July 24
CHINA:
China's top court vows death penalty to child sex offenders of serious cases
China's Supreme People's Court (SPC) announced Wednesday that criminals
committing sexual assault against children that are "extremely vile in nature"
and cause "extremely severe consequences" will be sentenced to death with no
leniency.
The SPC published 4 typical cases concerning sex offenses against children,
including the case of Wei Minghui who was recently executed for raping and
killing a young girl. The 3 criminals involved in the other 3 cases have been
given heavy punishments.
The crimes of sexual assault against children gravely damage the physical and
mental health of children and seriously violate social ethics and morals, to
which the SPC has always maintained a hard-line stance of zero tolerance, the
SPC said.
Child sex offenders will be sentenced to heavier punishments within the limits
of the prescribed punishments, according to the SPC.
Courts across the country concluded 8,332 cases of sex offenses against
children from 2017 to June 2019, according to the SPC, adding that recent years
have seen an increasing number of such cases due to the public's strengthened
awareness of child protection and reporting cases immediately.
The Intermediate People's Court of Linyi in Shandong Province on Wednesday
morning executed He Long, a criminal who raped young girls under the age of 14
and forced them into prostitution, upon verification and approval of the SPC.
(source: xinhuanet.com)
SRI LANKA:
IBAHRI voices concern over potential reinstatement of the death penalty in Sri
Lanka
The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) has sent an
open letter to the President of the Democratic Republic of Sri Lanka,
Maithripala Sirisena, to express serious distress over the intention to
reinstate the death penalty and seek the execution of four individuals
currently on death row for drug-related offences. Any execution would
contravene a moratorium on the death penalty in Sri Lanka that has been
maintained since 1976.
IBAHRI Co-Chair, the Hon Michael Kirby AC CMG, commented, ‘I am deeply saddened
by President Sirisena’s decision to reverse on the 43-year long moratorium on
the death penalty upheld by previous office-holders despite ample empirical
evidence that the imposition of capital punishment has no deterrent effect on
drug offenders. To proceed with the execution of those four individuals would
stand in direct contravention with Sri Lanka’s international commitments under
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
The imposition of the death penalty in cases other than those arising from the
most serious of crimes is a violation of Article 6 (2) of the ICCPR, and as the
United Nations Human Rights Committee has made clear, drug offences do not meet
this threshold.’
Anne Ramberg Dr jur hc, IBAHRI Co-Chair, stated, ‘The death penalty constitutes
a cruel, inhumane and degrading form of punishment, and it is regrettable that
the Sri Lankan President has chosen to undermine the country’s long-standing
commitment towards an abolitionist stance. I am also deeply troubled by the
apparent arbitrariness in choosing the 4 individuals concerned, as reviving the
death penalty would deprive them of their right to life and to equality before
the law as guaranteed by the Constitution and in international law. The respect
for both rights is a vital prerequisite for the maintenance of the rule of law
in Sri Lanka – a value that should be specially protected by politicians in a
country that has only recently emerged from internal conflict.’
The IBAHRI urges the President of Sri Lanka to refrain from reinstating the
death penalty and, instead, to continue the long-standing moratorium and
commute the penalties to a life sentence, thereby strengthening Sri Lanka’s
commitment to the protection and fulfilment of all human rights, including the
right to life and equality before the law.
(source: colombogazette.com)
INDIA:
Death Penalty for Rape of Kids is No Solution
Introducing the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences ,POCSO (Amendment)
Bill, 2019 in Rajya Sabha yesterday Smriti Irani the Minister for Women and
Child Development initiated a process that had been left unfinished in the last
Parliament.
This Bill had been introduced in the 16th Lok Sabha but lapsed when its term
got over.With an increasing number of cases being reported recently the Union
Cabinet has now approved amendments to POCSO allowing death penalty for all
cases of 'aggravated penetrative sexual assault' against children.
But high-lighting this aspect in every press release shows that the government
is only pandering to the populist mood to satisfy public anger on a very
sensitive issue. But when this was introduced initially as well child rights
activists had called it counter productive.
They argue that since most sexual offences are committed by known persons the
reporting of cases would drastically go down now under pressure from parents.
They also submitted memorandums saying that with such a drastic punishment now
the offender would in most cases try to kill the child after raping her so that
there was no evidence left.
Secondly, those ready to hail the death penalty clause as if they would now
witness bodies of offenders hanging from trees every day don't understand that
death is allowed only for 'aggravated sexual penetration' which basically means
gang rapes and rapes by people in supervisory position not for every individual
pervert.
The amendments cover 21 kinds of sexual crimes that come under the definition
of aggravated penetrative sexual assault against children. This Amendment has
also enhanced the minimum punishment in such cases from the existing 10 years
to 20 years and the maximum punishment to life imprisonment or death penalty.
By the way, life term now means till the time the culprit is alive not the
earlier version of 14 years and coming out after that.
The Criminal Law Amendment Act 2013 which came into existence after the
Nirbhaya tragedy has already clearly laid down stringent punishment for sexual
offences against women.
But the problem, as anyone lodging a complaint would tell you, begins at the
very beginning- lodging an FIR.
The Criminal Law Amendment Act 2013 states categorically that if a policeman
refuses to lodge an FIR against rape he can be also be sent to jail.
When I asked Maneka Gandhi the former Minister as to how many policemen had
been sent to jail for not registering an FIR, her response was that they were
seized of the problem and were working to increase the numbers of women in the
police force to at least one third. But we have it on record that so far the
presence of women in the police is a dismal 7 to 8 per cent on the national
average.
I was part of a review meeting organised by the Delhi Police at the instance of
the Lt.Governor of Delhi with NGOs and Councellors who are an essential part of
the Crisis Intervention Centres in Delhi last year.
About 12 out of 30 Councellors who attended the meeting told it to their face
that SHOs refuse to lodge FIRs, especially in the night.
The Councellors living in far-flung areas are also supposed to be provided
transport to reach the police station at night but Delhi Police personnel put
up their hands in this, citing lack of resources.
Some complained that the victims had to wait for 3 to 4 hours at the police
station before they could lodge their complaints, which is a crucial lapse.
Many times by the time the Councellors reached the Police Station, the victim
had been pressurised to withdraw the complaint.
Unfortunately the excuse of jurisdiction exists even today.Those of us who
started our journalistic careers as crime reporters heard the term jurisdiction
in its worst form when the Ranga Billa case of the 70s made headlines. The
brother and sister Sanjay and Geeta Chopra were killed by the duo after they
had taken a lift from them. A Good Samaritan who gave them chase on his scooter
was turned away by the police who told him that the area where he saw the
victims did not fall in their jurisdiction.
Even with such laxity if the Supreme Court was told by its Registrar recently
that the data on sexual crimes against children from January 1 to June 30 this
year has revealed that 24,212 FIRs had been filed across India it means
something.
Talking to this writer Naazish Naqvi, a lawyer working with a child rights NGO
in Delhi, said, "The problem is not with the laws but it's implementation. The
Supreme Court data itself reveals what we have been saying when it shows that
of over 24,000 cases, the trial courts have decided only 911 cases, which is
about 4 % of the total cases registered."
There are very genuine reasons why trials do not reach prosecution stage. At a
meeting of NGOs on the occasion of Nirbhaya's anniversary, many complained that
since the accused were released on bail without informing them, they were going
back and terrorising the complainants who came from vulnerable families in most
cases.
There have been instances where rape victims have committed suicide after
registering complaints which proves that life even for adults surviving the
trauma is not easy, what to say of children.
But death penalty is going to another extreme. Talking about the contentious
issue, Deepshikha Singh, Senior Manager with another NGO had this to say, "No
one would have a fight about strict laws relating to rapes of children but fear
of death penalty could actually lead to the victims being killed by the
perpetrators.
Some lawyers also also have a problem with the definition of children under
POSCO. Under this law if children aged 16 or 17 have consensual sex it would be
held as rape, if their parents find it out.
"Come on, this is modern India" said an activist "where children have access to
mobiles, Internet and all kinds of movies they can watch on Netflix. If these
children are in love and of their own free will they decide to experiment with
sex, treating it as rapes would be disastrous for society."
Actually, the Madras High Court has already given a ruling that teenagers above
the age of 18 should not be booked under POCSO if they are in a consensual
relationship.
However the final word on the question of death penalty as deterrent must go to
Faizan Mustafa, the Vice Chancellor of National Academy of Legal Studies and
Research ( NALSAR) who in a program with Ravish Kumar revealed that there was a
time when even pick-pockets were hung to death publicly on trees in England.
But at one such public hanging at least half a dozen people had their pockets
picked!
(source: thecitizen.in)
************************
HC upholds Pune man''s death penalty for killing wife, mother, daughter
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday upheld the death sentence of Pune-resident
Vishwajeet Masalkar for killing his family members including wife and mother in
2012 after they raised objections over his extramarital affair.
A bench of Justices B P Dharmadhikari and Swapna Joshi upheld Masalkar''s death
sentence handed down by a Pune sessions court in 2016.
Masalkar killed his mother, his wife, and their 2-year-old daughter after his
family raised objections to his affair with his colleague.
He also severely injured one of his neighbours who was present at his house at
the time.
He later called the police saying he had found the dead bodies when he returned
home from work.
Masalkar also tried to mislead the police by saying several gold ornaments were
robbed from his house.
Police probe revealed this wasn''t a case of robbery.
The police also found Masalkar had not told his colleague that he was married.
He had also forced her to break off her engagement with another man.
The Pune court held that the case fit the category of "rarest of rare" and
awarded him the death sentence.
The HC bench too held that the death penalty was adequate punishment in the
case.
The bench said Masalkar had committed "cold blooded murders".
It said he could have simply sought a divorce from his wife instead of
resorting to killing 3 innocent persons.
"The victims were innocent, closely related to the accused depending upon him.
So also having trust in him and they have been killed by the accused. The act
of killing mother is of extreme ingratitude towards the source of life. Also,
the wife would always have trust in her husband and would expect care and
security from him. So also is the case with the daughter," the bench said.
"The conduct of the accused clearly indicates that he is unfit to revert in
civilised society. The accused may be even dangerous for PW2 (Masalkar''s
colleague), as she is already married with someone else," the bench said.
The court said, by killing his family, Masalkar had "tried to shatter the basic
foundation of the society", and therefore, sentencing him to life imprisonment
and not awarding him the maximum punishment of death would not have been
"proper". AYA BNM RCJ
(source: outlookindia.com)
PHILIPPINES:
Palace: Revival of death penalty all up to Congress
Malacañang said that it will be up to the Congress to decide on how they will
act on President Duterte’s appeal to them on Monday to restore death penalty on
heinous crimes related to illegal drugs and plunder.
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo made the statement after it was reported
that Senators expressed that chances to reinstate capital punishment is lower
because Duterte wants to include plunder in the list of crimes punishable under
death penalty.
In an interview, Panelo said that Duterte already made his idea known and it is
now up to Congress to act on it.
“He doesn’t cajole, he doesn’t urge, he doesn’t influence, yun ang (That’s his)
style. Basta, he makes his position, bahala na sila (it’s now up to them),” he
said.
“They can always find it as a very interesting subject of debate,” he added.
On Monday, President Duterte renewed his appeal to Congress to restore the
death penalty to curb illegal drugs and corruption in government—two things
that his administration has been fighting since the start of his term.
“It has been three years since I took my oath of office and it pains me to say
that we have not learned our lesson. The illegal drug problem persists,
corruption continues and emasculates the courage we need to sustain our moral
recovery initiatives,” he said.
According to the President, the Marawi siege, which he said was funded by drug
money, is one of the reasons why he is advocating for the reimposition of
capital punishment.
He also recognized the help of the local communities in the drug war but said
it will not be enough to truly end the drug trade unless corruption is
eradicated as well.
“The drugs will not be crushed unless we continue to eliminate corruption that
allows the social monster to survive,” Duterte said.
“I respectfully request congress to reinstate the death penalty for heinous
crimes related to drugs as well as plunder,” he added.
President Duterte has been pushing for the restoration of capital punishment in
the country. However, the public has criticized the Congress after the House
Majority bloc decided to exclude plunder, rape, and treason from the list of
the crimes punishable with death.
The exclusion is reportedly to help them arrive at a compromise after some
lawmakers remained hesitant about voting in favor of House Bill No. 4727.
Earlier, Malacañang said that the reimposition of capital punishment is an
important component in keeping a crime-free and drug-free Philippines.
(source: Manila Bulletin)
******************
House Minority Leader Abante backs return of death penalty
House Minority Leader Bienvenido Abante Jr is supporting President Rodrigo
Duterte’s renewed call to reimpose the death penalty in the Philippines.
The Manila 6th District Representative said on Wednesday, July 24, that he been
supportive of capital punishment since his first stint as a lawmaker in the
13th Congress.
Abante, however, said he wants the death penalty reimposed only for certain
heinous crimes, including plunder.
“I have always supported the reimposition of the death penalty that was
repealed during my time in the 13th Congress, but only on certain heinous
crimes like massacre, terrorism, killing with rape, plunder,” he said.
Abante said the minority bloc under his leadership will have a "critical
collaboration" with the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.
The death penalty was abolished in the Philippines in 2006 when former speaker
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was still president.
But her ally Duterte has once again pushed for the passage of the bill that
would reimpose the capital punishment for drug-related crimes and plunder
during his 4th State of the Nation Address on Monday, July 22.
In the 17th Congress, the House of Representatives passed the death penalty
bill, but only for drug convicts. The Senate did not pass the measure.
In the current 18th Congress, the death penalty bill is expected to gain strong
support in the House dominated by Duterte allies. Newly elected Speaker Alan
Peter Cayetano has vowed to prioritize the President’s legislative agenda.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III, meanwhile, said that the death penalty bill
would be among the first measures to be debated by senators. Sotto said,
however, that limiting the reimposition of capital punishment to high-level
drug traffickers stood a better chance of passage in the Senate than other
versions.
(source: rappler.com)
********************
'To be pro-life is to be pro-death penalty,' says House minority leader Abante
House Minority Leader Bienvenido “Benny” Abante is backing the reinstatement of
death penalty, claiming it is the “best deterrent” to crimes.
In an interview on CNN Philippines Wednesday, Abante, who is a senior pastor of
the Metropolitan Bible Baptist Church, said he supports the revival of the
controversial death penalty but only on heinous crimes like massacre,
terrorism, killing with rape and plunder.
“I’ve always battled for the reimposition of death penalty… I wanted death
penalty to still be there because that would be the best deterrent to crime
although I’m pro-life,” Abante said.
“I am pro-life, yet I’ve been saying that to be pro-life is to be pro-death
penalty, to preserve life.
Abante’s stand on death penalty runs counter to the views of some members of
the House minority bloc, which includes lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc,
Liberal Party and party-list coalition.
“That would be my personal argument. I don't know about the others. I told
minority bloc members, look we agree to disagree on that point,” he said.
Rep. Carlos Zarate (Bayan Muna party-list) said death penalty is not a
deterrent to crimes and the poor would become victims of this proposal.
“In a flawed justice system like ours, death penalty will only kill, kill, kill
the poor rather than give justice to the victims of crime,” he said Monday.
A 2009 study published in the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology revealed
that 88.2% percent of surveyed experts do not think that death penalty has a
deterrent effect. Only 9.2% said they believe death penalty results in a
significant drop in murder cases.
President Rodrigo Duterte renewed his call to bring back death penalty for
heinous crimes related to drugs and plunder during his fourth State of the
Nation Address Monday.
Death penalty was abolished in 2006.
In the 17th Congress, the House of Representatives passed the death penalty
bill but only for drug convicts. The proposal, however, faced strong opposition
from senators.
The new minority leader also said he is supporting the call to lower the
minimum age of criminal responsibility.
“To me, if you say lower it to 12 years old, instead of penalizing them by jail
terms, they ought to be reformed, rehabilitated,” Abante said.
(source: philstar.com)
*************
Catholic clergy leads fight vs death penalty
The Catholic clergy on Tuesday led the opposition to the restoration of the
death penalty being pushed anew by President Rodrigo Duterte, saying capital
punishment did not deter crime and was a backward step in the quest for justice
in a poor country like the Philippines.
In his State of the Nation address (Sona) on Monday, the President urged
lawmakers to “act on all pending legislation to reimpose the death penalty,”
especially for heinous drug-related crimes as well as plunder.
Bacolod Bishop Patricio Buzon was dismayed at the President’s call to restore
the law on capital punishment, which was repealed in 2006 under then President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
? “I find that we are again retrogressing. I thought that we were already
moving toward a more humane civilization and society,” Buzon said.
Deterrent to crime?
“Our stand is very clear. Even in the Church, we have already grown in maturity
about understanding that issue. It’s sad. I think we are moving backward,” he
added.
Marinduque Bishop Marcelino Antonio Maralit Jr. said there was still “no real
and concrete evidence” that capital punishment deterred crime.
He said the claim that the death penalty was a crime deterrent was “more
questionable” in a country saddled with poverty.
“It is prone to unjust sentences under the pretense of a still corrupt justice
system, which our own President speaks of so often about,” Maralit said.
Ozamis Archbishop Martin Jumoad said the Catholic Church had been standing
against the death penalty because there was always hope that offenders would
change in prison.
“We believe in God’s grace to effect change in human life,” Jumoad said.
Judicial reforms
Sultan Maguid Maruhom, executive director of the Pagadian city-based group
Ummah Fi Salam, said the death penalty was “very dangerous because our judicial
system has not yet been reformed effectively.”
“There is fear that it will be exploited by the powerful and applied in a
discriminatory manner … especially for the poor,” Maruhom said.
Restoring the death penalty, he added, also would violate international laws,
particularly the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR),
to which the country is a party.
Arlyn Jawad Jumaoas, executive director of the nonprofit Save the Children from
War in Basilan, said injustices would not be solved by capital punishment.
“Man’s justice will never be perfect, when you kill a person in error, you can
never rectify your mistake,” said Jumaoas, whose father was killed by Muslim
rebels.
Fr. Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of the permanent committee on public
affairs of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), noted
that the rampant killings in the antinarcotics campaign have not diminished the
drug trade.
“The President himself admitted that it has remained unabated despite his
unrelenting drug war,” Secillano said.
Instead of restoring the death penalty, Secillano said the government should
“plug the holes in our criminal justice system, reform it and formulate
approaches to solving the problem.”
“Provide the poor with livelihood or employment as viable alternative to
dealing drugs; dismantle drug cartels; ensure that drugs won’t enter the
country with the aid of government institutions; and strengthen the family,” he
added.
Appeal to legislators
The CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Prison Pastoral Care (ECPPC) appealed to
legislators not to pass measures just to please the President.
“Don’t give our people an illusion and a quick fix ‘solution’ to our problems.
They deserve something better,” said CBCP-ECPPC executive secretary Rodolfo
Diamante.
Human rights groups also slammed the renewed push for a death penalty law.
“Mr. Duterte’s push for death penalty is another backsliding on human rights
for the Philippines,” said Carlos Conde, Philippine researcher for the New
York-based Human Rights Watch.
The local rights group Karapatan, said the call for the reimposition of the
death penalty showed the President’s “militarist, fascist and ineffective
governance.”
Protocol violation
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said it was firmly against reviving
capital punishment since it would violate the Second Optional Protocol to the
ICCPR and the Philippines’ commitment to “take all necessary measures to
prevent any execution.”
CHR spokesperson Jacqueline de Guia said that instead of imposing the death
penalty, the Duterte administration should focus on a “strong, responsive
justice system that won’t allow perpetrators of crimes escape the long arm of
the law.”
According to Eddie Villanueva, Jesus Is Lord Church founder and newly installed
Deputy Speaker of the House, the death penalty is allowed in the Bible for
heinous crimes, but he would not support it under the current state of the
criminal justice system in the country.
“God understands we use wisdom in realizing that when the judicial system is
bankrupt, the poor can’t hire top-caliber lawyers,and they are the only ones
who get jailed even when the charges are based on fabricated, manufactured
pieces of evidence,” said the evangelist and anticorruption Cibac
representative.
Iligan City Rep. Frederick Siao expressed the same sentiment on the
reimposition of the death penalty.
“We need a systems approach — a package of bills, with the death penalty on
drug lords, syndicate bosses and protectors, as one of the crucial components,”
Siao said.
He said there were “flaws” in the “pillars of our justice system”—law
enforcement, prosecution, judiciary and penology.
The country also needed better-trained and better-equipped law enforcers plus a
national crime laboratory system, special courts for drug cases, thorough
cleansing of and reforms in jails and correctional centers, he added.
(source: newsinfo.inquirer.net)
SINGAPORE:
Don’t execute mentally challenged Malaysian, Singapore urged
A rights group has urged the Singapore government not to execute a 31-year-old
Malaysian who was convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to death in 2010.
Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam, who is said to be suffering from mental
disabilities, was found guilty of importing 42.72gm of heroin into Singapore in
2009.
Lawyers for Liberty legal adviser N Surendran said executing a mentally
challenged man was against international law and the UN Convention on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which Singapore had ratified.
“It is beyond dispute that he suffers from mental disability. This evaluation
was made by an independent psychiatrist and the evidence has been submitted to
court,” he told a press conference here today.
“Singapore is putting themselves in the same category as Iran or North Korea in
sentencing to death or putting on death row a mentally challenged individual.”
Surendran noted Singapore Minister for Law and Home Affairs K Shanmugan’s
statement in May 2009 that the island state would not be “going easy” on
Malaysians convicted of drug trafficking.
Claiming again that Malaysians were being targeted by Singapore, he said: “The
Malaysian government must take note of this.”
He said this may even affect bilateral ties.
Surendran accused Singapore of being “notorious” for not having an independent
judiciary. This, he said, denied Malaysian citizens their right to a free
trial.
He said Nagaenthran’s defence counsel had submitted a psychiatric report from a
well-regarded independent psychiatrist, which suggested the accused was
mentally disabled.
However, he said the report was disputed by the court and also by state
psychiatrists.
Despite that, the court still accepted that Nagaenthran had a low IQ of 69 and
suffered from a mild case of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), a
learning disability.
Singaporean-based human rights lawyer M Ravi, who is acting for Nagaenthran’s
family, said Singapore had been shown to have “inherent biases” against
independent psychiatrists appointed by defence lawyers.
On the other hand, he said, psychiatrists from Singapore’s Institute of Mental
Health were regarded as “objective” and “impartial”.
Ravi said this “institutional bias” had violated the rights of individuals to a
fair trial.
He claimed that one of the psychiatrists commissioned by the state also failed
to examine Nagaenthran in person.
“Instead, he only looked at the independent psychiatrist’s report in an attempt
to poke holes at it,” he said.
Ravi said Singapore’s law allowed for an exemption from the death penalty in
drug-related offences if the convict was found to have mental disabilities.
However, he said the state had “set the bar so high” for convicts to satisfy
that criteria in the event he or she suffered from a mental disability.
Clemency petition
The lawyers said they were preparing a clemency petition to be submitted to the
Singaporean government.
However, Ravi noted that since 1998, Singapore had not considered any clemency
petitions and the chances of that happening now were slim.
He said he had also drafted a complaint to the International Court of Justice
(ICJ) on behalf of Malaysia, which has been sent to de facto law minister Liew
Vui Keong.
Surendran said Malaysia had a valid case to bring to the ICJ.
“There is already a case to haul Singapore to the ICJ. Other countries have
hauled each other for lesser reasons than this,” he said, adding that execution
of a citizen who was disabled was one of the strongest cases for ICJ
intervention.
However, he added that they would leave the matter to the government.
Both lawyers said the ICJ may issue an interim stay of execution even if
Singapore had not submitted to the international court.
Surendran said they were running out of time to save Nagaenthran and they could
no longer estimate how quickly he and others on death row were moving towards
execution.
He said LFL had previously revealed there were 10 clemency petitions – 4 of
them on behalf of Malaysians – dismissed by the Singaporean government at one
go.
(source: freemalaysiatoday.com)
MALAYSIA:
Filipina nabbed with 5.9 kg of shabu in Kota Kinabalu; could face death penalty
A woman from the Philippines could face the death sentence after she was nabbed
for allegedly trafficking over 5.9 kg of shabu at a house in Manggatal in
Sabah, Malaysia.
Sabah deputy police commissioner Datuk Zaini Jass said the 32-year-old was
nabbed during a raid at about 12:12 am on Tuesday (July 23).
“During the raid, policemen found the items kept in several bags and packages
in the kitchen,” he said at a press conference here on Wednesday (July 24).
He said most of the drugs were stored in tea packets and added that the
investigation also uncovered another 5.4 kg of drugs from a car.
Zaini said the seized drugs belonged to a man that has yet to be arrested and
are worth about RM275,000 (P3.4 million), adding that the drugs found were
meant for sale locally.
“We are hoping to trace the man and main supplier as soon as possible,” he
said.
Zaini said the suspect is being remanded until July 29 and she will be
investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
(source: globalnation.inquirer.net)
*****************
Malaysia’s changing stance on drugs: breaking away from punitive policy in
Southeast Asia
Malaysia has adopted a zero-tolerance approach to drugs but on 27 June 2019,
Minister of Health, Dzulkefly Ahmad announced legislation to decriminalise and
remove penalties for the small scale possession of illegal drugs for personal
use.
Dzulkefly described the change in law as a “critical next step toward achieving
a rational drug policy that puts science and public health before punishment
and incarceration”, reports Al Jazeera.
While a far cry from legalisation, this marks a significant departure from
draconian drug laws implemented since the nation’s independence in 1957 which
includes mandatory sentencing for trafficking. In 2011, an audit of the
criminal justice system in Malaysia reported that almost 40 per cent of
Malaysia’s prison population was convicted on charges of drug-related offences.
Sitting at the edge of Southeast Asia’s Golden Triangle of heroin and
methamphetamine production: Thailand, Myanmar and Laos, Malaysia finds itself
at the foot of the illicit drug trade. Underpinned by traditional conservative
values, with many laws closely tied to the nation’s official religion, Islam,
along with a geographical vulnerability and a high volume of narcotics within
its borders, Malaysia has long imposed restrictive drug laws.
A zero-tolerance approach to drugs is common in the region. Neighbouring
countries of Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Brunei, Myanmar and Laos carry the
death penalty for certain categories of drug offences. Each member state of the
regional body ASEAN, has committed to make the region “drug free” by 2020.
Despite extremely punitive laws, harm reduction is not entirely unfamiliar in
Southeast Asia. Malaysia introduced a harm reduction programme to combat HIV in
2005, while Thailand reduced its maximum sentencing for drug possession from 15
years to 10 years in 2017. Malaysia’s decision to fully decriminalise drug use
represents a surprising departure from regional attitudes.
Yet the relaxing of drug laws is yet to sweep across all of Southeast Asia. As
reported in Talking Drugs, the Philippines has embarked on a bloody drug war
since the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte in 2016. Duterte has received
international condemnation for multiple breaches of human rights and
extrajudicial killings, which are believed to number the thousands in an
attempt to dispel usage. One recent tragedy is the death of three year old Myka
Ulpina, shot by a stray bullet by the Filipino police during a raid to her
family home. Meanwhile, Singapore, a country with one the world’s strictest
drugs laws, has shown no signs of changing just yet. New laws have made it
illegal to provide information to another person on how to consume, produce, or
sell drugs.
Internationally, the announcement echoes the shift to an increasingly flexible
approach to drug usage, with countries such as Canada opting to legalise
cannabis in 2018, leading to the establishment of a booming and profitable
industry. The evidence in support of harm reduction and decriminalisation is
mounting. Portugal’s move to decriminalise all drugs in 2001 has improved
public health and social outcomes. New HIV infections were halved over 10 years
in Portugal, falling from 2167 in 2007 to 1030 in 2016 a joint WHO–European
Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) report found. While considered
a radical move at the time, Portugal is now often praised as a success story
with much of the world now taking notice.
The call to decriminalise is clear. However, the Malaysian government’s
decision to backtrack on the removal of the death penalty in March means that
the world waits in anticipation to see what actions the government will take,
and when, to make decriminalisation a reality in Malaysia.
(source: talkingdrugs.org)
INDONESIA:
Bali 9 pastor says it's only matter of time before another Aussie faces the
firing squad
Bali 9 pastor Christie Buckingham says Will Cabantog, 35, one of two former
Melbourne nightclub promoters arrested on the party island this week, faces a
tough stint behind bars.
The Melbourne pastor who witnessed the shooting execution of Bali 9 ring
leaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran says Aussie travellers have learned
little from the pairs' tragic mistake.
As two former Melbourne nightclub promoters face months inside a squalid
Denpasar police cell, Christie Buckingham has urged the Australian Government
to do more to ensure young people don't fall into the same trap.
She has warned it is only a matter of time before another unlucky traveller
faces the firing squad.
She said warnings on Etickets and inflight videos could be one tangible step to
ensure visitors jetting to Indonesia understood the risks.
Australian tourists account for 1.2 million of the four million annual visitors
to Bali.
"Australia may not have the death penalty but 8 of our neighbouring countries
do," Pr Buckingham told 7NEWS.com.au.
"Unless the laws change, it's only a matter of time before somebody else faces
the death penalty like Myuran and Andrew."
Will Cabantog, 35 and David Van Iersel, 38, were arrested as a result of raids
in the town of Canggu, northwest of Kuta earlier this week.
They were caught as part of a wider swoop by Indonesian investigators targeting
a major cocaine trafficking syndicate.
'It's going to be very tough for them'
While the latest Aussies targeted have yet to be charged, they will likely
remain behind bars while police prepare a brief of evidence.
Pr Buckingham said the duo had a hard road ahead.
"It's going to be very tough for them, they will have very minimal assistance
and may even rely on volunteers just to bring them food."
Pr Buckingham, who leads Melbourne's Bayside Church with husband Rob, was a
spiritual advisor for Bali 9's Myuran Sukumaran, praying with him in the final
moments before his execution by firing squad in 2015.
Alongside Chan, he had been convicted for trying to smuggle heroin through
Denpasar airport a decade earlier.
Despite the case making headlines around the world, Pr Buckingham said young
Aussie travellers appeared to be 'desensitized' to the risks.
"It boggles my mind," she said. "If convicted of the crime, these are foolish
men. But it also proves what we have always been saying. The death penalty or
the threat of lengthy or erroneous penalties don't prevent people from taking
these risks."MO< She said it underlined the need for Australia and Indonesia to
work closer when it came to education and prevention.
Parading suspects not the answer
Parading the suspects in shackles before the media, failed to get to the root
cause, Pr Buckingham said.
"Indonesia does not have the same legal and medical provisions as Australia.
"People are too desensitised," she said. "The average person wouldn't even
realise the legal drinking age in Indonesia is 21. That means any young person
heading over for schoolies put themselves in a difficult situation regarding
insurance.
"There must be stronger warnings."
Pr Buckingham said the movie, Guilty, a depiction of the final hours of
Sukumaran's life, should also be made available to watch on flights to Bali.
The film was launched by Virgin founder Richard Branson and Sukumaran's mother
in Melbourne last year to mark International Day Against the Death Penalty.
'I have never been so determined and so focused in my life'
Meanwhile, friends have rallied to support Cabantog and Van Iersel in any way
they can.
Some described Cabantog as the `life of the party' who had quickly earned a
reputation on Bali's party scene since he moved from Melbourne for a new life
last year.
He had previously posted photos alongside celebrities and football stars
including `Honeybadger' Nick Cummins, Collingwood legend Dane Swan and
president Eddie McGuire.
Since relocating to Bali for work he said he had found renewed purpose working
as a promoter at the Lost City Nightclub.
"My outlook on life is about as bright as this orange suit jacket
"Every day I wake up meditate and think about how greatful (sic) I am to have
the things in my life.
"I appreciate my family my friends and the new connections I have made.
"One day I woke up and said to myself I’m sick of feeling depressed, I’m stick
(sic) of pleasing people who don’t add value to my life, I’m sick of playing a
persona that isn’t me.
I made a change and you can too. I've never been as happy as I am now. This
trip has truly been lifechanging
"I made a change and you can too. I’ve never been as happy as I am now. This
trip has truly been lifechanging and I have never been so determined and so
focused in my life. Your vibe attracts your tribe and I truly believe that."
On LinkedIn, Mr Cabantog said he was proud to have been voted among the 100
best bartenders in Australia.
It's understood he launched his career in hospitality behind the bar at St
Kilda's popular Vineyard. He went on to management roles at Crown's Club 23 and
Eve nightclub juggling rosters, stock orders and administrations.
Van Iersel had previously worked at St Kilda bar Captain Baxter before opening
a bar in Collingwood that has since been closed down.
(source: 7news.com.au)
IRAQ:
Iraqi court sentences 2 men to death for joining Islamic State
An Iraqi court has sentenced 2 men to death after finding them guilty of
joining the Islamic State group, a judicial council said.
One of them was found implicated in terrorist attacks against security forces
near the Baiji oil refinery and the University of Tikrit in the Sunni-majority
province of Salahuddin, Baghdad Today website quoted the Supreme Judicial
Council as saying in a press statement on Thursday.
The other convict confessed to running a workshop for booby-trapping Islamic
State vehicles in 2014, the statement read.
The court rulings were issued pursuant to article no. ¼ of the anti-terrorism
law, it added.
Iraq’s anti-terrorism law empowers courts to convict people who are believed to
have helped jihadists even if they are not accused of carrying out attacks.
The exact number of detained Islamic State militants is still unknown, however,
it’s estimated to be at thousands. It’s also unclear how many members are
likely to face death sentences.
The UN, the European Union and international human rights groups always
criticize mass killings in Iraq and call for abolishing the death penalty,
which was suspended on June 10, 2003, but was reinstated on August 8, 2004.
(source: iraqinews.com)
*******************
Terrorists who killed Turkish diplomat in Irbil expected to face death penalty
2 of the 3 terrorists responsible for the killing of Turkish diplomat Osman
Köse in Irbil are expected to be brought to trial facing the death penalty by
the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), media outlets reported yesterday.
Citing local security sources, Ihlas News Agency (IHA) reported that the three
terrorists, two of which are in custody and one still wanted by police, will
likely to be judged in a court in Irbil with the death penalty on the table, as
it is permissible in the KRG's constitution. Security sources also reported
that the trial will begin once the missing terrorist is captured.
The 2 of 3 terrorists, including Mazlum Dag and Muhammed Biykez, have been
captured alive and detained in northern Iraq, a statement from the Irbil
Security Directorate said Saturday.
The arrests by the KRG's internal security service Asayish reportedly took
place on the road between Irbil and Makhmour, which hosts a refugee camp where
the PKK has a significant presence.
"The Kurdistan Regional Government announced on Saturday the arrest of the man
who planned the assassination of a Turkish diplomat in a restaurant in Irbil,
less than a week after the attack," the Asayish said in a statement.
According to Turkish security sources, Dag, a 27-year-old terrorist, is one of
the perpetrators of Wednesday's attack in which Köse, who was temporarily
stationed in Turkey's Consulate in Irbil, was killed by gunshots while eating
at a restaurant. Two Iraqi citizens were also killed in the attack that took
place in one of the safest areas in the seat of the KRG.
Dag was identified as one of 13 siblings of pro-PKK Peoples' Democratic Party
(HDP) Diyarbakir Deputy Dersim Dag, who has 2 other brothers linked to the
terrorist group.
He joined the terrorist group in February 2015 after crossing the Turkish-Iraqi
border from the Habur crossing in southeastern Turkey's Sirnak province,
reports said.
(source: dailysabah.com)
IRAN----female executions
2 women hanged at the Central Prison of Urmia
Two women were hanged at the Central Prison of Urmia at dawn on Tuesday, July
23, 2019.
According to an informed source, the 2 women had been previously given 1 month
to attract the agreement of the victim’s parents but they had not managed to do
so, and their death penalties were carried out.
The 2 women hanged on Tuesday morning, July 23, 2019, were identified as
Arasteh Ranjbar and Nazdar Vatankhah who had already spent 15 years in prison
on the charge of murder and complicity in murder, respectively. They were
transferred to solitary cells Monday morning, July 22, to be prepared before
being sent to the gallows.
With these 2 women, the number of women executed during 6 years of Hassan
Rouhani’s presidency reaches 93.
The Iranian regime has recently further stepped up executions and executed at
least 4 women in the past week, alone.
Maliheh Salehian from Miandoab was hanged on July 16, 2019, on charges of
murder in the central prison of Mahabad.
On July 17, 2019, another female prisoner, Zahra Safari Moghadam, 43, was
hanged in the Prison of Nowshahr, in northern Iran.
Some 3,700 persons have been executed in Iran in the past six years under
Rouhani. The Iranian regime is the world’s top record holder of per capita
executions. It deploys the death penalty as a tool for maintaining its grab on
power and for silencing a disgruntled populace the majority of whom live under
the poverty line, while unemployment is rampant in the country and there is no
freedom of speech.
Rule 61 of the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and
Non-Custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules) reads, “When
sentencing women offenders, courts shall have the power to consider mitigating
factors such as lack of criminal history and relative non-severity and nature
of the criminal conduct, in the light of women’s caretaking responsibilities
and typical backgrounds.”
The Women’s Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran condemns
the hanging executions of the two miserable women by the mullahs’ regime since
they are victims of misogynist laws and policies of the clerical regime and
their destruction of the economy. The NCRI Women’s Committee urges the
international organization defending human rights and women’s rights to
intervene and stop the death penalties in Iran.
(source: ncr-iran.org)
*********************************
DEATH FROM THE DARK AGES----Hanged from cranes, thrown off cliffs and stoned to
death… Iran’s brutal history of barbaric executions revealed after ‘CIA spies’
sentenced to death
Iran's cruel regime barbarically executes the most people in the world per
capita for crimes which include being gay and drinking alcohol.
Medieval style methods have been used over the years — some with a sinister
modern twist — and all are specifically designed to inflict as much suffering
before the condemned prisoner dies.
Earlier this week Iranian intelligence ministry official appeared in a state TV
documentary which bragged about capturing 17 CIA spies and sentencing them to
death.
Last year 273 people were executed for a range of crimes in a manner that would
not look out of place in Isis' Caliphate.
But the actual numbers are likely to be much higher as most executions are
carried out secretly.
Some have committed serious crimes such as rape and murder.
Others have been killed for being gay, committing adultery, sex outside
marriage and drinking alcohol.
In fact “Revolutionary Courts” have the power to execute anyone for anything
they deem to be “corruption on earth”.
Children as young as 12 are sentenced to death which international law forbids.
In 2018 6 kids were executed, including two child brides who killed their
abusive adult husbands.
What are Revolutionary Courts?
They are a special system of courts in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Trials, which last a few minutes, are blatantly unfair.
They are not held in public, there is no jury and sometimes defence lawyers are
banned.
Human rights group say the evidence used for conviction is often extracted by
torture.
A single judge decides the fate and punishment which is often death. Appeals
are not an option.
The courts were founded in 1979 when the Islamic regime came to power.
Opposition was rooted out and convicted. Today they are still used as a tool of
repression.
CONSTRUCTION CRANES USED
The chief method used by Iran is hanging.
This is not done on a drop, where death comes quick after the neck is broken.
Instead construction cranes are used.
The condemned person is hoisted up on a neck noose and essentially strangled in
a slow and agonising way.
Crowds are encouraged to watch and some executions are televised.
Afterwards the family of the execution victims are reportedly forced to pay for
the noose and are not given the bodies until they pay up.
Iran also executes people by firing squad, although it is a method not often
used these days.
Following the Islamic Revolution of 1979, thousands were shot for so-called
political offenses, drug trafficking, and crimes against the state.
As a final humiliation, firing squad victims have traditionally been made to
pay for the bullets that kill them.
'THROWN FROM CLIFFS'
Although officially outlawed since 1981, human rights groups claim a number of
people are still being stoned to death in Iran.
This is likely due to the murky nature of Iran's Sharia-based legal system
where judges are only given vague punishment guidelines.
This includes ordering judges to simply to execute individuals according to
"valid Islamic sources", without specifying the approved methods.
While Iran denies the stonings are taking place, human rights groups say
victims are wrapped in cloth and made to stand in a hole in the ground while
stones are thrown at them.
2 gay men are said to have suffered this in 2008, Amnesty International claims.
The total number of executions carried out in Iran stands only next to China,
whose population is over 17 folds greater.
But the cruelty does not begin with the execution.
Iran Human Rights Monitor says many spend years lingering on death row where
they are horribly tortured.
This is said to include stripping prisoners and pouring boiling water on them,
pushing needles into their genitals, ripping out finger nails and hanging them
by their feet.
According to Amnesty, at least nine people died in custody under suspicious
circumstances following their arrests in connection with the protests in late
2017 and early 2018.
Officials claimed some had committed suicide, claims which were disputed by
their families.
Worryingly in 2018 the lawyer Mohammad Najafi was arrested, sentenced to 14
years in prison and given 74 lashes on charges including “disturbing public
order” after revealing some of the victims' bodies showed evidence of torture.
(source: thesun.co.uk)
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