May 30
BANGLADESH:
2 get death penalty for killing ASI Humayun
A speedy trial tribunal of Dhaka on Tuesday sentenced 2 people, including a
woman, to death for killing an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) of Shah Ali Police
Station in 2013.
Judge Abdur Rahman of speedy trial tribunal-4 handed down the verdict in the
morning.
The convicted are Rahima Sultana Rumi, wife of slain ASI Humayun Kabir, and
Rafa-e-Misty.
The court also sentenced Riya, wife of Misty to lifetime imprisonment and fined
her Tk 20,000, in default, to serve 1 more year at jail.
Among the convicted, Misty and Riya remained absconding.
According to prosecution, Rumi with the help of Misty and Ria injected poison
to her husband Humayun and strangulated him to death at their house on 14
December 2013 over family dispute.
On the following day, victim's brother Bazlur Rahman filed a case against them
with Mirpur Model Police Station.
Rumi gave confessional statement before the court.
The court gave verdict after examining all records and deposition of nine
witnesses among 14.
(source: prothom-alo.com)
IRAN----executions
2 Prisoners Executed, 1 of them in Public
On the morning of Sunday May 28, an unidentified prisoner sentenced to death on
rape charges was reportedly hanged in public in Shiraz in front of a crowd of
people. The execution was announced by the state-run news agency Rokna.
On Friday May 26, a prisoner was reportedly hanged at Khorramabad's Parsilon
Prison on the charge of possession and trafficking 850 grams of heroin. The
HRANA human rights news agency has identified the prisoner as Morteza Sanaie,
55 years of age. Iranian official sources, including the media and the
Judiciary, have not announced Morteza Sanaie's execution.
Iranian parliament members had formerly requested from the Judiciary to stop
drug related executions for at least 5,000 prisoners pending further
investigation. However, the request has not stopped the Judiciary from carrying
out death sentences for prisoners with drug related charges.
********************
Prisoner Hanged on Murder Charges
A prisoner was reportedly hanged at Bushehr Central Prison on Tuesday May 23 on
murder charges.
According to the human rights news agency HRANA, the prisoner was imprisoned
for 10 years before he was executed. HRANA has identified the prisoner as Ahmad
Delvari Ahmadpour.
Iranian official sources, including the media and the Judiciary, have not
announced Mr. Ahmadpour's execution.
(source for both: Iran Human Rights)
INDIA:
Apex Court refuses to stay Bhagora's conviction in Bilkis Bano case
The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to grant stay on the conviction of IPS
officer RS Bhagora in the Bilkis Bano case.
Saying that there is no urgency in the matter as the convicted officer has
already undergone the sentence, the apex court listed the plea of IPS officer
for 2nd week of July.
According to reports, the Bombay High Court had on 4 May rejected a CBI plea
that sought death sentence for at least 3 of the 11 convicts in the March 2002
Bilkis Bano gang-rape case in Gujarat.
Last year, the CBI told the court that this was a rarest of rare case and that
death penalty must be awarded to 3 convicts - Jaswant Nai, Govind Nai, and
Sailesh Bhatt - to send out a stern message.
On March 3, 2002, Bilkis Bano along with 16 others were attacked by a mob near
Dahod district's Devgarh Baria village in Gujarat, in the aftermath of the
Godhra train carnage.
At least 8 people from Bilkis' family were killed in this attack while 6 people
reportedly went missing. Bilkis along with 2 of her family members Hussain and
Sadaam survived the incident.
(source: thestatesman.com)
PHILIPPINES:
Rebellion should be punishable by death - VACC
The attack in Marawi City by members of the Maute terrorist group should serve
as a wakeup call for lawmakers to support and speed up the passage of the bill
that seeks to reinstate the death penalty, anti-crime advocates said on Monday.
The Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) said Congress should
prioritize the passage of the death penalty measure and not limit it to
high-level drug trafficking.
Dante Jimenez, founding chairman of the VACC, noted that with the attack by the
Maute Group on Marawi City, lawmakers should include rebellion, terrorism and
plunder on the list of crimes penalized by death.
Jimenez noted that it would be difficult to accept if the militants that
occupied some areas of Marawi City will be meted life sentence considering the
severity of their crimes.
"These terrorist under our present system would only suffer life sentence if
they are arrested and found guilty by the court. Worse, they could be even set
free after President Rodrigo Duterte finishes his term," the VACC head said.
He cited the cases of those who rebelled against the government like senators
Antonio Trillanes 4th and Gregorio Honasan 2nd who were arrested and detained
but were released later.
"It is very disappointing that those who rebel against the government and had
caused death of innocent civilians were set free," Jimenez added.
The House of Representatives has passed on 3rd and final reading its version of
the bill reinstating death penalty in March.
There are 5 death penalty bills pending before the Senate committee on justice
and human rights chaired by Sen. Richard Gordon.
The committee conducted 1 hearing in February and moved to suspend the
proceedings as it awaits the position of the Department of Justice on the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) that prohibits
death penalty
. The ICCPR compels the Philippines and other signatory states to respect and
observe fundamental freedoms. Among these include freedom from arbitrary
deprivation of life and freedom from cruel, inhumane, or degrading punishment.
A recent Pulse Asia survey showed that 67 % of Filipinos support the
reimposition of the death penalty.
(source: Manila Times
ALGERIA:
Ensure Fair Trial for Minority Rights Activists
press release
The Algerian authorities should drop all charges against a leading activist and
his 40 co-defendants that are based on their peaceful activism for the rights
of the Amazigh, or Berber, minority, Human Rights Watch, EuroMed Rights,
Amnesty International, and Front Line Defenders said today. Kamaleddine Fekhar
and most of his co-accused have been detained since July 2015.
Regarding other violence-related charges that the defendants face, the
authorities should immediately release them from pretrial detention unless
there is individual justification in each case of the necessity for their
continued detention after nearly two years. All the detainees are entitled to a
trial within a reasonable time. The defendants face very similar charges,
including murder, terrorism, and other serious offenses that could result in
the death penalty, for their alleged role in the deadly ethnic clashes that
erupted in the Mzab region between 2013 and 2015.
"If Algerian authorities are to try those suspected of instigating and
participating in deadly violence in Ghardaia Province, it should be on the
basis of solid, individualized evidence," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East
director at Human Rights Watch.
The accusation chamber, a pretrial chamber tasked with confirming or rejecting
charges based on a report by an investigative judge, issued its 150-page
decision to refer the case to trial on February 14, 2017. The signatory
organizations have reviewed the report. Algeria's High Court rejected the
defense's appeal of the decision, and the trial opened on May 25.
Fekhar headed the section of the Algerian League for Human Rights in the city
of Ghardaia from 2004 to 2014. In late 2013, he founded the Movement for the
Autonomy of the Mzab, a northern Sahara region, and has condemned the
government for what he called a policy of apartheid and discrimination against
the Mozabites, an Amazigh ethnic minority in the region. Most of the co-accused
are also pro-Amazigh activists who favor autonomy for the Mzab.
"No one should be prosecuted for his peaceful advocacy for rights of
minorities, including for regional autonomy and independence, in compliance
with international obligations of Algeria," declared Michel Tubiana, president
of EuroMed Rights.
Under international human rights law, governments may penalize incitement to
violence, hatred, or discrimination. But laws prohibiting incitement must be
defined in a clear, narrow, and specific way consistent with protecting the
right to freedom of expression. Prosecuting incitement to violence should be
limited to cases in which the incitement is intentional and directly linked to
the violence. Prosecutions for incitement to hatred or discrimination should
never include peaceful advocacy for the rights of a segment of the population
or regional autonomy or independence.
The court rejected requests by the defense lawyers to have their clients
released on bail pending trial, most recently on February 14. The judicial
authorities did not provide specific facts or circumstances to justify the
rejection, as required under international human rights law and standards.
In addition to the flawed charges and evidence, the lengthy pretrial detention
of the accused, without providing a justification in each case of the necessity
for continued detention, violates their rights to liberty and due process,
which include the presumption of release pending trial.
Article 14.3(c) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
ratified by Algeria along with its Optional Protocol, states that "in the
determination of any criminal charge, everyone shall be entitled to be tried
without undue delay." The Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Fair
Trial and Legal Assistance in Africa, adopted by the African Commission on
Human and Peoples' Rights in 1999, stipulate that "unless there is sufficient
evidence that deems it necessary to prevent a person arrested on a criminal
charge from fleeing, interfering with witnesses or posing a clear and serious
risk to others, States must ensure that they are not kept in custody pending
their trial."
"The victims of the tragic events in the Mzab deserve justice, which a deeply
flawed trial cannot serve," said Heba Morayef, North Africa research director
at Amnesty International.
Background information
Fekhar started a hunger strike on January 3, 2017, to demand his release but
suspended it on April 20. Authorities arrested Fekhar and 30 co-defendants on
July 9, 2015, at a house he owns in the city of Ghardaia following the
intercommunal violence that erupted in Ghardaia Province earlier that month,
the latest flare-up in this ethnically tense region. The rest of the accused
were arrested in 2016, on July 26 and December 12.
Violence has erupted sporadically between Mozabites and Arabs in Ghardaia
Province since 2013.One of the deadliest episodes, from July 7 to 10, 2015,
left about 25 people dead and more than 70 injured from both communities, most
from gunfire, according to media reports.
The accusation chamber approved charges against Fekhar that include terrorism,
incitement to hatred or discrimination, distributing material harmful to the
national interest, and defamation of state institutions, all under the penal
code. In addition to those charges, some of his co-defendants were also accused
of forming a criminal gang to commit crimes and premeditated murder. Several of
these offenses are punishable by death.
The accusation chamber's report, which set out the charges, is problematic for
3 reasons: 1st, the report fails to cite incriminating evidence against the
defendants for the offenses that criminalize violence, such as specific
"terrorism" provisions, murder, and arson; 2nd, it includes offenses that
should be abolished because they criminalize peaceful speech that is protected
by international human rights conventions, such as "defaming state
institutions" and "distributing material harmful to the national interest"; and
3rd, it includes offenses that are recognizable, such as incitement to hatred,
discrimination, or violence, but that need to be proven according to narrow and
precise definitions of these offenses, consistent with Algeria's obligation to
respect the right to freedom of expression.
The accusation chamber report cites no evidence indicating that Fekhar or any
co-defendant planned or carried out any act of violence. Instead, it justifies
the charges on the basis of recordings of their speeches, without providing
evidence that they contained incitement to violence; the fact that they held
meetings; and their membership in Amazigh movements. The chamber also
considered the fact that an unidentified individual in the vicinity of Fekhar's
house had targeted the judicial police agents by aiming a firearm and throwing
homemade explosive devices during the arrest operation as evidence that the
defendants were part of a criminal gang. The individual did not injure any of
the police and evaded capture so is therefore not among the defendants.
The accusation chamber's report cites a video of a meeting between Fekhar and
several of the co-accused, dated October 5, 2013. According to the report, in
this video, Fekhar declares that a "divorce" between the Mozabites and the
Arabs is inevitable. He chastises the police for not pursuing those responsible
for violence targeting the Mozabite community, calls the Arabs "invaders" and
"hypocritical," and declares that the "authorities are dictatorial, corrupt,
criminal, repressive" and partial towards the Arab populations.
The report cites another video in which Fekhar reportedly says, "We are in our
land and the lands of our ancestors, the Arabs are not guests but invaders; we
have to get them out of our land and from all of North Africa, Daesh [Islamic
State] is the root of the corruption and the crimes."
As for the others accused, the accusation chamber cites police reports
identifying them as among those attending the meeting shown in the October 2013
video. The chamber also cites statements that the accused made to the police
acknowledging that they are pro-autonomy activists, their presence in Fekhar's
house during the July 9, 2015 arrest operation, and their participation in
marches or demonstrations for the rights of the Mozabites.
In presenting evidence of belonging to a criminal gang and attempting to
destabilize state security, the court lists pro-autonomy groups in which Fekhar
and others were active.
(source: Human Rights Watch)
SOUTH SUDAN:
South Sudan Holds Trial for Troops Accused of Rape, Murder of Aid Workers
South Sudanese soldiers accused of raping at least 5 foreign aid workers and
killing their local colleague last year are due to stand trial in a military
court on Tuesday, a key test of the government's ability to prosecute war
crimes.
Prosecutor Abubaker Mohammed, an army colonel, told Reuters that between 15 to
20 government soldiers face charges including murder, rape and looting during
the attack on the Terrain hotel in the capital Juba on July 11, 2016.
U.N. investigators and rights group have frequently accused both the army and
rebels of murder, torture and rape since the civil war began in 2013, and say
the crimes almost always go unpunished.
"We want to eliminate these crimes within the army," Mohammed said, adding he
would examine the responsibility of senior officers.
"The commander is always responsible for the actions of the soldiers," he said.
"But ... sometimes a soldier can go and commit an offense without the knowledge
of the commander."
The attack, one of the worst on foreign aid workers in South Sudan's civil war,
took place as President Salva Kiir's government troops won a 3-day battle in
Juba over opposition forces loyal to former Vice President Riek Machar.
The 3-year conflict has fractured the country along ethnic lines -- Kiir is an
ethnic Dinka, Machar is a Nuer -- and forced a quarter of the 12 million-strong
population to flee their homes.
During the hours-long attack on the hotel compound, victims phoned U.N.
peacekeepers stationed a mile away and begged for help, but none came. The
military head of the peacekeeping mission was fired and the political head
resigned over the incident.
Survivors speak out
Murderers face a minimum of 10 years in jail with a fine paid to the victim's
family, or a maximum of the death penalty, Mohammed said. Rapists face up to 14
years.
Rebecca Chuol Ungdeng, whose aid worker husband John Gatluak was killed in the
attack, said she feared returning for the trial.
"Why was he killed while he is not a soldier?" she said from exile in Uganda.
"He has no enmity with anyone. Is it because he is Nuer?"
Mohammed said witnesses who could not travel to Juba could testify via video or
send a representative.
However, 5 survivors said they had not been called to testify, raising
questions about the government's ability to carry out a fair trial.
2 of the rape victims said they might return to Juba to testify if their
anonymity and safety was guaranteed.
"The most important outcome for me is to end the culture of impunity," said a
Western woman sexually assaulted by four soldiers. "I don't think it should
just be about us and about our case, but about this larger issue of bringing
justice to these crimes [committed against] many other people as well."
Another Western aid worker, raped by 15 soldiers, said the accused are likely
low-ranking and may have been recruited when they were children.
"I'm much more angry at the senior levels of the army who were aware of the
attack, who knew and did nothing, or more senior soldiers who were there seeing
these things happening and did little," she said.
The then-commander of the presidential guard, Marial Chanuong, declined to
comment. An army spokesmen did not answer calls.
(source: voanews.com)
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