postings to this list will resume on Dec. 31
Happy Holidays to all!!
Rick
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Dec. 18
SINGAPORE:
Think Centre, Forum Asia call for Singapore to vote for resolution on
moratorium on use of death penalty
On Monday, 19 December 2016, in New York, the 193 member nations of the United
Nations General Assembly (UNGA) will vote on the resolution "Moratorium on the
Use of the Death Penalty".
Singapore has in the past shown little interest in human rights, and the
government has always maintained broad powers to limit them. But since 1995 it
has ratified 4 and signed 2 UN treaties. It has been trying to show that it
does pay attention to the human rights practices within the country. The Think
Centre and human rights groups view the "human rights framework" as applicable
to all areas of governance.
Today's Singapore is gradually a party to more human rights conventions and
wants to be recognised by its international peers for its efforts. This is good
for international trade and rightly it should also be seen as good business
sense. However, it should abandon any misguided hopes of undermining enshrined
human rights principles in practice.
Singapore laws, especially on the death penalty, are rooted in our colonial
history, which the colonial masters used to reign in, control and exploit a
disunited colony of immigrants. Such archaic colonial practices and attitudes
should be reviewed and removed from the penal code.
We believe that the main aim of the majority of the nations that seek to vote
against the resolution is to keep tight control over political power. Many of
them achieve this through impunity; unabated discrimination and mistreatment of
its peoples, at the expense of the most vulnerable. Singapore, by far one of
the most developed and relatively peaceful nations, stands out as an oddity in
keeping company with this group of mostly suppressive nations.
In 2015, 104 countries had abolished the death penalty for all crimes, 6
countries have abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes, and 30
countries are abolitionist in practice. Among the 58 retentionist countries and
territories, only 25 countries carried out executions that year. Many countries
that still retain the death penalty also do not carry out the sentences.
If Singapore wants to play the cautious conservative on the issue of enacting a
moratorium, which is a clear commitment in recognising the sanctity of human
life, it can abstain and watch as it falls behind in moral authority among its
peers. The Think Centre, however, urges the Singapore government to rise up to
the moral challenge and vote for the resolution on moratorium on the use of the
death penalty.
If Singapore wants to play the cautious conservative on the issue of enacting a
moratorium, which is a clear commitment in recognising the sanctity of human
life, it can abstain and watch as it falls behind in moral authority among its
peers. The Think Centre, however, urges the Singapore government to rise up to
the moral challenge and vote for the resolution on moratorium on the use of the
death penalty.
The United Nations resolution on moratorium on the use of the death penalty
calls on countries to: Progressively restrict the use of the death penalty and
reduce the number of offences for which it may be imposed; and establish a
moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty; and calls
upon States which have abolished the death penalty not to reintroduce it.
The Think Centre, a member of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty
(WCADP) and Forum Asia, is for the abolishing of the death penalty for all
crimes.
(source: theonlinecitizen.com)
PAKISTAN:
Army chief signs death warrants of 13 terrorists
Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Friday signed death warrants of another
13 'hardcore terrorists' who were found guilty of being behind a series of
terrorist attacks, including those on Charsadda's Bacha Khan University,
Rawalpindi's Parade Lane Mosque and the Marriot Hotel in Islamabad.
The death warrants signed by Gen Qamar are his 1st since he assumed command of
the army on November 29 and came on a day when the country was observing the
2nd anniversary of the Peshawar Army Public School attack.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement that those who
were handed the death penalty were involved in heinous offences related to
terrorism, including killing and slaughtering of innocent civilians and
officials of law enforcement agencies and armed forces of Pakistan.
"These terrorists also include those who planned and executed attacks on Bacha
Khan University Charsadda, Parade Lane Mosque Rawalpindi, Marriott Hotel
Islamabad, Office of World Vision NGO in Mansehra and an educational
institution at Nawagai Buner," the military's media wing added.
On the whole, they were involved in killing 325 people and in causing injuries
to 366 others. Firearms and explosives were also recovered from their
possession. These convicts were tried by military courts, the ISPR said.
Those who were handed down death sentence are identified as Latifullah Mehsud,
Arafat, Wahid Ali, Abdul Rehman, Mian Said Raheem, Noor Muhammad, Sher Ali,
Syed Qasim Shah, Muhammad Usman, Muhammad Riaz, Noorullah, Gul Zarin and Akbar
Ali.
Unlike the previous announcements about military courts' verdicts, the ISPR
this time specifically did not identify convicts' affiliation with any militant
group. Instead it said all convicts were members of a proscribed organisation.
According to ISPR, Latif Ullah Mehsud, Abdul Rehman, Sher Ali and Noor Muhammad
were involved in killing of innocent civilians and attacking law enforcement
agencies of Pakistan,
The charge-sheet against Arafat includes attacking Marriott Hotel Islamabad and
Parade Lane Mosque Rawalpindi, which resulted in death of 110 people. Wahid
Ali, Akbar Ali, Muhammad Riaz and Noorullah were convicted for being behind
Bacha Khan University Charsadda attack. Mian Said Raheem was involved in
killing of 15 civilians
Syed Qasim Shah was involved in attacking Office of World Vision NGO, which
resulted in death of 6 employees of said NGO.
Muhammad Waqar Faisal was given the death sentence for the killing of police
constable Asad Abbas and in injuring a police constable and 2 civilians.
(source: The Express Tribune)
*****************
Call to end capital punishment
It has been 2 years since the tragic attack on the Army Public School in
Peshawar. No amount of commiseration or time can ever mitigate the horror of
that day.
In response, Pakistan ended its 6-year-old moratorium on capital punishment as
part of its National Action Plan (NAP). The government was adamant that only
those convicted of terrorism would be executed. This was false, as the
moratorium for all capital crimes was lifted just 3 months later in March 2015
- widely sounded by the state as the only effective means of fighting
terrorism.
An analysis of the 419 executions that have occurred so far reveals significant
flaws in that narrative.
According to data collected by Justice Project Pakistan, only 16 % of the
executions carried out since December 2014 were related to terrorism charges.
The remainder have included several cases of wrongful execution such as
juveniles, the mentally ill and the physically disabled, all of which are
expressly forbidden in light of Pakistan's international legal obligations.
This figure is even more problematic when considering that in as many as 88
percent of 'terrorism' cases, there was no link to a terrorist organisation or
anything that can reasonably be defined as terrorism.
It is a dishonour to the memory of the APS attack victims for the state to take
lives in their name, when they have no bearing on curbing the menace that
caused their deaths.
Pakistan has retained its notorious status of being the 3rd most prolific
executioner in the world 2 years in a row. Under Pakistani law, 27 crimes carry
the death sentence and an average of 258 death sentences have been imposed
yearly from 2007 to 2015, explaining why the country has the highest populated
death row in the world. Given these statistics, it is clear that Pakistan does
not reserve the death penalty for 'the most serious crimes' as required by
international law.
The criminal justice system that so eagerly imposes death sentences in the
country warrants close examination. Pakistan's faulty legal infrastructure
remains inaccessible, corrupt, mired in red tape, beholden to power and usurped
by influence and wealth, creating a permissive environment for the routine
miscarriage of justice.
This is compounded by the lack of a meaningful appellate process for capital
cases, a blatant violation of Pakistan's international human rights
obligations. Until March this year, the Presidency had 444 pending mercy
petitions. So far, the known number of presidential pardons granted stands at
zero.
NAP correctly observed that there is a need to "revamp and reform Pakistan's
criminal justice system" but no significant effort has been made to do this so
far. Like last year, even more cases of wrongful executions have come to light
in 2016. In October, the Supreme Court acquitted 2 brothers in Bahawalpur after
they spent 11 years on death row, only to find they had already been executed
the year before. Another prisoner was found innocent a year after he had been
found dead in his cell. There are likely many more cases like this, considering
a condemned prisoner will spend an average of 11.41 years on death row.
Pakistan has a series of upcoming UN reviews in 2017, where its adherence to
its international legal commitments such as the International Covenant of Civil
and Political Rights (ICCPR), Convention Against Torture (CAT) and Universal
Periodic Review (UPR) will be evaluated.
Needless to say, Pakistan's broad scope of its application of the death penalty
will feature heavily, and the country's representatives will have to explain
why the innocent, the mentally ill, the physically disabled and juveniles have
been executed under its watch. This will have a direct bearing on Pakistan???s
eligibility for the GSP plus trade status.
Sarah Belal, Executive Director of Justice Project Pakistan adds: "Widespread
and fundamental failings of the criminal justice system warrant an immediate
suspension of the capital punishment regime in Pakistan. JPP will always stand
with the families of those affected by terrorism, and hopes that their
sacrifice is honoured appropriately. This cannot be the case if Pakistan
continues to wrongfully execute innocent individuals, juveniles and persons
with mental and physical disabilities."
(source: The Nation)
INDONESIA:
Mary Jane's recruiter a frequent traveler, gov't records show
Lawyers of Mary Jane Veloso, the Filipina on death row in Indonesia, said one
of her recruiters appears to be a "frequent traveler" based on government data
from 2008 to 2011 which were presented at the hearing today, Dec. 15, before a
Nueva Ecija court.
Maria Kristina Sergio, whom Mary Jane's family has charged with qualified human
trafficking in person, illegal recruitment, and estafa, travelled abroad 30
times in a span of 3 years, as shown by records from the Bureau of Immigration
(BI).
"Kinda frequent flyer for someone who claims to be indigent and purportedly
cannot afford the services of private counsel. It is a ruse to complete her
contrived defense," Edre Olalia, president of the National Union of Peoples'
Lawyers (NUPL) said in his Facebook post.
The NUPL is representing Mary Jane and her family in the case against accused
Sergio and her live-in partner Julius Lacanilao. Both are also facing charges
of large-scale syndicated illegal recruitment filed by 3 women who surfaced at
the height of the campaign to save Mary Jane from the gallows.
NUPL secretary general Ephraim Cortez said BI records verifier Angelito Lopez
took the witness stand and who presented Sergio's travel records, which
revealed that she went abroad 5 times in 2008, 14 times in 2009, 9 times in
2010 and twice in 2011.
Cortez added that the defense lawyers from the Public Attorney's Office "tried
to block the presentation of the travel record, insofar as the travels made
prior to April 21, 2010 are concerned, arguing these are not relevant" but the
court agreed to the presentation of Sergio's travel record.
Mary Jane's former husband Michael Candelaria also took the witness stand today
for the continuation of his direct-examination and cross-examination. Cortez
said Candelaria "stood his ground despite attempts of the defense counsel to
discredit his credibility and testimony and survived cross examination
unscathed."
Last Nov. 10, Candelaria first took the witness stand and narrated how Mary
Jane was recruited by Sergio and Lacanilao and that they paid the couple
P20,000 ($400). He said he brought Mary Jane to the bus station after they
handed the money to the accused.
Apart from Candelaria, other members of Mary Jane's family, including her
sister Maritess Laurente and mother Celia Veloso, had already taken the witness
stand.
As far as the NUPL is concerned, the only "remaining material witness" in the
charges filed against the accused is that of Mary Jane's.
Sto. Domingo Regional Trial Court Branch 88, which is presided over by Judge
Anarica Castillo Reyes, has already granted the prosecution's motion to allow
deposition by written interrogatories in order to secure Mary Jane's testimony.
This will be conducted by the Philippine consul, in accordance with the Rules
of Court in the Philippines.
The same court has denied the motion for reconsideration filed by the lawyers
of the accused. Defense lawyers also filed a motion to defer the filing of
their comment on the written interrogatories submitted by prosecution as they
intent to file a Petition for Certiorari before the Court of Appeals.
In the hearing today, the prosecution lawyers were given five days to file its
comment or opposition to the new motion filed by the defense.
The written interrogatories would be the 1st time for Mary Jane to tell about
her ordeal, as the Indonesian justice system did not allow such. She remains in
prison in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, almost 2 years since her scheduled execution
was stayed at dawn of April 29, 2015 amid national and international outcry
about her being a victim of human trafficking.
The case is again set for hearing on Feb. 23, March 9, April 27, May 18 and
June 22.
(source: bulatlat.com)
IRAN:
Families of Executed Prisoners Stage Protest Gathering
The families of executed prisoners staged a gathering on Thursday December 15
in front of central prison of Karaj in cold weather to protest execution of
their loved ones and to demand return of their bodies to the families.
The Iranian regime agents first resisted the families demand to hand over the
bodies of their loved ones and told the families that for security reasons and
in order to prevent publication of the executed prisoners' photos and video
clips, they would wash (Ghusl) the bodies and bury them but the families stood
against this crime and violation their basic rights and protested. Khamenei's
henchmen, fearing further escalation of the protest, backed off and handed over
the bodies of executed prisoners to their families.
Thursday morning, December 15, at least 4 prisoners were executed on
drug-related charges in central prison of Karaj. Some reports indicate that a
woman was also executed along with other prisoners bringing the total number of
those executed in this prison to at least 5.
4 executed prisoners were identified as Saeed Faramarzi, Behzad Lazemi, Fardin
Sabzi and Mehdi Ka'eni.
Also on Thursday, December 15, a prisoner named "Behzad Salim Kurd" was
executed in Bandar Abbas prison. He was transferred to solitary confinement 2
days before implementation of the execution but met with his 2 small children a
day before the execution.
In addition, a prisoner was executed in Qezel-Hesar prison in Karaj on
Wednesday December 14. The prisoner, identified as Mohammad Hossein Behdasthi,
has been incarcerated in Gohardasht prison for 23 years before the execution.
(source: NCR-Iran)
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