Oct. 21
SAUDI ARABIA:
Saudi protester's crucifixion could happen 'at any moment'
The father of a Saudi man sentenced to crucifixion for alleged crimes in
connection with the Arab Spring protests when he was a teenager fears he will
only find out about his son's death when it is announced on television.
Mohammed al-Nimr says the family is "extremely worried" after Ali al-Nimr, 20,
was moved to a prison in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, almost a month ago. They
have not heard from him since.
Al-Nimr says the Saudi authorities may not even tell them before carrying out
his son's execution, leaving them to find out publicly, after his death.
"As soon as King Salman signs the execution order, it can be implemented at any
moment," he told CNN. "Usually the Interior Ministry does not notify anyone
that they will kill their child ... at a specific time.
"We could at any time turn on the TV or the radio and hear the decision
announced there."
Ali al-Nimr was 17 and still in high school when he was arrested for taking
part in protests calling for social and political reforms in Saudi Arabia's
restive Qatif province in 2012.
A court later convicted him of charges including belonging to a terror cell,
attacking police with Molotov cocktails, incitement, and stoking sectarianism,
according to state media.
U.N., rights groups call for man to be spared crucifixion
Reprieve, an NGO which campaigns against the death penalty, says Ali al-Nimr
was "arrested without a warrant ... held in pre-trial detention for two years
... tortured and forced to sign a false confession. This was the only evidence
brought against him."
But his final appeals have been rejected and he now faces beheading, along with
the additional, rarer punishment of "crucifixion," which would see his body
placed on public display as a warning to others.
Al-Nimr insists his son has done nothing to deserve such a "harsh and unjust
verdict" which he says "does not fit the boy, does not fit international law,
[does not fit] the laws of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
"Even if all the charges against Ali were proven, he still would not deserve to
be killed, within Saudi law. In my opinion the charges were not proven because
the trial was flawed," he said.
"Death is still death, but this ugly scenario, and this ugly death, for someone
who was a child when he was arrested, is something we completely and utterly
reject."
Al-Nimr says a friend of his son, Dawoud al-Marhoon, who, like Ali, was 17 when
he was arrested on similar charges, has also had his conviction upheld; he too
faces beheading -- though not crucifixion.
Ali's father believes the charges against his son were motivated by the fact
that his brother, Ali's uncle, is the firebrand Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr
al-Nimr, who has also been condemned to death by a Saudi court.
Lashings, beheadings: Saudi's justice system
"Ali went out in demonstrations just like tens of thousands of people went out
to protest in the region during the Arab Spring ... But the charges that they
stuck him with I think were spiteful charges. It was spite against his uncle,
Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr."
CNN has asked the Saudi government for comment on Ali's case, and that of his
uncle, but has received no response.
Whatever happens to his son, al-Nimr has appealed to the family's supporters
not to resort to violence.
"Even if -- God forbid -- something happens to Ali, we don't want anyone to ...
commit any act that is not peaceful. Our demands remain peaceful and our
objections have also been peaceful."
U.N. experts and human rights organizations have urged Saudi authorities to
call off the sentence, on the grounds that Ali al-Nimr was a minor at the time
of his alleged crimes.
Activists say if Ali is executed it would violate the U.N. Convention on the
Rights of the Child, to which Saudi Arabia is a party.
The European parliament has passed a resolution calling on the Saudi King "to
halt the execution of Ali Mohammed al-Nimr and grant a pardon or commute his
sentence."
And world leaders including France's Francois Hollande have appealed to Saudi
Arabia -- a key Middle East ally -- to show clemency.
British Opposition Leader Jeremy Corbyn has called on Prime Minister David
Cameron to take action over the case; after "speaking privately" to authorities
in Saudi Arabia, Britain's Foreign Secretary said he did not think the
execution would go ahead.
"I do not expect Mr. al-Nimr to be executed," Philip Hammond told the UK
parliament on Tuesday.
But Mohammed al-Nimr says his son's fate rests in the King's hands.
"We are of course worried. I am worried and the families of the other prisoners
in the kingdom are also worried ... I believe the real solution lies in the
hands of King Salman."
(source: CNN)
SINGAPORE:
Man claims trial for killing ex-lawyer's wife
The trial of Govindasamy Nalliah for the alleged murder of his former lawyer's
wife, Madam Low Foong Meng, 4 years ago began in the High Court yesterday
morning. After the murder charge under Section 300 (d) of the Penal Code was
read out to him, Govindasamy, 70, pleaded not guilty and informed the court
through a Tamil interpreter that he was claiming trial.
The Section of the Penal Code under which he is charged states that he
committed an act knowing that it would probably cause death, or bodily injuring
likely to cause death.
He faces the death penalty, or life imprisonment, if convicted by Judicial
Commissioner Hoo Sheau Peng.
The prosecution's case is that Govindasamy murdered Madam Low, 56, sometime
between 9.48am and 11.54am on August 10, 2011, in the office of her husband's
law firm Rengarajoo & Associates, located on the 6th floor of the Afro Asia
Building in 63 Robinson Road.
The court heard that Govindasamy owed legal fees to Madam Low's husband, lawyer
Rengarajoo Balasamy, for representing him in a corruption trial in 2002. The
amount of outstanding legal fees, including interest, as of July 2011 was
$38,000.
That month, the lawyer issued a Writ of Seizure and Sale against Govindasamy's
son and daughter, who had executed an acknowledgement of debt for the
outstanding fees.
Between July and August 2011, Govindasamy tried to settle the fee dispute with
Mr Rengarajoo, who gave him a deadline of Aug 10 to make the repayment, failing
which he would take legal action against the latter's children.
On the morning of Aug 10, Govindasamy went to Mr Rengarajoo's office and waited
for over an hour for its doors to open.
He entered the office between 9.48am and 9.55am, and negotiated with Madam Low
over the fee dispute.
Angry they could not come to an agreement, Govindasamy allegedly hit her
several times on the head with a bicycle chain and padlock. Govindasamy then
allegedly used a lighter to set some files on a table in the office on fire,
and watched it spread.
When the fire alarm rang, he purportedly packed the bicycle chain into his
haversack and left the office, with Madam Low still motionless inside the
burning unit. Govindasamy was captured leaving the building on CCTV footage at
about 9.57am.
The police were called at about 10am, and when they arrived at about 10.13am,
flames from the windows of the office could be seen from the ground floor of
the building.
Madam Low's charred body was found after the fire was put out. Among other
witnesses who will be called to the stand are fire and forensic investigators,
medical experts, Mr Rengarajoo and Govindasamy's family members.
(source: asiaone.com)
PAKISTAN----executions
4 death row convicts hanged in various cities
4 death row prisoners were hanged on early Wednesday morning in the jails of
Lahore, Bahawalpur, Toba Tek Singh and Dera Ghazi Khan while execution of 2
convicts was postponed. The dead bodies of the prisoners were handed over to
their families.
According to details, death row convict Fayaz was executed in the New Central
Jail Bahawalpur. Fayaz was awarded death sentence for killing his would-be
son-in-law just before marriage in 1997.
Death row prisoner Qamar Zaman was executed in District Jail Toba Tek Singh.
Qamar was awarded death penalty for killing a man named Iqbal in 2001.
Another death row prisoner, Saif, was sent to the gallows in District Jail Dera
Ghazi Khan. Saif was guilty of killing 2 people, including his wife, in the
name of honour in 1996.
Another murderer, Munir, was hanged in the Kot Lakhpat Jail Lahore. He was
awarded death sentence in 2003 while execution of 2 other convicts was
postponed.
(source: Dunya News)
NIGERIA:
Those 295 Nigerians on death row in Asia
Not quite long after the government of Indonesia lined up and shot 8 drug
convicts, 4 of them from Nigeria, namely: Sylvester Obiekwe Nwolise, Jamiu
Owolabi Abashin, Okwudili Oyatanze and Martin Anderson last April, reports say
295 Nigerians are still on the death row across Asia. The Legal Defence and
Assistance Project (LEDAP), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) with its
headquarters in Lagos, says roughly "120 Nigerians are facing the death penalty
in Chinese prisons, over 170 others in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam,
etc., and 5 in Qatar, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia". The group
says "33 countries and territories retain the death penalty for drug crimes and
it is estimated conservatively that over 16,500 Nigerians are in prisons abroad
and nearly 350 of them are facing death penalty".
LEDAP, which revealed the figures to Nigerians on Saturday, October 10, 2015,
during activities marking the 13th World Day against the use of Death Penalty,
argued spiritedly that drug offences, for which most of the 295 convicts were
now trapped in Asia, did not meet the definition of 'most serious' crimes which
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights prescribed as
deserving of the death penalty. Chinonye Obiagwu, the National Coordinator of
LEDAP, said the group filed litigations against over 35 death sentences on
appeal, out of which 1/2 of the 'culprits' were exonerated; and implored the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs to track and support Nigerian citizens facing the
death penalty overseas.
"Most of the Nigerians convicted abroad did not receive fair trials because
most of them did not have lawyers to defend them. The trials are held in
languages they do not understand. In most cases, no interpreters are provided;
and more importantly, consular services are lacking", Obiagwu said. LEDAP, as
an NGO, has done a good job. Saving over half of 35 Nigerians from the
hangman's noose in foreign lands is certainly not an easy task, especially when
weighed against the lack-lustre attitude of Nigerian embassy staff abroad when
it comes to attending to Nigerian citizens either stranded or in need of their
services, as repeated complaints in recent years have suggested.
But mounting advocacy for saving Nigerians already sentenced to death abroad,
without cautioning prospective victims on the varying penalties certain crimes
attract in certain parts of the world does not appear to us a comprehensive
approach to saving the situation. We recall, for instance, that the executions
of last April in Indonesia were carried out in spite of global condemnation and
rage against the exercise; in addition to loud pleas for clemency for the four
Nigerians involved by the Nigerian government. Indeed, the Nigerian Foreign
Affairs Ministry sought a Prisoner Transfer Agreement with Indonesia and
clemency plea for 12 other Nigerians waiting for execution in that country. But
notwithstanding the 'excellent' diplomatic relations existing between Nigeria
and Indonesia, the deed was done; thus buttressing the futility of the FG
intervention.
One implication of the unfortunate development is that Indonesia views drug
offences as constituting a part of the 'most serious' offences that deserves
the death penalty; and the country has been defending its execution of those
who infract its anti-drug laws with all its strength. It is also instructive
that notwithstanding Indonesia's unbending use of the death sentence as a vital
weapon to wage its anti-drugs war, no nation, to public knowledge, has been so
enraged as to clamp any sanction on the country (Indonesia) beyond the
withdrawal of envoys. Same goes for the United Nations.
Our thinking, therefore, is that the global community seems conscious of the
destructive effects of drugs on world citizens, especially youths; and caring
nations lend tacit support to measures, no matter how harsh they may be, to
curb the hard drugs trade. We think this is the message LEDAP should
incorporate in its advocacy to save potentially endangered Nigerians who, out
of ignorance and desperation for the good life, may swell the ranks of death
row prisoners in Asia and elsewhere in the future.
As we have argued on this page in the past, the lesson probably not well
thought at home and, therefore, not understood and appreciated, appears what
Asian countries are insistent on teaching. When caught on Asian shores, hard
drug convicts, from whatever part of the globe, including Asian countries, face
the same punishment - execution. Recall that in addition to the 4 Nigerians
executed in Indonesia last April were one Indonesian, Zainal Abidin; a
Brazilian, Rodrigo Gularte; and 2 Australians, Andrew Chan and Myuran
Sukumaran, numbering eight in all. To be fore warned is to be fore armed.
(source: nationalmirroronline.net)
ZIMBABWE:
ConCourt to hear death row, life sentence constitutionality
The Constitutional Court (ConCourt) will today hear 2 matters in which
prisoners on death row are challenging the constitutionality of the death
penalty and life sentences.
The 2 cases were initiated by legal think-tank Veritas.
The matter of Ndlovu versus the Minister of Justice (case CCZ 50/15) involves 2
applicants who were convicted in separate cases of murder and sentenced to
death in July 2002 and May 2012 respectively.
"The 2 applicants were convicted before the new Constitution came into
operation," Veritas said.
The think-tank noted that although the 2 were lawfully sentenced to death, the
sentence now had to be set aside because the provisions of the Criminal
Procedure and Evidence Act under which they were sentenced are now inconsistent
with Section 48 of the new Constitution.
"The provisions of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act, under which the
condemned were tried and sentenced, are now invalid. The applicants' sentences
must therefore be commuted to life imprisonment," Veritas said.
The 2nd case of Makoni versus Commissioner-General of Prisons and Correctional
Service and Another (CCZ 48/2015) involves a prisoner who was convicted of
murdering his girlfriend in 1995 and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Veritas said the applicant had already served 20 years of his sentence.
"He argues under the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act and the Prisons Act,
prisoners serving sentences of life imprisonment are not entitled to be
considered for parole or early release, and must serve 'whole life' sentences
and be released from prison by death," they said.
"However, he argues the Act violates Section 51 of the Constitution which
guarantees human dignity, and Section 53, which protects against cruel, inhuman
or degrading punishment. Giving prisoners no hope of release, however good
their behaviour in prison and however much they may have reformed, robs them of
hope and crushes their dignity."
Veritas said it was appropriate that the applicant be considered for parole.
Next week, the ConCourt will also hear death penalty case challenges by Chawira
and 14 others versus the Minister of Justice and others (CCZ 47/2015) where the
15 will seek an order that their death sentences be commuted to life
imprisonment as Section 53 of the Constitution protects everyone, including
convicted prisoners, against torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment.
(source: Newsday)
INDIA:
This Is The Man In India Who Is Selling States Illegally Imported Execution
Drugs----When states ran out of execution drugs, they started paying tens of
thousands of dollars to Chris Harris, a salesman in India with no
pharmaceutical background.
8,000 miles from the execution chamber at the Nebraska State Penitentiary is
Salt Lake City - a planned satellite town in Kolkata, the capital city of
India???s West Bengal state. It's a modern mecca of swanky office complexes,
colleges, shopping malls, and restaurants. Here, on the 8th floor of a plush
glass building overlooking a lake, is an office where Nebraska's lethal
injection drug supplier says he makes his drugs.
A laminated paper sign stuck on the door of room 818 reads "Harris Pharma -
manufacturer and distribution." The office, with powder-blue walls and a
frosted glass facade, is one of 61 spaces on the floor rented out to various
companies.
This is the facility in India where a man named Chris Harris, a salesman
without a pharmaceutical background, claims his manufacturing and distribution
business is based. He has sold thousands of vials of execution drugs for
corrections officials in the U.S. who are desperate to find drugs to carry out
the death penalty.
An employee who works at the facility, however, said the office is not being
used to make drugs.
Saurav Bose, a customer relations officer at the office rental company who has
met Harris twice since he started working here a few months ago, said Harris
did not manufacture drugs in this rented office.
Harris's office, which was shut on a Tuesday morning when a reporter from
BuzzFeed News visited, is much like the other ready-to-use, standardized
workspaces available to rent by Regus - an international firm operating in 900
cities across the world, including the more well-known Salt Lake City in Utah.
It appeared highly unlikely that the rented office would accommodate laboratory
equipment required to manufacture pharmaceutical drugs.
"He comes only 2 to 3 times in a month," Bose said, adding that most of his
communication with Harris was limited to email. Bose, who described Harris as
being "fickle" with his visits to the office, said he rarely had any clients or
other people in the office.
BuzzFeed News identified several such inconsistencies after reviewing thousands
of pages of court records, emails, and invoices; interviewing his past business
partners; and visiting the locations in India from which Harris claims to run
his business.
BuzzFeed News spent more than 4 months trying to talk to Harris over emails,
via phone calls and during a visit to his office in India. Each time, Harris
refused to talk.
"Quote me on this. I don't speak to reporters as they always say what is not
true," Harris told BuzzFeed News when first contacted for comment in June.
After months of reporting on his sale to Nebraska, Harris again declined to
talk with BuzzFeed News in September, writing, "Do and say what you want. But I
will never give a reporter 2 min of my time. As all print what they want. Not
the true story. They need a scandal to get sales and keep they jobs."
BuzzFeed News has been able to confirm four times that Harris sold execution
drugs illegally to 4 death penalty states, and documents indicate there is
likely a 5th. His sales follow a typical script: The legal issues are fixed
this time, don't worry about it. Other states are buying it, too. You aren't
the only one. You just need to make it a "minimum order" to make it worth the
while. Payment in advance.
The documents show little effort by states to investigate Harris's
qualifications or the legalities of importing drugs.
Harris has gotten states to pay tens of thousands of dollars for his drugs, but
each time, after concerns were raised over the legality of the purchase, the
drugs have gone unused.
Somehow, states are still falling for it.
Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts had a problem. In a few days, the state legislature
would vote on repealing the death penalty in his state. He needed to convince a
few of them that the death penalty in Nebraska was salvageable, that the
state's prior problems with the death penalty were just logistical issues that
he, a new governor, could fix.
So, on May 14, he announced that he had found a way for Nebraska to get
execution drugs - something that many states have struggled to find.
"The functionality of the death penalty in Nebraska has been a management issue
that I have promised to resolve," Gov. Ricketts said, announcing the purchase a
day before the legislature would vote to advance the repeal. "Through the work
of [Department of Correctional Services] Director Frakes, the department has
purchased the drugs that are necessary to carry out the death penalty in
Nebraska in the near future."
Despite having only 10 men on its death row and no executions in the state for
more than 15 years, Rickett's Department of Correctional Services placed an
order to Harris for enough drugs to conduct hundreds of executions. As BuzzFeed
News reported this summer, Nebraska did so because Harris said he would sell to
the state only if they agreed to buy a "minimum order" of 1,000 vials.
Nebraska sent Harris a check for $54,400.
The state legislature voted to repeal the death penalty anyway, overriding
Ricketts' veto, and Ricketts' management has led Nebraska to a stand-off with
the Food and Drug Administration, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and
Customs over illegally importing the drugs.
Many reputable drug makers have enacted stringent guidelines that keep their
products out of the hands of executioners. In turn, states - disregarding
federal laws on importing drugs - have sometimes turned to foreign suppliers
like Harris as they've become more desperate to get a hold of lethal drugs. The
drug Nebraska purchased, sodium thiopental, is an out-of-date anesthetic that
stopped being used in executions after the sole FDA-approved manufacturer quit
making it to keep it away from death penalty states.
Other death penalty states have turned to different drugs, but Nebraska had few
options because the state's protocol calls for sodium thiopental. Changing it
to a more modern execution drug would have required public meetings, and that
would take time that Ricketts and his DOC did not have.
Sodium thiopental is not used in the U.S. anymore, but it's still widely used
in India and in parts of the developing world as an anesthetic. So when Harris
approached Nebraska in April, it might have seemed like an easy choice for the
state.
"He told us that if he gets the consignment his life will be made."
"He used to sit at home all day long. How did he manage to sell lethal
injection drugs to the U.S.?" Pijush Kantibairag wondered aloud, as he sat
smoking in his 1,050-square-foot apartment in Kasba, a suburban maze of narrow
lanes and ramshackle buildings in southern Kolkata, nearly eight miles away
from Harris's office in Salt Lake City.
2 floors above him is Flat C1, where Harris used to live. Kantibairag and
Harris were neighbors. Harris's flat, however, is now empty and bolted shut.
Flat C1, a residential apartment, also is one of the office addresses of Harris
Pharma - the company owned by Harris.
This is Harris's 2nd listed business location - the location he tells the DEA
and Nebraska that Harris Pharma is based out of. But he hasn't lived here in
more than 2 years, both his former neighbor and his landlord told BuzzFeed
News.
Harris lived in the apartment with his 2nd wife, Sanjukta Harris, but left the
building in 2013 ago without paying 7 months' rent and electricity bills, his
landlord, Abhijit Majumder, told BuzzFeed News.
Majumder said Harris was behind rent and utility payments. "But on April 14
[2013] - I still remember the date - he suddenly handed over the keys to the
caretaker and just left the building," said Majumder, who rents out 2
apartments in the building but does not reside there. He also claimed some
items in the apartment were destroyed after Harris left.
Majumdar said that he rented out the flat to Harris for "residential purposes
only" and was unaware that Harris had registered it as an office. "He told me
he was a computer professional dealing in software."
Kantibairag, the former neighbor, said Harris told him he manufactured and sold
"sexual feel drugs" on a website. Kayem Pharmaceuticals, for which Harris was a
broker during this time, sells drugs to enhance male sexual performance.
Kantibairag said that Harris never seemed to have money to pay for rent, yet
spent excessively: "Every day there was a new car outside the building."
While Kantibairag said he was shocked to read the news about Harris's $54,000
deal with Nebraska, he recalled that Harris had hinted about a business deal
with the U.S. at a birthday party he hosted on the building's terrace for his
wife. Kantibairag said Harris bragged to his neighbors about getting a "big
consignment" from the U.S.
According to Kantibairag, Harris told his guests that America needed lethal
injection drugs for the death penalty and that he was manufacturing the drugs
for them.
"He told us that if he gets the consignment his life will be made," Kantibiarag
said. This was back before Harris had started his own company and was working
with the Mumbai-based firm Kayem Pharmaceuticals. Kantibiarag said Harris
showed them his business cards that named him the director.
Majumder said Harris made excuses for not paying the rent, saying he was going
through "financial losses."
"In February 2013, I told him, 'You must give me rent or otherwise you leave
the apartment.' He told me he was trying to get the money and to give him some
time," Majumder said.
But Harris left the apartment 2 months later without informing Majumder, who
said he didn't file a police complaint because he thought it wasn't worth the
time and the effort.
"He and his wife stopped answering my calls and his mobile number was later
disabled," Majumder said.
Using a colloquial Hindi saying, Kantibairag summed up his feelings on Harris:
"10 paise ki aukat hai, aur 2 lakh ki baat karta hai" - He is worth only 10
paise (less than a penny), but he talked like he was worth 2 lakh rupees
(around $3,000).
Harris used to work at a duty-free shop at the Abu Dhabi International Airport,
and then bounced around to a handful of jobs at call centers, staying for
roughly a year at each place, according to a copy of his resume.
Harris eventually landed at his 1st drug company: Kayem Pharmaceuticals (now
named JONAKAYEM Pharma-Formulation) located in Mumbai, India's financial
capital.
It was during Harris's time at Kayem that he began selling execution drugs. He
started off by selling to Nebraska in November 2010. Harris sold the state 500
vials of sodium thiopental for $2,056.
Beyond the issues with the drugs coming from a non-FDA-approved facility,
Nebraska had another problem. The Department of Correctional Services didn't
even have a license to import the drug.
In May 2011, the DEA informed Nebraska that the Department of Correctional
Services would be receiving a "Letter of Admonition," and that it had to hand
over the drugs. Months later, Nebraska complied, transferring the drugs to the
DEA.
Kayem's CEO, Navneet Verma, told BuzzFeed News in August that he wasn't aware
of what Harris was doing at the time.
According to Verma, Harris kept him in the dark for most of it. "He told me, 'I
will be talking to them directly,'" Verma said.
In spite of his prior business relationship with Harris, Verma said he'd never
met Harris in person - he was introduced to him online by 2 business
acquaintances who vouched for Harris's marketing skills. Verma said he was
looking to get into e-commerce for his pharma products. One of his
acquaintances told Verma, "In India there is a good guy who can help you in
marketing your product."
Verma said that he did not employ Harris, but that there was "a commercial
understanding" between Kayem and him.
In March 2011, South Dakota also ordered drugs from Kayem. South Dakota
purchased 500 vials, like Nebraska, but this time Kayem raised the price to
$5,000. Again, the drugs made it into the U.S.
Verma admits he was aware of what was happening by this time. He claims he was
"under compulsion" to ship the drugs to South Dakota because Harris has already
finalized the deal with them.
After attorneys representing death row inmates in the state realized where the
state bought the drugs from, they sued. The drugs eventually expired without
ever being used.
The relationship soured between Verma and Harris around the time of the South
Dakota deal, and Harris struck out on his own, starting Harris Pharma in 2011.
Nebraska gave importing drugs from Harris a 2nd shot - this time, with an
import license. Nebraska purchased another 500 vials, under the new price,
$5,000, in August 2011.
But Harris had left Kayem, the drug manufacturer. How did he get the drugs?
According to the manufacturer from whom Harris obtained the drugs, he lied.
A Swiss-based pharmaceutical company, Naari, sent an alarmed letter to Nebraska
in November 2011 when it discovered Harris had sold its company's drugs to a
death penalty state. According to Naari, Harris claimed that the drugs would be
going to Africa.
"The agreement with Mr. Harris was that he would use these vials for
registration in Zambia," Naari CEO Prithi Kochhar wrote. "Our intention was to
get the product registered in Zambia and then begin selling it there, since
sodium thiopental is used very widely as an anaesthetic in the developing
world."
"Mr. Harris misappropriated our medicines and diverted them from their intended
purpose and use," Kochhar continued.
Naari, as well as inmates on death row, sued Nebraska over the source of the
drugs. Once again, the drugs expired without being used.
Records show Harris also gave his sales pitch to Idaho in March 2011.
"I can understand your concern for importing," Harris wrote in an email to
Idaho Maximum Security Institution Warden Randy Blades. "However, this problem
[of illegal importation] is being solved. There is a company in the USA who can
import these products legally and supply to you."
"Other states are doing the same. I am selling to the company in US and you
would be buying directly from them. They have all the DEA licenses to import
these kinds of products and distribute it in the US."
Blades responded an hour later, saying that he would like to work through the
U.S. company, but the sale eventually fell through.
BuzzFeed News identified 2 U.S. companies that worked or offered to work with
Harris: Caligor Rx and Priority Pharmaceuticals.
One of those companies, Priority Pharmaceuticals, has its own questionable
regulation history. Priority was disciplined in 2015 by the California Board of
Pharmacy for violating pharmacy laws, and was accused of "purchasing dangerous
drugs from ... pharmacies under unauthorized conditions" and committed "acts
involving moral turpitude, dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or corruption" in
incidents unrelated to Harris. Priority had to surrender its wholesaler license
and pay a $70,000 fine.
The other company, Caligor Rx, considered importing the drug for Idaho,
according to emails BuzzFeed News obtained. The company was also listed as an
importer of the drug on Nebraska's DEA forms in 2011.
Caligor Rx claimed to have cut off ties with Harris in 2012. Both U.S.
companies did not respond to repeated requests for comment for this story.
States that purchased drugs from Harris have done little to investigate his
background and drug-making abilities.
"I have no idea," South Dakota State Penitentiary Warden Douglas Weber said
when asked in a deposition if he knew if any state officials did any background
check into Harris or Kayem when he purchased drugs from Harris for his state in
March 2011.
Attorneys handed Weber pictures of the outside of Kayem and asked him if he had
ever seen what the facility looked like. He said he had not.
South Dakota officials told BuzzFeed News that the state had Harris's drugs
tested by a lab in the U.S. and found that the drugs passed the test.
But this latest time - the 3rd time Nebraska has attempted to purchase
execution drugs from Harris - Harris has claimed he is able to manufacture his
own drugs. In support of that, he registered his Salt Lake City, India, office
facility with the FDA, a registration used only for those making or possessing
drugs, and he has advertised vials of sodium thiopental with his company's logo
on the label.
"I have supplied Nebraska with Sodium Thiopental in the past," Harris wrote to
the Department of Correctional Services in April. "I presently have a batch
being manufactured for 2 States that have placed an order," adding that he will
will have "a few thousand Vials that will be extra."
In previous sales, Harris was working with Kayem, which had agreements with
actual drug manufacturers. The only time Harris sold execution drugs once he
started on his own, he sold another company's drugs. But this time, he's
touting his company's manufacturing abilities and has sodium thiopental bottles
with his logo on the label. Given the nature of the Salt Lake City facility he
registered with the FDA, it still leaves the question: Where is Harris getting
his drugs now?
Nonetheless, Nebraska DOC Director Scott Frakes responded to Harris' pitch
enthusiastically, and ultimately purchased a "minimum order" - a thousand vials
of sodium thiopental and pancuronium bromide.
Harris charged the state $25 per vial of sodium thiopental, about 7 times more
than what the drug typically costs. In total, the state paid Harris $54,400.
Harris Pharma's facility registered with the FDA is located in Salt Lake City,
India. At one point, Frakes appears to incorrectly believe the facility is in
Salt Lake City, Utah.
"Chris, the address on the invoice says Salt Lake City, but it doesn't have the
street address, or the zip code for Salt Lake City," Frakes wrote in an email
obtained by BuzzFeed News through freedom of information requests. Harris
responds that the facility is actually in Kolkata.
Frakes responded 2 minutes later with "Can you call me right now?"
In his emails with Frakes, Harris referenced "other States" that are buying the
same drugs from him, although he never names the states. An email between a DEA
regulator and Frakes confirms that another state intended to import the drugs
from Harris.
DEA Regulator Cathy Gallagher wrote to Frakes that she has been dealing with
"another state on the same issue," and adds, "You are using the same
manufacturer in India."
It's unclear which state is being referenced in the email. The DEA did not
return a request for comment, and many states have secrecy laws that hide the
identity of their lethal drug suppliers.
The FDA sent a letter to Ohio in June, however, warning the Department of
Rehabilitation and Correction not to attempt to import sodium thiopental
illegally. The letter cited only "information received by the agency."
When BuzzFeed News approached the Ohio DRC in June, spokesperson JoEllen Smith
would say only that Ohio had not communicated with Harris's company, Harris
Pharma, but did not specifically answer the question of if the state had
purchased from him directly or indirectly.
In October, Ohio DRC responded to the FDA letter, insisting that the state
should be able to import the drug. "Contrary to the implication in your letter
that the importation of sodium thiopental is currently prohibited, there is a
legal framework for a state, if it so chooses, to import sodium thiopental in
accordance with" the law, DRC General Counsel Stephen Gray wrote.
He added that "Ohio has no intention of breaking any federal laws or violating
any court orders in an attempt to procure the legal drugs necessary to carry
out constitutionally approved and court-ordered death sentences."
Before 2013, the FDA wanted no part in the regulatory battle over execution
drugs, which is why it allowed shipments of sodium thiopental, including
Harris's drugs, into the U.S. But death row inmates in other states sued the
FDA, arguing that the regulator had no right to turn a blind eye to states
illegally importing the drug.
In a 2013 ruling, a federal judge agreed, ordering the FDA to not allow any
more shipments of sodium thiopental into the U.S.
In his October letter, Gray argued that "when Ohio has been able to procure the
drugs necessary to carry out its constitutionally approved method of capital
punishment via lethal injection, it has a history of doing so humanely and
efficiently." Ohio's most recent execution took place in January 2014, when
inmate Dennis McGuire gasped, choked, and clenched his fists in an execution
that lasted 26 minutes.
When approached with more information about Harris on Monday morning, Smith,
the DRC spokesperson, would say only that "DRC continues to seek all legal
means to obtain the drugs necessary to carry out court ordered executions." On
Monday evening, however, Ohio announced that it was postponing executions until
2017, citing ongoing problems obtaining execution drugs.
Harris promised delivery to Nebraska within 60 days. It's now been more than
150 days, and the sodium thiopental still isn't there. The FDA has been
constant in saying it will not allow the drugs in, and that importing them
would be illegal.
Harris tried to ship the drugs to Nebraska in late August, but the shipment was
returned due to "improper or missing paperwork" according to FedEx. The company
in India that handled the export for Harris said it was because the drug lacked
FDA approval.
"Our shipment has to clear the U.S. office," Rohit Sharma said. "But they told
us that it does not have FDA clearance."
Sharma added that he sent the drugs back to the drug distributor, Harris. "He
will FedEx it from Kolkata," Sharma said.
In a statement, FedEx said it's standard procedure to notify the FDA and
Customs before importing drugs.
"This shipment was never brought to the United States," a spokesperson said.
"The paperwork was incorrect in India and it was returned to the shipper. As
with any international importation of a drug, data about that shipment is
transmitted to federal agencies in advance, including U.S. Customs and the Food
and Drug Administration. If the shipment is authorized, we will deliver it to
the recipient; if it is not, we will return it to the foreign shipper."
Nearly 2 months later, the answer as to what is happening with Chris Harris's
efforts to import execution drugs is no more clear.
"We can't comment on pending or ongoing investigations," an FDA spokesperson
told BuzzFeed News this past week. "We can say that sodium thiopental is
unlawful to import and FDA would refuse its admission into the United States."
The Drug Enforcement Administration's regulatory authority does not apply to
foreign countries, a spokesperson said, and added that DEA would not be
conducting an inspection of Harris's facility. Customs and Border Patrol
declined to comment.
Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts still maintains optimism that his state will
receive the drugs needed to carry out executions. Ohio, on the other hand, has
called off all executions until 2017.
Through it all, Harris remains an elusive figure in this transcontinental
spectacle.
"I think you people don't understand English,: Harris told BuzzFeed News on
Monday, given a final opportunity to respond to the allegations made in this
story. "I have said I won't waste my time replying to you as you will write
whatever you want anyways. STOP SENDING ME MAILS."
(source: BuzzFeed.com)
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:
Death penalty for mason who set 2 co-workers on fire, killing 1---- Reason for
convict's act still not known
A Pakistani mason was sentenced to death in absentia by a UAE court for setting
2 co-workers on fire which killed 1 of them.
According to the records, on February 9, while AA and SA were busy in the store
of a building under construction in Jebel Ali, the accused DA, 32, who is at
large, poured petrol on them and set them on fire with a lighter.
The worker who survived the fire, SA, 35, Pakistani machine operator, testified
that he had accompanied victim AA to the store.
"I was in the store with AA and DA. We were all chatting and laughing about
funny incidents at work. We were enjoying our time together and nothing
happened that could have triggered DA???s anger. We sat chatting for about an
hour after which DA left the store.
"15 minutes later, while I was helping AA, the store keeper, in reviewing the
store's records, I noticed DA entering, holding a middle-size yellow bucket. I
did not expect anything bad and I turned back to continue helping AA.
"All of a sudden, I felt the blanket that I had wrapped around myself on that
cold day become wet. I also noticed that the same thing happened to AA's
blanket. I also smelt petrol. DA pouring the liquid all around the store,"
testified the survivor.
The survivor saw the accused switching on the lighter that he was holding in
his hand and bringing it close to AA's blanket.
"Very quickly, AA as well as the entire store caught fire. I found myself
surrounded by flames while AA was screaming. I could not help him as, in a few
seconds, he had turned into a mass of fire. I rushed to the door, kicked it and
got out and threw away my blanket that had caught fire," testified SA.
While the accused was setting the place on fire, the survivor heard him saying:
"You will all die inside."
MA, worker, rushed to the store holding a fire extinguisher and started
spraying foam on the victim. The victim, who had become a mass of fire, rushed
out of the store. The fire was extinguished and he was rushed to hospital.
"I don't know why he did that as there were no problems between the accused and
anyone in the company. The victim's behaviour was also good," he noted.
MA, 35, Pakistani watchman, testified that he rushed with the fire extinguisher
as he saw a ball of fire rushing out of the store 10 metres away from him. The
burning man was screaming and asking for help.
The victim fell unconscious after telling the watchman that there is another
man inside and he must help him. He meant the machine operator who survived.
The victim also told the guard that he does not know why DA did it. "DA poured
petrol on me and burnt me. I had no problem with him. I have 2 daughters and
there is another man inside who should be rescued," he told the guard before
falling unconscious.
The foreman MA, 49, and other workers repeated corroborative testimonies
regarding what the victim said before falling unconscious.
AH, 39, Egyptian clerk, testified that victim was well-behaved and there were
no notices about him. He said the victim had no problems with any of the
workers.
"I was in the office when I heard workers shouting and screaming outside. I
rushed out and saw that the victim was completely burnt and that fire was
extinguished. Workers told me that DA had poured petrol on the victim and set
him on fire when he was in the store," testified the clerk.
MJ, 46, Pakistani bus driver, testified that some workers complained about
smell of petrol in the bus. "I checked the bus but did not find anything," he
testified.
Second Lieutenant Ali Juma, who checked the crime scene, testified that it was
a murder by fire.
"I could not question the victim who remained unconscious for 4 days before he
died," said the officer.
A forensic doctor reported that the cause of death was burns of different
degrees all over the body. The most severe burns were on his back.
A fire expert reported that the cause of fire was petrol and a flame that
started near the door and spread all over the store. He reported about workers'
uniforms and shoes found in the store.
The convict was prosecuted in absentia for premeditated murder and attempt to
murder in addition to setting fire to his employer's store.
(source: emiraates 247.com)
ETHIOPIA:
UK Must Use Ethiopia Trade Event to Demand Death-Row Brit's Release
The Foreign Office is hosting a high-level trade event for Ethiopia's Foreign
Minister, despite the ongoing detention of a British man kidnapped by the
Ethiopian authorities 16 months ago.
Foreign minister Grant Shapps will share a stage with Ethiopian Foreign
Minister Tedros Adanhom at the UK Ethiopia Trade Investment Forum, which is
hosted and supported by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, and
the Foreign Office (FCO). The event's website says it is "the country's highest
profile investment outreach on the international stage, to date", and that it
is is "a unique opportunity" for potential investors to "engage directly with
the government and senior decision-makers of one of the most topical investment
destinations in the world."
The event is going ahead amid criticism of the UK government for failing to
request that Ethiopia release Andargachew 'Andy' Tsege, a British father of
three who was kidnapped by Ethiopian forces in June 2014 and forcibly taken to
the country. Mr Tsege is an outspoken critic of the Ethiopian government, and
was sentenced to death there in absentia in 2009. He has been held largely
incommunicado since his disappearance, and has been refused regular British
consular visits, as well as contact with a lawyer and his family in London. The
UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has demanded the "immediate release of
Mr Tsege" from Ethiopia, but the UK government has so far limited itself to
calling for consular access and 'due process' in his case.
Human rights organization Reprieve, which is assisting Andy's family, has asked
Mr Shapps to use the Ethiopian visit to ask for Andy to be released. In a
recent letter to Reprieve, Mr Shapps claimed the government "take[s] every
opportunity" to raise his case with the Ethiopian authorities. The visit comes
as the UK government faces controversy over trade deals with countries accused
of human rights abuses. Today it emerged that the Business Secretary, Sajjid
Javid, had invoked Article 51 of the UN Charter in a letter to Reprieve
justifying the promotion of British security exports to countries including
Saudi Arabia.
Commenting, Maya Foa, head of Reprieve's death penalty team, said: "The
government has already admitted that human rights are 'no longer a priority' -
for ministers to now take the stage with the Ethiopian Foreign Minister in the
name of boosting trade sends a further worrying signal. This is a man
responsible for the kidnapping and ongoing detention of a British father of
three, Andy Tsege, who awaits the carrying out of an in absentia death
sentence. Promoting trade with our allies is one thing, but the UK must also
use its ties with countries like Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia to help victims of
abuses - including British citizens. The Foreign Office must use its visit from
Tedros this week to demand Andy's urgent release."
(source: reprieve.org)
_______________________________________________
A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu
DeathPenalty mailing list
DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu
http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty
Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
