March 3
THE MALDIVES:
Comment: The politics of the death penalty in the Maldives
In a presidential campaign rally in 2008, former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom
dismissed the issue of death penalty:
"Maldivians won't accept it. The international community no longer accepts
it...this can't be done in the Maldives."
5 years on, and such a statement from a major politician seems unthinkable. In
fact, in 2012, in the aftermath of the murder of Afrasheem Ali, Gayoom stated:
"Death penalty is an option."
Not mainly a religious or human rights issue
Coming from a secular liberal background, a person may conveniently blame the
changing nature of this issue to a rise in 'fundamentalist Islam', Islamism, or
Salafi puritanism.
Without denying the reality of re-Islamisation, this explanation comes partly
from a fundamental fear of Islamism by secular liberals. The death penalty goes
deeper than religion or liberal human rights.
While none in this debate claim that criminals should be set free, in 2008
Gayoom eloquently argued that forgiveness is more preferred in Islam. The
Islamist side has been largely silent on the emphasis of mercy in Islam, thus
making it difficult to limit the Islamist calls for death penalty to religion.
Even during President Amin's time, the execution of the death penalty was not
particularly meant to fulfill a religious obligation by a religious state.
Amin's constitution - based on Ceylon's constitution granting dominion status -
was one of the most secular and authoritarian of all Maldivian constitutions.
Back then, Ibrahim Shihab claimed: "I could not find in the Republican
Constitution any concern for Islamic principles and Divehi conventions'. Amin
himself was accused of being ladini (irreligious).
Now take human rights. The right to life is the main basis for rejecting
capital punishment under mainstream liberal conception of human rights. Yet,
the death penalty has no equal juridical, advocacy, or enforcement status to
other basic rights like freedom of religion, which has been completely denied
in the Maldives.
In reality, for both sides, death penalty is about the very identity, the very
nature of the state. It is indeed one test case for the 'Islamist state' - or
the 'secular state', depending on which side one stands in the debate. The
death penalty is about this mutual fear of the perceived influence and control
by one side over the other with regards to the nature of the Maldivian state.
A matter of secular yet illiberal politics
While the death penalty may be a life-and-death issue about the nature of the
state for liberals and the Islamists, the real actors and the real issues in
this debate are neither religious nor liberal - though Islamism and human
rights now feed into the background context of this issue.
The real actors who will determine the issue one way or the other are the
secular (yet illiberal) politicians.
The real issue is instrumentalisation of religion and Islamo-nationalist
sentiments of the people for political gain by ordinary politicians. This has
created a vicious cycle in which every politician/party has a high premium to
show their religious or Islamo-nationalist credentials, and discount the
opponents' credentials.
The result is what I call the 'instrumentalist dilemma' - the situation where a
person (or a group) individually or privately holds a position/belief that they
collectively or publically can't hold. The instrumentalist dilemma is at play
not only in the death penalty, but also in religion-based discrimination such
as citizenship restriction.
Gayoom's apparent turnaround or Foreign Minister Dunya Gayoom's position seems
to be none other than this dilemma. More clearly, the Maldivian Democratic
Party (MDP) chairperson's recent support for it, or the MDP's retraction of a
statement rebuking the death penalty in 2012 - is this dilemma in action.
Stop the instrumentalist madness
The upshot of these instrumentalist dialectics is the irrational, out-of-hand
outcome that the collective don't necessarily want as individuals. If anything
will see the death penalty implemented, it's such secular, illiberal
instrumentalist madness - not Islamism, Salafi puritanism, or religious
fundamentalism.
But an outcome of madness neither serves religion nor human rights. And, much
less does it address the issue of murder.
As for religion, irrespective of the question whether or not capital punishment
is a religious obligation, without personal pious intention (niyah) the act
doesn't become a religious act. As for human rights, saying no to capital
punishment is saying yes to the right to life.
As for murder reduction, a 2009 survey of criminologists - people who know the
stuff about crimes and crime reduction - revealed that an overwhelming 88%
believed death penalty was not a deterrent to murder. Similarly, murder rates
have remained consistently lower in non-death penalty states over death penalty
states.
Therefore, the religious and the liberals and those who are genuinely concerned
about religion, human rights, or crimes should oppose this political madness,
not each other.
(source: Commentary; Abdur-Rahman, Minivan News)
IRAN----executions
6 prisoners hanged on Sunday
The Iranian regime hanged four prisoners on Sunday in southern city of
Bandar-Abbas, state-run Mehr news agency reported.
The prisoners identified by their initials as M.R.,H.A., A.B., Y.A., were
hanged for drug related charges.
Also on the same day, the Iranian regime henchmen hanged 2 young men in the
northern city of Rasht the state-run broadcasting company reported.
The prisoners who were 28 and 30 years old were hanged in the city's prison for
committing 'Acts Against Sharia Law' (unlawful act).
The report neither identified those executed nor did specify for what alleged
crime they have been sentenced to death.
*********************
2 young men hanged in Rasht for 'unlawful acts'
The Iranian regime henchmen hanged 2 young men on Sunday in the northern city
of Rasht the state-run broadcasting reported.
The prisoners who were 28 and 30 years old were hanged in the city's prison for
committing 'Acts Against Sharia Law' (unlawful act).
The report neither identified those executed nor did specify for what alleged
crime they have been sentenced to death.
'Acts Against Sharia Law' can including a wide range 'unlawful' activities
including extramarital sexual relationship, consuming alcoholic drinks, and any
activity in opposition to the regime.
Also on Sunday The highest court in clerical regime ruling Iran approved the
sentence of a young man to have his eyes gouged and his right ear and nose
cutoff, state-run daily Shraq reported.
The man identified by his first name Jamshid was convicted last October of
deliberately pouring acid on the face of a girl named Shirin which caused her
to lose eyesight and right ear.
(source for both: NCR-Iran)
************************************
7 Executed in Northern Iran- 153 Executions in 2 Months
7 people have been executed in the prison of Rasht (Northern Iran) during the
past few days.
According to the official website of the Iranian Judiciary in Gilan Province, 5
prisoners were hanged in the prison of Rasht yesterday March 1. Three of the
prisoners were convicted of drug trafficking, They were identified as "A. Sh."
convicted of participation in possession and trafficking of 4 kilograms of
concentrated heroin, "H. M." for selling and buying 3 kilograms of Opium,
buying 300 grams of concentrated heroin and selling 257 grams of it, and buying
3198 grams of concentrated heroin, and Mr. "M. S." for trafficking and
participation in possession of 13 kilograms and 800 grams of crack, said the
report.
2 of the prisoners who were executed in the prison of Rasht yesterday March 1,
were convicted of sexual assault said the report. None of the prisoners were
identified by name.
The Judiciary websiet in Gilan also reported about 2 executions in the prison
of Rasht on Wednesday February 26. One of the prisoners identified as "F. J."
was convicted of murder, while the other prisoner was identified as "M. B." and
charged with trafficking of 800 grams of heroin.
(source: Iran Human Rights)
GLOBAL:
Death Penalty - A Long and Constant Path Towards Abolition
Until the late 1970s, only 16 countries had abolished the capital punishment
for all crimes. Today, abolitionist nations are the overwhelming majority. More
than 2/3 of nations, over 150 of the 193 members of the United Nations, have
now rejected the death penalty or do not carry out executions.
This evolution was led by the recognition that in any judicial procedure there
is always the risk of a miscarriage of justice. If a person is jailed and later
found to be innocent she or he can be released and provided compensation for
the time unduly spent in prison. This is not possible if an innocent sentenced
to death has already been executed. The punishment is final and irreversible
and there is no possible appeal from the grave.
The death penalty is a toxic and destructive punishment that causes untold
injustice and suffering. It represents the ultimate denial of human rights. In
the words of Albert Camus, the French Nobel prize winner for literature,
"capital punishment is the most premeditated of murders."
Unfortunately the cross-party in favour of the death penalty is still operating
on a global scale. It goes beyond ideologies, religions, political trends,
historical periods and international law. Gallows are still erected in
capitalist democracies as well as in authoritarian or fundamentalist regimes,
in poor countries as well as in rich and developed nations.
The list of crimes punishable by death is extensive and changes with time. Only
the reason to justify the death penalty remains unchanged: it is considered as
a deterrent against criminals; the supreme prerogative of the State to punish
in "an appropriate way" the most heinous crimes.
These are both specious and simply irrational reasons. No one has ever been
able to demonstrate the deterrent effect of the death penalty on crimes.
Executions do not deliver public safety or deter violent crime - instead they
endorse violence, sometimes fuelling cycles of violence and retribution. It is
no surprise the States that have abolished the death penalty often have lower
murder rates than those that have yet to do so.
It is therefore of paramount importance that countries that still envisage the
death penalty ensure that information and statistics regarding its use are made
publicly available. Only an objectively informed public opinion can accept and
support reforms of the penal system aimed at abolishing the capital punishment
as cruel and ineffective.
Nowadays there is a growing awareness on the issue and it is a fact that the
trend towards abolition finds echoes in every region of the world. Even
retentionist countries which head today the sad tally of executions are
rethinking their approach.
Having said so, we must recognise that much progress still remains to be done.
The situation in many countries is still a cause of grave concern. In some
cases, we have witnessed the worrying phenomenon of some countries, which had
previously agreed on endorsing the moratorium, to take the decision of
re-establishing the death penalty. This is an involution which has
distinguished mostly Asia but also Africa, with the reactivation of executions
in Nigeria and Gambia.
Italy is proud to be part of the cross-regional coalition of States supporting
the international campaign against the capital punishment. We took a strong and
principled position against the death penalty. This campaign represents a
priority for Italy's foreign policy and has the full support of our Parliament
and civil society.
Italy has been a major sponsor of the United Nations' General Assembly
Resolution on a universal moratorium of the death penalty since its inception
in 1994. We are an active part of the interregional task force entrusted with
its drafting. We also are one of the most active promoters of the campaign to
convince countries previously abstaining or voting against the text to switch
their votes in favour of the resolution.
While not legally binding, the United Nations resolutions have been a political
breakthrough, sending a strong message to the minority of countries still
adhering to capital punishment that it is time to reject what is increasingly
seen as a cruel and counter-productive practice.
It is hard to overstate progress on this issue. A watershed moment came 6 years
ago when, in December 2007, the United Nations General Assembly first adopted a
resolution calling for a universal moratorium on the death penalty, with a view
to a complete abolition.
This achievement was reinforced by three further UN General Assembly
resolutions, in Decembers 2008, 2010 and 2012. On each occasion, the vote
supporting the call for a moratorium gathered strength: rising from 104 votes
to 111, while those States voting negatively fell from 54 to 41.
Next fall, first the United Nations General Assembly Third Commission and then
its plenary shall negotiate and vote the 5th resolution on the universal
moratorium. We will try to reinforce also the content of the text, calling for
the imposition of death penalty only for the most serious crimes and to
establish a Special Rapporteur or Special Adviser of the Secretary General on
the issue of the death penalty.
(source: Inter Press Service)
MALAYSIA:
Freed after 16 years, Malaysia's longest-serving remand prisoner
Lawyer Karpal Singh says his client was acquitted on technical grounds. The
Malaysian Insider pic, March 3, 2014.Johari (not his real name) spent more than
16 years behind bars, both as a remand prisoner and on death row, for alleged
drug trafficking in Malaysia.
Last Tuesday, he was finally freed by the Court of Appeal after a long and
strenuous legal battle for his liberty.
His lawyer Karpal Singh said Johari has the dubious distinction of having spent
the longest time in a Malaysian prison before being acquitted.
Police caught Johari and another person with 35kg of ganja in Gelugor, Penang,
on January 4, 1998, and he was in remand ever since as the offence is not
bailable.
However, the other person caught with him was acquitted of the charge by the
High Court in May 2004.
Johari was sentenced to death twice, first in May 2004 and the second time in
January 2011 by a High Court in Penang.
Karpal said following Johari's conviction, he was placed on the death row
between 2004 and 2010.
Following his final appeal, the Federal Court in 2010 set aside the conviction
and ordered a retrial.
He was again sentenced to death on January 2011 but last week, the Court of
Appeal acquitted him on technical grounds.
Karpal said a retrial meant that his client must be charged again in a
magistrate's court before the trafficking trial could begin in a High Court.
"In short, they should have repeated all procedures and supplied documents to
the defence as if Johari was facing a fresh charge," he said.
But the prosecution, Karpal said, just started the trial in the High Court
without following the proper procedure.
Although he is free now, Johari still has difficulty shaking off his past in
the Perlis prison. He has been in there too long.
"Everyone in there is under immense stress because they are on death row. It
changes you. It breaks you inside. "You never come out the same again even
after you are acquitted or pardoned. The damage is done. You won't know what it
is like unless you have been there," the 41-year-old told The Malaysian Insider
in an interview in Penang on Saturday.
Johari said he went through an ordeal unimaginable by others and lost many
years of his life locked up in a cell alone in the prison with poor facilities
while fighting to escape the mandatory death sentence.
"There was no television set but prisoners occasionally got access to
newspapers. My only companion was a walkman my family brought me.
"When my family members came to see me, we had 30 minutes to talk through a
screen that prevents all physical contact. That is not even allowed during Hari
Raya," he said.
Johari appeared almost in a daze when he spoke of his experience behind bars,
as if he is still stunned by all that has happened.
However, he spoke firmly and clearly that he would like to see the death
penalty abolished because every human being deserves another chance.
He said he lived in fear while in prison, knowing how some of his fellow
inmates were taken away and never brought back, and could only pray.
"The death penalty allows no forgiveness. Don't do that to others. People
should not make laws to kill other people," he said, adding that the Pardons
Board is slow in giving death row inmates a new lease on life.
Johari's younger brother, who wants to be known as Johan, 39, said their
parents took what happened to their eldest son very hard and gave up hope
several times over the years.
The family knew little about the law, he said, and could only depend on Karpal
and his lawyer son Jagdeep Singh Deo to guide them through it. Jagdeep is now
an exco member in the Penang government and no longer in practice.
"We are so happy that Johari is back with us. If all that didn't happen, I
think he would be married and has 2 kids by now.
"Our family stuck together through the hard times. We had to deal with the
stigma. People are generally not so forgiving and understanding when they think
you have a criminal in your family," Johan said.
On what is next for Johari, Johan said his brother will have to get
reacquainted with the world that has changed immensely in the last 16 years.
"I will take it a step at a time. I think maybe I can do some business in the
future. With my damaged record and age, I don't think people will want to hire
me," Johari said.
Karpal said Johari had likely made Malaysian history as the man who spent the
most years behind bars before he got an acquittal.
He said he was also puzzled with how Johari's case went - going through the
High Court and then the Federal Court for a retrial only to be sentenced to
death by hanging for a 2nd time.
"One trial was bad enough. It puzzled me too," Karpal said, adding that he even
wrote to the Attorney General to ask for Johari's charge to be amended to drug
possession, which is only punishable by imprisonment, but his request was
denied.
Karpal, who has advocated for the abolishment of the death penalty before, said
some cases require judges to use their discretion when passing judgment.
"The mandatory death sentence puts pressure on judges too," he said, adding the
court must be given the discretion to impose the death penalty or imprisonment
based on the facts of the case.
(source: The Malaysian Insider)
INDIA:
Delhi signals shift away from capital punishment; The Supreme Court's recent
move to grant clemency to a number of people on death row has given hope to
rights organizations and lawyers that India could be moving towards abolishing
the death penalty.
For over 15 years, Navneet Kaur has been ceaselessly fighting a legal battle to
get her husband Devinder Bhullar off death row. Her husband has been in jail
for 18 years for a bomb attack that killed 9 people in Delhi in 1993. In the
early 2000's she gave up her job as a nurse in a hospital in Vancouver, Canada,
to fight for his cause.
A way forward
She says years of incarceration have taken a toll on her husband's memory and
that he now no longer recognizes her when she visits him in prison. "He has
virtually served life imprisonment and lost his mental faculties too in the
process. And what's more, the case against him is not backed by evidence. I
will do everything to see that he does not go the gallows," a determined Kaur
told DW.
Not long ago, it seemed as though her prayers had been answered. On February
26, the government told the Supreme Court that Bhullar would not be executed
because of his health and also cited exceptional delay in a decision on his
mercy petition as a valid reason to spare him.
Navneet Kaur has been fighting to get her husband's death sentence commuted for
nearly 2 decades
But it is not only Bhullar who may well see himself spared the noose when the
court examines his case.
In just over a month, the Supreme Court has commuted the sentences of at least
22 convicts, ruling that delays in their execution were grounds to commute
their sentences to life imprisonment. This lot includes 3 people found guilty
for their role in a conspiracy to assassinate former Prime Minister Rajiv
Gandhi.
"I have been waiting patiently all these years knowing my son will not be
hanged. Now, I wait for the day when he will be out of jail. Even this wish
will come true. It will happen," Arputh Ammal, the mother of Perarivalan, a
convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, told DW.
On February 27, the sentences of four convicts from the western state of
Maharashtra were commuted for the mass killing of 9 people in December 2001.
The victims had been allured with a promise to make cash with the use of
supernatural powers before being killed.
The Supreme Court has said that long delays and inaction regarding clemency
appeals were not only inordinate but also "unreasonable." It added further that
it had a "dehumanizing effect" on condemned prisoners who have to face the
"agony" of waiting for years under the shadow of death during the pendency of
their mercy plea.
A praiseworthy step, say campaigners
The court's orders have undoubtedly come as a shot in the arm for death penalty
abolitionists who have long argued that capital punishment in India is
arbitrary.
"These decisions by the top court are encouraging and take India closer to
being an abolitionist state. Now, we just hope all death sentences are commuted
over a period of time," Suhas Chakma of the Asian Centre for Human Rights told
DW.
On February 26, Kaur's wish was granted when her husband's clemency appeal was
approved.
Hangings are rare in India; only 4 have been carried out over the last 19
years, and there are currently over 400 prisoners awaiting execution.
In November 2012, Ajmal Kasab was hanged for participating in the Mumbai terror
attacks of 2008. Last year, Afzal Guru was executed for being a conspirator in
the 2001 attack on Parliament in New Delhi. Then in 2004, Dhananjoy Chatterjee,
a security guard, was hanged for raping and murdering a teenage girl. Auto
Shankar, a serial killer, was sent to the gallows in 1995.
The appeal process for death row criminals goes from the local courts all the
way to desk of the president. In many cases, a final decision takes decades
and, as a result, many death row inmates end up dying of natural causes before
their cases come to a close.
Figures put together by campaigners indicate that 1,560 convicts were handed
death sentences for various crimes from 2001 to 2012. Some of their appeals are
at various stages in the laborious legal process.
"The system in India has completely failed to deliver and is completely riddled
with errors. We need to strike it off our statute books," argues lawyer Seema
Misra.
A total of 135 countries have abolished the death penalty in law or in
practice. The big question is whether India will dramatically reduce its use or
abolish it altogether.
(source: Deutsche Welle)
*******************
NHRC directs Union Home Secretary to submit status report on the lost mercy
petition of Holiram Bordoloi of Assam in 4 weeks
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) today directed the Union Home
Secretary, Government of India to submit status report on the missing mercy
petition of death row convict Holiram Bordoloi of Assam within four weeks. (The
order of the NHRC is available at:
http://nhrc.nic.in/display.asp?fno=52/3/0/2014 )
As per the RTI reply of the Inspector General of Prisons, Assam, the mercy
petition of condemned prisoner Holiram Bordoloi was forwarded to the President
of India vide letter No.PRI.826 dated 18.04.2005 and to the Judicial
Department, Government of Assam on 17.06.2005. Though a reply received from
office of the Inspector General of Prisons, Assam vide letter dated 09.07.2013
states that the mercy petition is still pending with the President of India,
the "list of mercy petition cases since 1981" received by the President of
India from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India vide letter dated
28.03.2013 does not bear the name of Holiram Bordoloi. This establishes that
the mercy petition of Holiram Bordoloi had been lost and was not considered at
all in the last 9 years.
"The loss of mercy petition of condemned prisoner Holiram Bordoloi once again
establishes the absolute callousness of the Government of India while
considering the mercy pleas. This blatant abuse of power given to the President
of India must be adjudicated by the judicial and quasi-judicial bodies.
Further, accountability for gross dereliction of duty and shameful acts such as
losing mercy petitions must be established" stated Mr Suhas Chakma, Director of
Asian Centre for Human Rights.
"The death sentence of Holiram Bordoloi must also be commuted to life
imprisonment in the light of the judgement of the Supreme Court of India on 21
January 2014 in the case of Shatrughan Chauhan & Anr Vs. Union of India & Ors
(Writ Petition (Criminal No. 55 of 2013)" further demanded Mr Chakma.
Background:
Holiram Bordoloi was one of the accused in connection with the killing of 3
persons at Nayagaon under Boribazar Outpost in Morigaon district in Assam on 26
November 1996. He was tried by the Sessions Judge, Morigaon in Sessions Case
No. 47/99 and 47A/99 found guilty of various offences punishable under Sections
147, 148, 436, 326 and 302 read with Section 149. For the main offence under
Section 302 read with Section 149, Holiram Bordoloi was awarded the death
sentence by the Sessions Judge on 5 May 2003.
Holiram Bordoloi filed an appeal before the Guwahati High Court of Assam
against the death penalty imposed on him. The Guwahati High Court confirmed the
death sentence on 9 March 2004.
On 8 April 2005, the Supreme Court [Holiram Bordoloi Vs. State of Assam (Appeal
(Crl.) 1063 of 2004] upheld the death sentence of Holiram Bordoloi.
(source: Asian Commission on Human Rights)
GUATEMALA:
Guatemalan Supreme Court justice commits suicide
Guatemalan Supreme Court Justice Cesar Barrientos, known for revoking dozens of
death penalty sentences in a single year, committed suicide Sunday, reportedly
shooting himself in the head.
Relatives said the incident occurred as Barrientos rode in the back of his car
with two bodyguards, in the southwestern town of San Francisco Zapotitlan,
according to local media.
"I confirm that he arrived (at the hospital) with a shot to the temple, but
later died of the wound," fellow Justice Hector Manfredo Maldonado told the
state-run Guatemalan News Agency, known as AGN.
In 2012, the Supreme Court's criminal chamber, led by Barrientos, revoked 53
death-penalty sentences on the ground that they violated prisoners' "due
process" and replaced them with 50-year prison sentences, the maximum allowed
in the country.
Barrientos "spent most of his career working on justice issues and
strengthening the Guatemalan legal framework, encouraging and directing major
reforms in this sector," the US Embassy said in a Spanish-language statement.
Human rights activists also expressed their regrets.
Police and prosecutors are investigating the death.
(source: Agence France-Presse)
UNITED KINGDOM/PAKISTAN:
Anwar to take on death penalty legal fight
Human rights lawyer Aamer Anwar is taking on the case of a mentally ill Scots
grandfather facing the death penalty for blasphemy in Pakistan as concerns were
raised again over his treatment in prison.
The Glasgow-based solicitor has been instructed by the family of Mohammad
Asghar, who is from Edinburgh, to represent the former shopkeeper after he was
arrested in 2010 in Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad, for claiming to be
the prophet Muhammed, and convicted in January.
He was sectioned in the UK after being diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia
and 4 months after his release, following a month under observation in the
Royal Victoria Hospital, he travelled to Pakistan.
Prime Minister David Cameron and First Minister Alex Salmond both condemned the
sentence, which is being appealed by the charity Reprive in partnership with Mr
Anwar.
Mr Anwar, Labour's shadow justice secretary Sadiq Khan and academics from the
Muslim Institute and the Islamic Society of Britain are among those to have
signed an open letter to Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain and the Pakistani
government appealing for clemency.
His supporters claim the case was really about a property dispute.
Mr Asghar became embroiled in the dispute with his tenant who brought the
blasphemy complaint against him to police.
Mr Anwar said: "I will be working in partnership with Reprieve and lawyers in
Pakistan to secure his release.
"His medical and mental health remains a source of serious concern and we hope
that the judicial process can be accelerated to deal with this miscarriage of
justice.
A spokesman for Reprieve said: "We look forward to ensuring Mr Asghar gets the
help and support he needs."
(source: Hherald Scotland)
NIGERIA:
Mark Advocates Death Penalty for Kidnappers
Senate President, David Mark Sunday canvassed death penalty for kidnappers,
emphasising that all those who engage in the act do not deserve to live.
Mark who called for the application of "Hammurabi's ancient Mesopotamian law of
an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," said: "If that is the only way to stop
kidnapping, we can as well apply it here."
The Senate President, according to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary,
Paul Mumeh, made this remark in Abagana, Anambra State, during the funeral mass
for Chief James Emeka Iloenyosi, who died in the custody of kidnappers
recently.
He described the incessant cases of kidnapping in the country as a big shame
adding that unless stringent measures are applied to curb the menace, it will
remain for so long.
"The unabating cases of kidnapping are a big shame. If stringent measures were
not adopted, the perpetrators would not stop. It's a big challenge to all of
us. Government is there to take responsibilities, but the community cannot
absolve herself of basic responsibilities. These kidnappers live among us. It
is therefore incumbent on community leaders to fish them out. Today, it is
Chief Iloenyosi, who knows the next victim tomorrow.
"If a traditional ruler like Chief Iloenyosi was kidnapped and died in the
hands of his abductors, then who is safe in this community. That is why
everybody must vow to say enough is enough and no more to kidnapping in Anambra
State," Mark said.
However, Anambra, Edo and Delta State Governments have already signed the law
prescribing death penalty for kidnappers including destruction of their houses
once caught.
Also yesterday, Mark asked all Nigerians to be ready to battle terrorists who
have held Northeastern zone, notably Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States hostage.
Reacting to the latest attacks on Michika in Adamawa State and Maiduguri, Borno
State, at the weekend, the Senate President said the dimension of the renewed
attacks had gone beyond human comprehension but "with co-operation and support
of the citizenry, we can salvage the situation."
(source: This Day Live)
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