June 16
EGYPT:
W.House 'deeply troubled' by sentencing of Egypt's Morsi
The White House branded Egypt's sentencing of former president Mohammad Morsi
as "politically motivated" Tuesday, in a sharp rebuke of Washington's uneasy
military ally.
"We are deeply troubled by the politically motivated sentences that have been
handed down against former president Morsi and several others by an Egyptian
court today," spokesman Josh Earnest said.
A court earlier upheld the death penalty for Morsi's role in the 2011 uprising
and sentenced him to life in prison on spying charges.
(source: The Daily Star)
***************
Statement by the High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini on Court
sentences in Egypt
Today's confirmation of the death sentences on former President Mohammed Morsi
and five others in Egypt comes as a result of mass trials, related to a jail
break in 2011, and is a worrying development. The EU opposes capital punishment
under all circumstances. The death penalty is cruel and does not serve any
deterrent purpose. It represents an unacceptable denial of human dignity and
integrity. The EU expects these sentences to be revised in the appeals
procedure.
This coincides with a court decision in another mass trial transforming the
death penalty into life sentences of 25 years for former President Mohamed
Morsi and many of his supporters as well as prison sentences in the other
cases, in connection to conspiring with foreign groups. These sentences and
procedures are in breach of Egypt's obligations under international law.
The EU reiterates its call on the Egyptian authorities to abide by their
international obligations, to uphold the right to a fair trial and safeguard
due legal process, including the defendants' rights to a fair trial based on
clear charges and proper and independent investigations. Stability and the rule
of law need to be guaranteed.
(source: europa)
PAKISTAN:
LHC rejects plea of daughters' killer
A division bench of the Lahore High Court on Monday dismissed a petition for
challenging execution of a man convicted for killing his two minor daughters.
As the proceedings commenced, brother of the convict told the bench that
reconciliation efforts between the convict and the complainant party were in
progress, therefore, the hanging should be stopped.
However, the appellant could not convince the bench, which expressed
dissatisfaction over the documents presented by the convict party regarding
agreement between the parties. The bench dismissed the petition by upholding
the execution order.
Mukhtar had killed his daughters in 2004 and was sentenced to death penalty by
the trial court in 2007. The Lytton Road police had registered the case on the
complaint of Chanda Bibi, the mother.
(source: The Nation)
SAUDI ARABIA----executions
Saudi beheads murderers, adding to 'campaign of death'
Saudi Arabia beheaded 2 of its citizens for murder Tuesday, adding to what a
rights group calls a "campaign of death" in which more than 100 people have
been executed.
Mohammed al-Otaibi was convicted of shooting dead another Saudi, the interior
ministry said in a statement on the official Saudi Press Agency.
Authorities carried out the sentence in Riyadh.
Separately, Turki al-Zahrani was put to death in the Muslim holy city of Mecca
for stabbing dead a fellow Saudi, the ministry said.
The 2 cases brought to 102 the number of Saudi nationals and foreigners
executed in the kingdom this year.
That compares with 87 for all of 2014, according to AFP tallies, but is still
far below the record 192 which rights group Amnesty International said took
place in 1995.
"Saudi authorities have been on a campaign of death this year, executing more
people in 6 months than all of the previous year," Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle
East and North Africa director of Human Rights Watch, said in a statement on
Tuesday.
Echoing the concerns of other activists, the New York-based group said it has
documented "due process violations" in Saudi Arabia's judiciary that make it
difficult for defendants to get fair trials even in capital cases.
Under the conservative kingdom's strict Islamic sharia legal code, drug
trafficking, rape, murder, armed robbery and apostasy are all punishable by
death.
The interior ministry has cited deterrence as a reason for carrying out the
punishment.
(source: al-monitor.com)
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