April 24
SAUDI ARABIA----executions
Saudi beheads 2 of its citizens
Saudi Arabia executed 2 of its nationals Thursday, bringing to 67 the number of
Saudis and foreigners executed in the kingdom this year despite activists'
concerns.
Sulaiman al-Jahni, convicted of trafficking amphetamines, was executed in the
northern region of Jawf, the interior ministry said in a statement carried by
the official Saudi Press Agency.
Authorities in the east separately beheaded Faisal al-Utaibi, who was convicted
of murder.
The surge of executions in the kingdom this year compares with 87 death
sentences carried out in all of 2014, according to AFP tallies.
Drug trafficking, rape, murder, apostasy and armed robbery are all punishable
by death under the kingdom's strict version of Islamic sharia law.
Amnesty International's 2014 global report on the death penalty ranks Saudi
Arabia among the top 5 executioners in the world.
The interior ministry has cited deterrence as a reason for carrying out the
punishment.
(source: Agence France-Presse)
INDONESIA:
Indonesia orders preparations for Bali 9 executions----The Indonesian
government has ordered preparations to be made for the executions of 2
Australian drug smugglers as well as 8 others on death row.
Tony Spontana, a spokesman for the Indonesian attorney-general, said the head
of General Crimes had issued letters ordering prosecutors to start preparing
for the executions.
Mr Spontana said orders were sent on Thursday but it was unclear when the
prosecutors would receive them or how quickly the executions could be arranged.
He said the letters were not the final notification that must be given to the
condemned inmates.
L Indonesian prosecutors will give 3 days' notice to the men before they face a
firing squad.
Indonesia has also asked foreign embassies to go to a maximum security prison
ahead of the expected executions, Reuters news agency has reported.
The request was disclosed by foreign ministry officials in Jakarta.
A source at one foreign embassy confirmed representatives had been advised to
go to the prison tomorrow.
However, she said the date of the executions was still not known, but they were
expected to be within days.
Peter Morrisey, a lawyer for the pair, said while not the 72 hours' notice, the
recent development was a worrying sign.
He said the legal process was not yet finished, with both a constitutional
court challenge and a judicial commission still in progress.
"That looks as if the attorney-general's office is determined to press ahead
and hustle through," Mr Morrisey said.
"That's the zone we're in now. We haven't got the 72-hour knock but that could
be imminent.
"He's [the attorney-general] saying that he's going to press ahead, and he's
saying that all the legal proceedings are finished and that they've had their
go.
"And that's just not the case, there are still 2 cases there."
Another lawyer for the pair, Julian McMahon, said the families of Chan and
Sukumaran were travelling to Indonesia.
"There's 1 mother in Indonesia and I think the families are all going to be
travelling straight away, the ones who aren't already there," he said.
In another sign that plans are underway, Mr Spontana also confirmed that
Filipina Mary Jane Veloso, who is due for execution alongside Chan and
Sukumaran, will be moved to Nusakambangan today.
Nusakambangan is the island near Cilacap on the south coast of Java, where the
Australian pair are being held ahead of the executions.
Veloso, who says she was tricked into carrying luggage containing drugs into
Indonesia, has been in a prison in Yogyakarta.
Mr McMahon said Veloso's transfer to Nusakambangan was an indication the
executions were imminent.
"If she has been transferred, that is significant because it's difficult for a
woman to be kept as a prisoner at the relevant prison where people are taken
from to be executed," he said.
Authorities had planned to execute Chan and Sukumaran in February, but it was
put on hold until all legal challenges were completed.
The pair were sentenced to death in Indonesia for attempting to smuggle heroin
home from Indonesia 10 years ago.
They were denied a chance to have their clemency bids reviewed and the
Indonesian government said they had run out of legal options.
On Tuesday, Indonesia's government-owned news service Antara quoted president
Joko Widodo as saying it was "only a matter of time" before the executions
happened.
"When it will be done is no longer a question," he said.
"It is only awaiting the conclusion of all procedures and the legal process,
which I will not interfere in."
Earlier this month, the pair's lawyers filed a constitutional court challenge
questioning the Indonesian president's process of refusing to pardon them from
the death penalty.
The appeal was rejected when 3 judges from Indonesia's state administrative
court said clemency fell under the constitution but not under administrative
law, and so was not in their jurisdiction.
Indonesian attorney-general Muhammad Prasetyo told 1 of the pair's lawyers,
Todung Mulya Lubis, the case would not be enough to stop the pair from being
executed.
(source: Radio New Zealand News)
****************
Australia appeals to Indonesia over preparations to execute drug
smugglers----Filipino maid Mary Jane Veloso, 1 of 10 drug smugglers facing
death, transferred to island prison where execution will take place
The Australian government says it is "gravely concerned" by apparent
preparations for the executions of 10 drug smugglers.
A Filipino maid facing the death penalty after being convicted of drug
trafficking was moved yesterday to an island prison in Indonesia where the
execution will take place.
Mary Jane Veloso is among 10 drug smugglers whose planned executions last month
were postponed due to last-minute appeals. The others are 3
Nigerian men, 2 Australian men, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, and a man
each from Brazil, Ghana, France and Indonesia.
An armoured personnel carrier and a car were seen arriving at a port on Friday
for the short trip to Nusa Kambangan, and prison officials said Veloso was
inside the car. Tony Spontana, a spokesman for the Indonesian attorney general,
confirmed that Veloso had been moved.
Warren Truss, the Australian deputy prime minister, said on Friday: "I am aware
of growing concerns that these executions may now be being brought forward. The
Australian embassy is endeavouring to gather as much information as they can so
that we are better able to respond to the circumstances.
"Our position, obviously, hasn't changed. We are appealing and will continue to
appeal to the Indonesian government not to proceed with these executions. We
abhor the drug trade but the death penalty is also unacceptable to Australians.
That's a message we have conveyed in the past and will continue to do so, so
long as there's hope."
A spokesperson for Australian foreign minister Julie Bishop said she had "made
contact with Indonesian foreign minister Marsudi to register her concern at
recent developments, following her further written representation to her this
week."
"Minister Bishop has been informed that foreign minister Marsudi is attending
the Asia-Africa conference and is unavailable to speak with her. Therefore, our
embassy has lodged a formal request for a telephone call to take place."
Appeals have been exhausted for all but 1 of the 10, Raheem Agbaje Salami of
Nigeria, who is awaiting the outcome of his request for a judicial review.
Salami's lawyer confirmed on Thursday that the Nigerian embassy had received a
letter asking it to go to Cilacap, the port closest to the execution site, on
Saturday. Brazilian Rodrigo Gularte's lawyer confirmed that the Brazilian
embassy had received the same letter.
"Based on experience from the previous execution, they're going to tell them
the date for the execution," Salami's lawyer said.
"Last time when we were asked to gather in the district prosecutor's office we
were then taken to Nusa Kambangan to tell the convict about the execution
time," he said. "And 3 days after that, they were executed."
Indonesian officials have not said when the executions by firing squad will
take place. Indonesia has vowed to go through with the executions despite
various appeals from the countries of the convicted.
Veloso's case has caused a public outcry in the Philippines. She travelled to
Indonesia in 2010 where her godmother's daughter reportedly told her a job as
domestic worker awaited her. She alleges that her godsister provided the
suitcase where the drugs were discovered when Veloso arrived at an airport in
Java, Indonesia.
Her move to the island prison comes after Indonesia's supreme court earlier
this week turned down the final appeals by prisoners from France and Ghana.
The appeals for judicial review by Serge Areski Atlaoui of France and Martin
Anderson of Ghana were rejected by Indonesia's highest court in closed-door
hearings on Tuesday, said Suhadi, the court spokesman and a member of the
3-judge panel.
Lawyers for Chan and Sukumaran, 2 of the so-called "Bali 9", have lodged a new
appeal in the constitutional court but the attorney general says the pair have
exhausted their legal avenues and he will not recognise the latest action.
Spontana confirmed reports on Thursday that his office had sent letters to
prosecutors advising them to prepare for the executions.
Asked if a date was set, he replied: "Up to tonight, not yet."
The letters asked prosecutors to make preparations and were not the
notification letters for the convicts themselves, he said.
The planned executions have soured relations between Indonesia and other
countries. President Joko Widodo has vowed not to grant mercy to drug offenders
because Indonesia is suffering a "drug emergency".
In Paris, the French president Francois Hollande urged Indonesian authorities
to grant clemency to Atlaoui, telling a news conference that executing Atlaoui
"would be damaging for the relations we want to have with Indonesia".
Jakarta executed 6 drug convicts, including 5 foreigners, in January, brushing
aside last-minute appeals from Brazil and the Netherlands. More than 130 people
are on death row in Indonesia, including 57 drug convicts.
Indonesia is required to give 72 hours' notice of the executions.
(source: The Guardian)
********************
AGO orders execution of death penalty
The Attorney General's Office (AGO) has released an official letter instructing
prosecutors to prepare for the execution of a number of drug convicts, an
official said on Friday.
"The letter is dated April 23," Attorney General Office's spokesman Tony
Spontana said as quoted by Antara news agency.
The AGO confirmed on Thursday that the execution of 10 death row convicts would
be conducted shortly after the conclusion of the 60th Asian-African Conference
Commemoration.
(source: The Jakarta Post)
***********************
France condemns 'shocking' death row case in Indonesia
Paris has accused Indonesia of "serious dysfunction" in its legal system that
led to a Frenchman being sentenced to death, deepening a diplomatic spat over
the upcoming execution.
Serge Atlaoui, 51, lost his final appeal against his death sentence for drug
offences this week, taking him closer to execution by firing squad.
French President Francois Hollande warned Indonesia that executing Atlaoui
would damage ties between the 2 nations and Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius
summoned the Indonesian ambassador to discuss the case.
Fabius also wrote a letter to his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi in which
he said Atlaoui had been the victim of a hasty trial and was sentenced "in a
ruling containing erroneous statements".
"The eventual execution of Mr Atlaoui would be even more incomprehensible to
the government and French people as, due to serious dysfunction in the
Indonesian legal system, he did not benefit from his due rights," wrote Fabius.
Atlaoui was arrested near Jakarta in 2005 in a secret laboratory producing
ecstasy and was sentenced to death 2 years later.
Imprisoned in Indonesia for a decade, the father-of-4 has always denied the
charges, saying he was installing industrial machinery in what he thought was
an acrylics factory.
Fabius said it was "particularly shocking" that the Supreme Court decision was
handed down in only a few weeks without calling witnesses, while the Indonesian
ringleaders' case had been subject to hearings for over a year.
"This is a discriminatory procedure against 1 of our citizens who does not
benefit from the same guarantees as Indonesian citizens in the same case."
Fabius said the death sentence contained errors describing Atlaoui as a chemist
while witness statements proved he was working as a welder in the factory where
the drugs were being produced.
France "urgently requests that Indonesia respect its own rule of law and
international obligations of the convention to which it belongs," said Fabius,
urging the country to grant Atlaoui clemency.
Responding to the letter, Marsudi said she would discuss it with Fabius by
telephone on Thursday evening.
"I will explain the legal system in Indonesia and I will explain the emergency
situation caused by drug crimes in Indonesia," she said.
"This is a legal affair. If there's indeed a concern on the legal system then
it should be proven legally."
The EU also weighed in on the case, saying it takes a "strong and principled
position against the death penalty in all cases".
"While we acknowledge the fact that Indonesia has to cope with a growing drugs
problem, experience in other countries strongly suggests that capital
punishment is not the answer," said foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini in
a statement.
"The EU is prepared to explore ways of supporting Indonesia's efforts in the
fight against drugs."
Atlaoui is one of several foreign drug convicts, including Australians Andrew
Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, who recently lost appeals for presidential clemency,
typically a last chance to avoid the firing squad.
(source: 9news.com.au)
******************
EU 'completely opposed' to Frenchman's death sentence in Indonesia
The EU on Thursday attacked the death sentence imposed on a Frenchman in
Indonesia, which is expected to be carried out shortly, saying it was no answer
to drug trafficking.
"The European Union is completely opposed to the death penalty. It cannot be
the answer to drug trafficking," EU president Donald Tusk said, adding that he
was referring to Serge Atlaoui who lost his final appeal against his death
sentence earlier this week.
The Indonesian government said earlier Thursday it had ordered officials to
make preparations to execute a group of drug convicts, most of them foreigners,
amid mounting international criticism.
10 convicts -- from Australia, France, Brazil, the Philippines, Nigeria, Ghana
and Indonesia -- will face the firing squad after losing appeals for
presidential clemency.
There have been especially sharp exchanges between France and Indonesia in
recent days over Atlaoui's fate, with Paris saying his trial had not been
properly conducted.
French President Francois Hollande said he "would do everything possible up to
the last moment" to prevent Atlaoui's execution.
"Abolishing the death penalty is for us an absolute principle. For Serge
Atlaoui, death cannot be the ultimate sanction," said Hollande after attending
an emergency EU summit on migrants in Brussels.
Atlaoui was arrested near Jakarta in 2005 in a secret laboratory producing
ecstasy and was sentenced to death 2 years later.
EU foreign affairs head Federica Mogherini issued a statement earlier Thursday
saying the 28-nation bloc was ready to work with Indonesia on drug trafficking.
"The recent rejections in Indonesia of retrials, including in the case of a
French citizen, bring closer the regrettable prospect of further executions,"
Mogherini said.
(source: Daily Mail)
************************************
Lawyers prepare final appeal for death sentence grandmother
Lawyers for a British grandmother facing death by firing squad are preparing
her final appeal against execution.
Representatives of Lindsay Sandiford, 58, from Cheltenham, but originally from
Redcar, in North Yorkshire, said her predicament was dire with the Indonesian
authorities apparently preparing to execute 9 convicted foreign drug smugglers,
including 2 Australian ringleaders of a heroin-smuggling gang this weekend.
Barrister Craig Tuck said given the circumstances "there may be a need for us
to fill the appeal papers soon and start triggering the appeal process."
Sandiford, 58, who spent part of her childhood in Bridlington, was found with
cocaine estimated to be worth 1.6m pounds as she arrived in Bali on a flight
from Bangkok in Thailand in May 2012. She was convicted of trafficking after
admitting the offences, but claimed she had been coerced by threats to her
son's life. She co-operated with the police, leading to 4 arrests.
Supporters say while Sandiford faces the death penalty, syndicate members whom
she helped convict received jail terms of 1 to 6 years. She lost a previous
Supreme Court appeal in 2013.
Mr Tuck said his client "had been to hell and back" and that the court system
hadn't given her a "fair shake."
"It is fair to say she had some good days and some bad days as anybody would if
they were locked up in a jail miles from home potentially facing the firing
squad." He added: "There's no question she???s a vulnerable person and in the
weeks and months to come some of these features will be put out into the public
to give a full picture."
(source: Yorkshire Post)
INDIA:
Death penalty is judicially sanctioned murder - it doesn't tackle crime or
terrorism
"Mukesh Singh just made the case for death penalty stronger," ran the headline
of a news report on a BBC documentary on the 2012 Delhi gang-rape. The film
India's Daughter was banned by the Indian government, but people logged onto
the internet anyway to see the rape-murder convict defending himself and
blaming the victim for the sexual assault. His lack of remorse sparked
widespread outrage in the country, with the mainstream and social media
erupting with calls for Mukesh Singh to be hanged. Once again.
A similar demand for the death penalty had come from certain sections of
society in the immediate aftermath of the gang-rape in December 2012. Although
those calls were resisted by several rights organisations, feminist groups and
scholars, the most definitive statement against the extreme measure of death
penalty had come from the Justice Verma Committee, which noted that, "In our
considered view ... the seeking of death penalty would be a regressive step in
the field of sentencing and reformation ... [I]n the larger interests of
society, and having regard to the current thinking in favor of abolition of the
death penalty ... we are not inclined to recommend the death penalty."
The numbers speak for themselves - in 1945, when the United Nations was
founded, only eight countries had abolished the death penalty, while today 140
states are abolitionist in law or practice.
Let's be clear - advocating the abolition of capital punishment does not mean
that crimes should go unpunished. The question is whether punishment by the
state should descend into something akin to revenge or barbarity. The anger or
hurt felt by the victims' families is understandable. The public outrage
against terrorism and the demand for improving women's safety is also
justified. But let us not be under any illusion that a death sentence will more
successfully deter rape, murder or any other crime for that matter.
A worldwide trend
Executions kill the criminal, not the crime. There is no evidence that the
threat of execution is more of a deterrent to crime than a prison sentence.
This fact has been confirmed in multiple studies in many regions around the
world, including by the United Nations. The Justice Verma Committee came to the
same conclusion, noting that "there is considerable evidence that the deterrent
effect of death penalty on serious crimes is actually a myth".
The key to deterrence is the likelihood of detection, arrest and conviction for
a crime. The conviction rate for rape in India was 27% at the end of 2013.
Thousands of crimes against women go unreported, or do not lead to
investigations and chargesheets, or are delayed in trial for years. When the
swiftness and certainty of punishment is so low, its severity by itself has
little preventive effect.
Lawmakers in India often find it convenient to hold up capital punishment as a
symbol of their resolve to tackle crime, and choose to ignore more difficult
and effective solutions like improving investigations, prosecutions and care
for victims' families.
Unfortunately, the same trend was evident last year across the world - with
governments using the death penalty in a misguided, often cynical, attempt to
tackle crime and terrorism. Amnesty International's latest annual report on the
death penalty worldwide found that an alarming number of countries used the
death penalty to tackle real or perceived threats to state security posed by
terrorism, crime or internal instability in 2014.
In December 2014, in the wake of the Peshawar school terrorist attack that
killed 149 people, mainly children, Pakistan lifted a 6-year moratorium on
executions. More than 50 people have been put to death since.
Executions for terrorism-related offences continued to be recorded in China,
Iran and Iraq. Jordan started using the death penalty again, and Indonesia
moved close to carrying out executions - both justifying their actions as
responses to crime.
In a year when abhorrent summary executions by armed groups were branded on the
global consciousness like never before, it is appalling that governments are
themselves resorting to more executions in a knee-jerk reaction to terrorism.
Self-perpetuating cycle
The death penalty is little more than judicially sanctioned murder. Far from
deterring crime, it can create more misery, perpetuating the cycle of violence
and reprisal.
Amnesty International's report reveals that last year, 112 people were
exonerated in nine countries after they were sentenced to death - this is a
significant number of innocent lives saved. We found that in majority of
countries where people were sentenced to death or executed, the capital
punishment was imposed after proceedings that did not meet international fair
trial standards.
In several countries - including Afghanistan, China and Saudi Arabia - death
sentences were based on "confessions" made under duress, and were awarded for
non-lethal crimes, such as drug-related offences, corruption, committing
adultery, "insulting the prophet of Islam", and "witchcraft".
Crime must be prevented and punished, but in full respect of human rights and
dignity. Society has come a long way from the middle ages, when justice was
meted out with floggings and public hangings. But a civilised society needs to
tackle crime based on reasoned forms of punishment. As the French philosopher
Michel Foucault observed, "It is the certainty of being punished and not the
horrifying spectacle of public punishment that must discourage crime."
Gratefully, not all is grim. There is some good news as well. Excluding China,
at least 607 executions were recorded in 2014, down by almost 22% from 2013. 22
countries were known to execute in 2014, the same number as the year before.
This is a significant drop from 20 years ago, when Amnesty International
recorded executions in 41 countries, and highlights the clear global trend of
states moving away from the death penalty.
Those governments that continue to execute need to realise that they are on the
wrong side of history. They need to join the vast majority of countries who
have dropped the ultimate cruel punishment. Campaigning for an end to the death
penalty remains an uphill task, but Amnesty International and many others are
determined to make the world free of this extreme punishment. By this time next
year, we hope that we will have more good news to report.
(source: Opinion; Divya Iyer--The author is Research Manager, Amnesty
International India----scroll.in)
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