March 21
SINGAPORE:
Woman drug trafficker staring at death penalty
A 49-year-old Indian national is facing the gallows after she was charged with
trafficking 5kg of ketamine at the Magistrate's court here today.
Dressed in a black robe with hood, Kairunnissa Shaber Ahmed nodded when the
charge was read out to her in Tamil by a court interpreter.
No plea was recorded and the accused did not show any emotion while in the
dock.
She was charged with trafficking in the drugs at the Sultan Ahmad Shah Airport
Customs office here about 2.50pm on March 14.
Magistrate Jesseca Daimis set April 25 for re-mention.
Khairunnisa was unprepresented while deputy public prosecutor Amalina Zainal
Mokhtar was prosecuting.
(source: New Straits Times)
SAUDI ARABIA:
Man who murdered Egyptian in Saudi Arabia apprehendedLuiz Sanchez /
The Egyptian consulate general in Riyadh announced on Wednesday that Saudi
Arabian authorities have apprehended the man who murdered Egyptian citizen
Abdel Moneim Hassan Abdel Moneim. Abdel Moneim was reportedly shot by the man
whose identity at the time of writing was not revealed.
According to the consulate, the man was arrested on Tuesday and had confessed
to the murder in court, which has ratified the confession. The consulate
affirmed that the Saudi courts ensure that all rights of the deceased are
upheld and respected.
The courts have yet to decide on a verdict, as a trial is expected to take
place. The consulate meanwhile said that according to Saudi law, crimes of this
nature are punished with retribution. If the man is found guilty he could face
the death penalty.
The consulate said they have been present “throughout all the stages of the
investigation”, and have cooperated with the appropriate authorities, namely
the Saudi Ministry of Interior and the local Al-Nassim Police Department.
The consulate stressed it has “taken all measures to ensure the right of the
deceased Egyptian citizen including the detainment of the killer, the recording
of his confession and the presence of a representative of the Egyptian
consulate general in Riyadh.”
Abdel Moneim’s body will be returned to his family once the forensic
investigation is concluded.
The consulate urged all Egyptians living in Saudi Arabia to seek legal means to
gain their rights, a matter which they say is the consulate’s top priority.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry was unavailable for comment.
(source: Daily News Egypt)
NIGERIA:
Kalu wants state pardon for 1985 convicted drug traffickers
A former Abia Governor, Orji Uzor Kalu, on Wednesday called for state pardon
for the 3 men executed for drug trafficking in Nigeria in 1985.
Kalu said in a statement that the death penalty given the trio was too harsh
and punitive for an offence considered mild –under the law as at 1985.
The statement, signed by Kalu’s Media Manager, Mr Emeka Obasi, was emailed to
the News Agency of Nigeria. The trio — Bartholomew Owoh, 26; Bernard Ogedegbe,
29; and Lawal Ojulope, 30 – were executed by Gen. Muhammadu Buhari’s military
administration, for drug trafficking.
NAN also reports that the National Council of States (NCS) had on March 12
approved presidential pardon for eight Nigerians, including Diya and the late
Maj.-Gen. Abdulkareem Adisa.
Others are late Lt.-Gen. Tajudeen Olanrewaju, Maj.-Gen. Shehu Musa Yar 'Adua,
retired Maj. Bello Magaji, retired Maj. Segun Fadipe, Mohammed Lima Biu, a
convicted banker, Shetima Bulama and a one-time Bayelsa Governor, Diepreye
Alamieyeseigha.
Kalu said:“The decree that nailed them was backdated and the Justice Adebayo
Desalu tribunal condemned the alleged drug couriers to death.
“Owoh’s last words still make me to shiver: `I did not pray to die like this;
this is a terrible death. If I knew it was going to result into death, God
knows that I would never have had anything to do with it’.”
'They deserve to be pardoned post-humously."
Kalu said the controversy trailing the recent presidential pardon was
unnecessary. “It is part of democracy. There is freedom of speech just like the
president is covered under the constitution.
“It is part of the Nigerian history. I know the then Head of State, Gen. Yakubu
Gowon pardoned the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo,’’ the statement said.
It added:“Also, Alhaji Shehu Shagari recalled the late Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu from
exile, and released Mrs Helen Gomwalk and Capt. Peter Temlong from jail.
“A former Head of State, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida pardoned the 2 Guardian
journalists — Nduka Irabor and Tunde Thompson — after they were released from
jail under the controversial Decree 4 of 1984.
“Another ex-Head of State, Gen. Abdusalam Abubakar also set a one-time Head of
State, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo free.’’
(source: Punch)
**********************
Anti-Rape Bill As Just Deserts
A bill for an Act to eliminate all forms of violence against persons has just
been passed by Nigeria's House of Representatives.
Focusing mainly on women, the bill prescribes life imprisonment for rape, a
minimum of 20 years for anyone involved or is an accomplice in gang rape, and
seeks compensation for victims of rape. The bill also treats the issues of
domestic violence such as acid attack, political violence, harmful traditional
practices such as female circumcision, and protection of widows.
We believe the passage of this bill is apt, even though it is long overdue. In
Nigeria, violence against women, especially rape, seems to have been generally
accepted as one of those ills of society that citizens have to live with. Most
cases have been allowed to go unpunished.
This is more so because of the embarrassment and stigmatisation that the
victims suffer; many cases of rape and abuse are not reported because of this
fear of stigmatisation. Apart from that, there is the added problem of the
offenders being relatives of the victims in most cases, or men that are well
known to them. This is especially so in the case of children.
According to the CLEEN Foundation's 2012 National Crime and Safety Survey, 37
per cent of the rape victims surveyed said it had occurred in their own homes;
34 per cent said it was around their homes; while 26 per cent said it happened
in school or the workplace. Only 3 per cent of victims stated that it had
occurred elsewhere.
A more frightening trend, however, is the rampant cases of incest and rape of
innocent children; sometimes they are as young as two years old. Nigerians are
inundated daily with reports of children being molested by neighbours and
relatives.
Many a time, once the perpetrators are handed over to the police, the case is
closed - nothing more would be heard of it. Yet, this is a crime that deserves
the death penalty.
The culture of silence that surrounds the issue of rape in the country has to
be broken. Women must be given the space to comfortably report such cases. And
the authorities need to ensure that the law takes its full course.
Understandably, this will be a challenge.
For one, the police hardly have the means or the equipment to forensically
investigate crimes. Without physical evidence that connects the victim and the
perpetrator, it is usually one's words against another's. The country's weak
justice system affects everyone negatively.
Having the law in place is a good start though. We recall United Nations
secretary-general Ban Ki-moon's statement, "There is one universal truth
applicable to all countries, cultures and communities: violence against women
is never acceptable, never excusable, never tolerable." He spoke the truth;
Nigerians should live by this mantra.
(source: Editorial, All Africa News)
SOMALIA:
Somali Teen Stoned To Death For Being Gay As Village Forced To Look On
A gay teen in Somalia accused of sodomy was allegedly stoned to death in public
while his village was forced to watch.
As originally reported by Identity Kenya (via the gay Muslim group, Somali Gay
Community):
Mohamed Ali Baashi, 18 years old gay boy, was buried in a hole up to his chest
and then pelted with rocks by fighters from the rebel Al Qaeda link [sic] group
Al Shabaab on Friday March 15 in Barawe, Somalia, about 50 miles from the
capital, Mogadishu.
In a scene straight out of the Dark Ages, this Somali young man accused of
Sodomy was stoned to death by Islamic thugs while horrified villagers were
forced to watch.
A rebel judge announced that Baashi, along with an accused murderer, had
confessed to their crimes but the murderer received a more lenient punishment.
According to the judge, “the one that kill some’one [sic] will be shot because
homosexuality is more punishable in Islam.”
“This is their day of justice,” the judge told the hundreds of villagers who
had been forced to attend.
Somali Gay Commnity posted three photos [warning: violent and graphic in
nature] of the alleged stoning, though Identity Kenya could not independently
verify the group’s claims nor were they successful in contacting them.
Somalia is one of over 76 countries in which homosexuality is illegal and
(source: queerty.com)
****************
Gay Somali Teen Stoned to Death, Village Forced to Watch; A gay teen was stoned
to death after pleading guilty to sodomy charges
A gay teenager in Somalia was reportedly stoned to death as punishment for
being gay by Islamic rebels while villagers were forced to watch.
According to Identity Kenya, Mohamed Ali Baashi, 18 was buried in the ground up
to his chest, and assaulted with rocks Friday in Barawe, about 50 miles from
Somalia's capital, Mogadishu. The group reportedly tied to the murderous attack
was Al Shabaab, which is linked to Al Qaeda.
Baashi was charged with sodomy along with another man, who had also been
charged with murder. They both admitted to their crimes, and the man who
admitted to murder was sentenced by a judge to be shot to death. However,
Baashi was stoned to death because of his sexual act.
"We investigated, and this man did what Muslims shouldn't do and as a result,
he will be stoned to death and the one that killed someone will be shot because
homosexuality is more punishable in Islam," the judge is alleged to have said.
(source: The Advocate)
ISRAEL:
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited : Teva Will Try To Prevent Sedative From
Being Used in U.S. Executions
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TEVA) said it will try to keep the
sedative propofol out of the hands of U.S. executioners when it relaunches the
product.
"In accordance with the request made by our manufacturer, Teva is limiting the
sale and distribution of this product to customers who agree to use best
efforts not to sell or distribute to correctional facilities," said Teva
spokeswoman Denise Bradley.
Corden Pharma manufactures propofol at a plant in Italy on behalf of Teva,
according to the product prescribing label. A Corden spokesman couldn't
immediately be reached.
Propofol is approved for sedation or anesthesia during medical procedures or
surgeries. The drug gained notoriety for its role in the overdose death of pop
star Michael Jackson in 2009.
Israel-based Teva stopped manufacturing the product several years ago, a
development that contributed to a propofol shortage in the U.S. The company was
cited by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2009 for bacterial
contamination of some propofol vials.
Now, Teva is relaunching the product within the next two weeks and will have a
limited quantity available for the short term, Ms. Bradley said.
Some U.S. states with the death penalty have sought alternatives for agents
used in lethal-injection executions, as some manufacturers have either
discontinued certain drugs or taken steps to stop them from being used in
executions.
Reprieve, a U.K. human rights group, has led a campaign since 2010 to help drug
makers prevent their products from being used in U.S. lethal-injection
executions.
Last year, Missouri adopted the use of propofol to carry out executions, but
the state's Supreme Court subsequently ruled it was premature to carry out
executions under the new procedure while death-row inmates challenge it.
In August 2012, another supplier of propofol, Fresenius Kabi, said it wouldn't
accept orders for the sedative from any U.S. departments of corrections, and
would tighten its distribution controls to try to prevent the drug from being
used in executions.
The Teva decision was reported earlier by Bloomberg News.
(source: 4-traders.com)
INDIA:
Yakub Memon's death penalty will make the world realise how Pakistan exported
terror to India: Ujjwal Nikam
Ujjwal Nikam, Special Public Prosecutor in 1993 serial blasts case, said the
Supreme Court upholding death penalty to Yakub Memon will send a strong message
to the absconding accused in Pakistan that they will also be brought to book.
Through this verdict, the entire world will realise how Pakistan had exported
terror to India, Nikam said and demanded that the absconding accused including
Tiger Memon and Dawood Ibrahim be brought here to stand trial.
"I am very happy that death sentence to Yakub has been upheld by the Supreme
Court. The verdict should result in bringing pressure on Pakistan, which will
find it difficult to shelter Tiger Memon and Dawood any more," he said.
Nikam said it was unfortunate that Tiger Memon and Dawood, who along with
Yakub, hatched the conspiracy for the blasts in Dubai, were taking shelter in
Pakistan.
"I want the US government to take stringent steps now. Upholding of death
sentence to Yakub should pave the way for dangerous terrorists like Tiger Memon
to be forced out of Pakistan to face legal process in India," he said.
Prior to the 1993 bomb blasts, there were terror acts in India but they were
considered as "struggle over the Kashmir issue". "In fact, those attacks were
also sponsored by Pakistan but the verdict in 1993 serial blast case has proved
how that country was promoting terrorism in India," Nikam told PTI.
"Yakub was a chartered accountant and he left the country along with brother
Tiger before the 1993 bomb blasts. Yakub had played a vital role in the
conspiracy. Hence the apex court is justified in confirming his death
sentence," he said.
However, Nikam said he would not like to comment on other convicts whose death
penalty was commuted to life sentence because he was yet to go through the SC
judgement.
As regards Supreme Court verdict upholding the conviction actor Sanjay Dutt in
the case, Nikam said it would reinforce faith of the common man in judiciary.
"Law treats everyone equally, regardless of the status of the accused", he
said.
(source: DNA India)
********************
India upholds death penalty over 1993 Mumbai blasts
India's top court upheld the death penalty on Thursday for a mastermind of the
country's deadliest series of attacks and ruled a Bollywood star who bought
weapons from the bombers must return to jail.
Yakub Memon, brother of the alleged main plotter and fugitive Tiger Memon, was
the only one of 11 convicts to see his death sentence upheld by the Supreme
Court for his role in the 1993 blasts which killed 257 people in Mumbai.
The judges also handed down a five-year term for the actor Sanjay Dutt for
possessing illegal weapons bought from gangsters accused of orchestrating the
bombings. Dutt has already served 18 months but is currently out on bail.
Announcing the sentences, Supreme Court judge P. Sathashivam said the Memon
brothers and another suspect, Dawood Ibrahim, who is said to be living in
Pakistan, "were archers and rest of the appellants were arrows in their hands".
"They were the architects of the blasts," Sathashivam, one of two judges
presiding over the case, said.
The remaining convicts who had appealed against the death penalty saw their
sentences commuted to life imprisonment.
The attacks on March 12, 1993, were believed to have been staged by Mumbai's
Muslim-dominated underworld in retaliation for anti-Muslim violence that left
more than 1,000 dead in the city a few months earlier.
Yakub, an accountant by profession, his brothers Essa and Yusuf and
sister-in-law Rubina were all convicted for their involvement in the serial
blasts at 13 different locations.
The Bombay Stock Exchange, the offices of the national carrier Air India and
the luxury Sea Rock hotel were among the targets.
Tiger Memon and Dawood Ibrahim, the other alleged masterminds of the attacks,
have been on the run since 1993. Indian investigators say they were helped by
Pakistan's intelligence service, a charge denied by Islamabad.
Executions are only carried out for "the rarest of rare" cases in India but
President Pranab Mukherjee has rejected a number of mercy pleas in the last few
months, ending an unofficial eight-year moratorium.
A Kashmiri separatist convicted of involvement in a deadly 2001 attack on the
Indian parliament was executed in New Delhi last month while the lone surviving
gunman from the deadly 2008 Mumbai attacks was hanged last November.
Dutt, who was appealing against an original six-year term, spent 18 months
behind bars before being bailed in 2007.
During a police raid, investigators uncovered a pistol and an AK-56 rifle which
were part of the consignment of weapons and explosives said to have been
brought to India from Pakistan and then used in the attacks.
Dutt, a one-time heavy drug user who has a reputation as one of Bollywood's bad
boys, had admitted buying the weapons but insisted they were only meant to
protect his family.
The 53-year-old was not in court while his sister Priya Dutt, who is a member
of parliament, looked visibly upset when the verdict was pronounced.
His lawyer Satish Maneshinde said he has spoken to the actor who has four weeks
to hand himself in to the authorities.
"He has accepted the judgement," said Maneshinde. "He will go through the
verdict and will consider all the legal recourses available to him".
The actor shot to fame in the mid-1980s in a string of action movies in which
he performed his own stunts, earning him the nickname "Deadly Dutt".
He is best known for playing a mobster with a heart of gold in the popular
"Munnabhai" series.
Dutt's first wife died of cancer while his second marriage, to a model, ended
in divorce. He married for a third time in 2008.
(source: Agence France-Presse)
TRINIDAD:
Govt to ‘review’ T&T’s human rights standings
Government plans to “review” the country’s standing within the Inter-American
human rights system 15 years after denouncing the American Convention on Human
Rights. T&T withdrew from the Convention in 1998 over the imposition of the
death penalty. One year later, the country hanged the Dole Chadee gang for
murder. It was argued then that, with respect to capital punishment, the system
had served as a hindrance to implementation of national law.
The country, however, remained subject to the scrutiny of the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) which has a mandate to receive, analyse and
investigate individual human rights petitions from all Organisation of American
States (OAS) member states. T&T had in 1999 also registered a “reservation”
under the United Nations (UN) Optional Protocol to the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights in order to carry out the death sentences.
The proposed review of the country’s status under the American Convention comes
as proposals for reform of the human rights system in the hemisphere are to be
debated at an OAS Extraordinary General Assembly on Friday. Minister of
External Affairs Winston Dookeran said in an interview: “We need to review our
position (on the Convention). We strongly support freedom of expression and
human rights.”
A special protocol under the agreement prohibiting the death penalty has
however never been endorsed by T&T. Former attorney general Ramesh Lawrence
Maharaj, who presided over partial withdrawal from the system in 1998, told the
T&T Guardian: “The country was at that time of the view that it would have
liked to carry out the death penalty.”
He said that was also now the case. He, however, said it was useful for the
country to be engaged in institutions in which there was human rights oversight
at the regional and international levels. In 1990, “states parties” to the
Convention had adopted a protocol on human rights to abolish the death penalty.
To date, only 11 of the 25 countries to have ratified the convention have
signed on to the agreement.
On Monday, Dookeran met with his Ecuadorean counterpart, Ricardo Patino, as the
Latin American OAS member state lobbied support for new measures to govern the
Inter-American human rights system. T&T’s permanent representative to the OAS,
Neil Parsan, is expected to address the General Assembly on Friday.
(source: The Guardian)
MALAYSIA:
8 Kiram followers face death penalty in Malaysia for terrorism
At least 8 followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III possibly face the death
penalty after they were charged before a makeshift Magistrate's Court in Sabah
Wednesday afternoon.
The 8 followers were charged for violating two articles in Malaysia's Penal
Code: Section 122 (waging war against the King); and Section 130 KA
(terrorism), Malaysia's The Star Online reported.
While Section 130 KA (terrorism) calls for a jail term of up to 30 years,
Section 121 (waging war against the King) can fetch the death penalty.
The Kiram followers were dressed in purple lock-up uniforms, and charged at the
police headquarters in Lahad Datu before Sessions Court judge Amelati Parnell
sitting as Magistrate. Deputy public prosecutor Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar led the
prosecuting team.
While the charges were read out in Bahasa Malaysia, interpreters translated
them into Suluk and Bajau.
The case has been transferred to the Tawau High Court.
In Manila, meanwhile, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs on Thursday
said it has instructed the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur to verify the
report and get more information about the issue at hand.
In an phone interview with GMA News Online, DFA Spokesman Raul Hernandez said,
“We are at a stage of confirming the report and we are studying the details so
that we could see how we could best help the Filipinos involved.”
On the other hand, a report on state-run Bernama news agency described the 8
as "males aged between 17 and 66."
No plea was recorded after the 8 were charged.
After the hearing ended at 1:45 p.m., the 8 were seen boarding four trucks
under tight police security, and were to be taken to Tawau.
Legal assistance
The 8 who were charged may get some legal assistance from a group of
Sabah-based lawyers.
The Sabah Law Association said it is ready to make sure the 8 are accorded due
process, according to a report Thursday on Malaysia's The Star Online.
"With the mutual cooperation of all relevant parties, SLA is confident that all
persons shall be accorded the due and just process of the law," The Star Online
quoted a statement of the group.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has been under pressure to take a tough
stand after security forces took no action against the intruders for two weeks.
Najib must call a national election in weeks and his party, in power since
independence from Britain in 1957, faces a tough contest.
Ties with the Philippines, periodically strained by security and migration
issues, could be further soured by the case.
The group of about 200 engaged in weeks of negotiations over their claim to the
region before Malaysian forces mounted an all-out assault in oil palm-fringed
coastal areas.
Militants who escaped the onslaught went into hiding, surfacing occasionally
for gun battles with Malaysian forces.
The Filipino group is demanding recognition and increased payment from Malaysia
for their claim to Sabah, part of Borneo leased by the Sultanate of Sulu to
British colonialists in the 19th century.
Members say they are a part of the Sultan of Sulu's army and offered a
unilateral ceasefire rejected by Najib.
(source: GMA News)
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