Jan. 26
IRAN:
"THE SMILING FACE OF THE MULLAHS": HOC report on the Death Penalty in Iran
In view of the visit to Italy by President Hassan Rouhani, scheduled for the
25th and 26th of January, Hands Off Cain presented the Report on the Death
Penalty in Iran entitled "The Smiling Face of the Mullahs".
The Report lists the executions carried out in Iran in 2015 and in first 2
weeks of 2016 and provides a comprehensive view of capital punishment under
Hassan Rouhani's Presidency.
The report also represents a "reminder" for the Italian State's highest
authorities to bring the question of the death penalty and the respect of human
rights to the center of every meeting and understanding with the
representatives of the regime in Tehran.
According to the report, in 2015 the regime in Tehran carried out at least 980
executions, a 22.5% increase compared to 800 in 2014 and a 42.6% increase
compared to 687 in 2013.
This is the number of executions among the highest in the recent history of
Iran, which classifies it as the top "Executioner-Country" in the world in
relation to population. At least 370 execution cases (37.7%) were reported by
official Iranian sources (websites of the Iranian Judiciary, national Iranian
broadcasting network, and official or state-run news agencies and newspapers);
610 cases (62.3%) included in the annual numbers were reported by unofficial
sources (other human rights NGOs or sources inside Iran).
The actual number of executions is probably much higher than the figures
included in the Report of Hands Off Cain.
(source: NCR-Iran)
KENYA:
Judiciary wants convicts on death row hanged
The Judiciary now wants the Executive to hire a hang-man and allow him to deal
with thousands of convicted Kenyans awaiting death sentence.
High Court Judge Fred Ochieng says the Judiciary wants the death penalty
imposed upon offenders as outlined in the new policy guidelines launched on
Monday by Chief Justice Dr. Willy Mutunga.
The new policy guidelines were prepared by a team of Judges at the Judicial
Training Institute led by Justice Msagha Mbogholi.
Former President Mwai Kibaki commuted the death sentences to life imprisonment
in 2009 as human rights activists pushed Kenya towards eliminating the death
penalty.
His action reduced by 1/5 the 20,000 prisoners facing execution around the
world.
Kibaki signaled intentions to abolish the death penalty altogether but first
called for a study to determine whether Kenya???s mandatory death sentence for
murder, armed robbery or treason actually deters crime.
His move reflected a trend beyond Europe and elsewhere to abolish capital
punishment.
Since 2008, Argentina, Burundi and Uzbekistan have abolished the death penalty.
Kenya is one of the Sub-Saharan countries that have made steps toward reducing
executions or doing away with them. The others include; Uganda, Tanzania, Mali
and Nigeria.
Only 25 countries actually carried out executions in 2008. In sub-Saharan
Africa, only 2 countries - Botswana and Sudan - carried out executions 2008.
China has the most executions, at least 5,000 in 2008, according to a July
report by the anti-death-penalty group Hands-Off-Cain.
China's highest court, which reviews all executions, recently called for the
death penalty to be used less often. In the USA, about 35 people are executed
per year.
By Kenyan law, armed robbery carries a mandatory death sentence - for bank
robbers with sub-machine guns or someone using a stick to snatch a chicken.
Even though the death penalty has not been carried out since 1983, the
population on death row kept expanding.
Even, as the former President signaled an intention to push for abolition of
the death the fact the new constitution retains provisions for the death
penalty [The Penal Code] is an impediment.
Kenya's Court of Appeal sitting in Nairobi on July 30th, 2010 declared
unconstitutional the application of a mandatory death sentence on all prisoners
convicted of murder.
In their unanimous judgment, the Court of Appeal ruled that the automatic
nature of the death penalty in Kenya for murder violates the right to life and
amounts to inhuman punishment, as it does not provide the individuals concerned
with an opportunity to mitigate their death sentences.
As a result, hundreds of prisoners currently on death row in Kenya, including
the Appellant, Godfrey Mutiso, were given a reprieve.
The Court of Appeal said that the same reasoning given in the judgment would
apply to other offences having a mandatory death sentence, such as treason and
robbery with violence (Section 296/2 of the Penal Code).
(source: citizentv.co.ke)
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