July 28
INDIA:
After 5-day trial, MP man gets death penalty for raping minor
A Katni court sentenced a man to death Friday for raping a minor, following a
trial that lasted just 5 days.
A special court of Additional Sessions Judge Madhuri Raj Lal convicted Rajkumar
Kol (34), an autorickshaw driver, after finding him guilty under section 376
(A)(B), introduced under the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance 2018, as well
as relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
Kol raped the 5-year-old girl on July 4 while taking her to school.
He was arrested on July 7. Police filed the charge sheet on July 12 and the
hearing in the case started on July 23.
(source: business-standard.com)
EGYPT:
Egypt refers 75 defendants to Mufti for death penalty----The court has set
September 8 as a date for confirming the verdict
An Egyptian court on Saturday handed down a preliminary death sentence against
75 defendants in connection with the dispersal of a major protest camp in Cairo
in 2013, according to a judicial source.
The court referred the defendants to the Grand Mufti, Egypt's top religious
authority, for consideration of the death penalty against them over charges
ranging from murder to blocking roads.
Egyptian law requires courts to refer cases to the Mufti for consideration of
the death penalty ahead of a final verdict although his decision is
non-binding.
The court has set September 8 as a date for confirming the verdict.
Several Muslim Brotherhood leaders are among the defendants, including Essam
al-Erian and Mohamed el-Beltagi as well as Islamist clerics Safwat Hegazi and
Wajdi Ghoneim.
The Egyptian military deposed democratically-elected president Mohamed Morsi in
a coup in mid-2013 after serving 1 year in power.
In August of the same year, security forces violently cleared a major protest
camp in support of Morsi in Cairo???s Rabaa al Adawiya Square.
While official estimates put the number of fatalities in the dispersal at 632,
rights groups say that more than 1,000 have been killed.
Since Morsi's overthrow, Egyptian authorities launched a relentless crackdown
on dissent, killing hundreds of his supporters and sending thousands behind
bars.
(source: aa.com.tr)
IRAN----execution
At Least 1 Prisoner Hanged in Urmia
Out of 4 prisoners who were transferred to the solitary confinement on July 25
for execution, at least 1 was executed at Urmia Central Prison on drug-related
charges. The execution of 1 prisoner was stopped, and there is no information
regarding the fate of the 2 other prisoners yet.
According to a close source, on the morning of Friday, July 27, at least 1
prisoner was executed at Urmia Central Prison on drug-related charges. The
prisoner was identified as Jahangir Nojavan from ward 15.
A close source told IHR, "Jahangir was arrested on the charge of 5 kilograms of
drugs but he was also charged with being a drug kingpin, that???s why the court
reapproved his death sentence. Another prisoner, named Saeed Pourhamzeh, was
also executed at Urmia Central Prison on the same charge last year."
Jahangir Nojavan was transferred to the solitary confinement along with another
prisoner on Thursday, July 25. The reports indicate that the execution of the
other prisoner was stopped for unknown reasons and he returned to his cell.
Moreover, some sources told IHR that 2 more prisoners with drug-related charges
were also transferred to the solitary confinement from Salmas and Naghdeh
prisons. These prisoners were also sentenced to death on drug-related charges
but there is no information regarding their fate.
*************************
Prisoners Scheduled to Be Executed on Drug-Related Charges
Yesterday, at least 2 prisoners were transferred to the solitary confinement in
order to be executed on drug-related charges. Some sources stated that the
number of the prisoners was four.
According to a close source, on the morning of Thursday, at least 2 prisoners,
sentenced to death on drug-related charges, were transferred to the solitary
confinement of Urmia Central Prison.
Iran Human Rights had reported the transfer of Jahangir Nojavan from ward 15 to
the solitary confinement, however, new information shows that another prisoner
who was sentenced to death on drug-related charges was also transferred to the
solitary confinement from the "psychotherapy ward" of the prison. The prisoner
has not been identified yet.
A close source told IHR, "2 more prisoners with drug-related charges were also
transferred to the solitary confinement from Salmas and Naghdeh prisons in
order to be executed with the other 2. The number of the death-row prisoners
may be even more."
The new drug law, which includes a mechanism that leads to a decrease in the
number of death sentences and reduces the sentence of the death-row prisoners
and those sentenced to life imprisonment, was enforced on November 14, 2018,
and drug-related executions were almost stopped ever since. Only one
drug-related execution has been reported by IHR since the enforcement of the
new law; however, there is a concern that after the review of the previous
cases, drug-related executions may start again.
(source for both: Iran Human Rights)
UNITED KINGDOM:
UK waits on legal challenge over death penalty for Isis pair----Home Office to
suspend cooperation with US until resolution of case brought by suspect's
mother
The Home Office is to suspend cooperation with the US over the possible
prosecution of 2 alleged Isis executioners until a legal challenge launched by
the mother of 1 of the men to quash a decision not to seek assurances over the
use of the death penalty is resolved, lawyers have said.
The mother of El Shafee Elsheikh has lodged an emergency claim against a
decision by the UK government to provide evidence to support a prosecution in
the US against her son and co-accused, Alexanda Kotey, without seeking an
assurance that the death penalty will not be used against them if convicted.
Elsheikh and Kotey, who were raised in Britain, are alleged to have been part
of an Isis terror cell, known as "the Beatles", that was behind a series of
high-profile killings of US and UK citizens in Isis-held territory, including
the British aid workers Alan Henning and David Haines and the American
journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff.
The pair, who have been stripped of their British citizenship, were captured in
February by Syrian Kurdish fighters, prompting sensitive negotiations between
the UK and the US governments over where they should be prosecuted.
Earlier this week, it emerged that the home secretary, Sajid Javid, had told
the US attorney general, Jeff Sessions, the UK "does not currently intend to
request, nor actively encourage" the transfer of Kotey and Elsheikh to Britain
and there are "strong reasons for not requiring a death penalty assurance in
this specific case".
Critics have warned the decision to suspend the normal approach of demanding a
death penalty assurance could put the UK's principled opposition to the death
penalty in jeopardy.
The Home Office agreed to a short-term pause in its co-operation with US
authorities - a process known as mutual legal assistance (MLA) - but has
extended this to the conclusion of legal proceedings brought by Elsheikh's
mother.
A statement from Birnberg Peirce, the law firm representing the woman, said:
"It [the UK government] has today undertaken that no further assistance will be
provided until determination by a court at first instance - or by court order
or agreement by the parties - of the claim being brought by the mother of El
Shafee El Sheikh."
The Home Office will already have shared some information with US authorities
but any further information sharing or discussions related to the prosecution
will cease until the end of the legal proceedings.
A Home Office spokesperson said: "We have agreed to a short-term pause. The
government remains committed to bringing these people to justice and we are
confident we have acted in full accordance of the law and within the
government's longstanding MLA policy."
The 2 other members of the group alleged to have been involved in the killings
are Mohammed Emwazi, believed killed in a US airstrike in 2015, and Aine Davis,
convicted of being a member of a terrorist organisation and jailed for 7 1/2
years by a court in Silivri, Turkey, in May last year.
Earlier this week, the lawyers representing Elsheikh's mother said their client
had long made clear her opposition to the actions of Islamic State. "Her
request is that the norms of internationally accepted due process form the
basis of any trial of accusations concerning her son," they said.
The firm sent government lawyers detailed grounds as to why they regarded the
minister's decision as unlawful, setting out an urgent timetable for the case
to be put before the court and for an application for a full judicial review of
the minister's decision.
(source: The Guardian)
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