March 19
SAUDI ARABIA----execution
Saudi Arabia beheads Indonesian worker despite Jokowi's pleas for clemency
Saudi Arabia has beheaded an Indonesian migrant worker for murder despite
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's repeated pleas that the man be granted
clemency.
M. Zaini Misrin from Bangkalan, East Java, was executed on Sunday, according to
Migrant Care, an Indonesian organization focusing on the welfare of Indonesian
migrant workers.
Zaini, who worked as a driver, was sentenced to death on Nov. 17, 2008, after
being found guilty of murdering his employer, Abdullah bin Umar Munammad Al
Sindy. He was arrested on Jul. 13, 2004.
Migrant Care suspected that the 53-year-old Bangkalan resident had been forced
to confess to the murder.
The group further claimed that Zaini did not receive legal assistance during
his trial and was only accompanied by a translator believed to be complicit in
forcing him to confess to the crime he claimed he did not commit.
"Saudi Arabia also did not notify Indonesia [about the execution] either
through the consulate general in Jeddah or the Foreign Ministry," the group
said in a statement released on Monday.
The Indonesian Foreign Ministry confirmed the execution and Migrant Care's
claim that it was not notified by Riyadh beforehand about Zaini's beheading.
President Jokowi has requested that Zaini and other Indonesians on death row in
Saudi Arabia be granted clemency on at least 3 occasions: During his visit to
Riyadh in September 2015, during King Salman's visit to Jakarta in March 2017
and through a letter sent to the Islamic kingdom in November 2017.
The Indonesian Consulate General in Jeddah had also requested that Zaini's case
be reviewed and a reinvestigation was conducted between 2011 and 2014,
according to Migrant Care. The legal efforts, however, failed to overturn his
conviction.
(sdource: The Jakarta Post)
JAPAN:
1995 Aum sarin attack on Tokyo subway still haunts, leaving questions
unanswered
Hitoshi Jin describes his younger brother spending the booming 1980s "cult
surfing," exploring what new religions had to offer to fill the gaping
spiritual void left by a childhood scarred by an abusive father.
Like others seeking refuge from the rampant materialism of the era, he appeared
to find a form of salvation in the Buddhist-Hindu influenced teachings espoused
in what was then a yoga-training circle run by a long-haired, bearded former
acupuncturist called Shoko Asahara.
Jin, a Buddhist priest, recalls his brother showing him a periodical published
by the group claiming its guru could levitate. He brushed it aside as nonsense.
"I should have listened to him more carefully," he said.
Jin's brother was found dead at the age of 27 in an apparent suicide from inert
gas asphyxiation. Among the pile of occult books and magazines found in his
room were those written by Asahara, who the following year orchestrated the
worst terrorist attack in modern Japanese history.
It's unclear to what extent Jin's brother was involved in Aum Shinrikyo, the
doomsday cult responsible for staging the March 20, 1995, sarin gas attack on
the Tokyo subway system that left 13 dead and injured around 6,300 people.
During the final years of his troubled life, Jin's brother had experimented
with various prescription drugs and other substances to induce an altered state
of consciousness - to "see Buddha." Members of the cult would later testify
that Aum resorted to numerous tactics to instill its doctrine in its ranks,
including the use of LSD and other hallucinogens.
But for Jin, 57, one thing is certain.
"Despite being a man of religion, I couldn't save my brother," he said.
Jin is among those whose lives have been confounded by the cult that burst onto
the national stage 23 years ago, with an act of terror that crippled postwar
Japan's long-held sense of security and left policymakers, media, academics and
counterterrorism agencies scrambling to make sense of the new dangers posed by
religious extremism.
The series of crimes committed by the group, which culminated in the toxic
nerve gas attack during the morning rush hour, also launched an unprecedentedly
long and complicated judicial process that finally wrapped up this January,
paving the way for the execution of Asahara - whose real name is Chizuo
Matsumoto - and 12 other disciples on death row. Speculation is rife that they
could be hanged before the Heisei Era draws to an end with the abdication of
Emperor Akihito in April 2019.
For those who were involved with the cult, however, an enigma remains.
Asahara visits Orie Miyama in her dreams. Not often, only occasionally, and
usually during stretches when she hasn't been thinking about the cult she
joined in 1986.
Miyama, a pseudonym she uses to protect her privacy when speaking to the media,
was a graphic designer when she discovered the cult through one of Asahara's
books. She was among the droves of young Japanese - many from wealthy,
well-educated backgrounds - sickened and alienated by the consumerist ethos of
the time that was fueled by the bubble economy. She found peace in the
teachings and a sense of spiritual connection with Aum followers, and
especially, toward its charismatic guru.
Miyama became a "shukke," a full-time devotee living in the cult's compounds.
She was among the 25 Aum members - including Asahara - who ran in a failed 1990
Diet election bid considered one of the turning points for the sect, when
paranoia and rhetoric of Armageddon intensified within its top circle.
Miyama claims she was unaware of the criminal activities in which Aum was
engaged, including the 1989 murders of lawyer Tsutsumi Sakamoto and his family
and the 1994 sarin attack in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, that left 8 dead and
around 600 injured. "I thought I would be with the group until I die," she
said.
That changed in 1995, when the subway gassing triggered massive police raids
and arrests of Aum members - who by then had grown to over 11,000 with branches
in Russia and other countries - igniting a media firestorm and nationwide
condemnation.
Miyama felt compelled to step away from the confusion engulfing the
organization, and in June that year left with fellow member and soon-to-be
husband Tekenori Hayasaka. The 2 would spend the next year traveling in
Thailand, India and Nepal, listening to radio broadcasts from time to time to
stay tuned with the ongoing police investigation that was unraveling the extent
of Aum's heinous deeds." We were unsure whether Aum was really responsible for
all this, but were convinced when members began testifying," Miyama, 57, said.
After returning to Japan in 1996, they settled in Kanagawa Prefecture - where
they still live - hiding their involvement in the cult and working part-time
jobs. They monitored Aum-related news and on several occasions observed the
trials of Asahara, who would be found guilty for his roles in 13 crimes that
took a total of 27 lives. As many as 191 other Aum members were also charged
with multiple criminal counts including murders, attempted murders, abductions,
and production of nerve gas and automatic rifles.
Court proceedings unveiled how the cult's inner circle engaged in escalating
levels of violence and illegal activity - beginning with the disposal of the
body of a member alleged to have been killed accidentally, then progressing to
attacks against individuals perceived as antagonistic toward the cult, and
finally, mass murder as a means to bring about the apocalypse.
"But we can't help feeling that the image of Aum painted in court was different
from what we had experienced," said Hayasaka, who joined Aum in 1989.
The self-employed 54-year-old, who also goes by an alias, said the widely held
notion of the cult being a dangerous army of mind-controlled zealots assembling
around a half-blind, babbling madman seem far removed from the mostly calm,
stoic lifestyle rank-and-file members like himself experienced during much of
the cult's existence.
Hayasaka said he wouldn't have taken part in the cult's murderous campaigns if
he had been asked to. Miyama agrees, and wishes the deadly mess never happened.
Both have distanced themselves from the splinter groups that emerged after Aum
broke apart.
The middle-aged couple, however, don't regret the years spent in Aum despite
the inconveniences their past affiliation has created, and they value the
guidance imparted by Asahara.
"It was a step in our lives," Miyama said.
Tatsuya Mori felt a similar sense of incongruity between the hatred Aum
inspired in the public and what he actually saw inside the remnants of the cult
while shooting his internationally acclaimed 1998 film, "A."
Granted rare access to Aum-related facilities following the subway sarin
attack, he looked at society from the sect's vantage point, documenting the
media frenzy and fiery public backlash against the cult and its remaining
members from a perspective that had mostly been unseen until then.
By doing so, he captured how fear of the unknown led to collective anger and
insecurity with real consequences. Following the attack the nation turned to
Big Brother-like measures, such as security cameras introduced in stations by
railway systems.
"Why the fear? It's because there are so many questions that haven't been
answered," said Mori, a filmmaker and writer.
During trial, Asahara never explained his motives behind the crimes and baffled
the court with confusing comments and mutterings. Reports say he has turned
down all meeting requests over the past 10 years.
Many, including Mori, doubt his sanity. During his appeal trial, after the
Tokyo District Court sentenced him to death in 2004, defense lawyers claimed
Asahara was incapable of standing trial and should be given medical treatment.
The Supreme Court rejected the appeal and finalized his death penalty in 2006.
For Mori, 61, Asahara's execution will seal any possibility of uncovering the
truth behind the atrocities committed by the cult, a subject that has come to
occupy a significant portion of his work over the years.
"I was a mere television director before I began filming Aum, with no real
political leanings or interests in sociopolitical matters," he said. But the
experience taught him how the dominant narrative easily distorts individual
perspective; a common theme that has since been explored in his subsequent
films and books. "Looking back, I think the 1995 sarin gas attack was a
catalyst that changed me," he said.
Last week, 7 of the 13 former Aum members on death row were transferred from
the Tokyo detention center to other facilities, likely moving them a step
closer to their execution dates. Asahara continues to be held in the capital.
Kimiaki Nishida, a Rissho University professor and chairman of Japan Society
for Cult Prevention and Recovery, has interviewed Aum members behind bars
including those awaiting capital punishment, and has given expert testimony
during the trials of several senior members. He said some, like applied
physicist Masato Yokoyama who is facing the gallows for his involvement in the
1995 gas attack, remain influenced by Asahara and the cult's doctrine. Others
appeared to have abandoned its teachings.
In line with the murkiness that has come to characterize Aum, he can't pinpoint
what exactly triggered some to give up their beliefs, but hypothesizes that
it's connected with an acute realization of the horrors suffered by victims and
their families, or disillusionment with their guru.
"There are many things we still don't know about and need to study," Nishida
said. And only Asahara will be able to shed light on them. "What I'd like to
hear is Asahara speak, even just a word, before he dies."
Japan hasn't seen the last of Aum, nor the existential insecurity that gnawed
at some of the best minds of the generation that flocked to the cult back in
the 1980s and early 1990s, said Jin, the Buddhist priest.
Jin blames traditional religious communities, including his own, for not doing
enough to answer the spiritual needs of young Japanese. "That's why they turn
to cults. It happened before, and it's happening now."
Aleph, the main successor group to Aum, has been actively recruiting on
university campuses through dummy yoga circles, he said. Concerned parents of
members consult Jin, who is an executive director at the Buddhist based
Zenseikyo Foundation for Youth and Child Welfare, as well as the head of
Childline Support Center Japan.
Jin has yet to reconcile with the death of his brother 24 years ago. He still
can't get himself to properly read through the 2 diaries he left.
"I don't want his death to be in vain. For the sake of his short life, I need
to do what I can for those who are suffering from spiritual pain," he said.
Key events related to Aum Shinrikyo
The following is a chronology of events related to the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday
cult and its founder, Shoko Asahara, whose real name is Chizuo Matsumoto:
March 2, 1955 - Chizuo Matsumoto is born in Kumamoto Prefecture.
February 1984 - Asahara forms group Aum Shinsen no Kai.
July 1987 - Aum Shinsen no Kai is renamed Aum Shinrikyo.
November 4, 1989 - Tsutsumi Sakamoto, a lawyer helping people with complaints
against Aum, is slain along with his wife and 1-year-old son at their Yokohama
home.
February 1990 - Asahara and 24 other Aum members run in a House of
Representatives election. All of them lose.
June 27, 1994 - Aum members release sarin in a residential district of
Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, killing 8 people and injuring around 600.
March 20, 1995 - Aum members release sarin on Tokyo subway trains, killing 13
people and injuring more than 6,000.
May 16, 1995 - Asahara is arrested.
April 24, 1996 - Asahara's trial begins.
February 2000 - Aum renames itself Aleph.
March 13, 2003 - Asahara refuses to speak during his first questioning in
court.
April 24, 2003 - Prosecutors demand the death sentence for Asahara.
February 27, 2004 - Tokyo District Court sentences Asahara to death.
September 15, 2006 - Supreme Court finalizes Asahara's death sentence.
May 2007 - Former Aum spokesman Fumihiro Joyu launches splinter group Hikari no
Wa.
June 2008 - Law enacted to provide Aum victims and relatives with government
benefits.
December 31, 2011 - Aum fugitive Makoto Hirata surrenders to police.
June 2012 - Aum fugitives Katsuya Takahashi and Naoko Kikuchi arrested.
January 18, 2018 - Supreme Court rejects Takahashi's appeal, settling his life
sentence and ending all trials related to the cult.
March 14-15, 2018 - 7 of 13 former Aum members on death row are transferred
from Tokyo detention center to other facilities.
(source: Japan Times)
IRAN:
Public Executions in 2017
The 10th annual report on the death penalty in Iran by Iran Human Rights (IHR)
shows that in 2017 at least 517 people were executed in the Islamic Republic of
Iran. With an average of more than 1 execution every day and more than 1
execution per 167.000 inhabitants in 2017, Iran remained the country with the
highest number of executions per capita.
In 2017, the Iranian authorities executed 31 people in public spaces. These
executions were conducted by hanging and scheduled executions were often
announced in advance in order to attract public attention.
[see the full report at:
https://iranhr.net/media/files/Rapport_iran_2018-gb-090318-MD2.pdf]
In 2008, a judicial moratorium on public executions was adopted by the Iranian
authorities. However, since then, and despite continuous international
criticism, many public executions have been organized by the authorities.
Public executions have repeatedly been criticized by the UN. Both the UN
Secretary-General and the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in
Iran have expressed concern about the continued practice of public executions
in Iran. In his 2017 report to the General Assembly, the UN Secretary-General
stated that "the Secretary-General remains resolutely opposed to the
dehumanizing, cruel, inhuman and degrading practice of public executions".
During Iran's 2nd UPR, the Government did not accept the recommendations to
abolish public executions.
In 2017, the Iranian authorities executed 31 people in public spaces. These
executions were conducted by hanging and scheduled executions were often
announced in advance in order to attract public attention. In Iran, a section
of society, civil society and Iranian experts strongly condemn these public
executions and there is an ongoing debate.
Public executions were conducted in 15 different provinces in 2017. Fars
province (Southern Iran) which had topped the public executions in the past six
years, showed the largest decrease compared to previous years.
Official charges for public executions:
The majority of those executed in public were convicted of murder and were
sentenced to qisas (retribution in kind), followed by rape or sexual assault
and Moharebeh (waging war against God).
(source: Iran Human Rights)
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