April 8
BANGLADESH:
Bangladesh death penalty aims to isolate Jamaat ---- Istanbul-based
International Jurists Union says death penalty given to Bangladeshi politician
for 'war crimes' serves to get rid of political opponents.
The death penalty given to Bangladeshi politician Mohammad Kamaruzzaman for
alleged war crimes during the country's 1971 war of independence serves to "get
rid of political opponents," Istanbul-based International Jurists Union told.
Kamaruzzaman, a leader of the Jamaat-i-Islami party, had his petition for a
trial review rejected by Bangladesh's Supreme Court Monday, the final step in
the judicial process after a court upheld his death sentence in December 2014.
Husnu Tuna, a lawyer with the union, said that the death penalty only served to
isolate the Jamaat-i-Islami both politically and socially.
"The court tries to get rid of (the Bangladeshi government's) political
opponents through war crime accusations and public humiliation," Tuna told.
He said that although the domestic court handing out the harsh penalties was a
so-called "international" crimes tribunal, it was far from meeting
international standards of justice and impartiality.
"The tribunal does not really follow any national or international trial or
criminal procedures. It is basically illegitimate considering its structure and
operation," he said, noting that the government had appointed all judges and
prosecutors of the tribunal, and all members of the investigation committee.
'ICC should get involved'
Tuna said the tribunal's trials were based on rules set by the governing
party's administration, the Ministry of Justice and some chief public
prosecutors, without any respect for international principles of fair trial or
universal human rights.
Yasin Samli, another lawyer with the Union, said that the tribunal's
jurisdiction must be clearly defined and all judges must be replaced with
"independent and impartial" judges.
"Because it is not likely to ensure international standards in a trial where
the judge, prosecutor and all members of investigation committee are appointed
by the government and all of the accused people are members of 2 different
political parties which are opposed to the government," he said.
Samli said that all cases must be transferred to the International Criminal
Court, or the ICC at The Hague, and all proceedings must be transparent and
open to international monitoring.
"At this point, we are of the opinion that the proceedings must be held by the
ICC and the cases must be transferred to the ICC, pursuant to the Rome Statute,
to which the Government of Bangladesh is a party. If such transfer is not made,
then the United Nations should create an independent and impartial commission
and monitor all stages of proceedings," he said.
He also stressed that it was essential to realign previous court orders in line
with international human rights standards.
Call made to stay death sentence
The Bangladesh Supreme Court's rejection on April 6 of Kamaruzzaman's petition
for a death penalty review "permits his imminent execution despite a seriously
flawed trial," Human Rights Watch said Monday.
The human rights watchdog said that the authorities should immediately stay
Kamaruzzaman's death sentence pending an independent review of his case.
"The death penalty is an irreversible and cruel punishment that is made even
worse when the judiciary fails to fully review such sentences," Brad Adams,
Asia director, said.
"Bangladesh's war crimes trials have been plagued by persistent and credible
allegations of fair trial violations that require impartial judicial review,"
Adams added.
"Politically motivated tribunal"
Kamaruzzaman was, at the time of the war, a senior figure in the
Jamaat-i-Islami's student wing, Islami Chatra Sangha.
The party had aligned itself with the Pakistan Army during the war -- which
according to official figures saw 3 million Bangladeshis killed over nine
months -- and allegedly had close ties to the Al-Badr militia, which supported
Pakistani army-backed alleged war crimes.
According to the war crimes tribunal, Kamaruzzaman was allegedly a regional
leader of the Al-Badr forces, commanding 2 camps and using his position as a
student leader to gain recruits, and commit heinous atrocities.
The Istanbul-based International Jurists Union was founded with the
participation of jurists from 32 different countries to operate at an
international level for the protection of human rights and dignity, and
establishment of the rule of law principle, according to the Union???s website.
It has no links with the government of Turkey.
(source: World Bulletin)
THE GAMBIA:
The Gambia Sentences Failed Coup Participants to Death, Life in Prison
On 30 December 2014, a group of disaffected soldiers launched a coup against
the government of Yahya Jammeh, which was foiled by forces loyal to the
Gambia's president. The pre-dawn attack against the State House was led by
Lieutenant Lamin Sanneh, an army deserter, and former Commander of the State
Guards Battalion. Lt. Sanneh and two of his colleagues were killed in the
attack while another (Private Modou Njie, now sentenced to death) was captured.
Later on, 2 Gambian-Americans were charged under the Neutrality Act for their
alleged involvement in the botched coup. Cherno Njie, 57, a U.S. businessman of
Gambian descent living in Austin, Texas, and Papa Faal, 46, a dual U.S.-Gambian
citizen from Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, were charged "for their role in a
recent attempted coup", the Justice Department said in a statement. Both men
had reportedly traveled to the Gambia in connection to the coup, but escaped
back to the United States via Senegal.
Authorities in Banjul have now confirmed the conviction of up to 6 soldiers
with sentences ranging from death to life imprisonment. The sentences were
handed down by a secret court martial constituted shortly after the abortive
coup on 30 December 2014. The soldiers have been tried on a number of charges
including treason and mutiny related offenses.
According to state broadcaster, Gambia Radio and Television Services (GRTS),
Lt. Col. Sarjo Jarju and Private Modou Njie are sentenced to death while Capt.
Abdoulie Jobe, Capt. Buba Bojang, Lt. Amadou Sowe and Capt. Buba Sanneh all
have life sentences. The director of public prosecution, SH Barhourn, led the
prosecution team while the accused were represented by 2 unnamed lawyers from
the National Agency for Legal Aid (NALA).
Human rights groups have raised concern over the trials and have called on the
Gambian government not to carry out the sentences immediately. In 2012, the
government executed nine of the 42 death row inmates at the time, turning
against 29 years of moratorium. However, President Yahya Jammeh later agreed to
a "conditional moratorium" after domestic and international pressure.
The Gambia absents itself from the UN's Universal Periodic Review. Amnesty
International notes that the government of Gambia has only accepted 93 of the
171 recommendations at the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva.
In November 2014, the United Nations said that two UN human rights experts were
forced to suspend an integral part of their visit to the Gambia when they were
denied access to parts of a prison and prevented from completing a torture and
killing investigation during the 1st trip ever to the country by such an
independent fact-finding team, according to a press release from the UN rights
office.
"Death sentences imposed on soldiers accused of participating in December's
attempted coup d'etat in Gambia are a cruel violation of the right to life and
the right to a fair trial," Amnesty International said.
"Gambia's justice system is deeply flawed and we have concerns about the
fairness of the trial, given that it was held in secret. Amnesty International
is calling for the death sentences to be commuted to terms of imprisonment,
pending a re-trial which meets internationally accepted fair trial standards
and does not include the possibility of a death sentence," it noted.
Commenting on Amnesty International's statement on Facebook, Ebrima Manneh
said:
The Amnesty International statement said it all. In a flawed justice system, a
verdict is always questionable especially in a trial done in secrecy. The
international community must act swiftly and sternly against this regime that
continues to terrorize the citizens.
A spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Rupert Colville
said they are deeply concerned about the death sentences. "We hope that the 6
detainees will be allowed to appeal, as is their right, and we call upon the
Gambian Government to maintain its moratorium on the use of the death penalty."
Commenting on the UN's reaction, Kairo news website reader Karamo asked the UN
to be more forceful with President Jammeh, who has been in power for more than
20 years:
the UN should be more blunt and forceful with Jammeh's regime. This is not the
1st time he is being sending innocent people to their deaths for no good
reason. He should be made to know that he is only human in one way or the other
for a start. The Gambian people need external help to free themselves from
Jammeh. God help them ...
Wondering how such an important case could be held in secret, Malick Njie wrote
on Gambia's online news site JollofNews:
Gambia is an interesting country. How come a vital trial like this held in a
closed door military court? May Allah save the people of this great country
from monster Yahya Jammeh. ...
Another Kairo News reader, Maxs, said the selfless sacrifices of those
challenging dictatorship in Gambia will be honored and remembered:
The criminal enterprise in Banjul should be removed by any means necessary. The
innocent soliders should be freed . While most Gambians continue to approve the
dictatorship through complete silence and nonengagement to savage the country,
those who sacrifice their lives and families to the cause of freedom and
liberty will always be remembered as true and patriotic sons of The Gambia.
Their selfless sacrifices will be honored in the smiling coast in very near
future.
Amadou Maneh commented:
No one and no place deserves jammeh. I bet even hell would be coerced to
accommodate him.
(source: globalvoicesonline.org)
INDONESIA:
Maids say Bali boss gave kill order
The maids of an Indonesian woman on trial for plotting the murder of her
Australian husband in Bali have testified she ordered him to be killed, not
"taken care of" as their former boss claims.
JULAIKAH Noor Aini, known as Noor Ellis, faces charges of pre-meditated murder
over the death of her businessman husband Robert Ellis, whose body was found
bound and wrapped in plastic in a rice field last October.
Ellis' maids, who face the same charges, gave evidence at her trial in Denpasar
on Wednesday.
Both said the 5 men accused of killing Mr Ellis were given orders to kill -
despite Ellis' claims she told them only to "take care of" her husband and end
their domestic strife.
The trial has previously heard Ellis met the men in a hut on October 19 to plan
the ambush of Mr Ellis at their Sanur villa, where they allegedly slashed his
throat in the kitchen.
One of the maids, Marlina Bela Saghu, alias Feli, was on Wednesday asked about
evidence she gave police, about a conversation with her boss the week before
the crime.
That night, Judge Beslin Sihombing said, Ellis "spilled her heart out" to Feli
and asked, "do you have a friend who could kill Mr Bob?"
Feli, 24, didn't answer the judge, but later when he pressed her on what Ellis
asked of the men, she said: "to kill".
The Ellis' 2nd maid, Yuliana Bili, alias Yane, also attended the hut meeting.
She said Ellis told her to describe to the 5 men Mr Ellis' physical appearance.
Asked by Judge Sihombing what the men were told to do, she said: "to kill Mr
Bob".
Neither woman was in the kitchen at the time of the attack but both told the
court they cleaned the blood afterwards - Feli because she was ordered to, and
Yane because she was scared.
Ellis, the Australian's wife of 25 years, could face the death penalty for
pre-meditated murder.
The trial continues next Wednesday.
***************
Bali 9 duo Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran could be executed this month:
authorities
Bali 9 drug smugglers Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran could be executed this
month if Indonesian authorities can find a date they consider suitable.
Indonesia's Attorney-General HM Prasetyo has said the Asia Africa Conference,
to be held in Jakarta and Bandung from April 18-24, is a consideration in the
timing of the executions, which have been in the planning for months.
Mr Prasetyo on Tuesday said it wouldn't be polite to send drug offenders from
various countries - including the Philippines, Nigeria and Ghana - to the
firing squad during the international event, "even if it is legal".
On Wednesday, his spokesman Tony Spontana told AAP authorities were still
looking for a date in April "if there are no obstacles".
Jakarta is waiting for all prisoners in line for execution to exhaust their
legal avenues.
Mr Spontana told Indonesian news website detik.com: "We are still looking for a
'good day' in the month of April for carrying out the executions".
"We're considering waiting for the Asia Africa Conference, it wouldn't be
ethical if it was at the same time as the Asia Africa Conference."
Lawyers for Chan and Sukumaran will this week lodge a fresh legal challenge
with the constitutional court, but Mr Prasetyo has said their administrative
court action - which failed on Monday - was their last chance.
"We will no longer wait," he told reporters on Tuesday.
The Australians, who were arrested in 2005 over the Bali 9 heroin smuggling
bid, are being held on Nusakambangan island, where Indonesia plans to execute
them and 8 others as part of its tough stance against drug offenders.
(source for both: news.com.au)
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