September 4
MALAYSIA:
Death Sentence for Malaysia Man Who Gave Patients Free Cannabis Oil
A man has been sentenced to death in Malaysia for processing cannabis oil and
distributing it to patients in need.
On 30 August, the Shah Alam High Court sentenced Muhammad Lukman to death by
hanging, after he was convicted of possessing, processing, and distributing
cannabis oil. Three litres of cannabis oil and 279 grams of compressed cannabis
were found in his home, according to local sources.
Lukman, a 29-year-old father of one, provided cannabis oil to patients who were
suffering from ailments that were difficult to treat with legal medicines.
Lukman did not profit from this, and would provide cannabis oil for free to
patients who could not afford it. Despite the lack of financial gain from his
endeavour, his offences fall under section 39B of Malaysia’s Dangerous Drugs
Act 1952. This stipulates that “Any person who [traffics an illegal drug] shall
be guilty of an offence against this Act and shall be punished on conviction
with death”.
Lukman’s defence team called upon patients who had successfully used his
cannabis oil to treat their illnesses, and emphasised that he produced and
provided the medicine on a non-profit basis for their wellbeing. The
prosecution argued that, regardless of intent or revenue, Lukman produced and
distributed an illegal drug that is not recognised for its medical uses by the
Ministry of Health or any accredited Malaysian physician. This lack of
recognition, the judge concluded, invalidated Lukman’s defence.
Although it has not been approved in Malaysia, cannabis oil is used to
medically treat a range of ailments among adults and children in Canada, many
US states, and several European countries.
Despite Lukman’s lawyers’ plea for a reduced sentence, his mitigation was
rejected and he was sentenced to death by hanging. Lukman will appeal his
sentence at the Court of Appeal.
“This is not the fault of the judge, he only performed his task in accordance
with the written law,” Lukman said. “It’s clear that he was unaware about the
truth [of medical cannabis]. I believe this is not the final verdict. If it is,
Malaysia laws are cruel.”
Lukman’s case is not unique in Malaysia. A former military captain, Amiruddin
Nadarajan Abdullah, is currently on trial for providing medical cannabis
products to as many as 800 patients, Free Malaysia Today reports. Former
patients, including young children and grandparents, are among those who have
come to court to show their support for Abdullah – known among his patients at
Dr. Ganja. If convicted, Abdullah also faces the death sentence.
Malaysia is one of at least 33 countries that retains the death penalty for
drug offences.
(source: talkingdrugs.org)
***********
American sentenced to hang in Malaysia for killing ex-wife--An appeal is
expected to be filed within the next 2 weeks.
An American man was sentenced to death by hanging in Malaysia on Tuesday for
murdering his ex-wife, but his lawyer said he was acting in self-defence and
would appeal.
Gerald Wayne Mickelson, 63, was convicted of strangling Guilda Mickelson in
Kuala Lumpur in November 2016, his lawyer K. A. Ramu said.
Mickelson, who had been working as a telecommunications consultant in Malaysia,
was about to move to the Philippines to be with his new wife when his former
partner called him.
When Mickelson went to see her in a serviced apartment complex, the 62-year-old
allegedly tried to kill him, resulting in a struggle that ended in her death,
Ramu said.
The lawyer said Mickelson had no motive to murder his ex-wife and even called
the management of the building after killing her, rather than fleeing.
An appeal is expected to be filed within the next 2 weeks.
Malaysia has a mandatory death penalty for murder, which is always carried out
by hanging.
(source: Agence France-Presse)
SINGAPORE:
Drug trafficker nabbed at KKIA loses appeal against death penalty
The Court of Appeal’s 5-member bench upheld the mandatory death penalty handed
down to Henry Chan Kok Loon, 34, in December 2016 for the offence under Section
39(1)(A) of the Dangerous Drugs Act.
A car service adviser who claimed that ketamine was planted in his luggage
without his knowledge at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) in 2015
has failed in his appeal against his death sentence for drug trafficking.
The Court of Appeal’s 5-member bench upheld the mandatory death penalty handed
down to Henry Chan Kok Loon, 34, in December 2016 for the offence under Section
39(1)(A) of the Dangerous Drugs Act.
The panel, led by Court of Appeal president Datuk Seri Ahmad Maarop and
comprised Datuk Azahar Mohamed, Datuk Alizatul Khair Osman Khairuddin, Datuk
Mohd Zawawi Salleh and Datuk Rhodzariah Bujang, in dismissing Chan’s appeal,
unanimously affirmed the conviction and sentence meted out by the High Court.
Chan, who was represented by lawyer Hamid Ismail, was arrested at KKIA compound
by a team of policemen from the Narcotic Criminal Investigation Department at
KKIA for possessing 1,514.7gramme of ketamine on Feb 12, 2015.
Earlier at the magistrate’s court, two foreign men were found guilty for
possessing syabu and would be referred to Immigration Department.
Nordin Rahman, 32, was sentenced to 22 months’ jail for possessing 5.02 gramme
syabu while Ibrahim Kyim, 31, as sentenced 10 months imprisonment for
possessing 11 grammes syabu.
Magistrate Cindy Mc Juce Balitus ordered the duo to serve the sentence starting
from date of arrest in Nov 2017.
(source: New Straits Times)
SAUDI ARABIA----execution
Saudi national executed for shooting and killing man in Asir
The execution sentence was carried out on Monday in the city of Abha
Saudi Arabia
A Saudi national was executed in the kingdom for shooting and killing a man in
the region of Asir, the kingdom’s interior ministry announced on Monday.
Gibran bin Salem bin Joueid al-Qahtani shot and killed Omar bin Mohammed bin
Muraya al-Qahtani due to a dispute between them, the official Saudi Press
Agency (SPA) reported.
Security authorities arrested the offender and following an investigation, he
was charged with the crime referred him to the criminal court.
The court found him guilty and sentenced him to death and the ruling was upheld
by the appeals court and the Supreme Court.
The execution sentence was carried out on Monday in the city of Abha in the
Asir region.
The interior ministry asserted the keenness of the government “to maintain
security and achieve justice” and punish violators of such heinous crimes.
Saudi Arabia uses the death penalty for several offences including murder,
drug-related crimes and terrorism.
According to Amnesty International, the kingdom executed 146 people in 2017.
(source: gulfbusiness.com)
IRAN----executions
3 Executions for Waging War Against God
3 prisoners were executed at Zahedan Central Prison on the charge of “Moharebeh
and armed conflict”. Moharebeh means waging war against God.
According to a close source, on the morning of Monday, September 3, three
prisoners were executed at Zahedan Central Prison. They were sentenced to death
on the charge of “Moharebeh and armed conflict”. The prisoners were identified
as Esmaeel Shahbakhsh, Dormohammad Shahbakhsh, and Hayatollah Shahbakhsh.
Habibollah Sarbazi, Baluch human rights activist, told IHR, “The prisoners were
scheduled to be executed yesterday, but due to the protests about the death
sentence being issued in revenge, the authorities delayed the execution. They
informed the families of the executed prisoners about the executions a few
hours after it was carried out. However, the families haven’t been able to
receive the bodies yet.”
The executed prisoners were transferred to the solitary confinement on
Saturday, September 1. There was an armed conflict between Jaish Al-Adl and the
Revolutionary Guards in Saravan on Friday, August 31, which gives rise to the
theory of execution in revenge.
According to a report by HRANA, the prisoners are charged with participating in
an armed conflict with the police on July 7, 2015, during which a police
Colonel was murdered. They are facing murder allegations as well as security
charges, although they deny being involved in the murder of the police Colonel.
It should be noted that, on October 26, 2013, judicial authorities executed 16
Baluch prisoners who were sentenced to death on the charge of “Moharebeh” and
“having associations with armed groups” as a reaction to the murder of 18
Iranian border guards.
The execution of these prisoners has not been announced by the state-run media
so far.
3 Prisoners Scheduled To Be Executed
(source: Iran Human Rights)
****************************
Kurdish activist on death row to be executed within 48 hours: Brother
Informed sources have told the family of a Kurdish activist on death row that
his execution is imminent. This comes a day after a video of the person in
question surfaced in which he rejects the charges against him.
“It is likely that tonight or tomorrow night, the death sentence of political
activist… Ramin Hossein Panahi is carried out,” a social media post by Ramin’s
brother, Amjad Hossein Panahi, read.
Amjad and his family have been actively engaged with lawyers and activists to
stop the Iranian regime’s plan to carry out the execution.
Iran has not officially declared the date the execution is set to take place,
but various rights groups believe it is highly likely to happen in September.
In April 2018, Iran’s Supreme Court ratified Ramin’s death sentence for his
alleged membership to the “outlawed” Kurdish nationalist group, Komala, and for
supposedly drawing a weapon on Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) agents
during clashes.
Earlier, Amjad told Kurdistan 24 that Ramin had gone on hunger strike in the
Rajaei-Shahr prison in Iran’s Karaj city. He was transferred from Sanandaj to
the new location in mid-August.
Ramin appeared in a short video on Monday. In a hoarse voice, he thanked the
people of Kurdistan and Iran, in general, for their staunch support of him.
“I would like to deny charges claiming I am a terrorist,” he added.
Meanwhile, the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), an opposition
faction in Turkey, held a peaceful protest in Ankara near the Iranian Embassy,
urging the immediate halt of the imminent execution.
Turkish police responded with force and tried to disperse the protest even
beating one of the participants.
(source: kurdistan24.net)
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