January 11
IRAN----execution
Man Hanged in Public
A prisoner was hanged in Public at a square in the southern Iranian city of
Kazerun.
According to the Mizan News Agency, the prisoner was sentenced to death on
kidnapping and rape charges. He was reportedly kidnapped and raped 2 15-year
old boys 3 years ago.
This is the 1st reported case of the public executions in Iran in 2019.
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.
(source: Iran Human Rights)
VIETNAM:
Death penalty handed to 2 heroin transporters
The Hanoi People’s Court pronounced the death penalty for 2 defendants charged
with the illegal transportation of drugs at the first instance trial on January
10.
They are Vi Trung Hien (born in 1988, from the northern province of Lang Son)
and Luong Thi Huan (born in 2000, from the northwestern province of Dien Bien).
Huan was also given 1-year imprisonment for the illegal possession of drugs.
According to the indictment, in February 2018, Hien knew a man named Thang who
lives near the Vietnam-Laos border area. A few months later, Thang agreed with
Hien to transport drugs with the payment of 15 million VND (646.9 USD) per
brick.
On June 5, 2018, Hien received a call from Thang asking to meet at a hotel in
Dien Bien city in the evening to receive 10 bricks of heroin (each brick equals
to around 350g), then transport them to a petrol station in Cao Loc district,
Lang Son province.
Hien later hired Huan to transport the drugs to Lang Son, paying 10 million VND
per brick.
On June 7 morning, upon her arrival at My Dinh bus station in Hanoi where she
was waiting for a taxi to Lang Son, Huan was busted by the police. Hien later
gave himself over to the police for confession.
Apart from trafficking 10 bricks of heroin, Huan also stored a small amount of
synthetic drugs. She confessed that she had transported drugs for Hien multiple
times.
Considering this is a particularly large quantity of drugs, the court decided
to apply the heaviest punishment for the 2 defendants.
(source: vietnamplus.vn)
MALAYSIA:
My cousin was murdered, reveals law minister at death penalty forum
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law) Datuk Liew Vui Keong said he
can empathise with families of victims of violent crimes, as it strikes a
personal note with him.
He said as a student studying law in the United Kingdom almost 40 years ago,
one of his cousins was brutally murdered back home in Sabah.
“I received a letter from home three days after it occurred, informing me that
his mutilated body was found floating in a river. He was only 17 years old,”
said Liew during a conference on the death penalty organised by the Malaysian
Coalition Against the Death Penalty.
He acknowledged his inner turmoil in the days following the murder, ranging
from feelings of anger, sadness, numbness and emptiness.
“You just do not known what to do. You would demand answers on why your loved
one, your son or daughter, was killed.
“But then again no answers can be forthcoming. Bear in mind that even until
today my cousin’s killer has never been found,” Liew said.
Yet he said with the passage of time he moved on, even if it still grieved him,
eventually returning to Malaysia to practice law.
“I remember meeting my aunt and uncle, who were close to fainting when they saw
me since I reminded them so much of their son.
“It is important for the process of forgiveness to take place, even as we are
aware it is not easy for those who have lost their loved ones,” Liew said.
Forgiveness is also important for those sentenced to death by hanging, as he
said if the death penalty is abolished it will give them a chance to save their
lives, even if it means having to spend the rest of it behind bars.
On Tuesday, Liew had said a new law is expected to be tabled sometime this year
to abolish the death penalty.
He explained the proposal to abolish the mandatory death penalty would take
into account the views of all stakeholders, given the complexity and
sensitivity of the issue.
The move to abolish has drawn mixed reaction from the various layers of
Malaysian society, with civil rights groups largely welcoming the move but
conservatives arguing that it be retained for particularly heinous crimes.
(source: Malay Mail)
**********************
Government meets with death row prisoners and families of victims
The Government has met with the families of victims and prisoners on death row
in its process to gather views and perspectives over the abolishment of the
death penalty.
De facto Law Minister Datuk Liew View Keong said families are surprised to find
out that death row inmates are not immediately executed and that there are
several court processes to go through before the death sentence is finally
meted out.
(source: thestar.com.my)
UGANDA:
Confusion as MPs Fail to Understand Death Penalty Bill
Members of Parliament on Thursday were in a state of confusion after they got
stuck with the Law Revision (Penalties in Criminal Matters) Miscellaneous
Amendment Bill, 2015 that intends to scrap mandatory death penalty.
Whereas the Bill intends to amend the Penal Code Act, the Anti-Terrorism Act,
Uganda Peoples Defence Forces Act, 2005 and the Trial on Indictment Act to
provide death penalty as a discretionary punishment for any murder conviction,
the MPs on Thursday misfired the objective of the Bill, prompting Deputy
Speaker Jacob Oulanyah to defer debate until the mover of the Bill (Medard
Ssegonna) harmonises and makes it clear to the Members. The Bill is yet to be
tabled for its 2nd reading.
While in session, MPs made submissions in regards to scrapping or maintaining
of death penalty until the mover of the Bill, Ssegonna rose on a procedural
matter saying that the House including the Legal Committee report had diverted
from the objective of the Bill.
“The Bill is not saying abolish [death penalty], it is talking about
substitution of the sentence ‘mandatory’ with ‘discretionary’ death penalty.
That means that instead of saying a person convicted of murder shall face
death, the Bill wants it to read that the person convicted of murder is liable
to suffer death,” Ssegonna said.
It is at that moment that MPs realized that they ‘debating’ what they did not
understand. Even the Committee on Legal and Parliamentary Affairs tasked to
scrutinize the Bill was not spared by this confusion. The committee report
recommended for scrapping of death penalty in contrary to the objectives of the
Bill.
It should be remembered that this Bill was necessitated by the case of Attorney
General vs. Susan Kigula where the latter challenged her death sentence ruling
in the Supreme Court, resulting in suspension of mandatory death penalty as
called for by Penal Code Act and other laws.
This confusion and misunderstanding prompted Oulanyah to give Ssegonna and his
team one week to rectify their Bill and make it easy for the MPs to digest and
debate.
“Yesterday (Wednesday), we paused this matter so that we can go and understand
it better. There seems to be a little kind of understanding of what we are
dealing with. From what the mover is saying, the Bill doesn’t seek to remove
death penalty but rather impose it a discretionary penalty. So the court should
examine the case and see if they can impose the death penalty. It looks like
even the Committee is moving at a different level. If this is the basis of the
debate, then we are dealing with a different thing,” Oulanyah said.
The death penalty in Uganda is imposed pursuant to Article 22 of the
Constitution that states that, no person shall be deprived of life
intentionally except in execution of a sentence passed in a fair trial by a
court of competent jurisdiction in respect of a criminal offence under the laws
of Uganda and the conviction and sentence have been confirmed by the highest
appellate court.
(source: The Kampala Post)
****************
Parliament halts death penalty debate
Parliament has halted debate on the Law Revision (Penalties in Criminal
Matters) Miscellaneous (Amendment) Bill 2015 intending to give judges powers to
decide whether one who has taken away another life be sentenced to death or
not.
The deputy speaker Jacob Oulanya suspended the debate after realizing that most
of the members of parliament did not understand the principles of the bill.
On Wednesday this week, the debate on the same bill hit a snug when the speaker
allowed the legislators to read the report of the Bill from the Committee of
Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, but despite the time given to understand the
bill, the debate kicked off with most MPs giving opinions contrary from the
objective of the Law.
The private member’s bill seeks to remove all references to the mandatory death
penalty prescribed in those laws and to restrict the application of the death
penalty to ‘the most serious crimes’; to remove the restriction on mitigation
in the case of convictions that carry a death penalty and related matters.
According to the mover of the Bill also Busiro East MP Medard segona, the
legislation was necessary to address the ruling by the supreme court in case of
Susan Kigula, in which the court ruled that the sentencing will lay in the
trial judge’s discretion.
(source: capitalradio.co.ug)
SOUTH AFRICA:
From the death penalty to scrapping low pass marks: Manyi's ambitions for the
ATM
Just 2 days after he announced the African Transformation Movement (ATM) as his
new political home, Mzwanele Manyi said the party would bring back the death
penalty and scrap low pass marks in public schools if it came to power.
In an interview with SABC News on Thursday, Manyi, chief of policy and strategy
for the ATM, said: “It’s [ATM] a party that also wants to bring about capital
punishment. We know that the constitution doesn’t allow it, but we’ll change
the constitution.
“It cannot be that the rights of the killers are respected more than the rights
of those that are being killed. South Africa is a haven for thugs, people kill
other people elsewhere and run to South Africa for safety,” he said.
The former government spokesman announced that he had joined the ATM after
being a member of the ANC for decades, saying the “ANC is tired, fatigued and
lost its moral compass”.
Former media owner Mzwanele Manyi held a media briefing on January 9 2019 to
announce his move to a new political home, the African Transformation Movement
(ATM). Here are 5 highlights from the briefing.
******************
Calls for death penalty as alleged paedophile makes brief court appearance
A man who allegedly paid young boys for sex made a brief appearance in the
Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
The 66-year-old faces charges relating to sexual assault after he was arrested
on Monday.
Outside court, community members of Ottery held demonstrations opposing bail.
“As the community, we are happy that he will be kept until the 29th in custody.
We will be protesting against bail.
“We are aware that over 18 cases have been lodged so far, and this has been
going on for years,” community leader and former ward councillor Melanie
Arendse said.
The man is a widowed father of two daughters. His arrest comes after 2 boys
aged 9 and 12 broke their silence.
According to the boys, the man would pick them up at the old stables in George
Way, drive them to secluded areas and give them drugs to make them erect. He
would then allegedly perform sexual acts on them.
The man allegedly then paid them between R36 to R300.
“The 1st time we heard about this was back in September, and then we began
looking into this. What we do know is that almost 30 children are believed to
be involved in this,” Arendse said.
The man appeared in court, with his brother and sister also present. The
courtroom was filled to its capacity.
The State prosecutor requested a postponement for the man’s bail hearing for
more information to be gathered. The State told the court that more charges
would be added.
The attorney for the suspect said it would like a formal bail application
hearing to be set.
According to one of the alleged victims, the accused would drive them out to
Schaapkraal, Klip Road Cemetery or the Ottery Centre to perform sexual acts
with them.
He will remain in custody.
The case was postponed until January 29.
(source for both: iol.co.za)
PAKISTAN----impending execution
1st Pakistan execution of 2019 of schizophrenic man planned Jan 15
The execution warrant of Khizar Hayat, a severely mentally ill prisoner, was
issued by the District and Sessions Judge, Lahore on Thursday, scheduling his
execution for January 15. This will make Khizar the 1st Pakistani to be
executed in 2019.
“The warrant stands in blatant violation of the orders of the National
Commission for Human Rights,” said Justice Project Pakistan in a press release.
“[It] had categorically abstained the authorities from issuing Khizar’s death
warrant until the Supreme Court decides the matter of mentally ill death row
prisoners in a precedent-setting case currently pending before a larger bench.”
Islamic jurisprudence also disallows the death penalty for the mentally ill.
The commission held an urgent hearing on December 18, 2018 after a divisional
bench of the Lahore High Court dismissed a petition filed by the JPP on behalf
of Khizar’s mother Iqbal Bano on December 6. The petition called for the
prisoner to be shifted to a mental health facility. The NCHR had initiated an
inquiry into Khizar’s case in November 2016 on a complaint filed by JPP on the
grounds of his severe mental illness.
“Executing Khizar, while the Supreme Court is still deciding on the question of
executing the mentally ill, is not just unnecessarily cruel but also in
violation of Pakistan’s international obligations,” said JPP’s Sarah Belal. “By
obtaining the death warrants of a mentally ill prisoner, the prison officials
have paved the way for another wrongful execution. This display of utter
disregard towards the orders of the country’s foremost authority on human
rights by the jail authorities underscores the need for immediate reform to
protect the most vulnerable prisoners on death row.”
The fact that Central Jail, Lahore Deputy Superintendent Muhammad Arshad was at
the NCHR hearing speaks volumes of the gross negligence on part of the jail
authorities, said the JPP.
Khizar was first diagnosed as a schizophrenic in 2008 by the jail authorities.
He suffers from delusions and has to be heavily medicated. He has no idea how
long he has been in jail, does not know why he is on death row and believes
that the medication he is taking are anti-malarial pills. A court-sanctioned
examination at the Punjab Institute of Mental Health in July 2016 concluded
unanimously that Khizar suffers from ‘psychosis’ and ‘schizophrenia’.
Khizar was sentenced to death in 2003 for fatally shooting a fellow police
officer, and has spent nearly 16 years on death row. During the course of his
incarceration, he has faced numerous severe near-fatal attacks by fellow
inmates as a result of his mental illness. Since 2012, he has been kept in
solitary confinement.
Pakistan has signed international treaties, such as the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibit the execution of mentally ill
prisoners. The country’s compliance with its human rights obligations comes
into question especially in light of the recent recommendations by the Human
Rights Committee. The Committee recommended after Pakistan’s first ever
periodic review that, “No one with serious psychological or mental disabilities
is executed or sentenced to death”.
(source: samaa.tv)
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