Sept. 1
GLOBAL:
Mapped: The 58 countries that still have the death penalty
ur recent round-up of interesting facts about Belarus - published to coincide
with the 25th anniversary of independence from the Soviet Union - unearthed
some remarkable things. The country is the booziest on Earth, it gave us Viber,
and is home to some of the continent's last remaining bison. It is also the
only nation in Europe that retains the death penalty.
Every other European country has abolished it (Russia has abolished it in
practice, and has not executed anyone since 1996). But in Belarus - often
dubbed "Europe's last dictatorship" - it continues, with 12 executions taking
place in the last 7 years and more than 200 since 1990.
Just 4 countries considered to be industrialised still execute criminals: the
US, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan.
The most recent countries to abolish all capital punishment are Guinea (2016),
Nauru (2016), Congo (2015), Suriname (2015), Fiji (2015), Madagascar (2012),
Latvia (2012) and Gabon (2010).
The 58 countries that have the death penalty
1--Botswana
2--Chad
3--Comoros
4--Democratic Republic of the Congo
5--Egypt
6--Equatorial Guinea
7--Ethiopia
8--Gambia
9--Lesotho
10-Libya
11-Nigeria
12-Somalia
13-Somaliland
14-South Sudan
15-Sudan
16-Uganda
17-Zimbabwe
18-Antigua and Barbuda
19-Bahamas
20-Barbados
21-Belize
22-Cuba
23-Dominica
24-Guatemala
25-Guyana
26-Jamaica
27-Saint Kitts and Nevis
28-Saint Lucia
29-Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
30-Trinidad and Tobago
31-United States
32-Afghanistan
33-Bahrain
34-Bangladesh
35-China
36-India
37-Indonesia
38-Iran
39-Iraq
40-Japan
41-Jordan
42-North Korea
43-Kuwait
44-Lebanon
45-Malaysia
46-Oman
47-Pakistan
48-Palestinian Territories
49-Qatar
50-Saudi Arabia
51-Singapore
52-Syria
53-Taiwan
54-Thailand
55-UAE
56-Vietnam
57-Yemen
58-Belarus
Total executions in 2015
According to Amnesty International, 25 countries carried out at least 1,630
executions last year.
At least 977 people were executed in Iran last year
19 Asian countries: Afghanistan (1), Bangladesh (4), China (exact number
unknown), India (1), Indonesia (14), Iran (977+), Iraq (26+), Japan (3), Jordan
(2), Malaysia (exact number unknown), North Korea (exact number unknown), Oman
(2), Pakistan (326), Saudi Arabia (158+), Singapore (4), Taiwan (6), UAE (1),
Vietnam (exact number unknown), and Yemen (8+).
5 African countries: Chad (10), Egypt (22+), Somalia (25+), South Sudan (5+),
Sudan (3).
1 American country: United States (28).
(source: telegraph.co.uk)
IRAQ----executions
Iraq executes 7 Arab men on terrorism convictions
At least 7 men of different Arab nationalities were hanged Wednesday in Iraq on
charges of links to al-Qaeda and convictions for terrorist crimes, officials
said.
"The death penalty has been carried out against 7 terrorists holding various
Arab nationalities after the completion of their legal procedures," read a
statement by the Iraqi ministry of justice.
The 7 were captured at least 4 years ago and found guilty of terrorist
activities with al-Qaeda in Iraq.
"The blood of the martyrs will not go unpunished," Haidar al-Zamili, Iraq's
justice minister, said in the statement.
The executed were from Libya, Tunisia, Sudan, Palestine, Syria, Jordan and
Egypt. They were all hanged at the Nasiriyah prison in southern Iraq, said a
local official from Dhiqar province, also in southern Iraq.
In June, the Iraqi Justice Ministry announced that in the 1st half of this
year, it carried out 45 executions.
Another 36 were hanged for their involvement in a massacre at the Speicher
military base, where ISIS killed 1,700 Shiite cadets. The cadets were killed
after ISIS took over large swathes of Iraq and seized Mosul, starting in June
2014.
(source: rudaw.net)
***********************
ISIS hack 9 teens in half with chainsaws in grim death penalty ---- 9 young
lads have been sliced in 2 by ISIS members using chainsaws in front of a packed
city square.
ISIS' sharia court passed down the sickening punishment
The sick punishment was ordered by ISIS' sharia court after the youths were
found to belong to an anti-ISIS faction.
Tied to an iron pole in Tal Afar Square in the Iraqi city of Mosul, the youths
were sawn to death as onlookers watched on, a source told Iraqi News on
Wednesday.
"The death sentence pronounced by ISIS sharia court stated that the men should
be tied to an iron pole in the centre of Tal Afar Square in Mosul and then
sliced into 2 with an electric chainsaw," added the source, who did not wish to
named.
Public executions using chainsaws mark another sickening low for ISIS.
An ISIS executioner - called The Bulldozer - was captured on camera in June
carrying out public executions.
The world was shocked when pictures of him beheading a boy for listening to
Western songs on a personal music player emerged earlier this year.
(source: dailystar.co.uk)
NORTH KOREA----execution
North Korea executes vice premier for 'disrespect': Seoul
North Korea has executed a vice premier for showing disrespect during a meeting
presided over by leader Kim Jong-Un, South Korea said Wednesday, after reports
that he fell asleep.
The regime also banished 2 other senior officials, Seoul said, the latest in a
slew of punishments Kim is believed to have ordered in what analysts say is an
attempt to tighten his grip on power.
"Vice premier for education Kim Yong-Jin was executed," Seoul's Unification
Ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-Hee said at a regular briefing.
Kim was killed by a firing squad in July as "an anti-party, anti-revolutionary
agitator," added an official at the ministry, who declined to be named.
"Kim Yong-Jin was denounced for his bad sitting posture when he was sitting
below the rostrum" during a session of North Korea's parliament, and then
underwent an interrogation that revealed other "crimes", the official told
reporters.
The mass-selling JoongAng Ilbo reported on Tuesday that top regime figures had
been punished, but identified the education official by a different name.
"He incurred the wrath of Kim after he dozed off during a meeting presided over
by Kim," it quoted a source as saying.
"He was arrested on site and intensively questioned by the state security
ministry".
- Fall of spymaster -
The unification ministry said 2 other senior figures were forced to undergo
re-education sessions.
One of them was Kim Yong-Chol, a top official in charge of inter-Korean affairs
and espionage activities against the South.
The 71-year-old Kim is a career military intelligence official who is believed
to be the mastermind behind the North's frequent cyberattacks on Seoul.
Kim is also blamed by the South for the sinking of a South Korean warship in
2010 near the disputed sea border with the North in the Yellow Sea.
Kim was banished to a farm in July for a month for his "arrogance" and "abuse
of power," the ministry official said.
The spymaster, who was reinstated this month, is likely to be tempted to prove
his loyalty by committing provocative acts against the South, the official
said.
"Therefore, we are keeping close tabs on the North", he said.
Professor Yang Moo-Jin at the University of North Korean Studies said the vice
premier's execution could be indirectly verified when Pyongyang's state media
reveals the names of attendees at the government's anniversary ceremony on
September 9.
That confirmation will be important; Seoul in February said North Korean
military chief of staff Ri Yong-Gil had been executed -- only for Ri to turn up
at a party rally in May.
- Uncle -
South Korea's Yonhap news agency put the number of party officials executed
during Kim Jong-Un's rule at over 100.
The most notorious case was that of Kim's uncle and onetime No. 2 Jang
Song-Thaek, who was executed for charges including treason and corruption in
December 2013.
In April 2015, it was reported that Kim had his defence minister Hyon Yong-Chol
summarily executed with an anti-aircraft gun.
Cheong Seong-Chang, a senior researcher at the private Sejong Institute, said
the "reign of terror" that is characteristic of a Stalinist state showed no
sign of abating under Kim.
"But the intensity of the reign of terror depends on changes to the internal
and external political environment", Cheong said.
Reports of the latest execution coincide with a series of high-profile
defections from the North.
North Korea's deputy ambassador to Britain sought refuge in the South with his
family, the unification ministry said earlier this month.
Thae Yong-Ho was driven by "disgust for the North Korean regime" and concerns
for his family's future, it said.
12 waitresses and their manager who had been working at a North Korea-themed
restaurant in China also made headlines when they arrived in the South in April
as the largest group defection for years.
About 10 North Korean diplomats made it to the South in the 1st half of this
year alone, Yonhap said, quoting informed sources.
(source: Agence France-Presse)
INDIA:
Man gets death for killing his mother, wife and daughter
An Additional Sessions Court on Wednesday sentenced to death a man who had
murdered his mother, wife and daughter in Wanavadi area in October 2012.
Judge P Y Ladekar, who awarded death penalty to Vishwajeet Masalkar (32), a
resident of Champaratna Society, described the crime as "rarest of the rare."
Masalkar's mother, Shobha (then 50), his wife Archana (then 25) and daughter
were found murdered with severe injuries in their house on October 4, 2012.
Their 75-year-old neighbour, Madhusudan Kulkarni, was found critically injured
in the attack.
Masalkar's interrogation revealed he had illicit relations with a girl from
Jejuri, which was the motive of eliminating his wife. Police had said he
murdered his wife Archana (25), and then his 2-year-old daughter Kimaya (2)
with a hammer and waited for his mother to return home in the afternoon on that
day. When his mother entered the house, she locked herself in the bathroom
after seeing what her son had done, but he broke open the door and killed her
too.
Public Prosecutor Ujjwala Pawar said that Masalkar, who used to work in a
construction company in Kharadi, wanted to get a divorce from his wife.
"Masalkar left home after killing the 3 and returned home in the evening and
cooked up a story. He told the police that unidentified people had killed his
mother, wife, daughter and injured neighbour and stolen gold ornaments and cash
from the home. But his version of the story did not match the details obtained
from security cameras."
The prosecution examined 16 witnesses. Pawar said the deposition of Kulkarni,
who was injured in the attack, and that of the woman with whom Masalkar had an
affair, proved crucial in the case.
(source: The Indian Express)
BANGLADESH:
Death sentence to Bangladeshi national in Shramjeevi blast case
A Bangladeshi national, having links with Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (HuJI)
terror outfit, was today awarded death sentence by a local court here for the
2005 Shramjeevi Express train blast which had killed 12 people and injured
scores others.
Ubed-ur-Rehman alias Babu is the 2nd accused who has been awarded death
sentence in the case.
Additional Sessions Judge Buddhiram Yadav, who had yesterday held Rehman
guilty, also slapped a fine of Rs 10.3 lakh on him.
Earlier, another Bangladeshi national and HuJI operative Alamgeer alias Rony
was awarded death sentence and penalty of Rs 7 lakh by the court.
Along with Rony and Rehman, 2 other Bangladeshis -- Nafeequl Vishwas and Sohag
alias Hilal -- were also held responsible for the blast.
Vishwas and Hilal are lodged in Hyderabad jail in connection with another case,
while 2 more accused, Ghulam Razdani alias Yahya and Sayeed, died during the
pendency of the case.
12 people were killed and scores of others injured when an explosion ripped
apart a coach of Shramjeevi Express near Jaunpur railway station in Uttar
Pradesh on July 28, 2005.
The bomb, using military grade explosive RDX, had been kept in the
compartment's toilet. RDX has been used in several terrorist attacks on Indian
targets, including the Ayodhya train bombing in June 2000.
Eyewitnesses had reported that 2 young men had boarded the train at Jaunpur
railway station with a white suitcase. Shortly afterwards, both of them leapt
out of the moving train and fled without their suitcase. A few minutes later,
the explosion shook the coach.
(source: kaumudi.com)
PHILIPPINES/INDONESIA:
Mary Jane Veloso on agenda of Duterte's Indonesia visit
The case of Mary Jane Veloso, the Filipina who was sentenced to death by an
Indonesian court for drug trafficking, is part of the agenda of President
Rodrigo Duterte's visit to Indonesia this month.
Duterte, who vowed a bloody and relentless war against drugs, will visit
Indonesia on Sept. 8 to 9 after the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
conference in Laos.
"We have prisoners there. Many of them were imprisoned because of drugs, even
Veloso," he told Filipino migrant workers who arrived from Saudi Arabia at the
Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2 on Wednesday.
"I'm praying that I could do something for her."
Veloso was given a death sentence for trafficking illegal drugs in 2010.
She was supposed to be executed by firing squad in April last year but was
given a temporary reprieve after her trafficker surrendered to Philippine
authorities. Veloso has maintained that she was not aware that the bag she was
using when she was arrested in the Yogyakarta airport in 2010 contained drugs.
The bag came from her alleged trafficker.
Duterte in May: I will not ask for clemency
Duterte said in an interview on News5 in May that he cannot help Filipinos
convicted abroad for being drug mules, adding the drug traffickers were aware
that they were transporting drugs.
"What they call the mules, they travel several times all over Asia. Alam nila
'yan, deep in their hearts, 'Ito dalhin mo, naka-seal na 'yan. Tapos punta ka
doon sa airport. Ibigay mo sa...' They would know. 'Di ako maniwala na hindi
nila alam," Duterte said.
"No. I would go there to pray for clemency, not to kill, but maybe just to get
a reprieve on the day of the execution. Pero wala akong magawa. At ayaw ko
kasi, pasensya, I'm so sorry. What I will say, do not just kill. Maybe ilagay
mo na lang sa prison, i-for life mo," Duterte, who wants the death penalty
reimposed on convicts of drug-related crimes, said then.
He said, though, that he might ask for another investigation if he is "really
skeptical" about the case.
(source: Philippine Star)
*******************
Investigators to Question 3 Officers Named by Executed Drug Convict in Video
An independent police-initiated team is planning to question 3 officers whose
names were mentioned by a convict in a video made by government officials
shortly before his execution.
The independent team, which was set up to investigate the presumed complicity
of state officials and law enforcers in drug crimes, is probing allegations
that members of the National Police, National Narcotics Agency (BNN) and
Indonesian Military (TNI) had helped slain drug convict Freddy Budiman run his
business.
Freddy mentioned at least 3 names in the video that otherwise mainly depicts
his spiritual journey inside the prison, team member Hendardi said. The team
has obtained the copy from the directorate general for penitentiary affairs at
the Justice and Human Rights Ministry.
"We are currently examining and discussing the video. We will follow up on it
by questioning the officers, if necessary," Hendardi told the Jakarta Globe on
Tuesday (30/08).
Freddy had allegedly given in kickbacks more than Rp 450 billion ($34 million)
to the BNN and Rp 90 billion to the National Police officers.
"The names are not related to the flow of funds as confessed by Freddy Budiman
to Haris Azhar," Hendardi said refusing to reveal the names or initials of the
suspected officers.
Freddy had confessed about the officers' involvement in his drug business to
human rights activist Haris Azhar when they met on the Nusakambangan prison
island 2 years ago. Haris revealed Freddy's testimony last month, shortly
before the convict faced the firing squad.
"The video also contains Freddy Budiman's advice on how to eradicate the
circulation of drugs inside the prison. He also called for tighter supervision
of drug inmates," Hendardi said.
(source: Jakarta Globe)
SUDAN:
Prosecutors push for death penalty in Sudan pastors case
Prosecutors in the case of 2 Christian pastors men accused of crimes against
the Sudanese state have called for them to receive the death penalty.
Rev Hassan Abduraheem and Rev Kuwa Shamal are accused of seven different
charges which range from spying to lying about persecution.
Some of the charges against carry the death penalty as the maximum sentence.
It's reported the prosecution is calling for the "harshest punishment"
available.
Sudan is predominantly Islamic, with the mainly Christian part breaking away to
become South Sudan in 2011.
The President of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir has said the country is an Islamic state
governed by sharia law. He is wanted by the International Criminal Court over
genocide claims.
The trial of the pastors continues.
(source: premier.org.uk)
*******************
4 Christians on trial in Sudan for highlighting persecution of Christians
There have been many arrests of Christians in Sudan, where believers are at
constant risk of persecution.
The trial has resumed in Khartoum in Sudan of 4 men who are being accused of
bringing Christian persecution to public attention.
The trial of 2 Sudanese church pastors, one student and one aid worker began
last week and resumed this week.
The 4 defendants Petr Jasek, a Czech aid worker, Rev Hassan Abduraheem Kodi
Taour and Rev Kuwa Shamal, pastors from the Nuba Mountains of South Kordofan
and Abdulmonem Abdumawla Issa Abdumawla, a Darfuri student, are accused of
intelligence activities and providing material support for rebels in the
war-torn country.
The Sudan Tribune, based in Paris, reported that the prosecution showed the
court photos and videos which he said Jasek gave to a US medical relief agency
and showed Jasek in the Nuba mountains with the agency. These mountains have
many Christians living in them and are near South Sudan but were not allowed to
secede with the rest of what is now South Sudan.
The prosecutor claimed this agency intended to interview civilians that it
believed had been tortured, World Watch Monitor reports.
Many western diplomats were in court to hear the case against the defendants,
who face possible death sentences if convicted.
US religious freedom ambassador David Saperstein tweeted when the trial opened
last week:
(source: christiantoday.com)
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