August 13
INDIA:
Supreme Court stays execution of man on death row
The Supreme Court has stayed the execution of a man sentenced to death in a
case related to election rivalry in which 6 persons were murdered after
panchayat polls in Uttar Pradesh in 2003.
A bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra, Amitava Roy and A M Khanwilkar
admitted the appeal filed by convict Madan and called for the trial court's
records of the case lodged in Muzaffarnagar district.
"Leave granted. Let the lower court's records be called for. There shall be a
stay on the execution of the death sentence," it said.
Madan was awarded the capital punishment by the trial court in July 2015 and
the sentence was confirmed by the Allahabad High Court in February this year.
The high court, while confirming his death sentence, had observed that he was 1
of the main assailants in the crime in which 6 persons had died.
The high court had commuted to life term the death penalty awarded by the trial
court to another convict in the case.
According to the prosecution, Madan, along with his associates, had fired at
the family members and supporters of the successful candidates, who were
elected as members of a village panchayat.
It had alleged that Madan and others were supporting the other candidate, who
had lost the election, due to which he had a grudge against them.
The prosecution had said that on October 14, 2003, when the relatives and
supporters of the successful candidates were going to the house of deputy
pradhan of the village, Madan and his associates attacked them and in the
firing 6 people had died.
During the trial, Madan and others had denied the allegations levelled against
them and had claimed that they were falsely implicated in the case due to
election rivalry.
In its judgement, the high court had held that Madan and his associates had
indiscriminately fired upon the victims and considering the gravity of offence,
it was covered under the category of the rarest of rare cases warranting death
penalty.
(source: newindianexpress.com)
BANGLADESH:
HC defers N'ganj 7-murder verdict to Aug 22
The High Court has deferred its verdict on the Narayanganj 7-murder case until
Aug 22.
Though the decision was to be announced on Aug 13, the bench of Justices
Bhabani Prasad Singha and Mustafa Zaman Islam rescheduled it on Sunday.
"It has been delayed because the decision is not yet ready," said defence
counsel Mansurul Haq Chowdhury.
On Jul 26, the High Court bench set the Aug 1 date for the verdict after
hearing the death reference and appeals in the case. Death sentences issued by
trial courts are forwarded for approval to the High Court as 'death
references'.
7 murder case
The abduction and gruesome killing of seven people, including councillor Nazrul
Islam and senior lawyer Chandan Kumar Sarkar from Narayanganj 3 years ago
shocked the nation.
The news later made international headlines when it emerged that members of the
elite police unit the Rapid Action Battalion or RAB, were involved in the
killings.
Former Narayanganj City Corporation councillor Nur Hossain and 3 former senior
officers of the local RAB unit, including its then chief, former army
lieutenant colonel Tarek Sayeed Mohammad, are among the 26 people awarded the
death penalty for the 2014 sensational 7-murder.
Tarek is also a son-in-law of Disaster Management and Relief Minister Mofazzal
Hossain Chowdhury Maya.
On Saturday, the families of the victims told bdnews24.com that exemplary
punishment should be confirmed for the convicts to stop such crimes happen
again.
Nazrul Islam's wife Selina Islam Beauty told bdnews24.com: "The entire world is
watching the verdict. We lost our loved ones. We want Nur Hossain, the 3 former
RAB officers and all other convicts to be hanged."
"RAB is our protector, but it acted as the predator. They abducted and killed 7
people, including my husband. It was not simply murder; 7 families are
destroyed," she added.
She hoped the High Court would uphold the death penalties and those would be
executed quickly.
16 of the death-row convicts were members of the elite force. 9 other RAB men
were given various previous terms in the trial court verdict issued on Jan 16
this year.
Nazrul's friend Moniruzzaman Swapan, driver Jahangir Alam, and lawyer Chandan's
driver 'Ibrahim' were also among the 7 victims.
Jahangir's wife Shamsunnahar Nupur said, "We are in misery after losing the
only bread earner of our family. My daughter has not seen her father. She only
cries holding his photo."
Swapan's brother 'Ripon' demanded to hang of the convicts.
Ibrahim's father Abdul Wahab Mia said, "My daughter-in-law and my grandchildren
are living a miserable life after the death of my son. We are poor people. We
want the execution of death sentences of the murderers, nothing else."
On the afternoon of Apr 27, 2014, City Councillor Nazrul and 5 of his
associates were abducted from their car on Dhaka-Narayanganj Link Road.
Around the same time and from the same location, senior lawyer Chandan and his
chauffeur, who were in another car, were kidnapped.
3 days later, their bloated bodies were found floating in the Shitalakkhya
River.
From the very beginning, the slain councillor's family claimed that Nur Hossain
had paid Tk 60 million to senior officers of the local RAB unit to carry out
the murder of his rival.
Both Nazrul and Nur Hossain belonged to the ruling Awami League.
(source: bdnews24.com)
*************************
War crimes: SC to hear Azhar, Qaiser's appeals on Oct 10----Convicted war
criminals ATM Azharul Islam and Syed Mohammad Qaiser will have their appeals
heard at the Supreme Court on Oct 10
The Supreme Court on Sunday set Oct 10 as the date to start its hearing on the
appeals filed by convicted war criminals, ATM Azharul Islam and Syed Mohammad
Qaiser, challenging their sentences handed down by the International Crimes
Tribunal (ICT).
A 3-member Appellate Division bench headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar
Sinha passed the order, asking the defence in both the cases to submit concise
statement of their appeals by Aug 24, reports BSS.
The now defunct International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) 2 on Dec 23, 2014 sentenced
former Jatiya Party state minister Qaiser to death as the 14 charges of crimes
against humanity out of a total of 16 charges against him were proven.
The tribunal handed down the death penalty on 7 charges, life imprisonment on
4, jail terms of 10, 7 and 5 years on 3 charges. Qaiser was acquitted of the
remaining 2 charges.
The tribunal in its observation also asked the state to initiate a compensation
scheme for the rape victims of 1971 and the war babies.
Qaiser filed appeal against his conviction on Jan 19, 2015.
Meanwhile, the ICT-1 on Dec 30, 2014, sentenced Jamaat-e-Islami Assistant
Secretary General ATM Azharul Islam to death for crimes against humanity
committed in Rangpur during the War of Liberation. It found him guilty on 5 of
a total of 6 charges.
He was sentenced to death by hanging for charges 2, 3 and 4.
In charge no 2, he was accused of gunning down 15 unarmed innocent civilians in
Dhappara area in Rangpur on April 16. In charge no 3, he was accused of
committing massacre at Jharuarbeel and killing of more than 1200 unarmed
civilians on April 17. And in charge no 3, he was accused of abduction and
murder of four teachers of Carmichael College and others on April 30.
He was also sentenced to a total of 30 years of imprisonment in the remaining
charge no 5 and 6 for the raping and confining women to Rangpur Town Hall
between Mar 25 and Dec 16, 1971, and the torturing of Shawkat Hossain and
Rafiqul Hasan between mid Nov and Dec 1.
Azhar filed appeal against his conviction on Jan 28, 2015.
(source: Dhaka Tribune)
,
IRAN:
Iran parliament softens drug death penalty laws
The amendment will apply retroactively, thus commuting the sentences for many
of the 5,300 inmates currently on death row for drug trafficking. Under the new
bill, the punishment for those already convicted and given the death penalty or
life in prison, other than those meeting the new execution requirements, will
be commuted to up to 30 years in jail and a cash fine.
Iran's parliament passed a long-awaited amendment to its drug trafficking laws
on Sunday, raising the thresholds that can trigger capital punishment and
potentially saving the lives of many on death row. The bill must still be
approved by the conservative-dominated Guardian Council but gained
parliamentary approval after months of debate, according to parliament???s
website and the ISNA news agency.
According to rights group Amnesty International, Iran was 1 of the top 5
executioners in the world in 2016, with most of its hangings related to illicit
drugs. The watchdog noted sharp drops in the number of executions in Iran -
down 42 % to at least 567 that year.
The new law raises the amounts that can trigger the death penalty from 30 grams
to two kilos for the production and distribution of chemical substances such as
heroin, cocaine and amphetamines. For natural substances such as opium and
marijuana, the levels have been raised from 5 to 50 kilos.
The amendment will apply retroactively, thus commuting the sentences for many
of the 5,300 inmates currently on death row for drug trafficking. It restricts
the death penalty to criminals who lead drug-trafficking gangs, exploit minors
below 18 years old in doing so, carry or draw firearms while committing
drug-related crimes, or have a related previous conviction of the death penalty
or a jail sentence of more than 15 years or life in prison. Under the new bill,
the punishment for those already convicted and given the death penalty or life
in prison, other than those meeting the new execution requirements, will be
commuted to up to 30 years in jail and a cash fine.
Defending the bill in a parliamentary debate last week, Hassan Norouzi, the
spokesman of parliament's judicial and legal committee, said the costs for
Iran's war on drugs have almost doubled since 2010. He said more than 6 million
people were involved in drugs in the country, 5.2 million of them addicts and
1.8 million users.
The amendment had faced opposition from police officials who believed that
reducing or removing the death penalty would embolden criminals. But many
judges had welcomed the softened law - and stayed execution sentences as they
awaited the results of the parliamentary debate, Norouzi said.
Iran's neighbour Afghanistan produces some 90 % of the world's opium, which is
extracted from poppy resin and refined to make heroin. The Islamic republic, a
major transit point for Afghan-produced opiates heading to Europe and beyond,
confiscates and destroys hundreds of tonnes of illicit narcotics every year.
(source: Indian Express)
_______________________________________________
A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu
DeathPenalty mailing list
DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu
http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty
Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
