Dec. 14
IRAN:
At Least 7 Prisoners Set to be Executed Wednesday
According to confirmed reports, at least 7 prisoners in Karaj's Rajai Shahr
Prison have been transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for their
executions. Close sources to IHR say the prisoners are accused of committing
acts of murder. The death sentences are reportedly scheduled to be carried out
on Wednesday December 16." The names of 3 of the prisoners have been identified
as: Milad Mostakhdam (Ward 6), Hamid Baladast (Ward 1), and Massoud Ostadkarim
(Ward 3).
Some reports say there are a total of 10 prisoners who are currently in
solitary confinement in Rajai Shahr while awaiting their execution sentences to
be carried out.
(source: Iran Human Rights)
CHINA:
Wife of fallen China politician Bo Xilai has sentence commuted
The wife of former Chinese political heavyweight Bo Xilai has had her suspended
death sentence for murdering a British businessman commuted to life
imprisonment, the latest episode of a drama that rocked the Communist party 3
years ago.
Gu Kailai was condemned to death with a 2-year reprieve in 2012 for murdering
British businessman Neil Heywood, who had been close to the family.
The prison where Gu is serving her term applied last year for her penalty to be
reduced. The Higher People's Court of Beijing said in a statement dated Friday
that it had commuted her punishment to life in jail, according to statements
posted on the website of China's supreme court.
The prison said Gu "obeyed discipline", qualified in "ideological, cultural and
technological studies" and "completed labour tasks in a timely manner".
The Beijing court said Gu was "eligible for the legal conditions for a
commutation" since she "did not commit any crimes" while incarcerated.
The suspended death sentence is typically commuted to life in prison in China,
although the period of time served varies.
The law states that a death sentence for murder cannot be commuted to less than
20 years in jail, but legal experts say there have been cases where the courts
have ordered shorter sentences.
Gu's case triggered the scandal that brought down her husband Bo, a charismatic
but divisive politician, and exposed deep splits in the ruling Communist party
before a generational handover of power in 2012.
Bo had been tipped for promotion to the elite group of party leaders that
effectively rules China until the allegations against his wife burst into the
open.
He was sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of bribery, embezzlement and
abuse of power in 2013.
Bo's top aide Wang Lijun -- who fled to a US consulate, reportedly seeking
asylum -- was imprisoned for 15 years in 2012 for defection and covering up
Gu's killing of Heywood, among other offences.
Former railway minister Liu Zhijun, who was given a suspended death penalty in
2013 in a separate corruption scandal, also had his sentence commuted, the
Beijing court said.
(source: Daily Mail)
NIGERIA:
Cattle Rearer Sentenced To Death For Killing Farmer
An Ebonyi State High Court sitting in Abakaliki, presided over by the State
Chief Judge, Justice Alloy Nwankwo, at the weekend sentenced a nomadic cattle
rearer, Musa Barugun, to death by hanging for alleged murder.
Barugun had, in February 2013, allegedly killed one Chibueze Nkwegu at Sharon
in Izzi local government area of the state.
The convict was said to have attacked and killed the deceased with sharp knife
which he used in stabbing Nkwegu in the chest and stomach.
The convict was said to have been returning from Abakaliki and got to Sharon
late in the night and decided to pass the night at his friend's house where he
was when the deceased was passing and he hurriedly chased after him attacked
and killed him.
The deceased had been complaining of destruction of his crops by cattle and had
several times pleaded with Barugun to stop his cows from destroying his cash
crops, but the pleas fell on his deaf ears leading to misunderstanding between
the deceased and the herdsman.
Barugun then confronted Nkwegu with a knife days later and murdered him. The
herder was later arrested and arraigned for murder.
Barugun who hails from Kogi State was later remanded in prison custody till
last weekend when he was convicted.
He could not put up defence to counter the evidence before the court on the
matter, as the knife (dagger) used in committing the act was found in his
possession, while the clothes he wore on the day of the incident which was
heavily stained with human blood were also tendered as exhibit during his
trial.
Accordingly, the court found him guilty and sentenced him to death by hanging.
However, the leader of Hausa community in Ebonyi State, Alhaji Danjuma Gambo
described the death of Nkwegu as unfortunate, but said the convict will appeal
the judgement.
(source: leadership.ng)
********
Why we advocate capital punishment for treasury looters - NLC President
Comrade Ayuba Wabba is the National President of the Nigeria Labour Congress
(NLC). In this interview which was conducted in Ilorin, he spoke on the
reconciliation in the NLC, the good governance campaign of the congress and its
insistence on capital punishment for treasury looters.
Would you say the crisis in the NLC is over?
We never had a faction. We only had disagreement. That is not to say we are
divided over issues that would build bridges of unity and address the core
challenges of Nigerian workers. All of us, especially Comrade Isa Aremu, have
been in the same struggle. He has been part of every struggle aimed at
addressing the core issues affecting workers.
Has the disagreement been settled?
Certainly, by the special grace of God. We have settled. We will forge ahead
with a very strong platform, where all of us - workers and citizens of this
country - would be happy. You saw the action we took jointly, which was for
good governance and against corruption. You saw how all of us were on the same
page to address issues of good governance.
This is the hallmark of our movement. All of us are committed to making sure
that we are united at all times to advance issues of workers and the larger
Nigerian society. I told you earlier that the only mass movement organisation
in Nigeria today that commands troops is the NLC. Individual civil society
organisations finds it difficult to mobilise people. The truth is that people
are always ready to identify with a course that would advance their interest.
That is why the good governance rally succeeded across the length and breadth
of this country.
There is no division. We are the same when it comes to core issues of workers -
how to represent the interest of workers, how to forge a common unity. We will
not do anything that would undermine our strength because undermining our
strength means that we are undermining the strength of Nigerian workers.
During the anti-corruption rally you held recently, there was agitation for
death penalty for treasury looters. Are you seeking a legislative backing for
this?
In our argument, we said clearly that part of the reasons we are in this
quagmire is because a lot of people have helped themselves with the resources
that are meant to drive development. Schools are not effectively working, there
are no drugs in hospitals, the roads are bad. People have helped themselves by
looting our common resources. The resources do not belong to the government;
they belong to us as Nigerians. We have the right to demand for accountability
and good governance. The major problem in Nigeria is corruption. They steal our
money in billions. People now loot in dollars. In fact, directly from where the
petroleum product is sourced, they transfer the money into their accounts. We
have seen facts.
We are against the issue of plea bargaining. It encourages treasury looters.
Let us adopt what happens in China. In China, your family will even pay for the
bullet that would be used to kill you. That is the penalty for people that
steal, irrespective of the amount. We must have a starting point in Nigeria.
Corruption is a challenge we must face squarely in this country. We will
continue to advocate capital punishment. We will not lower the stake because
they could manipulate any other form of punishment, including life
imprisonment. If it has been successful elsewhere, why can't we do it? The fact
is that when you fight corruption, it will really fight back. So, don't be
surprised that those canvassing for other forms of punishment apart from death
sentence would not have substance to advance their argument. They argue that we
shouldn???t take people's lives because God does not allow it; but they are
killing people. People are dying as a result of bad roads. A lot more are dying
because there are no drugs in our hospitals. The fact of the matter is that
corruption has killed a lot of people and we must stand by the truth and
continue to advance what is right in our country. That is our position.
You said some politicians have a different understanding of the change mantra
of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Can you explain further?
Yes, change means food on the table of the ordinary Nigerian. It is not money
in the pockets of few. That is a reality. We may all be canvassing for change,
but individuals understand it differently. The politician would naturally want
more money in his pocket, but workers and the downtrodden want to change the
poverty level of our country. Today, many people are living below 1 dollar per
day - over 70 % of Nigerians? We cannot continue like that. There is the need
to change the equation and put food on the table of the ordinary Nigerian. Our
children should be able to go to public schools. Most of those in authorities
today went to public schools. I attended a public, and when I finished, I
remember I enjoyed bursary up to tertiary level. And I was employed after
school. That's what change means. Today, the situation is not the same despite
the fact that the resources accruing to Nigeria have increased. The money is in
people's pockets.
What we are saying in essence is that there should be positive change. In many
countries there is free education, from primary school to the university.
Botswana is one of such countries. Unfortunately, in our own country, they have
created a class division where the children of the poor can no longer go to
school. Your children cannot go the university if you don't have money. To even
get quality education, you have to go to a private university. Those are the
challenges. For you to access quality health care, you must go to a private
hospital. Was that the situation 20 or 30 years back? No. In those days, there
were free and quality drugs in our hospitals. There was no issue of fake drugs.
The issue of fake drugs came because some people wanted to enrich themselves
overnight. If they were given contracts to import drugs, they would import
drugs that had expired. It is still a challenge today. We should be able to
address the issue of corruption. And we must be consistent in the struggle
because people are still ready to steal. Except we are able to do the needful,
it would be very difficult to change the status quo.
What does the demise of Comrade Aremu's mother signify?
Going by the testimony, Comrade Aremu gave us, it is clear that he got
inspiration for labour struggle from his mother. Despite losing his father at a
very tender age, everything went smoothly because his mother stood by him,
educated him, taught him all the morals and how to always fight for his rights.
For me, this is what we expect from our parents and people we see as role
models. This is highly impressive, and that is why we are here to celebrate her
life and time.
The 2nd and very important issue is the fact that she lived a very transparent
and memorable life. She was a hardworking woman. She believed that a labourer
was worthy of his wages. And she tried to put her best into everything she did.
You can see that in Comrade Issa. He also tries to imbibe some of these very
important attributes. So for us, it is a celebration of life, which also calls
for sober reflection. Unfortunately, the intimacy that existed between Issa and
his mother is lacking in our society today. These days, it is easy for parents
to abandon their children to nannies or other caregivers to train. That is why
we have social vices everywhere. We must return to the basics and teach our
children good values.
In Nigeria, we have very rich values, cultures and traditions. Hard work is
actually what our parents taught us for a very long time. In fact, our parents
taught us to wake up early and be very punctual and hard working. Mama lived a
very decent life.
From what he said, it was Mama???s money that was used for her burial. She left
over N500, 000 in her account. I think it is unprecedented that Mama left such
amount of money at 91.
(source: dailytrust.com.ng)
PAKISTAN:
Sindh Leads in 'Terrorist Execution'
Pakistan's Sindh province, over the past 5 years has led in executing
terrorists in the country, according to the latest statistics collected by the
Ministry of Interior.
The ministry's figures depicts that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)-ruled
province has more terrorists awaiting executions than the rest of the country.
Death sentences were carried out in 106 cases in Sindh until the last week of
November this year, reported Dawn.
There was an unannounced period of prohibition on the death penalty, during the
PPP government at the centre (from 2008 to 2013).
Most of the 106 executions have been carried out after the terrorist attack on
the Army Public School in Peshawar in December last year.
The number of terrorists facing death penalty is likely to go up in the coming
days as the 21st Amendment in January this year has set up 11 military courts.
Out of 142 cases of terrorism heard by these military courts, 55 had been
finalized and 87 are in process.
The death warrants of 4 terrorists was signed by Army Chief General Raheel
Sharif on December 8.
(source: New Indian Express)
***************
Supreme Court rejects Mumtaz Qadri's review plea against death penalty
Supreme Court (SC) on Monday has rejected death row inmate Mumtaz Qadri's
review plea following his appeal in Punjab late governor Salman Taseer's murder
case.
A 3-member bench headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa held hearing of Qadri's
review plea.
Counsel for the defendant requested the court to form a larger bench led by
Chief Justice (CJ) Anwar Zaheer Jamali to review the matter. Justice Khosa said
that Qadri could not prove blasphemy on late governor's part.
Had blasphemy been proved, formation of larger bench could be considered, he
added. He further said that Qadr's appeal has various misunderstandings.
Justice Khosa said that the appeal states court gave a brief verdict whereas it
was a detailed order and the court had not missed any single point.
The 3-member bench heard Qadri's appeal against death sentence and it could
hear review plea as well, he added. Justice Khosa said that Qadri confessed to
murder and was arrested from the crime scene with the weapon used for the
killing.
Security was beefed up in the federal capital in light of expected protests
today. Police contingents were increased on entry points of Islamabad.
In addition to police personnel, Rangers were also deployed for the cause.
Vehicles enroute to the federal capital were checked at various points.
Law enforcers guarded key buildings while commoners were barred from entering
the Red Zone. Police remained alert in Nadra Chowk, Serena Hotel and Faizabad
among different sensitive areas.
It should be mentioned here that an anti-terrorism court (ATC) sent 3 persons
to jail for5 years while 2 for 3 years in June after they attacked a
candlelight vigil held in late Taseer's remembrance.
Qadri served in the security group of the late governor taking advantage of
which he opened fire after Taseer's alleged controversial remarks over
blasphemy laws. The late governor was assassinated in December 2011 in
Islamabad.
In October, Justice Asif Saeed Khosa had taken a strong stance in the case. He
had said that criticizing blasphemy laws and calling for amendment does not
amount to blasphemy.
(source: Dunya News)
************
The problem with the death penalty ---- Every day, people commit heinous crimes
across Pakistan despite the death penalty being in practice. When will we
understand that the rope is not a social saviour?
My contention is if a person is to face trial with fair means fulfilling all
international rules and fulfilling the ingredient of Article 10-A of the
Constitution of Pakistan prescribed for a trial, hardly a person can then be
sentenced to death by the trial courts of Pakistan. The reason for my
contention is that handing down the death penalty is too high a penalty in the
trial courts and furthermore it appears to me that the trial courts are too
liberal and freely mete out the death sentence to people put to face trial.
The author has noticed that for, instance, if the trial court administers 10
cases of offences punishable with the death penalty, the trial court, out of
those 10 cases, will hand down the death penalty in 9 cases. Furthermore, the
Criminal Code of Procedure (CrPC, 1898) guarantees that all death sentences
handed down by trial courts must go to the High Court for confirmation. Of
these decided cases sent to the High Court for confirmation of sentence almost
seven will result in acquittals and/or incarceration for life. The question
then arises: can we trust such a judicial system where the number of sentences
swings from one extreme to another? In my opinion, the death sentence is
imposed unnecessarily by the trial courts. This clearly points towards a full
blown crisis in the trial courts of Pakistan. There are various reasons behind
this kind of anomoly. To me it appears that the trial courts are reluctant to
take full burden on their shoulders and wish only to get away with trial
without ensuring the ingredients of fair trial. Furthermore, it is arguable
that the trial courts of Pakistan hand down the death sentence in cases that do
not call for it and inflict undeserved mental agony to those who are faced with
such a sentence.
It is the need of the time to place a moratorium on the death penalty in
Pakistan, which was lifted last year in the awake of the Peshawar massacre in
the Army Public School (APS), killing more than 140 children. The government of
Pakistan, in consultation with all the stakeholders, reinstated the death
penalty after almost 5 years of a complete ban. The last PPP coalition
government, in 2008, under immense international pressure from international
human rights groups, especially the United Nations, placed a moratorium on
capital punishment. Since the reintroduction of the death penalty in Pakistan
more than 200 inmates have been executed and these people were those who were
convicted for a single murder. Hardly a single inmate convicted of terrorism
has been sent to the gallows by the civilian courts.
This article focuses on the civilian courts system, therefore I am ignoring the
structure and procedure of the military courts, which were introduced last year
by the government through a constitutional amendment. However, the government
last year reinstated the death penalty with the view of combating terrorism and
executing convicted inmates of terrorism - those who had been languishing in
various prisons in Pakistan, particularly in Punjab. The government???s
intention to send terrorists to the gallows has proven to be a failure over the
last one year as a majority of those who have been sent to the gallows were not
convicted of brazen acts of terror but just single murders. They might have
been awarded the death sentence erroneously as the trial courts??? approach is
too liberal and they often award the death sentence unnecessarily.
Keeping the death sentence in the criminal justice of Pakistan does not serve a
deterrant purpose at all. The trial courts of Pakistan, in my opinion, lack the
propensity to conduct a fair trial to ensure that innocent and falsely
implicated people are not sentenced to death. The leading nations of the world
have already abolished capital punishment and strong sentiment against it is in
existence in nations that have it in their criminal justice system. The
countries of Europe abolished it years ago except for Belarus. The majority of
states in the US have abolished it as well and the remaining states slowly and
steadily are moving towards a point where the general public will stop
supporting it. The international community has quite often asked the government
of Pakistan to place a moratorium on the death sentence as it breaches human
dignity as well as being the most barbaric punishment, which, in the modern
era, lacks support.
I truly believe that the reinstatement of the death penalty by the government
of Pakistan to combat terrorism lacks thoughtfulness and strategy. Since its
reintroduction the ratio of terrorism related activities in Pakistan to date
have not declined at all. Every day, people commit heinous crimes across
Pakistan despite the death penalty being in practice. When will we understand
that the rope is not a social saviour? The government of Pakistan should really
think about placing a ban on capital punishment and introduce policies and
schemes that debar the ratio of crimes across Pakistan, including heinous crime
of terrorism. It is not easy task to introduce a legal framework that actually
helps to minimise terrorism and heinous offences. The legislature also needs to
amend those laws dealing with terrorism that have proven ineffective. I think
there is a need to amend Sections 7 and 6 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATC) and
the judicial system to interpret the scope of them. It has been observed that
the legal jurisprudence concerning terrorism is too narrow and is rather
unclear. The judiciary should be compelled to interpret the laws concerning
terrorism extensively so that heinous crimes of terrorism might not be confused
with ordinary criminal acts.
Capital punishment should be banned as soon as possible. It is worthwhile to
mention that capital punishment is medieval and a barbaric punishment that is
no longer effective enough to debar the ratio of crimes in society. The
reintroduction of the death penalty will not and has not helped the authorities
to cater to terrorism in Pakistan. It is on record that terrorism related
activities since 2014 have not decreased and therefore placing reliance upon
capital punishment for combating terrorism is not an effective argument. The
countries that abolished the death penalty years ago have a lesser crime rate
when compared to countries that still practice it. There is a need to introduce
a legal framework order that ensures only culprits of terrorism be punished
instead of falsely implicated people or regular criminals.
(source: Sarmad Ali; The writer is an advocate of the High Court based in
Lahore----The Daily Times)
INDONESIA:
Unfair trials lead to death-row convictions in Indonesia----Corrupt legal
system, poor investigations 'work against the innocent'
Many prisoners in Indonesia on death row are there as a result of unfair
trials, according to an Indonesian church official.
"Lots of people are still waiting for their execution. Many of them are the
fruit of unfair trials," said Father Paulus Christian Siswantoko, secretary of
the bishops' Commission for Justice, Peace and Pastoral for Migrant-Itinerant
People, during a Dec. 13 discussion program at the bishops' conference's office
in Jakarta.
"If those sentenced to death are finally executed and then research is done
after their execution that shows they are victims of unfair trials, the state
cannot do anything to pay for its sins," he said.
"This is something that we must reveal, we must tell the public. We must see
that trials are not always fair," he said.
Father Siswantoko referred to the case of a 54-year-old Catholic layman named
Christian, who was arrested in November 2007 on drug trafficking charges,
convicted and later sentenced to death.
The bishops' Advocacy and Human Rights Forum are trying to help secure the
man's release. Father Siswantoko said he was convicted on false evidence and
received an unfair trial.
Azas Tigor Nainggolan, forum coordinator, said Christian, who is being held in
Tangerang prison in Banten province, had a name that was similar to a known
drug dealer wanted by police, who did follow proper investigatory procedures.
"Christian was not arrested at the crime scene and was never asked for a urine
test, which is essential in drug-related cases," he told ucanews.com.
He said the forum was preparing to submit a judicial review for Christian's
case and request clemency.
Nainggolan said that Indonesia's legal system remained corrupt. "This can be
seen from unfair trials. And it would be very heavy if unfair trials have to be
faced by those sentenced to death," he said.
He said the forum has uncovered at least 300 death penalty convictions that
were the result of unfair trials.
Meanwhile, Talitha Kara, Christian's daughter, said her family hopes justice
will prevail.
"We just want the state to enforce the law. I want my father to be sent home.
That's all," she told ucanews.com.
(source: ucanews.com)
PHILIPPINES:
Show political will to save 78 OFWs on death row, gov't urged
The Aquino government needs to show political will in an effort to save the 78
recorded overseas Filipino workers facing the death penalty, a migrants'
organization said Monday.
3 of the condemned OFWs are from Davao Region, according to the Mindanao
Migrants Center for Empowering Actions Inc.
Of the 78 OFWs who are facing executions, 21 are in China, 29 are in the Middle
East, 24 are in Malaysia, 2 are in the US, and 1 each in Indonesia and
Thailand.
Speaking in Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City, MMCEAI executive director Inorisa
Elento said 1 of them was arrested as drug mule in China while the remaining 2
were accused of killing their employers in the Middle East.
She said the government must protect lives of the OFWs who are seeking greener
pastures abroad to provide for their families.
She added they came to know about the 3 OFWs from Davao Region when their
families sought their assistance after they were sentenced to death.
Elento said one way the government can protect its people abroad is to keep
track of how many Filipinos are working abroad and monitor their conditions in
their workplaces.
She alleged that the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) doesn't
know the exact number of OFWs in any given country.
She said government should show concern for its people abroad to prevent abuses
against them.
She also encouraged those who are planning to go abroad to do their share in
protecting themselves from harm by involving their families in their plans to
work overseas.
She added the community also has its share in protecting its people by knowing
how many OFWs go abroad.
She said the government and the OFWs must prepare for their reintegration when
they return home by having enough savings and planning where to invest their
money.
Elento recommended to the government to come up with a profile of the OFWs
indicating their destinations abroad.
Judith Reyes, a former OFW for two decades, said she didn???t get enough
support from OWWA when she was working in the Middle East.
She was imprisoned in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from May to October 2009 after her
employer failed to pay for her residence certificate for 2 years without her
knowledge.
Reyes worked in Saudi Arabia as tailor from 1995 to 2011. She also worked in
Kuwait from 1992 to 2004.
On December 16, the MMCEAI will hold a stakeholders forum at the city council
to tackle issues concerning OFWs.
Among the topics is the implementation of City Ordinance 056-08, also known as
OFW Center Ordinance, which has long been delayed since its passage on April
11, 2008.
The OFW Center is under the City Mayor's Office. One of its functions is to
keep records and profiles of OFWs.
(source: mindanews.com)
****************
Mar rejects revival of death penalty
Presidential candidate Mar Roxas has rejected the proposal to revive the death
penalty in the country, stressing that it is not a proven deterrent to crime.
Instead, Roxas said the focus is on ensuring that criminals are not only
arrested but are also being convicted if they are found guilty of committing
the crime they are being accused of.
"The restoration of death penalty is not the key to a successful anti-crime
campaign," said Roxas during the recent turnover of housing units in San Juan
City.
"You may have the death penalty law but if you can't catch criminals and even
if you arrest them and you fail to present proofs because of lousy
investigation, then that's useless," he added.
Roxas was reacting to the position taken by his rival Davao City Mayor Rodrigo
Duterte who said that he was inclined to restore the death penalty if elected.
The tough-talking Davao City mayor was also quoted as saying that he wants a
regular execution of criminals, especially those engaged in illegal drugs.
But Roxas has a different view of addressing the country's crime problem. "It
is not the penalty, it is the certainty of arrest and conviction that is a sure
deterrent to criminality," he said.
Roxas, during his term as Interior and Local Governments secretary, was the one
who conceptualized the Oplan Lambat-Sibat operations which the Philippine
National Police said resulted in the reduction of the weekly crime rate in
Metro Manila by at least 60 %.
He also opposes the execution of criminals which Duterte is openly espousing.
"I will not allow summary justice. What is this? Might is right? That those who
have guns will prevail? If that is the case, then we should all go back to the
Dark Ages wherein the most powerful prevails," Roxas added.
(source: Manila Bulletin)
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