March 29
LEBANON:
Suspects in Beirut murder face death penalty
3 suspects in the murder of an old-man and his housemaid in an upscale Beirut
neighborhood will face the death penalty.
Beirut's First Investigative Judge Ghassan Oueidat Tuesday requested the death
sentence for a Lebanese national and 2 Sri Lankan nationals for murdering a
92-year-old man and his housemaid at their house in Ramlet al-Baida.
The state-run National News Agency reported that 41-year-old Lebanese national
Bilal Mohammad Mokhtar Abu Al-Joud, and 2 Sri Lankan nationals, a 39-year-old
and a 27-year-old, were found guilty of stealing from and murdering the old man
and his housemaid.
Earlier this month, Oueidat issued arrest warrants against the 3 suspects for
carrying out the February murder.
The suspects have previously confessed to murdering Ibrahim Ali Yassine and
housemaid Gunawaia Paula Aalaj, which began as a robbery.
The 3 were detained in February after police arrested them for allegedly
murdering Yassine and his housemaid and stealing a sum of cash and 2 pistols.
The old man was found stabbed in the chest 7 times with a sharp tool, while the
maid appeared to have been strangled with a nylon bag.
The victim is the father of Issam Yassine, the private doctor of former Prime
Minister Saad Hariri.
The physician arrived at his father's apartment for a visit, but no one opened
the door. His brother got a key and they entered the apartment, only to find
the bodies of their father and the housemaid.
(source: The Daily Star)
INDIA:
Supreme Court Stays Execution Of Convict In Rape, Murder Of 5-Year-Old
A man, who was to be hanged on Wednesday for raping and killing a 5-year-old
last year in Madhya Pradesh, got a fresh lease of life as the Supreme Court
today stayed his execution and sought response of the state government on his
appeal in the case.
A bench, comprising Chief Justice TS Thakur and Justices R Banumathi and UU
Lalit, stayed the execution after taking note of the petition filed by convict
Sachin K Singhraha, a Madhya Pradesh resident, against the High Court verdict
confirming his death penalty awarded by a local court.
Singhraha, in his appeal, has sought a stay on the operation of the death
warrant.
The petition alleged that the prosecution had failed to prove the case against
him beyond reasonable doubt and the trial court was wrong in awarding him the
death penalty.
It said the trial court did not give any special reason for "imposing death
sentence upon the convict" and the high court while confirming the death
sentence has also failed to give any special reasons for imposing death
sentence. It also claimed that his case did not fall in the category of "rarest
of rare" so as to be awarded death sentence.
According to the prosecution, on February 23 last year, Singhraha had kidnapped
the victim, raped her and subsequently murdered her after 2 days.
Thereafter, the convict threw girl's dead body in a well with a view to destroy
the evidence.
The convict, however, had told the trial court that he was innocent and falsely
implicated in the case.
In its order, the trial court had held the accused guilty and awarded death
penalty, which was further confirmed by the High Court.
(source: ndtv.com)
BANGLADESH:
3 to die for killing schoolboy in Sherpur
A Sherpur court today sentenced 3 people to death and another to life term
imprisonment for killing a schoolboy after abduction last year.
Convicts Md Abdul Latif, 22, uncle of the schoolboy, Robin Mia, 20, and Md
Aslam Babu, 22, were awarded death penalty while Md Imran Hossain, 20, was
sentenced to life, reports a correspondent from Sherpur.
All the convicts hailed from Sherpur district.
Judge Sayedur Rahman Khan of Women and Children Repression Prevention Court
passed the order in presence of the convicts, Special Public Prosecutor Gulam
Kibria told the correspondent.
Victim Arafat Islam Rahat, a class I student of Biplop-Lopa Memorial School,
was son of Shahidul Islam Khokon in Gridanarayanpur area of Sherpur town.
A gang picked up Rahat on August 2, 2015 from in front of Shaheed Daroga Ali
Municipal Park in the town when he was going to his father's timber shop in
Shibbari area.
The abductors later demanded Tk 2 lakh as ransom from Shahidul over mobile
phone. But, his body was found in a hilly area 4 days after he was strangled.
After the body recovery, the victim's father filed a murder case with Sadar
Police Station.
(source: The Daily Star)
****************
Jamaat leader appeals against death penalty
The chief of Bangladesh's largest Islamist party, Motiur Rahman Nizami, filed
an appeal with the Supreme Court yesterday against his death sentence for war
crimes in 1971.
Lawyers of Nizami, president of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party, submitted
the review petition on behalf of their client, who is now in a prison in
Kashimpur on the outskirts of capital Dhaka, Xinhua reported.
If his review petition is rejected, the last option for him will be to seek
presidential mercy.
Bangladesh's Supreme Court on January 6 upheld the death penalty for the
73-year-old Motiur Rahman Nizami over war crimes during the country's war of
independence 45 years ago.
Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal-1 issued Nizami's death warrant on
March 16 hours after the country's apex court released its full verdict.
Nizami served as agriculture and industries minister in the then prime minister
Khaleda Zia's 2001-2006 cabinet.
The apex court upheld capital penalty for the Islamist party chief on 3 charges
and life imprisonment on 2 charges.
On October 29, 2014, the International Court of Terrorism handed down capital
punishment to Nizami for war crimes which include mass killings of Bangali
intellectuals.
Nizami was indicted in 2012 with 16 charges of crimes during the 1971 war.
Nizami's party had earlier claimed that the government filed ill-motivated,
baseless cases against its top leaders in order to make the party leaderless.
Nizami is among the top Jamaat leaders who have been tried in 2 war crimes
tribunals which Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Bangladesh Awami League-led
government formed in 2010 to bring the perpetrators of 1971 war crimes to book.
3 Jamaat leaders - Abdul Quader Molla, Muhammad Kamaruzzaman and Ali Ahsan
Mohammad Mujahid - have been executed.
Besides, Jamaat secretary general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid and opposition
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Salaudin Quader Chowdhury were
executed on November 22 last year.
Both the BNP and Jamaat have dismissed the court as a government "show trial",
saying it is a domestic set-up without the oversight or involvement of the UN.
Muslim-majority Bangladesh was part of Pakistan and called East Pakistan till
1971. The government of Hasina said about 3 million people were killed in the
Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.
(source: Gulf Times)
SOUTH AFRICA:
'I wish killers could hang': Sam Meyiwa
The father of slain Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates captain Senzo Meyiwa
wants the death penalty to return and believes that his son???s killers will be
arrested soon.
An emotional Samuel Meyiwa also blamed Senzo's girlfriend Kelly Khumalo for not
leading investigators to the killers.
Meyiwa was speaking to Sowetan following reports that the arrest of those
involved in Senzo's death was imminent.
The goalkeeper was shot dead on October 26 2014, at Khumalo's family home in
Vosloorus.
Khumalo, her sister Zandi, their mother Ntombi, Sello "Chicco" Twala's son
Longwe Twala and 2 of Senzo's friends were in the house when the soccer star
was shot.
According to the Sunday Independent newspaper, investigators have identified a
suspect after reconstructing the crime scene 2 weeks ago.
The newspaper further reported that those who lied in their statements could be
arrested and charged with perjury and defeating the ends of justice.
Meyiwa said he was happy about the reports.
"I heard the news over the weekend on radio. I trust the Hawks and believe that
there is progress. I believe that there will be arrests because they are
hard-working," he said.
"They killed my soul. She [Khumalo] should be assisting me [in finding the
killers] as a person who claims to have loved my son. Instead, she talks about
money. I suspect they killed him for money."
Meyiwa said he and his wife were spending sleepless nights and were always in
tears.
"He [Senzo] was looking after us. Now they have killed my son. I wish those who
killed him could hang although I know that there is no law in the country which
condones the death penalty," Meyiwa said.
Police spokesman Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said their investigations were
continuing.
Mulaudzi said they had assembled a provincial task team comprising members of
the Hawks, forensic experts and investigators who wereinvolved in the matter
initially.
"We're keeping the Meyiwa family up to date about our progress. If we do
finally make arrests, we will inform the family. We took all experts from all
fields to deal with this matter. We need closure on the matter.
"The previous team is part of the investigations. They have played a role in
the investigations. Nobody has failed in this case," Mulaudzi said.
Khumalo could not be reached for comment. Her manager, Percy Vilakazi, said she
was probably rehearsing for Clash of the Choirs. Vilakazi added that he did not
believe that the musician would be interested in speaking to Sowetan. The
Sowetan
(source: nehandaradio.com)
TAIWAN:
KMT demands Tsai's death penalty stance
As anger continues to mount nationwide in the aftermath of the alleged murder
of a Taipei toddler on Monday, the Kuomintang (KMT) caucus on Tuesday called
for President-elect Tsai Ing-wen to give her stance on capital punishment and
proposed holding a future referendum.
KMT lawmaker Johnny Chiang raised questions regarding Tsai and her incoming
government's position on capital punishment.
"If the country's future leader insists upon abolishing the death penalty, (we)
hope it is a decision made by the people," Chiang said. He further stated that
the KMT caucus has not ruled out the likelihood of holding a capital punishment
referendum.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has long been known for its support for
abolishing capital punishment.
Due to varied reasons, capital punishment has yet to be exacted on the 42
inmates currently on death row in the nation, KMT Legislator Lai Shyh-bao said.
The issue of whether or not to abolish the death penalty is a widely-debated
topic, he pointed out, and demanded that Tsai clearly indicate her position on
the subject, as well as on the current case itself.
He also called on the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) to cease delaying execution of
current death row prisoners, despite citing respect for judicial procedure.
"The death penalty must be handed down if judicial proceedings continue to
maintain the penalty's existence," Lai said. "Public powers must be carried out
to ensure a safe society."
Carrying out the sentences would likely ensure a "certain degree of deterrent
effect," he stated. However, he admitted that there is no guarantee that future
cases like this week's alleged murder of a toddler will go away simply by
enforcing the law alone and argued that "a life for a life" is an unchanged
principle that must be followed. Societal safety must be ensured through
enforcement of the law, he said.
Chiang also stressed that the judicial system must consider the way its
handling of the case is perceived by the victim's family and society as a whole
- a jab at the MOJ's shortcomings in past rulings, which have been criticized
as decisions that are out of touch with society.
Tsai Visits the Site of Toddler's Death
Late Tuesday afternoon, Tsai visited the makeshift memorial that people have
put in place where the 4-year-old girl was slain by her attacker in broad
daylight. She laid down a bouquet of flowers, a pair of rabbit dolls and a
card.
On the card, Tsai had written that she will not let her sacrifice go to waste.
"There are many holes in this society. I will do my best to mend those holes."
Speaking to reporters at the site, Tsai stated that the ordeal had made a
significant impact on society, and that people around the nation all have heavy
hearts at the moment.
She named measures that should be strengthened to address those who are
struggling economically, physically and mentally. Problems such as prevalent
drug abuse must be tackled as well, and more must be done to prevent crime, she
said.
"People living in Taiwan have the right to live without fear, and (I) hope
parents will not have to worry" and let their children grow up safely, Tsai
stressed.
This is something everyone must work together on, she said, "and the government
holds the greatest responsibility in this."
Tsai also stated that she had "heard the mother's plea" in an open letter,
which was posted on her Facebook page. Saying that she will not just "feel
rage," Tsai said that she "already has the answers" to move forward in building
a better society.
(source: China Post)
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