April 8
PAKSITAN----executions
2 more death row convicts executed in Pakistan
2 death row convicts were executed in Pakistan on Wednesday morning, ARY News
reported
According to details, a convict Ameer Hamza was hanged to death in Balochistan
province's Machh Jail after his mercy plea was rejected by President of
Pakistan Mamnoon Hussain.
Additional Session Judge Sibi awarded death penalty to Ameer Hamza back in 2004
for killing a citizen over a minor dispute in 1995.
It was the 1st execution in Balochistan after a long break of 7 years.
Meanwhile, another death row convict Sikandar was executed in Central Jail
Bahawalpur. Sikandar, a former foot soldier of Pakistan Army, was awarded death
penalty by a military court.
The former army man killed a fellow soldier in Sukkur back in 2002.
Pakistan lifted the moratorium on death penalty on Dec. 17, a day after
Pakistani Taliban gunmen attacked Army Public School in Peshawar and killed 134
students and 19 adults.
The moratorium, in force since 2008, was initially lifted only in terrorism
cases. But the government extended the order in March, directing provincial
governments to proceed with hangings for all death row prisoners who have
exhausted their appeals and clemency petitions.
(source: arynews.tv)
********************
Would a Modern Death Penalty be Kosher for Israel?----Many Religious Zionists
push for the implementation of the death penalty for convicted terrorists.
Rabbi Dr. Jeffrey Woolf explains why.
Is the death penalty kosher?
After last year's prisoner releases and the relapse of several terrorists since
being traded for Gilad Shalit in 2011, the calls to prevent those sorts of
trades in the future have driven people to call for the death penalty in
Israel. Some people may not realize that the death penalty is actually already
a legal option for Israeli prosecutors, but as an unwritten rule they never
seek it. The one historic exception was the conviction and execution of Adolf
Eichmann.
The major parties advocating for a broader application of the death penalty -
or any use of it - are Jewish Home and Yisrael Beytenu. Yisrael Beytenu has
already submitted a bill before the new Knesset that would demand anyone
convicted of murder under terrorist circumstances be executed by the state.
"There's no question on the one hand that rabbinic tradition is allergic to the
death penalty, even though the Torah allows for it," says Rabbi Dr. Jeffrey
Woolf, who is a Senior Lecturer in the Talmud Department at Bar Ilan
University. "Effectively, rabbinic tradition makes it impossible in terms of so
many caveats and conditions that make it effectively impossible to fulfill."
"The death penalty becomes declarative rather than a deterrent," says Rabbi
Woolf, describing an effect that delineates normative behaviors in society. He
points to the first mishnah in the 1st chapter of Talmudic tractate Makkot as
laying out the principle:
"A Sanhedrin that puts to death 1 person every 7 years is called destructive;
Rabbi Eliezer ben Azaria says: Even once in 70 years. Rabbi Tarfon and Rabbi
Akiva say: Had we sat in the Sanhedrin, no person would ever have been put to
death (Makkot 1:10)."
Yet, Halachah has not completely stripped Jewish judges or governors of the
ability to employ execution in order to govern.
"We have the mishnah in Sanhedrin (9:5) that proscribes if murderer gets off on
technicality you imprison him to die of natural causes, which is effectively a
death penalty."
However, there is another principle that allows a Jewish court to implement
capital punishment even absent the list of requirements which are usually
standard in Halachah.
"A court has the right to impose penalties or punishments that aren't
warranted, justified or mandated. There are a bunch of cases where someone was
caught riding a horse on the Sabbath and that person was executed. It was not
justified in court, but it was deemed necessary. The line was critical
throughout the Middle Ages to allow for many penalties."
"It happened more in Spain than in Ashkenaz. In Spain, there were cases where
someone who endangered the entire Jewish community by striking deals with the
authorities or undermining sovereignty of Jewish community by informing on it.
In such cases the court is actually allowed to execute people."
Menachem Ratson explains in the journal Hebraic Political Studies that "The
court's authority to administer abnormal punishment depends on a situation in
which 'the people have become lax and made a breach in a certain matter.'"
"When the Rosh (Rabbenu Asher) fled to Spain, he was surprised (by the
executions the community was conducting) but in principle not against it,"
highlights Rabbi Woolf.
The Rosh is quoted as having said (Responsum, Rosh, 17:8), "...You surprised me
greatly by your inquiries about capital jurisdiction. For in all the countries
of which I have heard, there is no capital jurisdiction, except here in Spain.
And I was astonished to discover upon my arrival that the courts adjudicate
capital matters in the absence of a Sanhedrin, and they informed me that they
had governmental authorization, and the community used its jurisdiction to
save... and I permitted them to persist in their custom, but I never gave my
consent to an execution..."
"My point is that the constitutional basis for the use of the death penalty
definitely exists but there is fundamental allergy to using it," explained
Rabbi Woolf.
When asked what the implications might be philosophically for streams of
Religious Zionism, Rabbi Woolf felt that while it was related, we were
ultimately discussing a different topic.
Is there any distinction between Jews and non-Jews who might face capital
punishment from a Jewish court? "Non-Jews are not part of the discourse, which
brings other broader issues in society to the table like issues of Jewish
sovereignty."
"Establishing a medinat Halachah (Halachic state) or the restoration of the
Sanhedrin, I think, are completely separate issues. Is it something society
needs or might fall apart without it? Then it's definitely possible. Is it
actually desirable? Now, that's a policy issue."
(source: Israel National News)
INDONESIA:
Indonesians support executing drug smugglers----More than 8 in 10 Indonesians
interviewed supported death sentence
More than 8 in 10 Indonesians support President Joko Widodo's stance on the
death penalty for drugs traffickers, a survey has shown.
The poll from Jakarta-based Indo Barometer found more than 84 % supported
Widodo's policy of refusing clemency to those convicted of smuggling drugs -
allowing them to be executed by firing squad.
The results come after Indonesia executed 6 prisoners in January, including 5
foreigners, and as a further batch of 10 death row inmates await imminent
execution on Nusa Kambangan prison island.
Among them are Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, who had their
appeals against Widodo's refusal of clemency rejected Monday.
Indonesia ended a 4-year moratorium on judicial killings in 2013.
Ecin Suciatin, 32, exemplifies the majority opinion among Indonesians. She has
demonstrated at Nusa Kambangan, off the southern coast of Central Java, to call
for the 9 condemned men and 1 woman to be executed immediately, travelling for
seven hours from her home in Tasikmalaya, West Java, by motorbike to make her
point.
"One of my family is [a] drug user," she told The Anadolu Agency on Tuesday, by
way of explaining her support for the death sentence. She declined to explain
further, saying the situation brought "shame" on her family.
"I hope no other family suffers because of the loss of their children or
brothers," she said.
Widodo's policy has also received staunch support from the country's 2 biggest
Muslim organizations, the Nahdlatul Ulama and the Muhammadiyah.
"We stand behind the president," Said Aqil Siradj, chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama,
told AA.
The survey, released Monday, interviewed 1,200 people from March 15-25 in all
of Indonesia's 34 provinces.
Nearly 61 % supported the death sentence because they were concerned about the
impact of drugs on young people while almost 24 % said capital punishment would
provide a deterrent effect.
Indo Barometer's Executive Director Muhammad Qodari said international pressure
and criticism of Widodo's stance had stirred national sentiment among
Indonesians, adding that the policy had contributed to the president's
increased popularity.
Aside from drug trafficking, 53 % of respondents said they were in favor of the
death penalty for corruption while 16 % supported it for murderers and 4 %
thought it should be applied to sex offenders.
Benny Juliawan, of Sanata Dharma University, criticized the use of the death
penalty, saying it was inconsistent with human values and was being used as a
tool of vengeance.
He said: "Fighting evil with evil gives rise to another question - what is the
difference between us and them [the criminals]? It will not solve the problem."
(source: videonews.us)
******************
Death row Filipina's family begs Indonesia for her life
The family of a Filipina on death row in Indonesia made a tearful appeal for
her life today, insisting that an international drug syndicate duped the single
mother of 2.
Mary Jane Veloso, 30, has been in an Indonesian jail for 5 years after being
caught at Yogyakarta airport with 2.6 kilogrammes (5.73 pounds) of heroin, and
is among a batch of foreigners facing imminent execution.
But in an interview with AFP in Manila, her parents and sister said a crime
syndicate involving a friend had deceived her, and she did not know the drugs
had been sown into her suitcase before flying from Malaysia.
"Please don't kill my sister. She is innocent. If you kill her, you will have
blood on your hands," Veloso's elder sister Marites Veloso-Laurente said in a
plea to Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
With tears streaming down his cheeks, Veloso's father said the syndicate that
used her as an unwitting drug mule had pledged to kill all family members if
they reported the racket to authorities or went to the media.
"Life's been hard. We've been living in fear. My daughter's recruiters have
been threatening us... they threatened to kill us 1 by 1," said 59-year-old
Cesar Veloso.
The family is from a poor farming town about 3 hours' drive north of Manila,
and Veloso had sought to provide for her 2 young sons by working as a maid
overseas.
The single mother initially worked for 9 months in Dubai in 2009 but was forced
to come home after her employer tried to rape her, according to her father.
A family friend then offered Veloso work as a maid in Malaysia.
When Veloso got to Malaysia she was told the job was no longer available but
there was another one in Indonesia if she flew there immediately, according to
her parents.
"My sister's a loving person, she's so kind. But she trusts too much. We don't
engage in vices or anything illegal, no cigarettes, no alcohol," her elder
sister said.
When Veloso was arrested, her sons were aged just 1 and 7 and they too have
become victims.
"It's as if they lost all hope ... they are worried about what would happen to
them if their mother never came back," the Veloso matriarch, Celia, said as her
2 grandsons sat quietly next to her.
She said the eldest son, Mark Daniel Candelaria, 12, was struggling at school
and may have to repeat eighth grade.
Veloso's youngest, Mark Darren, 6, copes by singing his mother's favourite
song, a Filipino ballad called: "Just wait", which has become an anthem of hope
for the family.
Poverty trap
Veloso's mother, 55, insisted that if her daughter was involved in the drug
trade, her family would have seen some benefits of it.
Instead, she shares a cramped brick and wood shanty with her husband and 6
grandchildren, including Veloso's sons.
"We beg you, Mr Indonesian president, if my daughter was involved in drugs, we
wouldn't be this poor," she said.
About 10 million Filipinos work overseas, with most heading abroad to escape
deep poverty.
Many work in menial jobs or face dangerous work conditions, but even salaries
of US$300 (RM1,086) a month are more than can be earned at home.
The government has previously warned Filipinos heading abroad about the dangers
of drug traffickers trying to exploit or dupe them.
The are 125 Filipinos on death row around the world, with many of them
convicted of drug trafficking, Connie Bragas-Regalado, chairperson of overseas
workers' rights group Migrante, told AFP.
The Indonesian Supreme Court last week denied Veloso's request to review her
conviction.
The Philippine government said today it would file a 2nd appeal.
Veloso's parents and sons also visited the Indonesian embassy in Manila today
to lodge a letter appealing to Widodo for mercy.
Aside from Veloso, convicts from Australia, Brazil, France, Ghana and Nigeria
are set to face a firing squad after they had their requests for presidential
clemency rejected.
The death penalty was abolished in the mainly Catholic Philippines in 2006.
(source: themalaymailonline.com)
**************
Still options open for Australians to avoid death penalty
Australia is doing everything it can to save 2 drug smugglers facing the firing
squad in Indonesia, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Wednesday after the pair
lost its latest legal appeal.
On Monday a Jakarta court dismissed Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran's
challenge against the rejection of their pleas for clemency.
Indonesia's legal chief then said they had exhausted all options to avoid the
death penalty, but their lawyers insist legal avenues remain open.
"We are continuing to do everything we possibly can for them," Abbott told
reporters in Sydney in his first comments since Monday's decision.
"That's what we're doing ... everyone knows Australia's position on the death
penalty."
Sukumaran, 33, and Chan, 31, the ringleaders of the so-called 'Bali 9' drug
trafficking gang, were sentenced to death in 2006 for trying to smuggle heroin
out of Indonesia.
Their appeals for clemency, typically a death row convict's final chance of
avoiding the firing squad, were rejected earlier this year by Indonesian
President Joko Widodo.
In Monday's ruling, the State Administrative Court upheld a decision that it
does not have the authority to hear a challenge to Widodo's rejection.
Abbott said he had spoken to the Indonesian leader again about the Bali pair.
"I've had a number of conversations with President Widodo on this issue. I'm
not going to go into what was said, but I have certainly made our position very
clear," he said.
Indonesia executed 6 drug offenders in January, including 5 foreigners,
prompting a furious Brazil and the Netherlands - whose citizens were among
those put to death - to recall their ambassadors.
(source: The Malaysian Insider)
*********************
Death penalty a FLAWED tool to tackle crime
Last November, shortly after taking office, Indonesia President Joko "Jokowi"
Widodo announced the resumption of executions - mainly of drug traffickers - to
tackle soaring crime rates linked to a "national drugs emergency".
The many of us who had hoped his presidency would mean a new era for human
rights were deeply disappointed.
The news of 6 executions this year - and dozens more lives apparently at
imminent risk - has confirmed our worst fears.
A dark trend was starkly evident last year - governments using the death
penalty in a misguided, and often cynical, attempt to tackle crime and
terrorism.
Amnesty International has released its annual review of the death penalty
worldwide, and much of it makes for grim reading.
In Pakistan, the government lifted a 6-year moratorium on the execution of
civilians in the wake of the horrific Taleban attack on a school in Peshawar
last December.
More than 50 people have been put to death since, and the government has
threatened to send thousands more death row prisoners to the gallows.
Iran and Iraq were among other countries to execute people for "terrorism" last
year, while other states made moves in that direction by expanding the scope of
capital crimes in their penal codes.
In a year when abhorrent summary executions by armed groups were branded on the
global consciousness like never before, it is appalling that governments are
themselves resorting to more executions in a knee-jerk reaction to terrorism.
Like Indonesia, other states made use of executions in similarly flawed
attempts to address - or appear to address - crime rates.
Jordan ended an 8-year moratorium in December, putting 11 murder convicts to
death, with the government saying it was a move to end a surge in violent
crime.
Governments using the death penalty to tackle crime and security threats are
either deceiving themselves and the public or, in some cases, cynically
attempting to look effective by executing people.
But there is no evidence that the threat of execution is more of a deterrent to
crime than a prison sentence.
This fact has been confirmed in multiple studies in many regions around the
world, including by the UN.
While the death penalty is always a human rights violation, there are many
issues in Indonesia - in particular around fair trial concerns - that make its
use especially troubling.
Investigations by human rights groups have found that individuals sentenced to
death have been tortured and forced to sign police investigation reports.
Many are not provided with lawyers, in particular after arrest and during
interrogation.
Widespread reports of corruption in the police and judiciary and Indonesia's
decades-old penal code - which does not provide adequate protection from
torture, for example - compound these issues.
One recently uncovered case involved Yusman Telaumbanua, from Nias island, who
was only 16 when he was arrested and sentenced to death for murder, despite
both international and national law banning the imposition of the death penalty
against juveniles.
A local human rights group exposed how Yusman had been tortured into a
"confession" by police, who also allegedly fabricated his age.
With so many questions around the fairness of trials in Indonesia, how can the
government be sure that innocent people will not be put to death?
It is high time that world leaders, including Jokowi, stop using the death
penalty as a response when times get tough.
The death penalty is not the solution to crime and terrorism. Its use does not
make us safer.
Thankfully, most of the world appears to have come around to this fact.
In 1945, when the UN was founded, only 8 countries had abolished the death
penalty; today 140 states are abolitionist in law or practice.
Last year, Amnesty International recorded executions in 22 countries around the
world - almost 1/2 the number or 41 just 20 years ago.
Despite the troubling developments we recorded in 2014, there was still much
good news.
The number of executions dropped significantly compared to 2013, from 778 to
607.
However, this number does not include China, where more people are put to death
than the rest of the world put together, but with death penalty statistics
treated as a state secret, the true figure is impossible to determine.
Those governments that still execute need to realise that they are on the wrong
side of history, and join the vast majority of countries who have dropped the
ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.
Campaigning for an end to the death penalty remains an uphill task, but Amnesty
International and many others are determined to make the world free of this
punishment.
By this time next year, we hope we will have even more good news to report, and
that no more people will have been put before the firing squad in Indonesia.
(source: Josef Benedict is Amnesty International's Indonesia campaigner;
thaivisa.com)
VIETNAM:
Death penalty restrictions discussed ---- Lawmakers yesterday discussed
abolishing the death penalty for several crime categories as well as criteria
for commuting capital punishment sentences to life imprisonment.
The topics came up as the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee reviewed
provisions of the revised Penal Code.
The revised Penal Code will consist of 26 chapters and 427 clauses. 87 clauses
have been added and changes made to 370.
The revisions are expected to make the Penal Code more transparent and
effective, said Justice Minister Ha Hung Cuong.
One issue that generated heated debate was death penalty restrictions.
Nguyen Van Hien, Chairman of the NA Justice Committee, said most members agreed
with the Government proposal to restrict death penalties by reducing the number
of crime categories that would attract the final punishment.
It not only reflected the State's humanitarian approach, but would also further
judicial reform, he said.
Under the revised law, the number of crimes that can attract the death penalty
will be reduced from 22 to 14. However, several lawmakers said that for some
dangerous crimes, the law should only consider commuting the death sentence to
indefinite life imprisonment.
NA Vice Chairman Huynh Ngoc Son argued that the death penalty should not be
abolished for the most serious crimes of breaching peace, waging aggressive
wars, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Chairwoman of the NA Committee for Social Affairs, Truong Thi Mai agreed with
the draft that the death penalty is not imposed on criminals aged 70 and above,
saying it would bring align the law with global standards.
However, Son disagreed, saying people in their 70s generally had the physical
and mental capabilities to continue perpetuating crimes, including functioning
as the head of criminal organisations.
NA Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung emphasised that amendments to the Penal Code
should be in line with the spirit of the 2013 Constitution, particularly on
people-related issues. He asked relevant agencies to continue working on the
draft before submitting it to the NA again.
Hien said that the regulations on abolishing the death penalty for certain
crimes must be considered carefully.
He noted that for drug trafficking, law assessment agencies said have that the
crime has become more professional with well-organised stages - production,
storage, transportation and sales. Sentencing drug traffickers to death could
act as an effective deterrent against the crime, he said.
Chairman of the NA Nationalities Council, Ksor Phuoc, said the draft law should
restrict punishments for illegal drug carriers and impose the death penalty
only for heads of drug gangs.
The revised law also regulates that criminals who co-operate with investigators
and other law enforcement agencies and voluntarily hand over at least half of
their ill-gotten money or property will be exempted from the death penalty.
The ongoing 37th session of the 13th National Assembly Standing Committee will
close on Friday, April 10.
(source: saigon-gpdaily.com)
*******************
Vietnam legislators debate reducing death penalties; some suggest completely
scrapping capital punishment
Some lawmakers in Vietnam have proposed getting rid of capital punishment,
saying it is not in line with the spirit of the Constitution, whereas others
have suggested maintaining the death penalty for drug offenses.
At a meeting in Hanoi on Tuesday, Minister of Justice Ha Hung Cuong presented a
proposal on the abolition of the death penalty for 7 crimes under the current
Penal Code to the National Assembly.
These crimes include plundering property; destroying important national
security works and/or facilities; disobeying orders in the military;
surrendering to the enemy, which is applicable in the army; undermining peace,
provoking aggressive wars; crimes against mankind; and war crimes.
If the amendments are approved, the number of crimes subject to the death
penalty in Vietnam will be reduced to 15 from the current 22.
"The Constitution stipulates that everybody has the right to life but this
stipulation has yet to be fully enforced," Phung Quoc Hien, chairman of the
National Assembly Committee for Finance and Budget, said at the meeting.
"Reading the proposed revisions to the Penal Code, I find that there remain
many regulations that claim the lives of offenders," he added.
He underlined that lifting the death penalty for only 7 offenses is not enough,
and not pursuant to the spirit of the Constitution either.
Sharing the same view with Hien, Chairman of the National Assembly Council of
Ethnic Affairs Ksor Phuoc said, "If we are to build a civilized, law-governed
state, we should gradually and then completely eliminate capital punishment."
Phuoc suggested that law experts consider applying life imprisonment without
commutation in place of the death penalty to people committing serious crimes.
Regarding the said seven crimes, Nguyen Doan Khanh, deputy head of the Central
Party Committee's Commission for Internal Affairs, said that capital punishment
should be retained for the charges of undermining peace, provoking aggressive
wars, crimes against mankind, and war crimes.
"It is our policy to express our love for peace and opposition to war, so we
need to maintain the death penalty for such offenses," Khanh said.
He also advised that capital punishment not be waived for the 2 charges of
disobeying orders in the military and surrendering to the enemy, which is
applicable in the army.
Regarding death sentences for people subject to drug charges, he said that the
heaviest penalty should not be abolished when it comes to transporting or
stockpiling drugs, and should be maintained only for those who lead or organize
the transport or storage of drugs at a serious level and for a long time.
At a previous meeting, Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly Uong Chu Luu
said that the abolition of the death penalty has been recommended for several
crimes but that punishment will still be applied to those convicted of
corruption as the highest sanction.
Among the amendments to the Penal Code is a suggestion that capital punishment
should be commuted to a life sentence if the convicted can submit to competent
agencies at least 1/2 of the money or property they have gained from their
crimes; actively work with investigators on detecting, investigating, and
handling criminals; or achieve a great feat.
(source: Tuoi Tre News)
BANGLADESH:
HRW wants moratorium on death penalty
The Bangladesh government should impose a moratorium on death penalty and
quickly join the growing number of countries that have abolished this practice,
said Human Rights Watch (HRW), a New York-based global rights body.
"The death penalty is an irreversible and cruel punishment that is made even
worse when the judiciary fails to fully review such sentences," said its Asia
director Brad Adams.
He said Bangladesh Supreme Court's rejection of the death penalty review
petition for war criminal Muhammed Kamaruzzaman permits his imminent execution.
Kamaruzzaman, a leader of the Jamaat-e-Islaami party, was convicted of war
crimes committed during Bangladesh's War of Independence in 1971.
The authorities should immediately stay Kamaruzzaman's death sentence pending
an independent review of his case.
Kamaruzzaman's death sentence was upheld on appeal in November 2014.
Following the publication of the full text of the judgment against him, he
filed for an independent review of his sentence to the Appellate Division of
the Supreme Court on March 5, 2015.
"Without hearing the application on its merits, the country's highest court
summarily rejected his petition and upheld the death sentence," the HRW said.
Kamaruzzaman was arrested in July 2010 on the orders of the International
Crimes Tribunal (ICT), which was set up to address the atrocities committed
during the 1971 war which led to independence for Bangladesh from Pakistan.
The rights body said Kamaruzzaman was given no reason for his arrest, leading
the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to classify his arrest
as arbitrary and a violation of international law.
At his trial, it said, the court arbitrarily limited the ability of the defence
to submit evidence, including witnesses and documents. "The court denied the
defence the opportunity to challenge the credibility of prosecution witnesses
by rejecting witnesses' earlier statements that were inconsistent with their
trial testimony. The court denied a defence application to recuse 2 judges for
prior bias."
"Human Rights Watch has long supported justice and accountability for the
horrific crimes that occurred in 1971, but these trials need to meet
international fair trial standards to properly deliver on those promises for
the victims," Adams said, adding, "Delivering justice requires adhering to the
highest standards, particularly when a life is at stake. The conduct of
Kamaruzzaman's trial cannot be said to have met those standards."
The HRW reiterated its longstanding call for Bangladesh to impose an immediate
moratorium on the death penalty.
According to statements of UN human rights experts and various UN bodies, the
death penalty is inconsistent with international human rights law.
The UN Human Rights Committee, which interprets the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights, to which Bangladesh is a state party, has said "in
cases of trials leading to the imposition of the death penalty, scrupulous
respect of the guarantees of fair trial is particularly important" and that any
death penalty imposed after an unfair trial would be a violation of the right
to a fair trial.
Bangladesh should join with the many countries already committed to the UN
General Assembly's December 18, 2007 resolution calling for a moratorium on
executions and a move by UN member countries toward abolition of the death
penalty.
The HRW opposes the death penalty in all circumstances as an inherently cruel
punishment.
(source: prothom-alo.com)
*************************
HRW calls for moratorium on death penalty
The Human Rights Watch has reiterated its longstanding call for Bangladesh to
impose an immediate moratorium on the death penalty.
The death penalty is inconsistent with the international human rights laws,
according to statements from UN human rights experts and various UN bodies, the
New York-based rights body said in a press release yesterday.
The Bangladesh Supreme Court's rejection of the death penalty review petition
for Muhammed Kamaruzzaman permits his imminent execution, the HRW mentioned in
its statement.
Terming the trial "seriously flawed", the statement further said, "The
authorities should immediately stay Kamaruzzaman's death sentence pending an
independent review of his case."
HRW called upon Bangladesh to join with countries already committed to the UN
General Assembly's December 18, 2007 resolution, calling for a moratorium on
executions and a move by UN member countries towards abolition of the death
penalty.
"The Bangladesh government should impose a moratorium on the death penalty and
quickly join the growing number of countries that have abolished this barbaric
practice," said Brad Adams, Asia director at HRW. "The severity of the offence
in question provides no justification for its continued use."
Human Rights Watch opposes the death penalty in all circumstances as an
inherently cruel punishment, the rights organisation said in the release.
The UN Human Rights Committee, which interprets the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights, to which Bangladesh is a state party, has said that
"in cases of trials leading to the imposition of the death penalty, scrupulous
respect of the guarantees of fair trial is particularly important" and that any
death penalty imposed after an unfair trial would be a violation of the right
to a fair trial, the release said.
Kamaruzzaman, a leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami, was convicted of war crimes
committed during Bangladesh's War of Independence in 1971.
His death sentence was upheld on appeal in November 2014. Following the
publication of the full text of the judgment against him, he filed for an
independent review of his sentence to the Appellate Division of the Supreme
Court on March 5, 2015.
"Without hearing the application on its merits, the country's highest court
summarily rejected his petition and upheld the death sentence," the HRW
claimed. "The death penalty is an irreversible and cruel punishment that is
made even worse when the judiciary fails to fully review such sentences," Adams
said. "Bangladesh's war crimes trials have been plagued by persistent and
credible allegations of fair trial violations that require impartial judicial
review."
Kamaruzzaman was arrested in July 2010 on the orders of the International
Crimes Tribunal, which was set up to address the atrocities committed during
the 1971 war which led to independence for Bangladesh from Pakistan. He was
given no reason for his arrest, leading the United Nations Working Group on
Arbitrary Detention to classify his arrest as arbitrary and a violation of
international law, the release said.
At his trial, the court arbitrarily limited the ability of the defence to
submit evidence, including witnesses and documents, the HRW statement claimed.
The court denied the defence an opportunity to challenge the credibility of
prosecution witnesses by rejecting witnesses' earlier statements that were
inconsistent with their trial testimony, it said.
********************
Kamaruzzaman gets time to decide on seeking mercy
Death-row war criminal Muhammad Kamaruzzaman has been given time to talk to his
lawyers to consult whether to seek presidential clemency.
Shishir Monir, a defence counsel of the Jamaat assistant secretary general,
told The Daily Star that authorities of the Dhaka Central Jail, where he has
been kept, granted the defence a chance to talk to Kamaruzzaman at 11:00am
tomorrow.
Earlier today, Kamaruzzaman was read out his verdict at jail around 6:00pm,
sources inside the jail said.
At 5:44pm, Md Aftabuzzaman, deputy registrar of ICT, told The Daily Star he was
en route to hand over the copy of the verdict to prisons authority and Dhaka
district magistrate.
The registrar office of the International Crimes Tribunal received the 36-page
verdict around 4:30pm after the Supreme Court dispatched it to authorities
concerned.
Kamaruzzaman has no way out of the gallows except for seeking mercy.
Justice AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury Manik has written the draft of the verdict,
which was approved by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha last night.
Earlier today, the draft was sent to the chief justice, Justice Md Abdul Wahhab
Miah and Justice Hasan Foez Siddique. After scrutiny, they approved it.
The jail authorities cannot execute Kamaruzzaman unless they get a copy of the
SC verdict, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam told The Daily Star yesterday.
In May 2013, the International Crimes Tribunal-2 handed Kamaruzzaman, key
organiser of infamous Al-Badr force in greater Mymensingh in 1971, death for
committing crimes against humanity, including mass killings in Sohagpur of
Sherpur, during the Liberation War.
After he appealed against the verdict, the SC upheld the ICT decision on March
7. But the convict sought review of the judgment. Finally, his review petition
was rejected on Monday by the four-member SC bench headed by the chief justice.
It left him with only one option - to seek presidential clemency.
As per the jail code, a convict gets a week to seek presidential mercy after
the jail authorities receive the death warrant and communicates it to him. The
death row convict is executed between 21 days and 28 days after receiving the
SC order.
However, the jail code is not applicable to Kamaruzzaman as he was tried under
a special law, the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act-1971, the attorney
general told reporters on Monday.
As the SC ruling Monday, his family members were asked to meet him at the jail
in the evening that day, which triggered speculations that the Jamaat leader
might be executed the same day.
But the jail authorities could not proceed with executing the verdict as they
did not get the copy of the judgement.
(source for both: The Daily Star)
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