The news will next be posted to this site on Dec. 30
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Dec. 17
INDIA:
Former TV host Suhaib Ilyasi convicted for wife's murder
A New Delhi court convicted former TV serial producer Suhaib Ilyasi of
murdering his wife in 2000 on Saturday.
Additional Sessions Judge S.K. Malhotra held Ilyasi guilty of his wife's murder
and would hear arguments on quantum of sentence on December 20.
In 2014, the Delhi High Court had asked the trial court to add the graver
charge of murder under section 302 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) against Ilyasi
for his wife's death.
He will face a minimum punishment of life imprisonment and the maximum of death
penalty in the case.
Ilyasi, also the editor-in-chief of Bureaucracy Today magazine, has been facing
the trial as an accused for the last 17 years in dowry death case of his wife
Anju Ilyasi.
The high court's order had come on a plea filed by Rukma Singh, Anju's mother,
challenging the February 19, 2011 order of a trial court which had rejected her
plea for trying Ilyasi under the penal provision of murder.
Rukma Singh said her son-in-law was facing the charge of killing his wife for
dowry under section 304 of IPC, which attracts much lesser punishment.
Anju Ilyasi died on January 11, 2000 at her Mayur Vihar house. Ilyasi was
arrested on March 28, 2000 and charges were later framed against him in the
case after his sisters-in-law and mother-in-law alleged that he used to torture
his wife for dowry.
The trial court had framed charges against him relating to dowry death and
subjecting a woman to cruelty (section 304 (b) and section 498 (a). After the
high court order, it charged Ilyasi with murder.
Suhaib Ilyasi is best known for hosting the reality TV show India's Most
Wanted.
(source: timesnownews.com)
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Rapists of minors should be hanged within 6 months: DCW Chief
Lamenting the "delay" in carrying out sentence of December 16 gang-rape and
murder incident, Delhi Commission for Women Chief Swati Maliwal on Saturday
claimed the long winding legal process allowed the criminals to feel they can
get away with such heinous crimes.
She urged the prime minister to bring in a legislation wherein at least those
convicted of raping minors are given death penalty within 6 months.
Nirbhaya, a para-medical student, was brutally gang-raped on the intervening
night of December 16, 2012, in a moving bus in South Delhi. The incident took
place while she was returning with a friend after watching a movie. She died 13
days after the incident at a hospital in Singapore.
Of the 6 men arrested in the case, one of the accused Ram Singh hanged himself
in prison in March 2013, while another man, who was a juvenile at the time of
the crime, was convicted in August. In 2016, he was released from the
correction home after serving the maximum sentence of 3 years in a reform home.
The other 4 - Akshay, Vinay Sharma, Pawan and Mukesh - were found guilty and
sentenced to death by the Delhi High Court in September 2013. The Supreme Court
also upheld the high court's decision.
"It's the 5th death anniversary of Nirbhaya incident and the fact is that
nothing has changed in this country. Everyday girls and women are being
brutally raped in this country," she said.
Maliwal also highlighted the need for having fast-track courts in the city so
that rapists are punished forthwith.
Also, there is a need to upgrade the delivery mechanism of the forensic
department as well as the accountability of the police, she said in a letter to
Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"The system has made the criminals confident enough to believe that they can
get away with any crime perpetrated against a woman or a child. It is very
unfortunate that even Nirbhaya herself has not got justice in this country.
Nirbhaya's mother is still running from pillar to post in order to ensure that
her beloved daughter can get justice," Maliwal said.
The DCW chief said that at least in case of rape of minor girls, there should
be a law in this country in which such rapists should be punished and given
death penalty within 6 months.
She also made an appeal to the prime minister to constitute a high-level
committee on women's safety in Delhi, having the Union home minister, the
lieutenant governor, the chief minister, the police commissioner and the DCW
representatives as its members, to take effective decisions on issues of
women's safety.
Drawing the prime minister's attention to the Nirbhaya fund, which has remained
unutilised till date, Maliwal urged him to devolve the fund immediately to the
states failing which the 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' programme will lose its
relevance.
(source: asianage.com)
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2 BJP states contemplate death penalty for rape; face opposition----The Bill -
Dand Vidhi (Madhya Pradesh Sanshodhan) Vidheyak, 2017 - is awaiting the
President's assent
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in Madhya Pradesh has passed a
Bill in its Assembly to award capital punishment to those found guilty of
raping children below the age of 12. The Rajasthan government, too, was
contemplating of bringing a similar Bill.
Currently, the maximum punishment under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for rape
convicts is life imprisonment. The state government has also suggested that the
minimum punishment for rape be kept 14 years, and 20 years in case of gang
rape.
The Bill - Dand Vidhi (Madhya Pradesh Sanshodhan) Vidheyak, 2017 - is awaiting
the President's assent.
The civil society said awarding death punishment would barely be a deterrent.
"This is a knee-jerk reaction from the state government," said Ravi Kant, a
Supreme Court lawyer and child rights activist. "Rapists would now kill victims
to hide their identities. The state government should instead invest in
policing and scientific techniques of investigation. Most accused get away
scot-free because of shoddy investigation and victims turning hostile because
of threats."
The Madhya Pradesh government brought the Bill following the rape of a teenager
in Bhopal. The girl was returning from her coaching class when 4 men allegedly
abducted and raped her.
The state reported the most number of rapes in 2016. According to the National
Crime Records Bureau, the state reported 4,882 rapes cases, followed by Uttar
Pradesh with 4,816 cases and Maharashtra with 4,189 cases. Madhya Pradesh was
also among the states that reported the maximum number of cases for crimes
against children. Uttar Pradesh topped this list with 15.3 % of cases, followed
by Maharashtra at 13.6 % and Madhya Pradesh at 13.1 %.
The Justice J S Verma Committee, which was set up to recommend amendments to
the Criminal Law for speedy trial and enhanced punishment of criminals accused
of committing sexual assault against women, had also suggested against imposing
the death penalty. The committee was set up following public demand for death
punishment in the aftermath of the Nirbhaya case in Delhi in 2012.
"The committee rejected the proposal for chemical castration as it fails to
treat the social foundations of rape. It opined that death penalty should not
be awarded for the offence of rape as there was considerable evidence that
death penalty was not a deterrence to serious crimes. It recommended life
imprisonment for rape," said the summary of the report available on the website
of PRS Legislative Research, a not-for-profit organisation.
After the Verma Committee report, the government amended the IPC through the
Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, popularly known as the anti-rape Bill. It
introduced several provisions, including Section 376A, which allowed for death
penalty to be imposed in cases where rape led to the death of the victim, or
left the victim in a persistent vegetative state. The maximum punishment was
raised to life imprisonment in case of a non-death. 2 years later, the Law
Commission recommended abolition of death penalty for all crimes except cases
related to terrorism.
Madhya Pradesh, which is not bound either by the Law Commission report or the
Justice Verma committee report, has proposed that death penalty should be given
to those found guilty of raping children below the age of 12 years. "The Union
government is finding it difficult to recommend the President to accept the
state government Bill because of the divergent views. The matter has been
referred to the Union Law ministry for its opinion," said an official.
Among the other changes, the Madhya Pradesh government has also passed a
provision for a 3-year jail term for stalking.
Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria told reporters that the state
government was currently reviewing the Madhya Pradesh Bill and intends to bring
its own Bill in the budget session.
(source: business-standard.com)
KENYA:
Supreme Court gives factors to be considered before recalling one's death
penalty
A ruling by a 3-judge bench led by Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu,
Justice Njoki Ndung'u and Justice Jacton Ojwang pronounced mandatory death
penalties for capital offenses unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court on December 14 quoted Section 204 of the Penal Code, which
states that mandatory death sentences are detrimental. The ruling, however,
does not affect the validity of the death sentence.
The ruling came after talks in the topic with big organizations such as The
Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, the International Commission of
Jurists Kenyan chapter, Legal Resources Foundation, Katiba Institute and the
death penalty project taking part.
The talks leading to this ruling were nudged by two petitioners who asked the
court to scrap off the mandatory death penalty. The 2, Francis Karioko
Muruatetu and Wilson Thirimbu Mwangi have been convicts for the last 14 years.
They were arrested for the murder of businessman Lawrence Githinji Magondu.
In Kenya, cases that commonly attract punishment by death are usually murder
and robbery with violence.
For the past 7 years, over 50% of the counties under the United Nations (UN)
umbrella have scrapped off death penalties on convicts.
The ruling means that over 7,000 convicts awaiting the hangman's moose will
have a chance to redeem themselves over fresh sentences.
Some of the factors that will be considered in determining if the convicts
should escape death are;
Age of the offender
The number of times the offender is accused
Whether the offender pleaded guilty or not
Current behavior of the offender
Whether the offense was gender violence related
Whether the offender shows remorse
Chances for rehabilitation on and social re-adaption of the offender
(source: standardmedia.co.ke)
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House must complete urgent changes to law
The enactment of the Constitution in 2010 paved the way for far-reaching
revisions and amendments of existing laws to create a fair and clear framework
for adjudication of disputes.
Several amendments have been made, although largely those with a bearing on
politics, which indeed, dominates public discourse. But there are some
fundamental yet covert stipulations that have been ignored.
In this category is the provision of mandatory death sentence that remains
etched in the statutes in complete abrogation of the constitutional remit.
The challenge with the mandatory death sentence as construed in the Penal Code
is that it ties the hands of the judges; there is no jurisdictional discretion
to determine or entertain mitigating circumstances and give room for lesser
sentence.
To be sure, the offences that carry death penalty are murder, robbery with
violence and treason.
CAPITAL OFFENCE
On occasions, judges have found themselves in the unsettling situation, where
although an offender may be truly guilty of capital offence, the circumstances
may not necessarily merit death sentence; forcing them to opt for acquittal for
lack of an alternative.
This is the context that has informed the ruling by the Supreme Court in a case
filed by convicts facing death sentence.
The court seeks to clarify the constitutional confusion, hence it has declared
that mandatory death sentence is an illegality and should be expunged from the
books.
Textually, the court argues, death penalty per se may remain in the books, but
it should not be mandatory.
CONTROVERSIAL LAW
In other words, the law should provide a continuum that gives courts the
latitude to determine each capital offence on merit and pronounce themselves
appropriately as situation may so dictate.
For a good measure, the Supreme Court has submitted its ruling over the matter
to Parliament and the Kenya Law Reform with the express intention of having
them initiate the process of amending the applicable statues.
Clearly, this is a straight forward matter that should be speedily acted upon.
The relevant authorities should seize themselves of the matter and commence
drafting applicable amendments to clarify the controversial law, and any other
such like, to align to the Constitution.
(source: Editorial, nation.co.ke)
IRAQ:
UN Urges Iraq to Immediately Halt Executions
The United Nations rights office has urged Iraq to immediately halt all
executions, stressing that putting to death 38 terrorist suspects was "deeply
shocking."
"We are deeply shocked and appalled at the mass execution" at a prison in the
southern city of Nasiriyah on Thursday, United Nations human rights office
spokeswoman Liz Throssell told reporters in Geneva.
"It appears extremely doubtful that strict due process and fair trial
guarantees were followed in these 38 cases," Agence France Presse quoted
Throssell as saying on Friday.
The UN has learned of 106 executions in Iraq so far this year, including
mass-hangings of 42 people in September.
"We once again urge the Iraqi authorities to halt all executions, establish an
immediate moratorium on the use of the death penalty and carry out an urgent
and comprehensive review of the criminal justice system," Throssell said.
Dakhel Kazem, a senior official in the provincial council, said the prison
executed "38 death row prisoners belonging to Al-Qaeda or ISIS accused of
terrorist activities".
A prison source told AFP that those executed on Thursday were all Iraqis, but
that one also held Swedish nationality.
Sweden had confirmed that among them was an Iraqi-Swedish citizen.
"The death penalty is an inhumane, cruel, and irreversible punishment. Sweden
and the rest of the EU condemn its application in all its forms," Swedish
Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom said in a statement.
Sweden on Friday summoned Iraq's ambassador over the mass-hangings.
Throssell also voiced deep concern over the reported shelling and burning of
homes in the Iraqi city of Tuz Khurmatu, warning of a "serious risk" that
violence could escalate.
The United Nations rights office pointed to reports that residential areas of
Tuz Khurmatu, in the Salahaddin governorate, had been shelled on December 9 and
12, "causing casualties among civilians."
"It is not clear who is carrying out the shelling, which is reported to be
coming from the mountains overlooking the area," Throssell told reporters.
Iraqi forces are working to determine where the shelling is coming from and who
is responsible.
Tensions have been swelling in the disputed area of Tuz Khurmatu following
September's independence referendum in the neighboring Kurdistan Region.
The city's population is a mix of Turkoman, Kurd and Arab communities, and
Throssell warned that "there is a serious risk that given the ethnic and
religious fault lines in the area, that violence could escalate and spread."
In recent weeks, clashes have raged between the Kurdish security forces also
known as the Peshmerga and Turkmen Popular Mobilization Units (PMUs).
"This fighting has to date resulted in an unconfirmed number of deaths in each
group," Throssell said.
She said staff from the UN rights office visited the city on December 7 and
again on the 14th to investigate reports of the burning of homes and looting of
businesses.
They had seen "some 150 premises that had been burned or otherwise damaged,"
she said, adding that they had also spoken with people who had fled violence in
the city and were currently staying in Kirkuk and Erbil.
In October, a similar number of houses were reportedly looted and burned by
Turkmen PMUs and civilians, she pointed out.
As many as 11 houses reportedly belonging to Kurdish families and officials had
also been destroyed by explosives in the city, Throssell said.
"Thousands of residents, mainly of Kurdish origin left for the Kurdistan Region
of Iraq, apparently fearing repercussions, and to date many have not returned,"
she warned.
The UN rights office called for an end to "all acts that threaten the
fundamental rights of the Tuz Khurmatu population."
"We also call on the Iraqi authorities to ensure that civilians there are
protected and those responsible for human rights abuses brought to justice,"
Throssell said.
(source: aawsat.com)
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