January 4
BANGLADESH:
Kaberi murder convict given capital punishment
The lone convict in the college teacher Krishna Kaberi murder was sentenced to
death in absentia.
Dhaka's Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 Judge Shahed Nur Uddin announced the verdict on
Thursday.
Convict Zahirul Islam Palash was a business associate of Krishna's husband and
BRTA official Sitangshu Shekhar Biswas, says case record.
The judge also fined Zahirul Tk 100,000 under Section-302 of the Code of
Criminal Procedure. In addition to death penalty, he was given life
imprisonment for assaulting Sitangshu and his children.
The inability to pay the fine will add another year to his imprisonment term.
On Mar 30, 2015, Palash went to the couple's home at Mohammadpur's Iqbal Road
to greet Krishna's husband Sitangshu on his birthday with cake, sweets and
flowers.
Biswas lost consciousness after drinking fruit juice which Palash had spiked.
He then assaulted him with a hammer.
When Krishna tried to save her husband, she was also battered mercilessly along
with Sitangshu. Her saree caught fire from the candle's on the cake and she was
burnt badly.
When their daughters 'Shruti', 14, and 'Atri', 8, shouted for help, they were
also attacked by Zahirul. Krishna, who taught at the Mission International
College in Dhaka's Adabar, succumbed to the burn injuries at hospital the next
day. Kaberi's husband Sitangshu Shekhar Biswas is a director at BRTA.
His brother Shudhangshu Shekhar Biswas had filed the murder case with
Mohammadpur Police Station making Zahirul the lone accused.
Sub-Inspector Delowar Hossain, the case's investigating officer, submitted the
charges to court on May 30, 2016 after a year of investigation.
Sitangshu Shekhar Biswas had opened a Beneficiary Owner Account or BO account
through Haji Ahmed Brothers Securities with Tk 800,000, said the charge sheet
of the case.
Zahirul attempted to kill Sitangshu over the money.
After being indicted on April 2017, Zahirul gave a confessional statement in a
court.
At least 22 witnesses testified in the case.
(source: thedaiynewnation.com)
IRAQ:
Report: Jihadist born in Switzerland risks death penalty in Iraq
An alleged jihadist born and raised in Switzerland is facing trial in the
capital of Iraq, according to an investigation conducted by the 10vor10
programme and the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper.
Iraqi troops captured the 24-year-old man, a Turkish national who grew up in
Switzerland, as they regained territory from the Islamic State group.
The man has been brought before a specialised tribunal in Baghdad where he
faces the death penalty, according to an Arabic article published in a magazine
of the Iraqi judicial authorities.
The article describes the man as a native from the northeastern Swiss town of
Arbon who used the battle name "Obeida" and had a Turkish 1st name.
The Swiss attorney general told public broadcaster SRF that criminal
proceedings were brought against this man in Switzerland in 2015 over his
suspected membership in a terrorist group.
The proceedings were suspended in December 2016 but as a precaution he has been
banned from entering Switzerland.
Federal police spokeswoman Catherine Maret told SRF: "We can do that if we have
the feeling that there is a threat to internal security - which is the case
here".
The Iraqi authorities apparently quote from interrogation records in the
article and refer to him as an IS member.
The man from Switzerland had been trained in the use of weapons in a training
camp in Syria.
Afterwards, according to his testimony, he was sent to Iraq where he was asked
what type of training he had.
"I said that I worked in the field of electricity and electricity," the Iraqi
judiciary quoted him as saying. Then follows his explosive confession: "For
nine months I built the circuits for explosive charges".
He is accused of working as a bomb maker for ISIS.
An investigation into his childhood in Switzerland found that “Obeida” only
completed elementary school and that the electronics training related to an
internship of several months in this field. In Arbon, “Obeida” was apparently
part of a group of jihadis.
Rights group stress that criminal trials in Iraq do not meet Europe's
constitutional standards. Judgments are usually handed down without sound
evidence, trials are often very brief, the accused might not be heard, and
confessions are extracted under the force of torture.
“Obeida” reportedly has a lawyer but he has never been allowed to speak to his
client. The lawyer is working to avert the execution of a death sentence.
The man from Arbon had a C residence permit in Switzerland but no citizenship.
As such, the Swiss foreign ministry has not offered him consular assistance.
(source: swissinfo.ch)
IRAN----executions
12 Prisoners Executed For Drug Charges
Last month IHR and several other rights groups and news websites received
reports about the execution of 12 imprisoned drug offenders on December 6, in
the Central Prison of Kerman, South-Eastern Iran. IHR has now confirmed the
reports through several independent sources. This is the highest number of
drug-related executions in 1 day since the new amendments to the Anti-Narcotics
Law were enforced in November 2017.
According to the IHR sources, on the morning of December 6, 2018, at least 12
prisoners were hanged at Kerman prison, all of whom had been sentenced to death
for drug-related charges.
3 of the prisoners were identified as Ali Deyhim (or Deyhi), Majid Shiki and
Reza Ouhadi, charged with possession of 700 Kg opium, 1700 Kg opium, and 14 Kg
Heroin respectively. Local sources identified two other men as Jalil, son of
Khodabakhs and Yousef, son of Jalaloddin.
“These people had at the prison for several years. One of them had spent 15
years in jail. Another 1 was convicted to life imprisonment. He had been given
a prison furlough and was charged with possession of drugs while he was on
furlough and sentenced to death,” a well-known source told IHR, “their death
sentences were upheld even after the case reviews under the new law.”
The identities of 4 other executed prisoners were revealed by other rights
groups as “Abdolghani Ghalandarzehi, Yaghoub Ghalandarzehi; and 2 brothers with
the surname of Shahzehi”, all from the Province of Baluchistan.
3 of the prisoners executed on December 6 have not been identified yet. None of
the executions was announced by the Iranian authorities.
The new amendment to Iranian Anti-drug law which was enforced on November 14,
2017, includes a mechanism to limit the use of the death penalty and reduce the
sentences of those sentenced to death or life imprisonment. The law was
retroactive and could potentially save many prisoners’ lives after their
case-review process.
Following the enforcement of Iranian Anti-drug law in November 2017, the number
of drug-related executions is significantly decreased compared to the past
years. According to some official reports 238 death sentences have been
commuted and changed to life in prison in Kerman since enforcement of the new
law.
(source: Iran Human Rights)
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