Apr. 3
BARBADOS:
Mandatory death penalty to end
Barbados is moving to abolish its mandatory death penalty for murder
convictions - a punishment which the government has bypassed for 3 decades. No
killer has been executed here since 1984 Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite
told reporters recently that the automatic penalty should be formally dropped.
He said the government was preparing legislation to remove the clause that
prevents judges from taking into account the circumstances in which a slaying
was committed or other mitigating factors.
Brathwaite expects there will be considerable public opposition to the change
because many people in Barbados "feel that once you commit murder you should
forfeit your lives."
"I know it will be a battle but .... I believe that it is a better path for the
country," he said, adding that the government will engage islanders in a public
dialogue on the issue.
Human rights groups such as Amnesty International have long criticized the
mandatory death penalty as too harsh and in breach of international law. There
is a similar mandatory death penalty law for convicted murderers in Trinidad &
Tobago, which has not executed anyone since 1999.
Even though capital punishment is on the books in a number of English-speaking
Caribbean countries and polls indicate strong support for the death penalty,
executions are rare in the region. The last one was in St. Kitts & Nevis, in
2008, when Charles Laplace was hanged for murdering his wife. That was the
region's first outside Cuba since an execution in the Bahamas in 2000.
Politicians of former British colonies have long complained that the
London-based Privy Council, the highest appeals court for many Caribbean
countries, has stymied their attempts to execute murderers. The regional
Caribbean Court of Justice is the highest court of appeals for Barbados, Belize
and Guyana.
Capital punishment has been abolished for decades in the Spanish-speaking
Dominican Republic and the death penalty is not used in French, British and
Dutch dependencies in the Caribbean. In Puerto Rico, jurors often reject
federal prosecutors' request for capital punishment.
(source: South Florida Times)
GLOBAL:
http://www.amnesty.org/en/death-penalty/executions-of-child-offenders-since-1990
(source: Amnesty International)
MIDDLE EAST:
Middle Eastern nations at forefront of disturbing spike in executions; At least
23,392 people were facing death sentences worldwide at the end of 2013
It sounds like a scene from a grisly horror film; 5 decapitated bodies swinging
from a horizontal pole suspended over the main square in the city of Jijzan in
southwestern Saudi Arabia. Beside each body hangs a plastic bag containing the
victim's head. Yards away, students are arriving at a local university to take
their exams.
These haunting images of 5 Yemenis who were executed in Saudi Arabia last May
provide gruesome details of the aftermath of a public execution.
In many regions of the world from China to the US, in the Middle East and in
pockets of Africa, people continue to live under the spectre of the death
penalty, often out of the public eye.
Amnesty International's latest global report on the death penalty documented
that at least 23,392 people were facing death sentences worldwide at the end of
2013.
The overall trend in recent years shows most countries moving away from capital
punishment.
But disturbingly, a number of Middle Eastern nations have emerged at the
forefront of an increasingly isolated group of entrenched executioners fuelling
the latest spike in global figures.
Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia alone accounted for almost 80 % of all reported
executions carried out worldwide in 2013, excluding China. An upsurge in
executions in Iran and Iraq explains a global rise of almost 15 % from 2012.
Across the Middle East and North Africa, at least 638 people were executed in
2013 using methods ranging from beheadings and hangings, to death by firing
squad.
Whatever the method, the horror and outcome remain the same.
Iran is executing at an alarming rate with an almost 20 percent rise in 2013.
In Iran, 369 officially acknowledged executions were recorded by Amnesty
International, but hundreds more were carried out - some of these in total
secrecy - according to credible sources, bringing the total to more than 700.
Iraq recorded a stark rise for the 3rd year in a row, with at least 169
executions; this is the highest figure since Iraq reinstated the death penalty
in 2004.
Saudi Arabia also maintained a consistently high rate of executions with at
least 79 executions last year. 3 of those executed were convicted of crimes
they allegedly committed when they were under 18 - a clear violation of
international law.
Kuwait resumed executions for the 1st time in 6 years. Death sentences carried
out in Gaza, in the area of the Palestinian Authority administered de facto by
the Hamas authorities, and also, in Yemen, paints an increasingly worrisome
regional picture.
Limited positive developments were noted in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
where no executions were carried out in 2013, and in Bahrain where no death
sentences were issued.
Equally alarming is the number of death sentences imposed across the region
after grossly unfair trials, including the widespread use of "confessions"
extracted through torture.
In Iraq, Amnesty International documented 90 cases of inmates on death row that
had been convicted of terrorism or other crimes on the basis of forced
"confessions" in recent years. At least 14 of them have already been executed.
In Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, some foreign nationals facing capital
punishment were denied adequate translation facilities during their trials,
hindering their ability to prepare a proper defence.
Activists and opposition figures are also among those who have found themselves
condemned to death in politically motivated cases.
The argument that the death penalty is only used as retribution for horrendous
crimes also does not bear scrutiny.
In many cases, death sentences are imposed for offences other than murder,
falling short of minimum international standards.
In Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, capital punishment was implemented for drug
offences. In Saudi Arabia, one man was executed for the "crime" of "adultery."
Vaguely worded offences, such as moharebeh ("enmity against God"), were used in
Iran to repress activities of ethnic minorities.
The arbitrary and sometimes capricious attitudes towards the death penalty that
many countries display only serve to compound the tragedy surrounding its use.
For many governments, the death penalty is used as a populist tool to
demonstrate a tough stance on crime. Yet there is no convincing evidence that
its use has any particular deterrent effect. This has been shown in multiple
international studies.
Gruesome beheadings in Jijzan city square in Saudi Arabia are ultimately no
different from hangings or death by firing squad behind closed doors.
Regardless of the method used, the death penalty is the ultimate cruel and
inhuman punishment and violates a fundamental right to life.
The global trend away from the use of the death penalty offers a glimmer of
hope. Governments that still execute are on the wrong side of history. It is
high time that the remaining executioners in the Middle East and North Africa,
along with China, the US and all other countries that continue to cling to this
form of punishment, recognize this and abolish the practice once and for all.
(source: Sara Hashash, Middle East and North Africa media officer at Amnesty
International----LiveWire)
SAUDI ARABIA:
Saudi court gives death penalty to Al Qaida man 'held for decade'----During the
trial he showed 'every sign that he would continue to propagate his ideas if
released'
A Saudi court sentenced to death on Wednesday the "chief strategist" of a wave
of Al Qaida violence that erupted in the kingdom in 2003, a decade after his
reported arrest.
Faris Al Zahrani had been in custody ever since his detention near the Yemeni
border in 2004, the Al Madina newspaper reported on its website.
The official Saudi Press Agency gave neither his name nor the date of his
arrest in the southwestern city of Abha, saying only that he had shown no
remorse while in custody.
The trial, in which 16 co-defendants were also sentenced to prison terms of up
to 20 years, was the latest in a series of prosecutions begun in July 2011 for
alleged offences committed during the peak of Al Qaida violence in the kingdom
between 2003 and 2006.
Saudi authorities had previously focused on efforts to reform those detained
for "deviating" from officially sanctioned Islam by preaching jihad or holy
war, boasting of successful results from its well-funded rehabilitation
centres.
Throughout his trial, the chief defendant continued to defy the authority of
the state and to defend the killing of security personnel as an act justified
by his faith, SPA said.
He showed every sign that if released he would continue to propagate his ideas,
it added.
"He was detained in a public park in Abha in the possession of weapons that he
intended to use to kill policemen or any civilian who got in his way," it said
of his original arrest, which dealt a heavy blow to the jihadist network in the
kingdom.
The co-accused, whose arrest dates were also not specified, were convicted of
charges including "arms possession, participation in acts of terror, forging of
official documents and assisting terrorists."
Al Qaida's now slain historic leader Osama bin Laden was Saudi-born and 15 of
the 19 perpetrators of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States were
Saudis.
Saudi authorities launched a massive crackdown on the jihadist network over the
past decade that prompted many of its militants to shift base to neighbouring
Yemen.
The merged franchise they formed, Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, is
regarded by Washington as one of the jihadist network's most dangerous.
(source: Gulf News)
TANZANIA:
Death Row Inmates Keep Increasing
Lack of proper procedures to handle inmates on death row in the country is
weighing heavily on the Prisons Department budget and adding to the problem of
congestion.
The inmates who are waiting to be executed live in agony and despair of not
knowing when the hangman will arrive, as a result if their demands are not met,
they go on riot, placing the lives of those guarding them and other prisoners
in danger.
He said the inmates who go into riots do not care about the implication of
their actions since they have nothing to lose.
In his presentation on Overview of Tanzania Prison Services, positive
development, challenges and prospects in management of prisoners under death
sentence, Prison Officer Mr Dominic Mshana said the delays in execution of the
inmates have resulted in unnecessary congestion in the prison cells since they
cannot be mixed with the other prisoners.
He explained that the last execution took place in 1994, adding that those
waiting to be executed live in agony, resulting in agitations and inmates
making demands that if not met, riots would erupt in prisons.
Mr Mshana said the increasing number of inmates on death row is also weighing
heavily on the prisons finances since they are not allocated any budget for
their upkeep.
The Prison Officer was making his presentation in a 2-day training workshop for
Tanzania Prison Service that ends today, with the theme 'managing prisoners on
death row: International Human Rights Standard.'
In his key note address the Executive Director of Inmates Rehabilitation and
Welfare Services Tanzania (IRaWS-T), Deputy Commissioner (retired) John Nyoka
said currently death row prison cells hold 3 inmates instead of the required 1.
He said the whole concept of rehabilitation of prisoners is being compromised
by the death penalty, stressing that inmates on death row cannot be
rehabilitated as they await their execution.
He added that the constitution should be specific on what life sentence
imprisonment is, stressing that this should substitute the death penalty or
those condemned to death.
On overcrowding the retired deputy commissioner said despite initiatives
efforts by justices organs aimed to address the problem, congestion still
exists.
Among measures taken to address congestion in prisons include presidential
pardons, community services, parole system, extra mural labour, case flow
management committee and fines as an alternative for sentence to prisoners.
The Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) Executive Director, Dr Hellen Kijo-
Bisimba, said after the workshop feedback reports will be forwarded to policy
makers and the constituent assembly which is currently reviewing the 2nd draft
constitution in Dodoma.
Dr Kijo-Bisimba said the issue of death penality was not included in the 1st
draft of the new constitution and neither is it in the 2nd draft currently
under discussion in the CA assembly.
According to an LHRC report of 2011 prisoners on death row are 295 men and 11
women by December 2010, with the method of execution noted as hanging.
The country still retains the death penalty as one of the punishments under the
Penal Code and the National Defense Act.
There are 3 offences punishable by the death sentence which are murder, treason
and misconduct of commanders or any military service man in the presence of an
enemy.
(source: All Africa News)
NIGERIA:
National Conference: Delegates advocate death penalty for corrupt public
officers
Public officials found guilty of corruption should be hanged to death, some
delegates at the ongoing national conference have proposed.
In his speech, a retired general in the Nigerian Army, Geoffery Ejiga, lamented
that the country was deteriorating and urged his colleagues to rise up and
salvage the situation.
He recalled that at the 2005 National Political Reform Conference, he suggested
capital punishment for corrupt officials but his views were unpopular as he was
said to be speaking as a military man.
According to him, China had continued to prosper because of its stand on the
menace.
"If they can hang corrupt people in China, then we must hang them here too. I
can testify that things are fast deteriorating in this country. We must discuss
those issues so that we can pull back our country from the brink of collapse,"
he said.
In his contribution, a youth leader, Ben Duntoye, lamented that while corrupt
officials continue to steal with impunity, the society was conferring
chieftaincy titles on them.
"A man steals N20bn and he keeps walking the streets freely. Think of what that
money would do for our youth if we were to empower some of them.
"Capital punishment is key to fighting corruption in Nigeria. If a man steals
N20bn, what else do you need to do? Such people should be hanged! Government
must also cut down on wastes and its excesses," he said.
On composition of delegates for the confab, the youth leader criticised the
number of elderly persons short-listed, saying although the exercise was about
the future of the country, many of the delegates could not be regarded as
youths.
Former governor of Ebonyi State, Dr. Sam Egwu, also blamed the elite for being
responsible for the problems confronting the nation.
He wondered why political appointees should earn more than people in the
academia, saying the elites always make laws to serve their selfish cravings.
"The problem of Nigeria is mostly caused by the elites who make laws to suit
their whims. This is a conspiracy of the elites. We are not yet sincere with
ourselves," he said.
(source: Daily Post)
KENYA:
Death Penalty for Corruption Faces Opposition
TRANSPARENCY International Kenya, the human rights group, has opposed efforts
by Kiharu Member of Parliament, Irungu Kang'ata, to amend Section 48 of the
Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act to impose the death penalty on culprits
found guilty of corruption.
TI Kenya Executive Director, Samuel Kimeu, said while the organisation
appreciated the "zeal" of the MP, they found it "misdirected" and
"diversionary."
"Our position is informed by 2 reasons. First, the imposition of the death
penalty for any offence has been a divisive issue in Kenya. Even though the
death penalty is still in our statute books, there is very strong sentiment
against it," said Kimeu.
"Secondly, the debate on the death penalty unnecessarily diverts attention from
the important work of strengthening our justice system to ensure there are no
gaps that the corrupt use to escape justice," said Kimeu.
So far, he added, the frustration of many Kenyans is that there were very few
people who were being held to account successfully through the legal system.
Kimeu said that the effectiveness of any legal system was founded not on the
extremity of the sanctions thereof, but on the consistency of enforcement.
"There is very little utility in allowing for extreme sanctions even if the
seemingly lenient ones are hardly delivered," said Kimeu.
Kimeu said that the sanctions for corruption in Kenya's statute books, if
stringently enforced, coupled with upholding the principle of equality before
the law, were sufficient in helping the country succeed in fighting corruption.
(source: All Africa News)
INDIA:
Maoists' poll manifesto promises death for rapists
Instead of issuing a poll boycott appeal, CPI (Maoists), who have been
demanding recognition as a political party and struggling to get a ban on their
organization removed, have come up with their 'short-term vision' document,
appealing to the masses to decide if they want "real democracy" or go ahead
with the existing "pseudo-democratic system" by casting their franchise to form
the 16th Lok Sabha.
"Dismantling the patriarchal and male dominated socio-legal structure, we
propose to give equal socio-economic rights to women in the country, thereby
making death penalty compulsory for molestation and rape." This forms a part of
the four-page manifesto released by the banned Communist Party of India
(Maoist), a copy of which is with the TOI.
In the manifesto, Sanket, spokesperson of the Eastern Regional Bureau of the
CPI (Maoists), stated his party's stand in dealing with various issues like
agriculture, industrialization, environment, the concept of secularism, and
relations with neighbouring countries.
Calling for a new Constitution to be framed to guarantee freedom of speech and
expression, right to congregate and protest, right to form an organization,
right to primary health care, right to access to primary education, right to
access to primary and minimum employment and compulsory participation in daily
governance system, the manifesto also underlines code of foreign relation based
on 5 principles.
Close to the concept of 'panchsheel' (the five principles of peaceful
coexistence) as adopted by the Indian Union, the Maoists have proposed to build
regional integrity and respect to mutual sovereignty, mutual non-aggression,
non-interference in internal matters, equality and mutual benefit and peaceful
co-existence with the neighbouring countries.
The manifesto recognizes and respects all forms of separatist movements in
various parts of the country and promises not to suppress them with the power
of the gun of the 'state'. "Our concept of neo-democracy does not believe in
forcing the nationalist movements to be a part of the Indian Union. Our state
would honour nationalist movements and self-decision to allow them dignified
and peaceful co-existence," the manifesto reads.
Blaming the existing 'pseudo-democratic' system for price rise and increasing
divide between the rich and the poor in the country, the manifesto quotes the
Arjun Sengupta Committee Report to claim that 77% of the population is living
below poverty line. "On one hand, the poor cannot spend even Rs.20 a day, while
on the other people like Mittal, Jindal, the Ambani brothers, Tata, Birla,
Narayan Murthy and G M Rao are getting richer to be included in the list of
richest people on the globe," the release attached to the manifesto reads.
The Maoists have also blamed "faulty" economic policies - which are based on
the concept of imperialism-driven liberalisation-globalisation-privatisation
regime - for hoarding of black money and rising prices of essential
commodities.
(source: The Times of India)
***************
Shakti Mills gangrape convicts repeat offenders, says court; may face death
sentence
A sessions court on Thursday held guilty 3 convicts in the Shakti Mills
photojournalist gangrape case under an amended IPC section, which entails death
penalty, for committing repeated offence.
Principal Sessions Judge Shalini Phansalkar-Joshi convicted the accused - Vijay
Jadhav (19), Kasim Bengali (21) and Mohammed Salim Ansari (28) - under section
376(e) (repeated offence of rape) of the Indian Penal Code.
The 3 were earlier convicted in the gangrape case of a telephone operator at
the Shakti Mills compound and sentenced to life imprisonment in that case.
The amended rape charge section 376(e), which came into effect after the 2012
Delhi gangrape case, attracts the maximum penalty of capital punishment.
The court is likely to pronounce the quantum of sentence tomorrow after hearing
the arguments. The court had last month framed an additional charge against the
3 under section 376(e).
The 18-year-old telephone operator was gang raped on the premises of Shakti
Mills in July last year a month before the photojournalist was brutalised on
August 22.
The 3 men have already been sentenced to life imprisonment in that case.
According to prosecution, this qualifies them for punishment under the amended
section in the photojournalist gangrape case.
The 22-year-old photo journalist of a magazine was gangraped by Vijay Jadhav,
Kasim Bengali, Salim Ansari, Siraj Rehman and a minor boy when she had gone to
the Shakti Mills compound in the Central Mumbai with a male colleague on an
assignment.
The Bombay High Court had last week refused to interfere with the sessions
court's decision to frame a fresh charge for repeat offence of rape.
(source: Indian Express)
IRAN:
British woman Roya Nobakht could be executed in Iran after insulting Islam on
Facebook
Concerns are growing for the welfare of Roya Saberi Negad Nobakht, 47, from
Stockport, who has been charged with "insulting Islamic sanctities", a crime
which can be punishable by death. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)
said it was "urgently" looking into her case. However, Britain currently has no
embassy in Iran, making any negotiations more difficult.
Mrs Nobakht was in Iran visiting family in October last year when she was
arrested by police as she arrived by plane in the south western city of Shiraz,
according to an account given by her husband, Daryoush Taghipoor, to a family
friend in Britain.
She was then taken back to Tehran and charged with "gathering and participation
with intent to commit crime against national security" and "insulting Islamic
sanctities", according to a copy of her charge sheet seen by The Independent.
Mr Taghipoor, who is currently in Iran, claimed that his wife's arrest was over
comments she had made on a Facebook group about the government being "too
Islamic", and that she had only been charged after a confession was extracted
from her "under duress". Facebook declined to comment.
She is believed to have been detained ahead of a trial at Evin prison in
Tehran, which is notorious both for its harsh conditions and for its housing of
political prisoners.
The couple have lived in the Stockport suburb of Heald Green for the past 6
years and have both been granted dual British-Iranian nationality. Mrs Nobakht
had previously been a student at Stockport College, but a spokeswoman said
today she had left 4 years ago.
Mr Taghipoor told the Manchester Evening News: "It's a very bad situation. We
don't know what's going on. Roya is not well at all. She has lost 3 stone and
is frightened. She is scared that the government will kill her."
Mrs Nobakht's situation came to light after her husband approached his friend
and former employer Nasser Homayoun-Fekri, who also lives in Stockport, who
wrote a letter to his local MP Andrew Stunell.
"I must request, on humanitarian grounds as well as for the sake of justice,
that you exert all possible pressure on the British Government to do all that
is feasible for the release of this innocent British citizen," he wrote.
"Especially considering that the Islamic Republic, as acknowledged by the
United Nations... is one of the most notorious human rights abusers at all the
stages of arrest, custody and trial."
Mr Homayoun-Fekri told The Independent he had spoken to Mr Taghipoor on Tuesday
but that his telephone line had since been cut off. "He used to work with me.
He is not into politics or opposition groups, and neither is his wife," he
added. "I was very surprised when he told me she had been arrested."
Mr Stunell said he had "every reason to believe" that Mr Taghipoor's account
was true and that he had asked the FCO to seek consular access to Mrs Nobakht.
However, he said this was proving difficult as the British Embassy in Tehran
was closed and a 3rd party had to act as a go-between.
"I don't think anybody knows exactly and precisely what she's been arrested
for," he added. "The randomness of these things is one of the areas of concern.
But what she's been charged with appears to be an offence against attacking the
holiness of Islam, which gives substance to [internet postings] being the
reason."
Human rights groups have expressed concern about the reasons for Mrs Nobakht's
arrest. Amnesty International's Iran researcher Bahareh Davis said: "If Roya
Saberi Nejad Nobakht has been held solely for peacefully exercising her right
to freedom of expression she must be released immediately and unconditionally.
"Regrettably, vaguely-worded and broadly-defined crimes such as 'gathering and
colluding against national security' and 'insulting the Islamic sanctities',
for which she appears to have been held, are often used by the Iranian
authorities to curb those who peacefully express their opinions, including
criticising the government."
Faraz Sanei, Iran researcher at Human Rights Watch, said his organisation had
documented "many cases of political activists detained on trumped up charges"
and that Iran had previously "used public information on Facebook and social
media sites and other electronic outlets to charge individuals with insulting
the government".
The FCO said in a statement: "We are aware of reports [about this case] and are
looking into them urgently."
Despite the lack of a British embassy in Tehran, relations between the two
countries appear to have thawed recently. In January, former Home Secretary
Jack Straw headed the first UK delegation to travel to Iran in 5 years,
accompanied by former Chancellor Lord Lamont, Conservative MP Ben Wallace and
Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn as guests of the Iranian Parliament.
Mr Straw said on his return he felt there was a "lighter atmosphere" in the
country, adding he believed President Hassan Rouhani was "committed to change"
and would like to bring it "in from the cold".
Evin prison: Far less pleasant than the name suggests
Evin jail in the northern suburbs of the Iranian capital, Tehran, was once
given the moniker "Evin University" due to the number of political prisoners
housed there. But the reality of the prison, which was constructed in 1972, is
far less pleasant than the name suggests.
Standing at the foot of the Alborz Mountains, it is home to an estimated 15,000
inmates, including murders, thieves and rapists as well as intellectuals and
dissidents. Former inmates have complained of human rights abuses such as
beatings, torture and mock executions.
Hamid Ghassemi-Shall, a Canadian-Iranian businessman, was released from Evin in
September last year after being convicted of "espionage" and sentenced to
death. He told Amnesty International how he was blindfolded, dragged up a
flight of stairs and made to sit against a wall in silence, convinced he was
about to be killed.
One of the jail's most notorious cases of abuse involved Zahra Kazemi, a
Canadian-Iranian photographer who was arrested in 2003 after taking pictures of
her relatives outside Evin. She was later taken to hospital with severe
injuries and later died. The Iranian government claimed she had suffered from a
stroke while being interrogated.
(source: The Independent)
EGYPT:
Cairo's death penalties concern UN leader
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed his strong concerns to
Egypt on Wednesday over a court's sentencing of more than 500 people and the
detention of journalists.
Ban met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy in Brussels on the sidelines
of a European Union-African summit.
"The Secretary General conveyed to the Minister his strong concerns regarding
the mass death penalty sentences announced recently, as well as the detention
of journalists," Ban's press office said in a statement.
Last month an Egyptian court in the southern province of Minya sentenced 529
supporters of former president Mohamed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood to death,
drawing strong criticism from Western governments and human rights groups.
Egypt put three journalists of the Qatar-based television network Al Jazeera -
an Australian, a Canadian-Egyptian and an Egyptian - on trial in February on
charges of aiding members of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Rights groups have criticised the case as a violation of freedom of expression.
(source: Reuters)
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