Jan. 31
BANGLADESH:
7 Murders: Nur Hossain challenges death penalty
Former ward councillor of Narayanganj City Corporation Nur Hossain yesterday
challenged the death penalty awarded to him by a trial court in the
seven-murder case.
SRM Lutfor Rahman Akand, a lawyer for Nur, submitted 2 separate appeals to the
High Court, seeking his client's acquittal of the murder charge.
Citing the appeals, Lutfor told The Daily Star that his client was not present
on the spot where the 7 people were killed in Narayanganj in April 2014.
There was no witness' statement or evidence about the presence of Nur Hossain
at the scene of the crime, he said.
The lawyer said without considering the issue, the trial court sentenced his
client to death in 2 cases filed in connection with the killing of 7 people --
Narayanganj City Corporation panel mayor Nazrul Islam, his driver and 3
associates, and senior lawyer Chandan Sarkar and his driver.
Lutfor also said the HC might hold a hearing on the appeals.
The 7 were abducted allegedly by some Rapid Action Battalion men from
Dhaka-Narayanganj Link Road in Siddhirganj on April 27, 2014.
Nur, who was then a ward councillor of Narayanganj city, allegedly bribed the
Rab men to murder Nazrul with whom he reportedly had a longstanding political
feud. Lawyer Chandan and his driver were killed as they happened to witness the
Rab men abducting Nazrul and his associates.
The murder outraged the nation with Nazrul's father-in-law Shahidul Islam
alleging that the Rab men had taken Tk 6 crore from Nur to kill Nazrul.
On January 16, Narayanganj District and Sessions Judge's Court found 35 people,
including 25 former Rab men and expelled ruling AL man Nur Hossain, guilty of
abduction and murder of 7 people and destroying evidence in April 2014.
The court handed down death penalty to 26 people, including 16 former Rab men,
and jailed 9 other accused for various terms, from 7 to 17 years.
(source: thedailystar.net)
PHILIPPINES:
House debate on death penalty delayed as opponents block discussion
Plenary discussions on the bill for the reimposition of the death penalty will
have to wait another day, with lawmakers opposed to the proposed legislature
taking the floor as a "clear message" against fast-tracking its passage.
Deputy Speaker Fredenil Castro and Oriental Mindoro Rep. Rey Umali were
supposed to deliver their sponsorship speeches at Tuesday's session for House
Bill No. 4727, a consolidation of seven bills on capital punishment which
passed the Umali-led justice committee last month.
However, they eventually left the floor as several lawmakers against the
measure diverted the session - a move that eventually led to a "gentleman's
agreement" that the sponsorship and debates for the bill will be on Wednesday
afternoon instead. Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, a member of the House minority
bloc, confirmed this with reporters near the end of the plenary session, which
was adjourned 6:11 p.m.
"[O]ur only agreement is that we are going to have the death penalty bill
sponsored and debated tomorrow," Lagman said.
Asked what made proponents of the bill agree to this, the lawmaker said it may
be because "this debate would last until midnight."
"There are important and relevant concerns which the House would have to
address before we tackle an important, although retrogressive, measure like the
death penalty," he said.
"Moreover, we would like to send a clear message to the House leadership that
they cannot fast-track the enactment of this retrogressive measure," Lagman
added.
Lagman said the agreement may not extend to subsequent days, but noted that
opponents will no longer deliver privilege speeches on Wednesday and let the
debates start if there is a clear quorum.
Speeches
Tuesday's plenary session was witnessed by dozens of representatives from civil
society groups who oppose death penalty.
The day's events on the floor began when Buhay Rep. Lito Atienza asked for a
recount, after a quorum was declared with 224 representatives responding to the
roll call.
Atienza, who said there were only 152 solons on the floor, asked that his
manifestation be put on record, after the leadership refused his request for a
recount.
As Iloilo Rep. Arthur Defensor, deputy majority leader, repeatedly moved to
tackle bills on second reading, which included HB 4727, lawmakers opposed to
the death penalty rose and asked to deliver privilege speeches.
Granted 5 minutes, Akbayan party-list Rep. Tom Villarin spoke for some 17
minutes about the plight of fishermen in the tuna industry, notably those
detained in Indonesia.
Lagman asked to interpellate Villarin, but his request was denied.
As Defensor moved again to proceed with bills on 2nd reading, Atienza took the
podium anew, this time asking to talk about his concerns over 3 unnamed
lawmakers found in President Rodrigo Duterte's narco-list.
The party-list representative, who was eventually given 10 minutes to speak,
called the alleged involvement of his colleagues a "very personal and
collective matter" that affects the House as a whole.
Here, Atienza demanded that the three representatives allegedly involved in the
drug trade be named to clear the issue.
"3 of our members, according to them, are drug coddlers or drug lords
themselves. We need to clarify this, Mr. Speaker. We cannot be tackling
important measures in this chamber unless this is addressed and confronted with
the truth," he said.
"Let them be pointed out and let them defend themselves, here in Congress and
outside of Congress. They do not deserve to be called representatives of the
people and members of Congress if they have, in any way, in any relation, an
involvement in the drug trade," he added.
(source: gmanetwork.com)
******************
How lawmakers will argue vs death penalty bill----Opposition lawmaker Edcel
Lagman says the Philippines must first address 'much delayed' reforms in the
police and justice systems before reviving the death penalty
The opposition bloc outlined its main arguments against the return of the death
penalty as the House begins the plenary debates on the measure on Tuesday
afternoon, January 31.
Around two hours before the start of session, opposition lawmaker and Albay 1st
District Representative Edcel Lagman reiterated that House Bill Number 4727 is
not the solution to end crime.
"The first argument is that the death penalty is not the solution to
criminality, including the drug menace. Because the process of solving the
incidence of crimes is a multi-dynamic process, which would range form
sustainable poverty alleviation to reforms in the police, prosecutorial and
judicial systems," said Lagman.
He argued that it is also "the worst of times" to revive the death penalty,
citing the involvement of cops in the murder of South Korean businessmen Jee
Ick Joo as well as the Supreme Court sacking 17 judges as part of its efforts
to clean its ranks.
"While no time is right and ripe for pushing the reimposition of the death
penalty, now is the worst of times to enact the revival of capital punishment
when scalawag cops are the felons and rogues in robes preside over the life or
death of citizens," said Lagman.
"Justice is not only delayed but also wantonly waylaid, due to the flawed,
inept and corrupt police, prosecutorial and judicial systems. We must put the
death penalty bill irretrievably in the backburner and address and implement
much delayed reforms in the police and justice systems," he added.
The House of Representatives is expected to begin its debate on the death
penalty bill after House justice committee chairperson and Oriental Mindoro 2nd
District Representative Reynaldo Umali sponsors the measure on 2nd reading
Tuesday afternoon.
No less than President Rodrigo Duterte, who is allied with a majority of
congressmen, said the death penalty is a way to exact payment from the
perpetrators of heinous crimes.
Sacredness of life, 'fallible' justice system
The opposition bloc, however, remains unfazed, saying they have gathered at
least 50 congressmen to oppose the bill. As of posting, 25 lawmakers are
already lined up to interpellate against the return of the death penalty.
Apart from the argument that the capital punishment is not a true deterrent to
crime, Lagman said they will be arguing that life is sacred.
"Another reason is that life is sacrosanct. No one should be allowed to deprive
man of his life. And even the Pope instructs that a viability of life is both
for the criminal and for the innocent," he said.
"Another is justice is fallible so much so that even the innocent can be sent
to the gallows. The Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that it will be better
to free 10 accused who are possibly guilty of the crime they are charged than
to convict one person who is innocent," Lagman added.
He also said that Duterte's retribution defense for the death penalty is an
"anathema to the modern trend of penology which is reformative justice."
Anti-death penalty lawmakers will also argue that the measure is anti-poor.
"Another ground is the death penalty further marginalizes and victimizes the
poor who cannot afford competent counsel and who will not have access to court
processes," said Lagman.
International repercussions
The Philippine is also a state party to the International Convention on Civil
and Political Rights (ICCPR) as well as the Second Protocol on the ICCPR,
wherein all signatories are mandated to abolish the death penalty and ensure it
will not be reimposed.
"We will be losing our preeminent leadership in the ASEAN and Asian regions,
wherein we have been acknowledged as leader of advocating the promotion of
human rights and the abolition of the death penalty," he said.
He added that the Philippines stands to lose tariff-free exports to
country-members of the European Union, "where the only condition is we abide by
the tenets of human rights."
There are other reasons or grounds, but we will be ventillating these during
the debates. All of these reasons are all compelling reasons why the death
penalty should not be reimposed," said Lagman.
(source: rappler.com)
*****************************
CBCP on death penalty: No person is beyond redemption
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines once again vowed to oppose
the government's move to legalize the capital punishment.
In a statement released on Monday, CBCP President Archbishop Socrates Villegas
said he and his fellow bishops regret that there are efforts to restore the
death penalty after it was abolished 10 years ago.
"Though the crime be heinous, no person is ever beyond redemption, and we have
no right ever giving up on any person," Villegas said.
For the country's Catholic bishops, reimposing capital punishment will strip
the government of its authority to condemn violence and murder.
"When we condemn violence, we cannot ourselves be its perpetrators, and when we
decry murder, we cannot ourselves participate in murder, no matter that it may
be accompanied by the trappings of judicial and legal process," the prelate
added.
Villegas also reminded the government that it is legally bound not to restore
the capital punishment, being one of the the countries that ratified the Second
Optional Protocol to the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Reinstating the death penalty was one of the campaign promises of President
Rodrigo Duterte, a move which he believes would curb criminality in the
country.
The Cory Aquino administration abolished death penalty after the fall of the
Marcos dictatorship in 1986.
Capital punishment was restored for "heinous crimes" during the Ramos
government, and it was carried out by the Estrada administration starting in
1999 with the execution of Leo Echegaray in 1999. This was followed by a long
moratorium, and in 2006, the Arroyo government abolished the death penalty.
Under some of the bills filed before the Congress, death penalty will be
imposed on certain heinous crimes such as murder, parricide, carnapping and
drug-related crimes.
The Catholic Church in the Philippines has been a prime force in opposing the
death penalty, citing the Church's position of upholding the sanctity of life.
Pope Francis, in his message at the world conference against the death penalty
in Norway last year, called for a world "free of death penalty", arguing that
the practice brings no justice to the victims and merely fosters vengeance.
(source: abs-cbn.com)
**************
CBCP reaffirms opposition to death penalty on heels of plenary assembly
The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) in a statement on
Monday reaffirmed its opposition to the death penalty, an election issue in
President Rodrigo R. Duterte???s crime-centered campaign that is on the way to
being revived in the 17th Congress.
"The Gospel of the Lord Jesus is the Gospel of Life. It is this Gospel we must
preach. It is this Gospel that we must uphold," went the CBCP statement on the
heels of its 114th Plenary Assembly beginning last Saturday, Jan. 28.
"We therefore unequivocally oppose proposals and moves to return the death
penalty into the Philippine legal system."
"We took a considerable stride in the defense of life when we repealed the
Heinous Crimes Act that provided for the death penalty in what were considered
"heinous crimes," the group added.
"We regret that there are strident efforts to restore the death penalty. Though
the crime be heinous, no person is ever beyond redemption, and we have no right
ever giving up on any person.
"When we condemn violence, we cannot ourselves be its perpetrators, and when we
decry murder, we cannot ourselves participate in murder, no matter that it may
be accompanied by the trappings of judicial and legal process.
"Throughout the world, the trend against the death penalty is unmistakable, and
international covenants, one of which the Philippines is party to, obligate us
not to impose the death penalty," the CBCP also said.
"We urge the government to champion life for all!" concluded the group, which
Mr. Duterte of late had been ranting at, specifying "sins" by the Catholic
Church and by particular priests.
(source: Business World Online)
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:
Maids who strangled their sleeping lover in Sharjah are sentenced to death
2 maids who strangled to death a driver they were both lovers of have been
given the death penalty.
The 2 Asian women were found guilty of murdering the Asian driver, who worked
at their sponsor's home, by strangling him with a telephone cord in October
2014.
The body of the Asian driver was discovered in his room at the Emirati home.
Police questioned the 2 maids, who worked in the same household, after the
forensic report showed that the driver was strangled to death.
Initially, the women denied murdering the driver, who lived in an adjacent room
to theirs, when they were questioned, however, they admitted later that they
murdered him after they discovered that he was having an out-of-wedlock
relationship with both of them separately.
They confessed to police that they strangled him while he was asleep.
On Monday, Sharjah Criminal Court found the women guilty and handed them both
the death sentence. The sentence will be subject to appeal.
(source: The National)
IRAN:
Man Arrested At 17 Faces Imminent Execution (Iran: UA 296/15)
Urgent Action
Hamid Ahmadi, an Iranian man arrested as a juvenile, is at imminent risk of
execution. He has been transferred to solitary confinement in Lakan prison in
Rasht, northern Iran, in preparation for his execution on 4 February. He was 17
years old when he was arrested for the fatal stabbing of a young man during a
fight between him and 4 others in 2008.
Hamid Ahmadi is scheduled to be executed on 4 February for the fatal stabbing
of a young man that took place during a fight among 5 boys in the city of
Siahkal, Gilan Province, in 2008, when he was just 17 years old. On 28 January,
he was moved to solitary confinement in Rasht's Lakan prison, Gilan Province,
in preparation for his execution. This is the 3rd time that Hamid Ahmadi has
been scheduled to be executed and subjected to the mental anguish of being
transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for his execution. The last
time this occurred was in May 2015 when his execution was halted at the last
minute due to public pressure. Following this, he was granted a retrial based
on new juvenile sentencing provisions in Iran's 2013 Islamic Penal Code.
However, the Provincial Criminal Court of Gilan Province sentenced him to death
for the second time in December 2015.
Hamid Ahmadi, now aged 26, was first sentenced to death in August 2009
following an unfair trial before Branch 11 of the Provincial Criminal Court of
Gilan Province. The court relied on "confessions" he had made at the police
station after his arrest, when he did not have access to a lawyer or his
family. Hamid Ahmadi has said that the "confessions" were obtained under
torture and other ill-treatment. He says that police officers held him for 3
days in a filthy, urine-stained cell; tied his hands and feet together and
pushed him face down on the cell floor; tied him to a pole in the yard; kicked
his genitals; and denied him food and water. One officer told him that he
should not fear execution and should just "confess" to the stabbing so that the
investigation would be concluded as soon as possible. Hamid Ahmadi has said
that the pain inflicted on him was so severe that he was willing to confess to
anything to end it. The authorities are not known to have investigated his
torture allegations.
TAKE ACTION
Write a letter, send an email, call, fax or tweet:
-- Urging the Iranian authorities to immediately halt any plans to execute
Hamid Ahmadi, and immediately establish an official moratorium on executions
with a view to abolishing the death penalty;
-- Urging them to ensure his conviction and sentence are quashed and he is
granted a fair retrial in accordance with the principles of juvenile justice,
without resort to the death penalty, in particular ensuring that no statements
obtained through torture or other ill-treatment or without the presence of his
lawyer are admitted as evidence;
-- Urging them to ensure that his allegations of torture and other
ill-treatment are investigated and that those responsible are held to account
in trials that meet international fair trial standards;
-- Reminding them that there is an absolute prohibition on the use of the
death penalty for crimes committed by persons below 18 years of age under the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the
Rights of the Child, which Iran has ratified.
Contact below official by 13 March, 2017:
The Office of the Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Sayed 'Ali Khamenei
Islamic Republic Street- End of Shahid Keshvar Doust Street
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Salutation: Your Excellency
--
Office of the Supreme Leader
Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations
622 Third Avenue, 34th Floor
New York, NY 10017
Fax: (212) 867-7086 // Phone: (212) 687-2020
Email: i...@un.int
Ayatollah Sayed 'Ali Khamenei
Salutation: Your Excellency
(source: Amnesty International USA)
BRITAIN/BAHRAIN:
Britain's cash and Bahrain's firing squads - 5 things we've learned
In January 2017, Bahrain carried out the politically-motivated executions of 3
men - Abbas al-Samea, Sami Mushaima and Ali al-Singace. All were sentenced to
death on the basis of forced 'confessions' given under torture. 2 more
prisoners - Mohamed Ramadhan and Husain Moosa - face imminent execution. Both
were tortured into providing false confessions and then sentenced on the basis
of torture confessions.
Amid these abuses, there are worrying signs that Britain is helping to prop up
Bahrain's death penalty system.
Here are 5 things we know so far.
1: Britain has spent 5 million pounds assisting the system that made these
executions possible
British assistance to justice and security institutions in Bahrain has included
training police officers, prosecutors, torture investigators - even guards on
the death row where Abbas al-Samea, Sami Mushaima and Ali al-Singace were held
before being executed.
Torture is systematic in Bahrain's prisons, especially for the purpose of
extracting 'confessions' that are used to sentence people to death. Serious
concerns about torture and false confessions have been raised in nearly every
death penalty case currently proceeding in Bahrain.
2: The 3 men executed were categorically failed by UK-trained institutions
Abbas and Sami were tortured into providing false confessions in Bahrain's
Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) building just months before Her
Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons assisted an inspection of that very police
station. The report that emerged after the inspection made no mention of their
torture allegations. Later, Bahrain's Special Investigation Unit (SIU), a
UK-trained body which is supposed to investigate torture complaints, ignored
Sami's complaints entirely and conducted a sham investigation into Abbas'
allegations.
At the same time, the Bahraini Ombudsman for the Ministry of Interior, a 3rd
UK-trained body, ignored Mohamed's torture complaints and refused to
investigate them for more than 2 years, during which time Mohamed and Husain
were sentenced to death.
3: Britain can no longer claim to be promoting human rights in Bahrain
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) claims that the goal of its
assistance programme is to engender human rights reform in Bahrain, and
ministers have characterised UK projects in Bahrain as successful. A
deteriorating human rights record and a return to executions after 6 years cast
serious doubts over these claims.
The performance of the institutions receiving UK training should be the
benchmark for measuring the success of UK assistance in Bahrain. By that
metric, Britain's deep entanglement with the Bahraini criminal justice system
should be considered an abject failure. Abbas, Sami and Ali were executed on
the basis of 'confessions' given under horrific torture - including beatings,
electric shocks to the genitals and sexual assault.
Mohamed and Husain were sentenced to death under the same circumstances and now
face imminent execution. Yet in each case, the actions of UK-trained
institutions have allowed the death sentences to go forward.
4: The British government has repeatedly ignored evidence of human rights
abuses linked to the bodies it is training
There is clear evidence of Bahrain's appalling human rights record. Other
countries are openly critical and are taking action - the United States has a
blanket ban on any security support to Bahrain's Ministry of Interior. But
still, the UK has refused to suspend its involvement.
5: More executions are imminent and the British government is yet to act
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has refused to confirm whether any steps were
taken to prevent Bahrain's recent executions - or whether any action will be
taken to stop the upcoming executions of Mohammed Ramadan and Husain Moosa.
The British government cannot be allowed to use taxpayer pounds to help Bahrain
whitewash its torture record, while the Gulf Kingdom goes ahead with death
sentences and executions.
(source: reprieve.org.uk)
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