Oct. 7
KENYA:
Court hands 6 Kisumu fishermen death sentence for murder of 2 colleagues
6 fishermen charged with the murder of 2 of their colleagues have been
sentenced to death by the Homa Bay High Court.
David Ongata Opiyo, William Ayugi, Tilleny Odhiambo,Silas Onyango Odongo, Peter
Otieno and Tiberius Ododa Nyangero were found guilty of murdering Lameck Olima
Ochieng and Felix Ouma Odhiambo on the night of August 16 and 17, 2010 at
Dhogunda beach, Usao sub location in Suba district, Nyanza.
A 7th suspect, Paul Ochieng Oketch did not attend the court proceedings.
"After carefully evaluating the evidence from both sides, this court has no
doubt in its mind that on the material night Opiyo, Ayugi, Odhiambo, Odongo and
Onyango, with others not before the court, killed Lameck," Justice David
Majanja said reading the ruling.
Majanja delivered the ruling as signed off by by Kisumu High Court Judge Lady
Justice Esther Maina. The prosecution lined up 16 witnesses and submitted
identification, recognition, malice aforethought and common intention before
the court.
The prosecution argued that even though the incident took place at night all
the eye witnesses testified that the torches the attackers had and moonlight
exposed their faces.
A witness who was with the deceased escaped. He told the court that on the
material day, the suspects approached them in two boats at around 2am demanding
fish and money. He said they were armed with spears, pangas and stones.
When they declined, the accused pelted them with the stones but he dove into
Lake Victoria for safety. The fisherman said he hid under the water hyacinth
for 45 minutes and saw the accused leaving with the deceased.
He said the light enabled him to identify them as childhood friends. He later
reported the matter to the families of the deceased and recorded a statement
with the police.
The court also heard that the nature of the injuries inflicted on the deceased
and the other evidence presented were clear proof that the accused had
intentions to kill.
The accused requested a fair ruling saying they are their families' sole
breadwinners and denied the charges against them.
"I have considered the statements made in mitigation, however the law of Kenya
is clear, it describes only 1 penalty for the offense of murder which you have
been convicted of, and that is the sentence of death," Majanja read.
"I therefore sentence Opiyo, Ayugi, Odhiambo, Odongo and Onyango accused to
death for the murder of Lameck, but since the death sentence cannot be enforced
twice, the sentence in respect to Felix is left in the abeyance," Majanja
continued.
The 6th accused, Tiberius Obada was sentenced to death in respect to Odhiambo's
murder. They accused have 14 days to appeal the ruling.
(source: The Star)
IRAN:
Iranian convicted in controversial murder case could escape execution
An Iranian woman facing a death sentence in a murder case that some have
labeled a miscarriage of justice may be spared the gallows, Iranian judicial
officials said.
Authorities were seeking consent from the family of the victim to vacate the
capital judgment against Reyhaneh Jabbari, according to an Iranian judiciary
spokesman, Gholam Hussein Mohseni Ezhei, who made the comments Monday at his
weekly news conference.
Meanwhile, the semi-official Iranian Students News Agency quoted the nation's
justice minister, Mustafa Pourmohammadi, as saying that the hanging of Jabbari
would be put off for at least 40 days.
Observers said the comments likely meant that Iranian authorities had decided
to commute the death sentence for Jabbari, whose case has been widely
circulated on various social media forums. It was not clear if Jabbari could
face more prison time if spared execution.
Fears that her execution was imminent were raised late last month when she was
moved to another prison, but then quickly returned to her original lockup.
Jabbari was arrested in 2007 and sentenced to death in 2009 for the murder of
Morteza Abdolali Sarbandi, a doctor and former Intelligence Ministry employee,
according to a report by Human Rights Watch. The New York-based rights watchdog
has called on Iranian authorities to cancel the execution.
The case against her is murky, defense lawyers say. Jabbari admitted stabbing
Sarbandi in the neck, but said that he had attempted to assault her sexually,
Human Rights Watch said. She also asserted that a "3rd person" may have been
responsible for the death, according to Human Rights Watch.
Her lawyers have contended that the case was not properly investigated and that
Jabbari did not receive a fair trial.
In April 2014, Human Rights Watch said, Iran's judiciary halted Jabbari's
execution to review the conviction and death sentence.
Reached via cellphone, Jabbari's attorney, Parisa Ghanbari, said, "God willing,
I will get a pardon from the victim's family and save her life."
A friend of Jabbari described the prisoner as "very depressed and hopeless."
In another controversial legal case in Iran, Yeganeh Salehi, a jailed Iranian
journalist, has been released on bail, her family said Monday. She and her
husband, Jason Rezaian, Tehran correspondent for the Washington Post, were
arrested in July and had been held without formal charges.
Rezaian, who holds both Iranian and U.S. citizenship, remained in jail. Media
freedom groups have called on Iranian authorities to release the couple and
other journalists jailed in Iran.
(source: Los Angeles Times)
AFGHANISTAN:
Paghman rapists to be hanged to death on Wednesday
According to reports, the Paghman rape convicts will be hanged to death on
Wednesday.
Sediq Sediq, spokesman for the Ministry of Interior (MoI) told reporters that
the convicts will likely be executed tomorrow.
The former President Hamid Karzai signed off on the order for execution of 5
criminals convicted of rape & kidnapping in Paghman incident 2 days before the
transfer of power to Dr. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai.
The Appeals Court of Kabul awarded death sentence to 5 of the 7 convicts of a
group involved in brutal beating, robbery and gang-rape of 4 women in capital
Kabul.
The death penalty was approved by the Supreme Court of Afghanistan on 24th
September.
The convicts facing death penalty includes Azizullah, Nazar Mohammad,
Qaisullah, Samiullah and Habibullah, who were involved in gang rape of 4 women.
The women were initially abducted while they were returning from a wedding
ceremony and were repeatedly raped besides their belongings were robbed by the
gang.
(source: Khaama Press)
*******************
Delay Executions in Rape Case----Gravely Flawed Trial Adds to Injustice of
Heinous Crime
The Paghman case demonstrates how far Afghanistan is from providing criminal
suspects a fair trial. The mishandling of this case should spur President Ghani
to impose an immediate moratorium on executions, at least until Afghanistan
conducts trials that meet international standards.
President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan should delay the execution of 5 men
convicted in a badly flawed trial following the gang rape of 4 women in Paghman
district, near Kabul, Human Rights Watch said today. The men, who were
convicted of robbery and extramarital sex (zina), are scheduled to be executed
on October 8, 2014.
President Ghani should order an independent review of the handling of the case
by the government, including the police and the prosecutor???s office.
"President Ghani has called for a review of Afghan's justice system, but he has
an immediate opportunity to stop a grave miscarriage of justice," said Phelim
Kine, deputy Asia director. "The horrendous due process violations in the
Paghman trial have only worsened the injustices of this terrible crime."
On August 23, a group of men in police uniforms, armed with assault rifles,
stopped two cars in Paghman district outside Kabul, took money and jewelry from
the passengers, and then raped 4 of the women passengers, 1 of whom was
pregnant.
The case against the accused has been riddled with serious problems from the
start, beginning with public statements from then-President Hamid Karzai's
office urging speedy death sentences before the trial had taken place. Numerous
due process violations - including a manipulated lineup for identification,
allegations of coerced confessions, the provision of mere days for the defense
to prepare its case, and a cursory trial that included no real presentation of
evidence - severely undermined the suspects' rights to a fair trial and a
hearing by an independent court.
The court seemed determined to hand down the death penalty in the case,
applying a law allowing a death sentence even though the penalty does not
appear to apply in the case. Very few crimes are eligible for capital
punishment under Afghan law.
International human rights treaties to which Afghanistan is a party only allow
the death penalty for the most serious crimes when there is scrupulous
adherence to fair trial standards. This case fell far short of those
international standards.
Human Rights Watch opposes the death penalty in all circumstances as an
inherently cruel and irreversible punishment. A majority of countries have
abolished the practice. On December 18, 2007, the United Nations General
Assembly passed a resolution by a wide margin calling for a worldwide
moratorium on executions.
The case also highlights the dangers for female victims of sexual violence, who
already face severe social stigma in Afghanistan. In one example, police
investigators allowed journalists to watch the four victims identify the
alleged attackers in a lineup on September 3, putting the victims at risk in a
manner that may deter future victims of sexual assault from coming forward.
"The Paghman case demonstrates how far Afghanistan is from providing criminal
suspects a fair trial," Kine said. "The mishandling of this case should spur
President Ghani to impose an immediate moratorium on executions, at least until
Afghanistan conducts trials that meet international standards."
(source: Human Rights Watch)
THAILAND:
Thai police chief defends investigation of murder of British tourists
Thailand's police chief defended on Tuesday the arrest of 2 Myanmar men for the
murder of 2 British tourists amid concern the pair may have admitted to the
murders under duress.
The bodies of Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, were found on a
beach on the southern island of Koh Tao, a normally tranquil spot famous for
its coral reefs and diving, last month.
Miller died from drowning and blows to the head, while Witheridge died from
severe head wounds, examinations by Thailand's forensics department found.
The killings have dented Thailand's image as a happy-go-lucky holiday paradise
and come after the tourism industry, which contributes almost 10 % of gross
domestic product, was already battered by months of political protest, a May 22
coup and military rule.
Police were widely accused of bungling the investigation and pressure grew for
them to solve it quickly.
Last week, police said 2 Myanmar workers had admitted to killing the tourists
and that DNA found on Witheridge matched samples taken from the 2 men.
"I insist that all officials in this case have done a good job. A perfect job,"
national police chief General Somyot Poompanmuang told a news conference in
Bangkok.
The suspects, who have been identified only as "Saw Rim" and "Win", both 21,
have been charged with the murder of both Britons and the rape of Witheridge.
If found guilty, they could face the death penalty.
But a lawyer contracted by Myanmar's embassy in Thailand to defend the suspects
said the case was a "set-up and not based on hard facts", according to the
Democratic Voice of Burma, an independent Myanmar news organisation based in
Norway.
"From what we have learned, there are inconsistencies with both the forensic
report and evidence provided in the case," the lawyer, Aung Myo Thant, was
quoted as saying.
He was not available for comment.
'NO ABUSE'
Police stressed the importance of their DNA evidence.
"DNA found on the deceased's body matches the suspects," said Police Major
General Suwat Chaengyodsuk, the officer who led the investigation. "This is
something that cannot be denied."
Police said a mobile phone belonging to Miller was also found on Saw. A 3rd
Myanmar migrant worker is in police custody but has not been charged.
Some rights groups have voiced concern over accusations of abuse during the
investigation.
"A number of serious allegations of physical abuse against Myanmar workers as
part of the questioning process in this murder case have been raised to us,"
said Andy Hall, a rights activist and researcher based in Thailand.
"The accusations do not concern the two or three persons currently detained for
the murder. We do not have enough evidence or information at this stage to
comment on how or if the two accused have been scapegoated for this crime or
not."
Migrant workers often face discrimination in Thailand and have been used as
scapegoats for crimes before. But police denied using force during their
interrogation.
"I confirm that there was no abuse of any of the suspects," said lead
investigator Suwat.
The case will be forwarded to a court on Oct. 14.
(source: Reuters)
SOUTH KOREA:
South Korea ferry captain admits he let passengers down
The ship's captain at the heart of South Korea's ferry disaster acknowledged
during his murder trial Tuesday that he should have done more to get passengers
to safety as the boat started sinking.
Testifying for the 1st time in court, Lee Joon-Seok said his decision-making
process was paralysed by the shock of the incident, but insisted that he had
never intended to sacrifice the lives of the passengers to save himself.
The 6,825-tonne Sewol capsized and sank on April 16, with the loss of more than
300 lives - most of them school pupils.
The captain and crew were vilified for abandoning the ferry while hundreds were
still trapped inside, and criticised for ordering passengers to remain where
they were when the ship began listing.
"I was stunned by the accident and I lost my ability to make decisions," a
visibly shaken Lee told the court in the southwestern city of Gwangju.
"I failed to take the necessary measures for passengers to leave the ship.
"(But) I swear I never thought passengers should be left to die in order for me
to make it to safety first," he said.
The bespectacled Lee, dressed in a khaki prison uniform with the number 3114,
appeared tense and stammered during his testimony.
The 69-year-old and 3 senior crew members are accused of "homicide through
wilful negligence" - a charge that can carry the death penalty.
11 other crew are being tried on lesser violations of maritime law.
The findings released Monday of a 5-month investigation by state prosecutors,
concluded that a deadly combination of cargo overloading, illegal redesign and
poor helmsmanship had caused the disaster.
Under questioning by prosecutors in court, Lee said he knew that crew member
Cho Jun-Ki, who was steering the ship after working the Sewol for only 6
months, did not have the required skill and experience.
Lee, when asked if he should have taken the helm as the ship entered a channel
notorious for its strong underwater currents, replied: "Yes, I guess so."
The Sewol, which was overloaded and top-heavy following an illegal refit, made
a sharp turn in the channel, causing it to list sharply to one side.
This caused the cargo to shift, and the ferry was unable to right itself,
eventually turning full turtle and sinking.
Asked where he was when the ferry ran into trouble, Lee said he was in his
cabin "smoking and changing clothes".
He denied allegations by some crew members that he had been playing games on
his mobile phone.
"No, I wasn't playing a game. I wouldn't know how to. I was just holding the
smartphone," he said.
Lee has insisted that the ferry owners are the real culprits as it was their
decision to habitually overload the vessel.
(source: Zee News)
NIGERIA:
HURIWA Endorses Court Martial, Restates Demand for Probe of Defence Budgets
Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), a pro-democracy
non-governmental organisation, has thrown its weight behind the just-concluded
court marshal, which tried and convicted some indicted military operatives for
acts of indiscipline and other offences, and the recently inaugurated second
court marshal by the Nigerian military authority.
Besides, the rights group has further called on the federal government and the
Nigerian National Assembly to initiate a transparent, open, accountable and
comprehensive investigation of the opaque procurement processes in the Nigerian
Defence and police sectors since the advent of civil rule in 1999 to ascertain
how the state of combat readiness and the equipping of the nation's military
and police deteriorated to such a sorry state that the country is finding it
cumbersome to confront and defeat the armed Islamic terrorists (Boko Haram),
who have waged a war of attrition against Nigeria since 2009.
In a statement signed jointly by the National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel
Onwubiko and the National Media Affairs Director, Miss. Zainab Yusuf, HURIWA
said it was imperative that whilst the Nigerian system struggles to
re-establish a strict disciplinary regime among the ranks and file of the
Nigerian Armed Forces as it battles the bloody insurgency and terrorism in the
North-eastern segment of Nigeria, it is equally germane that the country
deliberately open a fearless probe of the remote and immediate circumstances
surrounding the deep seated decline that have afflicted our military and how
the once feared military organisation in the world has suddenly found it almost
a huge task to defeat the seemingly ragtag Islamic terrorists that have
threatened the corporate existence of Nigeria.
HURIWA also cautioned Nigerians, who have rushed to condemn the recently passed
verdict of the military court in Abuja, which tried and convicted over one
dozen junior ranks for offences ranging from mutiny, cowardly conduct and
attempted murder of a senior military commander because in the thinking of the
group, the groundswell of impulsive condemnation of the military judicial
system, which is grounded in the constitution of Nigeria is tantamount to
justifying rascally and atrocious acts of criminal indiscipline, which are
alien not only to the Nigerian military tradition but to the military as a
unique institution around the world.
The group similarly carpeted the Amnesty International and the Human Rights
Watch of the United Kingdom and the United States of America for condemning the
General Court Marshal in Nigeria by the military authority and challenged these
groups to show Nigerians why acts of indiscipline by military operatives should
be tolerated.
"Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch should stop crying more than the
bereaved and allow the legal and constitutionally permitted mechanisms in the
Nigerian military to take its full course," it said. "Although we may not
completely be in agreement with the complete judicial decision of the Court
marshal, which turned in death penalty on some indicted military operatives, we
are not against any legal process supported by the 1999 constitution, which are
meant to infuse strict discipline amongst the members of the Nigerian military.
"We advocate lesser punishment but certainly we are not ready to board the
impulsive bandwagon of groups opposing any disciplinary moves to restructure
and reposition the Nigerian military to assume its rightful position as the
professionally competent and effective defenders of the territorial integrity
of Nigeria.
"Nigerians must be conscious not to jump into irrational condemnation of the
military hierarchy for doing what is right and just. We hereby also advocate
immediate and comprehensive investigation of all the expenditures invested in
the procurement of military soft and hardware since 1999 to determine what
happened to the humongous amount of money said to have been released to the
Defence and Police sectors.
"We propose the death penalty for convicted thieves [especially military
Generals and top police ministry officials] of defence and police budgets of
Nigeria for these persons are the worst saboteurs of the corporate entity
called Nigeria," HURIWA stated.
(source: This Day)
INDONESIA:
Bali murder took place after victim used racial slur----Indonesian police say
Tommy Schaefer struck Sheila von Wiese Mack after she called him the 'n-word'
According to an Associated Press report this weekend, Indonesian police said a
former Oak Park woman who was found beaten to death and stuffed into a suitcase
at a Bali resort in August was killed after she taunted her daughter's
boyfriend with a racial slur.
Heather Mack, 19, reportedly told police her boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, 21,
became angry after Sheila von Wiese Mack, 62, called him the "n-word." She said
Schaefer struck her mother with a metal plant stand from the hotel.
According to AP, Mack's lawyers said Mack did not confirm whether she witnessed
the murder.
"Our client did not mention [whether] the beating was intended to kill her
mother or not. She just confessed to the police that Tommy beat her mother,"
Mack's Indonesian lawyer, Raja Nasution, said.
Nasution also said Mack did not kill von Wiese-Mack or help stuff her body into
the suitcase.
Tommy Schaefer's mother, Forest Park resident Kia Walker, is working with the
UK-based international anti-death penalty group Reprieve to get a lawyer for
her son in Indonesia. Wednesday Journal attempted to contact Reprieve in both
the U.K. and U.S. but received no response by Monday morning.
Reprieve helped secure the legal help of Haposan Sihombing, an Indonesian
lawyer, but Sihombing had to withdraw because of a potential conflict of
interest, said Chicago lawyer Thomas Durkin, who said he is helping the family
by working as Schaefer's U.S. attorney.
Durkin said he did not have expertise in the Indonesian legal system, which was
unlike the American or British system.
"It's a very difficult situation and I'm doing these people a favor," he said.
Schaefer is African-American, as was James Mack, the husband of the victim.
James Mack was a renowned composer and jazz performer who died in 2006.
The AP reported that, according to Indonesian police, during the argument
Schaefer pointed out that von Wiese Mack's husband was black, and she allegedly
replied that he was also rich.
Reportedly, Indonesian police said a surveillance video in the St. Regis Hotel
shows Schaefer entering von Wiese Mack's room with the plant stand concealed
under his shirt. Bits of iron matching the plant stand were found in the
victim's wounds, Indonesian police said.
Later video from the corridor showed Mack bringing a cart to move the suitcase
holding von Wiese Mack's body and Schaefer carrying the suitcase to the cart.
The 2 abandoned the suitcase in a taxi and escaped through the hotel's back
door. They were arrested the next day at a different hotel near the airport.
Kia Walker's website asking for donations to help pay her son's legal fees has
reached $10,600. In an update, Walker said she had been advised not to comment
publicly on the reports from Indonesia.
"I spent the weekend practicing self-care," she said on the website.
"So far, $200 has been spent for Tommy's food expenses and phone privileges. I
plan to visit him after charges have been brought. I've accomplished a great
deal by staying home and being surrounded by my friends and chosen family," she
wrote. "Along with the support of the fund, I am hoping my son receives a fair
trial."
(source: Forest Park Review)
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