October 22
UNITED KINGDOM:
Baroness Hamwee: The UK should never be complicit with the death penalty being
used anywhere in the world
Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson on Immigration, Baroness Hamwee, writes
about the Crime (Overseas Production Orders) Bill, which has its report stage
in the House of Lords today and which Labour & the Liberal Democrats seek to
amend.
Justice "The UK has long opposed the use of the death penalty in other
countries, and we have committed ourselves to the goal of abolishing it
everywhere. We can do this by using our diplomatic influence, and also by
refusing to help foreign governments with prosecutions that will result in
someone being executed" - Baroness Hamwee
The death penalty is one of the greatest affronts to fundamental human rights.
It is cruel, inhumane and irreversible. The UK must oppose its use anywhere in
the world - and we have an opportunity to enshrine that opposition in the
snappily-titled but important 'Crime (Overseas Production Orders) Bill',
currently making its way through the House of Lords.
Widespread concerns about the morality of capital punishment - including the
danger of wrongful executions - put an end to its use in the UK more than half
a century ago. 141 other countries have also abolished the death penalty, in
law or in practice. Yet, according to Amnesty International, almost a thousand
people were executed around the world last year, and more than 20,000 are
currently languishing on death row.
The UK has long opposed the use of the death penalty in other countries, and we
have committed ourselves to the goal of abolishing it everywhere. We can do
this by using our diplomatic influence, and also by refusing to help foreign
governments with prosecutions that will result in someone being executed.
That has been longstanding government policy: the UK must get assurances that
the death penalty will not be used before providing security and justice
assistance to countries that still retain it. This clear policy is an important
statement of Britain's values. It is vital not only for preventing the use of
the death penalty in the individual cases where we provide assistance, but also
for strengthening our efforts to persuade all countries to abolish it.
Yet in July, we discovered that the Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, had offered to
assist the United States government in prosecuting two British citizens accused
of carrying out executions for ISIL in Syria and Iraq, without seeking
assurances that the death penalty will not be used. Even worse, he made that
decision in secret. We only found out because his letter to US Attorney General
Jeff Sessions was leaked to the Telegraph.
There is no doubt that terrorists should face justice, but that could be
achieved in this case either by prosecuting them here, under British law, or by
assisting the US authorities with their prosecutions - if they guarantee that
they will not seek the death penalty.
The Telegraph's revelations - and the Government's later admission of two other
cases since 2001 where death penalty assurances were waived - have rightly
provoked outcry among politicians and the public. But wringing our hands isn't
enough. We must take concrete steps to prevent this happening in the future.
And that brings us to the current Bill. The Government is seeking to give our
courts new powers to require internet companies outside the UK to provide
electronic data that law enforcement agencies need to investigate and prosecute
serious crimes. This will only be possible with new international agreements
between the UK and other governments.
These new agreements are good opportunity to enshrine our commitment not to
assist in death penalty cases. That's why my Liberal Democrat colleague Brian
Paddick and I have been working with Labour peers to amend the Bill to require
death penalty assurances as part of any future agreements on international
data-sharing. It would remove the sort of ministerial discretion that was
abused in the case we heard about in July.
This is an issue where the UK has traditionally played an important leadership
role in the international community. Our unambiguous opposition to the death
penalty has helped British diplomats to advance the cause of abolition at the
UN and around the world. But the Home Secretary's actions threaten that
leadership role. If the UK is seen to no longer fully oppose the death penalty,
it weakens our ability to persuade others to abolish it.
When proposing the private member's bill that abolished the death penalty in
Britain, the MP Sydney Silverman said:
"It is impossible to argue that the execution or non-execution of 2 people in
England every year can make a very great contribution to the improvement of a
dark and menacing world. But in this darkness and gloom into which the
twentieth century civilisation has so far led us, we can at least light this
small candle and see how far its tiny beams can penetrate the gloom."
By making clear our absolute opposition to the death penalty in this Bill, we
can keep that candle burning brightly today.
(source: The Baroness Hamwee is the Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson for
Immigration----politicshome.com)
PALESTINE:
U.S Citizen Faces Death Penalty for Selling Jerusalem Land to Jews
The family of 55-year old Palestinian-American asked the U.S. State Department
to help him after he was arrested for allegedly helping sell an Arab-owned
property in the Old City of Jerusalem to a Jewish organization.
"The 55-year-old man, who is a US citizen, is being interrogated by the
Palestinians security agencies in Ramallah for his role in the sale of an
Arab-owned house in the Old City of Jerusalem to a Jewish organization,"
sources told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.
The man, a 55-year-old resident of Bethlehem who had worked for the PA Ministry
for Local Government, reportedly received a $25,000 commision for facilitating
the sale of the property owned by an Arab widow.
Based on Jordanian law, selling or renting land to Jews is considered treason
under the Palestinian Authority and is punishable by death or hard labor. While
Palestinian law does not apply in East Jerusalem, a 2014 Jerusalem Post article
cited Bassem Eid, a Jerusalem-based Palestinian civil rights activist, as
claiming he has followed cases of Jerusalemites kidnapped in the city and
tortured to death in Ramallah by the Palestinian Authority's Preventive
Security Agency.
A senior PA security official in Ramallah refused to comment to the J-Post on
the arrest of the US citizen. US government officials said they were aware of
the arrest and expressed concern that he would be treated fairly. They said the
State Department was in touch with the PA regarding the arrest.
(source: breakingisraelnews.com)
SWITZERLAND:
Court upholds ban on exhibition of plastinated bodies
The controversial exhibition "Real Human Bodies" will not take place in the
Beaulieu Palace in Lausanne despite a legal appeal by organisers against a ban
imposed by local authorities.
On Friday, the Vaud cantonal court upheld the ban on the exhibition in
Lausanne, said a swissinfo.ch report.
The court stated that the authorities had a right to stop the exhibition given
the lack of information on the origin of the cadavers. Earlier this week, the
head of the canton of Vaud announced the decision not to issue a permit for the
travelling exhibition, which planned to stop in Lausanne from Friday to Sunday.
This decision comes after the Christian Association for the Abolition of
Torture and the Death Penalty (ACAT) lodged a complaint regarding the origins
of the bodies on display, as well as written certifications of consent provided
by the deceased for the use of their bodies in the exhibition.
According to ACAT, there is a high probability that the bodies used in the
exhibition are those of Chinese prisoners who died or were executed, and
members of Falun Gong, a banned movement in China whose followers are being
persecuted.
The city of Lausanne requested clarification from event organisers but the
organisers either refused or were unable to provide concrete proof that people
had approved the use of their corpses in the exhibit. Nor did they provide an
explanation as to the origins of the bodies.
"Too many things are not clear to be comfortable," said city council member
Pierre-Antoine Hildbrand to Keystone-ATS. "The city asked for clarification and
did not receive it. We therefore banned this event and urged the Beaulieu
Foundation to take all measures not to open it to the public."In Switzerland,
every person has the fundamental right to dispose of his remains as they wish
and to set precise terms and conditions for their future. As doubts concerning
the origins of the bodies were not dispelled, the city said that the exhibit is
likely to offend the sensitivities of the people of Lausanne.
Similar exhibition of human bodies preserved through plastination have passed
through Switzerland. ACAT also denounced the "Bodies Exhibition" held in Bern
this past weekend. The "Body Worlds" exhibition held a year ago in Geneva also
stirred debate and was not unanimously accepted by the public.
(source: webindia123.com)
IRAN----execution
Man Hanged at Ardabil Prison
A prisoner was executed on a murder charge at Ardabil Central Prison this
morning.
Meisam Saber, 27, was convicted to qisas (retribution in kind) on a murder
charge in 2013. His execution was carried out on the morning on Sunday, October
22, 2018.
According to HRANA, Meisam Saber was transferred to the solitary confinement a
day prior to the execution.<\P> The Iranian media outlets have not published
news related to the aforementioned execution so far.
According to Iran Human Rights annual report on the death penalty, 240 of the
517 execution sentences in 2017 were implemented due to murder charges. There
is a lack of a classification of murder by degree in Iran which results in
issuing a death sentence for any kind of murder regardless of intensity and
intent.
(source: Iran Human Rights)
************************
Iran financial trader, 'Sultan of Coins', sentenced to death for economic
crimes
A court in Iran sentenced to death a financial trader known as the "Sultan of
Coins" on Sunday, along with another man, the judiciary's Mizan Online news
agency reported.
"2 of those convicted of spreading corruption on earth in preliminary hearings
had their case reviewed in the Supreme Court and were sentenced to death
today," said judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei.
"Corruption on earth" is the gravest charge in the Islamic republic, which
warrants a death sentence. 1 of the 2 men set for death row was identified as
Vahid Mazloumin -- the trader popularly referred to as the "Sultan of Coins" in
Iranian media.
(source: alarabiya.net)
MALAYSIA:
Son who allegedly chopped up dad charged with murder----You Poh Khoon, 52, was
charged with murdering You Su Kim, 74, between 9.30am and 1.30pm at their home
in Kanthan Baru on Oct 9. -
The Magistrate's Court here today charged an unemployed man with the murder of
his father earlier this month.
You Poh Khoon, 52, was accused of murdering You Su Kim, 74, between 9.30am and
1.30pm at their home in Kanthan Baru near here on Oct 9.
He was charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which carries the mandatory
death penalty upon conviction.
The charge was filed by the prosecuting officer from the Royal Malaysia Police,
Assistant Superintendent Zuraidah Mohd Noor before Magistrate Siti Hafiza
Jaafar.
The accused nodded his head to acknowledge that he understood the charge read
to him by a court interpreter.
However, no plea was recorded and the accused was not granted bail.
The court then ordered the accused to be sent to Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta for
a month and set Nov 16 for mention of the case.
The NSTP reported that the remains of Su Kim were found in a 1.5-metre deep
sewage tank and a hole that was dug up behind his home.
The dreadful discovery was made by the victim's daughter after noticing blood
on a mattress, pillow and wall of You's house.
The victim's head was also severed in the incident.
According to police, a neighbour had informed of hearing the son and the victim
arguing the night before.
A long machete measuring about 0.6 metres, believed to have been used to chop
up the victim, was also recovered.
The suspect was believed to have acted in a vicious manner after his father
repeatedly scolded him for taking syabu in the house.
Police also believe the suspect was under the influence of drugs when he
allegedly murdered his father.
Police had said the victim's hands, legs and head were buried in a hole,
believed to have been dug up by the suspect.
(source: New Straits Times)
GLOBAL:
Report says the UN's global 'war on drugs' has been a failure
The United Nations' drug strategy of the past 10 years has been a failure,
according to a major report by the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC),
which has called for a major rethinking of global policy on illegal narcotics.
The report claims that UN efforts to eliminate the illegal drug market by 2019
through a "war on drugs" approach has had scant effect on global supply while
having negative effects on health, human rights, security and development.
According to the report, drug-related deaths have increased by 145% over the
last decade, with more than 71,000 overdose deaths in the United States in 2017
alone. At least 3,940 people were executed for drug offenses around the world
over the last 10 years, while drug crackdowns in the Philippines resulted in
around 27,000 extrajudicial killings.
The IDPC, a network of 177 national and international NGOs concerned with drug
policy and drug abuse, is urging the UN General Assembly Special Session on
Drugs to consider a different approach to narcotics strategy for the next 10
years in the run-up to a March 2019 summit in Vienna, Austria.
"This report is another nail in the coffin for the war on drugs," said Ann
Fordham, the Executive Director of IDPC, in a prepared statement. "The fact
that governments and the UN do not see fit to properly evaluate the disastrous
impact of the last ten years of drug policy is depressingly unsurprising."
The UN was not immediately available for comment on the report, which was made
public Sunday.
"Governments will meet next March at the UN and will likely rubber-stamp more
of the same for the next decade in drug policy. This would be a gross
dereliction of duty and a recipe for more blood spilled in the name of drug
control."
In 2017, Mexico, for example, recorded its most murderous year on record due to
soaring levels of drug-related violence. As previously reported by CNN, the
Mexican National Institute of Statistics and Geography revealed that there were
31,174 homicides over the course of the year -- an increase of 27% over 2016.
In addition to fueling violence, the existing policy of criminalizing drug use
has also resulted in mass incarceration, the report said. 1 in 5 prisoners are
currently imprisoned for drug offenses, many on charges related to possession
for personal use.
The report also said that 33 jurisdictions retain the death penalty for drug
offenses in violation of international standards. However in March, US
President Donald Trump proposed making drug trafficking a capital offense in
response to the country's ongoing opioid crisis.
Trump's death penalty plan for drug dealers a 'step backwards,' experts say
"What we learn from the IDPC shadow report is compelling. Since governments
started collecting data on drugs in the 1990s, the cultivation, consumption and
illegal trafficking of drugs have reached record levels," wrote Helen Clark,
former Prime Minister of New Zealand and a member of the Global Commission on
Drug Policy, in the report's foreword.
"Moreover, current drug policies are a serious obstacle to other social and
economic objectives and the 'war on drugs' has resulted in millions of people
murdered, disappeared, or internally displaced."
Last week Canada became the 1st country in the G7 group of industrialized
nations to legalize the recreational use of marijuana.
(source: CNN)
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