April 23
CHINA:
Shanghai official sentenced to death for bribery
Chen Meng, a former deputy district head in Shanghai, was sentenced to death
with a 2-year reprieve on the charges of taking bribes by the Shanghai No 2
Intermediate People's Court on Monday.
Under Chinese law, a death sentence with a two-year reprieve can be reduced to
life in prison if the convict does not commit another crime during those 2
years.
The 49-year-old native of Sheyang county, Jiangsu province, was deputy head of
Songjiang district from 2003 to 2011 and accepted bribes of more than 15
million yuan ($2.38 million) when he was in charge of urban construction.
Prosecutors presented evidence to the court on Feb 2 of eight instances of Chen
taking bribes. It included one in which Chen accepted millions from a
construction company boss and in return, offered him a favorable purchase price
for a certain piece of land in the district.
Chen pleaded guilty to all charges.
The investigation into Chen's activities was initiated after reports from the
public last September when he was serving as deputy head of Shanghai's Putuo
district.
(source: China Daily)
ISRAEL:
On Death Sentence for Arab Who Sold Land to Jews
Israel's Besheva weekly asked three well known Israeli figures in the field of
law and human rights: How should Israel react to the Palestinian Authority's
imposing the death penalty on Mohammed Abu Shahala, the Arab who sold land to
Jews in Hevron?
Translated from the weekly Besheva newspaper: Professor Asa Casher, Philosopher
and Linguist at TA University, author of the IDF Code of Conduct I would like
to ask a question that precedes this one: Not "how" but "if"? I believe that
every death penalty is an intolerable response by a sovereign state to
something that has happened. To kill a human being is an act that is allowed
only when there is no other option - when there is no other way to protect
others from this person. This is true no matter how one analyzes it - from the
humanistic aspect and from the point of view that sees man as created in the
image of G-d. When a person is incarcerated in prison and no one is endangered
by him, then even if he has an extremely evil past - there is no justification
for killing him. When a country has a death penalty that applies to all its
residents, such as in Texas, Israel will not extradite someone to that country,
but we will also not initiate a campaign to eliminate the death penalty
worldwide. We have other things to do. However, when the law is not a general
criminal law, for someone who committed murder or the like, but is directed
against us alone - that's a different story. We must ponder our response.
This is a doubly untenable law: first, because it is a death penalty and
second, because it is directed against Jews living in Israel. And in this case,
we are talking about a law that falls only on those selling property to Jews.
Therefore, this is a doubly untenable law: first, because it is a death penalty
and second, because it is directed against Jews living in Israel.
We cannot stand by quietly. We have to initiate a vociferous international
protest against this, especially if the PA intends to carry out the law and not
have it serve merely as a deterrent. What form will this protest take? This is
the government's decision and not an easy thing to do. But no matter what, we
cannot leave this issue unanswered.
Eliav Shochetman, Professor of Law at Hebrew University and The Shaarei Mishpat
College
The incident in which an Arab is sentenced to the death penalty because he sold
land to Jews in Hevron is not the first time that Arabs have been sentenced to
death by Palestinian Authortiy courts for this type of offense.
To my recollection, there were at least two incidents like this one in the
past, but in both cases the sentence was not carried out because they require
the authorization of the head of the Authority, according to Palestinian law,
and he did not sign the forms. He also did not authorize the death sentences of
Arabs who collaborated with Israel.
At the time, reports circulated that pressure was applied to the head of the PA
to get him not to authorize the death penalties, whether imposed for selling
land or collaboration.
Today, as well, Israel must do exactly what it did in the previous cases, that
is, exert pressure on Abbas by secret channels. Israel knows how to do this
when it wants to, for money transfers, safe passage for VIP's and goods.
Whatever Israel does to free him must be kept under wraps, just the way Israel
did not explain the details of the operations that served to prevent the
killings in the past, Not everything needs fanfare, some things are best kept
quiet.
If Israel prevents the death penalty, it will show that it is sovereign in the
area.
As I recollect, all murders that did occur - of land dealers who sold to Jews -
were terrorist acts or assassinations and not carried out by official PA bodies
or the courts that handed down the sentences.
Another thing to remember is that this is an area controlled by Israel
according to the Oslo Agreement. This is why land is being bought, in order to
strengthen the Jewish presence in the Land of Israel. If Israel prevents the
death penalty, it will show that it is sovereign in the area.
Ms. Orit Strook, head of the Human Rights Organization of Judea and Samaria
The very fact that it has an anti-Semitic law of this nature on its books shows
the true face of the Palestinian Authority – and that of Israel's government.
The law shows in the clearest way possible that the PA leads the world's list
of racist and inhumane governing bodies.
Leftist human rights NGO's are strangely silent and have done nothing to help
this man
As a result, it poses an acid test for the Israeli government: does it ignore
the fact that this makes the Land of Israel the only place in the world where
it is against the law to sell property to Jews - or does it fight this travesty
with all its might.
There is no doubt that if any other country in the world passed an anti-Semitic
and racist law such as this one – Israel would recall its ambassador
immediately and take other drastic steps. Israel's prime minister, preparing to
renew talks with the PA, should demand the rescinding of this racist law as a
precondition for negotiations.
Obviously, Israel must save the life of this man, sentenced to death when his
only "crime" was selling land to Jews. Israel's government has the power and
ability to prevent the sentence from being carried out, and if it does not
employ them – it will find that it has, in effect, collaborated with the PA's
hangman. This is the time to mention that the leftist Human Rights NGO's are
strangely silent and have done nothing to help this man. Nor has mainstream
media in Israel taken up the case.
Until Israel succeeds in having this law repealed (up to now, it has not even
tried to do so), it must at least formulate a legal policy for dealing with the
issue. As of today, Israel's Ministry of Justice, ever the champion of the rule
of law, has ignored the PA's interpretation of the "rule of law", behaving as
if there is no such thing. The Israeli courts and law enforcement agencies act
as though an Arab who says "I have not sold land to Jews" is a free man who
will tell the truth – forgetting that there is literally a gun held to his head
if he does so. Worse, the civil administration in Judea and Samaria, ignoring
the clear and present danger this poses to Arab lives, employs Palestinian Arab
secretaries who receive all the documents that are filed when an Arab sells
land through legal channels and can easily inform the Palestinian Authority
about it. This makes Israel's government a collaborator in whatever ensues, a
situation that must be changed immediately.
So long as all steps have not been taken to uproot what is termed the "rule of
law" in the PA – or at least to deal with it intelligently – all the claims
about "strengthening the rule of law" in Judea and Samaria are nothing but a
bluff.
(source: Op-Ed; Israel National News)
IRAN/SAUDI ARABIA:
Execution of Iranian prisoners in S. Arabia on hold: official
Saudi Arabia has put on hold the execution of eight Iranian nationals being
held in a prison in the Saudi city of Dammam, who had been sentenced to death
for involvement in drug trafficking, Iranian deputy foreign minister for
parliamentary and consular affairs announced on Sunday.
Hassan Qashqavi told the Persian service of the Mehr News Agency that Saudi
Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal, during a recent telephone conversation with
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, said that the execution of the
sentences had been put on hold.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry had previously sought an explanation from the
Saudi Arabian ambassador over the worrying reports on the fate of Iranian
inmates being held in the Saudi kingdom.
(source: Tehran Times)
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