September 8
EGYPT:
Egypt sentences 75 people to death, Muslim Brotherhood leader gets life in jail
An Egyptian court handed out on Saturday, the death penalty to 75 members of
the Muslim Brotherhood, while sentencing their spiritual leader Mohammed Badie
and 46 others including Essam Sultan and Basem Aouda, for life behind bars, for
their involvement in a 2013 sit-in protest which led to deadly clashes.
While those sentenced to death by hanging, include senior Brotherhood leaders
Essam al-Erian, Mohamed Beltagi and prominent Islamist preacher Safwat Higazi.
The Cairo Criminal Court also handed out a 10-year jail term to ousted
President Mohamed Morsi's son Osama, while sentencing photojournalist Mahmoud
Abu Zeid, to 5 years behind bars.
Abu Zeid, widely known as Shawkan, earlier this year received UNESCO's World
Freedom Prize. He was arrested in August 2013 as he covered the deadly clashes
in Cairo between security forces and Morsi supporters.
The Cairo Criminal Court is trying 739 persons accused of security related
activities, killing and destroying public properties.
(source: alarabiya.net)
******************************
Death sentences and heavy prison terms handed down in disgraceful mass trial
Cairo Criminal Court today handed down 75 death sentences, 47 life sentences,
and heavy prison sentences ranging from 15 to 5 years to 612 people, in a mass
trial related to participation in the al-Rabaa sit-in on 14 August 2013. Among
those sentenced was photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid, known as "Shawkan", who
was sentenced to 5 years, which he has already served. Najia Bounaim, North
Africa Campaigns Director at Amnesty International, said.
"These sentences were handed down in a disgraceful mass trial of more than 700
people, and we condemn today's verdict in the strongest terms. The death
penalty should never be an option under any circumstances. The fact that not a
single police officer has been brought to account for the killing of at least
900 people in the Rabaa and Nahda protests shows what a mockery of justice this
trial was. The Egyptian authorities should be ashamed. We demand a retrial in
an impartial court and in full respect of the right to a fair trial for all
defendants, without recourse to the death penalty.
"Shawkan has already spent more than 5 years in prison simply for doing his job
as a photojournalist and documenting the police brutality that took place that
day. The Egyptian authorities' disgraceful attacks on press freedom and freedom
of expression must stop, and they must immediately and unconditionally release
Shawkan. He is a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for doing his
journalistic work."
Not a single security official has been held to account for the events on 14
August 2013, widely known as the Rabaa massacre, where a violent police
dispersal left at least 900 dead in 2 sit ins at Rabaa al Adawiya and al-Nahda
squares. According to official statistics, 6 security officers were also killed
that day.
In the Rabaa trial, the group of 739 protesters were collectively prosecuted
for the killing of 17 men, including 7 members of the police force, as well as
other charges including "illegal gathering", "incitement to break the law", and
involvement in violence.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty unconditionally, for all cases
and under any circumstances.
(source: Amnesty International)
PAKISTAN:
3 bandits sentenced to death for killing Rangers man in Karachi
An antiterrorism court on Friday sentenced 3 men to death in a case pertaining
to killing of a Rangers soldier and wounding a policeman during an armed
robbery.
The ATC-XVIII found the 3 men - Imran Iqbal, Shabbir Javed and Irfan - guilty
of attacking personnel of the law enforcement agencies when they resisted their
robbery bid on Jan 29 within the remit of the Quaidabad police station.
Rangers' sepoy Abdul Rauf died during treatment at a hospital, while police
constable Umer Wahid survived.
The trial was conducted in the judicial complex inside the Karachi central
prison. The verdict was reserved earlier by the court after recording evidence
and arguments from both sides.
The verdict stated that the prosecution had fully proved its case against the 3
men beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Therefore, the court handed down capital punishment to the 3 men on counts of
murder and terrorism. It also imposed a fine of Rs100,000 on each convict.
Separately, the court also sentenced convicts Iqbal and Javed to 7-year
imprisonment for possessing illicit weapons. They were also ordered to pay
Rs10,000 each as fine.
According to the prosecution, the Rangers soldier and his police constable
friend were intercepted by armed robbers when they were passing through the
Landhi 89 area on a motorbike in plain clothes. They were forced to stop the
bike at gunpoint.
As the bandits were looting valuables and cash from them, 1 of the 2 friends
challenged them. The bandits opened fire and both the personnel were hit by
their bullets. However, they overpowered the bandits and informed the police,
who rushed to the scene and arrested them.
The prosecution said that the wounded personnel were shifted to the Jinnah
Postgraduate Medical Centre, where the Rangers soldier died, while the
policeman survived the bullet injuries.
Police had arrested Iqbal and Javed on the spot. Their accomplice, Irfan, was
arrested later on information provided by the 2 suspects.
They were booked in 2 separate cases under Section 397 (robbery or dacoity,
with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt), 302 (premeditated murder) and 34
(common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Section 7 of the
Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 and Section 23(1)-A of the Sindh Arms Act 2013 at the
Quaidabad police station.
(source: dawn.com)
IRAN----executions
Executions in Zahedan and Gohardasht Prisons
On September 3 and 5, the mullahs' inhuman regime executed 11 prisoners in the
South-Eastern city of Zahedan and Gohardasht (Karaj) - West of Tehran prisons.
3 of these prisoners were sent to the gallows at Zahedan Prison at dawn on
Tuesday September 3. The 3 prisoners, aged 21 to 24, were sentenced to death on
the charge of killing a police officer. The regime's authorities informed these
3 Balouch prisoners' families that they would be required to pay for the
execution ropes and provide blood money to the victims' family in order to
secure release of the bodies.
On Sept. 5, 8 other prisoners were also executed in Gohardasht Prison.
The Iranian Resistance calls all human rights advocating authorities, in
particular the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the special rapporteur on
the situation of human rights in Iran, as well as the Working Group on
Arbitrary Executions, to condemn these brutal executions and to take immediate
action to prevent such brutal forms of punishment in Iran.
Engulfed with domestic and international crises that escalate and deepen every
day, the mullahs' regime has resorted to a new wave of executions in order to
intensify the atmosphere of intimidation and terror in the society in a bid to
prevent the spread of popular uprising. This is a criminal process that will
only add to the anger of the people who are fed up with the ominous regime of
Velayat-e Faqih.
(source: Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran)
*******************
Iranian Kurdish Political Prisoner, Ramin Hossein Panahi, Executed
Iranian Kurdish political prisoner Ramin Hossein Panahi was executed this
morning at Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj.
IHR had earlier warned against the imminent danger and called on international
community to do their best to prevent his execution. On September 7, Javaid
Rehman, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic
Republic of Iran, and Agnes Callamard, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial,
summary or arbitrary executions, have appealed to Iran to halt the imminent
executions of Ramin and 2 other Iranian Kurd political prisoners, Zanyar Moradi
and Loghman Moradi.
IHR strongly condemns Ramin's execution. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the
spokesperson of IHR, had previously warned against their execution and said:
"Zanyar Moradi, Loghman Moradi, and Ramin Hossein Panahi were all subjected to
torture and sentenced to death following unfair trials. Their death sentences
are illegal even according to the international and even the Iranian laws."
There is no credible information on whether the execution of Loghman and Zanyar
were also carried out this morning. IHR will update the readers on this issue.
(source: Iran Human Rights)
**********************
Iran executes activist Ramin Hussein Panahi; reportedly 2 others
After months of international condemnation of an Iranian death sentence given
to Kurdish activist Ramin Hussein Panahi, he was executed on Saturday,
according to human rights groups and other sources. There are conflicting
reports as to whether or not two others also previously given the same sentence
in Iran were put to death as well.
"Ramin Hussein Panahi was executed," Ramin's brother, Amjad Hussein Panahi
tweeted on his official Twitter account on Saturday.
During a live interview with Kurdistan 24 on Saturday, Amjad called on the
international community to condemn the execution.
Panahi's conviction was based on claims he was a member of the armed Kurdish
opposition group Komala, however, no evidence was presented that linked him to
other crimes he was charged with, which include murder. In April, Iran's
Supreme Court approved the sentence.
The Kurdish political prisoner was executed in Raja'i Shahr prison in Karaj,
Hengaw, an independent Kurdish right group reported.
The group also mentioned that Panahi was executed along with fellow Kurdish
activists Loghman Moradi and Zaniar Moradi, but their family told another
Iranian human rights group that they "have not officially been informed of
their execution and they believe their sons are alive and are in custody of
Iran intelligence ministry."
By mid-afternoon, the Iranian Fars news agency reported the execution of three
persons for "terrorist acts in the west of the country," on Saturday. Loghman
Moradi and Zaniar Moradi were named, but the 3rd was not.
According to Amnesty International, the 2 cousins claim they were tortured into
"confessing" to the 2009 murder of the son of a senior cleric in Marivan,
Kurdistan Province, and sentenced to death in December 2010.
They were also charged with participating in armed activities with Komala, the
same group Panahi is accused of having membership in.
In recent months, international human rights organizations, UN human rights
experts, and activists repeatedly called for Panahi's death sentence to be
annulled in light of legal concerns about the handling of his case, including
reports that he had been tortured, denied access to a lawyer and medical care,
and that he had been held incommunicado.
Panahi appeared in a short video on Monday. In a hoarse voice, he thanked the
people of Kurdistan and Iran, in general, for their staunch support of him.
"I would like to deny charges claiming I am a terrorist,' he added.
(source: kurdistan24.net)
INDIA:
Guwahati: 19-year-old rapist awarded death penalty----The 11-year-old was
gang-raped and set on fire after being doused with kerosene in March.
A district and session court of Assam on Friday awarded the death penalty to
Zakir Husain, the prime accused in the brutal rape and murder of an 11-year old
girl at Batadrava in central Assam's Nagaon district in March this year.
Completing the trial within record time, district and session judge Rita Kar
pronounced the death sentence to 19-year old Husain under the Protection of
Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for the murder, and to life
imprisonment for raping the minor girl.
The girl was gang-raped and set on fire by dousing her with kerosene on March
23 when she was alone at her home in Dhaniabheti Lalung Gaon by her 12-year-old
classmate, her 11-year-old cousin and 19-year-old neighbour, Zakir Husain.
The police had formed a Special Investigation Team, which worked in
coordination with the prosecution to complete the trial. The police said,
"While Husain has been sentenced to death, the 2 juveniles were tried by the
Juvenile Justice Board. They have now been put in a correctional home for 3
years."
The incident had created a huge uproar in Assam with some organisation
extending legal support to the victim's family to pursue the case in the court
of law to ensure that culprits are brought to book. After raping her turn by
turn, and then setting her body on fire the youths had fled from the backdoor.
The victim was rushed to Guwahati Medical College Hospital, where she succumbed
to injuries later that night. The police, while filing the chargesheet in
April, had also named 5 people including Husain's parents, his brother, his
brother-in-law and the person who was driving the car in which Husain had fled
from the scene of the crime to another village.
The court had charged them with criminal conspiracy and destruction of
evidence. However, they were acquitted by by the Nagaon Chief Judicial
Magistrate for lack of sufficient evidence.
The victim's family, which was present in the court, said that they are happy
that justice has been done. Stating that his wife was not keeping well since
the incident took place, the father of the girl said, "We hope that the accused
get the sentence."
The girl belonged to an underprivileged daily-wage worker family. Chief
minister Sarba-nanda Sonowal had launched a toll free helpline 181-Sakhi for
women after the incident.
(source: deccanchronicle.com)
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