Nov. 5
IRAN:
The life of Elemhuli turned into a book
The life of Sirin Elumhuli, a guerrilla of the Kurdistan Free Life Party,
(PJAK), who was executed in Iran in 2010, has been published as a book.
2 letters written by her and many photographs were included in the book.
The novel was published under the title Pepuleya Azadiye (Freedom Butterfly)
and written by a PKK prisoner. The novel, edited by Dersim Omar, and published
by the J&J publishing house, will first be made public at the Istanbul Book
Festival.
The writer of the novel, Ehmede Bilokiye, sentenced in a PKK trial, has been in
prison since 1993. Since being imprisoned, Ehmede Bilokiye has written many
books, while the novel Pepuleya Azadiye about the life of Sirin Elemhuli is his
1st fictional work.
Sirin Elumhuli, a Kurdish woman revolutionary, was sentenced to death in Iran
because of "opposition to Iran and pursuing destructive activities against
Iran", and was hanged on 9 May 2010 together with 3 other Kurdish political
prisoners, Eli Heydariyan, Ferhad Wekili and Mehdi Islamiyan.
(source: Firat News)
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:
UAE sentences Kuwaiti royal to death for murder
2 Kuwaitis, including a member of the royal family, have reportedly been
sentenced to death for killing their roommate at the University of Sharjah.
The men, who were only identified by their initials, YS, 20, and HA, 19, were
convicted of torturing fellow Kuwaiti student Mubarak Meshaal Al Mubarak, 19,
for 3 days last year, Kuwait Times reported.
The 1st-year student died in hospital on February 25, last year after suffering
internal bleeding, burns and multiple fractures.
The men claimed they had a financial dispute with Al Mubarak, who had
reportedly failed to payback AED100,000 ($27,225). They also accused him of
harassing one of their sisters.
Police found a 6-minute video recording on one of the student's mobile phones
that showed the victim being physically abused and tortured.
The victim's family had requested the death penalty after refusing to accept
"blood money" from the family of 1 of the defendants, in a common practice in
the Gulf.
A 3rd man, believed to also be Kuwaiti, fled the UAE after the incident, the
court heard. He was fined AED1000 ($272) in his absence for covering up a crime
and failing to report it to authorities.
Prosecutors have attempted to extradite him.
The men have 15 days to appeal.
(source: Arabian Business)
INDIA/SRI LANKA:
Protest in Chennai against Sri Lanka's death penalty to Indian fishermen
Protesters, on Wednesday (November 05), took to streets in Chennai city of
Tamil Nadu against death penalty given to Indian fishermen in Sri Lanka. 5
Indian fishermen were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy in 2011 on charges of
smuggling drugs and on October 30, the Colombo High Court held the 5 fishermen
guilty of drug trafficking. The arrest of the Indian fishermen by the Sri
Lankan navy has been a major topic of debate between the 2 nations. Former
Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa, earlier, wrote several letters to
former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and present Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
asking to pressurise Sri Lankan authorities to free fishermen detained in the
country.
(source: aninews)
THAILAND:
Thai police take wind out of sails of festival goers with death threat
Thais releasing paper lanterns skyward to usher in good luck have been warned
by police: anyone found releasing them near an airport could face the death
penalty.
This week's annual Loy Krathong festival - which is sometimes translated as "to
float a basket" festival - is seen as a time to reflect and ask for forgiveness
from the goddess of water. Many Thais believe it is a time to literally 'float
away' bad luck.
Families gather near lakes, rivers and canals around the country to float rafts
decorated with candles, incense and flowers. Celebrated at the end of the
so-called "rainy season", it also marks the end of the main rice harvest
season.
Some festival-goers also believe that flying floating lanterns during the
festival will help to get rid of bad luck.
But past incidents involving floating lanterns impacting air travel and causing
delays have resulted in police threatening to invoke the ultimate penalty.
"Releasing paper lanterns near airports can be very dangerous to the safety of
aircraft and it is a criminal offence," Police Major General Amnuay Nimmano
told Reuters.
"Those who violate the law will be dealt with accordingly and could face life
in prison or the death penalty."
Thai Airways and Bangkok Airways say they have adjusted their flight schedules
and cancelled some flights to avoid any potential danger from floating
lanterns.
(source: Reuters)
CHINA:
73% Back Death Penalty for Corruption
The recent announcement of further proposed reductions in the scope of the
death penalty was greeted by Chinese media as in line with a "social consensus"
in favor of gradually phasing it out. Reservations about at least some
executions appear to have been growing among both the public and the legal
establishment. But for some crimes, support for capital punishment seems
robust. China Daily reports on a recent survey which found that 73% back
execution of corrupt officials:
It is natural that China would remove death penalty after the country joins
related international organizations, the report quoted Che Hao, associate
professor at Peking University Law School, as saying.
The crimes that no more carry the death sentence are mainly economic and
nonviolent in nature. "But the abolishment of death penalty is not only a legal
issue but also a political case," Che said.
Considering the ongoing anti-graft campaign and people's high expectations, it
would be prudent to keep the death sentence for corruption cases, he added.
A South China Morning Post editorial on Monday commented that although "China's
progress in reducing the use of the death penalty [...] shows all the urgency
of a funeral march," "small steps are nonetheless welcome."
Those removed include illegal fundraising, forcing a person to engage in
prostitution, counterfeiting currencies, weapons and nuclear materials
smuggling, and obstructing soldiers performing their duty. The removal of such
non-violent crimes is more of a symbolic step, but it is to be welcomed because
it brings the country closer to international standards and boosts hopes that a
long-term decline in the use of capital punishment will continue.
[...] Leaving aside arguments about crime and punishment and the deterrent
effect of the death penalty, there are good reasons for China to reflect on it
at a time when its leaders have approved reforms to strengthen the rule of law.
One is that the liberal use of it raises the possibility of executing prisoners
wrongfully convicted by courts that rarely find anyone innocent. It is far from
unheard of on the mainland for others to later confess to the crime or for a
supposed murder victim to be later found alive. Another reason is the link to
non-consensual harvesting of organs for transplant, which does nothing for
China???s modern image.
China remains by far the world's most active executioner despite a steep and
sustained decline. See also a SCMP infographic on capital punishment in China
and around the world and more on China's corruption crackdown and its
strengthening of "Socialist rule of law," via CDT. Another area in which the
death penalty seems well entrenched is violent crime, particularly terrorism. A
Yunnan court last week upheld the death sentences of three men convicted of
involvement in March???s deadly Kunming attack.
(source: China Digital Times)
KENYA:
Former Runda Night Guard Gets Death Penalty For Murder
The High court in Nairobi has sentenced a former night guard to death for
defiling and strangling a 6 year old girl who resided in the neighboring house
from where he worked in Runda Estate.
While delivering the ruling, Justice Nicholas Ombija said that the 34 year old
man Bernard Wamuti Kamau is to suffer death sentence as prescribed by the
Kenyan law.
Justice Ombija further pointed out that the prosecution had proved beyond
reasonable doubt that on January 5th 2009, Wamuti who worked as a watchman in
Runda estate had defiled and strangled the 6 year old girl.
The body of the deceased was discovered in a coffee plantation at Kiramara
Estate in Kiambu County.
(source: The Citizen Times)
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