[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Aug. 22


MALAYSIA:

Malaysian lawyer blasts judges for delaying death row inmates' appeals


A prominent Malaysian lawyer slammed the judiciary Wednesday for delaying
the appeals of convicted prisoners who face the death penalty, including a
man on death row for nearly 10 years.

Attorney Karpal Singh said at least two of his clients cannot have their
appeals heard because their trial judges have not submitted written
verdicts  a legal requirement for any case to be heard in an appeals
court.

One of his clients Baha Jambol, a fish vendor, was sentenced to death by
hanging in 1998 for drug trafficking, but a written verdict has never been
completed.

"Nine years later, the judge won't even remember the evidence. His
judgment will be blurred," Karpal told The Associated Press. "This is
ridiculous. This is scandalous."

Current guidelines state a judge should submit written verdicts "as soon
as practical," Karpal said.

"As soon as practical doesn't mean 9 years and 3 months," he added.

His other client, housewife R. Amathevelli, was convicted in 2001 of
murder and sentenced to death.

Responding to concerns about the cases, highlighted by local media earlier
this week, Malaysia's Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim warned
Tuesday that judges who neglect their duties could face disciplinary
action.

"I will look into the matter," Ahmad Fairuz was quoted as saying by the
New Straits Times.

Requests to Ahmad Fairuz's office for comment were not immediately
answered.

Karpal said he plans to highlight more cases of prisoners on death row who
face similar predicaments.

(source: Associated Press)






NIGERIA:

Nigeria 'gay wedding' accused will not face death penalty----The case has
received considerable press attention in Nigeria.


A group of men arrested at a hotel in northern Nigeria and initially
accused of sodomy have appeared in court charged with "indecent dressing"
and vagrancy.

18 men were charged and five were bailed, causing disturbances by Muslim
youths on the streets of the city of Bauchi.

The men, who were detained by police earlier this month, come from
different parts of Nigeria and were allegedly dressed in women's clothes.

They had come together to celebrate a gay 'marriage,' according to the NAN
government news agency.

The youths were protesting because they felt the men were being let off
lightly. They stoned the court house and chanted slogans.

There were reportedly also attempts to set fire to the court house. Police
fired tear gas to disperse them, according to the BBC.

"Though none of the suspects was hit, pandemonium ensued when both foreign
and local journalists scampered into the safety of the little courtroom
away from the torrential missiles," reports thisdayonline.com

The arrests took place in Bauchi city, the capital of a Muslim state in
the centre of Nigeria, with a population of 316,000.

Sharia law is enforced in the state and if found guilty of sodomy the men
could have been executed.

They instead face charges under Section 372 of the Bauchi Sharia Penal
Code Law 2001.

The maximum penalty is one year in prison and 30 lashes.

The case has received considerable press attention in Nigeria.

Bauchi state has already convicted three people to death by stoning for
sexual offences and an agency who oversee the implementation of sharia law
is pressing for the sentences to be carried out.

In Nigeria, the governor in a Muslim state must give his approval for some
of the harsher penalties handed down by sharia courts, such as execution
or amputation.

Predominantly Muslim states in Nigeria introduced sharia law, a legal
system based on Islamic theory and philosophy of justice, in 2000.

In reality the re-introduction of harsh punishments apart from the death
penalty has been the main feature of sharia courts.

In Bauchi state alone there are 40 people awaiting amuputation of one or
both hands for theft.

(source: PinkNews.co.uk)