Dec. 2
THAILAND:
Israeli Sentenced to Die for Killing Fellow Expat
An Israeli man has been sentenced to die for the murder of a fellow Israeli
last year, police said Saturday.
Shimon Sakira Bitton, 50, was convicted and sentenced to die one year after he
was arrested on suspicion of killing Eliyahu Cohen, a 63-year-old Israeli
policeman, and hiding his body under poured concrete. The court convicted and
sentenced him on the same day, according to the officer in charge of the
investigation.
"It's up to defendant whether to appeal the ruling," Col. Jirapob Puridej said
Saturday. Defendants have 30 days to appeal their convictions.
He continued, "I am happy to have successfully brought the criminal to justice.
We did everything in accordance with the facts."
The Israeli Embassy has not made a statement and could not be reached Saturday
for comment.
Police said Bitton murdered Cohen with the aid of his 17-year-old son in a fit
of jealous rage. They began investigating Bitton after Cohen???s relatives told
the Israeli Embassy he went missing.
Investigators also linked him to a previous murder and concealed body from
1997. He served jail time before being booted out of the country, only to
return years later under a new name. The suspense over Cohen's murder escalated
when family of Bitton's Thai wife also reported her as missing.
Although Thailand retains death penalty in serious crimes like first degree
murders, an execution has not been carried out since 2009.
A juvenile court verdict in the trial of Bitton's son is yet to be out.
Col. Jirapob said Bitton's missing wife, Nantiya Saengurai, is still
unaccounted for. She remains in the missing persons database and could not be
ruled as deceased by the court for lack of evidence.
"There is no evidence anyone has killed her," the colonel said. "For the court
to declare someone dead, there must be some evidence, or a body. But in her
case, there's no trace of her at all. Not even one witness."
(source: khaosodenglish.com)
RUSSIA:
Death penalty moratorium will never be lifted - Russian ombudsman
The Russian plenipotentiary for human rights, Tatyana Moskalkova, has said that
the moratorium on death penalty in the country will be extended indefinitely.
She added that in her opinion life in prison was an adequate replacement as a
punishment.
"I cannot decide on this subject but my opinion is that the moratorium will be
extended because the sixth protocol on abolition of death penalty, that has
been ratified by our nation, cannot be left unfulfilled, otherwise it would
cause consequences connected with our membership in the Council of Europe,"
Moskalkova said during her lecture in the Moscow Institute of International
Relations that was a part of the nationwide "open lesson" event dedicated to
the issue of human rights.
"Public opinion polls show that a significant part of our population support
the death penalty as a punishment for those who commit a murder or a terrorist
attack with human casualties. But life in prison can be an adequate alternative
as it provides an adequate punishment for the evil and crimes committed by such
persons," the ombudsman added.
The moratorium on capital punishment was introduced in 1996 in connection with
Russia's entry into the Council of Europe. The last execution in the Russian
Federation took place on September 2, 1996.
Many Russian politicians and officials have raised the issue of canceling the
moratorium, especially after terrorist attacks or other brutal crimes that
attract public attention. One of the more recent examples of such behavior is
the proposal of the head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov who said in a
televised interview in late November that he personally favored death penalty
as punishment for convicted terrorist recruiters.
However, the country's top authorities have so far refused to introduce any
changes to the situation, claiming that the question was too complex.
A public opinion poll conducted by the independent sociological agency Levada
in February this year showed that 44 % of Russians wanted the death penalty
returned and 41 % said they opposed this measure. 15 % of respondents said they
did not have any opinion on the issue. In 2015, the share of those who
supported it was 41 % with 44 % against.
(source: rt.com)
IRAN----executions
18 Executions Across Iran as MEPs Visit Tehran----Parliamentary visits to
Tehran encourage mullahs to continue executions
Iranian regime executed 18 prisoners from the 22nd to the 29th of November. 10
of these hangings were carried out in Gohardasht Prison of Karaj, west of
Tehran, including the mass execution of 9 prisoners on Wednesday, November
29th. 6 prisoners were executed in Tabriz Central Prison on November 22nd and
26th. 2 prisoners were hanged in the prisons of Babol (northern Iran) and Qaen
(eastern Iran) on November 28th.
Continuous executions by the mullahs' regime, coinciding with a visit by the
'European Parliament Delegation for Relations with Iran' to Tehran, proves the
fact that moderation is nothing but an illusion and deception in the religious
fascism ruling Iran, which is unable to confront increasing protest movements
across the country, cannot afford to stop executions, torture and lashing for
even a few days.
The Iranian people, no longer willing to tolerate this regime, abhor any aid
provided to the repressive and corrupt mullahs??? regime. They also condemn
despicable economic deals with a regime that plunders this nation and spills
their blood.
Visits by foreign delegations to Iran under any excuse and/or pretext only
encourage the criminal mullahs to continue and expand their crackdown,
executions and harsh security measures. Any relations with this regime must
hinge on improving Iran's human rights situation, especially halting all
executions.
(source: Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran)
*****************
1 Man Executed in Northern Iran
A prisoner was hanged at Amol Prison on murder charges.
YJC news agency reported the execution of a prisoner in Amol Prison on Tuesday
November 28. The prisoner, identified as M. A., was sentenced to death on
murder charges.
The Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor of Mazandaran Province, Asadollah
Ja'fari, stated that the defendant was sentenced to death on the charge of
murdering a man named M.A.
The report, published by the state-run media, did not mention the exact date of
the execution, however, it seems that the execution of the prisoner was
implemented on Tuesday.
According to Iran Human Rights annual report on the death penalty, 142 of the
530 execution sentences in 2016 were implemented due to murder charges. There
is a lack of a classification of murder by degree in Iran which results in
issuing death sentence for any kind of murder regardless of intensity and
intent.
*****************************
Suicide on the Death Row
A prisoner hanged himself in ward 1 of Rajai Shahr Prison on November 28.
Unfair sentences, poor prison condition, and harsh treatment are believed to be
the main causes of the high suicide rate among prisoners.
According to a close source, a prisoner hanged himself to death in ward 1 of
Rajai Shahr Prison on Tuesday November 28. The prisoner, identified as Mohammad
Lor, 31, had been in prison for 5 years on the charges as theft and quarrel.
"We don't know why Mohammad was transferred to ward 1, where death row
prisoners and those with serious offences are held. He always said that if he
could raise 20 million Tomans (about 4850 dollars) he would be released in a
month," said one of his friends to Iran Human Rights (IHR).
The prisoner added, "I've thought about committing suicide several times. It's
because of poor prison condition and unfair sentences that courts issue. The
demeaning behavior of prison guards also worsens the situation. A few months
ago, a prisoner tried to kill himself by taking a pill after he was beaten and
belittled by the prison guards. Fortunately, he was taken to the clinic
immediately and was saved."
There are no statistics indicating the exact suicide rate in Rajai Shahr
Prison, but according to the prisoner IHR interviewed "there are suicide
attempts almost everyday, but most of them are saved by their cellmates.
Nevertheless, every year, 10 to 20 prisoners die in this prison by committing
suicide."
(source for both: Iran Human Rights)
AFGHANISTAN----executions
Afghanistan executes 5 criminals involved in kidnapping, murder in Herat
An Afghan official says authorities have executed 5 members of a criminal group
behind several kidnappings and murders in the western province of Herat.
The convicts were executed at Pul-e-Charkhi prison in the capital, Kabul.
Nasrat Rahimi, deputy spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said Wednesday that
Askar Anwari, a former member of the provincial council in Herat was among the
5 who were hanged.
Rahimi says the executions were carried out after 3 appeals courts and
President Ashraf Ghani confirmed the death sentences of the 5. The group had
been involved in the kidnapping and murder of a deputy head of a construction
company, as well as other illegal activities.
In May 2016, Ghani approved the executions of 6 suspects convicted on terrorism
charges.
(source: radio.gov.pk)
MALAYSIA:
Sabah lawyers welcome discretion on drugs-related death penalty
The Sabah Law Society (SLS) applauded the recent amendment to the Dangerous
Drugs Act 1952 which removed the mandatory death penalty for drug offences as
it is more in line with the Federal Constitution.
SLS president Brenndon Keith Soh said as an organisation, the Sabah Law Society
had always called for an end to capital punishment.
"The right to life is the fundamental right guaranteed under the Federal
Constitution and it is not right that the same fundamental right to life be
taken away," he said to reporters after the opening ceremony for the society's
new building today.
He said the fact remains that despite having a mandatory death penalty, it has
failed to deter drug offenders from committing the crime anyway.
"Statistics has shown that the real perpetrators, or drug lords, have almost
always escaped punishment and only traffickers, or drug mules, were charged,"
Soh said, adding that many times, these traffickers were simply victims of
circumstances.
"Furthermore, putting these people to death would actually prevent any
opportunity for them to reform and turn their lives around and maybe actually
contribute to society."
He said SLS welcomed the decision that discretion is now given to the courts on
whether to impose the death penalty or not.
Singapore had also made a similar amendment to its laws on drug trafficking in
2012, allowing judges the discretion to not impose the death penalty on drug
traffickers.
Meanwhile, Sabah Community Development and Consumer Affairs Minister and
Malaysian Anti-Drugs Association (Pemadam) vice-president Jainab Ahmad Ayid
said the amendment is long overdue.
According to her, the problem with most drug laws is the assumption that all
drug traffickers, including drug mules, are guilty until proven innocent.
"We have heard of stories about women who became drug mules. Some of them did
not even know they were carrying drugs in their bags.
"Many of them come from poor families and when given the chance to travel, of
course they would take it. We have Malaysians rotting away in prisons overseas
and some have already been executed for drug offences," she said.
She added that this was why the state had spent lots of money to educate the
public on the danger of drugs and the consequences of drug trafficking.
(source: freemalaysiatoday.com)
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