Oct. 10
GLOBAL:
Death Penalty Day: EU/Council of Europe joint statement----Joint Declaration by
the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on behalf of
the European Union and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe on the
occasion of the European and World Day against the Death Penalty, 10 October
2019
The European Union (EU) and the Council of Europe firmly oppose the death
penalty at all times and in all circumstances. The death penalty is a cruel,
inhuman and degrading punishment contrary to the right to life.
The death penalty means revenge, not justice, and its abolition contributes to
the enhancement of human dignity.
142 countries, representing 74% of the UN member states, have already stopped
using the death penalty, either by removing it from their penal code or not
carrying out executions for a long time. The abolitionist trend is continuing,
with the number of death sentences and executions also falling. In 2018,
executions were carried out in 20 countries, representing a historic low of 10%
of the countries of the world.
The Council of Europe member states which have not yet acceded to Protocols No
6 and 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights are called upon to do so
without delay. The Council of Europe and the EU once again urge Belarus to
abolish the death penalty and join the community of nations that have chosen to
replace vengeance with human dignity. They also invite those observers to the
Council of Europe who have not yet abolished death penalty to engage in
dialogue on the obstacles blocking their path towards abolition.
The EU and the Council of Europe encourage all countries to join the global
Alliance for Torture-Free Trade, which currently involves 62 States committed
to restricting the trade in goods used to carry out torture and the death
penalty. Global cooperation against the death penalty can trigger change. It
will also help to fight international organised crime, since abolitionist
states will often not extradite suspects to countries where they could face
capital punishment.
An ever-growing majority of people and leaders share the view that the death
penalty is no better a deterrent to crime than other punishments, and that it
does not contribute to public safety. The death penalty disproportionately
affects members of vulnerable groups, who cannot afford experienced defence
lawyers, and death row prisoners continue to represent the most marginalised
sections of society.
The impact of this cruel punishment also affects the relatives of people
subjected to the death penalty, first and foremost their children. Denying
children and families a burial or cremation violates their human rights,
notably their right to be free from cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.
Children who have lost parents because of executions suffer deep and lasting
grief and trauma. No-one is better placed than these unseen victims to
understand the impact the death penalty can have.
The EU and the Council of Europe recognise the importance of a fully-informed
public debate about the death penalty. It has been shown that the more people
know about the execution process, the arguments for abolition and alternatives
to capital punishment, the more they agree with abolition.
(source: coe.int)
*********************
WORLD DAY AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY
October 10th Day Against the Death Penalty: Civil Society Engagement on the
rise
From today, World Day for Abolition, there will be increased visits to death
rows on different continents - The mobilisation of civil society is growing:
since the beginning of 2019 a thousand people have asked the Community to
correspond with a convicted person, furthermore, many signatures have been
collected to ask for an end to executions.
The Community of Sant'Egidio, for years close to those who are condemned to
death on different continents, participates in the World Day against the death
penalty by increasing, until the end of October, visits to death rows in the
United States and several African countries.
Before those who want to maintain or even, in some cases, reintroduce the death
penalty, it is necessary to keep alive, at every level of society, institutions
and governments, this great commitment of Civilization and Humanity that has
allowed in recent years to take important steps towards the total abolition of
the death penalty. Encouraging signs come from California, which has suspended
all execution and dismantled the local death row. While the American Church has
also mobilized for the abolitionist campaign. A delegation from Sant'Egidio is
currently in Washington to draw, along with other organizations, possible paths
of abolition in the states of the federation in which it is still in force. We
are also encouraged by the decision of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia to
ask Republika Srpska to remove from its laws any reference to the death
penalty.
In recent months the interest of civil society in the abolition of the death
penalty has also been confirmed, with a thousand people who have turned to
Sant'Egidio only since the beginning of the year to ask to correspond with a
person sentenced to death. In addition, thousands of citizens, in Europe and
throughout the world, have mobilised in defence of the lives of some condemned
people, signing appeals to stop certain executions.
(source: Carlo Santoro, Sant'Egidio community)
PAKISTAN:
The long lost
17 years ago, death-row prisoner Kanizan, rendered mute as a result of
unspeakable acts of torture on her person, had already lived in silence for 13
years. Azam was a 21-year-old juvenile offender in prison, still hopeful that
the procedural delay resulting in his unlawful death-row status would change
any day. Basit, having contracted meningitis while on death row in a filthy
prison, had recently become paraplegic as a result, and now lay on his cell
floor, unattended.
In 2002, the first World Day Against the Death Penalty was organised, in the
hopes that capital punishment would soon be recognised as barbaric and
eliminated as a form of retributive justice. Every year since, the day lends
focus to a specific issue related to death row. In 2019, it hopes to shed light
on the impact of the death penalty on the children of prisoners who have been
sentenced to death — their peace of mind and physical security now the
collateral damage of the criminal justice system.
Under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), no one can be
sentenced to death for a crime they committed as a child. The International
Convention on Civil and Political Rights, which has also been ratified by
Pakistan, reiterates this principle. The death penalty for children is a clear
human rights violation, the trauma faced by its victims is recognised, and it
has been declared violative of national and international law.
However, it is not just underage offenders who are at risk. The innocent
children of death-row prisoners face inescapable ostracisation, neglect and
trauma due to the sentences given to their parents. The scars of this suffering
will be carried by these children into adulthood, not only affecting their own
lives but the lives of everyone they touch.
These children are invisible victims of the death penalty.
Zulfiqar, another death-row prisoner, whose execution was scheduled and halted
several times, had two daughters who visited him every time the death warrant
arrived. They said goodbye to their father — a venerated and beloved teacher to
his fellow inmates, a model prisoner who was well liked by the jail staff, and
a sad example of the flaws in our judicial system — not once, but over and over
again.
The impact of this ‘final’ meeting, a recurring nightmare, on 2 young girls
from a family which lost their sole breadwinner is lifelong and crushing. One
can only imagine what they felt when they realised there would be no more final
meetings, and the quiet violence of the years of uncertainty had ended with a
deafening snap.
Yet there are no resources made available for children who face the mental and
physical distress of losing a caregiver in such a public and terrifying way.
They face protracted anxiety during the long periods between arrest and
sentencing, and then between sentencing and execution.
At increased risk of abuse, and unable to process the grim realities to which
they are privy, these children are invisible victims of the death penalty,
unseen by their remaining caregivers as they rush to save the incarcerated
parent’s life. The unmitigated violence our criminal justice system inflicts on
children is layered, systemic and unrelenting.
Today, Kanizan and Azam, who were juveniles at the time of their alleged
crimes, are still on death row.
Basit too remains on death row. He was not a juvenile offender, and instead had
2 young children of his own when he was first sentenced. These children watched
their father abruptly go to prison, with the knowledge that he would be hanged
sooner or later. Once under the impression that those were his last days and
hoping for more time, they instead watched him live a long, nightmarish life as
a very ill man. Today, they can only identify him as a skeletal figure that
lies listless on the floor of a prison cell.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the UNCRC, a widely ratified commitment
by nearly every country in the world to secure ‘every right for every child’.
The death penalty’s enforcement against parents of minors violates the very
core of the UNCRC. Pakistan must acknowledge a child’s right to healthcare,
education, non-separation from parents and protection against torture, among
others, when sentencing their parent.
Without considering all the rights of the child during sentencing, the
repercussions of the death penalty will continue to be generational; creating
senseless, widespread pain and suffering instead of providing retribution.
These traumatised children are fated to grow up to be vulnerable adults.
Seventeen years on from the first World Day Against the Death Penalty, we must
choose to act now if we ever hope to break the cycle of poverty, crime and
victimisation.
(source: Sana Farrukh|--The writer is a lawyer working with Justice Project
Pakistan----dawn.com)
*****************
Letters from Death Row: Life after Prison in Pakistan----A man who survives 2
decades on death row struggles to build a new life after prison.
Mazhar Farooq remembers being freed after two decades behind bars
"After living 21 years in an eight-by-eight foot cell the world seems very
strange. I could not even walk properly and would bump into things. Even a
caged lion can't walk when set free," says the former inmate from Kasur,
Pakistan.
He was just 22 years old and a university student when he was imprisoned. His
father had been murdered and he was in line to inherit his family's land. But
before he could, he was implicated in the murder of a local man. There was no
supporting evidence; he says his name replaced a suspect's and the medical
report was false. The murder weapon was also not his.
"In Pakistan, whoever is politically strong can exert influence. In jails, in
court, everywhere. An ordinary person can't do anything," he says.
He was given the death penalty, and spent his adulthood on one of the largest
death rows in the world, among an estimated 5,000 prisoners in line to be
executed in Pakistan.
Farooq describes living in a small cell, crammed with up to 15 people. All
activities - eating, praying, going to the toilet - happened inside the cell.
The inmates were allowed outside for 1 hour each day, still handcuffed. They
were beaten and tortured. And all the while, their sentences loomed.
"Two days before an execution, they isolate the condemned man. He meets other
prisoners and asks them to pray for him. It's terrifying. You realise we are
all passengers on the same train. Some are boarding and others departing. When
you can see your own death, only a few can actually walk up to the gallows."
As years passed he wrote letters to his family and leaned into his faith to
find patience and strength. The Lahore High Court rejected his appeal after 11
years on death row, and he appealed to the Supreme Court. He would eventually
send a letter to the chief justice in a last bid for appeal, which was finally
granted.
But gaining his freedom was just the first step. Now Farooq must build a new
life for himself, find a new career, and reckon with a past that still guides
his every step.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
FILMMAKER'S VIEW
By Tazeen Bari
In 2015 I came across the last letter written by a man on death row: "Since I
was just 15 years old I have been stranded between life and death. I doubt
there is anything more dreadful than being told that you are going to die, and
then sitting in a prison cell just waiting for that moment. I hope I do not die
on Wednesday … I have not given up hope, though the night is very dark."
Sentenced as a juvenile, and despite witnesses recanting their testimonies,
Aftab Bahadur was hung just a few days after writing this.
His words got stuck in my head. I began to contemplate the state of mind of a
person on death row awaiting execution. Could there possibly be any worse form
of psychological torture? Death is the ultimate final end. The giving of an
ultimate punishment would presuppose that there were perfect systems of
dispensing justice. But how can imperfect systems hand out such irreversible
punishments?
In 2015 Pakistan became one of the most prolific executioners in the world,
carrying out executions at the rate of nearly 1 death per day. Pakistan had
placed a 7-year moratorium on executions, which was lifted in the wake of the
attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar where over 130 children were
brutally killed by terrorists. The brutality of killing so many young children
was impossible to comprehend. The whole country was stricken with grief and
anger - and the anger grew. As this sentiment took over the nation,
capitalising on the collective emotions of grief and retribution, the state
resumed executions.
Initially, the moratorium was only lifted on terrorism-related cases but in
March 2015 the moratorium was lifted completely. But as the numbers of those
receiving black warrants rose, so did the reports of wrongful executions.
Pakistan executed prisoners with mental disorders and physical disabilities and
those convicted before the age of 18.
Furthermore, most of the people on death row came from lower-income groups and
did not have access to the kind of lawyers that could help them fight their
cases effectively. There are no legal aid provisions in Pakistan, so often due
process and a fair trial are only available to those who can afford it.
I knew that this was a story I needed to tell, so I started collecting letters
and accounts written by those who were executed. I also found a radio jockey in
Lahore who regularly received letters from people on death row. But then, I met
Mazhar Farooq. Recently acquitted, he was living in Lahore. He was afraid to
return to his hometown of Kasur at the time as he still felt threatened by the
people who had falsely implicated him in the murder case.
Farooq was angry and wanted to share his story and experiences on death row.
I remember the first time I interviewed him, I was struck by how seemingly
together he was despite the trauma and torture he had endured. But it was in
the silences between his words that I saw his pain. His motivation to share his
experiences with the world drove me to follow him over the next 2 years.
When examining cases of wrongful incarceration we often come across exceptional
stories with bizarre twists and turns. But Farooq's story is important
precisely because it is about a very shocking systemic norm and not an
exception. Due to corruption, inadequate legal support and arbitrary laws, once
convicted a person will get stuck in the system, and due to delays people
regularly lose years of their life in jail just awaiting trial.
During my research, I read Albert Camus's scathing criticism of the death
penalty before it was abolished in France. He wrote: "When the imagination is
not functioning … a deaf public scarcely registers a man's condemnation to
death. But, expose the machinery, make people touch the wood and the iron, let
them hear the thud of heads falling, and a suddenly aroused public imagination
will repudiate both vocabulary and punishment alike."
Abolition of the death penalty has become history for many countries across the
globe, but in many others it remains. Farooq and those like him who speak out
are doing the critical job of awakening the public imagination, and this is the
first step towards reform and better systems of justice.
(source: Al Jazeera)
PHILIPPINES:
QCPD legal officer says no to death penalty
A Quezon City police official on Thursday openly denounced the reimposition of
the death penalty.
“I am not in favor of the death penalty,” lawyer Jay Borromeo, a legal officer
of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) said at the National Congress Against
Death Penalty forum in Pasig City. “I am a Christian, and if you read the
Bible, there are so many injustices that have been committed. Our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Christians during the imposition, this should not happen again, we
should not repeat this again,” he said.
“The right to life is essential to human rights, that’s why we lawyers, the
lawyers who are with me today, teach the PNP to respect human rights,” he
added.
Asked to comment on PNP chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde’s support for the
reimposition of capital punishment, Borromeo replied: That’s his opinion.”
“As lawyers, we are entitled to think and in giving our opinion on a legal
matter,” he told INQUIRER.net.
(source: newsinfo.inquirer.net)
*********************
CHR: Reviving death penalty will lead to cycle of violence in PH----On the
World Day Against the Death Penalty, CHR Commissioner Karen Gomez Dumpit notes
the suffering of 'unseen victims' of capital punishment, including the children
of people sentenced to death
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Thursday, October 10, urged the public
to resist any move to reimpose the death penalty in the Philippines, warning
that capital punishment would only lead to violence.
In a statement marking the World Day Against the Death Penalty, CHR
Commissioner Karen Gomez Dumpit noted the psychological and emotional suffering
of the "unseen victims" of capital punishment, including the children of people
sentenced to death.
"The suffering extends to [the convicted person's] loved ones, especially their
children whose anguish can even be more severe than the person [on] death row,"
she said.
"This perpetuates the cycle of violence and despair as the children of those
executed bear the stigma from the community, experience psychological trauma,
and may carry the emotional burden into adulthood which may be passed on to
their own children," Dumpit added.
After the death penalty was abolished in the country in 2006, debates about
reviving it surfaced again after President Rodrigo Duterte deemed it necessary
for drug crimes and plunder, specifically during his 4th State of the Nation
Address. (READ: A lethal mix? Death penalty and a 'flawed, corrupt' justice
system)
In the 18th Congress, 12 bills at the House of Representatives have been filed
seeking to reimpose capital punishment.
But the CHR reminded the government that reintroducing the death penalty "will
be a serious breach of international law."
It added that the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights, which the Philippines ratified in 2007, does not
allow for withdrawal or denunciation. (READ: UN on death penalty: PH will break
int'l law)
Dumpit also said the death penalty is "futile" as it leads to a cycle of
violence and that crimes should be "punished through an efficient and incorrupt
justice system."
"Death penalty can breed more problems and do more harm without resolving what
it purports to stop in the first place. The obligation to deliver justice must
not breed further injustice," she said.
(source: rappler.com)
SOUTH KOREA:
S. Korean activists call for death penalty abolition
South Korean civic and religious groups on Thursday called for a complete
abolition of capital punishment in the country, where a debate over the issue
occasionally emerges in the aftermath of serious crimes.
"We need to cut the vicious circle of violence, in which horrendous punishment
is used against horrendous crimes. ... Efforts are needed to clear fundamental
reasons for crimes and solve social contradictions," the organizations said in
a joint statement.
They referred to the recent identification of Lee Chun-jae, a jailed man in his
50s, as a suspect in a series of murders in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, that
happened between 1986-91.
"The fact that the criminal who made headlines was identified decades after
(the incident) ironically shows that the death penalty must be abolished," they
said, voicing concern about the possibility of wrongful execution.
An association of 14 religious and civic groups in South Korea -- including
Amnesty International Korea, Lawyers for a Democratic Society, and the Catholic
Justice and Peace Committee -- released the statement in line with the 17th
World Day Against the Death Penalty.
The organizations called for the establishment of a safety net to protect the
public from crimes, as well as more efforts to help victims and families of
victims who have been hurt by serious crimes.
The organizations said that a group of around 70 lawmakers have jointly
submitted a motion for abolishing the death punishment at the National Assembly
for the sixth year in a row.
South Korea is classified as an "abolitionist in practice country," which means
that the government retains the death penalty but has not actually executed a
criminal for the past 10 years or longer.
The last execution that took place here dates back to Dec. 30, 1997, more than
20 years ago.
(source: yna.co.kr)
MALAYSIA:
Unfair trials, secretive hangings and petty drug convictions reveal ‘cruel
injustice’ of the death penalty
Malaysia must start to fulfil its promise to abolish the death penalty in
forthcoming legislation by ending its use for drug-related offences and
eliminating the mandatory death sentence, Amnesty International said today, as
it launches a new report to mark the World Day Against the Death Penalty.
The report, Fatally flawed: Why Malaysia must abolish the death penalty,
reveals the use of torture and other ill-treatment to obtain “confessions”,
inadequate access to legal assistance, an opaque pardons process and other
serious violations of the right to a fair trial that have put people at risk of
execution.
"From allegations of torture and other ill-treatment to an opaque pardons
process, it's clear the death penalty is a stain on Malaysia's criminal justice
system."----Shamini Darshni Kaliemuthu, Executive Director of Amnesty
International Malaysia
The report also highlights how 73% of those on death row – 930 people – have
been sentenced to death for drug-related offences in contravention of
international human rights law. More than half of them (478) are foreign
nationals.
"Malaysia has a golden chance to break with decades of cruelty and injustice,
disproportionately inflicted on some of the most marginalized," said Shamini
Darshni Kaliemuthu, Executive Director of Amnesty International Malaysia.
"Our research found a pattern of unfair trials and secretive hangings that
itself spoke volumes. From allegations of torture and other ill-treatment to an
opaque pardons process, it's clear the death penalty is a stain on Malaysia's
criminal justice system."
The death penalty is currently retained as the punishment for 33 offences in
Malaysia and is mandatory for 12 of these. In recent years, it has mostly been
used for murder and drug trafficking convictions.
A year ago, the newly-elected Malaysian government announced it would repeal
the death penalty for all crimes, having already established a moratorium on
executions in July 2018. But in a new parliamentary session starting this
month, the government is expected to table legislation that will remove the
mandatory death penalty only, and for just 11 offences – way short of full
abolition.
Amnesty International is calling on the authorities to continue to observe the
moratorium on executions until the death penalty is fully abolished and use the
anticipated legislation to repeal the mandatory death penalty for all crimes –
including drug trafficking.
Death row for the most marginalized
Of the 1,281 people reported to be on death row in Malaysia as of February
2019, 568 (44%) are foreign nationals, who face serious obstacles to access
adequate consular assistance and interpretation.
Amnesty International has also found that some of Malaysia's ethnic minorities
are over-represented on death row, and data seen by the organization points to
a large proportion of people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Amnesty International found that most people (73%) on death row were convicted
of drug trafficking, more than half of them foreigners. Many of them claimed
they were coerced or manipulated into bringing small amounts of drugs into the
country and had not used any violence. Under international law, countries that
have not yet abolished the death penalty must limit its use to the “most
serious crimes,” such as murder.
The cases of many women on death row show the devastating impact of Malaysia’s
draconian anti-drugs law combined with the mandatory death penalty. Nearly nine
out of 10 women facing the gallows are foreigners convicted of drug
trafficking. In some cases, women said they were in financial trouble or were
coerced into carrying the drugs. However, the mandatory death penalty means
judges have no opportunity to give any consideration to these circumstances.
“A system this secretive denies Malaysians the full picture.”---- Shamini
Darshni, Amnesty International Malaysia
Unfair trials
Lawyers and relatives told Amnesty International that it was common for
defendants who could not afford a lawyer to go without any legal assistance
until charges were brought before a court. They also described a critically
under-resourced legal aid system that left many defendants without legal
assistance for long periods, often until the very start of their trial.
Suspects in death penalty cases can be detained up to 14 days, and interviewees
told Amnesty International that it was common for defendants to “get beaten up”
to extract “confessions”. The practice continues to this day, despite ongoing
outcry from Malaysian NGOs. A UN working group’s 2011 investigation already
found that “virtually all detainees” had suffered torture or other
ill-treatment during their interrogations.
Despite the very high rate of foreigners sentenced to death, as well as the
numerous languages spoken inside the country, Malaysian law does not provide
for any interpretation services to support defendants who do not speak Malay
other than in courtroom proceedings. Amnesty International heard cases of
people being asked to sign documents in Malay despite not understanding the
language.
Hoo Yew Wah, a Malaysian national of Chinese ethnicity, was arrested aged 20 in
2005 with methamphetamine and convicted based on a statement he made in
Mandarin, his mother tongue, but which police recorded in Malay. He says the
statement they made him sign is inaccurate, that police broke his finger during
the interrogation, and further threatened to beat his girlfriend if he refused
to sign it. He did not have the assistance of a lawyer during the period in
question. Hoo Yew Wah has been on death row since 2011.
An opaque and secretive system – and a chance for change
Malaysian law does not define the pardon process in any detail, nor does it set
out the criteria for a pardon or how prisoners or their families are notified
of a decision.
Defendants are not guaranteed a lawyer when they apply for a pardon, and many
go without. Others fail to apply for a pardon altogether, either out of despair
or because they do not want to admit guilt for a crime they say they did not
commit.
While some pro-bono initiatives exist, access to these services is controlled
by prison officials, and there is no transparency over how access is granted or
not. While the criteria used are not known, they appear to affect foreign
nationals: half of them have not filed a pardon application.
“A system this secretive denies Malaysians the full picture,” said Shamini
Darshni.
“Amnesty International’s research shows why this government must now honour its
pledge to abolish this ultimate cruel and inhumane punishment without delay.”
(source: Amnesty International)
******************
Amnesty International urges Malaysia to end death penalty
Amnesty International urged Malaysia’s government on Thursday to keep its
promise to abolish the death penalty, saying unfair trials and the use of harsh
treatment to obtain confessions put people at risk of execution.
The rights group released details of nearly two years of research on 150 cases
as well as interviews with prisoners’ families, lawyers and embassy officials
in a report that it said showed the use of the death penalty was “fatally
flawed.”
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s government promised shortly after taking
power in May 2018 to scrap capital punishment, which mandates hanging as
punishment for a wide range of crimes including murder, drug trafficking,
treason, kidnapping and acts of terror.
But the government backtracked after public objection. Parliament, which
resumed meeting this week, will instead remove mandatory death penalties for
some offenses and give courts discretion in imposing the sentence.
The report said 73% of the 1,281 people on death row as of February were
convicted of drug offenses, including 568 foreigners from 43 countries and many
poor members of ethnic minorities.
It said some prisoners were tortured and beaten to make them confess. In one
case, a Malaysian man detained in 2005 for possessing drugs and later sentenced
to death had his finger broken by police, who also threatened to beat up his
girlfriend, it said.
Those who are poor often go without legal assistance until they are brought to
court, it said. Some were asked to sign documents in the Malay language that
were not translated for them, according to the report.
The group said the pardon process was also not transparent, with no clear
criteria and access to pro-bono legal services controlled by prison officials.
It said half of the foreigners on death row didn’t seek pardons.
“Our research found a pattern of unfair trials and secretive hangings that
itself spoke volumes. From allegations of torture and other ill-treatment to an
opaque pardons process, it’s clear the death penalty is a stain on Malaysia’s
criminal justice system,” Amnesty Malaysia director Sharmini Darshni Kaliemuthu
said. The group said its requests to meet Malaysian authorities including the
police and officials in the attorney-general’s office for more details were
rejected or unanswered.
It said government sources indicated 469 people had been executed since
Malaysia’s independence from Britain in 1957, half of them for drug
trafficking.
The death penalty is currently retained for nearly three dozen offenses.
Amnesty International urged Malaysia to move toward scrapping capital
punishment by repealing mandatory death sentences for all crimes and
maintaining a moratorium on executions until then.
Government officials couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
Many Asian countries including China, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and
Vietnam impose capital punishment.
(source: Associated Press)
**************
Abolition of mandatory death penalty should happen in this parliamentary
session - Charles Hector
On the occasion of the World Day Against the Death Penalty, which falls on
October 10, MADPET (Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture) notes sadly
that Malaysia has yet to abolish the death penalty, let alone the mandatory
death penalty.
In 2018, on the World Day Against Death Penalty, it was announced that the
Malaysian Cabinet had decided to abolish the death penalty not just the
mandatory death penalty.
This abolition would have facilitated the return of Sirul Azhar Umar, now in
Australia, an abolitionist nation, that refuse to repatriate him back to
Malaysia as he faces the risk of execution. Sirul was seen by many as an
important witness that may lead to the identification and prosecution of the
other persons who were behind the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu, the Mongolian
mother of two.
The abolition of the death penalty would also eliminate the possibility of
execution of innocent persons ? miscarriage of justice. The police,
prosecutors, judges and even lawyers of the accused, all being human beings,
are not infallible and could cause the wrongful execution of persons. We recall
the case when in January 2011, when Taiwan’s Ministry of Justice admitted that
Chiang Kuo-ching, a private in the Air Force, had been executed in error in
1997 for a murder committed 15 years previously.
In Malaysia, it has also been shown that death penalty, even the mandatory
death penalty has not deterred crime. In 2017, it was revealed in Parliament
that there was an increase of drug cases every year despite the drastic
measures taken by the police, which we could take as including the fact of the
existence of the mandatory death penalty for section 39B DDA 1952 – drug
trafficking. It may be same for murder, but it is difficult as Malaysia stopped
revealing actual statistics under the previous government.
The failure of government resulting in poverty may also be the cause of many
crimes including those that now carry the death penalty.
On October 10, 2019, the 17th World Day Against the Death Penalty aims at
raising awareness on the rights of children whose parents have been sentenced
to death or executed. Malaysia, a party of the Child Rights Convention, now
should have the best interest of the child has become a major concern. The
execution of a parent, sibling or relative of any child is certainly never in
the best interest of the child.
The abolition of the death penalty is also consistent with the Malaysian policy
with crime and sentencing. We believe in second chances. When one pleads
guilty, the sentence is reduced by a third. For those in prison, good behaviour
and rehabilitation will lead to remission of sentence and early release. All
these values and principles cannot apply when one is sentenced to death or
mandatory death penalty.
U-turn on decision to abolish death penalty
However, on March 13, 2019, Malaysian cabinet did a U-turn on abolishing the
death penalty for all 33 offences, and instead agreed to abolish the mandatory
death penalty for all 11 mandatory death penalty offences.
Since the Pakatan Harapan is a coalition government made up of four to five
parties, it would be interesting to know which party changed its position on
abolition and why. Through its MPs, we believe that DAP was an abolitionist
party, but its current position now is a mystery.
Sadly, we have yet to see any tabling any Bills in Parliament to date that will
effectively abolish the mandatory death penalty. The earlier indication was
that these Bill/s will be tabled in the current Parliamentary session which
began in October 2019.
MADPET was concerned about the recent setting up of a special committee in
September 2019 to look into alternatives to the death sentence would just be
another excuse to delay abolition of the mandatory death penalty. Such
committees or task force could have been set up last year since the decision to
abolish the death penalty. It could have been even earlier, for the abolition
of the mandatory death penalty was an election promise of Pakatan Harapan.
We reiterate that the mandatory death penalty could be immediately abolished,
which will mean that judges will then have the discretion to sentence people to
imprisonment or death. For the time being, it could simply be life imprisonment
or natural life imprisonment. Later, if a better “alternative sentence” comes
from this or that “committee”, “task force” or consultations, the Act can
always be further amended later.
The abolition of the mandatory death penalty should not be further delayed by
the government.
Accused persons now on trial or whose trial starts before the abolition will be
greatly prejudiced as both prosecution and defence lawyers may be adducing
evidence only towards finding of guilt or innocence. They will not be adducing
evidence as to why a person should receive a lesser sentence since the courts
have no discretion as to sentence when they can only provide the one mandatory
sentence.
MADPET is also against all mandatory sentences, as it removes judicial
discretion when it comes to sentencing. Laws should only provide for maybe
maximum sentences, and trust in our judges to impose a just sentence on each
and every convicted after taking all facts and circumstances into
consideration.
Malaysia created history in December 2018, when it voted in favour of the
United Nations General Assembly Resolution on the abolition of the death
penalty.
MADPET hopes that the abolition of the mandatory death penalty is just the
first step, towards a total abolition of the death penalty which we hope will
happen soon, certainly before the next general elections.
MADPET calls for the immediate tabling of the Bill/s to abolish the mandatory
death penalty in this current Parliamentary session, for any other additional
amendments could very easily be brought in by subsequent amendments later on;
MADPET calls for the passing of an Act of Parliament that will have the effect
of commuting the death sentence of about 1,200 on death row, especially those
that have exhausted their appeals in court;
MADPET also calls for further amendment to the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, where
mandatory death penalty has already been abolished, to allow judges to consider
all mitigating and aggravating circumstances and remove the
limitations/conditions now in that law;
MADPET calls for a moratorium on all executions, pending the total abolition of
the death penalty in Malaysia.
(source: Opinion, malaymail.com)
********************
Bill to abolish mandatory death penalty will be tabled in March
2020----Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Liew Vui Keong says a
special task force will be organising consultation sessions with stakeholders.
The bill to abolish the mandatory death penalty for 11 serious offences is
expected to be tabled in the next parliamentary sitting in March next year,
according to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Liew Vui Keong.
He said a special task force will be conducting holistic and independent checks
on the law and organising consultation sessions with stakeholders to gather
their views.
“The findings and the task force’s report will be presented to the monitoring
committee before being handed over to the Cabinet.
“The study is expected to be completed in three months (by the end of 2019).
The special task force had its 1st meeting on Sept 20,” he said in a statement
today.
The task force, formed in August, comprises representatives of government
agencies, academia, civil society and other relevant parties.
It will study the technical aspects relating to the abolition, apart from
looking at alternatives to the maximum penalty.
Liew reiterated that this was in line with Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) election
manifesto and showed the government’s commitment to the protection and
preservation of human rights.
The bill to repeal the mandatory death penalty was expected to be tabled in
Parliament this month once the government had decided on appropriate prison
terms for 11 serious criminal offences covered by it.
Currently, the 11 offences fall under 2 acts — 9 under the Penal Code,
including murder, waging war against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and committing
terrorist acts — and 2 under the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971.
(source: freemalaysiatoday.com)
************************
Nearly 1/2 facing the gallows are foreigners, Nigerians the majority
Almost 1/2 of prisoners facing the noose in Malaysia are foreign nationals,
with Nigerians making up the majority.
According to a report released by Amnesty International Malaysia (AIM), 568
foreign nationals from 43 countries are on death row as of February this year.
Nigerians make up 21% of the foreigners on death row, followed by Indonesians
(16%), Iranians (15%), Indian (10%), Filipinos (8%) and Thais (6%).
Almost 73% of the foreigners were given the deatch sentence for
drug-trafficking crimes, while 25% were guilty of murder, according to the
report released on Thursday (Oct 10), in conjunction with World Day Against the
Death Penalty.
As of February, there were altogether 1,281 prisoners on death row, with 89% of
them being male.
As for the 713 Malaysians on death row, 48% were Malays, 25% (Indians), 24%
(Chinese) and 4% (other ethnic minorities).
The AIM report was based on data provided to them by official sources.
AIM executive director Shamini Darshni Kaliemuthu said the death penalty was a
stain on the country’s criminal justice system.
“Malaysia has a golden chance to break with decades of cruelty and injustice,
disproportionately inflicted on some of the most marginalised, ” she said
during the launch of the report.
She added that the government should abolish this “cruel and inhumane”
punishment without delay as the system had many flaws.
In October last year, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Liew
Vui Keong said the Cabinet had decided to abolish the death penalty with a
moratorium for those on death row.
In March this year, however, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department
Mohamed Hanipa Maidin announced in Parliament that the government was proposing
to introduce sentencing discretion for 11 offences under the Penal Code and
Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971, which currently carry the mandatory
death penalty.
Meanwhile, MADPET (Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture) said it hoped
the abolition of the mandatory death penalty was just the first step towards a
total abolition of the death penalty.
They said the abolition of the death penalty would also eliminate the
possibility of execution of innocent persons, which was a miscarriage of
justice.
“The police, prosecutors, judges and even lawyers of the accused, all being
human, are not infallible and could cause the wrongful execution of persons, “
they said in a statement.
(source: thestar.com.my)
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