Jan. 15
TRINIDAD:
Trinidad waits on British judges' death row ruling as murders soar----Case will
have repercussions for countries that still carry out executions and those that
recognise jurisdiction of privy council
5 British judges will this week consider whether a prisoner who may be mentally
ill should remain on death row after a Caribbean court convicted him of
murdering another inmate.
Although Jay Chandler is unlikely to meet the hangman in Port of Spain, the
case will have international repercussions for countries that still carry out
executions and those that recognise the far-reaching jurisdiction of the UK's
judicial committee of the privy council (JCPC).
The hearing in London on Tuesday comes amid concern over the spiralling murder
rate in Trinidad and Tobago, which has reinvigorated calls for the death
penalty to be enforced. Last year, 494 people were murdered in the Commonwealth
state, which has not hanged anyone since 1999.
Trinidad is 1 of more than 30 overseas territories, dependencies and
Commonwealth states that rely on the JCPC as their ultimate court of appeal,
sending cases from around the world to hearings before justices of the UK's
supreme court in Westminster.
A 1993 landmark ruling at the privy council in the case of 2 Jamaican
prisoners, Pratt and Morgan, who were on death row, established the principle
that delays of more than 5 years between sentence and execution are degrading
and inhuman punishment. That decision resulted in hundreds of inmates having
death sentences commuted to life imprisonment.
More recent privy council cases have established legal precedents against
imposing capital punishment on those who have intellectual disabilities such as
extremely low IQs.
Trinidad and Tobago, with more than 30 people on death row, is 1 of only 2
Caribbean countries (the other being Barbados) that retains a mandatory death
penalty for murder - a hangover from British colonial rule.
Chandler, who is 40, was sentenced to death in 2011. He had been convicted of
stabbing another prisoner, Kern Phillip, with a homemade knife in October 2004.
The 2 men were said to have quarrelled during visiting hours at the Remand Yard
prison in Arouca, Trinidad.
Chandler was seen chasing Phillip across the compound. The victim died from his
injuries in the prison's infirmary. Postmortem examination showed that his
heart had been punctured. Chandler has denied having the weapon or attacking
Phillip.
Lawyers for Chandler will present a report from a forensic psychologist who has
diagnosed him as suffering from episodes of psychosis - fresh evidence, it is
argued, that casts doubt on the safety of his conviction and sentence. The
appeal will be heard by Lords Kerr, Sumption, Reed, Carnwath and Lloyd-Jones.
Saul Lehrfreund, co-executive director of the Death Penalty Project, based at
the London law firm Simons Muirhead and Burton, who visited Chandler, on death
row in October, said: "This is yet another example of someone being sentenced
to death who has never been assessed by mental health experts.
"Without proper assessments, people who are potentially mentally disabled
inevitably slip through the net and it is all too common to find prisoners with
severe mental health issues on death row. The mandatory death penalty is of
great concern as the judge has no discretion over whether the death penalty
should be imposed. Trinidad and Tobago is one of the last countries in the
Caribbean to retain this colonial relic, in violation of its international
obligations.
"The backdrop to this case is the clear prohibition on the execution of
individuals with mental disorder under international law. The legal safeguards
are there - the problem is with their implementation in practice."
Last month the release of a confidential prime ministerial file to the National
Archives revealed that in the 1970s the government had to send a British
gunboat when politicians defied local courts' capital punishment rulings.
The UK's abolition of the death penalty in 1969 was not extended to British
overseas dependent territories for decades and the disparity caused repeated
political tension.
In December 1980 the then foreign secretary, Lord Carrington, wrote a letter to
the prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, explaining: "Local feeling in those
territories which retain the death penalty is generally strongly in favour of
its use. In 1978 a frigate was sent to the British Virgin Islands in
expectation of disturbances when the governor decided to commute [the death
sentence]."
The file shows Douglas Hurd, who later became foreign secretary, believed
reform was needed. He wrote to John Major, by then prime minister, saying
something had to be done because there were 12 capital punishments cases
pending and in the Caymans a "new gallows had just been completed and graves
have been dug".
In 1991 the British government extended an order in council to its Caribbean
territories abolishing capital punishment for murder. Independent Caribbean
Commonwealth countries, such as Trinidad and Tobago, were not affected by that
legal change and retain the death penalty.
(source: theguardian.com)
BANGLADESH:
Magura Schoolgirl Murder----Death penalty of 3 convicts commuted
The High Court yesterday commuted the death sentence of 3 convicts to life
imprisonment in a case filed for killing schoolgirl Purnima Samaddar in Magura
in 2010.
The 3, now in jail, are -- Yusuf Joarder, Zillur Rahman and Akkas Sheikh.
According to the prosecution, Yusuf, Zillur and Akkas abducted Purnima
Samaddar, 14, a student of Char Mashishpur High School at Ghoshial village in
the upazila, while she was returning home around 1:30pm on August 4, 2010.
They took Purnima, daughter of Manojit Samaddar, to a jute field and tried to
rape her. As she cried for help, they strangled her.
Yesterday, the HC bench of Justice Md Ruhul Quddus and Justice Bhishmadev
Chakrabortty delivered the verdict after hearing the case's death reference and
appeals.
If a lower court sentences any person to death, its judgment is examined by the
HC through hearing arguments for confirmation. The case documents and judgment
reach as death reference to the HC from the lower court in 7 days after the
latter delivers the verdict.
The HC commuted their death sentence as "they have been in the condemn cell for
a long period of time and they were young during the commission of the crime",
Deputy Attorney General Moniruzzaman Rubel told The Daily Star.
He said the government will move an appeal before the SC's Appellate Division
seeking capital punishment for the convicts.
Divisional Speedy Trial Tribunal of Khulna on October 3, 2011 sentenced the 3
to death. Later, they filed separate appeals with the HC challenging the
verdict.
Advocate ABM Nurul Islam, Advocate Abdul Matin Khasru and Advocate Ahsan Ullah
appeared for the convicts.
(source: The Daily Star)
INDIA:
Kochi court awards death penalty to man for killing LKG student
A special court here on Monday sentenced to death the prime accused in the
murder of an LKG student at nearby Chottanikkara in 2013 while awarding double
life imprisonment to the child's mother.
Additional District and Sessions Judge KT Nisar Ahammed also awarded double
life imprisonment to another man in the case.
The court had last week found Rani, a divorcee, and her 2 paramours, Ranjith
and Basil, guilty in the killing of the woman's 4-year-old daughter.
According to the prosecution, first accused Ranjith murdered the child in
October 2013 as she became a burden on their relationship.
The court found the first accused guilty under various sections of the Indian
Penal Code and various sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual
Offences Act (POCSO Act) and awarded him death sentence.
Rani and Basil were found guilty under various sections of IPC, POCSO and
Juvenile Justice Act.
Ranjith had allegedly consumed "othalanga", a poisonous fruit, on Wednesday
after the special court found him guilty in the case.
(source: tribuneindia.com)
********************
Murder of child: Court awards death penalty to prime accused
A special court here today sentenced to death the prime accused in the murder
of an LKG student at nearby Chottanikkara in 2013 while awarding double life
imprisonment to the child's mother. Additional District and Sessions Judge, K T
Nisar Ahammed, also awarded double life imprisonment to another man in the
case. The Court had last week found Rani, a divorcee, and her 2 paramours,
Ranjith and Basil, guilty in the killing of the woman's 4-year-old daughter.
According to the prosecution, first accused Ranjith murdered the child in
October 2013 as she became a burden on their relationship. The Court found the
first accused guilty under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and
various sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act)
and awarded him death sentence. Rani and Basil were found guilty under various
sections of IPC, POCSO and Juvenile Justice Act. Ranjith had allegedly consumed
"othalanga," a poisonous fruit, on Wednesday after the Special Court found him
guilty in the case. The Court, which had posted the matter Friday to pronounce
the quantum of verdict, had deferred the matter for today.
(source: business-standard.com)
PAKISTAN:
No, death penalty is not a solution to child sexual abuse
In 2016, 1 children in Pakistan reported being sexually abused every day, a 10%
increase from the previous year. That is an average total of 4,015 every year.
The numbers likely quadruple when one takes into account those children who
suffer in silence.
In Pakistan, a country where 31% of the population is below the age of 14,
silence is, in fact, often the only recourse available to victim-children.
Out of the 1,172 cases of rape, including gang-rape and sodomy, that were
reported in 2016, only a handful made their way into public discourse.
The rest were forced to find their own way through a criminal justice system
that provides virtually no safeguards for child complainants, hangs onto
archaic procedures of investigating sexual crimes, and holds virtually zero
convictions for sexual crimes in most districts.
Given the government's pithy record in addressing child sexual abuse, the
outrage and shock at the tragic murder of six-year-old Zainab in Kasur
demonstrates our collective ignorance towards the plight of the most
vulnerable.
In 2004, Punjab enacted The Punjab Destitute and Neglected Children Act with
the aim of providing the province with its 1st ever institutional and legal
framework for the prevention and protection of children against abuse and
exploitation.
However, the district child protection units envisioned under the law were
established only in 6 districts and even those remain non-functional today.
A Child Protection and Welfare Bureau, with the chief minister as its
patron-in-chief, was tasked with the establishment and management of the child
protection units.
However, in the 8-year tenure of the current chief minister, not a single
meeting of the bureau has been conducted.
August, 2015 was the 1st time in Pakistan's recent history that the public was
forced to confront the impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators of child sexual
abuse when vile video tapes, showing the molestation of over 400 children
between 2006-2014, surfaced in Kasur.
A high-level inquiry committee constituted by the Punjab government dismissed
the reports as baseless and the result of land disputes between a few parties.
In absence of any law criminalising crimes of child sexual abuse, pornography
and trafficking, the few arrests that were made could only be charged under
general sections for sodomy and rape under the Pakistan Penal Code.
While the events were enough to jolt the legislature into finally pushing a
bill through the parliament in March, 2016, as always, actual implementation
remains wanting. That same year, civil society recorded 100 deaths of children
as a result of rape.
Protecting children from exploitation has never been on agendas nationwide.
This holds true both politically and socially.
It is no surprise that Punjab, the province where 62% of all child sexual abuse
cases occurred in 2017, has failed to develop its own child protection policy.
The draft developed by the Social Welfare Department has failed to attain
approval of the cabinet because of other 'more important agenda items.'
Any attempt to introduce Life Skills Based Education (LSBE) in mainstream
curricula is instantaneously thwarted.
The Punjab government, in 2011, cancelled a memorandum of understanding for the
inclusion of LSBE in curricula of public schools, bowing to right wing
pressure.
Parents have often joined opposition against LSBE and have seldom taken it upon
themselves to equip their offspring with any knowledge necessary to protect
themselves against sexual abuse.
In fact, sexual abuse, particularly occurring within the home and family, is
muted for the benefit of 'family honour.'
Despite the dismal public and private safeguards in place against child sexual
abuse, the call for action in the wake of Zainab's horrific death has
singularly focused on police negligence and public punishment for the
perpetrator.
What remains missing from the debate is our social and political unwillingness
to recognise the complete lack of child-responsive legal and social
institutions in the country that prioritise child welfare above all other
considerations.
Confronted with the heart-wrenching reality, we can no longer ignore the silent
suffering of children.
However, holding on to the belief that public and extreme punishment for the
perpetrator will remedy our consistent neglect and apathy towards the
vulnerable, is grossly misguided.
Punishing a single perpetrator will simply appease our consciences under the
false illusion that we have taken sufficient action to finally address the high
rates of public and private sexual abuse and exploitation.
However, it is unlikely that the alarming rates of child sexual abuse will
decrease without the implementation of child protection units at the district
level, along with LSBE in school curricula and willingness at home to openly
talk about the issue.
Social media has irresponsibly claimed that a public hanging in Iran solved the
country's child sexual abuse problem. Civil society and media reports continue
to show high rates of child sex abuse in the country.
A recent study showed that around 100 to 150 children living on the streets are
killed every month in Tehran for reasons including abuse.
According to government reports, over 21% of these children experience sexual
exploitation, including the gang rape of an 11-year-old girl in Tehran in June,
2015.
Additionally, the highest rise in AIDS in Iran has been reported to be the
result of children working on the streets infected through rape.
Clearly, the tragic events surrounding Zainab's death should lead us to finally
push for a much better state of affairs for our country's children.
The abduction of children has already accounted for hundreds of executions in
Pakistan since a moratorium was lifted in December, 2014.
If we continue to hold the belief that adding another death to the mix will
create any impact on the security of our children, then we will continue to let
them down.
It's high time that we prioritise the protection of our children in all legal
and policy agendas, while implementing the already existing child safeguarding
mechanisms.
We owe it to children like Zainab, and countless others like her, to finally
convert the effort we put into our impassioned responses to implementing
dedicated and long-term strategies to prevent child sexual abuse from happening
further.
(source: Zainab Z. Malik is a human rights lawyer, currently working with the
Justice Project Pakistan. She has law degrees from the Lahore University of
Management Sciences and Harvard Law School----dawn.com)
MALAYSIA:
Malaysia Upholds Death Sentences for 9 Filipinos Over 2013 Incursion
Malaysian court on Monday upheld death sentences handed down to 9 men from the
Philippines in connection with an 2013 incursion into the Malaysian part of
Borneo island by Philippine fighters seeking to stake an ancient claim.
The incursion by the fighters from the southern Philippines into Malaysia's
Sabah state sparked a month-long crisis and at least 27 people were killed when
Malaysian troops backed by fighter jets eventually subdued the militants.
The conflict disrupted operations in Sabah's huge palm oil industry and at the
time, raised concern that prolonged trouble could dampen investor interest in
energy and infrastructure projects in the state.
The 9 were among fighters captured.
A 5-member Federal Court panel unanimously ruled that the death sentences were
the most appropriate, upholding a decision by a lower court to increase the
penalty from life sentences, according to the state news agency Bernama.
The court also upheld a lower court's decision to release 14 other men who had
been held in connection with the fighting in the sleepy Lahad Datu district.
The fighters were from a group that has demanded recognition, and an increased
payment from Malaysia, for their claim to be the rightful owners of Sabah,
which an ancient sultanate leased to British colonialists in the 19th century.
Malaysia dismissed their demands and the Philippine government repeatedly told
the group to put down their weapons and go home.
The fighters declared loyalty to the self-proclaimed Sultan of the southern
Philippine region of Sulu, Jamalul Kiram, in the Philippines.
(source: Reuters)
SOUTH KOREA:
Man says he killed mother for cash
The 35-year-old man who fled to New Zealand after allegedly murdering his
mother and 2 relatives told Yongin Dongbu police on Sunday he did it for the
money, after being repatriated to Korea on Thursday and arrested on Saturday.
"I was after my mother's wealth and carried out the planned crime," said Kim
Sung-gwan. "After my mother remarried, I saw her create a family with people I
don't have a particular affinity for and after running into some financial
trouble, my emotions got to me. So I devised a plan to steal my mother's money
and go to New Zealand."
Kim allegedly stabbed his 55-year-old mother and 15-year-old stepbrother to
death in their Yongin, Gyeonggi, apartment on Oct. 21.
On the same day, he allegedly stabbed his 57-year-old stepfather to death at a
rest area in Pyeongchang County, Gangwon. Because of the heinous nature of his
crime, Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency decided to reveal Kim's full
name and a picture of his face to the public on Friday.
Kim also allegedly stole about 100 million won ($94,680) from 2 of his mother's
bank accounts and exchanged it for about 100,000 New Zealand dollars. He
reportedly spent 7 million won on airfare and housing and another 4 million won
on a Prada bag, a Ferragamo wallet and other brand-named products at the
duty-free shop at Incheon International Airport. In New Zealand, Kim allegedly
bought a Mercedes-Benz SUV and furniture.
Kim is detained on charges of intentional homicide by robbery, instead of
parricide charges. Intentional homicide by robbery has a heavier punishment
than parricide in Korea, as the convicted can face the death penalty or a life
sentence.
Initially, Kim told police he unintentionally killed his family "after getting
into an argument."
Police reported that his behavior before and after the crimes, including
cleaning the site of the crime and putting flour on the dead bodies, made it
seem like he planned the murders.
Police said that their possession of Kim's tablet PC played a critical role in
obtaining his confession.
After returning to Korea on Nov. 1, Kim's wife, surnamed Jung, brought Kim's
tablet to police and told them it was used by her husband. When police
investigated the search history on the tablet, they found that Kim had
previously looked up "how to stab someone," "deep into the carotid artery,"
"hammer," "agreement on the extradition of criminals" and searches related to
escaping to another country after committing a crime.
"I did inform my wife about my criminal plans beforehand," Kim reportedly told
police, "but she did not know that I committed the crime with the intent to
steal money."
Police said even if Jung was tricked by her husband, "Jung helped her husband
plan the crime beforehand and has to face charges as an accomplice."
Jung was detained on charges of parricide and will face trial.
(source: Korea JoongAng Daily)
EGYPT:
Tuesday Becomes Execution Day in Egypt
For the past 3 Tuesdays, Egypt has hanged civilians sentenced to death by
military tribunals:
Jan. 9: 3 men were hanged. They had been convicted of rape and sentenced to die
by a military tribunal in 2011.
Jan. 2: 4 men accused of being Islamic militants were hanged. They had been
tried and sentenced to death by a military tribunal for an attack in 2015
outside a stadium that killed 3 military academy students.
Dec. 26: 15 men accused of being militants were hanged. A military tribunal had
convicted them in November and sentenced them to death for an attack on a
military checkpoint in the Sinai Peninsula in 2013 in which one officer and 8
soldiers were killed.
The Sinai attack occurred amid violence that broke out across Egypt shortly
after the military ousted Mohamed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood leader who had
been elected president. The day before that attack, security forces killed
nearly 1,000 people while breaking up 2 Muslim Brotherhood sit-ins in Cairo. No
member of the security forces has been held accountable for those mass
killings, which human rights groups believe President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
orchestrated when he was defense minister.
It is gut-wrenching to try to absorb the enormity of the state-sanctioned
murder - which I believe executions to be. We talk of having an independent
judiciary in Egypt, but it is far from impartial. Whether in a military
tribunal courtroom or a civilian one, the arc of the Egyptian moral universe
bends not toward justice, but instead toward the political whim of whoever has
power. That is especially pronounced in military tribunals.
Since Mr. Sisi has been in power, the numbers of death sentences and executions
have risen markedly. According to the state news media in Egypt, in 2017 courts
handed down 186 death sentences, triple the 60 handed down in 2016. And the
number of executions doubled to 44 in 2016 from 22 in 2015. Last year, Egypt
executed 16 people. In just the first 9 days of 2018, it has hanged almost 1/2
that number.
When the Egyptian authorities are not putting to death people through their
courts, they do so extrajudicially. In April, Human Rights Watch said military
forces in the Sinai Peninsula had executed at least 2 and as many as 8 unarmed
detainees and covered up the killings to make it appear that the victims were
armed terrorists shot to death in a raid.
In the 15 hangings on Dec. 26, Egyptian human rights groups have said, the
legal procedures were flawed and at least one of the 15 appeared to have been
tortured. One lawyer, who was in touch with families and lawyers of those
hanged, said the executed men's lawyers were not given time to present an
appeal before the defense minister signed off on their executions. And even
small mercies were denied. The families had no chance to say goodbye before the
men were hanged.
In a similar vein, a sister of 1 of the men hanged last Tuesday told the
independent Egyptian news site Mada Masr that their families don't know where
the executions were carried out, nor how to claim their kin's bodies. A
military court had scheduled an appeal for Feb. 25 - 6 weeks after the
hangings.
Why hold 22 executions over 3 successive Tuesdays? They seem a clear message
from a government determined to show it is in control. There is usually a
security clampdown in the run-up to Jan. 25, the anniversary of the uprising in
2011 that spread revolutionary protests against the dictatorship of Hosni
Mubarak across Egypt.
But is Mr. Sisi really in control? He has also ordered security forces to use
"brutal force" against an armed militant campaign in northern Sinai, even
though several years of such force by security forces have failed to stem
violence. Just last November, for example, militants killed more than 300
worshipers at Friday prayer in a gun and bomb attack.
Another factor may be that this month Egypt announced a presidential election
to be held in March. Mr. Sisi, a former general and head of military
intelligence, was pronounced the winner of the last election in 2014, with a
difficult-to-believe 96.1 % of the votes.
Lest there be doubt about the outcome 2 months from now, consider this:
Candidates must register by the end of January. One potential candidate is in
prison. Another was kept under effective house arrest until he withdrew. A 3rd
is on trial and will be disqualified if his conviction is upheld. And a 4th
must try to get thousands of signatures in support before he can qualify to
run. (Candidates must obtain the backing of at least 20 members of Parliament
or be supported by at least 25,000 eligible voters in at least 15 of Egypt's 27
administrative districts, called governorates.)
Mr. Sisi has yet to announce his candidacy, but more than 3/4 of the members of
Parliament expressed support for him the day after the election date was
announced.
Through all of this bad news, Egypt's human rights abuses are falling through
the cracks of an increasingly insular Trump administration in Washington and a
global climate of rising tolerance for repression that has challenged even the
most hardened of advocates. The office of the United Nations high commissioner
for human rights, Zeid Ra???ad al-Hussein, has denounced the recent executions
in Egypt. But Mr. Hussein has decided not to seek a 2nd 4-year term, saying it
"might involve bending a knee in supplication."
I hold little hope that on a visit to Egypt scheduled for Saturday, the
American vice president, Mike Pence, will condemn the horrific number of recent
executions in Egypt. After all, successive American administrations have paid
little more than lip service to human rights in Egypt, even as they sent
billions of dollars in aid and weaponry.
And let's be honest: When it comes to the death penalty, the United States is
hardly in a position to preach. There were 2,832 people on death row there at
the end of 2016, according to Amnesty International. Still, too many await
death by hanging in Egyptian prisons. What Egyptian can forget the notorious
judge who, after a cursory trial of a few sessions lasting just minutes,
sentenced more than 680 people to death in April 2014 for the killing of 1
police officer?
The death sentence is unjust and barbaric, everywhere. It is especially an
abomination in countries where justice is rarely served. Egypt must not make
Tuesdays synonymous with mass hangings.
(source: Op-Ed; Mona Eltahawy is the author of "Headscarves and Hymens: Why the
Middle East Needs a Sexual Revolution"----New York Times)
KUWAIT:
Prosecution demands 'death' sentence for child murderers
The Prosecution has called for the death penalty for child killers saying
violence against minors has increased significantly in the Kuwaiti society,
reports Al-Qabas daily. The Prosecution has pleaded death penalty for the
murdered of the 5-year-old Fatima by her mother and lover, the atrocious crime
that has bled the conscience of humanity.
The prosecutor said a brother may kill his brother and this is a crime in depth
in history, and the wife may kill her husband because of oppression and
boredom, but a mother kills her children is an unforgivable crime, and we
demand the death penalty. Earlier, police investigations had revealed that the
mother's boyfriend had beaten to death and the mother took the body of her
daughter and put in the bathroom of the family house and said she tripped and
fell and died.
A security source said the Operations Room of the Interior Ministry received a
distress call from the mother claiming her daughter had fallen in the bathroom
and became unconscious. Acting on information, a team of rescue men went to the
location, examined the body, and declared the child was already dead. The
officers found traces of bruises on the body and referred it to Forensics for
autopsy. During questioning, the mother said the child accompanied her on a
visit to the boyfriend and she started crying without cause, so the 2 of them
continued beating her until she became silent and later realized she was dead.
Apparently, the woman is divorced and she connived with the boyfriend to lie
that the child had tripped and died inside the bathroom. The mother is said to
have placed the body in the bathroom before notifying the Operations Room about
the incident amid tears. The mother confessed that her boyfriend had beaten the
child to death after he hurt her with a piece of cigarette. The man admitted
beating the child but insisted the mother had participated in the act, although
they had no intention of killing her.
(source: arabtimesonline.com)
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