July 21
IRAN----executions
4 Prisoners Hanged in One Day at 1 Prison
4 prisoners were hanged in 1 day at the Iranian city of Karaj’s Rajai-Shahr
prison.
According to IHR sources, on the morning of Wednesday, July 17, 4 prisoners
were executed at Rajai-Shahr prison.
One of them, Ali (Known as Ali Lavashak) was sentenced to death for rape
charges. 3 others who were sentenced to death for murder charges are identified
as Yousef Gholizadeh, Hadi Asef and Akbar Sabbaghzadeh.
From July 14 to July 17, in 3 days, at least 10 prisoners were hanged in
different Iranian prisons or in Public.
At least 110 people were executed in Iran in the 1st half of 2019; Only 37 of
the executions have been announced by authorities or Iranian media. Iran Human
Rights (IHR) could confirm 73 more through its sources. IHR only reports the
unannounced executions if it could confirm those with 2 separate credible
sources. Therefore, the actual number of executions may be even higher than
reported.
******************
3 Men Hanged at Minab Prison
3 men were hanged for murder charges at the southern Iranian city of Minab last
Sunday.
According to IHR sources, on Sunday, June 14, three men were hanged at Minab
prison for murder charges. IHR could identify them as Ali Karimi, Mohammad
Parvaei and Amirali Shadabi.
“Amirali Shadabi killed a person during a gang fight. 2 others committed murder
during fights for financial reasons,” a well-informed source told IHR.
None of the aforementioned executions was announced by the Iranian authorities
so far.
(source for both: Iran Human Rights)
THAILAND:
Thai murderer is sentenced to death for killing a German backpacker after
raping her
A Thai man who raped and murdered a German backpacker has been sentenced to
death.
Ronnakorn Romruen, 24, attacked Miriam Beelte, 26, as she visited a historic
stone monument on the island of Koh Si Chang, eastern Thailand, on April 7.
He then raped her before battering her head with a rock to kill her and stop
her reporting the attack.
Ronnakorn then concealed her body below leaves on a secluded hillside.
Locals found her body that same day.
Later that evening police arrested the local beach cleaner and he subsequently
admitted to raping and killing the woman from Hildesheim, Germany.
Ronnakorn has been in custody since the murder took place 3 months ago.
He pleaded guilty to all charges and was sentenced to death on Wednesday
because the ‘crime was so severe a reduced sentence was not possible’.
The judgment released from Chonburi Provincial Court read: ‘Ronnakorn Romruen
was guilty of raping (14 years in jail), murdering to conceal the crime (death
penalty), drug taking and driving (eight months in jail), concealing the death
of a person (1 year in jail).
It said because he confessed during the arrest, the court would mitigate the
penalty by half for the charges related to rape, taking of methamphetamine,
drunk driving and concealing the death of a person.
‘But the overall crime is so severe that the defendant deserves to die and the
punishment of the death penalty will stay in place for the charge of murdering
to conceal a crime for which there is no mitigation.’
CCTV showed how Ronnakorn had followed Ms Beelte up the hill of the ancient
stone monument while pestering her to sleep with him.
When she rejected his advances, the drug-crazed killer pinned her to the ground
and raped her.
He later told police that after she struggled free, he chased after her and
battered her face with a rock until she was dead because he didn’t want her to
report the attack.
Ronnakorn then hid her body behind rocks and covered it with leaves.
Officers said that Ronnakorn confessed to murder after 4 hours of interrogation
and he was taken back to his shabby wooden home in the early hours of the
morning to re-enact parts of the crime.
After killing the single holidaymaker, he calmly watched TV while smoking
cigarettes and drinking beer.
Ronnakorn’s mother, Nongluck Phosang, 43, had previously called on prosecutors
to hand down the death penalty to her son.
She said: ‘My son and I didn’t live together, so I didn’t know much about what
he usually did in the day. I only knew that he worked on a boat and collected
rubbish from the beaches.
‘He is a quiet guy who doesn’t talk much. He likes to stay alone at home
watching TV and listening to music, just like most of the guys.
‘I deeply apologise to the girl’s family on behalf of my son. I never thought
that he could do anything like this.
‘He deserves the full lawful punishment and I am willing to accept the judge’s
decision.’
Ronnakorn has one month in which to appeal the sentence before he is put on
death row.
(source: brinkwire.com)
INDIA:
Family members of Sonbhadra victims demand money, land and death sentence for
perpetrators of massacre
Ahead of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's visit to Sonbhadra, family members of
the victims massacred have demanded money and land as compensation, along with
a death penalty for the perpetrators.
Chhote Lal, who was injured and is undergoing treatment at a hospital, told
news agency ANI that they will demand Rs 10 lakh and 10 bigha land for the kin
of those who died in the firing and Rs 7 lakh and 6 bigha land for the people
who were injured.
He further said that the village head who was elected to serve them opened fire
leading to the deaths of 10 people.
I will demand that the people who opened fire should be hanged, he added.
These demands come ahead of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's scheduled visit to
family members of the deceased including those injured in the incident.
The land dispute at Ubbha village in Sonbhadra district turned violent when
people armed with guns and sharp weapons and sticks attacked a village, killing
10 people including women, and injured 20.
The headman had gone to take possession of his land purchased two years ago
along with his men and when the villagers objected and his associates fired
indiscriminately at the mob.
According to a report, one villager said that the cops knew that something was
about to happen but did nothing to stop the village head or his men.
(source: timesnownews.com)
PHILIPPINES:
An Empowered Duterte Sets His Sights on Drug War, Death Penalty
Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte will likely avoid a lame-duck phase in the
2nd half of his 6-year term, leveraging high approval ratings and a
super-majority in Congress to seal his policy agenda.
Bills to overhaul the Philippine constitution, strengthen the drug war, and
make the economy more competitive are expected to be the President’s priorities
when he speaks to lawmakers at the annual State of the Nation Address on
Monday.
“The President will be more gung-ho after securing a new mandate in the
midterms,” University of the Philippines assistant professor in political
science Jean Encinas-Franco said. “He will want to tick off all the items in
his platform before 2022.”
Popularity Contest
Duterte's net satisfaction ratings are still on the up midway through his term
Death penalty
Duterte wants to revive the death penalty, which the Philippines suspended in
2006, for drug trafficking and other heinous crimes, saying it will instill
fear among would-be perpetrators. He also endorsed lowering the minimum age of
criminal responsibility from 15 to as young as nine years old to target
syndicates using children to distribute drugs.
The administration could find it easier to pass the bills now with more
supporters in the Senate, which previously blocked the measures. However,
Franco said legislators will have to weigh the president’s wishes against a
lack of support from the church, civil society groups and the wider public.
(source: bloomberg.com)
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