Feb. 10
RUSSIA:
Russian Supreme Court Chairman Against Death Penalty Return
The chairman of Russia's Supreme Court says he opposes calls to end the
country's moratorium on capital punishment.
Vyacheslav Lebedev told journalists in Moscow on February 10 that there is "no
reason" to end the moratorium on the death penalty, which was put in place by
the Constitutional Court in 1999 and extended in 2009.
Russia imposed the moratorium after joining the Council of Europe, which
requires members to refrain from executing convicts.
Last month, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe voted to
deprive Russia of its rights within the assembly for the second consecutive
session over Moscow's reluctance to stop backing separatists in Ukraine's
eastern regions.
Russian lawmakers have questioned whether Russia should remain in the Council
of Europe after the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)
voted last month to deprive Moscow of its rights within the assembly for the
second consecutive session over its interference in Ukraine.
Lawmakers from ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky???s Liberal Democratic
Party have said quitting the Council of Europe could enable Russia to reinstate
the death penalty.
(source: Radio Free Eeurope/Radio Liberty)
IRAN:
Take Action: Stop the Execution of 22-year-old Saman Naseem by Iran----by
Alliance for Kurdish Rights
Amnesty International writes:
Iranian juvenile offender, Saman Naseem, could be executed as early as 19
February 2015 for crimes allegedly committed when he was 17 years old. He was
sentenced to death after an unfair trial.
The family of Saman Naseem, who is now aged 22, have received reliable
information that he will be executed on 19 February. Amnesty International
understands that the authorities have prevented Saman Naseem's lawyer from
pursuing the case and have not allowed him to appoint another lawyer.
Saman Naseem was sentenced to death in April 2013 by a criminal court in
Mahabad, West Azerbaijan Province, for "enmity against God" (moharebeh) and
"corruption on earth" (ifsad fil-arz) because of his membership of the Kurdish
armed opposition group Party For Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), and for taking
part in armed activities against the Revolutionary Guards. His death sentence
was upheld by the Supreme Court in December 2013.
According to court documents, during early investigations Saman Naseem admitted
firing towards Revolutionary Guards forces in July 2011. He retracted this
during the 1st court session, saying that he had only fired into the air and
had not been aware of the content of the written "confessions" he was forced to
sign as he had been kept blindfolded while he was interrogated. Saman Naseem
was allowed no access to his lawyer during early investigations and he said he
was tortured by being hung upside down for a lengthy period of time.
Below is a message composed by the Alliance for Kurdish Rights to be used by
anyone to urge the recipients mentioned below as part of a campaign to overturn
Saman Naseem's death sentence.
Your Excellency,
I am writing to you to express my concerns regarding a 22-year old prisoner by
the name of Saman Naseem who is awaiting execution.
I am calling on you to halt the execution and allow for a reconsideration of
his case under transparent and just measures.
I am also reminding you that Iran has ratified both the International
Convention on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of
the Child, which strictly prohibit the use of the death penalty against people
who were below 18 years of age at the time of the crime.
Lastly, I am urging you to remember that Iran has ratified Article 7 of the
Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which prohibits the act of torture against
prisoners. I hope that an investigation will be initiated into the allegation
that he was tortured or ill-treated and ensure that the "confessions" obtained
from him under torture are not used as evidence in court.
I hope that you will give positive reconsideration to the case of Saman Naseem.
Sincerely,
(Your name)
Send to:
Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Ayatollah Sayed 'Ali Khamenei
The Office of the Supreme Leader Islamic Republic Street - End of Shahid
Keshvar Doust Street
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: info_lea...@leader.ir
Twitter: @khamenei_ir
Head of the Judiciary
Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani
c/o Public Relations Office
Number 4, 2 Azizi Street intersection
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
President of the Islamic republic of Iran
Hassan Rouhani
The Presidency
Pasteur Street, Pasteur Square
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Twitter: @HassanRouhani (English) and @Rouhani_ir (Persian)
(source: kurdishrights.org)
FIJI:
Fiji moves to abolish death penalty
Fiji's newly democratic government has moved to abolish the death penalty, but
the opposition has demanded it be kept in order to deter its military from
staging coups.
Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama appeared to then threaten another coup after
being insulted by opposition MPs during today's fractious parliamentary
session.
Bainimarama's arbitrary decision to remove the Union Jack from Fiji's flag
later this year is also creating tension, not helped by Prime Minister John Key
saying New Zealand's flag will change only after a referendum.
Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum this morning introduced a bill amending
the military act to abolish the death penalty for assorted offences.
However Opposition MP Tupou Draunidalo strongly objected, saying the death
penalty should remain in the Army Act as a deterrent to future coup makers.
Her stepfather, Timoci Bavadra, was prime minister in 1987 when he was
overthrown in the 1st of 4 military coups. Draunidalo's mother, Kuini Speed,
was deputy prime minister in 2000 when she was overthrown in a coup led by
George Speight.
At the time Bainimarama declared martial law and Speight was captured and
sentenced to death on the civilian charge of treason. It was commuted within
hours to life imprisonment. Later the civilian death penalty was repealed.
In another row this morning opposition members claimed there was another coup
coming, followed by Bainimarama turning on them.
"Be quiet - because of my coup, that's why you are sitting there ... remember
2006," he said.
He attacked the opposition members who used the chiefly titles of ratu and adi.
"When you walk through that door, nobody really gives 2 hoots about your title
- you're supposedly blue blood," he said.
He said the insults flying did "not augur well for the relationship we want to
establish here and the people of Fiji".
Draunidalo fired back that the opposition were not doormats.
"And this is not a military institution ... the military is beneath this
house."
(source: stuff.co.nz)
***************************
A-G tables Bill to amend military act
Opposition member Tupou Draunidalo yesterday pleaded with Parliament not to
rush with the amendment of the Death Penalty Act - part of the Republic of Fiji
Military Forces Act.
Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum yesterday tabled a Bill for an act to
amend the RFMF Act in Parliament.
"I move that the Republic of Fiji Military Forces amended Bill 2015 be
considered by Parliament without delay, this speaker, is not even one page,
that the Bill be debated and voted upon by Parliament on Wednesday," Mr
Sayed-Khaiyum said.
"That the Bill be debated upon by Parliament and that a two-hour time limit be
given to each side of the House to debate this less than one page amendment and
that the right of reply given to the mover of the motion."
He told Parliament there was a growing international trend to remove the use of
capital punishment from all laws and also referred to Fiji's Constitution that
every person had the right to life and must not be deprived of life.
He said in 2002 Fiji took the initiative to remove the death penalty in its
penal code and that had been carried on to the Crimes Decree, however,
unfortunately the only remaining reference to the death penalty existed in the
RFMF Act.
This was by virtue of reference to the UK Army Act of 1955, in that particular
act which was relevant in the RFMF Act because it made references to wherever
there was a gap, the UK Army applied that the 1955 UK Army Act had the death
penalty in it, unfortunately while the UK moved along and had removed and
revised their Army Act, they no longer had the death penalty.
"We are still stuck with the UK Army Act of 1955, so technically we can still
have the death penalty under the RFMF Act."
Ms Draunidalo requested it should not be rushed as there was great history
behind the act.
(source: The Fiji Times)
TAIWAN:
Taiwan authorities sentence death penalty to Belgian in 1.3kg heroin smuggling
A Belgian man convicted of smuggling drugs into Taiwan was sentenced by the
Taipei District Court to life imprisonment.
Gunther van Eester was found guilty of entering Taiwan in November with 1.3
kilograms of heroin hidden in a compartment in his suitcase.
The Belgian, who was jobless and homeless in Thailand, had been flagged by
Taiwanese investigators after he visited Taiwan twice in June as a tourist, the
district court said in its ruling.
After his 2 short visits, van Eester returned to Bangkok and met with drug
dealers, who offered him US$700 and a free return ticket to carry a suitcase to
Taiwan, the court said.
On arrival in Taiwan, he was detained by the Taipei District Prosecutors
Office, who found NT$10 million (US$327,000) worth of heroin in his suitcase,
according to the court.
Van Eester claimed that he was helping to deliver a suitcase of clothing, the
court said in its ruling, which imposed a sentence of life imprisonment on the
man.
Van Eester has the right to appeal the sentence in Taiwan's high court.
(source: customstoday.com)
INDONESIA:
More than 100 MPs write to request mercy for Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan
More than 100 Federal MPs have written to the Indonesian government asking for
the death sentences on Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan to be lifted.
In a letter to the Indonesian ambassador to Australia, sent last week, the MPs
say the imminent execution of the 2 Bali 9 drug traffickers is of "deep
concern".
The letter has been signed by 111 MPs, including chief Government whip Philip
Ruddock, chief Opposition whip Chris Hayes, and Greens leader Senator Christine
Milne.
"Mr Sukumaran and Mr Chan have demonstrated genuine remorse and have become
model prisoners, working constructively at Kerobokan, not only on their own
rehabilitation and reform, but also for that of other prisoners," the letter
states.
"Also, we believe it is significant that both Mr Chan and Mr Sukumaran were
only apprehended as a result of the Australian Federal Police providing
information to Indonesian Police.
"Their crime, serious as it was, was intended to impact on Australians in
Australia, not Indonesia."
The 2 Australians were sentenced to death by an Indonesian court in 2006 for
trying to smuggle heroin out of the country and into Australia.
They are due to be executed this month.
7 other Australians involved in the smuggling ring have been sentenced to life
in prison in an Indonesian jail.
Despite pleas for clemency and petitions from the Australian government,
members of the clergy and the men's distressed mothers, the Indonesian
president has so far refused to grant them pardons.
The MPs "humbly request" that the prisoners' "rehabilitation, their suffering
and their families' suffering" be considered.
"And upon the reasoning of the Indonesian Constitutional Court, we request that
their death sentences be commuted to an appropriate term of imprisonment or
that they be deported back to Australia on condition they face the criminal
justice system here."
Labor MP Melissa Parke told Parliament today that her message to the Indonesian
parliament was that the execution "will serve no useful purpose".
"Your country fights for mercy for your own citizens sentenced to the death
penalty in other countries," she said.
"It is in your nation's interest to consider mercy for people on death row in
Indonesia."
Ms Parke told Sukumaran and Chan that their "families and your country are
proud of you".
"We are fighting for the wonderful human beings you have become."
She said she was also hoping to have Parliament pass a motion calling on
Indonesia to commute the death sentences to a prison sentence.
(source: ABC news)
*********************************
Will Joko drop the death penalty for the people's sake?----Many are still
hoping for a change of heart despite Joko Widodo's firm stand on the death
penalty for drug trafficking.
To kill or not to kill? That is the question, isn't it. And that question has
been ringing in everyone's ears ever since Joko Widodo was sworn in as
president of Indonesia last October.
Just last month, 6 drug offenders were executed in Indonesia, and more are to
come.
Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, the 2 Australian members of the now-infamous
Bali 9 who were arrested in 2005 for drug trafficking are the 2 who are up
next, and needless to say the outcry has been huge.
The question of whether drug trafficking deserves the mandatory death penalty
is hotly contested as it has proven to be an inefficient deterrent to the drug
trade.
Joko certainly thinks otherwise, and has made that emphatically clear in his
tough, hard-as-nails stance on whether the people on Indonesian death row
deserve a stay of execution. Which, to treat it as accurately and honestly as
possible, is a good and loud no.
Those against the death penalty have argued that executing every poor fellow
caught bringing drugs into the country, no matter how many, will not make a
dent in the illegal drug trade.
And I for one, agree. Statistics show that the mandatory death penalty has
failed in substantially reducing the number of drug trafficking cases. A report
by Amnesty International has shown its ineffectiveness. Right now, that isn't
the point, valid as it is.
The point is that there is such a thing as extenuating circumstances. To take
Joko's stance, which is to outright reject all petitions for clemency, is a
surprisingly impersonal way to do it considering how he rose to power.
Joko's main draw was that he was a people's man, capable of understanding their
plight. It shouldn't then be too hard for him to understand how a good portion
of the ones caught are drug mules, i. e. people unfortunate enough to be
tricked into carrying the drugs whether unwittingly or not.
What I'm saying is that in purely moral terms, they aren't guilty. For the most
part. Depending on who they were and what happened. That is to say...
...oh, the hell with it. It just isn't as simple as Joko makes it out to be.
Are all drug mules forced into trafficking drugs? No, some are just malign
idiots themselves, and so deserve the full force of the law. Some however are
completely unwitting dupes, tricked into carrying the drugs or having the drugs
planted on them.
The real problem is larger than just drug trafficking on its own. The problem
lies with the drug lords, the cartels, the factories and organisations of vice
that capitalise upon human stupidity and foolishness.
As long as any of these things exist - yes, even human stupidity, and God knows
how long the battle against that will last - we are still a long way away from
ending the drug war.
So by all means, be tough on crime. The drug trade is hell on earth, and as
such deserves hell in response - well, as much of hell as we can approximate,
because the further down we go, the harder it is to turn back.
Mr Joko, you intend to sentence the drug trade to death, and for that I salute
you. But please, be careful where you swing your scythe.
Should there be a death penalty? Contrary to what Amnesty International may
think, I believe so.
Every action has a consequence, and if you willingly trade in the daily death
of millions of people without further thought than the lining of your pockets,
you may as well partake of your blessings.
But the mandatory death penalty? Not at all. To make that mandatory is to
completely negate the value of human life.
And once we do that, we may as well erect the swastika and go home.
(source: Commentary; Mikha Chan, Free Malaysia Today)
_______________________________________________
DeathPenalty mailing list
DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu
http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty
Search the Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/deathpenalty@lists.washlaw.edu/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A free service of WashLaw
http://washlaw.edu
(785)670.1088
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
