Feb. 24
PHILIPPINES:
Philippine Catholics protest drug killings, death penalty
Around a thousand Catholics in the Philippines marched in Manila on Saturday to
protest President Rodrigo Duterte's bloody war on drugs and his efforts to
reinstate the death penalty. The protests come a day after students in the
capital and provincial universities held demonstrations against Duterte, and a
day before the 32nd anniversary of the "People Power" revolution that drove
dictator Ferdinand Marcos into exile.
Catholic devotees prayed the rosary and sang hymns as bishops and the
Philippines' own cardinal read sermons against what they say are not "pro-life"
policies in the government.
The protesters carried banners and placards with the massage "Protect and
Defend the Sanctity of Life and Marriage," "End Impunity" and "Stop the
Killings."
Despite criticism of the Philippine leader's bloody war on drugs campaign,
Duterte remains wildly popular and a trusted public official in the Southeast
Asian nation.
The Social Weather Station's (SWS) latest quarterly poll shows Duterte's trust
rating bounced back to "excellent" in December from "very high" 3 months
before. Another survey by the privately-run pollster gave his government the
best rating so far for a Philippine administration since surveys started in the
1980s.
The Catholic Church protested the pending bills in Congress introducing divorce
and re-imposing capital punishment.
The majority of the Philippines' 105 million people are Catholic. Despite the
popularity of the anti-drugs crackdown, some sectors of the church have become
increasingly vocal on the drugs killings, with the church calling for justice
and offering sanctuary to drug users.
"The threat is still there. We still hear news of extrajudicial killings. And
still the bill of the death penalty is in Congress," said Broderick Pabillo,
Manila auxillary bishop.
More than 4,000 suspected drug dealers have been killed since Duterte took
office in June 2016. Police said the killings resulted from self-defence during
raids and sting operations.
(source: channelnewsasia.com)
PAKISTAN:
Man gets death penalty in double murder case
A sessions court awarded death sentence on 2 counts to an accused for his
involvement in a double murder case in Faisalabad. The judgment was announced
by Additional District and Sessions Judge Azfar Sultan Abrar.
The prosecution told the court that accused Rizwan, a resident of Chak Jhumra,
had gunned down his father Iqbal and sister Sumera over a domestic dispute. The
local police registered a case against the accused and presented the challan
before the court.
After hearing the arguments, the judge handed down death sentence to Rizwan
along with a fine of Rs0.4 million which would be paid to the legal heirs of
the deceased.
Earlier, a court awarded death sentence to an accused for his involvement in a
murder case in Sargodha. Additional District and Sessions Judge Irfan Ahmed
Shaikh announced the verdict.
Convict Ramzan and his accomplices Zaman and Yar had killed Shahid over a
dispute in 2014. The local police registered a case against the accused and
presented the challan before the court.
After hearing the arguments, the judge handed down death sentence to Ramzan
along with a fine of Rs0.53 million.
(source: The Express Tribune)
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