Jan. 20
MALAYSIA:
Minister's delay led to judge having no choice but to sentence A Sargunan, 4
others to death
All section 39B (drug trafficking) trials should be suspended until the amended
drugs law comes into force, says Charles Hector.
The Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (Madpet) is appalled by the
delay in the Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act 2017 coming into force.
This will mean that those now being convicted by the courts for drug
trafficking will still be subjected to the mandatory death penalty and not
enjoy the possibility of avoiding the death penalty.
The proposed amendment to the law, when it comes into force, will only apply to
cases where those facing trial have not yet been convicted. Therefore, it is
only just that all drug trafficking case trials must not continue until the new
law comes into force. The minister's delay has already cost at least 5
individuals to be convicted to death.
On 17 January 2018, it was reported that Malaysian A Sargunan, 42, and 4 Indian
nationals - Sumesh Sudhakaran, Alex Aby Jacob Alexander, Renjith Raveendran and
Sajith Sadanandan - were convicted and sentenced to death by the Shah Alam High
Court that day for drug trafficking under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous
Drugs Act 1952 (The Star, 17 January 2018).
The Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Bill 2017 was passed by Parliament on 30
November 2017, and by the Senate on 14 December 2017. Royal assent was received
on 27 December 2017, making this now an act of Parliament. But sadly, it only
will come into operation on a date to be appointed by the Minister by
notification in the Gazette.
A perusal of the official e-Federal Gazette website on 19 January 2018,
revealed that some other laws that obtained royal assent on the same day as the
Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act 2017 or subsequently have already come into
force - but not this act which will have the effect of restoring judicial
discretion to impose a sentence for drug trafficking other than the death
penalty, ie life imprisonment with whipping of not less than 15 strokes for the
offence of drug trafficking.
Because of the minister's delay, A Sargunan and the 4 Indian nationals have now
been convicted and sentenced to death, as section 39B (1)(a) of the Dangerous
Drugs Act 1952 still provides for the mandatory death penalty.
Section 3(2) of the Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act 2017 states:
(2) Any proceedings against any person who has been charged, whether or not
trial has commenced or has been completed, and has not been convicted under
section 39b of the principal Act by a competent Court before the appointed
date, shall on the appointed date be dealt with by the competent Court and be
continued under the provisions of the principal Act as amended by this Act.
This means that any person even already on trial for drug trafficking (section
39B), so long as they have not yet been convicted, can still enjoy the benefits
of the Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act 2017. But until the minister does what
is required to ensure this law comes into force, judges will continue to have
no discretion but to impose the mandatory death penalty.
The new law, sadly, does not provide any remedy to those already convicted or
for the 800 or more currently on death row after having been convicted for drug
trafficking. As such, in fairness, all their death sentences should be commuted
to imprisonment.
Alternatively, a new law is needed that allows for a review of their current
sentences. Reasonably, given the large numbers involved and other reasons, it
would be best that all their death sentences be commuted.
Malaysia must be complemented for this major long overdue step to abolish the
mandatory death penalty for the offence of drug trafficking, and return
discretion to judges when it comes to sentencing.
It is noted that there are still flaws in this new law which have been raised
by the Malaysian Bar, among others, including the fact that the judges, in
exercising their discretion, are currently limited to just certain limited
considerations.
There is also now an unjust mandatory requirement before the exercise of the
judge's discretion - the judge's assessment of the convicted person's ability
or willingness to assist in disrupting drug trafficking activities. There are
many reasons why those convicted person may not be able to provide this
assistance including possible retaliation by kingpins and others on them or
their families.
The Malaysian Bar in their statement on 5 December 2017 stated:
We are concerned that judges are being limited in their consideration of the
mitigating factors and circumstances that surround each case, before
sentencing. Such mitigating factors can include, and are not limited to, the
offender's age, rehabilitation goals, past criminal record, role played in the
offence, mental capacity, reparations made, fear of another person, use of
violence, harm done to property or persons, and degree of cooperation with the
authorities. The sentencing process is, and should always remain, within the
unfettered domain of the judiciary.
Madpet calls for all trials of those charged under section 39B (drug
trafficking) to be stayed, or where the trial is over, that courts do not
proceed to convict them until after the Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act 2017
comes into force.
Madpet also calls on the minister to do what is required to ensure that the
Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act 2017 comes into force immediately without any
further delay.
Madpet reiterates the call for Malaysia to speedily abolish all other mandatory
death penalty offences, other than drug trafficking, and return sentencing
discretion to judges.
Madpet reiterates the call for a moratorium on all executions, pending the
abolition of the death penalty in Malaysia.
(source: Charles Hector issued this statement on behalf of Malaysians Against
Death Penalty and Torture (Madpet)----aliran.com)
PHILIPPINES:
Reinstating the death penalty a violation of international law
First of 2 parts
As a consequence of President Duterte's war on drugs, there has been in the
Philippines a move to reinstate death as capital punishment. On March 7, 2017,
the House of Representatives approved the reimposition of the death penalty for
drug-related crimes, among others, by a vote of 217 yeses and 54 no's. The bill
is pending in the Senate. As might be expected from the chamber that approves
the ratification of international treaties, certain Senators have raised
objections to the bill on the ground that it is violative of international law.
As noted by the late chairman of the Philippine Commission on Human Rights,
Purificacion Valera Quisumbing, in her briefing paper submitted to the European
Parliament in Brussels in January 2007, the Philippines abolished the death
penalty under its 1987 Constitution and became the 1st Asian country to abolish
the death penalty for all crimes. It also became the 1st Asian country to
abolish it only to reintroduce it later on.
The latter distinction owes to the fact that "the constitutional abolition of
the death penalty, which immediately took effect upon the ratification of this
Constitution, does not prevent the legislature from reimposing it at some
future time (Bernas, The Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines: A
Commentary)." The Constitution in Article III, Section 1 9(1) reads that
effective upon its ratification, "The death penalty shall not be imposed unless
for compelling reasons, including heinous crimes the Congress hereafter
provides for it. Any death penalty already imposed shall be reduced to
reclusion perpetua (life imprisonment)."
A series of serious crimes widely described as "heinous" occurred in 1993
during the administration of President Fidel V. Ramos. To arrest the rising
criminality, the Death Penalty Law (Republic Act 7659) was signed in December
1993. It listed a total of 46 crimes punishable by death, 25 of which are
death-mandatory and 21 are death-eligible. Republic Act 8177 mandated the death
sentence be carried out by lethal injection. With the amendment of the
Anti-Rape Law (RA 8533) and Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 (RA9165),
capital offenses were raised to 52; of these, 30 of are death-mandatory and 22
are death-eligible.
In 1999, the administration of President Joseph Estrada put to death 7 death
row convicts. It was observed that "1999 was a bumper year for executions which
were intended to abate criminality. Instead, using the same year as baseline,
criminality increased by 15.3 %, the total in the previous year of 71,527
crimes rising to 82,538 in1999." Giving in to appeals from groups, including
the Roman Catholic Church, President Estrada issued a moratorium on executions
in observance of the Vatican's "Jubilee Year." The practice of carrying out
executions was re-initiated and carried over to the administration of President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
After a rise in drug trafficking and kidnappings that mainly victimized the
Chinese-Filipino community, President Arroyo announced on December 5, 2003, the
lifting of the de facto moratorium on executions "to sow fear into the hearts
of criminals." The resumption of executions was, however, halted with the
reopening of the Lara and Licayan capital case. The Supreme Court vacated the
decision of the lower court and ordered the admission of newly discovered
evidence, including the testimonial evidence of 2 other co-accused in the same
case, both of whom gave testimony exonerating Lara and Licayan from
culpability. Since then successive administrations have been issuing reprieves
on scheduled executions without actually issuing a moratorium.
The Commission on Human Rights vehemently objected to the reimposition of the
death penalty. It cautioned against it and recommended reforms for a more
effective enforcement of penal laws. It should also be mentioned that the
European Union and the Roman Catholic Church, among others, waged an
intensifying campaign against the death penalty.
On April 19, 2006 in a letter to the House of Representatives and the Senate,
President Arroyo endorsed the immediate enactment of House Bill No. 4826
entitled "An Act Prohibiting the Imposition of the Death Penalty." It was
signed into law as Republic Act 9346 on June 24, 2006.
At this point, the Philippines might be said to be the 1st Asian country to
abolish the death penalty for all crimes only to reimpose it on certain heinous
crimes, and then only to prohibit it totally once again.
To those who have followed the twists and turns of the history of the death
penalty in the Philippines, much of the arguments for and against the current
move to reimpose capital punishment are not new. Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo
Umali, in sponsoring the bill reimposing the death penalty, cited 4
"compelling" reasons: 1) The death penalty is a fitting response to increasing
criminality and killings in the county; 2)The death penalty is a measure to
restore respect for the laws of the land; 3) Death is a path to achieving
justice; and 4) Reimposition of the death penalty is geared towards a genuine
reform in the Philippines criminal justice system.
(to be continued)
(source: The Manila Times)
JAPAN:
Rejected appeal closes the book on cult that gassed Tokyo subway----But Aum
Shinrikyo has rebranded and is still active in Japan and beyond
The last of the court proceedings involving former members of Aum Shinrikyo,
which carried out the 1995 sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway, has
ended more than 2 decades after criminal investigations began. But the group
itself remains active under a different name, with a presence across Japan and
even in Russia.
The Supreme Court upheld the life sentence of ex-Aum member Katsuya Takahashi
in a decision dated Thursday. Takahashi was involved in the 1995 attack that
killed 13 and injured more than 6,000, as well as attacks using the VX nerve
agent and the kidnapping and murder of the head of a Tokyo notary office.
Aum-related court proceedings were thought to have concluded in 2011. But
Takahashi and 2 other former members were arrested the following year. A total
of 192 people have now been tried in connection with the group's crimes. 13
have been sentenced to death, including founder Shoko Asahara, whose real name
is Chizuo Matsumoto.
The death penalty in Japan is typically not carried out until all accomplices
have been tried. With Thursday's decision, the focus now shifts to when Asahara
and others will be executed.
The group was also responsible for such crimes as the 1989 murder of an
anti-Aum lawyer and his family, as well as a 1994 sarin attack in the city of
Matsumoto. Aum lost its status as a religious entity following Asahara's
arrest. It was later renamed Aleph and remains in operation, as does splinter
group Hikari no Wa.
Roughly 30 Aleph members broke off into yet another splinter group in 2015,
according to the Public Security Intelligence Agency. The 3 entities together
have 34 facilities across 15 prefectures and 1,650 members in Japan. Another
460 members are said to be in Russia.
The 3 groups are believed to share the common goal of spreading Asahara's
teachings. The intelligence agency considers them effectively a single entity.
(source: nikkei.com)
******************
Disclosed files fail to show why convicts chosen for execution
The Justice Ministry has put an end to its longtime policy of avoiding
executions of death-row inmates while they are calling for a retrial, but who
is chosen to be hanged is still shrouded in secrecy.
The hanging of a prisoner seeking a retrial requires cautious judgment, yet the
Justice Ministry ordered the execution of 3 of them in 2017.
The 1st was 1 of 2 men hanged in July, marking the 1st time in 17 years that a
prisoner seeking a retrial was executed.
Then, in December, another 2 men hoping for a retrial went to the gallows.
The Justice Ministry has failed to disclose the reasons the 2 inmates were
selected for execution in July 2017.
Most of the pages of relevant documents obtained from the Justice Ministry by
The Asahi Shimbun last year under the freedom of information law were blacked
out.
The Asahi Shimbun has filed requests for but has yet to receive the documents
regarding the December executions.
In addition, the death of 1 of the men in December marked the 1st execution in
20 years of an inmate on death row for a crime committed as a minor.
There are now 122 inmates on death row in Japan as of Dec. 27, according to the
ministry. Among these, 95 are seeking a retrial.
7 types of document were released last year by the Justice Ministry in response
to the requests filed by The Asahi Shimbun regarding the executions in July.
The other inmate executed in July did not seek a retrial. The death sentence
given under the lay judge system has also been questioned because he only
killed one person.
The number of inmates on death row has surpassed 120, marking an increase in
excess of 70 in the last 20 years. The trend seems to have prompted the Justice
Ministry to change gears to carry out executions that it previously avoided.
THE JULY HANGINGS
1 of the 2 men executed in July was Masakatsu Nishikawa, 61. He was convicted
of murdering 4 female "snack" bar operators in Hyogo, Shimane and Kyoto
prefectures, and assaulting a female "rakugo" comic storyteller in Osaka
Prefecture, over a 1-month period since December 1991.
The other inmate, Koichi Sumida, 34, was convicted of murdering a former female
colleague, who was working as a dispatch worker, in Okayama in September 2011.
According to the disclosed documents, the superintending prosecutors at the
high public prosecutors offices submitted petitions to the justice minister
requesting the sentences be carried out, 5 months after the death sentence was
finalized for Nishikawa in June 2005 and 3 months after an execution judgment
for Sumida had become final and binding in March 2013.
The move appeared to reflect the Criminal Procedure Law stipulating that the
execution must be implemented within 6 months after a death sentence was
finalized.
However, it's rare that convicts have been executed so quickly.
Nishikawa was sentenced to death by a district court and a high court, and the
Supreme Court rejected his appeal in June 2005.
But he repeatedly requested a retrial after his death sentence was finalized.
His execution was the 1st for a death-row inmate seeking a retrial since
December 1999.
Who is to be executed is decided by the Justice Ministry's Criminal Affairs
Bureau but why Nishikawa and Sumida were picked to be hanged has remained
unclear. The bureau chose Nishikawa and Sumida 11 1/2years and 4 years,
respectively, after their sentences were finalized.
SOMBER PROCESS
The execution procedures for Nishikawa and Sumida began with a document dated
July 10, 2017, titled "Kessai, Kyoran, Hokoku," (approval, display, report) and
stamped by six executives of the Justice Ministry's Correction Bureau and
Rehabilitation Bureau.
The document was 25 pages for 1 of the convicts and 10 pages for the other. But
the ministry only disclosed 4 pages of them for each convict. A final decision
and an outline for an execution order were indicated in the pages handed over.
The rest was blacked out.
A document titled "Shikko Soto" (suitable for execution), also dated July 10,
was created with the aim of approving the execution with seals from 7
executives of the ministry--then Justice Minister Katsutoshi Kaneda, the state
minister of justice, vice minister of justice, deputy vice minister of justice,
director of the Secretarial Division, director-general of the Criminal Affairs
Bureau and director of the General Affairs Division of the bureau.
Within the day, the Justice Ministry then sent execution orders for the 2
convicts to the superintending prosecutors at the high public prosecutors
offices. The prosecutors sent replies acknowledging they had received the
orders.
The 2 inmates on death row were executed July 13, and 2 types of documents
dated the same day, including an initial brief report of the execution, were
created for each dead man.
But in the disclosed documents, the times of the executions, the names of
witnesses apart from the detention house wardens, which are the names of the
prosecutors and administrative officials of the high public prosecutors
offices, the circumstances of the executions, and the 2 inmates' last
testaments were blacked out.
In Japan, nearly 80 % of death row inmates are currently applying for retrial
and some repeatedly file a petition. There has been a long-festering view among
ministry officials that the retrial system is exploited by some inmates to
delay the carrying out of their death sentences.
However, there was a case of Iwao Hakamada, now in his 80s, a former boxer who
was wrongly convicted of multiple slayings in 1966. He spent decades on death
row, but was released from prison in March 2014 after the Shizuoka District
Court ordered a retrial.
With rising opposition against the death penalty, it remains to be seen if the
Justice Ministry will disclose sufficient information to deepen discussion on
the issue.
(source: The Asahi Shimbun)
*****************
Aum trials seen near completion as top court upholds life term for Katuya
Takahashi
The trials related to Aum Shinrikyo, the doomsday cult that executed the deadly
sarin attack on the Tokyo subway system in 1995, are close to ending after the
Supreme Court rejected an appeal by a former cultist.
The top court's decision dated Thursday upheld a high court's life sentence on
Katsuya Takahashi, 59, who was accused of murder in the sarin attack. He was
the last of the former members still being tried.
With the conclusion of all of the trials, judicial authorities will likely
shift their focus to the possible execution of Aum founder Shoko Asahara, whose
real name is Chizuo Matsumoto. Asahara was given the death penalty for
masterminding the 1995 attack, among other charges.
In connection with the sarin attack and other crimes, death sentences have been
finalized for 13 members of the cult, while life sentences have been finalized
for 5 others.
Around 190 people with ties to the cult had been indicted over the sarin
attack, which killed 13 people and injured thousands, as well as other cases.
The Tokyo High Court ruled in September 2016 that Takahashi, the driver for 1
of the cult members who released the poison in subway carriages, was aware that
a toxic substance would be released.
The high court also found Takahashi guilty of 4 other attacks orchestrated by
Aum.
Takahashi's ruling followed the case of ex-Aum member Naoko Kikuchi last month.
The Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that acquitted Kikuchi over her
role in a 1995 parcel bombing at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building.
Rejecting an appeal filed by prosecutors, the top court's First Petty Bench
said in its decision dated earlier in the month that the Tokyo District Court's
2014 ruling that Kikuchi was guilty of assisting in attempted murder was based
on an error, and that it endorses the Tokyo High Court's 2015 decision to
overturn the lower court's verdict.
Her acquittal was finalized later.
Kikuchi, 46, was arrested in June 2012 after 17 years on the run. She was later
indicted over her role in the parcel bombing in May 1995, 2 months after the
Tokyo subway sarin gas attack orchestrated by Aum Shinrikyo killed 13 people
and made more than 6,000 others ill.
In the bombing incident, members of Aum sent a parcel containing a bomb to the
Metropolitan Government head office, resulting in an explosion that seriously
injured a government employee.
(source: Japan Times)
CHINA:
Shanghai extends legal aid to foreign suspects
Shanghai has promised to extend legal aid to foreign suspects, local justice
authorities said.
In 2017, legal aid was provided to foreign suspects in 119 criminal cases, up
19 % from the previous year, said Zhang Ming, deputy director of Shanghai Legal
Aid Center.
Most foreigners who received aid were suspected of theft, fraud and drug
trafficking, Zhang said.
Starting last October, China launched a pilot program to ensure all criminal
defendants have access to defense lawyers for their trials. The program has
been carried out in Shanghai, Beijing, Zhejiang, Anhui, Henan, Guangdong,
Sichuan and Shaanxi.
On Dec. 29 last year, Shanghai published a regulation on how to carry out the
pilot program. According to the regulation, if criminal suspects do not hire
their own attorneys, legal aid lawyers will be provided to them. Interpreters
will be also provided to the suspects.
At present, a defense lawyer is only mandatory for juveniles and defendants
with certain physical or mental disabilities, or in cases in which defendants
face life imprisonment or the death penalty.
(source: xinhuanet.com)
PAKISTAN:
Army chief confirms death penalty for 10 terrorists
Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Bajwa on Friday ratified death
sentences awarded to 10 terrorists and imprisonment to 3 other convicts for
varying periods by the military courts.
The military's media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in a statement
said that the terrorists were involved in the killing of 41 people, including
security personnel.
"The convicts were involved in terrorist activities, killing of innocent
civilians, attacks on educational institutions, slaughtering of soldiers and
attacking law enforcement agencies and the armed forces," said the ISPR.
However, no details were given about the affiliation of the convicted
terrorists but apparently they belonged to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban
Pakistan and carried out these attacks in Swat.
The ISPR identified the terrorists sentenced to death as Samiur Rahman, Azeem
Khan, Arshad Bilal, Anwar Ali, Muhammad Aleem, Fazal Aleem, Rasool
Muha???m???mad, Sohail Ahmed, Naimat Ullah, and Rahmat Ali.
The identity of those awarded jail terms was not made public.
Last year the tenure of military courts was extended for another 2 years.
(source: dawn.com)
INDIA:
Haryana govt to enact law of capital punishment for raping minors
The Haryana government on Saturday said it will enact a law to provide for
capital punishment for those found guilty of raping girls aged 12 years or
below.
The state government would make a request for setting up fast-track courts for
dealing with rape cases to ensure speedy justice to the victims, Chief Minister
Manohar Lal Khattar said in Karnal after laying the foundation stone for a new
sugar mill.
Expressing anguish and concern over the recent incidents of rapes in the state,
Khattar said although the police were dealing with such cases as required under
the law, it had been decided to make provisions for harsher punishment for
rape.
(source: timesnownews.com)
**********************
2013 Sonai murders: Nashik court awards death sentence to 6
Traumatized by the horrific murders, the families of the kin were forced to
shift residence for fear of their lives.
More than 5 years after the gory murders of 3 Dalit youths in Ahmednagar's
Sonai village shook the State, the Sessions court in Nashik on Saturday
pronounced the death sentence on the 6 persons convicted of the crime.
Earlier this week, the court convicted 6 of the 7 men accused in the gory
murders that occurred in Sonai village in Ahmednagar where three Dalit youths,
Sachin Gharu (24), Sandeep Thanvar (25) and Rahul Kandare (20), were brutally
murdered and their mutilated body parts scattered in a septic tank and a
dried-up well.
The 6 accused of the crime include Ramesh Darandale (43), Prakash Darandale
(38), Ragunath Darandale alias 'Popat' (52), Ganesh alias Praveen Darandale
(23), Sandeep Kurhe (37) and Ashok Phalke (44). Ramesh, Prakash and Popat are
brothers, while Sandeep Kurhe is a relative of the Darandales.
"It was the opinion of the court that caste prejudices ought to checked like
one curbs the spread of a malignant disease. Persons who arrogantly flaunt the
'superiority' of their caste by keeping up an unfair status quo through means
of violence and other means of spreading hatred should not be allowed to roam
scot-free," said Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Ujjwal Nikam, speaking outside
the courtroom after the verdict.
The court directed all convicted to deposit a penalty of 20,000 each, of which
1/2 the amount would be given to the families of the 3 victims.
Concluding arguments
Earlier, Advocate Nikam, presenting his concluding arguments, had urged the
court to award the death penalty to the 6 convicted for the crime based on 13
parameters which drew on the evidence after cross-examining more than 50
witnesses.
"The murders are a blot on humanity and a cruel reminder of prevailing caste
prejudices. A conspiracy was hatched by the Darandales (who belong to the
Maratha community) and the plan was carried out with incredible brutality just
because a boy from 'backward' caste fell in love with a girl from a 'higher'
caste and the duo were set to marry," Mr. Nikam had said.
All 3 youths, who were their respective families' sole breadwinners, were
hacked to death by the Darandales in the latter's village in Sonai between 3:30
and 8 p.m. on January 1, 2013. The victims belonged to the backward Mehtar
(Bhangi) community.
The trigger for the gruesome crime was because Sachin Gharu reportedly fell in
love with the daughter of 1 of the Darandales.
According to the FIR lodged at Sonai police station, Sachin and his colleagues,
who worked as sweepers, were summoned by the Darandale family to their home on
the fateful evening of January 1 to clean their septic tank.
After committing the horrific murders, Ramesh and Prakash Darandale then
contacted the police and reported that Sandeep allegedly drowned while cleaning
the septic tank.
This version roused the suspicions of the police when they pulled out the body
Sandeep - a 6-footer - from a tank that barely contained 2 ft. water.
On further grilling, Ramesh Darandale later changed his story and alleged that
Sachin and Rahul murdered Sandeep, dumped his body in the tank and fled.
On probing further, the police later discovered Sachin's decapitated body, with
his limbs severed from the trunk from a nearby well.
Rahul's mutilated body was later found with severe injury marks. Sachin and his
colleagues worked at the Trimurti Pavan Pratishthan School and College in
Ahmednagar's Nevasa Phata, around 30 km from Sonai village. The girl studied at
the same place.
Traumatized by the horrific murders, the families of the kin were forced to
shift residence for fear of their lives. The case itself was shifted from
volatile Ahmednagar to neighbouring Nashik on request from the kin of the
victims.
(source: thehindu.com)
BELARUS:
Urgent Action Update: Execution Imminent After Death Sentence Upheld (Belarus:
UA 195.17)
The death sentences of Ihar Hershankou and Siamion Berazhnoy were upheld by the
Supreme Court of Belarus on 20 December 2017. The 2 men were convicted and
sentenced to death by the Mahiliou Regional Court, in eastern Belarus, on 21
July 2017. In the likely event that their appeal for clemency is rejected by
the President, both men will be at risk of imminent execution.
TAKE ACTION
Write a letter, send an email, call, fax or tweet:
Urging the President to grant clemency to Ihar Hershankou and Siamion
Berazhnoy;
Calling on the President to introduce an immediate moratorium on executions
with a view to abolishing the death penalty;
Stress that whilst we are not seeking to downplay the seriousness of the crime,
research shows that the death penalty does not have a unique deterrent effect
and is the ultimate denial of human rights.
Contact these 2 officials by 23 February, 2018:
President
Alyaksandr Lukashenka Vul. Karla Marksa
38220016 Minsk
Belarus
Fax: +375 17 226 06 10 +375 17 222 38 72
Email: cont...@president.gov.by
Salutation: Dear President,P> Charge d'Affaires Mr. Pavel Shidlovsky
Embassy of Belarus
1619 New Hampshire Ave NW
Washington DC 20009
Phone: 202 986 9420 OR 1 202 986 1606
Fax: 202 986 1805 OR 1 202 986 1805
Email: u...@mfa.gov.by
Salutation: Dear Ambassador
(source: Amnesty International USA)
_______________________________________________
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
