indictment.

In the unlikely event that an arrest warrant is issued against him during
the summit he is unlikely to be arrested in Turkey because Ankara is not a
signatory to the ICCs treaty.

(source: The Media LIne News Agency)






BANGLADESH:

2 get death, 6 get life for Abul Hossain killing


A Dhaka court Tuesday handed down the death penalty to 2 men for the
brutal murder of Liberation War commander Abul Hossain, while 6 others
received life terms for their involvement.

A crowded courtroom heard Judge Md Masdar Hossain, of Dhaka No 1 Speedy
Trial Tribunal, award death sentences to Ayub Ali Munshi and Kamrul
Matubbar, though the latter remains on the run.

According to the case details, the convicted men hacked former freedom
fighter Abul Hossain to death with a machete in the morning hours of June
20, 2005, in the Otadi Char Kanda area in Faridpur.

2 of Hossain's sons as well as 2 of his brothers were also injured in the
vicious assault.

The 6 who received life terms were also fined Tk 50,000 and cautioned that
failure to pay would result in a further one year's rigorous imprisonment.
They are Md Nurul Islam, Zahurul Hosssain, Magrib Hossain, Abdur Razzak,
Billal Hossain and Badsha Miah.

The judge acquitted 10 others implicated in the murder case, filed by the
victim's son Sohag Hossain.

(source: Bangladesh News 24)