Feb. 25
QATAR:
Iran Confirms Repatriation of 6 Citizens Sentenced in Qatar
Iran today confirmed the repatriation of 6 of its citizens sentenced to death
penalties or long imprisonment in Qatar, a decision obtained thanks to the work
of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said its spokesman, Marzieh Afkham.
Akfham said that the prisoners are already in Iran in virtue of the efforts of
Tehran's Foreign Ministry, the Iranian embassy in Doha, and the result of the
recent visit of Qatar's Minister of Justice, Masood Bin Muhammad Al-Ameri, and
the interaction with Iranian judicial authorities.
The repatriated had been sentenced to life imprisonment, long sentences or
death penalty for crimes related to possession of drugs.
(source: Prensa Latina)
AUSTRALIA:
We stand for mercy: Australia's top legal minds sign petition calling for
clemency for Chan and Sukumaran
More than 140 of Australia's leading law professors, deans and academics have
signed a petition pleading with Indonesian President Joko Widodo to use his
constitutional powers to spare the lives of the Bali 9 pair, Andrew Chan and
Myuran Sukumaran.
In ultimately deciding on clemency we believe the Indonesian Government should
give the strongest consideration to the remarkable rehabilitation history of
the 2 condemned.
Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Sydney, Mark Findlay, said
the response from the legal fraternity over the past 24 hours has been
"astonishing in its commitment and its concern".
"We are not lecturing the Indonesians, but rather we want to commend their
prison system which seems to have assisted in the remarkable rehabilitation of
our 2 fellow citizens," he said.
The petition says the academics seek the Indonesian president's mercy, "not as
critics of Indonesia, or its legal system, nor of Indonesia's right to take the
strong but ultimately humane action against drug traffickers who bring misery
and addiction to many".
"While opposing capital punishment as cruel and inhuman we also condemn the
exploitation which the drug trade represents," the petition says.
The academics say the Republic of Indonesia has earned growing respect and
approval among the international community for its demonstrated commitment to
protecting human rights, and has made an important contribution to human rights
protection globally as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
"President Widodo himself has been a strong advocate for human rights, with the
advancement of human rights a central plank in his 2014 presidential election
campaign," the academics say.
"The deaths of Chan and Sukumaran would be a tragedy for them, and their
families, while not addressing the underlying causes of the drug trade in
Indonesia.
"In contrast, sparing the lives of these 2 young men, who have demonstrated
remorse for their crimes and have been rehabilitated during their lengthy
imprisonment, would be a signal of strength and mercy, an affirmation of
President Widodo's deep commitment to human rights.
"Presidential clemency would serve as a turning point and opportunity for
Indonesia to achieve its overriding national interest - combating the drug
trade. It would do so by being a rallying call for Australia and other
countries in the region to develop and implement an effective regime to stamp
out the damaging drug trafficking trade once for all."
The petition includes the following statement signed by more than 140
academics:
"As lawyers, concerned academics and professionals, we join to speak out
against the impending and tragic execution of our fellow citizens in Indonesia.
We do not see this punishment as either an issue of national sovereignty or of
just desserts.
"The Australian police gave up these 2 men to a capital punishment jurisdiction
as part of an operation which could have led to prosecutions and trials in
Australia where the death penalty is not an option.
"Capital punishment is said to be qualified by mercy. In ultimately deciding on
clemency we believe the Indonesian Government should give the strongest
consideration to the remarkable rehabilitation history of the 2 condemned. In
opposing these executions we are not seeking to criticise the judicial process
of another country.
"However, we want to see justice tempered with humanity. Right-minded
Australians share the abhorrence of misery and addiction associated with drug
abuse and the shameful trafficking trade. That said, nothing in our view can
justify the killing of 2 men in circumstances such as these. At this final hour
we add our voices to the calls for the death sentences to be commuted and for
Australia and Indonesia to join in other ways to fight the harmful health
consequences of drug abuse in all its forms."
(source: Sydney Morning Herald)
NIGERIA:
Lawyers Fault Lagos Decision To Retain Death Penalty
Lawyers under the aegis of Avocats Sans Frontieres France (Lawyers Without
Borders) has condemned the decision of the Lagos State government to retain the
death penalty in its laws, describing it as a most unwelcome development.
In a statement signed by Akpa Esther, communication officer for Avocats Sans
Frontieres France, also known as Lawyers Without Borders France, the state
government has determined that the death penalty is a suitable deterrent for
crimes such as murder and armed robbery, based on empirical research and
randomly conducted opinion polls.
According to the statement, ASF France Head of Office in Abuja, Miss Angela
Uwandu, expressed disappointment that the decision is in spite of the various
aggressive death penalty abolition campaigns that have been launched in the
state in the past decade, saying the decision casts a shadow on the status of
the Lagos State government as a progressive pace setter in legal policies.
(source: Leadershipng.ng)
SAUDI ARABIA----execution
Saudi Arabia beheads Jordanian national for drug trafficking
Saudi Arabia has beheaded a Jordanian on charges of drug trafficking, bringing
to 32 the number of executions carried out in the kingdom in the first 2 months
of 2015.
The convicted Jordanian drug smuggler, identified as Omar Mohammed Abdul Muti
al-Rubai, was beheaded in the northwestern al-Jawf region, on Wednesday, the
Saudi Interior Ministry said.
The execution was carried out after the convict allegedly confessed to trying
to smuggle a large amount of amphetamines across the northern Jordan-Saudi
border.
This is while the increasing number of executions in Saudi Arabia has drawn
growing concern on the international stage. Riyadh carried out the death
penalty against 87 people last year, up from 78 in 2013.
The country has come under particular criticism from rights groups for the
executions carried out for non-fatal crimes.
According to the London-based rights group Amnesty International's annual
report on Wednesday, Saudi Arabia imposes death sentences "after unfair
trials."
Amnesty International said Saudi Arabia, which has one of the highest execution
rates in the world, has tortured or "otherwise coerced or misled [defendants]
into making false confessions" before trial.
Muslim clerics have also slammed Riyadh for indicting and then executing
suspects without giving them a chance to defend themselves.
Saudi authorities say the beheadings reveal the Saudi government's commitment
to "maintaining security and realizing justice."
The execution "is committed to fighting drugs of all kinds due to the physical
and social harm they cause," the Saudi government added.
Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking are all punishable
by death under Saudi rule.
Saudi officials execute convicts by sword and then hang their corpses from a
helicopter for the public to see.
(source: Presstv)
IRAN----executions
2 prisoners hanged in public in Kermanshah
As the executions of prisoners continue unabated in Iran, the celrical regime's
henchmen hang 2 other prisoners in public in the western city of Kermanshah.
The 2 men were hanged in 2 locations in the city 10 in the morning local time
on Wednesday.
The public hanging follows executions in several prisons in cities across Iran
of which very limited have been officially announced.
According to the reports received from various sources dozens of prisoners have
been hanged during the past weekend alone in prisons across Iran.
Official news websites reported that 4 prisoners have been hanged on Sunday in
city of Arak and another prisoner has been hanged on Tuesday morning in the
main prison in the city of Rasht.
****************
4 men hanged in Arak
4 prisoners hanged in the main prison in the city of Arak on Tuesday, the
judiciary's website in the Central Province has announced.
The prisoners were only identified by their 1st name and last name initials as
Mohammad M., Ehsan J., Amirhossien Gh, and Reza Z.
The 4 men all had been charged with drug related offences.
According to the information received from various sources in Iran on over 2
dozen prisoners being executed in a number of prisons across Iran in past few
days.
Last week, the Iranian regime's henchmen in the central prison in the city of
Orumiyeh hanged at least 2 political prisoners.
Habibullah Afshari, 26 and his brother Ali Afshari, 34, hanged on Thursday, had
been sentenced to death for supporting Komala, an Iranian Kurdish opposition
group.
They were among the group of 6 political prisoners including Saman Naseem who
were transferred to isolation on Wednesday. There is no information on the fate
of the other prisoners.
(source for both: NCR-Iran)
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