June 3
NOTE----my regular postings to this list will resume June 10
IRAQ:
Prosecuting Islamic State Foreign Fighters: Issues And Implications
The collapse of the physical caliphate of ISIS (Daesh) in Iraq and Syria has
not led to the demise of Salafi-jihadi terrorism, but given rise to a set of
problems relating to the management of scores of detained ISIS foreign
fighters. Essentially, how should the international community deal with these
foreign citizens who had travelled to the Levant to join ISIS?
While countries are reluctant to allow their citizens, who became foreign
fighters to return home, these countries have expressed concerns with the way
that their citizens are being prosecuted in Iraq (or a third country).
There are no clear positions and no clear solutions about the management of
detained ISIS foreign fighters. For example, France reportedly said that the
prosecution of French ISIS fighters in Iraq is “a sovereign matter for Iraq”
but “opposed in principle to the death penalty.” Human rights groups said that
the court trials in Iraq depend on “circumstantial evidence or confessions
obtained under torture”, but there appear to be very few alternatives.
Issues and Implications
The bottom-line, the paths to de-radicalisation, rehabilitation and
reintegration are seemingly closed to these foreign fighters. The delivery of
retributive justice, however, has several issues and implications, some the
writer had stated in an interview with Pakistan’s Indus News in Episode 99 (31
May 2019) of Scope:
1. Proportionality, legality and morality?—?Is the Iraqi court as well as the
international community demonstrating that they are better than ISIS in terms
of delivering justice and showing humanity? These points constitute an
important consideration as counterterrorism is both a kinetic war and a war of
ideas and ideals.
2. Is the international community being responsible by leaving their citizens
to the justice system in conflict zones? In the first place, the world could
not prevent ISIS from emerging and could not prevent their citizens from
travelling to the conflict zones to join ISIS. The world had some time to
prepare for the collapse of ISIS, but when ISIS collapsed, the world remains
unprepared and divided about dealing with the foreign fighters and their
families.
3. By stripping foreign fighters of their citizenship and leaving them in Iraq
to face justice, are countries inadvertently recognising that these fighters
were fighting for an enemy state and therefore recognising the caliphate as an
actual albeit proto state?
4. By outsourcing the justice process to Iraq, is it politically expedient for
countries in the short term but with long term ramifications to international
security? The international community still needs to deal with the family
members of foreign fighters who are left behind in Iraq and Syria. Will these
family members usher in the next generation of jihadi terrorists, or could they
be levers in counter-radicalisation and counter-propaganda efforts to weaken
the ISIS brand?
5. The international community needs to pre-empt how ISIS could use the death
penalties and trials in Iraq as part of their propaganda to re-invent
themselves and sustain their ideology even as they move towards insurgency
tactics now. For example, how would the death penalties complement the ISIS
narrative of martyrdom? How would the lack of fairness in court processes
complement the ISIS narrative that the caliphate must replace the existing
international political order?
6. Dealing with citizens who had joined ISIS in conflict zones is a complex
task. Unlike homegrown terrorists, citizens who joined ISIS had undergone more
intensive psychological conditioning and indoctrination. However, not all of
them travelled to the caliphate to die. Some went there to live; therefore,
de-radicalisation efforts could turn some of them into credible voices for
preventing violent extremism.
7. As ISIS is an international problem, the international community should not
leave it to Iraq alone to solve the foreign fighter problem. Years of armed
conflict may have left Iraq with insufficient capacity to deal with the
enormous scale of the problem. The international community should seriously
consider setting up an international war crimes tribunal to prosecute the
leaders and members of ISIS in a way that is as fair as possible. The tribunal
could be based in Iraq but with representatives from the various countries that
participated in the fight against ISIS. This tribunal is a mission that
international organisations such as INTERPOL could support in terms of
operations and investigations.
Conclusion
The collapse of the physical caliphate of ISIS had caused many countries to be
concerned about how returning foreign fighters could “threaten a new wave of
terror”—as part of ISIS 2.0—in non-conflict zones. However, this is only one
side of the coin.
The other side of the coin is how the process of retributive justice that these
fighters and their families face in conflict zones—such as Iraq—could change
them for the better or worse. Beyond the jails, the detention camps in Syria
and Iraq could inadvertently become grooming grounds for future jihadi
terrorist leaders and fighters.
(source: Op-Ed; Muhammad Faizal B Abdul Rahman is a Research Fellow, Centre of
Excellence for National Security (CENS), S. Rajaratnam School of International
Studies (RSIS), NTU, Singapore----Eurasia Review)
***********************
Iraq sentences all 11 French IS suspects to death
A Baghdad court Monday sentenced to death 2 more French nationals for belonging
to the Islamic State group, leaving all 11 Frenchmen transferred from Syria
facing the gallows in Iraq.
Bilel Kabaoui, 32, and Mourad Delhomme, 41, join 9 other French citizens and a
Tunisian national already on death row after trials over the past week. They
have 30 days to appeal the sentences.
Iraq has sentenced more than 500 suspected foreign members of IS since the
start of 2018.
Its courts have condemned many to life in prison and others to death, although
no foreign IS members have yet been executed.
Iraqi law provides for the death penalty, which is carried out by hanging, for
anyone joining a "terrorist group" -- even those who did not take up arms.
A group of prominent French lawyers said earlier Monday that the execution of
French jihadists on death row would be a disgrace for France.
"We have taken a historic risk, which, if it is realised, will leave an
indelible stain on the mandate of (President) Emmanuel Macron," said the
lawyers, including some of the country's best known legal professionals such as
William Bourdon, Henri Leclerc and Vincent Brengarth.
It would mean allowing a "legal assassination which is now proscribed by the
majority of countries on the planet," said the open letter, published on the
website of radio station Franceinfo.
Human Rights Watch, for its part, has accused Iraqi interrogators of "using a
range of torture techniques... which would not leave lasting marks on the
person's body".
It also condemned France's "outsourcing" of trials of IS suspects to "abusive
justice systems" and criticised Iraq's "routine failure... to credibly
investigate torture allegations".
France has long insisted its adult citizens captured in Iraq or Syria must face
trial before local courts, while stressing its opposition to capital
punishment.
French government spokeswoman Sibeth Ndiaye reiterated Sunday that officials
were intervening "at the highest level" in the cases.
"France's position has been constant... As soon as our citizens around the
world face the possibility of a death sentence after a conviction, we intervene
at the highest level of state," Ndiaye told Europe 1 television.
(source: digitaljournal.com)
IRAN----execution
Man Hanged at Zanjan Prison
A prisoner was hanged at Zanjan prison on murder charges last month. His
execution has not yet been announced by authorities.
According to the IHR sources, on April 30, 2019, Seyyed Samad Enayati was
hanged at Zanjan prison for murder charges. He was from the Iranian city of
Bijar and executed at the age of 31.
Seyyed Samad Enayati was a plumber. According to one of his relatives, “5 years
ago, he did all of the pipe-works of a building. However, he did not receive
any money from the contractor. He fought with the contractor and the man was
killed during the fighting. Seyyed Samad told the court that he did not want to
kill the man.”
His execution was unannounced by authorities and can be classified under
“unannounced and secret executions” in Iran.
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.
According to the Iran Human Rights statistic department, at least 273 people
were executed in Iran in 2018. At least 188 of them executed for murder
charges.
(source: Iran Human Rights)
EGYPT:
Human organ traffickers should get death penalty: MP
Member of Parliament, Mamdouh Husseiny, called for toughening the penalty for
human organ traffickers to the death sentence. The current maximum penalty for
human trafficking is life imprisonment for aggravated circumstances.
However, the possibility of a death sentence can be imposed when a donor or
recipient dies in the midst of an illegal organ transplant operation. According
to a law implemented in 2017, a person who performs an organ transplant by
force or deception faces a life imprisonment and pays a fine between L.E. 1
million ($56,000) and L.E. 2 million ($112,000). Hence, the operator could
potentially be handed down a death sentence on the basis of manslaughter.
The maximum penalty was established back in a 2010 anti-trafficking law which
criminalized labor trafficking and implemented the recommended penalties of 3
to 15 years of prison and fines. However, there is no law which explicitly
addresses human organ trafficking.
The MP added that human organ trafficking is a crime against humanity, is
unconstitutional and against Islamic values.
Many doctors and nurses are involved with gangs and participate in the illegal
human organ trafficking market, the Ministry of Interior stated on April 14,
2019.
"These Mafias and their subsequent crimes must be dealt with harshly by the
government. The government needs to take an action, close down all unlicensed
medical centers and carry out a more strict inspection protocol on all medical
centers," said Husseiny.
Additionally, Husseiny stated that security needs to be ramped up by deploying
more police officers in the streets in order to patrol and arrest all criminals
and fugitives. Subsequently, the MP believes that more security will also crack
down on crimes related to human organ trafficking such as kidnapping and
stealing.
There have been more active efforts by the government to eliminate organ
trafficking. The government established the National Committee on Preventing
and Combating Illegal Migration (NCCPIM & TIP) in 2018. The committee is
responsible for spearheading inter-ministerial anti-trafficking initiatives.
The number of investigations related to human trafficking has substantially
increased since the establishment of the NCCPIM. According to a report on human
trafficking in Egypt conducted by the United States Embassy in Cairo, there
were only 23 investigations conducted related to human trafficking in 2016 and
21 in 2015.
The anti-trafficking probes have witnessed a 600-percent increase since the
birth of the committee. The NCCPIM conducted 144 investigations in 2018 and 41
men involved with organ trafficking were prosecuted by a Cairo court on June
12, 2018. 5 men were sentenced to fifteen years in prison and fined L.E 500,000
($29,930), other 20 defendants were given a 3-year-imprisonment term each;
twelve others were handed down a 7-year prison sentence.
In 2018, the government began to deploy special response squads into the
streets in order to protect and support vulnerable street children from
traffickers. The Ministry of Social Solidarity disclosed that it provided 4,004
street children with medical and psychological aid in the same year as a way to
protect them from traffickers. The ministry was also successfully able to
reunite 397 children back with their families.
Despite all the efforts exerted by the government to tackle the human organ
trafficking issue, Husseiny is dissatisfied and is certain that the death
penalty is an appropriate penalty for human organ traffickers and hopes that
the law will change accordingly.
(source: Egypt Today)
INDIA:
The Hindu Explains: What is Section 376E and how does it affect the Shakti
Mills gang rape case?
On June 3, the Bombay High Court upheld the constitutional validity of Section
376E of the Indian Penal Code, thereby upholding the death sentence handed to
the convicts of the Shakti Mills gang rape case. What is Section 376E?
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, was introduced following the 2012 Delhi
gang rape case. In this, the definition of rape was widened to include oral and
digital penetration, and Section 376E was added to award the death penalty to a
convict who is a repeat offender under Section 376, 376A and 376D. Section 376A
includes causing death of the victim, and 376D is to charge the convict with
gang rape — an offence that carries a sentence of 20 years to life.
These broader definitions were based on the Justice Verma Committee, which was
constituted to enable quicker trials and harsher punishment for those accused
of sexual assault.
What is the Shakti Mills gang rape case?
A 22-year-old photojournalist was gang-raped by 5 adult men and 2 juveniles. 3
of the men were found to have raped a 19-year-old telephone operator at the
Shakti Mills compound, as well. After the conviction of the accused, the
prosecution in the case moved to add Section 376E to 3 repeat offenders — Vijay
Jadhav, Mohammad Qasim Shaikh and Mohammad Salim Ansari. The court awarded the
death penalty to these 3.
Why did they appeal?
The advocate appearing for all three convicts told the Bombay High Court that
the death penalty awarded to them was “a disproportionate punishment” and
violated their fundamental rights. Yug Chaudhry argued death penalty was
violative of fundamental rights under Article 21 (no person shall be deprived
of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by
law) and Article 14 (equality before law) of the Constitution. He relied upon
earlier Supreme Court judgments and American and Canadian laws.
“Section 302 (punishment for murder) under the IPC entails a minimum punishment
of life and a maximum of death for an offence of murder. Section 376E, however,
entails a minimum punishment of imprisonment for one’s full life without any
possibility of remission. Therefore, our legislation saying that the offence of
repeat rape that doesn’t cause homicide is harsher than the offence of murder,”
he said.
What was the response?
The section that prescribes death penalty for repeat rape offenders was rightly
introduced to impose a deterrent against such crimes, the amicus curiae in the
Shakti Mills gang rape case advocate Abad Ponda told the Bombay High Court.
However, the application of this Section 376E in the present case could be
questionable, the amicus told a Bench of Justices B.P. Dharamadhikari and
Revati Mohite-Dere.
What has the court said?
“We are of the opinion that Section 376E of the IPC is not ultra vires to the
Constitution and hence need not be quashed in the present case,” said the same
Bench.
(source: The Hindu)
NIGERIA:
New Zamfara governor wants death penalty for informants of bandits
Armed bandits killed 2,385 persons in Zamfara in seven years – Gov. Yari
Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State has declared that the state
government may soon start implementing death penalty on bandits’ informants in
the state.
Zamfara already has a law mandating death penalty for bandits.
Hundreds of people have been killed and kidnapped by bandits in Zamfara and
neighbouring states in the past year.
The governor announced his stance on Sunday when he visited Lilo village of
Wonaka district in Gusau local government area of the state.
He was at the village to sympathise with the people over Saturday night bandits
attack on the community which resulted in the death of 8 persons and left 18
others with bullet and knife wounds.
He said the government would not tolerate some citizens supporting bandits to
carry out their criminal activities while pretending to be good fellows.
“We are going to send an executive bill to the state house of assembly
immediately after the inauguration of the lawmakers and l want to assure the
good citizens that if the bill is passed, it will be implemented to the
letter,” he said.
The governor cautioned the Civilian Joint Task Force members to avoid taking
the laws into their hands, saying that his administration would not tolerate
extra judicial killings
“As JTF members, you have no right to kill anybody; enough is enough, as from
today, government will not allow extra judicial killing.
“It is very sad, so regrettable the way our people are being killed every day,
it is very unfortunate that we took over this government in the midst of
serious security challenges not only in Zamfara but also all over the country.
“If you arrest any bandit, you should hand them over to the appropriate
authorities; this administration has made adequate arrangements to tackle
insecurity, all what we need is support and prayers.”
He said his government had provided more equipment for the security agencies to
carry out their duties effectively.
“Security agencies are now monitoring phone calls in this state, I am therefore
appealing to the bandits to repent or face the consequences of the law.
Earlier, the Emir of Gusau, Ibrahim Bello, thanked the governor for the visit
and called for more support to government and security agencies in tackling the
problem.
Mr Bello appealed to communities to continue to support government with prayers
to succeed in fighting banditry.
The governor, who was inaugurated on May 29, donated N5 million to the families
of the deceased and directed the office of the Secretary to the State
Government to take care of the medical bills of all the injured persons.
(source: premiumtimesng.com)
********************
Niger justice ministry pardoned 200 convicts in 3 years
The Niger State Ministry of Justice granted pardon to over 200 convicts serving
various jail terms in prisons across the state in the last 3 years.
It also secured 85 convictions out of 555 cases filed in courts across the
state within the same period.
The immediate past Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in the state,
Danmallam Nasara, disclosed this to Northern City News in Minna on Sunday.
He explained that the pardon was made possible through the state prerogative of
mercy scheme designed to give repentant and reformed offenders a 2nd chance.
According to him, out of the 85 convictions, 60 persons were given the death
penalty, while 25 others were condemned to spend the rest of their lives in
jail for various criminal offences.
Nasara also said that the ministry had duplicated 30 cases received from the
legal department of the State Criminal Investigation and Criminal Intelligence
Department in the last 3 years.
The former commissioner said the ministry under his watch succeeded in
introducing some innovations, which brought its operations up to date with
current trends in the administration of justice.
He noted that the ministry was able to set up a state-of-the-art library to
ease the work of legal practitioners within the ministry.
“I urge the legal department and others to shoulder their responsibilities
without fear of contradiction, bearing in mind that the judiciary is the last
hope of the common man,” Nasara said.
He noted that the last 3 years serving under the leadership of Governor Sani
Bello was fulfilling, because the governor proved himself as a respecter of the
rule of law and ensured that the interest of the people of the state was of
topmost priority
(source: punchng.com)
AUSTRALIA:
The relativity of the death penalty----Where is the outrage over the capital
punishment sentence for ISIS fighter and Australian citizen Ahmed Merhi?
Opposition to the death penalty has a long and quite public history in
Australia. Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan of the so-called “Bali 9” drug
smugglers received support from artists, singers, actors, media personalities
and sports stars, while a crowd of about a thousand people gathered in Sydney’s
Martin Place calling on the Indonesian government to halt the executions. The
then human rights commissioner and now federal MP Tim Wilson even went so far
as to say:
Capital punishment is never the answer, and the Indonesian government should be
showing mercy to these two people, who shouldn’t be facing death at the hands
of the state. In 2005, the Australian Nguyen Tuong Van was hanged for drug
trafficking in Singapore. Vigils and protests were held for him, hundreds
turned out in support at Martin Place and a group of Melbourne lawyers held a
minute’s silence and announced the establishment of a trust to help defend
Australians who face execution in other countries.
Even earlier, in 1986, the death sentences of Kevin Barlow and Brian Chambers
meted out by Malaysian authorities saw pleas for mercy from no less than the
Australian prime and foreign ministers – to no avail. A movie of the event
entitled Dadah is Death (starring Hugo Weaving and Sarah Jessica Parker) was
later released.
Australian policy seeks to abolish the death penalty around the world, and the
Abbott government briefly recalled its ambassador to Indonesia after the
execution of Chan and Sukumaran in protest.
The death penalty imposed upon ISIS foreign fighters by the Iraqi government,
including Australian citizen Ahmed Merhi, therefore raises questions for the
Australian and other Western governments, as well as for activists.
To start with, there are doubts about the fairness of the trials in Iraq, given
the enormous number of cases that need to be prosecuted and resolved. Yet this
doesn’t appear to have led France, another country long opposed to the death
penalty, to have done much to protest death sentences imposed on its citizens.
The French Foreign Ministry has released a statement saying that “France
respects the Iraqi authorities’ sovereignty,” but that “France is opposed, on
principle, to the death penalty, anytime and anywhere.” Hardly a strident call
on the Iraqi government to apply clemency.
When Marise Payne, then Australia’s Defence minister, announced the capture and
detention of Merhi, she said simply that “we are very clear that we expect
those who have joined the conflict, and those who are in breach of Australian
laws – and, indeed, international law – to be dealt with according to justice”.
Little has been said of him since, and it may well be that whatever steps the
government takes to oppose the death penalty are best done in a private,
diplomatic way.
I can’t, however, find any record of any civil society activists protesting
against the sentence handed down on Merhi. No concerts or vigils, no statements
from the Human Rights Commissioner or any rallying of the arts community
against the barbarity of the Iraqi government against an Australian citizen.
There is no question that, by his actions, Merhi essentially allied himself
with a terrorist group that committed countless atrocities and called for,
inspired, and at times supported attacks against Australia and its citizens. He
is in an entirely different category to drug smugglers in Asian prisons.
But abolitionists argue for an absolute ban, so their calls for clemency for
Merhi should be as strident as those for other death-row Australians whose
circumstances engender far more sympathy. And with the possibility of even more
Australians finding their way into the Iraqi legal system charged with
membership of ISIS, it will be interesting to see how long the advocates’
silence endures.
(source: lowyinstitute.org)
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