Rick Halperin
Sat, 19 Jul 2008 22:43:29 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
July 19 IRAN: Iranian court upholds death sentence against teacher trade unionist Farzad Kamangar could face execution in the near future, according to the web site Human Rights Activists in Iran. On 11 July, the Iranian Supreme Court confirmed the death penalty against Kamangar, a 33-year-old Kurdish teacher and trade unionist. Kamangar's lawyer, Khalil Bahramian, said that although he has not yet received written details of the judgment, the Revolutionary Court verbally confirmed that the death sentence stands. However, Bahramian is determined to continue the fight to free Kamangar. He said, "I will use all legal means to protest this new judgment. If I do not receive a convincing response regarding my client's acquittal, I will complain to the [International Court of Justice at the] Hague." General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen deplored the ruling and expressed Education Internationals concern for Kamangar's fate. "Teachers and trade unionists around the world care deeply about what is happening to our colleagues in Iran. We are carefully monitoring events and feeling a great deal of outrage that fair process and respect for trade union rights is so severely lacking in this case," van Leeuwen said. EI has written to the Iranian authorities urging them to commute the sentence immediately and to re-examine Kamangar's case fairly, as the death penalty is irreparable and no judicial system should run the risk of condemning an innocent person. EI has also been appealing to Iranian government representatives to meet and discuss Kamangar's case, but to date these efforts have been unsuccessful. Kamangar himself released a short message from prison saying, "This verdict has been communicated to me, and prison and judgment enforcement officials have asked me to write a letter requesting forgiveness. The problem is that I have not committed any crime to ask for forgiveness." Kamangar added, "They want to break my morale but I have to say I am doing well and my spirits are high. My only point is that I have never been a member of any political party or group. They want to use me as a scapegoat." Kamangar was arrested in Tehran in July 2006 and since then has been held in various detention centres in Kurdistan, Kermanshah and Tehran. He was charged with Moharebeh, which literally means enmity against God, and with membership in the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK). He was sentenced to death by the Iranian Revolutionary Court on 25 February on the basis of absolutely zero evidence, according to his lawyer, who said that the trial lasted only a few minutes, took place in secret and failed to meet even the minimum standards of fairness. The judgment was met with widespread protest and Kamangars case has been taken up by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and other human rights defenders. Kamangar has published several letters from prison maintaining his innocence and detailing ill-treatment, including such severe torture inflicted in Evin Prison that he had to be transferred to the prison clinic. (source: Infoshop News) INDONESIA----executions Indonesia executes 3 convicted murderers Amid international calls for Indonesia to halt executions of death-row convicts, authorities have executed three condemned murderers, government officials said on Saturday. The 3 were executed around midnight Friday at 2 different locations. The deaths are the latest in a series of capital punishments carried out in recent weeks in Indonesia. In East Java, 59-year-old mother Sumiarsih and her 44-year-old son, Sugeng, were executed by police firing squads before midnight Friday in an open field outside the province's Sidoarjo prison, local prosecutors said. "A team of doctors confirmed the 2 have died," said East Java chief prosecutor Purwosudiro. The bodies of the convicts were placed into coffins and handed over to their relatives for burial, the state-run Antara news agency reported. Both Sumiarsih and Sugeng were sentenced to death in 1989 for murdering a marine family of 5 one year earlier. To cover it up, she and Sugeng threw the bodies into a gorge in Songgoriti, Malang, several kilometers from the scene of attack, but their crime was eventually uncovered. Repeated requests for clemency by Sumiarsih and Sugeng were turned down by former Indonesian presidents Suharto, BJ Habibie, Aburrahman Wahid, Megawati Soekarnoputri and current President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Another murderer on death-row, Usep, was executed by a firing squad in West Java's Banten province. Usep was sentenced to death in March in Banten district court for killing 8 people from May-July 2007. The 3 executions bring to 6 the number executed this year by Indonesian authorities, despite strong opposition and repeated calls from domestic and international human-rights group for Jakarta to abolish capital punishment. Last week, shamanistic serial killer Ahmad Suradji was executed in North Sumatra province. He was sentenced to death a decade ago for murdering 42 women in "black magic" rituals. In late June, 2 Nigerians were executed after they were condemned to death after conviction on drug offences. Attorney-General Hendarman Supandji said there were nearly 60 people on death row in Indonesia, including three Auver the failed "Bali 9" plot to smuggle more than 8 kilograms of heroin to Australia in 2005, as well as 3 Muslim militants sentenced to death for their roles in the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed more than 200 people who were mostly foreign tourists. Nearly 1/2 of those on death row are foreigners. Since 1979, Indonesia has executed as many as 59 people. Executions in Indonesia are by firing squad, usually carried out at night in isolated and undisclosed locations. The prisoner is notified of his execution date at least 72 hours ahead. (source: Khaleej Times) ************** Bali bombers should live: Ramos Horta East Timor President Jose Ramos Horta today said he did not believe the perpetrators of the 2002 Bali bombings should be executed. Indonesian court officials have confirmed that the appeals process for the three condemned members of the Jemaah Islamiah terrorist network has been exhausted. Their only option to avoid a firing squad is an appeal for clemency to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, but the men have repeatedly said they won't do that. Ramos Horta said that despite the horrendous nature of the crime, he did not believe the death penalty was appropriate. "I respect the laws of other countries that might have the death sentence, but we do not have the death sentence," he said. "I can only pray for the souls of those individuals who might be executed in Indonesia over the Bali bombings. "They committed a horrible, cowardly crime. They deserve the severest punishment, but my country will oppose the death penalty." East Timor is one of the few countries in Asia that does not have the death penalty, Ramos Horta said. The 3 bombers - Amrozi, his brother Mukhlas and Imam Samudra - were convicted in 2003 and are being held in an island prison off the south coast of Java. The men remain unrepentant over their lead roles as plotters of the 2002 bombings at bars and nightspots in Bali, killing 202 people including 88 Australians. Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 and occupied it until a bloody split in 1999 that saw an estimated 1,400 people killed. Indonesia this week expressed regret for the violence and accepted a report blaming it for crimes against humanity, but rejected calls for an international tribunal. (source: The Age)