April 7
MEXICO:
Government Urged to Do More for Mexicans on U.S. Death Row
Mexico’s independent National Human Rights Commission called on the government
to intensify its efforts to prevent Mexicans from being executed in other
countries, noting that 58 of the nation’s citizens are currently on death row
in the United States.
The death penalty, which Mexico formally outlawed in 2005, is “the most severe
penalty imposed on people, the application of which is irreversible, and it is
a measure that does not guarantee that justice is served,” the commission said
in a document titled “Protecting the Right to Life.”
It said therefore that it takes steps to monitor and verify that Mexicans
sentenced to capital punishment abroad receive consular assistance and legal
representation.
The organization said it also seeks “in appropriate cases” to have the death
penalty commuted to lengthy prison sentences.
According to official figures, 745 Mexicans had their death sentence commuted
between 2000 and 2011. The rights commission said its records indicate a total
of 58 Mexicans on death row at U.S. prisons through 2011.
The majority of those defendants were named in a lawsuit the Mexican government
brought against the United States in 2003 before the International Court of
Justice in The Hague, citing violations of procedural guarantees contained in
the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.
In its 2004 ruling in what is known as the Avena case, the ICJ instructed the
United States to “review and reconsider” the convictions and death sentences
handed down to 51 Mexicans who were denied their right to consular notification
and assistance at the time of their arrest.
However, in June 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the ICJ’s ruling was
not enforceable as domestic law because Congress had not passed implementing
legislation.
Several months later, one of the Mexican citizens included in the Avena case,
Jose Ernesto Medellin Rojas, convicted of partipating in the 1993 gang rape and
murder of two teenage girls in Houston, Texas, was executed in that state.
Another Mexican citizen, Humberto Leal Garcia, convicted of the 1994 rape and
murder in San Antonio of a 16-year-old Texas girl, was executed last year after
the Supreme Court denied his attorneys’ request for a stay of execution based
on authorities’ alleged failure to provide him with consular assistance at the
time of his arrest.
Another pending case, the commission said, is that of brothers Jose Regino,
Luis and Simon Gonzalez Villarreal, who could be sentenced to death by hanging
if convicted of drug trafficking in Malaysia.
In light of this situation, the commission “considers it necessary to intensify
actions aimed at preventing the death penalty in cases of Mexicans held in
foreign prisons and to safeguard their rights to life, dignity and physical
integrity.”
(source: Latin American Herald Tribune)
INDIA:
HC upholds death sentence for rape and murder convict
Taking the diabolical and perverse manner in which the convict had kidnapped,
raped and murdered a 4-year-old girl into account, the Bombay high court (HC)
confirmed the death sentence awarded to 45-year-old Wadi resident Vasanta
Dupare. Confirming the death penalty awarded by a sessions court, the Nagpur
bench of the HC comprising justice PV Hardas and justice Sadhana Jadhav
observed that the tragedy is of unimaginable magnitude fraught with pain and
anguish.
On April 3, 2008, Dupare took the victim Muskan Sharma playing in the courtyard
of her house in Wadi along with him by luring her with chocolates. The girl’s
mother Pinky learned about it through Muskan’s friend Akansha. The victim’s
father then lodged a police complaint. While scouting the area, the police
sub-inspector found a man fleeing, who happened to be the accused. Dupare was
then apprehended. On interrogation, he revealed the place where the offence had
been committed. The police found the body of the victim and stones that were
used to batter the victim’s face beyond recognition from the spot at Santoshi
Mata Nagar.
The court noted that the accused had planned to lure both Muskan and Akansha,
which was foiled. “The accused took Muskan to an isolated area and committed
the worst indignity which a woman is called upon to face. Battering the head of
the girl of tender years was done by the accused with extreme cruelty. The
aggravating circumstance would have shocked the conscience of the community in
general. The accused had acted in diabolical manner and had designedly lured
the unsuspecting girl to accompany him on a bicycle,” the court observed.
“The accused has not displayed any remorse or repentance for the act done by
him and we do not find any material to indicate that there is a possibility of
the accused reforming himself,” the judges noted while upholding the death
sentence.
(source: Hindustan Times)
****************
Court confirms death for rapist
4 years after a 4-year-old girl was kidnapped, raped and battered to death, the
Bombay high court has confirmed the death sentence awarded to Nagpur resident
Vasanta Dupare.
"While rape is an outrage on womanhood, rape of a 4-year-old girl by an adult,
apart from being an outrage on womanhood, exhibits a perverted mind," said a
division bench of Justices P V Hardas and Sadhana Jadhav.
"The accused had acted in a diabolical manner and had lured the unsuspecting
victim to accompany him on a bicycle. Battering of the girl's head was done by
the accused with extreme cruelty," said the judges.
The court noted that Dupare (47) had not expressed any guilt after committing
the crime. Dupare's lawyers tried to urge for leniency pointing out that he was
a middle-aged married man with a family. The HC, however, refused to show any
sympathy. "The accused has not displayed any remorse or repentance for the act
done by him and we do not find any material to indicate that there is a
possibility of the accused reforming himself," judges said.
"The accused would continue to be a menace to society. Hence, we feel this is
rarest of rare case calling for the extreme penalty of death," they added.
The incident dates back to April 3, 2008, when the 4-year-old girl, Priya (name
changed), was playing outside her house at Shiv Shaktinagar in Wadi. According
to the police, Dupare lured Priya with the promise of buying her a chocolate.
When she went missing, her parents lodged a complaint. The police caught a
drunk Dupare who led them to Priya's bleeding body-she had been raped and her
head had been bludgeoned. The prosecution examined 17 witnesses, including her
parents and a minor girl who lived in the neighbourhood. She told the court
that she had seen Priya on Dupare's cycle. A sessions court sentenced Dupare to
death.
Dupare moved the high court, claiming he was falsely implicated in the case.
The HC rejected his plea and said the evidence was against him.
"At an age, when children are seen frolicking with gay abandon under the
watchful care of their parents, the victim was kidnapped, raped and battered to
death by the accused as is alleged by the prosecution," said the judges, while
confirming the death sentence.
(source: The Times of India)
IRAN:
British-based campaigning organisation Codir urged greater efforts today to
save the life of lecturer trade unionist Abdolreza Ghanbari
Codir (the Committee for the Defence of the Iranian People's Rights) assistant
general secretary Jamshid Ahmadi paid tribute to the scale of the international
struggle to stay the hangman's hand.
The International Trade Union Confederation has undertaken to mobilise its
efforts to petition the Iranian government, as has Education International, the
global umbrella for teachers' and lecturers' unions.
The 2 bodies have asked International Labour Organisation director general Juan
Somavia to approach Tehran requesting that it quash death sentences imposed on
workers for union activities.
In Britain, education unions UCU, NUT, NASUWT, ATL and Unison have all taken up
Professor Ghanbari's case, urging his release.
"The international campaign to save Abdolreza Ghanbari from the gallows is a
clear demonstration of what can be done globally to assist the struggle of the
people of Iran for democracy and social justice," said Mr Ahmadi today.
"It sends a message to the brave men and women campaigning for progressive and
democratic change in Iran and who are suppressed by the theocratic regime that
people across the world stand with them."
Professor Ghanbari was arrested at his workplace, the Payam e Nour University
in Pakdasht, on January 4 2010 after receiving emails from an armed opposition
group, of which he is not a member.
After being beaten and tortured as a prelude to confessing to trumped-up
charges, he was sentenced to death for "waging war against God."
The death penalty was confirmed 3 months later and an appeal for clemency
rejected 6 weeks ago, meaning that his execution could be imminent.
Mr Ahmadi called for every effort to made to spare to spare the life of a man
whose only "crime" is to be an active trade unionist.
The Codir official was at pains to stress that neither his organisation nor the
trade unions back demands for outside military action against Iran.
"Trade unions internationally have shown that there is a legitimate, peaceful
and effective way to assist the people of Iran to achieve peace and justice,"
he said.
(source: Morning Star)
GAZA----executions
Hamas executes 3 in Gaza, including "traitor"
Islamist group Hamas executed three men on Saturday, hanging 2 convicted
murderers and a Gazan found guilty of collaborating with Israel, the Hamas-run
ministry of interior said.
It did not name the men and gave few details of the allegations against them,
but said one of trio was convicted of kidnapping a boy, raping him and then
killing him.
It denounced the man who helped Israel as a "traitor".
The ministry said in a statement the families of the murder victims had refused
to offer an amnesty to the killers.
The executions were carried out "in accordance with our religion, rulings of
the Palestinian law and in preserving the rights of citizens and achieving the
security of the community", the statement said.
Since Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, at least 11 prisoners have
been executed and more than 30 death sentences have been handed down by the
courts, including to numerous people charged with helping the Israeli security
forces.
Hamas refuses to recognize Israel and its charter calls for the destruction of
the Jewish state.
Under local law, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is meant to have the final
say on whether executions should be carried out, but Hamas refuses any such
consultations.
Human rights groups have repeatedly condemned the use of the death penalty in
Gaza, but Hamas rejects such criticism.
"The rulings were carried out ... after the defendants had been given their
full right to defend themselves," the interior ministry said.
(source: Reuters)
******************
PA, Rights Group Condemn Gaza Executions
The Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human
Rights (PCHR) Saturday condemned Hamas execution of 3 Gaza residents, 1
convicted of collaboration with Israel and the other 2 for murder.
Hamas security executed early Saturday 3 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, 1 on
charges of treason and spying for Israel, while the other 2 were executed after
they were convicted of murder, according to a Hamas report
. PA Minister of Health Fathi Abu Moghli considered in a statement the
executions “inhuman” and a violation of international law.
He slammed the executions, stressing that they should not have happened because
President Mahmoud Abbas has not authorized them as required by law.
He said this act by Hamas in Gaza undermines efforts to gain membership in the
United Nations “as we try to show the world that we are a civilized, modern,
humanitarian and democratic state.”
Abu Moghli praised Abbas for not ratifying any death sentence since he took
office in 2005 and urged him to issue a presidential decree banning the death
penalty or at least suspend it as called for by an October 15, 2007 United
Nations General Assembly resolution calling on member states to suspend capital
punishment until it is totally abolished.
PCHR also stressed that executions should not be carried out without approval
from the head of the PA as required by the Palestinian criminal law.
It reiterated its opposition to capital punishment as a blatant violation of
the fundamental human right to life.
(source: WAFA)
SINGAPORE:
Yong Vui Kong’s appeal dismissed by Singapore’s highest court
Singapore’s Court of Appeal has dismissed death row inmate Yong Vui Kong’s
latest appeal, leaving the clemency process as his only hope to stay alive.
Yong had appealed to the court alleging unequal treatment, after evidence
emerged that while he had been convicted and sentenced to death, the
Attorney-General’s Chambers applied for a dismissal not amounting to an
acquittal (DNAQ) for all 26 charges against his alleged boss Chia Choon Leng.
In his submissions, Yong’s legal counsel Mr M Ravi asked that Yong’s death
sentence be set aside and his case reviewed by the Attorney-General’s Chambers
so that Yong would receive equal treatment to Chia.
Chia is currently held under the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act
(CLTPA). It is likely that he will be released within one to two years if no
further evidence or charges are brought.
The appeal was dismissed as Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong said that there was
“absolutely no merit on the law or on the fact”. He also said that there was no
evidence that the Attorney-General’s Chambers had acted in a way that was
discriminatory or arbitrary, as there would still be the possibility of
prosecuting Chia depending on circumstances.
Another reason for the appeal’s dismissal was that no fresh evidence had
surfaced that would have indicated a miscarriage of justice in Yong’s
conviction. Yong had never disputed his guilt in carrying drugs into Singapore.
Only clemency left
With this latest appeal dismissed, Yong once again only has the clemency
process to count on.
Although the process is known as a presidential pardon, a Court of Appeal
ruling in 2011 stated that the President of Singapore is required to act upon
the advice of the Cabinet in whether to grant clemency. This effectively means
that although the President is in theory the one who grants clemency, it is
actually the Cabinet that makes the decision.
Yong had sent in clemency petitions to the President twice before. The first
was rejected, and no reply was received from the second before his latest
appeal.
(source: Asian Correspondent)
********
Singapore: Further information: Third appeal against death sentence rejected:
Yong Vui Kong
Further information on UA: 296/09 Index: ASA 36/002/2012 Singapore Date: 5
April 2012
URGENT ACTION
THIRD APPEAL AGAINST DEATH SENTENCE REJECTED Yong Vui Kong ’s third appeal
application against his death sentence was rejected on 4 April . Only an act of
clemency from the President of Singapore can stop his execution from going
ahead. Yong Vu i Kong has already spent over 4 years on death row.
In January, Yong Vui Kong’s lawyer submitted an appeal application stating that
Yong Vui Kong should not be executed due to unequal treatment by the
Attorney-General’s Chambers. This is because while Yong Vui Kong has been
sentenced to death, the 26 charges brought by the Attorney-General’s chambers
against his boss, a Singaporean alleged to have masterminded the crime, have
been withdrawn.
In the court ruling on 4 April, Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong stated that the
appeal was rejected because “it has absolutely no merit on the law and on the
facts”. The ruling said that the appeal contained “mere assertions” and some
were “contrary to evidence”.
This was the third appeal for Yong Vui Kong which has been rejected. The
previous appeal applications focused on challenging the constitutionality of
the mandatory death penalty for drug trafficking and seeking judicial review of
the clemency process.
Yong Vui Kong was only 19 when he was arrested for trafficking 47 grams of
heroin into Singapore. Under Singapore's drug laws, a defendant is
automatically presumed guilty of drug trafficking in cases where possession of
heroin exceeds two grams. This provision violates the defendant’s right to be
presumed innocent of a crime until proven guilty. In Singapore, the death
penalty is mandatory for trafficking more than 30 grams of heroin. Yong Vui
Kong’s last hope is clemency from the President of Singapore, who can grant
this only on the advice from the Cabinet. Clemency for a death sentence in
Singapore has only been granted six times since independence in 1965.
Official government figures state that there were 4 executions in 2011, two of
them for drug-related offences. Between 2004 and 2010, at least 26 Singaporeans
and 12 foreigners were hanged.
Please write immediately in English, Mandarin or your own language:
Call on the Singaporean authorities to stop the execution of Yong Vui Kong;
Demand that they suspend all executions and the imposition new death sentences,
and commute all death sentences as a step towards total abolition of the death
penalty;
Call on them to revoke legislation establishing mandatory death sentences.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 17 MAY 2012 TO :
President of Singapore
His Excellency Dr. Tony Tan Keng Yam
Office of the President
Orchard Road, Singapore 238823
Email: istana_general_off...@istana.gov.sg Or fill-in the comment form at the
President’s office via: http://www.istana.gov.sg/content/istana/feedback.html
Foreign Minister of Malaysia
His Excellency Datuk Seri Anifah Amam
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Wisma Putra No.1 Jalan Wisam Putra, Precinct 2 62602 Putrajuya, Malaysia
Fax: +60 3 8889 1717
Salutation: Your Excellency
And copies to:
The Online Citizen
An online Community of Singaporeans
(an alternative news source for Singapore)
Email: theonlineciti...@gmail.com
Salutation: Your Excellency
Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country.
Please insert local diplomatic addresses below:
Name Address 1 Address 2 Address 3 Fax Fax number Email Email address
Salutation Salutation
Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.
This is the seventh update of UA 296/09. Further information:
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA36/001/2012/en
URGENT ACTION
third appeal against death sentence rejected
Additional Information
Singaporean law makes the death penalty mandatory for trafficking more than 30
grams of heroin. In 2007, UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or
arbitrary executions Philip Alston said, “Singapore’s decision to make the
death penalty mandatory keeps judges from considering all of the factors
relevant to determining whether a death sentence would be permissible in a
capital case.“
(source: Amnesty International)
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