March 2
GLOBAL:
The 'ultimate price to pay'? Capital punishment around the world and debate
over UK death penalty return
Capital punishment is a contentious issue - last week's triple execution in
Japan was followed by the US state of Georgia???s rush to kill a double
murderer before its lethal injection supplies expired.
This double-header of news brought to light the stark disparity of death
penalty laws worldwide.
Japan and USA are, by some distance, the world's 2 most industrialised nations
to practice capital punishment - others include Iran, Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
In total, 40 countries retain the death penalty to date, with 18 believed by
Amnesty International to have carried out executions as recently as 2011.
China heads the list, with more than 2000 capital punishments thought to have
taken place that year - despite its notoriety as home of the death penalty, USA
lies 5th in the list with 43.
In fact, trends suggest there is a move, albeit painfully gradual, away from
executions in America.
Last year there were 3,146 people on death row in the states - the lowest
number since 1995.
Interestingly, and perhaps oddly, enough: Venezuela was the 1st country to
abolish the death penalty, which it did in 1863.
By the start of World War II, just 7 countries had abolished it, only 1 of
which was outside south or Central America - San Marino.
Last year Latvia, Benin, Mongolia and Madagascar took the leap, bringing the
total number of nations to have done away with capital punishment to 100.
The UK formally abolished it in 1965 - in August of the previous year Gwynne
Owen Evans and Peter Anthony Allen became the last men to be executed in
England.
Evans was hanged in Manchester's Strangeways prison by Harry Allen - no
relation to Peter - for the murder of John Alan West.
But what are the chances of this historical moment being wiped from the record
books - could we witness the return of capital punishment in the UK?
Following the high-profile murders of PCs Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes in
Mottram, Paul Nuttall, Northwest MEP and deputy leader of the UK Independence
Party, backed the idea.
"It is time that those who commit such heinous crimes should face the ultimate
sanction against them," he said.
"All our brave bobbies face similar risks every day. They deserve all the
protection the state can provide and I believe that means the death penalty
awaiting culprits.
"The same should apply to those who murder children and for serial killers," he
added.
"We must lay down a mark in the sand beyond which the ultimate price must be
paid by offenders.
"People have had more than enough of soft sentencing in this country and it
must be made plain that crime will not be tolerated."
(source: Mancunian Matters)
TAIWAN:
Rights experts call for end to death penalty; HUMAN RIGHTS REVIEW: The group
called for better protection of Aborigines, migrant workers and gays, and
appealed for action on Chen Shui-bian's health
A group of international human rights experts yesterday urged Taiwan to scrap
the death penalty and protect the rights of Aboriginal people, migrant workers,
prisoners, gay people and other minority groups, as well as former president
Chen Shui-bian.
Taiwan was also urged to take more measures to reconcile the gross violations
of human rights which occured in the 228 Incident and the White Terror era.
The group of experts were invited by President Ma Ying-jeou's administration to
review the English and Chinese versions of its 1st national human rights
report, which was published last year.
The report described the nation's progress in implementing the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights that Ma signed in 2009.
Taiwan is among a minority of only 20 states worldwide that carried out
executions in 2011, said Manfred Nowak, a professor of international law and
human rights at the University of Vienna and one of the 10 international
experts who visited Taiwan to review the national report.
"The experts, therefore, strongly recommend that the government of Taiwan
intensifies its efforts toward abolition of capital punishment and, as a 1st
and decisive step, immediately introduces a moratorium on executions in
accordance with the respective resolutions of the United Nations General
Assembly," Nowak said at a press conference to present the group's observations
and recommendations.
The Taiwanese government has listed the abolition of capital punishment among
its long-term goals. However, public opposition remains high.
A survey conducted in July last year by Master Survey and Research Co showed
that nearly 80 % of Taiwanese respondents opposed the abolition of the death
penalty and that more than 85 % believed that scrapping capital punishment
would be detrimental to public order.
The report also urges the government to reduce prisoner numbers by introducing
less restrictive provisions on pre-trial bail and parole, and to improve prison
health services by transferring the responsibility to the Department of Health,
among other changes.
"In this context, the experts also appeal to the government of Taiwan on
humanitarian grounds to take appropriate action in relation to the serious
health problems of former president Chen Shui-bian," the report said.
Chen is serving an 18 1/2-year term for corruption during his presidency from
2000 to 2008.
The experts also called for improved rights for migrant workers, Aborgines,
women, gay and transgender people, and people with disabilities.
They recommended that a referendum on a proposed nuclear waste site in Daren
Township in Taitung County and Wuciou Township in Kinmen County be put to a
vote only by Aboriginal residents directly affected by the matter - instead of
the 2 counties' entire population.
They also suggested that labor protection laws, such as the Labor Standards Act
and the Labor Safety and Health Act, be extended to cover migrant workers,
domestic workers and contract workers, and that the government reject proposals
to delink the basic wages of foreign workers from wages of Taiwanese workers.
Foreign workers employed in the manufacturing, construction and other sectors
are currently covered by the Labor Standards Act, but those who work as
domestic helpers and caregivers are not.
Although certain measures have been taken for the sake of healing and
reparation in the 228 Incident and the White Terror era, the experts said the
period of transitional justice has not ended and more work is needed to
reconcile Taiwanese society.
They said the right to reparation should include measures such as the social
and psychological rehabilitation of victims, and should be accompanied by the
right to seek truth and justice.
The government should undertake measures to reveal the whole truth behind the
White Terror era, duly recognize the sufferings of the victims and guarantee
victims' families and researchers full access to the national archives.
Increased transparency in government decisionmaking on human rights issues is
also needed, they said.
On the issue of freedom of expression, the government should take steps to
block mergers or acquisitions of news channels or newspapers that could result
in a concentration of media ownership, they said.
On freedom of assembly, the government should relax rules governing the holding
of demonstrations and rallies, they added.
The Legislative Yuan should, without further delay, adopt required amendments
to the Assembly and Parade Act, they said.
(source: Taipei Times)
INDIA:
3 death-row convicts, 8 lifers off hook in Bihar case
The Patna High Court on Friday acquitted 3 death-row convicts and 8 lifers,
giving them benefit of doubt in a case involving killing of 10 CPI(ML)
supporters at Nagari Bazaar village in Bhojpur district of Bihar in 1998.
A division bench of Patna High Court, comprising Justice AK Lal and Justice VN
Sinha acquitted all the convicted people due to lack of sufficient evidence
against them, giving them benefit of doubt in the case.
The Nagar Bazaari massacre in Bhojpur district had sent shock waves across the
State as activists of private army of landlords, Ranvir Sena, had allegedly
surrounded the village in the night of November 11, 1998 and gunned down 10 CPI
(ML) supporters. The motive behind the mass killing was said to be a result of
a war of supremacy between the CPI (ML) and the Ranvir Sena.
Earlier, Additional District Judge of Bhojpur, Ajay Kumar Shrivastava had
awarded capital punishment to 3 people and sentenced 8 others to life
imprisonment in 2010. The court in its judgment had sent Ravindra Singh,
Chandrabhushan Singh and Sudarshan Pandey to gallows.
Altogether 55 people were made accused in an FIR registered in this connection
but the chargesheets could be filed against only 16 of them.
Last year, the Patna High Court had acquitted all the accused of the 1996
Bathani Tola massacre in Bhojpur district. Members of Ranvir Sena has massacred
altogether 21 landless poor, most of them women, children and infants at
Bathani Tola, a Dalit hamlet in the district. The State Government, however,
filed a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court against the Patna High
Court???s judgment, challenging acquittal of all the accused.
A trial court of Ara had convicted all 23 accused, awarding death penalty to 3
while life imprisonment to 20 others for the Bathani Tola massacre.
Meanwhile, CPI (ML) State Secretary Kunal said the party would launch a
movement against the acquittal of the Nagari Bazaar convicts.
(source: Daily Pioneer)
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Don't allow clemency for rapists, says Parliament panel
Going beyond the provision to sentence rapists to death in rarest of the rare
cases, a parliamentary panel has suggested that the President should not have
the power to grant clemency to convicts in such cases.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs, which has been examining
amendments to be made in criminal law, has recommended that even otherwise,
decisions on mercy petitions should be taken within 3 months and reasons for
granting clemency should be made public.
"The committee noted that some persons convicted for rape and murder were given
clemency by the President. The committee also noted a case wherein the accused
died well before the clemency was given. The committee feels that application
for clemency should not be considered in rape and murder cases," said the
panel's report released Friday.
"The committee also feels that mercy petitions should be disposed of within 3
months. The committee would also like to suggest that reasons for granting
clemency should be made public," it said.
Committee chairman M Venkaiah Naidu of the BJP said that the previous
President, Pratibha Patil, had commuted death sentences of rape convicts to
life imprisonment in 4 cases. He said when the committee wanted to know the
reasons for granting clemency, it was told by the home ministry that the
discussions between the President and home minister were 'privileged' and could
not be disclosed.
The committee has been discussing provisions of the Criminal Law (Amendment)
Bill, 2012, that was introduced in the Lok Sabha last year. Even as it was
being debated, the government promulgated an ordinance in the 1st week of
February on the basis of the recommendations of the J S Verma committee report
to strengthen laws dealing with crime against women.
The government will now have to withdraw the 2012 Bill, get the approval of
Parliament for the ordinance and then introduce a fresh amendment Bill,
incorporating the suggestions of the standing committee.
Although the Verma committee had not recommended capital punishment for any
sexual crime, the ordinance provided for death penalty in cases in which the
rape results in the death of the victim or leads to the victim being left in a
vegetative stage. The parliamentary panel has backed those provisions and also
suggested that the provision for death penalty be extended to repeat offenders
as well.
The standing committee has supported some other provisions of the ordinance as
well, including those relating to keeping marital rape out of the list of
sexual crimes and keeping rape gender-neutral.
Despite several representations from NGOs, women???s groups and individuals,
the standing committee did not agree to reduce the age of juvenile from 18 to
16 years.
Left MPs D Raja and Prasanta Chatterjee gave a dissent note expressing
dissatisfaction over what they said was the way the Verma committee
recommendations had been diluted in the Standing committee report.
(source: CanIndia)
********************************************
Persecuted Minorities of India Make Their Voices Heard In The British
Parliament; House of Commons Debate on The Death Penalty and Human Rights
Violations in India
The Kesri Lehar petition asking for the Abolition of the Death Penalty in India
was debated in the Main Chamber of the House of Commons on Thursday February
28th, 2013. The 2 1/2 hour debate, started with an opening speech by Rt. Hon.
John McDonnell, MP for Hayes and Harlington, who said that the national Kesri
Lehar campaign urged the UK government to press the Indian Government to sign
and ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the UN
Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment, which encompasses the death penalty.
Amongst the many issues on Human Right's abuses raised during the debate, 2
prominent cases, currently on death row in India, that of Balwant Singh
Rajoana, and, Professor Davinderpal Singh Bhullar were discussed at length. Rt.
Hon. John McDonnell referring the cases of Balwant Singh Rajowana and Prof
Davinder Pal Singh Bhullar, said, "These 2 cases carry immense significance
around the world, the Rajoana case for its historical context and the Bhullar
case because it is almost now a symbol of the injustice meted out to so many
Sikhs in recent decades."
"If Balwant Singh Rajoana symbolizes the suffering of the Sikhs in that period,
Professor Bhullar symbolizes the injustice meted out to Sikhs, over the years
at the hands of the Indian police and the judicial system."
Parliament was told that, "Balwant Singh was party to killing Beant Singh, the
chief Minister of the Punjab. We now know that Beant Singh personally commanded
the police and security forces in the killing and disappearance of possibly
more than 20,000 Sikhs - men, women and children. Faced with the failure of the
Indian authorities to take action against the former chief Minister for his
crimes against humanity, Balwant Singh and a co-conspirator took the law into
their own hands."
"Nobody, including Balwant Singh, claims that he is innocent of the killing,
but Sikh organizations, human rights lawyers and human rights groups are urging
the Indian Government to take into account the context of his actions, the
scale of the human suffering that the Sikhs were enduring at the time, and the
anger that young men such as Balwant Singh felt at the failure of the Indian
state to bring to justice the chief Minister responsible for the atrocities
against the Sikhs in the Punjab. On that basis, they plead for understanding
and mercy on Balwant Singh's behalf and that the death penalty is avoided at
all costs."
It was also pointed out to Parliament that, "the German courts have now ruled
that that deportation of Professor Bhullar was wrong. He has been convicted of
involvement in an attempted political assassination solely on the basis of a
confession, which he retracted, with more than 100 witnesses identifying him at
the scene, and on a split decision of the court judges. In split decisions in
India, the practice of the courts is not to impose a death penalty, but
Professor Bhullar has been sentenced, held in solitary confinement for eight
years and, despite his deteriorating health, his plea for mercy has been
rejected."
Rt. Hon. Virendra Sharma, MP for Ealing and Southall, stated that, "We must
kill the myth that we are anti-India or that we are interfering in India's
internal affairs. We are taking a matter of principle and fighting for the
rights of the people living in India and abroad." He further stated that, "We
cannot always assume that the judicial system is faultless. Therefore, using
death, an irrevocable act, as a punishment for a crime, puts the system at risk
of punishing the innocent irreversibly."
On talking on the issue of the judiciary in India, Simon Hughes, MP for
Bermondsey and Old Southwark, said that, a Supreme Court bench said that
people's faith in the judiciary was dwindling at an alarming rate, posing a
grave threat to constitutional and democratic governance of the country.
The house noted that "Amnesty International points out that the use of the
death penalty in India is 'riddled with systemic flaws.'"
MP for Slough, Fiona McTaggart expressed her worries that the rights of
religious, ethnic and caste minorities in India are not sufficiently well
protected. It seems to me that we have a responsibility to say to India, "We
expect you, as the largest democracy in the world, to promote the standards of
democracy and human rights that we expect, and to recognise that if the death
penalty is used in this way, there is a risk that you will deepen the divisions
between ethnic and religious communities in country. There is a risk that you
will make your country less safe and less peaceful for all who live in it."
Richard Fuller, MP for Bedford, added that, "there will be consequences for our
relationships with India unless the Indian Parliament looks at this issue very
seriously again and makes the changes that Members are asking it to do."
Rt. Hon. David Ward, MP for Bradford East, stated that, "I believe that it is
our intrinsic right and, more importantly, our fundamental duty to speak up for
all people, and especially for minorities who do not have suitable champions
for their cause and who face persecution, wherever in the world that might
occur and no matter what entrenched views or self-interest they might be
battling against. The oppressors often have powerful weapons at their disposal
to stifle debate. I have touched on the necessity for India to uphold the basic
human rights that are espoused in the United Nations convention against torture
and other cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment. This is an
important issue for my constituents, especially those in the Sikh community,
who have long borne the brunt of judicial and societal discrimination in parts
of India."
David Ward, went on to state that, "Over the past few years, I have been
approached by a number of constituents about the cases involving Balwant Singh
Rajoana and Professor Bhullar. I know those cases well, and I am sad that those
people are still on death row. I must be honest and tell the House, however,
that on researching this issue more thoroughly, I was deeply shocked to
discover the sheer scale of the human rights abuses that the Indian Government
have not acted against, over many years. I am a member of Amnesty
International, and I regularly receive the evidence that it produces. It is
shocking to learn of the extensive use of forced evictions, the excessive use
of force, arbitrary arrest and detention, and the fundamental lack of due
process that are still prevalent in India."
Amnesty states, "Impunity for abuses and violations remained pervasive. The
continuing existence of India's controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act
gives the Indian army arbitrary powers and near-immunity from prosecution."
Seema Malhotra, MP for Feltham and Heston, said. "We participate in many
debates in this House, but this one is literally about life and death. I have
had a long-standing personal opposition to the death penalty in all
circumstances and I am proud to live in a country where it has been abolished.
This is a matter of humanity and, as someone once said, it is not for the state
to kill people who kill people to show that killing is wrong".
"Another great concern is the fact that in the world's greatest democracy we
have recently seen innocent people suffering and being killed in the crossfire
when peacefully protesting for improved human rights. Last year, a horrific
case that touched us all deeply was the death of Jaspal Singh. Jaspal was an
18-year-old Sikh college student peacefully protesting against capital
punishment last March who was killed when police opened fire on a crowd of just
a few hundred to make them disperse."
"India is a nation with more than 1,500 languages and dialects and is a
showcase to the world in business, culture, arts and crafts. The Sikh community
in India and around the world leads in business and agriculture, where it
blazes a trail. The work of the Pingalwara charity in the Punjab shows the
deepest compassion for those in the community with the least and those with the
greatest disabilities. It is also leading the thinking about how to deal with
environmental issues so that we can have a clean environment and tackle the
vital questions of quality of life and the supply of water and good food for so
many. The Sikh religion has at its heart the principles and values of equality
that many of us hold so dear."
Concluding the debate, Labour MP John McDonnell said, "To add weight to the
British Government's representations, I urge them to raise the issue again with
our European partners and to seek a joint representation from Europe on the
subject. I urge the British Government, working with other Governments, to
raise this call within the United Nations. With the UN Commission on Human
Rights meeting imminently, this is an ideal time to put this back on the UN
agenda."
Minister of State at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, RT Hon Hugo Swire MP
responded to the debate on behalf of the British Government and outlined the
government's view on the matter.
(source: Sikh24.com)
JAPAN:
'We know how strong we need to be for Nic' - Furlong family in Tokyo for trial
Nicola Furlong's family to face killer and watch footage of her last few hours
The family of Irish exchange student Nicola Furlong has arrived in Tokyo to
face her alleged killer across a courtroom. The trial of Richard Hinds (19)
begins on Monday and is expected to last about 2 weeks.
Mr Hinds, an American musician, is charged with murdering Ms Furlong (21) in a
Tokyo hotel last May. He admits strangling the Wexford woman, from Curracloe,
but denies intent.
"I've been dreading coming," Ms Furlong's mother Angela told The Irish Times
yesterday. "I believe the first few days will be the hardest because we're
actually going to hear minute-by-minute what happened."
She arrived in Tokyo on Thursday with Ms Furlong's father Andrew and their
daughter Andrea, who told reporters before they left Dublin Airport that her
sister's killer "deserved" to be hanged.
"She's very angry about what happened," said Mrs Furlong.
Japan retains the death penalty but Mr Hinds is unlikely to be sentenced to
death if convicted. Japanese prosecutors in murder cases typically demand a
sentence of between 10 and 30 years.
Harrowing footage
The Furlongs have opted to watch in court harrowing footage of Ms Furlong's
last few hours. Surveillance cameras in a bar on the night of the killing show
the exchange student falling over, apparently from the effects of being
drugged.
More footage taken from a taxi on the way to the Keio Plaza Hotel reportedly
captures a sexual assault on Ms Furlong's Irish friend by a 2nd American male,
James Blackston. Prosecutors say the 2 men lured the women to the hotel after a
rap concert.
Both women were studying at Dublin City University and had come to Japan as
exchange students, based in a university 100km north of Tokyo.
"I've told them [the prosecutors] we don't want to miss anything," said Mrs
Furlong. "I don't want to go home with any regrets. I don't want to be sitting
home in 6 months or 6 years wondering what I should have done."
Life on hold
Mr Furlong said the family's lives have been on hold since the killing on May
24th last year. "It's been our life for the last 9 months. We don't know what
we'll do when it's over."
"We've been so focused on it and that is what has got us through this," said
Mrs Furlong. "We know how strong we need to be for Nic. The real grieving will
start when we get home. I firmly believe we haven't grieved for her yet."
Mr Hinds's family is expected to come to the trial from Memphis, Tennessee. The
2nd victim of the assault has also arrived in Tokyo and is expected to testify
next week for the prosecution. The verdict will be delivered on March 19th. A
decision in the trial of James Blackston, who faces 4 years in jail for sexual
assault, is due on March 13th.
(source: Irish Times)
ANTIGUA:
Dr Cort says there's no plan to influence judges
National Security Minister Dr Errol Cort has explained what he meant by saying
government would do all it could to give effect to the death penalty.
The statement came after a series of shootings, including 1 that was fatal.
Dr Cort says contrary to what some understood it to mean he wasn't indicating
that politicians would try to get judges to sentence criminals to death.
He says the statement related to speeding up the work of the mercy committee,
which is to help to determine whether a sentence of death should be carried
out.
Pratt and Morgan referred to there by the national security minister relates to
the Privy Council decision that says nobody should be executed more than 5
years after being sentenced to death. Dr Cort says he wants appeals to be
dispensed before time runs out.
(source: Antigua Observer)
CHINA:
Death sentence puts spotlight on domestic violence in China
News reports of a death sentence for a woman who was routinely subjected to
domestic violence before killing her husband is causing an uproar in China.
The death sentence was handed down against Li Yan, 42, of Sichuan province.
Li's younger brother and lawyers campaigning on her behalf said Li suffered
from her husband's repeated physical abuse after she married him in March 2009.
Li's husband routinely beat her. His abuse also included pushing a lit
cigarette in his wife's face and locking her out on a balcony in the dead of
winter.
Li consulted with police, a neighborhood committee and other people, but none
of them took her into protective custody. The only thing the police did for her
was to photograph a bruise on her face. Nobody talked to her husband or took
effective measures to protect her. Everybody said it was a domestic matter and
failed to take her complaint seriously.
In November 2010, Li and her drunken husband got into a fight. She used the
barrel of a gun, kept in their home, to fatally beat him. She later cut up his
body.
"Li was probably not in the right state of mind because of the continual
physical abuse by her husband," one lawyer working on Li's behalf said of her
actions after she killed him. "You could say it was due to how deep was her
resentment of him."
Li was charged with intentional murder and was sentenced to death by a local
court in August 2011. She appealed the ruling, but the Higher People's Court of
Sichuan province, a court of appeals, refused to overturn her death sentence.
People are questioning the appropriateness of the death sentence handed down
against her.
Lawyers and other supporters argue that the ruling failed to take into account
the overwhelming evidence and testimonies available of her husband's persistent
physical abuse of Li.
Some news outlets have said the death sentence has already been upheld by the
Supreme People's Court, which has yet to make its decision public. But Li's
family members and supporters have not given up and are pinning their hopes on
a commutation. The lawyers and other supporters have said they hope to collect
more evidence of the physical abuse of Li to win her a reprieve from execution.
Citizens have taken action in calling for a commutation of Li's death sentence.
Volunteers, responding to online and other calls, gathered to hold protests to
demand a commutation on Feb. 3 in the localities of Beijing, Shanghai,
Guangzhou, Wuhan, Xian, Sichuan province, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region
and Hangzhou.
They assembled outside courts and in other places and pretended to be pupae by
wrapping their bodies in white cloth to portray, in their words, a "sense of
the helplessness of women suffering physical abuse in their households in a
male-dominated society."
Amnesty International started an online petition and other activities to win
her a reprieve. Amnesty International Japan collected more than 1,900
signatures over a week from Feb. 13, and has received active responses on
Facebook and Twitter.
Li is currently incarcerated in Sichuan province. Her family has not been
allowed to see her since she killed her husband.
"I am really grateful for the support extended by so many people," said Li
Dehuai, 34, her brother. "The concern shown by so many people gives me hope
that my sister could win a commutation of her punishment."
"Li committed a very serious crime, but she does not deserve to die for it,"
said Guo Jianmei, a female lawyer based in Beijing, who is working on Li's
behalf. "She was a victim of domestic violence. I want to win her a commutation
by all means."
Pang Kun, a lawyer in Shenzhen, said: "If authorities recognize the physical
abuse by her husband and therefore grant her a commutation, that could have a
sort of protective effect for other women in similar circumstances of life."
According to news reports, a survey found that one-quarter of all women in
China have suffered from domestic violence, including physical and verbal
abuse, and economic restrictions, at the hands of their spouses. Physical abuse
was evident in 5.5 % of the cases, and that proportion rose to 7.8 % when rural
areas alone were singled out, the survey said.
Experts have said domestic violence is often seen in China as internal discord
within a family, which public authorities should not meddle in. Others have
pointed out that male-chauvinistic values remaining from the nation's feudal
period still run deep.
All eyes, not only in China but also in Japan and elsewhere in the world, are
focused on whether the death penalty for a wife who killed an abusive husband
will be upheld, and whether she will be executed for her crime.
(source: Asahi.com)
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China parades 'Mekong killers' on television before execution----Before
executing 4 men convicted of murdering 13 Chinese sailors on the Mekong river,
China state TV broadcast footage of them walking to the execution site.
China caused a stir Friday when it aired a state TV broadcast of the lead-up to
an execution of 4 Myanmar men convicted of murdering 13 Chinese sailors in the
Mekong river in 2011.
Chinese Central Television began a 2-hour special program on the executions at
1:30 p.m. local time Friday. It featured broadcasts from Yunnan province, where
the men were being held, including interviews with the prisoners and footage of
their walk to an execution site.
"I don't want my children to be like me," Naw Kham, a drug smuggling gang
leader, said to CCTV in an interview apparently recorded this week. "I want
them to study."
The program also featured interviews with Chinese pundits who argued
extensively that this case demonstrated the rule of law in China.
The actual moment of execution, by lethal injection, was not broadcast.
This amount of coverage is unprecedented in China, where most executions take
place quickly, quietly, and out of sight - often in mobile vans.
It even seemed to surpass the extent of the hit Chinese TV "Interview Before
Execution," in which inmates were interviewed minutes before execution.
China executes more prisoners every year than any country in the world - even
more than the United States, frequently under fire from the international
community for its use of the death penalty.
Human rights researchers' estimates range from 1,700 executions a year to 5,000
or 6,000. (The exact number is a state secret.) And unlike in the US, prisoners
given the death penalty can be killed very quickly after the conviction - as
few as 7 days after sentencing.
Though there have been increasing calls for reducing capital punishment or even
eliminating it in China, it still has widespread acceptance. Most responses on
Weibo, China's Twitter, celebrated Kham's execution.
The 2011 murder of the Chinese sailors is one of the deadliest attacks on
Chinese citizens overseas in modern times, Reuters reported.
The program drew criticism from Human Rights Watch's senior Asia researcher
over Twitter.
(source: Global Post)
SOMALIA:
Puntland Court Sentences Al Shabaab Chief Godane and 11 Others to Death
12 people charged with the murder of Sheikh Ahmed Haji Abdirahman including Al
Shabaab leader Ahmed Godane, were sentenced to death after a court found them
guilty in Bossaso on Wednesday, Garowe Online reports.
Puntland's North Eastern regional Military Courts Judge, Abdifatah Haji Adan,
sentenced the 12 people including Al Shabaab Chief Ahmed Abdi Godane to death
by firing squad.
Only 6 of the 12 were captured while the other 6 people are being actively
pursued. The 6 people including 1 female had their hearing at a military court
where they were found guilty and sentenced to death by firing squad. According
to Puntland law, all terrorism cases are held at military courts.
Some of the convicted Al Shabaab members.
The 6 people were caught 14 months ago, however a 6 month investigation was
carried out. Following that, the Puntland government formed an independent
investigative committee to assess the information retrieved from the
investigation by Puntland authorities. Some of the 6 detained people admitted
their participation in Sheikh Abdirahman's assassination on video, which
immediately went viral.
Sheikh Abdirahman a prominent Somali Islamic scholar, professor and doctor was
shot and killed as he was leaving a mosque near his home in Bossaso on December
5, 2011. The killing sparked an international outcry from scholars,
intellectuals and Somalis as a whole, against Al Shabaab.
The 12 people all played different roles in the killing of Sheikh Abdirahman
from aiding and abetting to financing and organizing, some of the 6 captured
convicts admitted working in the terrorist assassination unit.
The convicted persons will have a month to appeal the verdict before an
execution date is scheduled.
The deceased Sheikh Abdirahman's friend and colleague Sheikh Abdiqadir Nur
Farah - who spoke out against Al Shabaab after Sheikh Abdirahman was killed -
was recently killed in Garowe while praying at a mosque.
The brutal assassination resulted in an uproar from Somalis and non Somalis
abroad and in Somalia condemning Al Shabaab. On Sunday, citizens in Garowe held
a massive demonstration against Al Shabaab that was attended by Puntland
President Abdirahman Mohamed Farole, Vice President Abdisamad Ali Shire,
scholars and community leaders.
President Farole went on the record at the rally accusing Godane of arranging
the killings of Sheikh Abdiqadir and others in Puntland.
The Puntland authorities stated that they captured 50 perpetrators including
foreign fighters that are linked to the assassination of Sheikh Abdiqadir,
adding that they will be brought to justice by trial.
(source: All Africa News)
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