Oct. 22
PAKISTAN:
Abolishing the death penalty
Amnesty International and other international human rights organisation's all
term the death penalty as a denial of human dignity. 139 countries have
abolished death penalty. Of the 58 countries, retaining the death penalty, 18
were known to have carried out the last executions in 2009 (China, Iran, Iraq,
Saudi Arabia and the US top the league) while Pakistan has not executed any
criminal since 2008 and Brundi, Togo and the US state of New Mexico have
abolished death penalty in their law and practice in 2010-11. Despite a marked
trend towards abolition and restriction of the use of capital punishment in
most countries, the numbers and manner of death penalty applications worldwide
remain alarming.
International human rights organisations are working to achieve universal
abolition of death penalty. While 139 countries, more than 2/3 of the countries
of the world, are abolitionist in law or practice, still at least 8,679
executions were carried out in the last 2 years.
This makes abolitionist initiatives more important. UNO is also playing a
pivotal role to abolish death penalty. However, while numbers of death penalty
application around the world are decreasing, they remain too high where capital
punishment remains in force. There are serious problems with regard to the
respect of international norms and standards, notably in the limitation of the
death penalty to the most serious crimes, the exclusion of juvenile offenders
from its scope, and guarantee of a fair trial.
In countries like Pakistan where justice is delayed and the influential elite
try to overshadow the justice system by unfair methods, things are worse.
In statute laws of Pakistan there are 32 different crimes for which the death
penalty is awarded, though at the time of creation of Pakistan capital
punishment was specified for only 2 crimes, which means 30 more categories have
been included. The death penalty in Islam is not for more than 2 or 3 crimes.
The current democratic government of Pakistan has been trying to make some
initiatives to abolish this punishment. Death sentence causes psychological
trauma and many death row inmates suffer mentally. Our justice system in the
lower courts is unfair to people, many are there who have no proven crimes
locked up with hardened criminals for years; they find it hard to get justice.
This law seems inhumane and needs to be abolished in practice and word by the
government as quickly as possible.
DR SAIFUR REHMAN, Islamabad, October 21.
(source: Letter to the Editor, The Nation)
MOROCCO:
Former death row inmates speak out at abolition forum
Former convicts on death row in the Middle East and North Africa described
awaiting their dreaded fate as "daily torture" from which execution itself was
a "deliverance," at an abolition conference in Rabat.
"I spent 10 years on death row in Morocco, and the hardest thing was the wait,"
Ahmed Hamou told AFP at the three-day conference, which brought together
hundreds of officials and civil society representatives from the MENA region.
"In Section B, which is the death row ward at Kenitra prison (40 kilometres
north of Rabat), a terrible silence prevails. At the smallest sound, your heart
beats faster and you say to yourself: 'That's it. The time has come."
Arrested on political charges in 1983 in Casablanca, at a time when Morocco's
largest city was experiencing widespread social unrest, Haou was sentenced to
death the following year.
In 1994, under international pressure, he was pardoned by the late king Hassan
II, father of the present monarch, Mohammed VI.
"In other wings of the prison, the opening of a cell door is synonymous with
hope and freedom. But on death row, it can spell the end and creates an
indescribable fear," said Haou, who described his ordeal at the Rabat
conference.
"So the wait is like daily torture, and as you wait, execution itself comes to
mean deliverance," he said.
A moratorium on executions in Morocco has been in place since 1993, but around
100 convicts remain on death row, with no Arab country having yet abolished
capital punishment.
The French ambassador on human rights, Francois Zimery, argued that the north
African kingdom was able to play a pioneering role on the issue, pointing to
the peaceful atmosphere of the conference, the 1st of its kind.
In their efforts to see the death penalty outlawed, local NGOs also refer to
Morocco's new constitution, adopted by referendum last year, which stipulates
"the right to life."
Antoinette Chahine, a Lebanese former death row inmate participating in the
abolition conference, spoke of her two years in prison in Beirut, after she was
wrongly convicted of murder in 1997 and sentenced to death.
"Women sentenced to death in Lebanon are not executed, but no law explicitly
mentions that," she told AFP.
"But in spite of that, the wait was terrible, until I was acquitted by the
court," Chahine said.
"The uncertainty makes every moment an unbearable form of torture. If I had
been executed, the judiciary would have killed an innocent person. That's why I
have devoted myself to abolishing the death penalty," she added.
French ambassador Zimery also spoke of the "human realities" involved, and
stressed that having a moratorium in place "means there are people on death
row, who suffer from the torture and uncertainty of the next day."
France has launched an international campaign, and has urged Morocco to take
the lead in being the first Arab country to do away with the death penalty.
According to Amnesty International, the MENA region has the highest execution
rate in the world relative to the size of its population.
In Saudi Arabia, where rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug
trafficking are all punishable by death, more than 70 people were executed last
year, most of them decapitated by sword.
(source: Agence France-Presse)
AFGHANISTAN:
Mah Gul, Young Afghan Woman, Reportedly Beheaded For Refusing To Become A
Prostitute
A young woman who refused to be forced into prostitution was beheaded in
Afghanistan last week, a murder that illustrates the continuing cycle of
violence against women in the country, according to advocates in the region.
The murder comes as the world continues to track the progress of Malala
Yousafzai, a 14-year-old Pakistani girl shot by Taliban Islamists after
advocating for women's rights.
AFP reports that 20-year-old Mah Gul, who lived in Herat province in western
Afghanistan, was killed after she had repeatedly rebuffed her mother-in-law's
attempts to force her into prostitution.
4 people were arrested in connection to the killing, AFP adds, including the
alleged beheader, the 18-year-old nephew of Gul's mother-in-law, Najibullah.
Najibullah, who has already confessed to the killing, said that Gul's
mother-in-law had alerted him that the girl was a prostitute and that he killed
the girl with a knife with the help of her mother-in-law.
The brutal torture and murder of Mah Gul by her husband's family is just "one
more incident that highlights the violent atmosphere that women and girls face
in Afghanistan and the region," said Suzanne Nossel, executive director of
Amnesty International USA, according to CNN.
Earlier in October, a 30-year-old woman was tortured and killed in the same
province, the Atlantic reported. The woman was discovered missing her nose,
ears, and fingers, and doctors who treated her at Herat regional hospital
confirmed she had been tortured before being killed. Investigation in ongoing
in that case.
Gul's murder brings to 20 the number of women killed this year in Herat, the
Atlantic adds reported. Family members were accused of involvement in most of
the cases.
In a 2011 report on human trafficking in Afghanistan, the State Department
wrote that some Afghan women and girls "are subjected to forced prostitution,
forced marriages ???- including through forced marriages in which husbands
force their wives into prostitution, and where they are given by their families
to settle debts or disputes."
In her full statement, Amnesty International's Nossel decried the ongoing
violence in forceful terms.
"[Women] are raped, killed, forced into marriage in childhood, prevented from
obtaining an education and denied their sexual and reproductive rights," Nossel
said. "The enduring view that women and girls are disposable and not equal
increases the chronic suffering of more than half the population."
(source: Huffington Post)
IRAN----executions
Saeed Sedighi and 9 Other Prisoners Hanged in Tehran this Morning- IHR Asks
European Parliament to Cancel Iran Visit in Protest
According to reports from Iran, Saeed Sedighi and 9 other prisoners were hanged
in Tehran's Evin Prison early this morning.
Iran Human Rights (IHR) strongly condemns today's executions. IHR calls these
executions "unlawful" because reports indicate that the prisoners had confessed
under torture and were sentenced to death in sham trials each one lasting less
than 30 minutes.
Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson of IHR said: "I send my condolences
to the families of those executed today. The leadership of the Iranian
authorities, particularly Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader, and Gholamhossein
Eje'ei, the Chief Prosecutor, are responsible for these executions. They must
be held accountable." Amiry-Moghaddam continued: "We urge the international
community to strongly condemn the executions and act to stop future
executions." He added: "We also urge the European Parliamentary delegation to
cancel its scheduled visit to Iran on October 27 as a protest to these
executions. Traveling to Iran at this time may send the regime in Iran the
wrong signals."
Iranian state media has confirmed the news. According to IRIB NEWS, the
prisoners who were executed this morning belonged to 2 different narcotic
leagues:
Farshid Rostami, Farhad Mashhadi Abolghasem, Ali Darvishi, Abbas Abbasi Namaki,
Saeed Sedighi, Hami Rabiei and Mohammad Ali Rabiei belonged to the 1st league;
convicted of possession of 1 ton of Shishe (synthetic heroin) in Tehran. The
other group was convicted of trafficking more than 1 ton of opium from 1 of the
southern harbors to Tehran. They were identified as: Alireza Molaei, Eshagh
(Isac) Lorgi, and Yousef Parmar.
Saeed Sedighi and 9 other prisoners were scheduled to be executed on Thursday
October 11, but the executions were postponed becauseof the international
attention.
On October 21, the families were told to visit their death row family members
for the last time. Iran Human Rights (IHR) and several other human rights
organizations published urgent appeals and requested from the international
community to react.
Saeed Sedighi's mother gave several interviews crying and begging for her son's
life. She also wrote a letter to the "world community". She wrote: "Since their
father passed away, Saeed has been the family's only hope. After 10 months of
severe torture in prison, including 2 months in solitary confinement, my son is
now awaiting his execution. I ask the world community to save my son's life."
(source: iran Human Rights)
****************************
Iran hangs 3 Jundallah Sunni rebels
Iran hanged 3 Jundallah (God's soldiers) Sunni rebels in the country's
southeastern Sistan-Balouchestan province on Sunday, the semi-official ISNA
news agency reported.
The Judiciary of Sistan-Balouchestan announced that the three Jundallah
"terrorist" members, who were the cause of insecurity and evil deeds in the
province, were hanged in the prison of Zahedan city Sunday morning, said the
report.
The announcement said all the executed rebels "were engaged in terrorist acts"
in the province over the past few months, according to ISNA.
On Friday, 2 Iranian Basij security members were killed and 4 others injured in
a "terrorist" attack in the city of Chabahar in Sistan-Balouchestan, a
Sunni-dominated province, the official IRNA news agency reported.
Jundallah, a Pakistan-based Sunni rebel group, has claimed responsibility for a
number of deadly attacks in southeast Iran in the past few years.
In December 2010, 39 were killed and more than 50 others wounded in a suicide
bomb attack by Jundallah in Chabahar when local Muslims gathered for a mourning
ceremony.
(source: NZ Week)
MALAYSIA:
SUHAKAM welcomes proposed review of death sentence for drug offenders
The government's plan to review the death sentence for drug offenders was
lauded today by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM).
Last Saturday, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohamed
Nazri Abdul Aziz said the government is looking at a possible stay of death
sentences for drug offenders as Putrajaya is reviewing the mandatory death
penalty.
SUHAKAM said "the proposal to review and ultimately to abolish the mandatory
death penalty for drug offenders... will allow the court the liberty and
discretion to determine punishment based on the gravity of the offence."
The proposal is in line with international human rights standards, said SUHAKAM
in a statement signed by chairman Tan Sri Hasmy Agam.
"This move is in line with the spirit of Article 3 and Article 6 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) respectively that reaffirm the right of a
person to life and the right not to be subject to torture, or to cruel, inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment."
"It is also in line with the United Nations General Assembly Resolutions, first
adopted in 2007, calling for a moratorium on executions, with a view to
eventually abolishing the death penalty."
SUHAKAM noted that it had called for a suspension of death sentences or turning
them into life imprisonment.
"The Commission has consistently called for the government to consider a
moratorium on the death penalty or commuting this form of punishment to life
imprisonment, especially for those who have been on death row for more than 5
years."
SUHAKAM urged the government "to review the relevance and effectiveness of
capital punishment and to join the other 140 UN member states to completely
abolish the death penalty" for all types of offences.
"The Commission will continue to support the government in realising full
compliance with international human rights principles and norms specifically,"
it said.
Nazri had said the moratorium was necessary as over 1/2 of the 900 prisoners on
death row are drug offenders.
When asked to comment on a suitable alternative to death by hanging, the de
facto law minister said that a 30- to 35-year jail term could possibly be
considered.
In March, Nazri had in a parliamentary reply said the government has no
immediate plans to abolish the death penalty, saying that the punishment was
still needed as deterrence for heavy crimes.
But the Padang Rengas MP also said the proposal would be considered after a
thorough review.
(source: The Malaysian Insider)
*************************
M'sia may scrap death penalty for drug offences
The Malaysian government is looking into the possibility of withdrawing the
mandatory death sentence for drug offences and replacing it with jail terms,
The Star newspaper reported yesterday.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Aziz said the
Attorney-General's Chambers would study the viability of the move.
"There are close to 250 Malaysians arrested as drug mules and sentenced to
death abroad, including in China, Venezuela and Peru. It is difficult to
justify our appeal to these countries not to hang them when our own has the
mandatory death sentence," he was quoted as saying on Saturday.
"If the Government is going ahead with the suggestion, we need ... a moratorium
on death sentences from being carried out for those convicted in Malaysia," Mr
Nazri was quoted as saying.
"We are considering an alternative of 30 years' jail or more and allowing
judges to have discretionary power."
Singapore recently tabled amendments in Parliament to its death penalty regime,
making the death sentence no longer mandatory for some drug trafficking and
homicide cases.
(source: Today Online)
****************************
Kill the death penalty
The moratorium and review of the death penalty should be extended to all
capital punishment offences, not only drug trafficking, say legal activists.
Lawyers for Liberty founder N. Surendran told the Sun yesterday civil society
is calling for the repeal of the death penalty for all offences, and said
capital punishment is incompatible with a modern, civilised justice system.
"It is the ultimate denial of human rights. We welcome any move by the
government to impose a moratorium on the death penalty, which is long overdue,"
said Surendran.
He was commenting on a statement by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department
Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz that a moratorium on the death penalty for
drug trafficking offences might be imposed.
Mohamed Nazri said on Saturday this was due to the ongoing review by the
Attorney-General's Chambers of the mandatory death penalty for drug
trafficking.
The review is examining alternatives to the present mandatory death sentence,
including extended jail terms.
It was reported that as of July this year, 640 of the more than 900 convicts on
death row, were sentenced for drug offences.
On the death penalty for drug trafficking, Surendran said the concerns were
greater due to the presumptions stacked against an accused person, as the
burden of proof is with the accused person and not the prosecution.
Malaysian Centre for Constitutionalism and Human Rights member Edmund Bon
supported the call for an across-the-board moratorium on the death penalty.
He proposed that a Royal Commission of Inquiry be set up to review and analyse
the effectiveness of the death penalty.
"The existing review on the death penalty is not sufficiently transparent and
too narrow in scope," said Bon.
Criminal defence counsel Sreekant Pillai hoped the moratorium would translate
into the end of the death penalty. "A death sentence has not stopped people
from committing offences," he said.
(source: The Sun Daily)
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