May 24
PAKISTAN----executions
Pak hangs 2 terrorists involved in Peshawar school massacre
Pakistan today hanged 2 hard core Taliban terrorists convicted by the military
courts of their involvement in the 2014 Peshawar school massacre which left
over 150 people dead, mostly students.
Pakistan Army said Atta Ullah and Taj Muhammad were active members of the
proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and had facilitated the terrorists
who attacked the Army-run school in Peshawar in December 2014.
"These terrorists were involved in committing heinous offences relating to
terrorism, including attack on Army Public School Peshawar, killing of innocent
civilians, attacking Armed Forces of Pakistan and Law Enforcement Agencies,"
army said.
The terrorists had been tried by military courts and had confessed to their
crimes before a magistrate and trial court, it said.
Earlier in December 2015, 4 terrorists involved in the Peshawar school attack
were executed in Kohat jail in the restive Khyber-Pakhtunkwa province.
Military courts, which were restored in March for another 2 years after their
initial 2-year term expired in January, work in secrecy due to fear of attacks
by militants.
The courts were set up after a constitutional amendment following the Peshawar
terror attack.
Human rights group Justice Project Pakistan says over 440 people have been
executed since the Peshawar attack.
Pakistan has been fighting various extremist groups for over a decade. Militant
attacks have killed tens of thousands of people.
The military courts have handed down the death penalty to more than 170
militants.
(source: Press Trust of India)
MALAYSIA----executions
Amnesty criticises 2 'secretive executions', calls for moratorium on death
penalty
Amnesty International Malaysia criticised prison authorities for executing 2
men earlier today at the Sungai Buloh prison in a secretive manner.
The NGO also demanded the government to establish a moratorium on carrying out
death penalties.
In a statement, Amnesty said that 48-year-old Yong Kar Mun, who was convicted
of discharging a firearm during robbery, and another individual convicted of
murder, were both executed at 5.30am today.
Yong's execution was allegedly carried out with limited notice, with the family
only being informed of the execution less than 24 hours before it was carried
out, while no information has been made available on the 2nd convict who was
also executed.
"The secretive way through which the Malaysian authorities have been carrying
out executions is plain cruel. In these and previous executions, the
authorities have added considerable distress to the prisoners and their
families and shown blatant disregard for international law and standards -- it
is high time this practice stopped," Amnesty International Malaysia Executive
Director Shamini Darshni Kaliemuthu said.
She said that by providing limited notice, the authorities are also denying the
convicts a chance to seek further review of their cases.
"The government has repeatedly promised legislative reforms on the death
penalty, yet no drafts have been shared and more lives have been taken by the
gallows.
"If Malaysia aspires to join the Human Rights Council, it should demonstrate
its commitment to human rights by ending executions and abolishing the death
penalty. The time for action is now," she added.
Amnesty previously condemned a similar "hasty execution" conducted by
authorities in March, when brothers on death row, Rames and Suthar Batumalai,
were executed with a notice of less than 48 hours.
(source: themalaymailonline.com)
*****************
DAP slams govt for this morning's execution of prisoner----Batu Kawan MP
Kasthuri Patto says there is no point talking about respecting human rights
without committing to see it through.
DAP has lashed out at this morning's execution of a prisoner on death row for 8
years, saying the government appears more keen on executing prisoners than
reforming the law to uphold and protect human rights.
Batu Kawan MP Kasthuri Patto said the government had committed "countless
times" over the years to amending provisions in the law to grant discretionary
powers to the courts on drug-related offences that carry the mandatory death
penalty.
Yet, it appears "apprehensive" in committing to see this through, she said.
"Why then the chest thumping on transforming Malaysia into a nation that
upholds and respects human rights when it is not serious on imposing a
moratorium on all death row cases across the board until discussions, meetings
and even amendments are made?" she said in a statement today.
According to Amnesty International, Yong Kar Mun, 48, was executed at 5.30am at
the Sungai Buloh Prison today. He was sentenced to death in 2009 under Section
3 of the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971, which carries the mandatory
death penalty, read together with Article 37 of the Penal Code, after being
found guilty of discharging a firearm during an armed robbery.
Although no casualties were recorded as a result of the robbery, another man
involved in the incident was shot dead during the subsequent police chase.
Yong failed in his appeals to the Court of Appeal on Oct 6, 2011 and Federal
Court on Aug 2, 2012.
Amnesty had strongly opposed his execution, as well as the lack of transparency
surrounding the case.
Kasthuri added that Yong's execution had taken place despite a special task
force established in September last year on the abolition of the death penalty.
The task force was attended by Ipoh Barat MP M Kulasegaran, Suhakam, Amnesty
International, the Attorney-General's Chambers, the Malaysian Bar Council, the
home ministry and the National Security Council.
On March 1, she added, the attorney-general himself presented to cabinet the
findings of research conducted by Roger Hood and the International Centre for
Law and Legal Studies (I-CeLLS).
Following this, the cabinet agreed on provisional amendments to Section 39B of
the Dangerous Drugs Act (DDA) 1952 to include that discretionary powers be
given to courts to mete out punishments befitting the crime.
In April's Parliament sitting meanwhile, Minister in the Prime Minister's
Department Azalina Othman Said, said a memorandum from the cabinet, together
with the proposed amendments to the DDA 1952, would be brought again to the
cabinet for further consideration.
Azalina also said it had been proven that the mandatory death penalty was not a
deterrent to crime.
Given that the attorney-general had not yet presented recommendations to the
cabinet to amend laws on the mandatory death penalty, Kasthuri said it was
"highly immoral, inhumane and a gross misconduct on the part of the Najib
administration under the Barisan Nasional government to continue with the
executions of prisoners on death row".
She added that the government had violated international human rights laws in
its "persistent lack of transparency" in carrying out executions.
This year alone, she said, Malaysia executed 4 people in 5 months.
She called on the attorney-general, Prime Minister Najib Razak, and the Prime
Minister's Department to present the findings on the research to abolish the
death penalty in the next cabinet meeting.
The authorities should also impose a moratorium on all death row sentences
until the matter is brought to Parliament, debated and passed, she said.
(source: Free Malaysia Today)
IRAN----executions
6 Prisoners Executed in Northeastern Iran - 3 Scheduled For Execution
6 prisoners were executed in 2 different Iranian prisons early Tuesday morning,
May 24.
According to the Kurdish Human Rights Network 5 prisoners were hanged in the
prison of Tabriz. Three of the prisoners were identified as "Kazem Hajaji",
"Seyed Ali Mousavi" and "Jaber Fakhri". All the 5 prisoners were convicted of
murder and sentenced to qisas (retribution in kind).
The website "No to prison, no to death penalty" reported about the execution of
one prisoner in the prison of Ardebil. The prisoner is identified as "Davoud
Hamdard" and was charged with drug offences. Iran Human Rights (IHR) has
confirmed the execution of Mr. Hamdard.
None of the above mentioned executions were announced by official Iranian
sources.
IHR sources have reported about the scheduled execution of 1 prisoner from
Rajaishahr prison of Karaj (west of Tehran). According to these sources the
prisoner scheduled to be executed publicly in the coming days.
2 other prisoners identified as "Abdolkarim Shahnavazi" and "Saeed Hood" were
transferred to solitary confinement in the prison of Zahedan Monday morning in
preparation for execution. Both the prisoners were charged with drug offences.
It seems that the Iranian authorities have resumed the executions after a short
break on the occasion of the presidential elections.
(source: iranhr.net)
GAZA:
Suspected assassins of Mazen Fuqahaa to be executed in Gaza on Thursday
After a field military court in the Gaza Strip rapidly issued death sentences
to the suspected assassin and 2 suspected accomplices for the murder of Hamas
leader Mazen Fuqahaa in March, the attorney general of the Hamas-run government
in the besieged coastal enclave announced that the 3 men will be executed on
Thursday.
Attorney General Fadel al-Jdeili said in a statement Wednesday that the 3
"convicts" would be executed in a closed yard, in the presence of "officials,
representatives of human rights groups, dignitaries, and clan leaders."
After Fuqahaa was shot dead in front of his house on March 25, authorities in
Gaza imposed an unprecedented security crackdown and sealed the land and sea
borders of the small Palestinian territory in search for the killer, who Hamas
authorities immediately claimed assassinated the Hamas leader in collaboration
with Israel.
Less than 2 months later, on May 16, Gaza authorities announced the
investigation concluded and said that the "direct executioner" and 2
accomplices were in custody, and had confessed to collaborating with Israeli
intelligence to commit the killing.
The death sentences were issued 2 days ago, with the field military court
ruling that the sentences were not subject to appeal, raising alarm among
international and local human rights organizations that called on the de facto
Hamas government to retry the suspects in compliance with international fair
trial standards.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in
the occupied territory released a statement Tuesday condemning the death
penalty, and said that the "special field military court" that issued the
sentences "was constituted solely for this trial, the 1st such instance since
the Hamas takeover of Gaza in 2007."
"International law sets very stringent conditions for the application of the
death penalty, including meticulous compliance with international fair trial
standards. These trials do not appear to meet these minimum standards," OHCHR
wrote.
The Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council (PHROC) denounced the
"quickly issued" sentences for being based on the "unconstitutional"
Palestinian Revolutionary Law of 1979 -- which was never presented to or
approved by the Palestinian parliament.
"The council fears that the sentence was handed down to take revenge for the
killing of Hamas leader Mazen Fuqahaa and to please public opinion in the Gaza
Strip and inside the (Hamas) movement," the statement continued.
According to Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem, since Hamas took
control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, its courts have imposed 85 death sentences
and 22 people have been executed through legal proceedings, while the Izz
ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, has "summarily executed
at least 31 others, including against whom legal proceedings were still
underway."
Under Palestinian law, willful, premeditated murder and treason as well as
collaboration with the enemy -- usually Israel -- are punishable by death.
However, all death sentences must be ratified by the Palestinian president
before they can be carried out.
Since taking office in January 2005, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has
refused to approve executions and no one has been executed in the West Bank
since then, though West Bank courts have continued to issue death sentences.
However, the Hamas de facto administration in Gaza has carried out executions
periodically without receiving approval from Abbas since 2010 when Hamas
renewed the practice, claiming that Abbas??? term in office had expired.
According to B'Tselem, "There are currently at least 55 death row inmates in
the West Bank and Gaza living with uncertainty as to their fate."
**********************
Human rights organizations demand retrial for 3 Gazans sentenced to death
After a military court in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip issued 3 death sentences
against the suspected assassin and 2 suspected accomplices in the March murder
of Hamas leader Mazen Fuqahaa, human rights organizations continued to voice
their staunch objection to the death penalty.
Joining the European Union Heads of Mission and the Head of Mission of Norway
in Jerusalem and Ramallah, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights (OHCHR) in the occupied territory released a statement Tuesday
condemning the sentences.
"Carrying out these sentences would amount to an arbitrary deprivation of life
in violation of international law," the UN agency said.
According to the statement, the "special field military court" that issued the
sentences "was constituted solely for this trial, the 1st such instance since
the Hamas takeover of Gaza in 2007," adding that the sentences were final and
not subject to appeal or plea for clemency.
"International law sets very stringent conditions for the application of the
death penalty, including meticulous compliance with international fair trial
standards. These trials do not appear to meet these minimum standards," OHCHR
wrote, and urged Gaza authorities not to carry out the death sentences of the 3
men and to abolish using the death penalty completely.
In a statement published Tuesday, the Palestinian Human Rights Organizations
Council (PHROC) said it "considers the decision to form this court a dangerous
precedent," and denounced the "quickly issued" sentences for being based on the
"unconstitutional" Palestinian Revolutionary Law of 1979 -- which was never
presented to or approved by the Palestinian parliament.
"The council fears that the sentence was handed down to take revenge for the
killing of Hamas leader Mazen Fuqahaa and to please public opinion in the Gaza
Strip and inside the (Hamas) movement," the statement continued, and demanded
all 3 suspects be retried and guaranteed a fair trial.
PHROC affirmed its position that non irrevocable death sentences are "not a
deterrent but a form of punishment that is shameful for humanity."
Responding to the executions carried out against 3 Palestinians in April, who
were also accused of collaborating with Israel, Israeli human rights
organization B'Tselem stressed in a statement last week that "Executions --
whether they follow a real trial, a show trial or no trial at all -- are
prohibited. A regime that takes lives as a punitive or deterrent measure is
committing an immoral act that constitutes an intolerable violation of human
rights."
According to B'Tselem, since Hamas took control of the Gaza Striup in 2007, its
courts have imposed 85 death sentence and 22 people have been executed through
legal proceedings, while the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing
of Hamas, has "summarily executed at least 31 others, including against whom
legal proceedings were still underway."
Under Palestinian law, willful, premeditated murder and treason as well as
collaboration with the enemy -- usually Israel -- are punishable by death.
However, all death sentences must be ratified by the Palestinian president
before they can be carried out.
Since taking office in January 2005, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has
refused to approve executions and no one has been executed in the West Bank
since then, though West Bank courts have continued to issue death sentences.
Meanwhile, the Hamas de facto administration in Gaza has carried out executions
periodically without receiving approval from Abbas since 2010 when Hamas
renewed the practice, claiming that Abbas' term in office had expired.
According to B'Tselem, "There are currently at least 55 death row inmates in
the West Bank and Gaza living with uncertainty as to their fate."
(source for both: maannews.com)
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