Sept. 5
INDIA:
Jigisha: HC issues production warrant to death row convicts
HC today issued production warrants to two death row convicts in the 2009
Jigisha Ghosh murder case on trial court reference for confirmation of capital
punishment given to them.
A bench of justices Gita Mittal and R K Gauba directed Tihar Jail authorities
here to produce convicts Ravi Kapoor and Amit Shukla before it on September 15.
The order came on submission of Delhi Police that the court could direct
production of the convicts to know whether they are going to file an appeal
against the trial court's judgement convicting and sentencing them in the case.
On August 22, while awarding capital punishment to Kapoor and Shukla,
Additional Sessions Judge Sandeep Yadav had referred the case to high court for
confirmation of sentence.
It is mandatory for the trial court to refer each death penalty case to a high
court for confirmation of sentence within 30 days of the pronouncement of the
verdict.
The trial court had on July 14 held the duo guilty on various counts, including
the murder of 28-year-old IT executive Jigisha Ghosh.
The court while sentencing the 2 to death said the girl was killed in a
"cold-blooded, inhuman and cruel manner" and "brutally mauled to death".
It had said the magnitude and brutality exhibited by the convicts made the case
'rarest of rare', warranting capital punishment for Kapoor and Shukla. The
third offender Baljeet Malik was given reprieve from the gallows and sent to
life imprisonment for his good conduct in jail.
Shukla has orally filed an appeal against the death sentence awarded to him
while Malik has filed an appeal through counsel Amit Kumar in the high court
challenging the conviction and sentence.
"Let all the appeals filed by the state and the convicts be heard together on
September 15," the High Court said.
Ravi Kapoor has not yet challenged trial court judgement.
Malik, in his appeal, has stated that the trial court "failed to appreciate
that there have been contradictions and discrepancies in the depositions of the
prosecution witnesses (PWs) and therefore conviction and sentence awarded to
him is liable to be set aside".
"The trial court has failed to appreciate that prosecution has planted PW-2...
As a last seen witness with intent to falsely proving the presence of the
appellant in the company of deceased (Jigisha) at about 4.45 AM on March 18,
2009 at SBI ATM at Mahipalpur," the appeal said.
Malik's appeal further said, "The presence of PW-2, who has been falsely shown
as a last seen witness, is extremely improbable and doubtful, and, therefore
his deposition with regard to being last seen witness cannot be considered
credible and probable evidence."
The trial court had also imposed varying fines on the convicts, with Kapoor
being slapped with a fine of Rs 1.2 lakh due to his incapacity to pay, while
Shukla and Malik were directed to pay Rs 2.8 lakh and Rs 5.8 lakh respectively
as pre-sentencing report suggested they were financially stronger.
The trio are also facing trial for the murder of TV journalist Soumya
Viswanathan, killed a year before Jigisha.
The court had said leniency cannot be shown to these convicts as there was a
rise of gruesome crimes against women which needed to be dealt with in an
appropriate sentence.
It had also directed that out of the total fine of Rs 9.8 lakh, Rs 6 lakh be
paid to the parents of the victim, and an adequate compensation amount be
decided by the District Legal Service Authority (South).
It had held the 3 men guilty under several sections of IPC, including 302
(murder), 364 (abducting for murder), 201 (destruction of evidence), 394
(voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery), 468 (forgery for purpose of
cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document).
The additional sessions judge, however, held that the charge of criminal
conspiracy (120-B of IPC) could not be proved against them.
The police had filed the charge sheet in the case in June 2009, stating that
Jigisha's post-mortem report revealed that she was killed by smothering. The
trial in the case began in April 2010.
Recovery of the weapon allegedly used in Jigisha's murder had led to cracking
of the murder case of Soumya Vishwanathan, who was a journalist with a news
channel.
Soumya was shot dead on September 30, 2008 while she was returning home in her
car from office in the wee hours.
The police had claimed robbery as the motive behind the killings of both
Jigisha and Soumya.
(source: Press Trust of India)
JAPAN:
Bar federation's declaration to call for abolition of death sentence
The Japan Federation of Bar Associations for the 1st time will clearly call for
abolishing the death sentence in light of global trends against capital
punishment and wrongful convictions of death-row inmates.
The federation until now has taken measures to spur public debate about
eliminating the death sentence.
But in a draft declaration that will be submitted to a national human rights
protection conference of members in Fukui city in October, the federation will
push for reform of Japan's criminal penalty system, including the annulment of
the death sentence.
Such conferences are held to decide on how the federation responds to important
themes and issues.
Although the draft touches upon the importance of providing support to crime
victims, it also states, "Even if a horrible crime has been committed, people
can change if they receive the appropriate treatment."
The federation's draft states that the criminal penalty system should not only
serve as a retribution against crime, but it should also seek to recover the
humanity of the criminals and facilitate their return to society.
Such measures would help to prevent further crimes and lead to greater safety
in society, according to the document.
The draft also states that carrying out a death sentence based on a wrongful
conviction can never be rectified.
In the 1980s, defendants in four cases who were sentenced to death were given
new trials and found innocent because of wrongful convictions.
In 2014, Iwao Hakamada was freed after more than 3 decades on death row after a
district court granted him a retrial.
The document goes on to explain that 140 nations have abolished the death
sentence or suspended the administration of such penalties.
The federation calls on the Japanese government to introduce life sentences
without the possibility of parole and to abolish the death sentence by 2020,
when Japan will host a U.N. conference related to criminal justice.
"There is a huge impact in having Japan's largest human rights protection body
come out in favor of eliminating the death sentence," said Kana Sasakura,
professor of law at Konan University who is knowledgeable about capital
punishment. "I hope this will stimulate debate."
Concern for the feelings of bereaved family members of crime victims has been
one reason for a cautious approach to ending capital punishment.
In its national conference on human rights protection in 2011, the federation
did not go as far as proposing the abolition of the death sentence, but it
agreed on a statement urging debate among all members of society on whether
Japan should continue with capital punishment.
(source: The Asahi Shimbun)
BANGLADESH:
Execution of Mir Quasem Ali will not deliver justice
Reacting to the execution on Saturday of Mir Quasem Ali - a key financier of
Bangladesh's Jamaat-e-Islami party, who was found guilty by the country's
International Crimes Tribunal in a flawed trial - Amnesty International said:
"The execution of Mir Quasem Ali, following a trial whose fairness was
questioned by the UN, will not deliver justice that the people of Bangladesh
deserve for crimes committed during the War of Independence. The death penalty
is a cruel and irreversible punishment that most of the world's countries have
now rid themselves of," said Champa Patel, Amnesty International's South Asia
Director.
(source: Amnesty International)
EGYPT:
Cairo court sentences 4 to death in Tanta cell case----Death sentences in Egypt
sparked widespread controversy among rights groups
Cairo Criminal Court sentenced on Sunday four defendants to death, six to 10
years strict imprisonment, and 2 to 15 years strict imprisonment in what is
known as the Tanta cell case.
The defendants were facing charges of establishing an illegal group that aims
to misrepresent the authorities, and assault the personal freedoms of citizens.
Death sentences in Egypt over the past three years have drawn widespread
controversy.
The local independent movement, Against Death Sentences, called on civil
society organisations and political parties to call for the suspension of death
sentences for the next 5 years, in an official statement on Sunday.
The movement suggested this suspension should allow public discussion on the
different aspects of death sentences.
"A death sentence is an irreversible verdict that strips away the lives of
defendants even if it is proven later that they were not guilty," the statement
read.
According to the movement, this topic was not publicly discussed in Egypt
before. The statement also stated that some countries had already abolished
death sentences, like Algeria and Morocco.
Multiple local rights groups jointly organised a session on Saturday on the 2nd
anniversary of prominent lawyer Ahmed Seif's death.
The groups, including Hesham Mubarak Center, El Nadeem Center for
Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence, the Arab Network for Human Rights and
Information (ANHRI), and the Association of Freedom of Thought and Expression
(AFTE), criticised the death sentence.
Nasser Amin, member of the National Council for Human Rights, said during the
session that there are about 105 crimes in Egypt's legislations that are
subject to the death penalty, which he described as a "legislative disaster."
Amin also cited international treaties that stipulate preserving the right to
life.
Meanwhile, Gamal Eid, director of ANHRI, also described death sentences in
Egypt as a tool for political revenge, noting that countries around the world
are increasing their efforts to abolish it.
The session also brought together families of people who were sentenced to
death to share their testimonies.
Since the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi and the security chase of
Muslim Brotherhood members, the number of death sentences in political cases
increased. They included Brotherhood leaders, such as Morsi himself and former
supreme guide Mohamed Badie.
In many cases, death penalties are given as the strictest sentence against
defendants in absentia, who have the right to call for a re-trial upon showing
up in court. Usually, the Cassation Court does not uphold the death penalty.
A few cases sparked controversy among human rights advocates. In May 2015, 6
convicts in the Arab Sharkas cell case were executed by the Egyptian
authorities.
They were charged with, according to the military prosecution, killing a
military officer in Cairo in March 2014, and murdering another 6 soldiers in
the same month.
They also faced the charge of killing 2 high ranking officers during clashes
with riot police. The defendants were denied appeals on their verdict.
Earlier in 2013, Mahmoud Ramadan, who was sentenced to death on charges of
throwing a child off a rooftop in Alexandria, was executed on 7 March.
(source: Daily News Egypt)
PHILIPPINES:
PDEA thinks death penalty acts as a strong deterrent against drug offenders
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) firmly believes that death
penalty will be a strong deterrent against all drug-related offenders in the
Philippines.
"Manufacturers, smugglers, pushers and all the more coddlers and protectors of
illegal drugs in the country, both foreign and domestic, who were proven guilty
in court, deserve nothing more than capital punishment," said PDEA Director
General Isidro S. Lapena.
"Harsher penalties must be dealt for all drug traffickers to send a strong
signal to them not to turn our country into a business hub for drugs. Our
judicial system must toughen up because foreign-led organized drug syndicates
tend to capitalize on our laws which still have loose ends," Lapena said,
adding that foreigners convicted of criminal acts may sometimes lead to
deportation after serving time behind bars.
On the part of convicted local drug offenders, investigations have revealed
that a number of detained drug lords are remotely running their trafficking
operations even within the confines of the prison. "These high-profile inmates
can still make contacts outside and operate freely while in incarceration,"
Lapena added.
"Evil given for evil done-I believe that the re-imposition of the death penalty
is a form of retribution. You have to pay. It is what is given in return for
past good or evil that you have done. We are not promoting a culture of
violence here. However, it is morally justified in levying a death sentence to
people who seek to destroy the lives of our people- the Filipino youth in
general. This is our obligation for the sake of our future generations," the
PDEA chief said.
(source: pia.gov.ph)
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