Feb. 26
ITALY/PAKISTAN:
Rome's most famous landmark illuminated red expressing solidarity with Asia
Bibi
The Colosseum - Rome's most famous landmark was lit up in red on Saturday
February 24, 2018 in an expression of solidarity with persecuted Christians
across the globe. The event took place at 6 in the evening; local time
witnessed family of Asia Bibi and Nigerian Christian Rebecca Bitrus along with
hundreds who had gathered outside the Roman amphitheater that is symbolic of
the martyrdom of early Christians.This event was an initiative of Aid to the
Church in Need, the Pontifical Foundation. Rebecca Bitrus was held by terror
group Boko Haram for two years and was repeatedly raped and tortured during the
captivity.
This demonstration was aimed to raise voice against persecution of Christians
worldwide. The demonstrators focused on the case of Pakistani Christian woman
Asia Bibi, who is on death row for allegedly committing blasphemy. Ashiq Masih,
Asia's husband while addressing the demonstrators said: "This is just hate
against Christians, who are considered impure." He claimed that his wife was
ensnared in a false blasphemy case. Asia's daughter broke down in tears while
addressing the gathering.
Addressing the gathering, Archbishop Nunzio Galantino, Secretary-General of the
Italian Bishop's Conference said: "The aim of the blasphemy laws is crush
people who believe differently." Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See's
Secretary of State and Antoni Tajani, President of the European Parliament also
spoke to the demonstrators.
Antonio Tajani said that persecution of Christians was "a genocide". "A message
must be sent from this place. It is the duty of Europe to defend these values
(of religious liberty) wherever on earth they are trampled on," Tajani who is
likely to become Italian Prime Minister after upcoming elections.
Asia Bibi who is currently behind the bars and is waiting for a hearing of her
appeal against capital punishment. Asia Bibi was accused of committing
blasphemy by her co-workers back in 2009. Later on, in 2010, a court in
district Nankana awarded her capital punishment, which was later challenged and
upheld by a 2-member bench of Lahore High Court in 2014. Her appeal case is
currently pending with the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Supposedly her final appeal hearing on October 13 was meant to wind up the most
high profile case of the country, however, it was delayed as one of the judges
refused to be a part of the 3 member bench that was to hear the case.
Asia Bibi's quandary lingers along due to unwarranted delay: "The case
continues to be postponed due to the problems of this country. We are in the
midst of a continuing war between Islam and Kufr (infidels). But our hopes for
her release are many," Advocate Saif ul Malook said last year.
(source: christianpakistan.com)
EGYPT:
Europe wants Egypt to drop death penalty
The European Parliament issued a resolution Feb. 7 condemning the use of the
death penalty by the Egyptian government. It urged the government to issue a
stay of execution for those on death row and to review all cases of pending
death sentences to ensure respect for fair trial standards.
On Jan. 29, a memo was addressed to the UN secretary-general by 13 Egyptian
human rights nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) calling for the United
Nations to immediately intervene with the Egyptian government to suspend the
imminent execution of 26 Egyptians and to urge President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi
to replace the death penalty with another sentence. The NGOs also called on the
Egyptian government to voluntarily suspend the death penalty in any new cases,
in preparation for the abolition of this penalty.
Mohamed Zaree, the director of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies,
told Al-Monitor that calls for the abolition of the death penalty relate to the
fact that it cannot be reversed in cases where it is later discovered the
accused was innocent. "The state must abolish the death penalty and replace it
with freedom-depriving penalties such as 25 years or life imprisonment," he
said.
The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) published its Position on
the Death Penalty on Oct. 10, 2017. It stated, "More than 100 crimes are
punishable by death under Egyptian laws. These include 35 crimes set forth in
the Penal Code, such as harming domestic and foreign national security and
harming individuals, and another 10 crimes included in the anti-drug law. Most
of the crimes punishable by death are found in the Code of Military Justice,
which sets forth at least 41 capital crimes. In addition, the counterterrorism
law of 2015 sets forth at least another 15 crimes punishable by death by
hanging."
In a phone conversation with Al-Monitor, Zaree said, "Death sentences have been
issued against a large number of defendants in recent times, mostly in military
trials that lack integrity. The aim of any punishment is to achieve public
deterrence and to rehabilitate the offender. This can only be achieved through
freedom-depriving sanctions."
A report issued by EIPR on Jan. 31 stated, "Criminal courts sentenced 260
defendants to death in 2017 for 81 cases, of whom 224 are in custody."
Hafiz Abu Saada, a member of the National Council for Human Rights, told
Al-Monitor that it is difficult to abolish the death penalty now in light of
the terrorist attacks witnessed by Egypt. He noted, however, that the death
sentence could be limited to the most dangerous crimes.
In 2017, Egypt was shaken by 7 major terrorist attacks that killed dozens of
civilians and police and army members.
Abu Saada added, "It is also necessary to take the appropriate sufficient time
before issuing death sentences. In cases of terrorist crimes, only those who
actively participated in the crimes should be handed the death sentence and not
everyone who joins a terrorist group."
Commenting on the timing of the European Union resolution, he pointed out that
it coincided with the campaign against the death penalty launched by the 13
local NGOs, asserting that this resolution is not binding on Egypt and will not
affect Egyptian-EU relations. "The repercussions of Egypt retaining this
penalty would be felt on its image abroad," he said.
Of note, Europe is one of Egypt's biggest importers and one of its major
donors, with the total amount of ongoing EU assistance to Egypt reaching around
$1.6 billion.
In a press statement issued Feb. 11, member of parliament Alaa Abed, the head
of the parliamentary Human Rights Committee, responded to the demands for the
abolition of the death penalty, saying, "Egypt has not signed the 1989 Second
Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
aiming at the abolition of the death penalty. This means that the death penalty
would be in line with the rules of international law, which allows the use of
the death penalty to the most serious crimes and in a public trial."
He explained that the application of the death penalty is in accordance with
the principles of Islamic law, which is a source of legislation in Egypt,
noting that over the past 3 years the death penalty has been used only against
81 people, while the remaining judgments are not final.
Article 2 of the Egyptian Constitution of 2014 states that Islam is the
religion of the state and that the principles of Islamic law are the main
source of legislation.
In this context, Mohammad al-Shahat al-Jundi, an Islamic Sharia professor at
Al-Azhar University and a member of the Islamic Research Council, told
Al-Monitor, "Islamic law clearly specifies that the death penalty aims to
achieve punishment in murder cases." He quoted the Quran's Surah al-Baqarah
verse 179, which states, "People of understanding, there is life for you in
retribution that you may guard yourselves against violating the law."
Jundi added, "Islamic law resolves every doubt in favor of the accused. If
there is 1% doubt of innocence, the judge must take this into account and issue
a softer sentence against the accused instead of the death penalty. The death
penalty cannot be abolished under Islamic law, instead, efficient legal
guarantees could be provided in favor of the accused, such as a reducing the
number of crimes punishable by death."
The former head of Cairo's criminal court, Rifat al-Sayed, ruled out the
possibility of Egypt dropping the death penalty and replacing it with softer
penalties under the pretext of the possibility of a false judgment.
In a telephone conversation with Al-Monitor, he said, "There are guarantees set
forth by the criminal legislator in Egypt. These procedural guarantees aim to
ensure the correctness of judicial rulings ordering the death penalty and to
minimize the possibility of mistakes."
Sayed explained, "The death penalty is issued by virtue of a unanimous decision
of three judges in the Criminal Court. This judgment is then challenged by the
Public Prosecution before the Court of Cassation. Also, the nonbinding opinion
of the country's grand mufti must be obtained on every issued death sentence.
When the judgment is pronounced, a memo shall be sent from the Ministry of
Justice to the president of the republic for ratification, or for reducing the
sentence or obtaining amnesty."
He added, "These guarantees reduce to almost nonexistent the possibility of a
false judgment. The implementation of the death penalty is in accordance with
the provisions of Islamic law. This approach is followed by most Muslim
countries. Also, some foreign non-Muslim countries still uphold the death
penalty."
A 2017 Amnesty International report noted that 141 countries had completely
abolished the death penalty by the end of 2016, equivalent to 2/3 of all
countries. At the end of 2016, the Death Penalty Information Center noted that
7 countries abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes, and 57 countries
retained the death sentence, including Arab countries such as Egypt, Lebanon,
Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and foreign countries such as the United
States and China.
(source: Hagar Hosny is an independent journalist who graduated from Cairo
University in 2013; al-monitor.com)
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