Aug. 31
CHINA:
3 Pinoys in China death row
At least 3 Filipinos are awaiting their death execution in China over
drug-related offenses, Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. said
yesterday.
At yesterday's House Committee on Appropriations briefing on the DFA's proposed
P16.63 billion budget for 2017, he said "2 or 3" Filipinos are facing death
penalty in China for illegal drugs.
"In Indonesia, we have 1. In China, 2 to 3 (Filipinos) are facing death
sentence. They have not been scheduled for execution," he told the lawmakers.
The government is flexing its muscles to spare the life of Mary Jane Veloso,
who was apprehended in 2010 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia upon her arrival from
Malaysia for transporting 2.6 kilograms of heroin concealed in her luggage.
She was given a temporary reprieve on the eleventh hour by Indonesian President
Joko Widodo last year after the previous Aquino government asked the Indonesian
government that she be first allowed to provide testimonial evidence against
her alleged human trafficker in a Philippine criminal case.
(source: tempo.com.ph)
NEPAL:
Over 800 Nepali migrants in jails abroad----Blood money can save 17 of the 27
facing death sentence
More than 800 Nepali migrants are serving jail term in their job destination
countries, mostly in the Gulf countries and Malaysia.
In addition to that at least 27 Nepali workers are facing death sentence in
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. However, most of them can
skip their execution if they pay 'blood money', according to an official
report.
As per the Islamic Sharia law, blood money is the money paid by a murderer or
his/her family to the family or kin of the victims generally to get clemency
from death penalty.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Labour and Employment today
jointly presented the details of the report in front of Prime Minister Pushpa
Kamal Dahal, who earlier directed both the ministries to swiftly work for
safety and welfare of migrant workers.
Deputy PM and Home Minister Bimalendra Nidhi, Deputy PM and Finance Minister
Krishna Bahadur Mahara, Foreign Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat, Labour Minister
Surya Man Gurung and Information and Communications Minister Surendra Kumar
Karki and secretaries of their respective ministries were also present.
According to a report received by The Himalayan Times, at least 819 Nepalis are
doing in time in 8 Gulf countries, Middle East and Malaysia. These include an
alarming number of 427 in Saudi Arabia, followed by Malaysia (217), UAE (100),
Qatar (44), Kuwait (26), Bahrain (3) and 1 each in Egypt and Oman.
Charges against them include heinous crimes like murder and manslaughter to
minor offences, such as traffic violations, over stay and peeing at roadside.
They face anything from capital punishment to 3 months' of jail term, officials
said. Over 2.5 million Nepali citizens are said to be working in these 8
nations.
Among the Nepalis on death row, 24 are facing gallows in Saudi Arabia, 2 in UAE
and 1 in Qatar. "At least 17 workers who are on death row in Saudi can skip
execution if they pay victims' kin blood money,'" reads the report.
At least 23 Nepalis are undergoing treatment after getting seriously injured in
the course of their job. Most of them (14) were wounded while working in Qatar,
where a large number of Nepalis are involved in construction sector for the
preparation to host the 2022 World Cup.
After witnessing the presentation made by MoFA Joint Secretaries Deepak
Adhikari and Ganesh Dhakal, Prime Minister Dahal directed both the ministries
to work in tandem towards ensuring safety and security of Nepali workers in the
Gulf, Malaysia and in other states.
He directed MoFA and MoLE to come up with a plan of action to make foreign
employment more respectable and safe, stated the PM's Secretariat.
The PM also directed the concerned agencies to make necessary changes in the
Foreign Employment Act to ensure swift response in case of emergency involving
Nepali migrant, according to Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Bharat Raj Paudyal.
(source: The Himalayan Times)
BANGLADESH:
Halt imminent execution of Mir Quasem Ali after unfair trial
The Bangladesh authorities must halt the imminent execution of a senior
political leader who has been sentenced to death following a deeply flawed
trial, Amnesty International said today.
"The people of Bangladesh deserve justice for crimes committed during the War
of Independence. The continued use of the death penalty will not achieve this.
It only serves to inflame domestic tensions and further divide a society riven
by violence," said Champa Patel, Amnesty International's South Asia Director.
The Bangladesh Supreme Court today upheld the conviction and death sentence
against Mir Quasem Ali, a key financier of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, after
rejecting his review appeal. It follows an International Crimes Tribunal (ICT)
judgement - a Bangladeshi court examining war crimes during Bangladesh's 1971
War of Independence - that found Mir Quasem Ali guilty of committing crimes
against humanity in November 2014.
Last week a group of UN experts urged the Bangladeshi government to annul the
death sentence against Mir Quasem Ali and grant him a retrial, noting how the
proceedings had reportedly been "marred" by "irregularities".
Amnesty International and other leading human rights organization have raised
serious fair trial concerns about the ICT proceedings. These include denying
defence lawyers adequate time to prepare their cases, and arbitrarily limiting
the number of witnesses they could call on.
"The ICT proceedings have been marred by fair trial issues from the start. The
death penalty is a cruel and irreversible punishment that will only compound
the injustice of the proceedings. Those who suffered through the horrific
events of 1971 deserve better than a flawed process. All executions must be
halted immediately as a first step towards abolition of this punishment," said
Champa Patel.
The organisation also fears for the fate of Mir Ahmed Bin Quasem, Quasem
Ali???s son and a member of his legal defence team. Mir Ahmed Bin Quasem was
arrested without a warrant by men in plainclothes on 9 August. He has been held
incommunicado ever since, and has not been charged with any crime.
"On the International Day of the Disappeared, the Bangladesh???s authorities
must promptly, thoroughly, and effectively investigate the enforced
disappearance of Mir Ahmed Bin Quasem," said Champa Patel.
Background
The ICT is a Bangladeshi court set up by the Government in 2010 to investigate
mass scale human rights violations committed during the Bangladeshi 1971
Independence War. Amnesty International welcomed the Government's move to bring
those responsible to justice, but insisted that the accused should receive fair
trials without recourse to the death penalty. The proceedings of the Tribunal
in previous cases were marked with severe irregularities and violations of the
right to a fair trial.
5 people sentenced to death by the ICT have so far been executed since 2013. In
2016, Amnesty International has recorded a total of 8 executions in Bangladesh,
including the hanging on 10 May of Motiur Rahman Nizami who had been sentenced
to death by the ICT.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception
regardless of the nature or circumstances of the crime; guilt, innocence or
other characteristics of the individual; or the method used by the state to
carry out the execution. The organization campaigns for total abolition of
capital punishment.
(source: Amnesty International USA)
*********************
End to all worries, says attorney general after death penalty upheld for Mir
Quasem
The review verdict that upheld death penalty for 1971 war criminal Mir Quasem
Ali has put an 'end to worries', Attorney General Mahbubey Alam has said.
The top Jamaat-e-Islami leader's petition to overturn his sentence was rejected
by a 5-member appellate bench headed by Chief Justice SK Sinha on Tuesday.
He lost an appeal on Mar 8 against the death sentence handed down to him by the
International Crimes Tribunal on Nov 2, 2014 for abduction, torture and murders
in Chittagong during Bangladesh's Liberation War.
Of all the review petitions filed by war crimes convicts, the disposal of Mir
Quasem's has taken the longest time.
He had twice the time than the others who had made this last-ditch attempt to
avoid execution. It is alleged that he had spent millions to dodge conviction.
Attorney General Alam had submitted documents on his payment of $25 million to
foreign lobbyists at the hearing.
"I am worried inside. I'm really worried about tomorrow," Bangladesh's top
legal officer had said the day before the review verdict.
On Tuesday, speaking to the media, he said: "All our worries have ended."
"I have said before that, as a lawyer, I have argued in this case. It is
natural that I will be worried about what the outcome will be.
"The entire nation and myself would have sunken into disappointment if his (Mir
Quasem) death penalty was not upheld like the other war criminals."
Chief Justice Sinha's dissatisfaction about the performance of the prosecution
and investigation agency had given rise to concerns, while the defence was
trying repeatedly to delay the review hearings.
(source: bdnews24.com)
***************************
Mir Quasem seeks time to decide on mercy petition
Mir Quasem AliDeath-row convict Jamaat-e-Islami leader Mir Quasem Ali sought
time from the Kashimpur jail authorities to decide on whether he will apply for
presidential mercy on Wednesday.
Jail super Proshanto Kumar Banik of Kashimpur jail read out the Supreme Court's
verdict to Mir Quasem Ali, which rejected his petition for review of its
earlier judgment giving him death penalty for his wartime crimes.
After listening the verdict, Mir Quasem said that he sought time from the jail
authorities to decide on whether he would apply for presidential mercy, said
the jail super.
Proshanto Kumar Banik and jailer of jail-2 Nashir Ahmed with a copy of the full
text of the verdict entered the condemned cell around 7:30pm where Mir Quasem
Ali has been kept.
Earlier, the verdict's copy reached Kashimpur Jail from Dhaka Central Jail at
Keraniganj around 12:45am.
The copy of the SC verdict rejecting the review plea of Mir Quasem Ali reached
the Dhaka Central Jail around 9:10pm on Tuesday.
Earlier on the day, after the SC released the full text of the verdict, it was
sent to the International Crimes Tribunal, Bangladesh (ICT,B).
The written text was released after a 5-member bench of the Appellate Division,
headed by chief justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, signed the copy of the verdict
turning down the petition to review its earlier order upholding Mir Quasem's
death sentence for crimes against humanity during the War of Independence in
1971.
With presidential clemency remaining the only option, a speculation is around
that Mir Quasem is set to meet the same fate any moment as his 5
comrades--Jamaat leaders Abdul Quader Mollah, AHM Kamaruzzaman, Ali Ahsan
Mohammad Mojaheed, Matiur Rahman Nizami and BNP leader Salauddin Quader
Chowdhury.
(source: prothom-alo.com)
**************************
Victims, witnesses await speedy execution of Mir Quasem
The prosecution witnesses and victims who were tortured by convicted war
criminal Mir Quasem Ali demanded speedy execution after the Supreme Court
upheld his death penalty yesterday.
Hasina Khatun, maternal cousin of juvenile freedom fighter Jasim Uddin who was
tortured to death in Dalim Hotel, expressed satisfaction that the court upheld
the death penalty for the condemned war criminal.
In her immediate reaction, Hasina said she would be happy with the speedy
execution of the death penalty.
Talking to the Dhaka Tribune over phone yesterday morning, Hasina said:
"Members of al-Badr, led by Mir Quasem, abducted my cousin from Chittagong
after Eid-ul-Fitr in 1971. He was tortured to death at Dalim Hotel was Quasem
and his men dumped his body in Karnaphuli River."
Jahangir Chowdhury, a prosecution witness and deputy chief of Joy Bangla
Bahini, said the infamous war criminal spent an astronomical amount of money to
save himself.
"His family members tried to bribe me with a huge amount of money, but I did
not succumb to their influence and testified against him at court. I am happy
that the nation has finally been cleansed of a stigma with his death penalty,"
he said.
Jahangir was one of Quasem's victims who were held and tortured at Dalim Hotel,
Quasem's torture cell in Chittagong during the Liberation War in 1971.
"I was held there and subjected to inhumane torture by al-Badr members for 23
days, before freedom fighters rescued me on December 16."
Dalim Hotel was one of the makeshift torture cells in Chittagong in 1971. Local
members of al-Badr, a vigilante force affiliated with Pakistan occupation army,
grabbed Mohamaya Bhaban in the city's Anderkillah area from a Hindu family and
named it Dalim Hotel.
Among other victims of Dalim Hotel were Syed Md Emran, another prosecution
witness and a group commander of Bangladesh Liberation Force, freedom fighter
Nasir Uddin Chowdhury, and Prof Dr Irshad Kamal Khan, former vice-chancellor of
Chittagong Independent University.
"Quasem and his men forcefully detained me and my elder brother from my house
in the morning of November 30, 1971," said Emran. "They took us to Dalim Hotel
where we found 10-12 more freedom fighters captive. We were held there until
December 16."
During confinement, the captives were kept blindfolded and their arms and legs
tied, said Irshad.
"We were served 1 meal per day. I am not sure how long I was held there. I used
to hear groans and screams coming from different rooms of the building every
day."
"The captives were tortured brutally for information on other freedom fighters.
They gave us electric shocks, hung us upside down and beat us with iron rod.
They burnt us with cigarettes," said Nasir.
Dr Mahfizur Rahman, eminent researcher on the Liberation War, said: "I several
tortured victims of Mir Quasem. Based on their accounts, I wrote a book titled
'Nationalistic Struggle of Bangalis and Liberation War in Chittagong' which was
used as a reference during the war crimes trial proceedings.
"The witnesses said when Mir Quasem visited the cells, the al-Badr members who
were on guard would address him as Commander. During the war, Quasem
established a reign of terror in Chittagong by committing various crimes
against humanity like killing, looting, abduction, persecution, genocide, rape,
extortion and arson attacks in collaboration with Pakistan occupation forces."
The activists of Gonojagoron Moncho demanded yesterday that Dalim Hotel be
acquired for preserving the torture cell as a memorial of Liberation War.
*************************
Couple get death penalty for killing boy in Natore
A Natore court has sentenced a couple to death for killing an 8-year-old boy
who is from the person's 1st marriage.
Natore District and Sessions' Judge Rezaul Karim passed the order on Wednesday
and fined them Tk10,000 each for murdering Yasin Arafat alias Emon.
The convicts are Emdadul Hoque Milon, 37, of Kamardah village under Baraigram
upazila, and his wife Nahida Begum, 24 who remains on the run.
Milon divorced Emon's mother and married off Nahida later.
According to the case statement, Milon and Nahida had strangled Emon to death
on August 27, 2015.
In the incident, Emon's mother Kulsuma Begum lodged a murder case against the
duo with Baraigram police station and the court came up with the verdict after
examining evidence and witness.
Kulsuma Begum claimed that Milon is a highway robber and their separation took
place as she protested his crimes.
(source for both: Dhaka Tribune)
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