July 18
BANGLADESH:
Death penalty for 4 war criminals----Tribunal convicts them of committing
genocide in Moulvibazar in 1971
The International Crimes Tribunal-1 yesterday found four Moulvibazar men guilty
of committing genocide during the Liberation War and handed down death penalty
on all of them.
The 4, who were members of notorious Razakar force, have also been given jail
until death for another charge -- committing crimes against humanity. However,
the jail term would naturally be merged into the death sentence, the tribunal
said.
"In the case in hand, it stands proved that the accused persons were conscious
and a culpable part of the common design and criminal enterprise," the 3-member
tribunal observed.
"Their [the convicts'] culpable acts and conduct as have been found proved
formed a part of attacks which was intended to wipe out the Hindu civilians,
freedom fighters and pro-liberation civilians," it added.
Among the convicts, Akmal Ali Talukder, 76, is now in jail and was hauled
before the tribunal yesterday. Other convicts Abdun Nur Talukder alias Lal
Miah, 62, Anis Miah, 76, and Abdul Musabbir Miah, 64, are on the run. All of
them are from Rajnagar upazila of the district.
The tribunal led by Justice Md Shahinur Islam directed the home secretary and
the inspector general of police to take necessary steps to arrest the
fugitives.
The other 2 members of the tribunal are Justice Amir Hossain and Justice Md Abu
Ahmed Jamadar.
During the Liberation War in 1971, Akmal was a member of local peace committee,
an anti-liberation organisation, who later joined Razakar Bahini like the 3
other convicts to commit genocide and crimes against humanity, according to the
prosecution.
"Despite being Bengali civilians [they] opted to collaborate with the Pakistani
occupation army, in exercise of their membership in Razakar Bahini, a
paramilitary force in accomplishing the grotesque mayhem," the tribunal said.
Later, the 3 others except Akmal got involved with Jamaat-e-Islami, a political
party that vehemently opposed the Liberation War, the prosecution said.
Syed Haider Ali, conducting prosecutor of the case, expressed satisfaction over
the verdict saying, "We have got justice."
Abul Hasan, state-appointed defence counsel for the fugitives, however, said he
was aggrieved by the verdict and expressed the hope that if the fugitives
surrendered and challenged the verdict with the Supreme Court, they would get
justice.
According to the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, 1973, a war crimes
convict can file an appeal with the SC within 30 days from the date of
verdict's pronouncement.
With the latest verdict, the war crimes tribunals have so far delivered 33
judgements against 73 people. 47 of them have been sentenced to death.
'ENEMIES OF MANKIND'
The tribunal handed down death penalty on the 4 convicts for an act of genocide
where 59 Hindu men of Panchgaon village under Rajnagar upazila were killed,
Hindu women were raped and at least 132 houses were looted and torched between
May 7 and 8, 1971.
"... we are of the view that the perpetrators intended to effect destruction of
the civilians belonging to the Hindu religious group by causing indiscriminate
killing on a massive scale, sexual abuse, wanton looting and burning down
houses," the tribunal observed.
They were given "imprisonment for life till biological death" for an offence of
crimes against humanity where 2 Hindu men of Pashchimbagh in Rajnagar were
abducted, confined, tortured and killed and their houses were looted and
torched between November 24 and 25.
Not only the actual perpetrators (Pakistani army) but also all the four accused
"who remained consciously concerned with such shocking and horrendous crimes
committed against humanity would be known as the enemies of the mankind," the
tribunal observed.
(source: The Daily Star)
VIETNAM:
Vietnam president orders review of farmer's death sentence----Public anger over
harsh sentences in land dispute case persuades state to reconsider evidence
Activists have welcomed the Vietnamese president's order to review the case of
farmers given severe sentences including the death penalty for murder over a
land dispute.
The President's Office announced on July 17 that President Tran Dai Quang had
asked the Supreme People's Court, Supreme People's Procuracy and the Ministry
of Public Security to "review processes of investigations, prosecution and
trial of the murder case and report to the president," Vietnam News Agency
reported.
On July 12, the High-level People's Court in Ho Chi Minh City upheld the death
penalty given to Dang Van Hien, a farmer found guilty of murder amid a land row
between farmers and a private company.
Hien was convicted of shooting to death 3 men and injuring 13 others from the
Long Son Trade and Investment Company.
The court had earlier reduced the sentences of farmers Ninh Viet Binh and Ha
Van Truong who were also involved in the incident - from 20 to 18 years and
from 12 to 9 years.
On Oct. 23, 2016, the Long Son Trade and Investment Company is said to have
sent scores of workers and watchmen armed with knives, shields and tractors to
destroy coffee trees, cashew trees and more crops grown by Hien and other
farmers.
Hien claims he fired a warning shot into the air to stop them from entering his
farm but the watchmen responded by throwing rocks at him. He said he then hid
in his house and fired more shots at his attackers.
Ninh and Binh also shot at the alleged trespassers.
Many activists have hailed the president's order as a success in the fight for
justice for those who have their land grabbed unfairly by corrupt officials and
interest groups.
An online petition signed by more than 5,000 people asked government leaders to
reduce Hien's sentence so as "to ensure the law's justice and the state's
humanity and to strengthen our trust in the law."
"Please offer Hien an opportunity to resume a good life," they said.
On July 14, Hien's wife Mai Thi Khuyen sent messages to the President's Office,
Government Inspectorate, Supreme People's Court and other state agencies. "We
are completely depressed and disappointed by the death penalty imposed on my
husband," she wrote.
"My husband's life now depends completely on your final decision," she said in
her message to President Quang.
Khuyen asked the president to pardon Hien so that "he can live a new life and
suffering caused by the case will be reduced."
Pastor Nguyen Manh Hung, a rights advocate, said on his Facebook page that the
government was forced to reassess the unfair case by prevailing public opinion.
(source: ucanews.com)
*******************
Vietnam arrests 3 Lao drug traffickers
Relevant forces of Vietnam's central Ha Tinh province on Tuesday detained three
Lao men when they were transporting 25 kg of crystal methamphetamine and 52
cakes of heroin in a pickup truck.
The trio, aged 25, 35 and 51, reside in Laos' central Khammouane province, the
Ha Tinh police said on Wednesday, adding that they wanted to sell the drugs to
Vietnamese traffickers in the two central provinces of Ha Tinh and Nghe An.
According to Vietnamese law, those convicted of smuggling over 600 grams of
heroin or more than 2.5 kg of methamphetamine are punishable by death. Making
or trading 100 grams of heroin or 300 grams of other illegal drugs also faces
death penalty.
(source: xinhuanet.com)
**********************
Interpol notice issued for Vietnamese drug queen
An international arrest warrant has been issued for a Vietnamese woman said to
be the ringleader of a transnational drug trafficking gang.
Vietnamese police say 61-year-old Vu Hoang Oanh is the leader of a massive drug
trafficking ring that transported narcotics from Cambodia to Ho Chi Minh City.
When the ring was busted in May, police with the drug crimes fighting division
under the Ministry of Public Security arrested seven people and seized 39 packs
of heroin, 30 kilograms of methamphetamine and 100,000 ecstasy pills.
Oanh had already fled overseas then.
Police officers say Oanh has close connections with big names in the Cambodian
underworld, with whom she cooperated to transport a large quantity of drugs to
HCMC through a border gate in the Mekong Delta province of Long An before they
were distributed to other areas.
She was also found to have rented a casino venue in Cambodia just a kilometer
from the border with Vietnam and organized illegal gambling activities there.
In the first 5 months this year, Vietnamese police have confiscated
approximately 880 kilograms of heroin, 500,000 ecstasy pills, 1.3 tons of
cannabis and 2.5 tons of the chewing herb Khat (Catha edulis).
Compared to the same period last year, the amount of confiscated heroin has
doubled and that of ecstasy pills increased by 30 %, the ministry said.
Vietnam is a key trafficking hub for narcotics, but it also has some of the
world's toughest drug laws.
Those convicted of possessing or smuggling more than 600 grams of heroin or
more than 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamines face the death penalty. The
production or sale of 100 grams of heroin or 300 grams of other illegal
narcotics is also punishable by death.
(source: vnexpress.net)
THAILAND:
Court Upholds Death Sentence For Murder And Attempted Rape Of Teenager In 2015
The Court of Appeal on Tuesday upheld a primary court ruling sentencing to
death a 36-year-old former village headman for murdering an 18-year-old
schoolgirl during a rape attempt in Kalasin???s Kamalasai district in 2015.
The ruling also included an order for Ban Si Than former village headman
Krittidech Rawengwan to pay the family of slain Rong Kham School student
Ruadeewan "Nong Snow" Polprasit Bt2.39 million in compensation.
The court found Krittidech guilty of killing Ruadeewan while trying to rape
her.
His claim of innocence was denied as evidence, including a human bite mark
found on his finger and another wound on a testicle, had been put before the
court.
Ruadeewan's parents Krit and Lamyai Polprasit and relatives held the slain
girl's photograph as they gathered outside the Kalasin Provincial Court
yesterday morning prior to the verdict reading.
Lamyai became tearful and said the tiredness she had felt for over 900 days
after the loss of her beloved daughter disappeared when she heard the latest
verdict. She thanked officials involved in the case, along with police and
media, for following through on the case until justice was served. She also
thanked the public for their moral support.
The Court of Appeal found Krittidech guilty of killing the girl while trying to
rape her on December 23, 2015 while she was riding her motorcycle home from
school.
Krittidech, pursuing her on another motorcycle, kicked the girl???s motorcycle
to the ground and dragged her into a roadside ditch where he attempted to rape
her. Ruadeewan fought him off but suffered serious injuries that caused her
death 2 days later.
Krittidech, detained at the Khlong Phai Prison, was not in court but reportedly
was notified about the latest verdict.
The family is struggling to cope with the loss of Ruadeewan.
"I still feel pain in my heart every time I pass the spot of her attack.
Whenever I miss her, I look at her pictures on the wall or in her Facebook
page. I keep dreaming of her and I wake crying," Lamyai said.
If the girl were alive today, she would have been studying at a nurse's college
as per her dream to become a nurse to help others, the mother said.
The family also lost all of their savings to pay for funeral expenses and the
lawsuit, and had to mortgage their rice field to keep the family afloat during
the court battle, Lamyai said.
"Our family will fight until the end so the attacker will get a maximum
punishment, especially the death sentence, so that this will serve as a
precautionary tale so it won???t happen in Thai society again," she said.
Ruadeewan's 31-year-old sister Pattranit Polprasert said: "Heaven has eyes so
the innocent person's death won't be in vain and the one who committed a crime
is punished for his deed."
Neighbour Suthee Arunpas, 50, said he sympathised with the family and wants to
see capital punishment for the culprit, so no one would follow in his footsteps
and break the law - especially in rape-murder cases.
According to human-rights group Amnesty International, multiple studies have
discredited claims that capital punishment deters crime. "There is no evidence
that the death penalty is any more effective than life imprisonment," according
to Amnesty, which also notes that many executed people were later found to have
been innocent.
Times comment:-As stated many times, this is an emotive subject. The desire for
justice is strong or is it revenge? It is easy to be for and against the death
penalty. One innocent person executed provides a strong argument against.
This was obviously a frenzied attack and it is unlikely the killer would have
been thinking about any consequences. However, you could argue that he has
forfeited his right to live by taking the life of an innocent young girl. The
debate will go on.
(source: Buriram Times)
****************
Government must re-join path towards abolition of death penalty
The Thai authorities must recognise that the death penalty has no place in any
criminal justice system and halt any plans to carry out further executions,
said Amnesty International, a month after the state carried out its 1st
execution in almost 9 years.
In an open letter to Thailand's Minister of Justice, the global human rights
organization called on the government to abolish the death penalty after a
26-year-man was executed by lethal injection for aggravated murder on 18 June
2018. It was the 1st execution since August 2009.
"No matter what the crime, who the prisoner is or the method of execution,
nothing can justify the use of the death penalty. It is a despicable punishment
that has no place in any criminal justice system", said Katherine Gerson,
Amnesty International's Thailand Campaigner.
"The Thai government must reaffirm its commitment to human rights by
immediately establishing a moratorium on the implementation of the death
penalty, as a 1st step towards its full abolition. The truth is, the death
penalty does not have a unique deterrent effect on crime. It does not bring
closure to family members of the alleged victim. It is never a solution."
Background
On 18 June 2018, Thailand executed a 26-year-old man for aggravated murder in
the country's 1st execution since August 2009, which followed a period of no
executions since 2003. Figures provided by the Ministry of Justice in March
2018 state that 510 people, including 94 women, were on death row of whom 193
had exhausted all final appeals. Almost 1/2 of these 193 are believed to have
been sentenced for drug-related offences.
While the imposition of the mandatory death penalty is prohibited under
international law, the death penalty in Thailand remains mandatory for a number
of offences, including aggravated murder. Many of the offences for which the
death penalty may be applied do not meet the threshold of the "most serious
crimes" to which the use of the death penalty must be restricted under
international law in countries where it has not yet been abolished.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty unconditionally, for all cases
and under any circumstances.
As of today, 106 countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes and
142 in total are abolitionist in law or practice.
(source: Amnesty International)
MAURITANIA:
Death Penalty 'Now Mandatory' for All Who Blaspheme Against Islam in
Mauritania: Group
A missionary group that exposes Christian persecution has warned that new
changes to Mauritania's apostasy law means that the death penalty will now be
an unavoidable punishment for all people who are found to have blasphemed
against Islam, even if they repent.
Todd Nettleton of The Voice of the Martyrs told on Thursday that there is
increasing worry among Christians in the African nation regarding the changes
to the law made by the Mauritanian National Assembly on April 27, which removes
the 3-day window of opportunity for people to repent from blasphemy before they
are punished.
"This new law sort of becomes more stringent - that three days to repent
disappears. Everyone is going to be punished. Even if you do repent, you are
still going to be punished. And in the case of blasphemous remarks or
sacrilegious acts, according to the law, the death penalty is now mandatory,"
Nettleton said.
"The other thing that was very fascinating to me is, in explaining this change
in the law, the Minister of Defense said that 'what we had before was actually
in contradiction with official Sharia code, the official Sharia law. We want to
be as close to the real Sharia law as possible, so we needed to eliminate that
discrepancy between the 2.'"
While there have not been reports yet of Christians being given a death
sentence over blasphemy in the predominantly Muslim nation, groups have warned
that the fear of a mandatory death penalty could provide further obstacles for
those thinking about following Jesus.
(source: bedfordnewsjournal.com)
NIGERIA:
Court-martial gives soldiers death sentence, jail terms
A General Court-Martial (GCM) set up by the Nigerian Army has sentenced 13
soldiers to death and life imprisonment for offences ranging from manslaughter,
murder, torture to assault and arson.
This is even as the army has reiterated its commitment in the fight against
terrorism in the North East, and other internal security operations across the
country.
Chief of Civil Military Affairs, Major-General Nuhu Amgbazo, disclosed this in
an exclusive interview with the Daily Sun in Abuja.
He refuted reports and insinuations, especially from international human rights
groups, that the Nigerian Army has failed to act on allegations of rights
abuses against its personnel.
Amgbazo, while noting that several court martials are currently sitting in
virtually all the divisions of the Nigerian Army to try erring officers and
soldiers, said: "For anybody or any organisation to come up and say nothing is
being done is most unfair. Unfortunately, they misunderstand the professional
angle of the Nigerian Army."
He told Daily Sun that even though the army has lost a good number of its
personnel in the anti-terrorism war, while several others have been maimed and
left with permanent disability, it would not condone any act of indiscipline
from its personnel while carrying out their constitutional roles.
According to him, "There have been a lot of insinuations and false reports,
especially by international rights groups that have continued to claim that the
Nigerian Army and other security agencies have done nothing about human rights
abuse cases brought before them.
"That is far from the truth because we have our own justice system.
"Any military person is subject to both military law and civil law and you know
the law has its own processes, but I can authoritatively tell you that all the
cases that have been reported are being investigated; some are within the
jurisdiction of the courts.
"As we speak now, there are standing court-martials in 7 Division, Maiduguri,
to handle all cases that have to do with our military operations.
"And we also have court martial in some divisions like here in Army
Headquarters Garrison, Abuja, Kaduna and Enugu, to try other issues not
necessarily for human rights but for any kind of abuse.
"So, I can tell you now that the cases that have been concluded and the records
of proceedings have been forwarded to the appropriate superior authority.
"For instance, since December 2017, we have had 13 cases that have been
concluded.
"Some have even been confirmed. Some of the sentences are capital punishment.
Others are long years of imprisonment. Some have 3 years, others 10 years, 7
years and others are life imprisonment. And these are cases that have been
confirmed and others are in the process as we speak now.
"These 13 cases have been concluded and sent to superior authority.
"Whether it is going to be appealed or if it will go up to the Supreme Court,
that goes beyond the army because we have done our own (part). We have
sentenced them based on the gravity of their offences.
"The offences range from man slaughter, murder, torture, assault to harm. A
soldier was even accused of setting ablaze a fellow human being and these are
grievous abuses and the Nigerian Army will never tolerate that.
"There was also the case of an unlawful detention and torture of a 13-year-old
boy. "So, all of these things, 13 of them and others, are in the pipeline as we
speak. Court-martials are already in place and treating all the cases as they
come.
"The gravity of some of these cases is such that you have to be sure that the
legal processes are followed and the legal processes sometimes take time.
"We are a professionally responsible army, led by a true and professional
soldier in the person of Lieutenant-General Tukur Buratai."
(source: The Sun News)
BOTSWANA:
African rights body urges Botswana to end death penalty
The African Commission on Human and People's Rights (ACHPR) has called on
Botswana to consider reforms to its laws in a view to end the death penalty,
APA learnt here on Wednesday.According to a preliminary report released
Wednesday by an ACHPR delegation that visited Botswana recently, Gaborone
should have a national dialogue aimed at finding ways of outlawing capital
punishment.
"The delegation would like to recommend that Botswana consider(s) a moratorium
on the death penalty and lead dialogue on abolition of the death penalty," the
commission said.
It noted that although Gaborone is a signatory to African rights charter, the
country has not been honouring the commission's findings.
The commission called on the authorities in Gaborone to consider enacting a law
that "includes a specific legal provision criminalising torture and establish a
police oversight body to investigate allegations of violations committed by the
police since it has ratified the United Nations Convention against Torture and
other Cruel, Inhuman degrading treatment or punishment."
(source: journalducameroun.com)
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