October 14
ST. KITTS:
Leanna’s Convicted Killers Could Face Death Penalty
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) wants the death penalty for 2
convicted Killers of 17-year-old Leanna ‘Tiney’ Napoleon in the May/June 2017
homicide; 1 of whom is the teen’s brother.
According to the Police Public Relations Department, the application for such
is expected to be submitted to the court this week.
On Friday 11th October, the deceased’s brother 21-year-old Brandon Lee Wells of
Buckley’s Estate and his friend 20-year-old Travien Liddie of St. Johnston
Village were both convicted after a 12- member jury gave its decisions.
The jury returned unanimous guilty verdicts for the offences of Murder and
Attempting to Pervert the Natural Course of Justice for Wells, a unanimous
guilty verdict for Liddie for the offence of Attempting to Pervert the Natural
Course of Justice and an 11-1 guilty verdict for the offence of Murder.
Both young men had previously been charged for the incident which occurred
between May 08 and June 14, 2017.
The DPP indicated to the court that he intends to make an application for the
death penalty for both accused persons.
The judge ordered a Social Inquiry Report and Psychiatric Report be completed
in preparation for sentencing.
Both Wells and Liddie have been remanded to Her Majesty’s Prison.
On June 24, 2019, 27-year-old Ivan Phillip of LaGuerite pleaded guilty to the
offence of being an Accessory After the Fact to Murder.
On Tuesday 24th September, he was sentenced to five (5) years and nine (9)
months in prison commencing from that day.
Notably, in June 2017 Phillip age was given as 18-year- old and was said to be
a resident of Shadwell.
Wanted by police back then, he reported Basseterre Police on Wednesday 21st
June.
On Wednesday 14th June, the missing school girl (Napoleon) was found dead and
buried in a shallow grave overnight in a far out mountainous region of the
Olivee’s area located beyond the Buckley’s community.
Napoleon, who had been missing for over a month, was last seen on Monday 8th
May in the vicinity of Buckley’s Site and Fort Street.
Napoleon was a 5th form student of the Basseterre High School (BHS).
(source: The Labour Spokesman)
INDIA:
Death Penalty In POCSO Act Imperils Child Victims Of Sexual Offences
Amendment bills should fix loopholes in the original law but the amendments
contained in the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act of
2019 do not improve upon the original bill of 2012, child rights activists say.
The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill of 2019
actually weakens the POCSO Act, Shailabh Kumar, lawyer and co-director of Haq:
Centre for Child Rights, said. Including death penalty as punishment could
reduce the number of cases reported and might lead to murder of the victim.
Further, there has been no amendment to provide for compensation of victims,
and no strong solution for reducing pendency of cases.
Most members of parliament across political parties welcomed the amendments,
and the bill--though debated in the house for nearly four hours--was passed
without being referred to any parliamentary standing committee. In this monsoon
session of the Lok Sabha, 34 other bills were passed, each receiving little
attention from lawmakers. This is the fourth story in our series analysing the
most significant of these 35 bills.
The POCSO Act was amended with 5 new clauses, including extending punishment
from 10 to 20 years for penetrative sexual assault with children below the age
of 16 and death sentence for aggravated penetrative sexual assault by a person
in a position of authority--which includes police officers, members of the
armed forces and public servants. It also includes cases where the offender is
a relative of the child, or if the assault injures the sexual organs of the
child.
The death penalty can also be given in case of aggravated sexual assault which
results in the death of a child or for assault during a natural calamity or in
any situation of violence, the amendment says, replacing the words ‘communal or
sectarian violence’ in the original bill.
Other provisions change the length of prison sentences for certain kinds of
crimes, and would not have an impact on the rate of crime against children,
activists said.
Death penalty not a deterrent
“Introducing death penalty was nothing but a populist move,” said Kumar.
Activists are concerned, as we said, that the introduction of death penalty
will reduce the number of reported cases of sexual offence against children. As
many as “94% of the accused are known to the victims in cases of child sexual
abuse”, said Mohd Ikram, manager, child safeguarding policy at Breakthrough, a
women’s rights organisation in Delhi. “When most accused are personally known
to the victims and their families, the possibility of death may deter the
victims to file a complaint.”
There is also a higher likelihood that the accused would rape and murder a
victim to avoid getting caught, Ikram said.
Further, no empirical evidence exists to suggest that death penalty has a
deterrent effect over and above life imprisonment, according to the Law
Commission’s 2015 report on death penalty. The report suggested abolishing
death penalty for all cases except terrorism.
In 28.9% of the cases where a trial court awarded the death sentence, the case
ended in acquittal by a higher court. The death sentence was conclusively given
in only 4.3% of cases--trial courts erroneously imposed the death penalty in
95.7% cases, according to the report.
“If we look at the timeline, the ordinance introducing death penalty was
brought right after the Unnao and Kathua rape cases in early 2018 because of a
huge uproar,” said Kumar. “PM [Narendra] Modi went to the World Trade
Organization meeting where India was criticised for its policy on women and
child safety, and the ordinance was brought in immediately after.”
In the Kathua case, an 8-year-old girl was abducted, raped and murdered in a
village near Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir in January 2018. 6 of the 7 accused
were convicted in the case, of which 3 were imprisoned for life and 3 sentenced
to 5 years in jail. In the Unnao case, a 17-year-old girl was gang-raped in
April 2017, and the accused is a member of the Uttar Pradesh legislative
assembly from Unnao, and was a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, in power
in the state and at the Centre. The case is still going on.
Instead of acting in haste, the government should have studied how people would
react to the changes, and understood the problems in implementation of the Act,
Kumar added.
“In addition, the bill is silent when it comes to protecting the victim and
their family in cases where the accused is in a position of authority,” Ikram
said. “Merely increasing the punishment for aggravated sexual assault is not
enough.”
Trials pending for most cases
The police recorded 106,958 crimes against children in 2016, the latest year
for which data are available, from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). Of
these, 36,022 cases were recorded under the POCSO Act. But 89% of the cases
that were registered in 2016 were pending trial. Over 90% of cases registered
in 2014 and 2015 were pending trial, according to NCRB data. Courts convicted
the accused in only 29.6% of cases in 2016.
From January to June 2019, 24,212 cases of child sexual assault or abuse were
registered under POCSO, of which 27% cases went on trial, as was noted during
the parliamentary debate during the amendment of the Act; 4% cases were
completed.
The Supreme Court issued directions to districts with more than 100 pending
cases under the POCSO Act to set up fast-track courts with a resolution
deadline of 60 days. As many as 1,023 fast-track special courts for POCSO cases
would be set up, Minister of Women and Child Development Smriti Irani, who
introduced the bill in the Rajya Sabha, said.
But an increase in the number of special courts would not necessarily lead to a
reduction in pendency of cases, said Kumar.
For instance, fast-track courts do not address the problem of vacancies in
courts. Special courts constituted under the POCSO Act will have judges not
below the rank of a sessions judge and will be appointed from the same pool of
judges.
With 28.7 million cases pending in district and subordinate courts, there are
currently 17,891 judges against the required strength of 22,750, according to
the 2018-19 Economic Survey. There are over 4 million cases pending in the
country’s high courts, which would need 8,152 more judges to resolve. High
courts have 62% of the sanctioned judges, with only 671 out of 1,079 judges’
positions filled, according to the economic survey.
Activists said that creating a child-friendly environment in courts is
important so that the judicial and administrative process does not add to the
trauma of the child. In the Indian judicial system, both judges and special
public prosecutors need more training to handle sensitive cases, Kumar said.
For instance, the Juvenile Justice Board is headed by a principal magistrate
who hears cases only related to children, which helps them be more sensitive
and give all their time to such cases.
Further, the bill should have tried to lay down rules to improve police
investigation into these cases. For instance, the Supreme Court, in response to
a public interest litigation on the alarming rise in reported child rape
incidents, slow investigations and time in receiving lab reports, suggested
designated forensic science laboratories in every district of the country for
the POCSO Act.
One-stop centres
The amended POCSO Act provides for the setting up of one-stop centres where
child victims can get shelter, medical assistance, counselling and legal aid,
all under one roof. Activists welcomed this provision.
However, these shelter homes would need to be monitored. For instance, 100
complaints of child sexual abuse were made at a single one-stop centre in
Haryana, according to a response to a Right to Information (RTI) request filed
by Aseem Takyar, an activist, the Times of India reported on June 6, 2019.
Activists said the child support system should be further strengthened and
victims should be provided with counselling and financial compensation for
their mental and physical well-being while the case is underway.
Lack of process for compensation
The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) compensation scheme for survivors
and victims of rape will work as a guideline for special courts to award
compensation, a Supreme Court bench had ruled in 2018, and had asked the
government to make compensation rules under the POCSO Act itself.
But even after the amendment, no rules have been framed by the women and child
development ministry. Further, the bill does not say who gets the compensation
if the child dies.
Gaps remain in the implementation of the compensation scheme. For instance,
from 2013 to 2018, 3,153 cases were registered under POCSO in 25 districts of
Tamil Nadu. In only 95 of these cases was the victim given interim
compensation, according to the response to an RTI request filed by a
non-governmental organisation, as reported by The New Indian Express on
February 3, 2019.
Antiquated view of consensual sex
The legislation takes an antiquated view in the treatment of consensual sex
between young adults. POCSO Act does not consider adolescents from 16-18 years
of age as consenting adults who can indulge in sexual activities and fails to
distinguish between consensual sex and sexual abuse. This is often misused by
families to cover up cases of elopement and inter-caste marriages.
In a recent case, the Madras High Court suggested that the age defining a
‘child’ should be reduced from 18 to 16. The court also noticed that the POCSO
Act needs to take into account the age-gap between the abuser and the victim to
differentiate between teenage consensual relationships and sexual abuse.
(source: indiaspend.com)
MALAYSIA:
At least 119 Nigerians are on death row in Malaysia, according to Amnesty
International.
They were arrested over drug-related offences and later convicted.
The human rights organisation disclosed this in a report entitled: “Fatally
flawed: Why Malaysia must abolish the death penalty.”
It said 1,281 persons were on death row in the Asian country, adding that the
inmates were being kept in 26 detention facilities across the country.
A significant 73 % of all those under sentence of death have been convicted of
drug trafficking, which carries a death sentence in Malaysia.
While the organisation kicked against death sentence, it said they were not
given a fair trial as part of customary international law.
“In researching this report, Amnesty International has found numerous
violations of the right to a fair trial at different points of the criminal
justice process that leave defendants vulnerable to the imposition of the death
penalty,” it said.
“Restrictions on access to legal counsel remains a critical defect of
Malaysia’s judicial system. Under the Federal Constitution of Malaysia,
detainees are supposed to be able to consult and be defended by the legal
practitioner of their choice as soon as possible after arrest.
“However, despite these programmes, lawyers and other representatives of
prisoners on death row have told Amnesty International that it has been a
common experience for those arrested for offences that could result in the
death penalty, and who cannot hire a lawyer independently, not to receive legal
assistance at the time of arrest or during their time under police remand,
before charges are brought.
“A lawyer associated with the Bar Council Legal Aid Centre also estimated that,
due to a lack of resources, coverage of the scheme at the time of arrest and
remand hearing is just 60-70%, with coverage dropping outside Kuala Lumpur.
“Further, because of how legal aid is structured, no legal representatives are
assigned to a case until the trial is due to start, leaving defendants without
legal assistance during interrogation and for prolonged periods.
“Our research found a pattern of unfair trials and secretive hangings that
itself spoke volumes. From allegations of torture and other ill-treatment to an
opaque pardons process, it’s clear the death penalty is a stain on Malaysia’s
criminal justice system.”
(source: thecable.ng)
ZIMBABWE:
Death Penalty Affects Convict's Children, Hangman Himself - Think Tank
As Zimbabwe marked the World Day Against death penalty last Thursday, calls to
abolish it continue, with local think tank, Veritas describing it as an inhuman
act which had many more victims outside its intended target.
In a statement, Veritas said the problem has been worsened by the continuous
postponement of executions on those who have been sentenced to death.
The last execution took place in 2005.
Veritas urged government to take a leaf from neighbours, South Africa who
abandoned capital punishment some 20 years ago.
"The death penalty has many more victims outside its intended target," said
Veritas.
"For every day an inmate's execution is postponed, there is a child hoping that
their father will live just a little bit longer.
"May we never forget the children that have been affected mentally and
emotionally as a consequence of this punishment."
Added Veritas, "Children are orphaned in this way at the hands of the state
which constitutionally pledges to act in the best interests of the child.
"Children suffer psychological trauma and long-term mental illness such as
depression due to this practice and often face stigma as a result of their
parent's actions.
"The injustices inflicted upon the victim are never to be negated by empathy
for the children but where we have a chance to act humanely, we should take
it."
This year marks the 17th commemoration of World Day Against the death penalty.
Veritas said the penalty tended to do much more than just kill one person but
can affect an entire community.
"On this day, we take time to raise awareness on the effects of the death
penalty and remind the government that the death penalty is slowly facing its
hanging day as it has no place in the 21st Century human rights discourse."
This year's theme was chosen to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the
Convention on the Rights of Children.
"Around the world, winds of change have been blowing.
"There is a growing realisation that the death penalty system is a system that
infects everyone it touches and barely heals or deters from the disease of
crime from the convicts, to the prison guards, to the convicts' family and
friends to even the hangman himself, no one is free from the psychological and
emotional burdens the death penalty comes with," added Veritas.
At present, In Zimbabwe, the death penalty is given its legal character through
Section 47 of the Criminal Law Code.
Under section 48 of the Zimbabwean Constitution, the right to life is afforded
but in certain instances judges may have the discretion to institute the death
penalty.
In Zimbabwe, the death penalty is only applicable to men between ages of 21-75,
while women are exempt.
Most countries around the world have abolished the Death Penalty and to date,
106 out of 195 in total have abolished the death penalty for all crimes; 8 for
ordinary crimes, 20 are abolitionist in practice and 28 are still carrying out
executions.
To date, in Zimbabwe, there 81 inmates on death row, some who have been on the
list for more than 10 years.
Meanwhile, human rights body Amnesty International (AI) says, of the 1,281
people reported to be on death row in Malaysia as of February 2019, 568 (44%)
are foreign nationals, who face serious obstacles to access adequate consular
assistance and interpretation.
(source: allafrica.com)
NIGERIA:
Sex for grade: TUC seeks death penalty for abuse of young girls
The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has advocated capital punishment for those who
sexually abused or harassed young girls in the country, especially the
lecturers and teachers who take advantage of their students.
President of TUC Comrade Quadri Olaleye who lamented the increasing rate of
sexually abused child girl and rape in the society said such offence should
carry the ultimate penalty, which is capital punishment.
In a speech delivered at a programme organised by the TUC Women Commission to
mark the International Girl Child Day at Valencial Hotel, Abuja, Comrade
Olaleye, urged the National Assembly to come up with capital punishment for
people who indulge in such to deter others.
The TUC President said: “Comrades and friends, there is hardly any day we do
not read news of parents, uncles, neighbours, teachers, even security
operatives abusing young girls. The latest happened at one of our highly
revered tertiary institution in the country.
“After parents, the next set of people children relate and are free with used
to be their teachers. Unfortunately, the girl children are no longer safe with
them.
“Where do we go from here? I must commend the Senate for taking it upon
themselves to correct the anomaly. I urge them to come up with capital
punishment for people who indulge in such to deter others.”
(source: triuneonlineng.com)
EGYPT:
Egypt sentences Libyan terrorist Mismary to death
A Cairo Court handed down adeath penalty to the Libyan highly-dangerous
terrorist Abdel Rahim Mohamed Abdullah al-Mismary for involvement in the 2017
Western Desert shoot-out, which left 16 policemenkilled and 13 others injured.
The court’s initial ruling could be upheld or overturned on November 3, 2019,
after taking the Grand Mufti’s advisory opinion, according to the court. The
case includes other 43 defendants who still stand trial.
Mismary was the only survivor inthe 2017 security raid that tracked fleeing
terrorists in the Western Desert near the terror attack scene and left 15
militants and 16 policemen dead.
Mismary, 29, confessed that he joined the Shura Council of Mujahideen in Derna
in late 2014 in a statement that aired on Al-Hayah channel. The uorganization
of the Derna-based Islamist factions opposed the Islamic State (IS) terrorist
group and the Libyan army, led by KhalifaHaftar.
Mismary pointed out that he participated in planting IEDs that targeted IS
militants and Haftar’s troops in Derna, describing his enemies as “infidels.”
(source: Egypt Today)
IRAN:
World Day Against Death Penalty
October 10th marked the World Day against the Death Penalty. For citizens of
countries with governments fixated with implementing this cruel and inhuman
punishment, it is a reminder that despite being will into the 21st century,
there is still a long way to go before leaving behind this medieval punishment
for good.
Iran under the medieval mullahs is a prime example of such a mentality. By
scratching the surface and getting a little deeper, for Iran’s rulers, it is
not just a mere form of punishment. It is an instrument of spreading fear and
intimidating among citizens.
For the mullahs in Tehran, hanging is a means to an end. It is only used to
contain enraged citizens, reminding them that dissent will have dire
consequences.
The Iranian regime began mass executions in the very first two years after its
inception when in 1981 and 1982 it executed Iranian dissidents by thousands.
Those who survived rightfully called that decade, the “Dark Era.”
The highlight of the first decade into the regime’s rule was, of course, the
bloody summer of 1988 when more than 30,000 political prisoners were tried in
Kangaroo courts and immediately send to gallows. The majority were members and
supporters of the main Iranian opposition, Mujahedin-e Khalq (PMOI/MEK).
It is a fact that the main target of Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and the
security forces were their main rival, the MEK. The massacre of political
prisoners was a turning point in the bloody 40-year history of the regime. No
Iranian will ever forget or forgive what amounts to the worst crime against
humanity in post-World War II. As Amnesty International wrote last summer, the
statute of limitations does not apply to such crimes.
It is only after it perpetrates are hauled before an International criminal
court, as a reminder for future generations, that this case will be put to
rest. It took 28 years before the Iranian Resistance opened the case with a
call from Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of
Resistance (NCRI), for a worldwide campaign on behalf of the fallen heroes of
1988. It was named the “Campaign for Justice.”
“Death Commission”
The summer of 1988 was the bloodiest and as described by Khomeini’s then
successor, Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri, the “greatest crime committed in
the history of the Islamic Republic.” Khomeini hastily put together a
four-member committee to exterminate all political prisoners.
In the shocking audiotape, Montazeri can be heard telling a meeting of the
“Death Commission” members in August 1988 that they are responsible for a crime
against humanity. He said: “The greatest crime committed under the Islamic
Republic, for which history will condemn us, has been committed by you. Your
names will in the future be etched in the annals of history as criminals.”
His son Ahmad finally showed the courage to release an audiotape of his
father’s encounter with members of the “Death Commission” in August 2016. The
commission oversaw the massacre of political prisoners in the summer of 1988.
Montazeri, the handpicked successor of Khomeini, was sacked for his public
objections to mass executions in 1988. He spent the rest of his life under
house arrest and died in 2009.
Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi, maybe the most shameless of the four members of the
“Death Commission”, has since admitted his role in the massacre and boasted
that he was proud to “carry out God’s verdict and has not lost sleep over what
he did.” He was a member of the “Commission” in the summer of 1988.
Pour-Mohammadi was Hassan Rouhani’s Justice Minister in his first cabinet and
was then promoted to special adviser to the head of mullahs’ Judiciary, Ebrahim
Raisi, who was another member of the Commission.
On the anniversary of World Day against the Death Penalty, the President-elect
of the Iranian opposition, Maryam Rajavi reminded the world that Raisi had
promoted by Ali Khamenei to be the Judiciary Chief. She also said that
international bodies have reported 253 executions in Iran in 2018 alone.
She added that this is but a small part of the actual number since many of the
executions in Iran are carried out secretly. There were at least 4 male and
female juveniles among those executed for the crime they had committed as
minors. They reached 18 while they were on the death row.
Mrs. Rajavi emphasized that in the same period, the number of political
executions has increased, remarkably.
Last June, in a criminal plot by prison authorities, a political prisoner was
viciously murdered in Fashafouyeh (Greater Tehran) Prison. In July and August,
three prisoners were executed in Dezful and Kazerun. And last November, Amnesty
International reported the secret executions of 22 Arab compatriots.
Let’s hope that before another World Day Against Death Penalty is upon us, the
mullahs’ regime is overthrown and the perpetrators of the crime against
humanity are brought to justice.
(source: ncr-iran.org)
*******************
4 Iran activists freed from death penalty
The 4 were initially accused of “spying” on military bases but their
indictments changed in October 2018 to spreading “corruption on earth” — one of
the most severe charges under Iran’s Islamic law.
4 detained Iranian environmental activists have been cleared of a charge that
could carry the death penalty, state news agency IRNA reported on Sunday.
“The charge of ‘corruption on earth’ was dropped in recent days for 4 detained
environmentalists,” said Mohammad Hossein Aghasi, a lawyer who represents some
of the activists.
“Of course their other charges still remain,” he was quoted as saying.
The four were initially accused of “spying” on military bases but their
indictments changed in October 2018 to spreading “corruption on earth” — one of
the most severe charges under Iran’s Islamic law.
They still face other security-related charges.
3 other defendants are accused of espionage and another has been charged
with “conspiracy against national security”, according to IRNA.
Another activist arrested last year, Kavous Seyed Emami, a 63-year-old renowned
university professor with dual Iranian and Canadian citizenship, allegedly
killed himself in prison in February 2018, a fortnight after his arrest.
His widow, Maryam Mombeini, left Iran for Canada last week and was reunited
with her 2 sons after being unable to leave for months, according to Canadian
officials.
In September last year, the head of Iran’s environment department, Isa
Kalantari, called for clarification on the fate of the activists.
“We are not asking for their release or for their execution, we just want their
fate to be clarified. This is part of their citizenship rights,” he said.
(source: The Hindu)
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