Jan. 15
IRAN----executions
Iran Hangs 12 Convicted Criminals
Iranian state media say authorities have hanged 12 convicts in the southern
city of Shiraz.
Media reports say seven of those executed were found guilty of drug
trafficking.
Iran practices the Muslim Sharia law in which some serious crimes - including
rape, armed robbery and kidnapping - are punishable by death.
Human rights groups charge that Iran is 2nd only to China in numbers of people
facing the death penalty. Iran dismisses criticism of its justice system.
(source: VOA News)
************
Iran diplomat advocates executing CIA spy----Former Iranian ambassador proposes
retribution for assassination of nuclear scientist Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan
The former Iranian ambassador to Italy and Mexico is calling for the execution
of a US citizen suspected of espionage in the spot where Iranian nuclear
scientist Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan was killed last week.
Suspected CIA spy Amir Mirzai Hekmati was arrested last month by Iran
intelligence services on suspicion he spied for the US.
"The terrorist attack on the scientist must not be left unanswered and
therefore it is advisable to immediately execute the American spy at the site
of the explosion," Ambassador Mohamed Hassan Qadiri wrote on his blog.
He noted that had the 2 Americans charged with espionage Shane Bauer and Joshua
Fattal not been released, their execution could also have been put on the
agenda.
The former ambassador said this would have enhanced the Iranian people's
alertness "in detecting spies, especially from America and Israel and relaying
their details to the security services."
Funeral of scientist Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan
On Saturday, the Iranian foreign minister said Tehran holds reliable documents
proving that Roshan's assassination was planned and backed by the CIA.
Meanwhile, Britain's Foreign Secretary said Sunday that European nations will
intensify pressure on Iran over its nuclear program, but insisted the West
wasn't pressing for military action.
William Hague told Sky News television that he believed the European Union
would agree tough new sanctions against Tehran's oil sector later this month,
and would continue to look for peaceful methods of persuading Iran to ditch its
pursuit of a nuclear weapon.
"We have never ruled anything out. We have not ruled out any option, or
supporting any option. We believe all options should be on the table, that is
part of the pressure on Iran, but we are clearly not calling for or advocating
military action," Hague said.
(source: YNetNews)
INDONESUIA/SAUDI ARABIA:
Indonesian laborers survive death row in Saudi Arabia
The government-sanctioned task force on Indonesian migrant workers claimed that
it had helped 2 female domestic workers in Saudi Arabia avoid the death
penalty.
Mesi binti Dama Idon was found guilty of practicing black magic by a Saudi
court and Neneng Sunengsih binti Mamih was recently acquitted of a murder
charge.
“The 2 are scheduled to fly home to Indonesia on Jan. 19,” task force spokesman
Humphrey Djemat said in a statement on Saturday.
Mesi was initially found guilty and sentenced to death. “The Indonesian
government objected to the ruling and our embassy in Riyadh filed an appeal to
challenge the death penalty,” said task force chairman Maftuh Basyuni.
In July 2011, a local court granted an appeal to commute the death sentence and
agreed to a 10-year jail term.
Earlier this month, the King of the Saudi Arabia ordered local authorities to
release Mesi.
Neneng, meanwhile, was detained at Al Jouf prison in Riyadh on Nov. 12, 2011.
She was charged with murdering her employer’s 4-month-old son.
“Our embassy in Riyadh hired local lawyer Naseer Al Dandani to challenge the
murder charges. Local authorities failed to prove that Neneng intentionally
killed the baby, while the parents of the toddler rejected an autopsy,”
Humphrey said, adding that Neneng is currently being sheltered at the Riyadh
embassy.
Prior to the acquittal of the 2 suspects, there were already 37 Indonesian
workers in Saudi Arabia who had avoided death row.
The task force earlier announced that 14 workers in Malaysia, 11 in China and 2
in Iran had escaped the death penalty.
Migrant Care executive director Anis Hidayah, head of a nongovernmental
organization that campaigns to protect domestic workers’ rights dismissed the
task force’s claim.
“Almost all the workers who have avoided beheading in Saudi Arabia had
undergone a very long and arduous legal battle. Some of them had actually been
imprisoned for more than 10 years [before having their sentences commuted),”
Anis told The Jakarta Post.
Anis alleged that the task force’s claim was politically-motivated to burnish
an image that the government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono appeared
successful in this matter — which it is not,” she said.
(source: Jakarta Post)
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