Aug. 20
PAKISTAN:
'Down's syndrome girl', 11, faces death penalty for desecrating Koran in
Pakistan-----Furious mobs surround the home of 'mentally disabled' Christian
girl ; She faces execution under Pakistan's controversial blasphemy laws
An 11-year-old girl thought to suffer from Down's Syndrome is facing the death
penalty in Pakistan for apparently burning pages from the Koran. Furious mobs
of Muslim locals gathered outside the home of Christian girl Rifta Masih after
she was found with charred pages of the Islamic holy book.
She was arrested and has been held in custody for the last 14 days under
Pakistan's controversial blasphemy laws. A conviction could see her executed.
A Pakistani police officer, Zabi Ullah, said today that the girl was arrested
after hundreds of neighbors gathered outside her house in Mehrabadi, a poor
outlying district of the capital, Islamabad.
He said the police took the girl to the police station, and that she's been
held for 14 days while authorities investigate.
'About 500-600 people had gathered outside her house in Islamabad, and they
were very emotional, angry and they might have harmed her if we had not quickly
reacted,' he said.
'Some Muslims from the area claim the girl had burned pages of the Koran, and
we are investigating, and we have not reached any conclusion,' he said.
Another police official, Qasim Niazi, said when the girl was brought to the
police station she had a shopping bag that contained various religious and
Arabic-language papers that had been partly burned but no Koran.
Islamabad in northern Pakistan was the scene of several protests earlier this
year after U.S. troops apparently burned Korans
Officers added that the matter could be dropped once the investigation is
completed and the atmosphere is defused, saying there was 'nothing much to the
case.' He did not want to be identified due to the sensitivity of the case.
Meanwhile, Pakistan's president Asif Ali Zardari said he had 'taken notice' of
the reports of the arrest and asked Pakistan's interior ministry to present a
report to him.
There were varying reports on the girl's age and whether she suffered from
Down's Syndrome. Ullah said she was 16 while other officials have said she was
either 12 or 11. Niazi said that when the girl was brought to the police
station she was scared and unable to speak normally, but he did not know
whether she suffered from mental health issues.
The arrest of the girl and outrage among the local community demonstrates the
deep emotion that suspected blasphemy cases can evoke in this conservative
Muslim country, where rising extremism often means religious minorities live in
fear of persecution.
Christians often live in fear that they will be accused of blasphemy, and many
critics say the legislation is sometimes used to settle scores.
Angry mobs have been known to sometimes take the law into their own hands and
beat or kill people who are accused of violating the blasphemy laws. In July,
thousands of people dragged a Pakistani man accused of desecrating the Koran
from a police station in the central Pakistani city of Bahawalpur, beat him to
death and then set his body on fire.
And there were furious protests earlier this year after U.S. troops were
accused of burning the Koran. Effigies of Barack Obama were burned in the
street amid demands for an apology.
Attempts to revoke or alter the blasphemy laws have been met with violent
opposition, however.
Last year, 2 prominent Pakistani political figures who spoke out against the
laws were killed, in attacks that raised concerns about the rise of religious
extremism in Pakistan.
Liberal politician Salman Taseer was shot and killed by one of his own guards
in January 2011, and in March 2011, militants gunned down Shahbaz Bhatti, the
only Christian minister in Pakistan's Cabinet.
A spokesperson for Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, Farhatullah Babar,
said the president has 'serious note' of reports of the girl's arrest and has
asked the Interior Ministry to look into the case.
(source: Daily Mail)
MONGOLIA:
The Fate Of The Death Penalty
The penalty of capital punishment for serious crimes is an ancient phenomenon.
In the past the death penalty has been part of most societies' justice systems,
and its use can be traced back to the beginning of historical records. There
are even some indicators that the practice was apparent amongst various
primitive tribes.
The presence of the death penalty within Mongolian law can be traced throughout
the country's history. It is mentioned in numerous ancient laws, starting with
Ikh Zasag, the significant legal document introduced under Chinggis Khaan.
Capital punishment was also present within the Tsaaz Bichig, the 1640 penal
document of the Mongol-Oirat, as well as the Khalkh Juram, the code of laws
compiled in the 18th century by the Khalkh Khans. The death penalty can also be
found in some legal documents of the Ardiin Zasag government.
In 1926, the 1st Criminal Code of the Mongolian People's Republic was adopted.
It established a statutory basis for the control of crime, and the inclusion of
capital punishment within Mongolian law was an essential feature of this.
Chapter 11 of the Code addressed 'measures for the protection of the legal
order and of citizens, and for the correction of criminals'. It included the
death penalty along with imprisonment and other forms of punishment.
From 1929 until 1987, 5 revised versions of the Criminal Code were brought in.
They all introduced new concepts into the law, with articles of the code being
edited or omitted. Nonetheless the fundamental principles underlying the Code
remained and the death penalty kept its legal status.
In response to the new constitution, adopted in 1992, an entirely new Mongolian
law was introduced through the 2002 Criminal Code. This Code introduced new
democratic concepts, yet nonetheless the death penalty was retained as a
potential punishment for grave crimes.
The offences that remain liable to a sentence of capital punishment include
terrorist acts, sabotage, premeditated and aggressive murder, and aggravated
crimes of rape. Under these offences there are 59 crimes that are listed as
'capital crimes'.
Women can never receive the death penalty as punishment and it cannot be
imposed on any man older than 60 or under the age of 18 at the time of
committing the crime. Under the second provision of article 53 of the code,
executions must be carried out by shooting in the neck. The punishment must
also be administered under the supervision of the state but whether or not the
convicted person is actually executed remains a state secret, never revealed by
the authorities. As executions are carried out in secrecy, the family of the
condemned man is not informed of the date of the killing, or the location of
the burial.
Officially studies have revealed that judges have increasingly imposed the
death penalty as punishment for the most serious crimes. While in the 10 years
between 1965 and 1975, only 82 people were sentenced to death. Yet more than
200 men were given this punishment from 1995 to 2005. These statistics show the
significant rise in the use of capital punishment following the introduction of
the new constitution.
However, after recent developments, which seem to have ended the use of capital
punishment in practice, we must address 2 important questions. First, will the
death penalty retain its place embedded in Mongolian law, and secondly, should
it?
After the current president, Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, was elected in June 2009 he
started preventing the use of the death penalty by applying his prerogative of
pardon. On January the 14th 2010 he proposed to parliament that the death
penalty be struck from Mongolian law and instead be replaced by a sentence of
30 years imprisonment. He announced that he would systematically use his
prerogative to pardon all men who had been sentenced to capital punishment.
This was a significant and controversial decision. While a number of
representatives received his announcement of an executive moratorium with
hostility, internationally it received a warm welcome. The president stated
eight reasons behind his decision.
These included irreparable judicial mistake, the use of capital punishment for
political purges throughout Mongolian history, international demands for
abolition and the failure of capital punishment to be a deterrent.
Since then, while the death penalty remains in the Mongolian Criminal Code,
capital punishment is never applied in practice. Any man subject to execution
can apply to the president to pardon him, and the president will always use his
prerogative power to stop the punishment being carried out. Nonetheless, if
this remained the case, as the death penalty has not been abolished in law,
capital punishment could once again be applied in practice if President
Elbegdorj fails to be re-elected.
There is another way capital punishment can be erased from legal practice while
maintaining its status as an official form of punishment under the Criminal
Code. The judiciary could simply refuse to use the death penalty as a form of
sentence, resulting in the law being both irrelevant and ineffective.
Nonetheless, on the 5th of January2012, a significant step was taken towards
full abolition of capital punishment when a large majority of MPs approved a
bill aiming to end the death penalty. The Great Khural passed the bill despite
internal resistance to President Elbegdorj's abolitionist position. The adopted
bill ratifies, without any reservations, the Second Optional Protocol to the
ICCPR, therefore indicating that Mongolia is poised to abolish the death
penalty completely. All states party to the 1989 Protocol commit to the belief
that abolition is essential to enhance human dignity and human rights. Article
1 of the Protocol states that, not only will no-one within a state party to the
Protocol be executed, but also that each party state will take the necessary
measures to abolish the death penalty within its jurisdiction. Mongolia's
ratification of the Second Optional Protocol is the culmination of President
Elbegdorj's ongoing commitment to abolishing the death penalty in his own
country.
The Protocol entered into force on the 13th of June 2012 and Mongolia is now on
the brink of full abolition of capital punishment. All that is left to do in
order for Mongolia to be rid of the death penalty completely from its
jurisdiction is to repeal the criminal laws that provide for it. However,
although until the necessary provisions are removed from the national
legislation the death penalty remains part of Mongolian law, it appears highly
unlikely that Mongolia's past use of capital punishment will be resumed.
Only time will tell whether the death penalty in Mongolia will be completely
and legally 'killed off'. And while we wait to see what will happen, there are
a number of strongly differing views throughout society regarding whether or
not this should actually be the country's course of action.
In contrast to public opinion, 83% of surveyed Mongolian lawyers think it is
necessary to have capital punishment. Of those surveyed, 50% of the lawyers
questioned also believe that it is not essential to abolish the death penalty
having regard to the fact that executions no longer take place in practice.
Below is an interview with Nyamsuren Munkhtuya, a research-fellow at the
National Legal Institute, discussing her views on the matter.
-Do you think the death penalty should be eradicated from Mongolian law?
-Yes, I do, because there is already a tendency not to use it and it is an
extremely harsh punishment.
-Does the harm it can cause outweigh any benefit it brings as a deterrent for
serious crimes?
-Academics' opinions differ on this matter. While some say we should abolish it
others claim we should not. There are some benefits, by implementing it for
serious crimes it sets an example to others, but I am still against it. I don't
think it has a place in a modern society. Once we have killed someone we cannot
take it back, it is simply too brutal and severe a punishment.
-What about the idea of a life for a life?
-Yes, in history there have been principles that support capital punishment.
The Talio Esto-Principle is about how a life can be exchanged for a life. But
we now live in a different and modern society. I support societies that value
human beings and the right to life.
-Amnesty International has been campaigning extensively for the abolition of
the death penalty in Mongolia and has commended the substantial steps the
country has now taken. The National Human Rights Commission of Mongolia
applauded the governments' ratification of the Second Optional Protocol. The
Commission had been advocating against capital punishment in a number of
different ways, such as through its successive recommendations in its annual
reports. The commission publicly stated its gratitude to all those who had
stood by it in advocating against the death penalty.
(source: UB Post)
MALAYSIA----foreign national female gets death sentence
Malaysia sentences Japanese woman to death over drugs
A Malaysia court this past week sentenced a Japanese woman to death after she
was convicted of smuggling in methamphetamine to the country.
According to officials, she will be the 1st Japanese citizen to be put to death
in Malaysia on drug charges.
A high court in Shah Alam near the capital Kuala Lumpur found Mariko Takeuchi
guilty of drug trafficking.
Customs official revealed the verdict marked the 1st time a Japanese national
had been arrested for smuggling drugs into Malaysia, which is known for its
tough anti-drug laws.
A mandatory death penalty is given by Malaysia in cases involving drug
smuggling.
Human rights organizations have called for Malaysia to end its death penalty
for drug-related crimes, and a top Indonesian police official said this summer
that the death penalty was not a deterrent in ending drug smuggling in either
Indonesia or Malaysia.
Takeuchi, a 36-year-old former nurse, was arrested in October last year at
Kuala Lumpur International Airport after arriving via Dubai with 3.5 kilograms
of the drug.
Takeuchi has testified that she was duped by a man into carrying a bag
containing the methamphetamine but did not know the drugs were inside.
She can appeal the verdict.
The Japan Embassy in Malaysia did not return queries from Bikyamasr.com on the
case.
(source: Bikya Masr)
CHINA:
Gu Kailai gets suspended death sentence in China----The wife of a former
Politburo member who poisoned British expatriate Neil Heywood is sentenced
after a trial seen as the most politically charged in decades.
Gu Kailai, wife of a former Politburo member and daughter of a revolutionary
general, was given a suspended death sentence Monday for poisoning a British
businessman inChina's most politically charged trial since the 1980s.
The sentence was handed down by the Intermediate People's Court in the city of
Hefei, and it confirmed widespread predictions that the court wouldn't dare put
to death a member of the "red nobility."
The British Embassy in Beijing, which had sent consular officials to attend the
court hearing, released a statement Monday morning saying it had requested that
the death penalty not be applied.
In China, suspended death sentences are commuted after 2 years to life in
prison, spelling a grim future for the 53-year-old Gu, a lawyer and
once-glamorous figure who was frequently seen in expensive designer clothing
and photographed with celebrities.
Her husband, Bo Xilai, had been Communist Party secretary in the important
southern Chinese city of Chongqing. His ascent into the upper echelons of the
Chinese leadership was interrupted by the sensational murder case, which has
created political turmoil not seen since the Tiananmen Square crackdown in
1989.
Zhang Xiaojun, 33, the family's butler, whom Gu roped into helping her prepare
and deliver the poison to Briton Neil Heywood, was given a nine-year sentence.
The 41-year-old Heywood, a longtime expatriate and friend of the Bo family, was
found dead Nov. 15 in a Chongqing hotel room after a night of drinking whiskey
with Gu. The death was initially blamed on excessive alcohol consumption, and
Heywood's body was cremated. But months later, Chongqing's police chief, Wang
Lijun, sought asylum in a neighboring U.S. Consulate, spilling a tale of murder
and an elaborate coverup.
Salacious though the details were, the scandal also threatened to expose the
corruption and impunity of the ruling elite at the highest levels. The murder
case also has shattered the fragile political balance the Communist Party was
trying to maintain in advance of a once-in-a-decade power transition coming up
this year with the 18th party congress.
Although the trial was closed to the media, snippets of footage were released
on television and an account of the proceedings was published - leading to
comparisons with the 1980-81 "Gang of Four" trial of Mao Tse-tung's last wife,
Jiang Qing, who was accused of helping lead the calamitous Cultural Revolution
of 1966 to 1976. Jiang was also given a death sentence that was later commuted
to life.
Gu's sentence was not immediately made public, but a lawyer representing
Heywood's family, He Zhengsheng, disclosed it to reporters waiting outside the
closed courthouse in Hefei, the capital of Anhui province.
"We respect the court's decision," He added.
The British government released a statement Monday praising the Chinese
handling of the case.
"We consistently made clear to the Chinese authorities that we wanted to see
the trials in this case conform to international human rights standards and for
the death penalty not to be applied," the statement read.
Gu had confessed to the murder during a closed-door, 7-hour trial held Aug. 9
in the same courthouse. Under Chinese procedure, a verdict and sentence are
handed down at the same time.
China executes about 4,000 people each year, more than any other country.
Convicted murderers are usually executed. Gu, a prominent lawyer and author,
has written that in China "if you clearly kill somebody, they'll arrest you,
try you and shoot you."
During Gu's trial, the prosecution described her as a calculating, cold-blooded
murderer who summoned Heywood to Chongqing, took him to dinner and got him so
drunk on whiskey that he vomited and nearly passed out. With help from her
aide, she put him in bed in his hotel room and poured water laced with cyanide
into his mouth. She then placed a "Do not disturb" sign on the door and left.
The prosecutors also described her as mentally ill, suffering from manic
depression and "mild schizophrenia," according to observers in the courtroom.
They also theorized that Gu had killed Heywood because he had threatened "to
destroy" her 24-year-old son, Bo Guagua, if the family didn't pay $14 million
that he claimed he was owed for a failed real estate deal.
The alleged threat has drawn widespread skepticism from critics who believe
that Heywood might simply have known too much about the Bo family's business
dealings, particularly the funneling of money overseas in violation of Chinese
currency controls. At the time, the son was studying at Harvard's Kennedy
School and Heywood was living in China.
"The story spun about a mother sacrificing herself for her own can hardly
deceive anyone," Hu Shuli, the editor of the independent Caixin magazine, wrote
in an editorial last week. She suggested that the real story is not the murder
itself but the fact thatChina'sjustice system appeared to have broken down.
Gu's "brazen sense of immunity from the law was supported by a network of
high-level officials in the Chongqing Ministry of Public Security."
4 police officials also stood trial this month in Hefei and were given
sentences Monday ranging from five to 11 years in prison. But the Chinese
government has remained curiously mute about what will happen to the
62-year-old Bo, a charismatic politician who was a protege of former Chinese
leader Jiang Zemin and headed a powerful Maoist faction within the ruling
elite.
Mo Shaoping, one ofChina'sleading human rights lawyers, noted that the Chinese
state media are still referring to the ousted politician as "Comrade Bo,"
meaning that he has not been expelled from the Communist Party, usually a
prelude to prosecution.
"There have been some improvements compared to other politically sensitive
trials in China. It was not exactly a show trial, but you can see there is
still a long way to have the country governed by rule of law," Mo said.
Paul French, a Shanghai-based author who writes about modern Chinese history,
said the verdict follows a tradition dating to imperial times: Let the woman
take the fall.
"The tale of the dragon lady is an old story in China. They don't want to show
that the men who rule the country are incompetent," French said.
(source: Los Angeles Times)
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