January 17
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO:
Privy Council to consider fate of mentally ill death row prisoner
The United Kingdom-based Privy Council is expected to hand down a ruling on
whether a prisoner who may be mentally ill should remain on death row after he
was convicted of killing another inmate.
The hearing in London, is being held this week, amid concern over the murder
rate in the twin-island republic - a situation that has led to calls for the
enforcement of the death penalty.
Trinidad and Tobago, as well as Barbados, are the only 2 countries in the
region with mandatory death penalties for murder.
The case to be heard by the 5 judges this week stems from the conviction of Jay
Chandler, 40, who was sentenced to death in 2011.
He had been convicted after he used a home-made knife and stabbed another
prisoner, Kern Phillip, in October 2004.
The 2 men were said to have quarrelled during visiting hours at the Remand Yard
prison in Arouca, Trinidad.
Chandler was seen chasing Phillip across the compound. The victim died in the
prison's infirmary from his injuries.
A post-mortem examination showed that Phillip's heart had been punctured.
however, Chandler denied having the weapon or attacking Phillip.
Lawyers for Chandler will present to the UK judges a report from a forensic
psychologist who has diagnosed their client as suffering from episodes of
psychosis .
The appeal will be heard by Lords Kerr, Sumption, Reed, Carnwath and
Lloyd-Jones.
Trinidad and Tobago is 1 of more than 30 overseas territories, dependencies and
Commonwealth states that rely on the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
(JCPC) as their ultimate court of appeal, sending cases from around the world
to hearings before justices of the UK's supreme court.
(source: jamaicaobserver.com)
INDIA:
Women panel wants death for rape of girls below 15 yrs----Begins district-wise
hearings in cases of crime against women
The Haryana State Women Commission wants the state government to enact a law to
grant death penalty to the persons found guilty of raping girls below 15 years
of age. The commission also advocates the imposition of liquor prohibition in
the state in order to check the increasing cases of sexual and domestic
assaults on girls/women.
This was stated by commission chairperson Pratibha Suman while talking to The
Tribune on the sidelines of a district-level hearing by a commission Bench here
today. Commission vice-chairperson Preeti Bhardwaj and members Suman Bedi and
Indu Yadav were also present at the hearing.
It may be pertinent to mention here that it is for the 1st time that the State
Women Commission has launched a drive to hold district-wise hearings to settle
cases pertaining to crimes against women. "The office of the commission is
located in Panchkula and it is not possible for the victims of sexual/workplace
harassment, domestic violence, dowry cases and property disputes to come all
the way to Panchkula. Hence, we have decided to hold district-wise hearings
across the state," the chairperson stated.
On being questioned about the rising cases of sexual crimes against women, she
said lack of proper education and gender sensitivity among boys and men and
silence adopted by girls and women upon beingharassed/teased/molested were the
major contributing factors behind the trend. "The Haryana Government should
follow the example of Madhya Pradesh, which has decided to grant death penalty
to those found guilty of raping girls below 12 years of age. We recommend to
the state government to make a law for provision of death penalty to those
found guilty of raping girls up to 15 years of age," said Pratibha.
She opined that the Haryana Government could also impose a ban upon the sale
and consumption of liquor on Bihar pattern as a majority of persons accused of
sexual/domestic assaults on women were alcoholics or drug addicts.
Asked about the laxity of the police in responding to cases of crimes against
women, the chairperson asserted that the officials found guilty of
laxity/dereliction of duty should be removed from their post. "A certain
time-frame should also be fixed for the disposal of matters pertaining to
various crimes against women," she added.
(source: tribuneindia.com)
*****************
Experts say lethal injection is not an alternative to hanging----Although the
law commission report discussed whether the discretion of mode of execution
should lie with the judge or the convict, the question of who would provide the
injections to convicts remains unanswered.
A lawyer had filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the
constitutional validity of a provision in the Criminal Procedure Code which
provides that the mode of execution of death penalty would be hanging by the
neck. The SC, however, said that it's the Centre's prerogative to decide the
modes of carrying out capital punishment. "We can't say what should be the mode
of carrying out a death sentence. Tell us what is happening in other
countries," the apex court asked the Centre. In its reply, the Centre said
lethal injection was "not workable" as there were several instances of it
failing.
Rishi Malhotra, the petitioner, said the provision of Criminal Procedure Code
stating death penalty is "violative of Article 21 (right to life and liberty)
of the Constitution" and being "barbaric, inhuman and cruel". "There have been
cases where the neck has been fractured, yet the man is alive," Malhotra said.
The 187th report of the Law Commission on mode of execution of death sentence
stated in length about the use of lethal injections as an alternative apart
from other methods which were used earlier. The Commission received responses
from high court and subordinate court judges on the report and it stated, "All
of the 80% judges who are in favour of amendment of Section 354(5) have
suggested that administering the lethal injection should be the other mode of
execution of death sentence."
Most of the states in the US use lethal injections as an alternative means to
end lives of convicts in cases of death penalty. However, administration of a
lethal injection on a convict does come with complications and USA has been
facing concerns regarding the method as well. "In some cases of death penalty
in USA, the death has not been instantaneous. It has been prolonged over 15-30
minutes and with suffering," said chairman of Fortis Escorts Heart Institute
Ashok Seth.
The term lethal injections has not been defined in any medical books but in
cases of death penalty awarded to a convict, the drugs are administered in
toxic doses which, are 10-100 times their recommended doses, said Seth.
Although the law commission report discussed whether the discretion of mode of
execution should lie with the judge or the convict, the question of who would
provide the injections to convicts remains unanswered.
"As the mission, purpose, training and oath of the medical profession is to
save lives, many doctors and medical societies are not in favour of this ... in
all other methods of death sentence the doctor just has to examine and certify
death," said Seth.
Raising an ethical issue, former president of the Indian Medical Association,
KK Aggarwal, said a judge cannot force a doctor to give an injection. "We are
ethically bound by our oath to refuse. We cannot prepone anyone's suffering,"
he said.
Similar to the oath taken by a medical practitioner, procuring the drugs from
companies or pharmacies also invites a moral and legal issue. "As many of these
drugs are controlled drugs, proper documentation is required for the purpose
for which the drugs are procured. Storage and administration have to be done
accordance to existing law of land, hence changes in laws may be required,"
said Seth.
Apart from the medical reasons, there is always a possibility of misuse of
these drugs. "Misuse could kill a person. Like in case of date rape drug, the
formulas are now available on the internet and its misuse has been rampant.
Therefore we have a policy in IMA to not name the drugs or state their dosage
in public which could be misused," stated Aggarwal.
(source: indianexpress.com)
IRAN----execution
Prisoner Executed in Northern Iran
A prisoner was executed at Babol Prison on murder charges.
According to a report by HRANA, on the morning of Monday, January 15, a
prisoner was executed at Babol prison. The 27-year-old prisoner, identified as
Y. S., was sentenced to death on murder charges.
The prisoner had murdered his wife 3 years ago.
The execution of this prisoner has not been announced by the state-run media so
far.
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 any classification of murder by degree in Iran which results in
issuing a death sentence for all types of the murder regardless of intensity
and intent.
(source: Iran Human Rights)
****************
UN rights experts call on Iran to halt execution of 2nd juvenile
UN human rights experts* have appealed to Iran to halt the execution of
Abolfazl Chezani Sharahi, who was 15 when he was sentenced to death. He is due
to be executed on Wednesday, less than 2 weeks after the execution of another
juvenile offender.
"The Iranian authorities must immediately halt the execution of this juvenile
offender and annul the death sentence against him and afford him a fair trial
in compliance with their international obligations," the experts said. "This
planned execution represents a flagrant disregard for international human
rights law, which is all the more shocking given the most recent execution of
another juvenile offender."
Abolfazl Chezani Sharahi is scheduled to be executed on Wednesday for a crime
that he was convicted of committing at the age of 15. He was sentenced to death
in 2014 after being convicted of murder for the fatal stabbing of a man during
a fight. In sentencing him to death, the court cited an expert opinion that
stated he had attained "mental growth and maturity" at the age of 15. The
verdict was upheld by the Supreme Court later that year.
In 2015, he submitted a request for retrial on the basis of Article 91 of the
2013 Islamic Penal Code. The request noted that the medical commission
assessing his maturity at the time of the crime did not include a child
psychology specialist. The Supreme Court rejected the request.
In January 2016, the Committee on the Rights of the Child urged Iran to end the
execution of children and persons who committed a crime while under the age of
18. Iran has ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which unequivocally prohibit the
passing and carrying out of the death penalty against anyone below 18 years of
age.
Despite this, reports received indicate that there are at least 89 juvenile
offenders on death row in Iran but the number could be much higher. On 4
January 2018, Amirhossein Pourjafar, a juvenile offender who was sentenced to
death aged 16, was executed despite multiple interventions from human rights
experts. At least 4 juvenile offenders were executed in Iran last year.
The experts deplored the continuing executions of juvenile offenders in Iran in
contravention of international standards, and urged the Government to end the
practice of sentencing to death people below the age of 18 years of age when
the crime of which they were convicted was committed, and to commute all death
sentences issued against such individuals.
# # #
* The UN experts: Ms. Asma Jahangir, Special Rapporteur on the situation of
human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran; Ms. Agnes Callamard, Special
Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; and and Ms.
Renate Winter, current Chairperson of the Committee on the Rights of the Child.
The Committee on the Rights of the Child is the body of 18 independent experts
that monitors implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by
its State parties. It also monitors the Optional Protocols to the Convention,
on involvement of children in armed conflict and on sale of children, child
prostitution and child pornography; as well as a third Optional Protocol which
will allow individual children to submit complaints regarding specific
violations of their rights
The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of
the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent
experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council's
independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific
country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special
Procedures' experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not
receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or
organization and serve in their individual capacity.
(source: The Arab Daily News)
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:
Smuggler using iPhone boxes to hide kilograms of cocaine given death penalty
A smuggler found to be hiding kilograms of cocaine inside iPhone boxes has been
given the death penalty following his arrest at Abu Dhabi airport in late
December. The man who is said to of been "carrying the boxes for a friend" was
stopped by customs officials who uncovered the stash of contraband in wrapped,
sealed iPhone packaging.
As reported by Parhlo News, a video of the confiscation has been leaked showing
Abu Dhabi officials unboxing the supposed iPhone 6s Plus boxes filled with
cocaine which weighed approximately a kilo.
The smuggler has said he was carrying the iPhone boxes unaware of their
content. It's believed he had been approached by a friend who asked him to
carry the boxes and hand them over to somebody else at a designated drop off
point. Despite the claims, after a full investigation and legal processes he
received the death penalty.
(source: The Apple Post)
SAUDI ARABIA:
Saudi court begins trial of ISIS member who killed his cousin----The crime
shook the kingdom as it was videotaped, and the man's cousin is seen begging
for him not to kill him, repeatedly screaming "enough Saad".
Saudi Arabia's Specialized Criminal Court is commencing the trial of the man
accused of murdering his cousin. The crime shook the kingdom as it was
videotaped, and the man's cousin is seen begging for him not to kill him,
repeatedly screaming "enough Saad". The case also caused outrage as it took
place on the 1st day of Eid al-Adha in 2014.
Abdul Aziz bin Batel, a lawyer and legal adviser, told Al Arabiya that what the
criminal did is a sign of cruelty and corruption in the land, where he
purposefully killed a tied up, innocent soul.
Batel said that according to judiciary laws, he who betrays and kills a person
who entrusted him should be sentenced to death, with no punishment or amnesty
to be accepted by any means.
The General Authority of the Supreme Court studied the case to find the most
fitting punishment, and found that sentencing the killer to death is what is
fair as he also committed other crimes like videotaping the murder, sharing it
ondifferent platforms proudly, intimidating people and announcing his loyalty
to foreign parties, disobeying and denying his allegiance to the kingdom's
ruler.
Al-Batel added that each of these crimes that he has committed has its own
penalty, but the death penalty will cover them all. Despite these written laws,
Saudi Arabia granted the right to defend himself or delegate someone to do so.
They also gave him the ultimate judicial guarantee of justice as the criminal
will face three judicial levels after all the evidence is collected from
investigations, the hearing of the statements of all those involved, and the
examination of the evidence by the public prosecutor.
The Interior Ministry had revealed the details of the case at the time of the
crime and death of the man in the video, Madous Fayez Ayyash al-Enezi. Al-Enezi
was taken on the day of Eid al-Adha by his cousins who resided in the province
of al-Shamli in Hail.
In the same year, the killers committed 2 other crimes, the 1st was killing 2
citizens at the Amair bin Sanaa police station, and the 2nd was shooting a
sergeant, Abdulelah al-Rashidi in the al-Shamli province traffic department.
The Interior Ministry declared that based on the information provided to them
by security forces through rapid and extensive security sweeps they carried
out, the criminals were found in a mountainous area in a village in al-Shamli.
They were surrounded and asked to turn themselves in, to which they responded
by opening fire at the security forces.
The gunfire exchange resulted in the death of the man who was behind the
camera, and injury of his brother the killer who was then arrested. A security
officer was killed in the exchange as well.
This video was shared on the social media in a wave of public anger at the way
the killing took place, and the betrayal of the killer to cousin. This came in
light of several terrorist groups pushing their followers to kill any of their
family members who were part of any security force as part of their jihad.
(source: alarabiya.net)
MOROCCO:
Morocco sentences man to death over MP killing
A Moroccan court sentenced to death a man over the murder of a member of
parliament and jailed his widow, in a case involving sex and money, the
government said Tuesday.
Abdellatif Merdas, who was a member of the liberal Constitutional Union party,
was gunned down near his house in Casablanca in March last year.
A local councillor, Hicham Mouchtari, was sentenced to death on Monday after he
was convicted of "premeditated murder", the justice ministry said.
Merdas's widow, Ouafae Bensamadi, was given a life sentence, and a female
acquaintance of hers described as a "fortune-teller" was sentenced to 20 years
in jail.
According to media reports of the investigation, Bensamadi had been having an
affair with Mouchtari, who killed Merdas with the help of a nephew -- who was
sentenced Monday to 30 years in jail.
The motives were "sex, money and vengeance," the state prosecutor said during
the investigation, dismissing any political reason for the killing of Merdas.
Bensamadi, who consulted the fortune-teller, had allegedly been abused by her
husband and was seeking revenge, according to media reports citing the
investigation.
Morocco has not abolished the death penalty but has not carried out any
executions since 1993.
(source: dailymail.co.uk)
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