May 27
JORDAN:
Death sentence for 2 connected to Karak terror cell upheld
The Court of Cassation upheld a February State Security Court (SSC) ruling,
sentencing 2 men to death in connection with the Karak terror cell case that
resulted in the death of 10 people in Karak Governorate in 2016.
In November, the SSC sentenced the two defendants to death, but decided
immediately to reduce the sentence to life in prison, because “the 2 men were
young and deserved a 2nd chance in life”.
However, the Court of Cassation overturned the verdict a few months later,
asking the SSC to sentence the 2 defendants to death.
“The defendants should not benefit from any penalty reductions because their
actions caused fear, terror and chaos among Jordanians and tourists and caused
multiple deaths,” the higher court ruled.
In February, the SSC adhered to the Court of Cassation’s request and handed the
2 defendants the death penalty.
8 other defendants received prison terms ranging from 3 to 15 years in prison
for their role in the terror attack that also left 34 people injured.
The defendants were standing trial on charges of plotting subversive acts that
led to the death of people, manufacturing explosives, financing terrorist acts
and joining armed terrorist groups.
The victims included 7 security personnel, 2 Jordanian civilians and a Canadian
national.
The charge sheet said that the defendants plotted to carry out terrorist acts
around Jordan and started by attacking a police patrol in Karak Governorate,
140km south of Amman, followed by an attack on a police station and a shootout
at Karak Castle.
Some of the security forces were killed as they attempted to arrest some of the
group’s members in Karak, while the 2 citizens and the Canadian were killed
during shootouts between the defendants and security forces, according to the
charge sheet.
The defendants did not contest the death sentence imposed on them by the SSC in
February.
Meanwhile, the higher court ruled that the SSC followed the proper proceedings
when issuing a new sentence against the defendant and they deserve the death
penalty.
The Court of Cassation judges comprised Mohammad Ibrahim, Naji Zu’bi, Yassin
Abdullat, Nayef Samarat and Hamad Ghzawi.
(source: The Jordan Times)
IRAQ:
Iraq sentences 4th French Daesh fighter to death
An Iraqi court on Monday condemned a 4th French citizen to death for joining
the Daesh group, despite France reiterating its opposition to capital
punishment.
Mustapha Merzoughi, 37, was sentenced to death by hanging, according to an AFP
journalist at the court.
In recent months Iraq has taken custody of thousands of extremists including
foreigners captured in neighboring Syria by the US-backed Syrian Democratic
Forces (SDF) during the battle to destroy the IS “caliphate.”
Among them are 12 French citizens, three of whom — Kevin Gonot, Leonard Lopez
and Salim Machou — were handed death sentences Sunday by a Baghdad court in a
first for French extremists.
They have 30 days to appeal.
The trials have been criticized by rights groups, which say they often rely on
evidence obtained through torture.
They have also raised the question of whether suspected Daesh militants should
be tried in the region or repatriated, in the face of strong public opposition
at home.
France has long insisted that its adult citizens captured in Iraq or Syria must
face trial locally, refusing to repatriate them despite the risk they face
capital punishment for waging their jihadist war in the region.
Paris on Monday reiterated its opposition to the death penalty, saying it would
take “the necessary steps” to prevent Iraq from carrying out capital punishment
against its citizens.
“France is opposed in principle to the death penalty at all times and in all
places,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
“The evidence and the confession show that you joined the Daesh group, that you
worked in its military branch,” the judge told Merzoughi on Monday before
handing down his sentence.
Wearing a yellow prison uniform, Merzoughi said he was “not guilty of crimes
and killings” but simply of traveling to Syria.
“I ask for forgiveness from the people of Iraq, Syria, France and the families
of the victims,” he said.
Merzoughi told investigators he had served in the French army from 2000 to
2010, including a tour in Afghanistan in 2009.
In France, he lived in the southwestern city of Toulouse, the hometown of
brothers Fabien and Jean-Michel Clain who claimed the deadly 2015 attacks in
Paris and were killed fighting in Syria. Passing through Belgium and then
Morocco, the French citizen with Tunisian roots underwent “religious and
military training in Aleppo,” in northern Syria.
He allegedly told investigators previously that he pledged allegiance to a
masked Daesh leader in Mosul, claiming that many senior jihadists worried about
being “recognized or identified by foreign fighters they feared were spies.”
But in court on Monday he said he never pledged allegiance to the group.
Leonard Lopez, 2 of 3 sentenced Sunday, is a 32-year-old Parisian convert to
Islam long known to French authorities for his activity on the extremist
website Ansar Al-Haqq in the 2000s. “We condemn the capital punishment of a
French national based solely on interrogations in Baghdad jails,” he said.
Before the most recent verdicts, 3 French citizens had been convicted of
joining Daesh in Iraq: Melina Boughedir, 27, Djamila Boutoutaou, 29, and
Lahcene Gueboudj, 58.
All 3 were sentenced to life, equivalent to 20 years in Iraq.
The Iraqi judiciary said earlier in May that it has tried and sentenced more
than 500 suspected foreign members of Daesh since the start of 2018.
Its courts have condemned many to life in prison and others to death, although
no foreign Daesh members have yet been executed.
Iraq has also tried thousands of its own nationals arrested on home soil for
joining Daesh, including women, and begun trial proceedings for nearly 900
Iraqis repatriated from Syria.
The country remains in the top 5 “executioner” nations in the world, according
to an Amnesty International report in April.
(source: Arab News)
EGYPT:
Sisi regime puts thousands on death row
More than 2,440 people have been sentenced to death in Egypt since President
Sisi began a crackdown on opposition after coming to power 6 years ago,
according to new figures.
Most were convicted and sentenced in mass trials of more than 15 defendants.
The campaign group Reprieve, which compiled the figures, called it a human
rights crisis.
There were 5 trials in which more than 75 people were sentenced to death at the
same time, including 10 minors.
Ahmed Saddouma was 17 when he was accused of taking part in “terrorist acts” in
2015, and was given a death penalty in a mass trial last year.
He is awaiting an appeal ruling next month.
(source: thetimes.co.uk)
NIGERIA:
Buhari should kill looters by hanging, firing squad – Lagos deputy governor,
Ojikutu
Former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Alhaja Sinatu Ojikutu, has advised
President Muhammadu Buhari against jailing looters in his 2nd term.
Ojikutu said rather than jail looters, Buhari should ensure that they are
killed through firing squad or hanging.
Speaking with Vanguard yesterday, the former deputy governor insisted that
stiff measures would serve as a deterrent to others.
According to Ojikutu: “If you jail someone for corruption in Nigeria, the next
administration will release that person, and this is what has been happening in
Nigeria. But I believe that if people found to be corrupt after thorough
investigations are made to face the firing squad or are hanged, this will serve
as a deterrent.
“We need to start making examples. But like I said earlier, thorough
investigations must be carried out and the trial must also be fair. It should
not be a case of vendetta or persecution.
“Due process must be followed. If after all these have conditions been met and
a person is still found guilty of corruption, then let him or her face the
music. There is nothing wrong with death sentence for corrupt elements because
through their own acts of corruption, they are also killing people.
“If you are stealing money that is meant to buy drugs and put vital equipments
in place in hospital, through your selfish and unpatriotic action, you are
killing people or you are diverting money meant for road construction into your
personal account, you are also killing people because the bad roads you fail to
fix will cause accidents which will result in the death of people.
“It is high time we let Nigerians realize that corruption is evil, and that it
doesn’t pay. We have to start from somewhere. I’m not one of those who are
against death penalty for corruption, but there must be thorough investigations
and trial.
“It must be established that the man that is being sentenced to death for
corruption has, through his action of being corrupt, caused the death of
people.
“It should not be a case of somebody being sentenced to death, later
investigations revealed that he was wrongfully convicted and, meanwhile, the
man has been executed, it should not be like that.
“There must be thorough investigations devoid of vendetta or persecution. If
you cause the death of others through corrupt practices, then you also deserve
to die.
“It should be an eye for eye, tooth for tooth like in mosaic laws. If we can do
this, sanity will be restored fast. Corruption is thriving because some corrupt
elements believe that they will always get away with a slap on the wrist; when
you introduce death sentence, everybody will fall into line. Nigerians don’t
want to die, they love life.
“The moment you introduce death sentence for corruption, everybody will sit up.
But then, you will still want people who want to dare it, but when they dare
it, they should go for it. We need death sentence to serve as a deterrent in
the fight against corruption.”
(source: Daily Post Nigeria)
MALAYSIA:
Nigerian man charged with murder of Serdang Hospital nurse
A 36-year-old Nigerian man was charged with murdering Serdang Hospital nursing
sister Siti Kharina Mohd Kamarudin, in the Magistrates Court in here, this
morning.
The accused, Alowonle Oluwajuwon Gilbert from Benin City, Nigeria was charged
under Section 302 of the Penal Code.M
The murder charge was then read to Oluwajuwon by a court interpreter in English
in front of Magistrate A. Akhiruddin@Boy Acho.
According to the charge, he had committed the murder against Siti Kharina, 41,
at Tower 1, Third Avenue Condominium in Cyberjaya, Selangor between May 9 and
May 15.
The incident was alleged to have taken place between 12.41am until 2.30pm on
the aforementioned dates at a condominium unit.
Oluwajuwon faces the mandatory death penalty if he is found guity.
No plea was recorded from the accused who was unrepresented. Deputy public
prosecutor Nasharina Nazlan prosecuted.
The court fixed July 31 for mention, pending the submission of several
documents.
Among the documents that need to be submitted to court are the chemist report,
the DNA report, the forensic report on seized close-circuit television
recordings and a report on a mobile phone seized during the case.
The same court later released a 35-year-old Nigerian woman and a 38-year-old
Pakistani man who had been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the murder
earlier.
However, both were ordered to surrender their passports until the end of the
court case.
Siti Kharina was reported missing on May 8 and was found dead with slash wounds
on her chest, neck and head by the owner of her rented condominium unit in
Cyberjaya on May 15.
(source: malaymail.com)
SINGAPORE:
Drug trafficker loses final court battle against death penalty
The Court of Appeal has thrown out 2 final appeals by a Malaysian drug
trafficker against his death sentence for drug trafficking on Monday (27 May),
ending a series of court battles spanning a period of nearly 10 years.
The final recourse for 30-year-old Nagaenthran a/l K Dharmalingam would have
been to petition to the President for clemency, according to his lawyer Mr
Eugene Thuraisingam.
The 2 appeals were against the decisions of the trial judge, Justice Chan Seng
Onn, to dismiss Nagaenthran’s applications for re-sentencing due to a mental
impairment arising from abnormality of mind, and for judicial review of the
Public Prosecutor’s decision not to grant Nagaenthran a certificate of
substantive assistance (referred to as the “PP’s non-certification decision” in
general).
Both appeals were heard together before a 5-judge Court of Appeal in January
this year, and judgment for both appeals were reserved.
Delivering the judgment of the court, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon held that
Nagaenthran’s inconsistencies in his evidence and account of events, given to
the psychiatrists and psychologists examining him, had undermined his mental
impairment defence.
Also hearing the appeals were Judges of Appeal Andrew Phang and Judith Prakash,
Senior Judge Chao Hick Tin, and Justice Belinda Ang, who ruled that Nagaenthran
was not suffering from any substantial mental impairment which would have
enabled him to be sentenced to life imprisonment.
With regards to the judicial review appeal, CJ Menon explained that a clause in
the Misuse of Drugs Act, which supposedly oust the courts of its jurisdiction
to judicially review the PP’s non-certification decision save for grounds of
bad faith and malice, is actually a statutory immunity clause that only
prevents the PP from being sued for civil liability unless there was bad faith
or malice on the PP’s part.
In so doing, the Court of Appeal disagreed with Justice Chan below and another
conflicting High Court decision, and as such, the available grounds of judicial
review against PP’s non-certification decision are not limited, ruled the apex
court once and for all.
Nevertheless, the court found that the only 2 grounds pursued on appeal – that
the PP failed to take into account relevant considerations, and that the
non-certification decision was made in the absence of a precedent fact, were
not made out on the facts of Nagaenthran’s case.
(source: theonlinecitizen.com)
************************
The absurdity of another M'sian in S'pore being sentenced to death
The Singapore Court of Appeal has just dismissed the appeal against the death
sentence of Malaysian D Nagaenthran.
Nagaenthran suffers from mental illness or intellectual disability, according
to his own medical expert, Dr Ken Ung.
This could have saved him from the gallows if he had been able to convince the
court that he suffers from such mental impairment.
Unfortunately, the court chose instead to rely on reports from the Institute of
Mental Health psychiatrists, which indicated that Nagaenthran's mental
condition does not sufficiently qualify as mental impairment.
Nevertheless, the prosecution and the High Court accepted that he suffers from
a mild intellectual disabilty.
A very significant point which was not raised in Nagaenthran's appeal was that
the expert evidence of the state’s 3rd medical expert, Dr Koh Wun Wu, was made
without further independent medical examination of Nagaenthran. It was made
instead with the objective of "making observations" on Ung's conclusions.
This practice, known as 'poking holes' in the defence's report, is an
unacceptable practice in criminal trials. To me, this renders the Court of
Appeal's decision as being one in breach of the right to a fair trial under
international law.
Furthermore, it is widely accepted that the execution of mentally ill or
persons with intellectual disabilities is a clear violation of international
standards.
Both international and domestic laws in many countries around the world
prohibit the execution of people with mental illness or intellectual
disabilities.
Several international organisations have spoken and campaigned actively in this
regard.
As I am in the process of drafting a memorandum to the Malaysian government,
where I will set out in detail as to why it should file a complaint to the
International Court of Justice in view of the aforesaid breaches of
international law, I sadly recall his distraught mother and brother's pleas and
how I was consoling them not to lose hope.
I will include several other breaches of the right to a fair trial that
Nagaenthran has suffered. This may be one way to save Nagaenthran.
The Singapore Anti-Death Penalty Campaign (SADPC) will also kick off its
international campaign to save Nagaenthran with immediate effect.
(source: M RAVI is an international human rights lawyer----malaysiakini.com)
INDONESIA:
Indonesian authorities arrest 2 Thai nationals for smuggling meth inside their
stomachs
Customs officers at Bali’s Ngurah Rai Airport arrested 2 Thai nationals for
attempting to smuggle a total of 1.08 kg of crystal methamphetamine inside
their stomach.
The two men, who authorities have identified as Prakob Seetasang and Radisson
Phenlamat, allegedly swallowed the drugs to hide them from customs authorities,
according to a report by Kumparan.
Ngurah Rai International Airport Customs’ chief, Himawan Indarjano, said they
were arrested on May 13, after customs officers grew suspicious when they went
through airport security.
Himawan said Seetasang and Phenlamat had their belongings promptly checked by
authorities, followed by a body and X-ray scan at a local hospital; the latter
showed that their digestive tracts contained suspicious foreign objects.
“After an attempt to remove those objects from their system, we found that they
were narcotics that they’d hidden through swallowing,” Himawan said, as quoted
in the Kumparan report.
The custom’s chief added that Prakob and Seetasang swallowed 49 and 51 plastic
packages containing crystal methamphetamine – known locally as shabu –
respectively.
“This method is considered extreme, as it endangers the smuggler and is also
difficult to detect,” Himawan said.
Police said the crystal meth was estimated to have a market value of IDR 1.48
billion (USD 102,818).
Authorities suspected that both Prakob and Seetasang may have previously
smuggled drugs to Hong Kong, and said that they were paid around IDR 6.9
million (USD 479) for the attempt in Bali.
“Their handler provided them with a hotel and accommodation, and their
passports show that they have been to Hong Kong and several other ASEAN
countries. They may have [smuggled methamphetamine] with the same method,”
Nyoman Sebudi, an official from the Bali Province Narcotics Agency (BNNP) said,
as quoted by Kumparan.
Under Indonesia’s notoriously strict drug laws, the alleged drug smugglers face
a maximum sentence of capital punishment and a maximum fine of IDR 10 billion
(USD 694,755).
(source: coconuts.co)
CHINA:
Man sentenced to death for killing 2 kids outside of Shanghai primary school
last year----The court said that the man believed he had been bullied and hurt
by others and wanted to "vent his anger"
A man has been sentenced to death for murdering 2 children outside of a primary
school in Shanghai last year.
On June 28th, 2018, Huang Yichuan waited with a knife outside of the Shanghai
World Foreign Language Primary School on Pubei Road in Xuhui district. When
school got out for lunch, he followed behind a group of students and started
slashing, also injuring another child and a mother.
Police said that Huang had confessed to having committed the crime as a way of
“taking revenge on society.” He was diagnosed with schizophrenia, however, the
Shanghai No.1 Intermediate People’s Court found that the condition did not
significantly influence his ability to control his behavior during the
stabbing.
In fact, Huang was discovered to have planned out the crime, visiting and
taking photos of primary schools and kindergartens in Shanghai and Guangzhou
the previous year, apparently while deciding on a target.
The court said that Huang believed that he had been bullied and hurt by others
and therefore decided to vent his anger by murdering innocent children. Because
of the severity of his crimes, he was given the death penalty.
(source: shanghaiist.com)
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