Oct. 10
ETHIOPIA:
UK Must Secure Brit's Release Amid Ethiopia Crackdown
Ethiopia's government has declared a 'state of emergency' as part of an ongoing
crackdown on protests, sparking fears for a British man who is held under a
political death sentence in the country.
According to reports today, Ethiopia's Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn,
announced the state of emergency in a state television broadcast, in which he
accused protestors of "put[ting] the integrity of the nation at risk". Rights
groups have estimated that some 500 people have been killed in recent weeks as
the government quelled protests around Addis Ababa. The authorities are
reported to have blocked access to the internet in parts of the country.
Ethiopia's ruling party has been accused of harshly cracking down on its
critics in recent years, including by passing sweeping jail sentences on
bloggers, journalists and opposition politicians. Among those currently held is
Andargachew 'Andy' Tsege, a British father of three who was kidnapped at an
international airport in June 2014, and 'rendered' to Ethiopia. Mr Tsege, from
London, is a prominent critic of Ethiopia's government. He was sentenced to
death in absentia in 2009, in a trial that US diplomats observed as "lacking in
basic elements of due process." Mr Tsege is held at Kality prison, which has
been referred to by prisoners as 'Ethiopia's gulag.'
The British government, which has a close bilateral relationship with Ethiopia,
has not called for Mr Tsege's release. Human rights organization Reprieve,
which is assisting Mr Tsege's family, believes that in light of Mr Tsege's
illegal death sentence and kidnap, the government should call for him to be
returned to his family in London.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has said that his Department is seeking 'legal
access' for Mr Tsege, and in June this year, the Foreign Office said it had
secured a promise that he would be able to see a lawyer. However, government
documents obtained by Reprieve indicate that the Ethiopian authorities have
told UK officials that Mr Tsege cannot appeal his death sentence.
Last month, it emerged that the prison authorities have not allowed Mr Tsege to
have a pen and paper with which to write a request for a lawyer.
Commenting, Maya Foa, a director at Reprieve, said: "The Ethiopian government
has shown it is ready to commit terrible abuses against its critics - shooting
protestors, jailing journalists, and sentencing opposition figures to death.
Among those languishing in prison, and currently in grave danger, is a British
citizen - Andy Tsege, who was sentenced to death in absentia, then kidnapped
and rendered to a notorious Ethiopian 'gulag'. As Ethiopia's leaders intensify
their crackdown on dissent, the British government must urgently request Andy's
release, and secure his safe return to his family in the UK."
Reprieve is a UK-based human rights organization that uses the law to enforce
the human rights of prisoners, from death row to Guantanamo Bay.
(source: commondreams.org)
JAPAN:
Japan: Forced confessions and wrong convictions----In Japan, nearly all cases
that go to court end in convictions, but some abuse the law to obtain false
confessions.
For 2 decades, people thought Keiko Aoki was a cold-blooded killer. Convicted
of murdering her young daughter in a house fire and sentenced to life in prison
after she confessed, Aoki became one of Japan's most reviled criminals.
"I was told I was evil, a horrible mother who killed her own daughter to get
the life insurance money," she says.
She spent the next 20 years behind bars, but Aoki is now a free woman. An Osaka
court recently exonerated her, ruling she was innocent.
Her case is the latest in a string of convictions being overturned in Japan,
exposing serious flaws in the country's criminal justice system.
False confessions
Japan has very little crime, and nearly all cases that go to court end in
convictions.
But critics say some police officers and prosecutors are exploiting the law to
obtain false confessions to help them secure convictions, sometimes leading to
innocent people being sentenced to life in prison or even death.
"There are so many wrongful convictions, and most of them happen because of
false confessions," says Sumio Hamada, a psychologist who testifies in criminal
cases. "The reality is once they confess, it's not easy to prove their
innocence. And that is why confessions are so dangerous."
Yet confessions underpin almost 90 % of criminal prosecutions in Japan.
Suspects can be held for up to 23 days without being charged with a crime and
bail is rarely granted.
Police interrogations can last up to 12 hours a day, lawyers are not allowed in
the room and, in most cases, police are not required to record the
interrogation.
Critics argue that these conditions make it easier for police to pressure
suspects into confessing, regardless of their guilt or innocence.
Aoki says police interrogated her for 12 hours without a break, even though
they had no evidence that she had killed her 11-year-old daughter.
She was not allowed to see a lawyer until after she confessed.
"From the beginning they said, 'You did it'. I said 'I didn't'. But they never
listened," she says.
After hours of questioning, police told her that her de facto partner had
already admitted that they murdered her daughter, Megumi.
Traumatised, Aoki says she gave up and wrote a confession dictated by the
police.
"They made me so confused and upse ... I thought that if I wrote everything
they told me to, they would quickly release me," she says. "To be put in that
situation from morning to night, where no one is listening to you for hours,
being repeatedly told the same thing - only people that have gone through this
can understand how painful it is."
'Mental torture'
Hamada, who has studied false confessions for almost 40 years, says given the
right circumstances, most people will confess to crimes they didn't commit.
"No matter how many times you say 'I didn't do it', the investigator won't
believe you, and after a long time, people can't handle that ... Most people
become overwhelmed," he says. "So although there is no physical violence, you
can call it mental torture."
He wasn't surprised that Aoki confessed after hours of intense interrogation.
"No matter how many times you say 'I didn't do it', the investigator won't
believe you and after a long time, people can't handle that ... Most people
become overwhelmed, so although there is no physical violence, you can call it
mental torture."----Professor Sumio Hamada , psychologist
"She was shocked that she was being investigated," he says. "She was told that
she had murdered her own daughter. On top of that, she was already feeling
guilty for not being able to save her child. She lost her ability to defend
herself, so it's actually quite easy to understand why she confessed."
In Japan, lawyers and academics recently formed a new group called the
Innocence Project to help to find and free innocent prisoners.
"We've received about 90 cases so far," says Kana Sasakura, a law professor and
member of the project. "We can't help all of them, but in my opinion, there are
cases that I suspect are false accusations. These are likely to be just a small
portion of what's out there."
Sasakura says wrongful convictions are particularly concerning because
prisoners can be sentenced to death in Japan.
"Especially with the death penalty, if you make a mistake you can't go back. So
we should never have a case of wrongful conviction," she says.
The government has made minor improvements to police procedures, but Sasakura
says it's not enough.
Hiroshi Ichikawa has first-hand experience of the tactics prosecutors use to
secure a confession.
The former prosecutor was fired after he threatened to kill a suspect during an
interrogation.
He says prosecutors are encouraged to get a confession at all costs.
"My boss told me to get confessions, and he said you can abuse people to get
it. That's what I was taught. My boss and his colleagues were probably taught
the same thing by their superiors," he says.
Japan's Justice Ministry said officials were not available for an interview
with Al Jazeera.
The police refused to answer questions about individual cases, but they said
they were aware of allegations that some police and prosecutors use dubious
tactics to get confessions and were investigating.
Aoki's fight to clear her name finally ended in August, when she was officially
exonerated after her lawyers were able to prove that, in all probability, the
fire that killed her daughter was accidental.
Megumi would have been 32 by now, and Aoki says she still mourns her loss every
day.
She is planning to sue the government for wrongful conviction but says money
can't replace what she lost.
"When I think about it, I'm so angry and I can't forgive them - the police, the
prosecutors, the courts. I can't forgive them, but there's nothing I can do."
(source: aljazeera.com)
ZIMBABWE:
PDP commemorates World Day against Death Penalty----The People's Democratic
Party (PDP) joins the people of Zimbabwe, Africa and the international
community in commemorating today's World Day against Death Penalty.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As PDP we reiterate our position that the death penalty is totally inhumane,
degrading and against international best practices.
We therefore demand the immediate abolition of the death penalty in Zimbabwe as
it is in breach of the country???s Constitution, which guarantees and protects
the right to life for every citizen.
As we commemorate this day, we note with concern that they are at least 117
convicted inmates on the death row in Zimbabwe who are facing death and are
being subjected to physical and psychological torture.
Some of these condemned prisoners have been waiting for the hangman for between
three and 21 years living under squalor conditions at Harare Central Prison or
Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison where they are kept in solitary confinement
for 23 hours every day.
They are living a life without hope, alienation and vilification and the prison
for them has become a prison within a prison. Some of these condemned prisoners
are having mental health challenges or are terminally ill.
As the PDP we are fully behind the constitutional challenge that has been
brought to the Constitutional Court by some prisoners who are on death row
seeking review of their sentences and that they are allowed to go for
resentencing.
It is within their constitutional mandate to approach the Constitutional Court
as any aggrieved person has a right to approach the courts.
However, as PDP we are aware of the heinous crimes that prisoners facing murder
charges would have committed but the act of hanging an accused person is
barbaric and outdated and Zimbabwe should follow international standards and
the solution is to abolish the death penalty.
(source: The Zimbabwean)
BURUNDI:
Death penalty abolition under threat in Burundi
No death penalty in Burundi since 2009. But extrajudicial killings are common.
Additionally, there are signs that the penalty might be reintroduced.
As the world celebrates the World Day against Death Penalty, the abolition of
the penalty in Burundi is threatened by the prevalence of extrajudicial
killings and hints of its reintroduction.
The LDGL has congratulated Burundi along with Rwanda for having abolished the
death penalty. However, the League for Human Rights in Great Lakes Region
(LDGL) has noted that despite the abolition of the penalty in both countries
"lives are continually lost at the hands of illegally armed groups and agents
acting for the security of their respective states". In the same way, Armel
Niyongere, the president of the Action by Christians for the Abolition of
Torture in Burundi (ACAT) has underlined that "death penalty has been abolished
on paper, but extrajudicial killings continue in Burundi".
Besides,there is a movement gaining momentum towards the reintroduction of
death penalty in Burundi. The Defense Minister said on 18 February 2016 that
the penalty would be reintroduced. "A commission to look into the possibility
of the restoration of death penalty has been appointed. The objective is to
punish those who attempt to overthrow institutions elected by the people or
those who assassinate higher personalities", said Emmanuel Ntahomvukiye. And
more recently, some participants in the inter-Burundian dialogue organized by
the National Independent Commission on the Inter-Burundian Dialogue-CNDI, a
commission accused by its detractors of working for the government, echoed the
minister's words. They called for the reintroduction of death penalty for coup
plotters and murderers to fight against impunity.
Burundi abolished death penalty on 24 April 2009. Extrajudicial killings that
seem to have replaced it have visibly increased over the last months since
April 2015 when President Nkurunziza announced he would run for a 3rd term.
Violence that resulted from the opposition to the president's bid has led to a
failed coup and targeted killings that are still going on, though they have
declined in recent days. Victims of the violence have been mainly members of
the opposition and higher government officials. Last June, a UN reported
mentioned that 348 had died in extrajudicial killings. 134 were alleged killed
by armed men opposed to Nkurunziza. The death of the others was blamed on
government forces.
(source: iwacu-burundi.org)
UNITED KINGDOM:
Artwork from US death row
Location----Amnesty International UK, 17-25 New Inn Yard
Shoreditch
London----EC2A 3EA
Time09:00 - 18:00 PriceFree Contact
Pop by our London office to see an exhibition featuring artwork from US death
rows, in this joint exhibition from Amnesty and legal charity Amicus.
Free exhibition. No advance booking required - just drop by. Open daily 9am -
6pm.
The works include arresting portraits, scenic landscapes and images of nature.
They have all been made by men who will likely never see the outside world
again.
The artisis are all men currently on death rows in California, Arizona,
Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, North Caroline and Pennsylvania, who have made
works with materials including paints (some self-made), coffee grinds, wood,
cloth and hair.
This is a real insight into the human experience of life on death row.
"The incredible paintings would stand alone as a worthy collection in any
gallery, and they speak of the torment and longing felt by people subjected to
the unimaginable daily torture of their pending fate. It's hard to imagine
anyone who could view these pictures and think the death penalty
justifiable."---- Rebecca Dallison, Amnesty UK Individuals at Risk team
(source: Amnesty International UK)
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