Oct. 11
EGYPT:
Muslim Brotherhood: Death Penalty and World Conscience
On the International Day Against the Death Penalty, the world rose up against
loss of life outside the law, and to save the lives of innocent people
wrongfully sentenced to death.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian people live a tragedy that is claiming the lives of
innocent citizens through extrajudicial killings on identity, medical neglect
and politicized death sentences. In 2016 alone, executions outside the
framework of the law reached unprecedented highs, and unjust death sentences
since the 2013 military coup were issued against 1841 citizens, in 44 cases,
with the death penalty confirmed for 688 people.
"Coup Egypt" won the first place in the world in executions, according to
several international organizations, as death sentences issued in the past 3
years by the junta's heavily politicized judiciary outnumbered those issued in
the last 110 years of Egypt's history.
All the absurd charges in those death penalty cases, brought against innocent
people, were totally removed from reality. They were nothing but political
account-settling, and the general heinous approach adopted by the villainous
coup regime that has no regard for Egyptians' lives.
The executions, which are intended to terrorize, intimidate, demonize and
eliminate all those who reject the military coup, will not discourage the
Egyptian people from moving forward in their Revolution until they uproot and
oust this criminal gang that has dragged Egypt into chaos and destruction, and
turned it into a big prison.
There will come a day soon where magic shall turn against the magician, and
Egyptians will achieve retribution for the blood of their martyrs and the
wounded, and reap the fruits of the great sacrifices they made.
Dr Talaat Fahmi
Muslim Brotherhood Media Spokesman
(source: ikhwanweb.com)
LIBERIA:
EU Supports World Day against Death Penalty
On Monday, October 10, European Union Charge d'Affaires Emma Sundblad
participated in a panel discussion to mark the observance of this year's World
Day against the Death Penalty.
During the function organized by local civil society organization 'Action by
Christians for the Abolition of Torture - Liberia' in the borough of New Kru
Town, Madame Sundblad said the Council of Europe and the European Union
welcomed the global trend towards the abolition of capital punishment.
She applauded Liberia for keeping in place the moratorium the government of
Liberia has imposed on the death penalty, stressing that more than 2/3 of all
countries have abolished the death penalty in either law or practice.
Madame Sundblad noted that the European Union continues to underline that the
death penalty is cruel, inhumane and incompatible with human dignity and the
right to life. Also, the death penalty is irreversible in cases of miscarriage
of justice and does not deter crime more effectively than other punishments.
When the death penalty is abolished it does not lead to an increase in crime.
Panel members, including representatives of the Ministry of Justice, the
judiciary, the Inter-Religious Council and the ECOWAS Commission, discussed the
relevance of abolishing the death penalty in Liberia, a press release said.
(source: Daily Observer)
UGANDA:
Former MPs Push For Reintroduction of Anti-Death Penalty Bill
Speaking to URN on phone this morning, Odoi explained that under the Coalition
against the Death Penalty Uganda, they are lobbying for support to have the
bill re-introduced and passed.
(source: ugandaradionetwork.com)
SIERRA LEONE:
That Threat of the Gallows:
The admonition of the Minister of Internal Affairs, Paolo Conteh to the
authorities at the correctional facility to sanitize the gallows seems as if
the Judiciary is on the threshold of breaking the silence.
This followed after the verdicts passed by Justice Alusine Sesay of the
Freetown High Court to the 2 culprits for partaking in the murdering of D J
Cleff.
When one takes into consideration the spate of killings within the last couple
of months in the capital city, it is sufficient for the Judiciary to act
promptly to prevent further killings of peaceful Sierra Leoneans.
What the judiciary has demonstrated appears merely a wakeup call to Sierra
Leoneans that the death penalty is still lynching in our necks and it is also
imperative that these slaughters learn bitter lessons that, enough is enough.
The judiciary is not witch-hunting any citizen as many people perceived it to
be but to restore peace and order to reign in this country. The days when some
individuals think they can play pranks in the justice system is gone.
This pronouncement has also taught the citizens of this country that, some laws
are still in force and were never expunge from our law books though laws that
the citizens considered dreadful can be repealed for the good of the all.
Some killings were undertaken by some unknown people given the police a serious
headache to track down the murderers. Other killings were grossly perpetrated
by people in our midst without any consideration for the law.
It is disheartening to learn that when the law comes in to deal with such
issues some pessimist will stand up against government by castigating the
judiciary for the wrong reasons while ignoring the fact that every life is
precious and nobody should be above the law.
It would also appear immoral to catalogue the numerous corpses that have been
discovered by the police within the last couple of months.
The SLP would prove this fact that there have been higher incidences of crimes
associated with killings but the perpetrators were always no were to be found
except in some cases when these perpetrators ran out of luck.
The judiciary can best be described as a lookalike keeper that also gives
opportunity to the wrongdoer to appeal if possible. This explains that even
wrongdoers have the right to appeal in a court of law.
(source: sierraexpressmedia.com)
NIGERIA:
Lawyers Without Borders seek abolition of death penalty
The Avocats Sans Frontieres France (ASF-France) commonly referred to as Lawyers
without Borders, has renewed its call for the abolition of death penalty in
Nigeri'???s criminal justice system.
ASF France, Head of Office, in Nigeria, Angela Uwandu, in a statement yesterday
urged the Nigerian government to officially implement the moratorium on death
penalty to celebrate the 14th World Day against the Death Penalty.
"Avocats Sans Frontieres France/Lawyers Without Borders France renews its call
to the Government of Nigeria to put in place an official moratorium on the
death penalty. The theme for this year's celebration, 'The death penalty and
terrorism' is particularly relevant to the Nigerian situation in the wake of
terrorism in the North East of the country," she said.
According to Uwandu, it is unfortunate that Nigeria is one of the countries
that have introduced the death penalty as one of its measures for fighting
terrorism within its territories.
"As the Nigerian government continues its brave fight against the Boko Haram
group, the point however must be made that the death penalty has never been a
solution for addressing terrorism in any country.
"So far, 103 states have abolished the death penalty for all crimes, 6 have
abolished it for ordinary crimes, 32 respect a moratorium on executions making
141 States in total who have taken steps against the death penalty," she said.
She however urged Nigerian government to join the league of progressive nations
that have abrogated the death penalty from its laws.
She added that Nigeria should work towards restorative justice and ensure full
adherence to due process and the rule of law by reforming its criminal justice
system.
"The legislature both at the national and state levels must also refrain from
imposing the death penalty for future offences while steps are taken to review
existing laws prescribing the death penalty in Nigeria. The death penalty is
barbaric, absolute."
(source: today.ng)
******************
UK, others urge Nigeria to abolish death penalty
The United Kingdom, UK, yesterday, appealed to the federal governmment to end
death penalty in the country. A statement by the British High Commissioner to
Nigeria, Paul Arkwright, on the 2016 World Day against Death Penalty, said the
British government believed death penalty had no place in the modern world and
that its use undermined human dignity.
Arkwright, who said there was no conclusive evidence of its deterrent value,
added that any miscarriage of justice leading to its imposition was
irreversible and irreparable. He explained that the past 2 decades had seen a
significant rise in the number of countries that had abolished capital
punishment, noting, "I am concerned, therefore, that Nigeria, a model for
democracy in Africa, still retains the death penalty in its laws. In 2013
Nigeria carried out 4 executions, the 1st since 2006. At the time of the
execution, all 4 individuals still had appeals to halt their executions, a
violation of international law and I believe Nigerian law too."
He said while no death sentence had been implemented since 2013, Nigeria had
more than 1,000 prisoners on death row, the highest number of death sentences
in Africa.
"In 2015, Nigeria recorded 171 death sentences. This year too, there have been
death sentences handed down by Nigerian courts," he said.
The high commissioner pointed out that capital punishment fuelled hatred,
extremism and terrorism, stressing.
"With the security challenges Nigeria faces today, some argue that retaining
the death penalty is a just response to terrorism. My response to this view is
that there is evidence that shows that judicial killing fuels hatred, extremism
and terrorism. The real risk is that executing terrorists can generate many
more to take their place," he said.
On its part, Avocats Sans Frontieres France/Lawyers Without Borders France, has
renewed its call to the government to put in place an official moratorium on
the death penalty.
Angela Uwandu, Head of Office, Avocats Sans Frontieres France in a statement,
yesterday, said: "Unfortunately, Nigeria is one of the countries that have
introduced the death penalty as one of its measures for fighting terrorism
within its territories. As the Nigerian government continues its brave fight
against the Boko Haram group, the point, however, must be made that the death
penalty has never been a solution for addressing terrorism in any country."
Also, Legal Defence and Assistance Project, LEDAP, called on the government to
take urgent steps to protect its citizens facing the death penalty in foreign
countries especially in South East Asia.
National coordinator LEDAP, Mr Chino Obiagwu, in a statement, yesterday, said:
"We are concerned that the arrests, interrogations and trials of these
Nigerians usually violated basic norms of fair hearing. Most of them had no
interpreters during questioning upon arrest and even during trials.
"We call on Nigeria to enter into diplomatic negotiations with countries of the
South East Asia and Saudi Arabia to secure prison transfers of all Nigerians
currently convicted and sentenced to death in those countries, and to ensure
that consulate services are provided in future to any Nigerian arrested and
charged in any foreign country. We also urge the Nigerian National Assembly to
adopt laws to abolish the use of death sentence as punishment for any crime."
Human Rights Law Service, HURILAWS, also expressed concern that despite the
progressive abolition of the death penalty globally, Nigeria had opted to
expand the scope of the death penalty by including acts of terrorism among the
offences punishable by death. It said that often, these offences, which didn't
necessarily result in lethal consequences, were drafted in very broad and
undefined language, meaning they could be applied to a wide variety of
activities.
(source: vanguardngr.com)
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