October 8
UNITED KINGDOM:
UK dropped objection to death penalty for Isis suspects 'to appease US'----High
court told home secretary abandoned policy to avoid White House 'outrage'
The home secretary, Sajid Javid, decided to cooperate with US authorities in
the prosecution of 2 alleged Islamic State fighters, without assurances they
would not face the death penalty, in order to avoid "political outrage" in the
Trump administration, the high court has been told.
The allegation came as the lord chief justice, Lord Burnett of Maldon, and Mr
Justice Garnham heard an application on behalf of the mother of El Shafee
Elsheikh over the legality of the Home Office’s agreement to provide evidence
to US prosecutors.
Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey, who were raised in Britain, are alleged to have
been part of an Isis terrorism cell, some of whom were known as "the Beatles",
that is thought to have carried out 27 beheadings of US and UK citizens in
Isis-held territory. Those killed included 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 behind-the-scenes negotiations
between the UK and the US governments over where they should be prosecuted.
Javid's decision not to seek assurances from the US that the 2 men would not
face the death penalty was in defiance of advice from the Foreign Office and
senior civil servants, said Edward Fitzgerald QC, who represents Maha El
Gizouli, Elsheikh's mother.
It also broke with the policy of 2 previous home secretaries, Theresa May and
Amber Rudd, who had sought such assurances in the cases of both suspects, the
court was told.
Javid's decision in May to abandon seeking such assurances over the death
penalty was "in large part because of anticipated outrage among political
appointments in the Trump administration", Fitzgerald said.
The US attorney general, Jeff Sessions, had initially pressed for Elsheikh and
Kotey to be prosecuted in the UK, acknowledging that 600 statements taken by
the Metropolitan police's counter-terrorism command would be needed to convict
them.
At a later US Senate panel hearing, Sessions expressed "disappointment that the
British are not willing to try the case but had tried to tell [US prosecutors]
how to try them", Fitzgerald said. Gizouli was not bringing that case "to
excuse the appalling acts of which her son is accused", he added.
The issue with which she is legitimately concerned is whether the home
secretary has made a legal decision. "It's relevant that the families of the
victims have said they want justice but not the death penalty."
If imposed, Elsheikh and Kotey would suffer a "gruesome and painful" death
through lethal injection. Executions in the US are often long-delayed and
delivered through a system "that is unreliable, tortuous and experimental",
Fitzgerald said.
Defending the decision, Sir James Eadie, for the home secretary, said in
written submissions that it was accepted that Elsheikh was outside the
protections of the Human Rights Act.
Those arguing for assurances over the death penalty faced "insuperable
barriers" in showing that there was a common law right that the home secretary
had to "protect an individual's life from the actions of a 3rd party", Eadie
said.
Nor was there any common law prohibition on the provision of legal assistance
where it might be used to impose the death penalty in a foreign state, he
added.
Elsheikh was captured in January. Metropolitan police documents written shortly
afterwards suggest he and Kotey were being held by US forces in Iraq, the court
was told.
This is the 1st time there had been a "deliberate attempt" to depart from the
long-established UK policy of opposing the death penalty around the world,
Fitzgerald said.
The only previous incident, in 2014, involved British police cooperating with
officers in Thailand, but when it was opposed, he said, the courts stopped it
on the grounds that the police had "acted unlawfully and failed to have regard
for public policy".
Not only had Javid not sought assurances over the death penalty, the court was
told, he even decided not to take up earlier partial assurances the Americans
had offered over not sending the men to Guantánamo Bay detention centre.
The British ambassador to Washington had warned Javid that seeking death
penalty assurances would provoke "something close to outrage among Sessions,
James Mattis [the US defence secretary] and Mike Pompeo [the US secretary of
state].
"These political appointees would be outraged and they will tell the president
and he will hold a grudge," Fitzgerald said, and that would damage relations
between the UK and US.
Javid met Sessions in late May. According to records of a senior civil servant
released to the court, Javid said if he asked for assurances it was likely to
result in political outrage. Accordingly, he had decided not to ask for any
assurances. This was an "an unworthy capitulation", Fitzgerald commented.
Correspondence released to the court show that in June Javid wrote to the then
foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, stating that "significant attempts having
been made to seek a full assurance, it is now right to accede to the mutual
legal assistance (MLA) request without an assurance [over the death penalty]".
Johnson wrote back that month and pointed out that not obtaining assurances
carried a political and security risk to the UK "should the men be executed".
Nonetheless, Johnson concluded, this was a "unique and unprecedented case, [so]
it is in the UK's national security interests to accede to an MLA request for a
criminal prosecution without death penalty assurances for Kotey and Elsheikh".
(source: The Guardian)
IRAN:
IStatement by Iran’s death row prisoners on World Day against the Death Penalty
On the eve of October 10 which marks the World Day against the Death Penalty,
as a number of death row prisoners all over Iran, we announce the following:
- While 176 prisoners were executed during the 1st half of 2018
- While the Iranian regime has executed prisoners despite repeated
international calls, including 3 Kurd political prisoners, Ramin Hossein
Panahai, Zaniar Moradi and Loghman Moradi, to intimidate the public in fear of
the spread of protests and the anger and frustration of the people- While the
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Michelle Bachelet condemned the
execution of juveniles
- While Iranian truckers have been on strike since September 23 which has
spread to more than 310 cities; While the government has threatened truck
drivers to death and has arrested 250 truck drivers
- While we are among the thousands of prisoners across Iran awaiting our death
and like Zaniar Moradi wrote before his death: "9 years have passed. 9 years in
which I languished in prison while being sentenced to the inhumane death
sentence. During these long years... I dreamed of being hanged by the noose.
I've spent these 9 years thinking about the gallows and the noose and that they
will hang around my neck... Every time a young person was hanged in this
country, I felt as though it was my turn to be hanged."
Therefore, as a number of prisoners in various prisons in Iran who have been
sentenced to death:
- We urge all international human rights organizations, especially the High
Commissioner for Human Rights and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of
human rights in Iran, journalists and the media, to condemn these executions
and take immediate action to stop these medieval crimes being carried out in
the 21st century.
- We request that the 40 years of execution, public execution and systematic
killings be stopped in Iran.
Currently executions have turned into an instrument in the hands of the
authoritarian rulers of Iran to consolidate their rule and suppress the people.
We consider the execution of prisoners as systematic killings carried out by
the government. The gallows are not the solution to the Iranian people's
problems.
As prisoners who have faced death and execution throughout these years, we call
on the families of all death row prisoners, political prisoners and all
political and human rights activists to unify and become the voice for the
annulment of the death sentence and to aid the people of Iranian in countering
this historical calamity.
Signed
A group of death row prisoners in Iran
(source: Iran Human Rights)
BANGLADESH:
Bangladesh to execute Saudi diplomat's killer
Bangladesh's Supreme Court has upheld the death penalty for a convict charged
with the murder of Saudi embassy official Khalaf Al Ali.
A 4-member bench of the Appellate Division, led by Chief Justice Syed Mahmoud
Hussain, rejected the petition filed by the convict against the death penalty.
"Now, there is no bar towards executing the verdict against convict Saiful
Islam Mamun," Attorney General Mahbubey Alam was quoted as saying on Sunday by
the United News of Bangladesh.
The High Court had sentenced Mamun to death and Mohammad Al Amin, Akbar Ali
Lalu and Rafiqul Islam to life in prison for their role in the murder of the
Saudi citizen.
Al Ali, 45, an official with the consular section of the embassy, was shot in
the capital's highly secured Gulshan diplomatic zone in front of his rented
apartment at about 1am on March 5, 2012, the local authorities said. He died at
a hospital at around 5pm.
Al Ali had worked in the Saudi embassy in Dhaka for two years after being
posted in Azerbaijan for 7 years and was scheduled to be moved to Jordan within
months.
2 days after the killing, 5 suspects were charged with the murder, and on
December 30, 2012, a Dhaka court sentenced the 5 accused to death.
However, the convicts appealed the sentenced, and the High Court in 2013 upheld
the death sentence of Saiful Islam Mamun, but commuted the sentences of
Mohammad Al Amin, Akbar Ali Lalu and Rafiqul Islam to life in prison and
acquitted fugitive Selim Chowdhury.
The case reached the Supreme Court in 2014.
(source: Gulf News)
***********************
Death penalty for yaba dealers----Cabinet approves draft law
The cabinet today approves the draft of a law, in principle, with a provision
of death penalty for trading yaba.
According to the 'Narcotics Control Act-2018', if yaba dealers are found with
less than 5 grams of the drug, they can be sentenced to maximum 15 years in
prison.
And if the yaba traders are found with more than 5 grams, the maximum
punishment is death penalty.
Cabinet Secretary Shafiul Alam today confirmed the matter to reporters at a
press briefing after the weekly cabinet meeting.
The Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) has drafted the law.
(soruce: The Daily Star)
AUSTRALIA:
Pastor who counselled the Bali Nine ringleaders before they were executed
issues a chilling warning to Aussie tourists - and reveals her last words to
the drug smugglers before they faced firing squad
The pastor who guided 2 of the Bali 9 ringleaders before their execution has
issued a chilling warning to Australian tourists, after revealing the pair's
final moments.
Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan were convicted of attempting to smuggle 8.3kg
of heroin out of Indonesia and into Australia in 2005, and were sentenced to
death for their leadership roles in the ring before being executed in 2015.
Christie Buckingham fears the increasing number of cheap flights to South East
Asian nations will mean more 'irresponsible' Australian travellers tempted by
drug trafficking.
According to Ms Buckingham, 3.5 million Australians each year visit 8
neighbouring countries that still execute criminals.
The Australian government warns tourists to exercise a high degree of caution
in Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar and the Philippines, because of drug laws and
fears of terrorist attacks.
'We are talking about a lot of irresponsible young adults, or irresponsible
older people who go there because alcohol is inexpensive and everything is
permissible,' Ms Buckingham told The Herald Sun.
'Then they have unrealistic expectations of the embassies. They are not there
to get you out of trouble that you are not insured to be in.'
Sukumaran and Chan spent 10 years on death row, and were widely believed to be
rehabilitated when they faced the firing squad in 2015.
Ms Buckingham, who was a pastor in the prison, who led and worked with both men
during their journey toward rehabilitation but ultimately their death.
The Christian leader saw Sukumaran become an accomplished artist and teacher
within the prison and watched Chan follow in her footsteps to become a pastor
as well.
She lobbied tirelessly to get the men off death row, but Indonesia was firm in
its decision, and her pleas went unanswered.
Ms Buckingham was with Sukumaran in the minutes before he was killed.
She put her hand over his heart in the moments before she had to step out of
the way, and was astonished by how calm he was.
She said he had accepted his fate, and was at peace with what was about to
come.MO< Her last words to Sukumaran before he died were: 'You have a good
heart'. I’ll see you on the other side.'
Ms Buckingham portrays herself in the film 'Guilty', which will be released to
coincide with a United Nations vote to put pressure on countries who still
impose the death penalty.
The film documents the last 72 hours of both men's lives.
It hopes to draw awareness to the implications of making potentially deadly
mistakes in foreign countries, particularly at a time when holiday packages to
Indonesia are so cheap.
WHO ARE THE BALI 9?
The Bali 9 was the name given to a group of Australians convicted for
attempting to smuggle 8.3 kg of heroin out of Indonesia in April 2005.
The haul was estimated to be worth $4million and was headed to Australia.
Ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were sentenced to death and were
executed in April 2015.
Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen died in a Jakarta hospital from stomach cancer in June
this year.
Si Yi Chen, Michael Czugaj, Matthew Norman, Scott Rush and Martin Stephens were
sentenced to life behind bars in Indonesia.
Renee Lawrence is only Bali 9 member have her jail time cut and received a
reduction on her 20-year sentence in 2017. She could return home to Australia
later this year.
(source: dailymail.co.uk)
PAKISTAN:
Pakistan postpones ruling on Christian woman
Pakistan's Supreme Court has postponed its ruling on a final appeal by a
Christian woman on death row since 2010 on charges of blasphemy.
The judicial panel listened to Asia Bibi's defense lawyer challenge statements
by those who accused her of insulting Islam's prophet, an allegation that can
incite riots in conservative Pakistan.
The charge dates back to 2009 when Bibi went to get water for her and her
fellow farmworkers. 2 Muslim women refused to take a drink from a container
used by a Christian. A few days later, a mob accused her of blasphemy. She was
convicted and sentenced to death.
The 3-judge panel led by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar did not indicate on
Monday when the court would announce its ruling.
(source: mymotherlode.com)
********************
Last appeal of Christian on Pakistan death row for blasphemy
Pakistan's Supreme Court is to hear Monday the final appeal of a Christian
woman who has been on death row since 2010, accused of insulting Islam's
prophet, a crime that incites mobs to kill and carries an automatic death
penalty.
Ahead of the hearing, lawyer Saiful Malook expressed optimism that he would win
the last legal appeal for Aasia Bibi. But if not, he planned to seek a review,
which could take years to complete.
"I am a 100 % sure she will be acquitted," Malook told The Associated Press in
a telephone interview on the eve of the hearing. "She has a very good case."
On a hot day in 2009, Bibi went to get water for her and her fellow
farmworkers. After she took a sip, some of the Muslim women became angry that a
Christian had drunk from the same container. They demanded she convert, she
refused. 5 days later, a mob accused her of blasphemy. She was convicted and
sentenced to death.
Malook said he will argue that the many contradictions of the eyewitnesses
taint their evidence. Malook said he will also argue that the witnesses were
not judged in keeping with Islamic injunctions, which requires they be proven
to be "pious, to never have lied, to be of good character."
Internationally, Bibi's case has generated outrage. But in Pakistan, it has
rallied radical Islamists and militant groups who have embraced Pakistan's
controversial blasphemy law, using it to cultivate support and attack those who
try to break their power.
Just defending her is dangerous.
"I have lost my health. I am a high blood pressure patent, my privacy is
totally lost. You have to be in hiding," her lawyer said. Everyone on his
tree-lined street knows his identity. "They look at this house and they know
this is the home of a person who can be killed at any time by angry mullahs."
Outside Malook's home in the Punjab provincial capital of Lahore, police
provide around-the-clock security.
In 2011, Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab province was shot and killed by
one of his elite guards for defending Bibi and criticizing misuse of the
blasphemy law. Malook prosecuted his killer, Mumtaz Qadri, who was hanged for
his crime.
Qadri has since become a martyr to millions, who make a pilgrimage to a shrine
erected in his name by his family outside the capital of Islamabad.
Last month a member of Pakistan's newly elected government, which is led by
Imran Khan, a former cricket star who has embraced religious conservatism,
offered prayers at Qadri's shrine, generating an outcry from rights activists.
Qadri's supporters have openly called for the immediate death of anyone accused
of blasphemy.
An unprecedented number of religious parties participated in the July elections
that put Khan in power. But as in previous elections, they garnered less than
10 % of the popular vote. Still, they have allies among all the major parties.
One party, Tehreek-e-Labbaik, won three provincial seats in Pakistan's southern
Sindh province by campaigning on a single issue - the finality of the Prophet
Muhammad. Its followers are ardent supporters of the harsh blasphemy law that
prescribes death for anyone found guilty of insulting Islam.
According to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, 71
countries have blasphemy laws - around a quarter of them are in the Middle East
and North Africa and around a fifth are European countries, though enforcement
and punishment varies.
Pakistan is one of the most ferocious enforcers.
At least 1,472 people were charged under Pakistan's blasphemy laws between 1987
and 2016, according to statistics collected by the Center for Social Justice, a
Lahore-based group. Of those, 730 were Muslims, 501 were Ahmadis - a sect
reviled by mainstream Muslims as heretical - while 205 were Christians and 26
were Hindus. The center said it didn't know the religion of the final 10
because they were killed by vigilantes before they could get their day in
court.
While Pakistan's law carries the death penalty for blasphemy and offenders have
been sentenced to death, so far no one has ever been executed.
Malook said an acquittal could generate countrywide protests. In the past,
people charged with blasphemy but later freed have had to flee Pakistan for
their safety.
(source: Associated Press)
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