July 11
LEBANON:
Judge seeks death penalty for Eid, 4 others
Military Investigative Judge Riad Abu Ghaida requested the death penalty Friday
for the fugitive Rifaat Eid, head of the Arab Democratic Party's politburo, and
5 fighters from Jabal Mohsen, Tripoli.
Judicial sources declined the name the other 4 suspects, all of whom are in
custody, but added that 3 are considered militia leaders.
The 5 stand accused of killing, participating in clashes with Jabal Mohsen's
rival neighborhood, Bab al-Tabbaneh, terrorist acts, terrorizing the public,
and destroying public and private property.
Eid has been missing since earlier this year and is rumored to have fled the
country through Syria after authorities sought to investigate links between the
ADP and the bombing of 2 Tripoli mosques.
News of the indictment follows on the heels of protests from local residents in
the largely-Alawite Jabal Mohsen and the predominantly-Sunni Bab al-Tabbaneh,
both of whom claim to have been unfairly targeted by a government crackdown on
fighters in the northern city. Several prisoners from Bab al-Tabbaneh,
including an influential militia leader, have been transferred to hospital
after launching hunger strikes.
Jabal Mohsen and Bab al-Tabbaneh have engaged in around 20 rounds of fighting
linked to the war in Syria, where the ADP enjoys strong ties with the regime.
(source: The Daily Star)
THAILAND:
UN expert rebuffs death penalty calls----Says it is not a deterrent and
children must be taught about boundaries
relationship education is key to reducing sexual harassment and rape because
capital punishment will not end the problem, United Nations Population Fund
representative for Thailand Caspar Peek said.
The recent tragedy of a 13-year-old girl being raped and murdered on an
overnight train to Bangkok sparked mass outrage on social media, with people
calling for capital punishment against sex offenders.
The UNFPA representative, however, said the UN opposed the use of capital
punishment because it goes against human rights, particularly the right to
life.
"Even if a person does heinous crimes, they still have the right to life," Peek
said.
He said life imprisonment might prove to be the better prosecution. He said the
death penalty did not deter rape and murder because offenders did not consider
this before committing the crime. This meant the cycle would continue unless
other preventative measures were imposed such as changing the social
perspective.
"The real issue is why does a young man think that it is okay to rape a girl.
Why do boys in school think it is okay [to do such things]?" he said.
One of the reasons why this tragedy has received as much attention, apart from
the victim's age, is the fact that the tragedy has become "visible" as rape
victims often do not come forward due to shame. "The shame is put on the girl
automatically and she carries it with her," Peek said.
"Not only has she been a victim emotionally, physically. On top of that she has
to feel ashamed. It's a terrible thing you are doing to girls and women in
society here."
In order to solve the problem of pervasive gender violence, Peek suggests it is
necessary to educate young children about relationships - the boundaries to
what is okay and what is not.
An increase in relationship education between boys and girls, and not just sex
education, should be implemented so it is constantly reiterated. "Schools must
be clear." Peek said. "If you do this consistently, you create a generation of
young people who will say, 'Yeah, they told me so many times. Okay I get it'."
He said gender sensitivity should also be reiterated within society through
family members.
Peek said there are various ways in which society can make girls and women feel
safe.
An increase in female authority figures such as teachers and policemen would
increase the number of advocates for change so these issues were not swept
under the carpet.
Awareness was an issue and people must continue to speak out for the "sake of
this girl" and "for the sake of the half a million women in Thailand who have
been victims to sexual harassment".
(source: The Nation)
CHINA/UGANDA:
Children executed for no crime
"I am in the last court. If you don't hear from me again, know that I am dead,
Be firm. I love you so much." Those were the last words Mariam heard from her
husband, Andrew, 39 years, on June 23 2014. He has left behind a daughter 16
years and a widow to fend for themselves now that he is gone.
2 Ugandans Omar Ddamulira and Andrew Ngobi - were executed in China's Guandong
Province on May 21, 2014 and on June 24, 2014 respectively. Both young men were
part of 23 other Ugandans convicted of drug trafficking related offences and
sentenced to death in China. I watched on Ugandan TV news, and I saw Andrew's
daughter aged 16 years cry and she said that the last time she talked to him,
he promised he would come back, she said she was not sure of the future now
that her father's no more. It was heart breaking seeing the relatives cry and
the wife looked so devastated.
The trauma experienced by the families of the 2 Ugandan men who were executed
tells a lot. Firstly we need to know that,a death sentence affects innocent
people and this is the family particularly the children. The dead prisoner will
never live to tell the pain, but his children will live with the grief and all
the pain associated with it all the days of their lives.
The death sentence affects more people; it seems everyone gets traumatized when
an execution takes place, the entire community grieves. The day the story ran
in the papers, I ran into a man in a taxi, who told me that, he knew Andrew and
that on that day he heard the news, he developed diarrhoea and could not eat
anything the whole day and he struggled with how to deal with the loss because
Andrew was his childhood friend.
Children pay more when their parents are on death or are executed
The loss of a parent is very traumatizing to children, but as opposed to a
natural death, death caused by the state when it executes a parent on death
row, creates confusion and extreme fear to the child. In cases where one of the
parents on death row killed his/her spouse, then when the parent is executed,
the child will have lost both parents. The children will live with many
questions unanswered.
In a country like Uganda, the child becomes vulnerable to child sacrifice,
child labour, they are stunted in their growth ,children live in deplorable
conditions characterized by disease, hunger ,poor beddings, the girls face
early marriages, and defilement. Children whose parents are on death row or
executed are likely to get mental health conditions like post-traumatic stress
disorders .
Working to help children with a parent on death row at Wells of Hope has
brought us to observe that these children have night mares, they have low
self-esteem, they are sad, Children become angry, and lose hope for the future.
They are bombarded by a range of problems such as loss of concentration in
school and many dropout of school, they undergo loneliness and confusion. They
are ostracized by the community and face a lot of stigma.
Children pay more when their parents are executed, yet These children are
innocent, so since it's the wrong people who serve the death sentence, it makes
no sense to punish someone by death!
Violation of Human Rights
In its resolution 22/11, the United Nation Human Rights Council expressed deep
concern in regard to the negative impact of a parent's death sentence and his
or her execution on his or her children, and urged States to provide those
children with the protection and assistance they may require; But in all states
that maintain the death penalty, this resolution is disregarded.
The death penalty tramples on the full enjoyment of a range of rights and
obligations by the child as enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the
Rights of the Child (UNCRC). In particular the rights these children don't
enjoy include, the obligation to ensure that the best interest of the child are
duly taken into account(art 3) the right to special protection and assistance
by the state when a child is deprived of his or her family environment(art 20)
as will be the case of Omar and Andrew's children.
Children of parents sentenced to death face discrimination, especially when the
offence is made public. As I write I cannot stop thinking of what Andrew's
daughter is going through since the media has been awash with her father's
death. She even appeared on Television, so at her school she is likely to face
a lot of stigma and ostracism.
There is evidence that the death penalty disproportionately affects the poor
and certain racial and religious minorities. Thus a child could suffer
discrimination on grounds of economic condition, as well as the stigma due to
the deaths sentence faced by their parents. While appearing on TV Andrew???s
daughter who looked extremely terrified said she was not sure she would
continue with her studies since her father used to provide her school fees and
money for all her requirements, unless a good Samaritan intervenes, she is
bound to suffer child poverty and will eventually drop out of school.
In most cases Inmates on death row are not informed of their forth coming
executions, nor are their families and lawyers and bodies of the executed are
not returned to the families. The press reports say that neither the Ugandan
nor the Chinese government was committed to giving the ashes of the cremated
bodies of Omar and Andrew to their respective families. In Uganda if an
execution was to take place, the bodies would be buried in Unmarked graves. In
that regard, it should be known that failure to inform family members of
upcoming executions and to return bodies of the executed to the families is
incompatible with article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (ICCPR) and constitutes inhumane or cruel treatment. Such
secrecy also violates the right of the child to information regarding
sentencing of their parents under article 9 of the UNCRC.
Abolish Death Penalty;
At the 24th Session of the Human Rights Council Panel Discussion on the Rights
of Children of parents on Death row which took place on 11th September 2013,in
Geneva, Where I was a panelist, panelists and several delegations emphasized
that the best option in dealing with the impact of the death penalty on
children would be to abolish the death penalty, however, if that cannot happen
immediately, it is imperative to develop measures to minimize the harm suffered
by children of parents sentenced to death. But almost no country has taken
steps towards this.
Death penalty is cruelty and violence against children, and deprives children
affected of full enjoyment of their rights. The execution of Andrew and Omar in
China should be a wake up call to Uganda Government to abolish the death
penalty in Uganda, so that the families and especially children are not
executed for no crime!
(source: Francis Ssuubi; The writer is the Executive Director/Founder of Wells
of Hope, a Ugandan charity helping children with a parent in prison----New
Vision)
*************************************************
Death Penalty For Wu Ying, Chinese Tycoon, Commuted To Life Imprisonment
Chinese tycoon Wu Ying, who had originally received a death penalty for illegal
fund-raising, had her sentence reduced to life imprisonment at a trial on
Friday.
The former 6th-richest woman in China had been initially sentenced in 2009 by
the Jinhua Intermediate People's Court in Zhejiang for cheating investors of
about $60 million with false promises of high returns on investment. Her death
sentence was given a 2-year reprieve following a retrial in May 2012. According
to the China Daily, Wu appealed for a fresh trial as her reprieve period was
ending, and was given an open trial Friday. She had been serving time at the
Zhejiang Provincial Women's Prison in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang.
According to local criminal law, cited by China Daily, a convicted person who
has no criminal record in jail and has been serving a stay of execution, can
apply for a reduction in penalty to life imprisonment. The trial on Friday
reportedly heard that she had amassed the fortune by deliberately hiding facts
and making false promises of high returns.
Wu, the founder of Bense Holding Group, had reportedly raised $122 million from
investors between 2005 and 2007. Some of her supporters had reportedly claimed
in 2012 that she was trying to raise the money through private financing and
loans.
Yao Haitao, an official with the Zhejiang Provincial Higher People's Court,
said, according to China Daily, that a video of the trial that commuted Wu's
death sentence will be posted online.
After dropping out of school Wu had started a string of beauty parlors in 1997,
before expanding the business to include spas, hotels and property.
(source: IB Times)
MALAWI:
Malawi will not abolish the death penalty , UN told
Malawi will not abolish the death penalty from its laws, Ministry of Justice
and Constitutional Affairs Principal Secretary and Solicitor General Banda told
United Nation Human Rights Council on Wednesday.
Banda said when formally presented the responses to the committee's question of
whether the coutnry had plans to ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the
[International Covenant on Civil and Politcal Rights] ICCPR by amending the
Penal Code in order to formally abolish the death penalty.
She Said Malawi retains the death penalty and, as such, has no intentions to
ratify the Ooptional Protocol to the ICCPR.
"There are no immediate plans of abolishing the death penalty. Malawian courts
still impose death penalties on persons convicted of murder," reads a response.
"Since the dawn to multiparty system of government, no person sentenced to
death has been officially executed. As at early June 2014, there are 29 people
on death row at Zomba Central Prison."
In 2011, the then Attorney General Justice Jane Ansah also told UN that the
country will continue to listen to the voices of the people of Malawi regarding
the issue of the death penalty.
Ansah said when decidiing to ratify international insturments, Malawi is
sguided by its constitutional requirements.
Murder, treason and armed robbery are punishable by hanging in Malawi but the
coutnry has not carried out an execution since 1992, and it is therefore
believed to have a policy or established practice of de facto abolition.
In 2007, the High Court ruled that the automatic nature of the death penalty in
Malawi for murder and other offences violated the right to life, amounted to
inhuman punishment as it did not provide the individuals concerned with an
opportunity to mitigate their death sentences.
Chief State Advocate Pacharo Kayira told the committee that the High Court of
Malwi has only meted death penalty on Jack Bandawe after considering the
gruesome killing of the victim.
The European Union (EU) has been calling for the universal abolition of death
penalty, stressing that countries still conducting executions must abolish this
"cruel and inhuman punishment."
Britain, which is Malawi's largest bilateral donor, also urged Malawi to
abolish capital punishment.
The influential Roman Catholic Church, other prominent Christian churches and
rights groups have also yearned for the death penalty to be abolished,
generating a heated debate over the years.
Former president Bakili Muluzi, who ruled Malawi from 1994 to 2004 following
the coutnry's 1st democratic elections, vowed that he would "never sign a death
sentence against a fellow human being" during his rule.
Muluzi was credited for improving human rights after 3 decades of late Kamuzu
Banda's absolute dictatorship under which rights were seriously abused.
Former presidents late Bingu wa Mutharika and Joyce Banda did also not sign a
death warrant.
(source: Malawi Nyasa Times)
SRI LANKA:
Lanka rights body recommends abolition of capital punishment----They proposed
that death sentences given to convicts be commuted to life imprisonment
Sri Lanka's top rights body has recommended the government to abolish capital
punishment.
In a report handed over to the government yesterday, the Human Rights
Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) has recommended the review of death penalty and
proposed that death sentences given to convicts be commuted to life
imprisonment.
Prathiba Mahanamahewa, HRCSL Commissioner said the recommendation would be
officially conveyed to the President Mahinda Rajapaksa in order to amend the
law.
Currently, there are 529 death row prisoners, most of them between 30 to 50
years of age. At least 451 of them have appealed against the sentence, he said.
They have repeatedly told the commission to either hang them or commute their
death sentence to life imprisonment.
The HRCSL has decided to make this recommendation considering the mental and
physical trauma caused to them, Mahanamahewa said.
In December 2012, Sri Lanka had abstained from voting at the UN General
Assembly that called for a global moratorium on capital punishment.
Although the death penalty is on the law books, no hangings have been carried
out since June 1976.
Since late 1990s, due to a rise in violent crimes, there has been a greater
demand for capital punishment however, the report said that capital punishment
had not deterred or decreased the rate of crime.
(source: Business Standard)
INDIA:
Nitish Katara's murder honour killing, warrants death penalty
Nitish Katara's murder was a honour killing for which the three convicts,
including UP politician D P Yadav's son Vikas, deserve death penalty, the
victim's mother today told the Delhi High Court.
"The trial court as well as this court have already held that this is a case of
honour killing. I want to add one thing that the honour killing falls under the
the rarest of rare category of cases warranting imposition of death penalty,"
the counsel for Neelam Katara told a bench of justices Gita Mittal and J R
Midha.
Concluding the arguments on the quantum of sentence, lawyer P K Dey said "the
circumstances in which victim Nitish was killed entails award of death penalty,
nothing less than this. One person was killed in such a brutal manner and later
burnt. It is honour killing, which is the rarest of rare offence."
Assailing the lower court's order, the lawyer said "it (the burning of body and
subsequent actions) is not merely the destruction of evidence. It is total
disregard to a human body. The incident is diabolic and shook the consciousness
of the society."
Seeking enhancement of the sentence, the counsel said the one of the convicts
has committed eleven offences from 2002 to 2013 and they are not only criminal
offences but amounted to interfering with the judicial administration.
Though the trial court had held the murder as "honour killing", it did not give
them death penalty saying imposition of life sentence would act as a deterrent,
Dey said.
"It may be true in other cases that life term is harsher punishment as a
convict dies every minute in jail but not in this case where the convicts are
economically and politically very strong and come out of jail within 2 or 3
years," he said.
(source: Business Standard)
*****************
3-judge SC Bench to hear all death penalty pleas
All death sentence-related appeals - filed and pending - in the Supreme Court
will be heard by a 3-judge Bench from August 16. At present such appeals are
heard by a 2-judge Bench unless a reference is made for hearing by a 3-judge
Bench.
Heading a 5-judge Constitution Bench, Chief Justice R.M. Lodha said this during
the hearing of a batch of petitions seeking direction that all death sentence
appeals and the subsequent review petitions be heard only by a 5-judge Bench.
The CJI told senior counsel K.K. Venugopal that the relevant Supreme Court
Rules had been amended on the basis of the recommendation made by a committee
comprising the former CJIs, Altamas Kabir and P. Sathasivam and himself.
Justice Lodha said the President had given his assent for the amended Rules,
which would come into force from August 16 though the notification was yet to
be given.
Appearing for 3 convicts - Nedunchezhian, Ravindran and Muniappan - in the
Dharmapuri bus burning incident, in which 3 college girls were killed, Mr.
Venugopal submitted that their review petitions were still pending.
He cited the Law Commission's recommendation that all death penalty matters in
the Supreme Court should be heard by a Bench of five judges by amending the
relevant Rules. Arguments will continue on July 15.
(source: The Hindu)
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