October 19
SOUTHEAST ASIA:
South-East Asian countries are backing away from the death penalty----But not
from extra-judicial killings
Malaysia is hardly known for the leniency of its punishments. Sharia (Islamic
law) applies in some states and canings offer a violent public spectacle. Even
so, the country's new government no longer wishes to deal in death. On October
10th Liew Vui Keong, a minister, announced that the death penalty would be
abolished, although the necessary legislation has yet to be introduced in
parliament. That would leave only four countries in South-East Asia still
conducting executions: Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. And even
among these hold-outs, there are signs of change.
Vietnam, with a population of more than 95m, is by far the most prolific
executioner in the region. It does not normally disclose the number of
prisoners put to death. But last year it reported that 429 had been executed in
a 151-week period between 2013 and 2016, a much higher number than had been
estimated previously. Singapore, the next on the list, carried out only 8
hangings last year.
In Singapore and elsewhere, the death penalty remains popular with voters. But
it is less and less so with lawmakers, who are more aware of the foreign
criticism it attracts, especially because it is sometimes used for non-violent
crimes such as corruption and drug offences. In recent years Vietnam has
abolished it for crimes such as producing or trading counterfeit food and
possessing drugs. Last year Malaysia and Thailand scrapped mandatory death
sentences for selling drugs. In Indonesia a new law under discussion in
parliament would introduce a ten-year probation period before an execution
occurs.
There is regression, too. Singapore imposed a moratorium in 2011 during a
review of mandatory sentencing before resuming executions in 2014. In June
Thailand carried out its 1st execution since 2009. In the Philippines President
Rodrigo Duterte would like to reintroduce the death penalty, a view shared by
many of those who voted for him. But legislation to do so has stalled in
Congress. The new speaker of the House of Representatives, Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo, is a former president who helped to bring about the abolition of the
death penalty in 2006.
As encouraging as the growing ambivalence about executions is, however, the
region suffers from enormous numbers of extra-judicial killings in which the
authorities often participate. Myanmar has not formally executed anyone since
1988. Yet a UN report last month said that its army had slaughtered more than
10,000 members of a Muslim minority, the Rohingyas, in a pogrom which began
last year.
Indonesian authorities shot dead more than 60 drug suspects last year. They
claim, unconvincingly, that all the killings occurred in self-defence, or as
suspects attempted to flee. In the Philippines Mr Duterte's war against drugs
has unleashed murder on an appalling scale. Police and vigilantes have killed
more than 20,000 suspects in around 2 years, according to human-rights groups
and opposition politicians. For the most part the victims have been petty users
and dealers, rather than kingpins. Mr Duterte has himself boasted on occasion
about participating in such killings in his previous job as mayor of the city
of Davao; at other times he has disavowed any role. But he certainly has not
disavowed the practice.
(source: The Economist)
PAKISTAN:
Rethinking Pakistan's drug law----This mislaid focus, which allows for
expendable 'drug mules' to be arrested and convicted rather than the actual
kingpins, is aided by the broad-brush nature of the law
Dilawar, a 65 years-old truck driver, is apprehended one day on his way to
Kashmir and found to be carrying 380 kilos of cannabis. He is oblivious to the
nature of the cargo, yet is able to identify with detailed precision, the
people who had employed him to carry it. Although apprehended, these
individuals are only detained and then released without any charges against
them. Dilawar on the other hand, a man who would have needed 76 years just to
earn the money required to buy that amount of drugs, was prosecuted and
eventually handed a sentence for life imprisonment.
Dilawar’s case is not anomalous in the record of anti-narcotics enforcement in
the country. The regime in Pakistan is rigged against those from the poorest
and most vulnerable strata of society. In many cases this includes women and it
also includes under-age minors and people with learning difficulties.
A report published earlier this year by the Foundation for Fundamental rights
relied on extensive case reviews and interviews, to reveal the iniquitous
operations of the Control of Narcotic Substances Act of 1997 (CNSA). The
extensive research in the report does not reveal a single case, where a
defendant had faced the harshest penalties under the act - death or life
imprisonment - for the organization, management or financing of drug cartels.
All death penalties handed out under the CNSA are for possession-based
offences.
Ostensibly, the CNSA was implemented to control the "production and processing"
of narcotics in addition to their trafficking. However, under the CNSA regime
the focus has remained on making individual seizures of narcotics, rather than
on building more complex investigations targeting senior traffickers and the
disruption of criminal networks. This mislaid focus, which allows for
expendable 'drug mules' to be arrested and convicted rather than the actual
kingpins, is aided by the broad-brush nature of the law.
Such a focus on outputs instead of outcomes under the CNSA regime is the reason
that more than 6.7 million Pakistanis remain dependent on or addicted to drugs
according to UNODC. Despite these seizures and arrests, the flow of drugs
through the country has not been significantly impacted
In the first place, the CNSA presumes that accused parties found carrying drugs
are guilty under the Act. Section 29 particularly shifts the criminal burden of
proof onto the accused so that he or she has to account satisfactorily for
possession of a prohibited substance, failing which they are found to be
guilty. In most cases testimonies from independent witnesses (those who are not
on the ANF's payroll) are not taken into account. Given the inability in most
cases to pay for good legal representation, the accused has very little
capacity to overcome this presumption of guilt. By making possession almost a
strict liability offence, the quantum of punishment is solely determined by
reference to the quantity of narcotics found on the person. Few, if any
mitigating factors are considered.
Overall, the framework is itself flawed: from acts ranging from simple
possession of drugs to management or financing of a cartel, courts can hand
down the death penalty or life imprisonment. Given the low standard of proof
required for convictions on possession, these account for the high success rate
that the ANF counts for 'drug busts' in this country. Returning to the case of
Dilawar above, it is clear that all the parties who organized, financed and
managed this consignment of drugs remain at large. The life sentence awarded to
Dilawar reflects the cumulative harm that such a large quantity of drugs would
be ascertained to have if released into society; however, is it fair that
Dilawar be the one from whom retribution is sought?
In many cases, carriers and transporters are often coerced, tricked or driven
by deplorable socioeconomic circumstances into drug trafficking. Beyond the
relatively small sums that they may in cases be paid, they cannot be understood
to have financial stakes in the drug trade. The cartels that do have a stake
continue to flourish in conditions of relative impunity. Yet, even when
identified, kingpins go free and the drug trade continues on.
At a function held in December 2017, the Anti-Narcotics Force congratulated
itself for burning roughly 136 Metric Tons of drugs during its continuous
'Anti-Drug Drives' in major cities in 2017. In his presentation DG ANF cited
sizable amounts of various types of harmful drugs being seized. He reportedly
lauded the enforcement authorities for "successfully" convicting 96 % of the
people caught for drug trafficking. Research, however, indicates that these
statistics can be misleading as indicators of success.
At a function held in December 2017, the Anti-Narcotics Force congratulated
itself for burning roughly 136 Metric Tons of drugs during its continuous
'Anti-Drug Drives' in major cities in 2017
Such a focus on outputs instead of outcomes under the CNSA regime is the reason
that more than 6.7 million Pakistanis remain dependent on or addicted to drugs
according to UNODC. Despite these seizures and arrests, the flow of drugs
through the country has not been significantly impacted.
Unless reforms are introduced to make the statute fairer and more effective,
and standards of justice in the CNSA courts are improved, the CNSA regime will
continue to fall short of achieving its objectives and this figure will only go
higher.
The FFR report suggests some solutions. These include a reworking of the
statute to allow for more proportionate sentencing reflective of the severity
of the offense committed, the willingness of the offenders to cooperate and
identify kingpins, a co-consideration of the type and quantity of drug being
carried. Given that it's proven utterly ineffective in deterring couriers or
cartel leaders, the inclusion of the death penalty as punishment in this
statute needs to be reconsidered.
Instead, a combination of financial and custodial penalties targeting the
assets and liberty of the traffickers (particularly the senior ones) can be
more effective as punishment. Focus needs to be redirected towards senior
traffickers and on dismantling organised drug trafficking networks rather than
intercepting 'mules' who can be easily replaced.
(source: Op-Ed; Ifrah, Hassan; The writer is Manager Communications at
Foundation for Fundamental Rights (FFR), Islamabad----The Daily Times)
TAIWAN:
EU disappointed over execution of death row inmate in Taiwan
The European Union (EU) was "very disappointed" over the Tsai Ing-wen
administration's execution of a death row inmate in late August and rejects its
logic that the death penalty was carried out because capital punishment has yet
to be abolished in Taiwan, the top EU envoy to Taiwan said Friday.
Lee Hung-chi, 39, who was convicted of murder in 2014, was executed in
Kaohsiung on Aug. 31. It was the 1st execution since President Tsai took office
on May 20, 2016.
Asked to comment on the execution, Madeleine Majorenko, head of the European
Economic and Trade Office (EETO), the EU's representative office in Taiwan,
told reporters that it came as a surprise and people in the EU were "very
disappointed" over the move.
Majorenko said she talked with Taiwan officials after the execution and was
told that the sentence was carried out because "we have that (death penalty) in
our law, we must obey the law, which means we must execute somebody."
"We don't accept that logic. Just because it says in the law that you can
execute somebody because it's on your statute book, that doesn't mean we
believe you have to do it," she noted.
She said she was also told that it is still the long-term objective of the
government to abolish the death penalty. "But they don't feel the time is now
(to abolish death penalty)," Majorenko said.
The EU representative said she understands that opinion polls in Taiwan show
over 80 % support for capital punishment.
However, she pointed out that her office commissioned a survey undertaken by
Taiwan's top research institute Academia Sinica several years ago, the results
of which showed that if one offers an alternative to the death penalty, support
to abolish capital punishment increases to around 50 %.
The EETO head said the execution will not affect the possible signing of a
Bilateral Investment Agreement (BIA) with Taiwan when asked to comment if the 2
are connected.
"I think I can safely say it will not affect the progress of our discussions on
the agreement."
She noted that there is a "huge element of disappointment" in Brussels at the
execution, but added "it's not our way of engaging with partners to hold one
thing hostage in order to deal with another issue."
However, she also said no recent progress has been made in bilateral BIA talks.
(source: focustaiwan.tw)
CHINA/JAPAN:
Italian priest backs anti-death penalty bid----But representatives of the
Japanese and Chinese governments refused to accept a petition
An Italian-born priest and others have attempted to lodge a petition seeking
the abolition of the death penalty with representatives of the governments of
both Japan and China.
The petition was taken to the Consulate-General of Japan in Hong Kong and the
main liaison office there of the mainland Chinese government.
On the Oct. 10 'World Day against the Death Penalty', Father Franco Mella of
the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, did so along with fellow Hong
Kong activists opposed to capital punishment.
The petitioners sang, shouted slogans and submitted the petition, which
personnel at both locations refused to accept.
The group expressed dissatisfaction with the officials being unwilling to pass
on the petition to their respective governments.
Born in Milan, Father Mella arrived in Hong Kong in the 1970s and then spent
some 20 years in China.
He has devoted his life to fighting for the rights of the disadvantaged.
Japan is one of the only developed countries in the world that has maintained
the death penalty.
In July, the wealthy island nation executed 13 people who had been found guilty
of involvement in acts of terrorism by the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult,
including a 1995 sarin poison gas attack on Tokyo's subway.
Some prisoners were notified only immediately before their execution took place
and even the families of the condemned were not advised in advance.
China in 2017 was the nation that carried out the largest number of executions
in the world, followed by Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Pakistan.
Hong Kong has had an 'Abolish the Death Penalty Group' for 20 years.
Father Mella, who is a member, said some crimes resulting in executions
world-wide could not be considered heinous.
And the priest told ucanews.com that the death penalty was cruel and did not
effectively prevent crimes from happening.
"The national crime rates of countries that abolished the death penalty have
not seen rapid growth," he said.
(source: ucanews.com)
MALAYSIA:
Briton murdered in Langkawi, wife arrested
A British man has been stabbed to death in Langkawi, and his wife has been
arrested on suspicion of murder, police said yesterday.
John William Jones, 62, was found on the floor of his house with a stab wound
to the chest, local police chief Mohamad Iqbal Ibrahim told AFP.
His British wife, whose identity was not disclosed, has been detained and is
suspected of having murdered him following a row, he said.
The pair had lived on Langkawi for the past 11 years, Iqbal said.
"The couple were believed to have engaged in an argument. The wife then took a
knife from the kitchen and stabbed her husband in the chest," he said.
A 30cm knife was found on the floor of the couple's bedroom covered in blood
stains, he said.
Local media reported the victim's body was discovered early yesterday after
neighbours alerted police.
Under current laws, the wife will be sentenced to death by hanging if she is
found guilty of murdering her husband. Murder carries a mandatory death
sentence in Malaysia.
The government recently pledged to abolish the death penalty for all crimes but
lawmakers still have to approve the changes.
************************
Congrats on 2 recent cabinet decisions, Putrajaya!
The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) takes note of and
congratulates the government on the 2 cabinet decisions recently and sees them
as part of the process of the phasing in of transformative democracy and
rights-based reforms in Malaysia.
First is the government's decision that has been taken note of internationally,
to fully abolish the death penalty, that has been traditionally seen as a
sensitive political issue. The government's position is in line with United
Nations General Assembly resolutions calling for a phasing out of capital
punishment, further affirming that Malaysia will soon fully guarantee the
fundamental right to life.
The death penalty has no place in a modern legal system given that there is no
conclusive evidence of the deterrent value of the death penalty and Suhakam
advises that a legal or de facto moratorium on the use of the death penalty be
observed pending the abolition.
Second is the decision to put in place a moratorium on the use of the Sedition
Act 1948 pending its repeal.
Suhakam believes the government is now in a position to take concurrent steps
towards ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Uncat) as promoting human rights and
democracy must be seen as a priority for Malaysia.
(source: Letter, malaysiakini.com)
FIJI:
Ro Filipe for death penalty
Social Democratic Liberal Party candidate Ro Filipe Tuisawau says he will
pursue death penalty for child rapists and murderers if their party comes into
Government after the 2018 General Election.
He said the lack of moral leadership in Fiji showed that the nation had started
to deteriorate.
"The rape situation is one of the worst in the world," he claimed.
"I will pursue death penalty for child rape and murder. Physical and chemical
castration of rapists is a must.
"This must be immediately implemented. Rapists must be whipped every week," Ro
Filipe said.
Ro Filipe said a new constitution was needed to be formulated and validated by
the people.
The Rewa chief, who is contesting the 2018 polls, is a former student of Queen
Victoria School and has a Bachelor of Arts and Graduate Certificate in
Education from the University of the South Pacific.
Ro Filipe also attained a Masters of Business Administration from Massey
University, New Zealand and graduate certificate in Migration Law from
Australian National University.
For 30 years, he worked for the USP, Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Air
Terminal Services and the South Pacific Tourism Organisation.
Ro Filipe was also a director of Airports Fiji Ltd and is a director of Rewa
Provincial Holdings Fiji Ltd.
He is married with 5 children.
(source: fijitimes.com)
IRAN----executions
Iran executes 7 in past week, three of them Kurds
Iranian officials in 5 different prisons carried out the death sentences of 7
prisoners in the past week as the country continues to dominate total execution
numbers internationally. Among those executed were 3 Kurds, a human rights
watchdog reported on Wednesday.
Mawloud Sha-Husseini, from Kurdistan Province's city of Divandarreh
(Diwandara), was arrested in 2014 on charges of dealing drugs and shortly after
was convicted and handed a death sentence. Now 29, he has been awaiting the
completion of his sentence for the past 4 years and on Tuesday it was carried
out in Isfahan Central Prison, said Iran Human Rights Monitor.
On Sunday, Aslan Shirani, 33, another Kurdish prisoner from the city of West
Azerbaijan's Miandoab city and held in Maragha Prison in East Azerbaijan, was
also executed. He was convicted of "premeditated murder" in 2015.
3 days afterward, in Ilam Central Prison, another Kurdish prisoner named Kurosh
Behzadian, whose age and place of birth is unclear, was hanged till death 6
years after he was sentenced on the same charges.
2 other Iranian nationals, Behrooz Ansari-Lanjan and Ayoub Jahandar, were
executed in Isfahan Central Prison and South Khorasan's Ferdaws prison,
respectively.
Earlier in the week, local reports indicated the hanging of 2 other prisoners,
Saleh Mota’ahil, 38, and Yar-Ali Nouri, 40, who were held in Chaharmahal and
Bakhtiari Province's Shahr-e Kord prison.
According to Amnesty International, among the 23 countries that carried out
death sentences in 2017, "Iran executed at least 507 people." At least 31 of
those executions were public, and 5 of those executed were under 18 years old.
These numbers account for more than 1/2 of all recorded executions in 2017.
From March through September, Iran has hanged over 40 Iranian Kurds and
sentenced just under a dozen other activists to death, as reported by Hengaw, a
group that writes on human rights violations involving Kurds in Iran.
Other cases that garnered international attention in recent weeks were that of
Ramin Hussein Panahi and 2 cousins Loghman and Zaniar Moradi who were all
executed on Sept. 08.
(source: kurdistan24.net)
ZIMBABWE:
Hangman Position Remains Vacant Since 2006 Despite High Unemployment Rate
Despite the high unemployment in Zimbabwe, no one wants to take the job of
Executioner.
Despite the high level of unemployment in Zimbabwe which has seen citizens
scramble for any kind of job available, no one seems interested in applying for
the position of executioner - a position that has remained vacant since the
country's last hangman retired in 2006.
No one has been officially executed in the country since 2005, according to
reports in the African nation, leaving 81 unsure when they will be hanged.
Dozens of criminals are languishing on Death Row in Zimbabwe unsure when they
will die - because the country has no executioner.
According to the Zimbabwean Death Penalty Database , the official method of
executing prisoners is hanging.
A recent report in New Zimbabwe reveals that the Justice Ministry have
continued to advertise for the post, but no executioner has been appointed.
However, there has been increased calls on the issue as both local and
international advocates continue to mount pressure on the Zimbabwean government
to abolished death penalty in the country.
Critics fear that the inmates on death row are living in unspeakable conditions
which is as a result of the fact that they are 'already dead' as far as the
government is concerned; a claim that was vehemently denied by the Prisons
Deputy Commissioner - Human Resources; Ms. Fadzayi Mupure say that Death Row
inmates live in the same conditions as other prisoners.
Earlier this year President Emmerson Mnangagwa commuted the sentences of 16
inmates.
He has been a vocal opponent of the death penalty, and a report published in
The Conversation found that 80% of people said they would accept it if the
government abolished the death penalty.
Nursery paedophile Vanessa George's ex-husband fears what she'll do next if she
wins parole next month.
Zimbabwean law states that women, and people aged under 21 and over 70 cannot
be hanged.
Earlier this year Amnesty International's Deputy Regional Director for Southern
Africa, Muleya Mwananyanda, said: "President Emmerson Mnangagwa's has taken a
very progressive step in deciding to spare the prisoners from the hangman's
noose.
"His action is commendable, but he must build on this positive momentum by
ensuring that Zimbabwe abolishes the death penalty completely.
“Countries around the world, including in sub-Saharan Africa, are moving away
from using the death penalty.
"There is no credible evidence that the death penalty has a greater deterrent
effect on crime than imprisonment."
(source: The African Exponent)
NIGERIA:
Gov. Okowa adds voice to end death penalty in Nigeria
Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta on Thursday added his voice to the call to end
death sentences in the country.
Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta on Thursday added his voice to the call to end
death sentences in the country.
The governor made the call when he received members of the Presidential
Advisory Committee on Prerogative of Mercy led by William Alo.
He said that Nigeria remained a major player in the International community and
should join the rest of the world in moving away from death sentences.
He called on the Federal Government to improve on the prison facilities across
the country in spite of the its overcrowded nature.
He said: "We need to ask ourselves if death sentence is still relevant in our
society.
"In many states, many Governors are not ready to sign the death warrant, why
are they not signing the death warrant.
"We need to evolve measures that will make Nigerian Prisons to be truly
reformatory centres, so that ex-convicts can be better citizens.
"There is no doubt that most of our prisons are crowded, even in Delta, there
is the need to have reforms that will change the mind of the prisoners for them
to be useful to the society.
"I pray that the committee keeps this advocacy on what to do to carry out
reforms to make prisoners come out as better persons.
"We need to make them see life differently and acquire skills to live better
life after imprisonment.
"We need to have a total rethink to carry out a total reformation of prisoners
because if we reform their lives and does not provide skills, many of them will
return to their old ways."
Earlier, Alo said that the team was on advocacy visit to prisons in the state
to assess the inmates and see ways of reforming on them.
He said that it was important to have suggestions on how to improve on the
services in the Nigerian Prisons.
(source: theeagleonline.com)
_______________________________________________
A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu
DeathPenalty mailing list
DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu
http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty
Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
