Nov. 10
CHINA:
Man gets death penalty in balcony murder case
A man convicted of throwing a woman he had pursued for 8 years from a high-rise
apartment building has been sentenced to receive the death penalty, Qianjiang
Evening News reported.
The Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court on Thursday found the 27-year-old man
surnamed Xue guilty of intentional homicide for the March 21 slaying of the
victim, surnamed Wang.
Xue had thrown Wang from the balcony of a 19th-story apartment that they shared
together with another friend in a fit of jealousy, the court found.
The case has stirred controversy online ever since details of the case were
released in August.
While some netizens called for Xue to be punished, many had condemned Wang
because she had rebuffed Xue's numerous romantic advances while accepting
expensive gifts from him.
Wang and Xue had attended the same high school. During their friendship, Xue
had expressed on many occasions he wanted to become romantically involved, but
Wang refused.
The two kept in contact after Xue left to study in the US. During that time,
Xue sent Wang a number of luxury gifts, such as handbags and jewelry.
He returned to China early this year in order to be closer to Wang. Soon after,
he convinced Wang and her coworker to share an apartment with him in Hangzhou.
According to media reports, Xue became furious after discovering Wang had a
boyfriend.
On March 21, Xue found her talking on the phone in the apartment with her
boyfriend.
"It only took 5 seconds to push her from the room to the balcony. She didn't
try to fight back because she didn't know what I was going to do," Xue told
prosecutors during his trial.
The crime occurred 40 days after Xue's return from the US.
Xue's counsel had sought a reduced sentence for his cooperation in the case.
(source: Global Times)
MAURITANIA:
Mauritanian blogger who faced death penalty for apostasy to be freed
A Mauritanian blogger condemned to death in 2014 for apostasy in a Facebook
post about Islam will be freed because an appeals court on Thursday overturned
his sentence, his lawyer said.
Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ould Mkhaitir has spent nearly four years in jail after a
high-profile case surrounding a post in which he criticized the use of religion
to justify social discrimination.
The case has highlighted tempestuous social divisions in the desert West
African country, often based on ethnicity. Thousands protested in the capital
Nouakchott and other cities during the trial demanding Mkhaitir be put to
death.
Mauritania has not carried out a death penalty sentence since 1987, but last
year a group of influential Muslim clerics urged authorities to apply the
harshest punishment.
The court reduced Mkhaitir's sentence to 2 years in prison and a fine of 60,000
ouguiyas ($170). He will be allowed to go free because of time already served
in prison, his lawyer Me Mohamed Ould Moine told Reuters.
"This is a great victory for Mauritanian justice," Moine said after the appeal
hearing in the northern city of Nouadhibou. "The judges respected Mauritanian
law taking into account his regrets and repentance."
The streets of Nouakchott were calm immediately after the hearing, though there
was extra security in place there and in Nouadhibou. His lawyer and rights
groups have expressed concerns about Mkhaitir's safety following death threats
to him and his friends.
(source: Reuters)
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