March 23
JAPAN----film review:
The Third Murder: One of the most polarising films of the year----Review: Many
are left cold by the strange marriage of brutality and wistfulness
Film Title: The Third Murder
Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda
Starring: Masaharu Fukuyama, Suzu Hirose, Shinnosuke Mitsushima, Mikako
Ichikawa, Izumi Matsuoka, Yuki Saito, Kotaro Yoshida, Isao Hashizume, Koji
Yakusho
Genre: Crime
Running Time: 125 min
An enigmatic tangle of anti-death penalty campaigning, murder-mystery, and
legal procedure, the 12th feature from prolific Japanese director, Kore-eda
Hirokazu, is a departure from the tenderly observed family dramas (Like Father,
Like Son; Our Little Sister; After the Storm) that have made him a perennial
favourite at the Cannes Film Festival.
Shigemori (Fukuyama Masaharu), a rather jaded state defender, is assigned an
apparently open-and-shut case. Misumi (Koji Yakusho) who has already spent 30
years in prison for a murder committed in the 1980s, has allegedly killed his
factory-owner boss, burned the corpse and stolen the victim's wallet.
Shigemori is tasked with pleading the court down from the death penalty to a
life sentence, but the lawyer soon realises there is more to the case than
meets the eye.
There is no material evidence linking the accused with the crime, beyond
Misumi's own confession. His vague account is inconsistent with the crime scene
and, more confusingly, varies wildly from one telling to another. He even sells
a story to a supermarket tabloid claiming that the victim's wife had offered to
pay out from her husband's life insurance. The victim's mysterious teenage
daughter (Suzu Hirose) adds to the confusion.
What is going on here? Are these fanciful embellishments and contradictions
symptoms of a broader psychosis? Or might he be covering for someone?
The Third Murder has, unexpectedly, become one of the most polarising films of
the year. Many critics have not warmed to the film's strange marriage of
brutality and Kore-eda's wistful milieu.
Look closer, and despite the curveball content, the film teases out
relationships just as carefully and patiently as the director's earlier,
gentler films. It's killing as Yasujiro Ozu or Mikio Naruse might have had it.
Detailed conversations about the Japanese legal system and capital punishment -
rather conveniently, Shigemori's father is the retired judge who heard Misumi's
original case decades ago - are genuinely fascinating.
The slow-burning and sometimes surreal interrogation room interviews and the
director's canny use of doubles, reflections, red-herrings, and Rashomon-effect
makes for a nervy, if softly-spoken courtroom drama.
A jagged turn by veteran actor Koji Yakusho (Tampopo, Shall We Dance?) keeps
the viewer and Masaharu Fukuyama (a most effective foil) guessing until the
final credits.
(source: Irish Times)
INDONESIA:
Man arrested with IDR1.05 billion worth of meth in Bali, death penalty on the
table
An alleged drug courier has been arrested in Bali with IDR1.05 billion (US$76k)
worth of meth.
Gilimanuk Regional Police say they arrested East Java man Arif, alias Jatmiko
Harif on Wednesday with the drugs, securing 708 grams.
Jimbaran Police Chief Comr. Priyanto Priyo Hutomo said the 29-year-old's arrest
was triggered by a routine vehicle inspection for people entering Bali via the
Port of Gilimanuk.
Police found a "suspicious package" aboard a bus on its way from Central Java,
so they tailed the bus, which led them to the supermarket, Hardys in Tabanan.
That's when Arif showed up on motorbike to pick up the package.
"When receiving the package, the perpetrator was arrested by Gilimanuk Police
Criminal Investigation Unit officers," Hutomo said on Thursday, as quoted by
Merdeka.
A later search of Arif's rented room at a boardinghouse in South Denpasar
yielded the rest of the IDR1.05 billion meth not found in the package.
Arif is being charged with violating Article 114 paragraph 2 of Law no. 35 of
2009 on Narcotics, with the threat of capital punishment or life imprisonment,
or at least a minimum sentence of 6 years if found guilty, in addition to
Article 112 paragraph 2 which carries a max penalty of life and a minimum
sentence of 5 years, according to Hutomo.
(source: coconuts.co)
TAIWAN:
EU praises Taiwan's human rights agenda but urges abolition of death
penalty----The 1st Taiwan-EU meeting about human rights was held Thursday in
Taipei
Taiwan and the European Union (EU) held a meeting about human rights Thursday
in Taipei, during which the EU officials reiterated the union's concern over
the practice of the death penalty in Taiwan as "an inhumane form of
punishment."
The Human Rights Consultations were the first such meetings where European
delegates joined Taiwanese officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
(MOFA) and Taiwan's civic groups to exchange ideas about human rights issues
and policies.
According to a joint news statement, the EU commended Taiwan for having
voluntarily incorporated the provisions of the main United Nations human rights
covenants in its national law, which referred to the passing of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) by
Taiwan's legislature in 2009.
The participants also had a discussion on the establishment of a full-fledged
National Human Rights Institution scheduled for May in Taiwan, said the
statement.
However, speaking of capital punishment which has not yet been abolished in
Taiwan, the EU reiterated its position that "the death penalty has no deterrent
effect and is an inhumane form of punishment that cannot be reversed."
Finally, the EU officials described Taiwan's human rights agenda as
"far-reaching" and encouraged the country to actively communicate
internationally about its human rights model, said the statement.
MOFA also expressed interest in taking part in related events and actitivies
held by the EU in the future.
According to the statement, the consultations will be resumed in 2019 in
Brussels, Belgium where Taiwan and the EU representatives will enhance
cooperation on the human rights topics raised during the 1st meeting.
(source: Taiwan News)
ZIMBABWE:
Commuting death sentences a commendable first step
In response to the decision by President Emmerson Mnangagwa to commute the
death sentences of prisoners who have been on death row for more than 10 years,
Amnesty International???s Deputy Regional Director for Southern Africa, Muleya
Mwananyanda, said:
"President Emmerson Mnangagwa's has taken a very progressive step in deciding
to spare the prisoners from the hangman's noose. His action is commendable, but
he must build on this positive momentum by ensuring that Zimbabwe abolishes the
death penalty completely.
"Countries around the world, including in sub-Saharan Africa, are moving away
from using the death penalty. There is no credible evidence that the death
penalty has a greater deterrent effect on crime than imprisonment. We call on
President Mnangagwa to move swiftly to establish an official moratorium on
executions as a 1st step towards abolishing this cruel and inhuman punishment
altogether."
Background
President Mnangagwa has invoked the provisions of section 112 of the
constitution of Zimbabwe to commute to life imprisonment the death sentences of
prisoners on death row for more than 10 years.
Zimbabwe has not carried out any executions since 2005.
(source: Amnesty International)
BANGLADESH:
10-Truck Arms Haul Case----HC bench assigned to hear death reference, appeals
Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain has recently assigned a High Court bench to
hear and dispose of the death reference and appeals in the sensational 10-truck
arms haul case.
In the case, 14 people including ex-ministers Motiur Rahman Nizami and
Lutfozzaman Babar were sentenced to death.
The bench of Justice Bhabani Prasad Singha and Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam may
fix a date on Sunday for commencement of the hearing for the death reference
and appeals, said court sources.
If a lower court sentences a person to death in a case, its judgment is
examined by the HC through hearing arguments for confirmation of the death
sentence. The case documents and judgment reach to the HC from the lower court
as death reference in 7 days after the latter delivers the verdict.
12 death-row convicts out of a total 14 in the 10-truck arms haul case have
filed separate appeals with the HC, challenging the trial court verdict on
them.
In the appeals, they prayed to the HC to acquit them of the charges, claiming
themselves innocent, according to the sources.
On January 30, 2014, the Chittagong Metropolitan Special Tribunal-1 handed down
death penalties to 14 people, including former minister and former
Jamaat-e-Islami Amir Motiur Rahman Nizami as well as former BNP state minister
for home Lutfozzaman Babar, for smuggling 10 truckloads of firearms in 2004.
The same 14 convicts were also given life term imprisonment in another case
filed for possessing illegal firearms.
Motiur Rahman Nizami was executed on May 11 in 2016 after the Supreme Court
upheld his death penalty for committing crimes against humanity and war crimes
during the country's Liberation War in 1971.
Meanwhile, another HC bench of Justice Jahangir Hossain Selim and Justice Md
Jahangir Hossain is set on Sunday to start hearing the death reference and
appeals in another sensational case filed for assassination attempt on Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina by planting a bomb weighing 76kg in Gopalganj's
Kotalipara in July 2000.
A Dhaka court on August 20 last year sentenced 10 leaders and activists of
Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (Huji) to death, 1 to life imprisonment and 3 to 14
years' imprisonment in the case.
7 of the convicts have filed separate appeals with the HC challenging the trial
court verdict on them, court sources said.
******************
War Crimes Cases: 23 appeals await disposal at SC----Apex court heard none of
those in 2 years
Appeals filed by convicted war criminals or the government with the Supreme
Court have been piling up as the apex court did not hear any of them in over 2
years.
Investigators, prosecutors and war crimes trial campaigners have been
frustrated by the delay.
A total of 23 appeals--22 filed by convicts and one by the government--have
been pending with the Appellate Division.
The apex court on February 24, 2016 concluded proceedings of an appeal filed by
war criminal and Jamaat-e-Islami leader Mir Quasem Ali challenging his death
sentence. The SC upheld the death penalty in a verdict delivered about two
weeks later.
That was the last time the SC heard any appeals.
The appeals, filed by convicts Abdus Subhan, ATM Azharul Islam and Syed
Mohammad Qaisar, were included in the SC hearing list on several occasions in
the last 2 years, but the hearings did not take place.
As the much-cherished war crimes trial enters ninth year next week, the
investigators, prosecutors and war crimes trial campaigners say they were
frustrated.
The Awami League-led government formed the International Crimes Tribunal-1 on
March 25, 2010 to bring the war criminals to book. A 2nd tribunal, formed in
March 2012, has been inoperative since September 2015.
The tribunals have so far delivered 31 judgements convicting 68 accused. 42 of
them have been sentenced to death.
6 war criminals were executed. 2 convicts died of old age related complications
while their appeals remained pending with the SC.
Investigators said 23 cases were pending with tribunal 1 while 30 other cases
were being investigated.
FRUSTRATED AND AGGRIEVED
"It is frustrating for us," said Sanaul Huq, co-coordinator of the
investigation agency of the International Crimes Tribunal.
He said witnesses and victims testified risking their lives and a lot of work
went into taking the cases into final stages.
Having the appeal proceedings piled up at the SC like any other cases goes
against the spirit of International Crimes (Tribunals) Act-1973, which
advocated for expediting the trials, he added.
"Witnesses and other stakeholders are frustrated. We have to face many
questions from them," Sanaul told a press conference on Wednesday.
The press conference was held at the agency's Dhanmondi office.
The senior investigator said they have very little to do in this regard. They
wrote to the home ministry on multiple occasions about the issue.
The attorney general and law minister may play a role in this regard, he said,
adding that the SC can form a separate bench for quick disposal of the cases.
Contacted, Tureen Afroz, a senior member of tribunal's prosecution team, said
due to backlogs in the SC, convicts were getting "biological impunity" as they
were gradually moving towards natural death.
"It is not acceptable at all ... We have worked hard to complete the trials
quickly. We are not seeing any speed at the SC. It is frustrating," she said.
Prominent campaigner for war crimes trial Shahriar Kabir said, "We are
aggrieved."
Due to the long delay, victims' family members are dying without seeing
justice, he said.
"We know, there is a huge backlog of cases in the Supreme Court and that is why
we suggested the last chief justice on several occasions to form a separate
appeal chamber at the tribunal building where the judges would sit on 2 or 3
days a week.
"These are not ordinary cases. These involve 30 lakh martyrs. It is unfortunate
that the SC is not taking this into consideration," Shahriar, also the
president of Ekattarer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee, said.
He, however, hoped that the new chief justice would prioritise the disposal of
the appeals.
Contacted, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam said the appeals of war crimes cases
were not heard by the SC for many reasons, including the hearing and disposal
of 16th amendment case and the resignation of Justice SK Sinha and many other
important cases.
"I hope hearing of these appeals will start soon," he said.
PENDING APPEALS
Mobarak Hossain, Abdus Subhan, ATM Azharul Islam, Syed Mohammad Quasar, Mahidur
Rahman, Forkan Mallik, Serajul Haque alias Siraj Master, Khan Akram Hossain,
Obaidul Haque Taher, Ataur Rahman Nani, Shamsuddin Ahmed, SM Yousuf Ali,
Shamsul Haque, Muhibur Rahman Boro Mia, Mujibur Rahman Angur Mia, Abdur Razzak,
Shakhawat Hossain, Billal Hossain, Moslem Prodhan, Abdul Latif, Ujer Ahmed and
Yunus Ahmed are the convicts who filed appeals with the apex court.
The government also submitted an appeal seeking death penalty for former Jatiya
Party lawmaker Abdul Jabbar, who is on the run.
On February 24, 2015, the ICT-1 sentenced Jabbar to imprisonment until death in
absentia for crimes against humanity.
(source for both The Daily Star)
PAKISTAN:
Anti Terrorism Court awards death penalty in cop murder case in Hyderabad Sindh
An Anti Terrorism Court here Thursday convicted 2 persons with death penalty in
a criminal case of killing a policeman in Thatta district.
The court found the convicts Sanaullah Perudani and Liaquat alias Imamdin
guilty of killing a policeman in Keti Bunder area in 2014.The court also
pronounced 2 separate punishments over the convicts include 10 years
imprisonment for attacking police with firearms during an encounter and 7 years
imprisonment for keeping illegal weapons.The convicts were shifted to Central
Jail in strict security.
(source: urdupoint.com)
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