March 20
BELARUS:
EU Criticizes Belarus Over Death Sentence
The European Union has sharply criticized Belarus, the only European country
that applies capital punishment, for sentencing a man to death.
In its statement issued on March 19, the EU said that a court in the
southeastern city of Homel sentenced Syarhey Ivanou to death the previous day.
Ivanou was convicted of murder and rape.
The EU expressed its "deepest sympathy of the victim of these crimes."
"Nevertheless, the European Union opposes capital punishment in all cases as it
cannot be justified under any circumstances. The death penalty is a cruel and
inhuman punishment, which fails to act as a deterrent and represents an
unacceptable denial of human dignity and integrity," it said.
The EU said that Ivanou's "right to appeal must be fully guaranteed."
The last reported execution of a convict in Belarus took place in April 2014.
Rights activists said the man, who was convicted of murdering his wife and her
lover, was executed before the UN Committee on Human Rights examined his
appeal.
(source: Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty)
GLOBAL:
Pope Francis calls death penalty 'unacceptable,' urges abolition
Pope Francis came out squarely against the death penalty once again, calling it
"unacceptable" regardless of the seriousness of the crime of the condemned.
Pope Francis met with a 3-person delegation of the International Commission
Against the Death Penalty March 20, and issued a letter on the occasion urging
worldwide abolition.
Citing his previous messages against the death penalty, the pope called capital
punishment "cruel, inhumane and degrading" and said it "does not bring justice
to the victims, but only foments revenge."
Furthermore, in a modern "state of law, the death penalty represents a failure"
because it obliges the state to kill in the name of justice, the pope said.
Rather, it is a method frequently used by "totalitarian regimes and fanatical
groups" to do away with "political dissidents, minorities" and any other person
deemed a threat to their power and to their goals.
"Human justice is imperfect," he said, and the death penalty loses all
legitimacy within penal systems where judicial error is possible.
Increasingly, public opinion is against the death penalty, in view of the
effective means available today to restrain a criminal without denying them the
possibility to redeem themselves and of a "greater moral sensitivity regarding
the value of human life," Pope Francis said.
The death penalty is an affront to the sanctity of life and to the dignity of
the human person, he said. It contradicts God's plan for humankind and society
and God's merciful justice, he added.
Capital punishment "is cruel, inhuman and degrading, as is the anxiety that
precedes the moment of execution and the terrible wait between the sentence and
the application of the punishment, a 'torture' which, in the name of a just
process, usually lasts many years and, in awaiting death, leads to sickness and
insanity."
The pope went on to say that the application of capital punishment denies the
condemned the possibility of making reparation for the wrong committed, of
expressing their interior conversion through confession, and expressing
contrition, so as to encounter God's merciful and saving love.
Speaking about life imprisonment, Pope Francis said such sentences makes it
impossible for a prisoner to "project a future" and in that way can be
considered a "disguised death" as it deprives prisoners not only of their
freedom but also of their hope.
(source: Catholic News Service)
MALAYSIA:
Malaysian State Proposes Bill Issuing Death Penalty for 'Apostasy'
The State Assembly of Kelantan, Malaysia, is considering a hudud (crimes
against God) bill that will allow the state to execute anyone accused of
apostasy, which is the abandonment of Islam.
Free Malaysia Today reports:
The Syariah Criminal Code II 1993 classifies "intidah" and "riddah" as
voluntary or deliberate pronouncements or utterances of words that violate a
Muslim's creed, known has aqidah.
These involve challenges to fundamental aspects of the Islamic faith of every
Muslim, including Rukun Islam (Pillars of Islam), Rukun Iman (Pillars of Faith)
and the distinction between halal and haram.
If a person is convicted of apostasy, he or she will receive a prison sentence.
If the person does not repent, they could be executed.
"Provided that when he repents whether the repentance is done before the death
sentence is pronounced or after such pronouncement is carried out, he shall be
free of the hudud sentence and his forfeited property shall be returned to
him," says the bill.
A lawyer, who was not named, told the publication these new provisions are
"against basic legal principles and also opens up the grave possibility of
arbitrary exercises of the power by state authorities."
"Firstly, what constitutes a violation of Rukun Islam and Rukun Iman appears
not to be properly defined, leaving them open to interpretation," he claimed.
"Secondly, the fact that the purpose of the punishment - even to the point of
execution - is to secure repentance throws open the possibility of a citizen
being coerced involuntarily into remaining in the faith. It is a trite
principle of law that admissions and confessions must be voluntarily given -
they cannot be extracted by inducement, threat or promise. Thirdly, and most
importantly, it is a clear violation of the fundamental constitutional right of
freedom of religion."
On Friday, the state's Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakob announced a revision.
The current version, as written, said the penalty is imprisonment while in the
English version, the penalty is imprisonment with possibility of execution.
Yakob said in the English version "the death penalty word will be replaced with
huded."
"There's no difference," said Kelantan Deputy Menteri Besar Datuk Mohd Amar Nik
Abdullah. "It reality it is the same. Punishment for apostasy is death penalty.
Hudud punishment for apostasy is death. It is just that the word used was
different. So, we have adjusted ... using 'hudud' in English as well. Just so
that no one is confused."
(source: The Malaysian Insider)
RUSSIA:
Pardon impossible to execute. Where's the comma?----Death penalty in Russia
The question of death penalty appears to be one of the most debatable questions
in the human society. For hundreds of years, disputes on the subjects have been
driving a wedge between common people, lawyers, writers, thinkers and so on and
so forth. Yet, criminals continue committing crimes, whether death penalty
exists or not.
When the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation ruled unconstitutional
the possibility of bringing down death sentences in the absence of jury trials
in Russia nationwide, the ban seemed to be merely a technical and a temporal
one. However, years have passed, but nothing has changed. Opponents of death
penalty have been more and more persistent.
"In 1996, Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed a decree to phase out death
penalty, - Professor of the School of Economics, Honored Lawyer of Russia,
member of the Presidential Council for Civil Society Institutions and Human
Rights, Sergei Pashn, said in an interview with Pravda.Ru. - The Constitutional
Court only continued this trend. Russia has not executed convicts since August
1996. Why am I against death penalty? In Europe, death penalty is used
practically nowhere. There are countries, where death penalty is preserved in
the law, but no judge allows to resort to this. If Russia wants to be part of
Europe, Russia should abandon death penalty. Especially because violent crimes
such as murder or grievous bodily harm, have been increasingly shrinking year
by year."
Russia has not abolished death penalty completely
Here is what well-known Soviet and Russian scientist and criminologist, writer
and screenwriter, Doctor of Law, Professor, Honored Lawyer of the Russian
Federation, retired police colonel and honorary police officer Daniel Koretsky
had to say on the subject of the moratorium on death penalty:
"This is not a moratorium, by the way. The moratorium was in effect when the
president signed a decree on the temporary suspension of execution and
sentencing to death. It was in 1996. I have written many times that abolishing
death penalty was de facto illegitimate, because we have this kind of
punishment in the Constitution and the Penal Code today. In order to cancel
this form of punishment, it is up to the State Duma to make an adequate
decision, because it is the State Duma that can change the Penal Code. The
Russian Constitution says that death penalty is valid unless it is completely
abolished.
"To date, we have not provided an effective legal institution of death penalty
in connection with the decision of the Constitutional Court. This is a paradox.
Because the Constitutional Court may interpret the Constitution, but it can not
change the Constitution. That is the case from the legal side of it."
The position of the Russian Orthodox Church is well-known. The President has
repeatedly stated that toughening punishment does not eradicate crime. Yet, no
one says that death penalty should be used here and there. State violence can
be used very carefully, as one should analyze every little aspect before making
a decision to kill or not to kill a scoundrel.
When Pravda.Ru asked this question to Sergei Pashin, he replied:
"Actually, you quoted Cesare Beccaria. This eminent jurist and humanist of
Renaissance said so in the XVIII century, and I am pleased that our president
shares this point of view. A debate is of course possible, but the Russian
Constitutional Court wrote in its ruling back in 2010 that the trend to abolish
death penalty was irreversible.
"In fact, the Constitutional Court's decision prevents the imposition of death
sentences and the carrying out of executions. So it is possible to discuss,
including selectively. But in general, from the point of view of our legal
system, this discussion is useless. The intensity of death penalty does not
affect the level of crime. There are countries where the abolition of death
penalty led to a decrease in the number of murders. This happened in Canada in
1974."
Death penalty does not eradicate crime
There are other examples. In late December 2014, Pakistan lifted the ban on the
execution of criminals convicted of terrorism. Can Russia do the same? Is it
possible to execute for terrorism or - sex crimes - only incorrigible criminals
that is?
"It questions the reliability of the judicial system, - Honored Lawyer of
Russia Sergei Pashin said in an interview with Pravda.Ru. - Firstly, our
judicial system is not to be relied upon much. Secondly, we can not execute
terrorists, because jury trial has not been provided for terrorists since 2008,
and the 20th article of the Constitution implies that it is impossible to bring
down a death sentence without a jury trial. In addition, the legal position of
the Constitutional Court, for reasons of equity, prevents from imposing death
penalty, even if at least one region of the country has no jury."
Pravda.Ru asked Sergei Pashin to comment the remarks by well-known German poet
and writer Goethe, a talented scientist and thinker, who also received the
title of privy councilor and hereditary nobility for his public service in the
duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach in 1782.
Here is what Goethe said: "If one could abolish death, we would not have
anything against it, but abolishing death penalty would be hard. If it
happened, we would have to reinstate it every once in a while."
"That was said a long time ago, - Sergei Pashin said. - The current situation
has changed. And then you know, Goethe was a minister, but Goethe was also a
writer and poet. The story of Margarita from the tragedy "Faust," whom the
author executed for the murder of a child, was tormenting him. When he was
signing a similar death sentence in real life, it was incredibly hard for him.
That is an outdated quote. In Germany, there is no death penalty, but Germany
does not want to retrieve it."
It just so happens that the thoughts of Cesare Bonesana-Beccaria, who died in
1794, still live today, while the aphorisms by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe that
he published in 1829 are no longer relevant. Why so?
Pardon impossible to execute. Are we going to finally decide where to put a
comma there?
(source: Igor Bukker, Pravda)
PAKISTAN----executions
3 death convicts hanged in Adiala jail
The authorities on Thursday hanged 3 murder convicts, including 2 brothers, at
Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.
Brothers Ghulam Muhammad and Asghar Ali of Jalti were sent to the gallows at
5.30am in the morning, followed by the third convict Gulistan Khan, who hailed
from Kallar Syedan. Earlier, the jail authorities had arranged last meetings
with the family members and relatives after receiving the death warrants for
the three convicts.
Tight security arrangements were made in and around the jail at the time of
hangings to avoid any untoward incident. The bodies later were handed over to
the heirs who took them to their native towns for burial. Ghulam Muhammad and
Asghar Ali were awarded capital punishment for killing 2 relatives in 1996 in
Jalti whereas Gulistan Khan was convicted for a murder of a man belonging to
his town in 1998.
Many convicts on death row have been hanged over the past few weeks after Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif lifted the moratorium on the death penalty late last
year. 9 murder convicts were hanged across the country on March 18 while
another 12 were sent to the gallows on March 17.
Holding ground: Islamabad defends capital punishment amid outcry
Pakistan continues to defend its decision to lift the moratorium on death
penalty even after the United Nations and the European Union (EU) have voiced
their concerns over frequent executions of convicts in the country since
December last year.
"Pakistan is not violating any international law," said Tasnim Aslam,
spokesperson for the Foreign Office (FO), at her weekly briefing on Thursday.
"Our constitution and legal system allow death penalty within legal parameters
and the condition of a fair trial."
Her statement came after the UN and the EU sought immediate ban on the death
penalty. The UN reminded Pakistan of its international obligations to ban
capital punishment.
Its statement said that under international treaties, in particular the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) as well as the
Convention on the Rights of the Child, Pakistan had legally committed itself to
ensuring due process and not imposing the death penalty. "Moving away from the
death penalty will contribute to human development, dignity and rights."
Admitting that Pakistan was a signatory to the ICCPR, the FO spokesperson said
one of its provisions allowed countries that have not abolished capital
punishment to impose the death penalty in most serious crimes.
The UN also expressed concerns over reports that some of the executed convicts
were minors when the offence was committed. "The right to life is a fundamental
human right," said a statement issued by the organisation. "UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has stated that the death penalty has no place in
the 21st century. According to some estimates, there are more than 8,000
prisoners on death row."
The UN said it was concerned about cases where the death penalty was handed to
minors but welcomed reviews of these cases, such as the recent case of Shafqat
Hussain.
The statement said the UN had consistently called for an unequivocal end to the
execution of anyone, anywhere, who was convicted of committing a crime when
they were under the age of 18. "There is no scientific proof that the death
penalty serves as a deterrent or contributes to combating crime or violent
extremism."
GSP Plus status
Responding to a question, the FO spokesperson said the government's decision to
lift the moratorium on death penalty would not affect the GSP Plus status
granted to the country by the EU for greater market access to its products.
"The EU may not agree, but it understands our perspective. Our engagement will
continue. We do not expect this issue would impact the GSP Plus status for
Pakistan."
The EU termed the death penalty an "inhumane and cruel act", insisting that
capital punishment did not act as a deterrent against crimes.
(source for both: Express Tribune)
********************************
Pakistan man on death row links MQM to killings
The Mutthida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has landed in further trouble after death-row
convict Saulat Mirza's statement that he killed people on the orders of the
party chief Altaf Hussain - a statement that led the government to defer his
hanging. The law enforcement agencies were on Thursday given permission to meet
Mirza in person. "There is no time limit for the interrogation and it can be as
long as the law enforcers want it to be", an official said.
Mirza was scheduled to be hanged on Thursday. But the federal government
deferred his execution by at least 72 hours on basis of his accusations against
Mr Hussain and other people affiliated with the MQM.
The statements recorded before the magistrate would later be used in the court
for appropriate legal action.
On Thursday, the government included the names of 8 MQM leaders on the exit
control list after the revelations made by Mirza. According to the sources, the
decision came after death row convict Mirza levelled grave allegations against
Mr Hussain and other party leaders including Babar Ghauri and governor Sindh
Ishratul Ebad.
Meanwhile, Pakistan on Thursday hanged 4 more death-row prisoners, including
two brothers, as it postponed by 3 days the execution of a man whose family
alleged he was a minor at the time of crime and that his confession was
extracted through torture.
3 prisoners were executed in Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail while the 4th was hanged
to death in Mianwali Jail. Brothers Mohammad Asghar and Ghulam Mohammad were
awarded the death penalty by a district and sessions judge for killing 2 of
their relatives in 1996. Another convict Gulistan Zaman was hanged for killing
a man in 1998.
The execution of Shafqat Hussain was postponed for 72 hours just a few hours
before his hanging was scheduled to take place Thursday morning. Hussain was
convicted by an anti-terrorism court for kidnapping and killing a 7-year-old
boy. Rights bodies allege that Hussain was just 14 at the time of crime in 2004
and that he was tortured to confess the killing, while the jail record showed
him as 23 years old.
(source: The Asian Age)
****************************
UN asks Pak to reinstate moratorium on death penalty
Expressing deep concern at the increasing number of executions in Pakistan, the
United Nations has asked Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif government to reinstate
the moratorium on death penalty as soon as possible.
"The UN has consistently called for an unequivocal end to the execution of
anyone, anywhere, who is convicted of committing a crime when they are under
the age of 18," a statement from the UN office in Pakistan said.
The world body also voiced concern at the Pakistani government's recent
announcement that it has withdrawn its moratorium on the death penalty for all
cases, not only those related to terrorism.
Among those executed there are persons who were minors when the offence was
committed and more than 8,000 prisoners are on death row, the statement added.
"The UN in Pakistan urges the Government to reinstate its moratorium as soon as
possible. We stand ready to support it in doing so and to assist in
strengthening the existing justice system if so requested," the statement
added.
The UN expressed concern over cases where the death penalty was handed down to
minors but welcomed reviews of these cases.
More than 160 UN Member States with a variety of legal systems and religious
backgrounds have either abolished the death penalty or do not practice it.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein has expressed
deep regret at the resumption of executions in Pakistan, stressing that no
judiciary - anywhere - can be infallible.
There is no scientific proof, according to the UN, that the death penalty
serves as a deterrent or contributes to combating crime or violent extremism.
"While we appreciate the need for effective counter- terrorism measures to
protect people, including children, such action must strengthen human rights
and be proportionate and necessary in a democratic society," the UN said.
Under international treaties, in particular the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Pakistan
legally committed itself to ensuring due process and not imposing the death
penalty.
(source: Deccan Herald)
CHINA:
Errors found in China murder case 20 years after execution
Lawyers claimed on Thursday to have found errors during a rough review of a
1994 rape-murder case concerning Nie Shubin, who was executed 20 years ago.
Li Shuting, an attorneys for Nie's families, told Xinhua that he found several
"evident errors" while duplicating Nie's case files, most of which involve
legal procedure.
"I was astonished. The errors are so obvious that we can see them just at a
glance," Li said.
For instance, Nie was executed on April 27, 1995, but the signature on his
petition for appeal was inscribed on May 13, which is patently impossible. He
also said the handwriting appears different from Nie's.
Nie was executed in 1995 at the age of 21 for the rape and murder of a woman in
Hebei's provincial capital, Shijiazhuang. The case reemerged when another man,
Wang Shujin, insisted that he was guilty and Nie innocent.
Wang, 48, was apprehended by police in 2005 for three unconnected rape and
murder cases, and confessed to a rape and murder with the same facts as in
Nie's case. Hebei Higher People's Court, which approved the death penalty for
Nie in 1995, rejected Wang's request for a retrial in 2013 and still believes
Nie is the murderer.
Judicial impartiality has been openly questioned recently in China and in
December, the Supreme People's Court ordered the Shandong Higher People's Court
to review the case.
"We will go over the court files and submit our opinion as soon as possible,"
Li said.
The Shandong court will reopen the trial if it is concluded that the case was
wrongly judged.
(source: Xinhua News Agency)
INDONESIA:
Bali 9 Executions: Indonesian Court Postpones Clemency Appeal Hearing For 2
Australian Convicts
The impending execution of two Australian nationals convicted of drug
trafficking in Indonesia has been delayed yet again, after a local court on
Thursday postponed hearing a clemency appeal. The Indonesian government has
rejected earlier requests for clemency for Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran,
the alleged ring leaders of the Bali 9 group.
In the upcoming hearing, lawyers for the two convicts are expected to provide
more information to the court in a bid to overturn the government's rejection
of an earlier clemency plea. The hearing has now been pushed forward by a week
to March 25, and the court will not decide the case until after April 1, media
reports said. Indonesia's tough stance against drug trafficking, which it
typically punishes with the death penalty, has been criticized by several
countries, including Australia, and international human rights groups.
"The hearing for both cases has been delayed until March 25 for our side to
submit evidence. March 30 will be their (the defense) turn," Leonard Arfan, the
convicts' lawyer, told Reuters.
Chan and Sukumaran have been transferred from the Kerobokan prison in Bali to
the prison island of Nusakambangan, where the executions are scheduled to take
place. The 2 are among a group of 10 people convicted of smuggling drugs and
scheduled to be executed by firing squad. The other convicts reportedly include
citizens of France, Brazil, the Philippines, Ghana, Nigeria and Indonesia. The
Australian nationals were arrested in 2005 and sentenced to death in the
following year for leading a heroin-smuggling operation.
Australia has been trying to negotiate a clemency deal for Chan and Sukumaran,
who were originally scheduled to be executed in February. The country has also
offered to pay Indonesia prison expenses to incarcerate the duo in return for
the latter exempting the duo from the death penalty. However, Indonesia
rejected the offer last week.
"We emphasize that this is not an issue of negotiation," Armanatha Nasir, a
spokesman for the Indonesian foreign office, said, at the time, adding: "This
is upholding the law. If a country starts to negotiate law, that is a form of
violation. So I emphasize that there is no negotiation."
(source: International Business Times)
********************
Court delays decision on death row convicts
2 Australian drug convicts on death row in Indonesia will not be executed this
month after a court on Thursday postponed their appeal hearing against the
rejection of a request for presidential clemency.
Australians Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan have already been transferred to
the prison island of Nusakambangan, where the executions will take place.
The 2 Australians are among a group of 10 drug convicts due to be executed
together by firing squad on Nusakambangan. Others in the group include citizens
of France, Brazil, the Philippines, Ghana, Nigeria and Indonesia.
At least 1/2 of the convicts have ongoing legal challenges.Sukumaran and Chan
were arrested in 2005 as the ringleaders of a plot to smuggle heroin out of
Indonesia.
Australia has been pursuing an 11th-hour campaign to save the lives of the 2
members of the so-called Bali 9, but President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has refused
to budge.
"The hearing for both cases has been delayed until March 25 for our side to
submit evidence. March 30 will be their [the defenses] turn," said Leonard
Arfan, lawyer for the 2 Australians as quoted by Reuters.
Judge Ujang Abdullah said final arguments would be heard on April 1 and a
verdict would be announced soon afterwards.
The attorney general has said he will not set a date for the executions until
of the legal processes are completed for all 10 on death row.Vice President
Jusuf Kalla told Reuters on Wednesday it could take weeks or even months for
the executions to take place.
Indonesia has harsh penalties for drug trafficking and resumed executions in
2013 after a 5-year hiatus. 5 foreigners were among 6 people executed in
January, the 1st executions since President Jokowi took office in October.
With the upcoming executions, Indonesia will have exercised the death penalty
more times in a single year than ever before.
***************************
National scene: Pakistani arrested for drugs
The National Narcotics Agency (BNN) arrested on Thursday a Pakistani identified
only as GS for allegedly attempting to smuggle 15 kilograms of methamphetamine
and 22,000 ecstasy pills into the country through Muara Karang, North Jakarta.
The drugs were wrapped in plastic and concealed in a box containing salted
fish.The BNN also arrested an Indonesian identified only as IA, 45, who worked
as a guide for GS.
"The meth and ecstasy pills were allegedly from Malaysia. GS planned to take
the drugs to Depok, West Java, where he lives," BNN spokesman Sr. Comr. Slamet
Pribadi said in Jakarta.
GS asked IA to be his guide because he did not know the way from Jakarta to
Depok. As payment for his services, IA was to get 1 kilogram of meth.
Both GS and IA will be charged under the 2009 Narcotics Law, which carried the
death penalty, Slamet said. According to the BNN's preliminary investigation,
GS was part of an Indonesian-Malaysian-Pakistani drug ring. He also reportedly
has a connection to 3 Chinese drug dealers arrested with 44 kilograms of
crystal meth in Central Jakarta last Friday.
(source for both: Jakarta Post)
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