October 20
IRAQ----executions
Death sentences against 6 convicts involved in terrorism carried out: Ministry
The Iraqi Justice Ministry has carried out death sentences against 6 convicts
involved in terrorism charges.
A statement by the ministry on Wednesday said "death sentences were carried out
against 6 convicts in accordance with counter-terrorism law."
The ministry highlighted working on implementing the law.
Iraqi courts have recently issued death sentences against convicts involved in
explosions and killing of civilians and security personnel that have occurred
over the past few years.
On Sunday, the Central Criminal Court in Baghdad sentenced a man to death as he
was caught supplying the Islamic State with explosive materials.
Many Islamic State members were detained during liberation battles that freed
cities, which were recaptured by the militant group in 2014.
2 Islamic State members were sentenced, in September, to death over killing 12
people in Anbar.
In December, the Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announced gaining control
on all the territories that were captured by Islamic State, since 2014.
However, Security reports indicate that the militant group still poses threat
against stability in the country. The group still has dormant cells, through
which it carries out attacks, across Iraq like it used to do before 2014.
(source: Iraqi News)
PAKISTAN:
Peshawar High Court sets aside military court sentences of 74 convicts
The Peshawar High Court set aside on Thursday the sentences of 74 people
convicted by the military courts.
In a short order, the 2-member bench, comprising PHC Chief Justice Waqar Ahmed
Seth and Justice Lal Jan Khattak, ordered the release of the convicts.
The court is yet to release a detailed order.
50 convicts were awarded death sentences, while the remaining 24 were serving
prison time. Relatives of the convicts had challenged the convictions under
Article 199 of the Constitution, which deals with the jurisdiction of high
courts.
The details of 2 of the 74 convicts have been released.
Zorawar Khan, a resident of Dir, had challenged the death sentence of his
uncle, Gul Faraz, by the military court.
The applicant's lawyer, Shabbir Hussain, said that 28 people, including an MPA,
were killed in an explosion at a funeral ground in Mardan on June 19, 2013.
Faraz was convicted of facilitating and planning the explosion.
The counsel said that the military court did not have single evidence against
his client, except his confession. Even the statement was recoded years after
he was taken into custody, the lawyer said.
Hussain also represented another convict from Hangu, Jannat Karim. The lawyer
said that Karim was given death penalty by the military court solely on the
basis of his confessional statement. The convict's nephew, Ahsanullah, had
challenged the conviction.
Karim was convicted of facilitating suicide attacks in 2009 and 2010, and other
attacks on policemen.
(source: samaa.tv)
*********************
Quick government action needed to save Pakistanis on death row abroad: JPP
The Lahore High Court on Friday heard a petition pertaining to Pakistanis on
death row in various middle eastern countries who are in urgent need of
diplomatic assistance.
The hearing, presided over by Justice Ayesha A. Malik, reviewed an application
filed by Justice Project Pakistan's Asma Shafi to highlight the issue.
Shafi has underscored the need for quick action in her petition, which states
that Pakistanis in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait, are being
executed at an increasing rate. Over the past few weeks alone, nine Pakistanis
have been executed, according to the petition.
The application further highlights that it is the responsibility of the
government to keep an eye on the trial proceedings of Pakistanis convicted
abroad and assure they are carried out transparently. It is the fundamental
right of every Pakistani prisoner to receive assistance on a diplomatic level,
Shafi has asserted.
Shafi has pleaded to the court to issue orders to the government to provide
diplomatic assistance to Pakistanis jailed abroad and to take into
consideration their trial proceedings.
The hearing was adjourned until December 12.
(source: dawn.com)
MALAYSIA:
Death penalty: To abolish or not?
Malaysia once again made it to the international headlines when the Government
announced that Malaysia is in the process of abolishing the death penalty. With
the moratorium already in place, it seems that the government is not merely
being rhetorical with this progress but is serious about the direction that
they are taking. This policy will likely be heavily scrutinised amongst the
lawmakers and citizens of Malaysia.
In Malaysia, the death penalty is provided by the acts of Parliament including
the Firearms Act 1971, Penal Code, and Dangerous Drugs Act 1959. Some of the
offences punishable with the death penalty include drug trafficking, a
possession of firearms, attempting war against the Agong and terrorism. The
state enactment (ie Enakmen Undang-Undang Kanun Jenayah Syariah Kelantan) also
provides the death penalty for adultery and intentional killing. However, the
Syariah court in Malaysia is subject to the limitation under the Syariah Courts
(Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 which is limited to the punishment of 3 years
imprisonment, RM5000 fine and 6 strokes of caning. Therefore, the death
punishment derived from the Syariah Law provided in Kelantan could not be
enforced and proved technically unimplemented. This is why in Malaysia, the
death penalty only comes from the civil law and the one that is derived from
Syariah Law is not practiced in Malaysia.
Post-2000 has seen many countries initiate the abolishment of the death
penalty. Currently there are 47 signatories to the European Convention on Human
Rights - a convention that requires participating members to abolish the death
penalty completely in their country and to not extradite anyone to any country
that could potentially see the prisoner receive the death penalty. To date,
only 63 countries opted for a retentionist approach whilst the rest of the
world have completely abolished the death penalty either in law or in practice.
7 of them take a middle approach where it is only abolished for minor crimes,
whilst retaining it for serious crimes such as treason and cold blooded
killing.
The world has shifted their view for numerous reasons. The death penalty
historically serves as a punitive measure and a deterrent for the offender from
committing a certain offence - murder, treason, blasphemy. However, a recent
development on the protection of human rights changed this. Firstly, they
believe that it is not the state's right, or anyone's right to take someone's
life as a punishment. Right to life is part of a human right and no one should
be conferred the power, including the state, to strip off the offender's right
to life. Secondly, no matter how fair and impartial a court can be, the court
is vulnerable to a certain degree of mistakes and errors. Many circumstances in
the US has seen someone sentenced to death only to find out later that the
offender was innocent. With death penalty, any mistake cannot be undone. It
leaves no room for rectification. Therefore, it has become the stance of the
state's that such a risk and danger of taking someone's life is best avoided.
Thirdly, the death penalty is no longer considered or perhaps never was, an
effective deterrent factor to stop people from committing crimes. Countries
with the death penalty in place continue to see similar and rising rates of
drug trafficking and killing. From a study released by the Death Penalty
Information Center in the US, the report cited that the death penalty fails to
serve as a deterrent factor as 57% of the police chiefs concurred that
criminals rarely think of the consequences of their act. The supervening
psychological temptation to commit the act overwhelms any rational thought over
the consequences. The report further suggested that plenty of other measures to
combat violence are expanded training and more equipment for police officers;
hiring more police officers and community policing.
These conflicting approach and opinions regarding the death penalty is an issue
that deserves to be addressed. I believe that Malaysia must move forward from
becoming a non-progressive state that is stagnant in the development of law.
Malaysia must not be left behind and we must prioritise human rights as the
fundamental structure of this nation. Therefore we must move forward, not for
conforming to the Western values of human rights but on the principles of law
and justice.
Yet a crime is a crime and it must be punished with a justified punishment.
Retributive punishment for a crime remains relevant as we must not only be fair
to the offender, but a higher threshold of fairness must be reserved for the
victim of the crime. The right of a victim to a cold blooded killing seems to
be violated if the criminal is not punished accordingly.
For an alternative from abolishing the death penalty absolutely, Malaysia
should retain it for only serious crimes such as 1st degree murder. As a
retribution and deterrent purpose, the death punishment is effective. A very
serious crime like cold blooded killing deserves a discretionary death penalty
for an effective combatting measure. There are a few countries taking this
approach which is considered as the middle ground for a more progressive
punishment measure. The judiciary plays an important role to ensure that this
approach can be taken effectively. On the other hand, the remaining crimes that
are currently punished with the death penalty can be punished with an
imprisonment of natural life without any chance of obtaining pardon. Currently
many offenders that are sentenced to life imprisonment are able to get out of
prison after 25-30 years of serving after getting a pardon from the Agong or
the State Ruler. Abolishing the opportunity of pardon may serve as a deterrent
factor that is equivalent to the death sentence whilst the rate of executions
may be reduced tremendously.
In this new Malaysia, let's hope that any progress or change that is happening
will not be done hastily. Abolishing the death penalty must not be done merely
to adhere to the international moral policing but to enhance the principle of
law that is enshrined in our Constitution. The development of law is always
welcomed as we Malaysians have always believed in the core values of justice
and fairness.
(source: Opinion, Khairul Azwan Harun----malaymail.com)
***************************
Putrajaya says firm on scrapping death penalty, mulls victim compensation fund
The government will not change its mind on abolishing the death penalty but is
also at the same time considering the introduction of a victim compensation
fund, law minister Datuk Liew Vui Keong has said.
Liew reportedly said the issue of death penalty would not be brought before a
special parliamentary committee as the Cabinet had already deciding on ending
the capital punishment, but said Putrajaya was currently studying how the US
provides relief to the kin of victims of crime.
According to local paper Sin Chew Daily, Liew said the government understood
the feelings of the families of victims, and hoped to introduce measures such
as compensation funds to reduce the pain of families and assist them if the
victim was the breadwinner.
"We will consider the family background of the victim's kin, whether the victim
is a husband or child, whether he is the financial pillar of the family, the
impact of losing him on the family's finances. We will provide compensation
based on the victim's financial situation or loss," he was quoted telling Sin
Chew Daily.
"Whether it is conducting funerals, going to hospitals, court and the police
station to handle matters, it all requires expenses. Currently US has such a
compensation fund, we will consider it," he added, also saying that the
government was studying if the funds could be sourced from bail money or fines
imposed on those who are convicted for their crimes.
The report did not specifically state if the proposed compensation fund would
only be for victims of fatal crimes such as murder.
In the same report, Liew said the federal government will be amending 7 Acts
where 32 offences contained in them were tied to the death penalty, such as the
crimes of waging war against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong or murder.
Liew said 142 countries had abolished the death penalty, and that there were
currently 56 countries that maintained it.
Citing the examples of UK, Denmark, Germany and the Philippines, Liew
reportedly said the abolition of the death sentence did not result in an
increase in serious crimes being committed there.
Sin Chew Daily said there are currently 1,267 prisoners on the death row in
Malaysia, with 932 such prisoners facing the death penalty due to drug
trafficking as of October 11.
(source: malaymail.com)
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