April 15
OMAN:
Medical report postpones death sentence in Oman ---- Family tells Gulf News
they will not give up their quest for justice
An Omani family is waiting to bring the murderer who killed their father to
undergo the death penalty after four years of crime investigation.
Despite the court ruling handing out the death penalty, the verdict is still
pending as the court awaits a medial report which could possibly acquit him of
the murder.
In 2012, the Salalah police station received a call from a national who found
the victim wounded with a gunshot.
The Royal Oman Police (ROP), rushed to the incident spot and found that the
victim sustained severe injuries in the back.
Later, the victim died on the way to Sultan Qaboos hospital in Salalah.
The accused handed himself over to the police and admitted to the crime. The
victim was identified as Abdul Sharif Bait Marjan.
The accused admitted to the court that he was stalking the victim near his
residence.
He followed him by car onto the main road and forced him to pull over and then
shot Abdul Sharif after a heated argument.
In the court hearings, the accused was confirmed to hold a very decent
government job, as well as being a business and family man.
The case was later referred to a technical medical committee to determine the
pyschological and mental state of the accsued.
The family spoke to Gulf News and said they will not give up until the accused
received the death penalty.
Very few murder cases take place in Oman, and most of the murder crimes are
committed by expatriates in Oman.
(source: Gulf News)
AUSTRALIA:
Charles John Hall: the last man hanged at Bendigo
A link to one of Bendigo's most sensational murder trials can be still seen at
Bendigo's historic Sandhurst Gaol, even though the complex's transformation
into a theatre is nearly complete.
Partly hidden by a newly planted garden a stone with "CJH 13.9.97" carved into
it marks the grave of Charles John Hall, the last man executed at Sandhurst
Gaol, hanged in 1897 for the murder of his wife, Minnie.
Hall was a local golden boy. He was a popular football player, first for
Eaglehawk and then North Bendigo, with offers from Melbourne clubs for him to
come and play for them.
Although he was short, 5 foot 4 inches, he was known as a handy, quick player
who could make the difference in a game. He was also a keen cricketer.
Minnie Truesdale (Truesdell in some newspaper accounts) was the daughter of a
local family, nearly the same age as Hall.
The sole photograph of her used in newspaper accounts is blurred and
indistinct, with no clear expression; she was petite and dark-haired.
Hall, her mother said, was Minnie's first sweetheart.
They were both 19 when they married in 1894. One can imagine a backstory based
around Minnie's innocence and Hall's local fame on the football ground:
flirtation, seduction, promises, then pregnancy and marriage.
The child, May, was born a few months after the marriage, but died after only a
few hours.
A 2nd child, Willie, was born in 1895.
That year, Hall met a barmaid named Eva Scott at a local hotel. She was a few
years older than he, tall and attractive - and in October of 1895, she fell
pregnant to her employer.
Early in 1896, Hall lost his steady job at Windmill Hill gold mine for
neglecting his duties; he had gone playing cricket rather than turning up to
work. He did find some work tributing - working another's claim in return for a
percentage of gold found - but could not find a permanent job.
Around the same time, Eva's acquaintance with Hall turned into an adulterous
relationship. Hall began giving her money to pay her board as Eva was unable to
work due to her pregnancy.
Eva had her child in July 1896, around the time Minnie fell pregnant with her
3rd child.
Hall continued his relationship with Eva; when she gave her child to another
woman to care for some 5 months later, Hall gave her money for the child's
keep, and the relationship continued.
Meanwhile, Hall's relationship with Minnie deteriorated; he wanted out of the
marriage, but didn't want to be the one to leave. As part of his campaign, he
had Eva write a letter to Minnie falsely saying that Hall was the father of her
child, and would pay for its care and upkeep. The intent was to make Minnie so
disgusted with her husband that she would leave.
Imagine Minnie's state of mind: she had not long found out she was pregnant
herself; her husband was not in steady work; and now she held a letter claiming
her husband was not only unfaithful but would support his illegitimate
offspring.
Perhaps she feared ridicule if she left; perhaps she feared being alone and
unable to support herself and her children. For whatever reason, Minnie chose
to stay, much to Hall's annoyance.
"I've tried everything to get rid of her," he said to Eva.
By the end of 1896, the shine was well and truly off the marriage. Hall wanted
out; Minnie was angry at his affair and the lack of preparation for the new
baby and, in December, Hall lost his tributing job.
Willie's cries go unattended
Elizabeth Gowland, who shared a back fence with the Hall family, was used to
seeing Minnie up early every day, preparing breakfast for Hall and Willie, then
not quite 2 years old.
On February 11, things were different.
Mrs Gowland woke at 6:30am, earlier than usual, and saw that the blinds on the
Hall house were still drawn, the doors still closed. She did not see Hall leave
the house; he had already gone out, seeking work.
Though it was unusual not to see Minnie up and about or hear her singing, Mrs
Gowland continued with her morning, as did the rest of the neighbourhood.
The neighbours occasionally heard Willie crying, but that was not uncommon. The
milkwoman came by. She saw a woman's bare legs on the floor in a small spare
room visible from the kitchen and assumed Minnie was just lying down; she made
her delivery and left.
The baker delivered a loaf of bread.
The doors stayed closed, the curtains stayed down.
At 11:30am, Hall returned home.
Within minutes, he ran outside to their next door neighbour's house, carrying
baby Willie in his arms, and crying out, "Min's dead!"
Body found in a bath tub
Neighbour Maria Baxter took Willie from Hall's arms; her son William went back
to the home with Hall.
They found Minnie's body in the little spare room off the kitchen. Her head and
arms were underwater in a tin bathing tub; her left knee rested on the ground,
with the right leg nearly straight. The right shoulders and hips were raised a
little higher than the left; the exact position of the head was obscured by
hair floating in the water.
Hall left to find a doctor.
William Baxter touched Minnie's leg, finding it cold and stiff; she had been
dead long enough for rigor mortis to set in, but not long enough for it to
pass.
He decided to go and get a constable. On his way out, he passed his mother
coming in accompanied by Sarah Potts, who lived across from the Baxter family.
The women checked the body and then covered it, still in the tub, with a quilt.
When the police, Sergeant English and Constable McClelland, arrived, they
removed Minnie's body from the water, finding that her forehead was resting on
the bottom of the tub, and her abdomen was on its lip.
They moved the body to the bedroom, managing to straighten the arms and legs a
little in the process, but not much. They noticed abrasions on the knees and
marks on one upper arm, but no marks on the abdomen, where it had rested on the
tub's side.
No Eaglehawk doctor could be found quickly, so Dr John Thom - Hall's regular
doctor - came.
He conducted a quick examination. Seeing nothing unusual, he declared that
Minnie must have either fainted or tripped, fallen into the tub and drowned.
A magisterial inquiry, convened that afternoon by a local Justice of the Peace,
came to the same conclusion. Minnie was buried the next day at Eaglehawk
Cemetery.
Rumours of foul play
The matter might have rested there if not for Minnie's family and neighbours.
They remembered Hall saying that he and Minnie had been out the night before -
but Mrs Gowland had seen Minnie up late ironing.
Mrs Baxter and Mrs Potts recalled that there had been neither soap nor towel in
the little spare room. And family members talked to police about Hall's
infidelity and his borrowing money from them for Eva, and his lies about his
whereabouts the night before Minnie's death.
Minnie's mother Jane Truesdale was the first to say outright - and to Hall's
face - that she believed he had killed Minnie.
The colony's Chief Commissioner of Police sent Detective Sergeant Arthur Dungey
and forensic pathologist Dr James Neild from Melbourne to investigate.
One of Sgt Dungey's first acts was to order Minnie's body be exhumed so Dr
Neild could conduct a full post-mortem examination, rather than rely on Dr
Thom's visual examination of the body. This happened on February 23, 1897.
Rumours flew anew when, after the post mortem, Sgt Dungey got a warrant and
arrested Hall at his parents' home for the wilful murder of his wife.
Hall before the court
In March, police magistrate PJ Dwyer presided over Hall's murder trial at
Eaglehawk court.
Public curiosity was at fever pitch, with hundreds of onlookers at the
courthouse. Those few who made it into the courthouse each day witnessed fiery
exchanges as prosecutor Mr JTT Smith tried to prove a prima facie case of
murder, and defence solicitors Dr Quick and Mr B Hyett tried to prove Minnie
had died by accident.
Eva testified that she wrote to Minnie and that Hall gave her money. She also
said Hall had told her he wished he could be rid of his wife.
Forensic pathologist Dr Neild said Minnie had been murdered.
The cartilages of her nose had been crushed and her front teeth loosened as
though a strong man had held his hand over her nose and mouth to suffocate her.
Further, he found no evidence of drowning: no water in the lungs or pleural
cavity, or in the windpipe.
Neighbour Mrs Gowland, who laid out Minnie's body, said there were bruises on
her face and her nose was no longer straight.
The undertaker also testified her nose was badly swollen.
By contrast, Dr Thom stood by his initial conclusion: death by fainting and
drowning. He had seen no bruises on Minnie's face when he examined the body and
the loose teeth were caused by her striking her face on the bottom of the tub.
He did concede that his examination of the body was short and he had not
removed any clothing.
Members of Minnie's family testified that they had tried to replicate the
position in which her body had been found: nobody was able to fall into it
naturally or maintain it. This, the prosecution said, was proof that rigor
mortis had already started to set in when Hall placed Minnie's body in the tub.
A commercial traveller named Llewellyn Williams said he visited the Halls
several times in the months before Minnie's death. Over several visits, he
heard Minnie call Hall "a scoundrel and a wretch" who "knocked her about". He
saw him hit her on the shoulder hard enough to knock her down the few steps at
the back door.
At the end of the 3-day hearing, Hall was committed to stand trial for Minnie's
murder.
The Bendigo trial
Justice Thomas a Beckett brought the Supreme Court to order in Bendigo on June
24, 1897 and the trial covered much the same ground as the committal hearing,
with the same lawyers for prosecution and defence.
Again Dr Neild stated that he had no doubt that Minnie had been murdered; again
Dr Thom said that Minnie's death was due to a mix of syncope (fainting) and
suffocation by drowning.
The prosecution brought government medical officer Dr Shields to support Dr
Neild; the defence brought new witnesses to prove Hall was not at home on those
days when the salesman had said he had seen the couple arguing.
Eva repeated her evidence and added her letter to Minnie was not the first. In
the past, she had sent a similar letter to the wife of her child's father.
During the trial Hall laughed at jokes and seemed to take the hearing less
seriously than a man on trial for his life ought to do.
Aware that Hall might not have made the best impression on the jury, the
defence team tried to repair the damage.
Dr Quick told the jury that Hall's conduct with Eva was not at issue. She was
his "evil genius", the cause of matrimonial discord, who attempted to separate
man and wife - but that didn't mean Hall had murdered Minnie.
In response Mr Smith said that Hall's conduct with Eva did matter. Money that
should have gone to support his own child and pregnant wife had gone instead to
Eva and her illegitimate child. Hall had convinced Eva to write a lying letter
to Minnie with the aim of forcing her to leave.
These acts, Mr Smith argued, were proof that Hall had no love for his wife and
wanted to be rid of her; that was the motive.
By the time the prosecution and defence were ready to sum up their cases, 3
days had passed.
It was 11:00pm on a Saturday when the final submissions were made, much too
late for the jury to begin deliberations, so the court adjourned until Monday.
In summing up the case for the jury Justice a Beckett said the initial
magisterial inquiry was conducted with "a great want of care" and a proper post
mortem could have resolved many of the questions now facing the jury.
The jury retired at 11:00am and hours later asked for another demonstration of
the position Minnie's body had been found in, and a local boy of about her
height was found to be put in the empty tub.
At 5:10pm, the jury returned to the courtroom - without a decision. The
foreman, Mr Osborne, said they were hopelessly divided and had no chance of
delivering a verdict.
Hall must be tried again.
The Castlemaine trial: sensational evidence from Eva Scott
Worried that the 1st trial's sensationalism would make it difficult to find an
unbiased jury the prosecutor, Mr Smith, requested that the second trial be
moved away from Bendigo.
Defence and the judge agreed.
Hall's next court appearance was before Justice Joseph Hood at Castlemaine on
July 27.
When the trial started Mr Smith had another, more unusual, request. He wanted
Justice Hood to caution jurors that, if they had qualms about the death
penalty, they should say so and stand aside from the jury. He had heard that
one juror at the Bendigo trial had refused to convict Hall not because he
thought Hall was innocent, but because he opposed capital punishment.
For the defence, Dr Quick had no objections provided His Honour also delivered
a similar caution that those who had already made up their minds based on
"sensational reporting" should likewise relinquish their seat.
Justice Hood declined on both counts and the 2nd trial began.
The evidence was again repeated.
Once again, witnesses testified about the position of Minnie's body.
This time, the prosecution did not just bring testimony. Instead, Mr Smith also
brought in a wax model - life-size, bent into a replica tub. This did what no
other evidence in any trial or inquiry had done: squashed Hall's cheerful
demeanour and brought tears to his eyes.
Once again Eva said she had written to Minnie, and that Hall had given her
money during their affair - but also added new details.
Hall had told Eva he would marry her; Minnie and her family were always
"picking" at him, and he had had enough; he would get rid of her and chance
being hanged for it. She had cramps, he said, and if he held her head
underwater during one, nobody would know the difference between that and her
falling and drowning.
Not only that, but he had asked Eva to buy strychnine poison for him to put
into Minnie's tinned fish.
Although there was no suggestion that Minnie had died of poisoning - and
strychnine poisoning's convulsions would never be mistaken for drowning or
suffocation - the accusation made Hall look very bad.
So did the next reported conversation, one that happened after Minnie's death.
"He asked me not to 'put him away' about anything he had said to me about his
wife," Eva said.
"I said that I would hang myself before I'd tell the detectives anything."
Mr Hyett was quick to try and undermine Eva's testimony in cross-examination,
demanding to know why she had never mentioned conversations like this before.
Eva said that the defence team "had not considered" her at the last trial,
painting her as the "evil genius" who aimed to separate man from wife. It
wasn't revenge; it was because Hall and his defence team showed how little he
cared for her, so he no longer deserved her protection.
In his closing statement, Dr Quick had one last chance to discredit Eva and he
took it. The "lack of consideration" that Eva had protested was nothing to what
came next.
Eva, Dr Quick said, was a perjurer.
"She is a wicked, designing, cruel woman," Dr Quick said. "Would you hang a man
on the evidence of such a woman?"
Even if her evidence were true, he said, it had no bearing. While it might show
motive, "a whole mass of motive is not a proof of murder," he said.
"A man might be guilty of adultery. He might be cruel to his wife but, because
she is found dead, it does not necessarily follow that her husband murdered
her."
Mr Smith then delivered the prosecution's closing statement. It was simple
fact, he said, that Minnie could not have fallen into the tub and landed in the
way in which her body was found.
Addressing Eva's credibility, Mr Smith said he had never heard opposing counsel
'declaim against' a witness in such a manner. Eva, "depraved as she was, tried
to shield the man who now sought, through his counsel, to still further blacken
her character," he said.
"Her feelings being outraged, she decided on this occasion to tell all the
facts."
Despite rejecting the requests for cautions to the jury at the start of the
trial, Justice Hood addressed both issues in his summing up. The jury, he said,
should forget anything they had read in the papers and reach a decision solely
on the evidence presented at trial.
Further, individual jurors' votes should be based on the evidence alone; they
could not vote to acquit only because a guilty verdict would see a man hang.
The jury began its deliberations a little past 5:30pm. By 10:45pm, they had not
reached a verdict, and Justice Hood ordered they be sequestered for the night.
When the court resumed at 9:00am, Justice Hood got a note from the jury saying
they had not been able to make a decision yet. He took the 'yet' to mean that
the jury had not given up on its deliberations.
At 10:10am, the jury announced it had reached a verdict. Hall took his place in
the dock to hear the jury's foreman pronounce him guilty of the murder of
Minnie.
Hearing the verdict, Justice Hood then delivered the only sentence he could:
death by hanging.
"Whether the sentence I am about to pass on you will be carried into effect or
not does not depend upon me, but upon others," he said.
"All I can do is to advise you to trust no longer to the mercy of men, but to
make the best use of the remaining time left to you in making your peace with
your Maker.
"The sentence of the court is that you be taken to the place whence you were
brought and from there to such place and at such time as the
Governor-in-Council may direct, and that you be hanged by the neck until you
are dead.
"May the Lord have mercy on your soul."
Appeals for clemency denied
Every sentence of death had to be confirmed by the colony's Executive Council -
the colony's governor, premier and cabinet.
While Hall waited for their decision, he was transferred to Bendigo by train,
arriving on August 10, 1897.
He took up residence in the 'condemned' cell, on the ground floor of the
Sandhurst Gaol. Just as he had seemed unaffected by the stakes at trial, so now
he seemed unaffected by the sentence passed; reports indicate he ate and slept
well, and even gained some weight.
The gaol chaplain, Reverend Nugent Kelly, from the All Saints' Church of
England, visited often, as did family members. A petition for clemency was set
up by family, and sent to the Governor; members of Hall's family made the trip
to Melbourne to plead for his life. They had reason for hope; the Executive had
commuted the last few death sentences to life in prison.
Thus, the Executive's decision came as a shock to Hall's family. There would be
no mercy, and the time and date of Hall's execution was set: September 13,
1897, at 10:00am.
The gaol governor, Mr Patterson, reported that Hall received the news with
indifference, as though he did not believe the sentence applied to him.
That indifference gave way a few days later. Hall stopped sleeping, and ate
little. He spent more time with Reverend Kelly.
The Reverend's influence and emphasis on penance may explain the letter Hall
wrote to Mr Patterson a little over a week later.
In it, Hall confessed to killing Minnie.
It was in hot blood, he said. That morning, as he got ready to bathe before
going out to look for work, he and Minnie had quarrelled over his relationship
with Eva. He wanted Minnie to cook him breakfast; she told him to go back to
Eva and have her cook, since he spent so much time with her.
She said, 'A thing like you; you will have to get Eva to help you.' I said,
'I'll see if I will,' and I caught hold of her by the arms. I then got hold of
her round the body, and lifted her to put her head in the water. She said 'You
will kill me if you put me in there.' As I was doing it her head struck against
the edge of the tub, and I let her go. Her head went under the water. She got
her head out, but she fell back again. She again got her head out, but again
fell back. I then caught hold of her, and lifted her out.
She rolled on to the floor. I said 'You can go back to bed now, and I will get
my own breakfast. That ought to cool your temper.' I went into the kitchen and
dried my head. I did not finish washing myself. I went back into the room. She
was still lying on the floor.
I said, 'You had better get up and go back to bed, not lay there like that.'
She did not move. I stooped down. She was lying partly on her stomach. I turned
her over on her back. I then saw a mark on the side of her nose. She did not
move.
I said, 'Min, what is the matter? For God's sake speak. Have I hurt you?'
I thought she was in a faint, and would soon be all right. I carried her into
the bedroom and put her on the bed and wiped her face. There was some whisky in
the kitchen, and I got it and tried to get some in her mouth, but I could not.
I began to get alarmed, and I rushed out of the house to go into the
neighbour's, but when I got as far as the gate I turned back again. I went into
the room where my wife was. I felt her to see if there was any movement in her,
but there was not, and the terrible idea rushed to my mind that she was dead.
I cursed myself for my silly action, and I began to think what I must do. I
knew if I said anything about it I would be arrested, and then I thought of my
poor mother and father and my child. Knowing that she had been in the habit of
bathing in the tub, I decided to carry her out and place her in the tub to make
it appear she had been bathing. I did so, and then left the house.
Although this shows that my wife met her death through my action, I will meet
my death with the knowledge that there was not the slightest intention on my
mind of doing her any injury whatever.
Hall's version of events was manslaughter: a horrible mistake, not murder.
Troubled, Mr Patterson forwarded the letter on to Executive Council. Although
Hall had not written it with the intent of pleading for clemency, Mr Patterson
said he thought it was only right that such a confession go to them for
consideration.
But it was to no effect: the council decided, unanimously, that the sentence of
death would stand.
The hangman
Hall was hanged on September 13, 1897.
He was accompanied by 2 chaplains, including Reverend Kelly, with whom he had
spent considerable time since the denial of his petition for clemency.
He was reported to be pale of face but unfaltering as he was taken from the
condemned cell to one upstairs next to the gallows, and from there to the
gallows themselves.
Asked if he had any final words, he said only, "I commit my soul to God".
The hangman covered Hall's face, stepped back and pulled the lever that opened
the trapdoor on which Hall stood. Death was reported as instantaneous, with no
movement from the body visible.
Hall's body was buried in the Sandhurst Gaol exercise yard, with the grave
marker added some unknown time later.
After Minnie's body was exhumed, it was returned to her grave at Eaglehawk
Cemetery. Her grave is unmarked.
(source: ABC news)
BANGLADESH:
Mujaheed, SQ Chy appeal hearings April 28
The Supreme Court has fixed April 28 for commencing the appeal hearings of
Jamaat leader Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujaheed and BNP leader Salauddin Quader
Chowdhury, filed challenging the death penalty handed down by the tribunal.
The 4-member Appellate Division bench, led by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar
Sinha, passed the order on Wednesday morning.
On March 25, the defence filed a petition seeking 6-week adjournment in the
Mujaheed case citing that chief defence counsel Khandker Mahbub Hossain had
been ill.
Mujaheed filed the appeal on August 12, 2013 seeking acquittal from all the
charges. He was sentenced to death by the tribunal on July 17 the same year.
Of the 5 proven charges out of 7 brought against him, Mujaheed was given
capital punishment in 2 - for abetting and facilitating killing of
intellectuals during the 1971 Liberation War, and participating in and
facilitating the murder of nine Hindu civilians in Faridpur.
As a leader of Islami Chhatra Sangha - Jamaat's then student wing - Mujaheed in
1971 had led a "death squad" named al-Badr.
On the other hand, Salauddin was given the death penalty on 4 out of 9 proven
charges on October 1, 2013 for committing crimes against humanity and genocide
in Chittagong with an aim to annihilate the Hindu community. He filed the
appeal on October 29 the same year.
(source: Dhaka Tribune)
INDONESIA:
Indonesia court: No new evidence in Mary Jane case----Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso
moves a step closer to execution, but her lawyers are planning to file a second
appeal as soon as possible
Indonesia's Supreme Court rejected the case review request of Mary Jane Fiesta
Veloso because it did not find new evidence to support it, a local court said
after receiving a copy of the verdict, which means the Filipina moves another
step closer to execution.
Marliyus, the lead judge at the Sleman District Court in Yogyakarta who chaired
the hearings on the convicted Filipino drug courier's case review request, told
reporters on Wednesday, April 15, that they had just received the March 25
Supreme Court decision.
"The judges didn't find any mistakes during the previous trials, and Mary
Jane's (1st) lawyer didn't file a complaint on the translator matter," Marliyus
said, according to state news agency Antara.
Lawyers for the 30-year-old mother of 2 told Rappler they have yet to see the
verdict, but will seek a 2nd case review as soon as they receive a copy.
"A member of our team went to Yogyakarta to get a copy of the decision. Once
the copy is in Jakarta, we will file the second appeal as soon as possible,
hopefully within the week," Sisca, one of Veloso's lawyers, told Rappler on
Wednesday.
Translator issue
The matter of the translator was central to the request for the Supreme Court
to review whether Veloso deserves the death penalty for bringing in 2.6
kilograms of heroin to Indonesia from Malaysia in 2010.
Veloso maintains she was tricked into bringing the suitcase full of heroin, and
her current lawyers argue that the lack of a competent translator during the
first trial prevented her from effectively defending herself.
But during the hearings in March, prosecutors said any objection to the
translator should have been filed at the beginning of the 1st trial.
In response, Agus said that Veloso's lawyer at the time was a pro bono one
provided the government.
"Not professional," he said in court.
Veloso's lawyers had been optimistic about their chances. In 2007, the Supreme
Court granted the case review request of Thai national Nonthanam M. Saichon,
who was sentenced to death by the Tangerang District Court in 2002 for
smuggling 600 grams of heroin, because of the same translator issue. Her
sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.
Transfer, execution loom
Meanwhile, Indonesia's Attorney General said they were preparing to hold the
next batch of executions after the 2015 Asia Africa Conference.
At least 28 heads of state have confirmed they would attend the international
summit that will open in Jakarta on April 18 and close in Bandung on April 24.
"It's quite unethical (for us to carry out the executions) while we are
receiving several heads of state," Attorney General H.M. Prasetyo said on
Tuesday. "But definitely we will carry it out."
The Sleman court said it would proceed to provide copies of the Supreme Court
verdict to the high court in Yogyakarta and to Veloso.
According to the Attorney General's Office, once "these administrative matters"
have been completed, they will transfer Veloso to Nusakambangan prison island
in Cilacap, Central Java, where the executions by firing squad will be carried
out.
Veloso, like the other death row convicts, will be placed in semi-solitary
confinement until her execution, which she will be notified of 72 hours before
it takes place.
(source: rappler.com)
**********
Japanese man on trial for drug trafficking in Indonesia will donate organs if
executed
A Japanese man who is on trial in Indonesia for drug trafficking and faces the
death penalty if convicted said Tuesday he plans to donate his organs to needy
Indonesians if he is executed, as his earlier plan to donate them to a Japanese
university may no longer materialize.
Masaru Kawada, 73, from Aichi Prefecture, was arrested at Minangkabau
International Airport in the West Sumatra provincial capital of Padang on Nov.
22 after customs officials found 2.35 kg of methamphetamine in his luggage.
On Tuesday, Kawada told the court in Pariaman, about 50 km from Padang, that he
did not know he was carrying methamphetamine when he was arrested at the
airport.
"I was shocked when I arrived in Padang and was arrested," he said.
The indictment said a man identified as Edward Mark called Kawada at his home
in Japan last November and asked him to travel to Macau and that Mark paid for
his air tickets and accommodations in Hong Kong and gave him $500 in travel
expenses.
Kawada told Kyodo News in an interview last week that a Chinese woman he met in
Macau asked him to carry a bag to a friend in Padang. The drugs were later
found in that bag.
During Tuesday's hearing, Kawada said he had checked the bag and did not find
anything suspicious.
He said he only realized he was carrying methamphetamine after customs
officials in Padang arrested him and confiscated it. He flew to Padang from
Macau via Kuala Lumpur.
Kawada's trial was adjourned until April 28 to hear the sentence the
prosecutors are seeking. He faces the death penalty if found guilty.
In a will written in Indonesian and Japanese, Kawada said: "If I'm found guilty
by the judicial panel and am sentenced to 5 years in jail or even more, I will
surely be unable to return to Japan and most probably, I'll die in Indonesia."
(source: Japan Times)
*********************
Shock as Saudis behead
Efforts by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to secure reprieves for hundreds of
Indonesians on death row in overseas prisons met a sudden setback on Tuesday
with the unexpected execution of a mentally ill Indonesian worker in Saudi
Arabia.
The Foreign Ministry announced that migrant worker Siti Zaenab Duhri Rupa was
executed in the holy city of Medina.
"The Indonesian government expresses deep condolences to her loved ones and
hopes she receives the best place in heaven," the ministry said.
Jakarta has filed a protest with Riyadh for executing Siti without any prior
notification.
"The government filed a protest with the Saudi Arabian government for not
informing Indonesian representatives in Saudi Arabia, or the convict's family,
about the timing of the execution," the ministry said.
Siti, a 47-year-old mother-of-2 from Bangkalan in Madura Island, East Java, was
arrested in October 1999 for stabbing to death her Saudi employer Nourah binti
Abdullah Duhem al-Maruba.
She had gone to work in the kingdom in 1997. It was reported later that at the
time of the murder Siti was mentally ill.
She was sentenced to death in January 2001, but her execution was delayed until
the victim's children were old enough to decide whether Siti could be pardoned.
In 2013, Walid bin Abdullah bin Muhsin al-Ahmadi, Nourah's youngest son, told
the court he refused to pardon Siti.
The execution was carried out despite a plea for clemency written by Jokowi to
the Saudi Arabian king earlier this year.
2 of his predecessors, the late president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid and
president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, also sent similar letters in 2000 and 2011
respectively.
"The government has done its best to prevent Siti from being executed by asking
for a pardon from the victim's family members. The government also appointed
professional lawyer Khudran al-Zahrani to provide legal assistance to Siti in
every trial hearing," the ministry said.
Last month, Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi directly requested Saudi Arabia's
deputy foreign minister to approach and ask for forgiveness from the victim's
family.
"The government also offered diyat [blood money] worth Rp 2 billion
[US$154,410]," it added.
According to Saudi Arabian law, people sentenced to death for murder can be
reprieved from execution provided the victim???s family grants a pardon and the
convict pays diyat. An edict on diyat issued by Saudi Arabian clerics set the
amount at 200,000 riyals ($4,743) for a female convict and 400,000 riyals for a
male.
Last year, the government paid blood money to save former migrant worker
Satinah from being beheaded in Saudi Arabia.
Satinah had been convicted of killing her employer Nura al-Gharib and stealing
37,970 riyals from her home in Gaseem in July, 2007.
International rights groups have repeatedly voiced concern over the execution
of convicts in Saudi Arabia.
Amnesty International (AI), for example, had urged the Saudi government to do
whatever it could to halt the execution of Siti.
"We oppose the death penalty regardless of the situation," AI said regarding
Siti's death sentence.
The government issued a moratorium on sending migrant workers to the kingdom
four years ago as part of the government's demand for the Saudi government to
provide better salaries and protection for the workers.
The directive followed the case of Ruyati Satubi, a 54-year-old migrant worker
who was beheaded in June 2011 for killing her Saudi employer.
The case triggered public anger after the government said it had only found out
about the case after the execution.
Efforts to reprieve Indonesian convicts from execution overseas are likely to
get harder as the government has been adamant about executing death-row drug
convicts, many of them foreigners, as part of Indonesia's "war on drugs".
6 drug convicts were executed in January and 10 more, including 2 Australian
members of the "Bali 9" drug ring, are expected to face the firing squad soon,
9 of them having been moved to Nusakambangan prison island off the coast of
Cilacap in Central Java.
The series of executions has caused outrage in the international community,
with the UN human rights office saying that the executions would weaken
Indonesia's position when arguing on behalf of its own nationals facing the
death penalty abroad.
According to Foreign Ministry data, there are 299 Indonesians facing execution
overseas, 57 % of them for drug offenses.
********************
Govt urged to end death penalty following Saudi execution
The execution of Siti Zaenab, a domestic worker convicted of killing her
employer in Saudi Arabia, should become the point at which the Indonesian
government ends the death penalty, says an NGO advocating for the rights of
Indonesian workers abroad.Migrant Care said preserving the death penalty had
led the government to lose its moral legitimacy to push other countries to
release Indonesian citizens on death row.
"This [an end to the death penalty] would be an initial step to urge other
countries not to apply the death penalty for Indonesian migrant workers," it
said.According to the NGO's data, 290 migrant workers working in 5 countries,
namely China, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Qatar, are involved in
legal problems and facing the threat of capital punishment. Of the total, 59
cases have reached a final verdict.
"We are urging the Indonesian government to condemn Saudi Arabia," Migrant Care
said in a press release on Wednesday.As a protest, she said, the Indonesian
government must declare the Saudi Arabian ambassador to Indonesia persona non
grata for the country's failure to notify Indonesian authorities before the
execution of Siti Zaenab.
Siti Zaenab was beheaded by Saudi authorities at 10 a.m. local time on Tuesday
in Madina, Saudi Arabia.Migrant Care said the execution was a serious human
rights violation as the right to life of every human must be guaranteed.
Moreover, Siti Zaenab killed her employer in self defense following the torture
she had often received in the 2nd year of her contract. Siti Zaenab had told
her family about the torture in her letters home.Migrant Care said Siti
Zaenab's execution violated the Vienna Convention and diplomatic ethics as the
Saudi Arabia government carried out the execution without first notifying
Indonesian representatives in the country.
"The government must improve its diplomacy in defending Indonesians threatened
with execution abroad," it said, adding that Indonesia must continue its
moratorium on the dispatch of migrant workers to Saudi Arabia.
(source for both: Jakarta Post)
********************
President Jokowi Conveyed Condolences as Indonesian National Siti Zaenab
Executed Without Notification by Saudi Arabia
An Indonesian migrant worker, Siti Zaenab, has reportedly been executed in
Saudi Arabia on Tuesday (14 Apr 2015).
The government broke the news in an apparent surprise moment, as it
concurrently conveys a protest over the lack of notification on the execution
of such death penalty to its citizen in Saudi Arabia. The Indonesian Consul
General in Jeddah had only received news on the execution of death penalty on
Tuesday (14/4) at 2 PM Western Indonesia Time.
According to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, no information on the execution of
the death penalty to Siti Zaenab was conveyed to the country???s representative
in Saudi Arabia. Siti Zaenab Bt. Duhri Rupa had apparently been executed in
Medina, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday (14/4) at 10 AM local time, according to the
information that was received by the ministry from her Saudi lawyer, Khudran Al
Zahrani.
"The Indonesian government conveys its protest to the government of Saudi
Arabia for not delivering a notification to the Indonesian Embassy nor to the
family (of the convict) on the timing of the execution of the death penalty,"
reads a Foreign Affairs Ministry's press release.
Meanwhile, the news has been reported to Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who
according to Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi, is in a deep sorrow.
"President Joko Widodo has received a report on the execution of death penalty
to an Indonesian citizen Siti Zaenab Bt. Duhri Rupa, in Medina, Saudi Arabia,
on Tuesday (14/4) at 10 AM local time. The President conveys his deep
condolences for the death of Siti Zaenab, and prays that the deceased receives
the best place upon Him," reads an article that was released by the Cabinet
Secretary website on Wednesday (15 Apr 2015).
According to the news release, the government prioritizes the protection of
Indonesian citizens abroad, including those facing legal troubles, and had
attempted 'maximum' efforts to assist Siti Zaenab in her death penalty case in
Saudi Arabia.
"The Indonesian government has conducted all efforts up to the maximum to
release Siti Zaenab from the death penalty," stated the Foreign Affairs
Ministry press release. This included legal actions, alongside diplomatic steps
that were taken by then President Abdurrahman Wahid, then President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono and the current President Joko Widodo.
On the other hand, Indonesia had in the recent months been criticized for its
position on the execution of death penalty, especially amidst the execution of
its own citizens and foreigners over convicted drug cases.
In 1 perspective, the country is seen to have a double standard on the death
penalty. Whilst the Indonesian government attempts to assist Indonesian
citizens facing death penalty aboard, the country is not yet close to
abolishing the death penalty law in its own soil.
Siti Zaenab Binti Duhri Rupa (47) was executed in Saudi Arabia on 14 April
3015. She was born in Madura, East Java, in 12 March 1968, and had worked as a
migrant worker in Saudi Arabia, before being arrested for an alleged murder of
her Saudy employer's wife in 1999. Siti was arrested and imprisoned Medina
since 5 October 1999. The Medina court had on 8 January 2001 given the death
penalty in the form of qisash (equal life punishment) to Siti Zaenab.
(source: Global Indonesian Voices)
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