March 16
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:
Woman's conviction for killing housemaid upheld
An Emirati housewife who beat her maid to death has had her conviction upheld
by the Cassation Court.
HA murdered the woman on November 6 2013 by severely beating her with a cane.
The Criminal Court previously sentenced her to 3 years in jail and ordered her
to pay Dh200,000 in blood money to the victim's 16-year-old son - who chose the
payment over a death penalty.
The Appeals Court later cut the jail sentence to 1 year.
Both the accused and public prosecution cassated the verdict.
HA claimed that the maid had in fact killed herself by drinking bleach, and
said she would not have been able to kill the victim due to her small stature,
physical weakness and a permanent disability in her left hand.
The court rejected her argument.
She added that her confessions were made under duress by CID agents and should
have been dismissed.
She also claimed the murder weapon, a cane, was not the one she was using at
the time.
Forensic reports showed that the cane found at the scene had traces of blood on
it with DNA matching the victim.
The report also showed that the victim suffered injuries to her head and body,
and were sustained on the same date as she was found dead.
There was also dispute over whether the victim's son was of a legal age to make
the decision regarding her sentence - the Cassation Court ruled that he was
capable of making the decision.
The decision to award blood money was upheld.
(source: The National)
EGYPT:
Muslim Brotherhood chief, 13 others get death penalty
An Egyptian court delivered on Monday death sentence to the chief leader of the
outlawed Muslim Brotherhood (MB) group, Mohamed Badie, and 13 other members
over violence charges.
The verdict was referred by Cairo Criminal Court to the Grand Mufti, the
country's highest Islamic official whose opinion is usually considered a
formality. The final verdict, which still can be appealed, will be issued on
April 11, Xinhua reported.
The MB spiritual leader and the other defendants were charged with running
operations room to mobilise group members to target security forces and to
spread disorder after the dispersal of the 2 major sit-ins in Cairo in August
2013.
Since the ouster of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi by the military in
July 2013, the army-backed government has launched a massive security crackdown
on his supporters and affiliates, leaving more than 1,000 killed and thousands
others arrested.
Morsi is now standing trial over charges including jailbreak, ordering the
killing of protesters, spying and insulting the judiciary.
(source: Business-Standard)
****************
Egyptian court seeks death penalty for Brotherhood leader and 13 others:
sources
An Egyptian court is seeking the death penalty for the Muslim Brotherhood's top
leader Mohamed Badie and 13 others, judicial sources said on Monday.
The court formally referred the case to Egypt's Grand Mufti, the 1st step
towards imposing a death sentence, as authorities continue a crackdown on
Islamists.
The state news agency MENA said that, in the files referred to the Mufti,
Egypt's highest Sunni Muslim authority, the 14 were accused of attacking the
state, spreading chaos, and attempted arson against police stations, churches
and other property.
(source: Reuters)
SAUDI ARABIA----execution
The beheading in Saudi Arabia of a man convicted of murder has taken the number
of executions in the Gulf kingdom this year to 45.
A man convicted of murder has been beheaded in the Saudi capital amid a steep
rise in the number of executions in the ultra-conservative Gulf kingdom this
year.
The beheading of Saad bin Abdullah al-Jadid, who had shot dead fellow Saudi
Abdullah bin Faraj al-Gahtani, took to 45 the number of executions since
January 1, according to an AFP count.
His execution was reported by the official SPA news agency, citing an interior
ministry statement.
Rights group Amnesty International says the country has regularly been among
the world's top 5 executioners and is "well on track" to far exceed previous
annual records for executions.
Saudi Arabia has carried out around 80 executions annually since 2011, with 87
recorded last year by AFP.
Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking are all punishable
by death under Saudi Arabia's version of sharia Islamic law.
(source: AAP)
**********************
Steep rise in Saudi Arabia executions as 2015 tally reaches 45----The Gulf
kingdom has executed 80 people annually since 2011, with 87 recorded in 2014
A man convicted of murder was beheaded in the Saudi capital on Monday, amid a
steep rise in the number of executions in the ultra-conservative Gulf kingdom
this year.
The beheading of Saad bin Abdullah al-Jadid, who had shot dead fellow Saudi
Abdullah bin Faraj al-Gahtani, took to 45 the number of executions since
January 1, according to an AFP count.
His execution was reported by the official SPA news agency, citing an interior
ministry statement.
Rights group Amnesty International said the country has regularly been among
the world's top 5 executioners and is "well on track" to far exceed previous
annual records for executions.
Saudi Arabia has carried out around 80 executions annually since 2011, with 87
recorded last year by AFP.
Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking are all punishable
by death under Saudi Arabia's version of Sharia Islamic law.
Earlier this month, it was reported Raif Badawi, the Saudi blogger sentenced to
1,000 lashes after being convicted of insulting Islam, could face death by
beheading, according to his family.
The case attracted worldwide condemnation when he was publicly flogged in
January. His family said they have been told he is to be tried for apostasy.
(source: The Telegraph)
PAKISTAN:
Court to hear case of Pakistani sentenced to death aged 14
A hearing will be held tomorrow in the case of a Pakistani who was convicted
aged 14. The Ministry of the Interior previously promised to conduct an inquiry
into the conviction but has failed to do so and scheduled the execution for
Thursday.
Shafqat Hussain was convicted of the kidnap and manslaughter of another child
based on one piece of evidence: a forced 'confession' extracted after 9 days of
police torture. A previous warrant was issued scheduling his execution for 14th
January 2015 but after serious concerns over his age and the safety of his
initial conviction were raised, the execution was stayed on 5th January. The
execution of people convicted as juveniles is illegal in Pakistan, as is the
use of torture evidence.
In January, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar told the Pakistani National
Assembly that he had ordered an inquiry into Shafqat's conviction. Despite this
none of Shafqat's family or legal team have been contacted about the inquiry
and his execution has been scheduled for Thursday.
In an appeal filed by Shafqat's lawyers at the Justice Project Pakistan today
(Monday), which will be heard by the Sindh High Court tomorrow, Shafqat's
lawyers argue that the government's attempts to execute Shafqat are illegal.
This is because of his conviction as a child, the fact his conviction is based
on evidence extracted through torture, and that the scheduling of the execution
despite the promise of a full inquiry into the facts of the case is illegal and
arbitrary.
It is not known how many of the more than 8,000 on Pakistan's death row were
convicted as children.
Maya Foa, Director of Reprieve's death penalty team, said: "The execution of
anyone convicted when they were just a child is illegal, not to mention morally
abhorrent. Shafqat's innocence, and the fact that his 'confession' was
extracted after 9 days of brutal police torture, make the Pakistani
government's attempts to kill this young man even more horrendous. Minister
Nisar promised an inquiry into Shafqat's conviction because he knows that it
was wrong to begin with - it is a shocking abuse of office that he has reneged
on this commitment. Shafqat's execution - and all others - must be halted so
that the inquiry that was so rightly promised can go ahead. If it does not, it
will show exactly how much weight the rule of law now carries in Pakistan."
(source: Reprieve.org)
******************
LHC dismisses plea to stop execution
A Lahore High Court division bench Monday dismissed petition filed by a
condemned prisoner for stopping his execution.
The bench comprising Justice Syed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi and Justice Syed
Shahbaz Ali Rizvi heard the matter.
The convict Qaisar Alias Billa in his petition submitted that Anti-Terrorism
Court Faisalabad had awarded death penalty to him in a kidnapping and murder
case registered under Anti-terrorism Act.
He said that the Apex Court had upheld his conviction but, later, the heirs of
the deceased pardoned him.
The ATC accepted the pardon to the extent of murder charge and upheld death
sentence in other charges, he added.
He contended that the pardon was also applicable on other charges since it had
been accepted in the main offence. He pleaded the court to set aside the death
warrants issued by ATC.
However, the prosecution opposed the request and submitted that the conviction
awarded under Anti-Terrorism Act could not be absolved as a result of pardon by
the heirs of the deceased.
The bench agreeing with arguments of prosecution dismissed the plea.
(source: Associated Press of Pakistan)
INDONESIA:
Indonesian president Joko Widodo spares the lives of 3 convicted murderers in
Indonesia
The ABC has been told Indonesia's president has spared the lives of 3 murderers
at the same time he was rejecting bids for clemency by drug traffickers.
Over the past 2 months, Joko Widodo had refused to grant clemency to a number
of drug smugglers, including Australians Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan.
However, during that time he commuted the death penalty for 3 men convicted of
premeditated murder.
On February 13 he granted clemency for a 28-year-old who helped rob and kill 2
people in Sumatra.
A senior figure in the presidential palace said 2 other murderers had also had
their executions reduced to life imprisonment by president Widodo.
Chan and Sukumaran are among 10 death-row prisoners awaiting news of the timing
of their executions.
Several of them have ongoing legal appeals before Indonesia's courts and
although the attorney-general says everything is almost ready for the
executions to proceed, that will not happen until many of the legal processes
are settled.
A date has not yet been set for the executions and the attorney-general must
give 72 hours' notice.
(source: Yahoo News)
*******************************
Indonesia must clean its house first
As Indonesia prepares to execute a group of convicted drug traffickers, many of
them foreigners, much of the domestic and international attention is focused on
the issue of capital punishment.
But there is a rising voice from within the country that says it is not enough
for Indonesia to stand firm on carrying out the death penalty on drug dealers
to deliver a strong message against drug use.
Yes, Indonesia may have its sovereign right to impose the death penalty, but
tackling the drug problem requires actions on many fronts, say human rights
activists, lawyers and political analysts.
And this means not just deterring would-be drug traffickers from abroad with
heavy sentences including capital punishment, but also enforcing the law to
contain and reduce the use of illicit drugs as well as rehabilitating drug
offenders.
There are also those who want proof that the drug problem in Indonesia is dire.
"Talk about a drugs emergency is cheap - can we see actual proof of this? The
authorities need to justify data they keep repeating," said Mr Haris Azhar,
coordinator for human rights group Kontras, referring to what some analysts say
are faulty statistics on drug use in Indonesia.
"We also see cases of law enforcement officers tainted with drug cases,
throwing up the question of integrity in our legal process. That means we have
to clean our own house first and cannot just rely on harsh sentences to fight
drugs."
Indeed, it would seem Indonesia has some way to go before it can deal
effectively with its drug problem, given that the law enforcers themselves are
part of the problem:
In late 2013, anti-graft officers investigating former Constitutional Court
judge Akil Mochtar stumbled upon four sticks of ganja or cannabis - one of them
used - and a purple methamphetamine pill in his office drawer during a raid.
In November 2012, Achmad Yamanie became the first Supreme Court judge to resign
after an ethics board found him guilty of tampering with court documents to
lighten the sentence of a drug lord charged with running an ecstasy lab.
In January, a former policeman - serving time for money laundering connected
with drug sales - was jailed for life, for distributing 2.1 kg of
methamphetamine and 14,000 ecstasy pills from within the prison, in the city of
Medan in North Sumatra province.
Just last month, 3 men in the air force were caught for possession of synthetic
drugs totalling 245.6g. They are being investigated for links to a wider
syndicate.
Ms Poengky Indarti of human rights watchdog Imparsial said: "The police and
military have been accused of having roles in drug rings and we need to see an
urgent reform of these institutions to restore people's faith in them,
especially the police."
The National Narcotics Agency (BNN) is well aware of the problem. After a drug
bust in April 2013 involving two policemen and a soldier in Central Java, BNN
deputy chief inspector Benny Mamoto told reporters: "We are tracking other
parties of these syndicates. They are a mix (of civilians and law enforcers)."
Appallingly, 3 prison inmates have been found to be running drug distribution
rings from within their cells using mobile phones which had been smuggled in to
them. They were helped in their enterprise by prison wardens on the take.
Indeed, BNN admits that the majority of drug distribution is coordinated from
within prison.
Clearly, there is a dire need to clean up not just drug use within the law
enforcement system, but also the serious corruption that is rendering BNN's
efforts ineffective.
Moreover, by its own admission, BNN does not have enough manpower and equipment
to deal with the drug problem.
Given Indonesia's sprawling archipelago with porous borders, there is also a
pressing need for stronger and more consistent inter-agency co-operation,
between the coast guard, ground border patrol and Customs, among others.
Some critics have suggested that the execution of drug dealers by firing squad
is a way of distracting the public from these domestic weaknesses, by creating
the image of a tough president staving off international pressure.
But after the reports of the firing squad's guns have died down, President Joko
Widodo will still have to face the deep-seated problems in his law enforcement
agencies - both the corruption and the deficiencies.
Only when he can fix these can he really address the expectations of his
people: that he fix the problem he calls a "drugs emergency".
(source: Asiaone.com)
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