Sept. 1
CHAD:
UN office criticizes Chad for execution of 10
The U.N.'s main human rights office is criticizing Chad's execution of 10 Boko
Haram members by firing squad.
Cecile Pouilly of the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights called
Tuesday on the African country's government to introduce a moratorium on the
death penalty, which was restored in a counterterrorism law passed in July.
Pouilly said OHCHR officials were not granted access to Friday's trial, which
was relocated for security reasons and reduced from 8 to 2 days. She said it
wasn't clear if the defendants had access to lawyers.
The 10 men were executed Saturday for crimes including murder and the use of
explosives following suicide attacks in the capital, N'Djamena, in June and
July that killed dozens of people.
(source: Associated Press)
PHILIPPINES/UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:
Family of OFW on death row going to Dubai
The family of an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) from this city who is facing
death penalty in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after being convicted last May
of killing her employer will finally meet with her in the next few days.
Rahima Dalquez, mother of convicted OFW Jennifer, said Tuesday they are set to
leave for the UAE anytime this week to visit her daughter at the Al Ain jail
and help in the ongoing appeals for her case.
Rahima will be joined by her husband Abdulhamid and another family member in
the trip, which is being facilitated by the Department of Foreign Affairs
(DFA).
"We're happy that Allah is giving us this chance to see her and we're very
thankful to the government for making this happen," she said in the vernacular
in an interview over TV Patrol Socsksargen.
Jennifer Dalquez, 28, who hails from Barangay Labangal here, was sentenced to
death by a court in Al Ain, UAE last May 20 for stabbing her employer to death
on Dec. 7, 2014.
During trial, she said the act was in self-defense after her Emirati employer
had tried to rape her.
Ebrahim Zailon, acting head of the DFA regional consular office here, said the
agency had assigned a lawyer to handle Dalquez' case, especially her appeal.
A hearing for her appeal was set on Sept. 3 in Al Ain, UAE.
Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz visited Dalquez in jail last June 18 and
expressed "high hopes" that the appeal would be successful.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Overseas Workers
Welfare Administration had provided assistance to Dalquez' family, especially
her 2 children.
Jennifer's father Abdulhamid believes her daughter's conviction would be
overturned as she only acted in self-defense.
"She's innocent so we're very hopeful with her appeal," he said.
Rahima, on the other hand, advised relatives of other OFWs who are facing
various sentences overseas "not to lose hope."
"We're also hoping that we will be joined by Jennifer when we return home," she
added.
(source: mindanews.com)
INDIA:
Abolishing death penalty: Extradition will still be a problem
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will face problems in extraditing
criminals from various countries despite the Law Commission's recommendations
for speedy abolition of the death penalty from the statute books.
In a report prepared by the Asian Centre for Human Rights in a report titled
"India: Not Safe for Extradition of those facing Death Penalty", it is stated
that the CBI will face legal hurdles from 158 countries while seeking
extradition of suspects and accused including those accused of terrorism.
Execution will impact extradition:
The report states that as on July 31, 2015, the CBI had issued about red corner
notices to 650 suspects/accused either to face prosecution or to serve a penal
sentence.
Of these, 192 wanted persons have been charged under laws that provides for
death penalty as punishment such as under the Arms Act, Indian Penal Code, the
Maharashtra Control of Organized Crimes Act, the Narcotic Drugs and
Psychotropic Substances Act, the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, the
Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act and the Prevention of
Terrorism Act of 2002.
Out of 192 wanted persons, 124 are wanted for committing terrorist offences.
However, the execution of 3 terror convicts i.e. Ajmal Kasab, Afzal Guru and
Yakub Abdul Razak Memon in the last 3 years has seriously impacted India's
requests for extradition from a number of countries which have abolished death
penalty, the report also states.
A total of 140 countries have abolished death penalty and further, a total of
158 countries have ratified the UN Convention Against Torture which under
Article 3 prohibits return ("refouler") or extradition of a person to another
State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in
danger of being subjected to torture.
Apart from the European Union, Canada, Mexico, South Africa and Philippines
seek assurance that the death penalty shall not be carried out in case of
extradition of those charged with offences carrying death sentence.
Where India has failed:
India has failed to secure extradition of Mohammed Hanif Umerji Patel @Tiger
Hanif, an alleged associate of the underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, who is wanted
in India for his role in 2 terror attacks in Surat city of Gujarat in January
and April 1993.
"If the government of India can give assurance to Portugal that death penalty
shall not be imposed on Abu Salem who has been accused of the same offences for
which Yakub Memon had been hanged, there is no reason as to why death penalty
cannot be abolished altogether. It is the fear of the law, not necessarily
death penalty, that can act as deterrent", says Suhas Chakma, Coordinator of
the National Campaign for Abolition of Death Penalty.
(source: oneindia.com)
****************
Kanimozhi for abolition of death penalty
DMK MP Kanimozhi on Monday made a strong case for abolishing death penalty for
all crimes, arguing that only such a move would uphold a real and unfettered
'Right to Life' for every person.
Reacting to the Law Commission's report recommending abolition of death penalty
in all cases, except those related to terrorism and waging war against India,
she said there were a number of instances of miscarriage of justice in trials
concerning terrorism offences.
"Likewise, the crime of waging war is often a vague and a misused provision of
law," she said.
Ms. Kanimozhi said she welcomed the overall tenor of the commission on death
penalty, but said India should not stop short of complete abolition.
Recalling her participation in the Law Commission's consultation on the issue,
she said she was heartened to see the support for abolition of death penalty
across political parties and various sections of society.
(source: The Hindu)
******************
Govt opposes law panel recco to end the death penalty
The government has opposed the Law Commission's recommendation to abolish the
death penalty in a phased manner. In a dissent note, Union law secretary P K
Malhotra has said that the time is not 'ripe'. Justice AP Shah heads the Law
Commission.
Other than Malhotra, secretary of legislative affairs, and member of Law
Commission, Justice Usha Mehra, too, have submitted their dissents.
"I agree with the view that abolition of death penalty is an eventual goal. I
am of the considered view that the time is not ripe for its abolition in our
country," Malhotra wrote in his dissent note.
The top bureaucrat said punishment should serve as an example for the rest of
the humanity. He justified his stand on the grounds that crime rates are
increasing and there is "overall cultural deterioration".
"It is incorrect to say that prescription of death penalty is indulging in
revenge killing or primitive or barbaric," reads the dissent note, stating that
there are in-built mechanisms of checks and balances.
Malhotra has argued that even after conviction, an accused person gets as many
as four opportunities before the higher judiciary and also an opportunity to
file mercy petition with President and governor of the state.
The law commission has contended in its report that death penalty has become
aribitary and judgecentric. "We should have faith in the wisdom of our judges
that they will exercise this power only in deserving cases for which law is
well laid down." Malhotra offers a counter argument.
Justice Usha Mehra has also criticised the Law Commission report claiming that
too much emphasis has been given to human rights principles of the convicts on
death row, forgetting the human rights of innocent victims.
She said the possibility of error, as the report pointed out, should not be the
reason to abolish death penalty. "What other punishment can be given in case of
Nithari," questioned Justice Mehra. In Nithari, Surinder Koli was arrested for
sexual assault and murder of several children.
(source: punemirror.in)
PAKISTAN:
Pakistani prison officials given 24 hours to explain how they will hang
paralysed convict ---- Pakistan has carried out more than 200 executions since
lifting a moratorium in response to last year's Peshawar massacre
Prison officials in Pakistan have been given 24 hours to explain how they
intend to hang a wheelchair-bound prisoner.
Paraplegic convict Abdul Basit is facing the grim prospect of being hanged from
his wheelchair as he is unable to mount the scaffold.
The 43-year-old was convicted of murder in 2009 but developed tuberculosis 1
year later, leaving him paralysed from the waist down.
His lawyers have issued an urgent appeal for the execution to be called off as
they say it would constitute cruel and inhuman treatment, which is banned under
Pakistani and international law.
A "Black Warrant" was issued for Basit's hanging on July 29 but appeals from
Basit's legal team led to a stay of execution.
At the latest hearing in Basit's case, at the Lahore High Court on Monday, a
judge told prison officials they would need to draw up a detailed plan within
the next 24 hours to show how they intend to hang Basit.
Pakistani prison regulations contain no guidance on how to execute disabled
prisoners, suggesting Basit could be the first paraplegic prisoner in the
country to face the noose.
The country has carried out a spate of executions after it lifted a moratorium
in response to last year's Peshawar massacre, which saw Taliban soldiers gun
down around 130 schoolboys.
Nearly 200 convicts have been hanged since the December 2014 attack, ostensibly
in a bid to crack down on terrorism - though critics note that many of those
executed are not convicted of terror-related offences.
Extracts from a Pakistani prison handbook, seen by The Telegraph, stipulate
that prisoners must be able to "stand" on the scaffold.
One extract reads: "The drop is the length of the rope from a point on the rope
outside the angle of the lower jaw of the condemned prisoner as he stands on
the scaffold, to the point where the lope is embraced in the noose after
allowing for the constriction of the neck that takes place in hanging.
"The condemned prisoner shall mount the scaffold and shall be placed directly
under the beam to which the rope is attached, the warders still holding him by
the arms."
A medical report signed by 2 Pakistani doctors describing Abdul Basit's
physical condition
As Basit would be unable to "mount" the scaffold or "stand" beneath the noose,
and there are no legal provisions in place for hanging disabled people, the
execution should be called off, his lawyers at Justice Project Pakistan said.
They have issued an urgent mercy appeal to Pakistan's president, Mamnoon
Hussain, claiming that hanging a wheelchair-bound person is in breach of its
own prison regulations.
"Given that the condemned prisoner is unable to use his lower body to support
his own weight and unable to stand, it is not possible to accurately measure
the length of rope required for his hanging," they wrote.
"Consequently, no provision can be safely made for the accurate measurement of
the rope that would hang him and to proceed with an inaccurately-measured
length of rope would place him at risk of an appalling death."
Maya Foa, director of the death penalty team at the human rights group
Reprieve, said: "It is astonishing that the jail authorities continue to push
for the hanging of Abdul Basit, whose terrible treatment in prison has already
left him paralyzed from the waist down. Basit's hanging would be a grotesque
spectacle and cruel injustice. We must hope that the court puts a stop to this
inhumanity and saves his life."
A medical report seen by The Telegraph describes Basit's paraplegia as a
"complication of tuberculous meningitis."
"At this moment, he is having 0/5 power in lower limbs and 4/5 power in upper
limbs," Dr Javaid Iqbal and Dr Anjum Mehdi wrote in the report.
"In our opinion, patients with this condition are usually permanently disabled
and there is almost no chance of any recovery. He is likely to remain bed bound
for his life," they added.
Earlier this month Pakistan hanged Shafqat Hussain, a young man whose murder
confession was extracted through torture when he was just 14 years old,
according to his legal team and human rights groups.
United Nations rights experts said his trial "fell short of international
standards" and had urged Pakistan to investigate claims he confessed under
torture, as well as his age.
(source: The Telegraph)
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