Dec. 8
GUYANA:
Why does the EU want us to get rid of capital punishment so badly?
Dear Editor,
There are few things that rattle my feathers, shock me or make me mad. But when
I read the Chronicle of December 3 that the "EU pledges cash if Guyana
abolishes death penalty," I was shocked and mad.
According to the Deputy Head of the Division for the Caribbean European
External Action Service, Fernando Ponz Canto, "the European Union (EU) is
willing to give political and financial support to any country that abolishes
the death penalty, including Guyana."
It's unthinkable that the EU could make such a bold, blatant and boldfaced
offer to bribe Guyana to abolish its death penalty laws. I guess the EU knows
Guyana's secret, which is, it would do anything for money. And the EU is taking
advantage of the weakness.
Editor, the EU is taking advantage of a poor country. Just as poor people are
taken advantage of by the rich because of their poverty, a poor country like
Guyana is being taken advantage of by a rich country because it is poor.
Editor, the EU isn't only bribing our country to abolish capital punishment,
but it is also bullying us to abolish it. It's a sad day when Europe is trying
to europeanise a developing country in the 21st century.
As I write this letter, I'm so annoyed by the article that my blood pressure is
going up because another taxi driver was just found murdered. How can people
call for an end to capital punishment when the murder rates are so high?
I still don't understand why the EU wants us to get rid of capital punishment
so badly. What is the urgency of ending capital punishment? Is it because it is
archaic? It can't be because capital punishment is still legal in the United
States of America, unless the EU is saying that America is also an archaic
country. More importantly, the US Supreme Court still upholds the death penalty
in those states where it is still legal and in the federal system.
Editor, one of the reasons why I felt angry is that the EU would never ever ask
America to get rid its capital punishment. The EU wouldn't disrespect America.
Why, then, do they want to disrespect Guyana? Why is the EU is picking on
little Guyana to abolish capital punishment when we've not executed a single
person in over 2 decades? And during that period a large number of people were
murdered. In 2014, 35 inmates were executed in the United States.
In Guyana, we have only one organisation to support the family members of
victims.
We need more organisations to support family members whose children were
murdered. The EU cares more about saving the lives of cold-blooded murderers
than rebuilding the lives of victims' family members. Why not give the money to
help the family members rebuild their lives?
Why not give the money to an organisation to set up a victims' reparations
fund?
Yours faithfully,
Anthony Pantlitz
(source: Letter to the Editor, Stabroek News)
SAUDI ARABIA----executions
Saudi executes 2 as annual toll hits 150 ---- 2015's rate of executions is the
Saudi kingdom's highest in 2 decades.
Saudi Arabia on Tuesday executed a convicted Pakistani heroin smuggler and a
Saudi murderer, adding to a toll which rights group Amnesty International says
is the kingdom's highest in 2 decades.
The interior ministry said the Pakistani, Khan Iqbal, was put to death in the
holy city of Mecca for smuggling a large amount of heroin in his intestines.
In a separate case, Saudi national Haydar al-Ridwan was executed in the eastern
city of Qatif.
He had been convicted of gunning down two Saudis after an argument, the
interior ministry said.
According to AFP tallies, the cases of Iqbal and Ridwan bring to 150 the number
of locals and foreigners put to death this year, against 87 for all of 2014.
London-based Amnesty says the number of executions in Saudi Arabia this year is
the highest since 192 people were put to death in 1995.
The toll has rarely exceeded 90 annually in recent years, it said.
Reasons for the surge are unclear.
Over the last few weeks, however, there had been a marked drop in executions,
all of which are reported by the official Saudi Press Agency.
Saudi executions are usually carried out by beheading with a sword.
Rights experts have raised concerns about the fairness of trials in the kingdom
and say the death penalty should not be applied in drug cases.
Last month the European Union issued a statement saying a number of people had
been put to death recently in Saudi Arabia after convictions for drug
trafficking.
"The European Union is opposed to capital punishment in all cases and without
exception," it said.
(source: Middle East Online)
**************
Saudi executes Pakistani heroin smuggler
Saudi Arabia today executed a convicted Pakistani heroin smuggler, adding to a
toll which rights group Amnesty International says is the kingdom's highest in
2 decades.
The ministry of interior said Khan Iqbal was put to death in the holy city of
Mecca for smuggling a large amount of heroin in his intestines.
According to AFP tallies, Iqbal is the 149th local or foreigner put to death
this year, against 87 for all of 2014.
London-based Amnesty says the number of executions in Saudi Arabia this year is
the highest since 192 people were put to death in 1995.
The toll has rarely exceeded 90 annually in recent years, it said.
Reasons for the surge are unclear.
Over the last few weeks, however, there has been a marked drop in executions,
all of which are reported by the official Saudi Press Agency.
Rights experts have raised concerns about the fairness of trials in the kingdom
and say the death penalty should not be applied in drug cases.
Last month the European Union issued a statement saying a number of people had
been put to death recently in Saudi Arabia after convictions for drug
trafficking.
"The European Union is opposed to capital punishment in all cases and without
exception," it said.
(source: Agence France-Presse)
IRAN---execution
Prisoner Hanged in Southern Iran
A prisoner with an alleged murder charge was reportedly hanged at Bandar Abbas
Central Prison on the morning of Monday December 7. A report by the Judicial
department in the province of Hormozgan identifies the prisoner as A.B. The
prisoner was reportedly charged with murder and also sentenced to death in
2008. The death sentence was reportedly issued by Branch 1 of Hormozgan's
Criminal Court and confirmed by Branch 13 of Iran's Supreme Court.
(source: Iran Human Rights)
**************
Renewed death sentences for juvenile offenders show 'contempt' for children's
rights
Iran cemented its shameful status as the world's top official executioner of
juvenile offenders after two young men were re-sentenced to death for crimes
committed when they were under 18 years old, Amnesty International said today.
Sajad Sanjari and Hamid Ahmadi, who had been granted retrials because of their
young age when the crimes occurred, will face execution after trial courts
presiding over their separate cases concluded they had reached "mental
maturity" at the time of the crime.
"This ruling lays bare the Iranian authorities' contempt for the human rights
of children, coupled with their appetite for the death penalty - a toxic
combination that leaves numerous juvenile offenders facing execution," said
Said Boumedouha, Deputy Director of Amnesty International's Middle East and
North Africa Programme.
"Iran's continued use of the death penalty against persons convicted of crimes
committed while they were under 18 years of age is cruel, inhumane and
blatantly unlawful. The death sentences of both these men, and all other
juvenile offenders on death row in Iran, must be commuted immediately."
A provision on juvenile sentencing in Iran's 2013 Penal Code allows judges to
replace the death penalty with an alternative punishment if they decide that
the juvenile offender did not comprehend the nature of the crime or its
consequences, or that his or her "mental growth and maturity" are in doubt.
However, the courts in these cases dashed the hopes of both defendants - and of
human rights advocates who have long called for the abolition of the death
penalty against juvenile offenders - by reissuing the 2 death sentences with
little explanation.
"The re-sentencing to death of Sajad Sanjari and Hamid Ahmadi makes a mockery
of a fundamentally flawed provision that gives judges the discretion to impose
the death penalty for crimes committed by minors. No such discretion must ever
be given under any circumstances. The assessment of their mental state years
after the crime is an inherently defective way of determining criminal
responsibility," said Said Boumedouha.
"These retrial proceedings have been hailed as juvenile justice advances but
increasingly we are seeing them turning into a cruel show that ends with
juvenile offenders once again finding themselves on death row."
Sajad Sanjari, now aged 20, was first sentenced to death in January 2012 after
being convicted of murder for fatally stabbing a man in Kermanshah Province. He
was 15 years old at the time of the crime.
Hamid Ahmadi, 24, was first sentenced to death in August 2009 in connection
with the fatal stabbing of a young man during a fight between 5 boys in
northern Gilan Province. He was 17 years old at the time.
Iran is a state party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both of which prohibit
the imposition of the death penalty against persons who were below 18 years of
age at the time of the crime absolutely, allowing for no exceptions. However,
Iran continues to impose the death penalty against juvenile offenders and
frequently defer the execution until after they pass the age of 18.
"These cases highlight the continuing and urgent need for laws that will
prohibit the use of the death penalty against juvenile offenders, once and for
all," said Said Boumedouha.
"Until such time, juvenile offenders remain at risk of the death penalty even
when their applications for retrial are granted."
Iran tops the grim, global table of executioners of juvenile offenders. In 2015
at least 4 juvenile offenders are believed to have been executed. They included
Javad Saberi, hanged on 15 April, Vazir Amroddin, hanged in June/July, Samad
Zahabi, hanged on 5 October, and Fatemeh Salbehi, hanged on 13 October.
"It is absolutely shocking that in the months and weeks leading to the review
session before the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Iranian
authorities shamelessly continue to sentence juvenile offenders to death and
schedule and carry out their executions," said Said Boumedouha.
Iran is scheduled to be reviewed by the Committee on 11 and 12 January. The
Committee has already expressed deep concerns about the use of death penalty
against juvenile offenders and asked Iran to provide information on the outcome
and progress of the cases of juvenile offenders undergoing re-trial.
(source: Amnesty International USA)
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