Jan. 18
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:
17 Indians awarded death sentence in murder case in Dubai to be released
Decks have finally been cleared for the release of 17 Indians, who were awarded
death sentence for the killing of a Pakistani man in Sharjah, where a local
court yesterday wrapped up the case by ordering a compensation to 2 people
injured in the incident.
According to a lawyer handling the case, the court has ordered payment of
Dirhams 100,000 in compensation to the 2 injured people who had asked for
compensation. Once this payment is made, the 17 Indians who were spared the
death penalty earlier after being convicted of murder, will be released.
(source: Day & Night News)
HONG KONG:
HK migrants, rights groups protest execution of Rizana Nafeek
Dozens of Hong Kong-based migrant workers, including Sri Lankans; migrant and
human rights groups, protested today the execution of Rizana Nafeek, a Sri
Lankan maid, in Saudi Arabia.
Nafeek was executed on January 9 for the death of her employer's child. The
Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia proceeded with the execution ignoring
appeals and serious concerns that she had been denied fair trial in the Saudi
court. The judgement of the court relied on Nafeek's confession taken under
duress and in absence of an interpreter.
6 days after Nafeek's execution, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), who
has campaigned for her case since her conviction for capital punishment in
2007, had written to the UN High Commissioner and the President of Sri Lanka,
strongly urging them to initiate an inquiry into the verdict and her execution.
For details about this, read here; and the AHRC's campaign website: Save
Rizana.
Along the streets in Wan Chai and outside the KSA's Consulate building,
protesting migrants workers--including Sri Lankans, Filipinos,
Indonesians--were chanting "Justice for Rizana Nafeek!" as they marched towards
the Consulate.
"We told them that we were shocked, that we were angry because justice has been
denied. We reminded the government to change the law (death penalty) and to
make sure this will not happen again," said Elizabeth Tang, coordinator for
International Domestic Workers Network (IDWN), who met representatives of the
Consulate.
The protest was organised by the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM), a
regional non-government organisation advocating rights of the migrants, and
numerous migrants organisations based in Hong Kong.
(source: Asian Human Rights Commission)
INDIA:
Gang-rape trial transferred to fast track court
The trial in India of 5 men accused of gang-raping a woman on a bus in Delhi,
has been transferred to a fast track court.
The woman died from her injuries.
Defence lawyers said the case will begin on Monday. One is to file a petition
seeking a transfer of the case from Delhi.
A 6th suspect, who is thought to be 17, will be tried separately in a youth
court if it is confirmed he is a minor.
P If convicted, the men could face the death penalty.
The victim, 23, a physiotherapy student who cannot be named in India for legal
reasons, and a male friend were attacked on a bus in south Delhi on 16
December.
She died 2 weeks later in hospital in Singapore.
(source: Radio New Zealand)
*****************************
Rapist-killer gets death penalty in Sambalpur
Setting a 2nd exemplary punishment in a span of 3 months, Additional District
and Session Judge of the Fast Track Court here Ashok Kumar Panda on Thursday
pronounced death penalty to a man for rape and murder of a 3-year-old girl.
The court had on January 11 convicted Tithu Munda (26) and reserved its
sentence. The punishment would be executed after orders from the High Court,
informed Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) Subrat Mohanty.
Earlier on October 8 last, the court had awarded capital punishment to one
Pradip Dalei (28) after convicting him for rape and killing of an 8-year-old
girl, who was lured by him with a promise to buy her food.
It may be a coincident that in both the cases the accused are drivers. In the
case of Munda, the police also promptly submitted the chargesheet on October 30
to expedite the judgment.
The police had arrested him on October 11 last. Munda, a resident of Mundapara
under the Thelkuli police station of Sambalpur district, was held 7 days after
raping and killing the girl. The police had recovered the girl's body from a
nearby jungle.
(source: The Daily Pioneer)
*********************
Indians debate role of juvenile crime laws in gang-rape case
The gang rape of a young woman and her resulting death last month sparked a
national outcry and calls for harsh punishment for the five people charged with
the crime. Now the case of another suspect, a young man who police say is 17,
is generating a divisive new debate about whether India's juvenile crime laws
should apply to particularly brutal offenses.
Police have charged five adults with rape, murder, abduction and robbery in the
assault. The case of the teenager - who investigators say participated in the
rape and wielded the metal rod that caused the young woman???s fatal internal
injuries - is being pursued separately.
Yet although police have said they will seek the death penalty for the adults,
the teenager, if charged, would face a maximum sentence of 3 years in a
juvenile correctional facility. Police say he claimed to be 6 months shy of his
18th birthday when the assault occurred.
Those differences have made his case the source of intense controversy.
The public outcry after the rape and anger over poor public safety for women
have reignited qualms about a law passed in 2000 that raised the age at which
teenagers are charged as adults from 16 to 18. At a conference of India's
police chiefs and top bureaucrats in New Delhi this month, participants
unanimously called for a reversal of that law.
But child rights activists, who campaigned for the age change more than 12
years ago, say that would do little to help troubled youths who turn to crime.
They argue that the teenage suspect???s biography - a sad but not uncommon
history as a trafficked child laborer - proves their point.
According to police, the suspect dropped out of his village school in the
northern state of Uttar Pradesh and was taken six years ago by a relative to
New Delhi to work as a child laborer in a streetside restaurant. For a time, he
sent money to his family. But the payments stopped, and police said his mother
assumed he might have died in the city.
He later found work as a helper and cleaner for the bus on which the
23-year-old woman was gang-raped in December. It was the teenager's job to
attract passengers by calling out to them in a singsong voice - a tone police
said he used to beckon the woman, whom he called "sister."
"This case has exposed our failure as a society in protecting our children and
women," said Bhuwan Ribhu, a child rights activist. "First a boy is trafficked
and exploited - later he turns to crime to change the power equation by finding
a weaker person to dominate and control. We must stop this vicious cycle."
But workers at the New Delhi juvenile observation home where the teenager is
being detained say they have little sympathy for him. They say other youths
held there feel the same.
"Here is the boy that the whole country hates. I feel guilty that I am even
looking after him," said a senior official at the home who was not authorized
to speak publicly. The official, who said he had participated in street
demonstrations last month after the rape, added: "He had crossed all the limits
of humanity. The staff feels deeply conflicted here. Our blood boils when we
think of what he did."
(source: Washington Post)
IRAN:
Death row prisoners must not be executed----PUBLIC STATEMENT
Amnesty International is alarmed by recent reports indicating that the
implementation of the death sentences of three prisoners - 2 from Iran's
Kurdish minority, Zaniar Moradi and Loghman Moradi, and one who is a member of
Iran's Azerbaijani minority who is also a follower of the Ahl-e Haq faith,
Yunes Aghayan - may be imminent. The organization is calling on the Iranian
authorities to halt their executions and to overturn their death sentences.
They must be granted re-trials in proceedings which comply with international
standards, and without recourse to the death penalty.
Amnesty International is also deeply concerned that these three men have
alleged that they were tortured or otherwise ill-treated in detention in order
to force them to "confess" and were sentenced to death after unfair trials.
Where individuals face the ultimate penalty of execution, it is all the more
important that their trials adhere scrupulously to international fair trial
standards.
Amnesty International urges the Iranian government to impose a moratorium on
all executions, and to ratify promptly and without reservation the UN
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment. Effective measures should be put in place to ensure that no one
held in Iran is tortured or otherwise ill-treated and that anyone suspected of
torture or other ill-treatment is prosecuted and brought to trial in fair
proceedings, without recourse to the death penalty.
Zaniar and Loghman Moradi
Zaniar (or Zanyar) Moradi and Loghman (or Loqman) Moradi are currently held in
Raja'i Shahr Prison, northwest of Tehran. They were arrested, respectively, on
1 August 2009 and 17 October 2009 in Marivan, Kordestan province, north-eastern
Iran. They were held without charge by the Ministry of Intelligence for the 1st
9 months of their detention in various detention centres - during which time
they are reported to have had no access to a lawyer - before being transferred
to Section 209 of Tehran's Evin Prison which is also under the control of the
Ministry of Intelligence.
On 12 November 2010, before their trial, Zaniar Moradi and Loghman Moradi were
featured in a programme called "Iran Today, Komalah Terrorist Organization"
aired by Press TV, a news network owned by the Islamic Republic of Iran
Broadcasting (IRIB), in which they purportedly "confessed" to the 4 July 2009
murder in Marivan of the son of a senior cleric, the Imam who leads the Friday
prayers there. The alleged "confessions" which were reportedly video-taped
during their pre-trial detention were broadcast along with scenes showing
Loghman Moradi at the Imam's house confessing to the murder of the Imam's son.
The broadcasting of such "confessions" prior to trial is a violation of the
presumption of innocence, and a breach of their right to a fair trial.
They were sentenced on 22 December 2010 to hanging in public by Branch 15 of
the Tehran Revolutionary Court after being convicted of "enmity against God"
(moharebeh), and the murder of the son. They were also convicted of
participating in armed activities with Komala, a banned Iranian Kurdish
opposition group. They had very limited access to a lawyer in their court
hearing which reportedly lasted only a few minutes.
1 week after their court hearing Zaniar Moradi and Loghman Moradi were
transferred to Raja???i Shahr Prison where they wrote an open letter retracting
their purported "confessions" and stating that during their interrogation
during pre-trial detention they were forced to "confess" to the allegations of
murder after being tortured. According to this letter they were repeatedly
tortured during their interrogations including by beatings, including on the
sexual organs, sleep deprivation, and threats of sexual assault, including
rape. Zaniar Moradi in this letter wrote: "I did not confess to any of the
charges until they threatened me with rape. They brought a bottle and said that
I had to confess otherwise they would make me sit on the bottle."
In January 2012, the Supreme Court upheld the sentences. Later that month, an
order for the implementation of the sentence was sent to the relevant office of
the Judiciary in Tehran.
Under Iranian law, the punishment for murder is termed qesas-e nafs, or
'retribution', by which a convicted murder may be executed in retaliation for
the death caused. Blood relatives of a murder victim are entitled under Iranian
law to either demand the execution of the convicted individual or to pardon
them, usually in exchange for compensation known as "blood money". The
regulations governing executions require the presence of the victim's blood
relatives in order to carry out the sentence.
In early January 2013, news suggesting that the execution of Zaniar Moradi and
Loghman Moradi may be imminent began circulating on the internet. Amnesty
International received information indicating that the Imam whose son was
killed and the Prosecutor of Kordestan may have travelled to Tehran, raising
concerns that plans were underway for the imminent implementation of the 2
men's death sentences.
Yunes Aghayan
Yunes Aghayan was transferred from Mahabad Prison, in West Azerbaijan Province,
north-west Iran on 26 December 2012 to solitary confinement in Oroumieh Prison
prompting concerns his death sentences may be about to be carried out. Death
row prisoners are generally transferred to solitary confinement shortly before
their executions take place. Yunes Aghayan started a "dry" hunger strike
(refusing water as well as food) on the same day. As he is held incommunicado,
it is not known whether he remains on hunger strike.
Yunes Aghayan was arrested in around November 2004, following at least 2
clashes in September 2004 between members of a group of Ahl-e Haq followers and
police. The group had refused to take down religious slogans at the entrance to
their cattle farm in Uch Tepe, West Azerbaijan Province. During the clashes, 5
Ahl-e Haq followers and at least 3 members of the security forces were killed.
Yunes Aghayan's family has firmly denied his involvement in the 2004 clashes,
insisting that he was a worker in the cattle farm. Yunes Ahayan has stated that
during his pre-trial detention he was subjected to torture and other
ill-treatment. This allegation is not known to have been investigated.
Yunes Aghayan and 4 others were tried before Branch 2 of the Mahabad
Revolutionary Court. In January 2005, Yunes Aghayan and Mehdi Qasemzadeh were
sentenced to death for "enmity against God" (moharebeh). Their sentences were
upheld by the Supreme Court in April 2005. Mehdi Qasemzadeh was executed around
28 February 2009. The 3 others - Sehend Ali Mohammadi, Bakhshali Mohammadi, and
Ebadollah Qasemzadeh - were also initially sentenced to death, but their death
sentences were overturned by the Supreme Court in September 2007. In 2009 they
were reported to be serving 13-year prison sentences in internal exile in Yazd
Province, central Iran.
Background
In 2012, the Iranian authorities are believed to have executed over 500 people,
including over 180 executions that have not been officially announced. The
majority of those executed were convicted of drug trafficking.
Members of the Kurdish minority live mainly in the west and north-west of the
country, in the province of Kordestan and neighbouring provinces bordering
Kurdish areas of Turkey and Iraq. At the time of writing over 20 Kurdish
prisoners are believed to be on death row in connection with their alleged
membership of and activities for proscribed Kurdish organizations. At least 7
Kurds were executed on 26 December 2012 in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj near
Tehran on charges of "membership in Salafist groups" and "participation in
terrorist acts, including the assassination of a Friday prayer Imam in Sanandaj
in 2009".
The Ahl-e Haq are followers of a religion sharing aspects of Islam's tenets
founded in the 14th century, who live mainly in Iraq and western Iran. Most
members are Kurdish, with smaller numbers from other ethnic minorities
including Azerbaijanis.
While Article 3(14) of the Iranian Constitution guarantees equality to
minorities in Iran, members of Iran's religious and ethnic minorities face
widespread religious, economic and cultural discrimination in laws and
practice, as well as in their interactions with the judicial system. The Ahl-e
Haq faith is not recognized under Iranian law and its rituals are prohibited.
Under Article 13 of Iran's Constitution, only 3 religious minorities -
Zoroastrians, Jews and Christians - are entitled to practise their faith. The
Ahl-e Haq are also banned from discussing their faith with the media.
Prolonged detention without charge facilitates torture or other ill-treatment
and is in contravention of fair trial standards. Iranian law prevents suspects
from having access to a lawyer until charges are formally brought, which can
take months.
Under Article 38 of the Iranian Constitution and Article 9 of the Law on
Respect for Legitimate Freedoms and Safeguarding Citizens' Rights, all forms of
torture for the purpose of obtaining "confessions" are prohibited. Iran's Penal
Code also provides for the punishment of officials who torture citizens in
order to obtain "confessions". However, despite these legal and constitutional
guarantees regarding the inadmissibility of testimony, oath, or confession
taken under duress, forced "confessions" are sometimes broadcast on television
even before the trial has concluded and are generally accepted as evidence in
Iranian courts. Such broadcasts violate Iran's fair trial obligations under
Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to
which it is a state party. They also violate Iranian law, including Article 37
of the Constitution, Article 2 of the 2004 Law on Respect for Legitimate
Freedoms and Safeguarding Citizens' Rights and Note One to Article 188 of
Iran's Criminal Code of Procedure which criminalizes the publishing of the name
and identity of a convict in the media before a final sentence has been passed.
(source: Amnesty International)
***************************
Muslim who converted to Christianity risks the death penalty
Saeed Abedini, a U.S. citizen of Iranian origin, is accused of undermining
national security. The trial will begin on January 21. Judge will be
Pir-Abbassi Abbas, responsible for various human rights violations.
Saeed Abedini, a U.S. citizen of Iranian origin who converted to Christianity
arrested in September on a trip to his native country risks the death penalty.
The man, 32, is accused of undermining national security. His wife Naghmeh
Abedini has reported the news. According to the woman, her husband's trial will
begin on January 21 and will be chaired by Abbas Pir-Abassi, a judge of the
revolutionary court accused of human rights violations for the harsh sentences
handed down to the young protagonists in the 2009 demonstrations against
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In 2010 he condemned Jila Baniyaghoob,
journalist and human rights activist to 30 years in prison.
Born in Iran, Saeed Abedini has lived for years in the States with his wife and
2 children, but has maintained close ties with his country of origin. The
problems with the Iranian authorities began in 2009 after his conversion to
Christianity.
During a visit the police arrested him, but released him after a few months,
making him sign a document where the man promised not to proselytize or carry
out religious activities. After this episode Abedini visited Iran nine more
times, without any problems. In recent years he was helping some friends to
build an orphanage in a small town in the north of the country. During the last
trip in September 2012, the police again arrested him, accusing him of
violating the agreement.
In recent months, Victoria Nuland, spokesperson for the American Secretary of
State, urged the Iranian government to grant the man a lawyer. But according to
his wife, no lawyer has ever visited her husband.
The Iranian Constitution recognizes the rights of some religious minorities,
including Christians, but also punishes Muslims who change religion with death.
(source: Asia News)
LIBYA:
Saif Gaddafi appears in court charged with trying to escape jail and insulting
new Libyan regime's flag
--Saif-al Islam Gaddafi went on trial in the western town of Zintan
--He has been held there by militia since his capture in November 2011
The son of former Libyan dictator Colonel Gaddafi has appeared in court today
charged with attempting to escape jail, harming state security and insulting
the new regime's flag.
Saif-al Islam, who had been considered the most natural successor to his father
before the fall of his regime in 2011, appeared in court in the western town of
Zintan where he is being held by militiamen, according to the official Libyan
news agency LANA.
The trial is said to be linked with his meeting in June with an International
Criminal Court delegation accused of smuggling documents to him. His ICC
appointed lawyer, Australian Melinda Taylor, was herself arrested and held for
3 weeks on suspicion of handing her client documents that could endanger
national security.
A colleague of Ms Taylor's was also arrested. Neither were present in court
today.
Gadaffi is wanted for war crimes by the ICC who wish to extradite him to The
Hague but Libyan officials want to try him at home where he could face the
death penalty.
Taha Baara, spokesman for the prosecutor,said: 'He is charged with involvement
with the ICC delegation which is accused of carrying papers and other things
related to the security of the Libyan state.
'Investigations for trying him for war crimes are over and he will be put on
trial for that at a later time.'
The trial was adjourned until May as there was no lawyer to represent him.
Protests against his father Colonel Muammar Gaddafi began in Libya in February
2011. His heavy handed response to the protests sparked widespread uprising.
Amid bloody civil war, several major cities declared themselves free of Gaddafi
rule and the ICC issued arrest warrants for Colonel Gaddafi and Saif-al Islam.
Colonel Gaddafi was eventually captured and killed in October 2011.
Former playboy Saif-al Islam faces trial for killing, torturing and persecuting
civilians in the early days of the uprising.
He was arrested in November 2011 in Libya???s southern desert while trying to
flee to Niger. Since then, he has been held at a secret location in Zintan,
western Libya.
He had to have part of the forefinger and thumb on his right hand removed once
captured after he was injured in a Nato airstrike while on the run.
Thousands of Libyans celebrated in the streets after hearing that the fugitive,
who remained loyal to his father's murderous rule to the end, had been captured
without a struggle.
Tony Blair's Government had tried to get Saif-al Islam a place at Oxford
University in 2002, but the institution rejected him because of concerns that
he wasn't bright enough.
He later received a PhD from the London School of Economics.
He reportedly once threw wild parties in the south of France and owned a 10
million-pounds mansion in Hampstead, London.
(source: Daily Mail)
BANGLADESH:
Bangladesh Drops Death Penalty Plan After Bundesbank Objects
Bangladesh's central bank plans to drop a proposal seeking death penalty for
currency forgers after Germany's Bundesbank shelved an anti-counterfeiting
partnership with the South Asian nation citing the punishment.
The venture was originally scheduled to begin in February, the Bundesbank said.
It had not been aware of the death-penalty threat when it offered consultation
and training services on counterfeit prevention as part of its cooperation
activities, the German central bank said in a statement yesterday, putting the
partnership on hold.
Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman said, "Ours is a central bank with a
human face and the death penalty in this case goes against these principles."
Germany's Bundesbank said, "While the Bundesbank believes that counterfeiting
is a serious criminal offense, it considers the threat of imposing the death
penalty to be excessive."
"Ours is a central bank with a human face and the death penalty in this case
goes against these principles," Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman said in a
phone interview. "The proposal is being called back."
The central bank had sent the recommendation imposing a death penalty for
counterfeiting to the Ministry of Finance on Jan. 2 "inadvertently, without due
review," Rahman said. Bangladesh in October arrested 10 people in 2 raids for
printing 88,000 Indian rupees ($1,630) and 25 million taka ($315,000) of
currency notes, the Daily Star newspaper reported.
The Bundesbank, which is yet to receive an official response from Bangladesh
Bank, will have to consult on the new developments, said a spokesman, who
declined to be identified, citing central bank rules. It's too early to talk
about a resumption of the venture, he said.
"While the Bundesbank believes that counterfeiting is a serious criminal
offense, it considers the threat of imposing the death penalty to be
excessive," it said in yesterday???s statement. "Unless Bangladesh clearly and
irrevocably drops these plans, the Bundesbank will terminate the consultation
project before it has begun."
(source: Bloomberg News)
FRANCE/SAUDI ARABIA:
France condemns Pakistani's beheading in Saudi Arabia
France condemned the beheading on January 16 in Saudi Arabia of a Pakistani
citizen identified as Arshad Mohammed and is alarmed by the pace of executions
in this country.
Since the beginning of this year, four executions have been carried out. A
press release issued by the French embassy stated, "France is committed to
remain a leading voice of the global campaign in favour of the abolition of the
death penalty."
(source: Pakistan Tribune)
PAKISTAN:
Pakistan supreme court admits petition against Sherry Rehman on blasphemy
The Pakistan supreme court on Thursday admitted a businessman's petition
seeking action against Sherry Rehman, Pakistan's ambassador to the US, for
allegedly committing blasphemy over 2 years ago.
The petition filed by Fahim Akhtar Gill, a trader from Multan in Punjab
province, was heard by a 2-judge bench.
The judges directed the Multan city police chief to take action in accordance
with the law.
Gill asked the court to direct authorities to register a case against Rehman
under the controversial blasphemy law.
His petition claimed Rehman, a senior leader of the Pakistan People's Party,
had committed blasphemy while appearing on a TV talk show over 2 years ago.
In November 2010, Rehman had submitted a bill to the parliament secretariat,
seeking an end to the death penalty under the blasphemy law.
She was forced to withdraw the bill by her Pakistan People's party early in
2011.
In February 2011, Gill petitioned an additional district and sessions court in
Multan, saying Rehman had committed blasphemy by speaking against the blasphemy
law on a TV talk show.
The court had then directed police to register a case against Rehman.
However, police refused to act, saying the matter did not fall within their
jurisdiction as the TV show had been aired from Islamabad.
Gill subsequently filed a similar case in the Lahore high court before
approaching the apex court.
Blasphemy is an extremely sensitive issue in Pakistan, where 97 per cent of the
180 million population are Muslims.
Mere allegations of desecrating the Quran or insulting Islam often provoke
public fury and several persons accused of blasphemy have been lynched in
recent years.
(source: The Times of India)
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