July 13
GERMANY:
German firm probed over suspected illegal shipment of euthanasia drug to US
A German medical firm is suspected of illegally shipping several tons of a
solution that is used to euthanize animals to the United States. The solution
contains an ingredient also used to execute prisoners.
The prosecutor's office in the northern town of Oldenburg is investigating
German veterinary pharmaceutical company VET Pharma Friesoythe GmbH for
shipping a liquid drug used for euthanizing dogs to the United States
illegally, according to an investigative report by German public broadcaster
NDR and Suddeutsche Zeitung (SZ).
The solution in question, called "Beuthanasia-D," contains pentobarbital, which
is used in lethal injection cocktails. The trade of pentobarbital is highly
regulated by European Union anti-torture directives and is subject to strict
export restrictions.
Research by NDR and SZ found that prosecutors are investigating the chief
executive of VET Pharma on suspicion of a commercial breach of the German
Foreign Trade and Payments Act. Several other employees are also being
investigated in the case.
In May, customs officials searched VET Pharma's office in the northern German
town of Friesoythe, during which they seized data and company documents.
Oldenburg prosecutors confirmed to NDR and SZ that they are currently
investigating "several responsible persons at a pharmaceutical company," but
did not provide concrete details on the case, citing ongoing investigations.
Although based in Friesoythe, VET Pharma is owned by US pharmaceutical giant
Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD).
Beuthanasia-D is used to euthanize dogs by injecting the liquid into their
veins
Alleged illegal exports
Prosecutors are investigating three shipments of "Beuthanasia-D" that VET
Pharma sent to the US without a proper export license. The 3 shipments to the
US took place between November 2017 and January 2018. An additional 2 shipments
may have also been sent to Japan, once again lacking the required export
licenses.
A search warrant issued by a district court in Oldenburg states that the
customs office in the German port city of Bremen was able to prevent a further
export from taking place on February 2018.
Several VET Pharma employees are also suspected of manipulating export data in
order to conceal the nature of the shipments in question from the companies
that were responsible for transporting them.
According to German law, exporting pentobarbital to the US is only permitted
when the destination of the substance and its intended use is made clear. In
the past 5 years, Germany's Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control
hasn't approved any pentobarbital shipments to the US.
Suspicions that the drug had been exported without an export license undermines
European efforts to abolish the death penalty worldwide, German MEP Barbara
Lochbihler told NDR and SZ. She's a member of the Greens in the European
Parliament and was previously the Secretary General of Amnesty International
Germany.
"We must not look away, rather we must very clearly punish individual cases,"
she said.
Pentobarbital is used in lethal injection cocktails and its export is therefore
highly regulated by EU anti-torture directives
No evidence of misuse
NDR and SZ research found that the "Beuthanasia-D" solution was sent to VET
Pharma's affiliate in the US, Intervet Schering-Plough Animal Health. Both
firms are owned by MSD.
When approached by NDR and SZ for comment, a spokesman for MSD Animal Health
said the company was "working closely with the authorities in this matter."
As the drug is only authorized in the US as a veterinary drug and is not
approved for use on humans, the MSD spokesman said he had no reason to believe
"Beuthanasia-D" had been used for any other purpose. He added that all MSD
employees were required to abide by the law.
Lethal injection drugs in short supply in US
The trade of pentobarbital has been highly regulated and restricted within the
European Union since 2011 due to its use in executions.
Many pharmaceutical manufactures in the EU have chosen to ignore supply
enquiries from US companies for pentobarbital and similar substances to prevent
their drugs being used on prisoners on death row.
In part due to these restrictions, drugs for lethal injection cocktails in the
US are in short supply. As a result, many states have either postponed planned
executions or controversially experimented with untested chemicals.
Capital punishment has been illegal in Germany since 1949. The EU as a whole
also opposes it.
(source: dw.com)
*******************
The German medical company VET Pharma Friesoythe GmbH is suspected of having
illegally delivered several tons of an animal euthanising agent to the USA. The
active substance contained, pentobarbital, is repeatedly used in US prisons to
execute people and falls under the EU Torture Directive. It is therefore
subject to strict export restrictions. According to information from NDR and
Suddeutsche Zeitung, the public prosecutor's office in Oldenburg is
investigating the managing director of the company on suspicion of a commercial
violation of the German foreign trade law. At the end of May, customs
investigators searched the company's offices in Friesoythe in Lower Saxony and
Schwabenheim in Rhineland-Palatinate and confiscated data and documents.
Specifically, the public prosecutor assumes that VET Pharma has exported 3
deliveries of the injection solution "Beuthanasia-D" to the USA since November
2017 without a corresponding export license. Employees of VET Pharma are said
to have manipulated export data in order to prevent the responsible transport
company from noticing the explosive nature of the deliveries. According to a
search warrant issued by the District Court of Oldenburg, the main customs
office in Bremen prevented further exports in February 2018. according to US
customs data, VET Pharma supplied the drugs to a US sister company, Intervet
Schering-Plough Animal Health. Both companies belong to the US pharmaceutical
giant Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD). Further deliveries are said to have gone to
Japan, also in these cases no export license is said to have existed. The
public prosecutor's office in Oldenburg confirmed preliminary proceedings
"against several managers of a pharmaceutical company" upon request, but did
not want to comment on concrete details with reference to the ongoing
investigations.
"Beuthanasia-D" is used in veterinary medicine to put down dogs. The main
active ingredient of the product, pentobarbital, is also used in American
prisons to execute people. The substance has therefore been covered by a
European anti-torture directive since 2011. According to German law, an export
to the USA is only permitted if the whereabouts of the product have been
completely clarified. In the past 5 years, the responsible Federal Office of
Economics and Export Control has not approved the delivery of the substance to
the USA. Many pharmaceutical companies ignore delivery requests from the USA
for such products because they want to prevent their drugs from being used on
death row. For years now, chemicals that can be used to execute people have
been scarce on the US market. Many states are therefore postponing death
sentences or experimenting with unproven chemicals, sometimes with horrific
results. Again and again, attempts by prisons to illegally purchase suitable
chemicals are becoming public.
Upon request, a spokesperson for MSD Animal Health announced that they were
"naturally already working closely with the authorities on this matter". Since
"Beuthanasia-D" was only authorised as a veterinary medicinal product in the
USA, there was no reason to believe that the substance had ever been used
outside veterinary medicine. In all other respects, all MSD employees are
obliged to comply with the law.
(source: www.ndr.de)
EGYPT:
Egyptian court sentences 11 Brotherhood members to death over killing policemen
An Egyptian court on Thursday sentenced 11 members of the outlawed Muslim
Brotherhood to death over charges of killing policemen, the state-run Ahram
newspaper reported.
The case dated back to 2015 when the 11 convicts killed 3 policemen and burnt
their vehicle.
The court referred the sentence to Grand Mufti, the country's highest Islamic
official who will give the religious judgment of all preliminary death
sentences.
The Mufti's opinion is non-binding as it is usually considered a formality, but
his final opinion could reduce the penalty.
Egypt has been experiencing anti-security attacks since the army-led ouster of
former Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013, and the ban on his Muslim
Brotherhood in 2014.
Thousands of extremists have been detained and faced trials. Morsi and some
prominent figures of his group have received final verdicts that varied from
death to life sentence over charges of murder, violence and spying.
(source: xinhuanet.com)
PAKISTAN:
Pakistan army chief confirms death penalty of 12 hardcore terrorists
Pakistan's Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Friday confirmed the death
sentence to another 12 "hardcore terrorists," who were involved in heinous
offenses related to attacking armed forces, law enforcement agencies,
destruction of educational institution and killing of innocent civilians, the
military said.
An army statement said the convicts were also involved in attacking 2 major
prisons in the cities of Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan in northwest Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa province in 2012 and 2013 respectively and had freed hundreds of
militants.
These convicts were tried by special military courts and they all had admitted
their offenses before the magistrates and the trial court.
The convicts have the right of appeal to the country's president under the law,
according to the legal experts. However, the president has previously rejected
all mercy petitions in terrorism-related cases.
It is the 2nd time in less than 2 weeks the army chief has confirmed the death
penalty to the militants.
On July 2, the army chief had also confirmed death sentences to 12 hardcore
terrorists.
The army courts were set up after the terrorist attack on an army school in
December 2014 for the speedy trial of the terrorism-related accused. Nearly 150
people, almost all students, were killed in the attack.
(source: xinhuanet.com)
THAILAND:
Spaniard loses appeal against death sentence
The Appeal Court on Friday upheld the death sentence for a Spanish man
convicted of murdering and dismembering the body of a fellow Spaniard 2 years
ago.
Artur Segarra Princep, 38, was given the death sentence for the premediated
murder of David Bernat, 41, consultant to a foreign firm. The court also
ordered him to return more than 730,000 baht he stole from his compatriot to
his victim's family. He was convicted of premediated murder, kidnapping, body
concealment, torture and theft. He had entered pleas of not guilty.
Segarra, 38, was taken to the courthouse from Bang Kwang Central Prison on
Friday to hear the Appeal Court's ruling. The judges upheld the judgement of
the Criminal Court.
The court was told that between Jan 20 and Jan 26, 2016, Segarra forcibly kept
his business friend Bernat in a room at PG Condominium Rama IX in Huay Kwang
district and tortured him into transferring 10 million baht into Segarra's bank
account. Segarra withdrew about 700,000 baht in cash before killing him in the
room.
The victim's body was frozen before Segarra dismembered the corpse and dropped
the bagged pieces in the Chao Phraya River. He fled Thailand to Cambodia, where
he was arrested in Sihanoukville on Feb 7, 2016. Cambodian authorities handed
him over to Thai police a day later.
The case drew huge media and public attention. Even after his conviction,
Segarra has consistently denied the charges through lawyers and friends.
(source: bangkokpost.com)
JAPAN:
What is the Perception of the Death Penalty in Japan?
The Aum Shinrikyo cult released sarin gas in the Tokyo subway system in March
of 1995, killing 13 people and injuring more than 6,000. The group also carried
out other murders of those opposed to their activities.
The 63-year-old Matsumoto and 12 other Aum members were sentenced to death for
their involvement in the series of crimes that left 29 people dead. Half of
them were executed along with Matsumoto.
Japan and the US are the only G7 countries that have the death penalty. The
Delegation of the European Union to Japan and ambassadors of European nations
issued a joint statement in the wake of the executions.
It says they share the suffering of the victims and their families and condemn
terrorist attacks. However, it also says the death penalty is cruel and
inhumane and is not an effective crime deterrent.
The statement also says errors are inevitable in any legal system and calls on
the Japanese government to adopt a moratorium on execution, with a view to
abolishing it.
Justice Minister Yoko Kamikawa told reporters she signed the order three days
before the execution. She said that, although extreme caution should be
exercised when carrying out a death sentence, it should be implemented strictly
and fairly if the penalty has been finalized.
Kamikawa said courts hand down death sentence only for extremely heinous
crimes, and only after full deliberation. She added that it was her job to deal
with the matter in a careful, strict, and fair manner.
Majority Support
A government poll taken a couple years ago found about 80% of respondents
support the death penalty.
But human rights groups in the country are calling for it to be abolished. And
they point to how inmates are often only told several hours before they are
executed as cruel.
The Justice Ministry says there are 116 death row inmates in detention centers
across Japan.
Critics also raise the issue of Japan detaining inmates for long periods of
time before executions. For example, Matsumoto and his former followers had
been held for more than 20 years.
In Japan, executions related to organized crimes are usually not carried out
while other suspects are at large because the sentenced inmates could serve as
key witnesses in other trials. That was the case here. Even though the death
sentences of the 13 members were finalized by 2011, the trials of other members
dragged out until this January.
In most cases, executions are supposed to be carried out within 6 months. But
it's ultimately down to the justice minister to decide the timing. It is not
clear when the remaining 6 members will be executed. This is expected to fuel
debate among human rights groups in the country and abroad.
In addition, some victims' families and survivors oppose the executions. They
want the former cult members alive so they can continue to talk about their
crimes. The families and survivors don't want the memories to fade away.
(source: nhk.or.jp)
********************
Capital Punishment in Japan
Japan has carried out executions of 83 death-row inmates since 2000. The
standards used to decide whom to execute are not clear and seem to reflect the
particular outlook of the justice minister serving at the time.
Seven leading members of the religious cult Aum Shinrikyo, including its
founder Matsumoto Chizuo (Asahara Shoko), were executed on July 6, 2018, for
their roles in masterminding a series of major crimes including the March 1995
sarin gas attack on Tokyo subway lines that resulted in the deaths of 13
people. After the last of the Aum-related trials came to an end in January
2018, 7 of the 13 prisoners at the Tokyo Detention House who had been sentenced
to death were transferred in March to 5 other detention houses with execution
facilities around Japan. This was seen as a step toward carrying out their
sentence. The decision to execute prisoners now is said to have been based on
the difficulty of doing so in 2019, as the year of the imperial succession, or
2020, when the Tokyo Olympic Games will take place.
Japan's Code of Criminal Procedure stipulates that the death penalty should be
implemented within 6 months of the issuing of the sentence, but in fact that is
almost never the case. From 2000 to July 6, 2018, 83 death sentences have been
carried out. The shortest time span from sentencing to execution was one year,
while the longest was 19 years and 5 months. The Ministry of Justice does not
clarify any of the criteria on which the decision to execute a prisoner is
based. In fact, it used to not even publicly announce that an execution had
been carried out. Disclosure of information on executions and the number of
those executed only began in October 1998, under the direction of Minister of
Justice Nakamura Shozaburo. In September 2007, the justice minister of the
time, Hatoyama Kunio, instructed the ministry to also release the names of the
executed and the place of execution.
Decisions about executions seem to reflect the thoughts and feelings of the
minister of justice of the time. Sugiura Seiken, upon being appointed to that
post in October 2005, for instance, openly declared that he would not issue an
execution order on religious and philosophical grounds. Although he soon
retracted the statement, amid criticism questioning his right as justice
minister to refuse to carry out a duty stipulated by law, he did not end up
signing an execution order during his tenure of roughly 11 months. Contrasting
with Sugiura's attitude were the cases of those ministers who signed execution
orders at the rapid pace of one every few months.
Only 9 people were executed from September 2009 to December 2012 under the
administrations of the Democratic Party of Japan, whose justice ministers
showed reluctance to carry out the penalty. Chiba Keiko, the DPJ's 1st justice
minister, was originally opposed to the death penalty and had been one of a
group of Diet members who called for its abolition. In July 2010, however, she
signed the order to execute 2 death-row prisoners. Chiba witnessed the
executions - a first for a Japanese justice minister - and expressed her desire
that they should serve as an opportunity for a national debate over the death
penalty. Toward that end, she set up a study group within the ministry to
consider whether it should continue. In August of the same year, Chiba opened
to the media for the 1st time the Tokyo Detention House's execution chamber and
the room it provides for prisoners to meet with religious representatives.
Eda Satsuki, who was appointed justice minister in January 2011 under the DPJ
government of Prime Minister Kan Naoto, stated at a press conference soon
afterwards that "capital punishment is a flawed penalty"- although he later
retracted the statement. In July of that year, Eda expressed his intention to
not sign any execution orders for the time being since the study group on the
issue established by Chiba was still meeting. That year no executions were
carried out. The study group continued to meet under the next justice minister
as well, but it convened for the last time in March 2012 without reaching any
final conclusion, merely registering the various opinions expressed on both
sides of the issue.
When Japan introduced trial by jury in 2009, members of the public became
involved in capital punishment decisions. In 2017, there were a string of
executions of prisoners who were petitioning for retrial. And now, most
recently, criticism has been raised inside and outside Japan of the same-day
execution of 7 prisoners. This may spark a new debate over abolition of the
penalty.
(source: nippon.com)
**************************
Inside Japan's execution chambers where seven doomsday cultists were hanged
with no warning after waiting 20 years to die at any moment
7 members of a Japanese murderous doomsday cult were hanged suddenly last week
after more than 20 years on death row.
The group, some of whom met their end in a sterile facility called the
Detention House, were sentenced to death for carrying out a deadly gas attack
in 1995.
Alongside the US, Japan is one of the few first world countries that still has
the death penalty, reports The Sun.
But unlike America Japanese inmates are not afforded the luxury of knowing when
they will die. Their end could come at any time.
Often, inmates are told of their fate the morning of the execution, sometimes
even just an hour before.
The Asian nation does not normally kill more than 10 people each year. From
1977 to 2007 Japan never executed more than 9 people in any 12 month period.
But last week it executed 7 at various facilities across the nation. This
included the leader and 6 members of Aum Shinrikyo, a cult that released deadly
sarin gas into the Tokyo subway killing 13.
Leader Shoko Asahara, 63, founded Aum Shinrikyo cult in 1984, and his mix of
Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity and social disillusionment attracted
thousands of followers.
They ran sham computer and health-food businesses and collected donations to
amass wealth to buy land and equipment.
They built an arsenal of chemical, biological and conventional weapons to carry
out his vision of overthrowing the government to save the world from a doomsday
he said was coming, which ended in the deadly 1994 attack.
During his 8 years on trial, Asahara rarely spoke and never acknowledged
responsibility or apologized.
Asahara died by hanging, where the neck is broken by a rope as the body falls
through a trap door.
3 prison officers simultaneously press buttons to open the trap door so it is
not clear who is responsible. This is reduce mental stress.
However inmates are not afforded the same luxury.
The UN Committee against Torture has criticised Japan for the psychological
strain the practice of sudden execution places on inmates and their families.
The Justice Ministry in 2007 started releasing the names and crimes of inmates
sentenced to death.
Pictures from inside the Detention House show the carpeted floor of the chamber
and the hooks on the wall indicate where the inmate is chained.
In the centre is the square trap door, the red lines marks the spot where
convicts stand with the noose around their neck, before it opens below them and
they plunge to their deaths.
The mechanism is triggered by 1 of 3 wall-mounted push buttons in an adjacent
room, pressed simultaneously by 3 officers, although none of them is told which
button is the live one that will cause the prisoner's death.
It is similar to the method used when capital punishment is carried out by a
firing squad - at least one of which will have a blank cartridge instead of a
live round, so it is unknown who fired the fatal shot.
In a stark contrast, the grey-tiled room below, into which the body drops, is
cold and clinical.
In another room, a golden Buddha statue stands in an alcove for final prayers
before the handcuffed convicts are blindfolded and led to their deaths.
Opposite the execution room is the gallery from where witnesses can view the
hanging.
Details on executions had previously been strictly limited and opponents of the
death penalty say the ministry still restricts information.
(source: dailymail.co.uk)
******************************************
EU should mind its own business on capital punishment
As a European, I am writing to apologize to the people of Japan for our
arrogant and embarrassing habit of interfering in the internal affairs of your
country. Regarding the recent executions of the convicted perpetrators of the
1995 sarin attack on the Tokyo subways, the European Union again issued a
statement calling on Japan to abolish the death penalty. I find these
unsolicited interventions inappropriate for at least 3 reasons.
First, Japan is a vibrant democracy, with a free and open political debate, and
a highly educated and well-informed population. Japanese universities conduct
leading criminological research in Japan and across Asia. The idea that the
Japanese people and their elected representatives are unable to devise their
criminal laws without "advice" from the EU seems preposterous.
Second, Japan has a well-functioning criminal justice system, and some of the
lowest levels of violent crime in the world. Data shows that the Japanese
people have an exceptionally high degree of confidence in their police,
prosecution service and judiciary. Europeans should learn from Japan, not
lecture it.
Third, and perhaps most importantly, the government of Japan would never openly
express its views on any internal policy of either the EU or its member states.
Not that there is a shortage of human rights problems in Europe that could be
commented on, but doing so would be considered improper and disrespectful.
Japan's criminal justice system draws upon norms and values that have evolved
over a very long time. We Europeans must learn to show respect for the fact
that people of different cultures have different norms and values. Whether or
not Japan should retain the death penalty is a debate for the Japanese people
and not one in which foreign governments should get themselves involved.
MARCUS BALTZER
HONIARA, SOLOMON ISLANDS
(source: Letter to the Editor, Japan TImes)
SUDAN:
Urgent Action
DETAINED RELIGIOUS TEACHER FACES DEATH PENALTY
Matar Younis Ali Hussein, religious teacher who has a visual disability, has
been formally charged with t3 offences under the 1991 Penal Code. Two of the
offences put him at risk of facing the death penalty or life imprisonment in
Sudan. Matar Younis was arrested on 1 April apparently because of his criticism
of the government's policy in Darfur.???He remains at risk of torture and other
ill-treatment while in detention.
Write a letter, send an email, call, fax or tweet:
* Calling on the Sudanese authorities to drop the charges and release Matar
Younis Ali Hussein immediately and unconditionally, as he has been detained
solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression;
* Calling on them to ensure that, pending his release, Matar Younis Ali Hussein
is granted regular access to his family and a lawyer of his choice;
* Urging them to ensure that, pending his release, he is not subjected to
torture and other ill-treatment;
* Calling on them to release all other detainees in Sudan who are detained
solely for the peaceful exercise of their human rights.
Friendly reminder: If you send an email, please create your own instead of
forwarding this one!
Contact these two officials by 22 August, 2018:
President
HE Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir
Office of the President
People's Palace
PO Box 281
Khartoum, Sudan
Salutation: Dear President
Ambassador Maowia Osman Khalid
Embassy of the Republic of Sudan
2210 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20008
Phone: 202 338 8565 I Fax: 1 202 667 2406
Email: sudanembass...@sudanembassy.org
Salutation: Dear Ambassador
(source: Amnesty International USA)
*******************
Noura in her own words----Facing public threats of revenge, Sudanese teen Noura
Hussein continues her fight for freedom
Editors Note: CNN is committed to covering gender inequality wherever it occurs
in the world. This story is part of As Equals, a year-long series.
The legal team representing Sudanese teenager Noura Hussein, who killed her
35-year-old husband as he tried to rape her in what she says was self-defense,
filed an appeal to Sudan's Supreme Court on Thursday to have her sentence
overturned.
Hussein was on death row for fatally stabbing Abdulrahman Mohamed Hammad until
two weeks ago, when an appeals court in Sudan reduced her sentence to 5 years
in jail following an international outcry over her case. The court ordered her
family to pay 337,000 Sudanese pounds (about $18,600) in "blood money" to the
man's family.
Her lawyers have also appealed the payment.
Hussein's story has put a spotlight on forced marriage and marital rape in
Sudan, where the legal age to enter into marriage is 10 and marital rape is not
a crime. And her initial conviction and sentence -- death by hanging --
triggered global outrage, capturing the attention of human-rights groups and
celebrities like model Naomi Campbell, actress Emma Watson and singer Jidenna.
"We are looking for justice," Nahid Jabralla, director of Khartoum-based human
rights group SEEMA, which is supporting Hussein, told CNN. "The appeal will
look for her to be cleared totally of the charges."
But she cautioned that it won't be without a fight. Hammad's family denies
Hussein's allegations and continues to contest her case. The family is expected
to file its own appeal calling to reinstate the death penalty.
Hussein's parents forced her to marry Hammad when she was just 15, but allowed
her to finish school. Three years later, after a formal public wedding, Hussein
alleges that Hammad raped her as his family held her down. One day later,
Hussein said, he tried to rape her again, and she stabbed him to death. When
she went to her parents for support, they turned her over to the police.
The court's decision to commute Hussein's sentence on June 26 was based on her
version of events. Key to their decision was accepting that she had found a
knife under her pillow before stabbing her husband, and did not take it from
the kitchen, as prosecutors originally alleged.
As Hussein fights this reduced sentence, advocacy groups supporting her say
they're fearful for her safety. Prison authorities are only allowing visits
from her legal team because of concerns over reprisals.
Hussein's family has been repeatedly threatened and intimidated since she
killed her husband in 2017. Shortly after the incident, her parents' home was
burned down. And recently, in an interview with a Sudanese newspaper, Hammad's
father threatened further revenge if Hussein was pardoned, saying he would seek
the life of one of her male relatives.
"If this international push for so-called forgiveness for Noura is successful
then we will seek our vengeance from within Noura's family, and we will take in
the place of her life the life of a man, because that was taken from us," he
told Sudanese newspaper al-Tayar.
SEEMA, and other supporting groups, are looking into options for Hussein's
protection after her possible release.
And they're continuing to campaign for other "Nouras."
SEEMA plans to launch a hashtag alongside Hussein's appeal: #wearemany.
According to SEEMA program manager Afaf Doleeb, their hope is to use the
hashtag to highlight the stories of other girls fighting against child marriage
in Sudan, where more than one in three girls get married before they reach 18.
(source: CNN)
INDIA:
Death Penalty Is A Band-Aid To Pacify Mass Outrage, Not A Way To Stop Crime
Against Women
The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the capital punishment for the accused in
the 2012 Delhi gangrape, rejecting the review plea filed by 3 of the 4 accused.
The apex court asserted that it found no new grounds for a rethink on its May
2017 decision to award capital punishment to four accused in the brutal rape
and murder of 23-year-old paramedic that triggered a nationwide outrage.
While the accused still have the option of seeking presidential commutation of
their capital punishment, women's rights activists and law practitioners have
once again opposed the practice of awarding capital punishment. Speaking to
Youth Ki Awaaz, they noted that the certainty of the punishment and not the
severity will help in deterring offenders.
"I strongly oppose the capital punishment. It's a barbaric practice and doesn't
change anything on the ground. We saw capital punishment in the Dhananjoy
Chatterjee (2004) case and still, Nirbhaya happened. And even after Nirbhaya,
we haven't been able to stop the rapes. There's hardly any evidence that
capital punishment creates a fear of law among citizens," asserted Advocate
Deepika Singh Rajawat, the Counsel representing the Kathua rape victim's
family.
Reiterating Rajawat's opinion, New Delhi-based SC Lawyer and women's rights
activist Shomona Khanna told Youth Ki Awaaz, "There should be certainty of
punishment. Such death penalties do not change anything on the ground. There is
a culture of impunity among the offenders. They know may or may not be caught.
The case may or may not be reported. And even if the case is reported the
chances of them getting acquitted are very high. If people believe that capital
punishment is the way for India to shed the label of the most dangerous country
for women in the world, then they are sadly mistaken."
These views are further substantiated by the Report No. 262 of the Law
Commission of India on the death penalty: "After many years of research and
debate among statisticians, practitioners, and theorists, a worldwide consensus
has now emerged that there is no evidence to suggest that the death penalty has
a deterrent effect over and above its alternative - life imprisonment."
The report further adds: "In focusing on the death penalty as the ultimate
measure of justice to victims, the restorative and rehabilitative aspects of
justice are lost sight of. Reliance on the death penalty diverts attention from
other problems ailing the criminal justice system."
The Poor State Of The Criminal Justice System
Despite amendments to laws after the 2012 case, there is no sign that crimes
against women are abating. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data
reveals that incidents of child rape have witnessed a sharp spike of 82% from
2015 to 2016. Delhi alone has witnessed a 31% rise in incidents of rape in the
last 5 years. Interestingly, these incidents are just the tip of the iceberg as
many cases of assaults go unreported. Women's rights activists and comparative
analysis by few media organisations claim that over 90% of crimes against women
go unreported.
Experts have held the abysmal state of the criminal justice system responsible
for this regrettable situation. They noted that death penalties in a few cases
like Nirbhaya that catch media attention act as band-aid measures to pacify the
collective outrage of the country.
Rajawat, who is currently battling against all odds to get justice in the
Kathua rape case, highlighted the many difficulties in getting justice in cases
of crimes against women. "There's underreporting of crimes against women. Even
after a case is reported, the investigation and subsequent justice is a tedious
task. Basic provisions like a lady investigating presiding over such cases or
due legal support to the victims are not followed. Moreover, the police lack
the sensitivity to deal with such cases. It is very common that witnesses turn
hostile. Furthermore, to aggravate the situation there's a struggle to get
justice in the courtroom as more often than not the defence lawyers try to
strike a compromise. All this together makes getting justice very difficult,"
she noted.
Apart from the underreporting of cases of crime against women and the arduous
task of seeking justice for the victims, the critically poor rate of conviction
rate is another issue that needs immediate attention. According to an NCRB
report, the conviction rate for crimes against women hit record low in 2016.
While the overall rate of conviction in the country was 46.2%, it was merely
18.9% for crimes committed against women.
Furthermore, experts highlighted the government's failure to utilise funds
allocated for the speedy justice in rape and sexual assault cases. Earlier this
year, an RTI reply revealed that only 30% of the much-hyped Nirbhaya fund,
running up to 3,100 crores, has been used so far. The Nirbhaya Fund, released
as an aftermath of the 2012 Delhi gangrape, is dedicated for implementation of
initiatives aimed at enhancing the safety and security of women in the country
"1-Stop Centres that were supposed to be set up to address the rising cases of
sexual assaults on women are not in place. The targets haven't been met and
even the existing centres are in pathetic condition. Unless all these failures
of systems are addressed we can???t even think of reducing crimes against
women," Khanna pointed out.
Solution Lies Elsewhere
The government needs to focus on building capacities of the law enforcing
agencies, introducing gender sensitivity in the education system, creating
vigilant and quick criminal justice system, and curtailing the culture of
hatred going on in the country, say law practitioners, activists, and
theorists.
"Government has simply bulldozed capital punishment ordinance, while there is
no focus on fixing the inconsistencies in our system. The legislators openly
make hate speeches that influence the mob mentality. Crimes like lynching and
rapes are byproducts of such mentality. From education to investigation
mechanism everything needs to be looked into if we are at all serious to reduce
crimes against women. Hanging a couple of accused only to silence countrywide
outrage is an ill-conceived approach," argued Rajawat.
Talking about building capacities of law enforcement agencies, Ravi Kant of NGO
Shakti Vahini said, "Go 40km beyond Delhi and one can easily see the poor state
of law enforcement agencies. We need to build capacities. Pump in financial
resources to beef up our investigating agencies and modernise forensic
laboratories. Hanging people on gallows wouldn't help."
(source: youthkiawaaz.com)
*************************
U'khand to bring law to give death penalty to rapists of minor girls
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat today said the state
government will bring a legislation in the next session of the state Assembly
to make a provision for capital punishment for the rapists of minor girls.
The chief minister announced this while addressing the working committee
meeting of the state BJP at Kashipur in Udham Singh Nagar district.
Rawat said the state government was concerned over the growing incidents of
crimes against minor girls and stricter laws were needed to check them.
"The state government will ensure that those who perpetrate rape on minor girls
are sent to the gallows. Efforts are underway to make strict laws in this
regard so that such crimes are reined in," the chief minister said.
A legislation will be brought in the next session of the state Assembly to make
an Act in this regard, he said.
Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana have already approved the provision of
capital punishment for those found guilty of raping girls aged 12 years or
less.
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2018, which provides for stringent
punishment including death penalty for those convicted of raping girls below
the age of 12 years, will be introduced in the monsoon session of Parliament
beginning July 18.
Meanwhile, Rawat also asked the party workers to strengthen the organisation at
the booth level and create awareness among people about the public welfare
programmes initiated by Narendra Modi government for the success of mission
2019.
The BJP government has "kept its promise" of giving a corruption-free
administration, Rawat said.
He said they have to fulfil BJP chief Amit Shah's dream of winning 350 seats in
the 2019 general elections.
(soruce: Business Standard)
SRI LANKA:
List of drug traffickers with death penalty to be handed to President today
The Ministry of justice says the list of convicted drug traffickers who were
sentenced with capital punishment is ready to be produced before the President,
today.
The list has been compiled by the Justice Ministry in accordance with an order
issued by the President.
President, yesterday (11), stated that he would sign required orders to execute
capital punishment for convicted drug traffickers who carry out large scale
drug smuggling operations while in detention.
Reinstating of capital punishment was discussed at length at the Cabinet
meeting held on Tuesday (10).
Meanwhile, Department of Prisons said that they will discuss with the ministry
on implementing the death penalty, in the coming few days.
Commissioner General of Prisons Nishan Danasinghe says that there are many
urgent measures that should be taken in order to implement the death penalty.
As the position of the executioner is currently vacated, the vacancy must be
filled immediately, he pointed out.
(source: adaderana.lk)
**********************
Prison Department To Call Applications For Judicial Executioners
The government decided to call for applications to the post of Judicial
Executioner, which has been vacant since 2015. The decision comes after cabinet
approval was granted to allow capital punishment for convicted drug
traffickers.
Prison Media Spokesperson, Thushara Upuldeniya said there are 2 vacanices in
the post of Judicial Executioner.
Meanwhile, Upuldeniya noted that the equipmemt and the rope used to execute
death penalty have already been imported and stored at the Prisons Department.
According to Upuldeniya, although measures were taken to recruit people to the
post twice before, both previous appicants have left after the training period.
At present, there are 13 inmates sentenced to death, over drug offenses.
(source: newsfirst.lk)
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