Oct. 24
UGANDA:
Terror suspects linked to Al Shabaab further remanded
Police are yet to conclude investigations in a case involving 10 terror
suspects linked to Al Shabaab arrested last month from Kisenyi in Kampala.
State prosecutor, Edward Muhumuza, on Thursday told Buganda Road Court that
Police were yet to conclude investigations.
Grade One Magistrate Simon Zirintuusa remanded the suspects to Luzira Prison
until November 7. They are battling charges of aiding and abetting terrorism
contrary to Section 8 of the Anti-Terrorism Act. On conviction, the penalty is
death.
Additionally, they are charged with the offence of belonging to a terrorist
organisation contrary to Section 11(1) of the Anti-Terrorism Act.
Procedurally on completion of the probe, the Police informs the Directorate of
Public Prosecutions, which notifies court of the development by formulating an
indictment.
The committal papers containing the indictment are then forwarded to the High
Court, which has jurisdiction to try the capital offence of terrorism.
Lawyers David Mushabe, Richard Rugambwa, Andrew Manzi, and Noah Sekabojja,
represented the suspects.
They are Mohamed Abdulkdir Hirsi alias Mohamed Abdul Aziz Adan, ,31,
businessman; Somali national resident of Katwe-Kibirige House, Makindye
division, Abdi Abdullahi Bootan, 26, driver; Somali refugee resident of Kisenyi
opposite Delta Petrol station Rubaga division.
Others are Hassan Abduwali Mohamoud, 25, Somali refugee, resident of Kisenyi,
Rubaga division,Mohammed Ahmed Gele, 28, driver Somali refugee, resident of
Lubaga Road, Rubaga division.
Also included are Yasimin Abdullahi Aden, 20, a housewife, Somali refugee,
resident of Kisenyi, Rubaga division, Hodan Ahmed Dahir, 23, unemployed Somali
national, resident of Kisenyi, Mengo Yusufu Osman Hussein, 29, businessman,
Somali refugee, resident of Namalwa I zone, Bukesa, Rubaga division Abdi
Mohamed, 29, Somali refugee, resident of Namalwa I zone, Bukesa, Rubaga
division, and Abdul Kadir, 24, unemployed Somali refugee, resident of Mengo
Kisenyi opposite Missionary Poor School, Rubaga division.
The Kenyan national is Mohamed Yusuf Farah, 31, a manager at Hauliers
Transport, resident of Bulange, Mengo, Rubaga division.
(source: New Vision)
THAILAND:
Parents of Myanmar Murder Suspects Arrive in Bangkok
The parents of the 2 Myanmar suspects charged with killing 2 British tourists
on Koh Tao island arrived at Bangkok's Don Muang airport 22nd October to be met
by a throng of reporters.
3 parents and 1 uncle of the accused have flown in with the help of the Myanmar
government and the Thai authorities and will be briefed by the Myanmar embassy
before heading south to Samui Island where the suspects are being held,
according to local Thai media.
They arrived at the airport carrying photos of Thailand's King Bhumibol and
were clearly distraught as they talked with reporters.
After hours of discussion with lawyers from the Lawyers' Council of Thailand,
the 2 men have recanted their confessions.
Ko Zaw Lin Oo and Ko Win Zaw Tun have said in a statement to prosecutors that
they confessed to the murders of Ms Hannah Witheridge, 23, and Mr David Miller,
24, on 15th September under duress or violence and now fully retract their
confession.
The 2 Myanmar migrant workers are charged with conspiracy to murder and rape,
plus robbery, and could face the death penalty if found guilty.
(source: Burma News International)
********************
Koh Tao murder suspects to meet parents tomorrow
The parents of the 2 young Myanmar workers facing the death penalty in Thailand
for allegedly murdering 2 British tourists on a resort island last month met
with Thailand's Human Rights Commission, the Lawyers Council of Thailand and
Myanmar's ambassador to Thailand yesterday to discuss the controversial case.
"Their parents arrived here today. They met with Myanmar's ambassador to
Thailand, Thailand's Human Rights Commission and the Lawyers Council of
Thailand also joined the meeting," lawyer Aung Myo Than from the Myanmar
Embassy said yesterday.
A press conference was held after the meetings, Aung Mo said. "Thai media were
supportive of the parents ... They said all Thai people want to know the truth
about the case," he added.
The 2 accused workers have retracted their confessions. Their lawyers said they
were tortured and forced into making them.
They have been jailed as they face court proceedings over the killing of Hannah
Witheridge and David Miller, whose battered bodies were found on Koh Tao
(Turtle Island) on September 15.
Their parents, along with the special envoy from Myanmar observing the case,
will visit the pair at a prison on Samui Island on October 24.
Thai police have come under intense criticism for repeated mistakes in their
investigation into the murders, and it has been widely alleged that the 2
21-year-old Myanmar migrants were used as scapegoats in what has turned out to
be an alleged bungled effort to protect that country's carefully crafted image
as safe haven for tourists.
Thai authorities have strongly denied allegations that the pair are scapegoats,
insisting the case is built on solid evidence, which includes DNA samples of
the accused that matches samples taken from the body of Witheridge, who was
also raped.
Thailand's foremost forensic scientists, however, has cast doubt on this,
saying the crime scene had not been sealed and protected and that no forensics
expert had been called in to assist in the investigation.
Prosecutors confirmed they received a letter from the defence team saying the
suspects had withdrawn their confessions and alleged that they had been
tortured.
The murders on the rowdy island - which is well-known among backpackers for its
beach parties, cheap alcohol and easily available drugs - have raised questions
about Thailand's reputation as a tourist destination globally, while in the
country fresh questions about the reliability and trustworthiness of the
country's notoriously corrupt police force have been raised.
Thai authorities have agreed to allow British police to observe their
investigation.
(source: elevenmyanmar.com)
GLOBAL:
The uncomfortable truth about executions
After a leaked report revealed China executes 3 times more people than the
world combined, here are the facts about capital punishment across the globe
This week the Dui Hua Foundation exposed the shocking number of executions that
took place in China in 2013.
According to the US-based pressure group, China executed 2,400 people.
The number, which is troubling in itself, is even more disturbing when put into
a global context - as it reveals last year China executed 3 times more people
than the world combined.
The total number of executions for the rest of the world was 778 people in
2013, according to Amnesty International.
The next highest execution rate was Iran is the next biggest executor with at
least 369, followed byIraq with at least with at least 169.
Other uncomfortable facts have come out of the latest round of statistics - for
example, Belarus remains the only European country to still have the death
penalty.
Meanwhile in Japan, India, Malaysia and South Sudan, prisoners were not told
they were to be executed - and neither were their lawyers or even their family.
Amnesty International say that despite these shocking numbers the global trend
remains towards abolition - with 173 of 193 members of the United Nations
execution-free.
(source: The Telegraph)
UNITED KINGDOM/PAKISTAN:
UK 'aid for executions' in spotlight as Pakistan set to restart hangings
More than 100 prisoners apprehended in UK-funded drug arrests are now facing
execution in Pakistan, after a judge scheduled a hanging that would end the
country's 2-year death penalty moratorium.
A 1-month stay of execution granted to Pakistani prisoner Shoaib Sarwar expires
next Monday (27th October), leaving Mr Sarwar at imminent risk of death. The
hanging, if it takes place, would be Pakistan's 1st execution since 2012, and
would throw into question the lives of at least 112 drug offenders currently on
Pakistan's death row - including a number of British nationals, who were
sentenced to death in trials falling short of international standards.
While the UK government's Strategy for the Abolition of the Death Penalty lists
Pakistan as a 'priority country', the UK has given more than 12 million pounds
to support anti-drug operations in Pakistan, where drug possession can carry a
death sentence. UK funding has covered training for officers in Pakistan's
Anti-Narcotics Force as well as intelligence and equipment, while ministers
have failed to take steps to prevent the aid leading to death sentences. Last
week, Denmark announced it would reconsider similar aid in light of the
moratorium's possible collapse.
Pakistan's specialist drug courts maintain a conviction rate of more than 92
per cent, and can hand down a death sentence to anyone convicted of possession
of more than 1kg of drugs. The Pakistani Anti-Narcotics Force lists death
sentences on its website as "Prosecution Achievements."
In correspondence with legal charity Reprieve, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg
has confirmed that the UK has ended counter-narcotics funding to Iran due to
"the exact same concerns" as Denmark; the latter country redirected funding in
2013 after concluding donations were "leading to executions". On Pakistan,
however, Mr Clegg said the UK would continue its funding, despite being
"acutely aware that this assistance must not compromise our clear opposition to
the use of capital punishment in all circumstances, including for drug
offences".
Asked what Britain's aid stance would be if Pakistan's moratorium collapses, Mr
Clegg promised that the Government would "urge the Pakistan authorities to
abolish the death penalty", but failed to address the issue of the 100+ death
row prisoners whose arrests were funded by the UK.
Reprieve has asked the British Government to make its aid conditional on an end
to the death penalty for drug offences - consistent with its position on
similar aid to Iran - and to accept responsibility for the link between its
support for drug operations and the application of the death penalty, including
for British nationals.
Reprieve's Death Penalty Team Director Maya Foa said: "Despite calling Pakistan
a "priority country" in its strategy to abolish the death penalty worldwide,
Britain has sent millions of pounds to help Pakistani forces arrest and
sentence people to death for alleged drug offences. The people whose death
sentences British aid has supported are hardly the barons or kingpins of the
international drug trade - they are innocent scapegoats or vulnerable mules,
often targeted by notoriously corrupt police forces eager to meet 'quotas'.
British aid for executions breaches the Government's own human rights rules and
makes a mockery of its commitment to fight capital punishment abroad."
(source: ekklesia.com)
INDONESIA:
Wife could face death penalty
The Perth-based sons of a man murdered in Bali arrived on the island yesterday
as police revealed their mother, who allegedly ordered the killing, could face
the death penalty.
Noer Ellis remains in police custody after allegedly confessing to arranging
hit men to kill her husband, British-Australian expatriate Robert Kevin Ellis,
whose body was found wrapped in plastic and dumped in a ditch in a rice field
this week.
Police said Mr Ellis was set upon in the kitchen of the couple's villa in Sanur
by 5 killers who slashed his throat.
Police will allege Mrs Ellis paid her maid's boyfriend $14,000 to kill Mr
Ellis, most of it to be paid after the crime.
Police spokesman Hery Wiyanto said the pair and a second maid would also be
charged.
He said 2 charges were being weighed up - murder, carrying up to 15 years jail,
and premeditated murder, which carries a maximum penalty of death.
4 others were still wanted for involvement in the crime.
"Some have fled Bali and some are still hiding in Bali," Mr Hery said. "We urge
them to surrender.
"Wherever they are, we will hunt them down."
The couple's sons, Jon, 23, and Peter, 19, arrived in Bali yesterday and were
still coming to terms with the tragedy, according to long-time family friend
Ross Taylor.
Mr Taylor, president of the Indonesia Institute, said the sons were yet to
decide whether to visit their mother in custody.
"There needs to be a discussion as to where they proceed from here," Mr Taylor
said.
"There are issues regarding meeting their mother, how that will be dealt with,
and it's extremely complex and emotionally charged."
Their uncle, Mr Ellis' brother, was in Bali providing support.
The brothers, who went to Wesley College and studied at Edith Cowan University,
released a statement on Wednesday. It said they were devastated by their
father's death.
"Dad has been such a vital part of our lives," they said.
Mr Taylor said business and financial concerns had led to "tension" between Mr
Ellis and his wife in the past year.
He said Mr Ellis was a successful, well-liked businessman who had lived in
Indonesia for many years.
(source: The West Australian)
IRAN----executions
5 Prisoners Hanged in Northern Iran----4 prisoners, among them 1 Afghan
citizen, sentenced to death for drug-related charges and 1 prisoner charged for
murder were hanged in 2 different prisons in northern Iran.
4 prisoners were hanged for drug-related charges in the prison of Rasht
(Northern Iran) on Saturday October 18, reported the official website of the
Iranian Judiciary in Gilan Province. 1 of the prisoners identified as "A. M."
(32 year old, name of father Gholam Rasoul) was an Afghan citizen and was
sentenced to death for possession of 1995 grams of heroin. The other prisoners
were identified as "M.H." (46) charged for participation in buying, possession
and trafficking of 27 kilograms of opium; "M.A." (44; son of Ismaeil) for one
kilogram of Crystal and 330 grams of heroin; "M.A." (34, son of Tavakol) for
buying 2200 grams of Crystal said the report.
According to the state run Iranian news agency Fars, a 35 year old man was
hanged in the prison of Amol (Northern Iran) yesterday morning, Wednesday
October 22. The prisoner was sentenced to "Qisas" (retribution in kind) for
murdering 1 of his friends in 2008, said the report.
(source: Iran Human Rights)
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