Nov. 17
AFGHANISTAN:
Death Penalty Works, Afghans Say ---- After 6 hangings, public opinion appears
solidly behind capital punishment.
The recent execution of a group of men found guilty of gang rape has been
welcomed by human rights groups as well as officials in Afghanistan, despite
strong international criticism.
On August 28, armed men wearing police uniforms stopped a group of cars
returning to Kabul from a wedding ceremony in Paghman district. They tied up
the men and raped at least 4 of the women, and stole jewellery and other
valuables.
7 suspects were arrested and were quickly brought to trial and sentenced to
death. 2 of them later had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment.
The outgoing president, Hamed Karzai, signed the death warrants shortly before
he left office. His successor, President Ashraf Ghani, chose not to block them.
The 5 men were hanged in Kabul on October 8, along with a 6th man, Habib
Istalif, convicted of leading a kidnapping gang in a separate case.
International organisations including the United Nations, the European Union,
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch condemned the decision to carry
out the executions, and said the judicial process had been flawed.
Not only was the trial rushed - the televised proceedings took just 2 hours -
but 1 of the defendants said he had made his confession under torture. Karzai
had called publicly for the death penalty even before the trial started.
Noting that capital punishment was applicable to very few crimes under Afghan
law, Human Rights Watch said, "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."
However, in Afghanistan, where violence against women is common and often goes
unpunished, the case sparked huge interest. Public opinion was largely
supportive of the sentences.
Even domestic human rights groups welcomed the executions. The Afghanistan
Independent Human Rights Commission said they sent an important message about
the rule of law.
"The law has not been applied properly for the last 13 years," commission
spokesman Abdul Maruf Bedar said. "Law enforcement has been biased. As a
result, impunity - people escaping justice - has caused crime levels to
increase."
Bedar said that under the new Ghani administration, "many hope that this
problem will be addressed."
Officials claimed that the executions had an immediate deterrent effect on
gender violence.
"We haven't had any reports of rape [since then], although we had high figures
for violent crime against women in the first 6 months of the year, prior to the
executions," said Aziza Adalatkhwa, head of the justice department at the
women's affairs ministry.
Adalatkhwa said the threat of the death penalty could do a lot to reduce crime
levels, providing trials were fair.
Senior police officers, too, said that crime had fallen since the
highly-publicised executions.
"After these 6 individuals were executed, the crime level dropped
significantly," Kabul police spokesman Hashmatullah Stanekzai said. "The
offenses recorded at police stations were mostly minor family matters, not
major crimes."
Many feel that a society in which armed men have gone unpunished for so long
cannot afford to have too many scruples in pursuit of law and order.
"The execution of these 6 individuals has had a positive impact on the
situation," said Munawar Shah Bahaduri. "It was a serious warning to
professional criminals."
His colleague from Faryab province, Mohammad Hashem, agreed, saying "current
circumstances require it".
"If capital punishment is abolished here some day, I will be amongst those who
oppose the decision," he added.
According to Fawzia Naseryar, a parliamentarian from Kabul, "some people have
been brought up to be uncontrolled and ungovernable during years of war. They
don't obey the law, so the law must be imposed rigorously. I support the death
penalty ... firstly because it is mandated by Islam, and also because it serves
to punish criminals and reform society."
Fatana Gailani, head of the Afghanistan Women Council, pointed out that high
crime rates were a consequence of broader factors like continuing conflict,
unemployment, poverty, lack of education.
However, she too stopped short of condemning the recent executions.
"Although the execution of these 6 individuals was appropriate and had a
positive impact on the crime level, the death penalty is not the ultimate
solution," she told IWPR.
Capital punishment has been applied sparingly since the Taleban government was
ousted in 2001. While as many as 400 people have received death sentences in
the last 13 years, fewer than 40 executions have been carried out. In the past,
Karzai has been criticised for his apparent reluctance to sign death warrants.
Kabul resident Sanabar, 60, who has four daughters, said the hangings had
boosted her faith in the government.
"I used to guard my daughters all day long, because I was sure that no one
would defend us if something happened," she said. "I prevented my daughters
from travelling to college. However, since the criminals were executed, they
are now going to the city and continuing their studies. This has created hope
for us."
Kabir, 57, who sells second-hand clothes in Kabul's Kart-e Char neighbourhood,
said that he had never sent his 1 young daughters to school for fear they would
be assaulted.
"Since I have no sons [to accompany them] and there was no security, I didn't
allow my daughters to go to school after grade 6," he said. "I used to worry
every day. I used to leave work and go home to check on my girls .... Now I can
work in peace. Executing these 6 men has really weakened the morale of
criminals."
(source: IWPR.net)
DR CONGO:
Officer sentenced to death in Congo military court
A military court in northeastern Congo has convicted and sentenced to death a
high-ranking border official over the killing of a military commander early
this year.
Lt. Col. Birocho Nzanzu Consy, a former chief for border intelligence in North
Kivu Province, received the harshest penalty in a trial of 19 people in Beni in
connection with the killing of Col. Mamadou Ndala, the military commander in
the east, in a January ambush.
12 were convicted and 7 defendants acquitted. No appeals are available under
Congolese law, though those found guilty can appeal to the African Court on
Human Rights in Ethiopia.
Eastern Congo is home to myriad armed groups, many vying for control of the
region's vast mineral resources. Many rebel groups originate in neighboring
Burundi, Uganda and Rwanda.
(source: Associated Press)
SAUDI ARABIA:
Irish journalist's killer gets death penalty ---- Simon Cumbers was shot and
killed in Saudi Arabia in 2004
The man who killed Irish BBC cameraman Simon Cumbers in Saudi Arabia 10 years
ago has been sentenced to death by a court in the kingdom.
Adil Sa'ad Al-Dubayti Al Mutayri attended a brief hearing in Riyadh yesterday
with 2 other defendants accused of murder and of declaring war against the
state. The sentence is subject to appeal.
Mr Cumbers (36), originally from Navan, was shot and killed in 2004 when in the
country working on a BBC programme on al-Qaeda.
His colleague, BBC correspondent Frank Gardner, was also shot in the attack but
survived.
(source: Irish Times)
SOMALIA:
Puntland court sentences 6 men to death for al-Shabaab links
Puntland military court on Monday sentenced 6 men to death after being found of
guilty linked to Somalia's militant group al-Shabaab.
The 6 men, who sat in the dock dressed in yellow clothing, were found of having
links with the extremist group who is affiliated to also al-Qaeda. Their trial
took place in the port town of Bosaso and lasted only for few hours.
Court judge said that the men were preparing to participate in a terrorist
operation in the stable region of Puntland.
In recent years, Puntland authorities have launched a massive crackdown on the
network and its military has sentenced members and other individuals linked to
the terror group tough punishments such as death penalty.
Last year, it executed 13 suspected al-Shabab members including a woman, after
the military court found them guilty of orchestrating an assassination of a
famous scholar Dr Ahmed Haji Abdirahman. But al-Shabab denied that none of them
was part of the group.
Puntland forces captured last month the main base of al-Shabaab militants in
the Galgala mountain ranges after years of fierce battle. Meanwhile the court
postponed the trial of 2 former soldiers who have been accused for being
involved in a murder case.
(source: Horseed Media)
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