[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Nov. 7



BANGLADESH:

2 awarded death sentences and 19 get life-term for murder in Barisal


A trial court in Patuakhali awarded death sentences to 2 accused and life
term to other 19 in sensational Jasim murder case.

The judgment was declared 14 years after the murder and Munir Hossain,
Yusuf Chan Mia and Harendra Chandra Shil, 3 of 31 accused died in jail
before ending the trial.

The court also acquitted Zahir Hossain, Ershadul Hossain, Zakir Muhammad,
Shahidul Islam, Muhammad Ali Chowkidar, Idris Ali Howladar and Mustafa
Gazi, other seven accused from the charges.

Gias Uddin Ahmed, judge of the special tribunal in Patuakhali, handed down
this verdict after examining 18 witnesses and other evidences.

The death sentenced convicts were Fakrul Alam Taru and absconding Mustafa
Peayada.

The 19 life term awarded convicts were Khokon Sikdar,Nandalal
Sikdar,Ashraf Sikdar, Fazlul Huq Sikdar, Shalam Sikdar,Babul Sikdar,
Khokon Biswas, Alauddin Biswas, Abdul Barek, Rokanuzaman, Habib,
Sobahan,Ibrahim, Masud,Abdur Rob Howladar,Santosh Chandra Shil,Mustafa
Gazi,Yusuf Member and Omar Shahin Tipu.

Each of these 19 also fined Tk. 20 thousand or to suffer more 1 year
imprisonment in default.

Prosecution story in brief was that Jasimuddin Sikdar of Pankhali village
under Galachipa upazila of Patukhali was abducted by the accused on
October 4, 1994 over land dispute.

3 days later dead body of the victim was found lying on Peyadar Char shoal
on October 7.

Makbul Ahmed Master, elder brother of the victim while rushed to inform
police to recover the dead body, the miscreants then snatched the dead
body and cut to several pieces threw in the river.

Makbul lodged a murder case without mentioning any name of accused on
October 10, 1994 with Galachipa police station.

Police submit a charge sheet against 9 accused and after objection against
that charge sheet from the prosecution side, Sub Inspector Mizanur Rahman
of crime investigation department (CID) reinvestigating the case submitted
chargesheet against 31 accused in August 20 1998.

(source: The New Nation)






INDONESIA:

Bali bombers' execution rumours swirl


The Bali bombers are counting down the hours to their executions, with
speculation rife they will be killed this morning.

Reports from Indonesia say the condemned men have undergone final medical
checks in a strong indication the firing-squad executions are close, while
the mother of Imam Samudra has reportedly received official paperwork that
precedes the executions.

And yesterday, all workers not directly employed at the bombers' prison on
Nusakambangan Island were ordered to leave in a potential sign the
executions are imminent.

However, there are also reports the executions will not take place today
because it is the Muslim prayer day.

Meanwhile, Islamic militants, warning the executions will create "a
million Amrozis", are pouring into Tenggulun, arriving in convoys of
motorcycles and chanting anti-Western slogans.

The build-up of militants in the home village of Amrozi and Mukhlas - 2 of
3 Bali bombers on death row - comes as the men's families launched a
last-ditch bid to see them before they are executed. They wrote to the
President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and staged a noisy rally in Jakarta
to press their demands.

Amrozi, Mukhlas and Imam Samudra - sentenced to death for their role in
the attacks on Bali's nightclub strip that killed 202 people, including 88
Australians - will face a firing squad as soon as today.

Several dates for the execution have been agreed then abandoned, with the
attorney-general only confirming publicly they will die in "early
November". Bad weather, security concerns and political considerations
have been reportedly behind the delays.

Certainly, the increasingly volatile situation in Tenggulun is a worry for
authorities, who are promising a big turnout of armed officers when the
bodies of Amrozi and Mukhlas are brought in by helicopter after their
deaths and funeral services are held.

Abu Bakar Bashir - the co-founder of the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiah -
says he will attend the funerals and Amrozi's family want him to deliver a
sermon at the mosque.

Ali Fauzi, the half-brother of Mukhlas and Amrozi, told the Herald the
bombers wanted their bodies placed in the village mosque for people to pay
their respects and then taken to the local Islamic school for another
ceremony before being buried.

As well as Bashir's followers in Tenggulun, there are large numbers of
cadres from the Islamic Defenders Front, a group known for its willingness
to resort to violence.

Yesterday Mukhlas's wife, Farida, arrived in the village from Malaysia.

She is demanding to see her husband while the mother of Imam Samudra,
Paredah, wrote to Dr Yudhoyono, also asking for visitation rights.

They received support from one of Indonesia's more progressive
institutions, the human rights body Komnas Ham.

Its chief, Ifdhal Kasim, said the prisoners had a right to meet their
families before they faced the firing squad. "A prisoner awaiting
execution must be given a chance to meet their families," he said.

He vowed to take up the matter with the prosecutor's office.

But the clock is ticking to the executions. Late on Wednesday construction
workers were ordered off the prison island of Nusakambangan and told not
to return until Monday. This was seen as an indication the execution would
occur sometime between today and Monday.

*************************

Deaths will create 'million Amrozis'


WARNING that the execution of the Bali bombers will create "a million
Amrozis", Islamic militants are pouring into Tenggulun, arriving in
convoys of motorcycles and chanting anti-Western slogans.

The build-up of militants in the home village of Amrozi and Mukhlas - two
of three Bali bombers on death row - comes as the men's families launched
a last-ditch bid to see them before they are executed. They wrote a letter
to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and staged a noisy rally in Jakarta
to press their demands.

Amrozi, Mukhlas and Imam Samudra - sentenced to death for their role in
the attacks on Bali's nightclub strip that killed 202 people, including 88
Australians - will face a firing squad as soon as today.

Several dates for the execution have been agreed then abandoned, with the
attorney-general only confirming publicly they will die in "early
November". Bad weather, security concerns and political considerations
have been reportedly behind the delays.

Certainly, the increasingly volatile situation in Tenggulun is a worry for
authorities, who are promising a big turnout of armed officers when the
bodies of Amrozi and Mukhlas are brought in by helicopter after their
deaths and funeral services are held.

Abu Bakar Bashir - the co-founder of the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiah -
says he will attend the funerals and Amrozi's family want him to deliver a
sermon at the mosque.

Ali Fauzi, the half-brother of Mukhlas and Amrozi, told the Herald the
bombers wanted their bodies placed in the village mosque for people to pay
their respects and then taken to the local Islamic school for another
ceremony before being buried.

Yesterday Mukhlas's wife, Farida, arrived in the village from Malaysia.

She is demanding to see her husband while the mother of Imam Samudra,
Paredah, wrote to President Yudhoyono, also asking for visitation rights.

They received support from one of Indonesia's more progressive
institutions, the human rights body Komnas Ham.

(source for both: Sydney Morning Herald)

*****************

Bali execution wait becoming a farce


As the end nears for the Bali bombers, some victims of the carnage they
wreaked are fighting to save them from the firing squad.

At the same time, terrorism experts are urging the Indonesian government
to swiftly execute the Islamic militants or risk losing credibility in its
fight against terrorism.

As uncertainty stretches on over when the bombers will die, one thing is
clear.

Indonesia's policy of keeping secret the exact timing of executions has
created a dark and farcical cycle of speculation, rumour and
counter-rumour.

The wait has been agonising for the many people - across 22 countries -
who hold a very personal stake in what is playing out on Nusakambangan
Island in Central Java, where the bombers are held.

Many of the survivors and families of the 202 people killed want the
bombers executed immediately.

For them it has been a long 6 years since the militants bombed 2 Bali
nightclubs, and 5 years since the men were condemned to die.

The wait has been just as agonising for survivors and relatives who find
the death penalty abhorrent and believe the executions will provide new
martyrs for the terrorist cause.

The frustration was clear this week when survivor and Coogee Dolphins
player Erik de Haart lamented: "It's been going on for 6 years.

"The only people who have got excited about this are the press. Most of us
have been in this situation for a long time now.

"We're saying 'Just don't tell us when these bastards are going, just let
us know when they have gone'."

That could happen as soon as tomorrow morning, following reports that the
bombers have been visited by spiritual advisers, that three poles have
been erected in a forest ready for the executions, and that the firing
squads have been briefed.

Other reports say Indonesia traditionally carries out executions before
dawn on Friday, and now that Prince Charles has wrapped up his visit and
elections in East Java are over, there is nothing standing in the way.

As the wait goes on, so too does the debate about the bombers' fate.

Relatives of British victims of the October 12, 2002 bombings have made a
last-ditch plea to have the trio locked up for life rather than executed.

"It is likely that these men will be seen as martyrs by many of their
sympathisers and thus their execution will be a propaganda coup for the
jihadist cause," the UK Bali Bombings Victims Group, which represents 26
British families, said in a statement.

But former Indonesian National Human Rights commissioner Sholahuddin Wahid
is adamant that the executions must proceed, and quickly.

"This slow execution is a sign the government is not being strict in
combating terrorism and law enforcement in Indonesia," Sholahuddin told
Indonesia's TV One network.

"If this execution is postponed again, the government's credibility will
decrease."

Terrorism expert Rohan Gunaratna, of Singapore's International Centre for
Political Violence and Terrorism Research, agreed.

"The government should be strong (and) carry out the executions,"
Gunaratna said.

"Not to do so would be a huge mistake ... it would be a big victory for
the terrorists."

Meanwhile, the bombers appear to have had a minor victory with the
National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) saying that the trio had a
right to a final visit with their families.

"They are normative rights, whatever crime they have committed," Chairman
Ifdhal Kasim said.

"... we will seek answers from the Attorney-General and the Justice
Minister."

(source: Reuters)