April 3
TANZANIA:
Bunge Committee Touts Review of Death Penalty
The Parliamentary Committee on Constitution and Legal Affairs has advised the
government to review death penalty laws to allow death row prisoners who have
been in prison for a long time to have their sentences commuted to life
imprisonment.
The Committee Chairman, Mr Rashid Shangazi, said here yesterday that the review
of the laws should also consider putting time limit for execution of the
punishment and allow it to automatically change to life imprisonment if not
implemented.
Mr Shangazi said that once his committee recommended for review of the
punishment, but the MPs are now proposing for time frame of executing the death
penalty and if not implemented it should change to life imprisonment.
"The number of prisoners who are on death row has been increasing, but the
punishment has never been executed since the second phase government, why
should we continue to have this punishment in place," Shangazi queried. He said
delays in executing the punishment has been affecting death row prisoners and
also it is against human rights of which Tanzania has signed various
conventions to protect them.
"The Committee advise the government to go through the laws governing this
punishment, it can recommend for a section that will set time limit of
execution and allow it to change automatically to life imprisonment if not
implemented within the given time."
Debating on 2016/2017 budget implementation and budget estimates for 2017/2018
for the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, the lawmakers advised
that the government should work on various issues among them death penalty and
overcrowding in prisons.
The Minister for Constitution and Legal Affairs, Prof Palamagamba Kabudi,
promised to work on all issues raised by the Committee. Statistics show that
the number of Tanzanians on death row has reached 465 and the punishment has
never been executed in the country since 1994.
Tanzania Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance reports show that only
the late Mwalimu Julius Nyerere endorsed the punishment. According to Universal
Periodic Review report, there are 465 death row prisoners in Tanzania among
them 445 males and 20 females.
Human rights activists have been pushing for the abolishment of death penalty
because it does not help the convicts to transform and it is against human
rights as stipulated in the country's constitution.
(source: Tanzania Daily News)
PHILIPPINES:
Mary Jane remains in limbo 2 years later
Mary Jane Veloso of Nueva Ecija has remained in death row in Indonesia after
she was saved at the last moment by appeals from international groups as well
as Philippine officials. She was due to be executed for drug trafficking along
with 2 Australians, a Brazilian, 4 Nigerians, and an Indonesian in April, 2015.
But just hours before dawn, she was led back to her cell while the 8 other
death convicts were executed by firing squad.
President Joko Widodo heeded appeals of those who said Mary Jane had been a
victim of human traffickers and asked that she be spared so she could testify
against them. Her case is pending to this day and she remains a death convict,
unless she is granted a pardon by President Widodo.
In an interview last week, Widodo who had refused all requests for pardons in
the last four years said he would consider a moratorium on executions, "but I
must first ask my people." He appeared to have made 1 concession from his firm
stand on the death penalty - only drug convicts from countries that implement
the death penalty were executed in Indonesia last year.
Mary Jane may have benefited from this concession last year but if the
Philippine Congress revives the death penalty this year, it will no longer help
her. The bill reinstating the death penalty for drug crimes was swiftly
approved last March 7 by the House of Representatives and has now been sent to
the Senate.
In this connection, Bishop Ruperto Santos, chairman of the Catholic Bishops'
Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Episcopal Mission for the Pastoral Care of
Migrants and Itinerant People, said last January that If Congress enacts the
death penalty bill into law and we start executing our own convicts, "we will
lose any moral authority to ask for clemency for our Filipinos who have been
sentenced to death abroad."
Thus 2 years after she was saved from execution at the last minute in April,
2015, Mary Jane remains in limbo and her fate hinges largely on the decision of
President Widodo and the Indonesian people whose views he will seek in a
survey. It also hinges in part on our own government. If Congress revives the
death penalty as sought by the new administration, it is not likely that she
will be saved from execution much longer.
(source: Manila Bulletin)
BANGLADESH:
Bangladesh High Court upholds death penalty of 2 hardliners
The Bangladesh High Court on Sunday upheld a trial court order, confirming the
death penalty given to 2 hardliners for the 2013 murder of a secular blogger
that had set off a chain of attacks on liberal writers in the country.
A 2-member bench upheld the death sentences for the 2 members of the banned
Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), said court officials.
The court also gave different jail terms to 6 others in the case, 16 months
after a fast-track tribunal handed down the death sentences to the 2 ABT
members for hacking to death secular blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider in February
2013.
"The HC bench confirmed the tribunal verdict after the analogous hearing of
(mandatory) death reference and appeal hearing by the convicts who faced the
trial," a spokesman of attorney general's office said.
Redwanul Azad Rana and Faisal Bin Nayem, who were given the death penalty, were
students of the top North South University.
The 6 given varied jail terms included ABT's so-called 'spiritual guru' Mufti
Jashim Uddin Rahmani, who was sentenced to 5 years of imprisonment after he was
found guilty of provoking the students through his sermons to kill Haider.
Rana, who is also the main suspect in the murder of writer-blogger Avijit Roy,
is absconding.
The ABT, said to be ideologically inclined to Al Qaeda, is 1 of the 2 main
militant outfits active in Bangladesh.
The other is the IS-affiliated Neo-Jamaatul Muhahideen Bangladesh (neo-JMB),
which carried out the July 1, 2016, attack on an upmarket cafe in Dhaka that
killed 22 people.
Haider, 35, an architect by profession, was killed near his house in Dhaka's
Mirpur area.
He had started a movement demanding the highest punishment to the 1971 war
criminals just days ahead of his murder.
His was the 1st of at least 5 similar attacks on liberal writers in Bangladesh.
In February 2015 Bangladesh-born American blogger and science writer Avijit
Roy, 42, was killed in Dhaka.
A month later blogger Washiqur Rahman, 27, was hacked to death near his home in
Dhaka's Tejgaon area.
Other victims were Ananta Bijoy Das, 33, a banker and founder of the Science
and Rationalist Council; Niloy Chakrabarti, 40, who wrote under the pen name
'Niloy Neel'; and publisher Faisal Arefin Dipan, 43, the publisher of a
bestselling book by Avijit Roy.
Since 2013, Bangladesh has witnessed a spate of Islamist attacks on foreigners,
liberals and members of religious minorities with the IS and the Al Qaeda
making competing claims.
The government, however, has consistently dismissed their claims, saying the
foreign terrorist groups have no presence in Bangladesh and the attacks were
carried out by homegrown outfits.
Bangladesh banned ABT in 2015 but its operatives regrouped under Ansar Al
Islam, which too was outlawed last month, and 1 of its key organisers, a
renegade army major, carries a bounty on his head and is being pursued by
security agencies.
Authorities believe sacked army major Syed Ziaul Haque is the mastermind of the
attacks on the secular writers.
In recent weeks, Bangladesh has carried out at least 4 security campaigns
against homegrown militant outfits across the country, including in Sylhet
where army commandos were called in to neutralise militants after a 4-day
operation.
The more-than-a-week-long security campaigns in Sylhet, Comilla and
Maulvibazaar resulted in at least 22 deaths.
(source: timesofoman.com)
IRAN:
Annual Report on the Death Penalty 2016
The 9th annual report by Iran Human Rights (IHR) on the death penalty in Iran
shows that in 2016 at least 530 people were executed in the Islamic Republic of
Iran. Although this number is significantly lower than the annual execution
numbers from the past 5 years, Iran remained the country with the highest
number of executions per capita.
Commenting on the relative decrease in the 2016 execution figures, Mahmood
Amiry-Moghaddam, IHR's Director and spokesperson, said: "We welcome any
reduction in the use of the death penalty. But, unfortunately, there are no
indications that the relative decrease in the number of the executions in 2016
was due to a change in the Islamic Republic of Iran's policy. Our reports show
that the Iranian authorities have executed at least 140 people in the first 2
months of 2017 alone."
In violation of its international obligations, Iran continued to execute
juvenile offenders in 2016. According to our report, at least 5 juvenile
offenders were executed in 2016 in Iran. 2 of the juvenile offenders were
reportedly sentenced to death for drug offences. Iranian authorities also
carried out public executions and other barbaric punishments such as
amputations, and blinding of eyes. According to IHR's reports, 33 people were
hanged in public spaces, in front of hundreds of citizens including children.
This 2016 annual report is being published only a few months before the end of
Hassan Rouhani's 1st presidential period. A review of Mr. Rouhani's 3.5 years
as President shows that, despite good diplomatic relations and dialogue with
the EU, the number of executions under his presidency was significantly higher
than the annual executions under the previous two periods under Ahmadinejad.
To launch the 2016 annual report on the death penalty in Iran, Iran Human
Rights (IHR) and ECPM (Ensemble contre la peine de mort) call on Iran's
European dialogue partners to push for a moratorium on use of the death penalty
in Iran and for major reforms in the country's judicial system which does not
meet minimum international standards.
The report focuses particularly on the role of the Revolutionary Courts as a
major source of arbitrariness and violations of due process in the Iranian
judicial system. The Revolutionary Courts are responsible for the vast majority
of the death sentences issued and carried out over the last 37 years in Iran.
According to IHR's 2016 report, at least 64% of all executions in 2016 and more
than 3,200 executions since 2010 have been based on death sentences issued by
the Revolution Courts. The Revolution Courts are less transparent than the
Public Courts and Revolutionary Court judges are known for abusing their legal
powers. Trials lasting less than 15 minutes, lack of access to a chosen lawyer,
and sentences based on confessions extracted under torture are the hallmarks of
the Revolutionary Courts.
Revolutionary Courts also play a key role in the crackdown against human rights
defenders and the abolitionist movement. In 2016 the Revolutionary Courts
sentenced the human rights defenders Narges Mohammadi and Atena Daemi to 10
years and 7 years in prison respectively for their activities against the death
penalty.
On the issue of the lack of due process, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said: "A
sustainable reduction in use of the death penalty is impossible as long as
there is no due process. Revolutionary Courts which sentence hundreds of people
to death every year are among the key institutions responsible for Iran's
violations of due process and must be shut down."
ECPM's Executive Director, Raphael Chenuil-Hazan, said: "We call on every
democratic State and all Iran's European partners to make serious efforts to
reduce the death penalty in Iran, and to include human rights, especially the
situation of the death penalty in Iran, in their bilateral and multilateral
dialogues. A good outcome can only be achieved through constant and permanent
pressure in the dialogue with Iran."
IHR and ECPM also call on the Iranian authorities to release Narges Mohammadi
and Atena Daemi immediately. These human rights groups also call for an end to
the crackdown on civil society and the prosecution of peaceful civilian
activists.
(source: iranhr.net)
NIGERIA:
EFCC poll says majority of Nigerians want death penalty for treasury looters
A poll conducted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has
shown that more Nigerians were in support of death penalty for convicted
treasury looters.
The poll, according to the anti-graft agency, was part of sensitisation of the
public towards embracing drastic measures to combat corruption in the country.
The war against corruption has assumed a high tempo under President Muhammadu
Buhari government, which was one of the campaign promises in the build-up to
the 2015 presidential election.
While Nigerian judicial system only punishes corruption with jail terms upon
conviction, in China, corruption offenses carried capital punishment.
Recently, a former Adamawa State governor, James Bala Ngillari, was jailed for
corruption in a landmark trial by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(
EFCC).
The commission reported that majority of Nigerians, who participated in the
recent poll, approved capital punishment for looters of public funds.
The report of the online poll conducted through its Twitter handle was
published in the March edition of its monthly magazine titled EFCC ALERT.
According to the publication, the poll opened on February 28, 2017 and by the
time it closed, 4,584 participants had responded to the question: "What
penalties do you think looters of public funds deserve?"
Participants were offered to chose from 3 options: long prison terms, final
forfeiture of loot, and or death sentence.
Final result showed that 49 % voted for death sentence as a penalty, while 32 %
for long prison terms, and 19 % for final forfeiture of loot stolen.
EFCC said that the poll was part of sensitisation towards the
#CorruptionDialogue tweet meet organised in partnership with the Presidential
Advisory Committee Against Corruption, PACAC, which held March 1.
The commission noted that though the poll may not impact on the judicial
system, "but what is not in doubt is that Nigerians hold strong belief that
every measure should be considered in fight against corruption, including the
death sentence."
(source: nigeriatoday.ng)
EGYPT:
Court refers Wagdy Ghoneim to Grand Mufti before death penalty decision
The Cairo Criminal Court sentenced on Sunday the Islamic radical preacher Wagdy
Ghoneim to death, simultaneously referring his case to the Grand Mufti. The
final verdict will be issued on 29 April, according to state-media.
Ghoneim, a supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood group was charged with forming
an illegal cell from 2003 to 2015, aimed at 'obstructing the constitution and
state institution, assaulting citizens, and harming national unity and public
order,' Al-Ahram's report read.
Ghoneim faced tril in other cases alongside former Islamist president Mohamed
Morsi, including incidents of violence outside the Presidential Palace on 5
December 2012.
He had also been known for making controversial remarks about Copts on TV
channels. In March this year, Ghoneim was sentenced by a Cairo misdemeanours
court to 5 years in prison on charges of incitement against Copts.
Ghoneim had reportedly been banned from entering the UK for inciting terrorism.
(source: menafn.com)
JAPAN:
Miyazaki triple killer seeks retrial after victims' family has change of heart
A 29-year-old man on death row for the 2010 murder of his wife, baby and
mother-in-law in Miyazaki Prefecture is seeking a retrial based on a plea for
leniency from a member of the victims' family, his lawyer said Monday.
The lawyer, Tomohiro Kurohara, said a male member of the family now wants
Akihiro Okumoto to atone for his crimes by living rather than dying, and said
he intends to use the statement as "new evidence" warranting a retrial.
"The bereaved family's feelings toward punishing him changed after the death
sentence was finalized. We want (the judges) to consider again whether the
death penalty is appropriate," Kurohara said.
The petition was filed with the Miyazaki District Court on March 24.
Okumoto murdered his 24-year-old wife and 50-year-old mother-in-law at his home
in the city of Miyazaki in March 2010 using a knife and hammer. He also killed
his 5-month-old son by strangling and drowning him in a bathtub, later burying
his body in a nearby yard. Okumoto committed the killings due to stress,
according to a court ruling.
Okumoto was sentenced to death at a lay judge trial in 2010, and the Miyazaki
branch of the Fukuoka High Court backed the ruling in 2012. He appealed to the
Supreme Court the same year, but the ruling was upheld in 2014.
(source: japantimes.co.jp)
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