Sept. 21
SAUDI ARABIA:
Rights groups fear peaceful activism could now cost Saudi women their lives
Human rights groups are concerned that Saudi Arabia has set a new legal
precedent that could see women executed for peaceful activism. In an apparent
first, Saudi prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against a female
activist charged with non-violent offenses.
"Saudi Arabia has always had, sort of, red lines. There were certain things
that they just didn't do," said Rothna Begum, a senior women's rights
researcher at Human Rights Watch.
The fact that authorities are now seeking the death penalty in Israa
al-Ghomgham's case suggests they "may want to do something very similar to the
(other) women's rights activists," Begum said.
Women have been executed before in Saudi Arabia, which has one of the highest
rates of execution in the world, notes Rachel Vogelstein, director of the Women
and Foreign Policy Program at the Council on Foreign Relations, a think tank.
"The fact of execution in and of itself -- that's clearly not what is unique
about this," Vogelstein told CBS News. "It is connecting the severity of this
punishment to women's activism."
Samah Hadid, Amnesty International's Middle East director of campaigns, said in
a statement last month that sentencing activist al-Ghomgham to death "would
send a horrifying message that other activists could be targeted in the same
way for their peaceful protest and human rights activism."
"The charges against Israa al-Ghomgam, which mostly relate to her peaceful
participation in protests, are absurd and clearly politically motivated to
silence dissent in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia," she said.
Al-Ghomgham is well known for both taking part in -- and documenting --
demonstrations in the province that started in early 2011, the year Arab Spring
uprisings swept the region, says Human Rights Watch. Amnesty, citing court
documents, says the charges against her are:
Violating Royal Decree 44/A for "participating in protests in al-Qatif and
documenting these protests on social media"
"Providing moral support to rioters by participating in funerals of protesters
killed during clashes with security forces"
"Violating Article 6 of the Anti-Cyber Crime law" by, among other things,
posting videos and photos of protests on Facebook as well as advocating for
protests
"Committing forgery by using the passport photo of another woman on her
Facebook account"
Al-Ghomgham is facing the charges after several years during which the women's
rights movement in Saudi Arabia has picked up steam. In wake of the Arab Spring
protests, the field of activism, which had been dominated by men, started to
see more female participants.
The government's response to the evolving role of women activists was initially
limited.
"Before, (if a woman got in trouble with authorities for any sort of activism)
they were only investigating or asking (the woman) to not do that activity
again," Saudi activist Ali Adubisi told CBS News.
Adubisi, who now lives in Germany, gave an example of a time in 2011 when he
and his wife were taken into custody in Saudi Arabia. She was quickly released,
while he was placed under arrest. Adubisi said this wouldn't be the case today.
"Now the government wants to stop and shut down all the women's activity in
Saudi Arabia," he said. "They want to send a strong message to women by
arresting them for a long time and by giving them very harsh charges."
Just weeks before Saudi Arabia lifted the world's only ban on women driving in
June, the government launched what HRW has called an "unprecedented" crackdown
on the women's rights movement. More than a dozen women's rights activists were
arrested and several were accused of "grave crimes" that appear to be linked to
their activism, the organization said.
The crackdown has come as women in the country have gained some freedoms. In
addition to the repeal of the female driving ban, women can now apply to serve
in the military and attend sports events at public stadiums.
"We're seeing these changes, they're significant changes, and yet the message
the government is sending is that further reform and activism will be met with
severe crackdowns," said Vogelstein at the Council on Foreign Relations.
In addition to al-Ghomgham, 4 other Eastern Province activists are facing a
possible death sentence, says Human Rights Watch. They are being tried in a
counter-terror court. October 28 is their next scheduled court date.
They are "facing the most appalling possible punishment simply for their
involvement in anti-government protests," said Amnesty's Hadid. "We are urging
the Saudi Arabian authorities to drop these plans immediately."
(source: CBS News)
MALAYSIA:
Malaysian death sentences commuted for 3 Mexican brothers
The deaths sentences against 3 Mexican brothers convicted of drug trafficking
in Malaysia have been commuted to prison terms, a lawyer said Friday.
Lawyer Hisyam Teh Poh Teik said the prison department confirmed the sentences
had been commuted by the state sultan on March 26.
They are serving new sentences of 30 years in prison, starting from the date of
the royal pardon. Teh was 1of 2 lawyers for the brothers during their trial but
said he didn't handle their bid for a royal pardon.
The brothers from Mexico's Sinaloa state were arrested at a secluded Malaysian
drug factory in 2008 and said they had been cleaning the place.
Police found more than 29 kilograms (63 pounds) of methamphetamine at the
factory.
Malaysia's High Court convicted the brothers - Jose Regino, Simon and Luis
Alfonso Gonzalez Villarreal - of drug trafficking in May 2012. The crime
carries a mandatory penalty of death by hanging.
Their appeals to higher courts had failed with the country's top federal court
upholding the death sentences in 2015.
Sinaloa state is the cradle of Mexico's drug trade, but the brothers had no
criminal record at home. They had worked making and selling bricks in Mexico,
and their family said the brothers left for a job opportunity abroad and there
were no signs they were involved in the drug trade.
(source: Associated Press)
*********************
Law Minister agrees medical marijuana case should be reviewed
Datuk Liew Vui Keong believes the case of a 29-year-old man sentenced to death
for distributing medical marijuana should be reviewed.
The de facto law minister said he agreed with Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir
Mohamad who indicated that the government would review the case of Muhammad
Lukman, a 29-year-old father of one, who was convicted of possessing,
processing and distributing medical marijuana (cannabis oil).
"I'm confident that the rule of law shall prevail in this particular case, and
that he will be vindicated if he is innocent of the capital offence," Liew said
in a statement on Friday (Sep 21).
He said anyone convicted and given the death penalty would get to appeal their
case automatically at the Court of Appeal, and if he or she loses there, the
case would then go to the Federal Court.
Lukman was arrested along with his five-month expectant wife in December 2015
for the possession of 3.1 litres of cannabis oil, 279 grams of compressed
cannabis, 1.4kg of substance containing tetrahydrocan nabinol (THC).
He was handed the death sentence by the Shah Alam High Court on Aug 30.
According to Liew, the execution would not happen until all the avenues for
appeal, including the pardon board, had been exhausted, a process that would
take several years.
(source: thestar.com.my)
PAKISTAN:
Man gets death penalty in murder case
A court handed down a death sentence to a suspect for his involvement in a
murder case in Multan.
The prosecution told the court that Shahbaz, in connivance with Qaiser,
Muhammad Tariq, Muhammad Fayyaz, Ali Raza and Muhammad Sajid, gunned down a
woman named Shamim Akhtar over a dispute on October 9, 2017.
The local police registered a case against the accused and presented the
challan before the court. After hearing the arguments, the judge handed down a
death sentence to Shahbaz. The court also imposed a fine of Rs0.2 million on
the convict. The amount would be paid to the legal heirs of the deceased.
However, the judge acquitted the other 5 other co-accused, giving them the
benefit of doubt.
Earlier, a court awarded death penalty to a convict for his involvement in a
murder case in Faisalabad. Additional Sessions Judge Asadullah Siraj announced
the verdict.
Convict Fakhar Imam had killed his wife Hina and son Hasnain Ali over a
property dispute in 2015.
(source: The Express Tribune)
ST. LUCIA:
PM: Capital punishment will not solve crime problems
Speaking against the backdrop of Saint Lucia's latest homicide Thursday
morning, Prime Minister Allen Chastanet told reporters that he is not one of
those persons who believes that capital punishment will solve crime.
Chastanet said he knows that there are conflicting opinions on the subject and
people think capital punishment, which is still on the book here, is the
solution to a lot of the crimes that are occurring.
"I am not one of those people who believes that capital punishment is going to
solve those problems," the PM explained.
He said the problems of crime and deviant social behavior are more deep rooted
and require a greater intervention.
"That's why my government is looking at holistic plan towards crime," Chastanet
disclosed.
He told reporters that the plan includes improving the justice system.
"A simple thing like having better courthouses ," Chastanet stated.
He disclosed that he was very disappointed when he came into office and offered
the court system the financial centre building.
The PM recalled that after months of showing how the building could be
retrofitted and to the disappointment of hundreds of workers who were expecting
to work on the structure, the government was told that the justice system did
not want to go in.
He said attention was then given to putting a temporary facility at Barnard
Hill.
"A project that stared off at about 25 to 26 million dollars, after everybody's
intervention ended up about 50 million dollars - 50 million dollars, I have to
say 'Okay, it is better to build a permanent building'" he remarked.
Chastanet said private sector involvement was solicited to build new
courthouses and the price tag was $US 65 million.
He explained as much as justice is a priority for him, there is no way he can
find $US 65 million to undertake that expense.
"We have now decided that we are going to build independent court structures -
one of them, we think the most important one really, is the criminal court
which is actually in the Nyerah building right now," the PM stated.
But he declared that the court is 'grossly inadequate'.
Chastanet said the decision was taken to move the proposed new police
headquarters from Golden Hope and demolish the old Castries prison to build the
new headquarters at that site.
The demolition had been halted by a High Court order, issued after the Saint
Lucia National Trust filed an injunction to stop ongoing works at the site of
the old prison.
(source: St. Lucia Times)
PAPUA NEW GUINEA:
Deathrow man beats the noose
A man sentenced to death for the willful murder of an alleged sorceress in 2005
has avoided capital punishment after his sentence was reduced to life
imprisonment by the Supreme Court yesterday.
Sedoki Lota, 33, from Salakahadi village in Esa'ala district, Milne Bay
Province, and his accomplice Fred Abenko were sentenced to death in 2007 after
they pleaded guilty to being hired to and murdering Marcia Kedarossi. Chief
Justice Salamo Injia, on behalf of a Supreme Court bench, yesterday stressed
that the decision to commute Mr Lota's sentence was based on 3 extenuating
circumstances.
Firstly, the bench considered that although both men had been hired by a 3rd
party (they were paid K1500 and some traditional money) to seek out and kill
Kedarossi (who was believed to be a sorceress), they were not what the court
described as "professional hitmen".
The court also considered that the murder was explicable, in the fact that the
appellant was under the firm belief that the victim had killed both his father
and his mother through the use of sorcery. Furthermore, the court highlighted
that the sum of money which was offered to hire the 2 men was meager in the
context of the current PNG economy.
In light of these factors, the Supreme Court had ruled to allow the appeal
against Sedoki's death sentence.
However, an application by the appellant to reduce his sentence to 30 years
imprisonment was dismissed by the court. Sedoki was 1 of 8 men currently on
death row at Bomana jail who are still awaiting their death penalties to be
imposed.
(source: Post-Courier)
BELARUS:
The Last Refuge for the Death Penalty in Europe
Highly controversial and widely criticized in the EU and around the world, the
death penalty continues to be legal under the Belarusian constitution and
justified by the Belarusian people in cases of grave crimes. Whether it is
morally acceptable or ethically wrong, the issue of capital punishment has
thrown a spanner in the works of Belarusian politicians vying for a seat in the
Council of Europe, with Belarus being the only European country to allow the
executions of its prisoners.
History of the death penalty in Belarus
The death penalty has been a part of the country's policy since it gained
independence from the Soviet Union. Article 24 of the National Constitution
prescribes this punishment for "grave crimes" that occur against the state or
against individuals. A number of non-violent crimes can also be punishable by
death. Under the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus these crime include
terrorism (both domestic and international), treason, sabotage, conspiracy to
seize state power, aggressive warfare and violation of war laws, genocide,
acquisition of weapons of mass destruction and crimes against humanity, murders
of a police officer or of a diplomat, as well as murders of civilians committed
under aggravating circumstances. Statistically, the last one is the most common
charge brought against those that would later find themselves on the death row.
Over the years the number of crimes punishable by death has been reduced
excluding a number of economic crimes, however, terrorism has since been added
to the list. On March 1, 1994, the decision was made to pronounce women
ineligible for capital punishment. As of January of 2001 same goes for persons
under the age of 18 at the time when they committed the crime or over 65 at the
time of sentencing. Furthermore, under Article 84 of the Constitution, the
president of the Republic of Belarus "may grant pardons to convicted citizens".
There is reliable information that President Lukashenko granted at least 2
presidential pardons in his time in office.
The retention of the death penalty in Belarus has for years been criticized by
European officials and institutions. In 2000 the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe issued the following statement:
"We condemn in the strongest possible terms the executions in Belarus and
deplore the fact that Belarus is currently the only country in Europe where the
death penalty is enforced and, moreover, is regularly and widely enforced".
By choosing to abstain during the vote on the UN Moratorium on the Death
Penalty (adopted by the UN General Assembly on 18 December 2008) the Republic
of Belarus showed its intention to pursue its own national interests and avoid
taking steps towards abolishing capital punishment.
Belarus is known as the only European country to have carried out executions in
the 21st century. This issue has been quoted as the reason for Belarus being
denied a seat as a temporary or honorary member of the European Council, as its
current members have suggested a number of times that Belarus should abolish
capital punishment before it can apply for membership in the Council.
Furthermore after the abolishment of death penalty in Uzbekistan on January 1st
2008 Belarus remains the last post-Soviet state where this kind of penalty is
still utilized.
In its yearly review, presented in May 2008, the international human rights
organization Amnesty International called Belarus the 'last hangman in Europe'.
Over the years the organization has often addressed the Belarusian authorities
with the urge to refrain from the death penalty, criticizing both its presence
in the legal system and the procedure of its implementation, as well as quoting
the Belarusian Constitution. Article 24 proclaims 'Everyone has the right to
life. The state protects human life from all unlawful attempts'.
Methods and number of executions
The precise details of the executions are usually kept secret, yet it is
certain the official method used to carry out the death sentence in Belarus is
execution by shooting. On the day of the execution the death-row inmate is
believed to be transported to a secret location, where he is told that his
appeals were rejected. The procedure is thought to be quick with no relatives
in attendance. Doctors on sight pronounce the inmate dead, give out the death
certificate and the body is then buried, once again, in an undisclosed
location. The family members are later notified of the fact that the execution
has taken place in an official letter, omitting the details of the execution
and of the site of the offender's grave.
Such method of execution does not sit well with many European officials and
human rights groups, who have previously called such practices inhumane.
There is as much mystery surrounding the exact number of death penalty
sentences carried out annually. Some reports suggest the number has varied from
2 to 9 persons a year in the last 2 decades.
The website of the Belarusian Ministry of Internal Affairs provides the
following information:
Time period Number of executions
1990-1995 148
1996-2000 139
2001-2005 19
2006-2010 19
2011-2015 9
2016 4
2017 Not known
There is speculation that the official numbers may be inaccurate due to the
lack of transparency on the part of Belarusian authorities and their desire to
avoid death penalty related publicity. What is undoubtedly true, however, is
that the number of executions has dramatically dropped since the 90's and
briefly in 2012-2015 while the negotiations with Europe were underway the
executions almost stopped.
Public opinion
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has multiple times reminded the
Belarusian people and the rest of the world that the Belarusian citizens
themselves at the 1996 referendum overwhelmingly voted for the retention of the
capital punishment. According to the Belarusian Constitution issues and
proposals approved and implemented by a referendum may only be overturned by
another referendum. Lukashenko has said that he is certain that if there were a
new vote the result would be the same as back in 1996.
According to some reports the support for the retention of the death penalty
surged even higher after the terrorist attack on the Minsk metro that took
place on the 11th of March 2011 and shocked and devastated a traditionally
secure and peaceful country. The terrorist attack left 15 dead and 203 injured
sending Belarusian people into mourning and disbelief.
The investigation and manhunt that followed kept the country on its toes and
the sigh of relief was palpable as two alleged culprits were apprehended. Both
of them were found guilty and sentenced to death. The Belarusian authorities
promptly after the sentencing officially announced that the executions had been
carried out.
The reactions to these executions were mixed with human rights groups and
opposition parties expressing their concern about some of the practices
employed by officials during the investigation, yet a large number of
Belarusians admitted to feeling safer after the threats were neutralized.
UNDP Conference "Death Penalty: Transcending the Divide"
On March 10th 2016 Minsk together with the United Nations hosted the "Death
Penalty: Transcending the Divide" conference with the aim of building bridges
between Belarus and Europe. The conference was a landmark event, according to
the EU Special Representative for Human Rights Stavros Lambrinidis. He noted
that the 20th century saw a considerable increase in the number of countries
that chose to abandon capital punishment, including moratoriums and full
prohibition (as of 2017 more than 150 countries). According to Lambrinidis, it
is essential that life sentences become the most severe form of punishment. He
added that in many countries, the majority of the population was against
abandoning the death sentence but the leaders made a political decision to go
through with it, and with time, the citizens got on board.
Belarus plays an important role in resolving international crises, Andrea
Rigoni, PACE rapporteur on Belarus, said at the conference. Mr. Rigoni then
stated that he wanted Belarus to return to the Council of Europe. "I consider
it necessary to move in this direction with greater determination in order to
accelerate the process of rapprochement of Belarus with the Council of Europe
and with the values of the Council of Europe. It is a long process and we are
here to protect our views, our values and to support a moratorium on the death
penalty, which is one of our fundamental values. Having started this process
together, we should keep moving together, making small steps towards our common
goal. I believe that the EU should have more influence on this process and make
more of an effort to see the results," Andrea Rigoni said. Meanwhile, he noted
that the position of the Council of Europe on the death penalty is that it
should be fully abolished. Rigoni added that the moratorium could allow Belarus
to return to the PACE as a special guest.
As of 2017, the future of the capital punishment in Belarus is unknown. The
arguments presented by the supporters of life sentences, such as the assumption
that a life sentence may be a more severe form of punishment on the offender,
do not seem to have resonated with the Belarusian public or statesmen. The
pressure from the outside and the media campaigns did little to sway the
majority or bring enough attention to the issue for it to be discussed in
offices or households. Although there is talk of potentially addressing the
issue on the governmental level or holding a state-wide referendum, as of 2107
no definite steps in this direction have been taken.
(source: expatreporter.com)
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