September 9
SOUTH AFRICA:
Death penalty debate re-ignites
Amnesty International says use of the death penalty is on the decline and by
the end of last year, 142 countries had abolished it.
However, there were still 993 executions recorded in 2017, in 23 countries
which practise capital punishment, with China still believed to be the world's
biggest executioner.
In South Africa, the IFP wants a discussion on the death penalty.
India recently passed a bill allowing for the death sentence for anyone
convicted of raping a child.
The move comes after nationwide protests over the rape and murder of an
8-year-old girl.
Countries carrying out the penalty last year used methods ranging from
decapitation to hanging, and lethal injection.
The United States has been divided on the issue of the death penalty for
decades.
According to the latest poll, today 54 % are in favour of sending convicted
murderers to death row, while 39 % oppose this.
In Uganda, human rights groups want to scrap the death penalty but President
Yoweri Museveni is rejecting the move, saying crime will rise.
A recent report by rights group Amnesty International applauded some
Sub-Saharan African countries for abolishing the death penalty.
But with reports of Botswana and Sudan resuming executions this year, Amnesty
says there are fears the death sentence may gain popularity across Africa.
Back home, the IFP is calling for renewed debate on the death penalty, saying
crime is out of control but is it a solution?
The Institute for Crime Prevention and the Reintegration of Offenders doesn't
think so.
"Nicro is very clear that this is a knee-jerk reaction," said Soraya Solomon
from NICRO.
"It's been shown, especially in America where some states have the death
penalty - others don't and research was done by very renowned criminologists
and they found over a 10-year period those states that had the death penalty
the crime rate actually spiked, compared to those states that did not have the
death penalty."
The South African Institute for Violence Prevention says there is no scientific
evidence that capital punishment deters violence.
In a tweet, it says the IFP should rather focus on poverty alleviation and
reducing inequality because the latter breeds violence.
(source: enca.com)
SINGAPORE:
Penal Code set to undergo overhaul, to better protect vulnerable victims
against abuse and sexual crimes
The 1st major review of the Penal Code in more than a decade has yielded calls
for sweeping changes - 169 to be exact - with a key focus on beefing up laws on
sexual and abuse offences to protect women and vulnerable victims including
children.
On top of that, the wide-ranging review covered other areas, and most notably
suggested a repeal of 2 laws: removing marital immunity for rape to provide
equal access to protection for sexually abused wives, and decriminalising
attempted suicide to recognise that treatment, and not prosecution, is the
appropriate response. Among other things, the committee also proposed creating
a new offence of fraud, which focuses more on the intent of the offender than
the effects of deception on the victim.
2 years after it was convened in 2016, the Penal Code Review Committee has
submitted its 500-page report to the Ministry of Law and the Ministry of Home
Affairs on Aug 31.
The committee's report was released on Sunday (Sept 9), and a 3-week public
consultation will begin the following day, with the proposed changes expected
to be tabled in Parliament in November.
In calling for a substantive review, Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam
had emphasised the need to ensure the 150-year-old Penal Code remains relevant
and to protect Singaporeans from emerging threats.
In a letter - dated Sept 3 - thanking the committee, Mr Shanmugam said that
since the last substantive review in 2007, there have been "many societal and
economic changes which have been accelerated by technological advancements".
"Changes in society also mean that once-relevant provisions are now outdated,"
he said. "It is my hope that this process will culminate in a revised Penal
Code that is principled, proportionate, and practical; one which will continue
to serve Singapore well in the years to come."
The changes were proposed in light of recent high profile cases which involved
the abuse of vulnerable victims.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, following a media briefing on the review, Mr
Shanmugam said, "In general we try and keep our laws current, but it???s not
possible to predict all the different possible arguments and different
situations that might arise. And when you learn something, then you change them
too."
The committee, co-chaired by Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Indranee
Rajah and Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Home Affairs and Health Amrin
Amin, comprised 14 other legal industry experts.
Among the proposals include creating a new offence that makes it a crime to
sexually penetrate minors between the ages of 16 and 18. Changes relating to
sexual child abuse material and sexual communication with minors were also put
forward. For example, the committee called for a doubling of the punishment for
offenders committing crime against vulnerable victims = children, disabled
person and the elderly, as well as domestic helpers.
SOME KEY PROPOSED CHANGES
1) Sexual exploitation
Create a new offence called "exploitative penetrative sexual activity", and
raise the age-ceiling for victims of sexual exploitation from 16 to 18 years
old. Offenders can face 20 years' in jail, a fine, or caning. Why change it:
Currently, minors between the ages of 16 and 18 do not have legal protection
against sexual exploitation. They too can be abused by people they trust such
as parents, teachers and doctors.
2) Commercial exploitation of minors
Expand the definition of "sexual services" to include the touching of the
minor's body.
Create new offences to make it a crime to create, distribute and sell,
advertise as well as access and possess child abuse material.
Enhance law on sexual grooming by reducing the number of prior contact between
a suspect and a victim from two to one, and making it an offence even if the
victim travels to meet the offender. There should also be more severe
punishment for victims under 14 years old.
Make it an offence for adults to have sexual communication with minors, to
engage in a sexual activity in front of a minor under 18, or to cause the minor
to look at sexual images. For minors between ages of 16 and 18, there must be
an element of exploitation or abuse.
Why change it: There have been concerns over sexual predators in recent years,
especially after the case involving mixed martial arts instructor Joshua
Robinson. In March last year, he was jailed four years for sex with minors. He
had secretly filmed them engaging in sexual acts with him, and when the police
raided his apartment, they found 5,902 obscene films in which 321 of them
featured children between the ages of two and 16. It is believed to be the
largest child pornography video collection seized from a single person here.
3) Abuse of vulnerable victims
Create a new offence on causing or allowing death or serious jury of children
or other vulnerable victims including disabled people and domestic helpers.
Offenders must have either committed the act or failed to protect the victim.
If guilty, they can be jailed up to 20 years', fined, and/or caned.
Why change it: In cases of prolonged abuse, there is "often insufficient
evidence" to prove the need to charge offenders with culpable homicide. Based
on previous court cases, those involved are typically convicted of causing
grievous hurt, which carries less serious punishment. But the committee said
this is "unsatisfactory" because the offender is equally liable as someone who
committed a culpable homicide offence.
In 2016, Singaporeans expressed shock and outrage over the abuse of 2-year-old
Mohamad Daniel Mohamad Nasser at the hands of his mother and her boyfriend, who
were sentenced to 11 and 10 years in jail respectively in July that year.
Over a period of 5 weeks, the couple slapped, kicked and stamped on Mohamad
Daniel in a 1-room flat in Telok Blangah Crescent. On at least 2 occasions,
they forced dried chilli down the toddler's throat. Investigations showed he
died of a head injury.
In another case, a former storeman and his wife were jailed 14 years and 16.5
years respectively for torturing their tenant, 26-year-old Annie Ee Yu Lian.
Ee, who had borderline intelligence, was vulnerable and had trusted the couple.
Public outcry over the case prompted the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) to
explain that the evidence against the couple did not support the charges of
murder and culpable homicide.
SECTION 377A AND USE OF DEATH PENALTY NOT PART OF REVIEW
The government had made clear from the start that the review would not cover
Section 377A - the section of the Penal Code that criminalises sex between men
- and the use of the death penalty.
A public debate on Section 377A was reignited on Friday in the wake of India's
Supreme Court striking down its law against consensual gay sex, with veteran
diplomat and international lawyer Tommy Koh calling on the gay community in
Singapore to mount another challenge of a similar law here.
As of Sunday evening, an online petition to retain the section has drawn more
than 62,000 signatures within 2 days after it was started.
(source: todayonline.com)
SAUDI ARABIA:
Saudi Prosecution Demands Death Penalty for Syrian for Supporting Houthis
The Saudi General Prosecution demanded on Sunday that the death penalty be laid
down against a Syrian resident for supporting the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood
and Iran-backed Houthi militias.
He was also charged with communicating with armed factions in Syria and Iraq.
The suspect, who appeared in court in a wheelchair, had contacted by telephone
members of the Nusra Front.
He also incited fighting in Syria and spoke about restoring the Islamic
caliphate.
He promoted his ideas through a weekly show on a satellite television channel.
In addition, the suspect was charged with funding suspicious individuals.
(source: aawsat.com)
IRAN:
Executions of 3 Iranian Kurds an outrage
In response to the news that 3 Iranian Kurdish men, Zaniar Moradi, Loghman
Moradi, and Ramin Hossein Panahi, were executed this morning in Raja'i Shahr
prison, Karaj, Philip Luther, Amnesty International's Research and Advocacy
Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said:
"We are horrified by the news that the Iranian authorities have executed these
men, despite widespread condemnation of their death sentences and calls from UN
human rights experts and other bodies to halt their executions.
"The trials of all 3 men were grossly unfair. All were denied access to their
lawyers and families after their arrest, and all said they were tortured into
making "confessions". In sentencing them to death despite these massive
failings in due process, the Iranian authorities have once again demonstrated
their brazen disregard for the right to life.
"We call on the international community to strongly condemn these executions
and urge the Iranian authorities to respect their obligations under
international law. The Iranian authorities must take steps to ensure that
everyone has a fair trial, that torture and other ill-treatment are absolutely
prohibited, and that the practice of forced 'confessions' is stopped once and
for all.
"They must also immediately impose an official moratorium on executions with a
view to abolishing the death penalty."
(source: Amnesty International)
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