May 11
AFRICA:
Numbers of Africans Sentenced to Die Soars
More than 1,000 Nigerians languish on death row.
Governments in sub-Saharan Africa sentenced at least 1 083 people to death in
2016 - more than double the 443 people condemned to die in 2015, according to a
recent report by international human rights organisation Amnesty International.
The research shows that rising numbers of people sentenced to die in the region
are largely driven by an upswing of such judgments in Nigeria, which handed
down death sentences to almost 500 people in 2016.
Although the number of death sentences more than doubled, the region saw fewer
actual executions - 22 people. The executions took place in 5 countries, the
bulk of which were in Somalia. The other countries included Sudan and Botswana.
"Countries in sub-Saharan Africa that continue to hold on to the death penalty
are showing utter disregard to the right to life of people and are on the wrong
side of history as the world is moving away from the punishment," says Amnesty
International's death penalty adviser Oluwatosin Popoola.
Amnesty's latest global survey on the use of the death penalty was released in
April and shows that, globally, fewer countries are prescribing death
sentences. It also argues that fewer people were executed in 2016 than in the
previous year but cautions that reported rates of death sentences and
executions are likely to be under-reported because many governments do not
publish statistics on their use of the death penalty.
In Southern Africa, Botswana was the only country to execute anyone in 2016. It
was that country's 1st state-mandated killing since 2013.
"Botswana's step backwards must not be replicated elsewhere in the region,"
Amnesty International's Southern Africa director Deprose Muchena warns in the
report.
About 300 people across the Southern African region were sentenced to death by
the end of 2016, the overwhelming majority of whom were in Zambia - 157 -
followed by Zimbabwe - 97.
"African countries that still retain the death penalty can reduce this by
abolishing mandatory death sentences, reducing the number of offences that
provide for the death penalty and restricting the imposition of death sentences
to the 'most serious crimes' as provided for by international human rights
law," Popoola explains.
The report does not investigate the effects of capital punishment on the
families of death-row prisoners, but says it can prolong the suffering of the
victims' families and those condemned to die, says Popoola.
He says countries should ideally restrict the use of the death penalty with the
aim of abolishing it in the future.
Popoola argues: "The death penalty diverts resources and energy that could be
better used to work against violent crime and assist those affected by it.
"It is a symptom of a culture of violence, not a solution to it."
(source: allafrica.com)
INDIA:
India carried out no executions in 2016, Amnesty reveals in its annual death
sentence report
India did not execute a single person last year despite the country imposing a
total of 136 death sentences, which was significantly higher than the previous
years, according to a report released on Tuesday by Amnesty International.
"India recorded a total of 136 death sentences imposed in 2016, significantly
higher than the previous years, whereas a significant decrease in the
implementation of death sentences was recorded in Pakistan, by 73 %," Amnesty
said its annual report on 'Death Sentences and Executions'.
India carried out no executions last year, but was among the few countries to
hand out capital punishment for drug- related crimes and also amended its laws
to introduce the death penalty for hijacking when it results into death, the
Amnesty report said. "More than 400 people were believed to be under sentence
of death at the end of the year. In May, the National Law University, Delhi,
published an extensive study showing that most prisoners on death row were from
economically vulnerable and socially disadvantaged groups," the report noted.
The human rights group recorded 1,032 executions in 2016, a 37 % drop
worldwide, with China believed to have executed more than all countries
combined but the figures remain a classified state secret. Despite the
significant decrease world-wide, the overall number of executions in 2016
remained higher than the average recorded for the previous decade, the Amnesty
report said.
Of the total 1,032 executions, 87 % took place in just 4 countries - Iran,
Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Pakistan. Pakistan's execution rate dropped from 326
recorded deaths in 2015 to at least 87 the following year. The high number
reported in 2015 followed the lifting of a 7-year moratorium on executions in
December 2014 in response to a deadly Taliban attack on a school in Peshawar.
The country then created military courts to try civilians suspected of
terrorism-related offences. In 2016, at least 4 of those executed in the
country were convicted by the military courts.
"The death penalty was used in contravention of international law and
standards, including on people with mental disabilities, for crimes that did
not meet the threshold of the 'most serious crimes' to which the use of the
death penalty must be restricted, such as 'blasphemy'; and in violation of the
defendants' right to a fair trial," the report noted. However, the biggest
rebuke is directed at China for its execution record and failure to disclose
the true nature of capital punishments in the country.
A new in-depth investigation by Amnesty International claims that the Chinese
authorities enforce an elaborate secrecy system to obscure the shocking scale
of executions in the country, despite repeated claims it is making progress
towards judicial transparency. For the 1st time since 2006, the US is not among
the world's 5 biggest executioners and the number of executions (20) in 2016
reached the lowest level recorded in any year since 1991.
Amnesty collects its statistics using official figures, media reports and
information passed on from individuals sentenced to death and their families
and representatives.
(source: firstpost.com)
********************
Upholding majesty of international law----India's moving the International
Court of Justice to seek justice for Kulbhushan Jadhav, a former naval officer
who was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court vindicates the majesty
of international law. It also vindicates the need for India to take
international law more seriously across the board as an instrument of state
policy.
Upholding majesty of international law
India has made a deft move to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) seeking
justice for its national, Kulbhushan Jadhav, a former naval officer, who was
sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court. This is the 1st such action
by India as it had hitherto refrained from taking any bilateral issue to
international forums or judicial bodies (courts and tribunals). This action has
been triggered by the consistent denial by Pakistan of "consular access", a
minimal courtesy exercised by all civilised states, to Jadhav as a national of
India. India expressed determination to rescue Jadhav from the Pakistani
custody as it viewed the case as stage-managed abduction, slapping of false
espionage charges and secretive military trial leading to imposition of death
penalty.
Notwithstanding lack of "compulsory" jurisdiction of ICJ, India sought to tap
the legal remedy available under Article 36 (1) of the ICJ Statute (all matters
provided for in treaties and conventions in force) and Article 1 of the
Optional Protocol Concerning the Compulsory Settlement of Disputes (1963) to
the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (1963). The Optional Protocol
provides that "unless some other form of settlement has been agreed upon by the
parties...Disputes arising out of the interpretation or application of the
Convention shall lie within the compulsory jurisdiction of the International
Court of Justice and may accordingly be brought before the Court by an
application made by any party to the dispute being a Party to the present
Protocol". As of May 2016, the Protocol was ratified by 51 states and,
amazingly, included both India and Pakistan!
This represents a growing trend, wherein a state party seeks to raise issue of
breach of specific treaty obligation by another state. For instance, Ukraine
has taken the Russian Federation to ICJ for breach of Convention for the
Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and the Convention on Elimination of
all Forms of Racial Discrimination.
It is the 1st such resolute support provided by India to rescue a national,
accused of violations of local law in another country. Due to the unusual
situation prevailing in Pakistan as well as regular incidents of aiding and
abetement of cross-border terror chain of pin-pricks, India has been forced to
bypass time-tested rule of "exhaustion of local remedies" as they are in any
case not available due to the current impasse.
The Indian action has been buttressed by turning down of more than 15 requests
for consular action by the Pakistani authorities. In a petition filed in the
registry of the ICJ in the Hague, India underscored the urgency of this
situation. It referred to the provisions of Article 75 of the Rules of Court,
asked the Court to indicate forthwith, and without holding any hearing,
provisional measures proprio motu. As laid down by the ICJ in Vienna Convention
on Consular Relations case (Paraguay v. USA case; April 9, 1998), the Court
could order interim measures if there is possibility of "irreparable
prejudice...to rights which are the subject of dispute ...". As a corollary, in
a swift move, the President Rony Abraham issued an order to Pakistan to "act in
such a way so as to enable the court to enforce any decision it takes on the
Indian plea."
As a founding member of the United Nations, India has been forced to move to
ICJ not for violations of sovereignty per se but breach of an international
treaty obligation - the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 1963. India
has otherwise consistently denied efforts of countries like Pakistan to drag
her to ICJ on the basis of the "Commonwealth Clause" in declaration under
Article 36 (2) of the Statute of ICJ. Pakistan's steadfast refusal to allow
consular access to Jadhav has lent credence to Indian claim about "fixing" of
Jadhav, circumstances of his alleged abduction and "sale" in early 2016 to
elements in Pakistan and slapping of "espionage" case even though it was proved
he was carrying an Indian passport. This, as India argued, "has prevented India
from exercising its rights under the Convention and has deprived the Indian
national from the protection accorded under the Convention". The issue at stake
has been the nationality of Jadhav and the prevalent right of India to provide
diplomatic/consular protection to Jadhav. The case has assumed grim proportions
since efforts were stonewalled by Pakistan to allow consular access to him.
Demarche issued to the Pakistan High Commissioner were ignored and all pleas at
the highest level fell on deaf ears. It has placed bilateral relations in
serious jeopardy.
The Indian contention in the Jadhav case is rooted in Article 36 (1) of the
Vienna Convention that guarantees unimpeded consular communication, access and
providing of legal representation by a 'sending state' to its nationals who are
arrested or committed to prison pending trial or detained in any other manner.
Pakistan's consistent and wilful denial of India's right to provide consular
protection to Jadhav has led to the ICJ to underline sanctity of the Convention
as well as efficacy of the remedy available under the Optional Protocol. Indian
legal recourse is a cogent step to obtain judicial restraint of Pakistan's
aberrant conduct resulting in not only gross violation of India's consular
right but also basic human right of Jadhav under Article 6 of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. This provides every human being the
inherent right to life.
Generally, the UN member states take matters to ICJ on issues concerning
territorial integrity and sovereignty like delimitation of land and maritime
borders or other violations. It is rare that states contend before ICJ issues
concerning rights of a corporate entity (Interhandle case by Switzerland
against USA) or individuals (Asylum case by Columbia against Peru). In 1980,
the USA also had to ICJ against Iranian revolutionary guards' seizure of the US
Embassy in Tehran. In the famous LaGrand case (1999), the ICJ upheld German
contention that the USA violated the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations by
not advising its national Karl and Walter LaGrand on their right to consular
access that prevented Germany from obtaining effective trial counsel for them.
In spite of repeated German assertions Karl La Grand was executed in the state
of Arizona on February 24, 1999. The ICJ did grant urgent provisional measures
and stayed the execution of Walter LaGrand that was slated for March 3, 1999.
India had no choice amidst the groundswell of domestic public opinion as well
as to counter Pakistan's compulsive "irritation" campaign to ward off
international isolation. The decisions given by the ICJ are binding on the
parties to the dispute. There are glaring cases of defiance in the past by
countries such as USA (Nicaragua case) and Iran (Hostages case). Still Pakistan
can defy ICJ only at its own peril and at the cost of irreversibly damaging
India-Pakistan relations. In this grim scenario, Indian recourse to this
international law remedy has brought about a glimmer of hope. It provides a
robust message that it will work wonders if India takes this vital instrument
more seriously in internal governance structure as well as in the conduct of
external affairs and, in turn, for maintenance of international peace and
security.
(source: Bharat H Desai is Chairman of Centre for International Legal Studies,
JNU. Balraj K Sidhu is faculty member of RGSOIPL, Indian Institute of
Technology-Kharagpur----tribuneindia.com)
PAKISTAN----executions
TTP terrorists convicted by military courts executed
4 more Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorists convicted of "heinous"
terror related offences by military courts have been executed today
(Wednesday), the Pakistan Army announced.
The terrorists were involved in killing of innocent civilians, attacking a
mosque, destruction of communication infrastructure, attacking Law Enforcement
Agencies and Armed Forces.
All the 4 convicts including Qaider Khan, Muhammad Umar, Qari Zubair Muhammad
and Aziz Khan were active members of banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. They
had admitteded their offences before the Magistrate and trial court, Pakistan
army s media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.
Military courts were restored in March for another 2 years after their initial
2-year term expired in January. The courts were established after a
constitutional amendment following a terrorist attack on Army Public School
(APS) in Peshawar in December 2014 which left more than 150 people dead.
Pakistan has been fighting various extremist groups for over a decade.
Terrorist attacks have killed tens of thousands of people. The military courts
have handed down the death penalty to more than 160 terrorists.
(source: Dunya News)
****************
International court halts Pakistan execution of Indian convicted of spying
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ordered Pakistan not to carry out
the execution of an Indian man convicted of spying while his case is being
considered.
Kulbushan Jadhav was arrested in March 2016 "for his involvement in espionage
and sabotage activities against Pakistan," and sentenced to death last month.
On May 8, India initiated proceedings at the Hague against its regional rival,
accusing Islamabad of "egregious violations of the Vienna Convention on
Consular Relations" in the sentencing of Jadhav, according to a statement
released by the ICJ.
India requested the ICJ order Pakistan not to execute Jadhav until the court
can issue a judgment based on India's claims.
The ICJ is the principle judicial arm of the United Nations and settles
disputes between member states in accordance with international law.
'Premeditated murder'
India alleges Jadhav was "kidnapped" from Iran where he was on business after
retiring from the Indian Navy. He was arrested by Pakistani authorities in
Baluchistan on March 3 last year.
Indian authorities say they learned of his arrest through a press release
nearly 3 weeks later and were refused consular access multiple times, in
violation of the Vienna Convention.
A military court charged Jadhav on April 11 under the Pakistan Army Act 1952
and the Official Secrets Act 1923, both of which provide for the death penalty.
India described the sentencing as an act of "brazen defiance" of the Vienna
Convention and warned executing Jadhav would be an act of "premeditated
murder."
In a statement, Amnesty International said military courts, which were used in
Jadhav's case, have been linked to coerced confessions and unfair trials.
(source: CNN)
*************************
HRCP recommends abolition of death penalty
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has recommended reinstating
moratorium on death penalty with an aim of abolition, as the country remained
one of the highest executioners in the world in 2016.
HRCP while releasing a report 'State of Human Rights in 2016' said that while
the pace of execution in Pakistan slowed significantly in 2016, the country
remained one of the highest executioners in the world with 87 persons executed
in 2016, most in the first 6 months of the year. According to the report, 426
persons were awarded death penalty in 2016 while 496 in 2015. The report
further said that the trials were often characterised by the lack of access to
impartial legal counsel. The fate of the accused was sealed in the initial
stages when they were given a state-appointed lawyer who was often
poorly-trained and lacked competence, the report lamented.
According to the report, Punjab witnessed an increase in the cases of rape,
gang-rape and abduction. Bank robberies, theft and snatching of motorcycles and
mobile phones witnessed a sudden rise in 2016 in Karachi. 3 human rights
defenders were killed. Punjab police said that they killed 340 criminals in at
least 291 'encounters.' Sindh police said 248 robbers and other criminals, 96
terrorists and 11 kidnappers were killed in encounters. Law enforcers claimed
to have killed at least 229 suspected terrorists and kidnappers in different
raids in Balochistan, 315 in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), 40 in
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and 4 in Gilgit-Baltistan, the report said.
On the issue of military courts, the report said that 275 cases were referred
to the military courts which convicted 274 of them. The fate of one remains
unknown. The military courts awarded the death sentence to 161 prisoners while
113 were imprisoned.
On enforced disappearances, it said that another 728 Pakistanis were added to
the list of missing persons in 2016, the highest in at least six years, taking
the toll to 1,219, according to the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced
Disappearances.
On the issue of 'Female Prisoners and Juveniles,' the commission quoted a
report by the Ministry of Interior published in October, which stated that of
the 939 women incarcerated in jails in Punjab at the time, 110 were accompanied
by their children. Out of these 110 women, 60 were under-trial, 45 had been
sentenced while 5 were facing the death penalty. HRCP recommended that efforts
should be made for maintenance and protection of children of incarcerated
mothers outside the prison once they are of school-going age. The report said
that torture remained the foremost instrument of evidence collection in the
criminal justice system of the country. It further stated that around 14,628
Pakistani migrant workers were incarcerated abroad between 2005 and 2015.
The watchdog welcomed the enactment of new laws to protect women but decried an
uptick in religiously motivated vigilantism.
"People have been given impunity if they kill in the name of religion, if they
cheat in the name of religion, if they lie in the name of religion. The state
has to end this," said Asma Jahangir, the commission's chairman while
addressing a news conference. "It is doing no service to our religion."
Pakistan has never executed anyone convicted of blasphemy, but the mere
accusation is enough to ignite mob violence and lynchings.
The report said that about 3 million cases were pending in the country's courts
in 2016. It said 15 people, 10 Muslims and five non-Muslims, were booked for
blasphemy. 2 Muslims and as many Christians were sentenced to death for
blasphemy. 1 person charged with blasphemy who had been languishing in jail for
4 years was acquitted by the Lahore High Court.
Freedom of speech also took a hit last year with threats of blasphemy charges
levelled against those who challenged state authority, said the report. 6
journalists and a blogger were killed last year. There has been a spike in the
level of "intimidation of the media and increased levels of self-censorship by
the media," it said.
"The year 2016 saw a disturbing rise in assaults on media houses, TV channel
and newspaper offices as well as press clubs by militant, religious and
political groups," the report said.
Asma Jahangir assailed intelligence and security agencies for unlawfully
detaining people, including 5 bloggers who were held for several weeks before
being freed earlier this year.
The report also criticized a new cyber law that allows the authorities to
access a person's online accounts without a warrant.
Asma Jahangir also noted progress in Pakistan, saying that same lawmakers who
once said killing a woman in the name of honour was "social tradition," enacted
a law to try to end it.
Women are present in all walks of life in Pakistan, she said. "When I first
began there were very few women lawyers but now there are so many bright young
women out there, performing better than anyone," Asma said.
It further said that deaths linked to terrorism in Pakistan dropped by 45 % in
2016 as compared to 2015. In Gilgit-Baltistan, out of the 23 murder cases
registered in 2016, 13 were of honour killing. At least 187 women, 40 out of
them in honour-related crimes, were murdered in the first 10 months of 2016 in
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
Punjab jails held 49,603 prisoners against a capacity of 23,617, Sindh 20,308
against 12,245 and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 11,200 against 7,547. Of the total 1,497
females in prisons, Punjab had 920 women, Sindh 249, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 309,
Balochistan 18 and Gilgit-Baltistan had 1 woman in jail.
Out of the 4 Ahmadis targeted for murder during 2016, 3 were doctors. The
country saw several incidents of violence against Christians. The Hindu
community complained of land grabbing, attacks, kidnapping, forced conversions,
temple desecrations, rape, and murder, according to the HRCP report. Killing of
6 journalists and a blogger and the fallout of certain news reports escalated
the environment of intimidation of the media and increased levels of
self-censorship by the media.
The total number of sexual abuse cases including abduction, missing children
and child marriage in 2016, stood at 4,139 bringing the number of abused
children to 11 per day and showing an increase of 10 % from 2015.
The HRCP recommended the government to immediately reinstate the moratorium on
death penalty with the aim of abolition. It asked the government to ratify the
convention for the protection of all persons from enforced disappearances and
also introduce a specific law against torture in line with the Convention
against Torture obligations. The government has also been recommended to devise
and implement policy to ensure speedy justice and construct new jails to
counter overcrowding in prisons.
(source: The Nation)
EGYPT:
"Positive momentum" in Ibrahim Halawa case despite latest delay
Ibrahim Halawa yesterday had his trial in Egypt delayed for the 23rd time.
The 21 year old from Firhouse has been held in a prison in Cairo since 2013.
He is facing the death penalty on terrorism charges after he was arrested at a
protest against the ousting of President Morsi. He has alleged that he has been
tortured in prison.
However the Irish government are taking this latest postponement as a positive
sign.
After it was postponed yesterday the new date given was May 17, which is the
shortest time period between delayed trial dates so far.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan welcomed comments from the trial
judge who said new methods would be used to accelerate the trial process.
He said his officials were in court and there was some sign of "positive
momentum" in the case, with Ambassador Damien Cole meeting with Mr Halawa last
Sunday to tell him the Government was continuing to do all it can to secure his
release.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said it follows up on all issues raised by
Irish citizens with the appropriate authorities.
Amnesty International described the latest delay in the trial process as
"beyond farcical" and said Mr Halawa's continued imprisonment was a serious
violation of international and Egyptian law.
They also say Mr Halawa was sheltering in the Al Fath mosque at the time of his
arrest and could not be guilty of the charges against him.
(source: intallaght.ie)
BOTSWANA:
Government must abolish death penalty to save taxpayers' millions----I have
done several murder trials and have been fortunate enough not to have a client
sentenced to hang by the neck until he or she dies. I am not looking forward to
that day and neither do I wish any attorney to encounter such a sentence. I am
for the abolition of capital punishment.
Lawyers have tried the Constitutional route before to challenge the death
penalty and all have failed on account that the Court of Appeal is of the
opinion that the death penalty has been sanctioned as a law by the Legislature
and as such their lordships are not desirous of usurping the role of
Parliament. As it is the only people who can abolish the death penalty are
those at Parliament.
The Minister of Defence Honourable, Shaw Kgathi has explicitly stated that the
debate on whether capital punishment must be abolished is a sensationalised
debate as Batswana have not come forth to say the penalty must be abolished.
Kgathi says "We are a democratic country, we are not a Government based on
sensationalism.
We are not copycats and we do things in the interest of the people we are
ruling. These laws were all made based on consultations with Batswana. Until
the majority of Batswana believe that we should change our laws to something
they may wish to see, we cannot re-think the law on capital punishment." The
utterances by Rre Kgathi are a surprising shift of goal posts as we all know
our Parliamentarians rarely consult on issues affecting us.
I offer Government an incentive to abolish the death penalty. In Botswana the
right to legal representation is not absolute and an accused person has a right
to legal representation of his own choice at his own cost. It is only where
capital punishment maybe the penalty to be imposed that Government appoints a
pro deo attorney for a murder accused and the State then pays the attorney for
defending the murder accused. Dear reader, there are so many murder trials
pending before the High Court and on each day Government pays a certain lawyer
to represent such an accused person.
If Government abolished the death penalty, the incentive would be that it would
be a cost saving measure. All those accused of murder will then have to foot
their legal bills. That's the incentive.
From a personal point of view and with the benefit of having been around murder
accused persons I can vouch to Batswana that the notion that the death penalty
is itself deterrence for any future killings is not a tenable proposition.
A lot of murder accused persons are from rustic, poor and uneducated
backgrounds. The accused persons in most cases do not know the probable
penalties and have never heard of capital punishment until they are arrested
and have conversations with inmates.
Some murder cases occur in drinking spots and in most cases those emanate from
stabbings caused by intoxication, exuberance of youth and sheer depression
arising from abject poverty. All the above-mentioned class of murder accused
persons and incidents are in most cases oblivious of the sanctions that may
befall them and to that extent I aver that the death penalty is by no means a
deterrent. If it was meant to be a deterrent, it is a failed deterrent as
murder accused sometimes just do not know of it. In any event hangings are
shrouded by secrecy such that only those with access to private print media
usually know of the hangings. But then again we are not a reading nation.
Further on the notion of deterrence is just wishful thinking as the perpetrator
would be dead and as such he can no longer be deterred.
The death penalty has its inherent danger in that a Court of law may for
various reasons convict a person who is actually innocent. The conviction may
come as a result of the inadequacy of the defence team.
In some cases, the State with its massive resources tends to have an upper hand
as when it comes to forensic examinations.The expertise lies solely at the
State's doorstep and the accused only has to communicate to the findings of the
State evidence. In the absence of a qualified expert to challenge the forensic
findings, defence attorneys always find themselves challenged when trying to
take the so-called experts heads-on as Attorneys are not qualified pathologists
and forensic examiners.
In 2015, the Justice Department and the FBI formally acknowledged that nearly
every examiner in an FBI forensic squad overstated forensic hair matches for 2
decades before the year 2000.
Given the massive resources and the secrecy that surrounds investigations and
coupled with the unlawful means with which some investigators acquire evidence
against innocent accused persons, sometimes the competence of the defence
attorney is a better predictor of whether or not someone will be sentenced to
death than the facts of the crime.
(source: Own Nsala, mmegi.bw)
PHILIPPINES:
Death penalty not yet 'dead' in Senate
Despite being against the reimposition of death penalty, Sen. Francis Escudero
on Thursday said that there is still a chance that a measure reviving it could
still be passed.
"I don't believe the death penalty is already 'dead' in the Senate," Escudero
said in a Kapihan press conference.
It may be recalled that Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon earlier said
that in his view, the death penalty was "dead" at least in the current 17th
Congress. The Senate is set to convene its 18th Congress in July.
Drilon also said that there are at least 13 senators who will block the passage
of death penalty bill including 6 members of the minority group and 7 members
of the majority block.
Members of the minority bloc include Drilon, Senators Paolo Benigno Aquino IV,
Leila de Lima, Risa Hontiveros, Francis Pangilinan and Antonio Trillanes IV.
Also against death penalty are Senate Pres. Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto and Sen.
Grace Poe. Not all senators have openly expressed their stand.
Meanwhile, at least 5 senators have openly expressed being for death penalty
including Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III, Senators Joseph Victor
Ejercito, Sherwin Gatchalian, Panfilo Lacson and Manny Pacquiao.
Escudero said that European Union (EU) ambassadors have raised the possibility
of halting the preferential tariff rates of the Philippines if death penalty is
restored.
He, however, expressed hope that they would change their minds as even if the
death penalty is revived in the current administration, there's no saying it
will last until the next administration.
(source: Philippine News Agency)
*******************
Filipino bishops praise cross-country march against death penalty
The Catholic bishops of the Philippines have praised a cross-country march
showing opposition to the restoration of the death penalty.
The bishops voiced their support of the "commendable" initiative in a recent
statement addressed to the laity and all members of the civil group taking part
in the march.
The march is "most deserving of support from all who want to make a clear
unequivocal stand for life," Archbishop Socrates B. Villegas of
Lingayen-Dagupan, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the
Philippines, said in a statement.
The 21-day march is being organized by Fr. Edwin Gariguez, executive secretary
of the CBCP's committee for social action. It began last week in Cagayan de Oro
City, and is expected to reach the Senate in Pasay City by May 24, the feast
day of Our Lady, Help of Christians. The CBCP's Episcopal Commission for the
Laity is among the organizers of the march.
It is the latest move in the majority-Catholic country that protests the
revival of a harsh death penalty in the country.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that the death penalty may be used
"if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against
the unjust aggressor." However, it adds, such cases today "are very rare, if
not practically nonexistent." The 3 most recent Popes have been vocally opposed
to the death penalty.
In 2006, under the administration of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo,
the Philippines repealed legislation that imposed the death penalty for certain
"heinous" crimes.
But a bill seeking to revive the death penalty is 1 of the priorities of
current President Rodrigo Duterte, who has frequently clashed with Church
authorities over his violent and unrelenting war on drugs.
Despite opposition from the Church, to which more than 80 % of Filipinos
belong, as well as the United Nations and other human rights groups, the House
of Representatives approved a 3rd and final reading on the bill in March.
However, the measure is not expected to do as well in the Senate.
Reviving death penalty laws is against international law, according to the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, of which the Philippines
is a signatory.
The bishops of the country have been outspoken in their opposition to the death
penalty revival for months.
In January, Archbishop Villegas said the bishops "unequivocally oppose
proposals and moves to return the death penalty into the Philippine legal
system." "We urge the government to champion life for all!" he said at the
time.
The opposition march will pass various through the dioceses of Cebu, Palo,
Caceres, Lipa, Legaspi, and Lucena, and will eventually lead to the Senate of
the Philippines.
Throughout the march, the pilgrims are planning stops to raise awareness of
their opposition to the bill, and to inform citizens of how the bill would
further a culture of death.
The highlight of the pilgrimage is a gathering in the Rizal Park on May 19,
which is expected to draw 30,000 anti-death penalty advocates, including
students from Catholic universities.
(source: Catholic News Agency)
SCOTLAND:
More than 50 years on, this retired lawyer is still haunted by his client's
execution in a Scottish prison
Most people, early in their careers, have a moment that shapes and defines the
rest of their working life.
When Len Murray's moment came it wasn't so much a shaping, as a shaking to the
core.
He was a 27-year-old lawyer in the Scottish city of Glasgow, and his
19-year-old client had just been hanged.
"The young man in question was hanged on the 22nd of December 1960," Mr Murray
said.
"He had never offended before, he came from a family to whom trouble of any
sort was unknown.
"His parents were decent hardworking people and the punishment in fact was not
a punishment of the boy, it was a punishment of his family."
The young man's name was Tony Miller.
Mr Murray was the junior defence lawyer, or to use the Scottish term, a
pleader, on the Miller case.
Mr Murray said while there is little doubt Miller was guilty of killing a man,
his punishment most certainly did not fit the circumstances of the crime.
The law of the time insisted the death penalty be imposed because the killing
occurred during a robbery.
Miller's accomplice, who had masterminded the crime and then blamed his friend,
was only 17 and ineligible for the death penalty.
Tens of thousands signed a plea for clemency, which authorities in London
ignored.
"I had no particular view on the rights or wrongs of capital punishment but my
experience in Tony Miller's case made me a pretty bitter abolitionist," he
said.
"I'm not entirely sure if I have forgiven our society for having taken the life
of that boy."
Time limits to speed up cases
The 19-year-old was the last man hanged in Glasgow, and the 2nd to last in
Scotland.
The lasting effect on Mr Murray was to forge a lifelong, passionate advocacy of
timely and fair justice.
That passion has brought the now-retired pleader to Adelaide to deliver the
annual Bray Oration, named in honour of the late chief justice of SA, John
Bray.
Mr Murray spoke about a particular feature of Scottish law: time limits in
which criminal matters must be dealt with at trial.
"In the past half-dozen years new time limits have been brought in to speed up
the disposal of criminal cases," Mr Murray said.
"For a person in custody [if the time limit isn't met] they are released with
no further ado. In some cases failure to bring cases within that time limit may
bring about the end of the prosecution all together."
Mr Murray said there were protections to ensure defence teams did not try to
seek an advantage by purposely delaying a case.
"I can't imagine the circumstances in which that would happen, but in any
event, time limits may almost always be moved along if a cause is shown," Mr
Murray said.
Speeding up court processes has some resonance in South Australia, because the
state's district court system has a 19-month backlog.
"I'm pretty horrified by that," Mr Murray said.
"It's the old saying justice delayed, is justice denied, and I'm not sure many
of us would disagree."
Sharing a passion for words
Chief Justice Chris Kourakis has told the ABC that South Australia suffers
unacceptable delays in the District Court, affecting the quality of criminal
justice delivered in the state.
Mr Murray's Bray oration was not all prose and procedure though.
The pleader took time to dwell on his other favourite subject: poetry.
Specifically the poetry, and other writings of Scotland's most famous literary
figure, Robert Burns.
Mr Murray is dean of the guild of Robert Burns Speakers, delivering more than
400 after dinner speeches on the subject.
"The contribution Robert Burns made to literature and society is enormous," Mr
Murray said.
"When he was writing in the later part of the 18th century, he was expressing
notions of the equality of man, these are ideas that led the Americans to
independence and the French to revolution ... these ideas were anathema in
Great Britain as it then was."
The poet and the lawyer have much in common. Both ply their trade through
language, neither is of much use if they speak doggerel. So it is unsurprising
a lawyer would love poetry.
It is fitting Mr Murray shares this particular passion with the man his oration
commemorates. Chief justice Bray was known for both his elegant judgments and
his poetry.
Outside the judge's former home in Adelaide's Hurtle Square, there is a plinth
recording one of his poems.
It is a homage to the pigeons with whom the slightly irascible Bray shared the
square and a slice of bread: a ritual that's continued to this day.
The last line reads, "so fly off bludging crew and don't shit on my shoe".
"It's not Burns, it doesn't quite rival him." Mr Murray observed of the poem.
"Nonetheless, I have great admiration for John Bray and I confess, I wish I had
met him."
(source: abc.net.au)
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