Sept. 17
JAMAICA:
Jamaican senator suggests resumption of death penalty by hanging, but is
quickly shot down
A Government senator has nudged the Andrew Holness administration to make
changes to the law that will allow Jamaica to resume hanging, but that
suggestion was quickly shot down by Justice Minister Delroy Chuck.
Though the death penalty remains on the books, there have been no hangings in
Jamaica since 1988. Hanging was halted in Jamaica following the 1993 landmark
Pratt and Morgan ruling by the United Kingdom Privy Council that it is cruel
and inhumane to hang an inmate who has been on death row for more than 5 years.
Charles Sinclair, one of 13 government senators in the Upper House, made it
clear on Friday that he is ready to support legislative amendments that would
allow Jamaica “to fit within the UK Privy Council decision in Pratt and
Morgan”.
“If we have to establish special courts to fast-track and ensure that the
hearings go through and persons are given justice, so be it,” he said during a
debate in the Senate on a bill that provides significantly higher fines for
offences contained in 40 laws that fall under the justice ministry.
“Whatever the amendments that need to be made, I will support it,” declared
Sinclair, a prominent criminal defence attorney, to applause from his
colleagues.
But his suggestion appears to be a non-starter with Chuck, who acknowledged
that he is personally “against hanging”.
“It is unlikely that Jamaica will resume it. That’s the present status, which
we are unlikely to disturb”, the justice minister told The Gleaner yesterday.
Asked if he saw any merit in Sinclair’s proposal, Chuck was blunt.
“No,” he responded.
But Sinclair, in revisiting the hot-button issue, recounted that the last time
capital punishment was put to a conscience vote in Parliament, a majority of
lawmakers supported it. “When you listen to the commentary across Jamaica, a
lot of persons support it … but it is not being used at all.”
(source: stabroeknews.com)
BELARUS:
Parliament hopes for Belarus' PACE special guest status restoration
The Belarusian parliament may have its special guest status at the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in the nearest future,
Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus
Vladimir Andreichenko said in an interview to the Belarus 1 TV channel on 16
September, BelTA has learned.
In January 1997, Belarus lost its special guest status at the PACE. Its
absence, however, does not hinder the country to develop cooperation with this
international organization, the speaker of the House of Representatives said.
“I would say it restraints to some extent but does not hinder. The main issue
is the abolition of death penalty. This, however, does not mean we do not
cooperate with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. I think we
will have our status in this parliamentary organization restored in the near
future,” Vladimir Andreichenko said.
In his words, Belarusian MPs are regularly invited to attend meetings of the
Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy. The committee is expected to sit
in early October to discuss the elections in Belarus.
The Council of Europe is a European intergovernmental organization comprising
47 states. It was established on 5 May 1949 and is headquartered in Strasbourg.
The Belarusian delegation received a so-called special guest status at the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in September 1992. In
March 1993 Belarus applied for membership to the Council of Europe. In January
1997 the status was suspended. Nevertheless, cooperation with the Council of
Europe continues in a number of areas. According to representatives of the
organization, the main obstacle towards the restoration of the special guest
status is the issue of death penalty.
(source: belta.by)
TUNISIA:
Tunisia election: Outsider in lead stuns after most votes counted----With 2/3
votes in presidential race counted, conservative constitutional law professor
Kais Saied takes the lead.
Law professor and political outsider Kais Saied is leading Tunisia's
presidential polls with 2/3 of the votes counted, the electoral commission
said, after the country's 2nd free vote for head of state since the 2011 Arab
Spring.
Saied was on 18.9 % on Monday night, ahead of imprisoned media magnate Nabil
Karoui, who was on 15.5 %, according to the electoral commission, ISIE.
Prime Minister Youssef Chahed, a presidential hopeful whose popularity has been
tarnished by a sluggish economy and the rising cost of living, could well turn
out to be the election's biggest loser.
ISIE figures showed him in 5th place with 7.4 % of the vote, trailing both
Ennahdha party candidate Abdelfattah Mourou and former defence minister
Abdelkarim Zbidi.
"The anti-system strategy has won," ISIE member Adil Brinsi told the AFP news
agency, but added: "It's not finished yet. Mourou could very easily move from
third to 2nd place."
'Open to all modern ideas'
A smiling Saied, receiving journalists at a rented apartment serving as his
campaign offices, said voters had "carried out a revolution within a legal
framework... They want something new... new political thinking".
It was up to civil society and democracy at the local administrative level to
resolve Tunisia's social problems, he said, while defending his own reputation
as a conservative.
"Tunisia has always been an open country. It's a moderate society. I am open to
all modern ideas. We can discuss it," Saied said.
Political neophyte Saied is a conservative constitutionalist who has shunned
political parties and mass rallies; instead, he opted to go door-to-door to
explain his policies.
He has defended the death penalty, criminalisation of homosexuality and a
sexual assault law that punishes unmarried couples who engage in public
displays of affection.
Saied also advocates a rigorous overhaul of the constitution and voting system,
to decentralise power "so that the will of the people penetrates into central
government and puts an end to corruption".
"Kais Saied was unknown in Tunisia until after the 2011 revolution when he
started coming on television shows breaking down the technicalities of the
constitution," said Al Jazeera's Stefanie Dekker, reporting from Tunis.
"He speaks classical Arabic and many people here jokingly call him a robot
because he is so specific when it comes to citing the law. One voter described
him as a clean and honest man who loves his country. We voted for others and
look where it got us, he said."
'Political earthquake'
Local papers splashed photos of Saied and Karoui across their front pages on
Monday.
"Political earthquake," read the headline of Arabic language Echourouk
newspaper, while Francophone Le Temps entitled its editorial "The Slap".
The result was a major upset for Tunisia's political establishment, in place
since the uprising 8 years ago that removed President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
It could usher in a period of uncertainty for the fledgeling North African
democracy, the sole success story of the Arab Spring revolts.
ISIE reported low turnout at 45 percent, down from 64 % in the country's 1st
democratic polls in 2014.
"The abstention was a sign of a rejection of the system rather than
disinterest," said political scientist Hamza Meddeb.
"People are fed up with a political class which failed to respond to their
economic and social expectations."
Late Sunday, Chahed urged liberals and centrists to unite for legislative
elections set for October 6, saying low participation was "bad for the
democratic transition".
Jailed 'populist' Karoui
Karoui, a 56-year-old media magnate, has been behind bars since August 23 on
charges of money laundering.
Tunisia's judiciary has refused to release him 3 times, but his lawyers said on
Monday they would make a 4th request within 24 hours.
A controversial businessman, labelled a "populist" by critics, Karoui built his
appeal by using his Nessma television channel to launch charity campaigns,
handing out food aid to some of the country's poorest.
"He is far more involved in the political establishment. He is a founding
member of the late President Beji Caid Essebsi's Nidaa Tounes party, which he
recently split from," Al Jazeera's Stefanie Decker said.
Brinsi said Karoui could be allowed to run as long as there was no ruling on
his case. A conviction before the runoff vote could mean Saied could instead
face the 3rd-placed candidate, he said.
The date of a 2nd and final round between the top 2 candidates has not been
announced, but it must be held by October 23 at the latest. It may even take
place on the same day as the legislative polls.
The presidential election came against a backdrop of serious social and
economic challenges.
Distrust of the political establishment runs high in Tunisia, where
unemployment is at 15 % and the cost of living has risen by close to 1/3 since
2016.
(source: aljazeera.com)
SAUDI ARABIA:
Children, women, Pakistanis among 134 executed in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia has already executed 134 people so far this year, 6 of whom were
children when they were arrested, a new report has revealed.
The figures, given at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, come despite
kingdom's pledge to reduce the use of the death penalty. In 2018, the country
killed 149 people, with 46 left on death row by the end of the year. They
include 3 children, political opponents, clerics, and human rights campaigners.
Among those executed this year are three women and 51 who were facing drug
charges that would be considered minor offences elsewhere in the world.
According to Baroness Helena Kennedy's report many of the 46 have now been
killed as the country's recourse to executions has 'intensified alarmingly' in
recent months. At least another 24 people, including three children, are at
imminent risk, according to the report.
Saudi killing methods include beheading and crucifixion. The report was
presented at an event held by human rights organisation, The Death Penalty
Project, and spoke of one mass killing in April this year where 37 men were put
to death in public.
It added that the abuseshave been 'exacerbated by the systematic torture of
detainees and grossly unfair trials culminating in death sentences'. 2 of those
killed were teenagers who were just 16 and 17 at the time of their arrests.
At least 58 of those killed this year were foreign nationals that were accused
of spreading beliefs of opposite religious sect. There were 21 Pakistanis, 15
Yemenis, 5 from Syria and 4 from Egypt. 2 Jordanians, 2 Nigerians, a Somalian
and 2 from unidentified nations were also included in the figures.
(source: thenews.com.pk)
EGYPT:
UK minister in Egypt for investment talks as mass trial of activists continues
---- Campaigners urge Andrew Murrison to 'speak out', as the British foreign
office minister meets Egyptian officials
A British government minister has been criticised for travelling to Cairo to
discuss investment in Egypt despite concerns raised by human rights groups
about the mass trial of activists who could face death sentences if convicted.
The UK's government confirmed on Sunday that Andrew Murrison, a foreign office
minister responsible for Middle Eastern and North African relations, had
arrived in Cairo to meet Sahar Nasr, Egypt's investment minister.
On Monday, Murrison tweeted images of his meeting with Nasr, as well as with
Amr Ramadan, Egypt's assistance foreign minister.
But Reprieve, a London-based legal organisation campaigning against the death
penalty, called on Murrison to "speak out" about an ongoing mass trial of
activists in which more than 300 people, including four teenagers, are facing
possible death sentences if convicted.
The case, known as 64/2017, began in November 2017 and has dragged on for
nearly 18 months over the course of 50 court sessions.
Rights groups have condemned the mass trial and described the court proceedings
as politically motivated.
The 4 teenagers on trial - Ammar el-Sudany, Belal Hasnein, Mohamed Badr, and
Abdullah Moniem - were all arrested as teenagers for protesting against the
Egyptian government.
The families of the four young men told Reprieve they had all been held with
adult detainees and subject to severe overcrowding, prevented from bathing for
months and given little access to food, medicine, and clothing.
"When teenagers are facing death sentences for the 'crime' of protesting
against the regime, Egypt's international partners are right to speak out.
Britain should take the lead," a Reprieve spokesperson told Middle East Eye.
"President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has complained about international criticism of
the Egyptian justice system, but a politically-motivated mass trial of more
than three hundred people, including several who were children at the time of
their alleged offences, is surely too egregious a violation of international
law for the UK government to ignore."
Lawyers for all 4 defendants have informed the court of their clients’ age and,
in some cases, their torture allegations and coerced confessions.
Middle East Eye asked the foreign office whether Murrison would meet
representatives of Egyptian civil society organisations during his visit, but
had not received a response at the time of publication.
(source: Middle East Eye)
IRAN/PHILIPPINES:
Iranian government pardons convicted Filipino drug mule----Ernie Tamonde, a
religious singer, is back home in North Cotabato. He insists on his innocence
The Iranian government had pardoned a Christian religious singer from Magpet,
North Cotabato who was arrested in Tehran in 2010 over drug charges, a family
member said Tuesday, September 17.
Ernie Tamonde, who insists on his innocence, arrived in Barangay Noa in Magpet
on Sunday, September 15, according to his sister, Emmie. She did not provide
additional details.
Emmie said her brother was initially sentenced to death and was sent to a
prison in Mashhad in northeast Iran where he was to await his execution.
“He was sentenced to death, then life sentence, then 20 years imprisonment.
Before his sentence was over, he was given [a] pardon by the Iranian
government,” Emmie said.
Ernie, then 28, was flying out of Iran on January 12, 2010 and was about to
continue his religious mission in Malaysia when an Iranian friend asked him to
drop by Thailand to carry a package for him. The package supposedly contained
clothes.
Based on Ernie's account to family members, the Iranian man shouldered his
ticket to Thailand and Malaysia.
Ernie said he was passing by airport security when he was arrested for
possession of some 2.34 kilograms of unspecified illegal drugs. Ernie denied
owning the illegal drugs.
Ernie's situation caught the attention of the International Campaign for Human
Rights in Iran and support poured for him.
The Philippine government, through the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), had
lobbied for Ernie's case. In return, the arrested religious singer got "special
privileges", such as access to telephone and a lawyer.
Hundreds of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) are in jail abroad for unwittingly
becoming drug mules, victimized by international crime syndicates.
The case of Filipina maid, Mary Jane Veloso, was among the stories that brought
public attention to the plight of Filipino migrant workers who had fallen prey
to the syndicates. Veloso remains in jail in Indonesia.
The Indonesian government has given Veloso a reprieve from her death sentence
while the human trafficking case filed against her alleged recruiters undergoes
trial in a Nueva Ecija court. Veloso, who has been in jail for more than 8
years, claimed the recruiters used her as a drug mule.
(source: rappler.com)
INDIA:
Execution Of Man Who Murdered 2 Tamil Nadu Siblings Stopped By Top Court----The
Supreme Court will hear the case again on October 16
The execution of a man guilty of murdering 2 young siblings in Tamil Nadu's
Coimbatore in 2010, set for Friday, has been stopped for now by the Supreme
Court.
The execution of Manoharan was stopped by a 3-judge bench headed by Justice RF
Nariman after the convict's lawyer told the top court that she wanted to
inspect the records of the case which are lying in the concerned trial court.
The bench, also consisting of justices Sanjeev Khanna and Surya Kant, made it
clear that it was granting the last opportunity to the lawyer to argue the case
on October 16 since it relates to death penalty.
Manoharan's lawyer told the Supreme Court that seven lawyers were changed in
the case due to which the convict was not duly represented from trial court to
the top court.
The convict, Manoharan, had approached the Supreme Court for a review of the
court's order confirming death penalty.
In August this year, the Supreme Court, in a majority judgement of 2:1, had
confirmed the death sentence of Manoharan for the rape of a 10-year-old girl
and the double murder of the child and her seven-year-old brother in Coimbatore
in 2009.
The majority decision had concluded that the convict showed no remorse for the
crime, and categorized it as "rarest of rare category", deserving death
penalty.
Manoharan, along with another convict Mohankrishnan had kidnapped the two
siblings in October 2010, and then raped the girl. They were then killed by
giving them milk laced with poison and thrown into a canal.
Mohankrishnan, who had masterminded the crime, was killed in an encounter with
the police.
(source: ndtv.com)
*********************
Do you know why the death penalty is carried out before sunrise?
We all must have seen in movies that criminal who get death penalties are
hanged before sunrise, but have you ever wondered why so early and not at any
other time?
The death penalty is given out to an individual who has committed a grave crime
in the eyes of law. The ruling is a constitutionally sanctioned practice under
which a person is put to death, as a form of punishment.
Before being hanged, the jail administration asks the criminal’s last wish.
However, the prisoner’s wish is fulfilled only if it is under the jail’s
manual.
After pulling the lever, the prisoner stays in the hanging position for 10
minutes, then a team of doctors check whether he has died or not. The prisoner
is brought down only when the doctors are sure of his death.
During the carrying out of the execution, the jail superintendent, the
executive magistrate, and a hangman have to be present, if any of the officials
is absent then the punishment cannot be carried out.
The time is fixed in the morning because according to the jail manual, all jail
functions are done only after sunrise and this would ensure that the other
daily chores are not affected.
Hanging of a person is big news for the affected society. To restrain the
effect of the hanging on the collective conscience of the society and to limit
any social trauma or outcry, the execution is carried out before the society
wakes up to the event.
(source: orissapost.com)
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