May 9
BELARUS----execution
Statement by the Spokesperson on the execution of Syarhey Iwanow and of the
confirmation of the death sentence against Sergei Khmelevsky
Despite the many calls made by the European Union, another execution has been
carried out in Belarus. The case of Syarhey Iwanow, who had been sentenced to
death by the Supreme Court of Belarus in March 2015, is particularly disturbing
in light of the fact that his complaint was pending with the UN Human Rights
Committee.
The death sentence against Sergei Khmelevsky, which was upheld by the Belarus
Supreme Court on 6 May, has also been confirmed.
The European Union opposes capital punishment, which fails to act as a
deterrent to crime and represents an unacceptable denial of human dignity and
integrity. Over the last decades, numerous countries have realised that the
death penalty cannot be justified under any circumstances and have stopped
applying it.
We expect Belarus, the only country in Europe still applying capital
punishment, to join a global moratorium on the death penalty as a first step
towards its abolition.
(source: diplomaticintelligence.eu)
BANGLADESH:
Suspend Death Penalty for War Crimes Convict----Rejection of Review Petition
Paves Way for Execution Despite Fair Trial Concerns
The death sentence against Motiur Rahman Nizami, the head of Bangladesh's
Jamaat-e-Islaami party, should be suspended with immediate effect, Human Rights
Watch said today. The Supreme Court's May 5 rejection of his review petition
means that Nizami could be hanged in the coming days after the deadline to
appeal for presidential clemency expires.
Nizami was convicted for war crimes allegedly committed by forces under his
command during Bangladesh's 1971 war of independence by the country's specially
constituted International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in 2014.
Several prominent international observers have expressed serious concerns over
previous death penalty convictions handed down by the ICT due to concerns over
fair trials.
"Human Rights Watch opposes the death penalty in all circumstances as an
irreversible, degrading, and cruel punishment," said Brad Adams, Asia director
at Human Rights Watch. "It is particularly problematic when there are questions
about whether proceedings meet fair trial standards."
Nizami was charged with 16 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war
crimes allegedly committed by forces under his command, known as the Al-Badr,
during Bangladesh's 1971 war of independence. Nizami was allegedly the leader
of Al-Badr, a paramilitary organization which supported the then West Pakistan
army against the East Pakistan army and was responsible for some of the worst
crimes which took place during the 1971 war of independence.
In October 2014 Nizami was found guilty of eight of these charges. He was
sentenced to death for being complicit in genocide and crimes against humanity
on 4 charges of rape and killings of intellectuals. Nizami appealed the
convictions in November 2014. In January 2016, the Supreme Court acquitted
Nizami of 3 of the 8 charges, including a death penalty charge, but upheld 5,
including 3 death penalty charges. In March 2016 Nizami filed a petition asking
for a review of his case. That petition, his final chance for a rehearing, was
denied last week.
As in other cases before the ICT, the court put an arbitrary limit on the
number of witnesses Nizami could call to defend himself against charges of war
crimes. Nizami was ultimately allowed to call just 4 witnesses in his defense.
He was not allowed to challenge prosecution witnesses who allegedly had offered
prior inconsistent testimony. Conversations leaked to the Economist as part of
the "Skypegate" scandal also revealed that the Nizami trial was unlawfully
discussed by the presiding judge, the prosecution, and an external consultant,
who were heard debating trial strategies.
Human Rights Watch strongly supports the need for justice and accountability
for war crimes committed during Bangladesh???s 1971 conflict but has pointed
out numerous shortcomings in ICT proceedings leading to flawed judgments and,
in some cases, hangings, despite well-documented fair trial concerns.
Human Rights Watch reiterated its long-standing call for the government of
Bangladesh to restore fundamental rights of protection to those accused of war
crimes. Bangladesh's problematic article 47A(1) of the constitution
specifically strips those accused of war crimes of their fundamental rights,
including the right to an expeditious trial by an independent and impartial
court or tribunal. This pernicious amendment to the constitution allows the ICT
overly broad discretion to deny those charged with war crimes the same rights
and procedures as other defendants.
Human Rights Watch also called on the Bangladeshi government to impose a
moratorium on the death penalty with a plan to abolish it altogether. Over 20
people have been executed since the Awami League government took office in
2009.
"While many in Bangladesh believe Nizami to be guilty and want him punished,
justice is only served through fair trials," said Adams. "Instead of expedited
hangings, authorities in Bangladesh should do everything possible to ensure
that victims receive accurate answers about responsibility for crimes of such
gravity and magnitude."
(source: Human Rights Watch)
************
Halt imminent execution of Motiur Rahman Nizami
Motiur Rahman NizamiMotiur Rahman Nizami
Md. Abdul Hamid
President's Office Bangabhaban,
Dhaka Bangladesh
Fax: +880 2 9585502
Honourable President,
I am William Nicholas Gomes, Human rights defender and Freelance journalist.
I strongly believe that the death sentence against Motiur Rahman Nizami, the
head of Bangladesh's Jamaat-e-Islaami party, should be suspended with immediate
effect.
It is clear after the Supreme Court's May 5 rejection of his review petition
that Nizami could be hanged any time. I am of opinion that Bangladesh must stay
this execution, and end its continued and unlawful use of the death penalties.
Motiur Rahman Nizami, a leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, was found guilty
of crimes committed during the 1971 war for independence in Bangladesh,
including genocide, torture, and the murder of intellectuals, and sentenced to
death by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in October 2014.
I am sure that Several prominent international observers have expressed serious
concerns over previous death penalty convictions handed down by the ICT due to
concerns over fair trials.
I stroingly oppose the death penalty in all circumstances as an irreversible,
degrading, and cruel punishment.
Specifically in the case of Motiur Rahman Nizami the case is particularly
problematic when there are questions about whether proceedings meet fair trial
standards.
I want to remind you that this is another execution on the basis of a flawed
trial that is inconsistent with international human rights standards undermines
justice, and must be stopped.
I also want to remind you that Bangladesh is party to most of the principal
human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, which obliges it to respect the right to a fair trial. Which
in the case of Motiur Rahman Nizami totally failed to provide Mr. Nizami with a
fair trial.
In December 2014, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution, for the fifth
time since 2007, emphasizing that that the use of the death penalty undermines
human dignity and calling on those countries that maintain the death penalty to
establish a moratorium on its use with a view to its abolition.
Human rights watch said "As in other cases before the ICT, the court put an
arbitrary limit on the number of witnesses Nizami could call to defend himself
against charges of war crimes. Nizami was ultimately allowed to call just four
witnesses in his defense. He was not allowed to challenge prosecution witnesses
who allegedly had offered prior inconsistent testimony. Conversations leaked to
the Economist as part of the "Skypegate" scandal also revealed that the Nizami
trial was unlawfully discussed by the presiding judge, the prosecution, and an
external consultant, who were heard debating trial strategies".
I join Human Rights Watch and urge the Bangladeshi government to impose a
moratorium on the death penalty with a plan to abolish it altogether.
Finally I request you the halt imminent execution of Motiur Rahman Nizami.
Sincerely
William Nicholas Gomes
Human Rights Defender & Freelance Journalist
www.facebook.com/williamnicholasgomes
(source: newsghana.com)
IRAN----executions
Iran regime hangs 4 in prisons and in public
Iran's fundamentalist regime has executed 4 more prisoners, including a man in
public.
On Monday 2 prisoners, identified as Nasser Saidi (Jafari) and Mehdi Nabashi
(Nabashian), were hanged in a prison in Orumieh (Urmia), north-west Iran.
A man, identified as Mohsen Baha'odini, was hanged on Sunday in a prison in
Minab, southern Iran.
Also on Sunday an unnamed man was hanged in public in a major square in
Kermanshah, western Iran, according to the state-run Mersad news agency.
The hangings bring to at least 66 the number of people executed in Iran since
April 10. 3 of those executed were women and one is believed to have been a
juvenile offender.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) said in a statement on April
13 that the increasing trend of executions "aimed at intensifying the climate
of terror to rein in expanding protests by various strata of the society,
especially at a time of visits by high-ranking European officials, demonstrates
that the claim of moderation is nothing but an illusion for this medieval
regime."
Amnesty International in its April 6 annual Death Penalty report covering the
2015 period wrote: "Iran put at least 977 people to death in 2015, compared to
at least 743 the year before."
"Iran alone accounted for 82% of all executions recorded" in the Middle East
and North Africa, the human rights group said.
There have been more than 2,300 executions during Hassan Rouhani's tenure as
President. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation
in Iran in March announced that the number of executions in Iran in 2015 was
greater than any year in the last 25 years. Rouhani has explicitly endorsed the
executions as examples of "God's commandments" and "laws of the parliament that
belong to the people."
(source: NCR-Iran)
INDONESIA:
Girl, boyfriend kill father for disapproval of relationship
A teenage girl and her boyfriend could face life imprisonment or the death
sentence if found guilty of killing the girl's father at his home in Kota
Tengah regency, Gorontalo, early on Sunday.
A preliminary police investigation points to premeditated murder.
Gorontalo Police spokesperson Adj. Sr. Comr. Bagus Santoso said the motive for
the killing had yet to be established, but based on provisional information,
AF, 17, and her boyfriend, OH, 20, were angry at the girl's father, Nasir
Mahmud, 60, because he did not approve of their relationship.
Apparently, the father frequently got angry at AF for coming home very late.
According to the police investigation, the couple, who are both still students,
had planned the killing on Saturday afternoon.
Early on Sunday, at about 2 a.m., OH, from Pulubala subdistrict in Kota Tengah
regency, silently entered AF's house using a key that the girl had previously
placed in the house's ventilation hole.
He then hid behind a sofa, waiting for a sign from his girlfriend, according to
the preliminary police information.
Moments later, both AF and OH entered Nasir's room, covered the head of the
sleeping man with a pillow and, using a kitchen knife, OH stabbed the victim in
his neck, according to the initial investigation.
Nasir tried to free himself and fight back. An in-law of his living at the same
house heard his cries, but the 2 suspects promptly pretended to have been
killed by laying down on their backs beside Nasir, who was already dead and
covered in blood.
"When the police arrived at the crime scene, the victim and the 2 perpetrators,
who pretended to be dead, were still in the room," police spokesperson Bagus
Santoso said.
Police are still processing the crime scene and conducting a thorough
investigation into the case.
Bagus said once convicted, the perpetrators would be charged under Article 340
of the Criminal Code, which carried a maximum penalty of life imprisonment or
the death sentence.
Gorontalo Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Rony Yulianto said the police quickly
arrested OH as the suspect.
"The suspect, who is a student at a vocational school in Gorontalo, was found
lying beside the victim. In fact, he pretended to have died," Rony said.
He added that police had taken the victim's body to the hospital for an
autopsy. The girl, who sustained an injury to her hand, was given medical
treatment before further questioning.
The police confiscated a knife believed to have been used in the killing, as
well as blood-stained clothing belonging to the suspects.
(source: The Jakarta Post)
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