Feb. 29
TURKEY:
Deputy PM urges Parliament to restore honor of coup victims
The Constitutional Conciliation Committee of Parliament will soon convene to
relaunch talks to replace the current Constitution, which was written during
the Turkish military coup of the 1980s.Urging all political parties to remove
the bases for execution from the Constitution and provide "restoration of
honor" to those who were executed after the Sept. 12 coup of 1980, Deputy Prime
Minister Numan Kurtulmus addressed Parliament on Saturday, emphasizing that the
previous execution orders are a "disgrace" for Parliament. Urging for unity,
Kurtulmus said that Turkey is going through a rough transition period and that
it should speed up reforms in efforts to come out of this period.
The deputy prime minister also addressed opposition parties, saying that all of
the judicial bases for the death penalty must be lifted. "Death sentences in
Turkish history continue to be as a disgrace for Parliament. Turkey still has a
Parliament regardless of those who signed execution orders in the past. If we
are truly disturbed by the execution of former Prime Minister Adnan Mendres or
the executions of the Sept. 12 coup, then all 4 political parties must lift all
judicial groups for the death penalty and take a huge step in leading Turkey in
the democratization process," he said.
In 2013, the Parliamentary Committee of Petition postponed the restoration of
honor request made for Menderes and his ministers. Commenting on the matter,
Kurtulmus urged all members of the political parties to restore honor to
Menderes and his ministers, as well the victims of Sept. 12 coup. He said that
this goal can be achieved if Parliament wants.
Kurtulmus said that Ankara has spent nearly $1.5 trillion dollars in
counterterrorism operations. "Turkey could have been 25 years ahead if it had
not been so acquainted with terror," he said. Responding to questions raised
during Parliament's budget meeting, Kurtulmus said that the game plan from 100
years ago has once again been put into effect and has placed terrorist
organizations such as the PKK, DAESH and the Revolutionary People's Liberation
Party Front (DHKP-C) into the plan.
(source: Daily Sabah)
PAKISTAN----execution
Mass Pakistan protests as governor's killer is hanged
Thousands protested in Pakistani cities Monday against the execution of a man
hailed by hardline Islamists as a hero for killing a provincial governor who
was seeking reform of the blasphemy law.
Protests against the hanging of Mumtaz Qadri were held in Karachi, Lahore,
Islamabad and several smaller cities, with demonstrators burning tyres and
chanting slogans.
But mass demonstrations did not break out and most rallies dispersed peacefully
after security was stepped up at flashpoints across the country of some 200
million.
These included the garrison city of Rawalpindi where hundreds of supporters
gathered at Qadri's family home.
Qadri, a police bodyguard to Salman Taseer, shot the liberal Punjab governor 28
times at an Islamabad market in 2011.
He said he was angry at the politician's calls to reform the blasphemy law.
Blasphemy is a hugely sensitive issue in the Islamic republic, and Qadri was
hailed as a hero by many conservatives eager to drown out calls to soften the
legislation.
Critics say the law -- which carries the death penalty -- is largely misused,
with hundreds languishing in jails under false charges.
Analyst Hasan Askari said the next 24 hours would be "sensitive" for the
government, adding that Islamabad had weighed the danger of mass violence
against the need to "wash away the suspicion" of sympathy for militancy.
By far the biggest protest was held in the port mega-city of Karachi Monday
afternoon, with around 7,000 people taking to the streets.
In the eastern city of Lahore, around another thousand people protested, while
hundreds others demonstrated in Pakistan-held Kashmir, Peshawar, Multan, and
other smaller cities, later dispersing peacefully.
Up to 900 people demonstrated in the southwestern city of Quetta.
Qadri was hanged in Rawalpindi's Adiala jail early Monday, senior local police
official Sajjid Gondal told AFP.
Mosques near Qadri's family home in the city broadcast the news, with cries
heard from inside the house as hundreds of mourners arrived.
Paramilitary Ranger forces and police in riot gear as well as ambulances and
dozens of police vehicles were stationed at the house early Monday.
But they had melted away by mid-morning, an AFP reporter said. By afternoon
hundreds of mourners remained, forming a queue roughly half a kilometre long to
view the body.
The funeral is expected to be held Tuesday.
"I have no regrets," Qadri's brother Malik Abid told AFP, tears rolling down
his cheeks, while women chanted nearby.
He said the family had been called to the prison Sunday evening by officials
who said Qadri was unwell.
- 'Ready to sacrifice' -
But when they arrived, Qadri greeted them with the news that authorities had
deceived them and that his execution was imminent.
"I am proud of the martyrdom of my son," Qadri's father Bashir Awan told AFP,
adding he was ready to sacrifice all five of his other sons "for the honour of
the Prophet".
Earlier, authorities blocked roads in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, bringing
morning traffic to a standstill. Protesters in Islamabad burned tyres and
briefly attacked a local news van.
National media played down the news on orders of the government, two senior
anchors told AFP.
Most channels led their bulletins with Pakistan's win for best foreign
documentary at the Oscars.
Taseer's son Shehryar said on Twitter the hanging was a victory for Pakistan,
but not for his family.
"The safe return of my brother is the only victory my family wants," he wrote,
referring to his sibling Shahbaz Taseer, who was kidnapped later in 2011 --
reportedly by the Taliban.
As well as calling for blasphemy law reform, Taseer had been vocal in his
support of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman who has been on death row since 2010
after being found guilty of insulting the Prophet Mohammed.
Qadri's lawyers drew on Islamic texts to argue that he was justified in killing
Taseer, saying that by criticising the law the politician was himself guilty of
blasphemy.
That argument was rejected by the Supreme Court which in December upheld the
death sentence, sparking rallies.
Pakistan ended a 6-year moratorium on the death penalty in December 2014. Last
month authorities announced they had executed 332 people since then.
(source: Daily Mail)
************
Mumtaz Qadri hanged to death
Pakistan on Monday hanged the assassin of a governor who sought reform of the
country's blasphemy law, officials and supporters told AFP, saying Mumtaz Qadri
-- feted as a hero by Islamist supporters -- had been executed at a prison in
Rawalpindi.
"I can confirm that Qadri was hanged in Adialia jail early Monday morning,"
senior local police official Sajjid Gondal told AFP.
A prison official confirmed the execution of Qadri, a former police bodyguard
who killed liberal Punjab governor Salman Taseer in 2011.
Around 50 Rangers and police in riot gear as well as ambulances and dozens of
police vehicles were stationed outside Qadri's home in the city early Monday,
an AFP reporter there said, blocking the street and refusing to allow people to
enter.
Armed Rangers could be seen stationed on the roof of the building housing
Qadri's residence and some roads in the neighbourhood were closed.
Cries were heard from inside the house as around 20 people gathered, apparently
family members, and mosques could be heard broadcasting news of the execution.
"We have beefed up security in Rawalpindi to maintain law and order and to deal
with any untoward situation," Gondal said.
He said the hanging took place after a final meeting between Qadri and his
family late Sunday, and that the body had been sent to his relatives.
Qadri shot Taseer 28 times in broad daylight in an upscale market in the
capital Islamabad.
He later admitted the killing, saying he objected to the politician's calls to
reform Pakistan's controversial blasphemy laws.
Taseer had also been vocal in his support of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman who
has been on death row since 2010 after being found guilty of insulting the
Prophet Mohammed.
Qadri lost a petition for the Supreme Court to review his sentence in December
last year.
The decision came after the court warned in October that in Islam a false
accusation can be as serious as the blasphemy itself, and that calls for
blasphemy law reform "ought not to be mistaken as a call for doing away with
that law".
Rumours started pouring in earlier today as his supporters started Twitter
trend to call for protest against his expected hanging.
The protests have erupted in Hyderabad, Rawalpindi, Karachi and Lahore after
the announcement by leaders of the movement to free Mumtaz Qadri.
Twitter is abuzz with opinions from journalists and experts who while
commending the move, fear consequences.
Security has been beefed up in the whole country as protests are growing
violent at few places.
Supporters of Mumtaz Qadri have blocked Shahdra Chowk in Lahore to protest his
execution. In Rawalpindi, the police was put on a highalert earlier in the
night. "We have orders to strictly monitor the activities following the
execution of Mumtaz Qadri," a source informed The Nation.
(source: The Nation)
GEORGIA/MALAYSIA:
2 Georgians Condemned for Malaysian Drug Offense Return Home
2 Georgian women accused and sentenced to death for drug trafficking in
Malaysia in 2010 returned to their homes on Sunday.
Babutsa Gordadze, 26, and Darejan Kokhtashvili, 37, faced the death penalty in
for allegedly carrying a large amount of drugs hidden in picture frames they
had packed in their luggage hidden in picture frames.
Georgia-based media company, Rustavi 2, reported that Gordadze's family members
welcomed her when she arrived at Tbilisi's airport.
Journalists were not allowed to access to either of the returnees.
Gordadze and Kokhtashvili were convicted and sentenced to death by hanging for
allegedly trafficking illegal drugs in October 2010. After Georgian authorities
became involved in the negotiations, their punishment was reduced to an
eight-year prison sentence.
The negotiations allowed the 2 to serve the remainder of their sentence in
their home country. The Georgian and Malaysian governments later agreed the 2
would be paroled and deported to Georgia in 2016.
16 Asian countries currently employ the death penalty for drug-related crimes.
The majority of the region's governments do not publicly release information on
the number death sentences carried out for those convicted of narcotics
smuggling.
Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, however, report a high proportion
of death sentences for those convicted of drug offenses.
(source: Georgia Today)
NIGERIA:
Reverend King - Loss of 10-Year Battle to Escape Death Row
Whichever way life is viewed, its gravity and sanctity become weightier than
should have been the case, when it is fading away like the morning dew. It is
like a curtain being drawn, as play characters leave on the theatre stage.
With pated breadth, Nigerians, many of whom have followed the case of Lagos
State versus Rev. Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeugo King, founder and leader of Christian
Praying Assembly, Ajao Estate, Lagos, waited for the Supreme Court verdict. It
came at the weekend.
Its affirmation of the death sentence passed on the Rev. King by the Lagos
Court of Appeal, in which Supreme Court Justice Sylvester Ngwuta upheld that he
would die by hanging, brought the 10-year old legal battle to a close.
The unpalatable twist to the case came as the five-man panel unanimously ruled
that the 20 years imprisonment, which was in addition to the death penalty, for
attempted murder on 5 other members of the church aside the lady member that
died, is now of no consequence since the death sentence takes the place of the
former.
Life has its ups and downs, and fate, sometimes plays uncanny games. Just as
the Reverend's birthday was being marked at the weekend by church members,
friends and well-wishers, the Supreme Court had an awkward kind of gift coming
his way, the Verdict. Like the Sword of Damocles, the hangman's noose may
finally be on its journey to the executioner's table, if nothing else
obstructed its way.
TROUBLE started on July 26, 2006 at the Reverend's residence in Ajao Estate,
Lagos, when he was alleged to have set some members of his church ablaze for
offence, which he classified as "acts of fornication." Incidentally, one of
them, Ann Uzoh later died in a Lagos hospital according to the charge sheet by
the Lagos State Public Prosecutor.
Rev. King was brought before the court in September 26, 2006 on a six-count
charge of murder and attempted murder occasioned by allegedly pouring petrol on
6 members of his church and later set them on fire. But he made a 'not guilty'
plea to all the charges.
The presiding judge, Joseph Oyewole had, on January 11, 2007, passed death
sentence on him for alleged murder of a church member, Ann Uzoh, as well as the
attempted murder of five other members of his church.
Since then, the Church Founder has been in jail awaiting the consummation of
the sentence, while exploring legal options of quashing the verdict of the High
Court and Court of Appeal in Lagos.
Rev King, through his lawyer, Mr. Olalekan Ojo, pursued an appeal before the
Court of Appeal. But it did not turn his way because in its lead judgment
delivered by Justice Fatima Akinbami, the Court of Appeal upheld the death
sentence passed by Justice Joseph Oyewole of a Lagos State High Court.
Since then, the embattled minister, who has been in prison custody had been
fighting to get an appeal against the death sentence, citing that there were
incongruent issues in the evidence of the prosecution's witness.
Justice Oyewole had in his landmark judgment on January 11, 2007 convicted Rev
King and sentenced him to death through hanging over the murder of Uzoh.
On February 2013, King's appeal failed as the Court of Appeal, sitting in
Lagos, ruled that it had upheld the death sentence passed by the Lagos High
Court.
Church Members loyalty
In spite of their leader's travail, the church has been running with its
activities, and the loyalty can be gauged by the splash of birthday
congratulatory messages and advertisements that was given much prominence in
the newspapers over the weekend.
He is referred to as "His Holiness" and widely seen by Church members as
today's messiah even like Jesus Christ in the newspaper messages. The church is
still committed to his financial and material upkeep in jail without failing.
One of the papers observed that his absence has changed nothing in the manner
of operation of the church, noting that late comers to a recent Sunday service
were still subjected to kneeling outside by tough-looking ushers.
Extra Judicial Leeway
The Judiciary has ended its side of the legal process, but Rev. King stand a
chance of being let go or the judgment commuted to life jail, as some members
of the Bar told The Guardian. The prerogative of mercy lies in the hand of the
President of the country, since the matter was finally concluded by the Supreme
Court, the Federal Government-related organ.
It could have been the Lagos State affairs, if it ended at the State High Court
and Court of Appeal. All said, the Reverend may be still be spared, especially
these days that His Holiness, Pope Francis is campaigning against death
sentence.
PFN Position on Oddities
The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) did not, at the time, give a nod at
Rev. King's actions. Former PFN National Secretary-General, Bishop Joseph Ojo
had condemned the incident. He was reportedly irked that the place was called a
church contrary to the alleged practices in the place. He was apparently
referring to the flogging and beating of members, and the alleged burning of
people with petrol.
While there was admittance of beating and flogging in the church, the Reverend
pointed out that the 'burning incidence' was an accident.
The Bible and the practices of the Lord Jesus Christ remain the standard for
today's Christians. The scripture clearly stated it that for the woman caught
in adultery, who was to be stoned to death, she ran to Jesus for refuge and
deliverance from the hands of them who were to kill her. All that Jesus said
was that those of them who had no sin in their life should cast the first
stone. The accusers, being pricked in their hearts, dropped their missiles and
disappeared, leaving the adulterous woman alone. "Where are thy accusers? Does
anyone accuse you?" he asked her, but she answered him, "None." Jesus told her
that he is also not accusing her, but charged her to "Go and sin no more."
Perhaps, it would be apt to bring the antithetical nature of certain practices
in the Christian churches, especially in modern Pentecostalism, where leaders
have turned to cult figures, drawing huge followership.
37 years ago, on Nov. 18, 1978, the Rev. Jim Jones instigated a mass suicide at
the Peoples Temple Agricultural and Medical Project in Jonestown, Guyana. It is
the well-known Guyana Tragedy.
With about 913 dying by choice or intimidation in Jonestown and a U.S.
representative and others fatally shot at a nearby airstrip, the world was
shocked.
The followers had believed a lie by Reverend Jones and all partook in drinking
of lethal liquid and perished. The world has continued ever since, but here was
a generation that derailed from the core practice of the Lord Jesus and the
Acts of the Apostles of the Lord Jesus.
Only recently, the religious world continued to reel in numbing surprises as
one after the other, certain leaders come up with spooky practices like members
eating grass, a pastor being borne by members all through aspects of their
service because the leader's feet must not touch the ground as 'commanded' by
some god, and yet another leader is said to suck the breast of women for some
weird deliverance.
These 'enticement' in the hope that people would get miracles and money without
checking out what the bible says about what is God's path to righteous service
have turned to snares and offences that enslave the soul.
Rev. King's Bios
One Mr. Aaron Ezeuko, who claims to be an uncle to Rev. Emeka King Ezeugo, told
a Lagos-based paper, which visited the eastern village of Umulekwe, Achina, in
Aguata Local Government of Anambra State that is the Reverend's home town.
According to the paper, Aaron, who is the younger brother to Rev King's father,
late Edwin Ezeuko said that "the Ezeuko family is popular, responsible,
well-behaved and God fearing" and "that Emeka (Rev. King) was well brought up
and therefore, could not explain what had happened to him after he left home to
Lagos."
It was learnt from the eldest man in the family, Mr. Godwin I. Ezeuko, that
before Rev. King started his own church, he was a visioner at All Christian
Practical Praying Band, Ufuma, popularly known as "Ekpere Ufuma" in the east
before he left for Lagos.
It is reported that the Reverend is a degree holder in Psychology, though the
University from where it was obtained could not be confirmed.
(source: All Africa News)
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