June 13
KURDISTAN:
Death sentences, life imprisonment for Ainkawa suicide car bombers
The Erbil Criminal Court today handed down death sentences and life
imprisonment for those responsible for a suicide car bombing in Ainkawa in
April 2015 that killed 2 and wounded many others.
"The Erbil Criminal Court issued death sentences for 7 perpetrators of the
Ainkawa bombing after the security agencies finished investigations and
transferred the cases to the court," Dr. Tariq Nuri, head of Erbil's security
[Asayish] department, told Rudaw.
Nuri added that another "10 terrorists also involved in the terrorist act
received life imprisonment."
The perpetrators involved in the attack were arrested based on information
received from the public and, "in some cases, family members," the Kurdistan
Region Security Council (KRSC) confirmed following their arrests. They
subsequently confessed to their role in the attacks.
A car bomb struck near the US Consulate in the Ainkawa neighborhood of Erbil on
April 17, killing 2 Turkish civilians and the attacker, and injuring 8 others.
The large explosion occurred at 5:40 pm, a busy time in the Christian
neighborhood of Ainkawa popular with Westerners. The explosive-laden car
detonated outside the heavily guarded gates of the US consulate and compound
that houses diplomats and staff.
The alleged mastermind of the bombing was killed in a targeted airstrike on the
town of Hawija, west of Kirkuk, in late April 2015. "He [Abu Qasim] also had a
hand in many other terrorist attacks, especially inside Kirkuk," read a
statement issued by the KRSC at the time.
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.
(source: rudaw.net)
GLOBAL:
Here are the 10 countries where homosexuality may be punished by death
In the wake of America's deadliest mass shooting ever - at a gay nightclub in
Orlando on Sunday - we decided to update our map of LGBT rights around the
world.
Hover over the countries below to see which category each falls into. Below the
map, we take a closer look at the 10 countries - or parts of countries - in
which homosexuality is punishable by death.
Here are the 10 countries where homosexuality may be punishable by death:
Yemen: According to the 1994 penal code, married men can be sentenced to death
by stoning for homosexual intercourse. Unmarried men face whipping or 1 year in
prison. Women face up to seven years in prison.
Iran: In accordance with sharia law, homosexual intercourse between men can be
punished by death, and men can be flogged for lesser acts such as kissing.
Women may be flogged.
Iraq: The penal code does not expressly prohibit homosexual acts, but people
have been killed by militias and sentenced to death by judges citing sharia
law.
Mauritania: Muslim men engaging in homosexual sex can be stoned to death,
according to a 1984 law. Women face prison.
Nigeria: Federal law classifies homosexual behavior as a felony punishable by
imprisonment, but several states have adopted sharia law and imposed a death
penalty for men. A law signed in early January makes it illegal for gay people
countrywide to hold a meeting or form clubs.
Qatar: Sharia law in Qatar applies only to Muslims, who can be put to death for
extramarital sex, regardless of sexual orientation.
Saudi Arabia: Under the country's interpretation of sharia law, a married man
engaging in sodomy or any non-Muslim who commits sodomy with a Muslim can be
stoned to death. All sex outside of marriage is illegal.
Somalia: The penal code stipulates prison, but in some southern regions,
Islamic courts have imposed Sharia law and the death penalty.
Sudan: 3-time offenders under the sodomy law can be put to death; 1st and 2nd
convictions result in flogging and imprisonment. Southern parts of the country
have adopted more lenient laws.
United Arab Emirates: Lawyers in the country and other experts disagree on
whether federal law prescribes the death penalty for consensual homosexual sex
or only for rape. In a recent Amnesty International report, the organization
said it was not aware of any death sentences for homosexual acts. All sexual
acts outside of marriage are banned.
(source: Washington Post)
PHILIPPINES:
Back to capital punishment
As promised in his campaign, president-elect Rodrigo Duterte has begun
mobilizing congressional support for the restoration of capital punishment.
With his "super majority" in place in the House of Representatives and his new
allies also in control in the Senate, any public opposition to the plan is
likely to be set aside and the death penalty may soon be back, with the only
question to be settled being the mode of execution.
Nations approve state-sponsored executions not just to eliminate threats to
society but also as a crime deterrent. Predominantly Catholic Philippines
abolished capital punishment, but the landslide victory of Duterte is just the
latest indication of public support for extrajudicial methods of law
enforcement.
This support can be attributed mainly to the weakness, corruption and
inefficiency of the criminal justice system. This weakness will not be
corrected by bringing back the death penalty. Restoring capital punishment must
be backed by structural changes to strengthen the rule of law.
Law enforcement agencies must be purged of corruption and given more resources
and skills training so that crimes are solved and impunity does not prevail.
The same must be done with the prosecution service.
The judiciary must clean up its act. This is beyond the jurisdiction of the
executive, but it is possible to inspire better performance from the judiciary
by improving compensation for judges, for example, and improving courtroom and
prosecution facilities. The vetting process for magistrates must be as
depoliticized as possible; the current system of appointments in the judiciary
is easily and routinely undermined by politicians and religious groups.
A database can be set up to monitor the progress of court cases so that judges
with the slowest adjudication rates or with the most number of temporary
restraining orders can be easily identified. Such measures lack the shock value
of state executions, but it takes more than a fear of a double hanging to deter
criminality.
In case capital punishment is restored, improving the efficiency of the
judiciary is also crucial to avoid any miscarriage of justice that would send
an innocent person to the gallows. There are valid observations that in the
final years before capital punishment was abolished, only poor convicts who
could not afford good legal advice were the ones executed. The judiciary has
long cried out for reforms; this becomes more urgent with the planned revival
of the death penalty.
(source: Editorial, Philippine Star)
*********************
Anti-death penalty
Fr. Silvino Borres Jr. SJ, president of the Coalition Against the Death
Penalty, said that noting the "imperfections" in the criminal justice system,
the prospect of executing innocent people remains. "Death penalty renders
judicial errors irreversible," Borres said in a statement posted at the
Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) website. Borres said
several studies show it does not deter crimes.
Father Jerome Secillano, who is an executive secretary of public affairs
committee of the CBCP, said that death penalty requires an enormous amount of
judicial process because it involves life. It would be in the best interest of
all if the country's criminal justice system is reformed first, he added.
Vice president-elect Leni Robredo; incoming Department of Social Welfare and
Development (DSWD) Sec. Judy Taguiwalo, who was detained and tortured during
martial law, and Senator-elect Leila de Lima have expressed opposition to the
restoration of the death penalty.
Robredo has been very firm that she is against the reinstatement of the capital
punishment, believing that its imposition is not the answer to the high crime
rate of the country and does not prevent the commission of heinous crimes.
Also, it is not up to her nor the President, but the Congress to decide, she
added. But she cleared that her opposition should not be a source of conflict
between her and President-elect Rodrigo Duterte.
As for Senator Panfilo Lacson, he supported the idea of heinous crime offenders
being meted the death penalty but not the manner in which Duterte carried out
which is by hanging, saying it is too medieval. He also issued some sort of
warnings to Duterte on the matter of a stoppage of investigations in Congress,
noting the Senate will conduct investigations whenever necessary and nobody,
not even the President, can stop them from fulfilling their duty.
Meanwhile, the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) superintendent Venancio Tesoro, who
served as an execution supervisor at Bureau of Corrections, has expressed
support for the revival of death penalty. He said that death by hanging will
have more impact than lethal injection to tell the world they are not joking.
He further said that the measure will not have a deterrent effect on criminals
but the "certainty of being caught."
Meanwhile, amid concerns over the rising number of minors involved in criminal
activities, the senators also expressed readiness to look into proposals that
seek to amend the Juvenile Delinquency Act (JDA), which President Duterte had
earlier vowed to pursue amendments to the juvenile justice system since it is
high time for Congress to lower the age of discernment for youth offenders who
commit a crime.
(source: Ernesto Maceda, Philippine Star)
KAZAKHSTAN:
Senate member proposes to introduce death penalty for terrorists
Senator Serik Akylbai proposes to cancel death penalty moratorium in
Kazakhstan. The statement was made today in the parliament after the meeting of
the Committee on Constitutional Legislation, the judiciary and law enforcement
agencies.
Serik AKYLBAI, MEMBER OF SENATE:
It is necessary to toughen penalties for terrorism in the Criminal Code up to
capital punishment. We have a moratorium on the death penalty. One person
cannot initiate all these, a group of deputies is needed, but I think, such
proposal is probably under preparation in the bowels of the government.
(source: Kazakh TV)
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