May 14
BANGLADESH:
Top court adjourns hearing on review pleas of war criminal Sayedee and
government
The Appellate Division has started hearing 2 review petitions filed over war
crimes convict Delwar Hossain Sayedee's verdict, which commuted his death
sentence to prison until death.
Delwar filed a review petition seeking acquittal while the state seeks to
revive the death penalty.
A 5-member bench led by Chief Justice SK Sinha started the hearing on Sunday
and adjourned it until Monday, an hour later.
Advocate Khandaker Mahbub Hossain argued for the Jamaat leader while Attorney
General Mahbubey Alam represented the state.
The trial of Sayedee began at the International Crimes Tribunal-1 in 2011 and a
verdict was pronounced in 2013.
Of the 20 charges against him, Sayedee was given the death penalty for 2 --
the murders of Ibrahim Kutti and Bisabali, and for setting fire to Hindu
households in Pirojpur in 1971.
The Supreme Court verdict, delivered in 2014, sentenced Sayedee on 5 charges of
the 20 that were framed against him.
The verdict reduced Sayedee's death sentence for Ibrahim Kutti's murder to
imprisonment for 12 years.
In its 2nd appeal verdict in a war crimes case, the Supreme Court sentenced
Sayedee to prison until death for 3 charges.
These include the murder of Bisabali and arson in a Hindu neighbourhood,
abduction and rape of 3 sisters of Gauranga Saha.
Saha was a prosecution witness and identified Sayedee as the man who had handed
over his sisters to the Pakistani army to be taken away as sex slaves. They
were returned after 3 days.
Sayedee was also sentenced to prison until death on charges of forcible
conversions of 100-150 Hindus.
6 other charges were also proven beyond doubt but no sentencing followed as he
had already been given the death penalty.
15 months after the verdict was delivered, the Supreme Court published the full
verdict in the matter on Dec 31, 2015, paving the way for reviews.
On Jan 12, 2016, the state filed a petition for a review of the verdict and 5
days later, Sayedee's plea seeking acquittal was filed.
(source: bdnews24.com)
SUDAN:
Activist faces death for dumping Islam
Mr. Mohamed Al-Dosogy, an activist who tried to dump Islam for atheism, is in
trouble in Sudan where authorities ordered his arrest for apostasy which
attracts death penalty.
Article 126 of Sudan's 1991 Penal Code imposes the death penalty on offenders
found guilty of apostasy.
The section defined apostasy as a crime that is committed by any Muslim who
advocates for the renunciation of the creed of Islam or publicly renounces his
or her faith.
He was released on Friday by the police on the order of a judge, APA has said.
The Sudanese police released the human rights activist, facing an apostasy case
after attempting to abandon Islam for atheism.
The police said Mohamed Al-Dosogy was mentally challenged and could not be
punished for his alleged crime.
(source: Royal News)
IRAN----execution
Prisoner Hanged on Murder Charges in Tabriz Central Prison
A prisoner identified as Davoud Fateminasb was reportedly hanged at Tabriz
Central Prison on murder charges.
According to a report by the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, the execution was
carried out on Tuesday May 9 and the prisoner had been arrested 3 years ago on
murder charges. The prisoner was reportedly sent for execution 2 months ago,
but his death penalty sentence was suspended last minute.
Iranian official sources, including the Judiciary and the media, have not
announced this execution.
(source: iranhr.net)
************
Iran Regime's Parliamentarian: Rouhani Always Called for Public Execution
According to state run media, on Wednesday, Mojtaba Zollnour, member of the
regime's parliament, accused Rouhani as being part and parcel of all the
executions carried out in this regime, after recent revelations regarding the
extent of executions carried out by the regime, and stated: "Regarding the
Islamic execution verdicts carried out, which Mr. President questioned in his
visit to Hamedan, he has to keep in mind that the people have not forgotten,
this same Mr. Rouhani in 1980 would chant bring them and have them executed in
public and in Friday prayer sermons."
He continued, "Today Mr. Rouhani! Why do you raise such issues?"
On 9 May in his trip to Hamedan Rouhani, pointing to the hardline candidates
Ebrahim Raiesi and Ghalibaf stated, "We don'y want Exclusivists. We don't want
those who sit behind desks and sign verdicts".
(source: ncr-iran.org)
PAKISTAN:
Death penalty under defective criminal justice system opposed
Speakers at a 1-day conference on 'Moving away from death penalty in Pakistan'
organised by the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) on Saturday
reflected on capital punishment and what it meant for Pakistani society.
"Until 2014, there was a moratorium on the death penalty in Pakistan. Then when
it was lifted after the terrible Army Public School incident, it was said that
capital punishment applies only to terrorist-related cases, which did not
happen, of course," said member, Sindh NCHR Anis Haroon.
She regretted that the poor in Pakistan, who could not afford a good lawyer,
spent years in jail before being hanged finally, which was like making them
serve 2 sentences.
"Pakistan's criminal justice system is defective," said Justice Ali Nawaz
Chohan, chairman NCHR. "And no, it not just the poor who are suffering and
paying the price for not getting a good defence because there is also the case
of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto before us. He was not a poor man,"
he added.
"The law is not settled and jurisprudence exploits it. The best jurisprudence
has unique courts but here we have Common Law, Sharia law, antiterrorist
courts, drug courts, etc. There is a diversity of courts here," he said.
Veteran journalist and human rights advocate I.A. Rehman said that it all
boiled down to killing. "It is even worse when done by the state. There are
people spending years in prison and reforming as a result of that and we kill
them when they become better human beings," he said.
"There was this man in prison, who educated himself up to the level of PhD and
educated so many other inmates, but then he was hanged. There is this other
man, who became an artist behind bars but then he was hanged as well," he said.
"And then, too, you are not punishing the killer by ending his life, you are
punishing his family," he said.
Barrister Faisal Siddiqui said that while there was an intellectual
international consensus against the death penalty, Pakistan was moving in the
opposite direction. "Secular and Islamic provisions have made hotchpotch of our
Constitution. We are a traumatised and brutalised society, which our state
exploits," he said.
Senator Saeed Ghani asked if anyone thought that a suicide bomber would be
afraid of the death penalty. "And still we talk about reserving the death
penalty for terrorists," he said.
(source: dawn.com)
INDIA:
Nayana Pujari rape case: Death sentence awarded to 3 convicts
8 years after the crime, a special court here yesterday convicted 3 accused for
the abduction, gang rape, and murder of a software engineer.
Special Judge L L Yenkar awarded death sentence to the trio - Yogesh Raut,
Mahesh Thakur and Vishwas Kadam, a day after convicting them in the sensational
gang-rape-cum-murder case. "Despite Chaudhari playing an equal role in the
crime, why was he let off the hook?" asked Defence lawyer B.A. Aloor. The 4th
accused later raped the victim.
However, the prosecution while defending its move to make Choudhary an approver
in the case said that he was misled by the others who told him that the victim
was a sex worker. However, he later mustered courage and agreed to turn an
approver in the case. No charges were framed against him since then.
Special Public Prosecutor Harshad Nimbalkar forcefully argued for the death
penalty, calling the crime "the rarest of rare cases", considering the
brutality the victim suffered.
Former police inspector Deepak Sawant, then in-charge of Yerawada Police
station, who attended every hearing though he has retired, said, "Based on
mobile data and other cyber information, we arrested Yogesh Raut".
The 28-year-old software engineer was kidnapped on the evening of October 7,
2009, from Kharadi-Mundhwa bypass when she was on her way home. She was raped
again by the four in the moving auto before being strangulated. They had also
withdrawn Rs 61,000 from her bank account using her ATM card.
They subsequently strangled her with her scarf, smashed her head with a large
stone to mangle her face and dumped her body in the forests of Zarewadi from
where it was recovered after 2 days.
"The victim was murdered in cold blood and the criminals showed no mercy".
The accused was kidnapped and raped inside the auto. "After strangulating her,
the killers attempted to wipe out traces of her identity by attempting to
disfigure her", said Mr. Nimbalkar.
The court is to hear tomorrow the arguments on quantum of sentences for the 3
convicts.
The CCTV footage from the area showed 4 men - the taxi driver Yogesh Raut, the
IT firm's security guard Raju Chaudhari, offered Pujari a lift in their
vehicle. Raut said he had been "wrongly accused" by the approver, Chadhuri.
The victim's husband Abhijit Pujari, and sisters Manisha G. and Madhuri J. who
had demanded the death penalty after the conviction May 8, expressed their
"relief and satisfaction" about the verdict to the media. Mr. Pujari said
justice had finally been served with this sentence.
(source: appsforpcdaily.com)
*******************
What happens after a court hands down the death penalty in India?----A
long-drawn out process determines whether the convict is actually executed.
Executing a death sentence is a long process in India; it can take between 7
and 11 years in some instances. In many cases, the sentence is commuted to life
imprisonment, with actual execution remaining the exception rather than the
rule.
So, there is a large gap between the number of death penalties handed out and
actual executions. The video above explains all that happens between the
sentencing and the execution. With several steps and decisions involved, the
actual execution doesn't usually take place quickly.
In the past few years, there have been only 3 executions: of Ajmal Kasab for
the Mumbai terror attack (2012), of Afzal Guru for the Parliament terror attack
(2013), and of Yakub Memon for the Mumbai serial blasts (2015).
According to Section 354(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code, the judge is
required to provide "special reasons" for awarding the death sentence in the
first place, and only in the "rarest of rare" cases.
However, there is no statutory definition of "rarest of rare" cases.
In the 1980 case of Bachan Singh Versus The State of Punjab, the Supreme Court
said: "Death penalty should be imposed when collective conscience of the
society is so shocked that it will expect the holders of the judicial power
centre to inflict death penalty irrespective of their personal opinion as
regards desirability of otherwise of retaining death penalty."
Recently, the death penalty has been upheld in the 2012 Delhi gang rape case
for 4 of the5 adults found guilty of raping and causing the death of Jyoti
Singh. The 5th had committed suicide earlier, while the 6th perpetrator was a
juvenile at the time of the crime. The Supreme Court declared: "If ever a case
called for hanging, this was it."
(source: scroll.in)
PHILIPPINES:
University leaders call on Senate to reject death penalty bill
University leaders on Friday released a statement urging senators not to vote
for House Bill 4727 or the death penalty bill.
In a statement, they said there is "no reason for us to bring back this
inhumane form of punishment."
"The kind of justice promoted by the death penalty, an eye-for-an-eye
vindictiveness, is not the kind of justice we should seek and promote in our
country," the statement read.
The leaders gave 6 arguments as to why the death penalty should not be revived,
such as it is "anti-poor, violates international commitments, has not been
proven conclusively to deter crime, will not solve the drug problem, will not
dispense justice, and the ultimate violation of the human right to live."
They also thanked the senators who are against the bill, appealed to those in
favor to "reconsider their stand," and called upon the undecided not to vote
for the bill.
"[We] believe and are reminded by our education that in crafting policies for
our country, we ought to be guided by ethical principles and grounded by
evidence," they said.
The signatories of the statement are leaders of Assumption College, Ateneo de
Manila University, Ateneo de Cagayan, De La Salle University, De La Salle
Philippines, San Beda College, St. Scholastica's College, University of the
Philippines Diliman and Manila, University of Santo Tomas, and Xavier School.
The senate committee on justice is expected to tackle the bill this month.
Last week, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella emphasized the importance
of the bill after a Pulse Asia survey showed a decrease in the number of
Filipinos in favor of reviving the death penalty.
Last month, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said the bill is "already
dead in the Senate," while senators in favor of the bill challenged his
statement.
In March, the bill was passed on the third and final reading in the chamber,
with 217 lawmakers voting in favor, 54 against, and 1 abstention.
Under the measure, only drug-related offenses would be punishable by death.
In February, lawmakers removed rape, plunder and treason from the coverage of
the bill.
(source: abs-cbn.com)
INDONESIA:
Surviving death row and life after
How do I resume life after losing 18 years of it to prison and death row? Can I
just walk back in and pick up the pieces or do I have to start a new? Will the
people around me judge me for my ordeal? Do I have to conceal my identity?
Would I have to exist as an outcast? Would I have to buy my meals hurriedly and
rush to a corner to eat them to avoid attention?
Fortunately, these are questions many of us will never ever have to ask
ourselves. But for 38-year-old Teng Howe Sing, they were the very questions
that haunt him constantly during his time behind bars.
19 years ago, Teng was a normal 19-year-old college student in Sibu. It was his
1st time living on his own outside his hometown Kapit and he savoured his
new-found freedom.
Being a social butterfly, he had friends in various circles and spent his days,
focusing solely on his friendships and school. His new-fangled priorities,
however, led to a series of events that caused his 'new rosy lifestyle' to come
crashing down on March 17, 1999, when he was charged with drug trafficking.
"On that fateful day, a friend of mine asked me if I could do him a favour by
picking up a parcel for him in Sibu as he was in Sarikei. I obliged and went
along with another friend to pick up the parcel," Teng recounted.
It was a simple favour most of us would agree to without a 2nd thought but for
Teng, that simple favour was the beginning of the end because unbeknownst to
him, the parcel contained 371.12 grams of cannabis.
Teng was arrested following a police ambush shortly after picking up the parcel
and was sent to jail after being held in custody for 13 days. Following a
string of bad legal advice and conflicting police accounts of the day's events,
Teng was convicted of drug trafficking and given the death penalty.
He sought appeal after appeal to fight the injustice but his attempts were
rebuffed at every turn. His final failed appeal was made on Jan 24, 2009 when
the Federal Court announced "it did not wish to disturb the lower court's
findings".
Pardon from the Governor
In a last-ditch bid to save his life, Teng and his supporters sought a pardon
from the then Head of State Tun Datuk Patinggi Abang Muhammad Salahuddin Abang
Barieng.
Abang Salahuddin felt compassion for Teng's case and granted him a pardon on
July 1, 2013, reducing his death sentence to life imprisonment - which was 20
years at the time. Teng was calm and peaceful when he heard the news. It was a
joyous occasion, and his family, friends and supporters throughout the entire
ordeal, were relieved he had escaped the gallows.
Having already served a number of years in prison, Teng's release date was set
just 3 years later - on Dec 22, 2016.
With 3 years of prison left to serve, he spent his time contemplating about his
life, his experiences and his future.
He thought about how he would live after spending 10 years of his life in an 8
by 8 square foot room with a single window.
He also thought about ways to reduce the burden he would place on his family
besides his own future, goals and aspirations. With time on his hands, Teng did
a lot of soul-searching and came to just 1 conclusion, "I want to be a normal
person again."
Striking a chord
While on death row, a guard told him, "If I were you, I'd kill myself. Because
then, my parents would only have to cry for 3 days and nights. Instead, your
parents now have to grieve every day not knowing when it will be over."
It was a crass comment made in an attempt at humour but it struck a chord with
Teng.
"I mulled over it for a while and came to realise it would be a lie to say my
parents would only cry for 3 days and nights. They bore and raised me and this
is something that cannot be dismissed so easily. I've learnt the most important
thing in the world to me is my parents.
"I think they might face a whole life of regret, guilt and remorse instead if I
did such a thing (commit suicide). That, in itself, is worse than me choosing
to live and depend on them for my well-being," he said.
The guard's comment did, however, impact Teng in a positive way as it further
reinforced his desire to be self-sufficient and responsible when he re-entered
society.
While Teng's goal of wanting to be a normal person again might sound
simplistic, it was far from that as he wanted to make amends and resume his own
life.
Trying to find his place in life again
Teng (front) with his former classmate Su Hong Chong and his wife. Su owns a
famous kampua stall at Kampua Kiat Caf??? and out of goodwill and support for
his friend, Su continues to charge Teng a minimal amount for food and drink. He
says he will continue doing so until Teng???s life is once again stable.
He wanted to settle in his state and live openly as Teng Howe Sing and no one
else because it is the life his parents had given him, and one his parents,
family, friends and supporters value highly. "I fell down here in my home state
and it's here where I need to stand back up again."
Telling his story
Teng explained it was because of this resolution during his time in prison that
he chose to publish several articles he wrote under his real name.
"I decided I couldn't hide what has happened to me. I wanted the world to know
my story, that I was tricked into picking up drugs, that I used to be in jail
and that I have escaped the gallows.
"If I were to introduce myself to someone, I would be upfront with who I am
because I don't want to 2nd-guess myself whether or not the person would still
be my friend if he or she knew the truth.
"I wanted to have friends who knew my history but still decided to stick
around. Then they would be real friends. I want people to say - 'Oh he is out
and he still has so many friends around him'."
It was rather strange to hear Teng emphasising the need to have friends when it
was the very action of his previous 'friends' that got him into deep trouble
and stole 18 years of his life.
Teng said what he did in prison was time and during that time, he had
contemplated for a very long time about the concept of 'friends'.
"I fell because I chose friends over family and during my time in prison, I did
think about exacting revenge and not trusting anyone again. However, as my
release date approached, I started to think all these thoughts about vengeance
and distrust were not worth it. As Nelson Mandela once said 'If I didn't leave
my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison.'
"Besides, I am standing up again because of friends - new friends who have
supported me by treating me like a human being again and who have also taken me
swimming, to picnics and mountain-climbing expeditions."
In the 5 short months since his release, these friends have helped Teng
immensely to experience the joys of life again and because of that, he has
decided if he is to go on living, he needs to live a more meaning life.
3 goals
Now, his 3 big goals in life are to maintain a good relationship with his
family, give back to society and stand on his own feet. He hoped his story and
experience would serve as an eye-opener to young people, especially those from
smaller towns and villages who might be heading to larger cities.
"In smaller places like Kapit, Serian and Sarikei, kids will be more trusting
because they grow up in a small environment where everyone knows everyone, and
because of that, there is a higher sense of trust within the communities.
"However, there seems to be issues of drug abuse right now around the state and
many youngsters appear to be using," he noted.
As such, Teng hoped the younger generation will be careful about who they
choose to trust. He also urged them to consider the grave consequences of
dabbling in drugs. Through such advice and cautioning, he hoped he could give
back to the local community.
Teng said he doesn't want these youngsters to lose faith in humanity but be
more alert to its ugly side and look out more for themselves.
"I don't want to have gone through my ordeal for nothing. I believe God placed
me there to witness suffering so I could use my experience to prevent others
from going down the same path and to give back to society."
Teng's mission to help society doesn???t end there as he also wishes to share
life lessons he has learnt from his time in prison. During incarceration, he
said, the most important thing he learned is that parents are the most
important people in the world.
Throughout his entire ordeal, his parents, especially his mother, stayed strong
beside him. They kept him sane, gave him hope and made him feel loved and that
life is worth living.
"In those 18 years, my mother had gone through so much for me. She not only had
to take care of my father's ailing health and the household but also travel
back and forth to visit me in prison. I can't begin to describe the suffering
she endured and I don't know how to ever fully repay her."
Teng said when he was suicidal while facing the death penalty, it was always
the thought of his mother that kept him strong and sane.
"I almost lost everything, including my mother and my family, so I need to
treasure them."
Because of this, Teng's number 1 goal in life is to maintain that love between
him and his family. And he hopes others will follow suit because he believes no
one loves us more than our own parents. Even before his release, he had already
started working on this goal.
Teng enjoying life again with friends and family.
Mother's love
Some years ago, the boy who grew up across the street of his home was
incarcerated for drug abuse. The boy had overdosed on drugs and in desperation,
his mother called the ambulance to save her son's life even if it meant he
would be jailed for dabbling in drugs. The boy survived but in anger, cut ties
with his mother, believing it was her fault that he now had to serve a prison
sentence.
Teng said his parents called him in prison to tell him the news.
"They said the woman across the street couldn't stop crying because her son
refused to speak to her or let her visit. It was a very sad story. While
growing up, I remembered seeing how much the woman loved her son, how she
treated him like gold and how he could do no wrong in her eyes."
As Teng was still serving his life sentence at the time, he went to look for
the boy in prison and after finding him, told him, "Look at me, I've been here
for 18 years, much longer than you have and will ever be. Do you think the
friends you have now will still visit you as years go by? No, the one person
who will do that is your mother." The boy was greatly moved and shortly after,
made up with his mother.
"For me, that's one of the most touching experiences because I was able to help
someone to see the light and realise how important his mother, parents, and
family are."
"To my own mother, I just want to say this - I hope I can use my whole life to
continue loving and repaying you and never letting your tears fall again
because of me. I only want you to have happy tears - never sad tears - and be
happy every day as I will try hard to succeed in finding my place in life."
Faith in humanity affirmed
While Teng's story is one borne out of the ugliness of humanity, it is also one
that celebrates humanity's beauty. Without the help and support of so many
kind-hearted people, he may very well have taken the advice from the prison
guard or kept on harbouring the anguish and bitterness of his experience.
Judy Wong was among those who worked tirelessly to save Teng's life. She is his
strongest pillar and he regards her as his 2nd mother.
Wong is a former principal of Methodist Pilley Institute (MPI). She was
instated before Teng's time in prison. She heard of his plight from several MPI
lecturers discussing how Teng was used by his friends as a drug mule. She felt
very disturbed and took steps to find out more. After her 1st visit and
encounter with Teng, she somehow believed in him. She also felt the inner pains
and sufferings of Teng's most gracious, loving and unfailing mother. Thus began
a long process of helping them in seeking for more legal help and writing
letters of appeal for pardon.
On why she went to such lengths for a complete stranger, Wong said, "It was
God's love that compelled me to do so. Teng was a fine and newly transformed
young man. I strongly believed that he should be given a 2nd chance to live and
to be used by God. Looking back, I thank God that I obeyed His nudging. I dread
to think of the consequences otherwise."
This seemingly simple motivation of Wong not only helped Teng to regain his
life but also find religion.
"Another reason why I have been able to let go of hate is finding religion.
When I saw Judy who has no relation and obligation towards me working so hard
for my well-being, I was greatly moved. Not once did she come and push religion
on to me but seeing her sincerity to help me gave me the motivation to continue
living with God in my life," he said.
The day that Teng walked out of the prison as a free man was only less than 10
days before Wong's retirement, so she said "That was my best retirement gift!"
Apart from Wong, Teng also wants to thank many other people who visited him in
prison. Special thanks go to Datuk Yii Ming Tang and Chang Jih Ren for their
help and support, and the See Hua Daily News for their humanitarian efforts in
providing the State Prisons Department free newspaper subscriptions.
"The newspapers kept me in touch with the outside world at the time and their
motivational articles kept my spirits up. And from them, I have learnt to write
articles to tell my story," he said.
(source: theborneopost.com)
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