July 22
ZAMBIA:
UN rights experts hail Zambia's move away from death penalty, but warn of
"areas of concern" in Africa
2 United Nations human rights experts welcomed a recent decision by the
President of Zambia, Edgar Lungui, to commute the death sentences of 332
individuals to life imprisonment. The UN Special Rapporteurs on summary
executions, Christof Heyns, and on torture, Juan E. Mendez, also encouraged the
Zambian authorities "to take a step further by removing all reference to the
death penalty in the country's laws."
President Lungui commuted the sentences after his visit to Mukobeko Maximum
Security Prison, which despite a capacity of 51 inmates, houses hundreds.
"By commuting these death sentences, the Zambia puts a stop to mental and
physical pain and suffering, and takes an important step towards ensuring
respect for the inherent dignity of the human person," Mr. Mendez said. "This
decision is in line with the trend in Africa - as in the rest of the world - to
move away from the death penalty. As the Secretary General of the UN has said,
there is no room for this form of punishment in the 21st Century," Mr Heyns
said.
However, the experts warned of continuing areas of concern regarding the death
penalty in Africa.
In Egypt, they noted, hundreds of defendants at a time are sentenced to death
in unfair mass trials.
"Even though the execution rate is lower, these trials clearly do not meet
international standards," they said.
The situation in the Gambia is also worrying: after abruptly ending a
longstanding moratorium and hanging nine people in 2012, it has now been
proposed that the number of offenses punishable by death be expanded.
"This proposal, if adopted, would be in stark contrast to the trend away from
capital punishment elsewhere on the continent," they underlined. The
independent experts noted that President Lungui's decision supports previous
steps towards the abolition of capital punishment in the Zambia, where a
presidential moratorium on the death penalty has been maintained since 1997.
However, they called on the Zambian authorities to vote in favour of the UN
General Assembly's resolution calling for a global moratorium, rather than
abstaining, as they have in the previous 4 votes.
According to the Special Rapporteurs, 3/4 of the world States have abolished
the death penalty in law or in practice and the same applies to Africa.
In 2014 only 4 States in the region are known to have conducted executions.
Earlier this month, the Togolese Republic became Africa's 12th state party to
the 2nd Optional Protocol of the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, aimed at the abolition of the death penalty. Moreover, the African
Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights has consistently called for the
abolition of the death penalty over the last 2 decades.
The Commission has drafted a Protocol to the African Charter on Human and
Peoples' Rights on the Abolition of the Death Penalty. "These are very
significant steps by the Commission, and if the Protocol is adopted soon by the
African Union and opened for ratification by African States, that will give a
renewed emphasis to the process of putting the era of the death penalty behind
us," the UN experts stressed.
The Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions,
Christof Heyns (South Africa), is a director of the Institute for International
and Comparative Law in Africa and Professor of Human Rights Law at the
University of Pretoria, where he has also directed the Centre for Human Rights,
and has engaged in wide-reaching initiatives on human rights in Africa. He has
advised a number of international, regional and national entities on human
rights issues.
Learn more, log on to:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Executions/Pages/SRExecutionsIndex.aspx
Juan E. Mendez (Argentina) was appointed by the UN Human Rights Council as the
Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
or punishment in November 2010. He is independent from any government and
serves in his individual capacity. Mr. Mendez has dedicated his legal career to
the defense of human rights. Learn more, log on to:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Torture/SRTorture/Pages/SRTortureIndex.aspx
The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of
the Human Rights Council.
Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human
Rights system, is the general name of the Council???s independent fact-finding
and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or
thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures' experts work on
a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their
work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in
their individual capacity.
UN Human Rights, country page - Zambia:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/AfricaRegion/Pages/ZMIndex.aspx
Check the Universal Human Rights Index: http://uhri.ohchr.org/en
(source: Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OCHR), United
Nations----ochr.org)
IRAQ:
Forced to chew a sandal and facing a death sentence: ISIS fighter accused of
murdering 60 unarmed Iraqi army cadets in notorious mass slaughter is
humiliated on TV
An ISIS fighter accused of slaughtering 60 soldiers in one of the terror
group's most gruesome mass executions was forced to chew a sandal as he
appeared in front of news cameras in Iraq.
In Arab culture, even showing the soles of your shoes is considered a great
insult.
The man - named on social media as Adnan Abdul Ridha - was reportedly arrested
for his role in the bloody Speicher Camp massacre where an estimated 770
unarmed Iraqi air force cadets were captured, gunned down and buried by Islamic
State thugs.
An Iraqi court used satellite images of the site where they were killed, as
well as ISIS's own propaganda video of the killings, to sentence 24 ISIS
members to death for their role in the massacre.
Ridha is accused of gunning down 60 of them himself and could also be sentenced
to death although the Iraqi Security Forces have not confirmed this.
The man was forced to give an interview to several Iraqi media outlets. One of
them, Al-Mirbad, claims the man confessed to killing 60 students at Speicher
Air Base and being a member of ISIS.
He supposedly said that he and another terrorist called Abu Ayman took 60 of
the captured students, put them on the ground and then shot them in the head.
He was arrested in the southern-Iraqi city of Basra.
During the interview, Al-Mirbad claims he confessed to working for terror group
Al-Qaeda in 1996 and that his newest employers ISIS are funded by money from
Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey.
Days after conquering Tikrit in June 2014, ISIS claimed it executed 1,700
Shi'ite 'members of the army' who were trying to escape the coming onslaught.
The terror group began to release gruesome videos and images which showed the
men shackled together and shot in the head - before their bloodied corpses were
thrown into shallow trenches.
Showing the sole of your shoe is a 'grievous insult' and incredibly bad manners
in Arab culture - and hitting someone with one is even worse, according to the
Higgins counter-terrorism research centre.
Footwear is considered dirty because it touches the ground and is associated
with the foot - the lowest part of the body.
The shoe is also seen as unclean in Islam and Muslims take off their footwear
before prayers.
When Saddam Hussein was deposed as Iraq's leader in April 2003, protesters
swarmed around his toppled statue and struck it with their shoes.
And in 2008, an Iraqi journalist threw both his shoes at then-U.S. President
George Bush during a press conference at the prime minister's palace in Baghdad
- as a protest against American troops in the country.
As an insult to his father George Bush Sr, the first Gulf war, a mosaic of his
face was laid on the floor of the Al-Rashid Hotel in Baghdad. Anyone who
entered the lobby would have to walk over his face to get into the hotel.
The mosaic was subsequently destroyed by American soldiers in 2003 and replaced
with an image of Saddam Hussein.
The latest one was released earlier this month and showed handcuffed cadets
being led single-file to a dusty outpost near the camp, which used to be a U.S.
army base, before they were made to lie down and peppered with bullets.
An unidentified ISIS leader in military uniform is seen in the video, saying:
'This is a message I address to the whole world and especially to the Rafidha
dogs [those who reject Islam], I tell them we are coming.
One of its most harrowing scenes features a young boy shooting 2 men in the
head on the banks of the Tigris river - after they begged for mercy.
It was originally thought that 190 troops were slaughtered when the terror
group overran and conquered Saddam Hussein's hometown. But crucial satellite
imagery uncovered 3 new execution sites and tripled the death toll.
These photographs, footage of the gruesome massacre and harrowing eyewitness
accounts have now helped convict 24 of the ISIS fanatics - all of whom were
Iraqi nationals - of the atrocity.
Every one of them pleaded not guilty to the charges of murder and being part of
a terrorist group. They claimed the Iraqi forces tortured them into confessing.
At one point during the trial, relatives of the men they slaughtered stormed
the courtroom - where the defendants were locked in cages - and threw shoes and
bottles at them.
The sentences were not carried out immediately because they need to be approved
by a higher court and the Iraqi government is reportedly seeking as many as 604
other suspects in connection to the incident.
Around 600 bodies have been exhumed from the site of the mass execution since
government and allied fighters retook Tikrit in April but many of the victims
were dumped into the Tigris river.
Forensic teams began the gruesome task of uncovering the bodies of the young
army recruits on the banks of the Tigris River in April.
For almost 10 months, their devastated families had been left wondering what
became of the bodies of their sons and brothers. The only clues they had were
videos posted by the jihadis on social media sites, showing them being
machine-gunned down in their hundreds.
(source: Daily Mail)
MOROCCO/GLOBAL:
Killing for Any Reason by Any Means Is a Crime against Humanity
Although there have been calls for the abolishment of capital punishment in
human societies from time immemorial, several societies are still practicing
the execution of human beings as a punishment and a deterrent for all sorts of
wrongs. Loud and wise voices calling for an end of this legal and religious
murder are alive today struggling to get world public opinion pay attention to
this destructive act of life and abandon it forever.
Capital punishment, no matter what kind justification is given to approve of
it, is sheer murder and goes against what life is all about. No human being
anywhere in the world can deny the value of life and his or her survival and
the preservation of life at all costs. Deranged individuals and those who
commit suicide are an exception and a shame on human societies.
Religions with a claim of heavenly inspiration have condoned the death penalty
and many countries in the world have instituted this practice, whereas some
others have abolished it completely in their system of justice although they
still engage in savage killings of humans in other societies with more
sophisticated and lethal means. The United Nations adopted a non binding
resolution calling for a moratorium on capital punishment and several civic
organizations and influential people all around the world are endeavoring for
the abolishment of this evil behavior still rooted in the legal systems and
mentalities of several human societies.
I am considering in this writing some of the absurd reasons advanced by those
who advocate and justify killings in the name of justice by maintaining in
their legal system the execution of human beings in public and in front of
official witnesses and registration in official records.
Past history of human societies left a tradition in human records of
celebrating the execution of culprits for all kinds of what was considered
serious transgressions. In addition, it was the practice of the day and still
is today, to declare wars to conquer and dominate other human groups and
territories through waging a frenzy of killings till complete submission or
complete annihilation. Ethnic cleansing and genocidal practices were the order
of the day and the practice is continuing in many parts of the world today as
well.
Revealed religions advocating the divine mercy, justice and love urged humans
to do good deeds and refrain from evil acts among which killing was on the top
of the list. "Thou shall not kill," was the 1st of the Ten Commandments.
However, the adherents of them have perpetuated the practice of killing in the
name of Yahweh, the Father, God and Allah. Their rationalization for engaging
in wars resulting in destruction and the slaughter of humans and their
justification of the death penalty as an act of the divine will and divine
justice go beyond the spirit of the divine message embodied in the First
Commandment. The transgression of this Commandment and the savage slaughtering
of human beings are still continuing today in the name of religion, just like
in the past, though with more sophistication and savagery (the crusades, the
religious wars, colonialism, world wars and lately war on terrorism and Islam).
Legal procedures and complex laws have also been instituted to manage murders
and loss of life depending on the nature and circumstances of the crimes and
the status of the culprits and the victims. However, killing and taking a human
life by any means, either accidentally or intentionally, outside the so called
"legality" is condemned by all human beings all over the world although many
people are clinging to the justification and rationalization of waging wars in
defense of alleged national vital interests and combating terrorism.
Among the reasons then for the legal death penalty carried out by the so called
authorities in human societies are deterrence, equal punishment for the
murderous act and a vindication for the victim/s. Underlining these is
dispensing divine justice and fulfilling a religious duty from the perspective
of some believers.
The modern nation-states with their monopoly of the means of violence and
control of the justice systems continue to legally execute individuals inside
their own societies, as well as outside, by waging destructive wars resulting
in the killing of human beings and the devastation of nature and artifacts of
human civilizations. Needless to say that some states have abolished the legal
murder of convicted criminals in their societies, but, some of them find no
deterrent in participating in a frenzy of killing others outside their borders
most of them innocent civilians (present day wars on terrorism). The issue of
capital punishment is not settled forever, though, and a final solution to this
barbaric and criminal behavior in human societies is still awaiting a global
consensus for its implementation. Official religions and some hard headed
individuals and organizations are still clinging to a narrow interpretation of
the scriptures and continue to justify killing and taking human life on the
grounds that the almighty willed and prescribed it.
The Hebrew scholars, it is reported, have used their interpretation of the
Torah and the scriptures to make it almost impossible to carry out the death
penalty legally, although when it comes to non Hebrews, the matter becomes
different, especially when Palestinians and Muslims are concerned. They,
however, have not yet demonstrated enough courage and acumen to ban killing all
together and stick to the letter of the 1st commandment: "thou shall not kill."
Some Christians, on the other hand, have a commendable attitude towards
preserving God given life reflected in the beliefs of some who are standing
against abortion. However, some of them do not follow this to its logical
conclusion, namely, standing against killing human being under any circumstance
even if the death sentence is carried by the authorities of any nation or state
or organization. Texas, Oklahoma and all other states and countries that
execute human beings are just few examples of the murders legally approved and
condoned by some Christians in contradiction of the teachings of the Bible
calling for the preservation of life given by the creator at all costs. Even
Cain, the killer of his brother, is spared though with a heavenly punishment to
toll for his living. Here are some verses from Genesis:
[4:12] When you till the ground, it will no longer yield to you its strength;
you will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth."
[4:13] Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is greater than I can bear!
[4:14] Today you have driven me away from the soil, and I shall be hidden from
your face; I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and anyone who
meets me may kill me."
[4:15] Then the LORD said to him, "Not so! Whoever kills Cain will suffer a
sevenfold vengeance." And the LORD put a mark on Cain, so that no one who came
upon him would kill him.
Again, even Lamech, would be spared, though with a punishment:
[4:24] If Cain is avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy-sevenfold."
And again, the preservation of life and peaceful resolution of problems
resulting in interaction with other human being is recorded in the New
Testament. In Mathiew:
38 'You have heard that the law says, "Take an eye for an eye, and a tooth for
a tooth."
39 But I tell you, do not fight with anyone who does wrong to you. But if
someone hits you on one side of your face, turn the other side to him also.
Are then Jews and Christians courageous enough and true to their faith to
realize that life is the most valuable gift and its preservation is God's
covenant with humans? There is no reason to hold on to the contradiction of
wanting to preserve life in its initial formation in the womb, as
anti-abortionists advocate and taking it away when it is being at its full
fledged stage. The consequences of taking away and eliminating a mature human
being have far more negative ramifications on human society as a whole than,
say, abortion, not that abortion itself should be encouraged or condoned.
Medical expertise and the circumstances and conditions of pregnancy should be
taken into account.
Standing against capital punishment and wars is a noble attitude endorsed by
peace oriented people from different religions and political orientations.
Muslims, on the other hand, are a different case even though Islam as a
revealed religion recognizes the previous books and all the prophets and their
divine messages. Killings and executions characterized a great deal of the
actions of rulers in the name of Islam. Since the very beginning of the
establishment of Islam as an organized religion until present day, Islamic
countries were involved in wars amongst themselves and against non Muslim
countries, Christians and non Christians, for various reasons. Capital
punishment and taking away human life, was the order of the day justified
allegedly by Allah's command in the Quran and practiced by the prophet and the
subsequent legitimate and illegitimate rulers. The Islamic scholars provided
official edicts based on their interpretation and understanding of the
scriptures always though taking into account the desires of the rulers and
their mutual interests.
A great debate about methods of killing has been raging in Islamic societies
lately after the outrageous and barbarous burning of the Jordanian pilot by
ISIS. The majority of Muslim writers focused mainly on criticizing the method
i.e. the burning, rare were those who had courage enough to condemn the killing
itself. Yet, when one considers few verses of the Quran dealing with killing
and even murder, he would be struck by the same revelations and commandments of
God mentioned in the old and New testaments; namely the preservation of human
life because the soul is a gift of Allah, his own breath.
The Quran chapters and verses leave no doubt for the preference of saving human
life at all cost even in the verses used to justify capital punishment quoted
by some interpreters of the scriptures. The following verses are an example of
this:
Sahih International
Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a
soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land - it is as if he
had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one - it is as if he had saved
mankind entirely. And our messengers had certainly come to them with clear
proofs. Then indeed many of them, [even] after that, throughout the land, were
transgressors.(5:32)
Yusuf Ali
If a man kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell, to abide
therein (For ever): And the wrath and the curse of Allah are upon him, and a
dreadful penalty is prepared for him.(4:93 )
O you who have believed, do not consume one another???s wealth unjustly but
only [in lawful] business by mutual consent. And do not kill yourselves [or one
another]. Indeed, Allah is to you ever Merciful. (4:29)
Sahih International
O you who have believed, prescribed for you is legal retribution for those
murdered - the free for the free, the slave for the slave, and the female for
the female. But whoever overlooks from his brother anything, then there should
be a suitable follow-up and payment to him with good conduct. This is an
alleviation from your Lord and a mercy. But whoever transgresses after that
will have a painful punishment. (Cow: 178)
Sahih International
Indeed, the penalty for those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and
strive upon earth [to cause] corruption is none but that they be killed or
crucified or that their hands and feet be cut off from opposite sides or that
they be exiled from the land. That is for them a disgrace in this world; and
for them in the Hereafter is a great punishment, (5:33).
Clearly then, it is only lack of courage that prevents Islamic societies to ban
capital punishment and the killing of human beings. Allah's commandments to
preserve life and other human rights are in total agreement with The Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in spite of the resistance of some narrow
minded Moslem religious zealots. Cain's life was spared though with Allah's
curse and anger on him on earth and a hell fire in the hereafter. God's message
is one in spite of its erroneous interpretation by humans.
In conclusion, capital punishment and killing for any reason by any means is a
crime against humanity and no religious scripture can justify it. As stated in
article 3 of the Universal Declaration: "Everyone has the right to life,
liberty and security of person."
(source: The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not
necessarily reflect Morocco World News' editorial policy----Abdelghani
Bouchouar, Morocco World News)
PAKISTAN:
Official Human Rights Body Calls for Stay in Juvenile Death Penalty Case
A statutory human rights watchdog in Sindh, Pakistan has called for a halt to
the impending execution of Shafqat Hussain, in order for allegations of torture
and his young age at the time of sentencing to be examined.
In an opinion published today, the Sindh Human Rights Commission, headed by a
retired judge, notes that "there are no eye witnesses [to the alleged offence]
but only [the] confession of the accused with [an] allegation of torture."
The Commission criticises the lack of attention paid to the torture allegations
during Shafqat's trial, stating that "we fail to understand why [there was]
such a careless handling of a serious case where [the] life of a human being is
at stake," and asks whether Shafqat can "be executed when there is so much
confusion and the evidence is lacking."
The Commission also argues that the trial court "should have taken up" the
issue of Shafqat's juvenility at the time of sentencing, and criticises the
inquiry into his age carried out by the Government's Federal Investigation
Agency (FIA) as "not admissible."
Shafqat was under 18 when he was sentenced to death - something which goes
against both Pakistan and international law - yet the Pakistan Government has
refused to back a judicial inquiry into his age, instead withholding a number
of documents, notably his school record, which could provide proof.
In its conclusion, the Commission recommends that the Government of Sindh
province pushes for the Pakistan Supreme Court to reopen Shafqat's case in
order "to consider the evidence which could not be produced at the trial...so
that due justice may be done." It adds that a stay of execution may be
necessary until the court can consider the matter.
With the end of Ramadan, Pakistan's Government is expected to restart
executions which have so far taken an estimated 180 lives since the lifting of
a moratorium on the death penalty last December.
Commenting, Kate Higham, an investigator at international human rights
organisation Reprieve said: "This comprehensive opinion highlights the many
injustices which Shafqat has faced. Not only was he sentenced to death when
underage, but he was subjected to torture in order to extract a false
'confession.' The Commission is right to call for a reopening of the case to
ensure that justice is done - Pakistan's Government must listen."
--
Reprieve is a UK-based human rights organization that uses the law to enforce
the human rights of prisoners, from death row to Guantanamo Bay.
(source: commondreams.org)
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