Oct. 11
EGYPT:
Egypt sentences 8 defendants to death over violence-related charges
An Egyptian court on Tuesday sentenced 8 defendants to death over storming a
police station in a city just south of Cairo in 2013.
The ruling by the Cairo Criminal Court also sentenced 50 others to life in
prison on charges that include the 2013 attack on the Helwan police station.
The attack came after security forces dispersed two sit-ins by supporters of
then president, Mohammed Morsi, who was overthrown by the military in 2013.
The verdict can be appealed. Prosecutors have already received a non-binding
approval for the death penalty in the case from the country's chief Islamic
legal authority.
(source: radio.gov.pk)
RUSSIA:
Europe may force Russia reinstate death penalty
Russia will consider the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights null
and void in the event the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
refuses to reinstate the Russian delegation in 2018, Valentina Matvienko, the
Speaker of the Council of the Federation said.
The Secretary General of the Council of Europe will be elected in 2018. There
is awareness that without the participation of any delegation, in particular,
the Russian one, the election of the head of this organization is not going to
be completely legitimate. This applies to the elections of the judges of the
ECHR too," Matvienko said on Monday on Rossiya 24 television channel.
When asked whether the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights are
going to be considered illegitimate on the territory of the Russian Federation,
Matvienko responded: "Naturally, of course."
In this connection, Russia may reinstate the death penalty as a form of capital
punishment for grave crimes. Will Russia make such a move?
Russia was invited to the Council of Europe in 1996. The abolition of the death
penalty was a mandatory condition for Russia to join the international European
organization. In 1997, Russia signed Protocol No. 6 to the Convention for the
Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms concerning the abolition of
the death penalty (in peacetime). The protocol was not ratified, but Russia has
not been practicing death penalty since 1996. Russia does not resort to capital
punishment under the Vienna Convention, because a signatory state is supposed
to follow the provisions of the protocol before it is ratified.
Can Russia reinstate the death penalty and should we do it indeed? We talked
about the problem in a brief interview with first deputy chairman of the
Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security, Franz Klintsevich.
According to the senator, the Council of the Federation has recently had a
heated discussion about a bill, according to which those convicted for
terrorism should be provided with conditions to communicate with their
relatives and friends. This is also part of Europe's requirements, Franz
Klintsevich noted.
"Members of the committee have expressed harsh reactions on the subject, but we
have made a decision in accordance with requirements of the international law.
We have also set up a conciliation commission to revise the document. As for
the remarks by Speaker Valentina Matviyenko, I also believe that we should
defend our interests more rigidly and look at things the way many people look,
including the Americans. I am talking about the need to take into account the
mentality of our own people, without being fixated on the things that they
impose on us from the outside," the senator said.
According to Klintsevich, for the time being, Russia is not going to abolish
the moratorium on the death penalty, but one can talk about it today.
"I am personally convinced that terrorists, pedophiles, serial killers and
corrupt officials, in case of a court verdict, should face such a form of
punishment as death penalty," said Klintsevich.
(source: pravdareport.com)
SERBIA:
"2/3 of Serbians want death penalty reintroduced"
Deputy Ombudsman Milos Jankovic says the fact that the number of Serbians who
are in favor of reintroducing the death penalty is on the rise is worrying.
According to Jankovic, who spoke on the occasion of October 10, World and
European Day Against the Death Penalty, last year a little over 1/2 of those
surveyed favored this, while now the number has reached over 2/3.
He recalled that the last time the death penalty was carried out in Serbia was
in February 1992, while the practice was formally abolished in 2002.
Jankovic, who is the ombudsman's deputy for the rights of imprisoned persons,
is convinced, however, that the death penalty will never be reintroduced in
this country, and that Serbia will never again execute a human being.
(source: b92.net)
PAKISTAN:
Intizar - an unequivocal call for abolition of death penalty
With its final performance, 'Intizar', at the Indus Valley School of Art and
Architecture, the week-long 'Bus Kar Do' campaign, calling for abolition of
death penalty, wound up on Tuesday evening.
The campaign was run by Lahore-based Justice Project Pakistan, Azad Theatre,
and Highlight Arts. The performance coincided with the World Day Against Death
Penalty falling on October 10.
Travelling all the way by special bus from Lahore to Karachi, stopping en route
at Sahiwal, Sukkur, and Hyderabad and performing at these places too, the
troupe staged its final performance in Karachi on Tuesday.
In the tradition of street theatre, the act was performed out in the open
courtyard without the theatre paraphernalia like sets and lighting. Yet the
actors managed to convey their message in a very profound way.
The message was the weaknesses of the justice dispensation system whereby
loopholes in the law often send the innocent to the gallows, as a result of
exploitation by selfish, dishonest officials or various caveats.
This particular musical skit enacted the story of a teenager, Owais, who
mysteriously disappears from among his group of friends. The whole locality is
in a frightening quandary but the political elder with his oily tongue assures
the residents that the killer would be apprehended soon and orders the police
official to arrest him by the evening.
The police officer takes a real short-cut and randomly arrests one of the
cronies of the teenager who implores to be released, with protestations of his
innocence.
However, the police officer is in no mood to listen. The denouement of the play
is that Owais, who actually is a worker from a remote part of Pakistan and has
come to a big city to eke out a living, finally goes to the gallows despite his
innocence.
Given its sombre theme, the scenes were often depressing, what with shrouded
dead bodies of convicts/victims being carried, but it drove home a very
profound message, something that would give us all real food for thought.
What made it all even more intense was the rendition of the songs by Sarfaraz
Ansari, in his deep, rich voice, complete with those cadences and voice
modulations that make a song impactful.
The Punjabi lyrics were so reflective of our treasured cultural heritage of the
province. Besides, they really reflected the tragedy the play was depicting;
Ansari really injected feeling into the songs.
Ryan Van Winkle, a US citizen presently associated with the Highlight Arts, UK,
and is based in Edinburgh, Scotland, while talking to The News, said that while
he did not advocate complete and total abolition of the death penalty right
away, he felt that the state should not meddle with the justice dispensation
system beyond a certain limit.
Before sentencing a convict to the ultimate punishment, a whole set of factors
should be considered that motivated the crime, plus the circumstances of the
perpetrator of the crime.
The pun, Bus Kar Do, is actually supposed to convey the idea of the bus that
has brought the troupe over and is an exhortation to terminate the system of
capital punishment.
(source: thenews.com.pk)
*************
'Wider public debate needed on death penalty'
Senator Farhatullah Babar said on Tuesday that a wider public debate is needed
on the death penalty that engages all sections of society in all provinces,
instead of just politician and opinion-makers.
The senator was speaking to participants at a demonstration organised by the
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on the international day against the
death penalty.
Senator Babar said that even if it is not initially possible to abolish the
death penalty, basic legal guarantees in death penalty cases can and must be
ensured.
Regardless of one's opinion, there can be no disagreement on the presumption of
innocence until proven guilty, the right to a proper legal defence and
declaring confessions extracted through torture illegal, he said.
He added that some jurists have also proposed a time gap between conviction and
the pronouncement of the sentence, to safeguard against a hasty death penalty.
Senator Babar said there are laws with locus in religion that cannot be
changed, but while there are only 2 crimes that are punishable by death
according to the religion, there are 27 crimes that carry the death penalty,
and called for a review.
He added that in Pakistan, the death penalty was almost abolished for the rich
and privileges due to the mis-application of the Qisas and Diyat provisions.
He said the moratorium on the death penalty was lifted only in cases of
hardcore terrorists.
We ought to know how many of the hundreds executed during the past 3 years were
terrorists and how many were ordinary criminals, he said.
Any one who has taken the lives of others, how he could be spared. Since last 3
years when executions of the terrorists and murderers have restarted , there is
drastic decline in terrorism and crime.
(source: dawn.com)
******************
HRCP holds rally against death penalty
About 15 to 20 activists of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) held
a rally on Tuesday to mark the "15th World Day against Death Penalty".
The participants in the rally held outside the Lahore Press Club, and led by
HRCP Director Mona Baig and Programme Coordinator Tahira Habib, demanded the
government to abolish the death penalty and adopt a moratorium on death
penalties. The participants were carrying placards inscribed with slogans like
calling attention to miscarriages of justice and the need to honour life.
On the occasion, the HRCP activists distributed pamphlets among commuters and
media which explained the need to abolish death penalty. According to the
pamphlet, death penalty in Pakistan has become controversial. At the time of
independence, only 2 offences, murder and treason, carried death penalty while
today, 28 crimes are punishable by it. According to the pamphlet, increase in
offences which carry death penalty has been made against logic and without due
consideration.
HRCP said that execution of criminals is state killing its own citizens, adding
that the capital punishment has come to end in 140 countries and the campaign
for abolition of capital punishment is gaining momentum across the world.
HRCP Chief Coordinator Hafeez Buzdar said that the poor cannot afford expenses
of fighting cases in the courts and in most cases they are awarded capital
punishment which amounts to a discrimination in law.
According to HRCP Database Administrator Muhammad Adeel, 55 prisoners have been
executed in Pakistan in 2017 by August 31, while 175 have been convicted
between June-July 2017 alone.
(source: Pakistan Today)
SINGAPORE:
Executions continue in flawed attempt to tackle drug crime, despite limited
reforms
Singapore's continued reliance on mandatory death sentences, which violate
international law, has meant that dozens of low level drug offenders have been
sent to death row in recent years, Amnesty International said in a new report
released today.
Cooperate or Die also reveals how death penalty reforms introduced in 2013,
while reducing the number of people sentenced to death, do not go nearly far
enough and in particular have left life and death decisions in the hands of the
public prosecutor instead of judges.
"Singapore likes to paint itself as a prosperous and progressive role model,
but its use of the death penalty shows flagrant disregard for human life. The
country relies on harsh laws that overwhelmingly target drug offenders on the
lower rungs of the ladder, many of whom will come from disadvantaged
backgrounds," said Chiara Sangiorgio, Amnesty International's Death Penalty
Adviser.
"The reforms introduced in 2013 were a step in the right direction and have
allowed some people to escape the gallows, but in key respects they have been
flawed from the outset.
"Singapore is influential beyond its size in both Asia and the rest of the
world. The government should move forward from these reforms towards ending
capital punishment once and for all."
Amnesty International's investigation, based on extensive analysis of court
documents, shows that Singaporean courts continue to hand down mandatory
sentences in drug-trafficking cases, even though the new reforms should allow
for more leniency.
Mandatory death sentences do not allow judges to take into account the
mitigating circumstances of the crime or of the offenders. They leave courts
with no option but to condemn drug offenders to the gallows.
The majority of people sent to death row for drug offences in the last four
years have possessed relatively small amount of drugs and many say they were
driven to the drug trade by unemployment or debt.
Since the new reforms were introduced in 2013, drug carriers should be able to
avoid mandatory death sentences by co-operating sufficiently with the state
prosecutor during the investigation phase or trial. However, decisions on who
meets this criteria rests fully with the public prosecutor and not the judge,
and are taken behind closed doors in a murky and non-transparent process.
"The use of mandatory death sentences in Singapore must end immediately.
Although there has been a reduction in such sentences in the last few years,
the fact that they are still used at all is cause for deep concern," said
Chiara Sangiorgio.
A flawed tool to tackle crime
Singaporean officials have continued to justify the retention of the death
penalty by pointing to it being a supposedly effective tool to tackle crime.
Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister of Foreign Affairs, in a speech to the UN in
September 2016 said: "In our view, capital punishment for drug-related offences
and for murder has been a key element in keeping Singapore drug free and
keeping Singapore safe."
This is despite the fact that there is no evidence that the threat of execution
is more of a deterrent to crime than other penalties such as life imprisonment,
something confirmed in multiple studies, including by the UN, across the globe.
"Singapore is deluding itself if it thinks the death penalty is an effective
tool to reduce crime rates. This is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading
punishment, it does not make us safer - a fact the vast majority of the world's
countries have acknowledged," said Chiara Sangiorgio.
"Singapore should immediately put a freeze on the implementation of the death
penalty with a view to its eventual repeal. In the short term, the country must
reform its legal framework to bring it in line with international law, and
ensure that death row convicts are afforded all legal protections guaranteed
under international law and standards."
Crackdown on activists
Since the reforms were introduced, Singaporean authorities have also
increasingly cracked down on those voicing dissent against the use of the death
penalty, in particular lawyers and other activists. A new law introduced in
2016 has tightened already severe restrictions on the ability of human rights
defenders and others to criticise court decisions.
In August 2017, for example, the High Court fined one lawyer who represented a
death row convict SD6,000 (USD4,400) after he made a Facebook post critical of
the judiciary hours before his client was due to be executed.
"Singaporean authorities have never had much time for the right to freedom of
expression, and they are now increasingly seeking to silence debate on the use
of capital punishment. This deliberate pattern of harassing those advocating
for the right to life must end immediately," said Chiara Sangiorgio.
Background
Singapore has seen marked progress on its use of the death penalty since the
mid-1990s, when the city state was the world's highest executioner per capita
and implemented dozens of death sentences every year.
Over the past 3 years, a total of 10 people have been executed (4 in 2016),
while at least 17 death sentences were imposed in the same period. In all
cases, those sentenced to death have been convicted of murder or drug
trafficking.
Drug-related offences do not meet the threshold of the "most serious crimes" to
which the death penalty must be restricted under international law
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases and under any
circumstances, regardless of the nature of the crime, the characteristics of
the offender, or the method used by the state to carry out the execution. The
organization considers the death penalty a violation of the right to life as
recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the ultimate cruel,
inhuman and degrading punishment.
(source: Amnesty International)
BAHRAIN:
Spotlight On 16 Bahrainis facing execution on annual world day against death
penalty
Rights groups are hoping to highlight the alarming number of Bahrainis on death
row on the occasion of the annual World Day Against the Death Penalty.
According to the UK-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD), 16
Bahrainis are currently awaiting execution in the Persian Gulf kingdom.
The rights group alleges that 13 were convicted of politically motivated
charges; 9 of them this year.
On January 15, Manama executed 3 Shiite men in what marked the 1st death
sentences to be carried in decades.
Sami Mushaima, Ali Al-Singace, and Abbas Al-Samea were killed by firing squad
after being falsely accused of carrying out a bombing in 2014 that left three
state-security officers dead. They were convicted despite having their
confessions extracted under torture, a lack of evidence, and the absence of due
process.
This year is the 15th World Day Against the Death Penalty, which falls on
October 10 and seeks the abolition of the practice.
(source: AhlulBayt News Agency)
IRAQ:
The 15th World Day Against the Death Penalty
On October 10th, 2017, the World Coalition against the Death Penalty and
abolitionist organizations across the world recognize the 15th World Day
Against the Death Penalty.
Iraq remains one of few countries who still practice the death penalty
including China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and the United States.
Since the 1980s, there has been a global trend towards the abolition of the
death penalty. In 1977, only 16 countries were against the practice and now, in
2017, 141 countries have abolished it or no longer practice it.
There are currently an estimated 1816 individuals under sentence of death in
Iraq. There were 101 executions recorded in Iraq in 2016 but so far, in 2017,
no executions have been carried out or recorded by the formal government,
though executions of suspected ISIS militants by local forces and militia, are
reported to occur regularly, with impunity.
Why should the death penalty be abolished? Research of executions around the
globe have shown it to be discriminatory and biased against the mentally
unwell, poor and uneducated, it is ineffective in curbing crime, has
historically been used in error against innocent persons, and it is inhumane.
This year's world campaign against the death penalty highlights the social and
economic inequalities that affect unequal access to justice. Defendants who
lack the social, economic and political resources to engage in the system
effectively, cannot defend themselves.
The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), The Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and many
international bodies remain deeply concerned about the use of the death penalty
in Iraq at a time when its justice system is already overloaded and
under-resourced. The Secretary General of the United Nations, his successive
representatives in Iraq and the High Commissioner for Human Rights have
consistently called on the Government of Iraq to become party to the Second
Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
aiming at the abolition of the death penalty and, in the meantime, to comply
with United Nations General Assembly resolutions.
(source: nrttv.com)
IRAN:
Afghan girl's murderer to receive death penalty soon
The 17-year-old Iranian boy who had prosecuted for the abduction, sexual
assault, and murder of the 6-year-old Afghan girl, Setayesh Qoreishi, has been
handed down death penalty.
The boy who brutally killed the girl after raping her on April 10, 2016, has
been in custody for more than a year now.
The horrific and tragic crime aroused great anger among the public and many
officials called for severe punishment for the murderer. The Iranian deputy
secretary general of High Council for Human Rights and Judicial Cooperation
Kazem Gharibabbadi has explained Afghans are too entitled to equal protection
of the law in Iran without any discrimination.
Now after more than a year the underage murderer who will soon come of age will
face punishment by the end of the current Iranian calendar month of Mehr
(October 22).
According to Mehr news agency the execution will be carried out on October
17-19 depending on the court order.
(source: Tehran Times)
******************
World Day Against the Death Penalty: 435 Executions in Iran
Since January 2017, at least 435 people, including 5 juvenile offenders, have
been executed according to Iran by Iran Human Rights (IHR) Death Penalty
Research Section. At least 219 people have been executed for drug offences so
far in 2017.
We celebrate this year's "World Day Against the Death Penalty", October 10, as
the bill for the amendment to Iran's Anti-drug law is about to come to a
conclusion. The bill has been approved by the Iranian Parliament, however, it
still needs to be approved by the Guardian Council in order to be legislated.
According to this bill, it is predicted that more than 80 % of nearly 4000
prisoners who are sentenced to death on drug related charges will be saved from
execution. Considering the fact that 50 to 60 % of death sentences in Iran are
issued for drug related crimes, it seems that this bill will play an important
role in decreasing the number of executions if it is approved. Earlier in 2017,
members of the Iranian Parliament's Justice Cimmittee called on the Judiciary
to halt the drug related executions until the fait of the new bill is clear.
However, the drug related executions in Iran continue as before. So far in 2017
at least 219 have been executed for drug offences.
In 2002, the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty (WCADP) established 10
October as the date of the annual World Day Against the Death Penalty. WCADP
has 140 members from 5 continents. 20 organizations, including Iran Human
Rights (IHR), constitute the Steering Committee of this coalition. The role of
this committee is to establish general policies and introduce the annual topics
of this coalition.
Since in all the countries around the world poor and marginalized people are
the main victims of the death penalty, the Steering Committee of WCADP has
selected "Poverty" as the topic for this year's World Day Against the Death
Penalty. There has not been a thorough research on the relationship between
poverty and the death penalty in Iran. Although, as Iran Human Rights annual
report on the death penalty suggests, most victims of executions are poor and
belong to the marginalized parts of the Iranian society, including ethnic
regions and Afghan citizens. Even Iranian officials have admitted that most of
those executed for drug offences are not the real drug dealers but poor and
marginalized people who are used as carriers for a small amount of money. In
February 2016, the Iranian Vice-President Shahindokht Molaverdi said in a press
conference that "We have a village in Baluchestan Province where every single
man has been executed (for drug offences)". Baluchistan is Iran's poorest
province.
The reasons why death penalty mainly targets poor people in Iran may include:
First, many people turn to drug trafficking as a result of poverty.
Second, many of these people belong to the lower strata of society, have a low
level of education, and are unaware of their legal rights.
Third, most of these people do not afford to have a lawyer of their own choice
and other legal and illegal facilities which require affluence in Iran's
judicial system in order for them to be saved from execution.
It seems that poverty and being marginalized rather than the extent of the
crime, are the common denominators for most victims of the death penalty in the
world. In the few countries where such research has been conducted, researches
have shown that if a poor and a wealthy person both commit a similar crime, the
probability of the poor being sentenced to death is much higher. Thus, the
death penalty is not only inhumane, but also unfair and discriminatory as it
does not depend on the intensity of the crime, but on the socio-economic
factors.
(source: Iran Human Rights)
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