February 11
GREAT BRITAIN:
Sajid Javid accused of evading questions about suspects facing death
penalty----Home secretary delayed to answer questions by Caroline Lucas about
fate of British citizens allegedly part of Isis cell
A senior Conservative MP has reprimanded the home secretary, Sajid Javid, for
failing to answer parliamentary questions about the government exposing British
citizens to the death penalty overseas.
Charles Walker, chair of the Commons procedure committee, wrote to Javid
describing his failure to respond to written queries from the Green MP Caroline
Lucas as an “unacceptable discourtesy to a fellow member”.
Lucas has asked three questions since 18 October last year relating to the fate
of El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey, two British Islamic State suspects,
who could ultimately be executed if extradited to the US.
Behind the Isis ‘Beatle’ Elsheikh is a story of breakdown and despair
Elsheikh and Kotey, who were raised in Britain, are alleged to have been part
of an Isis terror cell known as “the Beatles”, which is thought to have carried
out 27 beheadings of US and UK citizens in Isis-held territory.
Both have since been deprived of their UK citizenship and are being held by
Kurdish forces in Syria. In a high court case last year it was revealed that
Javid decided to cooperate with US authorities over their prosecution without
assurances they would not face the death penalty in order to avoid “political
outrage” in the Trump administration.
Subsequently, the Home Office security minister, Ben Wallace, stated that
cooperation with foreign states in other cases involving the death penalty was
not unprecedented. He declined to identify the countries or individuals
concerned.
Wallace told MPs: “A review of available records dating back to 2001 has been
undertaken and I can confirm that this has occurred on two previous occasions
that have been identified, under successive governments.
“Due to the potential to harm ongoing criminal investigations or future
prosecutions, and the confidentiality attached to mutual legal assistance, it
would not be appropriate to share further information.”
Caroline Lucas, the MP for Brighton Pavilion, then put down a series of
parliamentary questions for Javid asking for more information about the two
previous occasions.
The Green MP believes the refusal to answer is part of a wider pattern of Home
Office evasion. Questions about undocumented migrants dating back to May last
year remain unanswered, her office said.
Walker’s letter, seen by the Guardian, was sent to Javid on 5 February. It
says: “All members are entitled to expect a response from ministers to
questions which have been tabled and as you know the procedure Committee
monitors the timeliness of answers provided by government departments.
“The failure to respond to the question, and the failure to respond to the
subsequent questions tabled, is in my view an unacceptable discourtesy to a
fellow member.”
Jihadist 'Beatles' complain they will not be given fair trial
Lucas told the Guardian: “It’s completely unacceptable that ministers are so
brazenly refusing to answer my basic questions about government failures to
protect people from the death penalty. This lack of transparency around serious
breaches of human rights denies families the right to seek justice.
“That this is part of a wider pattern of Home Office failures to respond to
MPs’ questions is deeply worrying. It is our job to hold the government to
account, and by fobbing us off Sajid Javid is undermining a core function of
parliament. He must listen to the chair of the procedure committee and urgently
come clean about the government’s record on the death penalty.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We have responded to the first of the
parliamentary questions from Caroline Lucas MP. It is our intention to reply to
the supplementary questions in parliament as soon as practicably possible.”
The death penalty for murder was abolished in Britain in 1969.
(source: The Guardian)
MALAYSIA:
Government May Punish MPs Who Say No To Abolishing Death Penalty
Law Minister Datuk Liew Vui Keong is determined to abolish the death penalty in
the upcoming Dewan Rakyat sitting
In a recent exclusive interview with Sin Chew Daily, Liew revealed that he
plans to put the bill to remove the death penalty to vote in the Second Term of
the 14th Parliament Session, which will commence on 11 March.
The bill is pending approval from the Cabinet.
Liew added that government Members of Parliament (MPs) who vote against the
bill may face disciplinary action
The Law Minister also remain unfazed by critics of the bill.
"Everyone has the right to talk (about it), I can't explain to each of them,"
Liew was quoted as saying by Sin Chew Daily.
"Malaysia has to move towards being a humanitarian state. If we don't abolish
the death penalty, it means we support killing a person," he added.
"If you think killing a person is wrong, then you cannot support the government
to hang a person. Even if that person did something horribly wrong," Liew said.
Liew also elaborated on the life of convicts on death row if the death penalty
is abolished
"They live in 10 square feet cells, (and) they are only allowed out of their
cells every day from 7am to 7.45am and 5pm to 5.45pm. They spend the rest of
the time in their cells," the Law Minister told Sin Chew Daily.
"Therefore, their lives are quite horrible. If you hang a horrible person just
like that, don't you think it's too easy on him?" Liew said.
"If you kill my family, and I kill you because I'm angry about that, I'm no
different from those murderers. But now instead of killing you for revenge, I'm
supporting the government to hang you, is there any difference? It's still
murder, isn't it?" he added.
"If we keep killing each other in the name of revenge, we will never progress
as a country," the Law Minister stressed.
Liew previously shot down suggestions to hold a referendum on abolishing the
death penalty
"We are not going to have a referendum on this particular issue, that's for
sure," Liew was quoted as saying by Malay Mail on 18 January.
His statement came after former Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Abdul
Rahim Noor called for a national referendum before the death penalty is
abolished, as it is "inappropriate" to ignore public opinion on the matter.
(source: says.com)
SINGAPORE:
Drug trafficker found to be a mere courier, but apex court upholds death
penalty
The apex court on Monday (Feb 11) ruled a drug trafficker to be merely a
courier, but the Singaporean man still faces the gallows as he was not given a
certificate of substantive assistance by the Public Prosecutor.
Delivering the 3-judge Court of Appeal’s decision, Chief Justice Sundaresh
Menon disagreed with the earlier High Court ruling that Zamri Mohd Tahir had
not proven he was merely a drug courier.
There was no evidence to show that Zamri, 44, had resolved to do more than
deliver drugs at the point of his arrest, said CJ Menon.
Zamri worked for someone he referred to as Abang, and had not received any
instructions on what to do with the drugs.
When he was arrested on Oct 14, 2014 while trying to exit the carpark of Block
606 Clementi West Street 1 in a van driven by a friend, he had only collected
and transported 5 bundles of heroin. The bundles were placed in a red plastic
bag in the basket of a bicycle at the void deck.
Zamri was found guilty of possessing not less than 40.37g of heroin, or
diamorphine, for the purpose of trafficking.
According to him, it was the fourth time he had helped to move drugs. The
previous time, he had helped to repack drugs.
For the latest batch of drugs, Zamri said he intended to do whatever Abang
instructed.
But the fact remained that no instructions had been given at the point of his
arrest, and there was no evidence what Abang’s instructions would have been,
said CJ Menon, who ruled together with Judges of Appeal Judith Prakash and Tay
Yong Kwang.
“It was, in truth, unknown and unknowable what the accused would have done
after he had taken delivery of the drugs,” he said.
The Public Prosecutor affirmed on Nov 29 last year that he would not issue a
certificate of substantive assistance to Zamri.
Under changes to the law that took effect in 2013, drug traffickers may escape
the death sentence if they are found to have been mere couriers, and if a
certificate is issued that they substantively aided the Central Narcotics
Bureau in disrupting drug trafficking activities.
(source: todayonline.com)
SRI LANKA:
Measures to expedite capital punishment
The rope to be used in the gallows has been sent to the Sri Lanka Standards
Institute for inspection. The Prisons Department noted that the Institute will
be inspecting whether the rope is suitable to be used for capital punishment.
It was brought to the country in 2015 from Pakistan.
The Department further notes that if the rope does not meet suitable standards
measures would be taken to expedite the importation of another rope of suitable
quality.
Meanwhile, applications will be called for an executioner from today (February
11) and it will be open till the 25th of this month.
These measures have been implemented to facilitate the decision made by the
President to issue capital punishment on large scale drug dealers.
Measures to obtain the other necessary equipment required for the process has
also commenced. The initiative began following a notification of the Ministry
of Prison Reforms to expedite measures to activate capital punishment.
A list of 17 drug dealers inline for the death penalty was handed over to the
Presidential Secretariat on the 25th of January. It was handed over upon the
recommendation of the Attorney General.
**************
Father who killed his daughter sentenced to death
A father who was found guilty of murdering his daughter after abuse and
torture, was sentenced to death by the Anuradhapura High Court.
The defendant Senaratne Ranatunga alias Gamini is a resident of
Thambuththegama. He was charged with torturing and murdering his daughter 3
1/2-year-old daughter Upeka Lakmali slamming her against a tree in June 2005.
Upon delivering the verdict, North Central province High Court Judge Mahesh
Weeraman noted, the defendant was guilty as charged, beyond any reasonable
doubt.
The justice added that the defendant was sentenced to death for committing
homicide.
(source for both: newsfirst.com)
*****************
Father of 3 sentenced to death
The Colombo High Court judge Shashi Mahendran sentenced a man to death over a
murder committed in 2000, today (11).
Accordingly, a 57-year-old father of 3 from Bollegolla area in Kelaniya has
been sentenced to death in this manner.
On the 22nd January in 2000, a man was shot dead in Bollegolla area over an
escalated personal dispute. The Attorney General filed a case against 2 persons
with this regard to the incident.
One of the defendants was declared not guilty and acquitted while the other
defendant was convicted of the crime.
Subsequently, the death penalty was imposed on the defendant, today.
(source: adaderanan.lk)
******************
Applications sought for hangman’s job
Applications have been sought for the hangman’s job with President Maithripala
Sirisena saying he hopes to implement the death penalty soon.
The Department of Prisons has called for applications from today to recruit 2
new hangmen.
President Maithripala Sirisena told Parliament last week that the death penalty
will be implemented within 2 months.
He said that he is determined to implement the death penalty despite some
strong objections.
The President said that he had sought a report on convicts sentenced to death
for grave crimes related to drugs.
However he said the report had been delayed.
In July 2018 the then cabinet had approved a proposal by the President to
implement the death sentence on repeat offenders on death row for serious drug
related crimes.
Last month, the Minister of Justice and Prison Reforms Thalatha Atukorale
briefed the cabinet on the steps taken by the Ministry to gather information on
drug convicts who are on death row.
The Minister had told the cabinet that after President Maithripala Sirisena had
announced in July 2018 that the death sentence will be implemented on convicts
on death row for serious drug related crimes, the Justice Ministry had sought
information on the convicts from the Department of Prisons.
The Department of Prisons had, that same month, sent a name list of 18 convicts
to the Justice Ministry.
A name list on the convicts was also sent to the Attorney General in October
last year.
(source: Colombo Gazette)
PAKISTAN:
SHC refuses to revoke death sentence of accused in Safoora Goth massacre
The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday refused to revoke the death sentence of 5
accused in Safoora Goth massacre and said that it will consider the matter
after the Supreme Court’s decision is announced.
A 2-member bench, headed by Justice Aftab Ahmed Gorar and comprising Justice
Amjad Ali Sahito, heard the appeals seeking to revoke death sentence awarded to
Saad Aziz, Tahir Minhas, Azhar Ishrat, Hafiz Nasir and Asad-u-Rehman by a
military court in Safoora bus carnage.
As the hearing went underway, the applicants’ counsel, Hashmat Ali Habib, told
the court that despite the multiple notices, the respondents did not submit
their replies.
“Lahore High Court (LHC) and Supreme Court’s verdicts against the sentence
awarded by military court are on the record,” he said.
The bench remarked that “those decisions were made in 2017 but what is the
progress now?”
The counsel pleaded that the death sentence of the accused be dismissed and an
appeal has already been under proceeding in the apex court, to which the bench
said that it would consider doing so after the SC’s decision is announced.
“Who will be responsible if the accused are executed during that time,” the
counsel said, to which the court issued a notice to respondents till March 11.
According to the prosecutor, “A military court awarded death sentence to the
convicts on May 12, 2015, in Safoora Goth carnage and other cases of terrorism.
The death sentence was later ratified by the then chief of army staff, General
Raheel Shareef.”
At least 45 people were killed when terrorists targeted a bus carrying 60
members of the Ismaili community on May 12, 2015.
The convicts, in their appeals, maintained that the military court had awarded
death sentence to the accused on different allegations and the families were
not provided with the details of cases.
The court was requested to stop the execution of the death penalty and to allow
the meeting of the families with the convicts.
The Sindh prosecutor general, in his arguments, maintained that the military
court had awarded sentence in a serious offence, and appeal against the
military court’s decision could be filed only in the Supreme Court.
(source: Pakistan Today)
EGYPT:
Document confirming death penalty against 3 Egyptians in violation of
legislative procedures
Human rights researcher at the Egyptian Coordination for Rights and Freedoms,
Ahmed Attar, has revealed that the government has executed 3 members of the
opposition on the charge of murder. Even though they were still pursuing an
appeal.
The 3 were charged with the murder of the son of the president of El Mansoura
Court in 2014.
In an interview with Arabi21, the researcher said that “the execution
constituted a flagrant violation of the Egyptian legislative procedures and
demonstrated the continuation of a process that violates most of the basic
justice rights. Moreover, this is not the first case in this regard, and this
has been repeated several times”.
Attar said: “The Egyptian Constitution has set up many provisions to preserve
the dignity and freedom of the Egyptian citizen, and before this, to preserve
his life. The Egyptian law also has many provisions that grant the prisoner the
right to appeal against the sentences even after the Court of Cassation, as the
right to request a case reinvestigation is one of the extraordinary legal
remedies. The law has exclusively defined several reasons for these ways.
Whenever one of these reasons is available, the convicted person can benefit
from this right.”
Attar also pointed out that “Article 448 of the Egyptian Criminal Procedure
Code states that the request of a reinvestigation shall not lead to the
suspension of execution of the sentence unless it is a death sentence.
Therefore, the Egyptian authorities should have suspended the death sentence
pending the decision on the request of the reinvestigation.”
(source: Middle East Monitor)
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