Jan. 22
ENGLAND:
Nearly 1/2 of Londoners support death penalty for terrorists
Nearly 1/2 of Londoners back bringing back the death penalty for terrorist
murders, a shock poll reveals today. The YouGov survey for the Standard showed
49 % of adults in the capital support capital punishment for murder during
terrorist attacks, such as the killing of Fusilier Lee Rigby.
Men are more hardline, with 55 % believing terrorist killers should be
executed, compared to 42 % of women.
Older people are more likely to favour the death penalty for such offences,
according to the poll carried out after the Paris atrocity in which three
terrorists killed 17 people.
54 % of Londoners aged 40 and over supported the re-introduction of the death
penalty which was abolished in 1965, while the figure for the 25 to 39-year-old
age group was 44 %, and 38 % among 18 to 24-year-olds.
The findings, which also showed a large proportion of Londoners, 42 %, opposed
to the death penalty even for deadly bombings, sparked calls for a debate at
Westminster on toughening Britain's anti-terror laws.
"Parliament should listen carefully and be prepared to debate this," said
Enfield North Conservative MP Nick de Bois, though he stressed it would not
currently be allowed under the European Convention on Human Rights.
Esher and Walton Conservative MP Dominic Raab, though, warned: "Bringing back
the death penalty would be the propaganda coup of the century for Al-Qaeda and
ISIL."
Tanya Abraham, of YouGov, stressed the issue "clearly divided" people.
She added: "More men, Conservative and UKIP supporters, and older people think
they should bring it back, while more women, Labour and Liberal Democrat
supporters think it should remain off the statute books."
Prime ministers and foreign ministers were meeting in London today to discuss
how to step up the battle against the Islamic State (previously known as ISIL)
which has seized control of large swathes of Iraq and Syria.
David Cameron told his Iraqi counterpart Haider al-Abadi that the UK would do
"everything we can" to stop the flow of foreign fighters who were travelling to
join IS and cause "mayhem".
Speaking in No 10 he said: "The threat from extremist terror you face in Iraq
is also a threat we face here in the UK."
The focus of the talks were on military support for Iraqi government and
Kurdish fighters and cutting off IS finances.
Mr al-Abadi insisted his country's forces had reversed IS advances and wanted
to wipe out the extremist group but was facing a "real crisis".
Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond stressed it would be "months" before Iraqi
security forces were ready to take on IS fighters in significant new combat
operations.
Hundreds of young British Muslim men, and some women, have travelled to join IS
and other terror groups and a small number are feared to have returned to the
UK with plans to launch terror strikes here.
US-led coalition forces have carried out more than 1,000 air strikes inside
Iraq - around 100 conducted by RAF aircraft - against IS and other terror
groups.
* YouGov interviewed 1,034 adults in London between January 19 and 21.
(source: London Evening Standard)
INDONESIA:
Chan loses bid for death penalty clemency
Australians Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan will face an Indonesian firing
squad together unless an extraordinary court appeal or diplomatic efforts
succeed.
Bali court officials on Thursday confirmed presidential clemency had been
denied to Chan, 2 weeks after his fellow Bali 9 ringleader, Sukumaran, received
the same news.
It extinguishes his last hope of being spared the death penalty for the 2005
heroin trafficking plot.
Denpasar District Court spokesman Hasoloan Sianturi said the letter arrived at
1.20pm local time on Thursday.
"The letter's content is Presidential Decree Number 9/G year 2015 regarding
clemency rejection for Andrew Chan," he said.
"The head of the district court then told me to register and make a
disposition, and tell the convicted.
"The presidential decree was for only 1 convict, Andrew Chan."
Lawyers for the Sydney pair are preparing an application for a judicial review,
an extraordinary appeal to re-consider their case.
Earlier on Thursday, Jakarta-based lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis and
Melbourne-based barrister Julian McMahon met Chan and Sukumaran at Kerobokan
prison.
Mr Lubis told reporters they had discussed plans for a judicial review, a
mechanism that's in dispute among Indonesia's courts.
The constitutional court has allowed for prisoners to request more than one
judicial review to re-examine their circumstances, but the supreme court argues
the reviews should only be considered once.
Mr Lubis says the move is about ensuring all avenues available to Sukumaran and
Chan are explored.
"The constitutional court realises the courts must give the maximum ... effort
to ensure all convicted people receive justice," he said.
Chan, 31, and Sukumaran, 33, desperately want a 2nd chance to use their lives
for good, he said.
"I believe there have been lots of changes within them and I had truly hoped
that their clemency requests would be granted by the president," he said.
While the judicial review submission is being prepared, Bali's courts are also
considering whether the pair could personally front the court for the hearing.
Mr Lubis says the petitioner is usually required to front the courts, but in
this case, the prisoners are from the super-maximum section and would require
additional security.
The courts will make a decision next week.
On Sunday, an Indonesian and 5 foreigners were executed by firing squad despite
pleas for clemency.
Ahead of the executions, Indonesia's attorney-general said Sukumaran's
execution was on hold until Chan's clemency decision because they would be
executed together.
President Joko Widodo argues Indonesia is in the grips of a drug crisis that
needs the "shock therapy" of enacting the death penalty.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has urged Mr Joko to show mercy to the 2 "well and
truly reformed" Australians.
Federal opposition leader Bill Shorten said Labor would continue to support
government representations for both Chan and Sukumaran.
"We urge clemency for anyone facing the death penalty, whoever and wherever
they may be," he said.
(source: sbs.com.au)
*******************************
133 convicts in Indonesia awaiting execution, says law minister
A total of 133 convicts are on death row in Indonesia, the country's Law and
Human Rights Minister Yasonna H. Laoly said on Wednesday, days after the
execution of 6 people sparked a fierce debate and a diplomatic backlash.
"We want to give accurate information, the number of death-row convicts in
various prisons is 133," Laoly said in a hearing with the House of
Representatives' Commission III on law.
He said 57 of the 133 were drug convicts, 2 were terrorism convicts and 74 were
general-crime convicts.
The 6 people executed on Sunday had been convicted of drug offences and were
the 1st to face the firing squad under the administration of President Joko
"Jokowi" Widodo.
Brazil, the Netherlands, and Nigeria, whose nationals were among the 6
convicts, recalled their ambassadors in protest. Several Indonesian civic
bodies also called for the death penalty to be abolished.
But Jokowi has rejected any possibility of compromise, arguing that rampant
drug use has placed the country in a "state of emergency" over the years.
Attorney General Prasetyo said on Tuesday that following the six executions on
Sunday, the Attorney General's Office would execute 60 more death-row convicts
but he declined to mention when or where the executions would be carried out.
(source: straitstimes.com)
******************
ASF, LEDAP Condemn Execution of 2 Nigerians, Others in Indonesia
Human rights groups, Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEDAP) and Avocats
Sans Frontieres France (ASF France), have condemned the recent execution of 2
Nigerians by the Indonesian government.
The groups gave the condemnation on Wednesday in separate interviews with the
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
NAN reports that the Nigerians, Daniel Enemuo and Solomon Chibuike Okafor, were
executed alongside 5 others for drug trafficking on Monday.
Others executed were from Brazil, Indonesia, Malawi, the Netherlands and
Vietnam.
Mr Chino Obiagwu, National Coordinator, LEDAP, condemned the executions, noting
that the organisation was totally against the use of the death penalty under
any circumstances.
According to him, the use of the death penalty, whether in Nigeria or anywhere
in the world is very cruel, especially in a situation where there is no
guarantee for fair trial.
On her part, Head of Office, ASF France, Nigeria, Mrs Angela Uwandu, said the
organisation was in the fore front for the abolishment of the death penalty.
She noted that the deceased persons alleged crimes did not fall within the
serious crimes under the international law.
Uwandu said:"We condemn the execution of the Nigerians.
"However, it is an opportunity to remind the Nigerian government that the death
penalty should not have any place in our criminal justice system in the 21st
century," she said.
(source: All Africa News)
*************************
Firing squads becoming more common in Indonesia, experts say
They walk under darkness to a remote, open place - with a man of God speaking
words of comfort.
Then, if they like, a blindfold. Another choice: To stand or sit.
Then the crack of rifle fire.
Death by firing squad is making a comeback in Indonesia, according to experts
and local media accounts.
The archipelago nation executed 6 people last weekend - following an unofficial
moratorium in 2014. That doesn't bode well for Heather Mack and Tommy Schaefer,
the Chicago-area pair on trial for murder in Bali - should they be convicted.
"The relevance to the case involving the Chicagoans is that Indonesia does
carry out its death penalty from time to time and the pattern is irregular,"
said Northwestern University Professor Jeffrey A. Winters, who specializes in
Southeast Asian politics. "So the threat is real."
A pregnant Mack, 19, and Schaefer, 21, are being tried separately at the
Denpasar District Court on Bali. They could face the firing squad if found
guilty of the premeditated murder of Mack???s mother, Sheila von Wiese-Mack,
62, last August.
Last week, Cook County Judge Neil H. Cohen, noting the potential peril Mack
faces, authorized the release of $150,000 in trust-fund cash to help pay for
the teen's defense.
The 6 people put to death - including 5 foreigners - were all convicted drug
traffickers. Indonesia executed 5 people in 2013, but none in the 4 years
before that, according to Death Penalty Worldwide, run by Cornell University
Law School. The executions drew widespread condemnation from Amnesty and other
human-rights groups.
"This is a seriously regressive move and a very sad day," Rupert Abbott,
Amnesty's research director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, said in a
statement. "The new administration has taken office on the back of promises to
make human rights a priority, but the execution of 6 people flies in the face
of these commitments."
On the eve of the executions, Indonesian Attorney General Muhammad Prasetyo
told reporters: "What we do is merely aimed at protecting our nation from the
danger of drugs."
But Winters said that shouldn't necessarily offer comfort to Mack and Schaefer.
Drugs may be of a national concern, but protecting tourism is key on the Island
of Bali, Winters said.
"Bali is the most important tourist center in Indonesia, and the judges there
will be particularly sensitive to maintaining a sense of safety and security in
Bali," the professor said.
And it's possible, Winters said, that Mack's and Schaefer's fates ultimately
might have more to do with politics.
"The pattern appears to be that in recent years [that] whenever the government
needs a major distraction, it uses executions as a way of changing a national
discussion," Winters said, noting Indonesian President Joko Widodo is currently
dealing with a major controversy over his selection for national police chief.
In any case, Mack's and Schaefer's fates won't be decided for some time, with
their trial expected to last from 2 to 4 months.
(source: Chicago Sun-Times)
**************************
Sydney play to donate profits to Bali Nine clemency campaign
Belvoir Street is rushing through a production of the play Bondi Dreaming with
profits to go towards supporting convicted Bali Nine members Andrew Chan and
Myuran Sukumaran through Reprieve Australia. The organisation provides
assistance to people facing the death penalty.
Chan and Sukumaran are now on death row in Indonesia, awaiting the outcome of
Chan's clemency bid. They were both identified as the supposed "ringleaders" of
the operation to smuggle 8.3 kilograms of heroin back to Australia and
sentenced to death in 2006.
When their final appeal was rejected, and with the death penalty looming,
Sydney playwrights Sam Atwell and Nick Bolton decided to bring back the
multiple award-winning play first staged in 2008 at the Seymour Centre.
Bolton believes that the death penalty imposed on the 2 is barbaric and calls
for mercy, as he believes that the pair have "truly reformed themselves after
the mistakes they made in the past".
Bolton met the Chan and Sukumaran in 2011 when he went to Bali before the
play's third season, calling it a "life-changing experience, because they were
not what you thought they would be".
"Both of them had learned Indonesian within the jail and were running several
services for fellow inmates."
This restaging of Bondi Dreaming will have its opening night on January 29,
just two weeks after Belvoir Street signed off on the production, with the cast
and crew working for free.
Bolton said his job is becoming easier by the day as more people undertake a
variety of tasks - helping with publicity or simply selling tickets.
As the decision on the fate of Chan and Sukumaran approaches, Bolton said it's
becoming harder and harder to separate the play from the haunting reality in
Bali. "Anything but the death penalty would be a victory."
(source: Sydney Morning Herald)
IRAN----execution
3 Prisoners Hanged Publicly in Northwestern Iran
3 prisoners were hanged in the public in town of Bonab (Northwestern
220115-BonabIran) reported the Iranian state media. According to the state run
Iranian news agency Mehr, the prisoners were convicted of kidnapping and
murdering a 12 year old girl in October 2014. The public hangings took place
today, Wednesday 21. January.
According to a local website the prisoners were identified as "Hamed",
"Siyavash" and "Ali". The report didn't mention how old the men were.
(source: Iran Human Rights)
***********************
Iran Threatens to Hang Facebook Activist for Insulting Muhammad
Iranian leaders are threatening the imminent hanging of 30-year-old Soheil
Arabi. His great crime? Posting on social media.
Many in the West talk of the "moderation" of Iran's regime. Foreign Minister
Mohamed Zarif flies around the world claiming that Iran is committed to peace,
justice and human rights. That would come as news to the thousands of political
prisoners languishing in Iranian jail for nothing more than advocating freedom
and democracy.
Soheil Arabi is one of those activists whose Facebook posts landed him on death
row. What was Arabi's great "crime"? He is charged with "spreading corruption
on Earth," (mofsed-e-filarz), punishable by death in Iran.
Soheil was first arrested and sentenced to death in November 2013 on the charge
of "insulting the Prophet" (sabb-e-nabi). Article 262 of the Islamic Penal Code
of Iran explains:
Anyone who swears at or commits qazf [false accusation of sexual offenses]
against the Great Prophet [of Islam] (peace be upon him) or any of the Great
Prophets, shall be considered as sab ul-nabi [a person who swears at the
Prophet], and shall be sentenced to the death penalty.
In Iran, there is no freedom of speech. Broadcasting is limited to one
corporation, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), whose head is
appointed by the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. Iranian newspapers are censored
by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.
The last refuge for Iranian activists is Facebook and the Internet. Facebook,
despite being officially banned, has gained a lot of popularity among Iranians
in recent years. They use clever circumvention tools to outfox the regime.
Soheil created his Facebook page in August 2012, naming it "a generation that
does not want to be silent." He criticized the regime as the cause of
socio-eco-political problems in the country.
The charge of mofsed-e-filarz was added to his case when the court deemed that
he had insulted the Prophet on eight different Facebook pages that he
administered.
It was then that his fate was sealed. Article 286 of Islamic Penal Code notes:
Any person, who extensively commits felony against the bodily entity of people,
offenses against internal or international security of the state, spreading
lies...that causes severe disruption in the public order of the state and
insecurity, or causes harsh damage to the bodily entity of people or public or
private properties, or causes distribution of corruption and prostitution on a
large scale, shall be considered as mofsed-e-filarz [corrupt on earth] and
shall be sentenced to death.
The problem is that in Iran, almost any criticism of the system can be regarded
as "disrupting the internal security of the state," and punished by death. This
article has been used to execute thousands of Iranian dissidents since the 1979
Revolution.
Soheil created his Facebook page in August 2012, naming it "a generation that
does not want to be silent."
A few months ago, Iran executed Mohsen Amir-Aslani, who was charged with
insulting the prophet Jonah. Another similar case was the Iranian blogger,
Sattar Beheshti, who was tortured to death in November 2012 for criticizing the
Islamic Republic of Iran on Facebook.
Sharia law is taking lives in Iran, and the Islamic Republic has been
tightening its grip on the Iranian people for 35 years. Iran is a perfect
example of what a religious state is capable of, and why the ideas of democracy
and freedom are not compatible with Sharia law.
A state that doesn't respect its people will not respect its neighbors either.
The brutal Iranian theocracy is not only a threat to its own people but also a
threat to the world. Pressuring the regime and saving Soheil Arabi's life is a
matter of Iranian and global importance.
Mojtaba Safari is an Iranian blogger based in Canada since 2008.
Movements.org is a crowdsourcing platform created by Advancing Human Rights
which connects activists from dictatorships with people around the world with
skills to help them.
(source: The Daily Beast)
UNITED NATIONS:
UN concerned by death penalty for drug crimes in Asia
The office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) is concerned
about the continued use of the death penalty for drug crimes in parts of South
East Asia. The UN rights office has especially urged the Indonesian authorities
to reinstate a moratorium on the death penalty and to conduct a thorough review
of all requests for pardon.
Listen the report by correspondent Peter Kenny:
"Last Sunday, 6 people convicted of drug offences were executed in Indonesia in
spite of several national and international appeals," said the commission's
spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani.
"60 others remain on death row for drug-related offences," she said. "We are
particularly concerned about the respect for due process in such cases after
the President reportedly stated that he will reject all requests for clemency
for drug-related crimes."
Shamdasani said that Indonesia has ratified the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights. The Covenant says that anyone sentenced to death shall
have the right to seek pardon or commutation of the sentence.
According to international human rights jurisprudence, capital punishment can
only be applied to the crime of murder or intentional killing and not to drug
offences.
(source: Vatican Radio)
************************
Death penalty in SE Asia
We are concerned about the continued use of the death penalty for drug crimes
in parts of South East Asia. Last Sunday, 6 people convicted of drug offences
were executed in Indonesia in spite of several national and international
appeals. 60 others remain on death row for drug-related offences. We are
particularly concerned about the respect for due process in such cases after
the President reportedly stated that he will reject all requests for clemency
for drug-related crimes.
According to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which
Indonesia has ratified, "anyone sentenced to death shall have the right to seek
pardon or commutation of the sentence." We urge the Indonesian authorities to
reinstate a moratorium on the death penalty and to conduct a thorough review of
all requests for pardon with a view to commutation of sentence.
Today, a court in Vietnam also reportedly sentenced 8 people, including 2
women, to death for heroin trafficking. We call on Vietnam not to carry out
these executions, to ensure judicial review of the sentences, and to consider
elimination of the death penalty for drug-related crimes.
In South East Asia, drug-related crimes are punishable by death in Indonesia,
Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. While these crimes are also
punishable by death in Brunei Darussalam, the Lao Peoples' Democratic Republic
and Myanmar, these 3 countries are abolitionist in practice and have not
carried out executions since 1957, 1989 and 1988, respectively.
According to international human rights jurisprudence, capital punishment can
only be applied to the crime of murder or intentional killing. Drug-related
offences, economic crimes, political crimes, adultery, and offences relating to
consensual same-sex relationships do not fall under the threshold of "most
serious crimes" required under international law for application of the death
penalty.
(source: Scoop News)
**************************
Diplomacy and the death penalty in Indonesia
When Socrates, Plato and Aristotle deemed that to some extent the death penalty
was appropriate, their thoughts apply to the present situation in Indonesia.
Capital punishment in this country is reserved only for serious crimes, such as
narcotics and terrorism. Countries practicing the death penalty in the world,
including those in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, share similar
arrangements.
Interestingly, most executions have been carried out for narcotics cases in
those countries. The death sentence is considered the last resort after a
selective and prolonged legal process.
Apart from its complicated process, the death penalty also has limitations.
Chief among them is the right of clemency where a death-row convict may be
pardoned.
Qualifications, for example, children and pregnant women are exempt, serve as
additional restrictions as prescribed in the ratified 1966 International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Nevertheless, many human rights activists firmly contend that the death penalty
violates basic human rights in all aspects.
In Indonesia, this claim was dismissed in 2007 when the Constitutional Court
decided that human rights do have limitations and as a consequence, in some
cases, the death penalty is acceptable.
In practice, there is relatively little issue about the death penalty for
Indonesian convicts, yet when it comes to foreigners, matters are more
sensitive and complicated.
With bilateral relations at stake, the death penalty raises a problem of its
own, particularly on the issue of clemency and consular notification.
As history has shown, diplomatic and political considerations have played a
considerable role in the process of granting clemency.
On many occasions, the president has to make tough and last-minute decisions.
Non-legal reasons such as reciprocity, aid and bilateral support have to
compete with rule-of-law elements such as protection of Indonesians abroad, the
gravity of the crime and the supremacy of the law.
Consular notification is also prone to complexities if not properly exercised.
The United States had to learn this the hard way.
In the 2004 Avena and Other Mexican Nationals case, Mexico argued before the
International Court of Justice (ICJ) that the US failed to inform 51 Mexican
nationals of their right to consular access including those sentenced to death
row in the US.
The ICJ ruled in favour of Mexico and upheld Article 36 of the 1963 Vienna
Convention on Consular Relations.
Currently, an official publication of the US Department of State that is
intended as instructions for federal, state and local enforcement and other
officials mandates the right to consular access, particularly for death
penalty-related crimes.
Another issue regarding consular notification is re-notification, whether a
foreign mission is required to be re-notified when their nationals are
sentenced to death or when their clemency requests are denied and the time of
execution nears.
The US encourages its officials to carry out re-notification and Singapore
mandates 14 days of re-notification in the case of execution. Japan and
Malaysia, on the other hand, do not practice re-notification.
The complexity of the death penalty also comes from international pressure.
With the abolition of the death penalty gaining more support, Indonesia has
come in for criticism for maintaining capital punishment.
In the diplomatic arena, much of this complexity occupies the work of the
Foreign Ministry. As the assigned window to the international world, the
ministry functions not only as messenger but also defender of its nationals as
mandated by law.
Efforts are continuously carried out to seek relevant legal and political
justification both at home and abroad.
At home, diplomatic notes and visits from foreign missions requesting,
relaying, confirming and, in some instances, negotiating clemency have become
the Foreign Ministry's day-to-day business.
The arguments put forward in response to these diplomatic notes and visits may
seem classic and clich???d, but they are nonetheless valid.
One of the most common arguments conveyed is the notion of an independent
judicial system that is beyond the ministry's reach.
It argues that the legal process is distinct from the political process and the
death penalty is a product of the legal process.
Even in the context of clemency where international politics may come into play
the final decision is in the hands of the president who holds the prerogative
to grant mercy.
As if the arguments are not clear and repeated enough, diplomatic notes and
visits remain adamant. The persistency of foreign missions in exercising their
consular duty is second to none.
Ideas such as good bilateral relations, respect for human rights and
extradition are thrown in, hoping for a possible loophole, if not a miracle.
Ironically, if the situation was reversed, Indonesian missions abroad would
simply do the same in exercising their consular function to assist Indonesian
nationals.
In some extreme conditions, the Indonesian government has had to go the extra
mile to save its nationals from execution, such as those in the Middle East and
Malaysia.
In conclusion, as of now the death penalty remains the law of the land in
Indonesia and as such diplomacy works in support of enforcing the law.
Albert Einstein put it succinctly in his famous statement that nothing is more
destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing
laws that cannot be enforced.
(source: Opinion; Sunan J. Rustam works for the Foreign Ministry at the
political, legal and security affairs desk----The Malaysian Insider)
SAUDI ARABIA:
How Saudi Arabia's harsh legal punishments compare to the Islamic State's
Following the lashing of blogger Raif Badawi and leaked footage that showed the
public execution of a woman accused of beating her daughter, Saudi Arabia's
harsh interpretation of sharia law and its use of capital punishment have come
under international scrutiny.
For many, the Saudi justice system sounds not unlike that of the Islamic State,
the extremist Islamist group which has struck fear in much of the Middle East.
This week, Middle East Eye, a Web site that focuses on news from the region and
is frequently critical of Saudi Arabia, contrasted a set of legal punishments
recently announced by the Islamic State with the corresponding punishments in
Saudi Arabia.
While Saudi Arabia isn't particularly forthcoming about its use of capital
punishment (and Middle East Eye doesn't cite its source) and accurate
information from within the Islamic State's self-proclaimed caliphate is hard
to ascertain, information from news sources and human rights organizations
suggest the chart is at least broadly accurate.
Crime Islamic State punishment Saudi Arabia punishment
blasphemy death death
treason death death
murder death death
acts of homosexuality death death
slander 80 lashes judge's discretion
drinking alcohol 80 lashes judge's discretion
adultery (if married) death by stoning death by stoning
adultery (if note married) 100 lashes and 1-year exile 100 lashes
stealing amputation of hand amputation of right hand
banditry (theft) amputation of hand and foot amputation of hand and foot
banditry (theft and murder) crucifixion death
One key difference between the Islamic State and Saudi Arabia, of course, is
that the latter is a key U.S. ally in the region - and a member of the U.S.-led
coalition fighting the Islamic State. Some experts argue that the
fundamentalist brand of Islam practiced by both has theological links, however,
and Riyadh's recent crackdown has been interpreted as an act of appeasement for
Saudi hard-liners.
Saudi Arabia's own concern about the Islamic State is likely genuine (plans to
build an enormous wall along its border with Iraq are a good sign of that), but
for many Americans, the extremist group's rise is also bringing with it a
renewed skepticism about American allies in the region.
(source: Adam Taylor writes about foreign affairs for The Washington Post)
_______________________________________________
DeathPenalty mailing list
DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu
http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty
Search the Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/deathpenalty@lists.washlaw.edu/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A free service of WashLaw
http://washlaw.edu
(785)670.1088
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
