November 2
GLOBAL:
Countries should heed "clear pro-abolitionist spirit" towards death penalty:
UNHCR----On Sudan, the Human Rights Committee highlighted its concerns that the
death penalty is still imposed for crimes other than those involving
"intentional killing".
Countries should heed the "clear pro-abolitionist spirit" towards the death
penalty of one of the world's most important treaties, a key UN independent
human rights panel said on Thursday, while highlighting concerns about
right-to-life violations in Belarus and Sudan. The Human Rights Committee's
comments followed its scheduled review of both countries at its 124th session
in Geneva, which also covered Belize, Bulgaria and Guinea.
The 18-member body of independent experts began work more than four decades ago
to monitor people's right to life, freedom of expression and freedom of
conscience – obligations for State signatories to the 1966 International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
Together with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights (ICESCR), the two Covenants are the cornerstone of an extensive series
of internationally binding rights treaties.
On Sudan, the Human Rights Committee highlighted its concerns that the death
penalty is still imposed for crimes other than those involving "intentional
killing".
Panel member Sarah Cleveland told journalists that this could include a "wide
range" of offences, such as blasphemy, adultery and same-sex relationships.
"Sudan has a wide range of crimes on the books that are subject to the death
penalty including crimes which do not qualify as the 'most serious crimes'
under the Covenant," she said. "It has a mandatory death penalty for a number
of crimes and it also retains on the books punishments including execution by
stoning and by crucifixion."
Noting that Sudan had "indicated that they do not apply the latter 2
punishments", Ms Cleveland explained that the committee had recommended that
they be removed from the criminal code nonetheless.
On Belarus, the UN panel noted with concern that the death penalty "continues
to be imposed and enforced", including in 6 cases where the Human Rights
Committee had requested a stay of execution.
"We intervened and asked them not to execute a person until we have heard his
allegations about the due process and other violations of his process," said
panel chair Yuval Shany.
He explained that the Government had said it was examining a move towards the
abolition of the death penalty, but that a majority of the population was not
in favour of doing so.
"We already know that 3 out of those 6 persons have been executed despite our
requests," Mr Shany added. "We do not have information about the fate of the
other 3, so we are still hoping that they were not executed."
Denying families an execution date, clearly 'inhumane treatment' Among the
committee's other concerns about Belarus with regard to the Convention was the
practice of preventing families of condemned prisoners from knowing the date of
their execution - one of a series of measures which the authorities maintained
were there to shield relatives.
"The argument from the State has been that these provisions in the Penalties
Enforcement Code are actually in a way to protect the family," said panel
member Ilze Brands Kehris. "But it is the view of the Committee and every time
we have had other countries where we have dealt with this as well, is that the
traumatic experience of not knowing what has happened to a loved one and not
knowing the time of even an execution and certainly not being able to then bury
the body...actually does amount to inhumane treatment."
Beyond its country-specific recommendations, the UN panel also took the
significant step of issuing updated, detailed guidance on the right to life,
which is covered in the Covenant under Article 6.
The Committee last published two such documents more than 30 years ago, and
each of those was only 10 paragraphs long.
The latest version was nearly 4 years in the making and is more than seven
times as big - reflecting the input of dozens of States and civil society - and
the impact of modern-day threats to people's civil and political rights, such
as weaponized drones and environmental degradation.
According to the panel's rules, Member States have two years to report back on
their progress in implementing its main concluding observations, or
recommendations.
Asked whether the panel would comment on the case of journalist Jamal
Khashoggi, who Saudi officials reportedly say was killed in the Saudi Arabian
consulate in Istanbul, chair Yuval Shany said that the country was not a
signatory to the Convention.
Turkey was a signatory, however, Mr Shany, explained, before adding that it had
yet to report back to the Committee, although it was expected to do so next
year.
At its 125th meeting in March, the panel is due to discuss people's civil and
political rights in Equatorial Guinea, Mauritania, Nigeria, Tajikistan and
Trinidad and Tobago.
(source: devdiscourse.com)
SAUDI ARABIA----female execution
Saudi Arabia executes Indonesian maid who killed man she says assaulted
her----The execution of Tuti Tursilawati has sparked anger from the Indonesian
government, with the Gulf kingdom implementing the death penalty without prior
notice
Saudi Arabia is facing renewed international pressure from the Indonesian
government after it executed an Indonesian female migrant worker without
informing them.
Tuti Tursilawati was sentenced to death in 2011 for killing her Saudi employer.
Her execution took place in Taif on Monday and marks the 4th time Saudi
authorities had failed to inform Indonesia they had carried out the death
penalty on one of its citizens.
Tursilawati said she acted in "self-defence" and that she killed her Saudi boss
after he attempted to abuse her sexually. Before her death, Tursilawati's
family had flown out to Taif in Saudi Arabia to bid farewell to the abuse
victim.
Following Tursilawati's death, Indonesian President Joko Widodo called Saudi
foreign minister Adel Jubeir to demand an answer on why his government was not
informed, according to official reports.
"We have called Saudi Arabia's foreign minister and conveyed our protest," said
Widodo, according to his cabinet secretary's office.
Indonesia's Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi told a conference in Bali it had
lodged an official complaint on Tuesday to Saudi Arabia's ambassador to
Indonesia.
Marsudi added that the death penalty took place despite the Indonesian
government's attempts to provide "maximum legal assistance" by appealing
Tursilawati's death sentence in court and sending a letter to King Salman in
Saudi Arabia.
Tusilawati's death comes amid mounting pressure on Saudi Arabia to answer for
the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The female migrant worker's was killed almost a week after Jubeir visited
Indonesia and signed a series of memorandums.
The Saudi foreign minister met with Marsudi and Widodo to discuss relations
between the two countries. Among the topics discussed was a provision for the
Saudis to inform Indonesia's consulate before it carried out the death penalty
against one of its citizens.
The majority of Indonesian female migrant workers head to Saudi Arabia, with an
estimated 1 million Indonesian women working in Saudi Arabia in 2014, the vast
majority of them employed as domestic workers. Indonesia, however, placed a
moratorium on any Indonesian workers going to Saudi Arabia in 2011, after a
female worker was beheaded for killing her employer. The moratorium was lifted
in June this year.
The latest agreements signed by the 2 countries attempted to give domestic
workers in Saudi Arabia better protection, according to Indonesia's foreign
ministry.
Following Tursilawati's death, rights groups called on Indonesia's government
to cancel its agreement to send workers to Saudi Arabia.
Wahyu Susilo, from Migrant Care advocacy, told ABC News that Saudi Arabia was
ignoring the Indonesian government despite attempting to protect its citizens
in the Gulf kingdom.
"It turned out that Indonesia's request [to protect the rights of migrant
workers] was ignored by executing Tuti," said Susilo.
In 2014, Human Rights Watch criticised Indonesia's agreements with Saudi Arabia
and said it lacked clear enforcement mechanisms for workers, who are typically
isolated in private homes, unaware of their rights and unable to speak Arabic.
"These reforms do not address the long history of workers coming forward with
complaints, only to be slammed with counter-allegations of theft, witchcraft or
adultery by their far more influential, well-connected and often wealthy
employers," Nisha Varia from HRW's women's rights division said.
(source: middleeasteye.net)
MALAYSIA:
The right to life and death in syariah
The right to life is one of the fundamental aspects of human rights.
Without this right, people risk losing other rights such as freedom of
religion, freedom of speech and opinion, freedom of movement, property
ownership rights, and many more.
Protecting the right to life is foundational to the building of a civilisation,
without it, it is impossible to sustain a civilised culture and achieve
technological advancement.
Hence, jurists and philosophers are unanimous in considering this right to be
inalienable and non-negotiable.
While the Syariah recognises the right to life of each and every human, it also
posits that humankind is the prize of God's creation.
Because humans were created by God, a human's right to life ultimately belongs
to God. For God gives life, and He is the one who takes it back. Therefore,
human lives are sacred according to the Syariah, and it is a crime to take
another human’s life without just cause. In this regard, Syariah has prescribed
retaliation (qisas) that prescribes the death penalty for intentional murder.
The right to life is also ranked as one of the most important objectives of the
Syariah (Maqasid Syariah). While some Muslim scholars have contended that
preservation of life should come after the preservation of religion, there are
many who argued that preservation of life should be prioritised foremost. This
is based on the argument that without life, man cannot live and preserve the
religion in the first place. The prohibition of suicide and murder are clearly
enshrined in the Quran: "... and do not throw [yourselves] with your [own]
hands into destruction” (Q2:195) and "...whoever kills a believer
intentionally, his recompense is Hell, wherein he will abide eternally, and
Allah has become angry with him and has cursed him and has prepared for him a
great punishment" (Q4:93).
However, Syariah does allow the taking of one's life through the appropriate
legal processes in pursuit of justice, like in the case of murder. Even so, the
next-of-kin of the victim is given the option to forgive the murderer by taking
a diyat (blood money) for the Right of Man (haq al-adami) part, yet the
authorities may still punish the offender for violation of the Right of God
(haq Allah) or the community's right. Other Syariah offences that warranted the
death penalty include adultery committed by married persons (zina muhsan), and
hirabah (highway robbery and terrorism).
However, over the last two decades, public opinion on the application of the
death penalty has shifted. The United Nations (UN) through its Human Rights
Council, for instance, has called for the abolition of the death penalty.
Consequently, many countries have abolished the death penalty. Until the end of
2017, 142 countries have abolished the death penalty in their general laws,
while 106 countries have abolished laws prescribing death sentences for all
criminal offences.
This shows that the world trend is to eliminate the death penalty.
Even in countries that still uphold the death penalty like Iran and Malaysia,
there has been a declining trend in its execution.
For example, Malaysia has taken a positive step by amending the Dangerous Drugs
Act 1952 in 2017 which could lower the mandatory death sentence to life
imprisonment.
This abolitionist trend, however, poses a challenge to Islamic criminal law due
to the latter's prescription of death sentences for certain crimes.
For Muslims, there is a moral obligation to remain faithful to the injunctions
provided by Islamic law.
A Muslim judge cannot simply replace the prescribed punishment with another
without a strong justification.
However, a judge is allowed to refuse to take up a case, or under certain
circumstances impose a lighter sentence by means of discretionary laws
(ta'zir).
Not all death sentences in Islamic law are fixed and irreversible. Punishments
in Islamic criminal law can be divided into 2 categories:
(i) the right of God, where the crime is committed against God, in which the
punishment cannot be negotiated; and,
(ii) the right of human beings, where the crime is committed against another
fellow human being.
For example, under the law of qisas, the next-of-kin can either opt for the
death sentence or substitute it with diyat (blood money). Additionally, while
the Islamic laws are considered divine, Syariah does allow withholding its
injunctions in the case of drought or other extreme exigencies.
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that the death penalty in
Islamic criminal law cannot be repealed except in the case of qisas where it
can be replaced with diyat payment. Despite international pressure to repeal
death sentences under the Syariah criminal law, it can still be practised
provided that it does not violate the international law and in accordance with
Article 6 of the ICCPR 1966 which excludes serious cases.
For hudud crimes involving serious offences such as hirabah (highway robbery
and terrorism) the application of the death penalty can still be justified. In
the case of adultery committed between married persons (zina muhsan), the Quran
prescribes four eye witnesses for proof, which is almost impossible to provide.
Hence, the punishment of zina in almost all cases is reduced to ta'zir, which
the sentencing judge can determine and quantify.
The only punishment that the Quran provides is 100 lashes of the whip for all
proven cases of zina. The death punishment for zina is not mentioned in the
Quran but only found in the tradition (Sunnah).
Abolishing death sentences as provided in the Second Optional Protocol and
other international laws may be realised in the case of ta’zir (discretionary)
sentences that prescribe capital punishment.
Abolishing the death penalty for ta'zir offence will not raise any question on
the issue of right to life from an Islamic perspective.
(source: Commentary;Dr Mohamed Azam Mohamed Adil is associate professor and
deputy chief executive officer, Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies (IAIS)
Malaysia----nst.com.my)
PHILIPPINES:
OFW Jennifer Dalquez saved from death row in UAE
After spending almost 4 years in an Abu Dhabi prison, acquitted murder suspect
Jennifer Dalquez finally boarded her flight to freedom on Thursday night.
She thanked the Philippine government for its effort in saving her from death
row.
Dalquez will be arriving in Manila on Friday morning on board a Philippine
Airlines flight, which is also bringing home 86 undocumented Filipinos who
availed themselves of the 3-month amnesty program of the United Arab Emirates
(UAE).
Ambassador to the UAE Hjayceelyn Quintana said Dalquez was grateful to the
Philippine embassy for letting her return home and be reunited with her loved
ones.
"Jennifer was indeed very thankful for all the assistance, the support, and
most especially the prayers that she said led to the reversal of the death
sentence that was meted out on her 3 years ago," Quintana said.
Dalquez, 29, did not have the chance to personally thank Quintana as she was
escorted directly to the aircraft by UAE authorities.
Dalquez is returning home 3 years after she was found guilty and sentenced to
death by an Abu Dhabi court for stabbing to death her employer in 2014 after he
threatened to kill the General Santos native for refusing to have sex with him.
The embassy, through its lawyers, immediately appealed the conviction and
successfully had it overturned by a local court in 2017. Dalquez was
subsequently ordered released after completing a 5-year jail term for theft on
October 25.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Sarah Lou Arriola
also welcomed Dalquez's release and repatriation.
"Jennifer's acquittal underscores just how serious the Duterte administration
is in promoting the rights and protecting the welfare of our people abroad,"
she said.
According to Arriola, the DFA exhausted all legal remedies to spare Dalquez
from capital punishment.
She said the Office of Migrant Workers Affairs provided Dalquez with a lawyer
since her case was heard by the Court of First Instance in March 2015.
Embassy representatives were also present during Dalquez's court hearings and
visited her several times at the Al Ain Central Jail.
Arriola also said the DFA provided Dalquez with financial assistance to cover
her personal expenses while in detention and also shouldered the cost of the 2
compassionate visits to Abu Dhabi of her parents. It was also the DFA that
shouldered the cost of her flight home.
Dalquez also received assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and
Development (DSWD), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and the
Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) with Labor Secretary Silvestre
Bello III providing livelihood for her parents and scholarship to her child
following his visit to her in 2017.
(source: ABS-CBNNews)
SOUTH SUDAN:
Relief as president pardons 2 prominent death row inmates
Responding to the granting of a presidential pardon to former South Sudanese
opposition spokesman James Gatdet Dak and South African national William
Endley, Amnesty International's Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and
the Great Lakes Joan Nyanyuki said:
"The pardoning of James Gatdet and William Endley comes as a relief to all who
cherish human rights and abhor the death penalty, but more needs to be done.
The South Sudanese authorities must commute all death sentences and get on the
right side of history by abolishing this ultimate cruel form of punishment.
"It, however, remains extremely disturbing that Gatdet, a duly registered
refugee, was irregularly repatriated to South Sudan by Kenyan authorities,
putting his life at grave risk. This repatriation must be fully and
independently investigated, and action taken against those responsible."
It, however, remains extremely disturbing that Gatdet, a duly registered
refugee, was irregularly repatriated to South Sudan by Kenyan authorities,
putting his life at grave risk.----Joan Nyanyuki, Amnesty International
Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes
James Gatdet Dak was the spokesman for the Sudan People's Liberation Army - In
Opposition (SPLA-IO) led by former Vice-President Riek Machar when he was taken
from his Nairobi home and deported to South Sudan in November 2016.
"The Kenyan authorities have a duty to ensure the safety of all those in its
territory, including refugees. It must always uphold their rights under
international law."
Both James Gatdet Dak and William Endley were pardoned by President Salva Kiir
on 31 October 2018, as the country held celebrations to mark the latest
agreement to end almost 5 years of armed conflict in the country. William
Endley will be deported to his native South Africa, immediately upon being
released.
(source: Amnesty International)
GAMBIA:
'Should the Death Penalty Be Allowed or Abolished?' NCCE Official On Civic
Education Awareness Campaign
Ansumana Yabou, Civic Education Officer at the National Council for Civic
Education (NCCE), on Sunday October 28th 2018, asked the community members of
Illissa, in Upper Baddibu district and Farafenne, on whether they want the
death penalty to be allowed or abolished in the new Constitution.
"It depends on you people and those answers should be given to the
Constitutional Review Commissioners who are preparing to face you soon. Prepare
to submit your answers to this and other issues you want to be included in the
new Constitution, when they come to take your contributions and ideas that you
want to see changed in our national laws," he said.
Yabou made these and other remarks during the ongoing 2 week civic education
sensitisation conducted by officials from the Constitution Review Commission
(CRC) and the NCCE. Yabou kept reminding the communities that the 1997
Constitution is not owned by former president Jammeh but the Gambian people.
For his part, Kunkung Saidy Bayo, NCCE's Senior Programme Officer, said a
Constitution cannot be made without the contribution of the people it is
intended for; that the people should come forth and share ideas; that another
team will be facing them soon to seek their contribution on how and what they
want to be reviewed in the new Constitution.
A native Illiasa Yaya Jammeh, said they cannot hide their excitement with the
CRC, and called on his people to listen and take the opportunity with all
seriousness.
In the same settlement, one Kebba Bah said they are encouraged by the CRC-NCCE
sensitisation and will be well prepared for the second team; that they are now
becoming aware with issues and will strongly advice their fellow community
members to participate fully.
Similarly messages were delivered by the CRC-NCCE officials on the same day,
when they met the people of Farafenni. Residents of Farafinne Arabo Ansu
Khanyi, said the Constitutional Review Commission is an important step forward.
"It gives people the opportunity to express themselves and contribute to the
making of the Constitution. They will give their versions and suggestions so
that the final end product will be everybody's idea," he said.
Nogoi Secka, a female contributor said they need to be careful with the review
process, especially when it comes to women affairs; that the contributions and
ideas we are going to make as a people should be able to protect and take care
of even "our great grand-children." She applauded the steps taken by the CRC
and NCCE, to sensitise communities in this important national undertaking.
Similar meetings continue in Lower and Upper Saloum, in the Central River
Region, on Monday October 29th, in the communities of Kaur Janneh-Kunda,
Ballangharr Kerr-Nderri, etc.
Subsequent meetings will continue in Buduck and Chamen and other communities in
the Central and Upper River Region North.
(source: allafrica.com)
INDIA:
Madhya Pradesh High Court commutes rapist's death sentence to life----Touheed
Shoukat, accused of raping a 3-year-old girl near Chhatarpur in April, was
awarded the death penalty by the IV additional sessions judge, Chhatarpur, on
The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Thursday commuted the death sentence awarded
to a 19-year-old man charged with raping a minor, observing that it is not
appropriate to award the death penalty in every case.
Touheed Shoukat, accused of raping a 3-year-old girl near Chhatarpur in April,
was awarded the death penalty by the IV additional sessions judge, Chhatarpur,
on August 6 after a speedy trial.
Shoukat’s father did not have money to engage a lawyer to defend his son. The
court provided him an advocate under free legal aid, but the advocate could not
even visit the scene of crime, more than 60 km from Chhatarpur, because he did
not have money.
"To award death sentence, some factors like age of the culprit and manner of
commission of offence and possibilities of reformation of the accused are
necessary to be considered," said the division bench of Justices S K Seth and
Anjuly Palo, while deciding the criminal reference for the confirmation of
death sentence.
(source: indianexpress.com)
PAKISTAN:
Traders' killer gets death penalty
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) awarded the death sentence to Munawar David, who
was charged with the murders of 2 traders during a robbery bid. The court twice
announced the death penalty for David and ordered him to pay Rs2 million as
penalty. The court ordered that the accused will have to further spend a year
in jail if the penalty sum is not paid. According to the police, the accused,
along with his accomplices, tried to snatch gold from the 2 traders in 2013. On
resistance, the accused opened fire, killing Ayaz and Mukhtar as a result. One
accused Imam Bakhsh was also killed in the fire and another accused, Imran,
managed to escape.
Another ATC on Thursday convicted 3 members of a Lyari-based gang on charges
relating to attack on police personnel, possession of illegal weapons and
explosive materials. The court awarded 24 years in prison to Saeed alias Kaka
along with a fine of Rs0.1m and 17 years of imprisonment to Imtiaz Bangali and
Talha along with a fine of Rs50,000. The accused were arrested within the
limits of Kalakot Station during a joint operation by the Rangers and police.
Meanwhile, another ATC provided the case file to accused Khalid in the Amal
murder case. On the next hearing on November 3, the charge-sheet will be
submitted. The hearing of Amal's murder during robbery was heard before the
special ATC in Karachi Central Jail. The court also approved the C-class report
regarding the killing of accused Shehzad during the police encounter. According
to police, the accused confessed to seven more theft crimes. Accused Khalid
used to conduct crimes in a rickshaw. He was arrested after the encounter with
the police while his accomplice Shehzad was killed on the spot. 2 cases are
registered against Khalid. In this matter, a murder case against 2 police
personnel is registered in which the police personnel have gained protective
bail.
(source: The Express Tribune)
THAILAND:
Taiwanese trio in Thailand could face death penalty
3 Taiwanese recently arrested in Thailand on drug-smuggling charges could face
the death penalty or life imprisonment if found guilty, the Criminal
Investigation Bureau (CIB) said yesterday.
The 3 men were detained on Tuesday at Chiang Mai International Airport as they
were allegedly attempting to leave for Taiwan with 200 bricks of heroin,
weighing a total of 70kg, hidden in 4 suitcases.
The arrest of the men and seizure of the drugs was the result of a cross-border
effort by a special task force of Thai and Taiwanese investigators, the bureau
said.
After their arrest, the 3 men reportedly said the heroin would have fetched
NT$5 million (US$161,676) - 5 times more than they paid for it - in smuggling
it into Taiwan, the bureau said.
The 3 reportedly had smuggled 7kg of heroin into Taiwan in August, the bureau
said.
Investigators determined that the 200 bricks of heroin were a "Double UOGlobe"
brand from the Golden Triangle area of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar, Thai police
said.
Thai law enforcement, in collaboration with their foreign counterparts, usually
step up their efforts against drug-smuggling toward the end of the year, which
is considered the peak season for such smuggling, they said.
(source: Taipei Times)
GERMANY:
German region scraps death penalty, fixing legal quirk
The western German state of Hesse has voted to finally scrap the death penalty,
referendum results showed Thursday, fixing a historical oddity given that the
punishment has been illegal for nearly 70 years.
Results from a Sunday referendum showed that 83.2 percent of voters in Hesse,
home to finance hub Frankfurt, were in favour of changing the state
constitution written in 1946 that allowed capital punishment.
Just three years later Germany's new post-war constitution, known as the "Basic
Law of 1949" and which overrides state laws, would abolish the death penalty.
But Hesse never formally amended its local legal code, leaving it the last
German state where capital punishment was still on the books.
Between 1946 and 1949 Hessian courts twice handed down death sentences,
according to regional news site Hessenschau, although both were converted to
prison terms.
The 1st accused was a man convicted of murdering his wife.
The other was Nazi doctor Hans-Bodo Gorgass, found guilty of killing at least
1,000 people as part of Hitler's "euthanasia" programme.
Hesse now has "a modern constitution adapted to the realities of the 21st
century," said state premier Volkier Bouffier, a close ally of Chancellor
Angela Merkel.
The referendum in Hesse coincided with a regional vote that rocked the country
the next day, when Merkel reacted to heavy losses for her centre-right CDU by
announcing she would step down as party leader in December.
She added that she intends to stay on as chancellor until her term ends in
2021.
(source: expatica.com)
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