Jan. 28
SAUDI ARABIA----executions
Nigerian drug convicts executed in Saudi Arabia
2 Nigerians convicted of drug offenses in Saudi Arabia have been executed, the
Vanguard reports on Saturday, quoting prison sources in the kingdom.Local news
reports suggest that since Ibrahim Ciroma and Maimidu Issah were executed by
hanging last week, a sense of trepidation has gripped other Nigerian convicts
being held in Saudi jails over similar infractions.
Ciroma and Issah, hailed from Northern Nigeria.
15 Nigerians are currently on death row in Saudi Arabia and could face the
hangman's noose in the next few weeks, the Vanguard says.
The latest executions come 4 months after a Nigerian was executed in Saudi
Arabia for an alleged drug offence.
The Nigerian government led by President Muhammadu Buhari has made several
unsuccessful interventions to save its citizens facing the death penalty in
Saudi Arabia.
It tried to request for their extradition to Nigeria where they would serve
their jail sentence or be executed and given decent burials.
Such requests to the Saudi authorities have fallen on deaf ears.
(source: journalducameroun.com)
PAKISTAN:
Execute reforms not people
We have a history of taking temporary fixing measures but never focus on taking
cogent steps that can permanently reform our flawed criminal justice system.
The tragic rape and murder of a minor girl, Zainab, has again kicked up a
public debate on the mode of punishment. If we recall, Pakistan has been facing
extraordinary circumstances since the 70s, when different governments
introduced parallel judicial systems. But no government has so far been
successful in reforming the criminal justice system (CJS).
Examples of temporary measures being taken can be traced back to our recent
past. In 1998, when civil order in Karachi was in decline, military courts were
introduced for the first time to try civilians. The law was introduced after
the president had promulgated the Pakistan Armed Forces (Acting in Aid of Civil
Power) Ordinance 1998, under Article 245 of the Constitution. The government at
that time had argued that the law has been put in place for a short period of
time and is for a specific area with the objective to restore security and
peace and maintenance of law and order. The law was later repealed because it
was declared arbitrary to the constitution by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in
the case reported as 'Liaquat Hussain versus Federation of Pakistan'. At that
time too the federal government maintained that it was forced to take these
extraordinary steps to secure peace. But it never gave due attention to
reforming the outdated CJS.
Similarly, on January 7th 2015, after the Army Public School incident,
parliament unanimously allowed military courts to hold trials of terrorism
suspects, by introducing changes to the Pakistan Army Act 1952 through the 21st
Constitutional Amendment. Again it was said that the promulgation is temporary
as it has a sunset clause of 2 years. However, it was later extended for
another 2 years. And this time too the objectives were to carry out speedy
trials and curtailment of terrorist activities in the extraordinary situation
the country was facing.
At the time it was assumed that ordinary courts were not in the position to
cope with the challenges. Hence, the government promised to reform the criminal
justice system and ensure speedy and affordable justice for all. Now the
military courts are in their 4th and final year. But have any reforms been
introduced in the centuries-old law and justice system? The day is not far when
people will ask military courts to also settle their fiscal and property
disputes. Why have people been forced into believing that they cannot get
justice form ordinary courts?
We have a history of taking temporary measures to deal with the long-standing
problems plaguing our criminal justice system. But still we never bother to
search for permanent solutions and introduce workable reforms in our judicial
system. Similarly, there is no evidence that public executions or even sending
people to the gallows has ever deterred criminals, but what is certain is that
it could further encourage the desire for vengeance and violence in society.
After APS, the moratorium on the death penalty was lifted; at least 487 people
have been executed since then. Even those who believe in the philosophy of
deterrence would agree that the crime ratio in the county has not come down.
The people need to know why there has been such a delay in reforming the CJS?
Why do we have the lowest conviction rate in ordinary criminal cases? Why are
cases tried for decades, while people remain confined in pre-trial detentions?
We, the public, should also rethink our criticism about the police being the
only institution responsible for all the weaknesses in the criminal justice
system. Why do we forget the systems of prosecution, parole, prison probation
and the judiciary? There may be a few steps the government took to reform the
police department, but it seems it has done nothing practical to reform other
important departments.
The political pressure and public opinion calling for prompt action in
punishment for the Zainab case cannot be ignored, especially when the Senate's
Standing Committee on Interior suggests amending Section 364A of the Pakistan
Penal Code (PPC) to include the terms 'public hanging' in the clause. How about
we ask this committee, parliament and the government how much they have done to
reform the criminal justice system - as they had promised to do after the APS
incident? Because it is a universal truth that our people want affordable, fast
and accessible justice and that our existing criminal justice system is flawed
and needs reforms. The government needs to take concrete steps to improve the
implementation mechanism of existing laws and reform the the justice system.
Will public hangings deter criminals? Or will a reformed criminal justice
system, with modern forensics, updated means of investigation, trained
prosecution officers and an improved judicial system ensure our safety?
Laws, rules, and regulations should be adopted in order to strengthen the
processes of investigation and prosecution. Protection should be provided for
witnesses, lawyers and judges of the existing regular criminal courts.
Restoration of public hangings should not be a priority, instead practical,
durable and everlasting reforms in the criminal justice system are what will
benefit the whole country.
If this same committee, parliament and government wish to change the justice
system, they can bring reforms within days. We need a collective effort and not
temporary, fatal and outdated decisions. Parliament should soon take durable
steps to ensure justice is provided to all and the government should ensure
that rule of law prevails.
(source: Opinion; Irshad Ahmad----The writer is a Peshawar-based lawyer----The
News)
_______________________________________________
A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu
DeathPenalty mailing list
DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu
http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty
Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
