July 15
LEBANON:
Abra detainees' trial postponed
Lebanon's Military Court, headed by Maj. Gen. Khalil Ibrahim, announced Tuesday
that it would postpone the trial of 71 people, including radical preacher Ahmad
al-Assir, charged over last year's Abra clashes until Aug. 26.
The suspects, including Assir and 24 other fugitives, are accused of murdering
and attempting to murder soldiers and civilians, of committing terrorist
operations, possessing weapons and explosives, instigating sectarian tension
and calling for sectarian fighting.
If convicted, many of the detainees could face death penalty.
The absence of Naim Abbas, a major name among the detainees, was one of the
reasons behind postponing Tuesday's scheduled session. Abbas's name was either
not included on the court list by mistake, or he might have been missed by the
officers responsible for driving the detainees to court, according to a
judicial source.
A number of attorneys representing other detainees were also absent.
In addition, the military court was supposed to inform the fugitives, through
direct or indirect contact, of Tuesday's session. Because such notice was not
sent earlier, the court session was postponed and stickers were pasted on the
doors at each fugitive's last residence.
The anti-Hezbollah preacher, whose followers clashed with the Lebanese Army in
June 2013, is still on the run, while many of his followers were arrested after
the clashes.
Assir was the imam of the Bilal bin Rabah Mosque in Abra, near which the
clashes occurred, and a critic of Hezbollah's activity in Sidon. He claimed
that the Lebanese government is controlled by Hezbollah and that state
institutions, especially its security forces, were biased against Sunnis.
The attacks resulted in the death of 18 Army soldiers and around 40 of Assir's
followers. The Army was able to arrest 46 suspects.
The families of the detainees have demonstrated on several occasions to demand
the quick and fair trial of their sons, after the case has been delayed
multiple times.
The detainees went on hunger strike June 2, and the strike was not suspended
until they received a promise that the trials would start soon, according to
the National News Agency.
The Committee of Abra Detainees had released a statement calling for the
improvement of their conditions in detention, and for the release of 2 sheikhs,
Assem al-Arefi and Alaa al-Saleh.
The statement said the 2 sheikhs were innocent and "had no role in the
clashes."
(source: The Daily Star)
KENYA:
New evidence shows UK government error led to Kenya death sentence
The government's support for a flawed Kenyan prosecution was based on an
incorrect analysis that may put it in breach of its own death penalty policy,
it has emerged.
UK officials at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), Home Office and
Metropolitan Police offered police support in 2013 to Kenya's public
prosecution in the case of Ali Babitu Kololo - a 35-year-old father of 2 from a
village in Lamu, Kenya. Mr Kololo was sentenced to death for robbery with
violence by a Kenyan court in August 2013; the trial followed his torture by
local police into 'confessing' to a role in the 2011 kidnapping of British
tourist Judith Tebbutt and the murder of her husband David.
The FCO said last week that the government had offered support based on its
analysis that in Kenya, the death penalty is 'discretionary' for Kololo's
alleged crime of 'robbery with violence'. In fact, it is mandatory. The claim
was made in response to questions from legal charity Reprieve and law firm
Leigh Day, who are seeking a judicial review of the government's decision to
support the Kenyan investigation.
The Foreign Office also dismissed concerns that Mr Kololo's trial was flawed,
despite the fact that he had no access to a lawyer for much of it, and was
forced to cross-examine witnesses, including key witness DCI Neil Hibberd, on
his own. The proceedings were carried out in English and Swahili, languages
that Mr Kololo does not speak fluently.
In correspondence with Leigh Day, Scotland Yard has admitted that evidence used
in the trial, and presented by DCI Hibberd in his testimony, was
circumstantial.
Reprieve has also discovered that the specialist Metropolitan Police
investigators sent to Kenya failed to interview Mr Kololo after his arrest. The
police claim not to have known Mr Kololo had been tortured, despite widespread
reports.
The government's own guidelines prohibit support for public prosecutors in
countries where there is a high risk of receiving a death sentence, while the
FCO's Strategy for the Abolition of the Death Penalty designates it a 'priority
country' for UK abolition efforts.
Responding to reports about the case, a Foreign Office spokesperson said today
that the government Britain opposed the death penalty in all circumstances, and
that the government would "continue to call on all countries around the world
that retain the death penalty to cease its use."
Maya Foa, head of Reprieve's death penalty team, said: "Despite the
government's protestations, the fact remains that UK officials willingly
assisted the Kenyan prosecution in sending a man to his death, based on a
confession extracted under torture. Ignorance is not a defence, and the
government should have known better than to assist the prosecution in a country
where the death penalty is a mandatory punishment for the alleged offence and
police torture is common. There are strong indications that Ali Kololo is
innocent of this crime. If the UK government is serious about its commitment to
promoting justice overseas, it must right the wrongs and ensure real justice is
done."
(source: Ekklesia.co.uk)
TANZANIA:
Beware of the Gallows, Drug Dealers Warned
For the drug peddlers, both practising and aspiring, the writing is on the
wall. Already there are about 30 Tanzanians on death row in Hong Kong and
Macau, 2 administrative regions of the People's Republic of China, according to
statistics from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
The ministry's spokesperson, Mr Mkumbwa Ally, said there are 183 suspected drug
dealers in custody in China, with 6 other condemned persons having had their
sentences reduced to life in jail.
Mr Ally reiterated that China has not executed any Tanzanian yet, refuting
earlier claims on the execution of several Tanzanians in the far-east nation.
Such claims were recently fuelled by reports in Ugandan local media on the
execution of 2 Ugandans convicted of drug trafficking in May 21 and June 24,
this year in China.
According to the official, information on any execution of Tanzanians in China
and other nations must be communicated to the ministry through the country's
missions abroad.
Out of the 183 suspected drug peddlers, 79 are serving jail terms ranging from
5 to 23 years while over 70 others are still undergoing trial. Mr Ally told the
'Daily News' that there are also 64 Tanzanians serving jail terms and others
who are undergoing trial in Brazil, out of whom 9 are women.
There have not been any reports of execution of drug suspects in Brazil,
because the South American country has brushed aside capital punishment, the
last one being reported in 1876.
Acting Tanzania Drug Control Commission (TDCC) Commissioner Aida Tesha
acknowledged that there are Tanzanians on death row in China, while others are
being held in various prisons worldwide on drug trafficking charges.
She, however, noted that the commission does not get information on executions
of Tanzanians on drug charges directly but stressed that Tanzanians arrested on
drug offences in China face the maximum death penalty, in accordance with
Chinese laws.
Mrs Aida cautioned Tanzanians against engaging in drug trafficking as arrest
and conviction could lead to life imprisonment and capital punishment.
According to the "Death Penalty for Drug Offences: Global Overview report of
2012," executions for convicted drug traffickers have escalated in countries
such as Iran and Saudi Arabia amidst an international campaign against the
death sentence.
When marking the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking
last month, the Minister of State - Prime Minister's Office (Policy,
Coordination and Parliament), Mr William Lukuvi, said there are over 400
Tanzanians being held in 21 countries on drug trafficking allegations.
He reported that there are 65 Tanzanians being detained in China, 108 in
Brazil, Kenya (34), Hong Kong (108), Pakistan (16), United Arab Emirates (12),
Japan (7), Mauritius (6), UK (5), Malawi (5), Uganda (4), Oman (3), Switzerland
(2), Italy (2), US (2), Argentina (2), Turkey (1), Portugal (1), Botswana (5),
Chile (1), South Africa (3) and Mozambique (1).
(source: All Africa News)
PAKISTAN:
Pakistani man given death penalty for blasphemy
A Pakistani sessions court has sentenced a man to death and fined him
Rs.1,00,000 on charges of blasphemy. The accused, Zulfikar, was caught writing
blasphemous comments on the Afghan Park Wall in Lahore's Islampura area in
2008.
Area residents had reportedly filed a case against Zulfikar. According to the
Dawn, he was also accused of using offensive language during the prayer
session, the Azaan.
It is the 1st case of blasphemy in Pakistan where a death penalty has been
handed down.
In Pakistan, blasphemy is a crucial issue and the related laws lack procedural
safeguard. Pakistan had earlier suggested the United Nations to make blasphemy
laws internationally recognized.
(source: bignewsnetwork.com)
INDIA:
Newspaper editor convicted of murdering 3 employees
A newspaper editor in Tripura in India's northeast has been convicted of
murdering 3 of his employees.
Sushil Chowdhury, 76, the owner and editor of regional daily Dainik Gandoot,
was found guilty on Monday of killing his driver, a proof-reader and manager
last year.
Kripankur Chakraborty, additional district and sessions judge of west Tripura
district, held Sushil Choudhury guilty of killing 3 of his employees May 19,
2013.
The court will sentence him on Thursday. He faces death penalty or life in
jail.
"Choudhury is found guilty under sections 120 (B), 109, 302, 113, 111 and 201.
Under these sections, the maximum punishment could be either death sentence or
life imprisonment," special public prosecutor Dilip Sarkar told reporters after
the judgment in a packed court.
He said the judge would announce the quantum of punishment July 17.
Choudhury, 72, editor-cum-owner of Bengali daily Dainik Ganadoot, along with
one of his woman employees was arrested weeks after the murder of 3 employees.
A large number of journalists and others were gathered in the court complex.
Choudhury was the main accused. Niyoti Ghosh, wife of Balaram Ghosh, the slain
driver of the newspaper's office vehicle, turned approver in the case and was
let off.
Niyoti's husband, manager Ranjit Choudhury, a former BSF employee, and proof
reader Sujit Bhattacharjee were murdered in the newspaper's office in the heart
of the capital city.
(source: indiatvnews.com)
**************************************
Juvenile rapists may be treated as adults, but no death penalty
Juveniles above 16 years of age who are guilty of murder, rape, acid attack,
kidnapping or gang-rape could be liable for harsher punishment than the 3 years
mandated under the present law, if the proposed changes in the Juvenile Justice
Act come through.
Minister for women and child development Maneka Gandhi, who is spearheading the
changes, had recently said that she is in favour of treating juveniles who have
committed heinous crimes at par with adults. Speaking on the issue, Gandhi said
according to police data, 50% of all sexual crimes were committed by
"16-year-olds who know the Juvenile Justice Act so they can do it".
"But now for premeditated murder and rape, if we bring them into the purview of
the adult world, it will scare them," she said.
However, the offender will not be handed either life imprisonment or capital
punishment. The ministry has come under fire from the National Commission for
Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and child rights activists for acting
against international trends and in violation of the UN convention that India
has signed.
According to the ministry, juveniles who fall in the age bracket of 16-18 years
and are guilty of heinous crimes or found to be repeat offenders of crimes like
kidnapping, trafficking, attempt to murder or outraging the modesty of women
may be liable for a longer prison term than the three years mandated under JJ
Act. The decision on whether the juvenile will be tried under IPC or the JJ Act
will be taken by the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB).
The amendment says that "nothing contained in any other law for the time being
in force, the provisions of this act shall apply to all cases involving
detention, prosecution, penalty or sentence of imprisonment of juveniles in
conflict with law under such other law'' with the added proviso that the Board
will conduct this assessment within a month. The assessment will be based on
mitigating circumstances which will be brought out by the social investigation
report, nature, seriousness of the offence and the juvenile's culpability and
ability to understand the consequences of the offence committed. The amendment
also clarifies that juveniles will not be given capital punishment or life
imprisonment.
According to NCRB data, involvement of juveniles in murder has increased by
over 86% in 2002-2012 while incidents of rape by juveniles had increased by
142% in the same period. In all, juveniles are responsible for only about 1.2%
of the total crime committed in the country in 2012. The proposed amendments
have been placed in the public domain for consultation by stakeholders.
(source: The Times of India)
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