August 22
IRAN:
Trial of Stockholm academic facing death penalty in Iran begins
The trial of a Stockholm academic who is detained in Iran on what Amnesty
International calls 'extremely vague grounds' and could face the death penalty
is set to get under way.
Researcher Ahmadreza Djalali has been detained since last April. He was
arrested in Tehran for espionage and 'enmity with God' - a crime which in Iran
can result in the death penalty - during a visit for a conference last year.
An Iranian citizen, the academic has a permanent residence permit in Sweden,
where he conducted research in disaster medicine at the prestigious Karolinska
Institute, and lived with his wife and two children. He previously worked at
the University of Eastern piedmont in Italy, and the Italian government
expressed "extreme concern" for his safety in February.
Human rights organization Amnesty International has urged the authorities to
release Djalali or give him a fair and secure trial.
"We hope he will be released. He has been in prison since April last year on
extremely vague grounds," Amnesty Sweden spokesperson Ami Hedenborg said. "You
have to ask yourself what it is really about. There is a great deal of concern
over what may happen."
Hedenborg added that it is impossible to speculate about what may happen, as
the Iranian justice system is difficult to comprehend:
"Iran has an arbitrary legal system which doesn't comply with the international
conditions for a fair trial. It could easily be cancelled or the sentence
announced within 2 minutes".
The trial was previously scheduled to start in early August, but was postponed
when the judge took ill.
"We have asked to attend, but received a refusal," Anne Torngren from
Sweden???s Foreign Ministry told news agency TT. The Swedish embassy has also
applied for permission to visit Djalali.
The researcher's wife admits she is not optimistic about the trial. "I can't
expect anything from my home country," she said.
Djalali launched a hunger strike earlier this year, leading his family to
become concerned about his health.
(source: thelocal.se)
IRAQ:
Iraqi court in Nineveh sentences 4 IS militants to death
Iraqi judicial authorities on Sunday handed down death sentences to 4 Islamic
State (IS) members, including a man who was recruiting militants across
Nineveh.
The execution sentences are the first verdicts issued in Mosul since Iraqi
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced victory against IS in early July.
After 9 months of fierce clashes, the extremist group was ousted from their
last major stronghold and de facto capital in the country.
Judge Abdul Sattar Bayraktar, a spokesman for the Supreme Judicial Council,
said the four suspects who were handed death sentences belonged to the militant
group.
"The 4 men were given the death penalty after being convicted of belonging and
having an allegiance to [IS]," the judge's statement read.
He added the 4 convicted members had been involved in "a number of terrorist
crimes."
"The investigations indicate that one of the terrorists was recruiting fighters
to join the ranks of the organization," Judge Bayraktar noted.
As the militant group continues to lose control in Iraq, more IS militants are
surrendering or being captured by Kurdish Peshmerga and Iraqi security forces.
The number of extremists currently detained and held in Iraqi prisons as well
as how many of those will face the death penalty is unknown.
International humanitarian organizations, including the European Union, have
criticized the Federal Government of Iraq and urge Baghdad to remove the death
penalty.
According to Iraqi forces, over 25,000 IS militants were killed during the
battle to liberate Mosul.
Security forces have now turned their attention to the city of Tal Afar, west
of Mosul, where an estimated 2,000 extremists remain.
(source: kurdistan24.net)
MALDIVES:
Maldives set to restore death penalty as Amnesty International, UN protest
Maldives is set to restore the death penalty due to rising crime and drug
trafficking cases, a senior advisor to President Abdulla Yameen told Reuters
today even as the country comes to grip with the political turmoil in the
country.
The country has never carried out a single death penalty order since 1962 when
the country gained independence from Britain. However, the present regime has
decided to bring the order into practice.
"It is to be used as a deterrent," Mohamed Hussain Shareef, a senior advisor to
Yameen and head of foreign relations of the ruling Progressive Party of
Maldives (PPM) told Reuters in an interview in Colombo.
"At the moment, overwhelmingly the people of Maldives are in support for
implementation. It is a difficult decision for any government. But as a
government, you have to safeguard the lives of innocent people," the minister
added.
The last execution carried out by Maldives was in the pre-independence era back
in 1954, ever since then, successive governments have resisted using the
capital punishment as a mode of execution resorting instead to lethal
injection.
Mohamed Hussain Shareef told Reuters that murders have been rising in the
country with more than fifty reported over the last decade.
The United Nations and Amnesty have called the government not to allow the
death penalty but the government has almost decided to give its stamp of
approval.
Shareef said there are 3 convicted murderers facing capital punishment.
(source: wionews.com)
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