July 29
QATAR:
Qatar said to consider tougher penalties on drug dealing
Qatar is considering a crackdown on drug dealers who sell to adolescents,
according to local press.
The Gulf state wants to impose harsher punishments on dealers to curb drug use
among school and college students, an official told Arabic daily Al Sharq.
Amr Aly Al Hemeidy, assistant director of the Ministry of Interior's narcotics
department, was quoted as saying the most dangerous drugs used by addicts in
Qatar are cocaine, heroine and morphine.
Other common drugs are tramadol, captagon and Lyrica, he said.
According to a report in Doha News, current penalties for drug use and dealing
range from jail time to the death penalty, as well as fines of up to QR500,000
($137,000).
Al Hemeidy was reported to have stated that drug abuse has a negative effect on
families, and called on residents to cooperate with authorities to create a
"drug free" society.
His department is working with other ministries to run awareness raising
campaigns in schools to highlight the dangers of drug use to students, parents
and teachers, and advise on prevention.
If Qatar introduces tougher penalties it would be the latest a series of moves
to clamp down on drug dealing in the country. In June, it was reported that the
customs department had foiled 317 attempts to smuggle drugs into the country in
2014.
And the government has installed new devices at Hamad International Airport to
detect drug smugglers.
(source: arabianbusiness.com)
BANGLADESH:
Bangladesh's apex court upholds top opposition leader's death penalty
Bangladesh's apex court has upheld the death penalty for a top opposition party
leader for war crimes including mass killings during the country's war of
independence 43 years ago.
A 4-member bench of the Supreme Court (SC) bench headed by Justice Surendra
Kumar Sinha delivered the verdict on Wednesday morning, upholding the death
penalty against the 65-year old Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader
Salauddin Quader Chowdhury.
The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT)-2 in October 2013 awarded death
sentence to the leader, who is now behind the bar.
Justice ATM Fazle Kabir, head judge of ICT-1, had then announced that 9 out of
23 charges, which include mass killings, murder, genocide and conspiracy to
kill intellectuals during the country's Liberation War in 1971, against the
64-year-old leader were proved beyond reasonable doubt.
Defense lawyer Khandaker Mahbub Hossain told journalists shortly after the
announcement of the verdict on Wednesday morning that they will file a review
petition with the SC.
The judgment was, however, greeted with huge relief in and outside the
courtroom.
Talking to media, Attorney General Mahbub-e-Alam, among others, expressed
satisfaction with the verdict against the accused.
This was the 1st time that the SC delivered verdict on war crimes charges
against a member of the parliament and leader of the BNP headed by ex-Prime
Minister Khaleda Zia, a rival of current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Security has been beefed up in places in Dhaka and Chittagong, some 242 km
southeast of the capital city. Paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB)
troops have been deployed to thwart any untoward incident after the verdict
against Chowdhury, member of BNP's Standing Committee, the highest
policy-making body of the party.
In April 2012 Chowdhury was indicted on the charges of genocide, murders,
abductions, torture in confinement, loot, arson attacks and complicity in other
atrocities committed in Chittagong in 1971.
In his closing arguments in the case, Defense counsel AKM Fakhrul Islam claimed
that the prosecution failed to prove the charges and expressed the hope that
his client would be acquitted.
Son of the then Convention Muslim League party leader Fazlul Qader Chowdhury,
Salauddin Quader Chowdhury was elected MP from different constituencies in
Chittagong since 1979.
Chowdhury's father, who actively opposed the creation of independent Bangladesh
and allegedly committed war crimes, died at jail when his trial was going on.
Fazlul Qader Chowdhury was also a speaker of Pakistan National Assembly and
Acting President of Pakistan from time to time before the independence of
Bangladesh.
Salauddin Quader Chowdhury was a lawmaker and minister in General Hussain
Mohammad Ershad's government in the 1980s. He quit former military strongman's
Jatiya Party in the 2nd half of the 1980s and founded his own party.
In 1996, Chowdhury and his National Democratic Party took part in the then
opposition Bangladesh Awami League party-led movement against the then BNP
government that saw the introduction of non- party caretaker government for
holding parliamentary polls.
Later, he joined BNP and was elected to parliament on its tickets.
The latest verdict came about 3 months after Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, a
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party leader convicted of war crimes, was executed
in April, the 2nd execution for crimes against humanity committed during the
country's war of independence in 1971.
Another Jamaat leader Abdul Quader Molla, convicted of war crimes in 1971, was
executed on Dec. 12, 2013.
Both BNP and Jamaat have dismissed the court as a government " show trial" and
said it is a domestic set-up without the oversight or involvement of the United
Nations.
Muslim-majority Bangladesh was called East Pakistan until 1971. The government
of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said about 3 million people were killed in the
9-month war.
After returning to power in January 2009, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the
daughter of Bangladesh's independence hero Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, established
the first tribunal in March 2010, almost 40 years after the 1971 fight for
independence from Pakistan.
(source: Xinhua)
LIBYA:
Libyan envoy to Vatican decries death penalty issued to Gaddafi's son
The death sentences handed Tuesday to deposed dictator Muammar Gaddafi's son
Saif al-Islam Gheddafi and 8 other former top regime officials are
"unacceptable", according to Libya's internationally recognised government's
envoy to the Vatican.
"They are sentences issued in the absence of a legitimate state and under the
threat of arms," the Tobruk government's envoy to the Vatican Mustafa Ali
Rugibani told Adnkronos International (AKI).
Gaddafi's military intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi and his last prime
minister, Al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi were among the 9 people sentenced to
death by a court in Tripoli for war crimes and other offences during the 2011.
23 other former officials were given sentences ranging from life imprisonment
to 5 years in prison, 4 people were acquitted, and 1 was referred for medical
treatment and not sentenced.
"It is my personal opinion that this sentencing unacceptable given Libya's
current situation," said Rugibani.
"The sentences must be appealed in order that a new trial can take place under
a legitimate government that will guarantee the rule of law."
The Islamist parliament in Tripoli refused to put its signature to a
UN-sponsored accord between Libya's warring factions to create a national unity
government, which was signed in Morocco on 12 July.
The country's internationally recognised parliament, the House of
Representatives in Tobruk in eastern Libya, signed the deal.
Libya, plunged into chaos after the 2011 ouster of Gaddafi, with 2 parliaments
and governments vying for power and armed groups battling for control of the
country's oil wealth.
( source: Adnkronos International)
***********
The Show Trial of Saif Qaddafi: a Manufactured Death Sentence
In 2007, candidate Obama said "(t)he president does not have the power under
the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation
that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation."
Straightaway after entering office, he expanded drone attacks against
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen. He increased troop strength in
Afghanistan after pledging to end war by yearend 2009.
US-led NATO aggression on Libya followed. Obama lied claiming Gaddafi
"attack(ed) his (own) people. (So) we took ... swift steps ...to answer his
aggression."
A litany of Big Lies followed. "Innocent people were targeted for killing,"
Obama blustered. "Hospital and ambulances were attacked."
"Journalists were arrested, sexually assaulted and killed ... Water for
hundreds of thousands of people ... was shut off. Cities and towns were
shelled. Mosques were destroyed."
"Gaddafi declared he would show no mercy to his own people" - willful Obama
deception. He tried justifying the unjustifiable, adding "I authorized military
action to stop the killing and enforce UN Security Council Resolution 1973."
International law is clear. Nations may not attack others except in
self-defense - and only if UN Security Council authorized.
America wasn't attacked, nor other NATO countries. Gaddafi threatened no one,
including his own people. The longer war raged, the more popular he became.
Libyans rallied around him for safety and security - hoping he'd be able to
restore peace and stability.
At war's end, he was brutally sodomized and murdered in cold blood. On November
19, 2011, his son Saif was arrested trying to flee Libya to safety, held
captive by Zintan rebels, tortured, until he was tried in absentia in Tripoli
and convicted by kangaroo tribunal proceedings affording him no chance for
justice.
He was declared guilty by accusation - sentenced to death by firing squad along
with 8 other former Gaddafi officials, including former intelligence chief
Abdullah Senussi, and 2 former prime ministers, al-Baghdadi and Abuzaid Dorda.
A total of 32 defendants were tried - 23 got lesser sentences and fines.
Attorney John Jones represented Saif. "It was clearly a show trial" for all
defendants, he said. "It was basically a trial by militia" lasting 2 days -
conducted by an illegitimate Islamist regime controlling Tripoli after ousting
the US-installed one operating from Tobruk.
"Lawyers were intimidated," said Jones. "The judges were intimated. Lawyers had
to leave the case." Controlled proceedings excluded the right to a proper
defense. Only 2 intimidated witnesses for Saif were allowed. No evidence
against him was presented.
Prosecutors relied solely on torture extracted information - what no legitimate
tribunal permits. Transitional Justice and Rule of Law Division of the UN
Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) human rights director Claudio Cordone said:
"Concerns over the trial include the fact that several defendants were absent
for a number of sessions. The evidence of criminal conduct was largely
attributed to the defendants in general, with little effort to establish
individual criminal responsibility."
"(I)t is particularly worrisome that the court handed down 9 death sentences.
International standards require that death sentences may only be imposed after
proceedings that meet the highest level of respect for fair trial standards.
The United Nations opposes the imposition of the death penalty as a matter of
principle."
Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ravina Shamdasani,
added:
"We had closely monitored the detention and trial and found that international
fair trial standards had failed to be met. Among the key shortcomings is the
failure to establish individual criminal responsibility in relation to specific
crimes."
Other serious issues included lack of access to lawyers, torture and other
forms of ill treatment, as well as illegitimate trials conducted in absentia.
An UNSMIL press release said "(d)uring their pre-trial detention defendants
were denied access to lawyers and family for prolonged periods, and some
reported that they were beaten or otherwise ill-treated, but UNSMIL is not
aware of any investigation into these allegations."
"Many defendants were not represented by a lawyer during the pre-trial process,
which deprived them of a crucial opportunity to establish their defence.
Defence lawyers said they faced challenges in meeting their clients privately
or accessing the full case file, and some said they received threats."
"They were constrained by the court to 2 or 3 witnesses per defendant and some
said that witnesses were reluctant to appear in court due to fears about their
safety. The court did not respond to defence counsel requests to examine
prosecution witnesses."
US-led NATO turned Africa's most developed country into a cauldron of endless
violence, deprivation and despair.
Tens of thousands were murdered in cold blood. Multiples more were injured
and/or displaced. Violence, instability, insecurity and chaos reflect daily
life. No end in sight looms. Millions of Libyans live in constant fear.
Obama bears full responsibility for raping, ravaging, destroying, and
plundering a nation threatening no others. Anarchical charnel house conditions
replaced it.
Dystopian harshness persists. Libya is a failed state. Central authority is
absent. Public services aren???t provided. Corruption and criminality are
rampant. Conditions are in free fall. Human misery is extreme.
Libya is one of many high crimes on Obama's rap sheet. Perhaps he plans Libya
2.0 for Syria, Iran, Lebanon and Yemen. Longstanding US/Israeli plans to redraw
the Middle East map suggest it.
(source: Stephen Lendman, counterpunch.org)
PAPUA NEW GUINEA:
PNG police demand 3 Australian Manus guards return to face rape questions
Manus Island detention centre managers have been threatened with arrest in
Papua New Guinea for perverting the course of justice unless 3 Australian
guards accused of rape are returned for questioning.
PNG police are investigating allegations the trio, who worked for Wilson
Security, allegedly drugged and gang-raped a local woman who also worked at the
centre.
They are angry the group were removed from the island ahead of a formal
investigation.
The alleged victim had made an official complaint to police this morning and
supplied some evidence.
Manus Island provincial police commander Alex N'Drasal said he has set a
deadline to arrest centre managers after close of business on Thursday unless
the three men are flown back to co-operate with the police investigation.
"Their actions have perverted the course of justice," he said.
Rape convictions carry the death penalty in PNG.
The immigration department today confirmed the three staff members had been
stood down and returned to Australia over an "incident".
"The alleged incident was inconsistent with expected behaviours and contrary to
the service providers code of conduct," the department said.
It categorically rejected claims it has been involved in a cover-up over the
issue.
"The implication that the Wilson staff were removed to avoid prosecution, or
removed without consultation with relevant PNG authorities, is simply wrong,"
the department said.
The department said its personnel had personally briefed senior representatives
of the PNG police on the decision to remove the three workers from the island
and they had agreed with the proposed action.
Commander N'Drasal denied the department's version of events and said it had
not followed proper procedures.
Wilson Security has refused to comment on the matter, referring media inquiries
to the immigration department.
The department maintains it will support and assist PNG authorities should
"there be a case to answer in relation to this matter".
The department said on Monday that it had not been notified of any allegation
of sexual assault.
But today it clarified it was "made aware immediately in mid-July of an
incident involving 3 service provider staff and a locally engaged staff
member".
Further comment has been sought from the department.
(source: The Australian)
EGYPT:
Politicians 'ignored' over attempts to attend Halawa trial
A member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade said it had made a
number of requests over the past 6 weeks seeking to send a representative to
visit the Irish teenager, whose trial is due to begin on Sunday.
Fianna Fail Senator Mark Daly also alleged a further request he made personally
to the Egyptian Embassy in Dublin, to be allowed observe the trial, was
ignored.
The situation threatens to spark a diplomatic row ahead of the high-profile
case.
Mr Daly said he finally got a response from the embassy yesterday. The
correspondence said a formal request would be considered, but cautioned that
"the pressure of time and security arrangements" were considerations.
Mr Daly said he believed earlier requests had been "ignored" and that this
raised further questions over the trial process.
Queries submitted by the Irish Independent to the Egyptian Embassy about the
issue were not responded to yesterday.
Human rights groups have expressed concerns that Mr Halawa will not receive a
fair trial.
The 19-year-old has been held since his arrest in August 2013 during protests
in Cairo against the toppling of former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi.
The Dubliner was one of 488 people charged with 2 murders, an attempted murder,
the sabotage of a police precinct, the use of explosives, arson and the use of
force against police officers.
The charges, which he denies, carry the death penalty.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny told the Dail last May it appeared Mr Halawa was now
facing less serious charges.
However, this has been disputed by the Belfast human rights law firm Kevin R
Winters, which is representing Mr Halawa.
The defence team also includes a barrister from Doughty Street Chambers, the
London law practice of Amal Clooney.
Lawyers for Mr Halawa met with officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs
yesterday to discuss the case. Solicitor Darragh Mackin said afterwards: "The
issue in respect of the charges has still not been cleared up."
Sinn Fein MEP Lynn Boylan has also requested access to the trial and to Mr
Halawa in prison.
She is travelling to Egypt on a diplomatic passport afforded to MEPs having
been granted a visa on Monday.
(source: Irish Independent)
CHINA:
Chinese murderer of 6 sentenced to death
A Shanghai court on Wednesday gave the death penalty to a man who shot dead 5
people, including a soldier, and beat another to death.
Fan Jieming, 64, had a dispute at a chemical factory in the city's Baoshan
district on June 22, 2013, before committing the murders.
Fan was convicted of murder, robbery, forcible seizure and illegal possession
of guns, Xinhua news agency reported.
(source: Indo-Asian News Service)
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