Jan. 4
IRAN
2 sentenced to death for assault caught on film
The Tehran Revolutionary Court has sentenced 2 people to death for assault and
robbery.
The court reports that of the four people recently arrested for an assault and
robbery case in Tehran, 2 have been sentenced to death and the other 2 have
been sentenced to 10 years in jail, 5 years of exile and 74 lashes by Judge
Salavati. The 4 are also required to return the stolen goods to the plaintiffs.
In early December, a surveillance video recorded how an individual approached a
passerby on a busy Tehran street in broad daylight and forced him to relinquish
his belongings under threat of a cold weapon.
The head of Iran's judiciary, Ayatollah Larijani, reacted to the airing of this
episode in the streets of Tehran, saying: "Although such incidents happen
everywhere, the occurrence of such events in our Islamic country is very
jarring."
He stressed that security forces should begin a "new round of crackdown on
bandits" and added that, according to Sharia, there is no difference between
cold weapons or firearms, and the use of either constitutes armed robbery,
which is punishable by death.
Khabar-on-line reports that shortly after the video of the incident was aired,
the suspects were arrested, and the Tehran prosecutor assured the public that
the case would be processed within a week to 10 days.
On December 29, a single court session led to the sentencing of all 4 suspects.
The prosecutor's spokesman reported that the prime suspect is 23 years old and
has a previous police record. He was charged with "enmity with God and
corruption on earth by engaging in armed robbery with a cold weapon and
assaulting the plaintiff."
The 2nd suspect is reportedly 20 years old and was charged with "enmity with
God and corruption on earth by creating fear in society."
The other 2 suspects are reportedly 23 and 21 and charged with "armed robbery
with a cold weapon."
The lawyer for the 2nd suspect has said that if the film of the episode had not
been aired in the media, the suspects would not have been charged with enmity
against God, which has resulted in the death sentences.
(source: Radio Zamaneh)
***********************
Executions In Iran 'Funded By UK Aid Money' Says Reprieve
UK aid money sent to Iran to fight drug smuggling is being used to pay for the
executions of criminals, according to human rights campaigners.
Iran has historically been the leading recipient of UK anti-drugs assistance,
receiving 3.6 million pounds over 4 years through joint programmes with other
countries.
But a report by prisoners' rights charity Reprieve found that links between aid
and executions were "not hard to establish".
Iran is 2nd only to China in the number of executions carried out
Reprieve investigator Maya Foa said: "It's outrageous that Britain, which is
supposed to be committed to the abolition of capital punishment, should in fact
be funding executions for drug offences in Iran."
The majority of aid provided to the Islamic state by international governments
is focused on improving the efficiency of its anti-narcotics police (ANP),
which can include providing night-vision goggles, GPS and customs training.
But the success of law enforcement agencies is measured by the number of
arrests which will "very likely" lead to executions, Reprieve said.
More than 1,200 people were executed in Iran between 2007 and 2011 for drug
offences, while the proportion of total executions for drug crime has rocketed
from 28% to 82% in that period.
The Reprieve report comes shortly after prime minister David Cameron defended
the government's decision to ring-fence the Department of International
Development budget and commit to spend 0.7% of GDP on aid programmes.
Cameron said that even while times were tough at home, Britain had a "moral
obligation" to assist the poorest parts of the world.
But Foa said that "given the country's appalling record on human rights", there
was real concern over how equipment and support provided by Britain to Iran is
being used.
She said: "Hundreds are being hanged every year, including children, vulnerable
people and innocent scapegoats; that Britain should have played a part in this
tragedy is shameful."
Iran is a major transit route for drugs smuggled from Afghanistan through
Pakistan to the Persian Gulf, Turkey, Russia and Europe.
The country, led by president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is frequently reported as
having the largest seizures of opiates - such as morphine - in the world.
It claims to have invested more than a billion US dollars (613m pounds) in an
elaborate series of earthworks, forts and deep trenches to channel potential
drug smugglers to areas where they can be confronted by security forces.
Iran executes more people per head than any other country, with 12,000
estimated to have been executed in Iran for drug offences since 1979.
The UK has provided 3.6m pounds in funding in to anti-drug programmes in Iran
since 1998.
It jointly funded a project to promote intelligence-led investigations in Iran
between 2010 and 2011, which led to the seizure of 23,633kg of opium, 1,490kg
of heroin, 3,033kg of cannabis, 425kg of morphine and 110kg of crystal meth.
The 750,000-pound initiative coincided with the sharp increase in executions
for drug offences, Reprieve said.
Another jointly funded project, between 2007 and 2010, resulted in 117,000
pounds being spent on motorcycles, along with X-ray body scanners and mobile
and satellite communications.
A Foreign Office spokesman said the UK has funded no United Nations Office of
Drugs and Crime (UNODC) programmes in Iran since 2007.
He added: "We continue to raise with the UNODC, and other UN bodies, the need
to ensure that counter-narcotics projects are compliant with international
human rights and we have supported the publication of human rights guidelines
for UNODC projects.
"The British government takes human rights very seriously and strongly opposes
the use of the death penalty in all circumstances, including for drugs
offences.
"We regularly condemn Iran on its abhorrent use of the death penalty."
(source: Huffington Post)
SINGAPORE:
32 on death row can seek review of sentences
They were facing certain death by hanging, but may now get a lifeline as
changes to the mandatory death penalty kick in from Jan 1.
A key plank in the amendments to the Penal Code, Criminal Procedure Code as
well as the Misuse of Drugs Act will give these prisoners an opportunity to
introduce new evidence to prove that they satisfy the new conditions for a life
sentence instead of death.
In Singapore, a life sentence lasts for a prisoner's natural life, but he can
apply for a review of his sentence after he has served 20 years in jail.
The Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) told The Sunday Times on Friday that the
changes would affect 32 inmates on death row, whose appeals had been dealt with
previously.
The amended laws provide a chance for these prisoners to apply for their cases
to be reviewed for re-sentencing by the Court of Appeal under the new regime.
Prior to the changes that were gazetted on Friday, the death penalty was
mandatory for drug trafficking in certain amounts, and murder.
The Penal Code defines murder as culpable homicide carried out in 1 of 4 mental
states.
The changed laws make death compulsory only if the accused intentionally killed
the victim. For the other 3 mental states, judges can now impose a life
sentence, with the addition of caning.
For drug trafficking, the death penalty will no longer be mandatory under 2
specific conditions: First, if the trafficker only played the role of a courier
and had not been involved in other drug-related activities, and 2nd, if the
trafficker cooperated in a substantive way.
A stay of execution was put in place after the Government started its review of
the mandatory death penalty in July last year.
The lawyers of 2 death row prisoners - convicted killer Kamrul Hasan Abdul
Quddus and convicted drug trafficker Lim Boon Hiong, - say they plan to apply
for a review of their clients' cases.
Kamrul, a Bangladesh national, was found guilty in 2010 of murdering his
Indonesian girlfriend, whose naked body was found dumped in a Queensway
construction site.
Drug offender Lim was driving a car found with more than 16g of heroin hidden
inside when he was intercepted by drug enforcement officers along Bukit Timah
Road in 2008. Both Lim and a passenger in the car were convicted of the capital
offence and failed in their appeals last year.
Lim's lawyer Ramesh Tiwary said the new laws, in relation to his client's drug
trafficking case, involve a 3-way process.
The offender's lawyer will have to make representations to the AGC, which would
have to agree to the review. The re-sentencing can then be heard before the
appeals court.
This is provided that the public prosecutor is satisfied that the offender was
indeed just a courier and had substantially cooperated with the authorities
during investigations.
"We are looking at all the angles to see how we can satisfy the requirements
under the changed law," said Mr Tiwary.
He added that this was a new area and there were no precedents for such changes
to the law in Singapore or abroad.
The changes made to the mandatory death penalty attracted widespread debate
when Parliament passed the law last month.
Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean and Law Minister K. Shanmugam stressed then
that the mandatory death penalty, which has played a big part in deterring drug
trafficking in Singapore, will remain a linchpin in the war against drugs.
For instance, although the amended Misuse of Drugs Act could allow drug
couriers deemed to have offered "substantive" assistance, which leads to the
disruption of drug trafficking activities, a chance to escape the gallows -
merely trying their best would not be enough, said Mr Shanmugam.
A high standard of cooperation from drug couriers should, therefore, be
expected before they qualify for a life sentence instead of being sent to the
gallows.
If a courier's best efforts were enough, he added, drug syndicates would send
couriers "primed with beautiful stories, most of which would be unverifiable".
It would also weaken the deterrent effect of the death penalty, Mr Shanmugam
added in reply to MPs' call for a possible lowering of the threshold for
cooperation.
This cooperation mechanism, he said, was also not unique to Singapore as
countries such as the United States and Britain have similar provisions.
Mr Teo, who is also Home Affairs Minister, said its intent was not to help drug
couriers escape hanging, but to help enforcement agencies get to the
syndicates' masterminds.
(source: Asia One)
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