[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 2



MALAYSIA:

Hope for death row man who has been behind bars 19 years


Death row convict Sapuan Hanim, whose execution has been delayed for more
than nine years while he patiently awaited word from the Pardons Board,
was today (Oct 2, 2006) granted leave to make an amendment to his
application.

The amendment to rename the Superintendent of Prisons Department as the
new respondent would pave way for 54-year-old Sapuan to raise additional
grounds in support of his application for his death sentence to be
commuted to a life sentence, due to the delay in executing him.

Naming the Superintendent of Prisons is necessary because the Deputy
Public Prosecutor, (DPP) who had been previously named as the respondent
to his application, plays no role in the execution of the Sapuan's death
penalty.

Sapuan's lawyer, Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, today appealed to the five-man panel
of judges to grant his leave application to raise additional grounds in
support of the application, namely that:

- the prolonged, inordinate delay in the execution of the sentence is
unconstitutional, contrary to Article 5(1) of the Federal Constitution;
and

- on the special facts and circumstances of the case, it would be unfair,
unjust and against the public policy to proceed with the execution of the
death sentence.

The panel was headed by Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Datuk Richard
Malanjum, Datuk Alaudin Mohd Sheriff, Datuk Arifin Zakaria, Datuk Azmel
Maamor and Datuk Hashim Mohd Yusoff.

Hisyam urged the Federal Court to intervene with a view to set aside the
death sentence imposed by the High Court in Johor Baru on Feb 15, 1992.

Sapuan, who was found guilty of trafficking in 6.71kg of cannabis at
11.20pm, inside an unnumbered surau on Jalan Parit Ismail, Benut, Pontian,
on Nov 12, 1987, has been under remand since his arrest on Nov 12, 1987, -
meaning he has been behind bars for nearly 19 years.

However, DPP Yaacob Md Sam clarified however that the duration of Sapuan's
prison term has to be calculated from the time his appeal to the Supreme
Court was dismissed, on May 19, 1997.

Hisyam who appealed for the death sentence to be permanantly stayed
pending the hearing of the appplication, also urged the court to allow the
Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) and the Bar Council to present their
views on the case.

In his affidavit, Sapuan said he was uncertain when and if his death
sentence will be commuted.

"The unexplainable unsurety and prolonged delay has caused much mental
suffering and psychological stress and torture while under solitary
confinement."

He claimed it lowered his self-esteem and dignity to keep surviving under
confinement while staring at death for the past 14 years and seven months,
and his anguish continues.

The Court, after granting the application, will hear the case at a date to
be fixed later.

(source: Sun2Surf)






NIGERIA:

Nigeria grants reprieve to more than 100 death row prisoners


More than 100 Nigerians condemned to death had their sentences commuted to
life imprisonment Sunday as part of independence day celebrations in the
West African country, officials said.

Justice Minister Bayo Ojo said in a statement that the decision was meant
to commend the "courage and patriotism" of prisoners who refused to escape
during jailbreaks at 2 prisons in June 2005.

107 death row prisoners received life sentences, and 23 prisoners who had
committed minor offenses were released. Sunday was Nigeria's 46th
anniversary of its independence from Britain.

On last year's independence day, Nigeria released prisoners with terminal
diseases such as AIDS and said it would institute rehabilitation centers
for ex-convicts, both moves to decongest overcrowded prisons.

About 43,500 prisoners are crowded into Nigerian jails designed to hold a
total of 38,500 people.

Despite Nigeria's vast oil wealth, prison conditions are squalid and the
national justice system is so clogged with cases that it can take up to 10
years for a case to come to trial. Almost two-thirds of inmates have not
yet been tried.

(source: Associated Press)






PAKISTAN:

Musharraf refuses to pardon British murderer


President Pervez Musharraf has refused to intervene to save the life of a
Briton condemned to death in Pakistan for a crime he almost certainly did
not commit. The last stay of execution on Mirza Tahir Hussain expired at
dawn yesterday, and although the 36-year-old from Leeds was believed to be
alive last night, he is now in imminent peril.

Hussain was framed by the Pakistani police, who "fabricated evidence in a
shameless manner" against him, according to one of the country's most
senior judges. His family has been petitioning General Musharraf for a
pardon. But in an interview with ITV at the end of his visit to Britain,
he said he could not overturn the death sentence.

The Briton, accused of the murder of a taxi driver, was acquitted by
Pakistan's secular courts, only for the Islamic sharia courts to intervene
and condemn him to death. He has spent the last 18 years in a tiny cell
waiting to die.

"When he comes to Europe, President Musharraf likes to portray himself as
an enlightened leader, but when he gets back to Pakistan, he is putting my
brother to death under Taliban-style laws," said Hussain's brother, Amjad.

"I am not a dictator," Gen Musharraf told ITV's Sunday Edition. "I cannot
violate a court judgement, whether you like the court or not."

This suggests he is ignorant of his country's constitution, article 45 of
which states: "The President shall have power to grant pardon, reprieve
and respite, and to remit, suspend or commute any sentence passed by any
court, tribunal or other authority".

Amjad Hussain said: "We are asking for Gen Musharraf to show mercy because
that is the last option open to us to save my brother. The truth is that
this is a miscarriage of justice."

Police planted evidence on Hussain and doctored witness statements,
according to a 59-page ruling by Mr Justice Abdul Wahid Siddiqui, one of
three judges at the final hearing. The prosecution introduced "false
witnesses", one of whom "told a blatant lie" on the stand.

Hussain, aged 18, had returned to Pakistan in 1988 for the 1st time since
moving to Britain as a baby. Arriving at the Rawalpindi late at night, he
hailed a taxi to his family village - a trip few Pakistanis would risk
with an unknown driver in the dark.

Later that night he led police to the body of the taxi driver. Hussain has
always maintained that the driver pulled a gun on him and tried to
sexually assault him. He resisted and in the struggle the gun went off,
killing the driver.

Mr Justice Siddiqui said the police decided to fabricate evidence against
Hussain "when all negotiations had failed" - a clear reference to attempts
to elicit bribes. Hussain was "an innocent raw youth, not knowing the
mischief and filth in which the police of this country is engrossed," the
judge wrote.

There is now little keeping Hussain from the hangman. It is believed he
may have a few weeks' respite because it is the Muslim holy month of
Ramadan, when executions are traditionally not carried out. But this is
tradition, not law.

(source: The Independent)

***************

Musharraf: I cannot quash Briton's death sentence


Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf said yesterday he could not overturn
the death penalty imposed on a British national by a sharia court, despite
renewed appeals from his family.

Mirza Tahir Hussain, 36, from Leeds, was due to be hanged yesterday for
the murder of a taxi driver 18 years ago but had a stay of execution
because it fell during the holy month of Ramadan.

Mr Musharraf told ITV's The Sunday Edition: "I am not a dictator ... I
cannot violate a court judgment, whether you like the court or not."

Legal experts in Pakistan have said he could quash the verdict.

(source: The Guardian)






INDIA:

Guru's death sentence condemned


In Srinagar today, speakers at a largely attended seminar, took strong
exception to the death sentence awarded by a Delhi court to a Kashmiri
youth, Muhammad Afzal Guru, while falsely implicating him in Indian
parliament attack case in 2001.

The seminar was organized by Jammu and Kashmir Muslim League and presided
over by its Chairman, Mussarrat Alam Butt. It was addressed besides others
by senior Kashmiri Hurriyat leader, Syed Ali Gilani, Jammu and Kashmir
High Court Bar Association President, Mian Abdul Qayyum, the President of
Coalition of Civil Society, Pervez Imroz and prominent Advocate, Ghulam
Nabi Hagroo. The speakers pointed out that if the verdict was implemented,
it would further deteriorate ground situation in occupied Kashmir.

(source: Kashmir Media Service)