Sept. 16
JAMAICA:
Fix law to resume hanging – Sinclair
A Government senator has nudged the Andrew Holness administration to make
changes to the law that will allow Jamaica to resume hanging, but that
suggestion was quickly shot down by Justice Minister Delroy Chuck.
Though the death penalty remains on the books, there have been no hangings in
Jamaica since 1988. Hanging was halted in Jamaica following the 1993 landmark
Pratt and Morgan ruling by the United Kingdom Privy Council that it is cruel
and inhumane to hang an inmate who has been on death row for more than 5 years.
Charles Sinclair, one of 13 government senators in the Upper House, made it
clear on Friday that he is ready to support legislative amendments that would
allow Jamaica “to fit within the UK Privy Council decision in Pratt and
Morgan”.
“If we have to establish special courts to fast-track and ensure that the
hearings go through and persons are given justice, so be it,” he said during a
debate in the Senate on a bill that provides significantly higher fines for
offences contained in 40 laws that fall under the justice ministry.
“Whatever the amendments that need to be made, I will support it,” declared
Sinclair, a prominent criminal defence attorney, to applause from his
colleagues.
But his suggestion appears to be a non-starter with Chuck, who acknowledged
that he is personally “against hanging”.
“It is unlikely that Jamaica will resume it. That’s the present status, which
we are unlikely to disturb”, the justice minister told The Gleaner yesterday.
Asked if he saw any merit in Sinclair’s proposal, Chuck was blunt.
“No,” he responded.
But Sinclair, in revisiting the hot-button issue, recounted that the last time
capital punishment was put to a conscience vote in Parliament, a majority of
lawmakers supported it. “When you listen to the commentary across Jamaica, a
lot of persons support it ... but it is not being used at all.”
(source: Jamaica Gleaner)
SWITZERLAND:
How a Montreux bank heist led to calls for the death penalty
A deadly bank robbery carried out by two Russians in Montreux in 1907 resulted
in public outcry and heavy prison sentences
In the early 1900s Switzerland was rocked by a wave of terror incidents by
anarchists. A bank heist carried out by 2 Russians in Montreux in 1907, in
which a bank clerk was shot dead, led to public calls for the death penalty.
On the morning of September 18, 1907, the town of Montreux on Lake Geneva was
the scene of dramatic incidents straight out of a gangster movie.
Two men sprint down Avenue du Kursaal. “Stop them, stop them!” cry passers-by.
A postal employee, Auguste Vuilliamoz, manages to throw one of them down to the
ground; the other takes off “like a rabbit”, according to an eyewitness.
Shots ring out
Jules Favre, a notary, courageously blocks the fugitive’s way. But the man
takes out a gun and shoots Favre in the leg, then sprints off again. A
hairdresser, Georges Bär, who comes out of his shop meets the same fate – he
too is shot. In Schopfergasse, a coachman, Octave Pittet, tries to stop the
man. Another shot rings out followed by a scream. Pittet falls to the ground
with a bullet in his stomach. The locksmith Alfred Nicklès fearlessly takes up
the pursuit. He is more fortunate, as a bullet only grazes him. Finally, the
police arrive. The fugitive has run out of bullets and he is arrested in Mrs
Terribilini’s henhouse.
At the police station, the two detainees refuse to talk. However, the police
are convinced that they are Russian anarchists.
Meanwhile, at the Banque de Montreux, Oskar Gudel, a cashier, is lying dead in
a pool of blood. An eyewitness recounts how the robbers entered the bank to
change money. While Gudel was counting the money, one of the robbers shot him
in the head, the other one rushed to the open safe and stuffed cash into a
cloth bag hanging from his neck. Then they took off. The bank director, who was
informed by telephone, is outraged: “Poor man!” he says, with tears in his
eyes. “Poor Gudel! He was such a decent young man!”
Narrowly escaped lynching
That evening, the police transfer the criminals to Lausanne to be identified.
They have a hard time protecting the men from a crowd of several hundred
Montreux locals threatening to lynch them. In Lausanne, anger is brewing too,
and the officers protecting the prisoners are assaulted.
“Like in Russia,” says the La Liberté newspaper on its front page the next day.
As well as giving the details of the Montreux drama, the paper runs an
interview with the postal worker, who helped catch one of the criminals. “A
dodgy looking individual with a gangster-like face was running towards me on
the other side of the road. Without hesitation, I threw myself at him and was
able to stop him. The witnesses who told me what had happened arrived shortly
afterwards. One of them – a worker carrying an iron pole – was so outraged by
this horrible crime that he wanted to beat the individual to death. I had to
take him aside and calm him down.”
The evening papers confirm suspicions that the two criminals are from Russia.
One claims he is Maxime Daniekoff, while the gunman calls himself Paul Nilista.
None of the officers realises that he is joking. “Nilista” is a reference to
“nihilism”, a well-known philosophy and political movement in Russia at the
time, which contested the authority of state, church and family, and supported
atheism and anarchism. Media reports describe the pair as “dark criminal
figures”, professional criminals who had meticulously prepared the heist. Gold,
cash, a dagger, pistols, magazines and ammunition, as well as a cloth bag for
the loot are found in their possession.
2nd fatality
In Switzerland there is huge outcry. La Liberté reports that the men are
“anarchists whose principles are solely focused on the abolition of law and
order”. The fact that the coachman was shot dead fuels local anger, as does the
media’s detailed description of the victim. “His mouth wide open as if he was
gasping for air, his half-open eyes reflecting the horror, as well as his
injuries are enough for us to more or less reconstruct the drama,” it recounts.
Death by screaming
Gudel reportedly screamed when the gunman threatened him. “Badly injured, Gudel
let out another scream – a scream filled with pain and terror. He tried to hold
onto the counter when another shot hit him just above the jaw next to his ear;
the bullet pierced his brain and killed him,” the paper writes.
In Russia, such criminal acts happen on a daily basis, the newspaper La feuille
d’avis du Valais explains. “One almost gets used to such newsflashes and
doesn’t pay much attention to them, especially when they come from other
countries. This time, however, the drama did not take place in Russia, it
happened in Switzerland, right on our doorstep in Montreux.”
The paper also wonders how much longer Switzerland should tolerate being used
as a test ground for anarchy and crime. “Such criminals deserve the death
penalty. We must not allow Russian terrorists to believe that they can get away
with their bloody gangster acts in the country that grants them asylum,” it
adds.
Prudent voices
The newspaper’s strong words are heard. When the offenders are transfered to
Vevey prison, hundreds of people call for the death penalty. They throw rocks
and break the windows of their carriage, while other enraged citizens hit the
prisoners with walking canes.
The Christian-Socialist newspaper L’Essor warns that this xenophobic movement
could result in the restriction of freedom of expression and the tightening of
asylum law. “A strong nation doesn’t need to deport foreign ‘elements’; it
integrates or at least influences them,” the paper writes.
The paper suggests giving the foreigners “free courses on the origin and
principles of our democracies, the basics of our social and individual morale
and our civilization.” Most people are of a different opinion, however. The
people of Vevey establish a militia group to ensure local law and order and to
support the police. “The example of Vevey sets a precedent,” La Liberté writes.
“It’s important that thugs of all kind know that we have had enough of their
acts and terror.”
Finally identified
Although the prisoners give conflicting stories and lie when interrogated, the
police manage to identify “Nilista”. His real name is Nikolay Divnogorsky. He
is 26 years old, married and a fan of the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy; hence his
nickname: Nicolas Tolstoy. When his mother is questioned in Russia, she says
her son went to the countryside to live with farmers and to support the
revolution. However, he returned with his clothes in tatters saying he wanted
to study agriculture. Then, she says, he disappeared, and she did not hear from
him for years.
It is not quite clear whether the mother is just badly informed or whether she
wants to protect her son. Nikolay Divnogorsky is the co-founder of a
revolutionary group in St Petersburg dedicated to “propaganda in action”. Its
members have carried out assassinations and procured means for their
revolutionary struggle by robbing banks and blackmail.
Actors
A spy finally betrays Divnogorsky, and he is locked up in the notorious Peter
and Paul Fortress in St Petersburg, Russia. There he pretends to be crazy until
he is transferred to a hospital from where his friends manage to get him out
and help him flee abroad. According to his mother, Divnogorsky suffered from
dizziness at a young age, and in his later years, he was diagnosed with
neurasthenia which was in fashion in the 19th century, and is what is known as
burnout today. During his imprisonment in Switzerland he insists he gets
hallucinations. A psychiatrist examines him and concludes that he is absolutely
sane and in full possession of his mental faculties.
Remorse during trial
Their trial begins in May 1908. Divnogorsky’s accomplice claims he is a
watchmaker and that his real name is Maxime Doubowsky. The two defendants admit
they robbed the bank only to send money to the revolutionary movement in
Russia. They never intended to kill anyone. “The shot was triggered by
accident. I lost my mind,” Divnogorsky says. “I truly regret the death of the
cashier.” His remorse does not help him. He is sentenced to life imprisonment
for murder. Doubowsky is sentenced to 20 years behind bars, even though it is
proven that he never used force.
Divnogorsky tries to commit suicide in prison. “At first, he threw himself down
the basement stairs, but was unscathed,” L’Impartial reports. “He then tried to
kill himself by hanging by his feet from the cell bars; however, he was taken
down in time.” During his seventh month in prison, Divnogorsky sets his
mattress on fire.
“Once again, the guards were able to prevent a disaster. However, the toxic
fumes from the smoke were enough for Divnogorsky to catch pneumonia that led to
his death, a brief newspaper report on December 13, 1908 recounted, with the
headline: “The Epilogue of a Drama”.
Terrorist violence in Switzerland
A look at Swiss history shows that politically motivated violence was more
frequent in the past than we might imagine today.
The first terrorist attack in this country was the assassination of the
Austrian Empress Elisabeth, who was stabbed to death in 1898 by an anarchist
named Luigi Luccheni. “Sisi”, as she was called, was the first victim of
anarchist terror in Switzerland, but she was certainly not the last.
In the early 20th century Switzerland experienced a wave of terrorist attacks.
Anarchists raided banks and even a police building in Zurich, tried to blow up
trains, blackmailed industrialists, carried out bomb attacks and assassinated
political opponents. Most of the attackers were foreign: Russians, Italians,
Germans and Austrians who had sought political asylum in Switzerland.
The Swiss government reacted by deporting undesirables and making laws more
severe. In 1894, in what became known as the “Anarchists Law”, penalties for
crimes using explosives were increased, and preparing for them was made a
criminal offence. But Switzerland refrained from tightening its asylum
legislation, which ensured ongoing protection for people wanted by police
elsewhere.
(source: swissinfo.ch)
PAKISTAN:
Pakistani police detain Hindu school principal over 'blasphemy'----Police take
Hindu man into 'protective custody' after far-right groups attack temple and
homes from minority community.
Pakistani police have detained a Hindu school principal in the southern town of
Ghotki, after he was accused of committing blasphemy by a student, prompting
riots by far-right protesters, police officials and Hindu community leaders
say.
Notan Lal, the owner and principal of a private school in Ghotki, located about
425km north of Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, was taken into "protective
custody" on Sunday, senior police official Farrukh Lanjar told Al Jazeera.
"He is in protective custody and we are inquiring about what his role is [in
the incident]," said Lanjar. "The student has also been questioned. The inquiry
is under process."
Blasphemy is a sensitive subject in Pakistan, where at least 75 people have
been killed since 1990 in connection with allegations of the crime, according
to an Al Jazeera tally.
The crime, which includes insulting the Quran (Islam's holy book), attacking
religious sites or insulting Prophet Muhammad, can carry a mandatory death
penalty.
At least 40 people are serving life sentences or are on death row for blasphemy
in Pakistan, according to the United States Commission for International
Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
On Sunday, an angry mob ransacked the school where the incident allegedly took
place and attacked a Hindu temple, badly damaging its interior, members of the
Hindu community told Al Jazeera.
"In the temple, they broke the windows, and the things inside, including our
idols, were also damaged," said Mukhi Kika Ram, the leader of the local Hindu
community.
Ram said several shops and homes were also damaged by rioters.
'Tempers high'
Police said they intervened on Sunday with a heavy deployment of personnel to
bring the town back in order, and registered a blasphemy case for the attack on
the temple.
"We ensured that minorities be protected and their places of worship and homes
be protected," said Lanjar. "We have deployed additional personnel there."
Later on Sunday, government officials held talks with the religious leaders
leading the protests to end the violence, said provincial Information Minister
Saeed Ghani.
"We are investigating and going through every person possibly involved, but
tempers are high and people are charged and we want to make sure the situation
is calm before we proceed ahead and verify details," said Jamil Ahmad, a senior
police official, adding that Lal's statement had been recorded.
On Sunday night, Ahmad said Muslim religious leaders spent the night with Hindu
representatives of the area at the temple that was attacked as a show of
solidarity.
"The community around the school and temple has shown great maturity. Clerics
of every sect showed up in solidarity at the temple. And the Muslim community
and clerics provided security to Hindu families."
Blasphemy case
The accusation against Lal centres on comments he allegedly made while sitting
in on an Urdu lesson, said Abdul Aziz Khan, the complainant in the case.
Khan's son, 15-year-old Muhammad Ibtisam, alleges that Lal insulted the prophet
during a lesson on his life and travel between 2 holy cities.
Khan alleged that Lal had later sent school staff to their residence to
pressure Ibtisam to recant his statement, resulting in a violent altercation
between Khan's family and the staff.
"We had a confrontation there, where we argued with them over this," he said,
adding that following the violence he registered the blasphemy case at the
local police station.
On Sunday, local religious parties, including the Sunni Tehreek and the Jamiat
Ulema Islam, led protests in Ghotki, forcing businesses to shut and resulting
in the attacks on the temple and school, residents told Al Jazeera. Videos from
the protests showed Muslim leaders called for "blasphemers" to be put to death.
Khan, himself under police protective custody, condemned the violence, saying
Lal should only face any punishment under the law.
"Whoever has done this, it is completely wrong," he said. "Our religion does
not give permission for this. Our Prophet Muhammad, on whose name we are
pursuing this case, says for no one to ever be harmed, even if they are
non-Muslim.
"If one heretic has committed heresy, then the police must arrest him, the
court must hear him and then he will face his punishment."
Hindus fear for their safety
Pakistan human rights body called the mob violence against the minority
community "barbaric" while Amnesty International said the perpetrators of the
attack must be held "accountable".
"The authorities must take prompt action to quell the violence and ensure the
safety of the school principal being targeted," said the independent Human
Rights Commission of Pakistan in a Twitter post following the violence.
"The video circulated earlier is chilling: mob violence against a member of a
religious minority is barbaric, unacceptable."
Hindu community leaders, however, said they continued to fear for their safety
in Ghotki.
"We are very hurt by the idea that if one person commits a mistake, then the
whole Hindu community is punished for it," said Jewat Ram Manglani, a community
leader. "We respect both our temples and also mosques, and people should also
respect us."
Pakistan is home to roughly 3.3 million Hindus, a small minority in a country
of 207 million people. The majority of the country's Hindus live in the
southern province of Sindh, where Ghotki is located.
(source: aljazeera.com)
***************
Pakistan tracks down 2 Indian spies involved in terror activities
Pakistan has identified 2 more Indian spies actively involved in terrorist
activities in Balochistan, sources told Geo News on Monday.
According to details, both of the spies, namely Swami Asemanand and Goband
Part, sneaked into Pakistan from Iran
The 2 were involved in a criminal activity in the Mastung area of Balochistan
before fleeing to to Afghanistan.
Pakistan has shared details with Iran and Afghanistan regarding the Indian
agents, and also penned a letter to the authorities in the 2 countries.
Indian involvement in sabotaging peace in Pakistan was confirmed when Naval
Commander Kulbhushan Jhadav was arrested in the country back in 2016.
Jhadav admitted to have been involved in several terrorist activities in
Balochistan and Karachi. He is currently in jail after a military court gave
him the death penalty.
Earlier this year, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found that India’s
submission pertaining to the acquittal and release of Kulbhushan Jadhav could
not be upheld.
According to the ICJ, the conviction and sentence of Kulbhushan Jadhav were not
to be regarded as a violation of Article 36 of the Vienna Convention.
"As regards India’s claim based on the Vienna Convention, the Court considers
that it is not the conviction and sentence of Mr. Jadhav which are to be
regarded as a violation of the provisions of the Vienna Convention," read the
verdict.
The ICJ allowed India consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav and called on
Pakistan to review and reconsider his conviction and sentence. Pakistan
subsequently provided Indian consular access to the convicted spy.
(source: geo.tv)
THAILAND:
Asia-wide campaign seeks pardon for 2 Myanmar men facing death sentence
Myanmar civil society groups and anti-death penalty advocates across Asia have
launched a campaign seeking royal clemency for 2 Myanmar migrant workers
recently sentenced to death by a Thai court.
The Asia-wide campaign was launched on Thursday at the Asian People Forum held
at Thammasat University in Bangkok.
“We want them freed from the death sentence and a further review of the case,”
U Aung Myo Min, executive director of Equality Myanmar, told a press briefing
on the sidelines of the conference.
Thailand’s Supreme Court on August 29 upheld the death sentence of Myanmar
nationals Win Zaw Tun and Zaw Linn, who were convicted of the murder of 2
British backpackers on the resort island of Koh Tao in 2014.
U Aung Myo Min said that in seeking royal clemency, their group wants to
highlight that justice is important, not only for migrants but also for
documented and undocumented workers.
Myanmar civil society groups have collected petitions supporting the call for
clemency for the 2 men.
The Asian People Forum was held to discuss justice, peace, equality,
sustainability and democracy in Southeast Asia. Over 1000 participants from
civil society groups in Asia joined the 3-day conference.
The team of lawyers defending the 2 Myanmar men plans to submit an appeal for a
royal pardon to spare their lives.
(source: Myanmar Times)
*****************
Death sentence for a serial murderer who killed 5 including his pregnant wife
and her father
The murder of Kanyarat Kingkaew and her father was captured on CCTV footage
which subsequently went viral online. The killer gunned down his father in law
first and then shot his wife as she comforted her parent. He then drove to
another home where he took the life his mother-in-law and her 2 sisters.
A Thai criminal court this week sentenced a 37-year-old man to death for the
serial murder of his pregnant wife and 4 members of her family on Sunday,
January 13th this year. The killing occurred just nine days after a Catholic
priest in Chonburi filed a criminal complaint with the police after loaning the
man nearly ?30 million which was never repaid.
The killing took place in the northern Thai province of Uttaradit. The man fled
the scene in one of a number of cars he owned.
Teerapol Pinamorn who was originally from Ranong province in southern Thailand,
went berserk that day after he learned that his wife Kanyarat Kingkaew was
planning to leave him.
The crazed Thai man drove to his father-in-law’s home where his wife was
staying and while arguing with her in vain to make up, suddenly turned on his
father-in-law and shot him dead while the older man was washing a vehicle and
keeping an eye on the 2 estranged partners. He later told police he developed
an uncontrollable rage when his wife rejected his offer of reconciliation.
Wife ran to her father when he was gunned down
His brave wife, pregnant at the time with his child, rushed to her father and
while she held him in her arms, the killer shot her too. Mr Teerapol then drove
to a house in the Pichai district where he shot his mother-in-law Namphueng
Kingkaew, and her two sisters. He attempted to kill other members of the family
but they escaped from his wrath.
The murder of Mr Teerapol’s wife and her father was captured on CCTV footage
and widely shared online in the days after the murders.
Fled the scene and the subject of a manhunt
The killer fled the scene but was captured days later by a huge police and army
manhunt which located him in a wooded area in Ranong. It is believed that he
was trying to flee into Myanmar.
Reenactment of the murders in Uttaradit
Following his arrest, he was taken back to Uttaradit province where police
conducted a reenactment of the murders at a police station. It is understood
that feelings in the local community were very high and at the time and it was
considered wise not to bring him back to the real scene of the 1st crime scene.
Ekkarat Khamheag, Mr Pinamorn’s brother in law, the husband of the younger
sister of Kanyarat Kingkaew, came out and demanded the death penalty for the
man following the funeral rites for his wife’s family members. Police
subsequently charged Mr Teerapol with premeditated murder.
Catholic police had filed a complaint against him 9 days before the murders
seeking nearly ?30 million
This came at the same time as it was revealed Joseph Chaiyo, a 66-year-old
Catholic priest, had filed a police complaint in Chonburi province against Mr
Teerapol. The complaint revealed that the cleric had wired nearly ?30 million
to his bank account as a loan supported by documents to a land sale. This was
understood to be the title deeds of a 35 million property in Phuket. The
complaint had been made to police in Chonburi on January 4th 2019 some 9 days
before the killer’s frenzied and murderous outburst.
Escalating arguments about property and assets
It is understood that before the deadly rampage and the breakdown of the killer
on that doomful Sunday, he had begun to argue with his wife’s relations over
what he claimed were assets belonging to him that he had been deprived of by
members of his wife’s family circle. He told police that he had been driven by
anger and frustration on the day he carried out a serial killing.
History of jail time and no less than different 10 ID cards in 40 years
revealed by police
Police later revealed that Mr Teerapol had served time in prison for drug
offences and had obtained no less than 10 different national identity cards
between 1979 and 2018. It also came to light that his wife had reported her
husband to police on 2 occasions for violent assault but that no official
proceedings had resulted.
(source: thaiexaminer.com)
SINGAPORE:
Man who wore t-shirt in protest of death penalty claims he was stopped from
participating in Yellow Ribbon Prison Run
Singaporean runner Nafiz Kamaruddin was reportedly stopped from participating
in the annual Yellow Ribbon Prison Run yesterday — all because he had worn a
t-shirt protesting the death penalty in Singapore.
At least, that’s what his side of the story tells.
The annual event was organized as part of a 15-year-old campaign to rally more
support from the community in giving ex-offenders a second chance at life. This
year’s run took place from 6am to 1pm yesterday, with runners gathering at The
Civil Service Club in Changi.
One hour into the event, Nafiz, who had signed up for the 10km competitive run,
took to Facebook to say that he had been refused from the event because he was
wearing a t-shirt that had the words “‘2ND CHANCES’ MEANS NOT KILLING THEM”
emblazoned on the front.
In his post, he said: “So they did not allow me to run, despite being clear on
their site that runner(s) can use any other tops other than their official
(event) T-shirt.”
Nafiz added: “This will not stop me from achieving my goal on my birthday. I
will be running parallel to them. Screw the medal.”
The same words were also printed on Nafiz’s original running bib before he was
later asked by organizers over the phone to replaced it with only his name, as
the message was “not in line” with the Yellow Ribbon Project’s cause. It also
appears that the call came days after Nafiz showed off his bib on Facebook on
Aug. 31.
In response to the organizer’s request for his bib to be replaced, Nafiz wrote
his explanation in another post last Thursday, saying: “Does that sound stupid
to you? They’re promoting giving ex-offenders a ‘2nd Chance’ but they do not
agree that in order for 2nd chances to be given, you have to first not hang
them to death.”
He added: “Come on, Yellow Ribbon Project, don’t be hypocritical.”
According to Singapore laws, there are 32 offences in Singapore that could
potentially warrant death sentences. Four of them call for the mandatory death
penalty: murder, drug trafficking, terrorism, and the possession of
unauthorised firearms, ammunition or explosives.
Coconuts Singapore has reached out to both Nafiz and the Yellow Ribbon Prison
Run organizers for comment and will update this story as soon as more
information becomes available.
(source: coconuts.co)
UGANDA:
No to a mandatory death sentence----We are living precariously on the political
and human rights front as it is; the last thing is to introduce a mandatory
death sentence in grey areas of shaky evidence, politically-motivated arrests
and insufficient investigative capabilities, writes Timothy Kalyegira.
President Museveni this week stated his wish for the introduction of a
mandatory death penalty for suspects in cases of murder.
This came in the wake of the murder of his nephew Joshua Rushegera and a
companion in the same car, Melina Tumukunde, on the Kampala-Entebbe Expressway.
In a letter, the President wrote: “We need to make this clear to the courts. It
must be an eye for eye. Nothing less will be acceptable to the freedom fighters
that I represent and the entirety of the electorate of Uganda that I
represent.”
This is a dangerous development.
First, it is an act of presidential overreach. The Executive is the most
powerful of the three branches of government, but it is just one of three
branches. Today’s meek and submissive Judiciary might not always act the part,
but on paper at least it is the second branch of government, independent of the
Executive and of the third branch, Parliament.
Uganda’s legal community must stand up to this development.
In a country such as the United States with its solid separation of powers and
strong criminal justice system, we have seen many instances of suspects jailed
for years or decades, only for new evidence or new forensic technology to show
that the original homicide conviction was made in error.
How much more for a country like Uganda with weak investigative capabilities at
best and where there is always the risk of politically-motivated charges? The
President has been steadily calling for tougher measures against violent crime
over the years, starting over a decade ago when he wondered why suspects are
granted bail in murder cases.
The rearrest of the Opposition leader Col Kizza Besigye in 2005 after the High
Court had granted him bail and last week’s rearrest of suspects in the murder
of the senior police officer Andrew Kaweesi reflect this pattern of thinking.
(source: monitor.co.ug)
SYRIA:
Assad issues amnesty again, reduces sentences
Syria's state-run news agency SANA says President Bashar Assad has granted
amnesty for all crimes committed before Sept. 14.
According to the pardon issued Sunday, life-long terms would replace death
sentences, and a 20-year-long sentence at hard labor would replace life-long
sentences at hard labor, and a 20-year sentence would replace long-life
sentences.
Prisoners with incurable diseases including cancer would be freed.
The decree stipulates for granting a general amnesty for military deserters to
turn themselves in within 3 months for those inside the country, and 6 months
for those outside the country.
Similar amnesties have been issued on several occasions - most recently last
year - since Syria's conflict began in March 2011.
Syrian opposition sources said that more than 500,000 prisoners remain inside
the prisons of the Syrian regime.
A report issued by the rights group on 30 April stated that 14,009 prisoners
had been killed due to severe torture inside regime prisons since the start of
the Syrian civil war in 2011.
At least 3,618 cases of arbitrary arrests were documented by the Syrian Network
for Human Rights (SNHR) since the start of 2019.
Rosemary DiCarlo, the U.N. political chief, said last August that reports
suggest that more than 100,000 people in Syria have been detained, abducted or
gone missing during the eight-year conflict, with the government mainly
responsible.
DiCarlo urged the warring parties Wednesday to heed the Security Council's call
for the release of all those arbitrarily detained, and to provide information
to families about their loved ones as required by international law.
She also reiterated U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' call for the
situation in Syria to be referred to the International Criminal Court.
The 8-year-old war has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands and forced 13
million people from their homes, half of whom have left their shattered
homeland.
(source: Zaman Al Wasl)
_______________________________________________
A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu
DeathPenalty mailing list
DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu
http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty
Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
