Dec. 14
KENYA:
Supreme Court to decide on legality of the death penalty
The Supreme Court will on Thursday deliver a judgment on the constitutionality
of the death sentence.
Death row convicts Francis Karioko Muruatetu and Wilson Thirimbu Mwangi, who
have been in jail for the last 14 years since 2003, had filed the case at the
apex court while seeking that the mandatory death penalty should be scrapped
from the Kenyan law.
ABOLISHED
The duo were convicted alongside 5 other suspects, including the wife of former
Lands Commissioner Wilson Gachanja, for the grisly murder of businessman
Lawrence Githinji Magondu.
As of December 2010, 139 countries out of 197 under the UN had abolished the
death penalty in law or practice.
The decision to be delivered is expected to be a landmark one.
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, the International Commission of
Jurists Kenyan chapter, Legal Resources Foundation, Katiba Institute and the
Death Penalty Project are listed as amicus in the case.
DEATH PENALTY
Notably, in Kenya, there have been no executions since 1987 for accused persons
sentenced to death.
Those sentenced to death are to serve a lifelong jail term unless pardoned by
the President.
Murder and robbery with violence attract the death penalty in the Kenyan
criminal law.
**********************
Mandatory death sentence now unconstitutional in Kenya
Mandatory death sentence is no longer lawful in Kenya.
This is after the Supreme Court on Thursday declared Section 204 of the Penal
Code, which stipulates mandatory death sentence, as unconstitutional.
'VALID'
However, the top court specified that this decision does not affect validity of
the death sentence.
The decision means death sentence is still lawful but not mandatory.
Murder and robbery with violence are the offences in the Kenyan criminal law
that attract a death penalty.
The top court judges directed the Attorney-General, the Director of Public
Prosecutions and other relevant agencies to prepare a detailed professional
review of all murder and robbery with violence cases similar as pertains
sentencing.
They also ordered that a copy of the judgment be forwarded to Speakers of
Parliament and the National Council for Law Reporting to give way forward for
any necessary amendments to death sentence.
The judges also ordered that the 2 Kenyans who filed the suit should have a
priority hearing before the High Court and be freshly sentenced.
MURDER
Death row convicts Francis Karioko Muruatetu and Wilson Thirimbu Mwangi, who
have been in jail for the last 14 years, filed the case.
They asked the apex court to scrap mandatory mandatory death penalty from the
Kenyan law.
The duo were convicted alongside 5 others - including the wife of former Lands
Commissioner Wilson Gachanja for the murder of businessman Lawrence Githinji
Magondu.
As of December 2010, 139 countries out of 197 under the UN had already
abolished the death penalty in law or practice.
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, the International Commission of
Jurists Kenyan chapter, Legal Resources Foundation, Katiba Institute and the
death penalty project were listed as amicus in the case.
(source for both: nation.co.ke)
EGYPT:
Egypt MP Proposes Draft Law to Execute Rapists
Aiming to limit incidences of rape and kidnapping against women and children,
Member of Parliament Mona Monir has suggested amendments to Egypt's main penal
code including the death penalty for perpetrators of such crimes.
The 1st suggested modification relates to rape and stipulates perpetrators of
the crime should be sentenced to death as opposed to the current sentence of
life imprisonment.
The draft law also suggests that the perpetrator of sexual assault against any
person under 18, whether male or female, should receive the death penalty.
The draft law suggests that anyone found guilty of kidnapping a minor should
also be sentenced to death or life in prison. A kidnapper who is a relative or
guardian should immediately receive the death penalty.
"I strongly support the death penalty against those who commit kidnapping or
rape crimes targeting female or male children or handicapped children [...]
Perpetrators should receive the death penalty without any opportunity of
appeal,"
Monir said.
She added that the draft law has been introduced to the Egyptian parliament's
legislative committee which is assigned to review it and decide a date for
discussion.
Monir also argued that there has been a significant rise of incidences of rape
and kidnapping of children and that the recent rape of a baby pushed her to
call for the death penalty for such crimes against minors.
(source: albawaba.com)
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:
People trading in fake medication should face death penalty, police chief
says----Maj Gen Obaidli says fake meds can cost lives, so those who trade in
them should lose theirs
The death penalty for trading in fake medication and hefty fines for buyers of
counterfeit goods could be on the cards, if Dubai Police have their way.
Counterfeit traders will face tougher punishments under new rules being worked
up by Dubai Police, who warn that the prevalence of fake medication is a
serious threat to public health.
Maj Gen Abdul Quddus Obaidli, whose Dubai Police unit is tackling counterfeit
goods, said fake medication, such as drugs used to treat heart diseases, could
lead to deaths among patients. "This person who traded in those (fake)
medicines must be executed, as he caused deaths," Maj Gen Obaidli said.
"The sale of counterfeit goods is a curse on health, environment and safety
standards," he added.
Proceeds from the sale of counterfeit goods often sustained criminal gangs and
could be used to fund terrorism.
"Trading of counterfeit goods is expected to cost the world's economy a total
of $4.2 trillion, risking the loss of 5.4 million jobs by 2020," he added.
Fake medicine and knock-off designer gear, such as bags and watches, were among
the most frequently counterfeited items detected by Dubai Police.
"In the United Arab Emirates, punishments dealing with counterfeit traders is
considered the strictest among the Gulf Cooperation Council. Offenders trading
in fake products (currently face) time in jail and a hefty fine. Some of these
fines might reach up to Dh1 million," said Maj Gen Obaidli.
At present, fake goods sellers are fined Dh15,000 for the 1st offence and
Dh30,000 for the 2nd offence.
Now there are plans to issue stricter punishments for dealers in counterfeit
products - and authorities plan to take aim at buyers too.
"I support imposing rules to criminalise purchasers of illegal fakes," said Maj
Gen Obaidli.
Most countries target the counterfeiters rather than buyers. However, in France
tourists and residents can be fined up to 300,000 euros (Dh1.18 million). Italy
has also targeted and fined buyers during summer campaigns, and while the UK's
border agency confiscates fakes, if detected, the country decided against
criminalising purchasing fake goods after a review in 2010.
Authorities are also educating citizens about the dangers of fake goods and the
importance of intellectual property rights, including through new classes to be
introduced for pupils across the emirate.
"The course might be taught next year as the director of the Ministry of
Education issued instructions that a course of intellectual property be
included in schools' curriculum as soon as possible," said Maj Gen Obaidli.
"Trading in counterfeit products has an impact on the national economy.
Therefore, we are implementing tougher punishments on counterfeiters," he
noted.
There has been ongoing cooperation between Dubai police and luxury brands.
In just the 1st half of 2017, Dubai Police confiscated 719,134 fake items with
an estimated value of more than Dh70 million.
(source: The National)
IRAQ----mass executions
Iraq hangs 38 members of Daesh, al-Qaeda for 'terrorism'
Iraq hanged 38 extremists belonging to Daesh (ISIS) or al-Qaeda for terrorism
offences Thursday in the southern city of Nasiriyah, provincial authorities
said.
It was the largest number of executions in a single day since Sept. 25 when 42
people were put to death in the same prison.
"The prison administration executed on Thursday in the presence of Justice
Minister Haidar al-Zameli, in Nasiriyah prison, 38 death row prisoners
belonging to al-Qaeda or Daesh accused of terrorist activities," said Dakhel
Kazem, a senior official in the provincial council.
Amnesty International has voiced repeated concerns about the use of the death
penalty in Iraq, which it ranks as one of the world's top executioners behind
China, Iran and Saudi Arabia.
(source: dailystar.com.lb)
INDIA:
Nirbhaya case: Reject death penalty review petition of accused, demands Delhi
police
A 3-judge Bench of the Supreme Court, on Tuesday, pulled up advocate ML Sharma
for alleging that his client, death row convict Mukesh, was framed in the
Nirbhaya gangrape case even as the Delhi Police demanded that the top court
reject the petition seeking a review of the death penalty awarded to the
accused.
The Bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra and comprising Justices R
Banumathi and Ashok Bhushan was hearing the review petition filed by Mukesh's
counsel. It would begin proceedings on similar petitions moved by 3 other death
row convicts in the case - Pawan, Akshay Singh and Vinay Sharma - on January
22.
On Tuesday, during the course of the proceedings in the review petition filed
against Mukesh's death penalty, advocate ML Sharma made a slew of bizarre
submissions - alleging that his client's statement that incriminated himself as
an accused in the case was obtained by the Delhi police through custodial
torture, the state government and Delhi police had "bribed" the parents of
Nirbhaya (a name given to the gangrape victim by the media) and that Mukesh was
not present at the scene of crime when the shocking incident took place on
December 16, 2012.
Chief Justice Dipak Misra squarely rejected the submissions made by counsel
Sharma, even sternly admonishing him at one point saying: "What are you arguing
... Please make a case for review. Tell us how our conclusion is wrong, prove
our analysis of DNA and dying declaration was wrong, investigation was perverse
etc. You are only repeating what you argued earlier and raising several new
points which is not admissible at review stage (sic)."
Sharma's arguments were also contested by special public prosecutor Sidharth
Luthra, representing the Delhi police. Senior advocate Luthra told the court
that the arguments put forth by Sharma to challenge the death penalty awarded
to his client Mukesh by the trial court and upheld by the Delhi High Court and
the Supreme Court "did not stand in a review petition". Luthra submitted that
Sharma had made similar allegations while arguing for his client in the trial
court and the same had been scrutinised and then rejected at the trial stage as
well as during the course of appeal in higher courts.
The special public prosecutor also took offence at Sharma's claim of bribe
being paid to Nirbhaya's parents by the Delhi government and Delhi police while
he rejected the charge that Mukesh's self-incriminating statement in the case
was obtained through coercion. "There was not a whisper of complaint about
torture in any of the lower courts," Luthra told the Supreme Court bench while
asserting that the "trial court records were replete with instances of
misconduct by the convict."
Background to the Nirbhaya gangrape case:
Late on the night of December 16, 2012, 23-year-old Nirbhaya - a paramedic
student - and her male friend had boarded a bus from a South Delhi locality.
Nirbhaya was brutally gangraped by 6 persons in the moving bus, including a
minor, while her companion was also beaten up. The rapists had shoved iron rods
into her private parts before dumping the profusely bleeding but still alive
Nirbhaya and her friend on a roadside and fleeing from the spot. Following
initial treatment at a Delhi hospital, Nirbhaya was flown to a hospital in
Singapore for treatment where she succumbed to her severe injuries on December
29.
The case had shaken the entire country due to the extent of sexual violence
involved in it and led to mass protests over the issue of lack of women's
safety in the national capital. The then UPA government at the Centre was
forced to constitute a committee headed by former Chief Justice of India JS
Verma to advise a more stringent law against sexual harassment, rape and
similar crimes. The report submitted by the late Justice Verma's panel had
paved the way for stringent anti-rape laws in India.
5 of the accused in the case had been awarded capital punishment by the trial
court while the juvenile accused in the case had been sent to a reformation
home from where he was released in December 2015. One of the accused, Ram
Singh, was found hanging in his cell in Delhi's Tihar Jail in March 2013. The
Supreme Court had, on May 5, upheld the death sentence awarded to the remaining
four convicts, including Mukesh, while stating: "If at all there is a case
warranting award of death sentence, it is the present case".
(source: indialegallive.com)
******************
Death penalty no solution to crimes against inter-caste marriage, say rights
activists
The verdict in the Shankar murder case has raised a heated debate on whether
capital punishment is the only solution to those violently opposing inter-caste
marriages. Human rights activists are opposed to death penalty.
According to sources, a gang attacked caste Hindu Gowsalya and her Dalit
husband V Shankar with sickles in daylight near Udumalpet bus stand on March
13, 2016. Shankar died on the spot and Gowsalya managed to survive.
Tirupur Principal Court Judge Alamelu Natrajan on Tuesday announced death
penalty by hanging for 6 of the 8 accused, including Gowsalya's father P
Chinnasamy and the 5-member gang involved in the murder. One of the accused was
awarded life imprisonment and another 5 years imprisonment.
Gowsalya's mother C Annalakshmi, maternal uncle P Pandidurai and relative V
Prasanna were found not guilty.
Coimbatore Human Rights Forum chairperson VP Sarathi told The Covai Post that
the United Nations has passed resolutions several times calling upon member
states to abolish death penalty both in law and in practice. Therefore, death
penalty is illegal and has no deterrent effect, he adds.
Awarding death penalty in a sensational case like this will not provide justice
to the victim's family. International research shows that such a penalty is not
going to stop the crimes for which it has been awarded.
Instead, accused in such cases should be awarded double life imprisonment
without any remission to set a living example and prevent such crimes in
future.
"To create an impact on society, political parties and social organisations
functioning on caste lines should come in open to declare it illegal and should
encourage inter-caste and inter-religious marriages," Sarathi says.
Madras High Court former Justice D Hariparanthaman, who was in the city on
Tuesday, told mediapersons that regardless of personal views, which do not
support capital punishment, 'this judgment is welcome considering the specialty
of the case'.
A women's right activist here said to avoid crimes like these, punishment
should be severe creating social fear. Self-discipline should be promoted among
every individual to put an end to crimes related to inter-caste marriages and
against women.
(source: covaipost.com)
THAILAND:
Drug courier, wife bag life jail, sons gets death sentence
A criminal court on Wednesday sentenced a local drug lord to life imprisonment
and his son to death for selling 20 kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine, a
court official said.
His wife, Asama Saenlee, 67, also got life jail term for same offence.
Laota Saenlee, 77, long considered a drug lord in Thailand's Northern City of
Chiang Mai, and 4 other suspects were arrested in a sting operation in October,
2016.
They were then charged with sales of illicit drugs and illegal possession of
guns and bullets.
Laota and his wife, Asama Saenlee, 67, were handed life imprisonment instead of
a death penalty typical for this type of drug offence, the court official, who
was not authorised to speak to media, said.
The pair's more lenient verdict was due to their confessions, a common practice
in the Thai judicial system.
However, Laota's 41-year-old son, Vijarn Saenlee, was sentenced to death as he
pleaded not guilty, the official said.
Laota has long been suspected of being a key drug lord in the Golden Triangle,
a border area shared by Thailand, Myanmar and Laos notorious for its opium
cultivation and rampant drug trafficking.
He was known as an aide to Khun Sa, a Shan drug kingpin known in Myanmar as the
"Opium King'" who died a decade ago.
An ethnic Lisu, a minority from south-west China, Laota once joined
anti-communist Kuomintang in the 1970's.
Laota and his family were given 30 days to appeal, the court said.
(source: punchng.com)
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