December 2
PHILIPPINES:
Death penalty can help put an end to country’s drug problem: Bato
Death penalty for drug traffickers?
If former Philippine National Police director Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa is
elected senator, that’s exactly what he will propose--to reinstate the death
penalty, especially for convicted drug traffickers.
He admitted that the illegal drug problem in Cebu City seems to be
never-ending, but he thinks that there has been a major improvement.
The former police chief, who was in Cebu on Saturday, Dec. 1, for the Anti-Drug
and Peace and Order Summit 2018 in Tuburan, said that many policemen and
narcopoliticians turned over a new leaf because they didn’t want to be killed.
Over the past months, especially in Cebu, suspected drug personalities were
killed by unidentified men even though not a single case was filed against many
of them.
Dela Rosa, though, believes that summary execution is illegal and the people
behind it should be punished. The only legal way to kill criminals is to
reinstate the death penalty, he said.
He said this is an appropriate punishment for drug lords who allow the entry of
illegal drugs in the country and who distribute shabu in the communities.
The senatorial candidate told reporters that when he was the director general
of the Bureau of Corrections, he talked to several Chinese drug traffickers.
That was when he realized how weak the country’s laws on drugs are.
He said that drug lords from Singapore, Hong Kong and mainland China said it’s
easy to flood the Philippine market with illegal drugs because of the country’s
weak laws and the absence of the death penalty.
That might also explain why, in Cebu City alone, millions worth of drugs were
seized last month.
“So in less than a month it’s almost P90 million siguro,” said Senior Supt.
Royina Garma, the director of the Cebu City Police Office, referring to the
illegal drugs seized by city operatives recently. “So that means many are still
using. That’s what I meant when I said there is a market. So we should do
something to eliminate the market.”
Based on the data collated by Superbalita Cebu, Cebu City operatives seized
around P95 million worth of shabu in November.
The latest was the P36.3 million worth of illegal drugs seized during a drug
bust in Barangay Sambag 2 last Friday night, Nov. 30.
Four people were arrested in the operation by the Drug Enforcement Unit of the
Guadalupe Police Station in Sitio Tambis on Urgello Road past 9:30 p.m.
The operation was the result of a 3-month surveillance. The suspects were
arrested in the middle of repacking illegal drugs.
One of those arrested was Michael Pacilan Carabaña alias Mike, 28, of Barangay
Pardo. He was a surrenderer of Barangay Pardo’s Oplan Tokhang (approach and
talk).
Another suspect, 24-year-old Jemuel Enrile of Barangay Cansojong, Talisay City,
is in Talisay’s drug watchist.
Also arrested were Arnold Pacong Arquiza, 37, and Agustin Regis Quijano, 34,
both of Barangay Quiot, Cebu City.
Guadalupe Police Station Chief Dexter Basirgo said that Carabaña had only been
renting in Sitio Tambis for 3 weeks. He reportedly transferred after his name
came up in Pardo as among those involved in the sale of illegal drugs.
An informant reported to the Guadalupe Police Station that illegal drugs were
sold in bulk in Sambag 2.
A poseur-buyer transacted P12,000 worth of illegal drugs with Carabaña. When
the sale was consummated, Carabaña was immediately arrested. When police
entered Carabaña’s house, they found 3 other men repacking what looked like
shabu.
Police confiscated over 3 kilos of shabu with an estimated worth of
P36,344,000. They also recovered P105,000 in cash, an expensive cellphone, 3
motorcycles, a Toyota Avanza and a weighing scale.
According to their investigation, the supply of shabu came from Luzon. Carabaña
directly receives the supply and then distribute it to street pushers. Carabaña
reportedly supplies drugs in Sambag 2 and Pardo in Cebu City as well as the
cities of Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue.
“Based on their narration, the drugs came from Manila. They have been in the
illegal drug trade for some time and their transactions are already in bulk,”
said Basirgo in Cebuano.
Police also recovered notebooks, which contained names that police believed to
be Carabaña’s colleagues in the illegal drug trade. The names are now under
background investigation.
Garma urged boarding house owners to get to know their boarders so they
wouldn’t meet any problems in the future.
Garma was disappointed by the large haul despite their continued drug
operations.
(source: sunstar.com.ph)
PAKISTAN:
Man awarded 3 death penalties for raping, killing minor girl in DI Khan
Additional sessions judge Usman Wali Khan on Saturday awarded 3 death sentences
and slapped a Rs900,000 penalty on Muhammad Bilal for raping and murdering a
6-year-old girl last year.
The verdict was based on section 364-A, 376-C and section 302 of Pakistan penal
code, which included the sections of abduction, rape and murder.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, the father of the victim expressed
satisfaction on the court verdict, saying the severe punishment will set an
example for others to refrain from committing such heinous crimes against
minors.
The prosecutor told the media that the culprit has the right of appeal against
the verdict in upper courts within fifteen days of the court orders, adding
that he would have to contact the jail administration to do so.
The 6-year-old victim had disappeared from a wedding function on January 26,
2017 in DI Khan after her family was threatened by the convict on refusing her
hand for marriage.
The body of the deceased was recovered from a sugarcane field 2 days later.
Police arrested him on the grounds of doubts and during physical remand, he
admitted to the charges of abduction, rape and murder by strangling.
During the investigation, it was revealed that the convict was also involved in
abducting and raping two other minor girls from the same village.
(source: The Express Tribune)
IRAN:
Juvenile Offender Seyyed-Danial ZeinolAbedin Sentenced to Death
Seyed Danial ZeinolAbedini is a juvenile offender whose death sentence has been
upheld by the Supreme Court and is scheduled for execution. Iran Human Rights
(IHR) urges the Iranian authorities to stop juvenile executions and calls on
the international community to pay urgent attention to Seyyed-Danidal's case.
According to the IHR sources, Seyyed-Danial Zeinolabedin was born on August 9,
2000. He committed a murder on September 22, 2017. This means he is sentenced
to death for a crime committed under the age of 18.
Under Article 91 of the Islamic Penal Code which was added to the law 5 years
ago, judges are allowed to issue alternative verdicts for the minors. The
juvenile offenders whom a judge considers not mature enough to realize the
nature of the crime committed can face prison terms.
Seyyed-Danial’s lawyer, Asoo Arya, told IHR, “my client is underage. According
to Article 91 of Iran’s Islamic Penal Code, execution of people under 18 years
old is not allowed unless the court recognizes the defendant as a mature person
by sending him/her to forensics. My client has not been sent to forensics.”
However, according to Article 91 of Iran's revised Islamic Penal Code, it is up
to the presiding judge's discretion to deem the juvenile mature enough to
understand the nature of the offense: "In the cases of offenses punishable by
hadd or qisas, if mature people under 18 years do not realize the nature of the
crime committed or its prohibition, or if there is uncertainty about their full
mental development, according to their age, they shall be sentenced to the
punishments prescribed in this chapter." Otherwise, the Islamic Penal Code puts
the age of criminal responsibility for males at 15 and 9 for females.
However, the article could neither stop nor even decrease the execution of
juvenile offenders. From the application of article 91 in 2013 to the end of
2017, at least 35 juvenile offenders have been hanged in Iranian prisons.
(source: Iran Human Rights)
MALAYSIA:
Nigerian man sentenced to death for pushing drugs in Malaysia----A man charged
with trafficking 727.1g of methamphetamine has been sentenced to death after a
judge found him guilty of the crime over a year before the verdict.
A judge has decided on capital punishment for a Nigerian man Sidrey Shalod Dike
who was found guilty of drug trafficking that carried a death sentence.
Sidrey Shalod Dike, a 46-year-old Nigerian man, has reportedly been sentenced
to death for drug trafficking in Malaysia.
According to the New Straits Times (NST), the convict was found guilty of
pushing more than 700g of drugs into the country in May 2017.
“After examining arguments by both the defence and the prosecution, the court
found that the defence failed to raise reasonable doubt and the accused is
found guilty and sentenced to death,” says Judge Datuk Azman Abdullah who gave
the verdict on Friday, November 30, 2018.
The convict is a part-time delivery man says a report by NST. Dike was
reportedly charged with trafficking 727.1g of methamphetamine at 2.30pm on May
3, 2017.
As a result, he faced a charge under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs
Act 1952 which is punishable under Section 39B(2) of the same law.
It provides a mandatory death sentence upon conviction for anyone found guilty
of the allegation.
(source: pulse.ng)
ZAMBIA:
Given Lubinda addresses 11th International Congress of Justice Ministers
Minister of Justice Honourable Given Lubinda, MP joined several Ministers of
Justice from around the world when he attended the 11th International Congress
of Justice Ministers held from 28th to 29th November, 2018 under the theme “A
World Without the Death Penalty” The meeting which brought together Ministers
of Justice and members of the Nuncio and civil society, was held at the Italian
Parliament under the auspices of the Community of Saint Egidio in collaboration
with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy.
In his remarks, the Honourable Minister stated that a just world was not
possible while the death penalty was in place. He told the meeting that the
right to life was enshrined in the constitution of Zambia. However, the same
constitution gave powers to the courts to determine sentencing within the
purview of the law, which also provided for capital punishment. In the same
vein, the minister stated that judges in Zambia prefaced their death sentences
by stating that they were bound by the law to hand down the death sentences
because the Pénal code has the death penalty as a mandatory sentence in cases
of murder, aggravated robbery using a fire arm and treason.
He further informed the meeting that the last execution of the death penalty in
Zambia was done in 1997 and since then there have been a number of commutations
to life imprisonment. He also emphasized that President Edgar Lungu had
committed more death sentences than any of his predecessors. The Hounourable
Minister stated that consequent to the foregoing, Zambia was a defacto death
penalty abolitionist state.
He further informed the meeting that although Zambia traditionally voted on
abstaining when there was a vote on abolishing the death penalty, government
was in support of a moratorium on such capital punishment. He said, as the
constitution stood, the death penalty was in place and until such a time when
the people of Zambia decided to amend the constitution to abolish the death
penalty, the status quo would continue to obtain. He mentioned however, that
government was in the process of sensitizing the populace on the need to do
away with the death penalty as it was at variance with the principle of the
right to life as enshrined in the Bill of Rights. He said there was need for
the Zambian society to reflect upon this provision of the law and encouraged
international and local NGOs, faith-based organizations and other CSOs to get
involved in creating awareness among citizens about the need to abolish the
death penalty.
Further, that due to the importance that the Zambian Government attaches to
people’s rights, on 10th December Zambia would be commemorating the 70th
Anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights
which was adopted on 10th December 1948. He invited Saint Egidio to send a
delegation to participate in the event in Zambia.
Earlier on, during the opening session, Minister of Foreign Affairs and
International Cooperation of Italy, Mr. Enzo Moavero Milanesi addressed the
meeting and stated his government’s commitment to abolition of the death
penalty as this was traditionally the position of the Tuscany Region of Italy
in the 18th Century before Italy became a nation state. As such, the tradition
was carried on to present day Italy.
Honourable Lubinda was accompanied by Mr. Silumelume Mubukwanu, Counsellor
Economics.
(source: Lusaka Times)
SUDAN:
White Nile court sentences Darfur student to death
The Kosti criminal court in Sudan’s White Nile state condemned Darfuri student
Abubakar Yousef to death, and sentenced another 10 students from Darfur to
prison terms, for their participation in riots at the University of Bakht El
Rida in May 2017.
The court passed the death sentence on Abubakar Yousef for the murder of a
policeman during the university violence. El Tayeb Ahmed received a 4-month
prison sentence for causing grievous bodily harm, while nine other students
received 6-month prison sentences for rioting and violating public safety.
Lawyer Jibril Hasabo told Radio Dabanga that the defence council would appeal
the sentences. He explained that the court ordered those students sentenced to
prison to be released, as they spent 18 months in custody pending trial, so the
court considered the prison terms already served.
Violence
The students were arrested and charged after violence erupted at the Faculty of
Education of the University of Bakht El Rida on 9 May 2017 after disagreements
at the university's student union. Police intervened and dispersed the
protesters using tear gas and rubber bullets, as well as live ammunition. A
policeman and a woman student were killed, and 25 other people, including 4
police officers, were injured.
Mass resignation
In July, in reaction to the detentions, between 1,000 and 1,500 students
submitted collective resignations from the university in protest against “the
security services and the university administration’s racial targeting of
Darfuri students."
The students then attempted to travel to Khartoum to register their protest in
the national capital, but they were prevented from boarding busses by agents of
the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS).
This prompted to walk towards Khartoum as a mass march, however the NISS
stopped them at the village of Sheikh El Yagout and prevented them from
entering the city.
(source: dabangasudan.org)
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