Rick Halperin
Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:33:39 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
July 18 ST. KITTS & NEVIS: Condemned - 7 on death row at HMP Superintendent of Her Majestys Prison (HMP) in Basseterre, Franklyn Dorset, reported yesterday that the facility now accommodates seven men who have been sentenced to death by hanging. On Tuesday, Justice Albert Redhead ordered that Louis "Tooloo" Gardener, Sheldon "Hatcher" Isaac, Romeo "Buncum" Cannonier and Ruedeney "Denney" Williams "be hanged by the neck until dead", for the murder of Gavin "Magilla" Gilbert of Saddler's Village. Dorset revealed that the other three condemned prisoners are Travis Duport, Al Laplace and Everson Mitchum. (source: Sun St. Kitts) EUROPEAN UNION/IRAN: EU condemns Iran on death penalty before atom talks The European Union criticised Iran on Friday for a spate of executions and plans to extend the scope of the death penalty, a day before it leads international talks on Tehran's disputed nuclear programme. The 27-nation bloc, which frequently issues such condemnations on the eve of meetings with Iranian officials, voiced concern over reports that 10 Iranians were publicly executed last week alone. It also signalled concerns about a parliamentary bill which it said would extend the range of offences carrying the death penalty to include the creation of websites deemed to disturb the "psychological security of society". "The bill makes a disproportionate link between the acts committed and the penalty imposed and sets out to brutally restrict the exercise of freedom of expression," the EU said in a statement. "The Iranian authorities have doubled the number of executions from 2006 to 2007, without achieving anything but a worsening crime rate," it said, urging an immediate halt on executions and a moratorium on the death penalty. EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana is due to meet chief Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili in Geneva on Saturday for talks aimed at clarifying Iran's reply to an international offer of trade, technical and other incentives if it suspends uranium enrichment. Solana will be accompanied by officials from six major powers -- United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany. In a significant policy shift, Washington will be sending a senior envoy for the 1st time. Iran rejects suspicions it wants the atom bomb. While Iranian officials have ruled out any suspension of enrichment before the meeting, European diplomats believe they have seen signs from Tehran that it is keen to resolve the stand-off. (source: Reuters) *************** Application of the death penalty in Iran----Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union The European Union is deeply concerned by the news of the public execution of ten Iranians during the week beginning 7 July 2008 alone. It is also worried about the parliamentary bill to extend the range of offences carrying the death penalty, in particular to include the establishment of websites disturbing the "psychological security of society", as it is worded. The bill makes a disproportionate link between the acts committed and the penalty imposed and sets out to brutally restrict the exercise of freedom of expression. Being firmly committed to universal abolition of the death penalty, the EU strongly condemns its application in Iran and the parliamentary bill. The European Union reaffirms its opposition to capital punishment under any circumstances. The death penalty offends human dignity. There is also no irrefutable evidence that it has any deterrent effect, while any miscarriage of justice in its use is irreversible and irreparable. The Iranian authorities have doubled the number of executions from 2006 to 2007, without achieving anything but a worsening crime rate. The European Union urges Iran to respect international human rights standards, put an immediate stop to all executions and introduce a moratorium with the aim of abolishing the death penalty, in accordance with the resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 18 December 2007. It calls on the Iranian parliament to withdraw its bill and support a thorough overhaul of judicial practice, making for more lenient sentences. The Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, align themselves with this declaration. * Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process. (source: France Diplomatie, press release) AUSTRALIA: PM Kevin Rudd Government dilemma over executions THE word from Jakarta is that the 3 ringleaders of the murderous 2002 bombings that devastated Bali's tourism industry and killed more than 200 people - including Indonesians and Australians - are running out of time. Imam Samudra, Ali Gufron (alias Muhklas) and his younger brother, Amrozi, have exhausted their judicial appeals and have declined to seek clemency. Many Australians will be happy with them facing a firing squad. Few would dispute that the bombers have committed truly appalling crimes. Some of the bomb survivors and families of victims will see it as just vengeance, and a few may even see it as not harsh enough. Reactions from most Indonesians will be similar. After all, Jemaah Islamiyah, is a terrorist group that has killed many more Indonesians than foreigners. But, despite universal revulsion for the bombers and their actions, these executions pose a real dilemma for the Rudd Government. The natural political instinct will be to endorse the execution, as Rudd's predecessor, John Howard, did on several occasions. But this directly endangers the 3 Australians who are also waiting on Indonesias death row Myram Sukamaran, Andrew Chan and Scott Rush, members of the Bali Nine group that tried to import around 8kg of heroin into Australia. And we can be sure that whatever Canberra says about the fate of the Bali bombers will be remembered by Indonesia when the young Australians turn comes around. Howard's ill-judged remark that he didn't see why anyone would consider execution barbaric for the bombers was thrown back in his face when Australia sought clemency from Singapore for Australian drugs offender Tran. He was hanged regardless. Sadly, we can be sure that more Australians will find their way on to death rows overseas. There are 2 important points. Although Howard ignored it, opposition to the death penalty has long been firm bipartisan policy, reiterated by successive state and federal governments. Endorsing execution of anyone, anywhere, breaches that principled position. Second, if you oppose the death penalty, there is no room for buts. By exempting certain crimes from the ban, you are endorsing execution. What follows is inevitably a subjective argument about which particular crimes deserve death. This is an argument Australia will not win, not least because in most of South-East Asian drugs offences are, rightly or wrongly, often seen by authorities as being as bad as murder. This means that the Rudd Government, both for high-minded reasons of principle and in order not to endanger the lives of young Australians, must not follow Howard's example and gloat over Indonesia's executions, no matter who is being shot. And it cannot gloss over it by saying that it is an internal matter for Indonesia's legal system, because that is true also of the fate of the Bali 9. Attorney-General Robert McClelland was carpeted for saying it before the election, but let's hope Labor now has the guts to spell it out for Indonesia and everyone: Australia opposes the death penalty for anyone, for any crime, anywhere, anytime. And yes, even for the Bali bombers. (source: Prof Tim Lindsey is director of the Asian Law Centre at the University of Melbourne; Melbourne Herald Sun)