June 10
PAKISTAN:
PIDC blast mastermind sentenced to death
An anti-terrorism court in Karachi Tuesday awarded capital punishment to the
mastermind of the Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC) blast
Abdul Hameed Bugti, DawnNews reported.
The court sentenced Bugti to death after hearing arguments from both sides and
reviewing evidence presented by the prosecutors.
In a separate case, Bugti was awarded the life sentence whereas the court also
ordered seizure of his property.
A penalty of Rs8 million was also imposed on him.
Meanwhile, another suspect in the case was proclaimed an offender.
4 security guards were killed and 21 others wounded when a powerful car bomb
had exploded in front of the PIDC House on Nov 15, 2005.
(source: Dawn)
CANADA:
Death penalty is fitting
Re: "The 3 fallen Mounties," June 7. We cannot reverse the horrible events of
Moncton last week.
We can ensure that the deaths of these 3 Mounties, coldblooded executions by
any measure, become the impetus to reinstate the death penalty for such heinous
crimes. The death penalty is not revenge; it is the only fitting punishment
that can be meted out. Life in prison falls far short of a fair and adequate
sentence.
Knowing the very limited amount of time left in one's life before the minute of
execution may be considered excruciating mental torture by some, but it is the
very precious gift that was denied to the victims.
They did not have the opportunity to say their last farewells to their loved
ones before their executions at the hands of this monster.
Let the deaths of these fine men not be totally in vain.
John Finn
Nanton
(source: Letter to the Editor, The Calgary Herald)
BANGLADESH:
Law Letter----Stoning to death: A misconception
Stoning to death is treated as a very well known punishment system in the
Muslim world although it gives rise to several controversies. In the countries
where Islamic Law is strictly followed this stoning to death is imposed upon a
person who is found convicted of fornication or adultery.
In case of offering the sentence of stoning to death several hadiths
(traditions of the prophet) are cited without assessing the authenticity of
them or without analysing the overall perspective of the hadiths. But priority
is not given upon the Holy Quran which never says anything regarding stoning to
death rather it signifies that Allah has commanded only to impose hundred
lashes upon the person who is proved guilty of adultery or fornication.
Generally Islamic Law is based upon 4 sources i.e. Quran, Sunnah, Ijma and
Qiyas. But in case of maintaining the hierarchy they are often arranged
horizontally which is a serious mistake. Allah Himself declared that the Holy
Quran is the book which never gives rise to any doubt (Sura Al-Baqara:2). So if
the arrangement is made vertically then obviously the Holy Quran must be given
the highest position. Then comes the Sunnah, Ijma and Qiyas respectively.
But when the matter of stoning to death comes forward it will be noted that
several hadiths are cited without giving any priority upon the Holy Quran which
remains silent regarding imposing the sentence of stoning to death if someone
commits adultery or fornication.
In most of the regions of the whole universe some Muslims are always found
whose conduct has given birth to religious orthodoxy. Same situation have taken
place in case of punishing an adulterer. Several groups will be found who will
always deny stoning to death having respect for Quran and Sunnah in true sense
and some other groups will misinterpret the Sunnah skipping the verses of the
Holy Quran and thus serious confusion arises because of the attitude of the
later.
Anything done going beyond the divine command of the Holy Quran is strictly
prohibited. But adding an opinion during interpreting any verse is permitted if
it is done through Ijtihad and if it does not become inconsistent with the
Quran and Sunnah. Heresy has been strictly opposed both by the Quran and
Sunnah. Therefore if it is found in any Hadith or any Ulema's saying that he
has heard of stoning to death then it must not be believed rather it should be
the primary task to ensure its authenticity.
No human being possesses any authority to urge for death sentence of another
human being where Allah Himself is against killing any person. Moreover in case
of murder the Holy Quran has also gone for a flexible approach through
providing a rule regarding blood money. Therefore, before offering death
penalty the judge must think at least hundred times and must not act in such a
way which seriously hinders the growth of the justice system.
(source: Letter; Wasequzzaman, Student of Law, Eastern University----The Daily
Star)
IRAN----executions
17 prisoners executed in Karaj, Bandar Abbas and Shahr-e-Kord
The anti-human mullahs' regime hanged three prisoners in the central prison of
Bandar Abbas (southern Iran) on Sunday morning, June 8.
The day prior to that, the henchmen had transferred these 3 prisoners to the
solitary confinement of quarantine ward and had enchained their hands and legs
to the cell wall.
On Saturday, June 7, 4 prisoners were collectively hanged in the Shahr-e-Kord
Prison. At dawn on Sunday, June 1, simultaneously with the execution of PMOI
member Gholamreza Khosravi, the anti-human clerical regime secretly hanged 8
other prisoners in the Karaj Gohardasht Prison.
On the same day, another prisoner was executed in the prison of Semnan (central
Iran).
Mullahs' regime resort to brutal death penalty, particularly the execution of
political prisoners, demonstrates the clerical regime's fear from spread of the
popular protests and is aimed at creating fear and intimidation among the
people.
(source: Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran)
SUDAN:
Sudan judges to rule on death row Christian woman
A 3-judge panel in Sudan will examine the appeal of a Christian woman sentenced
to hang for apostasy, in a case that has drawn international condemnation, her
lawyer said Monday.
"The judiciary appointed 3 judges last week to examine the appeal filed in the
case of Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag," lawyer Mohanad Mustafa told AFP, without
specifying when they will deliver a ruling.
Ishag, who was born to a Muslim father, was sentenced to death on May 15 under
the Islamic sharia law that has been in place since 1983, and which outlaws
conversions under pain of death.
The 27-year-old was raised an Orthodox Christian, her mother's religion,
married a Christian man originally from South Sudan and already had a
20-month-old son before she gave birth on May 27.
She has denied ever committing apostasy.
The lawyer said he had visited her on Monday at the women's prison in Omdurman,
the twin city of the capital Khartoum, adding that her son and her newborn baby
were with her and "healthy".
The case has embarrassed the Sudanese authorities, who gave contradictory
statements last week about her release, raising the ire of Western governments
and human rights groups.
The United States, Britain and France have called for her to be released, but
the authorities are also under pressure from radical Islamist movements in
Sudan that are demanding her execution.
Her husband Daniel Wani, who has US nationality, told AFP last week that he did
not believe she would be freed.
Amnesty International said Ishag was raised an Orthodox Christian by her mother
because her Muslim father was absent, and called the sentence "abhorrent".
(source: Yahoo News)
****************
Sharia Rights or Human Rights: The Case of Meriam Ibrahim
The Sudanese Criminal Court's death sentence upon a 27-year-old pregnant woman,
Meriam Ibrahim, who was found guilty of leaving Islam, has gained very wide
publicity. Her plight has attracted the strongest condemnation from the world's
top politicians, and hundreds of thousands of people around the world have
signed petitions for her release.
It is striking that those condemning Meriam Ibrahim???s death sentence are
demanding her release, but they are not demanding the abolition of the legal
code that found her guilty of apostasy and adultery in the 1st place.
The Sudanese Government - not unlike many Western governments, who are
permitting Sharia principles and Sharia courts to become entrenched within
their legal systems - is simultaneously endorsing 2 approaches to human rights,
the one contradicting the other: Islamic Sharia Law and the Universal
Declaration of Human rights.
The Sudanese Government - like other Islamic governments, Islamic communities
in the West, and many Islamic non-governmental organizations - have been given
a free pass to move freely between the two opposing sets of rights, according
to whatever suits them best.
Who's confused?
Sudan is an Islamic State, which has embedded Islamic Sharia Laws in its legal
framework. At the same time, Sudan is a signatory of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights. These 2 sets of rights are fundamentally opposed to each other
in the way they view and understand rights and freedoms.
In response to the overwhelming media coverage of Meriam's case, a Sudanese
official at the Sudanese embassy in London reassured the BBC that Sudan is
committed and will comply with its commitment to protect freedom of religion.
Of course he was referring to principals of human rights as understood and
accepted in the West.
Back in Sudan it was another story. Meriam was sentenced to death by a Sudanese
Criminal Court which found her guilty of apostasy from Islam under article 126
of the 1991 Sudanese Criminal Law Act. This reads:
126 (1) Every Muslim who advocates the renunciation of the creed of Islam, or
who publicly declares his renouncement thereof by an express statement or
conclusive act, shall be deemed to commit the offense of apostasy.
?(2) Whoever commits apostasy shall be given a chance to repent during a period
to be determined by the court; if he persists in his apostasy, and is not a
recent convert to Islam, he shall be punished with death.
?(3) The penalty provided for apostasy shall be remitted whenever the apostate
recants apostasy before execution.
According to Sharia law, and contrary to the principles of the UDHR, Meriam has
no choice but to be a Muslim, because Sharia law mandates that every child born
to a Muslim parent is a Muslim. A child must follow Islam if one of his/her
parents is a Muslim or converts to Islam, because, according to Sharia Law,
Islam is the superior religion over all other religions. In Meriam's case she
was born to a Muslim father, so, according to Sudanese Islamic Law, she cannot
choose to become a Christian, despite what the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights says.
The same court, using the same Act, also found Meriam guilty of the offence of
adultery under article 145b, and sentenced her to a flogging under article
146b, which states:
Article (145): Adultery
1. There shall be deemed to commit the offence of adultery:
(a) Every man who has intercourse with a woman without a legitimate marriage;
(b) Every woman who allows a man to have intercourse with her without a
legitimate marriage.
2. Intercourse is deemed to be completed when the whole head of the penis, or
its equivalent, enters inside the vagina.
3. A marriage is not legitimate when its legitimacy is not determined and
settled [by Islamic jurists].
Article (146)
1. Whoever commits the offence of adultery shall be sentenced to:
(a) Death by stoning when legitimately married;
(b) 100 lashes when not legitimately married.
The Sudanese official in the Sudanese embassy in London would have been fully
aware of Sudanese Criminal Law, under which Meriam was found guilty of apostasy
and adultery, but he chose to play the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
card in an attempt to reduce tensions with the West.
"Moderate" Sharia Laws?
The Western governments that allow Sharia principles (Islamic finance, Islamic
schools, halal certified food, Islam-compliant inheritance, Islam-compliant
marriage) are displaying harmful ignorance. Sharia Law is a single legal code
which determines crimes, offences, punishments, finance, halal and haram, and
so on. The fundamental principles which determine the value and the rights of
women in Sharia Law in matters of inheritance, marriage, finance, and education
are the same principles which determine her rights in respect of apostasy and
adultery.
The London Sudanese embassy official thought to cause confusion by referring to
Western understandings of human rights. Western leaders have themselves
embraced and partnered with such confusion by condemning the death and flogging
of an adulterer apostate in Sudan, while at the same time accepting principles
of sharia law into their countries' legal systems. They should have known
better, for whether the issue is Islamic finance, halal food, inheritance
issues, apostasy, or adultery, Islamic schools in the UK, USA, Australia,
France, or Germany can only teach the same fundamental principles which brought
a 27-year-old mother of 2 to death row and earned her a flogging, for the
???crimes??? of leaving Islam and marrying a Christian man.
Islamic Sharia law follows a set of values which do not change. The Sharia
legal texts that the Sudanese criminal court judge consulted are sold in
Islamic bookstores all over the Western world. The same principles that brought
Meriam to death row are taught to Western Muslim children in Islamic schools
all over the Western world.
To the Western leaders I say this: Millions of Muslims came to the West seeking
refuge in genuine principles of human rights. They were seeking freedom and
justice. Please do not hand them back to the oppression of the Islamic Sharia!
(source: frontpagemag.com)
INDIA:
Death Row Convict Yakub Memon Pursuing PG in Prison
Death row convict Yakub Abdul Razak Memon, a key conspirator with Dawood
Ibrahim in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case whose execution was stayed by the
Supreme Court last week, is appearing for MA (Political Science) examination in
the central jail here.
Memon, a chartered accountant, is appearing for 2nd year exams.
"He wrote his first paper on June 3 and another paper yesterday from his 'Fasi
Yard' (high security ward where prisoners awaiting capital punishment are
lodged) in the Nagpur Central Jail. Being a high-profile prisoner, he is not
allowed to go out," Indira Gandhi National Open University's (IGNOU) regional
director P Sivaswaroop told PTI here.
His examinations would conclude on June 28, he said.
Along with Memon, there are 5 more death row convicts in the jail here taking
the exams, Sivaswaroop pointed out.
"Over 300 prisoners are appearing for various courses of IGNOU, which is
certainly a good sign. For us, Memon is just like other jail inmates serving
various terms behind bars," he said.
Memon had earlier completed his MA (English) in second division and was
conferred with a degree during convocation on April 12, 2013, at Nagpur
University's Guru Nanak Hall, the IGNOU director said.
But since he was on death row, police refused him permission to attend the
ceremony, unlike other prisoners. His degrees were later conferred on him in
jail premises, he said.
The apex court had on June 2 stayed Memon's execution and referred to a
constitution bench his plea that review pleas in death penalty cases be heard
in an open court and not in chambers.
A bench of justices J S Kehar and C Nagappan had sought responses from the
State of Maharashtra, the Law Ministry and the apex court Registrar, also on
the plea of Memon of commuting his death sentence to life, saying, "in the
meantime the execution will remain stayed."
The apex court had earlier on March 21, 2013, upheld the death sentence of
Memon in connection with the Mumbai blasts case.
Memon is the younger brother of Tiger Memon, mastermind of 1993 blasts that
rocked 12 crowded areas in Mumbai leaving 257 dead and over 700 injured.
Earlier, the apex court, in its verdict, had dealt with the role played by
Memon in the serial blasts and said he was the "driving force" and a
"mastermind" behind the blasts.
(source: Outlook India)
*****************
SC stays execution of death row convict in rape, murder case
The Supreme Court today stayed the execution of death penalty of a 48-year-old
man whose conviction has been upheld by the Rajasthan High Court for for
abducting, raping and killing his 4-year-old neighbour in Sriganganagar in
2012.
Besides the convict, his juvenile son also allegedly took part in the offence
of rape and murder of the minor.
(source: ptinews.com)
SOUTH KOREA:
Murder trial for Sewol crewmen begins
The trial of 15 crewmembers of the sunken ferry Sewol, charged with murder and
other accusations, began Tuesday at the Gwangju District Court.
Lee Joon-seok, the ferry's captain, and three other senior crewmen face murder
charges for abandoning their vessel without any attempt to evacuate passengers
in a tragedy that took the lives of 292 with 12 others still missing.
The prosecution said the crewmembers failed to take measures to save the
passengers, although they knew that their negligence would lead to the deaths
of those still on board.
The 3 crewmen facing murder charges are the 1st and 2nd mates and the chief
engineer.
If convicted, they could face the death penalty.
The prosecution also indicted 11 other low-ranking crewmembers for negligence.
The committee of the victims' family members said Tuesday in a press conference
that they will attend every hearing of the trial, which is scheduled to be held
twice a week.
"The unscrupulous, irresponsible people like the captain and some crewmembers
must be severely punished so that they don't stand with their feet on this
land," said Yoo Gyeong-geun, spokesperson of the committee.
The family members departed from Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, in three buses,
because many of the victims are students at Danwon High School located in the
city.
Because of much public interest in the trial, the Gwangju District Court
prepared a complementary courtroom where the trial will be broadcast for the
family members and other observers who are unable to secure seats in the main
courtroom.
The key issue in the trial will be proving if the actions of the captain and
the senior crewmembers meet the legal threshold for a conviction for murder of
the passengers.
The Korean criminal code treats "murder by not taking certain actions" and
"murder by taking certain actions," such as stabbing a person to death, as the
same. Under the criminal code, those convicted of murder are given the death
penalty, a life sentence or a prison term of five years or more.
(source: Korea Times)
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