Dec. 2
IRAQ----executions
6 convicted with terrorism charges executed in Iraq
Iraqi Ministry of Justice announced on Thursday that 6 detainees, convicted
with terrorism charges, were executed following the declaration of their final
rule.
“The death penalty sentence of 6 convicted was executed this morning by virtue
of article 4 of Anti-Terrorism Law,” the ministry reported in a statement which
Alsumarianews received a copy of.
“Death penalty was executed after declaring the final rule of the sentence,”
the ministry added.
Is considered a terrorist act every violence or threat of sectarian discord and
civil war through citizens’ arming as well as their instigation and financing
to arm each other, according to Article 4 of 2005’s Anti-Terrorism Law.
Iraqi Ministry of Justice revealed on November 24 that the perpetrators of
Dujail incident will be executed.
Iraqi presidency had approved, on October 20, the execution of 53 convicted
including 5 foreigners, an Iraqi official declared.
Justice Minister Hassan Al Shammari reported, on September 5, that his ministry
received 40 presidential decrees of death penalty. 5 out of the 40 decrees are
ready to be executed, he announced explaining that the execution of the other
sentences awaits their ratification.
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani appointed his 1st deputy Khudair Al Khuzai, on
June 13, as well as his 2nd deputy Tarek Al Hashimi, on July 19, to sign death
penalty sentences.
(source: Alsumaria TV News)
CHINA:
A Glimpse of Death Row in China
A group of Chinese women, photographed inside death row at a Chinese prison,
engage in seemingly banal tasks — painting their nails, brushing their hair,
discussing clothes with uniformed guards — that take on tragic resonance in the
final 12 hours before the women’s execution.
The pictures, more than 8 years old, remain stark and poignant, providing a
rare, albeit officially approved, glimpse of death row in a country that
executes more people each year than any other.
The photo slide show and its accompanying captions describing the women’s
activities were republished late last week on the Web site of Phoenix
Television, a private broadcaster based in Hong Kong, and translated by
Ministry of Tofu, a blog that is often critical of the Chinese government.
Despite having been first published in the Chinese newspaper Southern Weekend
nearly a decade ago, on June 25, 2003, the photos have circulated widely this
week on Twitter and Sina Weibo, a popular Chinese microblogging site, sparking
debate. It was unclear why the photos had been republished.
A woman who “exuded childlike innocence and breeziness” in the last hours
before her execution was fed by another inmate in a Chinese prison.The
authorities appear to have originally granted access to the photographer in
order to use portraits of the condemned women, each scheduled to be executed on
drug charges, as a deterrent to future offenders. According to the captions,
the pictures were taken days before an international day against drug abuse and
trafficking.
While the Chinese government has recently moved to limit the number of crimes
for which execution can be applied, Chinese law still imposes the death penalty
for anyone found smuggling more than 50 grams of heroin, less than 3 ounces,
and many death row inmates have been convicted of smuggling.
Foreigners too face death for drug charges in China. There are currently 7
Russian nationals on death row in China, including a woman convicted last week
of smuggling more than 4 pounds of heroin, Russia’s official RIA Novosti news
agency reported. China executed a Pakistani businessman on drug charges in
September, the 2nd such execution in 2 years, local news reports in Pakistan
said, and despite requests for clemency from the president of the Philippines,
a Filipino man convicted for smuggling more than three pounds of heroin is to
be put to death on Dec. 8, The Associated Press reported, following similar
executions of 3 Filipino traffickers in March.
In 2009, China executed a 53-year-old British man on drug charges despite an
international clemency drive; supporters had said the man, Akmal Shaikh, was
mentally ill and should not face death for his crime.
China does not publish statistics on the number of people it executes, but
Amnesty International estimates the number to be in the thousands. The group’s
most recent report found that outside of China, at least 527 people were put to
death in 2010, down from more than 700 the year before.
The four women whose last hours were documented in the photographs were each
described as “drug dealers.” According to the captions, one of the women,
identified as Ma Qingxiu, a 49-year-old from Hubei Province, had been convicted
and sentenced to death for trafficking about 5 pounds of unspecified drugs on
multiple occasions. The other women’s crimes were not detailed.
Nearly 300,000 people have viewed the images on Phoenix Television’s Web site,
which elicited more than 3,600 comments and a debate over the application of
the death penalty in these cases, and more broadly.
“Our government should abolish the death penalty on drug dealers, especially
they should adopt a more lenient legal approach to women given that they have
been held down over 5,000 years,” one commenter wrote.
“Compared with crimes committed by corrupted officials, what they did is not
even worth mentioning. Unjust treatment indeed,” another said.
Others were less sympathetic, believing that the Chinese government should deal
as harshly as possible with the drug trade, even if it means the execution of
women. “Criminals should get punished regardless of their gender. No need to
highlight these four are women,” wrote one.
Another commenter said: “Consider how many people’s lives they have ruined, I
think they ought to be shot 20 times to death!”
Some Chinese readers saw the treatment of the women during their final hours,
in which they can be seen eating final meals and smiling with guards, as too
coddling.
“Those pictures strike me more like they are enjoying a vacation than on death
row,” one commenter observed.
Regular inmates, in blue, played a card game with women on death row shortly
before their execution in 2003, as guards watched.
(source: New York Times)
PHILIPPINES/CHINA:
Bishops to appeal Filipino drug mule’s death sentence
An official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said
that the bishops’ collegial body will make an appeal to the Chinese government
for Beijing to commute the penalty of capital punishment it had handed down
against a 35-year-old Filipino drug mule.
“We will send a letter to China to appeal for humanitarian reasons to commute
the penalty to life sentence instead of death penalty,” Fr. Edwin Corros, the
executive secretary of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Migrant and Itinerant
People, said on Friday.
“We are all aware that capital punishment in China is really death, but we will
try to appeal the case of our Filipino compatriot,” Corros added.
The priest reminded overseas Filipinos not to accept offers of drug syndicates
to become drug mules in exchange for money.
Corros, meanwhile, called on the government to assist more than 200 other
Filipinos who are also facing the death penalty abroad.
The Philippine government earlier asked China to show mercy to the unnamed
Filipino drug mule, who was caught on September 13, 2008 at the Guilin
International Airport in Guangxi smuggling about 1.5 kilograms of heroin into
China from Malaysia.
His death sentence was confirmed by the Supreme People’s Court in late
November.
(source: The Manila Times)
****************
The execution of a nameless Pinoy, the execution of all!
Leo Echegaray was executed on February 5, 1999. His daughter Baby is now a
young lady. His wife, whom he married in prison died some years after his
execution. With the abolition of the Death Penalty in our country, we should be
focusing on the deeper causes of crime rather than on the punishment of
convicted prisoners. Our jails are still exploding from the ever growing
population of offenders, which includes those suspected and accused of heinous
crimes like the Maguindanao Massacre. If we still had the death penalty in our
country, what could have happen to those who committed plunder like Erap? Or
CGMA today? What could happen to those responsible for the Maguindanao
Massacre?
Punishment is easy but finding the roots of crime and stamping these out is
hard. With this recent news of another Filipino facing execution in China, more
than just making appeals for a stay of execution or commutation of sentence,
the government should now vigorously investigate the very reason (causes) why
Filipinos become drug mules. In this regard, I find the comment of presidential
spokesperson Edwin Lacierda rather facetious: “We recognize the decision of the
judicial authorities in China. It was made based on the evidence that the
Filipino was carrying 1.5 kg of heroin, and therefore, based on their law, it
was subject to death penalty,” Lacierda said. Lacierda said he did not believe
ties between the two countries would be affected as “this is not the first time
an execution happened, we experienced it before.”
The statement from Lacierda leans more on preserving good relations between the
country and China. Concern for the unnamed Filipino awaiting execution does not
really come across. While we have to exhaust all means to save one Filipino
life on December 8, 2011, shouldn’t the government and the people also get
together and address the bigger and deeper issue that cannot be solved by
either executions or diplomatic appeals?
Drug mules are only a tiny piece in the wider tapestry of the OFW phenomenon.
The OFW phenomenon is only also a tiny piece in a yet bigger tapestry of
poverty experienced by the majority of our people. I am afraid that if this
more fundamental and bigger issue is not addressed, more will become drug
mules, who will be caught, charged, convicted, sentenced and executed. Between
now and December 8, I will pray hard not only for our countryman awaiting
execution but for our government leaders and people, that we will begin to see
how we in one way or another have contributed to a situation of despair that
stems from a disturbing lack of love, respect and active concern for life,
particularly of the poor, ordinary and seemingly ‘nameless’ Filipinos.
Fr. Roberto P. Reyes, Former President, Coalition Against Death Penalty in the
Philippines
(source: Philippine Online Chronicle)
SINGAPORE:
Retrial for death row drug trafficker
A drug trafficker who was sentenced mid-last year to hang is to get a re-trial,
on the grounds that the judge who convicted him did not provide clear enough
reasoning for his decision.
In August 2010, Thong Ah Fat, 32, was handed the death sentence for allegedly
attempting to bring in 10 packets of heroin from Malaysia hidden in his car,
The Straits Times reported.
He was carrying 142.41g of heroin. Singapore has a mandatory death penalty for
those caught trafficking more than 15g.
However, Thong claimed that he thought the illegal substance he was carrying
was Ice and not heroin. He also said he was tricked into making a police
statement taken shortly after his arrest.
Justice Choo Han Teck, who was Thong's trial judge, said he did not believe
Thong and found his credibility to be in doubt, as Thong's version of events
was "neither convincing or coherent".
Thong appealed the ruling and the case was heard in March by the Court of
Appeal, which then ordered the case be heard again in the interests of open
justice.
The Court said the original 1-page judgment grounds was inadequate, and that
Justice Choo's findings were "problematic and his reasoning unclear".
It said it did not state whether Justic Choo did not believe Thong because of
his demeanour or for some other reason.
There was objective evidence to show that Thong was an Ice addict. However, it
was unclear whether the trial judge had considered this, the court said.
Appeal judges Chao Hick Tin, Andrew Phang and V.K. Rajah said although it is
not a light matter to order a retrial, there is no alternative but to re-try
Thong for the capital offence under another High Court judge for Thong's
credibility to be scrutinised afresh in the context of all the relevant
evidence.
Detailed reasoning is especially important in cases which involve the capital
charge, the judges said.
Justice Rajah added that transparency in the judicial process provides an
important constraint on the judiciary's exercise of power, and a record of a
detailed account of the reasoning process makes it possible for the decisions
to be debated, attacked and defended.
However, for practical reasons, it is sometimes not needed to provide lengthy
explanations for interim procedural matters or routine sentencing, the court
said.
(source: Asia One)
BELARUS:
'Don't kill my son. He is not guilty of bombing the metro'
The mother of a man condemned to death tells Shaun Walker in Minsk of her
desperate fight for a reprieve
There is only one person who can stop the execution of Lyubov Kovalyova's
25-year-old son, Vladislav. Unfortunately for her, it is Alexander Lukashenko,
the ruthless dictator who has ruled Belarus since 1994. He is not known for his
compassion.
Ms Kovalyova spoke to The Independent in Minsk yesterday, before delivering a
letter to Mr Lukashenko begging him to pardon her son, who was sentenced to
death on Wednesday for alleged involvement in an April bomb attack on the Minsk
metro system that killed 15 people. The court ruled he knew that his friend
Dmitry Konovalov, also 25, was planning the attack and helped him to prepare,
instead of reporting him to the authorities.
"The court case was purely symbolic, everything had already been decided," said
Ms Kovalyova, wiping away tears as she perched on a chair in a Minsk apartment
belonging to friends. "I can state with absolute certainly that my boy is
innocent."
Konovalov was also given the death penalty, in a case so flawed there were
howls of sarcastic laughter from the public gallery as the judge read his
verdict. Belarus is the only country in Europe to retain the death penalty, and
both men will be executed with a single bullet to the back of the head, unless
Mr Lukashenko intervenes to grant clemency. After he publicly stated that the
two should receive "the strictest punishment" before the court had even
delivered a verdict, hopes that he will show compassion appear forlorn, but
rights activists are praying that international pressure may help.
Ms Kovalyova was wearing a bright purple jumper and stripy green socks
yesterday, perhaps to offset the sadness of her mood. But the worry lines on
her tired face and the sorrow in her eyes were testament to the amount of
distress that this 46-year-old woman has suffered in recent weeks, culminating
in Wednesday's sentence. She says the judge "twisted" the evidence in the case
beyond recognition, an observation backed up by independent observers. "There
are so many things I would like to say to that judge," says Ms Kovalyova, with
a deep sigh. "But I can't. My son is a hostage." The entire case was based on
confessions given during the investigation, but Konovalov recanted in court and
said he was pressured to sign. Konovalov remained silent during the entire
three-month trial, simply staring blankly into the middle distance. His father
and brother were also detained, and were accompanied to court by a security
detail. They declined to offer any evidence. "They were put under huge pressure
not to come out in support of their own son," says Ms Kovalyova. She says the
Konovalovs' house, next to her own, is always under surveillance, and that the
family is too scared to talk to her.
Ms Kovalyova is a single mother from Vitebsk, a small town in eastern Belarus.
Vladislav lived at home until 2010, when he moved to Minsk to make a career as
an electrician. "He was a quiet boy, never got into trouble, never had a bad
word to say about anyone," she recalls. He was arrested immediately after the
bomb blast together with Konovalov, who rights activists believe may have been
tortured into confessing.
Ms Kovalyova says that Vladislav's state-appointed lawyer refused to meet with
her, and when she approached other lawyers, they were too scared to take on the
case. Eventually she found a young lawyer on the internet who was brave enough
to argue for the defence, but he was given hardly any access to Vladislav. Ms
Kovalyova has been allowed just one meeting with her son since April. She has
been able to see him only from afar in the courtroom, when he was padlocked
into a metal cage.
At midday yesterday, Ms Kovalyova, her 23-year-old daughter Tatyana, and a
small group of well-wishers and journalists set off to deliver her petition to
the Presidential Administration. But even handing over the letter was not
possible without an appearance from the omnipresent KGB, the feared security
service which has kept its Soviet-era initials. Half a dozen black-clad
plain-clothed agents materialised and said it was illegal to conduct interviews
in a public place. A girl in knee-high shiny white boots walked among those
present and pointed a hand-held video camera in their faces. "She's my
employee," said one of the KGB men. "We'll have a record of everyone who was
here."
It was a chilling reminder that in Belarus, anyone who stands up for a victim
can become a victim themselves, as evidenced by the recent jailing on spurious
tax-evasion charges of a leading rights activist, who had in turn campaigned
for the release of opposition politicians still held in jail.
In the end, Ms Kovalyova delivered the letter and now begins a nerve-racking
wait to see if Mr Lukashenko will spare her son's life. "I appeal to you... to
show clemency to my only son," reads her appeal. "I beg you to save my son. You
are the only person who can do so."
(source: Belfast Telegraph)
******************************************
URGENT ACTION APPEAL
- From Amnesty International USA
----------------------------------
For a print-friendly version of this Urgent Action (PDF):
http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa34811.pdf
UA: 348/11
Issue Date: 2 December 2011
Country: Belarus
TWO MEN IN BELARUS AT RISK OF EXECUTION
The Belarusian authorities must not execute Dzmitry Kanavalau and Uladzslau
Kavalyou, who were
sentenced to death on 30 November, following a trial that has failed to meet
international fair
trial standards.
Dzmitry Kanavalau has been found guilty of committing terrorist attacks and
producing explosives, in
connection with a series of bomb attacks in Belarus, most recently in Minsk on
11 April. Uladzslau
Kavalyou was found guilty of assisting him and failing to inform the
authorities.
The two men's sentences were passed by the Supreme Court of Belarus. The only
possibility for
further appeal is for the families of the two men to ask the President for
clemency, within ten days
of the sentence being passed. If the clemency appeals are rejected, Dzmitry
Kanavalau and Uladzslau
Kavalyou may be executed just minutes after the President's decision is
confirmed.
Amnesty International has serious concerns over the fairness of the trial.
Uladzslau Kavalyou
retracted his confession during the trial, claiming it was obtained under
pressure. He said that
during his interrogation, the investigator threatened to shoot him. He also
claimed that he could
hear Dzmitry Kanavalau screaming in another room. Uladzslau Kavalyou's mother
has said that both men
were beaten during interrogation.
The swiftness of Dzmitry Kanavalau and Uladzslau Kavalyou's arrest has also led
to skepticism about
the investigation. They were detained the day after the explosion, on 12 April.
Violating their
right to the presumption of innocence, the President declared that two men had
confessed to the
attack before they were even interrogated.
There is no forensic evidence linking either Dzmitry Kanavalau or Uladzslau
Kavalyou to the
explosion and no traces of explosives were found on either of them. Experts
concluded that it would
not have been possible for them to prepare the explosives in the basement in
which they are accused
of having done so.
Official statements claimed they were detained on the basis of security camera
footage, which the
prosecution relied on heavily during the trial. However, the security footage
was only seized days
after their detention and the defense lawyer claimed it had been clearly
tampered with.
Please write immediately in Russian, Belarusian or your own language:
-Calling on President Lukashenka to grant clemency to Dzmitry Kanavalau and
Uladzslau Kavalyou;
-Expressing your serious concerns about the allegations that torture and other
ill-treatment were
used to obtain confessions from Dzmitry Kanavalau and Uladzslau Kavalyou and
calling on the
Belarusian authorities to open an investigation into allegations that Dzmitry
Kanavalau and
Uladzslau Kavalyou were tortured or ill-treated;
-Calling for Dzmitry Kanavalau and Uladzslau Kavalyou to be re-tried in
proceedings which comply
with international fair trial standards, especially with regard to his right to
effective legal
counsel;
-Calling on President Lukashenka to establish an immediate moratorium on the
use of the death
penalty, in line with UN General Assembly resolution 63/168, adopted on 18
December 2008.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 13 JANUARY 2012 TO:
President
Alyaksandr Lukashenka
ul. Karla Marxa 38
220016 Minsk
BELARUS
Fax: 011 375 17 226 06 10 or 011 375 17 222 38 72
Email: cont...@president.gov.by
Salutation: Dear President
General Prosecutor
Alyaksandr Koniuk
Internatsionalnaya str. 22
220050 Minsk
BELARUS
Fax: 011 375 17 226 42 52
Email: i...@prokuratura.gov.by
Salutation: Dear General Prosecutor
There is a possibility that the fax numbers could sporadically be blocked. If
so, please use email
addresses instead.
Also send copies to:
Ambassador Oleg Kravchenko
Embassy of the Republic of Belarus
1619 New Hampshire Ave NW
Washington DC 20009
Fax: 1 202 986 1805
Email: u...@belarusembassy.org -OR- polit...@belarusembassy.org
Please check with the AIUSA Urgent Action Office if sending appeals after the
above date.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The case of Dzmitry Kanavalau and Uladzslau Kavalyou has been very high profile
within Belarus,
following the shock that filled the country after the 11 April explosion in
which 15 people died and
hundreds were injured.
There has been increasing public criticism about the swiftness and nature of
the investigation and
trial, as both Dzmitry Kanavalau and Uladzslau Kavalyou were detained within
hours of the incident
and the trial has failed meet international fair trial standards on a number of
levels.
In a survey carried out in September by the Lithuanian Independent Institute of
socio-political and
economic research, only 21.2 per cent of Belarusians believed that the April
explosion in Minsk was
carried out by "a lone terrorist and his accomplice", 32.4 per cent believed
that the crime was
carried out under orders and 36.7 per cent were sure that "the crime was
committed by other people."
In an unprecedented show of public skepticism in Belarus, a petition against
the anticipated
execution Dzmitry Kanavalau and Uladzslau Kavalyou was started in the country.
It has already been
signed by over 50,000 people.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases, as the ultimate
cruel, inhuman and
degrading punishment. Belarus remains the only country in Europe and the former
Soviet Union which
still carries out executions. The use of the death penalty is compounded by a
flawed justice system
and the secrecy surrounding its application which means that prisoners and
family members are not
informed in advance and may not be informed until months after the execution
has taken place.
Belarus is the last country in Europe and the former Soviet Union which still
carries out
executions. Amnesty International condemns the Belarusian authorities'
continued use of the death
penalty. Despite public statements regarding its intention to move towards
abolition, the Belarusian
government continues to issue death sentences and execute prisoners. Two men
were executed in 2010
and at least one man in 2011.
In Belarus, condemned prisoners are given no warning that they are about to be
executed, and they
are usually executed within minutes of being told that their appeal for
clemency has been rejected.
They are first taken to a room where, in the presence of the Director of the
detention facility, the
Prosecutor and one other Ministry of Interior employee, they are told that
their appeal for clemency
has been turned down and that the sentence will be carried out. They are then
taken to a neighboring
room where they are forced to their knees and shot in the back of the head.
Their families will only
be informed days or sometimes months after the execution that their relative
has been executed.
Name(s): Dzmitry Kanavalau and Uladzslau Kavalyou (both male)
Issue(s): Death penalty, Torture, Legal concern
---------------------------------
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Urgent Action Network
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Email: u...@aiusa.org
http://www.amnestyusa.org/uan
Phone: 202.509.8193
Fax: 202.675.8566
----------------------------------
END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
----------------------------------
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