March 26
GAZA:
Plea not to endorse collaborator's death penalty; 132 capital punishment
verdicts issued since PNA's establishment in West Bank and Gaza
Human rights organisations in the Palestinian territories have urged
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas not to endorse the death sentence passed by
the Gaza Military Court against a collaborator with Israel, labelling the
sentence 'tough and inhuman'.
The rights organisations have also demanded the suspension of the Palestinian
Liberation Organisation (PLO) Revolutionary Penalty Law of 1979, as it is not a
constitutional law ratified by the Palestinian parliament.
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights said that all Palestinian laws which
lead to capital punishment, including the Penalty Law No 74 of 1936, which is
used in the Gaza Strip, and the Jordanian Penalty Law No 16 for 1960 should be
reviewed, and the Palestinian leadership should impose a unified penalty law
which fits with the spirit of international human rights agreements and
conventions.
On Sunday, the Gaza Military Court sentenced 23-year-old Faraj Abed Rabbo Faraj
Abed Rabbo to death by hanging on charges of collaborating with the enemy as
per article No 131 of the PLO Revolutionary Penalty Law, 1979 and article No
415 of the Palestinian penalty procedural law No 3/2001.
Abed Rabbo is a civilian employee of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA)
and is from the village of Abed Rabbo, east of the Jabaliya Refugee Camp in the
Gaza Strip.
The organisations said that Abed Rabbo should be sentenced by a civilian court,
not a military one and that he should be retried in a civilian court to secure
a fair trial.
Concern
The human rights organisations said the capital punishment penalty should be
suspended in accordance with international efforts to abolish this punishment
and replace it with other penalties that secure justice is served.
The Independent Commission for Human Rights expressed its concern about the
capital punishment verdicts issued by the Gaza Permanent Military Court. The
commission stressed capital punishment is a serious violation for the right to
life secured by the international conventions for human rights. The commission
said that it does not undermine the charges and accusations pressed against
suspects who should be put on trial to be punished for their crimes, but those
suspects should stand before courts which stick to legal procedures to secure
justice.
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights said that since the PNA was established
in 1994, 132 capital punishment verdicts had been passed. Of these, 106
verdicts were passed in the Gaza Strip and 26 in the West Bank. The centre said
that 46 capital punishment verdicts had been passed in Gaza since 2007, since
the Islamist Hamas group took control in the coastal strip.
Since that year, 27 capital punishments were implemented in the Palestinian
territories, of which 25 were executed in Gaza and two were executed in the
West Bank. The centre said that after Hamas took control in Gaza, a total of 14
capital punishment sentences were implemented in Gaza without the official
endorsement of the Palestinian president, which is a violation of the law.
(source: Gulf News)
TUNISIA:
Topless Tunisian Femen Protester 'Amina' Threatened With Death By Stoning
Campaigners including Richard Dawkins have called for a day of action to
support a young Tunisian woman who appeared to post pictures of herself topless
as part of a feminist movement in the country, and was subsequently threatened
with death by stoning.
The 19-year-old activist, identified only as Amina, posted on the
Femen-Tunisian Facebook page a topless picture of herself with the words "F**k
your morals" written across her chest.
Another controversial image followed, of the woman smoking a cigarette, baring
her breasts, with the Arabic written across her chest: "My body belongs to me,
and is not the source of anyone's honour".
Tunisian newspaper Kapitalis quoted the Wahabi Salafi preacher Almi Adel, who
heads the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice,
saying: "The young lady should be punished according to sharia, with 80 to 100
lashes, but [because of] the severity of the act she has committed, she
deserves be stoned to death.
"Her act could bring about an epidemic. It could be contagious and give ideas
to other women. It is therefore necessary to isolate [the incident]. I wish her
to be healed."
If she committed the offence in Tunisia, Amina could be punished by up to two
years in prison and a fine of 100 to 1,000 dinars [between 40 and 400 pounds],
local media said.
A petition and an international day of action on April 4 to highlight the
threats against Amina have been organised by activists.
More than 15,600 people have signed a petition calling for those who have
threatened Amina's life to be prosecuted.
An open letter calling for an International Day to Defend Amina has been signed
by many feminist and atheist activists, including Dawkins.
The letter says: "On the day and beyond, groups and individuals can join in by
highlighting her case, posting topless photos of themselves and their activism
on social media sites, signing a petition, Tweeting #Amina, writing letters in
her defence, and more.
"On 4 April, we will remind the Islamists and the world that the real epidemic
and disaster that must be challenged is misogyny - Islamic or otherwise."
Social media accounts of the Tunisian branch of Femen have been reportedly
infiltrated by hackers, with videos and pictures on the site being replaced by
verses from the Koran.
According to International Business Times, the accounts have now been
suspended.
One message read: "The page has been hacked and God willing, this debauchery
will disappear from Tunisia."
Femen said in a statement they were furious about the "barbarian threats of the
Islamists about the necessity of reprisals against the Tunisian activist
Amina."
"We are afraid for her life and we call on women to fight for their freedom
against religious atrocities.
"Use your body as a poster for the slogans of freedom. Bare breasts against
Islamism."
(source: Huffington Post)
MALAYSIA:
Australian Dominic Bird loses bid to throw out drugs trafficking charges in
Malaysia
A MALAYSIAN court on Monday refused to drop charges against an Australian truck
driver facing the death penalty for drug trafficking, saying there was enough
evidence for his trial to proceed.
Dominic Jude Christopher Bird, 32, was arrested in March last year for alleged
possession of 167 grams of methamphetamine.
He was charged with drug trafficking, which carries a mandatory sentence of
death by hanging in Muslim-majority Malaysia. But lawyers for the Australian
argued a government chemist erred in analysing the drugs.
The Kuala Lumpur high court said Monday that prosecutors had presented enough
evidence for the case to proceed, according to defence lawyer Shafee Abdullah.
"The court found the prosecution has proven the elements of the offence," Mr
Shafee said, calling the decision "disappointing".
Mr Shafee said Mr Bird was expected to testify when the trial resumes in early
June.
Some 700 people, mostly men convicted of drug-related offences, were on death
row in Malaysia in 2011 though few have been executed in recent years.
Since 1960 more than 440 people have been executed, including 2 Australians put
to death in 1986 for heroin trafficking - the first Westerners to be hanged
under then new tough anti-drug laws.
In November Australian nurse Emma Louise L'Aiguille, 34, was freed after
prosecutors dropped a drug trafficking charge against her.
(source: Daily Telegraph)
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:
Man gets death sentence for slitting Dubai prostitute's throat; Defendant
killed woman before stealing Dh200 and 2 mobiles phones
A Pakistani man will be executed for repeatedly slitting a prostitute's neck
and stealing her cash and mobile phones.
The 29-year-old murderer A.K. lost his petition on Monday before the Dubai
Cassation Court that confirmed the capital punishment against him.
Dubai's highest court rejected his plea to have his capital punishment
cancelled or reduced to imprisonment.
Senior Chief Prosecutor Yousuf Foulaz, Head of Deira Prosecution, had asked for
the implementation of the death sentence against A.K.
According to the charge sheet, prosecutors said the defendant committed a
cold-blooded murder when he slit the Uzbek prostitute's neck 3 times and stole
her Dh200 and 2 mobiles.
Citing self-defence, A.K. pleaded not guilty before the courts of First
Instance, Appeal and Cassation.
The capital punishment was unanimously approved by 3 judges from the Court of
First Instance', 3 from the Appeal Court and 5 from the Cassation Court.
The defendant was sentenced to death despite the fact that he provided the
court with a written waiver that he obtained from the victim's parents.
The capital punishment will be carried out immediately after being approved by
the ruler.
A.K.'s court-appointed lawyer said before the primary court that the defendant
did not have the strength to kill the Uzbek woman who was bigger than him.
"A.K. is short and skinny. He is as weak as a bird and it would have been
impossible for such an 'innocent bird' to have killed such an oversized woman,"
his lawyer said in court.
His lawyer said the defendant did not have any intention to steal or kill the
victim. "She was a sex worker. My client went to her flat and he didn't even
have sex with her. She stole his Dh6,000...the money which he was accused of
stealing belonged to him," argued the advocate.
Records said A.K. killed the woman, S.H., after a financial dispute. He
purchased a medium-sized knife and attacked S.H. from behind when he was in her
flat.
When questioned by prosecutors, A.K. claimed: "She deserved to die because she
made me drunk and robbed me."
The woman's Afghan husband asked his friend to check on her because her mobile
was switched off. The friend found her body in her flat.
Monday's judgement is irrevocable.
(source: Gulf News)
CHINA:
Patient appeals against death penalty for killing
A man from Hunan province, sentenced to death for fatally stabbing a doctor,
has appealed to the provincial higher people's court for a sentence review.
Wang Yunsheng, 26, a villager from Hengnan county, was treated at Hengyang No 3
Hospital in July and August 2011 after being diagnosed with tuberculosis,
according to a report in Legal Weekly.
During his treatment, he was not satisfied with his doctor, 33-year-old Chen
Yuna, believing Chen had failed to cure his disease and caused him to lose the
ability to work. On April 28, 2012, he fatally stabbed Chen with a knife in her
office.
He was caught by police on May 1 and sentenced to death on Dec 21. However, he
has asked for a review of the case from the provincial higher people's court,
the newspaper reported on Tuesday.
The court had not disclosed any information about the case as of Tuesday
morning.
Liao Chongzhou, the doctor's husband, said his wife's death should arouse
public concern over differences between doctors and patients, as similar
incidents had occurred frequently in recent years.
(source: China Daily)
EGYPT:
Egyptian Gets Death Penalty for Killing in Raid on Christians
A Muslim man was sentenced to death in Egypt for killing 2 people during a
dispute with Christians in the southern Sohag province.
A court in Upper Egypt on Monday found Mahmoud Abdel Nazir guilty also of
raiding Christian houses in the November 2011 incident, state-run Middle East
News Agency reported Tuesday.
In a separate incident yesterday, a group of Muslims surrounded a church in
Beni Suef governorate claiming local Christians had kidnapped a young Muslim
woman, and forced her to marry a Coptic Christian before sending her to live
abroad, state-run Ahram gate said Tuesday.
Security forces were deployed to protect the church and a police station, Ahram
said.
At least 12 people died and more than 50 injured when two churches were burnt
down in May 2011 in clashes that erupted because of a rumor that a Christian
woman, who had allegedly converted to Islam, was being held hostage at a church
in Imbaba in Cairo.
(source: The Jakarta Globe)
INDONESIA:
Huge blow to Chan's Bali 9 clemency bid
The Bali 9's Andrew Chan has been dealt a massive blow with Indonesia's
National Narcotics Board believed to have recommended that his death sentence
should be upheld.
A senior source involved in considering Chan's clemency application has told
AAP that the narcotics board's decision was also in line with the
recommendation of a Supreme Court judge.
Both the narcotics board and Supreme Court Justice Salman Luthan were asked by
the office of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to provide a recommendation on
Chan's clemency request.
"For Andrew Chan ... the goods involved so many kilos, right? It's difficult
when it comes to this," he told AAP.
"So, we're just following what's requested to us and what's been recommended,
that it's a 'no.'"
Justice Salman completed his recommendation in relation to Chan's clemency bid
more than a month ago. It has been forwarded to the president's office.
..."Our recommendation for it is no, as which is the recommendation of Supreme
Court as well," the source told AAP.
Chan was sentenced to death in 2005 for his role in a plot to smuggle 8
kilograms of heroin from Bali to Australia.
The latest development is also a worrying sign Myuran Sukumaran, 31, who along
with Chan, filed for clemency early last year.
They are the only 2 members of the Bali 9 still on death row.
Dr Yudhoyono does not have to accept the recommendations, and is likely to also
seek advice from officials at Kerobokan jail as well as the Justice Ministry.
In October last year, he granted clemency to Indonesian Merika Pranola, who was
also convicted of drug smuggling despite the Supreme Court having recommended
she be executed.
The advice from the judge and narcotics board emerged on Tuesday and comes
after Indonesia earlier this month carried out its 1st execution since 2008.
Adami Wilson, from Malawi, was shot by firing squad in the Thousand Islands, an
archipelago popular with tourists located off the coast of the capital Jakarta.
The 48-year-old was caught in 2003 attempting to smuggle 1 kilogram of heroin
into Indonesia.
A spokesman for the Indonesian human rights group, the Commission for the
Missing and Victims of Violence (Kontras), has described the execution of Adami
as a worrying sign.
Haris Azhar said that while political factors and Indonesia's relationship with
Australia would be considered when it comes to Sukumaran and Chan, there also
seemed to be a groundswell of public opinion in favour of the death penalty.
There seemed to be "a big applause" when Adami was executed, Mr Haris said
recently.
"This is a signal that people support it."
Indonesia has said another nine convicts would be executed this year.
However, Sukumaran and Chan are not on that list.
(source: The News)
*******************************
With graft rife, applying death penalty is folly
If you think Indonesia should apply the death penalty because some criminals
simply deserve it and the Holy Scriptures allow it, you need to read the local
newspapers more and reconsider your stance.
The reason I am telling you this is that I know that the debate on capital
punishment in the country is always moot. It is like arguing about the
existence of God. It will never end. Some people believe in it for irrational
reasons, some people do not while some others are just not sure, being agnostic
or just do not care much about it.
I am against the death penalty because it is cruelly medieval, totally against
basic human rights and is no better than other forms of punishment as
deterrence. You may disagree with me and I do not intend to prove you wrong for
believing otherwise.
I just do not understand why we should keep the practice when we know that in
our country the judicial system is notoriously corrupt. How can we let the law
enforcers, many of whom have been convicted of graft and other offenses, decide
whether one should live or die? How can we be 100 % sure that the people on
death row are not victims of a miscarriage of justice?
I never formally studied law and perhaps am not qualified to say anything about
the logic behind the application of the death penalty. But as a journalist I
have read enough news reports to assume that there is something terribly wrong
with the nation's judicial system.
Last week, the deputy head of Bandung court was arrested for allegedly
accepting bribes in relation to a corruption trial he presided over. The judge,
Setyabudi Tejocahyono, has been trained as an anti-corruption judge and is
certified to try corruption cases. Now we have learned this does not guarantee
he will not commit graft.
Setyabudi is not the first and definitely not the only judge to be charged with
graft. In the past 2 years, the KPK has arrested and charged at least 4 judges
for corruption. They are the ones who got caught; they are very likely only the
tip of the iceberg.
We cannot expect too much from the National Police and the Attorney General's
Office (AGO). If they were credible, we would not have needed to set up the
Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). Corruption within the existing law
enforcement institutions is the very reason the KPK was established in the
first place.
The recent arrest of former National Police traffic director Insp. Gen. Djoko
Susilo by the KPK, which led to the jaw-dropping disclosure of his enormous
wealth scattered almost all over the country, is not going to help us change
our perception of the law enforcers.
We now have the Judicial Commission (KY) to battle rogue judges, but since the
day it was established in 2005, the Supreme Court has been trying to undermine
its authority. In 2006, several justices decided to challenge the commission's
oversight power at the Constitutional Court, which they won. The Judicial
Commission can now only issue recommendations that the Supreme Court may simply
ignore.
Judicial corruption is perceived to remain rampant even when KY is operational.
That is why President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in 2009 set up a special
taskforce to root out graft within the judiciary. The taskforce is now defunct,
but the rogue judges are here to stay as was apparent in the series of arrests
of judges after they were caught red-handed accepting bribes.
The government has said it would maintain the death penalty and just resumed
the executions of death row convicts this year, despite statements made by
several government officials, including Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa,
indicating Indonesia is shifting away from it. Nigerian drug convict Adam
Wilson was the 1st death row inmate to be executed by a firing squad recently
after a 4 year hiatus.
The news shocked human rights activists while the public, who is divided over
the death penalty, chose to go on with their lives and pay attention to other
more important issues. As a human being and a citizen, the news bothers me.
I am not making a case against the law enforcers. The country has made great
efforts to reform them, and I believe we have made some progress, no matter how
little. But the war on corruption in police offices and courts is far from
over.
This is not about whether you agree or not with corporal punishment, which is
akin to qisas in Islam and "an eye for an eye" or lex talionis in the
Judeo-Christian tradition. This is about whether it makes any sense to give the
law enforcers the power to send a man to the firing squad when we know the
system is corrupt.
I know that most Indonesians, including those who claim to be liberals, are
accepting of the death penalty. I say this is the time for you to reconsider
your stance and call for the government to impose a moratorium on the execution
of inmates on death row.
I do not know who the people on death row are personally. I have no idea and
let alone authority to say if they are truly guilty or not. I only know that
with graft rampant within the judiciary, handing the authorities the power to
decide the life and death of a human being is downright stupidity.
(source: Commentary, Ary Hermawan, who is a staff writer at The Jakarta Post)
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