Sept. 3
INDIA:
Jagan paying for his loot, says Babu
TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu has said that economic offenders are very
dangerous and should get death penalty.
The TDP leader resumed his 'Atma Gourava Yatra' on Monday at Veerapuram village
after a night halt at Dachepalli within the Sattenapalli Assembly segment
limits of the district.
Addressing the TDP activists and supporters at Kondumodu and Nakarikallu, Naidu
alleged that Jaganmoahn Reddy was languishing in jail for more than a year as
he had looted the state. Naidu said an economic offenders should get death
penalty for looting the state and people. Continuing his attack on the Congress
party, Naidu said the Congress Party was conspiring to come into power in the
General Elections in 2014 by coming into an understanding with TRS and YSRC.
(source: New Indian Express)
IRAN----execution
A prisoner has been hagned in public in Isfahan
A prisoner has been hanged in public in Khomeini Shahr on charge of drug
trafficking yesterday morning.
According to a report by IRIB, the prosecutor of Khomeini Shahr said: "This
prisoner was 32 years old and had been arrested in 2011 on charge of having 740
gr. Krack."
Gholami said: "The verdict was confirmed by the Iran prosecutor and was
enforced in Jouy Abad neighborhood of Khomeini Shahr in public."
*******************
A Kurdish civilian is sentenced to death
A Kurdish prisoner's from Salmas death sentence has been confirmed by the
Supreme Court and he is now in the danger of execution.
According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), a Kurdish
civilian from Behyek village of Salmas whose name is Hamid Atmani (Ariana), 30
years old, the son of Farzami, has been sentenced to death by the revolutionary
court of Salmas on charge of drug trafficking.
Hamid Atmani had been arrested on June 2012 by the security forces and was in
Salmas prison. He has been transferred to Urmie prison when his death sentence
was confirmed by the Supreme Court.
He can ask for appeal in the next 20 days.
(source for both: Human Rights Activists News Agency)
NIGERIA:
Mark Wants Death Penalty For Vandals, Says They Are Terrorists
The Senate President David Mark has advocated the death penalty for vandals,
saying that vandals are terrorists and should be punished as such to deter
others from such economic sabotage.
Mark, who was represented by the chairman, Senate Committee on Intelligence and
Security, Sen. Magoro Muhammed, made this comment during the opening ceremony
of a 2-day "Stakeholders forum on the protection of critical national assets
and infrastructure", organised by the office of the National Security Adviser
(NSA) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). He insisted
that vandalism was akin to modern-day terrorism.
He said: "Attack on these critical infrastructure should be seen as attack on
Nigeria's national interest. Considering that we already have a bill with very
stringent laws and purnishment recommended not long ago in the anti-terrorism
bill, it is time we also transferred such recommendations on any one who
tampers with our common wealth, no matter who he is. If this is done, such
lessons would not be easily forgotten. This is because a number of refineries
have been stopped from functioning as a result of internal sabotage. These are
our common wealth and our national interests are tied to it. Anyone who
destroys it has automatically destroyed the nation's economy and should be
treated as a terrorist."
Speaker of the House of Representative, Alhaji Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, during
his good will remark disclosed that the country's security policy was long
overdue for a review having lasted over 27 years (1986) after it was
formulated.
Lamenting that internal sabotage was gradually killing the country, Mark
challenged security agencies saddled with the responsibility of protecting
lives and critical government infrastructure to rise up to the challenge of
accounting on how far and how well they had gone before venturing into foreign
missions.
He pointed out that Nigeria's greatest challenge had been that of responding
effectively to the yearnings for national security of both human and
infrastructure.
Tambuwal, who was represented by the chairman, House Committee on Interior,
Alhaji Umar Bature, also affirmed that the protection of critical
infrastructure was the constitutional responsibility of the NSCDC.
Chairman of the event and minister of interior, Comrade Abba Moro, said in
spite of activities of vandals in the country aimed at crippling the nation's
economy, the Civil Defence Corps had achieved tangible results in terms of
arrest and prosecution.
He said: "It is sad that since its formulation in1986, the law that established
our security act is yet to be reviewed. It is our thinking that the National
Security Adviser should come up with a review of our national security to
enable us phase vandalism out. This is the time."
In his remarks, NSA, Sambo Dasuki, acknowledged that the country's major
security challenges were occasioned by vandalism and terrorist activities
which, he described, as serious drains on the economy.
He noted that these attacks had badly affected the country's economy and was
giving the security agencies sleepless nights.
(source: Leadership Nigeria)
***********************
Death penalty must not be abolished
Recently, international human rights organisations condemned the Edo State
governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, for signing the death warrants of some
convicted criminals. Some countries, including the United Kingdom, equally
berated Nigeria for keeping the death sentence in its laws.
I am really saddened by the fact that some organisations, or countries, would
be meddling in the internal affairs of a sovereign country like Nigeria. Why
would such countries or organisations tell us the sentence we can give our
criminals?
A blood-thirsty armed robber who kills on operations doesn???t deserve to live,
or even somebody who murdered a whole family.
The other time the National Assembly was debating on the banning of
homosexuality in the country, that was how these foreign organisations and
countries began threatening Nigeria; that it would take appropriate measures
against us if we criminalise homosexuality.
Nigeria, as a sovereign nation, can decide what it wants and the laws it feels
will deter its citizens from engaging in crime. No nation has the right to tell
us the laws to apply on our most-notorious criminals.
Osaretin Onoriode, Benin, Edo State.
(source: Letter to the Editor, Nigerian Tribune)
MALAYSIA:
Police nab 12, seize drugs worth RM1.9 mil
4 women were among 12 individuals arrested with various types of drugs worth
RM1.9 million in five raids mounted by the police since Aug 25.
Bukit Aman Narcotic Crimes Investigation Department Datuk Noor Rashid Ibrahim
said police also seized cash of RM135,000 from the suspects, aged between 25
and 61.
"In the 1st raid at 11.30 am on Aug 25, police arrested an Indonesian man in an
area in Jalan Lanang, Sarawak for possession of 3.4 kg of syabu which was found
hidden in his backpack.
"The suspect had used a new route to smuggle the drug from Sarawak to Indonesia
after the authority tightened the security to combat the smuggling of drug at
the KL International Airport (KLIA) and Sabah," he told a press conference here
today.
Noor Rashid said in the second raid at 2.55 pm on Aug 28, two women, aged 37
and 61, were nabbed in Taman Perling, Johor Baharu, for smuggling drugs from
India using a fast delivery service.
"Following the arrest, police seized seven kilogramme of drug called Ephedrine,
found hidden in a container labelled 'Herbalife'," he said.
Noor Rashid said at 6.30 pm on Aug 29, police seized 12.15 kg of ketamine from
a house in Taman Desa Tebrau, Johor Bahru, and another house in Jinjang, here,
and arrested five local men aged between 25 and 32. He said at 11.45 am on Aug
30, police seized a box containing 944gm of syabu from a mail and courier
service counter at the KLIA.
"At 9.15 pm the same day, police picked up a 25-year-old Iranian man, who
attempted to smuggle drugs into the country from Kish Island, Dubai, at the
KLIA. Police also found 1.5 kg of syabu hidden in his luggage," he said.
Noor Rashid said in the final raid on a house in Ara Impian Damansara,
Selangor, yesterday, police arrested two women and a man, before finding 39.6gm
of syabu in the house.
"We also found that the house has been used as a drug-processing lab over the
past 6 months," he said, adding that all cases were being investigated under
Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 which carries mandatory death
penalty upon conviction.
(source: The Sun Daily)
PAKSITAN:
Bedbi: Pakistani Sikhs demand action on desecration of Guru Granth Sahib
Saroop's
Pakistan's Sikh community on Tuesday asked the government and the Supreme Court
to take action on incidents relating to the desecration of Guru Granth Sahib
Saroop in various parts of Sindh province. The Pakistan Sikh Council raised the
issue at a news conference at Karachi Press Club. Sardar Ramesh Singh, the
Council???s head, said five incidents of bedbi have been recorded so far.
Most of the incidents occurred inside Hindu temples, where the Guru Granth
Sahib is kept as many people from the Hindu community also believe in the
teachings of Sikhi, he said.
The 1st incident occurred at Samadha Ashram in Shikarpur, where a Hindu elder
was accused of "drawing pictures" in Guru Granth Sahib and enraging many Sikhs,
Singh said.
Similar incidents later occurred at Dil Darbar in Pannu Aqil, Khatt Wali Darbar
and Sajal Sher Jhoolay Lal Darbar in Shikarpur and Guru Nanak Darbar in Dadu.
Singh alleged some "extremist elements" wanted to create discord between Hindus
and Sikhs, who have been living peacefully in southern Sindh province.
"We, like other Pakistani's, don't want a negative portrayal of our country.
That was one of the reasons we didn???t appear in the media. But now the
situation is getting out of our control," he said.
The Pakistan Sikh Council had approached police to file an FIR but no arrest
had been made so far, he said.
In Pakistan, anyone accused of desecrating a holy book faces the death penalty
under the controversial blasphemy law.
(source: Hindustan Times)
RUSSIA:
Russia grants asylum to Iraqi citizen facing death penalty at home for
conversion to Christianity
The Russian authorities have decided not to deport a citizen of Iraq, who
earlier adopted Christianity and applied for temporary asylum in Russia.
"The Russian Federal Migration Service (FMS) department for the Saratov Region
ruled on September 2, 2013 to grant temporary asylum to Iraqi citizen Mahdi Ali
Saleh Mahdi for 1 year due to newly discovered circumstances," FMS Deputy
Chairman Nikolay Smorodin said in a letter to head of the Russian presidential
Human Rights Council Mikhail Fedotov.
The letter was published on the Human Rights Council website.
The Civil Assistance human rights committee reported in late August that the
FMS department for the Saratov Region was preparing to deport a refugee to
Iraq, where he was facing the death penalty for adopting Christianity.
Civil Assistance claimed that the FMS department for the Saratov Region ruled
to deport the refugee to Iraq within five days. "This notification about
deportation is an invitation to execution," it said in a statement.
Smorodin's letter says the FMS granted the Iraqi citizen temporary asylum after
considering Fedotov's address.
(source: Interfax)
GLOBAL:
5 myths about drug mules and the death penalty
Drug mules have barely been out of the UK news this August. First the "Peru 2",
Melissa Reid from Scotland and Michaela Connolly from Ireland, were arrested
attempting to leave Lima with just under 12kgs of cocaine. They claim they were
coerced into carrying drugs by a gang they fell in with while on holiday in
Ibiza.
Then, last week, Lindsay Sandiford's appeal against the death sentence was
rejected. She was arrested in Bali in May 2013 with just under 5kgs of cocaine.
She also claimed that she was forced to carry drugs due to coercion and threats
of violence against her family. She is currently on death row and will have one
year in which to apply for clemency.
Neither Lindsay Sandiford, nor Melissa Reid and Michaela Connolly are "typical"
alleged drug mules (if there is such a thing) - the majority of those arrested
with drugs at national borders are men, whose arrest seldom attracts national
attention. Everyone who researches drug trafficking finds accounts of coercion
and threats yet this is the exception rather than the norm. In fact most become
involved voluntarily, motivated by poverty and financial difficulties.
Venezuelan criminologist Rosa del Olmo was the 1st to write about women drug
mules, about 20 years ago. She said, "discourses corresponding to specific
economic and political interests have masked the true nature and dynamic of the
drug issue by casting it in semi-mythical terms."
This remains true today - international drug trafficking has spawned its own
set of myths, which are unhelpful and do not bear close examination. Here is
the real picture.
Mules are collateral damage in drug war
The idea that women such as the Peru 2 are collateral damage in the greater war
on drugs is false. Drug policy specifically targets low-level offenders as a
result of political pressure to demonstrate a commitment to fighting drugs. For
example, in the early 2000s Ecuador committed to arresting 12% more "drug
traffickers" in return for economic investment from the USA. Very little of
that "economic assistance" went towards strengthening the criminal justice
system. The result was an overloaded criminal justice system, including prisons
operating a double capacity. This is just 1 example of the result of "tough on
drugs" policies.
As an aside, the use of the term "collateral damage" is explicitly military,
suggesting the war is winnable, and that a certain amount of damage is
inevitable. These kinds of claims can no longer be sustained.
Mules are coerced
A minority of mules are coerced into trafficking (so had little "choice"). Even
willing mules cannot fully know what they are getting themselves into. Drug
traffickers routinely misinform mules about what they are carrying and give
them far larger quantities of drugs to carry than agreed. Because drugs arrive
pre-packaged, they cannot check what they are carrying. This is important as
type and weight of drug play a key role in punishments for trafficking.
Few mules know what punishments they face. Travel plans often change at the
last minute. It is also very difficult to get accurate information. Go on, try
and find out the sentence for carrying 500g of cocaine into the UK. Now imagine
you don't speak English ...
They can seek help from police
This idea stems from the idea that the police will believe women when they are
in distress. This is not the case: women seeking help for forced marriage,
stalking or violence and threats from ex-boyfriends are routinely not believed.
But let's not go there.
Traffickers make sure mules have as little information as possible and evidence
of threats is never left, making it difficult to go to the police. Reporting
victimisation is difficult enough, never mind in a foreign country with no
knowledge of laws or criminal justice. Since many mules are kept under close
supervision, there is little opportunity to do so. Few drug mules, even those
willingly involved, would have dared to return home without the drugs.
Drug smugglers deserve death
The UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions has
stated drug offences do not constitute "most serious crimes" and that
executions for such offences are therefore in violation of international human
rights law.
In reality, the majority of those executed for drug trafficking will not be
"king pins" but are low-level offenders. Briton Akmal Shaik was executed in
China in 2009. He had mental health problems and believed he was on his way to
shoot a music video. There is considerable variation in what counts as "drug
trafficking". More than 10,000 people have been executed for drug offences
globally since the 1970s. It seems very likely that many were low-level
offenders: drug users, dealers and mules.
Execution is an effective deterrent
There is no academic evidence that harsh penalties deter criminals (in fact,
just the mere likelihood of getting caught may be more significant a
deterrent). And, in fact, only about 15% of drugs is carried over borders by
mules - the rest travels in small quantities sent in the mail, or concealed in
large shipments of legal goods. Some also travels concealed in yachts or other
boats. Even if all mules could be halted, this would have little impact on drug
availability.
(source: The Conversation)
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