Dec. 15
IRAN----execution
Prisoner Hanged On Murder Charges in Southern Iran
A prisoner was hanged at Shiraz Central Prison on the charge of murdering a
forest guard.
According to a report by Iran Environment and Wildlife Watch, on the morning of
Thursday December 14, a prisoner was executed at Shiraz Central Prison.
The prisoner was convicted of murdering a forest guard, named Manuchehr
Shojayian, on Friday June 24, 2016. However, no information regarding the
identity of the prisoner and the details of his case has been published.
According to Iran Human Rights annual report on the death penalty, 142 of the
530 execution sentences in 2016 were implemented due to murder charges. There
is a lack of a classification of murder by degree in Iran which results in
issuing death sentence for any kind of murder regardless of intensity and
intent.
(source: Iran Human Rights)
IRAQ:
UN 'shocked and appalled' at mass-execution in Iraq
The UN on Friday harshly criticised the mass-hanging of 38 men at a prison in
southern Iraq this week, urging Baghdad to immediately halt all executions.
Iraq on Thursday hanged 38 jihadists belonging to the Islamic State group or
Al-Qaeda for terrorism offences at a prison in the southern city of Nasiriyah,
according to provincial authorities.
It was the largest number of executions in Iraq on a single day since September
25, when 42 people were put to death in the same prison.
"We are deeply shocked and appalled at the mass execution on Thursday," United
Nations human rights office spokeswoman Liz Throssell told reporters in Geneva.
The hangings, she warned, "once again raises huge concerns about the use of the
death penalty in the country".
The UN had determined that all of the 38 executed prisoners were men and had
been convicted for terrorism-related crimes, but could say nothing more about
their identities, she said.
A prison source however told AFP that they were all Iraqis, but that one also
held Swedish nationality.
The executions came after Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Saturday declared
victory against the Islamic State group after a three-year campaign by
government forces backed by a US-led coalition to retake territory seized by
the jihadists.
The UN and rights watchdog Amnesty International have repeatedly voiced
concerns about the use of the death penalty in Iraq, which ranks among the
world's top executioners, after China, Iran and Saudi Arabia.
"Given the flaws of the Iraqi justice system, it appears extremely doubtful
that strict due process and fair trial guarantees were followed in these 38
cases," Throssell warned.
"This raises the prospect of irreversible miscarriages of justice and
violations of the right to life," she said.
The UN has learned of 106 executions in Iraq so far this year, including the
mass-hangings in September.
"We once again urge the Iraqi authorities to halt all executions, establish an
immediate moratorium on the use of the death penalty and carry out an urgent
and comprehensive review of the criminal justice system," Throssell said.
(source: digitaljournal.com)
KENYA:
Landmark death penalty judgement must lead to full abolition of cruel
punishment
Commenting after the Kenyan Supreme Court declared mandatory death sentencing
unconstitutional, Oluwatosin Popoola, Amnesty International's Adviser on the
Death Penalty, said:
"This landmark judgment is a significant step towards complete abolition of the
ultimate cruel and inhumane form of punishment.
"It's now time for the Kenyan authorities to take the required legal steps to
abolish the death penalty fully and join the 105 countries that have completely
consigned the punishment to history."
Background
The judgement was handed down following an application by 2 men who have been
on death row for the last 14 years. It in effect means judges now have
discretion and will no longer automatically sentence to death people convicted
of murder or armed robbery - the only 2 crimes that still attract the death
penalty in Kenya.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases and under any
circumstances, regardless of the nature of the crime, the characteristics of
the offender, or the method used by the state to carry out the execution.
(source: Amnesty International)
INDIA:
Death penalty will bolster the dignity of women, says court
Claiming that the decision to award death penalty to Ameerul Islam would
bolster the dignity of women in society, the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court
observed that the brutal crime in the Jisha case was a clear demonstration of
exceptional depravity and extreme brutality towards a helpless woman. "Her
resistance at the cost of her life could be termed as a reflection of gender
justice that shocked the collective conscience of the society. Hence, sympathy
in any form would be misplaced and it would shake the confidence of the public
in the administration of criminal justice system," the court said in its
verdict.
The court observed that life had been a continuous battle for the victim.
"She lived in a small house at Vattolippady canal puramboku (a common land
belonging to the government) till her death, braving financial crunch and
neighbours' disdain for the family. Her father, late Kuttikattuparambil Pappu,
had abandoned the family when she was a small child. However, she took the
challenge to overcome all the hurdles that came in her way and her dream to
become an advocate was just about to become a reality.
Her mother Rajeswary had been a strong pillar of support for her and the mother
dreamt to see her daughter enrolled as an advocate so that the family can hope
for a secured future," the court said. "However, all their dreams ended when
the accused mercilessly raped and murdered her in an extremely brutal,
grotesque, diabolical, revolting and dastardly manner to arouse the intense and
extreme indignation of the society. She was subjected to rape while she was all
alone at her residence.
Her clothes were torn apart and partially pulled away from her body. When the
victim persistently resisted the attempt of rape, the convict inflicted 38
injuries all over her body, out of which a majority of these injuries were on
the abdomen and on the external genitalia that caused the death of the victim."
The injuries noted in the postmortem report are self-explanatory to show the
inhuman behaviour of the convict. It is disheartening to note that, had the
victim consented to the evil act of the convict, she would not have been
subjected to brutal murder, the court said. "Though the defence counsel had
made some wild suggestions with respect to the involvement of Anarul Islam and
Hardath Baruwa in the crime, no positive evidence is brought in or adduced by
the accused so as to even think about the complicity of another person in the
crime.
"No incriminating evidence is brought out in evidence for the investigation to
implicate any other person other than the accused. The investigation does not
reveal the complicity of any other person in the crime." "In the absence of any
other positive evidence to show the involvement of any other person, the only
irresistible conclusion is that the accused and the accused alone has committed
the crime using a shawl and knife," it added.
'Duty of the court to award death penalty'
In awarding the verdict, the court observed that when the collective conscience
of the community is so shocked, it is the duty of the court to inflict death
penalty, irrespective of personal opinion with regard to the desirability of
imposing the death penalty. "In the interest of justice, the law leans in
accordance with the perception of society and not 'judge-centric'. Hence this
is a fit case for awarding death sentence to the accused," the court said.
(source: The New Indian Express)
INDONESIA:
11 Taiwanese to face Indonesian firing squad next year
Despite a brief reprieve this month, the 11 Taiwanese citizens who have been
sentenced to death for drug offenses are still on track to face the firing
squad as early as January of 2018, announced the Indonesian government Tuesday
(Dec. 12), reported SETN.
The 11 Taiwanese sentenced to death for drug trafficking by Indonesian district
and high courts have been identified as Chen Chia-wei, Wang An-kang, and Lo
Chih-cheng, as well as 8 other Taiwanese citizens who have had their names
partially concealed with the following surnames: Lin, Chen, Chuang, Li, Shih,
Wu, Hung, and Yeh.
Although 8 of the 11 have not completed the judicial process, experts believe
that given Indonesia's track record with death penalty cases, their chances of
appealing their sentences are slim.
All death row inmates, including the Taiwanese were given a brief reprieve on
Tuesday, when Indonesian prosecutors disclosed that they will not execute any
more prisoners for the remainder of this year. However, they added that
executions will resume as soon as Jan. 2018.
As part of the country's war on drugs, Indonesian President Joko Widodo is
intensifying the severity of punishments, and has even told his police officers
to "gun down" drug traffickers if necessary, especially foreigners, said John
Chen, head of the Taipei Economic and Trade Office in Indonesia. Chen was
quoted by CNA as warning Taiwanese citizens "not for one moment to consider
smuggling drugs to Indonesia."
Taiwan also uses shooting as the main method to execute criminals condemned to
death, though it is delivered by a single handgun to the heart or the brain
stem, as opposed to a squad of riflemen aiming for the heart, as is the case in
Indonesia.
(source: Taiwan News)
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