April 27
ZAMBIA:
Zambia has 168 men and 2 women on death row
Yesterda's He was speaking in Kabwe today when he addressed hundreds of
prisoners at Mukobeko maximum security prison
The Zambia Correctional Services says it has 170 inmates on death row. The 170
comprises 168 males at Mukobeko Maximum Security Facility in Kabwe. The 2 women
are confined to the female section.
Zambia Correctional Services Commissioner General Percy Chato said before the
courts of law convicted and sentenced the 170 people to death for committing
various capital offences, there had been no inmate on death row. The number had
accumulated since July 16, 2015.
"As at July 16, 2015, there was no one on death row following the presidential
clemency of 332 inmates by His Excellency Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu, the Republican
President. The number has risen since honourable courts have continued
committing inmates to prison," he said.
Mr Chato, however, said in response to a Press query that no inmate on death
row had been hanged since 1997.
Mr Chato said that the last Head of State to sign the death penalty which
eventually led to the execution by hanging of eight inmates at Mukobeko Maximum
Security Facility was Frederick Chiluba.
Dr Chiluba's successor Levy Mwanawasa refused to sign the death penalty during
his reign, the precedent which subsequent presidents in Rupiah Banda, Michael
Sata and Mr Lungu have carried on.
"There is no legal backing as to whether execution must not be carried out, it
is on the Christian tenets since Zambia was declared a Christian Nation," Mr
Chato said.
(source: Lusaka Times)
*********************
Zambian opposition fails to have treason case dropped----United Party for
National Development leader among those charged, Amnesty claims intimidation
Opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema failed in his bid to have treason charges
against him and other United Party for National Development (UPND) officials
dismissed on Wednesday.
Hichilema and 5 other defendants have been accused of treason over an incident
on April 8 when they allegedly blocked President Edgar Lungu's motorcade as it
passed through Mongu, a town 500 kilometers (310 miles) west of the capital
Lusaka.
Judge Green Malumano agreed with defense lawyers about the lack of detail in
the treason allegation -- it contains no information how the accused planned to
overthrow the government -- but refused to quash the charge.
"Instead, I will allow the prosecutors to amend the charge and ... include
covert activities the accused planned to undertake in order to overthrow the
Zambian government," he told the court in Lusaka.
If the prosecution failed to include such detail, the count would be quashed,
Malumano added.
The UPND defendants cannot be bailed while awaiting trial for treason, which is
punishable by the death penalty or at least 15 years' imprisonment.
Outside the court, around 50 opposition supporters were arrested following
clashes with police.
Amnesty International on Wednesday demanded Hichilema's immediate release and
called for the government to drop the treason charges. The group's southern
Africa director, Deprose Muchena, said the treason allegation was designed to
harass and intimidate the opposition.
(source: aa.com.tr)
NIGERIA:
Death penalty in Nigeria: Constitutional but unconventional
Executing persons on the death row is an issue Nigerians don't take lightly.
Whenever this issue is raised, the picture of Late Sani Abacha comes alive. He
was reckoned to have ordered the execution of over 100 Nigerians during his
reign in power. It was contended then that the trials which led to the
convictions were not fair and independent (there is a high possibility that
many innocent persons were executed). The height of this was reached when Ken
Saro-Wiwa was killed. His unjust execution nailed the death penalty debate.
Over the years, while the law regarding death penalty remained intact the
attitude of presidents and governors has changed. For various reasons they have
been reluctant to sign the death warrants rather they commute the death penalty
to life imprisonment. This is a good practise.
Unfortunately, it seems the attitude of some governors is now changing. In
2013, under the administration of Mr Adams Oshiomhole four people were
executed. Last year as well, under the administration of Mr Godwin Obaseki, 3
death row inmates were executed. Lately, Mr Adeniji Kazeem, Attorney General of
Lagos, caused a stir when he said the state was considering going ahead with
the execution of inmates on death row.
Mr Femi Falana (SAN) in a letter to Governor Ambode dated April 19, 2017,
informed the Governor that the planned execution of death row inmates which
includes the popular Rev. King, General Overseer of Christian Praying Assembly,
would violate the judgment delivered by Mufutau Olokooba, justice of the Ikeja
High Court, in 2012. The judge held that "while a person who commits murder may
be sentenced to death, it is illegal and unconstitutional to execute such death
by hanging or firing squad as it will lead to the violation of his fundamental
right to freedom from torture guaranteed by the constitution". In effect the
judge declared section 367 of the criminal procedure law of Lagos State and any
other law which provided for hanging by the neck unconstitutional.
Despite this judgement, the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) 2011
in Section 301, still provides that the "punishment of death is inflicted by
hanging the offender by the neck till he be dead" while the Administration of
Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, in Section 402(1) provides that the
punishment of death is inflicted by hanging the convict by the neck till he is
dead or by lethal injection (a new introduction into our criminal justice
system).
I don't support the execution of death sentences and I agree with Mr Falana
that the death sentences should be commuted to life imprisonment. Unlike Femi
Falana, however, I think such action by the governor should be an exercise of
his discretionary powers and not because of the judgement in Ajulu's case.
I am surprised why Mr Femi Falana is relying on a High Court judgement to
declare execution of death penalties illegal when the Supreme Court has in a
plethora of cases affirmed that the death penalty prescribed in the Lagos State
Criminal Code is consistent with the constitution of Nigeria.
In Onuoha Kalu Vs the state the Supreme Court Justice Iguh, held as follows:
"There is nothing in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1979
that renders the death penalty under Section 319(1) of the Criminal Code of
Lagos State unconstitutional. On the contrary, there are sections of the
constitution, such as sections 30(1), 213(2) (d) and 220 (1) (e) which in no
mistake terms, recognise the death penalty"
It is indeed settled law that a person who has been condemned to the death row,
is still entitled - pending when the death sentence is executed - to enjoy some
other rights which include, the right not to be subject to inhuman and
degrading treatment (see Nemi v. Attorney General Lagos State (1996) NWLR
(Pt.452) 42) Instances where actions of "torture or inhuman or degrading
treatment" can arise for a convict includes where the person is put in a crowed
cell or unhygienic cell without toilet facilities, lack of food etc. Wabili V.
C.O.P (1985) 6 NCLR 429
This has not been interpreted to mean that the convict would not be executed.
In the same case of Onuoha Kalu Vs the state, Justice Belgore held as follows:
At any rate, if after death sentence has been passed and the accused is in
prison custody if anything arises outside the normal custody that amounts to
"torture or inhuman or degrading treatment" that will be cause of action under
fundamental rights but not militating against the sentence of death. In such a
case the death sentence stands. "Inhuman and degrading treatment" outside the
inevitable confinement in death row will not make illegal the death sentence,
rather it only gives ground for an enforceable right under the constitution.
Based on the doctrine of hierarchy of court, one can rightly argue that the
Supreme Court judgement on this issue is settled law and as such final and
binding on both the Supreme Court itself and the lower courts (including the
High Court of Lagos State). As Justice Oputa while considering the powers of
the Supreme Court (as the final court in the land) said in Adegoke Motors Ltd
v. Adesanya
"We are final not because we are infallible; rather we are infallible because
we are final"
The issue of executing persons on death row has been settled by the highest
court of the land, even if it was reached fallibly. The Judgement of the Ikeja
High Court even though it may be infallible, it is, unfortunately, not final.
Our legal system is governed by finality and not fallibility or infallibility.
In the light of the above, I humbly disagree with the learned silk and posit
that the governor would be acting within the law if he seeks to proceed. Rather
than present legal arguments to discourage the governor, we have to appeal to
his conscience and international best practises.
Punishments for capital offences attract the death penalty and this type of
punishment is mandatory. The judge has no discretion whatsoever and the
constitution approves of it totally. The only remedy available to a person on
the death row is to appeal to the governor or the president to exercise the
prerogative of mercy in their favour. Nothing more nothing less and this cannot
be changed by a court, only a constitutional amendment can alter it. Which is
why lawyers and NGO's have been demanding that the National Assembly should
reconsider the continued relevance of death penalty in Nigeria.
(source: J.B Nwachukwu is a lawyer and a writer----businessdayonline.com)
SOUTH KOREA:
Will next president re-implement death penalty?
The death penalty reemerged as a hot political issue in Tuesday's presidential
TV debate after being shunned by the courts for the past 20 years.
Conservative Liberty Korea Party candidate Hong Joon-pyo asked Democratic Party
of Korea's Moon Jae-in in the debate on JTBC whether it is legal.
"It is not a matter of being legal or illegal," Moon said. "Although the
Constitutional Court ruled the system legal, I personally think it should be
abolished. Korea has not enforced the system for the past 20 years, making it
practically dead in this country."
Hong replied: "We have not abolished it. We simply did not execute it. The
system's absence has fanned criminals like serial killers, making them
rampage."
Moon did not back away, calling the death penalty "ineffective" for reining in
criminals. "The whole world knows about the system's ineffectiveness," Moon
said.
A Hankook Ilbo-Korea Times survey following the debate showed Moon leading the
presidential race with over 40 % support.
The death penalty was last carried out on Dec. 30, 1997, under the Kim
Young-sam administration, when 23 prisoners were executed. The next president,
Kim Dae-joong, did not support the system and never saw prisoners on death row.
Following administrations have also kept their distance.
The 1st execution was in 1949 for murder, while over 1,300 people are estimated
to have been on death row in Korea. 61 people had a death sentence hanging over
them as of February last year.
Non-government organization Amnesty International regards any nation that has
not "pushed the button" for 10 years or longer to have abolished the death
penalty. It estimates that as of this year, 104 countries have scrapped capital
punishment.
(source: The Korea Times)
PHIIPPINES:
Palace: Death penalty poll shows Pinoys back 'strong stance' on crime
A recent survey showing that majority of Filipinos back death penalty is an
affirmation of President Rodrigo Duterte???s leadership and his campaign
against crime and illegal drugs, Malaca???ang said Wednesday.
A Social Weather Stations survey conducted from March 25 to 28 showed that 61
%, or 3 in 5 Filipinos, are for the revival of death penalty, one of the
priorities of the Duterte administration.
Only 23 % of the 1,200 respondents were opposed to capital punishment.
"The latest SWS survey showing that 61 % of the Filipino people support the
proposed death penalty affirms the president's leadership platform anchored on
peace and order as well as his strong stance against illegal hard drugs and
criminality," presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said in a statement.
Abella claimed that the poll results prove that Filipinos are supportive of the
House of Representatives' passage of the death penalty bill.
"It also proves that the House of Representatives' decision last month to pass
the death penalty bill is on the right track and accurately reflects the pulse
of the Filipino people," the presidential spokesman said.
The House of Representatives, which is dominated by Duterte allies, passed on
3rd and final reading the death penalty bill on March 7 despite protests from
the Roman Catholic Church, pro-life groups and a handful of House members.
The death penalty was abolished in 1987 during the presidency of Corazon Aquino
but was reimposed 6 years later under President Fidel Ramos.
Crimes that were covered by death penalty include rape, kidnapping, murder,
drug trafficking and rape.
Capital punishment was scrapped anew in 2006 under President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo, who, as Pampanga representative, voted against the death
penalty bill in March.
Abella said Duterte is "determined to fulfill his promise to make a safer and
more secure place for the people" and to promote "sustained economic progress
to uplift the lives of the Filipinos."
Drilon: Senate approval unlikely
According to Senate Minority Leader Frankilin Drilon, however, the chances for
the death penalty bill are slimmer at the Senate.
"It's not simply because of the LP (Liberal Party), but because individually or
collectively the senators think we should not impose the death penalty. In
fact, there are 7 from the majority coalition today in the Senate who are
against the reimposition of the death penalty and 6 from the minority," Drilon,
a former Senate president, said at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay Forum on
Wednesday.
Drilon said it is still not clear whether the Philippines is barred from
reimposing the death penalty by international treaty, a matter that put
hearings at the Senate on hold.
"The issue was whether or not the Second Optional Protocol was ratified and the
opinion of the Secretary of Justice is sought. Again, the situation is the
previous administration, specifically President Arroyo and then Secretary of
Foreign Affairs, that, with the law which prohibited the imposition of death
penalty, we are deemed to have ratified the Second Optional Protocol," he said.
The Department of Justice has yet to submit its legal opinion on the issue, he
said.
(source: Philippine Star)
********************
Senator Pacquiao vows to push for passage of Death Penalty Bill
Senator Manny Pacquiao believes the death penalty bill is not yet dead contrary
to the pronouncement of Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Wednesday.
"I have trust on the wisdom and foresight of my colleagues at the Senate. I am
confident that we can be able to muster enough votes to push the approval of
the death penalty bill in the Upper House," declared Senator Pacquiao, who is
still in Brisbane, Australia to promote his July 2 fight against Jeff Horn.
Senator Pacquiao is scheduled to fly back to Manila on Friday evening so as not
to miss the resumption of Senate session on Tuesday (May2).
Senator Pacquiao said the country currently needs a death penalty law to
address the problem on illegal-drugs trade, as well as, drug-related crimes.
Senator Pacquiao explained there are 2 main reasons why he is staunchly
proposing for the restoration of the capital punishment.
First, Senator Pacquiao said, drug trafficking can be considered a heinous
crime.
"Transcript of the 1986 Constitutional Convention would bare that the delegates
even mentioned 'dope' trafficking as among the heinous crimes and ConCon
delegate Christian Monsod, main proponent of a death penalty provision in the
1986 Constitution, used this argument to convince his fellow delegates to
support his proposal.
Second, Senator Pacquiao believes there is a compelling reason for the
re-imposition of death penalty involving commission of heinous crimes.
"Don't they (opponents of death penalty bill) consider rampant drug-related
crimes and the magnitude of illegal drug problem in the country as compelling
reason?" Senator Pacquiao asked.
For Senator Pacquiao, shabu and even ecstasy are not drugs but poison.
"Shall we allow this kind of poison to continue killing our people particularly
the youth sector? This is not just addictive but it also kills the dreams and
future of our youths and the moral fiber of our society," the senator from
Mindanao said.
He believes that the victory of President Duterte was part of God's plan.
"President Duterte's assumption to power unveiled the gravity of illegal drugs
problem in our country. Only his administration has declared a relentless war
against illegal drugs," the boxer-turned-senator said.
According to Senator Pacquiao, there are enough safeguards against wrongful
execution of the death penalty.
He said, one is outright review by the Supreme Court of the capital punishment
meted out against an accused and the other is the commutation of the death
sentence by the President.
(source: philboxing.com)
IRAN:
Revolutionary Courts Responsible for Majority of Executions in Iran
In the Iran Human Rights' (IHR) annual report on the death penalty, the issue
of due process and the role of the Revolutionary Courts in sentencing
individuals to death.
The Revolutionary Courts were established in 1979 by the 1st Supreme Leader,
Ayatollah Khomeini. They were meant to be temporary courts to deal with the
officials of the former regime. However, they continue to operate more than 37
years later. These courts are less transparent than the Public Courts and these
judges are known for greater abuse of their legal powers. These judges also
often deny access to legal representation during the investigation phase and
prevent lawyers from accessing client files on the basis of confidentiality, or
the fact that lawyers have insufficient qualifications to review certain files.
Trials may only last a few minutes, with no jury, no defense lawyers and death
sentences based on no evidence other than confessions extracted under torture.
These are the hallmarks of these Revolutionary Courts.
These courts are also well-known for their part in the summary executions of
the political opposition in the 1980s. Data collected by the IHR shows that
every year several hundred people are executed on the basis of death sentences
issued by these courts. This number is significantly higher than the number
sentenced by the criminal courts.
As the regime has continued to crackdown on human rights activists and lawyers,
the Revolutionary Courts have played a key part in stamping out any sign of
opposition. In 2016, for example, the Revolutionary Courts sentenced the human
rights defenders Nargges Mohammadi and Atena Daemi to 10 years and 7 years in
prison, respectively, for their activities against the death penalty.
At least 340 of the 530 executions in 2016 were based on death sentences issued
by the Revolutionary Courts. They have had a higher number of those executions
for the past 6 years, all the way back to 2010.
"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," said a spokesperson of
the IHR.
All cases regarded as security related, such as cases involving political and
civil activists, and others allegedly involved in corruption and drug-related
charges, are processed by the Revolutionary Courts.
(source: themediaexpress.com)
PAKISTAN:
'Blasphemers deserve death penalty' says PTI
One of Pakistan's leading political party which calls for "moderation and
freedom to practice the religion" has reaffirmed its support for Pakistan's
controversial blasphemy laws.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf(PTI) which is headed by cricketer turned politician
Imran Khan tweeted its support for the blasphemy laws and endorsed the death
penalty for those who commit of Blasphemy.
In series of tweets, PTI stated that the party severely condemns 'false
propaganda that the party plans to make changes to blasphemy laws'.
PTI's official twitter account added that the "PTI strictly believes that
blasphemer of Prophet (PBUH) deserves the death penalty."
(source: Rabwah Times)
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