November 15
IRAN----executions
10 Prisoners Hanged at Rajai-Shahr Prison in 1 Day
10 prisoners were executed at Rajai-Shahr Prison on Wednesday, November 14.
According to the IHR sources, Vahid Mazloumin and Mohammad Esmaeel Ghasemi who
were hanged on economic corruption charges were among them. 8 others were
executed on murder charges.
Vahid Mazloumin, dubbed the "sultan of coins" by media, was a trader accused of
manipulating the currency market. Mohammad Esmaeel Ghasemi was allegedly part
of Mazloumin's network and had been involved in the sale of gold coins, Mizan
reported.
Of note, Iran Human Rights (IHR) had strongly condemned the executions for the
charges of economic corruption. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the Director and
spokesperson for the organization, said: "The death penalty is an inhumane
punishment, and the international law prohibits death sentence for economic
corruption, which is not considered as the most serious crimes. Besides, the
prisoners were sentenced to death as a result of an unfair trial in an illegal
Court. The primary purpose of the execution of these 2 people is to create fear
in society, not to combat corruption. Iranian authorities know that the system,
with corrupt organs such as the Judiciary and the Supreme leader who has
absolute power and zero accountability, are the main sources of corruption in
the country. We call on the Iranian authorities to put an end to the policy of
using the death penalty as a solution to all its problems".
Among those who were executed on murder charges, IHR could identify four as
Saman Yamini, Ali Iranshahi, Ali Amindokht and Sam Sagvand.
The Iranian media outlets have not published news related to the aforementioned
executions on murder charges so far.
**************
Man Hanged at Zahedan Prison
A Prisoner was hanged at Zahedan Central Prison on Monday, November 12.
According to IHR sources, Milad Nouri was hanged on the morning of November 12,
2018. IHR could not yet obtain information about what he was accused of.
Baluchi civil activist, Habibollah Sarbazi, told IHR, “a night before the
execution, authorities called his family to go to the prison for the last
meeting. We have heard that he was executed on rebellion charges, but we cannot
confirm it yet.”
According to the Baluchi Activists’ Campaign, Milad Nouri was a married man
with 2 children. He was arrested around a year ago by security forces.
The Iranian media outlets have not published news related to the aforementioned
execution so far.
************
2o Prisoners Executed for Economic Corruption
2 Prisoners were hanged on economic corruption charges in Tehran this morning.
They had been sentenced to death by the newly established Special Court on the
Economic Corruption.
Iran Human Rights (IHR) strongly condemns today's executions for the charges of
economic corruption. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the Director and spokesperson for
the organization, said: "The death penalty is an inhumane punishment, and the
international law prohibits death sentence for economic corruption, which is
not considered as the most serious crimes.
Besides, the prisoners were sentenced to death as a result of an unfair trial
in an illegal Court. The primary purpose of the execution of these 2 people is
to create fear in society, not to combat corruption. Iranian authorities know
that the system, with corrupt organs such as the Judiciary and the Supreme
leader who has absolute power and zero accountability, are the main sources of
corruption in the country. We call on the Iranian authorities to put an end to
the policy of using the death penalty as a solution to all its problems".
According to a statement by Tehran Prosecutor's Office, this morning (Tuesday,
November 14), two prisoners were executed in Tehran. The 2 prisoners were
sentenced to death on charges of "corruption on earth" through the formation of
a network of corruption disturbing the country's currency through illicit and
large-scale smuggling of gold coins.
The prisoners were identified as Vahid Mazloumin and Mohammad Esmaeel Ghasemi.
Vahid Mazloumin, dubbed the "sultan of coins" by media, a trader accused of
manipulating the currency market, according to Mizan, the news site of the
Iranian judiciary.
Mazloumin was allegedly caught with two tons of gold coins, according to the
Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA).
The second man was part of Mazloumin's network and had been involved in the
sale of gold coins, Mizan reported.
The executions were carried out in the presence of a number of people in
Tehran, said the report.
The Tehran Prison Statement did not mention the exact location of the two
prisoners' execution.
Death penalty on the charges of economic corruption in Iran is not
unprecedented. Mahafari Amir Khosravi was executed on such charges n 2014.
Several people have recently been sentenced to death for economic corruption.
Among them, Hamid Bagheri Dermiani, sentenced to death in preliminary hearings,
and Dariush Ebrahimian Bilandi and Younes Baha'd-dini, sentenced to death on
similar charges in Fars province.
(source for all: Iran Human Rights)
********
2 people executed for corruption after unfair TV show trial
Responding to the news that the Iranian authorities have executed Vahid
Mazloumin and Mohammad Esmail Ghasemi, 2 men convicted of financial crimes
after a grossly unfair trial, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North
Africa Research and Advocacy Director, Philip Luther, said:
“With these abhorrent executions the Iranian authorities have flagrantly
violated international law and once again displayed their shameless disregard
for the right to life.
“Use of the death penalty is appalling under any circumstances but it is even
more horrific given that these men were convicted after a grossly unfair show
trial that was broadcast on state television. Under international human rights
law, the death penalty is absolutely forbidden for non-lethal crimes, such as
financial corruption.
“The shocking manner in which their trial was fast-tracked through Iran’s
judicial system without allowing them the chance of a proper appeal is yet
another example of the brazen disregard the Iranian authorities have for
defendants’ basic due process rights.”
Background
Amid a deepening economic crisis, the Iranian authorities have carried out mass
arrests of individuals whom they describe as “financially corrupt” and
“saboteurs of the economy”, convicted them of charges related to financial
crimes and sentenced some of them to flogging, lengthy prison terms and the
death penalty after grossly unfair summary trials.
In August, Iran’s Supreme Leader approved a request by the Head of Judiciary to
set up special courts to deal with crimes involving financial corruption. Since
then, these courts have sentenced several people to death. Vahid Mazloumin and
Mohammad Esmail Ghasemi had been accused of manipulating Iran’s gold and
currency markets and were sentenced to death in September on the charge of
“spreading corruption on earth”. Dozens of other people have also been
sentenced to prison terms after convictions on similar charges.
Amnesty International considers that trials before these special courts are
inherently unfair because defendants are denied access to lawyers of their own
choosing, have no right to appeal against sentences of imprisonment and are
given only 10 days within which to appeal death sentences.
(source: Amnesty International)
SAUDI ARABIA:
Saudi Arabia seeks death penalty for Khashoggi murder suspects
Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor announced Thursday that he is seeking the
death penalty for 5 out of 11 suspects charged in the murder of journalist
Jamal Khashoggi inside the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul.
The five people facing capital punishment were directly involved in “ordering
and executing the crime,” Saud al-Mojeb said at a news conference in Riyadh,
where he also exonerated Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the killing.
“The Public Prosecutor has requested the death penalty for 5 individuals who
are charged with ordering and committing the crime and for the appropriate
sentences for the other indicted individuals,” deputy public prosecutor Shaalan
al-Shaalan said.
He said 11 out of 21 suspects have been indicted and that their cases will be
referred to court.
Gen. Ahmed al-Assiri, the former deputy chief of Saudi intelligence, had
ordered a 15-man team on a mission to the Turkish city to force Khashoggi to go
back to Saudi Arabia, al-Mojeb said.
They were divided into three groups – a negotiating team, an intelligence team
and a logistical team, he added.
“The head of the negotiating team” that flew to Istanbul had ordered the murder
of the Washington Post columnist, where he entered the consulate on Oct. 2 to
pick up documents for his planning marriage.
Khashoggi, 59, a prominent critic of Saudi policy, was killed after a struggle
by a lethal injection dose, and his body was dismembered and removed from the
building, al-Shaalan said.
The body parts were then handed over to an agent outside the consulate, he
said.
The public prosecutor’s office “requested the brotherly Turkish authorities to
sign a special cooperation mechanism specific to this case in order to provide
them with the results of the investigation,” according to a statement carried
on the state SPA news agency.
“The public prosecutor is still awaiting a response to these requests.”
'I'm suffocating': Khashoggi's final words revealed in audio recording
Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Thursday that the
Saudi actions were “positive but insufficient.”
Cavusoglu, who repeated Turkey’s demand that the 15-man team involved in the
murder be tried in his country, said the killing was premeditated and that
equipment was brought into Turkey to dismember the body.
“I want to say that we did not find some of his explanations to be
satisfactory” and that “those who gave the order, the real perpetrators need to
be revealed. This process cannot be closed down in this way,” he said.
The minister questioned why Saudi Arabia indicted only 11 out of 18 detained
suspects. He also said the Saudi prosecutor’s announcement did not reveal where
Khashoggi’s remains were taken.
Riyadh had offered several contradictory explanations for Khashoggi’s
disappearance before saying he was killed in a rogue operation and then
admitting the murder was premeditated.
Turkish officials have accused Prince Mohammed of ordering the murder while
President Erdogan said the killing was ordered at the “highest levels” of the
Saudi government.
Turkey also says it has a recording related to the killing which it has shared
with Western allies. Erdogan said the recordings are “appalling” and shocked a
Saudi intelligence officer who listened to them.
National Security Adviser John Bolton said earlier this week that the audio
recording didn’t appear to implicate the crown prince.
The global fallout over the case has tarnished the image of the 33-year-old
prince, the kingdom’s de facto ruler and heir apparent.
Khashoggi went into self-imposed exile in the US last year after falling out
with Prince Mohammed.
(source: nypost.com)
**************
Indonesians protest death penalty in Saudi Arabia
Indonesian activists held a protest in front of the Saudi Arabian embassy in
Jakarta demanding that Saudi Arabia abolishes the death penalty.
According to Indonesia's Foreign Ministry, 13 Indonesian workers are on death
row in Saudi Arabia for alleged crimes ranging from murder to drug trafficking,
UCA News reported.
Earlier this year, Muhammad Zaini Misrin, 53, who went to Saudi Arabia to work
as a driver in 2003, was executed after he was found guilty of murdering his
employer in 2005. Migrant Care, an overseas workers' advocacy group, claimed
that Misrin did not receive a fair trial and that his execution was a 'gross
human rights violation'.
In October, Tuti Tursilawati, a domestic worker, was beheaded for killing her
employer on May 22, 2010. Tursilawati was the 6th Indonesian to be executed in
Saudi Arabia in the last 5 years.
Indonesian rights groups, former migrant workers and church members have
protested and appealed to both the Saudi and Indonesian governments to stop the
practice of executing migrant workers.
In Saudi Arabia, the death penalty is imposed for crimes including murder,
rape, drug trafficking, adultery and burglary.
(source: menafn.com)
BAHRAIN:
Bahraini courts issued death sentences for 32 anti-regime activists since 2011
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) has condemned the kingdom’s
persistence on passing death sentences against anti-regime activists, calling
the practice an “inhuman punishment” as the ruling Al Khalifah regime presses
ahead with its heavy clampdown on political dissidents and pro-democracy
activists in the kingdom.
The center, in a statement released on Tuesday, announced that law courts have
issued death sentences against 32 opposition figures since 2011, of which 3
have been carried out, 7 have been comminuted to life
imprisonment and 2 others been appealed.
“All these verdicts have been pronounced following unfair trials, and therefore
do not comply with the guarantees of fair trials. The BCHR has documented many
cases in which those sentenced to death have been subjected to torture,” the
statement read.
The BCHR then called on the Manama regime to reverse all death sentences and
sign the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, which is aiming at the abolition of death penalty.
A Bahraini court has sentenced 4 nationals to death over terror charges.
The center further noted that the Bahraini judiciary has overused death penalty
in recent years, particularly with regards to freedom of opinion and expression
in addition to the exercise of political rights.
Moreover, Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei of the London-based Bahrain Institute for Rights
and Democracy said in a statement that it condemns the death sentences given to
four dissidents on terrorism-related charges, and calls for their abolition.
“There is no justice in these rulings. Bahraini courts are now making use of
confessions extracted under torture in order to sentence people to death. The
revocation of citizenship has become commonplace in Bahrain, which is a
flagrant violation of international law,” Alwadaei pointed out.
He went on to say that death penalty remains an integral part of the Bahraini
judicial system, stressing that 18 Bahraini citizens are now on death row and
all of have been sentenced in political cases.
Thousands of anti-regime protesters have held demonstrations in Bahrain on an
almost daily basis ever since a popular uprising began in the country in
mid-February 2011.
Bahraini regime courts have upheld death sentences against 2 anti-regime
activists.
They are demanding that the Al Khalifah regime relinquish power and allow a
just system representing all Bahrainis to be established.
Manama has gone to great lengths to clamp down on any sign of dissent. On March
14, 2011, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were deployed
to assist Bahrain in its crackdown.
Scores of people have lost their lives and hundreds of others sustained
injuries or got arrested as a result of the Al Khalifah regime’s crackdown.
On March 5, 2017, Bahrain’s parliament approved the trial of civilians at
military tribunals in a measure blasted by human rights campaigners as being
tantamount to imposition of an undeclared martial law countrywide.
Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifah ratified the constitutional amendment
on April 3 last year.
(source: presstv.com)
MALAYSIA:
Malaysia Considers Banning Death Penalty After Study Says ‘Ineffective
Deterrent’
<P>
Malaysia is taking the next step in abolishing the death penalty, with the
cabinet issuing a memorandum to all ministries to gain feedback on the move
even as it faced opposition among some lawmakers.
The decision to remove capital punishment in all 32 of Malaysia’s laws was made
at a cabinet meeting on Oct. 10, Liew Vui Keong, a minister in the Prime
Minister’s Department, told parliament on Tuesday. A study commissioned by the
government found the death sentence to be an ineffective deterrent, and raised
the issue of wrongful convictions and human rights.
Public outrage over a death penalty handed to a 29-year-old man convicted of
possessing, processing and distributing medicinal cannabis oil promoted a
national debate on capital punishment. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, 93, has
said the verdict and relevant law should be reviewed in the country, where
Muslims make up more than half of the population. The cabinet has since reached
a consensus that capital punishment should not be applied in the case.
Still, the death of a 11-month-old girl from sexual abuse last week has
prompted some members of the ruling party to call for the decision to be
revisited. The suspect was tested positive for methamphetamine, which spurred
Deputy Prime Minister Wan Azizah to tell reporters Tuesday that the government
needs to study the root cause of drug-related crimes before deciding to end
capital punishment, the Star reported. Ramkarpal Singh, a lawmaker from the
ruling coalition, said the death penalty should be retained in "exceptional
cases, especially gruesome murders" in light of the baby’s death.
Liew told parliament that the decision to abolish the death penalty was made
for all offenses, including for those convicted of murder. "So far, the
memorandum from the cabinet is still being circulated to the ministries to take
into account the views of the public and those on the ground," he said.
The government is looking to replace the punishment with 30 years imprisonment.
(source: bloomberg.com)
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