Feb. 17
EUROPEAN UNION/CARIBBEAN:
EU join forces to end death penalty
The European Union wants to see the death penalty abolished in Barbados and the
rest of the Eastern Caribbean.
It is therefore putting its money behind the work of civil society
organisations in the region that are working towards this goal, as well as
supporting those seeking to protect the human rights of the lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) communities.
Head of the EU delegation to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Daniela
Tramacere, said yesterday "the EU views capital punishment as inhumane,
degrading and unnecessary" and had therefore made the universal abolition of
the death penalty one of the two priorities in its external policy.
Speaking during disbursement of EU Human Rights and Civil Society Grants to 6
civil society projects in the region, Tramacere said contrary to the belief
held by some, there was no link between the EU's position on these human rights
issues and a cut in EU aid.
Rather, she said the EU was "putting our money where our mouths are" by
allocating grants worth approximately 5 million euros, allocated for a 4-year
cycle, "to help the region build resilient societies and protect values and
principles".
"The EU is a stable partner of Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean and will
remain such" Tramacere stressed, adding: "we do not want to impose our model;
it is up to your society to decide how you want to respect the universality of
human rights."
However, she contended there was no valid scientific evidence to support claims
that the death penalty deterred crime more effectively than other punishments.
"Neither can there be an economic argument that detention costs the state a
lot," Tramacere contended. She also suggested that the possibility of
miscarriage of justice by the "intentional killing of innocent persons by the
state" ought to be a higher consideration in any argument regarding the death
penalty.
Tramacere noted Barbados and most of the countries of the Eastern Caribbean had
not carried out executions in over 2 decades and observed that, in essence, a
de facto moratorium on the death penalty already existed.
"Why not just abolish the practice altogether?" Tramacere asked.
(source: nationnews.com)
SINGAPORE:
Indian-origin man in Singapore gets death penalty for murder of fellow
worker----Saravanan Arimuram, 31, faces death penalty for the alleged murder of
Sivakumar Perumal, 43, who suffered injuries to his face and chest on Thursday,
and died later.
An Indian-origin man in Singapore was on Saturday charged in a court with the
murder of a fellow worker at a construction site, according to a media report.
Saravanan Arimuram, 31, faces death penalty for the alleged murder of Sivakumar
Perumal, 43, who suffered injuries to his face and chest on Thursday, and died
later, The Straits Times reported. Arimuram allegedly got into a fight with
Perumal, who was then driving a prime mover and he was a passenger.
Apart from the 2, an 18-year-old man was also travelling on the prime mover
which crashed along Jurong Town Hall Road in the Singapore's suburb industrial
estate.
The 3 men were taken to the National University Hospital, it said, citing a
police statement. "Preliminary investigations revealed that the accident was
believed to have occurred following a dispute between the deceased and the
suspect," the report said quoting the police statement.
According to the court papers, it was not clear that if Perumal's injuries were
caused by the accident or they were inflicted before the crash. He was remanded
to police custody and will be produced in the court on February 23. If
convicted of murder, Perumal will face the death penalty, the report said.
Arimuram, who was dressed in a bright yellow tank-top with the words "Yellow
Ribbon Project", kept his eyes closed in the dock as the charge was read out to
him.
The Yellow Ribbon Project, started as a community initiative in Singapore in
2004, aims to create awareness about the need to give a 2nd chance to
ex-offenders released from prison.
(source: indianexpress.com)
EQUATORIAL GUINEA:
Did Equatorial Guinea request death penalty for opposition activists?
The Equatorial Guinea prosecutor has reportedly requested the capital
punishment for 147 main opposition activists.
AFP reports that the trial of the activists started early last week in the high
court of Mongomo, the stronghold of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.
The prosecutor's death penalty request was tabled on Wednesday (February 14th).
The activists were being tried for: "sedition, attack on authority and public
disorder," according to their lawyer. "The prosecutor has demanded the death
penalty against all opponents," lawyer Fabian Nsue told the AFP.
The government which claim to have foiled an attempted coup in late December
2017, have yet to respond to a request for information.
The 147 activists, include leaders of the Citizens for Innovation (CI) party,
who have been rounded up since the parliamentary elections of November 2017.
According to a statement from their party, some 30 defendants could not stand
during the trial, "because of torture" during their detention in Guantanamo,
the nickname given to the central police station of the capital, Malabo.
(source: africanews.com)
SOUTH SUDAN:
South African Faces Death Penalty in South Sudan Espionage Case
A South African man is facing a possible death sentence in South Sudan, after
none of the key defense witnesses showed up at his trial on espionage charges
and conspiracy to overthrow the government.
William John Endley was a security contractor for former South Sudanese Vice
President Riek Machar, now the leader of a rebel faction fighting the
government of President Salva Kiir. Endley was arrested in August 2016, shortly
after deadly fighting flared up between government forces and Machar's
bodyguards in Juba.
Endley, a retired South African army colonel, appeared in court Thursday in
Juba, but six of his defense witnesses, including First Vice President Taban
Deng Gai, Petroleum Minister Ezekiel Lul Gatkuoth and Higher Education Minister
Yien Oral Lam have been absent since the proceedings began.
Lam told VOA's South Sudan In Focus he had no knowledge of the case.
"This is what I don't know. Even none of the defense [lawyers] met myself. How
could I be a witness to a person I don't know and in a case that I am not aware
of the circumstances?" he said.
Agel Machar, spokesman for Taban Deng Gai, says the vice president is traveling
overseas. He added that he is not in a position to comment on the case.
"I'm not aware of this case. I don't know about it. I'm hearing it for the
first time from you. I will have to ask before I can make a comment on it,"
said Machar, who is not related to Riek Machar.
Endley's defense lawyer, Gar Adel, told the court Thursday that all key
witnesses have traveled out of the country. He pleaded for more time to produce
them in court at a later date.
Presiding High Court Judge Ladu Armenio rejected the defense's pleas, saying he
will announce his final verdict next week.
Adel listed the charges against his client.
"The conspiracy to overthrow the government which is under the National
Security Service Act 2014, espionage also contrary to section 57 of the
National Security Act, supplying weaponry to insurgents, saboteur or terrorist
under the Penal Code, subverting a constitutional government under the Penal
Code and illegal entry to South Sudan under the Passport and Immigration Act
2011," Adel told VOA.
Endley first appeared in court last October with co-defendant James Gatdet Dak,
Riek Machar's spokesman. The court sentenced Gatdet this week to a 21-year
prison sentence to be followed by death by hanging.
Journalists were not allowed to record Thursday's proceedings, and Endley's
lawyer had little to say after the court session.
"Today the defense and proceedings closed its case and today the court also
closed the defense case, so that means we have come to a closure of the case,"
he said.
Previous action
Chief prosecutor Deng Acuil told South Sudan in Focus that he has not been
authorized to speak to the media about the case.
Adel says if Endley is found guilty, his client could be sentenced to life
imprisonment and possibly the death penalty.
He says Endley was performing his duties as a security contractor to help
Machar's forces integrate into the South Sudanese Army prior to being arrested.
At the time, Kiir and Machar were attempting to implement a 2015 peace
agreement.
Endley's first defense team withdrew from the case more than three weeks ago,
citing the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement that the government and Machar's
group signed in December. The agreement requires South Sudan's warring parties
to release all prisoners of war and political detainees.
Endley's daughter, Gweneth Endley, told South Sudan in Focus last year that she
had not been able to learn much about the case against her father.
Mawien Makol, spokesman for South Sudan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said
last year that Endley violated South Sudan's visa rules. He did not elaborate.
At that time, Makol said Endley would be released once the government completed
its investigation.
(source: voanews.com)
IRAN:
6 prisoners, Including a Juvenile Offender, Facing Execution In Days
At least 6 prisoners from different wards were transferred to solitary
confinement at Rajai Shahr Prison to be executed. Omid Rostami, a juvenile
offender, is one of the prisoners.
According to a close source, on the morning of Monday, February 12, at least 6
prisoners from different wards were transferred to solitary confinement at
Rajai Shahr Prison to be executed. Most of them were sentenced to death on
murder charges.
Some of them are identified as: Masoud Taghipour from ward 6, Mohammad Saleh
Dolatabadi from ward 10, Morteza Shafiq from ward 10, Saeed Ranjbar from ward
10, and Omid Rostami from ward 5.
Omid Rostami is reportedly sentenced to death on the charge of murder before
the age of 18. However, Iran Human Rights (IHR) has not been able to access his
documents so far.
The prisoners will be certainly executed on Wednesday if they fail to gain the
consent of the plaintiffs.
It is worth mentioning that at least 3 juvenile offenders were hanged at Rajai
Shahr, Noshahr, and Bushehr prisons in January. These sentences prove that the
Article 91 of the Islamic Penal Code (2013), as well as other articles related
to protection of children at risk of retaliation, cannot effectively protect
juvenile-offenders from execution.
"European nations, especially those who have good political and economic
relations with Iranian government should not be silent about the execution of
juveniles," Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson for IHR says, "We urge
European Union and other nations to immediately force Iranian authorities to
annul these executions and stop the execution of juveniles."
Iran has signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which
bans the execution of juveniles. Moreover, based on Article 37 the Convention
on the Rights of the Child, which Iran has signed, execution and life
imprisonment of juveniles is banned.
(source: Iran Human Rights)
PAKISTAN:
Pakistan Sentences Serial Killer To Death
A court in Pakistan on February 17 sentenced a serial killer to death after
finding him guilty of killing 8 children, including a 7-year-old girl whose
rape and murder sparked national outrage.
Police found Zainab Ansari's body in a garbage dumpster in Kasur district near
the eastern city of Lahore in mid-January, 4 days after she was reported
missing.
Police investigators said later that they had matched DNA from 8 girls' bodies,
including Zainab's, with the convicted killer, Imran Ali, 24.
Hundreds of residents protested after Zainab's body was found, and 2 were
killed when police fired shots to disperse them.
There have been complaints of a number of missing children in the same district
of Kasur since 2015 when authorities uncovered what they said was a pedophile
ring linked to a prominent local family.
(source: rferl/org)
****************
Pakistani minor Zainab's murderer handed 4 counts of death sentence
The verdict was announced at Lahore's Central Jail.
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) found the prime accused for the rape and murder
of a minor Pakistani girl guilty according to latest reports.
According to Dawn, Imran Ali has been handed 4 counts of death penalty, 1 life
time and Rs3.2m (Dh106,000 approx) in fines. The death penalties were for the
kidnap, rape, murder of Zainab; and 1 for committing an act of terrorism. The
life sentence was for sodomy and another penalty was imposed for hiding the
body in a trash heap.
The verdict was announced at Lahore's Central Jail on Saturday.
Earlier, Judge Sajjad Ahmad indicted Imran Ali in the murder case of Zainab,
who was kidnapped near her aunt's house in Kasur city on January 4 and found
dead in a garbage heap 5 days later.
Ali, during court proceedings, admitted to the rape and murder of the minor
girl.
The Lahore High Court directed the ATC to wrap up the trial within 7 days of
the suspect's indictment, Geo News reported.
Ali was arrested on January 23. His DNA also matched samples taken from seven
other minor girls who were abused and murdered earlier in Kasur.
(source: Khaleej Times)
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