March 30
PAKISTAN:
PHC stays execution of 'terrorist'
The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday stayed the execution of a convicted
terrorist that was scheduled to take place in Kohat prison today (Wednesday).
A military court had awarded death sentence to Fateh Khan after terrorism
charges were proved against him.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth and Justice Muhammad
Younas Thaheem stayed the execution of Fateh Khan till April 5 and issued
notice to the ministries of Interior and Defence to submit replies in the
petition before the next date of hearing.
Zarba Khela, mother of the convicted person and resident of Khyber Agency had
filed the judicial review petition and requested the court to stay her son's
execution. She had earlier received a notice from the Kohat prison that her son
would be executed on Wednesday.
In the petition, she stated that her son was picked up by the security forces
on November 20, 2014 from Sarband area of Peshawar.
She submitted that her son remained missing since then. She said the Peshawar
High Court on March 3, 2016 in her habeas corpus petition issued notices to the
ministries of Defence and Interior and the intelligence agencies with a
directive to submit replies about the whereabouts of her son.
The woman claimed in the petition that on March 25, 2016 she received a notice
from the office of assistant political agent, Bara, Khyber Agency, through the
Kohat prison that her son had been awarded death sentence by a military court
in cases related to terrorism. In the notice, she said her family was asked to
have a last meeting with Fateh Khan on March 29 as he was being executed in
Kohat prison on Wednesday.
In the petition, she prayed the court to stay the execution as she did not know
why her son is being executed and for which crime.
Earlier, the high court had also stayed execution of 2 other alleged terrorist,
who were awarded death sentence by military courts.
Meanwhile, a citizen from Upper Dir district on Tuesday challenged in the
Peshawar High Court (PHC) the award of death sentence to his brother by a
military court.
Ajab Gul, brother of the convicted terrorist Taj Gul, son of Sultan Zareen,
challenged the sentence through his lawyer Arif Jan.
It was stated in the judicial review petition that some five years ago the
family members had handed over Taj Gul to the security forces.
The petition said the family members had met the detainee several times at the
internment centre in Swat. Later, they came to know through the media on March
15 about his death penalty.
The brother of the convict prayed the court to suspend the execution as no
charges were conveyed to the detainee and he was denied the right to defence
during the trial.
As per the army-run Inter-Services Public Relations statement, the convict was
involved in attacking the law-enforcement agencies, which resulted in the
deaths of police constables and levies personnel.
The ISPR said a cache of arms and explosives were recovered from him. It said
the convict had confessed to the offences before the magistrate for which he
was awarded the death sentence.
He was among the 13 convicts whose death sentences were confirmed by Chief of
Army Staff General Raheel Sharif.
According to the ISPR, the condemned terrorists were tried by the military
courts for involvement in the Nanga Parbat attack, Saidu Sharif Airport,
destruction of schools, attacks on the armed forces, law-enforcement agencies
and civilians.
(source: The International News)
**********
Executions Have Skyrocketed In Pakistan As The Country Targets Terror----The
nation is now among the world's top executioners.
Activists from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan carry placards during a
demonstration to mark International Day Against the Death Penalty in Islamabad
on Oct. 10, 2015. Pakistan has executed at least 332 people since bringing back
its death penalty in 2014.
Authorities in Pakistan have detained over 5,000 people since Sunday, when a
deadly bombing killed at least 70 people, including many children, at a public
park in Lahore. The arrests are part of a renewed crackdown on Islamist
militant groups, which Pakistan's government has increasingly targeted after a
terror attack on a school in Peshawar killed over 140 students and staff in
December 2014.
While Pakistan's military touted its more than yearlong offensive against the
Pakistani Taliban as a success late last year, bombings and attacks in the
country have remained constant. The campaign has also been controversial for
its erosion of human rights in Pakistan, as the government ended a 6-year
moratorium on the death penalty in 2014 and began carrying out hundreds of
executions.
The Pakistani government's renewal of the death penalty initially only brought
back executions for terror-related charges. However, in March of last year, the
government expanded capital punishment to almost 30 different crimes.
Since lifting the moratorium, Pakistan has executed at least 332 people and now
finds itself among Iran, Saudi Arabia and China as one of the world's most
prolific executioners. Although Pakistan at first only executed terror
suspects, most of the people it executed in the past year were sentenced for
other crimes.
Activists from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan carry placards during a
demonstration to mark International Day Against the Death Penalty in Islamabad
on Oct. 10, 2015. Problems with Pakistan's judicial system have deepened
concerns about implementation of the death penalty there.
Activists opposing Pakistan's resumption of capital punishment say the change
in policy has been made worse by long-standing failings of the country's legal
system.
"There's very troubling and serious concerns in Pakistan with regard to people
having access to a fair trial," Jameen Kaur, Amnesty International's deputy
director of campaigns for South Asia, told The WorldPost.
The Pakistan judicial system's problems, Kaur says, include restricted access
to lawyers, the admission of evidence that was obtained using torture and
fast-tracked trials. Pakistan changed its constitution following the Peshawar
school attack to allow terror suspects to be charged in military courts, human
rights groups have criticized.
"Proceedings of the military courts do not meet international fair trial
standards," Kaur said. "The military officers presiding in the military courts
are not required to have legal training, so that raises serious concerns."
Pakistan's government has also executed people who were minors when they were
convicted. In 1 case, inmate Shafqat Hussain was executed despite his lawyers'
claims that he was only 14 when he was sentenced to death for murder in 2004
and that his confession was obtained by torture. He was hanged last August.
Another controversial case is that of Abdul Basit, who was convicted of murder
in 2009 before he contracted meningitis in prison and became paralyzed from the
waist down. Pakistani authorities have given him several stays of execution as
they debate his case, including the technicalities of hanging a paraplegic man.
Pakistan's authorities have given no explanation for why they expanded the use
of capital punishment beyond terror charges, but the rise of executions in the
nation comes at a time when many countries have increased their use of the
death penalty. Bot Saudi Arabia and Iran executed more people last year than
any year in decades.
Human rights groups and activists have condemned the shift in Pakistan's
policy, stating that it has done nothing to prevent terror attacks and calling
for the nation to stop executing its prisoners altogether.
Pakistan currently has over 7,000 inmates on death row, according to Amnesty.
The group says it's now waiting to see the fallout of the government's latest
arrests.
(source: Nick Robins-Early, Huffington Post)
MALAYSIA:
Death penalty: Home Ministry says 12 executed in last 6 years
Malaysia has executed 12 out of a total 829 people who were sentenced to death
since 2010, the Home Ministry said today.
In a written parliamentary reply to Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo, the ministry
added that 95 others have received either a royal pardon or had their death
sentence commuted.
"The sentence has been handed out due to the offences of murder, drug
trafficking, smuggling firearms, and also kidnapping," the ministry said.
Gobind had asked the government to give a breakdown on the death sentences
meted out since 2010.
Last week, prison authorities came under criticism for what was described by
Amnesty International as the "secretive" hanging of a 34-year-old man at the
Taiping prison.
This was because Gunasegaran Pitchaymuthu was reportedly given very short
notice regarding his execution.
Discussions and debates to abolish death penalty in Malaysia, especially under
the Dangerous Drugs Act (DDA) had been taking place in Malaysia since 2011, but
no legislative amendments had been proposed to date.
(source: themalaymailonline.com)
***************
Malaysia sentences 829 convicts to death penalty since 2010
Malaysia has sentenced 829 prisoners to death between 2010 and 2016, Deputy
Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said.
Of these as many as 95 were pardoned or given reprieves, while 12 were
executed, the minister said, according to The Star.
"Statistics from the Prisons Department show that between 2010 and February 22,
2016, the courts sentenced 829 prisoners to death for various crimes, including
murder, drug trafficking, firearms trafficking and kidnapping," Zahid, who is
also the home minister, said.
Calls for abolishing capital punishment have been rife in the Muslim majority
country since 2010. The government has said it is willing to review the
mandatory death penalty in certain crimes.
The Malaysian lawyers' forum has also called for a moratorium on executions
pending this review, the report said.
Drug related offences carry the maximum punishment in the country. According to
the Amnesty International, anyone one found carrying 200g or more of cannabis
is automatically presumed guilty of trafficking and awarded death penalty.
"Malaysia keeps its execution numbers secret, but credible sources suggest that
about 1/2 of all death sentences carried out in recent years have been for drug
convictions," the rights organisation has said.
According to Death Penalty Worldwide, the number of individuals currently under
sentence of death is at least 1,043. The organisation says at least 2 people
were executed in 2014, but since then the death penalty hasn't been carried out
in the country.
(source: International Business Times)
**********
TIME TO ABOLISH DEATH PENALTY: 829 SENTENCED TO DEATH SINCE 2010 - ZAHID
Of the 829 prisoners convicted and sentenced to death between 2010 and 2016,
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said that 95 were pardoned
or given reprieves, while 12 were executed.
"Statistics from the Prisons Department show that between 2010 and February 22,
2016, the courts sentenced 829 prisoners to death for various crimes, including
murder, drug trafficking, firearms trafficking and kidnapping," said Ahmad
Zahid, who is also the Home Minister.
This was said in a written response to Gobind Singh Deo (DAP-Puchong).
"The 95 received pardons or a reprieve after submitting appeals to the Yang
di-Pertuan Agong, rulers or state governors," Zahid added.
Since 2010, the government has said that it is willing to review the mandatory
death penalty, with a view to its possible abolition.
The Malaysian Bar has urged for a moratorium on executions pending this review.
(source: malaysia-chronicle.com)
IRAQ:
ISIS beheads another Peshmerga as Kurds back Iraqi army in Makhmour offensive
The Islamic State published a video purportedly showing a Kurdish militant of
the group beheading a Peshmerga hostage before a crowd in Mosul, and
threatening to kill 2 other Peshmerga prisoners who kneel before him.
The video was released as ISIS faces an Iraqi Army offensive on villages in
Makhmour that is seen as a 1st step of a war to liberate Mosul, the ISIS
stronghold in Iraq since it was captured by the militants in June 2014.
Peshmerga units and a US Marine base in the area have been providing backing
and artillery support to the Iraqi forces in their fight.
In the 6-minute-video published Tuesday, a militant in Kurdish clothes is shown
beheading 1 of the 3 Peshmerga hostages.
The murderer verbally attacks Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani and the
United States.
Since ISIS attacked the Kurdistan Region in August 2014, igniting a war with
Iraq's Kurds that is still ongoing, the group has released several videos
showing the beheadings of Peshmerga soldiers.
In the previous such release, a video published in October showed the
beheadings of 4 Peshmerga in Hawija, at the site where US Special Forces and
Peshmerga fighters had freed 70 Iraqi Army soldiers from ISIS.
ISIS reportedly had a steady source of Kurdish recruits until it attacked the
Kurds.
(source: rudaw.net)
SAUDI ARABIA:
Saudi government 'wants to EXECUTE gay people who show their sexuality in
public & online'
Saudi law makers could impose the death penalty on gay people who show their
sexuality in public and on social media, according to reports.
The Saudi government is hoping to impose capital punishment on homosexuals, it
has been claimed
The government in the Sunni Kingdom is reportedly demanding tougher punishments
on those found guilty and claimed social media has caused a boom in
homosexuality.
According to Okaz newspaper, the last 6 months has seen 35 cases of
homosexuality and 50 cases of cross-dressers as well as cases of "sexual
perversion??? in Saudi Arabia.
The judiciary reportedly also claimed there has been a large rise in "perverts"
displaying "sins and obscenities" on social media in the Sunni Kingdom.
It comes after a Saudi man was arrested this week when he raised the rainbow
flag outside his home in Jeddah.
The doctor was arrested by religious police within hours of hoisting the flag
in the port city.
But he was released shortly afterwards when he claimed he had no idea what the
pride flag symbolised.
In addition, Okaz reported that a man in his 50s was arrested for making sexual
advances to men online.
He allegedly begged for forgiveness during the police interrogation and said he
would not do it again.
The calls from the law makers has seen a backlash on social media with some
using the hashtag #I_am_gay_will_not_be_deterred.
One tweeted: "I stand with the Saudi Arabian LGBT community."
It is illegal to be gay in Saudi Arabia
Currently, the Saudi government hands out fines, prison sentences and whipping
for being openly gay.
A 2nd conviction automatically merits automatic executions although vigilante
executions are also common.
(source: express.co.uk)
TANZANIA:
Conflicting decisions on death sentence should be resolved
According to section 197 of the Penal Code, whoever is convicted of murder is
liable to suffer death by hanging. Such provision reads, "Any person convicted
of murder shall be sentenced to death."
However, justices of the Court of Appeal, the highest temple of justice in the
country, have not come into a common decision in respect of death sentence,
which is imposed to convicted murderers.
When determining an appeal lodged by Kachukura Nshekanabo, alias Kakobeka, a
resident of Karagwe District in Kagera Region, a panel comprising Justices
Engela Kileo, Sauda Mjasiri and Batuel Mmilla differed on whether the death
sentence was appropriate.
Justice Kileo, who was the chairperson adjudicating the appeal arrived into a
different position, proposing that life sentence was the appropriate punishment
instead of death because such capital penalty is unconstitutional.
However, the rest of members of the panel, that is, Justice Mjasiri and Mmila,
gave nod to the death sentence in that it is appropriate punishment to
murderers and that is the legal position in Tanzania.
Advocate Mathias Rweyemamu, who had appeared for Kakobeka during hearing of the
appeal, is the one who sparked the debate on the sentence.
In one of grounds of appeal that he had advanced to challenge the death
sentence, Mr Rweyemamu has this to say, "The High Court grossly erred in law to
sentence the appellant with death by hanging, the sentence which is
unconstitutional."
He put up a spirited fight armed with Article 14 of the Constitution of the
United Republic of Tanzania on the right to life. The advocate argued that the
death sentence is unconstitutional, inhuman and uncultured.
Mr Rweyemamu sailed through a number of authorities and scholastic articles on
the constitutionality of the death penalty and its non-reversibility once
carried out.
However, in response to the line of arguments advanced by the defence counsel,
the 2 justices of the appeals court were compelled to agree with the
prosecution that the law is settled as per section 197 of the Penal Code that
whoever is convicted of murder shall be sentenced to death by hanging.
They referred to the case of Mbushuu, alias Dominic Mnyaroge and anther V.
Republic (1995) TLR 97 where it was held, "Though the death penalty as provided
by section 197 of the Penal Code offends Article 13 (6) (d) and (e) of the
constitution.... "....it is not arbitrary, hence lawful law and it is
reasonably necessary and it is thus saved by Article 30 (2) of the
Constitution; the death penalty is therefore not unconstitutional."
On a number of occasions in different cases, Justice Kileo has been giving
dissenting judgments in respect of the applicability of section 197 of the
Penal Code over imposition of death sentence to persons convicted of murder.
She has been relying under Article 14 and 15 of the Constitution of the United
Republic of Tanzania, 1977, on the right to live.
Article 14 states, "Every person has the right to live and to the protection of
his life by the society in accordance with the law, whereas Article 15 (1)
stipulates, "Every person has the right to freedom and to live as a free
person."
When giving reasons to support her dissenting judgment on death sentence during
determination of appeal lodged by Dominick Damian, a resident of Bukoba, Kagera
Region, Justice Engela Kileo, was of the opinion that life sentence would be
the proper punishment for murder convicts. She noted that the death penalty was
inherently an inhuman and degrading punishment and it is also so in its
execution, offending Article 13 (6) (d) and (e) of the Constitution of United
Republic of Tanzania.
Article 13 (6) (d) (e) of the Constitution reads, "To ensure equality before
the law, the state authority shall make procedures which are appropriate or
which take into account the following principles, namely: "(d) for the purposes
of preserving the right or equality of human beings, human dignity shall be
protected in all activities pertaining to criminal investigations and process,
and in any other matters for which a person is restrained, or in the execution
of a sentence;" (e) no person shall be subjected to torture or inhuman or
degrading punishment or treatment."
According to her, death was one penalty which makes error irreversible and that
chance of error was inescapable when based on human judgment.
She said that death penalty is the premeditated and cold-blooded killing of a
human being by the state. In Tanzania, she said, "we cannot boast to have a
perfect investigation, prosecution and trial system. We may have condemned
people to death who did not commit the crime."
Justice Kileo further observed that such punishment violates the right to life
as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as the right
to life which is protected in the country's Constitution.
"I am of the humble view also that since we do not give life, then we have no
right to take it, no matter what the other person has done. It is only God who
gives life and it is Him alone who should take it," she concluded.
There are circumstances where life sentence or detainment under the President's
pleasure could be provided in lieu of death sentence in terms of section 26 of
the Penal Code.
Part of section 26 (1) states that if a woman convicted of offence punishable
with death is alleged to be pregnant, the court shall inquire into the fact and
if it is proved to satisfaction of court that she is pregnant the sentence to
be passed on her shall be imprisonment for life instead of a sentence of death.
While (2) states that the sentence of death shall not be pronounced on or
recorded against any person who at the time of the commission of the offence
was under 18 years of age, but in lieu of the sentence of death, the court
shall sentence that person to be detained during the President's pleasure.
(source: The Daily News)
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