May 15
PAPUA NEW GUINEA:
Papua New Guinea bishops speak out against death penalty
Amid increasing violence, including the brutal murders of suspected sorcerers,
Papua New Guinea is considering restoring the use of the death penalty, which
is legal but has not been used since 1954.
The nation's justice minister has called for capital punishment by hanging,
life imprisonment without parole for rape, and a ban on alcohol sales for
several hours each day.
The nation's bishops have urged Prime Minister Peter O'Neill not to restore the
use of the death penalty; Father Giorgio Licini, spokesman for the bishops'
conference, called for "life imprisonment joined to hard but redemptive labor."
(source: Catholic Culture)
VIETNAM:
Vietnam changes law to allow domestically produced poison in lethal injection,
skirting EU ban
Vietnam has issued a new law allowing domestically produced chemicals to be
used in lethal injections, a change that should enable it to resume the
currently stalled executions of more than 530 people on death row.
The holdup was a result of an EU ban on its factories exporting chemicals used
in lethal injections. The ban was issued because the EU regards capital
punishment as a human rights violation. It has left Vietnam unable to execute a
prisoner since November 2011, when the country decided to switch from firing
squads to lethal injections on humanitarian grounds.
Vietnam's old law governing executions stipulated the names of the 3 chemicals
produced in the EU that had to be used in lethal injection. The new law issued
this week doesn't mention the chemicals by name, meaning local versions can be
produced and used. The law will take effect on June 27.
In an interview earlier this year, European Union ambassador to Vietnam Franz
Jessen said Vietnam might not have realized the practical implications of
changing to lethal injections when it announced its plan to switch from the
firing squad. He said the EU had hoped difficulties in sourcing the chemicals
might have triggered a moratorium on the death penalty in the country.
Vietnam, a 1-party state that routinely sentences government critics to long
prison terms, is under considerable international pressure to improve its human
rights record, which most observers say has gotten worse over the last 2 years.
Jessen suggested that stopping executions would have earned Vietnam praise
among the international community.
"A moratorium would have been a positive sign at a time when we need positive
signs," he said.
EU factories are the main supplier of drugs that can be used in executions.
Several American states have also said objections from European factories were
making it hard to find the chemicals.
(source: Associated Press)
INDIA:
Modi govt does rethink on death penalty for Kodnani
The Gujarat government has withheld its earlier decision to seek death penalty
for former minister Maya Kodnani, once a close aide of Chief Minister Narendra
Modi, Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi and 8 others in the 2002 Naroda Patiya
riots case.
"Since we want to take the opinion of the Advocate General on the matter, we
have withheld our earlier decision," said Gujarat Finance Minister and
government spokesperson Nitin Patel. Asked if the Advocate General's opinion
was not taken earlier, Patel did not reply.
Last month, the Modi government had decided to endorse the Supreme
Court-appointed SIT's recommendation to seek death sentence for Kodnani, Babu
Bajrangi and the others, and had given its nod for filing an appeal in this
regard. But the state government has now asked the special public prosecutor
not to file the appeal till further notice.
"We were already preparing to file an appeal in the case through the office of
the government pleader. In fact, on May 6, we sent the petition with supporting
documents to the government pleader's office for filing the appeal. But on May
10, the state government told the government pleader's office not to file the
appeal till further notice. And yesterday, I received a fax with the same
message," said Prashant Desai, the special public prosecutor in the case.
"I do not know under what ground the state government wants to take the
Advocate General's opinion. After receipt of the fax, I have written to the
government pleader's office to send me back the draft petition and relevant
documents," said Desai.
While SIT chairman R K Raghavan could not be contacted, an SIT official said
the state government's reversal of decision was illegal and the SIT may seek
redressal from the Supreme Court.
Apart from seeking death for Kodnani and the rest, the state government had
also given its consent for moving an appeal seeking enhancement of sentence of
22 other convicts in the case.
(source: The Indian Express)
***************************************
Don't seek death for any Hindus in riot cases: VHP
With Narendra Modi-led Gujarat government deciding to hold back its decision to
seek death penalty for Naroda Patia massacre accused Maya Kodnani and Babu
Bajrangi, Vishwa Hindu Parishad has demanded permanent withdrawal of the
state's recommendation for death penalty for any Hindu accused in the riot
cases.
VHP general secretary Ranchod Bharwad said, "After Hindu organizations like the
VHP, Bajrang Dal and BJP allies like Shiv Sena strongly opposed the government
decision to seek death for eight Hindus in Naroda Patia case and following the
poll debacle in Karnataka due to loss of Hindu votes, the Gujarat government
has asked its law department to 'temporarily halt its orders for appealing for
death to Hindus.' This also means that the orders are not final yet."
He said, "As projected that it was the SIT that asked for this permission,
there were sufficient legal pointers that the Gujarat government was free not
to permit SIT to go in for an appeal seeking death for Hindus as the right to
appeal is reserved for the state as per the code of criminal procedure. Even
though the SIT could have moved the Supreme Court after this, the government
could have fought the case taking the side of the Hindus."
(source: The Timse of India)
_______________________________________________
DeathPenalty mailing list
DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu
http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty
Search the Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/deathpenalty@lists.washlaw.edu/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A free service of WashLaw
http://washlaw.edu
(785)670.1088
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
