Jan. 20
UNITED KINGDOM/BAHRAIN:
Britain urged to act as 2 face execution in Bahrain----UK government has been
criticised for its links with the Bahraini Sunni monarchy.
Bahrain could be poised to execute 2 prisoners who claim their confessions were
extracted through torture.
Mohammed Ramadan and Husain Moosa were sentenced to death in 2014 for their
alleged involvement in a bomb attack that killed a police officer, but
supporters say they were falsely accused and confessed under duress.
Human rights organisations fear that the 2 men could be put to death in the
coming days following the execution of 3 prisoners on Sunday (16 January), the
1st in Bahrain since 2010.
The men, Ali al-Singace, Abbas al-Samea, and Sami Mushaima, were allegedly
tortured to force a confession in the same police station as the current death
row inmates.
Activists have called on Britain to suspend its support for the Bahraini
criminal justice system to avoid UK complicity in further human rights
violations in Bahrain, a wealthy island state in Persian Gulf and a key British
ally in the Middle East.
Bahrain, which is ruled by a Sunni monarchy, has led a major government
crackdown against its Shia majority in the 5 years since protests erupted in
Manama during the Arab Spring.
British foreign secretary Boris Johnson said in response to the executions that
the UK is "firmly opposed to the death penalty", and that he has "raised the
issue with the Bahraini government". But anti-death penalty campaign group
Reprieve described Johnson's response as "woefully inadequate". The charity has
sent a letter to UK Prime Minster Theresa May calling for the government to
"immediately suspend its involvement with all actors within the Bahraini
criminal justice system and Ministry of Interior".
"Reprieve and other organisations have repeatedly called attention to the link
between human rights abuses and the multiple UK-trained institutions in
Bahrain."
Human Rights Watch and the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy were
among other organisations to make similar appeals.
The UK has spent more than 5 million pounds in Bahrain since pro-democracy
protests rocked the kingdom in 2011. Last Friday (13 January), it emerged that
the controversial aid programme, overseen by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office
(FCO), is being bolstered by a further 2m pounds this year.
Reprieve says that Britain's funding and training of police officers,
prosecutors, judges, prison guards and oversight investigatory bodies in
Bahrain has not lessened human rights abuses in the country.
Maya Foa, director of the death penalty team at Reprieve, told IBTimes UK:
"Reprieve and other organisations have repeatedly called attention to the link
between human rights abuses and the multiple UK-trained institutions in
Bahrain. It is disappointing that there has not been a change of position by
the UK Foreign Office."
As reported in the Observer, documents obtained by Reprieve reveal that Her
Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons helped prepare inspections of custody
facilities in Bahrain in 2014, including the notorious police station where the
prisoners were allegedly tortured.
The subsequent inspection report by the Bahraini Prisoners and Detainees Rights
Commission failed to mention high-profile allegations of torture, including
those of death row inmate Ramadan.
Ramadan's torture allegations were also ignored for more than 2 years by the
Ombudsman for the Ministry of Interior, a body receiving FCO-funded training
from UK state-owned company Northern Ireland Cooperation Overseas (NI-CO),
Reprieve claims.
His case has been passed onto another NI-CO-trained watchdog, Bahrain's Special
Investigations Unit, which previously ruled that one of the executed men,
al-Samea, lied about his torture allegations.
Britain is the biggest obstacle in preventing international scrutiny of
Bahrain's human rights abuses, because it is playing a leading role in
whitewashing Bahrain's crimes."
Reprieve's Foa said the British-backed oversight mechanisms "refused to
investigate or acknowledge the systemic and brutal torture of prisoners leading
to coerced confessions", and that she was "seriously concerned" that they will
fail Ramadan.
Supporters of Ramadan, a father-of-3, say his arrest was a
politically-motivated retaliation for his participation in pro-democracy
marches. He was deprived of legal counsel in a trial based on evidence obtained
under prolonged torture.
Sayed Alwadaei, director of advocacy at the Bahrain Institute for Rights and
Democracy, said that the FCO deeming Bahrain's torture watchdogs as
"independent" is evidence that the UK is "misleading the international
community".
"Britain is the biggest obstacle in preventing international scrutiny of
Bahrain's human rights abuses, because it is playing a leading role in
whitewashing Bahrain's crimes," Alwadaei said.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement that he was
"appalled" at Sunday's executions, and that the way the trials were conducted
"raises serious doubts whether the accused were provided with the right to fair
trial".
Agnes Callamard, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions,
described the events as "extrajudicial killings".
Reprieve's Foa noted a "prioritisation of trade over human rights" by the UK
government. Last year, the UK intensified its engagement with Bahrain, with
visits to the oil-rich nation by Prince Charles, Theresa May and Boris Johnson.
Addressing the Gulf Cooperation Council in December, May said the UK was
"determined to continue to be your partner of choice as you embed international
norms and see through the reforms which are so essential for all of your
people".
It remains to be seen whether the UK government will take any measures to
prevent further capital punishment in Bahrain. In the meantime, Ramadan and
Moosa live in fear of imminent execution.
An FCO spokesman told IBTimes UK: "The UK government is aware of the challenges
which remain in Bahrain, but it is not good enough to merely criticise other
countries from the sidelines.
"Only by working with the government of Bahrain are we able to bring about the
changes we would like to see in the country. We will continue to raise concerns
about human rights in Bahrain whenever we have them."
The Embassy of the Kingdom of Bahrain in London could not be reached for
comments.
(source: ibtimes.co.uk)
INDIA:
3 get death penalty for gangrape, murder of 9-year-old in Narnaul
A fast-track court in Narnaul gave 3 men the death penalty and acquitted one in
the brutal gangrape and murder of a 9-year-old girl in 2014.
The court of RK Dogra announced death penalty for Ateli residents Deepak, Arun
and Rajesh, while acquitted railway engineer Sanjay.
The case dates back to October 31, 2014, when the 9-year-old girl had gone out
to dump a rat from her house in the open, and never returned.
Her mother informed the police, which then launched a search operation.
On the morning of November 1, the police found her body in the bushes.
The postmortem confirmed she was gangraped before being murdered.
Tension gripped Ateli, as hundreds of residents came out on roads, demanding
arrest of the accused and accusing the police of inaction.
Few days later, the police rounded up 4 men in the case and booked them under
charges of murder, kidnap and gangrape.
A fast-track court was set up that held 3 out of 4 men guilty of the charges
after hearing 35 witnesses.
NOT THE 1ST TIME
This is for the 2nd time in the last 1 year that a court in Haryana has
pronounced the death penalty in a gangrape case.
Earlier in December 2015, a Rohtak court had announced death penalty for 7
convicts, accused of gangraping and killing a mentally-challenged woman from
Nepal in the district.
The doctor who had conducted the postmortem on the Nepali woman had gone on to
call the case the most "brutal case" she had seen in her 30-year-long medical
career.
(source: Hindustan Times)
PHILIPPINES:
Duterte Sends Personal Letter to the Pope After Death Penalty and Condom
Distribution Statements
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has been reported to have written a
personal letter to Pope Francis, remarking the importance of the country's
"special relations" with the Holy See.
The letter comes after Duterte set himself on a collision course with the
Catholic Church over plans to hand out millions of free condoms and reintroduce
the death penalty.
However, the Pope is said to have told an aide to the President yesterday that
he will bless Duterte after the aide handed the letter to Francis.
On a video clip released on Thursday, Presidential Adviser Jesus Dureza
remarked "When I had the opportunity of kissing the hand of the Pope, I said,
'Bless the Philippines, Your Holiness,' and his answer was, 'Yes, I will also
bless your president."
The Presidential Adviser on Peace Process Jesus Dureza released a photo of the
President's letter to the Pope yesterday. It read: "Your Holiness, with
profound respect, I have the honour to extend my own and my people's warmest
greetings to Your Holiness."
Duterte's letter went on to recall the Pope's visit to the Philippines in
January 2015. "Our countrymen remember Your Holiness' apostolic visit in 2015
with deep appreciation, knowing that it was made with the most sincere regard
for the welfare of the Church's flock," he said.
"The Philippines values its special relations with the Holy See and regards
with gratitude Your Holiness' gracious stewardship of the Catholic
faith...Please accept, Your Holiness, the assurances of my highest esteem and
respect."
The President had drawn criticism during the papal visit after calling the Pope
a "son of a bitch" for supposedly causing a traffic jam during his visit. He
later claimed his comment was aimed at incompetent officials.
Duterte has also angered Catholics early this month due to his order of handing
out millions of condoms on high schools around the country as a way to prevent
unwanted pregnancies and stop HIV. The Church does not allow the use of condoms
as a means of birth control and says abstinence and monogamy in heterosexual
marriage is the best way to stop the spread of AIDS.
The death penalty is another stand-out point against the Philippine President
as he aims to restore the death penalty and execute "5 or 6" criminals each
day. Several Catholic leaders and groups have condemned Duterte's plan last
month and called it "very barbaric."
Duterte, 71, has made reviving the death penalty in the mainly Catholic nation
his top legislative priority as part of a brutal war on crime that has killed
5,300 people.
"There was death penalty before but nothing happened. Return that to me and I
would do it every day: 5 or 6 [criminals]. That's for real," he said.
An official at the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines said the
Church "totally opposed" Duterte's plan. "The Philippines will be viewed as
very barbaric," said Father Jerome Secillano, the executive secretary at its
public affairs office. "It's going to make the Philippines the capital of death
penalty in the world."
The Philippines abolished the death penalty in 2006 after strong opposition to
capital punishment from the Catholic Church, to which 80 per cent of Filipinos
belong.
Before taking office in June last year, Duterte vowed to introduce executions
by hanging, saying he did not want to waste bullets and adding that he believed
snapping the spinal cord was more humane than a firing squad. He also stressed
that death penalty is a way of retribution for the families who have been
affected by crimes.
(source: China Christian Daily)
*************
Korean's death may spur death penalty - Recto
The kidnapping, murder, and cremation of Korean businessman Jee Ick-Joo might
just be the trigger needed by lawmakers to reimpose the death penalty on "super
heinous crimes," Senate Minority Leader Ralph G. Recto said yesterday.
Recto said that he, in principle, remains against capital punishment but
conceded "that cruelty and impunity inflicted in crimes like the one that
victimized the Korean is beginning to define what a super heinous crime that
may be punishable by death is."
"In terms of how dastardly a crime is, we are seeing examples of a higher bar
in which death penalty, in the eyes of its advocates, could be imposed," Recto
said.
Recto said complex and heinous crimes are "powerful emotional argument for
death penalty."
He said he favors life imprisonment for lesser crimes such as ordinary killings
or carnappings without aggravating circumstances.
Recto acknowledged that the debates on death penalty "will be infused with
actual examples of heinous crimes in which the demand for a greater restitution
is high."
"It will go beyond theories and studies. Actual examples will be used by both
sides. The pro will parade examples of heinous crimes. While the antis will
cite successes of the power of rehabilitative justice," he said.
"How can these be arguments for clemency?" Recto said.
The 53-year-old victim was kidnapped last year in Pampanga by rogue policemen
but was still murdered and cremated despite the payment of a R5-million ransom
by his family.
Senators are split on the reimposition of the death penalty and the House of
Representatives leadership predicted the passage of the death penalty bill in
June.
(source: tempo.com.ph)
GLOBAL:
9 videos to help you talk about the death penalty
Short films and videos can be useful conversation starters for teachers,
educators, facilitators or anyone wishing to learn more about human rights.
Here are some freely available films about the death penalty.
There may be content that is unsuitable for some audiences, therefore we
recommend you watch each clip in full to check that its suitable for the
audience before you use it in an educational setting.
see:
https://www.amnesty.org.uk/blogs/classroom-community/education-videos-help-talk-about-death-penalty)
(source: Amnesty International)
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