Aug. 19
ETHIOPIA:
Family of Briish citizen 'rendered' to Ethiopia calls for his release
The family of a British citizen kidnapped and rendered to Ethiopia in June has
called on the British government to secure his release as soon as possible.
Andargachew 'Andy' Tsege, a father of three from London, was travelling to
Eritrea in June this year when he was seized during a stopover in Yemen. 2
weeks later, Ethiopian officials admitted to the UK government that Mr Tsege
was in their custody.
The legal charity Reprieve says British consular staff were denied access to Mr
Tsege over 50 days after his initial capture, and his family still do not know
where is being held. Last month, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn dismissed
concerns about Mr Tsege's concerns and whereabouts.
Mr Tsege, who is a prominent member of an Ethiopian opposition group, faces a
death sentence imposed in absentia, and his arrest comes amid a crackdown on
political activists and journalists ahead of elections in Ethiopia next year.
In a heavily-edited video aired recently on Ethiopian state TV, Mr Tsege
appeared thin and exhausted, and was presented as having 'confessed' to various
charges.
Torture in prisons in Ethiopia is common; a 2013 Human Rights Watch report on
the notorious Maekelawi Police Station documented serious human rights abuses,
unlawful interrogation tactics, and poor detention conditions.
Speaking to The Times in an interview published yesterday (18 August), Mr
Tsege's partner Yemi Haile Mariam said: "Where is the outrage that a Brit has
been held for this many days? He is a British national sentenced to execution
in absentia."
Maya Foa, head of the death penalty team at Reprieve, said: "Andy Tsege has
been subject to kidnapping, torture, and secret detention, all for the 'crime'
of his political beliefs. He had to endure 50 days of detention and torture
before UK officials were even permitted to see him this week. Even now, his
family in London have no idea where he is being held, and in what conditions.
This is an unacceptable state of affairs; the UK government should be using its
close ties to Ethiopia to call unequivocally for his release."
(source: ekklesia.co.uk)
UKRAINE:
Donetsk Separatists Introduce the Death Penalty for Treason
The government of the breakaway region of Donetsk in Ukraine announced that it
will introduce the death penalty for serious crimes, including treason, after
the 1st meeting of the separatist Council of Ministers today.
"A legislative act provides for the death penalty for the gravest crimes," a
press release on the Donetsk People's Republic's (DNR) official website read.
The meeting was intended to set the founding stones of the military court
justice system of the new republic, which is not recognised by the Ukrainian
government.
The Council agreed that military tribunals will be sanctioned to pass the death
penalty for offences including treason, espionage, attempts on the lives of the
leadership and sabotage, the Moscow Times reported.
Separatist leaders agreed that the DNR will use the Russian Federation's
Criminal Code as a basis, RIA Novosti adds.
"Introducing the death penalty is not revenge, it is the highest degree of
social protection," senior DNR leader, Vladimir Antyufeyev said in a statement
which reiterated that the new justice code "would greatly facilitate the fight
against looting and banditry".
The military court system will have 2 tiers, 1 for offenders of rank squadron
commander and lower, while the other will deal with offenders of rank battalion
commander and higher.
Pro-Russian rebels have been accused of using capital punishment before. A
document surfaced in May signed by Donetsk's former Defence Minister Igor
'Strlkov' Ghirkin invoking a 1941 Stalin-era law to order the killing of 2 DNR
officers on charges of looting.
More recently video footage of Crimean separatist leader Igor Bezler was posted
online in June showing Bezler seemingly executing 2 pro-Kiev soldiers by firing
squad.
While Monday's meeting of DNR's council of ministers only discussed military
legislation, the Republic's Foreign Minister Alexander Karaman insisted the
separatist government would set about "on the path of humanization of the
criminal law".
The DNR declared independence from Ukraine following a referendum on 11 May
this year. The results of the referendum were not recognised by the US or EU,
but the separatist republic announced the election of its own government headed
by Prime Minister Alexander Borodai.
The DNR's chairman Denis Pushilin has stated the republic would ideally like to
be adopted as a constituent member of the Russian Federation.
(source: Newsweek Magazine)
TANZANIA:
10m/- for information volunteers on PWA killers
IPP Executive Chairman Dr Reginald Mengi has announced a 10m/- reward for
anyone who offers information that will lead to the arrest of persons
responsible for last week's attack on Persons with Albinism (PWAs) in Tabora
Region.
The IPP Executive Chairman expressed overwhelming sympathy for the victims and
demanded concerted response from the authorities.
Speaking to journalist yesterday in Dar es Salaam Dr Mengi said the entire
nation mourns with the victim and her family.
"Persons with Albinism, just like any other person, have the right to live in
peace and harmony without fear or prejudice," Dr Mengi said.
"Being born with albinism is God's wish and nobody should be judged or
persecuted for having a disability," he went on to say decrying superstitious
beliefs associated with the attacks.
In this most recent tragic and barbaric incident, assailants invaded the home
of Susan Mungy (35) attacked her, mutilated her right arm and left her to bleed
to death.
Also, in cold blood, the perpetrators killed her husband, Bashiri Mapambo as he
tried to defend his wife and children who were also injured in the senseless
and inhumane attack.
Sympathising with the family, Dr Mengi, a renowned philanthropist, pledged to
pay school fees for the widow's 2 children.
He called on the public to welcome diversity, exercise tolerance and respect
for all without discrimination over race, tribe, religion or disabilities of
any kind.
Dr Mengi also urged police in Tabora Region to be vigilant in the pursuit of
the perpetrators and called on the public to offer their support so that
justice is served.
In his comments, Tanzania Albinism Society (TAS) General Secretary Ziada Nsembo
also called for concerted action by authorities.
She expressed sincere gratitude towards Dr Mengi for his proactive initiative
in offering the reward money acknowledging that this is the 1st time such a
step has being taken against the horrible crime.
Nsembo also bid the government to increase security for people with albinism
across the country noting that despite previous pledges by the government to
protect PWAs, the killings and attacks are still occurring.
According to government officials, so far, at least 10 persons have been
arrested and charged in relation to the brutal killings of people with
albinism.
Of the 10, 9 have received the death penalty and 1 is serving a 5 year
imprisonment sentence.
3 were convicted at the High Court Kahama zone, 4 Shinyanga zone, 1 Mwanza
zone, 1 Tobora zone and 1 Mbeya zone.
(source: IPP Media)
BANGLADESH:
6 to die for Bagerhat murders
A court in Bagerhat has ordered death penalty for 6 and life imprisonment for 7
others for killing 3 security personnel in 2006.
The court of Bagerhat District and Sessions Judge SM Solaiman gave the verdict
on Tuesday over the 2006 killings of 2 Coastguards and a RAB personnel.
It has acquitted 2 others as charges against them could not be proven.
Those awarded death sentences are Rafikul Sheikh, Kuddus Sheik, Idris Sheikh,
Alkat Fakir and Elias Sheikh.
The court ordered life sentence for Akram Sheikh, Alam Sheikh, Badshah Sheikh
Jamal Sheikh, Kamal alias Suman Sheikh and Aslam Sheikh.
All of the convicts are absconding, prosecutor Sheikh Mohammad Ali told
bdnews24.com.
According to the case details, a joint operation by RAB and Coast Guard was
conducted on Dec 1, 2006, on river Pashur adjoining the Sundarbans.
Security forces were tipped off about a group of robbers' gathering in the
area.
A shootout erupted between the robbers and the security personnel as the
Coastguards and RAB personnel tried to encircle the robbers.
Finally, the security personnel managed to corner the robbers' vessel and
boarded it.
A scuffle broke out as the robbers dived into the river with Coast Guard
personnel MH Kabir, MA Islam and RAB personnel PC Kanchan.
Bodies of the three security personnel were recovered from the river the next
day.
(source: bdnews24.com)
INDIA:
India prepares to carry out first ever hanging of women convicts
Renuka Shinde, 41, and 36-year-old Seema Gavit were convicted in 2001 of
kidnapping and killing 5 children in the western state of Maharashtra.
Originally charged with the deaths of 13 children, the court heard they
kidnapped the youngsters as part of a begging operation and then brutally
disposed of them when they were no longer of any use.
In 2004, an appeal court upheld their death sentence and 2 years later India's
Supreme Court did the same. Last month, India's President, Pranab Mukherjee,
rejected their appeal for clemency and at the weekend the so-called buffer zone
- the period by when the government is obliged to inform all concerned parties
of the president's decision - expired.
The women, being held in Yerawada Central Jail near the city of Pune, could, in
theory, be hanged at any time. Nobody from the jail was on Monday available for
comment. Reports in the local media say officials there are engaged with the
police, local officials and doctors on when the hanging should proceed.
Since 1983, the Indian courts have handed down the death penalty only for the
"rarest of rare" cases. In recent years, just a handful of executions have been
carried out, most notably that of Pakistani militant Ajmal Kasab, who was
hanged in 2012 for his part in the 2008 attack on Mumbai.
In the aftermath of the 2012 Delhi gang-rape and murder of a young student, new
laws were introduced to specify the death penalty for murder cases where rapes
are involved. Records suggest no women have ever been executed.
The 2 sisters were originally detained in 1996, along with their mother,
Anjana, and charged with the abduction and murder of children as part of a plot
to obtain money from strangers. The courts were told the women would use the
youngsters to extract sympathy from people, or else injure a child, causing it
to cry out, if they needed to flee the scene. Their mother died while the case
was ongoing.
"They very clearly executed their plans of kidnapping the children and the
moment they were no longer useful, they killed them," the Supreme Court said
when it upheld the death sentence. "They had become a menace to society and the
people in these cities were completely horrified and they could not even send
their children to school."
The lawyer of the 2 women, Manik Mulik, said that even though President
Mukherjee had rejected the women's plea for clemency he intended to file a
fresh appeal this week. He said it was now 13 years since the women were
originally convicted and sentenced.
"The ladies are going to file a petition this week in the [appeal court]. They
will appeal to have the death penalty commuted because there has been such a
delay," Mr Mulik told The Independent. "There is too much delay. The Supreme
Court has said if there is too much delay if can have a bad effect on the
mental health of the convicted people."
Debate is continuing as to whether or not the two women should be hanged.
Dhananjay Mahadik, the member of parliament for Kolhapur, where the women were
from, said he personally felt women in India should not face the death penalty.
Yet, Mr Mahadik, a member of the Nationalist Congress Party, added: "The crime
they were convicted of was very serious. They slaughtered those children, they
did not kill them. They made them beg for them and they killed those children
who knew nothing of this world. The court has ordered this and I agree."
Campaigners against execution have in recent years been pushing the authorities
in India to move away from handing down the death penalty, even though a number
are ultimately commuted.
"The 2 women were convicted for crimes that the courts have determined meets
the present Indian legal standard," said Meenakshi Ganguly, of Human Rights
Watch. "We believe that the death penalty should be abolished because it is
inherently inhumane."
She added: "We urge that all countries, including India, declare an immediate
moratorium on capital punishment and work towards repealing it altogether."
(source: The Independent)
MALAYSIA:
Malaysian fishmonger charged with murder of British medical students in
Borneo----Newcastle University students Neil Dalton and his friend Aidan
Brunger were stabbed to death earlier this month following a confrontation with
locals in Borneo
A Malaysian fishmonger on Tuesday was charged with murder over the fatal
stabbing of 2 British medical students, a crime that carries the death penalty,
local media and police said.
The bodies of Newcastle University students Neil Dalton and Aidan Brunger, both
22, were found early August 6 lying in the road in Kuching, capital of Sarawak
state on Borneo island.
5 Malaysian men were arrested in connection with the stabbing deaths that
occurred after an alcohol-fuelled argument, according to police.
One of the suspects, Zulkipli Abdullah, 23, was charged with the murder on
Tuesday, The Star daily reported.
The charge carries the mandatory death penalty by hanging upon conviction.
Violent crime against tourists and expats is generally rare in the
Muslim-majority Southeast Asian country. But some recent incidents have sullied
that image.
Malaysian police in early June found the body of a 34-year-old British tourist
on the resort island of Tioman. They have yet to announce the cause of death.
Last month, a court sentenced to death a Malaysian shopkeeper for the killing
of a French tourist in 2011, also on Tioman.
(source: The Telegraph)
********************
Unemployed man sent to the gallows for trafficking heroin
The High Court in Kota Baharu yesterday sent an unemployed man to the gallows
after finding him guilty of trafficking in 66.2g of heroin last year.
Judge Datuk Azman Abdullah handed down the sentence to Mohamed Hasrool Mohamed
Najri, 20, after ruling that the defence had failed to raise reasonable doubts
at the end of the prosecution's case.
In his judgment, Azman said Mohamed Hasrool's statement that he was asked by a
man known only as 'Abe Adnan' to take a plastic package under the roof of the
man's house had failed to raise any doubts.
"The court agree that the accused's statement on 'Abe Adnan' has failed to
raise any reasonable doubts because it is unknown whether or not Abe Adnan
really exists," he said.
Mohamed Hasrool committed the offence at a petrol station in Mukim Maka at
Jalan Pasir Mas-Tanah Merah, Tanah Merah at 5.10 pm on July 15, 2013.
He was charged under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 which
carries a mandatory death penalty upon conviction.
Deputy public prosecutor Nordalina Ali prosecuted, while Mohamed Hasrool was
represented by lawyer Ahmad Ridzuan Awang.
(source: Bernama)
BRITAIN:
Doctor 'no regrets' over lethal injection campaign
A Birmingham hospital doctor says he has no regrets about leading a campaign
which halted the sale of a drug used in America to kill death row prisoners by
lethal injection.
Dr David Nicholl helped persuade Danish manufacturers Lundbeck to withhold
supplies of pentobarbital after launching a petition in the medical journal,
the Lancet, in 2011.
There has since been claims that alternatives to the drug are less humane as
some prisoners have taken longer to die after being given them.
Dr Nicholl dismissed claims the campaign had caused suffering.
"The people responsible are the people that ordered those drugs, that supplied
those drugs and injected those drugs," he said.
(source: BBC News)
SUDAN:
Opposition Leader at Risk of Death Penalty
see: http://www.amnestyusa.org/sites/default/files/uaa20614.pdf
(source: Amnesty International)
SAUDI ARABIA----executions
Saudi Arabia executes 6 convicted men by beheading
4 men previously convicted of drug trafficking were decapitated by sword in
southwestern Saudi Arabia on Monday, a day after 2 convicted murderers suffered
the same fate elsewhere in the country, the government said on Monday.
The latest executions took place on Monday when the 4 men, identified as Hadi
bin Saleh Abdullah Al-Mutlaq, Mufreh bin Jaber Zaid Al-Yami, Ali bin Jaber Zaid
Al-Yami, and Awadh bin Saleh Abdullah Al-Mutlaq, were beheaded by sword in the
city of Najran in southwestern Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi Interior Ministry said the men had been convicted of drug trafficking
after they attempted to smuggle "a large quantity" of hashish into the kingdom.
The death penalty, which was passed down by a general court, was upheld by both
an Appeals Court and the Supreme Court before a royal order was issued to carry
out the sentences.
"The Ministry of Interior affirms that the Government of the Custodian of the
Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is keen on combating
narcotics due to their great harm to individuals and the society, and it warns
anyone who tries to commit such actions that he will be punished according to
Sharia," the ministry said.
Monday's executions followed the beheadings of 2 convicted murderers a day
earlier in the western city of Taif.
At least 32 people have been executed in Saudi Arabia so far this year,
following 79 executions last year. The kingdom applies the death penalty for a
large number of crimes, including drug offenses, apostasy, sorcery and
witchcraft. Both witchcraft and sorcery are not defined as crimes in Saudi
Arabia, but human rights organizations say such charges have previously been
used to prosecute people for exercising their right to freedom of speech or
religion.
(source: BNO news)
**************************
4 Relatives Executed for Hashish Possession Amid 'Disturbing' Surge in
Executions
The Saudi Arabian authorities must halt all executions, Amnesty International
said after 4 members of the same family were executed today as part of a
"disturbing" recent surge in the use of the death penalty in the country.
The 2 sets of brothers from the same extended family were killed this morning
in the south-eastern city of Najran after being convicted of "receiving large
quantities of hashish", reportedly on the basis of forced confessions extracted
through torture.
It brings the number of state killings in Saudi Arabia in the past 2 weeks to
17 - a rate of more than 1 execution per day.
"The recent increase in executions in Saudi Arabia is a deeply disturbing
deterioration. The authorities must act immediately to halt this cruel
practice," said Said Boumedouha, Deputy Director of Amnesty International's
Middle East and North Africa Programme.
"The death penalty is always wrong, and it is against international law to use
it in cases involving non-lethal crimes and where evidence used to convict the
person is based on "confessions" extracted as a result of torture."
The 4 relatives were put to death despite desperate last-minute efforts from
family members to alert the world to their plight.
Relatives of the men contacted Amnesty International on Thursday asking for
help amid fears that the executions were imminent.
The organization's Saudi Arabia team responded seeking further information on
the case, but within hours the team was informed that the family of the 4 men
had received a phone call from Saudi Arabian Ministry of Interior officials
warning them to stop contacting Amnesty International.
This morning, it was officially announced that the 4 men had been executed.
"This apparent intimidation and surveillance of victims of human rights
violations and activists adds another sinister layer to Saudi Arabia's use of
the death penalty. It is clear evidence that the authorities are willing to go
to extreme lengths to prevent reports of gross human rights violations in the
country from reaching the outside world," said Said Boumedouha.
"The family in this case deserves full disclosure as to why their loved ones'
allegations of torture were not investigated."
The 4 executed men - brothers Hadi bin Saleh Abdullah al-Mutlaq and Awad bin
Saleh Abdullah al-Mutlaq along with brothers Mufrih bin Jaber Zayd al-Yami and
Ali bin Jaber Zayd al-Yami - were arrested and detained by members of the
Ministry of Interior's General Directorate of Investigations (known as
al-Mabahith) on several occasions after their alleged offence in 2007.
They were reportedly tortured during interrogation, including with beatings and
sleep deprivation, in order to extract false confessions.
They were referred to trial and sentenced to death largely on the basis of
these 'confessions'.
There has been a surge in executions in Saudi Arabia since the end of Ramadan
on 28 July, with 17 announced executions between 4 August and 18 August,
compared to 17 confirmed executions between January and July 2014.
Background
Saudi Arabia is 1 of the top executioners in the world, with more than 2,000
people executed between 1985 and 2013.
In 2013, it executed at least 79 people, 3 of whom were under 18 at the time of
the crimes for which they were put to death, in blatant violation of the UN
Convention on the Rights of the Child. So far in 2014, at least 34 people have
been executed.
Court proceedings in Saudi Arabia fall far short of international standards for
fair trial. Trials in capital cases are often held in secret. Defendants are
rarely allowed formal representation by lawyers, and in many cases are not
informed of the progress of legal proceedings against them.
They may be convicted solely on the basis of "confessions" obtained under
torture, other ill-treatment or deception. In some cases condemned prisoners'
families are not notified in advance of their execution.
Saudi Arabia applies the death penalty to a wide range of offences that are not
accepted as "most serious crimes" under international law and standards on the
use of the death penalty.
These include "adultery", armed robbery, "apostasy", drug-related offences,
rape, "witchcraft" and "sorcery".
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception.
It violates the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights. It is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.
(source: Enews Park Forest)
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