March 7
IRAN----executions
4 Afghan prisoners hanged
The Iranian regime's henchmen have hanged four Afghan prisoners on Monday
(March 4) in Vakil Abad Prison in northeastern city of Mashhad in Iran.
Dozens of Afghan prisoners have been executed in the previous months in Iran.
400 other Afghan prisoners are under death penalty and awaiting their
execution.
Last week, Hundreds of angry residents in the western province of Herat blocked
the Herat city's highway to protest against the execution of Afghans in Iran.
The protesters also called on the Iranian regime to hand over the dead bodies
of the Afghans to their families and urged the Afghan government to follow the
issue of execution of Afghan citizens in Iran.
(source: NCR-Iran)
PAKISTAN:
Death Penalty to Mastermind of 2010 Pak Sufi Shrine Attack
A Pakistani anti-terrorism judge has given the death sentence to the mastermind
of a 2010 suicide attack on a Sufi shrine in Punjab province despite facing
death threats from the Taliban during the trial.
Judge Asif Majeed of the anti-terrorism court in Dera Ghazi Khan, 400 km from
Lahore, yesterday awarded 52 death sentences ' one for each of the 52 victims
of the attack' to Behram Khan alias Sufi Baba.
Khan was convicted of masterminding the attack on Hazrat Sakhi Sarwar shrine in
April 2010.
The judge also awarded 52 counts of life imprisonment to Omar Fidai, a teenage
would-be suicide bomber who was captured during the attack.
Fidai, who was aged about 14 at the time of the attack, was seriously injured
by an explosion while his colleague carried out the attack by detonating his
suicide vest.
4 other men accused of involvement in the attack were acquitted for lack of
evidence.
A large number of people were present in the shrine when a blast ripped through
it on April 3, 2010. 52 people were killed and over 150 were injured in the
attack.
Judge Majeed faced constant death threats from the Taliban during the 22-month
trial, media reports said.
The 1st 3 hearings were held at the anti-terrorism court in Dera Ghazi Khan.
After the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan threatened the judge, the hearings were
moved to the Central Jail. The verdict was announced at the prison amidst high
security.
During his interrogation, Fidai told investigators that 350 children were being
trained by the Taliban to be suicide bombers.
Behram Khan was arrested after a shootout with security forces in the restive
Bajaur tribal region in April 2011.
Fidai and Khan are currently being held at the Central Jail in Dera Ghazi Khan,
and media reports said prison officials and prosecutors involved in the case
had received multiple death threats and letters from the Taliban.
Security at the prison has been increased since the judge announced the
verdict.
(source: Outlook India)
INDIA:
Court gives death penalty to 7 in double murder case
7 persons, arrested in a double murder case of 2007, were today given death
penalty by a court here.
"It was a brutal case. If strictest of the punishment is not given, it will
dilute the trust of people in judiciary," Additional District Judge Kishore
Kumar said.
He also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 each on the convicts Jatin Kurmi,
Chitranjan, Ashok Patel, Nand Kishore, Saijnath, Lal Sahib Yadav and Shivji
Yadav, prosecution sources said.
The court asked the authorities to disburse the amount among the victims'
families.
On July 3, 2007, 2 persons -- Radha Krishna and Swami Nath --were shot dead in
Khadiur Malahi village on suspicion that they were police informers.
(source: Business-Standard)
LEBANON:
Judge Demands Death Penalty for Hizbullah Member over Harb Murder Attempt
Military Examining Magistrate Fadi Sawan asked for the death penalty against a
Hizbullah member in the attempted assassination of Batroun MP Butros Harb.
Sawan's request against Mahmoud al-Hayek, who hasn't surrendered to police,
came in an indictment he issued Thursday.
He also issued an arrest warrant against him and referred the file to the
permanent military court for trial.
State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr asked on Wednesday for
a sentence of life in prison with hard labor for al-Hayek who has been charged
with the assassination attempt on Harb last year and with carrying out acts of
terror.
Harb, a March 14 opposition lawmaker, escaped the assassination bid after
residents of a building in which his office is located in the Beirut district
of Badaro discovered individuals trying to booby-trap the elevator.
A string of high-level assassinations struck Lebanon between 2004 and 2008,
targeting political, media and security figures who vocally opposed the Syrian
government, including former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri who was killed in a
powerful car bomb blast in February 2005.
(source: Naharnet.com)
PHILIPPINES/SAUDI ARABIA:
Blood money for Pinoy on death row in Saudi approved - VP Binay
Vice President Jejomar Binay on Wednesday reassured the family of overseas
Filipino worker Rodelio "Dondon" Lanuza that the Philippine government's share
of the blood money for his freedom remains intact and has been cleared for
release.
Binay, the presidential adviser on OFW concerns, said a check with Executive
Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. showed the release of the government's share has
been approved.
"The amount is there and being processed. I've talked with Executive Secretary
Ochoa and he told me that the release (of the blood money) has already been
approved," Binay said on his Facebook page.
On March 2, a report on Arab News quoted Lanuza as saying the Saudi and
Philippine governments have not deposited the blood money to ensure his
freedom.
He said that if the blood money is not paid, the aggrieved family may withdraw
its forgiveness.
"The aggrieved family may withdraw the forgiveness they issued earlier unless
the blood money is paid," he said in the interview.
Arab News said Lanuza's parents Eduardo and Letty, who are based in the United
States, have sent a letter to President Benigno Aquino III.
It quoted the letter - excerpts of which were posted on Facebook - as asking
Aquino "for the approval and release, as soon as possible, of the allotted
SR400,000 or $100,000 which was committed for OFWs on death row."
Binay earlier said King Abdullah had agreed to shoulder the balance of the
blood money for Lanuza, who faced the death sentence for killing a Saudi
national.
On Wednesday, he said that while he understands Lanuza's eagerness to come
home, Lanuza should be patient as there are legal and documentary processes to
be completed.
"We assure Dondon that he will be reunited with his family. There are processes
and requirements in the host country that need to be observed," he said.
Raising money for another Pinoy
Meanwhile, Binay renewed his appeal to the public to help raise the blood money
for another OFW, Joselito Zapanta, who faces the death penalty if his blood
money is not paid by March 17.
"I am appealing to all Filipinos to donate any amount you can spare for
Joselito's life," he said, noting the amount to be raised is P44 million.
He said negotiations are ongoing to extend the deadline for the payment.
Zapanta was given a reprieve of 4 months in November 2012 to raise the blood
money so the kin of a Sudanese national he killed in 2009 can forgive him.
President Aquino and Binay had appealed to the Saudi King, while foreign
affairs officials held talks with government officials of Sudan as well as the
victim's family.
"The March 17 deadline for paying the blood money is looming, and only a
vigorous and compassionate campaign to raise the P44 million blood money can
save him now," Binay said.
(source: GMA News)
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