Dec. 11
QATAR:
India pursues case of 2 Tamil men on death row in Qatar
2 men from Tamil Nadu continue to be on death row in Qatar for allegedly
murdering an elderly woman and India is continuing with its diplomatic efforts
to get the "harsh" sentence commuted.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is closely monitoring the situation and
hope there would be some reprieve for the Tamil men when the case come up for
hearing in January next year.
"Subramanian Alagappa and Chelladurai Perumal continue to remain on death row
and the 3rd convict Sivakumar Arasan, his case was reviewed by the court and
his death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment," the MEA Spokesperson
Vikas Swarup said.
"We have filed case with respect of all 3, because we believe that the penalty
is too harsh. We understand that the next hearing is on January 2, 2017. Our
embassy in Qatar continues to closely monitored this case in association with
the lawyer who has been appointed for all the 3 accused," he added.
45 year old Perumal is a construction labourer from Virudhunagar district of
Tamil Nadu. He has left for Qatar in 2011 and within 3 months he was accused of
killing an elderly woman. Along with him Alagappa Subramaniam from Pudukottai
district were handed the death sentence on May 30 this year whereas Sivakumar
Arasan from Salem was given life imprisonment. The trio has been in the prison
for the 5 years.
An advocate Suresh Kumar came to the aid of the convicts after reading about
them in a newspaper and went to Qatar to meet them. He along with Perumal's
wife has asked the Indian Government to intervene.
(soruce: The New Indian Express)
INDONESIA:
Issue of Indian facing death sentence in Indonesia to be raised during Prez
visit
The fate of an Indian facing death sentence in Indonesia will be discussed
during Indonesian President Joko Widodo India visit beginning Monday. However,
the Indonesian government has indicated that any change in his sentence is
unlikely.
The Indian national, Gurdip Singh, has been facing threat of firing squad in
Indonesia. After frantic diplomatic efforts from India his death sentence was
postponed in July. But the only hope for the 48-year-old is winning a
presidential clemency. Singh was convicted for carrying 300 gms of Heroin.
Before embarking on his state visit to India President Widodo has contended
that the capital punishment given to convicts is based on the serious nature of
their crimes and not on nationality. "My duty as President is to uphold the law
and Indonesia's sovereignty. This will be applied in all cases, including those
involving capital punishment." Asked specifically if he would pardon Singh on
death row, President Widodo said: "The death penalty is imposed only on
individuals who have carried out serious crimes, and is not based on
nationality."
Widodo will be coming on 2 day state visit to India, his first after assuming
power in 2014, on December 12. He will be coming with a big delegation and
would be meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
India has been trying to impress upon the Indonesian leadership to exhaust all
legal recourses before the death penalty was carried out. Singh was arrested in
2004 from Indonesian Soekarno Hatta Airport and he was awarded death sentence
in 2005 by Tangerang Court for carrying the contraband. Singh's appeal
challenging the death penalty was turned down by the High court of Banten and
the Supreme Court.
Indonesia resumed executions in 2013, ending a 4-year unofficial moratorium on
the death penalty. In the face of strong international criticism, Indonesia has
defended the use of capital punishment, arguing the country is facing a drug
emergency. Presently 1.2 million people in Indonesia are estimated to be
addicted to drugs and about 4.5 million are undergoing rehabilitation.
(source: The News Indian Express)
EUROPEAN UNION/JAMAICA:
EU not linking aid to gay rights, death penalty
While making it clear that Europe would prefer if Jamaica expands gay rights
and abolish the death penalty, the European Union's (EU) new representative in
Kingston insists that these would not be conditions for the island to continue
to receive EU economic aid.
" ... There is no conditionality," Malgorzata Wasilewska, the head of the EU
Delegation in Jamaica, said in an exclusive interview with The Sunday Gleaner.
"It never has been, and it never will be," said Wasilewska in response to
questions if the EU would demand movements from Jamaica in line with the trends
in Europe.
"But if in the course of our cooperation any of our values are not respected -
for example, if we implement a project and during the project, there is a clear
violation of human rights in the implementation - of course, we would raise
that and have a conversation about it," added Wasilewska.
Over the past 40 years, the EU has provided Jamaica with official development
assistance of approximately 1.2 billion euros, or J$170 billion. Some of this
money has been direct budgetary support, which has helped the island meet
crucial fiscal targets under its agreement with the International Monetary Fund
(IMF).
Only last week, the EU provided a grant of 24 million euros (more than J$3
billion) to support Jamaica's Justice System Reform Programme.
Of this amount, 22 million euros was in the form of budget support, while 1
million euros will be offered to civil-society organisations, through calls for
proposals to contribute to improving access to justice, with an emphasis on
vulnerable groups. The remaining 1 million euros will go towards providing
technical assistance, evaluation and audits, as well as communication and
visibility services.
But the issue of gay rights and the death penalty, subtexts to EU-Jamaica
relations, are not areas where the long-time friends see eye to eye, and there
have been concerns that the 28-member bloc will use its financial might to
force the island to fall in line with its position on these issues.
Most of the money the EU has given Jamaica has been grant resources for sectors
such as education, human-rights awareness, security, agriculture, and rural
development, but there have been concerns expressed recently as more and more
Europeans start looking inwards.
Wasilewska last week admitted that the EU does not see eye to eye with Jamaica
on issues such as the death penalty and LBGT rights, but said that would not
impact the billions of dollars in aid provided to the island each year.
"We will continue having a dialogue on values that are important to us and they
will include conversations on the death penalty and LBGT rights, on equality of
rights to all citizens. I am convinced that the dialogue will be an honest and
frank exchange between equals," Wasilewska told The Sunday Gleaner on the
fringes of a meet-and-greet session in Kingston.
In June, all 28 EU member states reached a consensus on LGBT rights and agreed
at the Council of the European Union to work against "any discrimination"
against LGBT people, and to ramp up pan-European efforts on equality.
The council urges individual national governments "to consider working together
with the European Commission with regard to its list of actions to advance
LGBTI equality", and "to take action to combat discrimination on the grounds of
sexual orientation and gender identity".
Jamaica has shied away from any such commitment, with the recently introduced
Charter of Rights failing to recognise same-sex unions or provide any specific
protection for members of the LBGT community.
The death penalty has been abolished in all EU states and is enshrined in the
Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU and the European Convention on Human
Rights of the Council of Europe.
Locally, parliamentarians voted in 2008 to retain the death penalty, even
though no execution has taken place in decades.
(source: Jamaica Gleaner)
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO:
Bring back 'terror' of death penalty
The recent murder of Shannon Banfield has left the country shell-shocked. Here
was a young lady in the prime of her life who was apparently preyed upon while
simply shopping in downtown Port of Spain. The Internet and social media were
thrown into a frenzy when news spread that after missing for two days, her
partially decomposed body had been found stored or hidden away at the premises
of a Charlotte Street business place.
The majority of us agree that there seems to be no stopping the upward spiral
in the murder rate of our relatively small twin-island state. Over 430 mothers,
fathers, sons and daughters have been killed so far this year. Citizens are
looking to the authorities and yearning for relief. Leadership is needed to
take charge of the present situation so that there could be some halt to the
blood-letting.
Many are looking on at the Philippines and the war that its recently elected
president, Rodrigo Duterte, has launched against the criminal population there.
He has embarked on a no-holds-barred assault on all involved in the country's
notorious drug trade. He has focused his attention not only on traffickers and
users but also corrupt public officials, police and army officers who are
believed to have sold the powers of their offices to the criminals. His assault
on crime has been so well received by his countryman that as of October 2016,
his approval was at an unheard-of 80 %. He is believed to have said, "A leader
must be a terror to the few in order to protect the lives and well-being of the
many who are good."
In Trinidad and Tobago, there are many, in fact the vast majority, of our
citizens who are down-to-earth, good souls who simply want to go about their
everyday lives in peace and safety. But we are afraid at the type of violence
that has reared its head in our beautiful country in recent times. The violence
we currently experience appears to be arbitrary and a non-respecter of
boundaries, whether by time, race, class or geographic location. And the
violence is believed to be perpetrated by the few. A relatively small group of
mostly men who, for whatever reason related to their upbringing, have no regard
for their life or the lives of others. At this time in our history, more than
any other, we need a Rodrigo Duterte. We need a leader to protect us from the
terror of the few.
The death of Shannon Banfield led many to make calls that we should "bring back
the hangman". But the hangman never went away. He is still part of our law and,
in theory, every miscreant convicted of murder must have a date with him. But
for quite some time now, all political parties have been hypocritical in their
behaviour towards the hangman. Death by hanging is the law of the land, but no
one has been willing (for whatever reason) to do what is necessary to ensure
that it is carried out. The last executions of convicted murderers took place
when Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj SC occupied the attorney general's office. The
hangman was a priority to him, and to that end, he set up a unit in his office
to keep track of murder trials before the courts to ensure that those guilty of
murder kept their date with the hangman.
I make no apology for saying that we require someone to do what Mr Maharaj did
back then. Death by hanging is the law of the land, and this law must be given
effect while it remains on our books. If there are those who believe that the
law should not be on our books, then let them advocate for its change. In the
meantime, we must insist that the politicians give effect to the law.
We must insist that, with hundreds of millions of dollars being invested into
our judicial system every year, that the system works to eradicate "the few in
order to protect the lives and well-being of the many who are good".
In November 2015, while speaking at the funeral service for Shervaun Charleau
(a soldier killed during a robbery) at the Church of Assumption, Maraval, our
present Attorney General, Faris Al-Rawi, was quoted in the press as saying that
he intends to see that the death penalty is given effect. He said further that
he had set up a "tracking committee" to deal with clogs in the judicial system
so that murder trials and appeals can be completed within the 5-year deadline
set by the Privy Council in the Pratt and Morgan matter. Unfortunately, since
then, we have heard very little about this "tracking committee".
For the sake of all the law-abiding, decent and peaceful citizens of our
country, I hope that Mr Al-Rawi has not forgotten his words and the
expectations raised by those words. Will my friend and colleague Attorney
General Al-Rawi be "a terror to the few in order to protect the lives and
well-being of the many who are good?" Time will tell.
(source: Larry N Lalla, trinidadexpress.com)
PHILIPPINES:
LP urges Pinoys to defend rights amid drug war, death penalty bill
The erstwhile ruling Liberal Party on Saturday called on Filipinos to defend
and uphold human rights amid the administration's deadly war on drugs and after
the proposed revival of the death penalty passed committee-level approval at
the House of Representatives.
In a statement during the International Human Rights Day, LP president Sen.
Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan urged the public to "reaffirm our common humanity,
malasakit sa kapwa (compassion for others), and stand up for the rights of all.
"With reduced membership, the party is now faced with a popular administration
that is waging a controversial and deadly war victimizing the poor, vulnerable,
and marginalized in its campaign to wipe out illegal drug use through Oplan
Tokhang, the execution of which the Senate justice and public order committees
deemed to violate constitutional rights, as well as its plans to restore the
death penalty and to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 9 years old,"
Pangilinan said.
"We echo the call of the United Nations for each of us to 'step forward and
defend the rights of a refugee or migrant, a person with disabilities, an LGBT
person, a woman, a child, indigenous peoples, a minority group, or anyone else
at risk of discrimination or violence' - those in the fringes of society," he
added.
The Senate committee on justice and human rights, in a report released last
week, said there was no proof of state-sanctioned killings amid the mounting
death toll in the government's relentless antidrug campaign, which has taken
nearly 6,000 lives since President Rodrigo Duterte was elected in May.
Pangilinan was 1 of the 11 senators who signed the Senate panel report, but
noted that he will "dissent/concur in part."
"It appears that the 11 senators who signed the committee report agree with its
findings when in fact the affixed signature is followed by the words 'I
dissent...' which is what I did," Pangilinan said in a Facebook post.
"We also stated that we would be filing a separate opinion and in it we will be
stating the basis of our dissent on key points," he added.
Duterte has repeatedly said that the reimposition of the death penalty, one of
the main legislative thrusts of the administration, is an integral part of the
war against drugs. 4 LP senators including Pangilinan vowed to oppose the death
penalty bill when it is deliberated in the chamber.
"The fight for human rights has not ended when the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights was adopted 68 years ago. Let's celebrate this day and continue to
act and be involved to push for our right to live free, happy, and prosperous,"
Pangilinan added.
(source: newsinfo.inquirer.net)
*******************
Death penalty seen to obstruct justice
The revival of capital punishment is bound to set back the government's efforts
to bring to justice criminals who have fled abroad, House Senior Deputy
Minority Leader Lito Atienza warned on Sunday.
"Once Congress restores the death penalty, we could lose the ability to bring
home and prosecute drug lords, plunderers, embezzlers and even murderers who
have slipped out of the country," Atienza said.
Many countries around the world are rightfully repulsed by capital punishment,
and would refuse to send fugitives back to the Philippines if they could face
trial here for felonies that may be punished by death sentences, according to
Atienza.
"We may have situations wherein Filipinos with arrest warrants issued by
Philippine courts are captured overseas, but foreign governments won't
repatriate the escapees on grounds they could be executed here after trial,"
Atienza said.
Atienza cited the case of China, which adheres to the death penalty, and which
he said has been unable to put on trial corrupt Chinese officials who stole
huge amounts of public funds and bolted to Europe, Australia, Canada and other
countries.
The opposition leader said many of the 102 countries that reject the death
penalty are signatories to international treaties that categorically forbid
executions and any form of cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment.
"These countries consider it their duty to protect the right to life of every
human being. Their governments won't expose people, regardless of citizenship
or race, to the threat of potential death verdicts," Atienza pointed out.
The House Committee on Justice, voting 12-6 with 1 abstention, approved last
week a bill reinstating death verdicts for heinous offenses, such as drug
trafficking, murder, rape, robbery, carjacking, kidnapping, bribery, plunder,
parricide, infanticide, destructive arson, piracy and treason. The bill is
expected to be submitted for plenary approval shortly, in accordance with
President Duterte's wish to put 50 convicts to death every month to help deter
crime.
But Atienza said the death penalty "actually does not serve any purpose that is
not already being served by the punishment of life imprisonment."
(source: businessmirror.com.ph)
+ ********************
Archbishop of Caceres rejects death penalty
The Archbishop of Caceres underscored anew the sanctity of life as he expressed
opposition to the re-imposition of the death penalty now being debated in
Congress.
"The Church's opposition to the death penalty is not supporting criminality or
abetting the criminal who should be punished appropriately, but a recognition
of the dignity and sanctity of human life," Archbishop Rolando TriaTirona said
in a Pastoral Letter titled "I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked,"
which is a line culled from the book of the prophet Ezekiel.
"Sacred because we have only one life and this comes from God the creator. That
is why if life comes God, He alone has the right to take it back. Man has no
right to destroy the life of a fellow human being. This is the reason why
killing is prohibited in the Fifth Commandment," he explained.
"When God punishes the wicked, it is not because he takes pleasure in it but
because He is just and here we see the difference in the minds of men and the
will of God," the bishop added.
He said that the argument that the death penalty is a deterrent to crime has
not been proven.
The lack of justice, he said should not be a reason for the re-imposition of
the death penalty because in "many cases, the poor, if not the innocent, or
those powerless, are those meted with the death sentence."
He added that the deterrent to crime is not the death penalty, but reforms in
the criminal justice system, better law enforcement and by addressing the roots
of criminality, like widespread poverty.
The Pastoral Letter, written in Bicol and in Filipino, was sent to media
outlets on Saturday and will be read this Sunday in all churches in Camarines
Sur under the Archdiocese of Caceres.
(source: The Manila Times)
EGYPT:
Egypt court confirms death sentence of Islamist extremist
An Egyptian top court confirmed on Saturday as a final verdict the death
sentence against Islamist extremist Adel Habbara over a 2013 deadly
anti-security attack in Sinai, official MENA news agency reported.
The Court of Cassation rejected Habbara's appeal against his death penalty and
handed 15 other fellow convicts various jail terms in the case known by the
Egyptian media as "Rafah 2nd massacre."
The case dates back to Aug. 19, 2013, when militants gunned down 25 military
conscripts after they stopped their 2 vehicles in Rafah city of restive North
Sinai province bordering Israel and the Palestinian Gaza Strip.
The court convicted the defendants of deliberate murder, terrorism, espionage,
vandalism, resistance of the authorities and possession of weapons , ammunition
and explosives.
North Sinai has been the springboard of anti-government armed attacks since the
military removed former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 following
mass protests against his 1-year controversial rule and his now-blacklisted
Muslim Brotherhood group.
Later security crackdown on Morsi's followers left about 1,000 of them killed
and thousands more arrested, while terrorist attacks killed several hundreds of
police and military men.
"Sinai State," a Sinai-based militant group loyal to the Islamic State (IS)
regional terrorist group, claimed responsibility for most of the
anti-government attacks.
A security campaign in Sinai killed over 1,200 militants and arrested a similar
number of suspects over the past couple of years as part of the country's
"anti-terror war," declared by former military chief and current President
Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi following Morsi's ouster.
On Friday, a bomb attack on a checkpoint in Cairo killed 6 policemen and
wounded 3 others. A newly-emerged militant group calling itself "Hasm Movement"
claimed responsibility for this attack via an online post as it claimed several
others in recent months.
(source: Global Times)
UGANDA:
The Story of Susan Kigula, Death Row Prisoner Who Became an Inspiration To Many
What do you imagine to be the greatest loss in life? Ever thought about this?
Each time I ask this question, I get answers like; a terrible health condition,
illiteracy, lack of money or death like most are made to believe.
But none of those truly answers it.
Norman cousins couldn't have answered it better when he said; "Death is not the
greatest loss in life, the greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live."
Ugandan Susan Kigula has since proved this assertion to be true.
Even with a death sentence hanging over her head, Susan Kigula felt a certain
desire burn intensely within her, she couldn???t express it in words at first,
but all she prayed for in silence was a chance; another chance to live for who
she really is, to birth a dream which will not only secure her future but also
save those of others.
Her story is one of travail, tireless struggle and triumph.
On July 9, 2000, Susan was convicted of the murder of her husband, it appeared
like her world came crashing before her eyes. A young woman, who had a whole
life ahead of her, dreams unaccomplished; promises waiting to be fulfilled.
What fate lies ahead? One cannot readily tell.
In September 2002, Susan was sentenced to death by hanging; the standard method
of execution in Uganda, which was mandatory at the time. This meant that there
was only one way. Death!
During this period, all the young woman had, was several bouts of depression,
confusion and a little hope, which was way better than no hope at all and just
enough to raise a petition against the sentence.
"Hanging a person is not a deterrent since everyone deserves a 2nd chance to
live. That is why I petitioned against the death penalty," she says.
This move made Susan the leading figure in the landmark case "Susan Kigula and
416 Others vs Attorney General" (all on death row) in an attempt to have
capital punishment declared unconstitutional and abolished in Uganda.
Will that be the light of redemption for Susan and others? Only time will tell.
On the 21st of January 2009, the Supreme Court of Uganda reached a decision,
Susan and the others lost: the court saw no basis to outlaw the death penalty.
In addition, it ruled that no sufficient evidence was brought to show that
being hanged caused more pain and suffering to the person being executed than
any other manner of execution. What could be more disappointing and troubling
for anyone?
Although Susan's petition was refused, but with it sprung several court rulings
which would eventually become precedents in the criminal laws of Uganda.
First, the court ruled that the death sentence should no longer be mandatory
because it would only tie the hands of the court and prevent it from taking
into consideration the specific circumstances of each case.
It also ruled that the State cannot torture condemned prisoners by keeping them
on death row for years; therefore, where a death penalty cannot be executed
within 3 years, it must be commuted to life imprisonment.
Since these court rulings in 2009, a number of prisoners have been released and
approximately 180 death sentences have been converted to life sentences.
In November 2011, in a remarkable High Court session, Susan Kigula's sentence
was reduced to 20 years imprisonment. A fresh new start!
Now with what appears to be a brand new life, Susan can face each day and
appreciate the brightness of the sun, knowing that she has totally escaped the
hangman's noose.
To tell the most interesting part of the story...
Few years ago, Susan began studying law in a distance education programme and
on August 19, she was among the 3 inmates, 2 males and 1 female, who graduated
with a diploma in Law of the University of London.
Unable to contain her joy, she tells New Vision Magazine; "I can't believe I am
receiving such a prestigious accolade. People out there think prisoners do not
have the brains to study law, but I have made it. I am now an alumni of the
University of London,"
Surely, she has proved very many people wrong.
When asked what future she sees, Susan shared her passion for the less
privileged, she says she decided to study law to acquire knowledge with which
she can advocate for the rights of the less privileged having realised that the
poor face 'miscarriage of justice' in the judicial system. She has big dreams
of setting up a law firm upon discharge.
"Many innocent people end up behind bars because they lack legal
representation. I am determined to leave prison a learned woman so that I fight
for the rights of the underprivileged," she says.
Susan Kigula remembers that prior to her conviction; she had a limited
education, but she took a decision that has now changed her life for the best,
first, she enrolled for O'level and scored aggregate 29 and then proceeded to
A'level and scored 18 points.
"...My imprisonment has been a blessing in disguise because that's where I
studied and sat for my A level examinations and now I am studying for Diploma
in Common Law with the University of London. I would like to extend my endless
thanks to APP without which I wouldn't have accessed the University of London
Law Programme..." Culled from the Guardian on flickr.
Armed with an interesting knowledge of the law and a better understanding of
life, Susan lives a transformed being, which has brought joy to her lecturers
and even the commissioner general of prisons, Johnson Byabashaija, who took is
time to explain to New Vision Magazine his goal for the Ugandan Prisons. "I
want to transform prisons from punitive centre to correctional facilities"
Susan has also been providing legal advice to fellow prisoners and hopes to get
a degree in law from the same university.
NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP! Susan Kigula didn't.
(source: reportsafrique.com)
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