July 23
SOMALIA:
Somali militants execute 3 said to inform CIA, MI6
Somalia's most powerful militant group publicly executed 3 of its members
Sunday, saying the trio had spied on the militants for the US and British
intelligence agencies.
Al-Shabab said the 3 men were CIA and MI6 informants, and were the reason
several drone attacks killed leaders from the group.
Mohamed Jama, a resident in the coastal town of Merca, told The Associated
Press that dozens of masked fighters tied up the three men and killed them by
firing squad.
A self-proclaimed militant judge gave the death penalty order. Hundreds of
residents were forced to watch and many of them vomited after the killings,
Jama said.
"The execution and the verdict were quick and dirty. It was gruesome to watch,"
he said. "The men instantly died after their bodies were riddled by bullets."
A US Embassy spokesman said he was not aware of the executions, but that in
general the US does not comment on intelligence matters.
An al-Shabab member, who gave his name as Abu Abdalla, said militants
interrogated the men for 6 months before the executions.
Al-Shabab said on its official Twitter feed the 3 men "were part of a wide
network of spies deployed by the British and American intelligence agencies" to
spy on al-Shabab. Al-Shabab said that Western powers can't coordinate
airstrikes without relying on human intelligence.
Dozens of American and British citizens, usually of Somali origin, have joined
al-Shabab, and officials in both countries worry that members of al-Shabab
holding US or UK passports could return to carry out a terror attack in those
countries.
The Twitter postings said that 2 of the accused spies planted tracking devices
on a vehicle that was hit by a missile strike on the outskirts of Mogadishu in
January. Bilal Al-Berjawi, a British fighter of Lebanese descent, was killed in
that strike.
The postings said that Ishaq Omar Hassan, 22, and Yasin Osman Ahmed, 23, worked
for the CIA. It said that Mukhtar Ibrahim Sheikh Ahmed, 33, worked for MI6,
Britain's spy agency.
Over the last year, al-Shabab has lost control of Mogadishu and ceded power in
towns in western Somalia. The militants have largely either fled to northern
Somalia and Yemen, or have retreated to Kismayo and Merca, the last 2 major
towns the militants control.
(source: Associated Press)
PAKISTAN:
Pakistan negotiates with militants over hostage
A senior Pakistani official says the country's intelligence agency has been
negotiating with militants over the release of the kidnapped son of an
assassinated liberal politician.
It is the 1st official confirmation that the government is in talks with the
men holding Shahbaz Taseer, whose father was killed by his bodyguard last year
for criticizing laws that call for the death penalty for insulting Islam.
Taseer was abducted last August in Lahore, the capital of Punjab province.
Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said during a Geo News TV program broadcast
Monday that Taseer's kidnappers are demanding a large ransom and the release of
some of their colleagues.
Sanaullah said the Inter-Services Intelligence agency previously secured the
release of the son-in-law of a former Pakistani army general in similar
negotiations.
(source: Associated Press)
INDONESIA:
Australian drug mule gets 8 years in Bali jail
Indonesian prosecutors may appeal the sentence given to an Australian drug mule
jailed for attempting to smuggle hashish and methamphetamines into Bali hidden
in his stomach.
Edward Myatt was jailed for 8 years on Monday in a ruling that shocked
prosecutors, who had demanded a sentence of 15 years.
The 54-year-old Ballarat-born man was also fined 1.5 billion rupiah
($A155,000).
If he fails to pay the fine, Myatt will be required to serve an additional 4
months in jail.
The decision is another major relief for Myatt, who was indicted on 3 charges,
including 1 count of trafficking, which carries a maximum penalty of death.
He was stopped as he arrived at Bali's Ngurah Rai Airport in February on a
flight from India after he aroused the suspicions of Customs officers.
He was later found to have swallowed more than 70 plastic casings containing
1.1kg of hashish and 4 grams of methamphetamine, otherwise known as ice.
It had been expected he would receive a similar sentence to Sydney-man Michael
Sacatides, who earlier this year was given 18 years for attempting to smuggle
1.7kg of ice into Bali from Thailand.
But chief judge Gunawan Tri Budiono said that while the evidence against Myatt
was overwhelming, he accepted the defendant's claim that he had been a
long-term drug user and was willing to undergo rehabilitation.
Under Indonesian law, people who can prove they have a drug dependency are
often shown leniency.
"The drugs were intended for the defendant's supply because he is an addict,"
Mr Budiono said.
"The defendant has never been punished before, the defendant has apologised,
the defendant regrets his action and the defendant promised not to repeat his
action."
Myatt's age was also taken into account.
However, chief prosecutor Gusti Putu Atmadja warned that he would probably
appeal the decision.
"The sentence is too lenient," Mr Atmadja said outside the court.
He said he might have been willing to accept a sentence of 10 years.
"Now that it's lower than that, I must consult with my superior before deciding
whether to challenge it."
Earlier in the trial, Mr Atmadja had indicated that he might push for the death
penalty, but instead requested a 15-year sentence on orders from the
Attorney-General's department in Jakarta.
Myatt was born in Ballarat, but had lived in Britain for several years after
moving there from Balwyn in Melbourne.
He will be housed in Bali's Kerobokan jail along with a host of other
Australian drug smugglers including Sacatides, Schapelle Corby and the Bali 9.
2 members of the Bali 9 - Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran - remain on death
row and have filed clemency applications with Indonesian President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono in a last-ditch effort to avoid execution.
(source: Otago Daily Times)
BANGLADESH:
Dhaka jails 250 patients, nurses over mutiny ---- Another 2,000 facing trial:
prosecutor
A Bangladesh court has jailed more than 250 people including paramilitary
guards and male nurses for joining a 2009 mutiny, prosecutors said Sunday.
Scores of senior army officers were killed during the uprising that began when
soldiers at the Bangladeshi Rifles (BDR) headquarters in the capital Dhaka went
on a killing spree, dumping the bodies in sewers and shallow graves.
More than 4,000 BDR soldiers have now been convicted in cases related to the
mutiny, and another 2,000 are facing trial, prosecutor Manjur Alam told AFP.
The special court on Saturday sentenced 253 people who worked or were being
treated at the headquarters’ hospital to up to seven years in jail for their
part in the two-day mutiny, Alam said.
“Of the 253 found guilty, some 140 were male medical assistants of the hospital
and 80 were trainee medical assistants. At least 30 guards who were being
treated there and a few of their attendants were also jailed,” he said.
“Some of these hospital staff were charged with trying to torch bodies of their
commanding officers and helping dump the officers’ bodies in shallow graves
near the hospital,” he said.
The mutiny spread from Dhaka to BDR posts across the country, with thousands of
guards taking up arms against senior officers in the worst military rebellion
in Bangladesh’s history.
Dozens of special courts — run by the military using a mix of martial and
civilian law — were set up to prosecute mutineers, with the first verdict,
convicting 29 soldiers, being handed down in April 2010.
Soldiers accused of more serious offences — including murder — are being tried
separately in civilian courts and could face the death penalty if convicted.
(source: Arab Times)
_______________________________________________
DeathPenalty mailing list
DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu
http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty
Search the Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/deathpenalty@lists.washlaw.edu/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A free service of WashLaw
http://washlaw.edu
(785)670.1088
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
