June 9
BAHRAIN:
Death penalty for murderer
A former policeman has been sentenced to death for murdering a man for 300,000
Saudi riyals.
However, the Yemeni killer is still at large and is believed to be overseas.
He lured his Saudi victim Salim Ezah Al Manhali to Sakhir by promising to sell
him 2 trucks for BD14,000 each.
The defendant, who was earlier sacked by the Interior Ministry for fraud, shot
Mr Al Manhali in the back of the head and fled with his money.
He is believed to have used the stolen money to settle a debt before returning
to Yemen via Saudi Arabia using his friend's CPR card, according to court
documents.
Mr Al Manhali's body was found on March 10 last year, 4 days after he was
reported missing by his family.
His killer - identified as Saleh Al Kalali by the lawyer of the victim's family
- was sentenced in absentia yesterday by the High Criminal Court, which
convicted him of premeditated murder and fraud.
Judges also agreed that Mr Al Manhali's family could file a compensation claim.
"The defendant tricked the victim into believing that he was going to sell him
two trucks for BD14,000 each," stated the court verdict.
"The victim brought 300,000 Saudi riyals into Bahrain and they met in Sakhir.
"The defendant then shot the victim in the head from behind with a pistol and
travelled to Yemen via the King Fahad Causeway using another person's ID card.
"The bullet penetrated the victim's head and he died on the spot.
"The defendant had prepared the murder weapon before carrying out the crime.
"The court found the defendant guilty according to prosecution evidence and
sentenced him to death, the maximum punishment for premeditated murder.
"The defendant handed the BD30,000 to a friend and told him to give it to
someone he owed money to.
"He also handed other people sums of the stolen money and is known to have
spent around BD300 in discos in a night."
A policeman whose identity card was used by the killer to escape earlier told
prosecutors the defendant was a former officer known for conning people.
(source: Gulf Daily News)
KUWAIT----female, foreign national to be executed
Maid to be executed for killing Kuwaiti bride
Kuwait's top court upheld a court sentence to execute an Ethiopian housemaid
after she was convicted of murdering her female employer just a day before her
wedding.
The murder took place in 2011, when the maid used a kitchen knife to stab her
employer to death before severing the head off her body.
The maid committed the murder just a day before the Kuwaiti girl was to marry,
packed and headed straight to the airport.
Just minutes before she was to board a flight to her home country, the maid was
arrested by the airport police who were alerted to the crime.
(source: emirates247)
IRAQ:
Wichita man works to save nephew on death row in Iraq
How to help
Amnesty International says people may appeal on behalf of Osama Jamal Abdallah
Mahdi by writing these officials in Iraq:
His Excellency Jalal Talabani
President
Convention Centre (Qasr al-Ma'aridh)
Baghdad, Iraq
--
Minister of Human Rights
Mohammad Shayaa al-Sudani
Convention Centre (Qasr al-Ma'aridh)
Baghdad, Iraq
--
Send copies to:
Minister of Justice
Hassan al-Shammari
Convention Centre (Qasr al-Ma'aridh)
Baghdad, Iraq
--
Salutations to all 3 officials: "Your Excellency"
Amnesty International recommends "expressing concern Osama Jamal Abdallah Mahdi
has been sentenced to death after a trial that failed to meet international
standards for a fair trial, calling for his allegations of torture to be
investigated promptly and thoroughly by an independent body, with anyone found
responsible for abuses brought to justice, (and) urging the Iraqi authorities
to declare an official moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the
death penalty, and to commute without delay all death sentences."
Nearly 7,000 miles from Iraq, a Wichita man continues to fight for the life of
his nephew, who awaits execution in a Baghdad prison.
The case of Osama Jamal Abdallah Mahdi, who has spent nearly 3 years on death
row in Iraq, has reached its final appeal in the office of Iraq's president. He
is accused of killing an Iraqi army officer.
His uncle, Musadik Mahdi, a Wichita aerospace engineer, said no one knows when
a decision might be made. If the death sentence is ratified, his nephew will
die on the gallows.
"They could do it anytime. You cannot tell what these people are thinking,"
Musadik Mahdi said.
So far, attention by the human rights organization Amnesty International has
kept his nephew alive, he said.
Amnesty International has generated thousands of letters and e-mails to Iraqi
officials about the case. It recently issued another alert now that the appeal
has reached the final stage. The hope is that more pressure from the
international community will result in a pardon.
2 months ago, Osama Jamal Abdallah Mahdi, 33, was taken to the gallows twice
just to mess with his mind, Musadik Mahdi said.
But, Mahdi said, the case has received media attention in Iraq, and the
attention has helped his nephew mentally.
"He has some hope now," Mahdi said.
Osama Jamal Abdallah Mahdi has lost weight due to lack of food and the
sweltering heat of the prison, his uncle said.
"His mom told me not even animals can live in this environment," Musadik Mahdi
said.
Osama Jamal Abdallah Mahdi's mother was the only person who was allowed to see
him in jail. But she has fled to Turkey after receiving threats from the family
of the man her son was convicted of killing. Now only an aunt may visit him.
Other family members risk arrest if they try, his uncle said.
The case began when Osama Jamal Abdallah Mahdi, an oil technician with a wife
and 2 children, was arrested in his office on Jan. 15, 2010, in the murder of
the officer more than a year earlier.
He proclaimed his innocence, then was held for 8 months, during which he was
reportedly tortured and coerced to confess, his uncle said.
The torture included being beaten with sharp objects, being kicked, being
suspended by the arms with the arms pulled backward and being wounded by a
drill and electric shocks to various parts of his body while he was immersed in
a barrel of water.
He refused to confess until his captors threatened to rape his wife, Musadik
Mahdi said.
An examination by the Forensic Medical Institute on Nov. 14, 2010, found 20
discolored wounds in various shapes on Osama Jamal Abdallah Mahdi's body.
Still, that evidence was tossed out of court during a sham, 1-day trial on Oct.
11, 2011, Musadik Mahdi said.
His boss at an oil refinery offered proof that Osama Jamal Abdallah Mahdi was
at work at the time of the murder, 120 kilometers from the scene of the crime.
But the court threw out that evidence, too, Musadik Mahdi said.
The only witnesses against his nephew during the trial were 2 government-paid
"secret witnesses" and the victim's mother and sister. None of them had seen
the killing.
A co-defendant who had incriminated Osama Jamal Abdallah Mahdi to get a lesser
sentence tried to recant, but the judge threw that out as well.
Osama Jamal Abdallah Mahdi tried to withdraw his confession, but the judge used
it to deliver the death sentence.
Confessions under torture
Osama Jamal Abdallah Mahdi is being held in Kadhimiya Prison in northern
Baghdad.
Musadik Mahdi, 57, left Iraq in 1975 and has lived in Wichita for 22 years. He
took over advocating for his imprisoned nephew after his brother died of cancer
in Iraq in 2010.
"He told me, 'He's yours now. You need to carry on with his case,'" Mahdi said.
The responsibility weighs heavily upon him. He has appealed to politicians and
media for help. He appeared on a radio show in Chicago recently with a member
of Amnesty International to talk about the case.
He has tried to reach the Iraqi president, parliament, prime minister and human
rights minister, but his e-mails to them often bounce back unread or with
messages saying they can't help him.
"It's so frustrating," Mahdi said.
Amnesty International did a study showing that Iraq has a high rate of
executions. The organization documented at least 169 executions in 2013, up
from at least 129 in 2012. Many prisoners are executed after convictions based
on "confessions" extracted under torture, it has said.
Musadik Mahdi said his nephew's case has become well known in Iraq because
there are so many like him who have confessed under torture to crimes they
didn't commit.
"He's like a symbol who represents maybe hundreds of prisoners," Mahdi said.
But the tension has mounted within the Mahdi family as the case has reached its
final stage.
The high court in Iraq 6 months ago sustained the death penalty verdict without
a complete review of the case, Musadik Mahdi said.
"What kind of justice system is that?" Mahdi said.
And now the presidential appeal is shrouded in mystery. Iraq's president, Jalal
Talabani, is in Germany recovering from a stroke, leaving Prime Minister Nouri
al-Maliki in charge.
Mahdi said he doesn't know who is considering his nephew's case or whether it
is being considered at the highest level. He doesn't know whether the entire
case will be reviewed or whether the court verdict is the only thing that will
be considered. And he doesn't know when he'll find out.
Mahdi said he tries not to let the pressure interfere with his own life in
Wichita. He said he must remain determined to the end to do all he can to save
his nephew.
"We've got to send him back to his wife and kids," he said.
(source: The Wichita Eagle)
BANGLADESH:
Chapa Rani's killer gets death penalty
Devashish Saha Rony, prime accused in Chapa Rani Bhowmik murder case, has been
awarded death penalty for the killing.
Faridpur District and Session Judge Md Anwarul Haque pronounced the verdict on
Monday morning.
The court also acquitted 2 other accused in the murder case as they were not
found guilty. They are - Opu alias Sanjay Bishwas and Alamgir Hossain.
Chapa Rani, 45, an employee of Faridpur Sugar Mill, was killed after Rony drove
his motorbike into Chanpa in Modhukhali on October 26, 2010 for protesting the
harassment of her 2 daughters Hira and Mukta.
Chapa's brother Arun Kumar Bhowmik filed a murder case with Madhukhali police
station the following day, accusing Rony.
Rony was arrested from Arabpur old bus stand area in Jhenaidah town on October
31, 2010.
(source: Dhaka Tribune)
*************************
Chapa Rani killer to hang
Chapa Rani Bhowmik, a sugar mill worker, was killed in Madhukhali on Oct 26,
2010. The 48-year old died in the Faridpur Medical College and Hospital.
Faridpur District and Sessions Judge Md Anwarul Haque handed down the verdict
on Monday.
Rony was also fined Tk 10,000.
Rony is now absconding after securing bail from the High Court.
State counsel Khosruzzaman Dulu said the judge directed police to arrest Rony
and produce him in court.
Rony will have to surrender to the court in seven days to appeal against the
death sentence - or else a warrant of arrest to enforce the death sentences
will be issued against him, the judge said.
Authorities have been ordered to impound Rony's seized property.
The court acquitted 2 other accused Alamgir and Apu as charges could not be
proven against them.
The victim's brother Arun Bhowmik filed a case with Modhukhali Police Station
after Chapa Rani's murder.
Rony, aged 24 at the time of the murder, was arrested by RAB from Jhenaidah on
Oct 31 the same year.
The case details indicates Rony used to stalk and harass Chapa Rani's daughter.
When she complained to Modhukhali Upazila chairman, Chapa Rani's family was
threatened with death.
Then Rony crushed Chapa Rani in front of the warehouse of Faridpur sugar mill
by driving his motorcycle over her.
Rony has been absconding since he secured bail from the High Court on July 8,
2012.
Chapa Rani's husband Swapan Kumar Biswas expressed satisfaction over the
verdict.
"We have got fair justice. It is proved through the verdict that the law is
still in favour of the poor," he said.
Biswas demanded immediate arrest of Rony for the execution of the verdict.
(source: bdnews24)
TURKEY:
Rouhani protested in front of Iranian Embassy over death penalty
A large group of people from the Human Rights Association (IHD) staged a
protest against Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who is currently on an
official visit to Turkey, over his stance on death penalty.
The group gathered in front of Iranian Embassy in Ankara and left a black
wreath in front of the building. Slogans "Violation of rights in Iran", "End to
death penalty", "Death penalty is a crime against humanity" were shouted during
the protest on the day Rouhani paid an official visit to Turkey.
Speaking on behalf of the group IHD president Ozturk Turkdogan stated that they
wanted to draw attention to death penalties in Iran, which should be abolished.
Tandogan called for President Abdullah G???l and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan to mention about that problem during the meeting with Rouhani.
(source: cihan.com)
LEBANON:
Judge issues arrest warrant for Omar Bakri
Military Investigative Judge Riad Abu Ghayda Monday issued an arrest warrant
against detained militant Sheikh Omar Bakri Fustoq on charges of terrorism and
preparing to establish an "Islamic emirate" in north Lebanon.
Abu Ghayda interrogated Fustoq for 3 1/2 hours in the presence of his lawyer,
Mohammad Hafezah, before issuing the warrant.
The judge charged the Syria-born preacher with belonging to an armed group,
giving lessons encouraging terror acts, preparing to create an Islamic emirate
in north Lebanon, and inciting against the Lebanese Army, the state and its
civilian and military institutions.
If convicted, Fustoq could face the death penalty.
Abu Ghayda also interrogated the landlord who rented Fustoq the apartment in
Aley where the militant sheikh was hiding at the time of his arrest on May 25.
The judge issued an arrest warrant against the landlord for helping Fustoq
evade justice.
The Tripoli-based preacher, who in 2005 was barred from returning to Britain,
where he had lived for more than a decade, had pledged allegiance to the
Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria, urging the radical Syrian rebel group
to "reactivate its cells" in Lebanon.
(source: The Daily Star)
SUDAN:
Hunt for opposition leaders continues in Sudan: Ibrahim al-Sheikh
arrested----Police, acting on arrest warrant, take away Sudanese Congress Party
chief Ibrahim al-Sheikh from his home in West Kordofan.
Sudanese police on Sunday arrested an opposition leader accused of having
criticised a counter-insurgency unit, an aide said, in the 2nd such case in
just over 3 weeks.
Sudanese Congress Party chief Ibrahim al-Sheikh was taken away from his home in
Nuhud town of West Kordofan by police acting on an arrest warrant, the party's
secretary general, Abdelqayum Awad, said.
"They accused him of undermining the constitutional regime, spreading lies and
threatening peace," he said.
Sheikh could face the death penalty if found guilty of these charges, he said.
According to Awad, Sheikh, a former university professor, had at a rally on
Saturday criticised the actions of the counter-insurgency unit known as the
Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and protested over politically-motivated arrests.
On May 17, Sadiq al-Mahdi, an ex-premier who heads the opposition Umma Party,
was arrested after he reportedly accused the RSF of rape and other abuses of
civilians in the Darfur region of western Sudan.
He too has been charged with treason-related offences and could face a possible
death sentence if convicted.
Mahdi, a descendant of Sudan's legendary Islamic reformer known as the "Mahdi",
is also a religious leader revered by his followers.
The United States and the European Union have expressed concern over his
arrest, and in Sudan thousands of Mahdi's supporters have held protests
demanding his release.
Khartoum has banned newspapers from reporting on his case.
The RSF operates under the authority of the National Intelligence and Security
Service and has denied Mahdi's reported claims.
(source: middle-east-online.com)
SOUTH AFRICA:
Can death penalty scare criminals enough?
Mob killings or the death penalty - it's all about wanting a redistribution of
the fear we feel, writes Glen Heneck.
It's an awkward thought, but there's a meaningful link between vigilante
murders and the abolition of the death penalty. The mob killings that have been
ominously increasing over the last while are directly related to the perception
among law-abiding citizens that the established criminal justice system is
hopelessly unequal to its protective task. Criminals are getting away with
murder and people are increasingly despairing and angry. Sociologists tout
redistribution of wealth as a panacea for social ills, but what township
residents want is a redistribution of fear.
The problem is that, for sophisticates everywhere, the capital punishment
debate has long since ended. Public executions are seen as relics of a more
barbarous age, like sweatshops and male-only suffrage. The modern consensus, in
the West at any rate, is that "cruel and unusual" punishments are wrong: not
needed, not civilised and not effective. The killer blow, so to speak, was the
evidence that the reintroduction of state sanctioned killings in some American
states had little or no bearing on their levels of violent crime.
I'm an abolitionist by instinct and by dint of a half decent education. I can't
help thinking though that there's a serious discussion to be had on the
subject, with specific reference to our local circumstances. I am, you could
say, against the death penalty on principle, but without being wholly convinced
that a society at our stage of evolution can afford to be shot of it.
In the UK, by way of revealing benchmark, the vast majority of the population
is educated, invested and cowed to such an extent that the threat of
disembowelling, or hanging, drawing and quartering, is not practically needed.
They have a murder or 10 each week, but it can by no means be said that the
society suffers an epidemic of violent crime. This is a country that was
executing pickpockets at one point - in the ages of both Shakespeare and
Dickens - but they dismantled the last of their gallows about 50 years ago.
We, of course, are rather less fortunate in terms of both mass sensibilities
and mass circumstances. We suffer 30 times the British homicide rate, with over
18 000 people succumbing each year. That's close to 50 murders every single day
- and yet our policy makers, in all three arms of government, seem to believe
themselves morally bound to follow the First World lead. The most exacting
First World lead, which excludes not only parts of America, but also countries
like Japan, Russia and Singapore. And of course China, where they summarily
shoot about 30 people a week.
My informal survey of the comparative history suggests that all human societies
have made use of the death penalty, in their early stages at least. In some
cases, applying the most imaginative and bloodcurdling methods. It is only when
they reach a certain level of maturity that the practice falls to be reviewed
and, in some cases, abandoned. The inference being that fearsome punishments
have been universally regarded as necessary civilising devices - and that
freedom from this particular form of terror is properly seen as a luxury; as a
communal privilege that has to be earned, over time.
Terror, that's what it is we're dealing with here. That form of extreme fear
that is calculated to stay the hands of those contemplating gross offences
against the common good.
One advantage of starting from this premise is that it helps one to re-frame
the basic conundrum, only in a more constructive way. What we (good citizens)
really need to be asking is not "does the death penalty work"? but rather "what
is the least barbarous practice that will actually serve to achieve the desired
outcome?" If we conclude that death by hanging or electrocution does not have a
meaningful deterrent effect, the proper response is not, necessarily,
abolition.
Uncomfortable as this may make us feel, what we are then bound to consider,
instead, is the introduction of more extreme variations on the theme.
But, faux-progressives will protest, if we go this route, we will do much harm
to the collective sensibility: "brutalising the communal consciousness" as the
text books have it.
Respectfully though, while I am revolted by the idea of a man being starved to
death, for example, at the behest of the state, the truth is that this seems a
small price to pay if the desired objective is thereby achieved.
We all need to face up to it: in the time it's taken you to read this note,
chances are that at least one entirely innocent person will have been brutally
(perhaps fatally) assaulted. And that's the real nub of the matter.
Our current punishment policy immunises egregious offenders against the
ultimate available sanction. In so doing however, it fails signally in what
should be its primary purpose. It prioritises the perpetrator's rights and
liberal sensibilities at the expense of the rights of putative victims. The
first job of a government is to protect its innocent citizenry against the
depradations of ill-intentioned others - and by failing to deploy a necessary
(and available and affordable) expedient to that end it is, surely, guilty of
profound neglect. Or even complicity.
The heading here is the social contract and how we deal with those who infringe
it in unspeakable ways (read cold-blooded murder and aggravated rape). I'm
arguing that the powers-that-be need to get over their distaste, and Oxbridge
awe, and reassess the situation; thoroughly, dispassionately, indigenously.
(source: Opinion; Glen Heneck is a lawyer living in Cape Town----IOL news)
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