Oct. 2
UNITED KINGDOM/INDONESIA:
British govt opposes Briton's death sentence threat
The British government has requested that Indonesian prosecutors reconsider the
death sentence they have requested for 43-year-old British national Andrea Ruth
Waldeck.
Waldeck, an ex-police community supporter officer from the English county of
Gloucestershire, is being tried at Surabaya State District court in connection
with narcotics distribution offences.
"We have received an official letter from the British Embassy in Jakarta
requesting prosecutors reconsider the death penalty request for Andrea.
Further, in order to strengthen the argument, the embassy will send an official
to testify in Andrea's favor," Andrea's lawyer Oktavianto Prasongko told The
Jakarta Post after the court session on Tuesday.
He said the embassy would present the facts regarding Andrea's role as a
community police officer and social worker who dealt with drug addicts while
serving in the UK.
"Most important is the fact she has never been involved with any crime while
serving and living in her country," Oktavianto said.
Besides Waldeck, the police also arrested 2 other people in this case, Bayu
Pracaka and Hendrik Lesmana. Prosecutor Deddy Agus Oktavianto said the
prosecutors would also seek death sentences for both of them in the next court
session.
To date, the police are still pursuing Ari Wahyudi and Joe, Waldeck's Nigerian
boyfriend, who are still at large. According to Waldeck, Joe gave her the
drugs.
Waldeck was arrested by officers from the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) with
1.4 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine worth more than U$20,000 at a hotel in
Surabaya, after she passed through airport screenings.
(source: Jakarta Post)
ANTIGUA & BARBUDA:
Former AG of Antigua and Barbuda: Death penalty just cheap fix
Sir Clare Roberts, former attorney general and minister of justice and legal
affairs for Antigua and Barbuda, has hailed yesterday's conference on the death
penalty as "timely," as many believed reinstituting the punishment was a
solution. The conference, titled "The death penalty in the context of public
security, neither right nor effective," was held at the Faculty of Law,
University of the West Indies, St Augustine.
Roberts, who was also a member of the Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights, posed the question whether the death penalty was right. "Apart from the
simple premise that there is a limit as to how far the State can go in
punishing perpetrators, even for the most heinous crimes, in my view the death
penalty crosses the line," Roberts said. He said when there was a breakdown in
public security, politicians liked to use the call, "bring back the death
penalty." But that, Roberts added, was just a "quick and cheap fix."
"It costs virtually nothing to enact legislation to reimpose the death penalty
and it has the advantage of appearing to take a form of action," Roberts said.
Referring to the recent shooting deaths in his country, Roberts said that led
Antigua and Barbuda's national security minister to "lead a chorus" in
proposing the resumption of hangings. "I found this most ironic because there
is no emphasis on trying to detect the crime and finding the perpetrator and
putting him on trial.
"The whole costly process is left out. It costs money to furnish the police
force with trained detectives, forensic labs, with up-to-date equipment. It
costs to attack the root causes of crime," Roberts said. The increase of
poverty and indigence in the Caribbean had raised levels of inequality, social
exclusion and violence in crime, he added. "The Caribbean islands today have
some of the highest rates of crime in the world. Jamaica is called the 'murder
capital of the world.' T&T is not too far behind.
"The man in the street is concerned about his safety and that of his family and
he therefore finds it easy to buy into the quick fix of bringing back the death
penalty," Roberts said. Also speaking was attorney Leela Ramdeen, a member of
Greater Caribbean for Life and chair of the Catholic Commission for Social
Justice. She echoed Roberts' sentiment that there was urgent need to examine
the root causes of crime.
She said 13 of the 58 countries that retained the death penalty belonged to the
Caribbean and were nearly all English-speaking. "T&T and Barbados retained the
mandatory death penalty for murder and Guyana retained it for treason. Of
concern also is the fact that nearly all the English-speaking countries
continue to refuse to sign in favour of the moratorium resolution at the UN,"
Ramdeen added. The United Nations has called for the general suspension of
capital punishment throughout the world.
(source: The Trinidad Guardian)
AFGHANISTAN:
Afghan soldier accused of killing Australian soldiers captured, to face trial
A former Afghan National Army sergeant accused of shooting dead 3 Australian
soldiers is in custody in Afghanistan, where he could face the death penalty.
Defence Force Chief David Hurley said Sergeant Hekmatullah, wanted for killing
Lance Corporal Stjepan Milosevic, Sapper James Martin, and Private Robert Poate
in August last year, was captured at least 7 months ago in Pakistan.
General Hurley said it was expected Hekmatullah would face trial in Afghanistan
for the "green on blue" attack, which also left 2 other soldiers wounded.
He said he had been unable to announce Hekmatullah's capture any earlier.
"In February this year, Pakistani authorities formally advised Australia that
Hekmatullah was in custody in Pakistan.
"Since that time, the Pakistani government has been working to establish an
appropriate transfer arrangement to return Hekmatullah to Afghanistan."
He said the transfer arrangements were a matter for the Pakistani and Afghan
governments, and it would have been "inappropriate and possibly detrimental for
Defence to disclose Hekmatullah's apprehension until the transfer to
Afghanistan authorities was complete".
General Hurley said Australian spy agencies had provided "crucial support" to
Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency "which they were able to act on".
He said the development was "bittersweet news" the families of the slain
soldiers, who were informed of the development today.
"On one hand there is a great sense of relief, but it will not change history,"
General Hurley said.
The 3 soldiers were gunned down at Patrol Base Wahab on August 29 last year as
they played cards.
General Hurley said Hekmatullah's capture drew a line under the four insider
attacks on Australian troops in Afghanistan.
"Those responsible for the deaths of 7 Australian soldiers, and who wounded
another 10, have been captured or killed and no longer pose a threat to our
people," he said.
An internal Defence report released last week found the army failed to provide
the Australian soldiers adequate protection ahead of the "green on blue"
attack.
The killings occurred 13 days after a warning about increased "sleeper" attacks
from Taliban chief Mullah Omar and during a spike in deadly insider attacks by
Afghan soldiers.
The International Security Assistance Force ordered security be increased but
the warnings were not passed to those at Patrol Base Wahab, the report found.
The soldiers had changed out of their combat gear and into shorts and T-shirts
just before they were attacked.
Most of the Diggers were playing poker while others watched movies on their
laptops as Hekmatullah allegedly entered their recreation area and unloaded 23
rounds, killing 2instantly.
A 3rd died later and 2 more were wounded as the gunman escaped.
An inquiry into the shooting found that while the ADF became aware of an
unofficial Taliban video in which Hekmatullah spoke of the attack, the Taliban
had never claimed responsibility and the motivations of the gunman remained
unknown.
Hekmatullah's existence was "unremarkable from a personnel or intelligence
perspective", vice-chief of the defence force, Air Marshal Mark Binskin told
reporters last week.
Releasing the inquiry report, Air Marshal Binskin also told journalists last
week Hekmatullah was still at large, and his capture remained a priority.
"We will not let this rest. We will hunt him down and bring him to justice," he
said.
Some 40 Australian soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since 2001.
(source: The Australian)
BANGLADESH:
Opposition MP must be saved from the gallows says Amnesty
The death penalty handed to an opposition Bangladeshi MP convicted of crimes
against humanity must be overturned and all other death sentences quashed,
Amnesty International said Tuesday.
Amnesty argued that capital punishment was not the way to deliver justice to
victims of the country's brutal war of independence.
"The many victims of horrific abuses during Bangladesh's independence war and
their families have long deserved justice but the death penalty is not the
answer," said said Abbas Faiz, Amnesty's Bangladesh researcher.
"One human rights abuse cannot make amends for another," Faiz added.
"Bangladesh must overturn the death sentence against Salahuddin Quader
Chowdhury and all others."
Chowdhury, 6-time Member of Parliament from the opposition Bangladesh
Nationalist Party, was found guilty of crimes including genocide and torture
committed during Bangladesh???s war of independence with Pakistan in 1971.
His family has said that he will appeal the sentence to death by hanging, and
Amnesty urged the Bangladeshi government to make sure the appeal complies with
international law and standards for fair trials.
Amnesty International views the death penalty as is the ultimate cruel and
inhuman punishment and opposes it in all circumstances.
Chowdhury, 64, is 1 of 7 people sentenced to date by a tribual set up under the
current government of prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to investigate crimes
against humanity, war crimes and genocide committed during Bangladesh's war of
independence.
International human rights groups and the BNP have both said that the tribunal
fell short of international standards. Opposition parties have accused the
Awami League-led government of pursuing a political vendetta against its
opponents.
6 people including Chowdhury have been sentenced to death and are able to
appeal to the country's Supreme Court. The other 5 people handed the death
penalty are members of the opposition Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh's largest
Islamist party.
One of these, Abdul Kader Mollah, Jamaat-e-Islami's assistant
secretary-general, was 1 of 2 people originally sentenced to jail but had his
sentence increased to death by the Supreme Court, following an appeal by the
government.
Mollah cannot appeal this death sentence because there is no higher court to
hear it, Amnesty noted.
(source: Adnkronos International)
******************
Victims, their families want quick execution ---- 'The souls of the martyrs
will find peace with the death penalty of this human killer,' victim says
After death penalty is handed down to war criminal Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury,
now the victims, their family members and witnesses hope that execution of the
verdict would be completed as early as possible.
Profulla Ranjan Singh, son of martyred Nutan Chandra Singh, said they had been
expecting capital punishment for the BNP leader.
"We will be fully satisfied after the execution of the verdict," he told the
Dhaka Tribune on Tuesday.
Nutan Chandra, a philanthropist and herbal medicine researcher, was shot dead
on the premises of his residence at Kundeshwari Oushodhalaya in Gahira of
Raozan by Pakistani occupation forces aided by collaborators, including
Salahuddin Quader, on April 13 in 1971.
M Salimullah, who was tortured at the Good's Hill, family residence of the
convict, told the Dhaka Tribune that he had been waiting for the past 42 years
for such a punishment against the linchpin behind genocides in Chittagong
during the War of Independence.
"The souls of the martyrs will find peace with the death penalty of this human
killer," Salimullah, a former president of Clearing and Forwarding Agents'
Association, said while demanding quick execution of the tribunal judgement.
A 6-time Chittagong MP, Salahuddin Quader is the son of Convention Muslim
League leader Fazlul Quader Chowdhury.
Salimullah also urged the BNP not to defend Salahuddin Quader, who is a
Standing Committee member of the main opposition party. Announcement to enforce
a shutdown by the party protesting the verdict had disappointed him.
Salimullah recalled that the henchmen of the convict had picked him up to the
torture cell at Good's Hill at about 9pm on April 2, 1971 and tortured him the
whole night on charges of providing shelter to some Hindu people. "My relatives
managed my release in the morning."
Sheikh Mohammed Jahangir, whose father and brother had remained missing since
the war, said they were satisfied with the judgement although it had been much
late.
He said a team of the occupation force led by Salahuddin Quader had picked up
his father Sheikh Mozaffar Ahmed, who was the founder president of Awami League
in Chittagong, and his brother Sheikh Alamgir from Hathazari on April 17, 1971.
"We have been searching for the graves of our father and brother for the past
42 years," he said.
Kazi Nurul Afsar, the 10th witness in the case, was member of a team of freedom
fighters which launched an attack on the war criminal in Dewan Bazar area in
the city during the war. He said it would have been complacent for them if they
could kill him back then.
"However, we are happy that he will have to walk the gallows after 42 years of
his misdeeds," he said.
(soure: Dhaka Tribune)
******************
Bangladesh must overturn death sentence against MP
The death sentence imposed against a Bangladeshi MP convicted of crimes against
humanity, is not the way to bring justice to the many victims of the country's
war of independence, Amnesty International said today.
Amnesty International's Bangladesh Researcher Abbas Faiz said:
"The many victims of horrific abuses during Bangladesh's independence war and
their families have long deserved justice but the death penalty is not the
answer.
"One human rights abuse cannot make amends for another.
"Bangladesh must overturn the death sentence against Salahuddin Quader
Chowdhury and all others. The death penalty is the ultimate cruel and inhuman
punishment and can never be a way to deliver justice.
"We urge the Bangladeshi government to ensure that Chowdhury's appeal complies
with international law and standards relating to fair trials, and without
recourse to the death penalty."
Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury, 6-time Member of Parliament from the opposition
Bangladesh Nationalist Party, was found guilty of crimes including genocide and
torture committed during Bangladesh's war of independence with Pakistan in
1971.
His family has said that he will appeal the sentence.
The current government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina set up the International
Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in 2010 under national law to look at crimes against
humanity, war crimes and genocide committed during Bangladesh's war of
independence.
Of the 7 people the ICT has sentenced to date, 5 have been sentenced to death
and are able to appeal to the country's Supreme Court. This includes Chowdhury
and 4 members of the opposition Jamaat-e-Islami party. The 2 others were
sentenced to imprisonment. However, 1 of them, Abdul Quader Mollah, has since
had his sentence increased by the Supreme Court, to death, following an appeal
by the government. He cannot appeal this death sentence because there is no
higher court to hear the appeal.
(source: Amnesty International UK)
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