April 26
PHILIPPINES:
Drilon: no resurrection of death penalty at the Senate
The bill seeking to revive the death penalty is already "dead in the Senate."
Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said this Wednesday as the chamber is
expected to tackle the proposal when the session resumes next week.
The chamber has failed to get a consensus on the bill, a priority anti-crime
measure of President Rodrigo Duterte.
"It's dead and the chances of resurrecting it before we even bring it to a vote
are very slim, if not zero, at least in this Congress," Drilon said in a
statement.
He said the measure, a version of which was speedily passed at the House of
Representatives in March, does not have enough votes at the chamber.
"By my own estimate, there are at least 13 senators who will block the passage
of the death penalty bill, including the 6-member minority group and 7 from the
majority block," Drilon said.
7 bills are currently pending at the Senate seeking to restore the death
penalty for various crimes.
Sen. Manny Pacquiao, the revival's fiercest sponsor, has three proposals to
impose the death penalty on convicts of aggravated rape, kidnapping and
drug-related crimes.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian has 2: 1 seeks an amendment to the 2002 anti-drug law
to impose the death penalty for drug sale and trading, and another for heinous
crimes such as child trafficking, exploitation, pornography and rape.
Sen. JV Ejercito is proposing to revive the death penalty for a foreigner found
guilty of drug trafficking in the Philippines.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson meanwhile proposed to revive the punishment as maximum
penalty for those convicted of terrorism, plunder, bribery, treason, piracy,
kidnapping, drug-related crimes, parricide, murder, infanticide, rape, and
destructive arson.
Apart from the authors, Drilon identified Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto
III and Sen. Cynthia Villar as those who have expressed support for the revival
in media interviews.
Meanwhile, those opposed to the proposal other than Drilon are the other
minority members: Senators Francis Pangilinan, the detained Leila De Lima, and
Benigno Paolo Aquino of the Liberal Party (LP), Akbayan Senator Risa
Hontiveros, an LP guest candidate during the elections, and Sen. Antonio
"Sonny" Trillanes IV.
De Lima has a pending bill seeking to prohibit the reimposition of death
penalty.
Drilon said another LP member, Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto, is
also against the controversial measure.
"We are ready to lead the fight against the death penalty bill. We believe that
a death penalty law was not and will never be an effective deterrence against
crime," Drilon said.
"It will be detrimental to the poor who will be made victims of this cruel and
inhumane punishment due to the inefficiencies of our judicial system," he
added.
(source: abs-cbn.com)
SAUDI ARABIA:
Twitter goes wild over reported death penalty for 'atheism' in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia has reportedly sentenced a young man to death for apostasy. The
news has stirred up Twitter users, with some expressing sadness and sorrow,
while others praised the move.
On Tuesday, a Saudi Arabian court dismissed an appeal from Ahmad Al Shamri, who
had spent 3 years in prison over charges of "atheism and blasphemy," the
Exmuslim website reports.
Al Shamri was in his early 20s and lived the city of Hafr Al-Batin in the
country's Eastern Province, according to the website. He had reportedly
renounced Islam and posted various videos reflecting his views on social media.
The man was arrested in 2014, faced trial and was sentenced to death in
February 2015.
After the appeal was rejected, social media users were split over the court
decision, posting their comments under a trending hashtag, which can be
translated from Arabic as "apostate from Hafar Al-Batin."
Many social media users condemned Saudi Arabia, pointing out that the country
is a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
(source: rt.com)
IRAN:
More Than 30 Men Arrested For 'Sodomy' In Iran Face Death Penalty if Convicted:
Reports
More than 30 men were arrested after a private party in the Bahadoran region of
Isfahan, Iran was raided by the police, Iranian Railroad for Queer Refugees
reported Thursday. Their charges are sodomy, drinking alcohol and using
psychedelic drugs and they face the death penalty if found guilty.
The men, between the ages of 16 and 30, the Canadian charity reports, were
rounded up late April 13 amid gunshots and beatings from police, according to
the Jerusalem Post.
"IRQR received several reports in last few days and were able to confirm that
police attacked guests and physically beat them. Police detained them all at
the Basij (Revolutionary Guard Militia) Station and then transferred them to
Esfahan's Dastgerd Prison. A few people managed to escape and we received
reports that there were several heterosexual individuals among those arrested,"
IRQR reported.
IRQR also reported that those arrested were forced to name their LGBT friends
to authorities. In Iran, homosexuality is punishable by death, according to the
International Society for Human Rights.
IRQR reports that a special prosecutor has been named and that those arrested
will be subjected to anal examination to prove the homosexuality charges.
In Iran, LGBT citizens are afforded very little, if any, civil rights.
Presently, LGBT citizens cannot marry, cannot adopt, cannot serve openly in the
military and are not protected from any discrimination, according to Equaldex.
In 2007, then-Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad infamously declared while
at Columbia University that there were no gay people in Iran.
European civil rights leaders are calling for the EU to step in.
"While the Islamic State throws gays from rooftops, the Islamic Republic hangs
them. Iran's regime forces homosexuals to flee the country and the EU turns a
blind eye," Stefan Schaden, an LGBT rights activist and spokesman for the
European "Stop The Bomb campaign" said in an email to the Jerusalem Post. "The
EU is, however, required in their dealings with third countries to comply with
binding guidelines laid down in the Union's 'LGBTI [lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender and/or intersex] Toolkit' to combat state violence against LGBTI
persons. The EU must clearly step up its efforts in this regard and consider
more human rights sanctions against the Iranian regime."
This incident comes on the heels of reports that in Chechnya, gay men are being
rounded up, tortured and in some cases even killed.
(source: towleroad.com)
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO:
Hangings in T&T 'as soon as lawfully possible'
The current number of people on death row as of yesterday stands at 37.
Of those 37, 12 people can be hanged within the time frame set out in the Pratt
and Morgan ruling, which states that "in any case in which execution was to
take place more than 5 years after sentencing, there would be strong grounds
for believing that the delay was such as to constitute inhuman or degrading
punishment or other treatment".
The figures were confirmed by Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi who was at the
time responding to questions from the Opposition in the Upper House.
Asked what government's timetable to resume hangings is, Al-Rawi indicated that
the death penalty would be carried out as soon as it was lawfully possible,
given the current circumstances.
Al-Rawi explained the process involved in carrying out hangings.
"It is necessary to put on the record again...that there are 3 steps of
approach towards managing the criminal justice system as it relates to
implementing the death penalty.
The 1st...is that you have a High Court matter where conviction may be given.
Secondly...is that you're entitled to appeal that to the Court of Appeal. After
appeal to the Court of Appeal, then to the Privy Council, then lastly to the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights."
In examining data from 2006 to present day, he noted, however, that the appeals
process has proved to be challenging, placing additional hurdles in the way of
the implementation of the death penalty.
"One notes from the data standing under the last government, that of the 37
people on death row, 29 of them have had consideration by the last government.
And of that 29, 6 of them were met with a conclusion of appeal at the Privy
Council just at the 5-year marker with the then track having to run on the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights."
Al-Rawi said a new tracking system monitors each file of every person who
stands convicted to be hanged in accordance with the laws of Trinidad and
Tobago.
Since May 2016 to present day, 8 additional people (included in the 37 on death
row) have been committed to hang.
According to the AG, 25 persons in total are being tracked for the
implementation of the law, "so that the State ensures that every step that it
has within its power to comply with the State???s input into the appellate
process is preserved and...accomplished".
"In those circumstances, we expect to carry out the death penalty as soon as is
lawfully possible in all the circumstances," he said.
(source: looptt.com)
PAKISTAN----executions
Another 4 militants executed in Pakistan----Military courts have sentenced 161
militants to death penalty since 2014 following Peshawar school attack
Another 4 militants, convicted by military courts for their involvement in
terrorism, have been executed at a jail in northwestern Pakistan, an army
spokesman said on Tuesday.
"Another 4 hardcore terrorists involved in committing heinous offenses relating
to terrorism, including the killing of innocent civilians, attacking armed
forces of Pakistan and law enforcement agencies have been executed at a jail in
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa [northwestern province]," the spokesman said in a statement.
The executed convicts Rehman ud Din, Mushtaq Khan, Obaid ur Rehman, and Zafar
Iqbal were members of the Pakistani Taliban coalition, Tehrik-e-Taliban
Pakistan (TTP).
Pakistan established controversial military courts to try "hardcore" militants
following a deadly gun-and-bomb attack on an army-run school in Peshawar in
December 2014, which claimed the lives of over 140 people, mostly students.
The military courts, which were given another 2-year extension by parliament
last month, have sentenced 161 militants to the death penalty, 26 of whom have
been executed.
Islamabad lifted a 6-year long de facto ban on capital punishment in 2014
following the Peshawar school attack.
According to official statistics, over 8,000 death row convicts are currently
in jail.
(source: Anadolu Agency)
INDIA:
Serial killer sisters say they don't deserve 'barbaric' death penalty
A pair of serial killer sisters from India who murdered 9 kids - 1 not even a
year old - say they shouldn't be hanged on the gallows because doing so would
more "barbaric" than they deserve.
Instead, a lawyer for Renuka Shinde and her younger sibling Seema Gavit is
making one last-ditch bid to have a judge commute their sentence to life in
prison, according to News.com.au.
Shinde and Gavit, now both in their 40s, have been held in custody since 1996
when they were busted along with their mother Anjana Bai Gavit for kidnapping
13 young children and murdering 9 as part of a pickpocketing ring that operated
out of the city of Pune.
Their helpless victims commissioned to help them steal, ranged in age from 9
months to 2 years old.
The evil trio killed the children they deemed useless in the most gruesome
ways.
The 9-month-old was starved and beaten to death because he cried too much,
another was gagged and drowned in a toilet and a 4-year-old boy was hung upside
down, his head slammed against a wall until he died.
The sisters were convicted at trial in 2001 of 6 of the 9 slayings - but 1 was
overturned on appeal.
Their mom died behind bars in 1997 while awaiting trial.
The sisters are now among 13 women on death row in India, including Fahmida
Sayed, who planted a car bomb in Mumbai that left 54 people dead in 2003.
The last woman to be hanged in the country was in 1955.
The sisters' previous exhausted all appeals to have their execution overturned.
(source: New York Post)
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