April 9
INDIA:
SC accepts plea challenging accused's acquittal in 2012 rape and murder case
The Supreme Court on Monday accepted a plea challenging the acquittal of the
accused in the sensational case of rape and murder of an 8-year-old in Nainital
in 2012.
The plea challenges the Uttarakhand High Court's verdict which reversed the
decision of a lower court. The High Court acquitted the accused Deepak Arya,
who was declared 'guilty' by a lower court in 2014.
A lower court in Nainital had awarded death penalty to the accused after
convicting him under 376 (rape) and 302 (murder) and other sections of the
Indian Penal Code (IPC).
In 2014, Deepak moved the Uttarakhand High Court and challenged the sessions
court's order. In 2015, the High Court acquitted him due to lack of evidence
against him. Following which, Naveen Ram, the father of the victim, moved the
apex court challenging the High Court's order.
"I want justice from the Apex Court. My daughter was raped and murdered. I want
the court to award the death penalty or life imprisonment to Deepak. It is the
court's duty to serve justice to my daughter," Naveen told ANI.
Stressing that the Supreme Court should hear the matter urgently as Naveen has
not got justice yet, former Additional Advocate General (AAG) in Uttarakhand
government and senior Supreme Court lawyer Mukesh Kumar Giri said: "It cannot
be just the difference of judgment that Uttarakhand's lower court had sentenced
Deepak to death and the High Court acquitted him.
(source: business-standard.com)
SRI LANKA:
“Death Penalty is an unacceptable denial of human dignity and integrity” – EU
The European Union delegation has issued a statement regarding the
reinstatement of the death penalty in Sri Lanka.
The statement acknowledged the effort taken in combating the proliferation of
drugs. It points out that, although action should be taken to counter this
illicit drug trade, the evidence presented by the Government of Sri Lanka “does
not support the argument that the death penalty is an effective deterrent”.
According to the statement, more than two- thirds of countries around the
world, with a variety of legal systems, traditions, cultures and religious
backgrounds have either abolished the death penalty or do not practice it. The
statement stresses that the death penalty is an unacceptable denial of human
dignity and integrity.
It has called on the Sri Lankan government to maintain it’s moratorium on the
death penalty in line with its vote at the 73rd United Nations General Assembly
in December 2018.
The statement was issued by the embassies of:
France
Germany
Italy
Netherlands
Romania
UK
Norway
Switzerland
Canada
Australia
(source: newsfirst.lk)
******************
International community wants moratorium on death penalty
The international community has urged the Government to maintain its moratorium
on the death penalty in line with its vote at the 73rd UN General Assembly in
December 2018.
The Delegation of the EU issued the following statement in agreement with the
Embassies of France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Romania and the UK High
Commission, the Embassies of Norway and Switzerland, as well as the High
Commissions of Canada and Australia.
The Government of Sri Lanka has recently taken measures towards resuming
executions and bringing an end to Sri Lanka’s 43-year moratorium on the death
penalty as part of its stepped up anti-drug policy.
While acknowledging that combating the proliferation of drugs is a serious
challenge for countries around the world, and that action to counter the
illicit drug trade is important and necessary, the evidence does not support
the argument that the death penalty is an effective deterrent. We are ready to
share our experiences in addressing the threat posed by drugs.
More than 2/3 of countries around the world, with a variety of legal systems,
traditions, cultures and religious backgrounds, have either abolished the death
penalty or do not practice it. The death penalty is an unacceptable denial of
human dignity and integrity.
We call on the Sri Lankan Government to maintain its moratorium on the death
penalty in line with its vote at the 73rd UN General Assembly in December 2018.
(source: ft.lk)
PAKISTAN:
PML-N seeks death penalty for acid attack perpetrators
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is set to introduce the Acid and Burn
Crime Act 2019 bill. The aim is propose the death penalty or rigorous life
imprisonment for those who intentionally attack people with acid or inflict
burn injuries.
Opposition MPA Hina Pervez Butt has prepared the bill and it will be submitted
to the Punjab Assembly in the coming days. If such an act has resulted in the
demise of a person, it was proposed that the perpetrator be punished with a
death sentence or rigorous life imprisonment.
Section 10 of the existing act dictates those who carry out an acid or burn
attack shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to 7 years, but
will not be less than 3 years. Also, the fine imposed would not exceed
RS100,000.
Whoever aids, abets or colludes in acid or burn attacks, either individually or
jointly, shall be liable to the punishment mentioned above. It was proposed
that the investigation would be carried by an officer not below the rank of
inspector/SHO.
The matter would also be probed within 14 days of the complaint or registration
of the FIR. Under the law, the court will allow time, not exceeding 14 days,
provided reasonable grounds exist for such an extension. Total time for
investigation of acid or burn attacks shall not exceed 60 days and if it does,
such a failure may be noted in the performance assessment of the presiding
judge or the officer in charge of the investigation.
If the court finds that the investigation officer, or others involved, have
failed to carry out the investigation with due diligence, the officers may be
punished through imprisonment which may extend to 2 years and could be
accompanied by a fine. It was also proposed that both may be imposed after
referring to summary proceedings.
The act proposes daily hearings and the trial will be concluded within 7 days.
For protection, it was suggested in the bill that any person who threatened or
otherwise harassed witnesses shall be guilty of an offence punishable by way of
summary procedure. In case of such an event, such imprisonment may extend to 2
years.
Any person aggrieved by the order or judgment by a sessions or additional
sessions trial may appeal to the high court within a period of 30 days. If the
victim is a minor, the provincial government or Acid and Burn Monitoring Board
would provide free shelter, sustenance and basic needs till such time that the
victim is financially independent.
Talking to The Express Tribune, MPA Hina Pervez Butt said that women were over
acid throwing and burn cases increasing by the year. Hundreds of women,
children and a few men fall victim to this horrendous crime with little
possibility to seek justice or support.
Although the offence has been criminalised through an amendment in the PPC, a
more comprehensive legislation is needed to address the difficulties and gaps
in the investigation.
Due to socioeconomic circumstances, specific and comprehensive legislation is
needed to allow victims to overcome the fear and stigma associated with such
attacks. This will serve as an effective deterrent, the MPA proposed.
(source: The Express Tribune)
***************
Murderer Gets Death Penalty In Islamabad
An Additional District and Sessions judge in Islamabad Tuesday awarded death
sentence to an accuse of murder while 7 years rigorous imprisonment to
accomplice accused on a case reported in Tarnol police limits.
The police submitted the Challan of accused Bismillah Khan and Sher Zaman
residents of Attock in the court who allegedly murdered Raja Munawar in April
last year over a dispute.
The court after listening to the arguments of both parties declared Bismillah
Khan and Sher Zaman guilty of the offense and awarded death sentence to
Bismillah Khan and 7 year rigorous imprisonment to Sher Zaman along with fine
of Rs 0.3 million.
(source: urdupoint.com)
AFRICA:
Death penalty not in African culture, says Pete Ouko----Pete Ouko, a Kenyan and
a leading campaigner against capital punishment, decries its continued
application in many jurisdictions.
How did you find yourself in prison and on death row?
In 1998 my wife was found murdered in front of a police station. I got word and
I went to the police station to be told what had happened and I got locked up;
my in-laws said I should be locked up. I was in the police station for 30 days,
the law did not allow for that. I was not taken to court; because of course
there was no evidence (to use) to take me to court. After 30 days I wrote a
letter to the Attorney-General and to the law enforcement officers that the law
says I should be in court within 14 days if at all there’s anything against me,
but I’ve been here for 31 days and there’s nothing, so, I want to be taken to
court to be released. So, they took me to court. I went to court, there was
still nothing, and so I was taken to a remand home for about three weeks, still
there was nothing. The judge (then) said I had to be taken back to police
custody. So I went back to the police station and I had to stay there for
another one month. So basically I spent sixty days at the police station.
Anyway I did my case in 1999 all the way to 2001 when I got convicted; the
judge who convicted me just passed on the other day. But before then he had
been sacked. He was the first to be sacked for corruption in Kenya. There was a
radical surgery in the judiciary in 2003 by President Mwai Kibaki. The radical
surgery led to the sacking and resignation of all the corrupt judges who were
on board. My presiding judge lost his job at that point. But I went on appeal,
I had my appeal completion, but when I came to judgment, I was told the
judgment could not be read. I was (eventually) sentenced to death. I joined the
death row in 2001. Basically I was on death row for 8 years, between 2001 and
2009, but in 2009 was commuted to life. So from 2009 to 2016 when I left I was
serving life imprisonment.
When your sentence was commuted to life imprisonment was it after an appeal?
No, the president just used his prerogative and commuted all death sentences.
In 2003, President Kibabki commuted many death sentences of those who had been
there for long to life imprisonment. Then in 2009 he again commuted the others.
In the first instance in 2003 I think he commuted 4000 and in 2009 he commuted
3000.
After your sentencing what happened?
After the sentencing I then wrote a letter to the president, I told him even
though I don’t agree with the decision of the court, as a law abiding person I
respect it, but I need to be home because my children were going to graduate.
The letter was up scaled and it reached him. So, in October 2016 I left the
prison.
And up till now nobody knows who killed your wife?
I don’t want to go into that because we have the matter in court and it is sub
judice.
From your experience, is there any hope for the abolition of the death penalty
in Africa?
I don’t think the death penalty is an African concept. I think the death
penalty was imposed on Africa by people who had already abolished it in their
own countries. The African way of solving conflicts and some of the most
heinous crimes was sitting under a tree and restitution was made. You look
through all the African cultures they didn’t have the death penalty. In fact
some of those who committed the most grievous crimes would be ostracised and
told never to come to that community again.
(source: The Nation Nigeria)
BARBADOS:
‘All set’ for death sentence
ALL IS IN PLACE NOW for judges to once again sentence convicted murderers to
hang.
That’s because the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2019 was passed by both Houses
of Parliament last week, and given the assent by Governor General Dame Sandra
Mason on April 4, to make it law.
The amendment changed the Constitution by deleting the provision in Section 15
that made it the mandatory death sentence for murder. The Caribbean Court of
Justice (CCJ) had ruled in January 2018 that such a provision was
unconstitutional.
Attorney General Dale Marshall, addressing a Barbados Labour Party St Peter
branch meeting at Black Bess Pavilion Sunday night, said justice might now be
better served.
“For years we’ve had a death penalty which has been mandatory. Our law used to
say if you are charged with murder and convicted, you will be hanged. Now what
that meant is that the judges weren’t deciding, it was Parliament that decided
what to do with the law.
(source: nationnews.com)
IRAQ:
Iraq hands man death sentence for murder of 3 university professors
A criminal court in Iraq’s Diyala province on Monday said it handed a death
sentence to a man found guilty of involvement in the killing of three
professors at a local university.
According to the Supreme Judicial Council of Iraq, the convicted will face the
death penalty (via hanging) after the Diyala Criminal Court pronounced the
sentence following a trial.
The victims were faculty members at the University of Diyala, located north of
the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.
“The second body of the Diyala Criminal Court has considered the case of a
terrorist who confessed to killing 3 citizens and wounding another, all of them
working at Diyala University, after an attack he led with other militants
belonging to terrorist organizations,” a spokesperson for the Judicial
Council’s media center said in a statement.
It was not immediately clear to which terror organization the suspect belonged.
The statement also noted that he had confessed to shooting the victims in the
village of Ibn Khaldun.
“The sentence of the convict comes in accordance with the provisions of Article
IV/1 of the Anti-Terrorism Law No. 13 of 2005.”
Iraq has been highly criticized for its implementation of capital punishment in
recent years. The death penalty in Iraq was suspended on June 10, 2003, but was
reinstated the following year.
International groups and human rights organizations, including the United
Nations and Human Rights Watch, say efforts by Iraqi authorities to accelerate
the implementation of death sentences could lead to the execution of innocent
people, pointing to major flaws endemic to the nation’s deficient criminal
justice system.
(source: kurdistan24.net)
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