Nov. 6
EGYPT:
Egypt court sentences two defendants to death
An Egyptian court has sentenced 2 defendants to death penalty for involvement
in the so-called case of "Returnees from Libya", in which 16 people are
implicated.
Cairo Criminal Court also sentenced 4 more defendants to life imprisonment, 7
to 3 years in jail with hard labor, 1 defendant to 15 years in jail, while 2
others were acquitted.
The accused had been caught on the western border while they were returning
from Libya, for alleged involvement in violence and terrorism outside the
country.
They faced charges of belonging to an outlawed group and planning violence
against state institutions, policemen and army personnel as well as possessing
weapons and explosives.
(source: kuna.net.kw)
JAMAICA:
Crime, Death Penalty and Privy Council
In September 2003, John Allen Muhammad was sentenced to death in the United
States of America for 17 murders committed in a number of states over a
10-month period in 2002. Without a whimper from the international human-rights
lobbyists, he was executed by lethal injection in 2009 after spending 6 years
on death row. Chances are, if Mr Muhammad had committed crimes of a comparable
magnitude in Jamaica, he would have been alive and well today either awaiting
trial or serving time in a medium-security prison.
The last time anyone was made to pay the death penalty here was in 1988. Today,
1 solitary person remains on death row following the consequential commuting to
life imprisonment of the vast majority of some 200 persons who were on death
row in 1992.
It was the year in which the Government legislated for a separation between 2
types of murder, essentially on the basis of the circumstances in which they
were committed and the occupation of the victims. A mandatory death penalty
would from then apply only to capital murders - those deemed the more serious.
It was as far as the Government dared to go at the time, despite the urgings of
the anti-death-penalty advocates.
Hanover Member of Parliament Ian Hayles believes that implementation of the
death penalty should be resumed in Jamaica, for there is "no deterrent out
there now" (TVJ News October 17, 2016). It was an expression of outrage at the
consuming pain being inflicted on his constituents - relatives of the victims
of a growing army of ruthless murderers.
Hayles might not have read the lead stories in The Gleaner of May 9, 2016 which
themselves were prompted by a similar view earlier expressed by Minister Robert
Montague on assuming the national security portfolio in March 2016.
In those stories 'Death sentence for hanging', 'Disappearing death row' and
'Hanging should never be resumed' - Barbara Gayle, Gleaner justice coordinator,
gave an excellent overview of the status quo regarding capital punishment in
Jamaica today. In essence, the death-penalty law is no longer worth the paper
on which it is written courtesy of the UK Privy Council, our final court of
appeal.
The writing has been on the wall for some time since the Pratt and Morgan
ruling of 1993, but came into sharper focus in 2009 with the Trimmingham Case
out of St Vincent and the Grenadines.
The haunting facts of that case (carried in one of the previously mentioned
Gleaner stories) are worth repeating. "(Daniel) Trimmingham, who was armed with
a gun, had held up a 68-year old man and demanded money. When the victim said
he had no money, Trimmingham used the victim's machete to behead him and then
cut out his abdomen and buried the head in a hole."
The Privy Council found that the cruelty and inhumanity displayed in this case
was not of a sufficiently wicked level to attract the death penalty, as it did
not fall within the category of the "rarest of the rare or the worst of the
worst".
Avoidance of doubt
And for the avoidance of doubt, the Privy Council expands on how that should be
understood: "In considering whether a case fell into that category, the judge
should compare it with other murder cases and not with ordinary civilised
behaviour!"
The death penalty was abolished in the UK in 1965. The homicide rate has
hovered around one per 100,000 of their population for most of the years
between 1970 and 2012, peaking at 2.1 in 2003. In Jamaica, the corresponding
rate moved from eight in 1970, rising steadily (the extraordinary 1980 election
year excepted) to 26 in 1993, and then moving swiftly to 62 by 2005. Had the
situation been reversed between the two countries, the death penalty would
still be legal in the UK today and the Privy Council would be looking more
favourably at delivering justice to the victims of cold-blooded murderers.
Those who would like to believe that the values of our erstwhile colonisers
have changed substantially and deserve to be heeded may be surprised to find
that in July 2016, in her first parliamentary debate as UK prime minister,
Theresa May, without any hesitation, unveiled a willingness to employ nuclear
power against enemies of her country notwithstanding that it would lead to the
death of hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women and children. Her
justification? "The whole point of a deterrent is that our enemies need to know
that we would be prepared (to use it)."
Cheated out of what should have remained an effective option for sending a
strong signal to the purveyors of murder in our country, we are now facing a
dilemma as to where to turn to tame crime.
Every time we are faced with a seemingly intractable problem in this country,
we pass a law with much fanfare only to forget about it and then move on. We
seem to have fallen so inexorably in love with the passing of laws that we are
even now bringing new legislation into play long after it has been discarded by
other jurisdictions ("What's really wrong with justice?" Sunday Gleaner,
October 2, 2016).The residents of Gordon House are busy indulging themselves in
the sport of lawmaking while the country burns. It is a lazy and reckless
approach to governance.
The Way Forward
1. Any serious attempt to fix the crime problem must begin with a moratorium on
the passing of new laws and a parliamentary focus on those on our books
(including the death penalty) to ensure that they are appropriately amended,
where necessary and vigorously enforced.
2. A ciear message needs to be sent to the new brazen breed of criminals that
it is not business as usual. The government needs to do the right thing and
move us away from the Privy Council so we can determine our own destiny.
3. The anti-death penalty advocates should be asked to bring proof that the
death penalty is not a deterrent in Jamaica given the strong correlation
between the rise in murders and the non-implementation of the law. They should
explain why the right to life is more sacred for the murderer than for his
victim.
4. Double the size of the police force. According to a UNDP study conducted in
2012, of seven Caribbean countries surveyed, Jamaica had the lowest police
presence per capita. The force is severely understaffed at 297 per 100,000
citizens. Our less-violent Caribbean neighbours, Barbados and Trinidad, for
example have comparable rates of 497 and 529, respectively. Implement the
repeatedly recommended restructuring proposals for the police force, resolve
the imbroglio between the force and INDECOM, and seek to improve police staff
morale.
5. Roll out community policing activity along the lines being pursued among the
gangs of Brazil as described in the Gleaner editorial of September 21, 2016,
Normalising high-crime Jamaican neighbourhoods", or as practised in Singapore -
a country whose exemplary economic prowess we like to cite but never its
justice practices. Singapore has a mandatory death penalty for murder, as well
as for aggravated drug trafficking. Its murder rate of less than 1 (0.2) is
among the lowest in the world, while the size of its police force is reported
to be 752 per 100,000.6. Incorporate the activities of the Peace Management
Initiative with the new community-policing effort.
6. Rekindle hope in our young people. In cooperation with the private sector,
resocialise the unemployed youth through a comprehensive programme of training
and job creation.
Much of this is not new, but will require additional funds and some
transformational political leadership. A reordering of priorities, beginning
with a four-year postponement of inconsequential local government elections,
would go a far way in providing some of the necessary funds. The question now
cannot be about what it will cost to fix our dilapidated justice system but how
much it will cost not to.
We did not arrive at this sorry place overnight and will not be able to
institute all the necessary reforms overnight either, but our vulnerable
law-abiding citizens should not have to be scurrying around looking for
multiple means to protect their right to life while the vilest of the vilest
are being assisted by the State to preserve theirs. Until the tables are
turned, the criminal fringe will continue to laugh at us as they forge their
murderous path to fame.
How many more will have to suffer? How many more will have to die?
(source: Olive Nelson, Jamaica Gleaner)
INDONESIA:
Muslim Mob of 150,000 Demands Death of Christian Governor in Jakarta
A mob of 150,000 Muslim protesters took to the streets on Friday in Jakarta,
Indonesia, calling for the death penalty for the capital's Christian governor.
Clashes following the protest resulted in one death and another 12 people
injured, according to Indonesian police.
Islamist groups denounced Gov. Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama for "insulting
Islam," after the governor suggested that a Qur'an verse allegedly prohibiting
Muslims from voting for non-Muslim leaders is a lie. During the march,
demonstrators carried signs demanding that the official be put to death for
blasphemy.
"Our message is clear: if he is not declared a suspect today, we won't stop
until this happens," organizers said. "We have already planned a 3-day
movement. We urge all Muslims across Indonesia to rise up in their own region."
The route of the march was secured by some 20,000 police and military personnel
for fears it erupts into violence. Police stopped a mob from entering the
housing complex where Gov. Purnama lives in northern Jakarta by firing tear gas
into the crowd.
As a Christian and an ethnic Chinese, Mr. Purnama has 2 strikes against him in
the world's most Muslim country and hardline Islamic groups have protested his
rule ever since he was elected in 2014.
Friday's rally was echoed by similar large demonstrations in multiple other
cities, instigated by the radical Islam Defenders Front (FPI), a Muslim group
that wishes to impose sharia law on Jakarta.
The larger Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) agreed that the governor's statement
constitutes blasphemy and should be investigated by law enforcement officials,
yet claimed they were not involved in organizing the protest.
Following the protest, Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo canceled a
visit to Australia, scheduled from Sunday to Tuesday. The Foreign Affairs
Ministry said the trip will be rescheduled because "current development has
required the president to stay in Indonesia."
(source: breitbart.com)
IRAN:
Number of Executed Prisoners in Ghezelhesar Prison Rose to 12
With authentication of the identity of another inmate who was executed at
Ghezelhesar prison in Karaj, the number of victims rose to 12. Lack of
communication with other prisoners and families of prisoners and holding him in
the ward of prisoners with mental problems, is one of the reasons for the delay
in identifying the prisoner who was executed.
According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA),
with authentication of the identity of a prisoner who was executed, the number
of executed prisoners on Wednesday, October 19 in Ghezelhesar prison in Karaj
rose to 12 prisoners. This is while the judiciary and parliament members have
continuously talked about their plans for reduction of execution for prisoners
with drug related charges. Afshin Farajzadeh is the identity of the prisoner,
which was authenticated by HRANA.
An informed source close Mr. Farajzadeh, in an interview with HRANA's reporter,
in this regard explained: "Afshin Farajzadeh was co-defendant with Peyman
Sabalan and Mr. Babai who was held in ward of pill (Mental) prisoners and had
no communication with other prisoners and his family. In fact, he had no family
outside the prison".
A group of 11 to 17 prisoners had been transferred to solitary confinements on
Monday, October 17.
According to the received reports, at least 11 of these prisoners, who were
mostly from section 2 of Ghezelhesar and Tehran's Great prison (Fashafooyeh
prison) have been executed.
The identities of 11 prisoners which have been confirmed by HRANA are as
following:
Section 2 of Ghezelhesar prison: Hamid Saber, Hamid Babaei, Paiman Sabalan,
Gholam Pirzadeh, Hamid Nazari, Abbas Karami, Ganjali Checkehzadeh Geravand, and
a prisoner with the family name of Zanjani.
Tehran's Great prison (Fashafooyeh prison): Amin Sabzi and Khashayar Ahani
Possibly Rajaei Shahr: Jaber Sabri
One of the family members of these prisoners had told HRANA's reporter prior to
the executions, "The families were called for the last visit and it was done".
HRANA reported the gathering of these families for the last visit in
Ghezelhesar prison.
Among these prisoners, Abbas Karami was the only prisoner who did not have the
chance to visit his family for the last time.
The majority of executed prisoners did not have a transparent court process and
the judiciary did not clarify their cases. According to field research done by
HRANA, at least 1 of these prisoners had been deprived of a fair trial. Hamid
Nazari was executed today.
(source: HRANA News Agency)
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