April 13
UNITED KINGDOM:
How abolishing the death penalty led to more convictions----The lesson from
Victorian England is that juries convict more often when death is not an option
Though no one has been executed in Britain for over 50 years, until 1998
someone convicted of high treason or "piracy with violence" could in theory be
put to death. The law is now clearly against capital punishment, but Britons
are not. Fully 1/3 would like the death penalty to be brought back; the leader
of the populist UK Independence Party has suggested a referendum on the matter.
Yet research presented at this week's Royal Economic Society conference
suggests that if you really want to be tough on criminals, killing off capital
punishment makes sense.
Anna Bindler and Randi Hjalmarsson, both of the University of Gothenburg,
examined over 200,000 cases from the Old Bailey criminal court in London from
1715 to 1900. During this period capital punishment was abolished for many
offences, from counterfeiting money (in 1832) to robbery (in 1837). Making the
necessary statistical controls, the authors looked at the change in the
likelihood of conviction for offences that were no longer capital.
The paper suggests that when capital punishment was an option, juries were
often reluctant to convict at all. They may have felt it was a little rum to
send someone to the gallows for stealing a cow, so they downgraded the charge
or acquitted the defendant. The authors find that juries were particularly
reluctant to convict women.
Once death was off the table, however, jurors could convict with a clearer
conscience. The paper finds that the abolition of capital punishment increased
the chance of conviction for all crimes by around eight percentage points, with
especially large effects for violent offences. The temporary halt of penal
transportation during the American war of independence had a somewhat smaller
effect on the likelihood to convict, suggesting that juries considered living
in America to be a prospect slightly less awful than death.
Past research has found that would-be criminals are more put off by an
increased likelihood of conviction than they are by more severe sentences. If
so, then getting rid of the most brutal punishments could make criminal-justice
systems work better. If the third of Britons who would like the death penalty
reintroduced got their way, the country might inadvertently end up letting more
criminals walk free.
(source: The Economist)
YEMEN:
Rebel court sentences Yemen journalist to death
A Yemeni court in the rebel-held capital has sentenced a veteran journalist to
death on charges of spying for neighbouring Saudi Arabia, the press union and
rebel media said on Thursday.
Since March 2015, oil-rich Saudi Arabia has been leading a deadly military
intervention against the rebels and their allies in the kingdom's impoverished
neighbour.
Yahya al-Jubaihi, 61, was convicted of establishing "contact with a foreign
state" and providing Saudi diplomats in Sanaa with "reports that posed harm to
Yemen militarily, politically and economically," the rebel-controlled Saba news
agency reported.
Prosecutors alleged that Jubaihi had been receiving a monthly salary of 4,500
Saudi riyals ($1,200) from Riyadh since 2010, 4 years before the rebels overran
the capital, Saba added.
The Yemeni press union condemned the "arbitrary" sentence, accusing the rebels
of "targeting the freedom of the press."
It said Jubaihi was a "veteran journalist with a long record of professional
work across Yemen."
He was seized from his home on September 6, it added.
The rebels and their allies -- renegade troops loyal to former president Ali
Abdullah Saleh -- have controlled all government institutions in Sanaa since
they overran the capital in September 2014.
Rival bodies loyal to internationally recognised president Abedrabbo Mansour
Hadi operate out of 2nd city Aden or from exile in Saudi Arabia.
The Aden-based information ministry said Jubaihi's trial was a "farce" and
accused the rebels of looking to "settle political accounts... through a
politicised judiciary."
Jubaihi wrote regular columns in Saudi dailies Okaz and Al-Madina, as well as
in Yemeni newspapers.
He served at the government's press department in the 1990s and 2000s when
Saleh was president and Hadi was his deputy.
Press watchdogs and human rights groups have been deeply critical of the
rebels' treatment of journalists as the conflict in the Arabian peninsula
country has escalated over the past 2 years.
In December, journalist Mohammed al-Absi, 35, died suddenly after publishing
reports about alleged corruption. His family and human rights groups said a
post-mortem found he had been poisoned.
Eight reporters were killed in Yemen last year, according to the International
Federation of Journalists.
That made the country the 4th deadliest for journalists after Iraq, Afghanistan
and Mexico, the watchdog added.
(source: al-monitor.com)
IRAN----executions
Prisoner with Mental Illness Executed on Murder Charges
A prisoner who reportedly suffered from a mental illness was hanged at Tabriz
Central Prison on murder charges.
According to the human rights news agency HRANA, the execution was carried out
on the morning of Wednesday April 12. The prisoner, 27-year-old Rahman
Hosseinpour, who was held in the "psychotherapy ward" of the prison, was
reportedly transferred to solitary confinement prior to his execution.
"Rahman suffers from a mental illness. He committed murder in self defense
after he was sexually abused. He was not mentally stable at all. Despite this,
his death penalty sentence was still carried out," says a source close to the
family of Mr. Hosseinpour.
Iranian official sources, including the media and Judiciary, have not announced
Rahman Hosseinpour's execution.
*****************************
Prisoner Hanged on Drug Charges
A prisoner was reportedly hanged at Khoramabad's Parsilon Prison on drug
related charges.
According to the human rights news agency HRANA, the execution was carried out
on the morning of Saturday April 8. Iran Human Rights has received confirmation
on this execution from close sources.
The prisoner, who has been identified as Maziar Geravand, was reportedly
transferred to solitary confinement along with another prisoner, Morteza
Sanaie, in preparation for execution. According to close sources, Mr. Sanaie's
excution was stopped and he was taken back to his prison cell.
Maziar Geravand was reportedly sentenced to death on the charge of possession
and trafficking of three kilograms of heroin. Mr. Geravand, who is the father
of a three-year-old child, was reportedly in prison for three years before he
was executed.
Iranian official sources, including the media and the Judiciary, have not
announced Maziar Geravand's execution.
Executions for drug related charges continue in Iran despite a bill allegedly
approved by the Judicial Committee of the Iranian Parliament to halt the death
sentences of thousands for drug related charges.
(source for both: Iran Human Rights)
SOMALIA:
EU consider death penalty inhuman
The EU Delegation regrets the execution of 5 suspected Al Shabab members by the
Puntland authorities on Saturday 8th April 2017. While the EU condemns in the
strongest terms all acts of terror and supports the application of robust
sentences that follow due process, the EU also opposes on principle the death
penalty in all circumstances. The European Union considers the death penalty to
be a cruel and inhuman punishment, which fails to provide deterrence to
criminal behaviour and represents an unacceptable denial of human dignity and
integrity. Any miscarriage of justice - which can occur in any legal system -
is irreversible. The EU also notes with growing concern the recurrent use of
military courts in Somalia. The EU Delegation calls upon the authorities of
Puntland and the Federal Government of Somalia to instate a moratorium on the
death penalty and to ensure that civilians are tried before civilian courts.
The EU is committed to strengthening the Somali judicial system and the
promotion of rule of law and justice for the Somali citizens. We look forward
to supporting the Somali authorities in adopting legislation to abolish the use
of the death penalty.
(source: mareeg.com)
*********************
Local EU Statement on the execution of 5 suspected Al Shabab members in
Puntland
The EU Delegation regrets the execution of 5 suspected Al Shabab members by the
Puntland authorities on Saturday 8th April 2017.
While the EU condemns in the strongest terms all acts of terror and supports
the application of robust sentences that follow due process, the EU also
opposes on principle the death penalty in all circumstances. The European Union
considers the death penalty to be a cruel and inhuman punishment, which fails
to provide deterrence to criminal behaviour and represents an unacceptable
denial of human dignity and integrity. Any miscarriage of justice - which can
occur in any legal system - is irreversible.
The EU also notes with growing concern the recurrent use of military courts in
Somalia.
The EU Delegation calls upon the authorities of Puntland and the Federal
Government of Somalia to instate a moratorium on the death penalty and to
ensure that civilians are tried before civilian courts.
The EU is committed to strengthening the Somali judicial system and the
promotion of rule of law and justice for the Somali citizens. We look forward
to supporting the Somali authorities in adopting legislation to abolish the use
of the death penalty.
(source: satprnews.com)
PAKISTAN----executions
Pakistan hangs 2 'hard core' militants convicted by military courts
Pakistan has hanged 2 "hard core" Taliban terrorists convicted of
terrorism-related offenses by controversial military courts which were revived
after 2 years ignoring opposition from rights groups. The executions were
carried out at a high-security prison in Punjab province Tuesday, the army said
in a late-night statement. It said the 2 "hard core terrorists" were involved
in committing "heinous offences relating to terrorism, including killing of
civilians, attacking Armed Forces, Law Enforcement Agencies, polio vaccination
team and employees of a NGO."
The army did not elaborate where the trials were held and when the initial
punishment was announced. The 2 convicts were identified as Muhammad Shahid
Omar and Fazl e Haq - both active members of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan (TTP). Military courts were restored last month for another 2 years
after their initial 2-year term expired in January.
The courts were set up after a constitutional amendment after a terror attack
on an army-run school in Peshawar in December 2014 killed more than 150 people,
most of them students. While Pakistani authorities maintain the military courts
are an "effective deterrent" against terrorism, rights groups question
transparency of the trials because of the secrecy surrounding the special
tribunals.
The military courts have handed down the death penalty to more than 160
militants and yesterday's hangings took the number of those executed so far to
23. Also, the executions came on a day when Amnesty International in a
worldwide report said Pakistan reduced the number of executions by 73 % in 2016
compared to the year before.
(source: The Times)
INDIA:
Girl's mother wants death penalty for killer
Kausar Banu, whose 16-year-old daughter was killed on Sunday evening, has
demanded the death penalty for the accused, Sambaji More. "The only way my girl
will get justice is if he is hanged. That is all I want right now. I have faith
in the country's legal system," she said.
Sufiya Begam Sheikh from Indira Nagar slum in Khar (East) was allegedly stabbed
to death by More on Sunday evening at Santa Cruz (East) bridge. More (21) was
caught immediately by local residents while he was trying to flee the spot.
Sufiya passed away a few hours after she was taken to hospital.
The family's neighbour, Nisha Sheikh, claims she had never seen Sufiya and More
interact. "Sufiya was a very friendly person, but she rarely spoke to him," she
said.
The victim's father, Mohammad Shoeb, said he would rarely see More around. "He
used to leave early in the morning for work and come back late at night," he
said.
"Investigations are under way. The youth claims the girl was his girlfriend,
but we think that is not true. We think it is 1-sided love affair," said Senior
Police Inspector Mahadev Wavale.
Sajid Ali Sheikh, a resident of Vakola Shivaji Nagar (the area where the murder
took place), however, said she had seen them together at the same spot many
times.
"They used to meet here every Sunday at the same time. It is not possible they
were not friends. Last week, I saw the youth trying to push the girl off the
bridge. I have also witnessed them quarrelling quite a lot of times," she said.
(source: thehindu.com)
*****************
30 Pakistan spies in Indian jails, provided consular access whenever sought:
Officials
As many as 30 Pakistan nationals facing charges of spying are languishing in
Indian jails but none has been denied consular access whenever sought or
sentenced to death penalty so far, said top South Block officials as relations
between India and Pakistan hit a new low over a Pakistani military court
awarding death penalty to former Indian Navy official Kulbhushan Jadhav.
Officials added that more than 265 Pakistani nationals are currently in Indian
jails. New Delhi has allowed consular access to them but Pakistan disowned
them, they said. In 2015, a Lashkar-e-Toiba militant Mohammad Naved was
arrested after an attack on a BSF convoy. He is facing trial before an NIA
court in Jammu. However, Pakistan has refused to accept him as their national,
said an official.
According to data available with the government, nearly 2 dozen Pakistan
nationals caught on charges of smuggling were sent back to Pakistan in 2016 and
2017.
From 2014 to 2016, more than 250 Pakistani nationals were deported, according
to a reply by Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju in Parliament.
Pakistan executed Indian national Sheikh Shamim in 1999. In 2013, another
Indian national Sarabjit Singh, who was sentenced to death for spying in
Pakistan, died in jail after being attacked by fellow inmates.
(source: indianexpress.com)
JAMAICA:
The death penalty and our justice system
THE EDITOR, SIR:
I am one of the bleeding-heart liberals who are against instituting the death
penalty for proponents of heinous crimes in the society, and I have 2 reasons
for this.
First, our decrepit, overburdened, and flawed system could hand down
convictions resulting in the execution of innocent people. I believe that it is
morally reprehensible to imprison, let alone execute an innocent person.
2nd, there is no convincing empirical evidence to demonstrate that execution as
punishment may serve as a significantly greater deterrence to murderers than
other penalties.
The right to life has been expressed as the primacy and intrinsic dignity of
the human being. All other rights depend on the foundation of life.
In our societal context, the murders being committed interfere with our right
to live and do business without fear. Therefore, the justice system should mete
out punishment that is commensurate with murderous acts. If murder - oftentimes
heinous - is committed, that wilfully deprives an innocent person of his right
to life, would it not be proportionate for the system to deprive the guilty of
his right to life as well?
Common sense dictates that the death penalty could be effective in deterring
marauding gunmen from executing decent, law-abiding citizens, primarily for
wants and other senseless reasons, if we looked at our system and addressed the
glaring inefficiencies and other issues associated with the untimely
dispensation of justice.
Is it so difficult to rationalise that once the competent investigations are
done, and due process of law is followed, and if justice is swift and certain,
that the death penalty could reduce the murder toll?
I am not arguing that the death penalty should be reinstated for all cases of
murder. I am arguing that it may be necessary for the most heinous of the
cases. Aren't the most heinous cases of premeditated murder, which are
perpetrated by dog-hearted criminals, deserving of death?
It is time for us to weigh the impact of the rising murder toll for the family
and friends of the victims, and the society at large, and consider this option
in buttressing what obtains in our justice system.
DUJON RUSSELL
(source: Letter to the Editor, Jamaica Gleaner)
MALAYSIA:
20-Year-Old Mother Who Dumped Her Baby Alive In A Toilet Bowl Faces Death
Sentence
It's always heartbreaking to hear the news of a child's passing, but perhaps
even more so when the child was murdered at the hands of their own flesh and
blood.
A 20-year-old food processing student at an agricultural college in Bukit Kayu
Hitam was recently charged in the magistrate's court for drowning her newborn
baby in the hostel's toilet bowl.
The Star reported that Nur Izzati Adi allegedly murdered her baby on March 30
at 5:20pm in the women's toilet located on the 3rd floor - to which she nodded
as the charges were read last Monday.
As it is a murder case, the court ruled that Nur Izzati was charged under
Section 302 of the Penal Code, which carries the mandatory death penalty upon
conviction.
No plea was recorded, and on top of being denied bail, Nur Izzati was taken to
the Pokok Sea prison.
Nur Izzati was represented by Tunku Intan Mahiya Tunku Mahamad, and prosecuted
by the Deputy Public Prosecutor Parihah Ab Kadir.
However, in light that the post-mortem report has yet to be fully revealed,
Magistrate Nurfadrina Zulkhairi has declared that the case will be re-mentioned
in court on June 7.
The daily also highlighted that police were investigating a possible case of
body dumping, but promptly turned into a murder case after the baby was
confirmed to be alive prior death.
The 1st-year student was first arrested when she went to a government hospital
to sought medical treatment.
After the reports were lodged to the police, her 19-year-old boyfriend, was
also arrested in Jitra last week.
(source: malaysiandigest.com)
BANGLADESH----executions
Bangladesh executes HuJI chief Mufti Abdul Hannan, aides for 2004 shrine attack
Bangladesh on Wednesday executed banned Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami chief Mufti
Abdul Hannan and his 2 associates for a 2004 attack on a shrine that killed 3
people and wounded the British High Commissioner at the time.
Hannan was hanged at Kashimpur Jail in Gazipur along with his accomplice Sharif
Shahedul alias Bipul at 10:01 pm, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan was quoted as
saying by the Bdnews24.com.
His associate Delwar Hossain Ripon was executed in Sylhet jail, the minister
added.
President Abdul Hamid had rejected their mercy petitions.
On 19 March, the Supreme Court reconfirmed an earlier verdict of itself
endorsing death penalty of Hannan and the two others for the 2004 attack on the
then UK envoy.
The then Bangladeshi-born British High Commissioner Anwar Chowdhury narrowly
escaped the grenade attack at a shrine in northeastern Sylhet that killed 3
people, all policemen, and injured 70 others. Anwar sustained minor injuries.
The HuJI operatives carried out the attack at the shrine of saint Hazrat
Shahjalal in Sylhet, also the birthplace of Chowdhury, as he went to visit
there 18 days into his new assignment in Dhaka.
A speedy trial tribunal originally tried the case and delivered its verdict on
December 23, 2008, sentencing to death HuJI leaders Sharif Shahedul Alam and
Delwar Hossain alongside Hannan.
Hannan and 7 other kingpins and operatives of Huji were earlier sentenced to
death by another court in Dhaka for a deadly 2001 bomb attack that killed 10
people during Bengali New Year celebrations at a public park.
HuJI was formed in 1992 by Bangladeshis who took part in the Afghan war against
the Soviet forces in Afghanistan.
The US has designated HuJi as a foreign terrorist organization and "specially
designated global terrorist" while Indian officials suspected the outfit's
links in the Jaipur serial bombings and several other blasts there.
Bangladesh has witnessed a spate of attacks on secular activists, foreigners
and religious minorities since 2013.
(source: firstpost.com)
***************
Mufti Hannan, 2 associates executed
Harkat- ul-Jihad-al-Islami chief Mufti Abdul Hannan and his associate Sharif
Shahedul Alam Bipul were executed at Kahismpur jail in Gazipur around 10:00pm
on Wednesday while another of their cohorts Delwar Hossain aka Ripon was hanged
in Sylhet jail around the same time.
Hannan and his 2 associates were handed death penalty for launching a grenade
attack on the then UK ambassador Anwar Chowdhury at Shahjalal Shrine in Sylhet
in 2004.
Anwar Choudhury and 51 others were injured while 3, including 2 police
officials, were killed in that attack.
On 11 February in 2016, a High Court bench comprising justice M Enayetur Rahim
and justice Amir Hossain, upheld the death sentence for three of the accused -
Mufti Abdul Hannan, Sharif Shahedul Alam and Delwar Hossain - and life-term
imprisonment for two others - Mufti Hannan???s brother Mohibullah and Mufti
Moinuddin - handed down by the lower court.
On 19 March this year, the appellate division of the Supreme Court upheld their
death penalty. 2 days later, the appellate division released the full text of
its verdict on the review petition of the three HuJi men challenging their
death penalties.
(source: prothom-alo.com)
TURKEY:
Erdogan says gov't should reinstate death penalty after April 16 referendum
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan???has said he believes the government should
submit a draft on reinstating the death penalty in the event that the
constitutional amendments are approved in the upcoming referendum on April 16.
"After April 16, with God's permission, the draft would be brought to
parliament. If it passes in parliament, I will approve it," Erdogan said at a
rally in the eastern province of Erzurum on April 12.
Although the death penalty has not been in effect since 1984, Turkey abolished
the capital punishment in 2004 as a part of reforms to ease Turkey's accession
into the European Union. The move was initiated by the ruling Justice and
Development Party (AKP) and supported by the main opposition Republican
People's Party (CHP).
But debates on reinstating the capital punishment were brought to discussion
after the July 15, 2016, coup attempt. Erdogan vows the people's demand for the
death penalty would be met. Calls for the death penalty were among the most
recited chants in public rallies.
"April 16 will be the day to decide that," he said.
Erdogan said the reinstatement of the death penalty could be brought to the
agenda with a consensus of all political parties.
"Mr.Kemal Kilicdaroglu [leader of the Republican People's Party - CHP] says he
would approve it. I hope he will not deny it when time comes. Mr. Devlet
Bahceli, [leader of the Nationalist Movement Party - MHP] already said yes. And
Mr. Binali Yildirim [Prime Minister] is the same," he said, adding that it
would be put to a referendum if it gets approved in parliament.
"To reinstate the death penalty there needs to be a constitutional amendment,
but in an event that the parliament does not approve that, I am telling now, we
will appeal to the public with a referendum just like we did for April 16. Let
the public decide," he said.
(source: Hurriyet Daily News)
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