Feb. 17
NIGERIA:
ECOWAS Court adjourns death row case against FG
The Community Court of Justice (ECOWAS Court) on Wednesday adjourned till March
14 a case filed by Nnenna Obi, a prisoner on death row in Enugu, against the
Federal Government.
Obi had been on death row since 2005.
The case, which was brought before the court in August 2015, was also filed on
behalf of other death row prisoners, and challenged the provisions for the
death penalty in Nigeria.
Justice Chijioke Nwoke, who presided over the case, recalled that the case was
fixed for hearing on January 19, 2015 but adjourned till February 17.
Nwoke emphasised that the adjourned date would be the final opportunity to hear
the application of the defendants.
"The matter came up again January 19, 2016; the court adjourned for today and
today, the case is reluctantly adjourned to March 14 for definite hearing.
"We will give them one last opportunity to appear before the court and if they
are not here by the adjourned date, we will hear their application and
adjourn," he said.
Obi in the suit stated that her conviction for murder by the High Court of
Anambra allegedly violated her fundamental rights to life and dignity.
She said that the violations were against the constitution and the African
Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights.
The plaintiff in the application asked the court to declare that the provision
of the death penalty in Nigeria was inconsistent with the provisions of the
1993 ECOWAS Revised Treaty.
She urged the court to declare that the death penalty was inconsistent with the
provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The plaintiff also urged the court to declare that the death penalty was
inconsistent with other laws and treaty relating to the right to freedom from
torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.
She asked the court to declare that the death sentence for anyone convicted of
murder or armed robbery under the constitution and the criminal code were
violations of the rights of inmates as ECOWAS citizens.
The application also sought an order to direct the government to reconsider her
sentence and those of other death row inmates.
(source: pmnewsnigeria.com)
BELARUS:
Statement by the Spokesperson on a new death sentence in Belarus
A death sentence was handed down on 16 February 2016 to Sergei Khmelevsky by a
Minsk Regional Court. Mr. Khmelevsky's legal right to appeal should be fully
guaranteed.
Mr. Khmelevsky was convicted of a serious crime and we extend our deepest
sympathy to the family and friends of the victims.
The EU opposes the use of death penalty, a cruel punishment, which fails to act
as a deterrent. We call on Belarus, the only country in Europe still applying
capital punishment, to join a global moratorium as a first step towards the
abolition of death penalty. Commuting the sentences of persons sentenced to
death and launching a public debate on the death penalty with Belarusian
society would be an important move in this regard.
(source: eeas.europa.eu)
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