December 5
GAZA:
EU Missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah condemn death sentences issued in Gaza
The European Union Representative and the EU Heads of Mission in Jerusalem and
Ramallah Tuesday condemned the death sentences issued in the Gaza Strip on
Monday against 6 Palestinians convicted of collaborating with Israel, according
to a statement.
A Hamas military court found the 6 Palestinians guilty of collaborating with
Israel, mainly in the botched operation that took place in Khan Younis, south
of the Gaza Strip, on November 11, which resulted in the death of seven
Palestinians. The commander of the undercover Israeli force was also killed
after the operation was uncovered.
The EU Missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah recalled in their statement their
firm opposition under all circumstances to the use of capital punishment.
The statement said the EU considers that abolition of the death penalty
contributes to the protection of human dignity and the progressive development
of human rights.
“The EU considers capital punishment to be cruel and inhuman, that it fails to
provide deterrence to criminal behavior, and represents an unacceptable denial
of human dignity and integrity.”
The EU Missions called on the de facto authorities in Gaza to refrain from
carrying out any executions of prisoners and comply with the moratorium on
executions put in place by the Palestinian Authority, pending the abolition of
the death penalty in line with the global trend and following the signing of
the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights.
(source: wafa.ps)
SAUDI ARABIA:
Urgent Action
SAUDI ACTIVISTS FACE THE DEATH PENALTY
Saudi activist Israa al-Ghomgham and 4 other individuals on trial at the
Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) face the death penalty for charges related to
their participation in peaceful protests.
Write a letter, send an email, call, fax or tweet:
* Urging the Saudi Arabian authorities not to hand down the death sentence to
the 5 defendants;
* Urging them to release Israa al-Ghomgham, Ahmed al-Matrood, Ali Ouwaisher,
Mousa al-Hashim, Khalid al-Ghanim and Mujtaba al-Muzain immediately and
unconditionally, as they are held solely for the peaceful exercise of their
right to freedom of expression, assembly and association;
* Urging them to immediately establish an official moratorium on executions
with a view to abolishing the death penalty in Saudi Arabia.
Friendly reminder: If you send an email, please create your own instead of
forwarding this one!
Contact these 2 officials by 14 January, 2018:
King and Prime Minister
His Majesty King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud
The Custodian of the two Holy Mosques Office of His Majesty the King Royal
Court, Riyadh
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Fax: (via Ministry of the Interior)
+966 11 403 3125 (please keep trying)
Twitter: @KingSalman
Salutation: Your Highness
Ambassador Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz
Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia
601 New Hampshire Ave. NW
Washington DC 20037
Phone: 202 342 3800
Contact Form: https://bit.ly/2KScqag
Twitter: @SaudiEmbassyUSA
Salutation: Your Royal Highness
(source: Amnesty International)
MALAYSIA:
Bill to abolish death penalty will only be tabled later, says MP
A Bill to abolish the death penalty will not be tabled at this parliamentary
sitting, said Bukit Gelugor MP and vocal critic of the death penalty Ramkarpal
Singh.
Last October, de facto law minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Liew Vui
Keong had confirmed that the death penalty would be abolished for 33 offences,
including murder.
“This is obviously not going to happen at this sitting and there is no official
reason being given as to why,” Ramkarpal said at a forum on the abolition of
the death penalty, organised by the Bar Council’s human rights committee.
“We hope to see it being tabled at the next sitting in March,” he added.
Crimes against kids
Ramkarpal said the abolition of the death penalty, as promised in the PH
manifesto, was “all-encompassing”. It was for offences which carry both the
discretionary and mandatory death penalty.
“Certain offences such as crimes against children and sexual offences have
raised debate as to whether or not the country is ready to totally abolish the
discretionary death penalty,” he said.
He said this had resulted in the government taking a step back to consider the
views of all the stakeholders who have an interest in the issue.
“We have to accept the fact that not everybody is anti-death penalty. A
responsible government has to take into account the views of all the
stakeholders.”
Ramkarpal had previously stated that the death penalty could be retained in
certain cases.
“When I said the death penalty could be retained in certain cases, I meant it
in the context of new identifiable offences. I don’t mean this discretion
should be applied to the current offences that we have.”
He gave as example repeat offenders or offenders who were caught “red-handed”
for specific crimes, although he did not go into the details.
However, Ramkarpal stressed that the government’s view was that the death
penalty must go.
“It is this responsibility of considering the views of all stakeholders that
has resulted in the delay in tabling the Bill at this parliamentary sitting."
***********************
Expedite reforms or you’ll lose credibility, Ambiga warns PH
The Pakatan Harapan (PH) government will lose credibility if it fails to carry
out reforms as outlined in its election manifesto, former Malaysian Bar
president Ambiga Sreenevasan said.
She said the people voted for PH instead of Barisan Nasional as it had promised
to promote democracy and uphold human rights.
"If PH keeps backtracking on the promises, it will lose credibility,” she told
a forum entitled “Abolition of the Death Penalty: Rationale and Implications"
organised by the Malaysian Bar here this evening.
The human rights lawyer said it was also important for this region that
Malaysia succeeds as a vibrant democracy.
She also suggested that PH set up a transition team, which comprised government
representatives, civil society members and the Malaysian Bar, to kickstart all
reforms as promised in the manifesto.
"This committee will help the government explain to the public its reform
agenda."
She said there were already concerns that the reform agenda would grind to a
halt.
Ambiga said it would be disgraceful if PH could not get a simple piece of
legislation, like abolishing the death penalty, approved, given that 142
countries had already repealed it.
"What is our excuse?"
Ambiga said she still hoped the government would table the bill in the Dewan
Rakyat to repeal the death penalty on Dec 10, which is the World Human Rights
Day.
"Give it as a present to the people of Malaysia."
Ambiga said there had been enough consultations and arguments for and against
capital punishment.
"No need for further consultations. You cannot run the government by
referendum."
She said the government needs to abolish the death penalty first but could
consider retaining the punishment in the “rarest of rare cases” later.
The Cabinet made a decision on Oct 10 that the death penalty in all laws in
this country should be abolished.
(source for both: freemalaysiatoday.com)
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