[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
May 12 PAKISTAN: Aasia Bibi’s lawyer will now plead the case of a Christian couple on death-row Saiful Malook, the lawyer who pleaded the case of Aasia Bibi is all set to fight the case of a Christian couple who are now on death row for committing blasphemy. The couple was directed to pay Rs100,000 fine each and in case of default, they would further undergo 6 months’ imprisonment. Shagufta Kausar and Shafqat Masih were given death sentence under Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) read with Section 34 of the PPC by the additional sessions judge of Toba Tek Singh on April 4, 2014. Saiful Malook advocate confirmed to a private source that he had submitted his Vakalatnama in the LHC to plead their case, saying that he had already met with Kausar in Multan jail. Malook – who was offered citizenship by EU countries but returned to Pakistan to play his role in human rights matters – said Kausar is lodged in the same death cell, where Bibi was imprisoned before her acquittal in the blasphemy case by the Supreme Court late last year. The couple’s appeal is pending in the Lahore High Court (LHC) and a hearing is likely to be fixed soon. (source: Daily Times.com.pk) IRAN: Ahwazi Arab prisoners at risk of execution, Amnesty warnsAhwazi Arab prisoners were sentenced to death at 'grossly unfair trial'. “Confessions” they have said were obtained under torture and other ill-treatment, were used to convict them. Amnesty International has warned against the imminent execution of 2 members of Iran’s Ahwazi Arab minority convicted of “enmity against God”. Abdullah Karmollah Chab and Ghassem Abdullah, Sunni Muslims from Iran’s Ahwazi Arab minority, are on death row following a grossly unfair trial. Amnesty says “confessions” they have said were obtained under torture and other ill-treatment, including electric shocks and mock executions, were used to convict them. Their cases are before the Supreme Court. They have been convicted of “enmity against God” (moharebeh) in connection with an armed attack on a Shi’a religious ceremony in Safiabad, Khuzestan province, on 16 October 2015, which left 2 people dead. They have denied any involvement in the attack. Their lawyers have said there is no evidence linking them to the attack and have identified inconsistencies between the “confessions” that led to their convictions and the accounts of eyewitnesses present at the scene of the crime, according to Amnesty International. On 19 October 2015, both men were arrested by the ministry of intelligence and held in solitary confinement in an unknown location for 6 months. They have since been moved to several different detention centres. They have been given extremely limited access to their families through irregular telephone calls and only one visit. On 9 April 2019, they were transferred to a ministry of intelligence detention centre in Hamedan, Hamedan province, where they have been denied access to their families. Both men have said they were subjected to months of torture in detention including by being beaten and given electric shocks. Abdullah Karmollah Chab has said his interrogators hung him upside down for 11 days and subjected him to mock executions, saying they would execute and bury him in an unmarked grave. For three mornings in a row, according to him, they woke him, put a sack over his head and a noose around his neck, and told him that if he “confessed” he would not be executed. He refused, saying he was innocent. On the third day, he said he heard one of the interrogators say: “Just let him go. If he had anything to confess he would have done so by now.” Both men were denied access to a lawyer until the day of their trial, when they were represented by a state-appointed lawyer. During their trial before the Revolutionary Court in Ahvaz on 22 June 2016, they reportedly removed some of their clothes to show torture marks on their bodies to the court. However, no investigation was ordered. Iran’s Supreme Court later quashed the conviction and sentence due to lack of evidence and flawed investigations and ordered a retrial. On 6 July 2017, they were sentenced to death again. The case is now again before the Supreme Court for appeal. (source: iran-hrm.com) BRUNEI: Brunei LGBT community living in fear despite sultan's death penalty reprieve When the Sultan of Brunei last week announced a moratorium on the much-condemned death penalty for gay sex, some hailed the move as a major advance. But inside the tiny South-East Asian nation, members of the LGBT community says there is little reason to celebrate - and much still to fear. In an interview with the Telegraph, one gay man, who asked to be identified only as 'M', warned that the apparent turnaround would only be temporary. The moratorium declared following an international backlash was "for appearances only," he said, a
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., VA., S.C., ALA., LA., TENN., MO., CALIF., USA
May 12 TEXAS: Shooting suspect's girlfriend arrested in slaying of El Paso County Deputy Peter Herrera The girlfriend of the man charged in the shooting death of El Paso County sheriff's Deputy Peter Herrera also has been arrested and charged in his slaying, officials announced Saturday. Arlene Piña, 20, was charged with capital murder of a peace officer and was booked Saturday into the El Paso County Jail on a $1 million bond. Piña was the passenger in the convertible BMW 3325i that was stopped by Herrera at about 1:50 a.m. March 22, officials said. He was shot during that traffic stop, officials say. Herrera was taken to a hospital, where he died two days later. The shooting suspect, Facundo Chavez, was arrested shortly afterward. "At the time (of the shooting), we released the passenger, because we were not sure of her involvement in the case," Sheriff Richard Wiles said at a news conference Saturday at the El Paso County Jail. "However, after some really great detective work by our supervisors and detectives out of our Crimes Against Persons section, we were able to establish and believe that that female was actively involved — even though she didn't pull the trigger — in the death of Deputy Herrera." Wiles said a warrant was issued Friday and Piña was arrested at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at a home in San Elizario and was booked into the El Paso County Jail. Wiles said the investigation and arrest took a while because authorities had to clean up audio that was recorded by the police camera and the deputy's body camera and also get into her cellphone records. "The key parts rest again in the video and audio of the body cam and the camera in the patrol vehicle. Even though at some point the individual leaves the video portion, you can still hear the audio portion," Wiles said. A complaint affidavit supplemental report states that Herrera told Chavez to exit the car. Immediately after getting out, Chavez shot at Herrera5 times at point-blank range, the supplemental report alleges. After getting out, it says that Chavez can be heard beating Herrera. Piña then gets out and says in Spanish, "Beat that (expletive)," it states. The supplemental report states that after several minutes, the 2 run back to the car and attempt to flee, but the vehicle stalls. Video shows Chavez get out and run, then Piña follows him, it states. At 2:49 a.m., with the help of Border Patrol agents, the 2 were found hiding in a shed in San Elizario, the report states. They were taken to the El Paso County Sheriff's Office Major Crimes Unit at 3850 Justice Drive in far East El Paso to be interviewed. The supplemental report states that after being read her Miranda rights, Piña claimed a third person was involved and blamed the shooting on that person. She also claimed that person assaulted her as she was dragged to the shed, then slapped her cellphone out of her hand as she tried to call 911, then took the phone. After being told the video didn't support her story, Piña admitted she was lying and blamed the shooting on her boyfriend, Chavez, the report says. She said she saw him take a clip from the shift area of the car and insert it into a gun, which he then put in his waistband. She said he said he was going to shoot the deputy, the report states. Funeral services were held for Sheriff's Deputy Peter Herrera Friday. His procession lasted nearly an hour. Mark R Lambie, El Paso Times The affidavit supplemental report says that as Chavez was being booked into the El Paso County Jail in Downtown, he said he wanted to speak with Major Crimes Unit investigators. After being taken there, he was read his Miranda rights. According to the affidavit, he told investigators that he shot Herrera because he was a felon in possession of a handgun and had an extended clip with 30 rounds. He also said that as Herrera approached, Piña grabbed his leg and said that he was the "cop" who had been harassing her. According to the supplemental report, Herrera previously had met Piña on March 12, when he was dispatched at 2:07 a.m. to help a woman retrieve a car from Piña. The affidavit says that during that interaction, Piña gave Herrera information that her boyfriend, Chavez, was dealing drugs. The report states that in a jail telephone call recorded April 12, Chavez said Piña was part of the crime, saying he had told her to leave but she decided to stay. He said during the assault, she tried to take Herrera's gun, the report alleges. It states dried blood on Piña's hands support Chavez's account. The report states a forensic examination of Pina's cellphone and her cellphone call records showed she did not call 911 as she claimed in her interview, but she did make 8 phone calls and sent 2 texts. The records indicate she was trying to get a family member to help her and Chavez escape, including sending a "pin drop" to show where the 2 were hiding before they
