April 6
BANGLADESH:
SC upholds Kamaruzzaman's death penalty
The Supreme Court has upheld the death penalty of condemned war criminal
Muhammad Kamaruzzaman for killing 144 villagers at Sohagpur village in Sherpur
during the 1971 Liberation War.
A 4-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice SK Sinha
passed the order rejecting Kamaruzzaman's review petition on Monday morning.
Kamaruzzaman's lawyer Shishir Monir said: "We have filed a petition with the
jail authorities to meet Kamaruzzaman. After the meeting, we will decide our
next step regarding the matter."
Attorney General Mahbubey Alam said: "Kamaruzzaman can file a mercy petition
with President Md Abdul Hamid admitting the crimes. The government will decide
about his execution after disposal of the petition."
"Kamaruzzaman can file a mercy petition, government will decide about execution
after disposal of the petition."
Kamaruzzaman's lawyers filed the petition on March 5 seeking review of the
death penalty upheld by the Appellate Division on November 3 last year.
The International Crimes Tribunal 2 had sentenced the al-Badr leader to death
on May 9, 2013 for committing crimes against humanity during the 1971
Liberation War.
He is the 2nd war crimes convict to file a review petition with the top court.
Another Jamaat leader Abdul Quader Molla was executed on December 12, 2013.
The full text of the Appellate Division judgment was released on February 18
and the International Crimes Tribunal the following day issued a warrant to
execute the death sentence.
On November 3, 2014, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court upheld the
tribunal verdict that had awarded death sentence to the Jamaat-e-Islami
assistant secretary general for committing crimes against humanity during the
Liberation War in 1971.
Kamaruzzaman was shifted to Dhaka Central Jail from Kashimpur Jail in Gazipur
after the SC upheld his death penalty.
(source: Dhaka Tribune)
*****************
Verdict to be executed soon: Law minister
The Supreme Court verdict upholding the death penalty of war criminal Muhammad
Kamaruzzaman will be executed at the earliest possible time on completion of
the remaining formalities, the law minister said today.
Before execution of the judgement, Kamaruzzaman will be given the opportunity
to seek presidential mercy, Anisul Huq told The Daily Star after the apex court
rejected his review petition filed against its verdict that upheld his death
penalty.
The prison authorities will ask him whether he will seek the mercy, the
minister said.
If Kamaruzzaman does not seek mercy, the prison authorities will decide the
next procedure, he added.
"I am satisfied over the SC judgement as justice has finally been delivered,"
Huq said.
(source: The Daily Star)
INDONESIA:
Indonesia court rejects Australians' appeal against death penalty
An Indonesian court has rejected appeals by 2 Australian men convicted of drug
trafficking. This paves the way for Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran to face
execution by firing squad.
The State Administrative Court in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, ruled on
Monday against the appeals launched by defense teams for Andrew Chan and Myuran
Sukumaran against President Joko Widodo's rejection of their pleas for
clemency.
"The appeal by the challenger is rejected," presiding Judge Ujang Abdullah
said, ruling on Chan's pleas.
In its ruling, the court said that it had no jurisdiction to examine the
president's rejection of a request for clemency. The defense teams for Chan and
Sukumaran argued the president had not given due consideration to their cases.
The 2 Australians were arrested in 2005 and convicted in February 2006 of
plotting to smuggle heroin out of Indonesia. With Monday's decision, Chan and
Myuran appeared to have exhausted the last legal recourse that could prevent
them from being executed by firing squad on Indonesia's prison island of
Nusakambangan.
Citizens of France, Brazil, the Philippines, Ghana, Nigeria and Indonesia are
also among a group of 10 convicts on death row in Indonesia.
Diplomatic tensions
The cases of Chan and Myuran have generated diplomatic tension between
Indonesia and Australia.
Shortly after the court rejected a previous appeal for clemency from the
Australian nationals' lawyers, President Widodo warned against foreign
governments trying to intervene on behalf of any of the 11 foreigners on death
row in Indonesia.
"The first thing I need to say firmly is that there shouldn't be any
intervention towards the death penalty, because it is our sovereign right to
exercise our law," President Widodo said.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott had previously suggested that Jakarta
should not forget the significant aid his country had provided to Indonesia
following the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
(source: Deutsche Welle)
*******************
Death-Row Australians Lose Clemency Appeal
2 Australians facing a firing squad for drug smuggling have had their appeal
for clemency rejected by an Indonesian court.
Andrew Chan, 31, was found guilty in 2006 along with Myuran Sukumaran, 33, of
being the ringleaders of a gang which plotted to smuggle heroin out of the
country.
The pair had challenged the court's decision not to hear an appeal against an
earlier decision by Indonesia's President Joko Widodo's to refuse them
clemency.
The attorney general's office said that the ruling handed down by a court in
Jakarta left him with no further legal avenues to avoid the death penalty.
Australia has been pursuing a campaign to save the men from a firing squad,
stressing they have been rehabilitated while in prison.
The pair are among 10 drug convicts due to be executed at the prison island of
Nusakambangan. Others in the group include citizens of France, Brazil, the
Philippines, Ghana, Nigeria and Indonesia.
The case has heightened diplomatic tensions between Australia and Indonesia
with Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott saying he was "revolted" by the
planned executions.
But President Widodo has previously warned foreign governments seeking clemency
against interfering in his country's affairs.
The pair lost an appeal in February, though Indonesia's attorney general is
awaiting the outcome of appeals by three remaining death-row inmates before
setting a date for the executions.
A spokesman has previously said the executions will be carried out together,
but they could be conducted in batches.
Indonesia has harsh penalties for drug trafficking and resumed executions in
2013 after a 5-year gap.
(source: 964eagle.co.uk)
GLOBAL:
Capital punishment around the world
While the number of executions worldwide is decreasing, some countries are
continuing to execute hundreds of prisoners every year.
Executions worldwide are down almost 22 % to 607, according to a recent Amnesty
International report, but that figure excludes China which maintains strict
secrecy on its death penalty figures.
It is estimated more than 19,000 people are on death row worldwide.
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed at least 17
Australians could face the death penalty for alleged crimes committed in other
countries.
22 countries executed prisoners in 2014, though that's just more than 1/2 the
number that executed prisoners 20 years ago.
The 5 countries with the highest rates of executions are China, Iran, Saudi
Arabia, Iraq and the United States. #TalkAboutIt takes a closer look at the top
5 and Indonesia, where Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran are on
death row for drug smuggling.
China
China executes more prisoners than the rest of the world combined, according to
Amnesty International, which believes the number executed is around 2,466.
But the organisation said due to state secrets the true figure of executions is
not known.
China executes by lethal injection or firing squad.
Drug-related crimes accounted for 8 % of executions, while economic-related
crimes accounted for 15 %.
China's "strike hard" campaign to act tough on terrorism resulted in 21
executions between June and August 2014 in the autonomous region of Xinjiang,
home to the large, mostly Muslim Uighur ethnic minority.
An Australian man has been sentenced to death for drug smuggling, but that
could be commuted to life.
Meanwhile, Australian-New Zealand dual national Peter Gardner remains in a
Chinese jail and could face a death penalty over drug smuggling allegations.
A spokesperson from New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said
consular staff from the country's Consulate-General in Guangzhou are continuing
to provide consular advice and check on Mr Gardner's well-being.
Iran
More than 289 people were executed in Iran in 2014, but Amnesty International
believes as many as 454 more were killed.
Public hanging is Iran's most common form of capital punishment, despite a 2008
moratorium on public executions.
Under some circumstances, those sentenced are flogged before they are hanged.
Crimes punishable by death include murder, terrorism-related offences, rape,
robbery, kidnapping, burglary, drug offences such as trafficking, economic
crimes, adultery, apostasy, homosexuality, treason and espionage, according to
Cornell University.
Stoning is also a legal method of execution for adultery in Iran and is
overwhelmingly inflicted on women.
Women are buried up to their shoulders but men only up to their waists.
Stones are hurled at them until they die or escape the pit. The condemned are
spared if they free themselves before dying.
Iran has the world's highest rate of execution by stoning, though the practice
is gaining popularity in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan.
Iranian human rights lawyer Shadi Sadr said most stonings take place in secret,
at prisons, in the desert or during early mornings in cemeteries.
Iran's Islamic Penal Code, adopted in 2013, does not prohibit stoning and
permits punishment prescribed by Sharia law, which includes stoning.
The UN harshly condemns the practice.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia executed at least 90 people in 2014, including 2 women.
Beheading in public using a sword is the most common form of execution in the
country.
Shooting prisoners via firing squad is also used.
Death penalty crimes include adultery, blasphemy, fornication, homosexuality
and sorcery.
Stoning is also a legal method of execution for adultery in Saudi Arabia, as in
Iran.
Iraq
Iraq put at least 61 prisoners to death in 2014, with hanging being the
preferred method of execution.
In Iraq, prisoners can be hung for war crimes, treason, espionage, military
offences, drug offences, rape, kidnapping, murder and aggravated murder.
United States
The United States executed 35 death row inmates in 2014, down from 39 in 2013,
all through lethal injection.
It is the only Western democracy in the top 10 executing nations.
Capital punishment is legal in 32 states, but only 7 states put prisoners to
death in 2014, with most executions conducted in the southern states including
Texas, Florida and Oklahoma.
All of those executed in 2014 had been on death row for 8 years or more.
7 states have not conducted executions for a decade.
The crimes punishable by death vary from state to state, but 1st-degree murder
and treason are the primary crimes.
The state of Washington has an official moratorium on executions.
Lethal injection remains the preferred method of execution across the country.
However there is currently a shortage, impacted by a ban on EU countries
supplying the necessary components.
The worst year to date for botched executions by lethal injection in the United
States was 2014.
Electrocution remains an option for 8 states. Tennessee uses the electric chair
if the lethal drugs are not available for injection.
Gas chamber, hanging and firing squad are backup options for some states where
lethal injection is not a possibility.
About 150 people have been exonerated since 1973.
Indonesia
The firing squad is the preferred method of execution in Indonesia.
In December 2014, Indonesia resumed executions for drug-related offences under
the new leadership of president Joko Widodo.
Within Mr Widodo's 1st 100 days of office, 6 prisoners were executed.
If the president maintains his hardline stance on drug crimes, about 40 more
foreign citizens on death row could be executed.
At the end of 2014, 64 out of 130 death row prisoners were due to be killed for
drug trafficking.
A number of crimes are punishable by death including murder, terrorism,
robbery, treason, economic crimes, espionage and war crimes.
(source: abc.net.au)
ASIA:
Capital punishment: Where and why it's practiced in Asia
The planned executions of nine prisoners on death row in Indonesia has drawn
focus back to the contentious political and social issues of capital punishment
around the globe, but most particularly in Asia where it is still widely used.
This article will look into some of the factors at play such as public opinion,
religion, the types of crimes punishable and the reasons it is or isn't being
used.
While Fiji (included as part of the wider Asia-Pacific region) became the 99th
country in February 2015 to abolish the death penalty and Asia has increasingly
moved towards abolition, as a region it is actually the highest enforcer of the
death penalty. While figures are swayed by China's statistics - it executes
more people than the rest of the world put together (actual figures are a state
secret) - there has been a momentum shift in recent years back towards the
death penalty as the result of terror attacks, brutal rape cases, a growth in
right wing politics and the perceived threat of drug offences.
Despite a previous moratorium, Indonesia, Pakistan and Vietnam resumed
executions in 2013. Indonesia has executed 6 people this year and is expected
execute 9 more in the near future, with more to follow. Pakistan has put 18
people to death so far in 2015. Of the 9 countries that have continuously
executed in each of the past 5 years, 3 are from Asia - Bangaldesh, China and
North Korea.
For an overview of the situation see this 2014 report from Amnesty
International:
The full report is available here. A summary of executions in Asia from the
report was listed as follows:
EXECUTIONS AND DEATH SENTENCES IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC
At least 37 executions were reported to have been carried out in 10 countries
in the Asia-Pacific region:
Afghanistan (2), Bangladesh (2), China (+), India (1), Indonesia (5), Japan
(8), Malaysia (2+), North Korea(+), Taiwan (6), Viet Nam (7+). This figure does
not include thousands of executions believed to have taken place in China.
At least 1,030 new death sentences were known to have been imposed in 17
countries in the region in 2013:
Afghanistan (174), Bangladesh (220+), China (+), India (72+), Indonesia (16+),
Japan (5), Laos (3+), Malaysia (76+), Maldives (13), North Korea (+), Pakistan
(226+), Singapore (1+), South Korea (2), Sri Lanka (13+), Taiwan (7), Thailand
(50+), Viet Nam (148+)
Where it's practiced
From Wikipedia on the "use of capital punishment by country":
Of the 57 independent countries in the Asia-Pacific region that are UN member
or observer states: (Note - Taiwan is not recognized by the UN as a country, so
it is not counted in the statistics below, although it is included for
information in the Asia-Pacific table)
20 (35%) have abolished it.
2 (4%) retain it for crimes committed in exceptional circumstances (such as in
time of war).
12 (21%) permit its use for ordinary crimes, but have not used it for at least
10 years and are believed to have a policy or established practice of not
carrying out executions, or it is under a moratorium.
23 (40%) maintain the death penalty in both law and practice.
The information above is accurate as of 2015, when Fiji abolished the death
penalty.
In 2013, Asia had the worlds four leading practitioners of capital punishment -
China, Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. China continues to execute more people
than the rest of the world put together. The most recent countries to abolish
capital punishment in the Asia-Pacific region are; Timor-Leste (2002), Bhutan
(2004), Samoa (2004), Philippines (2006), Kyrgyzstan (2007), Uzbekistan (2008),
Mongolia (2012), and Fiji (2015).
Why it's practiced
The penalty is enforced throughout Asia for crimes such as adultery, blasphemy,
economic crimes, rape, aggravated robbery, treason and crimes against the
state, drugs, porn, murder, corruption, and watching banned videos, among other
things.
Using Indonesia as a case in point, Death Penalty Worldwide lists 17 crimes
punishable by death that include:
Murder, other offenses resulting in death (aggravated robbery), terrorism
related offenses resulting in death, terrorism offenses not resulting in death,
robbery not resulting in death, drug trafficking not resulting in death, drug
possession, economic crimes not resulting in death, treason, espionage,
military offenses not resulting in death, war crimes, crimes against humanity
and genocide, other offenses not resulting in death (chemical weapons).
Wikipedia's listing for "use of capital punishment by country" outlines the
methods, penalties and history of capital punishment throughout the region.
Some entries include:
China
Shooting; lethal injection. China carries out far more executions than all of
the rest of the world combined, and is the only country in the world that
routinely executes thousands of people every year. On 25 February 2011 China's
newly revised Criminal Law reduced the number of crimes punishable by death by
13, from 68 to 55. Among these are embezzlement, rape (particularly of
children), fraud, bombing, people trafficking, piracy, corruption, arson,
murder, poaching, endangerment of national security and terrorism. Even the
higher sections of Chinese society are not exempt from the death penalty, as a
billionaire was recently put to death. See also capital punishment in the
People's Republic of China.
Hong Kong and Macau, have separate legal systems and have abolished the death
penalty. In Hong Kong it was abolished in 1993 by the then British colonial
government, and last used in 1966 (see capital punishment in Hong Kong). In
Macau it was last used in the 19th century and abolished in 1976 when Portugal
abolished the death penalty on all its territories (see capital punishment in
Macau).
India
Hanging. Death penalty for murder; instigating a minor's or an idiot's suicide;
treason; acts of terrorism; a 2nd conviction for drug trafficking, aircraft
hijacking, aggravated robbery, treason, aggravated rape and drug smuggling
under aggravated circumstances; abetting sati, mutiny and its abetting; causing
explosions which can endanger life or property and a few military offences like
desertion. Military offences may be punished with a firing squad.
Indonesia
Firing squad. Death penalty for murder; drug trafficking; terrorism.
Japan
Hanging. Treason; murder. Prosecutors push for the death penalty only in the
case of multiple murders, or single murder with aggravating circumstances.[116]
Judges usually impose death penalty in case of multiple homicides. Between 1946
and 2003 766 people were sentenced to death, 608 of whom were executed. For 40
months from 1989 to 1993 successive ministers of justice refused to authorise
executions, which amounted to an informal moratorium.
Arguments for the death penalty
In countries like Indonesia, the government has taken a hard line stance
against drug offenders based on their belief it will deter further crimes of
the same nature and punishment is needed for the numbers of people whose lives
it ruins. They have also drawn a distinction between their efforts to prevent
its own citizens being executed overseas and people they categorise as
terrorists or mass murderers. President Joko Widodo announced in December 2014
he would not grant clemency to 64 people on death row for drug crimes.
Australians Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan are amongst those slated for
execution in the near future. 4 Indonesians, a Ghanian, Nigerian and Brazilian
may also be executed with them.
Other arguments for the death penalty are for a punishment to fit the crime,
that it will provide closure and vindication for victims, deterrence and
prevention of reoffending, an incentive to help police, and that public opinion
demands it. It is also the case that while some countries retain the death
penalty, the understanding is it is to be used in extreme cases only and many
have not exercised the law for some time. For example, the last execution in
Papua New Guinea was in 1954, but it voted in 2013 to introduce the death
penalty for rape, robbery and sorcery-related murder.
Arguments against the death penalty
Amnesty International provides a full list of reasons it opposes the death
penalty. These include unfair trials within skewed justice systems, offences by
juveniles or those not responsible for their acts through drug use or mental
illness, discrimination, mistakes over innocence, discrimination, use as a
political tool, it brutalises society, trials/executions conducted in secrecy,
the inhumaneness of executions, and its denial of the right to life enshrined
in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Amnesty also outlines 10 myths about the death penalty and 1 pertinent to the
Indonesian case follows:
Myth 6: The death penalty is an effective deterrent to violent crimes
FACT: There is no convincing evidence that the death penalty is an effective
deterrent to crime. Many murders take place when the perpetrators are under
great emotional stress, or under the influence of drugs - times when they are
not considering the consequences.
Research has consistently shown that the death penalty does not deter crime
more effectively than other punishments.
Public opinion
In Indonesia, there have been recent moves towards abolition and reports have
emerged in newspapers criticising President Widodo's hard-line stance. Widodo
is also under pressure to retain his tough guy image and to stand up to foreign
influences. Some nation states like China have also routinely listed public
opinion as the reason for capital punishment.
The Death Penalty Information Centre has published a variety of polls conducted
into public opinion in a range of countries. Those pertinent to Asia include:
Record 85 % of people in Japan favor death penalty
The percentage of people in favor of the death penalty has reached a record
high, with 85.6 % of survey respondents saying capital punishment is
"unavoidable," according to a government poll released Saturday. About 55 % of
respondents described the extension of the statute of limitations for capital
crimes, including murder, to 25 years from 15 years in 2005 under the revised
Code of Criminal Procedure, as "too short." Of those who said the period is too
short, 49.3 % said the statute of limitations should be abolished, according to
the survey. The proportion of respondents in favor of the death penalty rose by
4.2 % points from the previous survey in 2004, indicating that the number of
people who hold such a view has been steadily increasing since posting 73.8 %
in the 1st survey. Only 5.7 % said the death penalty should be abolished, down
0.3 point from the 2004 poll. (Japan Times, February 7, 2010)
Koreans Favor Cautious Use, Question Benefits to Victim's Families
Results from a state-conducted survey released in March show that 65% of South
Koreans believe that the death penalty should remain law. However, only 49%
found the practice to be effective in preventing crime, and 58% believed that
the country must use caution in administering the punishment. An overwhelming
90% believed that the death penalty provided no benefit for the families of
victims. (Korea Times, March 23, 2004)
The Japanese figures were disputed in "Confronting Capital Punishment in Asia:
Human Rights, Politics and Public Opinion" edited by Roger Hood, Surya Deva who
noted further studies on the issue that found citizens had no strong feeling
one way or the other and the government needed to better inform the public
about capital punishment.
In China and Japan and no doubt in India one of the most prevalent arguments is
that public opinion demands the death penalty. In China and Japan this appears
to be taken for granted and even when evidence is brought forward to challenge
this assumption, it is largely ignored, not only by the media but also by
academics and administrators. As Michelle Miao notes: 'It is commonly asserted
that the general public has a blind faith in capital punishment in China. The
Chinese authorities insist that resorting to the death penalty is necessary to
appease growing public anger in highly publicised cases involving murder and
other grave crimes'.
Does religion play a part?
Islam largely accepts capital punishment and those nations that practice strict
Sharia law are more highly associated with its use. In Islamic countries
beheading, firing squad, hanging and stoning are common methods of execution.
However an article by the BBC on religious views on capital punishment noted a
growing abolitionist Islamic view on capital punishment.
There is generally considered no unified opinion under Buddhist policy on
capital punishment. Burma (Myanmar) for example has a moratorium on executions
at present, the last execution in 1993. Bhutan abolished capital punishment in
2004. Sri Lanka practices a retentionist policy but has not executed anyone
since 1976.
South Korea, which has seen a rise in Christianity and a revival of Buddhism,
has an unofficial moratorium on executions since 1998. However the death
penalty is in effect for murder, rebellion, treason, and robbery-homicide.
Christians have argued both for and against the death penalty throughout
history, and while it was previously held largely as necessary, this has been
largely reversed in the Christian world, although the USA remains one of the
highest enforcers of capital punishment.
Hinduism has no official line on capital punishment but largely opposes
killing, violence and revenge. India, while officially a secular, pluralistic
democracy, has revivalist Hindu undercurrents. Capital punishment has been
retained in India but the Supreme Court has ruled it be only used in the rarest
of cases. However the recent horrific rapes in the country have revived the
debate about it.
(source: Asian Correspondent)
INDIA:
Nirbhaya case won't get any preferential treatment: SC----CJI HL Dattu also
said the judiciary was striving to reduce the life of a case to a maximum of
five years.
Chief Justice H L Dattu on Sunday said the Nirbhaya gang-rape-cum-murder case
pending in the Supreme Court will not get any preferential treatment and the
appeals against death sentences to the accused will be taken up as per their
turn.
"There are 23 death reference cases pending in the Supreme Court which are
older than Nirbhaya case. We go in the chronological order of the cases
reaching the SC. We are now hearing the appeals against death penalty cases
which were filed in 2012 and 2013. Nirbhaya case appeal was filed in SC in
2014. So it will await its turn," the CJI said.
Justice Dattu also said the judiciary was striving to reduce the life of a case
to a maximum of 5 years, a daunting task given the poor judge-population ratio
in the country. He added that the ultimate aim was to bring down the life of a
case to 2 years but that would require increasing the number of judges and
beefing up court infrastructure.
Speaking after the conclave of chief justices followed by an interaction
between CJs and chief ministers, Justice Dattu said, "We will try our best to
see that no case is kept pending for more than 5 years in a court. We are
trying our best. But given the poor state of judicial infrastructure and the
very low judges to population ratio, the task is daunting despite the judges
working harder. Unless the number of judges is increased, it is very difficult
to speed up the justice delivery system."
He said there was a popular misconception that judges enjoyed a lot of
holidays. "On the contrary, we as Supreme Court judges may be sitting in court
for 190 days a year. But we don't sit and enjoy the rest of the days at home.
There are judgments to be written. We don't even get the opportunity to spend
time with our family members. But people have a misconception that judges enjoy
a lot of holidays," he said.
He said the chief justices' conference has tasked the CJI with setting up a
committee to examine whether the selection of district judges should be done
through written examination followed by an interview or through a Judicial
Service Commission.
Law minister D V Sadananda Gowda said chief justices and chief ministers agreed
that the infrastructural needs of judiciary in states would be resolved
amicably through dialogue.
Asked why PM Narendra Modi expressed a need for strong in-house checks for the
judiciary, Gowda said, "Judiciary has its own mechanism to deal with problems.
But independence of judiciary will not be encroached upon by the executive."
(source: The Times of India)
AFRICA:
African countries and the death penalty: A bad relationship they want to, but
just can't, give up
Even though the last official execution in the Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC) is known to have taken place in 2003, the country continues to reject
recommendations to abolish the death penalty.
This is indicative of trends across Africa which indicate that the continent is
slowly turning its back on the death penalty and executions, but it still can't
quite let it go. This according to data obtained in the 2014 "Death Sentences
and Executions" report by rights group, Amnesty International.
Compared to 2013, there was a total of 46 known executions in sub-Saharan
Africa, compared to 64 in 2013, representing a drop of 28%. These executions
were carried out in just three countries; Equatorial Guinea (9), Somalia (14)
and Sudan (23).
There was also a reduction in the number of countries that imposed death
sentences - from 19 in 2013, to 18 in 2014. However, there was a sharp increase
in the number of death sentences recorded but this can be attributed to mass
rulings in Egypt and Nigeria which vastly increased death sentence rates
worldwide.
At least 2,466 people are known to have been sentenced to death in 2014 - 1,168
of which are attributed to Egypt (509) and Nigeria (659) alone. In Egypt the
report put the high numbers down to death sentences after mass trials that were
grossly unfair. These death sentences followed referrals made by the court to
the Grand Mufti, Egypt's highest religious official.
In Nigeria most death sentences imposed are for murder and armed robbery.
However in 2014 military courts also imposed mass death sentences for mutiny
and conspiracy to mutiny.
This despite Article 6(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, to which Nigeria is a party, stipulating that "sentence of death may be
imposed only for the most serious crimes".
Under international human rights standards, "most serious crimes" has been
interpreted as being limited to crimes involving intentional killing. Since the
charges against all the soldiers failed to meet the threshold of "most serious
crimes" the death sentences are in violation of international human rights law.
Not letting go
However, by the end of 2014, even though there were at least 1,484 people under
sentence of death, not a single execution was carried out. A trend which can be
seen across the continent.
Kenya has an established practice of not carrying out executions although it
continues to impose death sentences. No death sentences were imposed in Benin
for the 4th year running, the last known executions in Benin were carried out
in 1987.
Although there have been no executions since 1998, in Sierra Leone the death
penalty is still retained for treason and aggravated robbery and is mandatory
for murder.
In Malawi, even though the death penalty is applicable for certain crimes, the
last known execution was carried out in 1992 and the country still won't
consider abolition.
Death sentences were also not carried out in the Republic of Congo or in Ghana
and though both countries have accepted recommendations to look into changes
and abolishment of the death sentence, neither one implemented any. In Ghana
however, President John Mahama commuted 21 death sentences to life imprisonment
in commemoration of Ghana's 54th Republic Day Anniversary.
Meanwhile in Zimbabwe, according to government information no executions were
carried out in 2014, despite 95 people being on death row. In fact, four people
had their death sentences commuted to life imprisonment and one person was
exonerated.
Though it is certainly carried out in places, the death sentence has an almost
ceremonial role - making a point when it is most needed, which is perhaps the
reason why so many countries can't let it go.
After all, the power to wield the rule of law, along with people's lives, as a
propaganda tool is perhaps the most useful when it comes to keep the citizenry
in check - and, considering Nigeria's case of mutinying soldiers whilst
fighting one of the country's greatest battles against the Islamist militants,
Boko Haram - a government never knows when it might be needed.
(source: mgafrica.com)
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