Jan. 24
IRAN----executions
Iran executes 73 activists
Civilians Defense Association in Iran announced that the security authorities
carried out death sentences against 73 detainees in their prisons last month,
including the executions of18 Kurdish political activists.
The Association said in a statement that the death penalty of the 73 prisoners
took place in the period between December 20, 2014 and January 20, 2015,
pointing out that the real numbers may exceed the documented ones.
Speaking to ARA News in this regard, human rights activist Abdul Majid Temir
said: "The tyrannical practices of the Iranian regime and its horrible
violations against basic human rights come amid an international silence.
"The international community is neglecting the sufferings of Iranian
activists."
"The criminal practices of the Iranian authorities committed against dissidents
and politicians raise major concerns in entire Middle East, not only in Iran,"
Temir argued.
Temir pointed out that the Shiite regime persistently interferes in the
internal affairs of all neighboring countries, causing unrest.
"The Iranian authorities suppresses its people publicly, and interferes in the
internal affairs of its neighbors. We've seen no action by the international
community in this regard," he said.
"The recent convergence between the U.S. and Iranian interests came especially
after the emergence of the Islamic State group in the region showing concerns
that its terrorism and brutality would spread across the region," Temir told
ARA News.
"Syria is being subjected to massacres at the hands of al-Assad regime, the
major ally of Iran and Russia, and the silence of the Western powers
contributes to the increased sectarian tension in the region."
"West should bear its responsibility towards the deteriorating human rights
issues in the Middle East," he said.
According to reports, Iran is experiencing the highest execution rates in the
world along with China. .
(source: ARA news)
MALAYSIA:
Govt assists SA man sentenced to death in Malaysia----Deon Cornelius was found
guilty of drug trafficking after he was caught carrying 2kg of methamphetamine.
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation says the South
African High Commission in Kuala Lumpur is rendering consular support to a
South African man who was sentenced to death for drug-related offences in
Malaysia.
Security guard Deon Cornelius was found guilty of drug trafficking after he was
caught carrying 2 kilograms of methamphetamine at the Penang International
Airport in 2013.
He says the bag was given to him by a man named "Tony" to bring to Malaysia and
that he was unaware of its contents.
However, the judge found that he had knowledge of the drugs in the bag and that
he only mentioned "Tony" as an afterthought.
The 28-year-old has been sentenced to death by hanging.
The department's Nelson Kgwete says they are dealing with the matter and are in
constant communication with Cornelius's family.
"It is in our interest as the South African government to ensure we uphold the
rights of our people and one of the most important rights is the right to life
and that is why we will be making interventions on behalf of the South African
citizen."
Cornelius's family initially thought he would get a 10-year-sentence under a
deal with Malaysian prosecutors.
Cornelius, who has a 5-year-old daughter, was charged under Malaysia's
Dangerous Drugs Act which carries a mandatory death sentence.
(source: Eyewitness News)
*************************
Australia opposes death penalty, at home and abroad----Australia opposes the
death penalty for its citizens both at home and abroad, but Malaysia and
Indonesia are not budging on their use of capital punishment for serious
offences.
In the past month, Australia has been vocally opposing the death penalty for
its citizens - both at home and abroad - at a time when 2 Australians face
capital punishment in Indonesia and another in Malaysia for drug trafficking.
However, Malaysia is not budging on its use of the death penalty - seeking to
extradite a high profile convicted murderer from Australian shores to face
death by hanging back home.
At a court near Malaysia's international airport in Sepang, an Australian woman
expressed gratitude to those working to prove her innocence and spare her life.
Maria Elvira Pinto Exposto was charged with drug trafficking in December, which
carries a mandatory death sentence in Malaysia.
However, her lawyers said she was duped by scammers into carrying 1.5
kilogrammes of crystal meth into Malaysia from Shanghai.
Mrs Pinto Exposto said: "Thank you to my lawyers, they're working very hard on
my case. And I made some friends here and I want to say thank you to all of
them because I don't have family and friends here."
Her ongoing case comes at a time when Australia has made very clear its stance
against the death penalty for its citizens, both at home and abroad.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has been publicly lobbying for mercy for 2
Australians facing execution by firing squad in Indonesia - Bali 9 drug
traffickers Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.
So all eyes are on Australia, now that Malaysia wants to bring to justice a
runaway convicted murderer from Australian shores to face the death penalty at
home.
Sirul Azhar Umar fled to Queensland after being found guilty of the 2006 murder
of Altantuya Shaariibuu, a Mongolian woman who served as interpreter on
controversial Malaysian defence contract negotiations.
Australia's extradition legislation does not allow Sirul Azhar to be
surrendered to another country to face possible capital punishment. But the
ex-police commando is at the centre of one of Malaysia's most high-profile
scandals and Putrajaya is not expected to let him get away without a fight.
(source: ChannelNewsAsia.com)
EGYPT:
Retrial ordered in mass death penalty caseMuslim Brotherhood supporters in
Cairo ---- Hundreds of Brotherhood supporters have been sentenced in swift mass
trials
A court in Egypt has ordered a retrial for 37 Muslim Brotherhood members
sentenced to death over an attack on a police station in 2013.
They were among more than 500 backers of ousted President Mohammed Morsi
sentenced to death in a mass trial.
Most of the death penalties were later commuted to life in prison. A retrial
was also ordered for 115 other defendants sentenced to life.
The 2-day trial and its outcome had drawn international condemnation.
The defendants had been convicted of attacking the police station in Minya,
south of Cairo, following a deadly crackdown on pro-Morsi supporters by
security forces that August.
The original trial also saw some 377 people sentenced to life in prison in
absentia.
There have been a number of mass trials of Muslim Brotherhood supporters in
Egypt where defendants have received heavy sentences.
The cases and speed of the hearings have drawn widespread criticism from human
rights groups and the UN.
(source: BBC news)
JAPAN:
Cabinet Office poll: 80% of respondents think death penalty 'permissible'
According to a Cabinet Office opinion poll released Saturday, 80.3 % of
respondents considered the death penalty a "permissible" sanction, and just 9.7
% of them felt it should be abolished.
The rate remained high, apparently reflecting respondents' views that the
feelings of crime victims and their relatives should be taken into account, and
that serious offenders should receive the harshest punishment, the Cabinet
Office poll, conducted every 5 years, indicated.
The proportion of respondents who felt the death penalty is permissible stood
at 85.6 % in the previous poll conducted in 2009, and at 81.4 % in the 2004
poll.
In the latest poll, carried out last November, respondents were asked whether
they thought the death penalty was "permissible." In the previous polls,
participants were asked whether they thought capital punishment was
"permissible in some cases" only.
When asked to cite their reasons, and with multiple answers allowed, 53.4 % of
those who deemed capital punishment permissible said the victims' anger could
never ease if the system was abolished and offenders were allowed to live.
Another 52.9 % replied that perpetrators of heinous crimes should pay with
their life.
Among those opposed to the death penalty, 46.6 % cited potential miscarriages
of justice and 41.6 % said offenders should be kept alive to atone for their
crimes.
Respondents in the latest poll were for the 1st time asked whether they would
support the abolition of capital punishment if Japan introduced a sentence of
life imprisonment without parole. The rate of those in favor came to 51.5 %,
against 37.7 % who still wished to retain the death penalty.
The poll was conducted on 3,000 adults under an interview format from Nov. 13
to 23. Of them, 60.9 % provided valid responses. No margin of error was given.
(source: Japan Times)
UKRAINE:
Rebel-led Donetsk Republic to approve death-penalty law----In Europe, only
Belarus still has capital punishment
The self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine will approve a
law allowing capital punishment, said Alexander Zakharchenko, head of the
Republic, according to Russian media sources on Friday. The only European
country with the death penalty is Belarus. In Russia, the death penalty is
under a moratorium, meaning it is indefinitely suspended.
(source: gazzettadelsud.it)
INDONESIA:
Death penalty necessary to save Indonesia from drug scourge
"Bloodless murderers" is the term that Kamaluddin Lubis, a prominent activist,
once used to describe drug dealers - arguing that they ought to be executed for
their crimes. To some such a label might be over the top, but it succinctly
portrays this man's misery: drug abuse claimed the life of one of his sons. And
he is not alone.
Government data shows there are 4.5 million drugs users in Indonesia, and every
single day around 50 of them lose their lives. In 2013, the surge in drug abuse
was the highest among students, with an increase of 60%. Keeping this in mind,
it is easy to predict what kind of future this country has if nothing is done
to halt this scourge.
The government understandably will not just sit back as more and more
Indonesians fall prey to drug abuse. That is why the government rightly is
hell-bent on enforcing the law against those who are responsible for the spread
of illicit drugs, including by putting to death drug traffickers, regardless of
their nationality.
Of course the situation becomes more intricate when those executed are foreign
nationals. Unsurprisingly, the countries whose citizens are executed in
Indonesia will be disappointed, and some have even recalled their ambassadors
from Indonesia for consultation after a total of 6 drug convicts were put to
death on January 18.
Although this reaction is understandable, some caveats are in order.
As stated earlier, Indonesia is currently dealing with a severe drug crisis
involving millions of people, so effective law enforcement is indispensable to
deter others from committing the same crime. Despite many claims to the
contrary, several studies have affirmed the deterrent effect of the death
penalty.
A Wall Street Journal article mentions that every execution of a murder convict
prevents 74 murders in the following year. And in Singapore, which applies the
death penalty, the number of drug offenders has declined by two third since the
1990s.
The death penalty obviously cannot be our only weapon - more robust preventive
measures and rehabilitation are needed - but it should remain an important part
of our comprehensive strategy to win the war on drugs. One can argue that
capital punishment is not effective enough or inhumane, but when all is said
and done every country has the sovereign right to prosecute criminals in
accordance with its national laws and international law norms that it agreed
to.
Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR),
which Indonesia has ratified, allows the death penalty under certain
conditions, which Indonesia has met.
The death sentence can only be imposed for the most serious crimes, and
Indonesia deems drug trafficking to fall into this category. Despite the debate
on what is meant by "the most serious crimes", the ICCPR's preparatory works
show that the omission in defining the term was intended by the negotiating
parties to leave room for state-specific interpretation. There is indeed a
trend toward restricting the scope of the term, as expressed in various
non-binding statements in United Nations forums.
For example, the UN Economic and Social Council Resolution 1984/50 limits the
most serious crimes to intentional offences resulting in lethal consequences.
Nevertheless, even with the narrower interpretation of the term, drug
trafficking would still qualify as one of the most serious crimes since it is
an intentional offence that contributes to the death of too many of our people.
Moreover, the death penalty is carried out pursuant to the judgement of the
Indonesian Supreme Court, the final court of appeal within the Indonesian
judiciary, after a fair trial at the District Court and the High Court.
Offenders are also offered the chance to ask the president for clemency, which
in the latest cases was denied. Simply put, the rendering of the death sentence
in Indonesia has been done in accordance with due process of law.
Other countries whose citizens are convicted can raise their objection, but the
final verdict rests with the country where the prosecution takes place.
Indonesia is fighting tooth and nail to protect its citizens abroad, but we do
so in conformity with local laws. And when a verdict is handed down, we respect
this decision even if we disagree.
After all: when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Regardless of the recent
controversy, the Indonesian government is determined to maintain and bolster
ties with the countries that have summoned their ambassadors.
It is not unusual for countries to have disagreements, but our shared interests
and mutually beneficial partnerships - such as on trade and investment - are
too profound to sacrifice. While governments, scholars and NGOs are rigorously
debating this imbroglio, the voices of the victims of drug abuse and their
families often remain unheard.
But the Indonesian government should be commended for not turning its back on
Kamaluddin Lubis and millions of others who have gone through unspeakable
misery. For them and for countless others who are at risk of being ensnared by
the drug menace, the government should make sure that those responsible for
this scourge pay the steepest price.
* Astari Anjani and Dimas Muhamad work at the Policy Analysis and Development
Agency of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not
necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.
(source: The Malaysian Insider)
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