Jan. 24
VIETNAM:
Court in Vietnam starts 2nd embezzlement trial of executive
The embezzlement trial began Wednesday for a former executive at Vietnam's
state oil giant who Germany said was kidnapped from there by Vietnamese agents
last year.
Trinh Xuan Thanh was the former chairman of state energy giant PetroVietnam's
construction arm and is accused of embezzling $622,000 (68 million yen) from a
property project, the official Vietnam News Agency quoted the indictment as
saying. The offense carries the death penalty.
He is among eight defendants all accused of embezzlement in the trial expected
to last two weeks. Foreign media were not given access to the trial.
Thanh, 51, was sentenced to life in prison on Monday for embezzlement involving
a thermo power plant in the country's highest profile case during an ongoing
corruption crackdown.
Among 22 defendants convicted in the case that concluded on Monday was former
high-ranking government member Dinh La Thang, a former chairman of
PetroVietnam. Thang was the 1st former Politburo member to face prosecution in
decades and received a 13-year prison sentence for economic mismanagement.
Germany has said Vietnamese intelligence services abducted Thanh from a Berlin
park in July in what it called "an unprecedented and flagrant violation of
German and international law." He had sought asylum in Germany.
Vietnam denied the abduction allegation and says Thanh returned voluntarily.
The defendants in the latest case include Dinh Manh Thang, a former chairman of
a construction company and the brother of Dinh La Thang.
The ruling Communist Party under the watch of General Secretary Nguyen Phu
Trong who was re-elected to another 5-year term in 2016, has stepped up its
anti-corruption campaign with PetroVietnam and the banking sector at its
center.
Scores of current or former senior PetroVietnam executives and bankers have
been put on trial for economic crimes.
A trial of 46 defendants, most of them bankers and businessmen, is underway in
southern commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City.
Vietnam ranked 113th out of 176 countries in Transparency International's 2016
corruption index.
(source: Associated Press)
IRAN----execution
Prisoner Executed At Iran's Shiraz Prison
A prisoner was hanged at Adelabad Prison in Shiraz on the charge of murdering a
man during a street fight.
According to Mehr News, on the morning of Sunday, January 21, a prisoner was
executed at Adelabad Prison in Shiraz.
The prisoner, identified as Hossein Kh., was sentenced to death on the charge
of murdering a man during a street fight. The murder occurred in August 2016,
and the murder weapon was an axe.
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 any classification of murder by degree in Iran which results in
issuing a death sentence for all types of the murder, regardless of intensity
and intent.
*******************
Execution Sentence for Providing a Dissident Party with Food and Shelter
Hedayat Abdollahpour is sentenced to death on the charge of providing shelter
and food as well as spreading propaganda. According to a close source, a few
days ago, Hedayat Abdollahpour was sentenced to death once again. First, he was
arrested on June 15, 2016, along with 6 other people. They were charged with
providing the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) with food and shelter.
However, their relatives refuted the accusations and claimed that the
Revolutionary Guards makes up these accusations to intimidate local Kurds.
In 2016, Hedayat Abdollahpour was sentenced to death, and the other
co-respondents were sentenced to 10 to 25 years in prison by the Revolutionary
Court of Urmia.
"During the time Hedayat has been in custody in the Ministry of Intelligence in
Urmia, he lost his hearing in one ear under torture, and he has been hurt
physically and mentally. He???s been under torture the whole time, but he is
innocent. Our son never collaborated with the democrat party," Told Abubakr
Abdollahpour, Hedayat's father, to Iran Human Rights (IHR).
A few months later, Hedayat's case was sent to Branch 47 of the Supreme Court,
and they recalled the judgement.
Hedayat's father says, "The Supreme Court objected because the defendant didn't
confess to anything that showed his involvement with the KDPI and there was no
evidence proving his participation in the conflict."
The case was sent to Branch 2 of the Revolutionary Court of Urmia again, but
two judges issued a death sentence again. This time, for providing food and
shelter as well as spreading propaganda behalf of the KDPI. The verdict also
counts Hedayat as a KDPI member, which his family strongly deny a possible
membership.
Hedayat's father continues: "We proclaim that our son has never participated in
this conflict and has never helped the KDPI. But the authorities of the
Ministry of Intelligence in Urmia and the court do not care. They know he is
innocent, but they want to execute him to intimidate people in our city."
The father added: "As Hedayat Abdollahpour's family, we demand a fair and legal
trial and ask the regime not to let the Revolutionary Guards or the Ministry of
Intelligence to get involved in the legal proceedings. Let Hedayat defend
himself so that the court can issue a correct verdict. Don't let the
Revolutionary Guards force the court to issue a death sentence for our son."
(source for both: Iran Human Rights)
EGYPT:
List: Crimes punishable by death penalty
Any Egyptian who has joined the armed forces of a state at war with Egypt is
punishable by death penalty.
A death penalty is handed down to the person who has been proven to be
convicted with attempted espionage with a foreign country.
Any person found assisting a foreign country with an aim to cause direct harm
to the Egyptian state by attacking its military operations or to hurt its
morality shall be sentenced to death.
In times of war, whoever is found cooperating with the enemy state by providing
them with money, equipment, training, facilities or any other form of security
assistance or facilitated the entry of the enemy into the country.
Anyone who forms an armed group to forcibly change the country's constitution
or to overthrow the republican regime or the government shall be punished with
the death penalty.
Anyone who is found convicted with forming armed gangs with the purpose to
attack, loot, pillage, plunder, and misappropriate public resources, to
terrorize people or to hinder the police from doing its job.
Anyone who uses explosives with the purpose of committing political killing,
intentionally vandalizing public facilities or attacking places of mass
gathering will be punished with the death penalty.
(source: Egypt Today)
IRAQ:
3 French female jihadists face death sentence in Iraq
3 French women who joined the Islamic State (IS) armed group before being
captured by Iraqi forces could face the death penalty as they await trial in
Baghdad.
The women were detained after Iraqi fighters ousted the jihadists from Mosul
last July, one source said, confirming a report on RMC radio.
One 28-year-old woman left in 2015 for the group's "caliphate" stretching over
parts of Syria and Iraq along with her husband, who has reportedly been killed.
She is being detained with her daughter, who was born after their arrival.
"We don't know what exactly she is accused of, what her detention conditions
are like and whether she is being allowed the means to defend herself," said
the woman's lawyer, Martin Pradel.
He said he had received "no response" from France's foreign ministry on the
case. The Red Cross has been his only source of information, he added.
A 2nd woman, a 27-year-old named as Melina, also left for the region in 2015,
and is being held with her baby. Her 3 older children have been returned to
France.
"We expect France, if Melina is sentenced to death, to mobilise with the same
intensity it has for other French citizens sentenced to death, in particular
Serge Atlaoui," said her lawyers, William Bourdon and Vincent Brengarth.
French diplomats have waged an intense campaign to free Atlaoui, who is being
held in Indonesia and facing the death penalty on drug trafficking charges.
But government officials have said French fighters arrested in Syria and Iraq
should be tried there if they can be guaranteed a fair trial.
Defence minister Florence Parly said Sunday that "we can't be naive" regarding
French citizens who left to join IS.
"When they are caught by local authorities, as far as possible they should be
tried by these local authorities," she told France 3 television.
On Sunday, an Iraqi court sentenced a German woman to death by hanging after
finding her guilty of belonging to IS, the 1st such sentence in a case
involving a European woman.
Around 40 French nationals, both men and women, are currently in detention
camps or prisons in Syria and Iraq, with about 20 children, a source has said.
(source: rfi.fr)
BELARUS:
EU Urges Belarus To Spare 2 On Death Row
The European Union has sharply criticized Belarus for sentencing 2 men to
death, and repeated its call for President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's government
to abolish capital punishment.
Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman for EU foreign-policy chief Federica Mogherini,
said on January 23 that the Minsk city court sentenced Vyachaslau Sukharka and
Alyaksandr Zhylnikau to death on January 20 after a retrial.
In December 2015, Sukharka and Zhylnikau were convicted of murdering 3 people
and sentenced to life in prison. But in July 2017, the Supreme Court upheld an
appeal by the prosecutor and the case was sent for retrial.
"The European Union holds a strong and principled position against the death
penalty, which is a cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment and a violation of
the right to life," Kocijancic said in a statement.
"The death penalty does not serve as a deterrent to crime, and errors,
inevitable in any legal system, become irreversible."
"We expect the remaining death sentences in Belarus, which is the only country
in Europe still applying capital punishment, to be commuted and a moratorium on
the death penalty introduced as a 1st step towards its abolition," the
statement said.
The EU and rights groups have urged Belarus to join a global moratorium on the
death penalty for years.
According to rights organizations, more than 400 people have been sentenced to
death in Belarus since it gained independence following the collapse of the
Soviet Union in 1991.
(source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
PAKISTAN:
Senate body passes resolution seeking death sentence in child sexual abuse,
murder cases
Breaking from its stance against the death sentence, the PPP on Monday strongly
supported the hanging of those convicted of child sexual abuse and murder.
Senate Standing Committee on Interior Chairman PPP Senator Rehman Malik
suspended the agenda of the parliamentary body's meeting and announced that the
committee will discuss the kidnapping, rape and murder of 2 girls, 7 and 4,
from Kasur and Mardan.
During his tenure as the interior minister, the then president Asif Ali Zardari
had put a moratorium on death sentences on the demand of the European Union.
In the meeting on Monday, Mr Malik proposed that the child sexual abuse and
murder be punished by hanging.
"We need to know why the murderers could not be tracked down. Many people have
called me and suggested that culprits of such heinous crimes should be hanged
in public. According to section 364-A of the Pakistan Penal Code, a person can
be given the death penalty, life imprisonment or a minimum of 7 years of
imprisonment for kidnapping or murdering a child of less than 14 years. It is
unfortunate that we have failed to give justice to our children," he said.
He then tabled a resolution which was unanimously passed by the committee. He
said a draft bill will be moved to make amendments to the law. However, Senator
Javed Abbasi said the execution of death sentences can be done by amending the
rules and that new legislation is therefore not needed. The interior ministry
was then directed to give input on whether public executions can be done by
making amendments to the rules.
Supreme Court advocate Anees Jillani disagreed with the suggestion and said its
implementation will mean there is no difference between the government and the
Taliban.
The father of 7-year-old Zainab, who was kidnapped, raped and killed in Kasur,
Ameen Ansari was also invited to the meeting. He said his daughter and her
5-year-old cousin were going to their aunt's house on Jan 4 for Quran lessons.
"Zainab had some money and she went to the shop while her cousin went to their
aunt's house. The shop is just 100 metres from their aunt's house. When Usman
came home, the family got to know that Zainab had not gone to her aunt's house
and that she was missing. I was in Saudi Arabia so my brother-in-law informed
the police," he told the meeting.
"Residents of the area cooperated but the police did nothing for the recovery
of the child. They were requested to get sniffer dogs to track down Zainab and
the family even offered to pay for this, but the police did not. When the body
was found and identified, we once again requested the police to get sniffer
dogs but they refused. Locals cooperated with us and provided CCTV footage in
which my daughter can be seen with the suspect," Mr Ansari said.
He added that the CCTV footage shows the suspect passing through the area the
morning after the abduction which meant he was still in the area.
"My family requested the police to cordon off the area and search all houses,
but they refused. Officials visited [us] a few times and would go back after
eating oranges," he said.
Mr Ansari said he was told that the suspect had used a spray which dazes
children.
Additional Inspector General of Police (IGP) Investigation Punjab, Khuda Bakhsh
said nine such cases had been reported since June 2015 within a 3 kilometre
radius in which girls between the ages of 5 and 10 were kidnapped and sexually
abused.
"DNA tests show that in eight of the cases, the culprit is the same. He throws
the dead bodies near the victim's house so the family gets the bodies. We have
deputed as many as 200 people for the arrest of the suspect and 692 DNA tests
have been conducted despite the fact that one test costs Rs60,000. Inter
Services Intelligence is also helping us in identifying the culprit," he said.
Senator Malik suggested that a national database of DNA be formed with the help
of the National Database and Registration Authority.
"Culprits will be identified within minutes if we had such a database," he
said.
Deputy Inspector General Mardan Alam Khan Shinwari said the police was
investigating the case of the 4-year-old girl killed in Mardan and that so far,
it has not been determined if she was sexually abused. The committee decided to
call the doctor who had conducted her medical exam.
(source: dawn.com)
*****************
Hanging is not the solution
Open almost any newspaper or periodical or tune to any TV channel and there
will be a report of a child raped and/or murdered or tortured whilst in
domestic service. Crimes against children are frontpage news every day and in
the last 48 hours the beating to death of a boy who was tardy with his studies
allegedly by a cleric has again focused the national eye on what to do with the
men that commit these crimes. There have been strident calls for public
lynching of the murderers and rapists and now there are moves in the Senate
towards discussion of sentencing in cases involving kidnap, rape and murder of
children. The Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee is PPP Senator Rehman
Malik and he has strongly supported the hanging of those who commit such
crimes. Pakistan currently has a moratorium on the death penalty other than
those sentences handed down by Anti-Terrorism Courts.
Senator Malik then tabled a resolution that he said will lead to the drafting
of a bill to make amendments to existing law. Senator Abbasi opposed, saying
that the execution of death sentences can be done by amending existing law and
new legislation was not needed. The interior ministry was directed to advise on
whether public execution is permitted simply by making an amendment.
There has to be a concern that the vigilantism of the streets has found its way
into the legislature. Emotive as these dreadful crimes are punishing those that
commit them with the death penalty is not the way to go. These murderers and
rapists are not going to be deterred by the threat of their own death. They are
driven by compulsions that are not susceptible to diversion and there is not a
shred of evidence anywhere in the world that this would be the case. Public
execution whether by hanging or by yet more barbarous means is a step back into
the darkness, a surrender to populism and elected representatives need to take
a pull away from the brink, and they need to do that, unequivocally,
immediately.
(source: Editorial, The Express Tribune)
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