Jan. 9
PAKISTAN:
No headway: Legislation to abolish death penalty unlikely; Govt finds no takers
for converting capital punishment to life term.
It appears that the government has dropped plans of introducing new legislation
which effectively converts the death penalty into life imprisonment.
Earlier there were indications that the government will table a bill in
Parliament seeking to ban the death penalty altogether but after failing to
forge consensus over the issue, it backtracked finding the matter "sensitive".
"We don't have any plans to introduce legislation to abolish the death
punishment," Law and Justice Secretary Yasmin Abbasi told The Express Tribune.
At the moment, she explained, "Even, I cannot say whether such a law will be
introduced in the near future or not."
Officials of the law ministry, who were tasked to prepare recommendations on
the issue, stated that the Presidency started considering the matter when it
was informed about a huge backlog of around 8,000 inmates currently on death
row in several jails across the country.
President Asif Ali Zardari had directed the quarters concerned - the ministries
of interior and law, and provincial home departments - to prepare a
comprehensive report advising the move, officials from the law ministry told
The Express Tribune on Tuesday.
The directions came from the Presidency when it received multiple mercy
petitions of condemned prisoners last year - a total of over 522 mercy
petitions were received, officials said. Some 462 mercy petitions were received
from Punjab, 28 from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 20 from Sindh and 12 from Balochistan.
When contacted, President's spokesperson Farhatullah Babar said, "There is no
proposal to abolish the death punishment altogether. However, during the past 4
years (sans one case involving an army man) not a single convicted person has
been sent to the gallows. No death sentence has been commuted."
The government has been facing tough resistance over such matters whenever it
intended to amend laws including legislation on blasphemy laws or the
conversion of death penalty into life imprisonment. Last year, Islamabad was
close to signing an extradition treaty with the United Kingdom but it could not
finalise it due to the absence of such laws.
Political parties, while giving their comments on the issue, said that they
will not support any such law.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz MNA Ahsan Iqbal said that his party strongly
opposed such legislation. "My party supports capital punishment as deterrence
for crime control," he asserted.
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl leader Abdul Ghafoor Haideri was of the view that
these laws were already in place and needed no changes. "JUI-F does not see any
lacuna in the existing laws," he explained.
Awami National Party Senator Zahid Khan stated that such laws were better for a
"civilised society" no matter which country it was. "But in view of the
existing situation Pakistan is facing, it's next to impossible to amend the
law," he said.
(source: The Express Tribune)
SAUDI ARABIA----execution of juvenile female foreign
Sri Lankan maid Rizana Nafeek executed in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia has executed a Sri Lankan domestic worker for killing a baby in
her care in 2005, a foreign ministry official in Colombo has told the BBC.
The maid, Rizana Nafeek, had denied killing the 4-month-old boy.
Her supporters say she was only 17 at the time of the killing. They say her
execution is a breach of international child rights.
The Sri Lankan parliament held a minute's silence on Wednesday in honour of Ms
Nafeek.
News of the execution came on the same day that the International Labour
Organization (ILO) said that laws were needed "urgently" to give greater
protection to domestic workers.
The ILO report estimates that only about 10% of all domestic workers - about
5.3 million people - are covered by labour laws to the same degree as other
workers.
In Sri Lanka itself, the execution has rekindled debate about the safety of
expatriate workers in the Middle East and about the poverty which drives people
including Ms Nafeek to seek work abroad.
In a statement, the Sri Lankan foreign ministry said that President Rajapakse
and the government deplored the execution "despite all efforts at the highest
level of the government and the outcry of the people locally and
internationally".
Translation problems
A Sri Lankan MP who campaigns for Sri Lankan workers abroad, Ranjan Ramanayake,
described the Saudi government as "dictators" who would never execute Europeans
or Americans, only Asians and Africans.
The parents of Ms Nafeek had repeatedly appealed to King Abdullah to pardon
her. Her father is currently in hospital, officials, say, and her mother is too
distressed to talk about the execution.
Correspondents say that it appears that employment agents falsified Rizana
Nafeek's age so that she could work in Saudi Arabia Ms Nafeek was convicted in
2007 of murdering 4-month-old baby Naif al-Quthaibi, whom she was caring for in
2005.
She said that an initial confession was made under duress and without
linguistic assistance. Supporters say that she also had no access to lawyers
before her conviction.
Human rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch
(HRW) have criticised the Saudi authorities for their handling of the case, as
have campaigners in Sri Lanka, who argue that there were also serious
translation problems at the time she confessed to the crime.
They argue that her reported execution breaches the UN Convention on the Rights
of the Child which Saudi Arabia has ratified.
"Saudi Arabia is 1 of just 3 countries that executes people for crimes they
committed as children," said senior HRW women's rights researcher Nisha Varia,
"Rizana Nafeek is yet another victim of the deep flaws in Saudi Arabia's
judicial system."
The BBC's Charles Haviland in Sri Lanka visited Ms Nafeek's home village in
2010, where he saw a school register and a birth certificate confirming her
date of birth.
Our correspondent says that if the documents are genuine, she was a minor when
the alleged offence was committed. It also appears that employment agents
falsified her age in order for her to get work in Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi interior ministry said that Ms Nafeek was beheaded for smothering the
infant after an argument with the child's mother in the town of al-Dwadmi.
(source: BBC News)
****************
Saudi beheads Sri Lankan maid defying calls for stay
Saudi Arabia beheaded a Sri Lankan maid on Wednesday after she was convicted of
murdering her employer's baby, drawing sharp condemnation from Colombo which
had repeatedly urged a stay of execution.
Human rights groups too expressed condemnation, noting that Rizana Nafeek had
been just 17 at the time of the offence and that Saudi Arabia was just 1 of 3
countries in the world to impose the death penalty for crimes committed as a
minor.
Nafeek was found guilty of smothering the infant to death after an argument
with the child's mother, her employer, the Saudi interior ministry said in a
statement carried by the official SPA news agency.
She was beheaded in the Dawadmi province near the capital Riyadh.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse condemned the execution while lawmakers
observed a minute's silence during Wednesday's sessions as parliament was told
the execution went ahead even as Colombo tried to send a delegation to Saudi
Arabia to plead for mercy.
"President Rajapakse and the government deplore the execution of Rizana Nafeek
despite all efforts at the highest level of the government and the outcry of
the people locally and internationally," the ministry said.
Rajapakse had made another appeal for the maid's life last week.
Human Rights Watch said that Nafeek, who was only 17 when the child died in
2005, had retracted "a confession that she said was made under duress, and says
that the baby died in a choking accident while drinking from a bottle."
"In executing Rizana Nafeek, Saudi authorities demonstrated callous disregard
for basic humanity as well as Saudi Arabia's international legal obligations,"
the New York-based watchdog's senior women's rights researcher, Nisha Varia,
said.
HRW "opposes the death penalty in all circumstances because of its inherent
cruelty and finality," the watchdog said. "Given the possibility of mistakes in
any criminal justice system, innocent people may be executed."
This is the 2nd execution of the year in Saudi Arabia after a Syrian was
beheaded on Tuesday for drug trafficking.
Last year, the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom beheaded 76 people, according
to an AFP tally based on official figures. HRW put the number at 69.
Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking are all punishable
by death under its strict version of sharia, or Islamic law.
(source: Agence France-Presse)
****************************
Saudi Charge Leading to Maid's Execution Was Wrong Says Asian Human Rights
Commission
According to reports received, the Government of Saudi Arabia has executed Ms.
Rizana Nafeek (9 January 2013) today. The embassy of Sri Lanka in Riyadh has
confirmed this report.
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to categorically state, that the
singular responsibility for this innocent young Sri Lankan woman's death is
upon the President of Sri Lanka, Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksha. His office and the
government led by him shamelessly neglected the life of this innocent Sri
Lankan woman, who remained incarcerated aboard since May 2005. At the time when
she was charged with the alleged crime, Rizana was only 17 years of age, and
was soon sentenced to death by a Saudi court, in proceedings that the court
held of which Rizana had no informed consent. The Government of Sri Lanka or
the office of the President did nothing to save Rizana's life, despite calls
for assistance from Rizana's family and from the global civil society. Passing
off as concerns, the Government of Sri Lanka did nothing, except issuing
valueless statements relating to this case.
All Sri Lankans should regard today as a day of shame.
Due to efforts by the AHRC, an appeal was filed and Rizana's execution stayed
this far. Despite calls for help President Rajapaksha's government refused to
pay at least the lawyers' fee for filing the appeal.
The law relating to forced confession in Saudi Arabia is criminally wrong. The
AHRC had alerted the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights about
this matter repeatedly. However even the High Commissioner failed to make an
effective intervention to save the life of this innocent woman.
There is no doubt that the charge of murder against Rizana is wrong. The laws
in Saudi Arabia fall short of universally accepted norms concerning
investigation of crimes, most importantly in this case the failure to conduct
of an autopsy upon the body of the deceased person, alleged to have been
murdered by Rizana. None of the fair trial guarantees were observed when Rizana
was tried in the Saudi court.
All Sri Lankans and virtually thousands of people across the globe who
intervened trying to save Rizana must have received the news of her execution
with shock. An estimated 1.8 million Sri Lankans currently work aboard, of
which 45 % are women.
The AHRC expresses its deepest condolences to Rizana's family at this time of
grief and shock. Despite the family doing their best to save Rizana's life,
they received no support from their government to save Rizana
So long as there is a government that does not show any care for the rights of
its people, similar tragedies will be repeated in Sri Lanka.
(source: asafeworldforwomen.org)
*******************
Halt Execution of Sri Lankan Migrant Worker; Beheading May Be Imminent for
Rizana Nafeek, Age 17 at Alleged Killing
Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah and the interior ministry should halt the
execution of Rizana Nafeek, a Sri Lankan domestic worker convicted of killing a
baby in her care in 2005 when she was 17. According to Sri Lankan government
sources, Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry under Prince Mohammed bin Nayef bin
Abdul Aziz has issued instructions for Nafeek's execution.
Under the system of qisas (retaliation) that governs murder cases in Saudi
Arabia, the baby's parents may still grant Nafeek a pardon or seek blood money
in compensation.
"The Saudi king and interior minister should immediately cancel the execution
orders against Rizana Nafeek," said Nisha Varia, senior women's rights
researcher at Human Rights Watch. "Saudi officials should then meet with the
baby's family and Sri Lankan authorities to make sure the death penalty won't
be considered again."
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa sent an appeal to King Abdullah on
January 6, 2013, requesting a stay of the execution until a settlement can be
reached between the baby's family and a Saudi reconciliation committee.
Nafeek had been working in Saudi Arabia for 2 weeks in 2005 when the 'Utaibi
family's 4-month-old baby died in her care. Nafeek retracted a confession that
she said was made under duress, and says that the baby died in a choking
accident while drinking from a bottle. Authorities have incarcerated Nafeek in
Dawadmi prison since 2005.
Past Human Rights Watch interviews with Sri Lankan embassy officials and
reporting from Arab News found serious problems with Nafeek's access to lawyers
and competent interpreters during her interrogation and trial. Nafeek had no
access to legal counsel until after a court in Dawadmi sentenced her to death
by beheading in 2007.
In 2010, Saudi Arabia's Supreme Court upheld Nafeek's conviction and death
sentence, exhausting all judicial remedies unless new evidence emerges.
However, the king and interior minister must sign execution orders before a
sentence may be carried out.
International law prohibits the death penalty for crimes committed before the
age of 18. A recruitment agency in Sri Lanka altered the birthdate on Nafeek's
passport to present her as 23 so she could migrate for work, but her birth
certificate shows she was 17 at the time. The High Court in Colombo, Sri Lanka
later sentenced 2 recruitment agents to 2 years in prison for the falsification
of Nafeek's travel documents.
"Rizana was just a child herself at the time of the baby's death, and she had
no lawyer to defend her and no competent interpreter to translate her account,"
said Varia. "Saudi Arabia should recognize, as the rest of the world long has,
that no child offender should ever be put to death."
Saudi Arabia is a state party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
which expressly prohibits the death penalty or life sentences without parole
for offenses committed before the accused turned 18. Nevertheless, Saudi law
gives judges wide discretion to treat children as adults in criminal cases, and
courts have imposed death sentences on children as young as 13.
Saudi Arabia is 1 of only 3 countries worldwide known to have executed people
in the past 5 years for crimes committed when they were children.
Saudi Arabia executes those sentenced to death by beheading them in public with
a sword.
Human Rights Watch opposes the death penalty in all circumstances because of
its inherent cruelty and finality. Given the possibility of mistakes in any
criminal justice system, innocent people may be executed. Saudi Arabia executed
at least 69 people in 2012.
(source: Human Rights Watch)
VIETNAM:
Vietnam tries 14 for subversion
14 Vietnamese accused of links to a banned US-based opposition group went on
trial Tuesday on charges of attempting to overthrow the communist government.
The defendants, who include Catholics, bloggers and students, appeared in a
provincial court in Nghe An about 300 kilometres (190 miles) south of Hanoi, a
court clerk told AFP, declining to provide further details.
"The prosecutors accused all the defendants of participating in the Viet Tan
Group," defence lawyer Tran Thu Nam told AFP after the hearing. Hanoi claims
the US-based group is a terrorist organisation.
"Some of the defendants admitted their mistakes. Others did not," he said,
adding that security at the trial had been very tight and a verdict was
expected on Wednesday.
If convicted the 14 -- who are aged between 24 and 55 -- could face long prison
terms or the death penalty, although the communist regime has never executed
anyone for anti-state activity.
The authoritarian country's state-controlled media made no mention of the
trial, which overseas activists said was one of the largest of its kind.
Charges of spreading anti-state propaganda and attempting to overthrow the
regime are routinely laid against dissidents in a country where the communist
party forbids political debate.
Some of the defendants are among a group of 17 people who have appealed to the
UN's working group on arbitrary detentions to intervene on their behalf.
The detainees have suffered various violations of human rights including the
rights to expression, assembly, and association, according to Stanford Law
School lecturer Allen Weiner who is helping with their petition to the UN.
"Most of the petitioners have been jailed for an extended period of time
without meaningful judicial process," he said in a statement.
Vietnam "continues to use its legal system as a tool for the repression of the
exercise of civil and political rights that are protected under international
law", he added.
Activists on Tuesday posted photos online showing hundreds of police
surrounding the courtroom in Nghe An. They said several people who had turned
up to support the detainees had been harassed and detained.
Rights group say dozens of peaceful political activists have been sentenced to
long prison terms since Vietnam, a one-party state, launched a fresh crackdown
on free expression in late 2009.
(source: Bangkok Post)
GAMBIA:
Jammeh Accuses EU Of Trying To Destabilise Gambia
Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh on Tuesday accused the European Union, which
has urged him to respect human rights, of trying to destabilise his country and
blackmail him "with chicken change."
Jammeh was speaking Tuesday evening during an emergency meeting with his
cabinet ahead of a planned meeting with the European Union slated for Friday in
Banjul.
"What the EU wants is to create a situation of instability in this country or
create a puppet government that will give them the resources of this country
because they know that we now have oil," Jammeh said in a meeting also
broadcast on state television.
He did not give details of the oil discovery.
Among the 17 demands by the European Union is for Jammeh's government to
abolish the death penalty, re-open closed newspapers and private radio
stations, give foreign diplomats access to prisons, and repeal draconian media
laws.
"If they think that they can blackmail me for their chicken change, they must
be fooling themselves because that will not happen in this country," he said,
before announcing that there will be no meeting between the European Union and
his Government on this.
"This is an insult; the laws of this country will never be amended to suit the
interest of any individual of particular group. As a sovereign state, this
country's laws would not be amended because the EU want so," Jammeh added
angrily.
The European Union in 2010 cancelled 22 million euros in budget support to the
Gambia due to concerns over human rights and governance.
The European Union remains the leading aid provider for Gambia, with a total of
65.4 million euros of grants allocated for the period 2008-2013.
The west African nation, the smallest on the mainland, has long been dogged by
rights concerns under Jammeh's administration.
(source: Jollof News)
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