November 30
IRAN----executions
Public Execution of a Person with Mental Illness
A prisoner was hanged in public at Iranian city of Taft (Central Iran) on
Thursday, November 29. The man was suffering from mental disability and had
previously been hospitalized in a Psychiatric hospital, according to the
Iranian media reports.
According to Iranian media, the man whose first name identified as Kamran, was
suffering from mental disability and was hospitalized in a Psychiatric hospital
before committing a murder. Kamran was 19 when he murdered a 36 old woman; and
told the prosecutors that he loved the victim. “I expressed my love to her and
she refused. I decided to take revenge,” the prisoner had said in his
confessions.
According to the Yazd Province Judiciary Courthouse’s Public Relations
department, Kamran was hanged in public in Taft city, on the morning of
Thursday, November 29.
UN human rights experts, including the former Special Rapporteur on the
Situation of Human Rights in Iran, had previously drawn particular attention to
continued reports of public executions. “a dehumanising effect on both the
victim and those who witness the execution” and ultimately reinforced the
“already cruel, inhuman and degrading nature of the death penalty,” UN experts
said.
Iran Human Rights (IHR) warns against the new wave of executions in Iran and
urges the UN, EU, and countries with diplomatic relations with Iran to react
immediately and accordingly.
"We demand the halt of all executions, especially public executions which are
inhumane and disdainful, and increase the level of violence in society, ”IHR
spokesperson and director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, emphasised, “At the 1st
anniversary of the nationwide protests in Iran, we are concerned that the
Iranian authorities will use more executions and terror to avoid new protests."
IHR has previously reported about other cases where people with mental illness
have been executed in Iran.
***************
Man Hanged at Tabriz Prison
A prisoner was hanged at Tabriz Central Prison on murder charges.
According to the IHR sources, Hassan Fakhri, a citizen of Sarab city, was
executed on the early morning of Tuesday, November 27.
Kurdistan Human Rights Network, Hassan Fakhri was held in ward 9 of Tabriz
prison.
The Iranian media outlets have not published news related to the aforementioned
execution so far.
According to Iran Human Rights annual report on the death penalty, 240 of the
517 execution sentences in 2017 were implemented due to murder charges. There
is a lack of a classification of murder by degree in Iran which results in
issuing a death sentence for any kind of murder regardless of intensity and
intent.
(source for both: Iran Human Rights)
***********************
Iranian tribunals send executives to gallows
Special Iranian anti-corruption courts established this summer have in recent
weeks handed down harsh sentences, including the death penalty, against
businessmen who allegedly took advantage of worsening economic conditions
caused by U.S. sanctions on Iran.
The tribunals, established by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in August, are part
of a high-profile government crackdown on corruption amid growing public anger
over high unemployment and other economic ills.
The Trump administration this month reimposed a near-total embargo on Iran's
economy, sanctioning everything from oil sales to bank transactions,to pressure
Tehran to give up its ballistic missile program and abandon its support for
armed proxy groups in the Middle East.
The economic woes have given rise to mounting calls inside Iran for corrupt
businessmen and officials to be tried and punished.
Authorities this month hanged two prominent currency traders for hoarding gold
coins as the rial plunged to record lows against the dollar this summer,
causing gold prices to surge. At least three others have also recently been
sentenced to death for similar crimes - and scores more arrested - according to
the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran, which has tracked the
prosecutions.
"Some people who've been enraged feel relieved," said a Tehran-based legal
scholar named Mohsen, who declined to use his full name for fear of retribution
from authorities.
But he added that the public also wants to see high-level government officials
put on trial for economic crimes, and many Iranians have little faith that
senior officials will be prosecuted. "The judiciary is one of the most loathed
institutions of the Islamic Republic," he said.
The new courts were set up by special decree after judicial officials asked
Khamenei to grant them more flexibility to go after "enemies" they said had
sabotaged Iran's economy and currency in recent months.
Khamenei approved the use of revolutionary courts - which try security and
other crimes against the Islamic Republic - for 2 years to take "swift and
just" legal action against "those who are guilty of corrupt economic
practices," he said, according to Iranian state television.
"The special economic courts appear to have two goals: to deter illegal
economic activity and to show the public that the government is taking the
economic crisis seriously," said Henry Rome, an Iran analyst at Eurasia Group,
a risk analysis firm in New York.
But Rome and other analysts say that corruption is too widespread for the
trials to carry any weight. Even as Iran's rulers seek to assuage public anger,
the government must enact real changes that would buoy the economy despite U.S.
restrictions, he said.
"For the government, it's easier to prosecute a handful of allegedly corrupt
businessmen than to, say, conduct major reforms in the banking system," he
said. "Corruption is simply too rampant and its participants too politically
well connected."
Human rights groups say that the trials, which often lack due process, violate
international law. The revolutionary courts, rights groups say, are known for
rapid trials, quick rulings and issuing sentences based on confessions
extracted under torture. According to the Oslo-based nonprofit group Iran Human
Rights, revolutionary courts are "responsible for the majority of death
sentences carried out over the past 38 years."
Iran has one of the highest execution rates in the world, according to Amnesty
International, and has previously tried and executed businessmen and former
government officials accused of corruption.
In 2016, a court sentenced billionaire tycoon Babak Zanjani to death for
allegedly embezzling state oil revenue during an earlier period of U.S.
sanctions. More recently, in August, authorities arrested former Central Bank
deputy Ahmad Araghchi for unspecified financial crimes. Araghchi, who oversaw
foreign exchange affairs at the bank, is the nephew of Iran's current Deputy
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
In Iran's besieged business community, some executives warn that the
convictions will make wary investors even more reluctant to do business deals
with Iranian companies. Many investors have been steering clear of Iran because
of U.S. sanctions, which generally prohibit trade with the country with the
exception of food, medicine and medical supplies. Most major European firms
withdrew staff and assets as renewed restrictions loomed earlier this year.
"Such forceful reactions [by the government] will only harm the economy more,"
said Babak, the finance director of a consumer goods company in Iran. He also
declined to give his full name so he could speak freely about Iran's economy
and the special tribunals.
"Investors are very sensitive to a lack of security," he said. "And this will
make them feel even less secure."
Another entrepreneur, Nima, who runs an import business, said that if corrupt
businessmen were being tried "fairly and in accordance with the law, it would
bring transparency, reduce violations and improve the economic situation."
But if the courts are "political and nontransparent," he said, "it will lead to
capital flight from the country." Nima also declined to give his full name so
as not to draw scrutiny from the government.
In a final interview before his execution this month, prominent gold trader
Vahid Mazloumin spoke candidly of the brisk business he did in the exchange
market over the years.
"One night, I became the 'Sultan of Coins,' " Mazloumin, wearing a prison
jumpsuit, said in an interview with Iran's Mehr news agency. "And now I'm
here."
In a segment aired on Iranian state television, Mazloumin smiled wryly as he
smoked a cigarette and leaned back in his chair.
"You must enjoy the pleasurable things in life," he said.
(source: greenwichtime.com)
PAKISTAN:
Pakistan urged to not target mentally ill people with death penalty
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged Pakistan to remove people with mental
disabilities from death row as it violates “country’s international legal
obligations".
In a statement released on Thursday, HRW said the United Nations Human Rights
Committee and United Nations special experts have determined that the execution
of a person with a psychosocial disability violates the right to be free from
cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment.
The statement comes after a medical board submitted a report to the Lahore’s
district and sessions court in the case hearing of Saleem Ahmad, who is
suffering from chronic schizophrenia.
Ahmad, 50, had been scheduled to be executed in November 2017, but a court
suspended his execution and ordered a medical board to assess his mental
health. Ahmad – who was convicted of murder – has been in prison for more than
17 years.
The statement further said, “This is a scathing indictment of Pakistan’s
criminal justice system and should be used as an opportunity for reform. While
the death penalty is inherently cruel and should be abolished, executing an
individual with psychosocial disabilities violates Pakistan’s international
legal obligations."
“Ahmad is one of many prisoners with psychosocial disabilities on death row. In
April, the Supreme Court of Pakistan reviewed the death sentences of Kaniz
Fatima and Imdad Ali, death row convicts with psychosocial disabilities. During
the proceedings, the chief justice of the Supreme Court remarked: ‘Neither
reason nor sensibility allow me to believe that we can execute a mentally ill
or disabled person.’ Kaniz Fatima and Imdad Ali remain on death row.
Kaniz Fatima is one of the few women on death row in Pakistan. According to her
lawyers, she has not spoken for 12 years and is unable to eat, drink, or take
care of herself without assistance. She has been in prison for 29 years."
It further said that Kaniz Fatima is among more than 8,000 prisoners on death
row in Pakistan – one of the world’s largest populations of prisoners facing
executions. Pakistani law mandates capital punishment for 28 offences,
including murder, rape, treason, and blasphemy.
“The arbitrariness, unfairness, and high risk of error in capital prosecutions
in Pakistan has been documented extensively. The death penalty is inherently
cruel – but even more so for those who may not recognise their crimes. It good
to see Pakistani authorities beginning to realise executing people with
psychosocial disabilities is an affront to human decency and serves no criminal
justice purpose. Pakistan should strengthen its justice system and work towards
a complete moratorium on death sentences, rather than sending people like
Saleem Ahmad to the gallows,” it concluded.
(source: Pakistan Today)
**********************
SC asked to review Aasia Bibi case ruling
A citizen approached the Supreme Court on Thursday, seeking review of its Oct
31 judgement of acquitting Aasia Bibi in a blasphemy case after overturning an
October 2014 Lahore High Court verdict that had sentenced the Christian woman
to death.
Abdul Ghafoor Khan, a resident of Arain village on Raiwind Road in Lahore,
moved the petition though his counsel Aftab Bajwa with a request to maintain
the capital punishment.
The petitioner also sought a court directive for the interior ministry to place
the name of Aasia Bibi on the Exit Control List (ECL) till a final decision on
his petition.
On Oct 31, a 5-judge SC bench reversed the judgements of the high court as well
as the trial court, thus setting aside the conviction and the death sentence
awarded to Aasia Bibi, accused of committing blasphemy during an argument with
a Muslim woman in Sheikhupura in June 2009. The petition argued that no
previous enmity, ill will or ulterior motive came on record to claim that she
had been falsely implicated in such a heinous crime.
Moreover, the petitioner said, the prosecution had proved its case through
independent and confidence-inspiring evidence, adding that the accused had
confessed to her guilt and due to this reason, the prosecution witnesses were
not cross-examined during the trial - a fact sufficient to prove the guilt of
the accused.
During the trial, the petition contended, the accused did not utter a single
word in her defence and she was rightly convicted.
(source: dawn.com)
INDIA:
Justice Kurian Joseph calls for review of death penalty with last
judgement----The judgement aims to increase the threshold for sentencing
someone to death
As Justice Kurian Joseph retires on Thursday, he will be remembered for his
last judgment, which will further limit the grounds for imposing the death
penalty. In Chhannu Lal Verma vs the State of Chattisgarh, Justice Joseph,
while commuting the death sentence of the appellant to life imprisonment,
observed that the time had come to review the need for the death penalty as a
punishment, especially its purpose and practice.
The other 2 judges on the bench, Justices Deepak Gupta and Hemant Gupta, while
agreeing that the death penalty imposed on the appellant in this case must be
commuted to life imprisonment, disagreed with Justice Joseph's observation.
According to them, since the constitution bench in Bachan Singh vs State of
Punjab had upheld capital punishment, there was no need to re-examine it at
this stage.
The constitution bench upheld capital punishment in the Bachan Singh case way
back in 1980. The question which the two judges on the bench did not answer is
this: If the passage of almost 40 years is not reason enough to review the
judgment, what would be the appropriate stage for such an exercise?
Justice Joseph did not seek the reconsideration of the Bachan Singh judgment,
but only sought to re-examine the purpose and practice of the death penalty,
and whether as a punishment, it serves any goal at all. In other words, the
death penalty can continue to remain constitutionally valid because of the
Bachan Singh judgment, but its application in substantive cases coming before
the court must be restricted to only those cases which meet the criteria laid
down in that case.
It is now trite to say that Supreme Court judges have mostly misapplied the
rarest of rare doctrine. In Bachan Singh, the court held that the death penalty
could only be imposed if the alternative of life imprisonment is
‘unquestionably foreclosed’. It’s unfortunate that ever since Bachan Singh,
judges of the Supreme Court who pretended to apply the death penalty based on
what they determined to be severe crimes, closed their eyes to the word
‘unquestionably’ in that judgment.
The alternative of a life sentence in a murder case could only be
unquestionably foreclosed if it could not be imposed on a convict, for reasons
such as his lack of potential for reformation, or absence of any mitigating
factor. The meaning of the word ‘any’ here also failed to resonate with
post-Bachan Singh judges for many years. The word ‘any’, as common sense would
suggest, cannot be understood in plurality. That is, even if there is a single
mitigating factor in favour of the accused, it should necessarily be considered
by a judge as reason enough to suggest that life imprisonment as an optional
punishment cannot be ‘unquestionably foreclosed’.
In other words, contrary to what many would think, the constitution bench, even
while upholding the constitutionality of the death sentence, had in fact made
it nearly impossible for future judges to impose it through a strict
construction of the rarest of rare doctrine.
In Bachan Singh, the bench upheld the constitutionality of the death sentence
primarily because the 35th report of the Law Commission, submitted in 1967,
justified its retention, based on responses to its questionnaires sent to
persons from different walks of life. There has been a tidal change in public
opinion since then. The 262nd report of the Law Commission, prepared and
submitted in 2015, following a request made by the Supreme Court itself, took a
different view, after extensive research and with a slant towards an
international approach.
Indeed, Justice Joseph relied on this 2015 report to hold that the
constitutional regulation of capital punishment attempted in Bachan Singh has
failed to prevent death sentences from being “arbitrarily and freakishly
imposed” and that capital punishment has failed to achieve any
constitutionality valid penological goals.
Therefore, the view of the 2 judges on the bench presided by Justice Joseph
that there is no need to re-examine the constitutionality of capital punishment
is tantamount to disassociating from the wisdom of the 2 previous Supreme Court
benches which commissioned the Law Commission’s 2nd project on the validity of
the death penalty. In both Santosh Kumar Satishbhushan Bariyar vs State of
Maharashra (2009) and Shankar Kisanrao Khade vs State of Maharashtra (2013),
the Supreme Court sought the Law Commission’s intervention to resolve the
issue. Surely, their reasoning was not merely to add to the academic literature
on the subject, but to make necessary correctives in death penalty
jurisprudence.
Landmark judgment
Having said that, Justice Joseph deserves to be complimented for laying down a
few key principles which will be difficult to ignore by any sentencing judge.
1st, if a jail superintendent provides a certificate attesting to a convict’s
good behaviour, it stands reasonable to suggest that the accused possesses the
potential to reform himself, and therefore life imprisonment would suffice to
meet the ends of justice.
2nd, the Justice Joseph-led bench held that without certified
psychological/psychiatric evaluation, it would be improper to preclude the
possibility or probability of reform. The state must bear this in mind while
furnishing evidence that a convict is incapable of reform or rehabilitation. In
other words, the burden rests on the prosecution to establish the lack of
reformative potential of the criminal.
Unfortunately, as has been witnessed over the years, the prosecution often
exercises this responsibility with considerable indifference. Without
questioning the absence of any evidence pertaining to the lack of a convict’s
reformative capacity, the courts too effectively condone this lapse with a
similar degree of apathy. In many cases, the courts themselves concluded that
the accused was beyond reformation – based solely on the heinous nature of the
offence and without seeking supporting forensic and scientific reports.
Hopefully, this distressing trend will come to an end with this judgement.
3rd, the imposition of the death penalty can be vacated if the accused is able
to demonstrate being denied procedural fairness and due process during the
trial. In this case, not having a separate hearing for sentencing after the
trial and holding it on the same day when the accused was convicted was cited
as a reason why he could not get sufficient time to furnish evidence relevant
to sentencing and mitigation.
4th, in this case, the prosecution argued that the accused failed to establish
emotional instability resulting from being falsely implicated of rape by 1 of
the deceased as the reason for committing murder. He was convicted for killing
3 persons. But the Supreme Court rejected this contention by holding that the
court can independently search for a mitigating factor in favour of the
accused, even if the latter did not himself come forward to cite one.
The other 2 judges on the bench felt the present was not the appropriate time
to re-examine Bachan Singh. The question does not arise because it was not an
issue in this case, as the appellant had not challenged the constitutionality
of the death sentence itself. Therefore, even if the 2 judges had not expressed
their disagreement with Justice Kurian on this question, it would not have
altered the result of their verdict, as the chief justice of India was unlikely
to constitute a larger bench to reconsider Bachan Singh merely because this
bench wanted to debate the validity of the death penalty.
To reconsider Bachan Singh, it is important that a Supreme Court bench
expresses its reservations regarding its rectitude through a reasoned order –
requesting the CJI to initiate a review, while explaining what substantial
questions of law require clarification by a larger bench.
(source: business-standard.com)
VIETNAM:
Court Sentences 9 To Death For Heroin Trafficking
A Northern Vietnamese Court on Friday sentenced 9 people to death for heroin
trafficking, authorities reported.
Following a 5-day trial in Ha Nam Provincial People’s Court, the 6 men and 3
women were found guilty of trafficking around 20kg of heroin throughout
northern Vietnam, according to the Cong An Nhan Dan police-run gazette.
The court also sentenced three others to life imprisonment on the same drug
charge, while 10 others received sentences ranging from 12 years to 20 years.
The conspiracy began in June 2016 when ringleader Le Van Manh, among those
sentenced to death, began soliciting cash investments from other conspirators
to buy heroin to resell.
Under Vietnamese law, trafficking more than 100g of heroin warrants the death
penalty.
(source: leadership.ng)
CAMEROON:
Capital punishment may await Anglophone separatists if proven they plot terror
10 Cameroonian separatist leaders extradited from Nigeria earlier this year
will face trial next month on terrorism charges that could lead to the death
penalty, one of their lawyers said after a court hearing on Tuesday.
The accused include Julius Ayuk Tabe, the leader of an Anglophone separatist
movement in western Cameroon fighting to break away from the
Francophone-dominated central government.
Hundreds of people, including civilians, separatist fighters and Cameroonian
security agents, have been killed in the past year’s violence, which has
emerged as the most serious security threat to President Paul Biya, in power
for 36 years.
"10 charges have been brought against them, including terrorism, advocating
terrorism, secession, civil war and revolution,” lawyer Christopher Ndong told
Reuters after the charges were read out at the capital Yaounde’s military
court.
The trial is scheduled to begin on Dec. 6, Ndong added.
Tabe and his co-defendants were among 47 Anglophone Cameroonians arrested in
Nigeria and deported to Cameroon in January. The remaining 37 suspects are
still being held by the authorities and have not been charged, said Ndong.
Cameroon’s government spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
Cameroon regularly sentences people to death but has not carried out an
execution in years.
(source: African Daily Voice)
ZIMBABWE:
Zim keen to end death penalty
Zimbabwe is moving closer towards the abolishment of capital punishment and
proposals to that effect will soon be tabled before Cabinet, Justice, Legal and
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi has said.
Addressing international delegates attending the 11th international meeting of
the Ministers of Justice themed “A world without death penalty — no justice
without life”, in Rome, Italy, yesterday, Minister Ziyambi said the death
sentence was not only cruel and degrading punishment, but also destroyed life.
This development comes at a time when Zimbabwe has 81 prisoners on the death
row, while 127 are serving life terms.
“The coming into force of the 2013 Constitution of Zimbabwe brought a
significant trajectory on the question of death penalty,” said Minister
Ziyambi.
“The death sentence may be imposed only on a person convicted of murder
committed in aggravating circumstances.
“Secondly, such form of sentence must not be imposed on women, male persons who
are under the age of 21 and over the age of 70 years convicted of murder
committed in aggravating circumstances. The Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act
has already been amended in order to give effect to this constitutional
provision.
“Let me also highlight that the death sentence is not only cruel and degrading
punishment, but also destroys life and annihilates human dignity.
“Furthermore, criminological researches have revealed that the death penalty
does not deter the commission of crimes, but rather compounds it."
(source: New Zealand Herald)
BELARUS:
Statement by Timo Soini, Chairman of the Committee of Ministers, on death
penalty in Belarus
"I deeply regret the reported executions of Mr Syamyon Berazhny and Mr Ihar
Hershankow in Belarus, which were carried out despite the strong call made by
the Committee of Ministers in October 2018 to the authorities of Belarus to
establish a formal moratorium on executions as a first step towards abolition
of the death penalty," Mr Timo Soini, Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of
the Council of Europe and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland, underlined
in a statement today.
On the same occasion, the Committee of Ministers - representing 47 member
States - encouraged the Belarusian authorities to apply the alternative
punishment provided for in the Belarusian criminal legislation and to commute
the death sentences which have been imposed. "The Council of Europe is firmly
opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances and is resolutely committed
to its abolition worldwide," the Minister added.
(source: coe.int)
MALAYSIA:
Indonesian migrant worker faces death penalty for murder
A migrant worker from Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, Zainul Watoni, is facing the
death penalty for allegedly killing a man in Malaysia.
Malaysian media reported that the 31-year-old is being charged under Section
302 of the Penal Code for allegedly killing Rizal Muhammad, in Ladang Kambau,
Tanjung Sedili in Johor on Nov. 4.
He was taken into custody along with a woman.
(source: The Jakarta Post)
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