Jan. 12
NORTH KOREA:
Korea refuses to abolish National Security Law, death penalty----Liberals decry
'archaic' law on punishing anti-state activities
The government refused to follow U.N. recommendations on the abolishment of one
of the most politically divisive legislations which liberals long called an
"archaic tool used by right-wing administrations to suppress opposition."
The Ministry of Justice said Wednesday it will not abolish the National
Security Law, saying further in-depth review followed by public consensus
should precede any abrupt revision to the status quo. The death penalty will
not be abolished either, it added.
Under the National Security Law, individuals who praise, incite or propagate
the activities of "anti-state bodies" are subject to seven years in prison.
Such broad and vaguely worded clauses have long been used to suppress dissent
and prosecute individuals who peacefully exercise their freedom of expression
and association, by labeling them as "North Korean sympathizers."
"The National Security Law should remain for the country to achieve peaceful
reunification as well as to improve human rights of North Korean people," the
ministry official was quoted as saying during a press briefing. "Abolishing the
death penalty should be determined with great caution after fully reviewing
both the positive and negative impact it would have on the criminal justice
system."
The announcement came about two months after the United Nations Human Rights
Council in its Universal Periodic Review last November asked Korea to submit
its policy plans in response to its 218 recommendations. The ministry has until
the end of February to respond.
Other than the 2 the ministry said it would follow 85 other recommendations,
adding the remaining 130 are under review with plans to establish an
institutional framework for their implementation.
The ministry did not give any opinions on the abolishment of the law that
punishes conscientious objectors who refuse to serve in the military on
religious grounds.
Liberal civic groups protested the ministry's decision, calling it "out of
touch" with reality. "The National Security Law was used to persecute many
liberals under the former Park Geun-hye administration as well as her
conservative predecessors," said an official from the Lawyers for a Democratic
Society, a group of liberal lawyers. "Freedom of expression and assembly is a
constitutional right which cannot be infringed upon by the government, or any
other entities for that matter. It is the bedrock principle in a democratic
society. The ministry should change its stance to follow the international
body's recommendation."
(source: The Korea Times)
PAKISTAN:
Prisoners' request for painless execution denied
A court has turned down attempts by 2 death row prisoners who wanted the way
death sentences are carried out to be changed.
A 2-judge bench of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) comprising Justice Roohul Amin
and Justice Qalandar Ali Khan on Thursday dismissed petitions filed by 2 death
row prisoners who have challenged the penalty of "hanging till death" and
instead asked for a 'less painful' mode of execution in accordance with modern
scientific developments.
PHC dismisses petition against Jhagra
The petitioners, Jan Bahadur and Gul Wali, on death row at the Haripur prison
for the past 20 years, had challenged hangings.
"Hanging to death is unIslamic and unconstitutional," Khurshid Khan, the lawyer
for the petitioners, told the court. He insisted that it was painful and
against human values.
"If you are punishing them according to the English law, why do you not execute
them through a modern mode?" he asked, noting that the prisoners preferred to
have their sentence carried out through a lethal injection instead of being
hanged by their necks.
Bahadur had been sentenced to death by an additional district and sessions
judge in Takht Bhai on April 7, 2000, for a 1993 murder. After he challenged
the mode of execution in July 2017, a stay was grated on the execution of his
sentence.
Wali has been on the death row at the Haripur jail for past 22 years and
recently submitted a similar application.
"We are not against the executions, but against the mode of execution in
Pakistan, which is a cruel one," Khurshid argued. He added that before the
arrival of the British in united India, there was no concept of hanging to
death.
He further argued that Article 2 of the constitution provides that no law in
the country will be made against Islam.
"As hanging by neck till death is not in accordance with Islamic teachings,
therefore it is requested to amend section 368," the petitioners contended.
Section 368 of the Pakistan Criminal Procedure Code provides that when "any
person is sentenced to death, the sentence shall direct that he be hanged by
the neck till he is dead."
Khurshid further argued that the court should seek the viewed of the Council of
Islamic Ideology.
LHC CJ inaugurates special court to deal with harassment of women cases
The 2-judge bench, though, dismissed the petitions, on the basis that the
matter did not fall within the high court's jurisdiction, rather, it should be
taken up with the Federal Shariat Court instead to decide whether or not any
law is repugnant to the injunctions of Islam.
"There is no subordination in judicial matters," justice Qalander said.
"If a judgment is upheld by the Supreme Court, then there is no jurisdiction of
the High Court. Hanging to death is maintained by the Supreme Court," he
maintained.
(source: The Express Tribune)
MALAYSIA:
Ex-Security Guard To Hang For Murdering Dr Rohani, Copulating With Corpse
The convicted murderer of Perak Veterinary Department deputy director Dr Rohani
Kassim lost his final bid to escape the gallows after the Federal Court
dismissed his appeal against his conviction and death sentence.
In handing down the verdict on Syahmie Hassan, a 5-man bench led by Tun Md Raus
Sharif unanimously ruled that after reading the evidence adduced during the
trial, they found that there was no reason to interfere with the Court of
Appeal's decision which upheld the appellant's conviction and sentence.
Syahmie, 27, a former security guard who had murdered the victim and copulated
with the body, was found guilty of the offence by the Ipoh High Court in Perak
on July 31, 2015, and was sentenced to death.
He had killed Dr Rohani, 38, inside an apartment unit in Persiaran Lembah
Perpaduan, Permai Lake View in Ulu Kinta, Perak, between 6pm and 7.30pm, on Aug
3, 2011.
Evidence showed that he did not only murder Dr Rohani by choking her to death
but he then had sex with her corpse after breaking into her apartment.
The other judges who presided were Tan Sri Hasan Lah, Tan Sri Zaharah Ibrahim,
Tan Sri Jeffery Tan Kok Wha and Datuk Alizatul Khair Osman Khairuddin.
Earlier, Syahmie's counsel Hisyam Teh Poh Teik argued that failure on the
prosecution's part to call a psychiatrist as witness was perjudicial to his
client.
Deputy public prosecutor Faizah Mohd Salleh said the burden of proof in a
defence of insanity lies on the appellant, not the prosecution.
On May 18, 2016, the Court of Appeal upheld Syahmie's conviction and death
penalty ruling that there was no grounds for insanity.
It was previously reported that the body of a woman wrapped in a thick blanket
was found on a staircase.
The suspect at that time was carrying the body to dispose it when he was caught
by security guards.
(source: malaysiandigest.com)
INDONESIA:
Mary Jane's fate up to Indonesia
Malacanang has said that the fate of convicted Filipino drug mule Mary Jane
Veloso is in the hands of the Indonesian government following her request to
President Duterte to let her testify against her recruiters on her 33rd birth
anniversary last Jan. 10.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, in a Palace press briefing, said the
President's hands are tied since she is detained in a foreign country.
"I don't understand what exactly the President can do in this regard. She is
detained in foreign soil because of breach Indonesian penal laws," Roque said.
"She continues to be alive despite being meted the death penalty. But there is
such a thing as 'sovereignty,' and the matter is completely in the hands of the
Indonesian government," he added.
Roque said that the Indonesian government has been showing clemency since her
death was put off.
"I think the Indonesia government, by not carrying out the punishment of death
penalty, has shown clemency on a daily basis," he said.
Veloso is on death row and was supposed to be executed by firing squad after
smuggling 2.6 kilograms of heroin into Indonesia in 2010. She denied having
knowledge about the contraband.
(source: tempo.com.ph)
*************************
Married couple arrested for possession of various drugs
A married couple in their 40s were arrested by the police after various types
of drugs worth RM194,976 were found in their apartment at Muara Tabuan
yesterday evening.
District police chief ACP Abang Ahmad Abang Julai revealed that Syabu weighing
at 613.89 grammes, Erimin 5 (750 tablets / 208.29g) and Ecstacy (140 tablets /
50.18 g) were seized from the couple.
"Both suspects in this case will be investigated under Section 39B of the
Dangerous Drug Act 1952 for drug trafficking which carries the death penalty if
found guilty," said Abang Ahmad to a press conference held at the Kuching
district police headquarters this morning.
He said that the male suspect, a 45-year-old Sarawakian showed positive result
for methamphetamine in his drug test while the female suspect, a 40-year-old
Indonesian produced negative result in her drug test.
"The male suspect have also admitted to be selling drugs starting last year.
Both suspects have no past criminal records," he said.
The arrests yesterday, said Abang Ahmad, were conducted by the district's
Narcotics Criminal Investigations Department (NCID) led by Inspector Khairul
Faiz Zaini based on a public tip-off.
He added that the NCID team first approached the male suspect at the
apartment's car park where he willingly handed the police a black satchel
containing Syabu weighing at 2.1g and 100 tablets of Erimin 5.
Upon further inquiry, the male suspect then led the police to his apartment
unit where the remaining drug stash was kept in a room.
At the apartment, police also found the female suspect who was later arrested
for the same offence.
Besides the drugs, the police also seized a sedan car and cash money totalling
to RM2,000 from the suspects who are currently under a 7-day remand.
Also present at the press conference were Abang Ahmad's deputies Supt Abang
Junaidi Abang Anuar (operations) and Supt Ismail Mahmood (adminstration).
(source: Borneo Post)
****************
Indonesia requests death penalty for 8 Taiwanese----The Indonesian government
is getting tougher on drug cases, with 16 Taiwanese sentenced to death or
killed in raids in recent years
Indonesian prosecutors have requested the death penalty for 8 Taiwanese
allegedly involved in a drug smuggling operation last year.
Tipped off by Taiwanese police, Indonesian police intercepted a record 1 tonne
haul of crystal methamphetamine imported from China during a raid in Anyer
Beach, west of Jakarta, on July 13 last year.
During the operation, Indonesian police killed a Taiwanese man alleged to be
the kingpin of the drug ring, after he refused to surrender, and arrested 3
others, identified as Chen Wei-cyuan, Liao Guan-yu and Hsu Yung-li.
5 more Taiwanese were on July 15 arrested by Indonesian police in connection
with the case.
While Chen, Liao and Hsu were responsible for taking delivery of the drugs in
Indonesia, the other 5 were responsible for shipping the drugs to Indonesia on
a Taiwanese cruise ship, Indonesian prosecutor Abun Hasbullah said.
Hsu was hired to pick up the drugs in Indonesia in exchange for 120 million
rupiah (US$8,400), while Liao and Chen each got 80 million rupiah for unloading
and packaging the drugs, Abun told a court hearing on Wednesday, during which
he asked that the 8 be sentenced to death.
In similar cases in the past, people convicted of trafficking more than 1kg of
methamphetamine have usually been given death sentences. As part of its war on
drugs, the Indonesian government is increasing the severity of punishments,
especially for foreigners.
According to information from the Indonesian government, 11 Taiwanese suspects
have been sentenced to death in drug trafficking cases over the past few years,
while 5 others have been killed during police operations.
(source: Taipei Times)
PHILIPPINES:
Congress has authority to re-impose death penalty: Panelo
Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo on Thursday said Congress had
the authority to re-impose the death penalty if there were compelling reasons
involving heinous crimes.
Panelo made this comment as the Senate announced its resumption of hearings on
the revival of the death penalty within this month.
He said that while Section 19 of Article III of the 1987 Constitution
prohibited the imposition of the death penalty, the same provision authorized
the Congress to pass a law which re-imposed death penalty "for compelling
reason involving heinous crimes."
"In other words, the Congress has the authority to re-impose the death penalty,
provided that, it finds compelling reasons involving heinous crimes therefor,"
Panelo said in a press statement.
Contrary to critics' claims, Panelo explained that re-imposition of the penalty
was not inconsistent with the Philippines' treaty obligations including under
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
"The said instrument allows the imposition of the death penalty and only limits
its application to the most serious crimes," he said.
He also explained that treaties could not be in conflict with the country's
Constitution which "has higher authority over any legal instrument whether it
be passed or ratified by the Congress."
Panelo said while the 2nd optional protocol of the ICCPR mandated the abolition
of death penalty, the ICCPR still could not, however, prevail over Congress'
authority to re-impose capital punishment.
"Treaties ratified and incorporated and made part of the law of the land are
only given equal standing with, and are not superior to our laws," Panelo said.
"Hence, like any other law, a treaty may be repealed by a later act of Congress
if it deems that such is warranted under the present circumstances or is
violative of our Constitution," he added.
(source: Philippine News Agency)
******************************
Filipino senators give death penalty proposal thumbs down----Bill to bring back
executions will likely be killed and not even pass committee stage, they say
A proposal to restore capital punishment in the Philippines is as good as dead,
according to legislators in the country's Senate.
The majority of senators, who are supposed to look at a bill to reinstate the
death penalty, have expressed doubt over whether the bill would pass.
"Based on our informal consultations, we don't have the required numbers to
pass the death penalty bill in the Senate," admitted Senator Panfilo Lacson,
one of the authors of the proposed law.
The legislator said it would be a waste of time to tackle a bill that will only
be defeated when the time to vote comes.
He advised Senator Manny Pacquiao, chairman of a Senate subcommittee tasked
with scrutinize the measure, not to rush a vote on the death penalty, saying
the proposal will likely be defeated.
Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said the proposed law is not even on the
legislative agenda of the administration party.
The Senate body under Pacquiao is set to discuss the issue this month, but
Drilon expressed doubt whether the bill could go to a vote even at the
committee level.
The re-imposition of capital punishment was a campaign promise of Philippine
President Rodrigo Duterte, who vowed to fight the proliferation of illegal
drugs and heinous crimes.
In March last year, the House of Representatives passed a measure allowing
capital punishment for drug-related offenses.
Allies of Duterte in the Lower Chamber of Congress railroaded the passage of
the proposal amid a howl of protests from opposition congressmen, nuns, and
activists.
Under the Philippine system, a proposed bill has to pass both the House of
Representatives and the Senate before it can be signed into law by the
president.
The proposed law passed by the House lists 7 drug-related crimes as punishable
by death, excluding possession for personal use.
Rape and murder are not included among capital crimes.
Catholic Church leaders have been vocal in their opposition to the proposed
measure, saying that capital punishment is "an additional burdensome law" that
will not deter crime.
In an interview on Jan. 12, Rodolfo Diamante, executive secretary of the
Episcopal Commission on Prison Pastoral Care, said church leaders "will not
give up in engaging our lawmakers in working for justice that heals and respect
the dignity of the human person."
"We hope and pray that the members of the Senate will vote in accordance with
their conscience," he said.
The Philippines abolished capital punishment in 1986. It was restored in 1993
and was suspended again in 2006.
(source: ucanews.com)
***************
Most senators oppose death penalty-Lacson
Sen. Panfilo Lacson on Thursday admitted that holding public hearings on the
reimposition of the death penalty would be a "waste of time" since majority of
his colleagues are against the revival of capital punishment.
Sen. Emmanuel Pacquiao, who has been assigned to head a panel under the
Committee on Justice, will conduct next week a public hearing on 8 pending
measures reviving the death penalty since its chairman, Sen. Richard Gordon, is
opposed to the reimposition of capital punishment.
"Based on our informal discussion at the session hall and at the lounge, it is
really difficult to get the required number to pass the death penalty bill at
the Senate," Lacson said in a media forum.
"It will be a waste of time," he added.
Lacson suggested that the Senate should tackle bills that have the chance to be
approved instead.
"If I were Sen. Pacquiao, I will first assess how many votes I will get. Do I
have 12 votes to pass the Senate's death penalty version?" he said.
Senate President Aquilino Pimentel 3rd instructed Pacquiao to conduct the
hearing after Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez criticized the upper house for its
failure to approve the death penalty bill which the lower house already passed.
But Lacson said the Senate should instead focus on the passage of the proposed
national identification (ID) system and the amendments to the Dangerours Drugs
Act.
The 8 pending measures on death penalty revival are Senate Bills 4, 42, 185,
186, 187, 889, 985, and 1294 filed separately by Senators Vicente Sotto 3rd,
Joseph Victor Ejercito, Sherwin Gatchalian, Pacquiao, and Lacson.
Legal
Restoring the death penalty law is within the bounds of the Constitution, Chief
Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo maintained on Thursday.
Panelo cited Article 3, Section 19, of the Constitution which states that
"excessive fines shall not be imposed, nor cruel, degrading or inhuman
punishment inflicted" and "neither shall death penalty be imposed, unless, for
compelling reasons involving heinous crimes, the Congress hereafter provides
for it."
"The Constitution says it can be done. Besides, a treaty can never be superior
to the Constitution," Panelo said.
Panelo was referring to the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights which was signed by the Philippines.
"The same treaty cannot prevail over the authority of Congress under the
[Philippine] Constitution to reimpose the death penalty if it determines that
there are compelling reasons to penalize or prevent the commission of grievous,
odious and hateful offenses that equate to heinous crimes," he said.
Article 6 of the said covenant reads provides: "in countries which have not
abolished the death penalty, sentence of death may be imposed only for the most
serious crimes in accordance with the law in force at the time of the
commission of the crime and not contrary to the provisions of the present
Covenant and to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of
Genocide. This penalty can only be carried out pursuant to a final judgement
rendered by a competent court."
The Philippines abolished capital punishment in 2006.
(source: Manila Times)
SOUTH AFRICA:
Carol Paton: My grandfather saved Nelson Mandela from death penalty
She regards 'Too late the Phalarope' as her grandfather's greatest literary
work.
Reacting to Google's decision to dedicate Thursday January 11, 2018 celebrating
her grandfather's 115th birthday through a Doodle, financial journalist Carol
Paton said the family was extremely honoured by the gesture.
Carol Paton told The Citizen even though the family was not officially informed
of the honour by Google, "the family though is deeply appreciative of the
gesture and very proud that Alan Paton's contribution to literature and to
South Africa has been recognised in this way".
"There isn't a better way in which so many people all around the world could be
made aware of or reminded of the legacy of Alan Paton and the role he played in
bringing to light the inhumanity of apartheid.
"It is gratifying that today the users of Google have been reminded of the
values and ideas that Alan stood for an championed, particularly that we all
share a common humanity," she said.
She regards "Too late the Phalarope", which she described as "a wonderful,
probing of the relationship between a father and son in an age where men were
not expected to show their emotions", as her grandfather's greatest work.
Besides writing, his granddaughter is proud of one other act of humanity,
rarely talked about, that she regards as a turning point in this country's
history.
"But apart from literature, among Alan's most notable achievements was the
evidence in mitigation that he gave at the treason trial of Nelson Mandela,
which George Bizos says he believed, resulted in Mandela being spared the death
sentence," she explained.
(source: The Citizen)
IRAN----executions
Prisoner Executed In Public
A prisoner who was charged with murdering 7 members of his wife's family was
hanged in public in front of a crowd in Salmas.
According to a report by ISNA, on the morning of Thursday January 11, a
prisoners was executed in public in Salmas. The prisoner was sentenced to
public execution 5 times, 148 lashes, and 14 years in prison on the charge of
murdering 7 members of his wife's family on May17, 2017.
"The prisoner was called Hossein Eskandarzadeh and he had been suffering from
mental illness for years," Told a close source to Iran Human Rights (IHR). This
is the 1st public execution in 2018.
***************************
Execution in Central Iran
A prisoner was hanged at Qazvin Central Prison on murder charges yesterday.
According to a report by Rokna, on Wednesday, January 10, a prisoner was
executed at Qazvin Central Prison. The prisoner, identified as Sae'ed, was
sentenced to death on the charge of murdering a man in Zaqeh Village in Abyek.
"I was in my shop when Ahmad came by. We drove toward a piece of land that I
had sold him -but annulled the contract later. He was mad at me for selling the
lot to someone else for a higher price. So we got into a fight in the car, and
he tried to hit me with something he took out of the dashboard. I took it from
him and hit him twice in the neck, but then I realised that he was bleeding and
I got scared and escaped," said the defendant in his defence.
According to Iran Human Rights annual report on the death penalty, 142 of the
530 execution sentences in 2016 were implemented due to murder charges. There
is a lack of a classification of murder by degree in Iran which results in
issuing a death sentence for any degree of murder regardless of intensity and
intent.
(source for both: Iran Human Rights)
******************
Iranian cleric leaves Germany under threat of prosecution over death sentences
A senior Iranian cleric under investigation in Germany for alleged crimes
against humanity left the country on a homeward-bound flight on Thursday,
cutting short his stay at a Hanover clinic, a German official said.
Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, a former chief justice, was in Germany for
treatment at the clinic of Iranian-German neurosurgeon Majid Samii when
activists referred him to prosecutors, citing what they called his record of
passing death sentences.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), an exiled opposition group,
said his issuing of "thousands' of death sentences amounted to a crime against
humanity and urged German prosecutors to investigate.
Prosecutors said they were investigating the referrals, including one from
senior Green politician Volker Beck. Later, the NCRI reported that Iran had
reserved tickets for Shahroudi and his entourage to leave the country.
A German government official told Reuters on Thursday afternoon that Shahroudi
was aboard an Iran-bound plane.
While Germany, like all European Union countries, opposes the death penalty,
German prosecutors do not automatically act on cases referred to them involving
executions in foreign countries.
For the issuing of death sentences to amount to a crime against humanity, they
would have to be part of a systematic attack on a civilian population.
An NCRI activist condemned Shahroudi's departure. "He should have been
prosecuted for thousands of executions in Iran," said Shahin Gobadi, a member
of the NCRI's foreign affairs committee.
NCRI spokesman Javad Dabiran said the group had seen Shahroudi leave the
Hanover hospital in a convoy before departing from Hamburg airport on an Iran
Air flight at 1325 local time (1225 GMT).
It said it had filed a formal complaint with prosecutors, accusing Shahroudi of
committing crimes against humanity and urging Berlin to prevent the cleric from
leaving Germany.
An arrest warrant would have to be issued by Germany's constitutional court.
Shahroudi was head of Iran's judiciary for a decade and is currently the head
of the Expediency Council, a body intended to resolve disputes between
parliament and a hard-line watchdog body, the Guardian Council.
Reuters could not immediately reach Shahroudi for comment.
Shahroudi's visit to a hospital in Germany prompted anger among some Iranians
who believe officials in the Islamic Republic should use the same health system
as ordinary Iranians.
Parviz Davoudi, an official in his office, said on Monday that "Shahroudi was
against traveling to Germany, and only did so after doctors insisted there is a
medical emergency."
(source: Arab News)
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