[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 13



LIBYA/BULGARIA:

Bulgarian nurses on death row in Libya at a low ebb: lawyer


5 Bulgarian nurses sentenced to death in Libya in an AIDS epidemic case
are awaiting a final verdict from the supreme court "with a great deal of
worry," their lawyer told AFP.

"Their morale is very low," said Othman al-Bizanti, who last saw his
clients more than 10 days ago.

"They are very worried after being sentenced to death. They have been
living for the last 8 years in psychological torture and daily suffering,"
he said Monday.

On February 9, 1999, the five nurses and a Palestinian doctor were
arrested after hundreds of children at the Benghazi pediatric hospital
where they worked contracted HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

The 6 defendants were first sentenced to death in 2004, but then the
supreme court ordered a retrial and a new death sentence was issued on
December 19 last year .

The Supreme Court will hear their latest appeal in about 6 weeks.

The nurses and the doctor deny the charges and have been supported in
their appeal by international experts, including the co-discoverer of the
HIV/AIDS virus Luc Montagnier, who said the infection of the children was
due to poor hospital hygiene.

Bizanti said he was sure his clients will be exonerated.

"I am optimistic and we have confidence in Libyan justice," he said. "They
were forced to confess to the crime because they were tortured."

He said the nurses were incarcerated in comparative comfort at the Jdaida
prison, seven kilometres (four miles) east of Tripoli and no requests for
visits by the lawyer or relatives have been refused. The nurses are also
embroiled in a 2nd case brought by a police officer and a member of the
investigative committee who are suing them for defamation over their
torture claims.

The nurses said they were beaten, given electrical shocks and threatened
with dogs by Jomaa al-Meshri and Abdel Majid al-Shoul, who in response are
each suing them for 5 million dinars (around 3 million dollars).

Despite his optimism, Bizanti has not ruled out the possibility that the
Supreme Court will uphold the death sentence.

"In this case, the Supreme Judicial Council -- the highest judicial
authority in Libya -- can overturn the sentence or grant a pardon," he
said.

Bizanti declined to discuss the possibility that the matter could be
resolved in negotiations between a foundation presided over by Seif
al-Islam -- the son of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi -- and the Bulgarian
authorities.

Islam told the Bulgarian daily 24 Hours last month that the nurses would
not be put to death. "I guarantee that we will not execute them," he said.
"Believe me, we are approaching a solution."

The sentencing to death of the nurses and the doctor has been fiercely
criticised by Bulgaria and the international community and threatens to
derail Libya's attempts to normalise its relations with the European
Union.

(source: Focus News)






GUYANA:

Death sentence for man who murdered partner


Royston Alfred who was on trial in the High Court for killing his partner
3 years ago on D'Urban Street was convicted of murder last week and
sentenced to death by Justice Claudette La Bennett.

He showed no emotion after judgement was handed down and quietly left the
courtroom. The jury deliberated for 2 hours before returning with a guilty
verdict.

Alfred killed Cathedra Parris called 'Chiney' sometime between March 12
and 13, 2004 at her D'Urban Street, Werk-en-Rust apartment. He was
formally indicted before Justice La Bennett just over 2 weeks ago.

The prosecution led by state counsel, Faith McGusty contended that Alfred
had threatened Paris on numerous occasions prior to her death and that
sometime during the period mentioned he stabbed her in the neck. Parris
was found with a knife in her neck on the morning or March 13.

During the trial witnesses testified to hearing Alfred threatening Parris.
According to the testimony, he said things along the lines of: he would
end her life, terminate her services and kill her.

In a statement he gave police which was admitted into evidence Alfred said
he went to Parris' home and that they were playing around in bed when she
was stabbed. He said she stabbed him first and he retaliated by stabbing
her. He said he then left the home and later turned himself into the
police.

He also gave a brief a statement from the dock. He told the court, "I did
not kill Cathedra Parris. I am innocent of this charge".

State counsel Faith McGusty appeared for the prosecution while Alfred was
represented by attorney-at-law Parmanand Mohanlall.

(source: Stabroek News)






BELARUS:


Belarus sentences 9 to death in 2006, up from 2, court chairman says


9 people were sentenced to death in Belarus last year, up from 2 in 2005,
the chairman of the Supreme Court said Monday an increase that is likely
to add to European criticism of the ex-Soviet republic's authoritarian
leadership.

There were more death sentences in 2006 because "several large criminal
gangs and organizations were neutralized," Supreme Court chairman Valentin
Sukalo said.

One such alleged gang, based in the city of Gomel, was accused of 16
murders and had 48 members, according to Belarusian authorities.

Belarus is the only European country that is not a member of the Council
of Europe and practices the death penalty. Neighboring Russia has not
abolished capital punishment, but suspended the death penalty a decade ago
when it joined the continent's leading human rights body.

Sukalo did not say how many of the death sentences had been carried out,
but President Alexander Lukashenko did not pardon any of those sentenced.
Executions in Belarus are carried out with a gunshot to the back of the
head; relatives are not officially told of the date of the execution or
where the body is buried.

Lukashenko has been dubbed Europe's last dictator by Western governments
because of his suppression of dissent in the nation of 10 million, where
he has held on to power since 1994 through elections dismissed by the
United States and European countries as illegitimate.

(source: International Herald Tribune)




PAKISTAN:

Too Many Dubious Convictions Say Activists


The independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and the
Paris-based International Federation of Human Rights have called for an
immediate moratorium on death penalties in Pakistan -- or many innocent
people may be executed.

There are "very serious defects" in Pakistan's criminal, police and
justice system, the rights organisations charge in their joint
fact-finding report Slow March to Gallows,' launched late January. There
is also "chronic corruption" and bias against women and religious
minorities.

All this has made the capital punishment system in Pakistan
"discriminatory and unjust" and allowed for the "high probability" of
miscarriage of justice. "Until we wait for the imperfect system to be
corrected many people, including quite a few innocents, will have been
hanged," I.A. Rehman, director of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan
(HRCP), told IPS. There should be an immediate freeze on executions of
those already sentenced, he said.

HRCP council member Zohra Yusuf added: "We are for abolition. A moratorium
is proposed to give immediate relief in the interim period." A moratorium
would spare those convicted under Pakistan's controversial Blasphemy Law.
Minority religious groups in Pakistan, especially Christians, have long
charged that this law was being used to persecute them.

The United States-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) has welcomed HRCP's call
for a moratorium as a 1st step to abolition. "The use of the death penalty
must end, period," said Ali Dayan Hasan, South Asia researcher for HRW,
adding that HRCP was highlighting the "very serious plight of large
numbers of prisoners on death row."

Currently there are more than 7,400 prisoners on death row, some of whom
have been there for decades. Rights groups say executions have been
increasing, with 1,029 carried out between 1975 and 2002 in the Punjab
province alone. In the 1st half of 2006, the number of people executed was
54.

In spite of the steady increase in the numbers sentenced to death and
actual executions, the HRCP report states that there has been a spiral in
the number of crimes carrying the ultimate penalty.

At the time of independence, in 1947, only murder and treason carried the
death sentence. But today there are 27 capital crimes, including
blasphemy, stripping a woman of her clothes in public and sabotage of the
railway system. Many of these were introduced during the 1977-88 military
dictatorship of Gen. Zia-ul-Haq.

It was under Gen. Zias rule that former prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto
was executed despite worldwide appeals for clemency. Bhutto was hanged on
Apr. 4, 1979 on the charge of conspiring to murder a political opponent,
after what was widely held to be an unfair and politicised trial. His
appeal to the Supreme Court was rejected by 4 judges out of seven and one
of the four stated afterwards that he regretted his decision.

HRCP has urged the government to put a restriction on the number of
offences carrying death sentence and refrain from adding new ones, but
Rehman said he did not expect an immediate government response to their
call. "The government is a thick-hide mule. We do not expect an early
breakthrough. It has other priorities," he said.

By calling for a moratorium rather than a complete abolition of capital
punishment, HRCP hopes to start a debate and "allow the government and the
public to thrash out issues and reach a consensus," Rehman said. "Laws
made without public concurrence rarely succeed."

Rehman conceded that the abolitionists would have to work hard to convince
the public about their cause. "The public, at the moment, does not seem
interested or supportive of abolition. People have been brutalised. They
are also much too confounded by clerics claiming that killing is enjoined
by faith. They would like to see more heads rolling than fewer," he said.

Giving an example of how the abolitionists might press their case in
Pakistan, Rehman said: "One could argue, for instance, that murder apart,
there is no sanction in Islam or in our legal tradition for awarding death
in many of the cases that have been added to the capital offences list."

On the issue of deterrence, HRCP is arguing that the "certainty of
conviction not the harshness of punishment," was decisive in reducing
crime. "Capital punishment or any other punishment can be deterrent only
in states where the legal order is not strong enough to prevent the
wrongdoer escaping. We should be at the stage where even a minor
punishment should act as a deterrent: Then there would be no need to hang
anyone," explained Rehman.

There is also the question of reforms in Pakistan's judiciary, police, and
executive which are considered essential issues. "Wherever justice has
moved from retribution to reformation and meeting people's economic needs,
the crime rate has fallen," said Rehman.

He stressed that Pakistan's religion-based Qisas and Diyat Ordinance,
highly criticised by rights activists for miscarriage of justice, must be
reformed. This law allows families of murder victims to accept
compensation and pardon the offender. "It gives the victims family
veto-power to decide whether a convict should live or die," Rehman said.
"It's a privatisation of justice because murder, which is a crime both
against the victim and society, is reduced to a matter between the killer
and the victims family. Society is deprived of its say."

HRCP's Yusuf adds that the ordinance allows the rich to "literally get
away with murder by paying the 'blood money' while the poor are hanged.
The law will have to go if death penalty is abolished."

Besides calling for a moratorium, the HRCP report presses for several
administrative measures to be introduced. These include greater
accessibility for members of civil society to prisons and contact with
condemned prisoners. It wants a strengthening of the police investigation
system, an increase in spending on the police and justice system and a
mechanism for protection of victims and witnesses taking part in criminal
procedures.

(source: IPS News)






KOREA:

Korea to Retain Death Penalty System


The government is unlikely to abolish capital punishment despite the
National Human Rights Commission's recommendation to do so.

The Ministry of Justice on Tuesday announced a draft of a roadmap for
human rights protection during a public hearing in Seoul. It said it has
collected opinions from all sectors, including the government, academics
and civic groups.

According to the National Action Plan on Human Rights, the ministry
deferred a decision on eliminating the death penalty, 1 of 3 key laws or
practices the human rights commission recommended the government abolish
in January last year.

The ministry said it would examine the appropriateness of capital
punishment under the current laws during the first half of this year and
review whether to retain the penalty.

"The government will study whether it should adopt non-commutable life
imprisonment instead of capital punishment. With the studies, we'll assist
the National Assembly's review of a pending bill calling for an
abolishment of the death penalty," a ministry official said.

Early last year, the ministry said it would consider replacing capital
punishment with a life sentence as part of its plan to better protect
criminals' rights and strengthen the criminal justice system. Since 1997,
no Korean citizen has been executed, although 63 people have been
sentenced to death. If the trend continues through the end of the year,
Korea will become the 31st country listed by Amnesty International to have
abolished capital punishment in practice.

The ministry delayed discussing whether to abolish the National Security
Law and security supervision system, under which those who are put behind
bars for espionage charges have to report their address to the police on
their release.

"The government will apply the National Security Law flexibly to prevent
misapplication. But whether to abolish it or not should be decided through
national consensus after reviewing related laws as a bill on scrapping the
law is pending at the Assembly," he said.

The ministry decided to retain the security supervision system after
preparing measures to prevent misapplication.

The draft also includes measures to boost foreigners' rights. The
government will force authorities to obtain the justice minister's
permission when they need to take foreigners who are ordered to leave the
country into custody for more than 6 months. After the 6 months, the
authorities should obtain permission every 3 months.

(source: The Korea Times)






IRAQ:

Ex-VP given death penalty by hanging


In Iraq, a court has raised the sentence against former Iraqi vice
president to death by hanging, for killings carried out decades ago. Taha
Yassin Ramadan, is the fourth member of the ousted regime of Saddam
Hussein to face execution.

Ramadan was silent during the reading of the verdict, but he reacted
angrily afterwards, before the judge ordered him to be removed from the
courtroom.

The decision had been expected, after an appeals court ruled that
Ramadan's previous sentence of life in jail was too lenient.

However, there were mixed reactions toward Ramadan's sentence.

Tareq Harib, Iraqi legal expert, said, "Ramadan committed a crime, so he
should be sentenced to death. The court didn't alleviate the sentence for
life in jail or any other sentence. The measure taken by the court was
right according to law."

Iraqi citizen, said, "He had already been sentenced to life in jail. Why
did they change the sentence to the death penalty?"

The decision to impose the maximum sentence against Ramandan came despite
appeals from UN as well as human rights groups.

They had urged the court not to impose the death penalty, saying there had
been a lack of evidence tying Ramadan to the Dujail killings, and the
death sentence would break international law.

(source: CCTV News)

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 15


INDIA:

44 convicted in the 1993 Mumbai bombings should get death sentence, say
prosecutors


At least 44 men convicted of conspiracy in the 1993 bombings in Mumbai
that killed 257 people should be hanged, prosecutors said on Thursday, the
last day of arguments on sentencing.

Chief public prosecutor N. Natarajan told a court that the men should
receive the death penalty because their conspiracy aimed to damage the
country.

"Conspiracy is a secret act in which damage is caused to the integrity and
sovereignty of the nation. They must be punished with the maximum
punishment," said Natarajan in his hour-long argument. "For terrorist
activities the maximum punishment is hanging."

Natarajan said that of the 100 people convicted for the series of
bombings, some 47 others, including two women, should be sentenced to life
in prison.

He said nine men convicted of flouting arms and customs laws, including
Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, should receive jail terms of at least 10
years. Some 23 others have been acquitted in the case.

Dutt was convicted for unauthorized possession of 3 assault rifles and a
pistol supplied by another person accused in the bombings. He was
acquitted of the more serious charge of conspiracy.

Those convicted range from gangsters and smugglers to customs, police
officials and housewives, authorities said.

Last month defense lawyers had argued for shorter sentences.

Judge Pramod Kode is likely to announce the sentences within the next 2
months.

A bomb blasts tore through Mumbai in a 2-hour period on March 12, 1993.

Bombers had parked scooters, cars and jeeps packed with explosives at
Mumbai's stock exchange, cinemas, an office of the national carrier Air
India, gasoline stations, a passport office, crowded jewelry and cloth
markets and 2 hotels.

(source: Associated Press)

*****************

Supreme Court imposes death sentence on ex MLA's daughter


Supreme Court today imposed death sentence on Sonia, daughter of former
Haryana MLA Relu Ram Punia and her husband Sanjiv Kumar who murdered 7
members of their family including Punia over a property dispute in 2001.

A bench of Justices B.N. Aggarwal and P.P. Naolekar gave the death
sentence after setting aside a Punjab and Haryana High Court decision
reducing the death sentence given in May 2004 by a Faridabad trial court
in the case.

In a gruesome attack in 2001, RR Punia, his wife Krishna and five other
members of the family including 5 children were clubbed to death with iron
rods at their farmhouse in Litani village in Hissar.

Later, the police arrested Punia's daughter Sonia who confessed before a
magistrate that she killed her father and 7 other family members "in a fit
of anger" as she claimed that her father did not love her. Police had also
registered a case against her husband Sanjeev and some other members of
his family.

However in the controversial case, the court had discharged all members of
Sanjeev's family but held him and Sonia guilty of the killings.

(source: ANI)

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 17



LIBYA/BULGARIA:

AIDS death row has to be solved only by Bulgaria and Libya: Gaddafi
foundation


The case of the 5 Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor who were
sentenced to death in Libya has to be solved only by Bulgaria and Libya,
director of the Gaddafi foundation Saleh Abdel-Salam said, the Libyan
newspaper Libya Today reported. According to Saleh Abdel-Salam, a proof of
the 2 countries wish to find an acceptable solution is Bulgarias readiness
to remit the whole Libyan debt for the sake of ending the case, and Libyas
participation in the fund for treating the HIV infected children.

(source: Focus News Agency)






INDIA:

Has society accepted death penalty?


3 AIADMK workers have been sentenced to death for setting a bus on fire
during a political agitation in Tamil Nadu seven years back. The verdict
pronounced by a Salem court on Friday has sparked off an intense debate
over the ethics of capital punishment all across the country.

The judgment takes the total number of death sentences, which have been
awarded in last 3 days, to 7. The question that was being discussed on
CNN-IBN's Face The Nation was: Is Indian society more accepting of death
penalty now?

On the panel of experts to discuss the question were well-known Supreme
Court lawyer Ram Jethmalani, who have argued several cases related to life
and death; and former chief justice of India and former chairman of
National Human Rights Commission J S Verma.

Denying that there is a set pattern in the increasing instances of death
sentences being awarded all across the country, J S Verma said, "It is a
coincidence that many such cases happen to be heard and decided at the
same time."

On the issue of lower courts pronouncing death sentences in cases like
political agitation or mob fury, Verma said that in the case of a session
court announcing capital punishment, it is not implemented unless it is
confirmed by the High Court. So, it is the High Court, which ultimately
awards the death sentence, and it is only then that it can be implemented.

On the matter of existence of death sentence, Verma said, "I think for
offences that can be termed as heinous crimes for example, the raging war
against the state death sentence should be there. But my own view is, if
it is not to be there, then the life sentences should be for really whole
of the remaining life and not merely a few years."

Regarding the type of cases on which death penalty may be awarded, Verma
said that "rarest of the rare" case is the formula but there is no precise
definition of "rarest of the rare." So, death sentence may be given on the
basis of proper evidence, in cases that are too shocking, he added.

Blaming the media for the increasing instances of death sentences being
awarded all across the country, Jethmalani said, "There is a good reason
to suspect that the judiciary is responding to the pressure from the
press. I won't say that it is proved beyond doubt that it is so, but
people are entitled to think that this is having a serious impact on the
judicial minds."

(source: CNN-IBN)

*****************************************

3rd woman on death row


The 1st case of a woman being hanged in independent India could happen
soon. When the Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a lower court order
sentencing Sonia to death in the chilling murders of her father former
Haryana MLA Relu Ram Punia and 7 others, it added the 3rd woman to the
country's death row.

Last August, the court upheld the death punishment for 2 women from
Maharashtra. They were thieves and were charged with killing 13 children.
The last time a woman was executed by the government of the country was in
the 1920s.

There's very little detail about who she was and why British-ruled India
thought it fit to give her that punishment. LTTE assassin Nalini was given
death for killing Rajiv Gandhi but the sentence was later commuted to life
on humanitarian grounds.

Sonia, along with her husband Sanjeev, who's also facing the gallows, has
decided to appeal for presidential mercy. It was on August 23, 2001, that
Sonia, then 20, was enraged over whispers that she and her husband would
be kept out of wealth accumulated by Punia.

She and her husband attacked the family of 8 with an iron rod, battering
them to death. Among the dead were Punia, his wife Krishna, son Sunil,
daughter-in-law Shakuntala, daughter Priyanka and grandchildren Lokesh,
Shivani and Preeti. One of them, Preeti, was just 45 days old at that
time.

(source: The Times of India)






KUWAIT:

Kuwait appeals court upholds death sentence for Filipino maid


A Kuwait appeals court upheld on Saturday the conviction and death
sentence handed to a Filipino maid for fatally stabbing her employer here
2 years ago, her lawyer said.

Marilou Ranario, a 33-year-old teacher who came to this oil-rich state to
work as a domestic helper, still has one appeal left before the ruling
becomes final.

Ranario's lawyer, Abdul-Majid Khraibet, said his client would make that
appeal.

Khraibet also quoted his client as saying her employer had abused her and
that she had overheard her saying she was going to arrange for men to rape
Ranario.

A criminal court found Ranario guilty of murder in September 2005 and
sentenced her to death by hanging.

(source: Associated Press)






CANADA/USA:

Senior U.S., Canadian judges spar over judicial activism----Courts should
move with the times, Supreme Court's Binnie says at McGill


If the framers of the Charter of Rights did not want judges to rule on
moral and ethical issues, they should have said so, Mr. Justice Ian Binnie
of the Supreme Court of Canada said yesterday during a freewheeling debate
with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

In a good-natured but hard-fought debate to close a McGill University
conference marking the 25th anniversary of the Charter, Judge Binnie
extolled the virtues of measured judicial activism over an archaic notion
of "frozen rights" that do not evolve with the times.

Judge Binnie said that judges who make a fetish of determining the
"original intent" of constitutional drafters are deflecting their
responsibility, weakly saying that "I'm only following orders."

"The ability of the courts to move with the times has served this country
very well," Judge Binnie said. "I say that if you erect a silo over our
court system based on a theory of originalism, it is a very good reason to
throw it out."

However, Judge Scalia attacked Judge Binnie and his own U.S. Supreme Court
brethren for believing that unelected judges are qualified to act as
social engineers who possess a greater level of expertise in deciding
morally laden issues than doctors, engineers, the U.S. Founding Fathers or
"Joe Six-Pack."

"We have become addicted to abstract moralizing," Judge Scalia said. "It
is blindingly clear that judges have no greater moral capacity than the
rest of us to decide what is right."

He mocked the prevailing judicial belief in Canada that the Charter is "a
living tree" that must be given a broad and liberal interpretation, lest
its growth be stunted.

This notion simply encourages judges to make anti-democratic decisions
that extend rights to questionable groups such as bigamists and pederasts,
he said.

Judge Scalia said back in the days when the United States was a true
democracy, citizens changed the Constitution if a consensus developed
around adding or eliminating a human right. "What democracy means is that
the majority rules," he said. "If you don't believe that, you don't
believe in democracy.

Judge Scalia ridiculed his court's landmark ruling legalizing abortion in
Roe v. Wade, saying that it was absurd to issue such a decision without
deciding first when a fetus becomes a human life. "Amazing!" he said. "Of
course, that question was central."

However, Judge Binnie countered that adding and subtracting constitutional
rights can become close to impossible. Every time the extension of a right
is proposed in Canada, he said, "everybody jumps up with their own
complaint."

Judge Binnie cited an attempt by former Newfoundland premier Brian
Peckford in the early 1980s to have his province's right to control
fisheries written into the Constitution. When former prime minister Pierre
Trudeau asked how he could possibly balance fish against human rights, he
quoted Mr. Peckford as saying, "That's your problem."

"I say that judges are as much a part of society as anyone else, and they
can recognize a dead letter when they see one," Judge Binnie said.

Judge Binnie also took a backhand swipe at former Federal Court judge
Barry Strayer, who said earlier in the conference that, when he helped
frame the Charter as a senior Justice Department bureaucrat, nobody
anticipated how far the Supreme Court would one day go in assessing the
wisdom of laws.

Judge Binnie said that if the drafters had actually intended for the
courts to tinker only around the edges with procedural aspects of laws,
rather than their pith and substance, "then you should have said so. . .
."

"This more or less disposes of judge Barry Strayer's complaint. . . ,"
Judge Binnie added.

Judge Binnie referred to the Supreme Court's Burns and Rafay ruling -- in
which it refused to extradite 2 men to face murder trials in the U.S. if
they were subject to the death penalty -- as a high-water mark for his
bench.

Judge Scalia immediately turned it on his head, ridiculing those who
believe that any convicted murderer might actually be innocent.

"I have been on the court for 20 years and I have not seen a case where I
thought there was the slightest doubt about the person's innocence," he
said.

(source: Globe and Mail)

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 20



NORTH KOREA:

2 North Korean Guards Sentenced to Execution, BBC Reports----The DailyNK
first to report. Amnesty International calls for international pressure


Sourcing Amnesty International, the U.K.'s BBC reported on the 19th that 2
North Korean citizens were planned to be executed for assisting defectors.

Amnesty revealed that the two guards had originally been sentenced for
execution in January, however the date was postponed for after Kim Jong
Il's 65th birthday (Feb 16th), a national holiday, reported the BBC. In
response, Amnesty has sent an urgent worldwide petition to pressure Kim
Jong Il on the issue.

The first report of these two guards was reported by the DailyNk on the
1st.

Controversies of capital punishment remains a mystery in this enclosed
communist state, however according to Amnesty at least 70 were considered
to have been put to death in 2005, whether by open fire or hanging,
reported BBC.

BBC said that every year, thousands of North Korean citizens attempt
crossing the border to escape oppression and starvation but are caught
while doing so. The result, either being sent to political concentration
camps or ultimately facing death.

Amnesty is making efforts to ensure that the 2 men, a commander and deputy
will not be executed and have made an international petition. It seems
that the 2 men were arrested in China in January for assisting other North
Koreans defect and are now awaiting repatriation back to North Korea.

In an interview with BBC, Tim Hancok Amnesty Campaigns Director said
"These men are now at serious risk and Amnesty International is calling on
the North Korean authorities to guarantee they will not be executed."

He said that the issue of execution in North Korea is well hidden but
hoped that this case would provide the opportunity for such incidents to
be acquitted.

An affiliate of the North Korean Human Rights Organization said "After the
DailyNK made the report on the 2 guards, Amnesty confirmed the facts via
other sources to verify the information" and added "It seems that Amnesty
has acted upon the data received from this affiliation and has taken
action with countermeasures to alert the case" throughout the world.

(source: The Daily NK)






SAUDI ARABIA:

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL


Public Statement

AI Index: MDE 23/011/2007 (Public)

News Service No: 035

19 February 2007

Saudi Arabia: Amnesty International appeals to King Abdullah to commute
all death sentences Amnesty International is deeply concerned at the
alarming increase in the rate of executions in Saudi Arabia after four Sri
Lankan men were executed this morning bringing the total number of those
executed so far this year to at least 17 people. The organization fears
that other executions may be imminent and is urging King Abdullah to
commute all death sentences and ensure respect of fair trial guarantees
for those facing the death penalty.

This morning four Sri Lankan men were executed in the capital Riyadh.
Amnesty International had repeatedly appealed to the Saudi Arabian
authorities on behalf of three of the men. D.D. Ranjith De Silva, E.J.
Victor Corea, Sanath Pushpakumara and Sharmila Sangeeth Kumara were
reportedly arrested in 2004 in connection with a series of violent armed
robberies. While the first three named men were sentenced to death,
Sharmila Sangeeth Kumara believed that he had been sentenced to 15 years
imprisonment and was not at risk of death. The men received an unfair
trial and were sentenced in the absence of legal and consular
representation. The mens families and the Sri Lankan authorities were not
informed of their executions beforehand.

Saudi Arabias secretive judicial system is such that in many cases those
sentenced to death and their families are not informed of the charges or
the progress of the legal proceedings against them. In a similar situation
in April 2005 6 Somali men were executed after an unfair trial. All the
men were unaware that they were at risk of death and believed that they
had served their sentences and were awaiting release despite having
completed their sentences.

Furthermore, defendants may be convicted solely on the basis of
"confessions" obtained under duress, including torture or other
ill-treatment and trials invariably fall short of international standards
for fair trial. Trial proceedings take place behind closed doors, without
the defendants being given the right to legal representation, and in the
case of foreign nationals, without adequate or no access to consular
assistance.

Amnesty International recognizes the right and responsibility of all
governments to bring to justice those guilty of recognizably criminal
offences. However, the organization opposes the death penalty as the
ultimate violation of the right to life. The organization is committed to
defending all people against the violations of these fundamental and
internationally recognized rights.

The organization repeats its earlier calls to King Abdullah of Saudi
Arabia to commute all outstanding death sentences and ensure that all
trial proceedings of people facing such punishment are conducted strictly
in accordance with international standards for fair trial.

Background

Those executed so far this year include 4 Sri Lankans, 3 Pakistanis, 2
Iraqis, 1 Nigerian and 7 Saudi Arabians including 1 woman.

(source: Amnesty International)






JAPAN:

Number of death row inmates set to hit 100


The number of inmates on death row in Japan was set to hit 100 - almost
twice the figure a decade ago - after the Supreme Court upheld the death
penalty for a convicted murderer, anti-death penalty activists said
yesterday.

Kazuo Shinozawa, 55, had been convicted of killing six female employees at
a jewellery shop in 2000, binding them with rope and setting the store on
fire, Kyodo news agency reported. He also stole jewellery worth 140
million yen (Dh4.29 million), it said.

"The consequence of taking six innocent people's lives is extremely grave
and bereaved families request a harsh penalty, and the death penalty is
therefore unavoidable," Kyodo quoted the presiding judge, Kohei Nasu, as
saying.

A public perception that violence is on the rise, a vocal victims' rights
movement and intense media coverage of violent crimes have been pushing
Japanese courts to hand down stiffer penalties - including more death
sentences, experts and activists say.

Japan hanged 4 death row inmates last Christmas Day including, an
anti-death penalty group said, a 75-year-old convicted killer who was
confined to a wheelchair.

Since then, another 6 death penalty verdicts have been confirmed, said the
group, called Forum 90.

Contrast

"This increase is not because of a rise in violent crime," Forum 90 said
in a statement, noting that a government report on crime issued last year
showed a 1.9 % decline in murders.

"It is merely because sensational media reports have caused a
deterioration in people's sense of security."

The mood in Japan contrasts with that in the United States, which along
with Japan is one of the few developed countries to execute criminals.

Death sentences in the United States fell to a 30-year low in 2006 and
capital punishment is now under what appears to be an unprecedented review
amid eroding support.

Executions in Japan are shrouded in secrecy.

Neither inmates nor their families are given advance warning of hangings.
Only prison officials and a priest are present, and the Justice Ministry
announces hangings only after they have taken place.

(source: Reuters)






VIRGINIA:

New evidence could free Wolfe


Terri Steinberg says all she has is hope - a hope that something can be
done to take her son off death row.

Steinberg's son, 25-year-old Justin Wolfe, received the death penalty in
2001 for hiring Owen Merton Barber IV to kill 21-year-old Daniel Petrole
Jr. of Braemar in 2000. Petrole was Wolfe's marijuana supplier.

In December 2005, both Barber and his cellmate, Carl L. Huff Jr., at
Wallens Ridge State Prison in Big Stone Gap filed affidavits in federal
district court stating that Barber had killed Petrole on his own
initiative, according to Wolfe's attorney, Jane C. Luxton.

Barber withdrew his confession in April 2006, but Luxton said she hopes to
use the cellmate's affidavit stating that Barber confessed, as well as the
complaints about previous hearings and missing evidence, to get Wolfe
another hearing, or even a finding of actual innocence.

Luxton has petitioned to the U.S. Eastern District Court in Norfolk for an
evidentiary hearing to formally present Huff's affidavit and other
evidence to get Wolfe a new trial.

Wolfe's attorneys also motioned to amend his existing federal habeas
corpus petition to include the new information from the affidavits, but a
federal judge denied that motion in September 2006.

Steinberg is hopeful that Huff's affidavit will help to get her son a new
trial, but for now, all she can do is wait.

"There's a lie out there somewhere, and you can't just ignore that with
someone's life on the line," she said. "It's hard for me to accept that."

Luxton said the court has not yet ruled on the motion for the evidentiary
hearing and there is no time limit to do so.

Steinberg said she has always believed Wolfe had nothing to do with
Petrole's death and hopes this experience will teach a lesson to other
youths who might be considering getting involved with drugs.

"Justin thought it was just marijuana and he never would have dreamed his
life could end up like this," Steinberg said. "Owen's life is ruined,
Danny lost his life and Justin might lose his."

Wolfe, Petrole and Barber, of Chantilly, had all been involved in a
marijuana ring operating throughout Northern Virginia.

Wolfe, of Centreville, was indebted to Petrole, and Barber was indebted to
Wolfe. The quantity of marijuana discovered in Petrole's Braemar town
house was one of the largest seized in Prince William - 50 pounds of
marijuana and 2,000 Ecstasy tablets worth more than $300,000.

Barber pleaded guilty to killing Petrole in 2001 and testified against
Wolfe. Under his plea deal, Barber was sentenced to 38 years in prison.

Wolfe was initially sentenced to be executed July 27, 2005, after making
several appeals. His attorneys argued that there were trial errors in
Wolfe's first trial and that his trial attorney was unqualified.

His execution date was later stayed because his attorneys have not
finished pursuing all possible appeals. Wolfe is on death row at Sussex I
State Prison in Waverly.

(source: Potomac News)






MOROCCO:

Moroccan court hands down death sentence against EU diplomat killer


A tribunal in the city of Sala, near the Moroccan capital Rabat, on
Tuesday handed down a death sentence against a 25-year-old man convicted
on stabbing to death an EU diplomat and his wife.

The man, Karim Zimach, admitted ... murdering Alessandro Missir di
Lusignano, an official attached to the Commission's delegation in Morocco,
and his wife Arianne Lagasse de Locht at their home in a Rabat locality
"while under the influence of drugs." He was arrested on September 19
shortly after committing the murders while driving an EU Commission car he
stole from the couple's home.

A woman, called Bahija Al-Saadi was sentenced to five months in jail and a
fine for involvement in the crime.

Another woman, Latifa Al-Suteiti, was sentenced to three months in jail
with a stay of proceedings while a man called Mohammad Al-Buziyi was
acquitted from any charges regarding the double crime.

The prosecution had called for the death sentence against the culprit and
maximum punishment against the 3 others.

(source: Kuwait News Agency)






FRANCE:

France adopts constitutional amendment, abolishing death penalty


The French parliament on Monday adopted a constitutional amendment in
Versailles, west of Paris, formally abolishing the death penalty in the
country.

The amendment, which won support from the majority of the nearly 900
legislators, says "no one can be sentenced to the death penalty" in
France.

Although France banned the capital punishment with a 1981 law, President
Jacques Chirac has said he wants to go further by inscribing the abolition
of the death penalty into the constitution.

Chirac decided in early February this year to call a joint legislative
session instead of a national referendum to vote on the amendment in order
to achieve his goal before leaving office.

Under the current constitution, a bill to change the constitution can take
effect after it is ratified by a national referendum. The only alternative
lies in the hands of the president, who can call a joint legislative
session instead of a national referendum. The bill must get 3/5 of the
legislators' support to pass.

France's official data shows that altogether 78 countries all over the
world uses the death penalty at present.

Another amendment to the constitution was also adopted by the Senators and
representatives of the National Assembly during the joint session to
broaden parliament's power to impeach a president.

The law would allow a president to be removed from office, "for failing to
carry out his duties in a manner manifestly incompatible with the exercise
of his mandate," by a two-thirds majority of both houses of parliament.

Previously, a president could only be impeached for treason in France.

(source: Xinhua News)

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 22



JAPAN:

Man Faces Death Penalty For Murdering People He Met on Suicide Websites


Hiroski Maeue may face the death penalty if convicted of murdering 3
people between February and June of 2005. He met all his victims through
suicide websites and lured them with the promise of seeing him kill
himself.

According to the prosecution the Japanese man would tell his victims that
he was going to commit suicide using carbon monoxide. He would then
allegedly suffocate them, gaining sexual pleasure from watching them
struggle.

During closing the prosecutor said, "They were heinous and inhumane crimes
of a type never seen before in history, and it's as clear as day that the
death sentence is unavoidable."

(source: ShortNews.com)






HUNGARY:

Budapest joins Rome's campaign against death penalty


Budapest joins Rome's initiative for a global ban on death penalty, the
City Council decided in a Thursday vote.

The mayor of Rome, Walter Veltroni launched the campaign against capital
punishment in January 2007 and asked other European cities to join by
signing a petition.

So far 16 cities including Brussels, London, Madrid, Paris and Vienna have
signed the motion.

Addressing the debate, Mayor Gabor Demszky pointed out that the campaign
aims to urge international organizations to ban death penalty worldwide.

Death penalty was abolished in Hungary in 1990.

(source: MTI -- Hungarian News Agency)

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 23



ETHIOPIA:

Ethiopias S. Court approves sentences against 6 "terrorists"


The Federal Supreme Court today approved the Federal High Court (FHC)
sentences passed against 6 people who carried out terrorist attacks in
Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa 1996.

The FHC pronounced death sentences against 5 and imprisoned 1 to 25 years
in jail, the Ethiopian TV said.

Those who were sentenced to death by the Federal Supreme Courts criminal
bench for committing terrorist crimes were: Mohamed Mahmoud Farah, Mohamed
Hassan Mahmoud, Ibrahim Hussein Nalai, Mohamed Almi Liben and Mohammad
Ahmed Ibrahim.

The court, in its ruling, said that the death sentences pronounced by the
Federal High Court on 3 April and 11 April 2002 found it appropriate and
correct. The supreme court also approved the sentence pronounced on the
sixth defendant, Abdi Nur Mohamed Ado.

The Supreme Court in its ruling said that the defendants not only caused
the death of several people but also terrorized the public and government.
The court, in its ruling, said that the defendants in their terrorist
attacks threatened the peace and stability of the country and endangered
the sovereignty of the country as well.

The Supreme Court said that the courts should pass strict and sever
sentences against such criminals. The court said the sentence should match
the serious crimes committed and should also serve as a serious warning
against similar terrorists.

(source: Sudan Tribune)






SAUDI ARABIA:

Group attacks Saudi over Sri Lankan executions


An international rights group said on Thursday that 4 Sri Lankans beheaded
in Saudi Arabia this week for armed robbery suffered a sham trial and that
2 of the men may not have known they were sentenced to death.

The bodies of the 4 men, beheaded by the sword in a public square in
Riyadh on Monday, were displayed on wooden crosses for over an hour as a
deterrent, amid fears of an increase in organised crime among expatriates.

The kingdom, which is home to Islam's holiest shrines, applies strict
Islamic law and regularly beheads murderers, rapists and drug traffickers.

New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), which followed the case and said
it managed to speak to one of the men by telephone several days before
execution, said they were victims of poverty and arbitrary justice that
denied them legal representation.

"The execution of these four migrants, who had been badly beaten and
locked up for years without access to lawyers, is a travesty of justice,"
the group's Middle East and North Africa director Sarah Leah Whitson said
in a statement.

One of the men, Ranjith de Silva, told the group he had been driven to
commit the crimes in 2004 by "financial desperation". He said he came to
the country for work paying 400 riyals per month ($NZ153), but his
employer only paid 250 riyals.

"He claims that at no stage of his arrest, interrogation, detention, or
trial was he ever told that he could see a lawyer," said HRW in the
statement dated Feb. 21 which appeared on the group's website on Thursday.

It said that during a fact-finding mission to Saudi Arabia in November HRW
was told that two of the men had been sentenced to 15 years in prison.
"Indeed, 2 of those convicted may have been unaware that they had been
sentenced to death," it said.

The men were not informed of an appeal hearing that took place which
upheld the verdicts.

Sri Lanka's government made an appeal for clemency in the case, which has
highlighted the plight of millions of migrant labourers in Saudi Arabia
and Saudi fears of social tension.

Almost one third of Saudi Arabia's population of 24 million people are
foreigners, mostly blue-collar workers from Asia.

Most are tied to Saudi employers who usually take their passports as a way
of controlling their movements and behaviour, a system rights groups says
deprives expatriates of rights.

But police and religious officials said this week that there was a growing
underworld of criminal behaviour among foreigners.

(source: Reuters)

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 24



UGANDA:

Museveni Supports Death Penalty


PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni said on Friday that HIV carriers who
deliberately infect others should be charged with murder.

"People who infect others deliberately are killers - they are murders,"
Gen. Museveni said during the Forum on Justice and Human Rights at Speke
Resort Munyonyo, a Kampala suburb.

"I would treat harshly someone who gets involved with another knowing that
he or she has HIV. We clearly need to be tough on this (AIDS)."

The President was answering a question from Prof. Joseph Kakooza, the head
of the Uganda Law Reform Commission, who wondered how he wanted such
people treated.

Gen. Museveni had earlier on concurred with visiting former Attorney
General of the United States of America John Ashcroft on his call for the
retention of the death penalty as punishment for capital offences.

"I am a strong believer in the death penalty. I've heard that in some
places in Europe, they forgive a deliberate killer. But how do you for
instance control the Army? Soldiers are no longer killing people because
we execute whoever kills another. It will take a long time for someone to
convince me," he said.

Mr Ashcroft, who addressed the meeting attended by judges, lawyers,
policemen, prison officers and others who contribute to the Justice, Law
and Order Sector, said the death penalty is good because it saves lives.

"If you believe in self-defence when you have been attacked, I think it
makes sense to execute people who get convicted for killing others. Once
you cross that bridge, then you support capital punishment," Mr Ashcroft
said.

The forum organised by an American-based NGO, Restore International and
Uganda's Judicial Training Institute, focused on the rising cases of human
trafficking and child prostitution.

Restore International's founder and president Bob Goff said the phenomena
has hit most countries and is now considered the world's third organised
crime.

Former Solicitor General Peter Kabatsi said human trafficking is some form
of slavery and a crime in which people are moved from poor environments to
affluent ones under the guise of finding them better opportunities.

He said the victims, 80 % of whom are normally women, end up being abused
sexually, physically and psychologically.

For child trafficking, Mr Kabatsi said immature children are made to
engage in dangerous activities that they do not fully comprehend.

Chief Justice Benjamin Odoki said the crime has gained momentum due to
various issues like poverty and insurgencies and that quick solutions
needed to be mapped out.

Joel Aliro Omara, a commissioner with the Uganda Human Rights Commission,
said there are international laws against these vices. He, however, said
their enforcement has been complicated because law enforcers often pounce
on victims and the perpetrators are left at large, something he said needs
to be changed.

Principal Judge James Ogoola said research indicated that Uganda is one of
the countries caught up in the international scam, not only as a country
of origin, but as a transit country and destination for human trafficking.
"People are taken on pretences that they are going to work then they are
turned into sex objects and slaves," he said.

President Museveni, who called for the enactment of a local law to curb
the crime, attributed Africa's taking part in such international crimes to
colonialists, saying there was nothing like abuse of human rights in the
African setting.

(source: The Monitor)

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 24



IRAQ:

Activists around the world urged to help stop execution of Iraqi women


People around the world are being called on to help stop the execution of
3 Iraqi women who have been sentenced to hang March 3.

Wassan Talib, age 31, Zainab Fadhil, age 25, and Liqa Omar Muhammad, age
26, were accused of participating in the resistance against the U.S.
occupation of Iraq and sentenced to death by the Supreme Iraqi Criminal
Court. The 3 women, who denied the charges against them, were prevented
from seeing a lawyer and tried in violation of the Geneva Convention.

The 3 women are being held at Baghdads Al-Kadhimiya Prison. Talib has a
3-year-old daughter imprisoned with her, and Liqa has a 1-year-old
daughter she gave birth to in prison.

The World Tribunal on Iraq and the BRussels Tribunal Executive Committee
launched an international campaign to demand the release of the women.

"The United States and its local conspirators, in creating hundreds of
thousands of widows and reducing life in Iraq to a struggle for bare
survival have placed women in the crosshairs and now on the gallows,"
organizers of the 2 groups said in a statement.

"We celebrate the numberless acts of resistance of Iraqi women, whether
their resilience in the face of a culture of rape, torture and murder by
U.S. and Iraqi forces, their fortitude in continuing to give life amid
state-sponsored genocide, their dignity as they try to maintain a
semblance of normality for their children and families, their courage in
burying their husbands, sons, daughter or brothers, or in direct action
against an illegal and failed military occupation."

The groups call for protests in front of every Iraqi embassy in the world.
And they ask that individuals call and write to local and national
newspapers to pressure human rights groups to intervene and to write to
the Iraqi authorities to demand that the immoral and illegal execution be
halted and the women released.

The Iraqi government cant charge anyone with taking part in the
resistance, the groups say. Citing a 1982 resolution of the U.N. General
Assembly, they say international law affirms "the legitimacy of the
struggle of peoples for independence, territorial integrity, national
unity and liberation from colonial and foreign domination and foreign
occupation by all available means, including armed struggle."

People are asked to send faxes and e-mails with the subject line: "Re: The
Imminent execution of Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad"
to:

Minister of Justice Hashim Al-Shilbi: head-***@iraq-justice.org

Prime Minster Nouri Al-Maliki: ***@yahoo.com

President Jalal Talabani: www.iraqipresidency.net

Intl Committee of the Red Cross: 011-41-22-733-2057 ***@icrc.org

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: 011-41-22-917-9008/
tb-***@ohchr.org

UN Representant in Iraq Said Arikat: 212-963-2800 ***@un.org

IRIN News Agency: 011-971-4-368-1024 ***@irnnews.org

Amnesty International: 011-44-20-7956-1157 ***@amnesty.org

Al-Jazeera: 011-974-442-6865 ***@aljazeera.net

Reuters: 011-44-20-7542-4064 ***@reuters.com

BBC: 011-44-20-7557-1254/***@bbc.co.uk

(source: Worker's World)

**************************

Oppose martial law for Baghdad


Human Rights Watch warned new martial law provisions for Baghdad could
open the door to abuse by the military.

In a statement issued Friday, the organization said Iraqi Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki's plan to curb escalating violence in the Iraqi capital
grants military commanders sweeping powers to arrest people and restrict
basic freedoms of speech and association.

"The security situation in Baghdad is dire but giving the military free
rein to violate the basic rights of Iraqis is not the answer," said Sarah
Leah Whitson, the group's Middle East director. "International law
strictly limits the restrictions a government can place on fundamental
rights during a public emergency."

The martial law provisions announced by the Baghdad's commander of
military operations have no time limits nor are there any details on how
the regulations will be implemented.

The decree also provides for broad use of the death penalty, a punishment
Human Rights Watch opposes.

(source: UPI)






YEMEN:

Honor crimes in Yemen: between execution and stigma


In the framework of the Program of Eradicating Violence against Women,
supervised by the Arab Sisters Forum for Human Rights, a workshop on
"Honor Crimes in Yemen" was organized Thursday.

The workshop aimed to discuss the proliferation of honor crimes in Yemen,
the social and economic conditions and the cultural orientations, which
lead to committing such crimes and their bad impacts on individuals and
families.

Dr. Adel al-Sharjabi, Professor of Sociology at Sana'a University, who
presented a current study on honor crimes, has not included any accurate
figures of the issue.

He said the society as well as the police in Yemen practice different
types of violence against women under the pretext of honor crimes, calling
for reconsidering the legislative structure that makes women owned by her
relatives.

He further mentioned that there are many women, who were shot by the
police when hunting for a man in the company of a woman, and there are
numerous cases of suicides, killings and drowning that require
reconsidering the social heritage.

Al-Sharjabi noted: "We don't have enough and accurate information about
honor crimes due to the lack of readiness on the part of citizens to
discuss honor-related issues.

Despite the existence of several honor crimes in Yemen, habits and
traditions and the Yemeni law seem to be sentimental with women.

Lawyer Nabil al-Mohammadi mentioned Article 232 of the penalties law that
approved of execution as the penalty for adultery after being accepted by
the husband, the brother or the father. The law appears to be a violation
against the Islamic Sharia, the international conventions of human rights
and the principles of the Yemeni constitution.

The Law stipulates that if a husband killed his wife along with the one
committing adultery with her, he would not be executed but might receive a
light punishment: either to be fined to be jailed not more than 6 months.

The legal justification behind this is the state of anger due to be
situation by the husband or anyone who will not be able to control his
nerves when seeing such a kind of crime.

The husband might be shocked when seeing his wife committing adultery, the
murder case was not previously planned, and therefore there is no an
interval between adultery and murder.

Articles 274 and 275 of the Penalties Law state 6-month imprisonment for
committing adultery while Article 273 of the law defines such a kind of
crime as any act necessitating a state of nakedness.

Some legalists held the view that the legal changes come against interests
of women and the public property doesnt interfere with the text of the law
and that the public and private properties may be used in implementing
penalties.

Dr. Fuad al-Salahi says: "We have to pose at the rights and liberties of
women, particularly as the domain of the law came into place according to
the traditional culture."

"A legislative work is a must to drive us forward regarding women issues
and the texts of the law may contradict the teachings of Islam which
stipulate the testimony of four eyewitnesses for sentencing the criminal,"
he added.

For his part, Ali Saleh Undersecretary of the Ministry of Social Affairs
and Labor said there is a remarkable development in the Yemeni law and
some of the texts were amended with respect to honor crimes.

The study on honor crimes, recently conducted, does not cover accurate
scores, and it seems to be merely composed of opinions that are far away
from the problem. It contained an account of male and female mortality
rate, which is absolutely irrelevant from honor crimes.

Crimes of honor in Yemen remain far away from courts and the media means
due to the existence of the traditional culture that still control all the
social affairs.

The terrible increase in suicide cases reflects fearing the scandal more
than fearing penalties. So an authentic study based on real scores is
recommended to diagnose the issue and suggest any possible solutions and
remedies.

(source: Yemen Times)






KUWAIT:

Husband blames gov't for wife's death sentence in Kuwait


The husband of an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) sentenced to die by
hanging in Kuwait said he should not have listened to Philippine
government officials who advised him to keep silent regarding his wifes
case.

"Lalo nilang pinabayaan e. Dapat sana lalo kaming nag-ingay," (They
neglected the case more. We should have raised our concerns in public)."
said Lolito Dalibutan, Ranario's common-law husband.

In 2005, Migrante International reported that 4 OFWs were executed in
Saudi Arabia. They were Sergio Aldana, Miguel Fernandez Jr., Wilfredo
Bautista and Antonio Alvesa.

Migrante also reported that in September 2005, Marilou Ranario, an OFW
domestic, was convicted by a Kuwaiti lower court and sentenced to death by
hanging allegedly for killing her employer, Najat Mahmoud Faraj Mobarak,
on Jan. 11, 2005.

The Kuwaiti Court of Appeals upheld the decision of the lower court meting
out the death penalty on Ranario on Feb. 17, 2006.

The final judgment on Ranarios case will still be issued by the Cassation
Court, Kuwait's high tribunal.

Migrante said it is Ranario who should be given justice because she was
maltreated.

Media reports cited court records showing that Ranario only meant to
"harm" her employer who had abused her; that was after Ranario allegedly
overheard her Kuwaiti employer telling another person of her (the
employer's) plan to arrange for some men to rape the maid.

Ranario was a public school teacher in the Philippines before she left for
Kuwait to work as a domestic helper 3 years ago.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced in January that 6 OFWs
charged with offenses punishable by death had their sentences reduced to
jail terms. The 6 are Guen Aguilar, Zenaida Taulbee, Ronilo Arandia,
Fernie Salarza, Melvin Obejera and Ma. Fe Cruzado.

Maita Santiago, Migrante International secretary-general, welcomed the
news but challenged the government to save all OFWs in death row and to
act pro-actively to prevent abuses committed against OFWs.

"Di dapat umasa sa awa lagi ng Kuwait" (We should not always rely on the
mercy of Kuwait), Santiago said. "Dapat comprehensively i-address ang mga
paglabag sa mga karapatan ng OFWs, lalo na sa Middle East" (The government
should comprehensively address violations on the rights of OFWs especially
in the Middle East), she added.

Ranario is one of the 30 OFWs in death row that Migrante reported in 2005.

DFA spokesperson Claro Cristobal said he could not give the exact number
of OFWs in death row as it is a "fast running" figure.

Neglect

Ranario's family sought the help of Migrante because they did not see any
development in the government's handling of her case.

Dalibutan said he gets updates on his wife's case only from Migrante.

"Pag tumawag po 'yung hipag ko dito (sa Department of Foreign Affairs),
minsan wala (ang taong kakausapin namin)" (When my sister-in-law calls the
DFA, sometimes the person handling my wife's case is indisposed.), he
complained. O kaya sasabihin nila wala pang update" (Or they just tell us
that there is no update).

Cristobal debunked Dalibutan's accusations saying that the DFA has a
record of assistance especially legal service given to Ranario and her
family.

"The Philippine government has never been negligent in providing support
to Ranario and family," he said, adding that they have not missed a single
hearing in the lower and appellate courts.

He also said the government filed a petition for a review and reversal of
the lower court decision.

Dalibutan regretted following the advice of DFA officials that they keep
silent on her wifes case. "Lalo nilang pinabayaan e. Dapat sana lalo
kaming nag-ingay" (They neglected the case more. We should have raised our
concerns in public.), he said.

"Manahimik daw kami dahil pag nakulitan baka di daw gawin ang para sa
asawa ko" (We were told that if they become annoyed with us they might not
do what they had to do for my wife.), he lamented.

Broken promises

They agreed, he said, because they were promised that the government will
act on his wife's case.

Santiago said the DFA even brought Ranarios parents to Kuwait last year
for "photo opportunities" to make the government look good.

After the visit, Dalibutan said, Ranario's parents were given money which
they used to buy 3 pigs and a carabao.

"Hindi po namin kailangan 'yung tulong na yun," (We don't need that kind
of assistance.) he said. "Ang pinakaimportante na tulong nila 'yung
makauwi po ang asawa ko hindi po 'yung ganitong halaga dahil kahit paano
nabubuhay kami," (The most important assistance they can offer us is to
bring my wife back homenot the money they gave us because we are able to
survive somehow.) he added.

The husband also recalled that Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Ricardo
Endaya promised them that he will bring Ranario home when he returns to
the country in December 2006.

"Nasaan na 'yung pangako nya na isasama na niya asawa ko?" (Where is his
promise that he will bring my wife back?), he asked.

Santiago recalled that Vice President Noli de Castro, who is also the
presidential adviser for OFWs, appealed for the commutation of Ranarios
sentence to life imprisonment during his visit to Kuwait in March 2006.

The vice-president's appeal, the migrant leader said, was contrary to the
wishes of Ranarios family that she be released.

Hopeful

Ranario used to help her driver husband by working as a teacher. Dalibutan
recalled that his wife was forced to work as a domestic abroad to earn
money for the education of their 2 children and for their dream wedding.
Dalubitan said that they also planned to buy a jeepney.

It has been 3 years since Ranario left to work in the Middle East and a
year and a half since her conviction. Though uncertain about the future,
Dalubitan is still hopeful that they will be together again.

If her wife would be set free, he said, "Ayaw kong maghiwalay pa kami
ulit. Kung nasaan ako, gusto ko nandun din sila (ng mga anak namin)." (I
do not want to be far from her again. I want them to be with me wherever I
am.)

But whenever he thinks about their current predicament, he cannot help but
feel disappointed over the governments handling of his wife's case.

"Talaga naman pong pinapabayaan sya," he said, "Yun po ang malaking
kagagawan nila, nasaan na 'yung pangako nila?" (Her case was really
neglected. That is really the fault of the government. What happened to
their promises?)

(source: GMANews)






ETHIOPIA:

Death sentences meted out


The Ethiopian Supreme Court has upheld death sentences on five people
convicted of attacks that killed 29 people and wounded 18 others during
the past 11 years, state television reported late on Thursday.

"The criminal bench of the Federal Supreme Court upheld death sentence on
Mohamed Mahamoud Farah, Mohammed Hassan Mahmoud, Ibrahim Hussein Nalaye,
Mohammed Almi Liben and Mohammed Ibrahim," the television report said.

"(They) were convicted of terrorist attacks at various times and places in
Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa since 1996."

A sixth person was sentenced to 25 years in jail.

The court said it did not find "extenuating circumstances" to mitigate the
rulings passed by the lower court.

The court named Farah as the ring leader and coordinator of the Addis
Ababa and Dire Dawa bombings.

"The accused were involved in bomb explosions in different parts of the
country including in hotels (and) passenger buses," the court said. "They
were also involved in the attempt on the life of former minister of
communication Abdulmejid Hussein."

Death sentences in Ethiopia are normally carried out after they are
confirmed by the head of state.

(source: SomaliNet News)

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 26



NIGERIA:

S/Court Affirms Death Sentence On 2 Persons


The Supreme Court has affirmed the death sentence by hanging on 2 persons,
John Ogbu and Linus Eze, found guilty of murdering one Basil Ezian on
October 12, 1986, over a minor disagreement caused by excessive drinking.

The prosecution had told the trial court how on the date at midnight, the
convicts and one Ikechukwu were returning home from a naming ceremony in
Ngomari Ward, Maiduguri, where they had all taken some drinks.

But along the way, they decided to have more drinks at Merryland Hotel,
Maiduguri .

At Ngomari bus stop, they met the deceased, Basil Ezian, who then engaged
Ikechukwu in a discussion, thereby delaying others, the act which they
found offensive.

When late Basil would not end the discussion with their friend, Ikechukwu,
John Ogbu told late Basil to discontinue the argument so that they could
continue with their journey home.

But when late Basil refused to terminate the discussion, Ogbu accosted and
assaulted late Basil and a fight ensued.

Both Ogbu and Eze, (now condemned), joined hands to beat up the deceased
to death.

Basil, whose forehead was hit collapsed and later died before he could get
to the General Hospital, Maiduguri.

Defending themselves in court, the condemned men agreed that Basil died
after hitting his head against the ground, but they denied that they
played any role in his death.

They simply told the Maiduguri High Court that it was Basil who started
the fight by giving Linus a blow which was not retaliated, until when he
tried to use his leg in a karate fashion to attack Linus and in the
process missed his target, fell down and collapsed.

The trial court found the condemned guilty of culpable homicide.

The judgment was, however, appealed by the convict to the Jos division of
the Court of Appeal which affirmed the death sentence.

(source: This Day)






INDIA:

Murderers deserve no mercy----Terrorists are getting away inflicting heavy
losses.


Whatever name you give it, whether insurgency or terrorism or murder, the
plain truth is our country had two of our former prime ministers
assassinated. Apart from that the temple of our democracy, the Indian
Parliament had been attacked, in addition to a lot of religious places
like Raghunath temple in J&K, Akshardham in Gujarat, Sankat Mochan and
Ayodhya in UP. Financial capital of India, Mumbai, has seen the worst of
mass murder actions in the form of Bombay blasts in 1993 and train blasts
in July 2006. National capital has also seen ghastly crimes like the bomb
blasts on pre-Deepavali, in 2005 which left hundreds dead and injured.

The Supreme Court has ordered the imposition of death penalty on 4people
recently in 2 separate cases. In 1 case, the convicts, husband-wife duo
had eliminated 8 members of a family including 4 children, the youngest
only 1 1/2 month old, reportedly for property. The accused had escaped
gallows for nearly 7 years.

It is not that in every case of murder, death sentence is awarded. The
Supreme Court, for the first time in 1980, laid down the guidelines for
classifying cases under the "rarest of rare" category for award of death
penalty while giving its verdict in a case titled Bachan Singh vs State of
Punjab. Considering the extent of crime, which runs into over 32,000
murders committed in India every year, the imposition and execution of
death sentence does not happen even in 1 % cases.

Contrary to popular belief, there are plenty of heinous and revolting
crimes in India, for which very few people get the punishment they
deserve. In 2004, 18,32,015 cognisable cases, on which police action was
taken, were registered. Out of this, 33,608 were the cases of murder and
27,880 cases were attempt to murder, wherein the murderer failed to
achieve his objective of killing. In 2005, there were a total of
18,22,602, cognizable cases, registered by the police. Out of this figure,
there were 32,719 cases of murder and 28,031 were the cases of attempt to
murder. Roughly from 1988 onwards, the figure for the murders in the
country has been over 28,771 and attempt to murder is 20,687. The highest
figure of the murder in the country was in 1992, when 40,105 persons were
slaughtered and 31,202 faced attempt to murder Patna High Court Chief
Justice J.N. Bhatt had said in 2006: "The conviction rate of criminal
cases in India was only 6.5 %. It was telling on the deliverance of
justice particularly with regard to women who need to be compensated
adequately along with emotional support to overcome the trauma of being
victims of heinous crimes, including rape." Terrorists have been
committing mass murders, and except for a microscopic minority, they have
been getting away with it. It is normally held that terrorism is a
low-intensity war. In the four high intensity wars, our country fought, we
have lost a total of 5,468 people. But in this 'so-called' low-intensity
war over the past 15 years, we have already lost 61,013 civilians and
8,706 security personnel. This figure is apart from the murders committed
and the terrorists killed in encounters. Almost 6 lakh people in this
country have become homeless as a result of terrorism. Rough expenditure,
conservatively on our armed forces, including the paramilitary forces and
police simply for maintaining the entire set-up to fight insurgency and
fight cross-border terrorism, is more than Rs 75,000 crore per year.

The explosives, confiscated by our security agencies weigh over 58,000
kilos. If they had not been confiscated, they would probably have been
enough to take care of every inch of Indian soil. Whatever name you give
it, whether insurgency or terrorism or murder, the plain truth is our
country had 2 of our former prime ministers assassinated. Apart from that
the temple of our democracy, the Indian Parliament had been attacked, in
addition to a lot of religious places like Raghunath temple in J&K,
Akshardham in Gujarat, Sankat Mochan and Ayodhya in UP. Financial capital
of India, Mumbai, has seen the worst of mass murder actions in the form of
Bombay blasts in 1993 and train blasts in July 2006. National capital has
also seen ghastly crimes like the bomb blasts on pre-Deepavali, in 2005
which left hundreds dead and injured. A large part of Andhra Pradesh,
Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand right up to the Nepal
border is affected by terrorist groups like Maoist People's War Group and
many others, apart from the north-east. You cannot say that the death
penalty should be abolished for murders as crime and should remain for
murders by terrorists. Terrorism emasculates every political system. It
weakens democratic values and enfeebles the democratic and economic
processes. Doing away with death penalty, which is definitely a deterrent,
will encourage the criminals. The problem is that in our country, far too
few are punished.

In Pakistan in 2001, says Amnesty International, at least 150 were
sentenced to death and 13 executed. In 2003, the numbers were 140 and
eight. By 2004, they had climbed to 278 and 8, raising the number of those
under the death sentence to 5,700. In 2005, 394 were sentenced and 15
executed. In Bangladesh, 357 have been given the death sentence since 2001
and at least 10 were hanged. According to our Home Ministrys claims, only
55 people have been executed in India since Independence in 1947. But
Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR), a leading Indian civil rights
group, says that 1,422 executions were carried out in a single decade
(1953-63). The PUDR bases itself on government records, in particular the
Law Commissions 35th Report (1965) on 16 states. The state of Tamil Nadu,
now known for its Information Technology achievements, topped the list
with 485 executions. At present, about 1,700 prisoners in different jails
are awaiting execution, according to one report.

This figure, even assuming to be cent percent true, is nowhere near
1,51,122 murders committed in the same period. The figure of 1,51,122 is
based on the statistics provided by the National Crime Records Bureau, for
the same period. Incidentally, a total of 12,173,24 murders have been
registered with the police, from 1953 to 2005, excluding the attempt to
murder from 1988 to 2005, which are 5,155,11. The data for the earlier
period is not available with the government.

Thus it may be seen that not even ten per cent criminals, accused of
murders, get the punishment, they richly deserve. We have a system of
almost endless appeals, where the legal processes drag on for years
together, giving an opportunity to escape the punishment, more on
technical than on substantial grounds. Even if all appeals fail, there is
a final appeal to the Governor or the President, where influence and
recommendations work to convert the death sentence into life imprisonment.
Life imprisonment does not mean imprisonment for life, but for about 14
years, which further gets reduced to about ten years, with parole thrown
in for good behaviour. Good behaviour means that the prisoner has not
misbehaved in the jail, irrespective of his gross misconduct of having
been found guilty as a criminal. It is a strange but a present
interpretation of the word misbehaviour.

Indian criminal justice system and judiciary go to enormous lengths before
allowing a death sentence to be carried out. Our justice system is attuned
to show more sympathy for criminals than for the victims. We also need
justice and reparations for both the current and past victims. The most
imperative principle of justice is that the punishment should be
appropriate to the crime.

(source: The Organiser)






FRANCE:

Death penalty pledge as Le Pen launches election campaign


French far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen launched his 5th bid to become
president yesterday, promising to reintroduce the death penalty, reduce
the criminal age to 10 and create a so-called National Guard.

The 78-year-old leader of France's Front National was on fighting form as
he unveiled his "programme for government" to supporters in Lille.

His manifesto, described as a "response to the 20 major problems facing
France", featured the expected anti-immigration, crime and nationalist
measures including pledges to end benefit payments to foreigners, create
75,000 more prison places and pull France out of Nato.

(source: Agence France Presse)






SAUDI ARABIA:

Saudi navy officer faces death penalty


A Saudi navy officer is facing the death penalty after he was caught
recklessly driving a car which led to the death of three persons in Obhur
to the north of Jeddah.

After almost a year and a half of deliberations, four judges issued their
unanimous verdict last week sentencing the 37-year-old officer to death
for his involvement in killing 3 youths including the 14 and 15-year-old
brothers, Abdul Aziz and Badr Al Khuthaila.

Saudi Arabia applies the death penalty for a wide range of offences,
including any act or behaviour that leads to the killing of others. The
death sentence can be appealed within 30 days of issuance.

The traffic police in Jeddah found the Saudi navy officer, nicknamed 'Abu
Cab' as 100 % guilty of the death of the 3 youths. The report of the
traffic police said the officer had been driving at very high speed
(160-180 kilometres) when the accident took place. The report pointed out
that the officer was involved in a series of reckless driving violations
and was accused of encouraging youths to drive recklessly. Reckless
driving or tafheet in Saudi slang, is a normal scene on streets of Saudi
cities.

Traffic violations

The report noted that the officer used to rent cars from rent a car
agencies to use them for his reckless driving. It added that around 66
traffic violations were found on the officer's record.

However, Khalid Abu Rashid, the Saudi lawyer defending the officer, said
that the death sentence is non-applicable now, as it was not yet filed in
the court of cassation. The lawyer appealed for the cancellation of the
death sentence saying that it is not applicable to the case of his client.

"We should not be swayed by sentiments in judging matters. Yes, we all
feel pain at the death of the youths and we all agree on the importance of
applying a deterrent penalty against Abu Cab so as not to repeat this
crime, but the question is: was there no deterrent penalty other than
death penalty?" the lawyer said in statements to reporters.

"We have to ask about thousands of reckless drivers who committed fatal
accidents and have not been convicted to death," he added.

He pointed out that thousands of traffic accidents resulted in thousands
of deaths and the majority were found to be the fault of the driver. "No
death penalty was applied to any of them, so why has it to be applied to
Abu Cab, whose crime is a traffic accident that happens every day?" he
inquired.

(source: GulfNews)

******************

4 Sri Lankan workers beheaded in Saudi Arabia


Last Monday the Saudi Arabian government beheaded 4 Sri Lankan migrant
workersSanath Pushpakumara, E.J.Victor Corea, Ranjith De Silva and
Sangeeth Kumaradespite years of protest from international human rights
organisations and the victims' pleas for clemency. The beheading brought
the number of people executed in Saudi Arabia this year to at least 17,
compared to 38 for all of 2006. 2/3 of those killed were foreign nationals

. An estimated 350,000 Sri Lankans are working in Saudi Arabia and make up
a significant portion of the 8.8 million foreigners living and working in
the country. According to the report, Bad DreamsExploitation and abuse of
migrant workers in Saudi Arabia, published by Human Rights Watch in July
2004, foreign nationals account for 67 % of the workforce and hold 90 to
95 % of private-sector jobs. Most come from South Asia and Africa to
escape rising unemployment and poverty.

The overwhelming majority are poorly paid and heavily indebted, due to the
exorbitant fees charged by recruiting agencies. They often work as
cleaners in hospitals and schools, as plumbers, carpenters, labourers and
garbage collectors. Women are often engaged as domestic servants,
assistants in beauty salons and as seamstresses. The report stated that
migrant workers were often paid far lower salaries than promised and
subjected to long working hoursup to 12 hours or more daily without
overtime. Many instances were cited of salaries being unpaid for months
and medical care being denied, although complaints are rarely made for
fear of summary dismissal.

In these circumstances, the use of the medieval Islamic law, including the
death penalty and other brutal forms of punishment, serves a very definite
political purpose. Whatever its religious justification, this legal system
is being exploited by the autocratic Saudi regime to intimidate and
terrorise the flood of cheap immigrant labour, on whom the country's small
wealthy elite is increasingly dependent.

The 4 Sri Lankan workers were publicly executed for allegedly "forming a
criminal gang which robbed a number of companies and threatened
accountants and workers with weapons, shooting 1 of them and stealing his
car." They were arrested in March 2004 and convicted by an Islamic
religious court in October of the same year.

After these sentences were upheld in March 2005, the Asian Human Rights
Commission (AHRC) issued a statement, urging the Sri Lankan government to
intervene to save the lives of Pushpakumara, Corea and De Silva. The
fourth prisoner, Sangeeth Kumara, was not mentioned because he was not
sentenced to death by the court, but was serving a 15-year prison
sentence. The AHRC said the prisoners had received penalties far more
severe than international legal standards, and those of their home
country.

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 28



CHINA:

China's highest court to order provinces to retry death sentences


China's Supreme People's Court (SPC) will send back cases involving death
sentence to provincial courts for retrial if it finds errors in judgement,
instead of directly changing the sentence, according to a regulation
released by the SPC Tuesday.

"The new regulation will guarantee that death sentences are handed out
with caution by ordering retrials, which will also improve the efficiency
of SPC death penalty reviews," a SPC spokesman told Xinhua Tuesday.

Under the new regulation, the SPC will only the change original death
penalty sentences in cases involving individual criminals facing multiple
death sentences, or multiple criminals facing death penalties.

The regulation will take effect on Feb. 28.

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 28



ZIMBABWE:

Zim activists try to kill off death penalty


Zimbabwean rights activists are campaigning with unprecedented vigour for
an end to the death penalty as the country's political and economic crisis
deepens, arguing that this is essential for an open debate on the nation's
future and its joining the "civilised democracies of the world".

"The death penalty is a threat to freedom of speech," says Edson Chiota,
the national coordinator of the Zimbabwe Association for Crime Prevention
and Rehabilitation of Offenders (Zacro).

He was interviewed while attending the Third World Congress against the
Death Penalty in Paris at the beginning of February.

"The government is trying to silence the opposition. If you publicly
criticise the state leader, there's a good likelihood that you will be
charged with treason. That's a threat to be feared. Treason carries the
death penalty," Chiota says.

Zimbabwe activists recall how 2 leading politicians were charged with
treason in a campaign of intimidation before past elections.

Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the main opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC), has been charged with treason 3 times, the last
just ahead of the 2002 presidential elections. This trial lasted almost 2
years and ended with a surprise acquittal.

Ndabaningi Sithole, the leader of the Zimbabwe African National Union, was
also charged with plotting to overthrow the government. This was just
ahead of the 1996 presidential elections.

He was found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison, but was
released because of failing health. His sentencing disqualified him from
attending Parliament until his death three years later.

Both politicians claimed they had been framed by the state security
service.

'Alien tradition'

Launching Zacro's national anti-death-penalty campaign with a newspaper
article on January 4, Wonder Chakanyuka, Zacro's information and publicity
officer, side-stepped the issue of how the death penalty was being used to
silence dissent. He stressed rather that it was alien to the country's
African traditions and a left-over relic from colonial times.

"It was used to intimidate and eliminate black people, and as Zimbabweans
we cannot continue having this law on our books," he wrote in an opinion
article.

"An increasing number of African states have abolished the death penalty
and Zimbabwe cannot afford to be left behind," he added.

The article in the state-backed newspaper the Herald ended with an
editorial note that Zacro's crusade against the death penalty was not
party-based and should not be used to "demonise" the country.

This appears to confirm Zacro's view that President Robert Mugabe's regime
will not block its campaign. "We have never clashed with the government on
this issue," Chiota says. "They are letting us go free. This means that
they want to leave the public to take up its position."

Zacro's campaign is likely to gather strong public support from many NGOs,
churches, traditional leaders, lawyers and even members of the Justice
Department.

"Killing someone for an offence will not change or solve anything," says
David Chimhini, executive director of the Zimbabwe Civic Educational Trust
(Zimcet). "No one has the right to kill another."

Life sentences

Zimcet advocates life sentences in place of the death penalty for the most
serious crime of murder.

The Human Rights Trust of South Africa has also staunchly come out against
the death penalty, saying it should be replaced by life imprisonment for
"reflection and reform".

"The courts can sentence someone to death, but they cannot be 100% sure
that the person has committed the crime," says Noel Kututwa, the trust's
executive director.

He expressed scepticism that the Mugabe regime would listen to the voices
of the abolitionists. "I don't see the government moving an inch on the
death-penalty law," he said.

Zimbabwe lawyers have also expressed concern over the possibility of
judicial error and are likely to back the Zacro campaign strongly on this
issue.

One of the most tragic cases was that of Sukoluhle Kachipare, a mother who
was condemned to death for allegedly inciting her 17-year-old maid to
murder her own newborn child. Only a concerned nation and international
campaign saved her from the gallows in 1997.

She would have been the 1st woman to be executed in Zimbabwe since 1898,
when the British colonial regime executed the spirit medium Mbuya Nehanda.

Though Kachipare's sentence was 1st confirmed by the Zimbabwe Supreme
Court, lawyers continued her legal battle. She was eventually acquitted,
said Stanford Moyo, president of the Zimbabwe Law Society.

Religion's view

Church groups are expected to take part actively in the Zacro campaign --
especially Christian churches. There are roughly seven million Christians
in Zimbabwe, just more than half the population.

Anglican bishop Sebastian Bakare has publicly preached that state killing
is against "the word of God and all biblical commandments".

"It does not prevent people from committing violent crimes. Rather, it
creates an illusion that violent crime is under control and being
eliminated," he said in an interview.

All groups are likely to rally behind the campaign's call for an end to
the secrecy surrounding the death-penalty issue in Zimbabwe. "The lack of
public information is the biggest concern," said Irene Petras, the acting
director of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights.

Zacro's Chiota complains that his organisation is barred from visiting
death-row prisoners. "We can't say anything about them. Only the
authorities know their situation exactly."

High Court records show the number on death row totals 47. But efforts by
Inter Press Service to obtain a list of the names were met with the
response "classified information".

Roadshow

Zacro now intends to take its anti-death-penalty campaign to all 10
provinces in the country. It has plans to print and distribute millions of
pamphlets and posters, and everyone in the country will be offered a
campaign T-shirt.

But only with outside funds will it be possible to finance such ambitious
plans. Though nearly 100 years old, the prisoners' rights organisation
still operates from humble offices in the old township of Mbare in
Zimbabwe's capital, Harare.

Inflation is currently the highest in the world at more than 1 600%.
Unemployment is more than 85% and the economy is in a free fall. 1/3 of
all men and women between the ages of 15 and 49 are HIV-positive.

But rather than despairing, Zacro activists seem undeterred. "We are
trying to get a movement going. There's never been a fully fledged
campaign before to make this issue really visible," says Chiota.

"When the death penalty is gone, we believe that people will come out of
their shells and express their hopes and wishes."

(source: IPS)

[Rick Halperin]

March 1


GLOBAL:

Death penalty gets a 2nd global look


The senior U.N. human rights official yesterday said she senses a global
interest in revising the death penalty, triggered in part by the public
execution of former Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein.

Louise Arbour, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, said she does
not expect to see a "spontaneous uprising or outcry" against capital
punishment, but she does perceive a willingness among governments to
consider restricting the death penalty -- or at least opening up the
opaque process.

"I sense that this year there is an opportunity to move towards abolition
in some countries, moratorium in others and transparency in some which
still surround the application of the death penalty with secrecy," Mrs.
Arbour told reporters here yesterday.

"The call for abolition is rarely the result of a spontaneous
enlightenment. It is usually triggered by an event in countries that have
the courage to face their own shortcomings," she said. "This event is
sometimes a demonstrated wrongful conviction."

The executions in Iraq of Saddam and two of his associates "may have
created an environment in which people are asking a lot of serious
questions" about the need for a review of capital punishment, she said.

Saddam was hanged in December. Shouting and jeering by Shi'ites at the
execution, which was caught on a cell-phone camera, drew condemnation from
President Bush and other world leaders. When Saddam's half brother Barazan
Ibrahim was hanged in January, his head was severed.

Mrs. Arbour was pragmatic on whether her agency could make inroads in the
United States, where capital punishment is administered by states and
appears to have popular support.

She indicated that she would not be bringing up the matter with the U.S.
government or courts the same way her office does in other, more receptive
countries.

"If the courts are willing to listen to us, we are not going to shy away,"
Mrs. Arbour said. "It depends on our own capacity to make a contribution
in a case where the advocacy of international standards are not likely to
be advanced by others."

Mrs. Arbour, a former Canadian justice and a prosecutor for the
international criminal tribunals for Rwanda and Yugoslavia, is a
tough-minded and plain-spoken advocate for what she sees as basic human
rights.

The official U.N. position is that it respects the domestic laws of member
states. However, Mrs. Arbour and others in the human rights sphere say
that all people have the right to life, a de facto repudiation of capital
punishment.

The Web site of the U.N. special rapporteur for extrajudicial, summary and
arbitrary executions, Philip Alston, notes, in part: "Given that the loss
of life is irreparable, the Special Rapporteur ... emphasizes that the
abolition of capital punishment is most desirable in order fully to
respect the right to life. He also wishes to mention that, while there is
a fundamental right to life, there is no such right to capital
punishment."

According to Amnesty International, 88 nations and territories have
explicitly outlawed the death penalty, while 69 permit capital punishment
for crimes of varying degrees of severity from rape to treason.

The European Union has shelved capital punishment, while the United
States, Iran, Iraq, China and South Korea are among those that impose it.

(source: Washington Times)






YEMEN----female jevenile death row inmate

Al-Tuhaifs lawyer seeks her release from death penalty


At the request of Judge Abdullah Al-Olifi, a first instance court session
was held Monday in Mahwit governorate to investigate Amina Al-Tuhaifs
involvement in a traffic accident that led to killing her daughter and
determine her complicity in the accident or not.

Al-Tuhaif arrived at the court under tight security to protect her from an
exceptional attack by her husbands family.

Supreme Court lawyer Shadha Mohammed Nasser, who is Al-Tuhaifs attorney,
is requesting Mahwit governorates public prosecution review Al-Tuhaifs
death sentence due to new evidence in the case.

Mohammed Sa'eed Ali, a fellow attorney in Nasser's office who attended the
court session in Nasser's stead, is seeking to have the case dropped and
release Al-Tuhaif from the death sentence, especially following her
daughter's death.

"The court doesn't have the right to sentence Al-Tuhaif to death just
because she became the only inheritor from both her daughter and her
husband. So the death penalty is impossible to apply in Al-Tuhaif's case,"
Nasser stated.

Al-Tuhaif now should be free according to Yemeni law, which prohibits
executing those found guilty when they were under age 18 at the time a
crime was committed, so she should be released immediately. Additionally,
failing to release any prosecution against her will be injustice. Nasser
noted that the case's next session will be after 2 weeks.

Nasser clarified that what official newspapers and other media outlets
have published about President Ali Abdullah Saleh's amnesty decision is
incorrect. "If President Saleh has commuted Al-Tuhaif's death sentence,
it's only gossip. The information many newspapers published was untrue and
it's just a way to skew public opinion about the case," she added.

Al-Tuhaif remains imprisoned, but if such newspaper reports were correct,
Al-Tuhaif might have been freed long ago.

Al-Tuhaif, a wife and mother who was just 16 when the alleged crime was
committed, is accused of killing her husband Hizam. In reality, her family
executed her when they deprived her of education and her childhood and
forced her to marry as a child.

(source: Yemen Times)






INDONESIA:

Death-row bombers join Bali nine in 'right to live' plea


THE Bali bombers are claiming that all people have a "right to live" and
will join members of the Bali 9 in trying to overturn their death
penalties with a constitutional challenge.

Amrozi, dubbed the "smiling assassin", Ali Gufron and Imam Samudra, who
carried out the 2002 Bali bombings, will lodge their challenge to capital
punishment in Indonesia's Constitutional Court this month, their lawyer,
Mahendradatta, says.

He said their challenge was of the "same spirit" as that lodged by three
members of the Bali 9 heroin ring on death row, Scott Rush, Andrew Chan
and Myuran Sukumaran. The challenges were likely to be joined together in
one case.

The Constitutional Court last month asked for further submissions from
lawyers for Chan, Rush and Sukumaran to clarify whether constitutional
provisions apply to foreigners before beginning formal hearings. The 3 men
are claiming that Indonesia's constitution guarantees the right to life,
so executions must be outlawed.

The other 3 members of the Bali nine on death row have decided to appeal
to Indonesia's Supreme Court.

The constitutional move is the Bali bombers' last legal avenue to avoid
firing squads, with a final Supreme Court appeal against their convictions
set to be dismissed.

They have claimed they were ready to die as martyrs, but have tried
repeatedly to delay or overturn their sentences.

Mr Mahendradatta said the use of firing squads was akin to torture. "In
our clients' point of view there is still a possibility that someone may
still be alive after being shot. It is torture. Torture is unacceptable
for whatever reason.

"As you know, they are prepared to accept the death sentence. The problem
is with the way the execution is performed."

He then admitted the challenge would be against the death penalty itself,
rather than just the method of execution. "We support the right to live,"
he said.

The resort to the Constitutional Court came after the bombers learnt that
judges from Bali's Denpasar District Court have recommended that their
appeals against their death sentences be rejected. The judges will deliver
their recommendation to Indonesia's Supreme Court, which is expected to
endorse the decision later this month.

(source: The Age)

[Rick Halperin]

March 2


MOROCCO:

Royal pardon to 8,836 inmates, commutation of sentence to 24,218 on birth
of princess Lalla Khadija

On the occasion of the birth, Wednesday, of Princess Lalla Khadija,
daughter of king Mohammed VI, the monarch granted his pardon to 8,836
inmates, and decided to commute the sentences rendered against 24,218
prisoners. In the most important pardon since the one granted to 10,000
inmates in 2005 on the 50th anniversary of the independence of Morocco,
Thursday's pardon will liberate 1,365 youths, under 20, 278 foreigners, 53
pregnant or breastfeeding women, or those accompanied by their children,
63 patients and disabled, and 167 aged people, said a press release of the
Justice Ministry.

The pardon will also benefit 11 prisoners among the 133 persons sentenced
to capital punishment that Morocco counts. These will have their sentence,
which, anyway, has not been executed in Morocco since 1994, commuted to a
life sentence, the press release added.

The commutation also touched 139 foreigners from different nationalities,
and 30 life-sentence inmates who saw their prison term limited to 30
years.

A large royal pardon had benefited, in mid-April 2005, some 7,179 inmates
on the occasion of the circumcision of Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan, in
perpetuation of the royal tradition of granting pardon on religious
holidays or in celebration of some special events.

(source: Maghreb Arabe Press)






IRAQ:

Outrage over Imminent Execution of Iraqi Women


3 young women accused of joining the Iraqi insurgency movement and
engaging in "terrorism" have been sentenced to death, provoking protest
from rights organisations fearing that this could be the start of more
executions of women in post-Saddam Hussein's Iraq.

The execution of the three -- Wassan Talib, Zaineb Fadhil and Liqa Omar
Muhammad -- and a fourth, Samar Sa'ad 'Abdullah, found guilty of murdering
five members of her family, are scheduled to begin Mar. 3, according a
member of the BRussells Tribunal.

All four are being held in the Khadamiya female prison in northern
Baghdad.

One of the three alleged "terrorists", Muhammad, 25, gave birth to a
daughter after her arrest and is still nursing the child in prison. A 2nd,
Talib, 31, is also in prison with her 3-year-old child, according to
Amnesty International.

Talib and Fadhil, 25, were sentenced to death by the Central Criminal
Court of Iraq (CCCI) on 31 August 2006 for the 2005 murder of several
members of Iraqi security forces in the Baghdad district of Hay al-Furat.
Both women denied any involvement. Fadhil reportedly claimed that she was
abroad at the time of the alleged killings, according to Amnesty
International.

Muhammad was sentenced to death on 6 February 2006 by the CCCI, for
kidnapping an official from the 'Green Zone' in 2005, according to sources
in the Iraqi Lawyers' Union. Her husband is said to have been detained and
accused of the same crime.

It is not known whether the three alleged "terrorists" will lodge appeals.
But while this is possible, it is unlikely they will be successful without
their own legal representation, according to sources.

An appeal by Abdullah was earlier rejected and she faces imminent
execution, according to Amnesty International.

Many lawyers here are interpreting the death sentences on the three
alleged "terrorists" as an attempt by the Iraqi regime to intimidate
insurgents. 2 of those sentenced to death -- Fadhil and Mohammad -- were
accused of joining their husbands and 2 members of their families in their
alleged crimes, according to the Iraqi Lawyers' Union.

Some Iraqis here have openly expressed surprise and disbelief that these
women could have been involved in any insurgency.

It was a question of honour for Iraqi men that their women did not
participate in any form of violence, they told IPS.

Independent lawyers have expressed strong criticism of the trials, saying
they were "unfair" and violated international conventions.

The accused were denied the right of legal defence, Walid Hayali, a
lawyer, said. He was barred from representing the three in court, he
added.

"No lawyer was given the opportunity to do his job," a close friend of
Talib confirmed to IPS.

But the right to independent legal representation was guaranteed under
international law, lawyers here said.

The passing of a death sentence on the mother of a newly born child was
also in violation of a specific UN safeguard, they added.

Iraqis questioned here said they believed the executions, if allowed to
take place, would raise the level of violence across Iraq.

"This won't go unpunished," Fadhil Aziz, 40, from the Amiriya district in
Baghdad told IPS.

"The U.S. and their Iraqi collaborators must pay for the crimes they are
committing against our honour," he warned.

The impending executions are likely to increase the exodus of Iraqis out
of the country.

"I am taking my family anywhere in the world rather than staying here and
facing this," Abi Muhannad, an Iraqi teacher from the Kadhamiya district
in Baghdad told IPS.

The UN estimates that some two million Iraqis have already fled the
country. Approximately 50,000 are leaving every month, threatening to
overwhelm other Middle Eastern countries, particularly Syria, Jordan and
Lebanon.

Approximately one million are today living in Syria and up to 750,000 in
Jordan, according to the UN High Commission of Refugees.

Roughly 40 percent of Iraq's middle class is believed to have fled the
country since the U.S. invasion in 2003, according to the UN.

After the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime, the American occupation
authorities suspended the death penalty. But in August 2004, the new
interim Iraqi government reinstated it for crimes including murder,
kidnapping and threats to national security. In October 2005 a tough new
anti-terrorism law was introduced, setting capital punishment for
"proving, planning, financing and enabling" terrorism.

Last year Iraqi courts sentenced 235 people to death and over 6,000 to
life imprisonment, according to the London daily al-Sharq al-Awsat.

There are over 2,000 women classified as "security detainees", according
to Mohamed Khorshid, quoted by the newspaper.

It is not known for certain how many have been executed since August 2004,
but it is believed the figure is between 50 and 100. During 2006 at least
65 men and women were executed by the Iraqi government, including former
Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.

(source: IPS)

************************

Update on actions to stop the execution of three Iraqi women


Statement by Hana Albayaty, Ian Douglas, Abdul Ilah Albayaty, Iman
Saadoon, Dirk Adriaensens and Ayse Berktay

END THIS CRIME NOW!

Update on actions to stop the execution of 3 Iraqi women

On 14 February we launched an appeal to halt the summary execution of
three Iraqi women. Hundreds signed our statement, including numerous
organizations, and demonstrations have taken place in Istanbul, Ankara,
Rabat, Berlin and Stockholm, among other cities.

Wassan Talib (31), Zainab Fadhil (25) and Liqa Omar Muhammad (26) were
reportedly sentenced to death on charges that amount to supporting the
legitimate and legal popular resistance to occupation in Iraq.

We issue this statement now to highlight that the situation in Iraq
inaugurated and sustained by a defeated occupation and its local sectarian
puppet forces makes the defence of human rights practically impossible.

In Baghdad in particular, some individuals that we are regularly in
contact with, and others that were contacted for this specific case,
report facing the same situation, one so volatile that they cannot even
verify the whereabouts or wellbeing of their own families. Unable to move,
or else fleeing for their lives en masse amidst the murderous Bush-Maliki
surge, Iraqis are enduring waves of military repression and violence.

We tried to reach the families of the three women and their lawyer. We
tried to verify their convictions, the charges on which they were
convicted, and their wellbeing or status. We tried to verify the date of
their prospective executions, and ascertain if an appeals process is
underway. Until now, despite efforts along numerous channels (including
contacting legal organizations in Iraq directly, along with human rights
practitioners), no information has been forthcoming from within or outside
Iraq.

We continue to work on the assumption that our information is credible:
that the women may be executed as early as Saturday, 3 March 2007. We ask
people of conscience everywhere to continue their mobilization and bring
pressure on detaining authorities - both the Iraqi government and the
occupation- to release information on the three women and free them. We
call for similar pressure to be placed on human rights actors to
intervene.

Summary executions and arbitrary detention are high crimes under
international law for which the occupation must be held accountable. We
should intensify our protests and support all actions against this
occupation in order to be millions in the street by 20 March 2007.

It is our moral duty to end this crime now!

Hana Albayaty

Ian Douglas

Abdul Ilah Albayaty

Iman Saadoon

Dirk Adriaensens

Ayse Berktay

* Selected statements and actions against the imminent execution of 3
Iraqi women can be found on:
http://www.brusselstribunal.org/HangingActions.htm

* List of endorsers:
http://www.brusselstribunal.org/hangingSignatories.htm

* Original statement Hanging the Womb of Iraq can be found on:
http://www.brusselstribunal.org/hanging.htm

[Rick Halperin]

March 3



RWANDA:

Csos Want Death Penalty Scrapped


Local civil society groups under the Umbrella 'Collectif des Ligues et
Association de Defense des Droits de l'Homme au Rwanda' (CLADHO) are in
full support of the government's bid to scrap the death penalty in Rwanda.
CLADHO Executive Secretary Silas Sinyigaya said the organisation had
carried out a research, with the majority of the respondents, who are
death sentence convicts held at the Mpanga Prison, supporting the
scrapping of the death penalty.

"In accordance to the International Declaration of Human Rights, Article
3, CLADHO is totally against the death penalty," Sinyigaya said.

He was speaking to The New Times at Hotel Alpha Palace on March 1, shortly
after making a presentation of CLADHO's research on Attitudes and Opinions
of the Rwandan population on the death penalty and capital punishment.

"We started the research in November 2006 by taking a random sample of
2,000 people from five provinces of Rwanda. Therefore, a total number of
10,000 people were asked to present their views and opinions on death
penalty. 57% of the total respondents were against death penalty while the
only remaining 43 % supported it," Sinyigaya added.

Jules Nahimana, CLADHO's Programme Manager for HIV/Aids and Human Rights,
who was also involved in the research, said that 112 out of the 814 death
sentence convicts at Mpanga Prison supported the scrapping of the death
penalty.

He said 66% of the respondents were convicted for Genocide-related crimes
while 34% were for other capital crimes.

Betty Mujawayezu, a member of Association Rwandais pour la defense des
Droits de la Personne et de Liberts Publiques (ADL), said: "Everybody
deserves a right to live. Nobody should aim at killing; it is the work of
God to take away life."

Sinyigaya said CLADHO started in 1993 to spearhead efforts to counter
human rights abuses during the war.

"There was need for local civil society organisations to combine efforts
by working together in the promotion of human rights," he explained.

CLADHO is made up of five local civil society organisations: Kanyarwanda
a.s.b.l, Association Rwandais pour la defense des Droits de la Personne et
de Liberts Publiques (ADL), Ligues Pour la Promotion des Droits de
l'Hommes au Rwanda (LIPRODH)O, Association des volontaires pour le Paix
(AVP), and Association Rwandais des Droits de l'Hommes (ARDHO).

After the presentation of CLADHO's research, participants recommended
that, among others, support be extended to the government in its endeavour
to scrap the death penalty and efforts to seek alternative punitive
measures, as well as putting in place measures to indemnify Genocide
survivors.

The function was attended by, among others, representatives from the
European Union, Action Aid, the Judiciary, the umbrella workers'
association CESTRAR, and the Ministry of Information in the Prime
Minister's Office.

Recently, the government waived the death penalty for suspects transferred
from the Arusha, Tanzania-based International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
(ICTR) to face trial in the country. If the death penalty is scrapped
altogether, Rwanda would be the fourteenth country in Africa to do away
with capital punishment.

(source: The New Times)





Rights body wants Morocco abolish death penalty


The chairman of the Human Rights Advisory Council (CCDH), Driss Benzekri,
has called for the abolition of death penalty in Morocco.

Benzekri was speaking in an interview published in Arabic on Thursday by
the Daily "Asharq Al-Awsat", which is printed in Casablanca.

"We want the death penalty to be abolished and with the support of his
Highness King Mohammed VI, its absolute ban should be registered in the
Constitution," Benzekri said.

Moroccan courts have been issuing death sentences but none of these
sentences has been enforced since 1994, the year when a police
superintendent was executed for multiple rape.

(source: Angola Press)






INDIA:

Army court awards death penalty to jawan


In Srinagar, an army court has awarded death sentence to a jawan who had
shot dead his senior officer at Nishat here following an altercation last
year, a defence spokesman said yesterday.

Sepoy K.C. Behra was awarded death sentence by the General Court Martial
last week for killing his senior officer and company commander Lt. Colonel
Saket Saxena on October 31, 2006, the spokesman said.

He said the sentence was subject to confirmation by the chief of army
staff and Central government.

It is perhaps for the 1st time that an army jawan has been given death
sentence for killing an officer.

Although no one from the army was willing to comment on the quantum of
sentence, it is widely believed that the jawan was given the harshest
punishment in order to arrest the trend of fratricide in armed forces.

Last year, security forces including the army, witnessed several
fratricide incidents, in which distressed jawans shot dead their
colleagues and officers, and also committed suicide.

(source: Khaleej Times)






CZECH REPUBLIC:

Peaceful rally in support of medics on death row starts in Prague


A peaceful rally has started in Prague in support of 5 Bulgarian nurses
and a Palestinian doctor sentenced to death in Libya, BNR reported. The
rally is organized by Amnesty International Czech Republic and
Vazrazhdane Civil Association of Bulgarians in Prague. The associations
chairperson Maria Zaharieva said the participants in the rally were
signing a petition, which they would submit to the Libyan embassy in
Prague. Central Czech media have shown interest in the event.

(source: Focus News Agency)






GLOBAL:

Campaign to discontinue teen executions moved up notch----Former Miss
Canada says 23 others on death row need international help; Nazanin
Afshin-Jam escaped Iran as a child to become Miss Canada, a performing
artist and activist for her countrymen and women


A human rights campaign launched by a former Miss Canada and Iranian
native Nazanin Afshin-Jam on behalf of an Iranian teen sentenced to death
for defending herself from rape is being taken to the next level, because
of nearly two dozen other teens still sitting on Iran's death row.

"We've actually taken it up a notch," Afshin-Jam told WND in an interview.
"We're trying to deal with the problem from the root, and make changes in
the laws and practices in Iran, specifically concerning minors, those who
have been convicted of offenses before the age of 18."

Nazanin Afshin-Jam, a rising performing star working with the
international entertainment giant Bodog Music, got involved with Nazanin
Fatehi's case because of their shared name, and her escape from Iran as a
child.

The year-long campaign included a petition signed by more than 350,000
people, speeches and rallies around the world and mobilization of the
International Committee Against Execution, Amnesty International, the
European Union and Canada's Parliament, and culminated in the special
presentation of "The Tale of Two Nazanins."

The performing star had announced a short time ago that her efforts were
successful in obtaining a retrial and release of the Iranian teen.

"My namesake Nazanin was 17 years old when she was sentenced to death by
the Iranian Courts for stabbing one of three men who attempted to rape her
and her 15 year-old niece," Afshin-Jam announced. "The injustice of this
case propelled me to start a petition and campaign to help save her life"

Nazanin Mahabad Fatehi was sentenced to death for defending herself from
rape, then released

After the defendant Nazanin was released, she told interviewers, through a
translator, that her freedom is "like a new birthday." Her lawyer, Mr.
Mostafaei, also reported she said she wanted to return to school and
regain her life. The release was conditioned on the payment of about
$43,000 bail money, which Afshin-Jam also helped raise.

"When I heard the news of my death sentence I was devastated. I wished to
die [rather] than being executed. While in prison I received some news of
the activities for my freedom. If it wasn't for all the efforts on my
behalf, I would not have been released," Fatehi said.

Now, Afshin-Jam said, a new Help Nazanin website is being assembled to
carry the campaign forward on behalf of other teens facing execution in
Iran.

"We're going to have a petition up which people can sign. They can support
this campaign. We're also going to have pictures, the stories of each of
the 23 individuals who are up on death row, where we can get them," she
said.

Afshin-Jam told WND that Iran's internal laws, which call for execution
for a variety of seemingly justifiable actions, are those used by the
court system to decide such cases.

The goals of the expanded campaign are twofold, she said. "We have seen
that whenever there are cases with a lot of international pressure, the
Iranian officials are forced to speak on some level, forced to provide a
proper trial."

Secondly, the laws of Iran need to be changed, she said. "Iran is
signatory to international conventions which forbid them to execute
juveniles and yet they continue to do so," said Afshin-Jam.

Fatehi echoed the concerns for others. "There are so many innocent inmates
in prison but there is nothing that they can do. Many innocent people have
beenin prison for years, and still unsure of their cases' outcome. Shahla
Jaahed, Zahra and many others there were sentenced to death," she said.

She raised the issue of Delara Darabi, 20, who was sentenced to death,
like she was, at age 17. Darabi is an artist who has used paintings to
express her feelings, and Afshin-Jam said the art will be featured on the
new website.

As a result of the international pressure assembled in this case, the
Iranian Head of Judiciary Ayatollah Shahroudi announced a stay of
execution and new trial, which happened just weeks ago. Those 5 judges
found "inconsistencies" with the testimonies of the witnesses and
overturned the conviction.

The bail money was required because the court also concluded while Fatethi
acted in self-defense, it ruled excessive force was used.

"Iran is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights and also the Charter of the Rights of the Child, which forbid the
execution of persons under the age of 18, although Iran continues to do
so. We must get to the root of the problem and put pressure on the Iranian
officials to change the laws once and for all," the artist said.

She said the issue is that Iranians had become accustomed to freedoms
during the years before the violent revolution in which the Shah of Iran
was overthrown and radical Islamics took control.

"It's not a matter of convincing people [that freedom is good]," the
artist said. "They want their fundamental rights and freedoms. They are
counting on the international community to help them bring change and
quality.

"I believe that they truly need the help and support of those from
outside, to bring publicity, attention, worldwide attention, to human
rights violations in Iran on a daily basis," she said. "Seventy percent of
the people in Iran are under the age of 30. They all want democracy, they
want to elect the person that decides. They are so eager, yearning for
this so hard."

Afshin-Jam was born in Tehran during the Iranian Revolution of 1979, and
shortly after her family fled, leaving all their worldly possessions
behind, after her father had been jailed and tortured by the Revolutionary
Guard.

Music always was a large part of the family's life, and her debut album,
"Someday," is expected to be released in April. She sings in English,
French and Persian.

During her college years she was a Royal Canadian Air Cadet and obtained
her pilot's license, while studying International Relations and Political
Science in Canada, Great Britain and France.

She volunteered with the Red Cross to raise awareness on issues such as
children affected by war, and entered the pageant to enlarge her platform.

For her work on the Iranian case, she was given the "Hero for Human
Rights" award from Artists for Human Rights at the United Nations.

(source: WorldNetDaily)

[Rick Halperin]

March 7


VIETNAM:

Save dad from death penalty----Luong Le Manh faces being shot by a firing
squad


A CAMPAIGN has been launched to save a mentally unstable man from
receiving the death penalty in Vietnam.

Luong Le Manh, of Ryan Close, Kidbrooke, has been tried and convicted of
trafficking heroin through Vietnam into Hong Kong.

He is now appealing to the country's supreme court.

The charity Reprieve, which works for British nationals on death row, has
launched a campaign on his behalf.

It is attempting to have the death penalty commuted to life in prison due
to his mental health.

Although doctors in Vietnam found Le Manh did have mental problems, they
refused to allow the British Embassy access to his file and did not
specify what kind of issues he faced.

Le Manh suffered severe brain damage at the age of 7 during the Vietnam
War, when a bomb hit his former home and killed his 2 brothers.

Reprieve case worker Denise Eastlake claims his family reported numerous
strange occurrences during his trial.

Denise Eastlake from Reprieve is dealing with Luong Le Manh's case

Thanh Le, Mr Le Manh's niece, told the charity he seemed unable to follow
the proceedings.

He was heard asking questions in court such as "what is heroin?" and "what
is a weapon?"

Ms Le has been supporting him since he was arrested on June 25, 2004, and
believes the intensity of the trial pushed him over the edge.

Ms Le believes his lack of coherence was not taken seriously by the judge
during the proceedings, sometimes causing bouts of laughter among those
behind the bench and in the gallery His appeal is expected to be heard in
the next couple of weeks.

Should the appeal fail, 46-year-old Le Manh will have 7 days to ask the
Vietnamese President for clemency, otherwise he will face a firing squad.

Le Manh, who fled Vietnam in the early 1980s, arrived in London in 1983.

He worked as a car mechanic and has two British sons along with an
extended family, all of whom still live in Kidbrooke.

His niece, from Kidbrooke, claims his mental health has worsened since he
was convicted and sentenced to death on November 25 last year.

She said: "He is an incredibly funny and caring man and a wonderful uncle.

"He always encouraged me to study hard. He was the one who pushed me to go
to university.

"I now have a career and I have him to thank."

Le Manh's family also say he has suffered severe cuts and swelling due to
the fact his wrists, ankles and legs have been shackled almost permanently
since he arrived in jail.

Greenwich and Woolwich MP Nick Raynsford said: "I have contacted the
Foreign Office, which has confirmed that in line with our opposition to
the death penalty in all circumstances, it has made representations
against its imposition in this case.I"

He added: "I am also pleased Ian McCartney, the minister responsible for
relations with Vietnam, has written to the Vietnamese Deputy Prime
Minister and will continue to monitor developments closely."

According to Reprieve, there are 11 British nationals on death row around
the world, including Le Manh.

(source: The (UK) News Shopper)






BANGLADESH:


URGENT ACTION APPEAL
----------------------------------

07 March 2007
UA 57/07 Death penalty/imminent execution

BANGLADESH
Shayek Abdur Rahman (m)
Siddikul Islam alias Bangla Bhai (m)
Four other men


Six men, including the two named above, were sentenced to
death in May 2006 for involvement in setting off bombs. All
their appeals have been rejected, and the President rejected
a petition for clemency on 4 March. They could now be hanged
at any time, though the President does still have the power
to stop the executions and commute their sentences.

The six are members of the banned Islamist group Jamiat-ul-
Mojahedin Bangladesh (JMB). The authorities have accused the
group of involvement in a series of bomb blasts and other
attacks since at least 2003. Those targeted included members
of the judiciary, journalists, civil society activists, and
places of popular entertainment including cinemas.

The six men were tried and sentenced to death for
involvement in an attack that killed two judges in the city
of Jhalokathi in November 2005. In August 2006 the High
Court in Jhalokathi rejected their automatic appeal.


BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Prisoners sentenced to death in Bangladesh have an automatic
appeal hearing before the High Court. If this fails they can
also lodge additional appeals with the High Court. They can
then appeal to the Supreme Court, and after that they have
the right to appeal to the President for clemency.
Executions are carried out after all these appeals have been
exhausted.

The number of prisoners sentenced to death has increased in
recent years. In 2005, at least 217 men and one woman were
sentenced to death, and at least three men were executed by
hanging.

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases
as a violation of the right to life and the right not to be
subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, as
proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The death penalty is an inherently unjust and arbitrary
punishment, however heinous the crime for which it is
inflicted. Studies globally have shown that it is more
likely to be imposed on those who are poorer, less educated
and from marginalized segments of society. The death penalty
is irrevocable, yet the risk of error in its application is
inescapable. Amnesty International recognizes the need to
combat violent crime, but the death penalty has never been
shown to deter crime more effectively than other punishments.


RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly
as possible:
- saying that Amnesty International recognizes the gravity
of the offences of which Shayek Abdur Rahman, Siddikul Islam
Bangla Bhai and four other men have been convicted, but
opposes the death penalty in all cases, as it violates the
most fundamental right of every human being, the right to
life;
- urging the president to commute the men's death sentences;
- urging the president to call for a moratorium on
executions, with a view to abolition of the death penalty,
in line with the April 2005 UN Commission on Human Rights
resolution on the question of the death penalty.


APPEALS TO:
President Iajuddin Ahmed
President Office
Bangabhaban
Dhaka
Bangladesh
Fax: 011 8802 9566593
Salutation: Dear Mr President


COPIES TO:
Ambassador Shamsher M. Chowdhury
Embassy of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
3510 International Drive NW
Washington DC 20008
Fax: [phone]
Email: ***@bangladoot.org

Please send appeals immediately. Check with the AIUSA Urgent
Action office if sending appeals after 18 April 2007.

Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots movement
that promotes and defends human rights.

This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept intact, including
contact information and stop action date (if applicable).
Thank you for your help with this appeal.

Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
600 Pennsylvania Ave SE 5th fl
Washington DC 20003
Email: ***@aiusa.org
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

----------------------------------
END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
----------------------------------

[Rick Halperin]

URGENT ACTION APPEAL
----------------------------------

08 March 2007
UA 59/07 Death penalty/imminent execution

IRAN
Mohebbat Mahmoudi (f), aged 45


A Kurdish woman, Mohebbat Mahmoudi, was convicted of murder
and sentenced to death in 2004. The Supreme Court has
reportedly upheld her death sentence, which was reportedly
announced to her some time between 12 and 17 February, and
she is now at imminent risk of execution.

Mohebbat Mahmoudi, from Oroumiye, West Azarbaijan province,
was arrested in April or May 2001 in connection with the
murder of a man whose name was reported only as ''Hatam M''.
On 1 April 2004, the Oroumiye General Court found her guilty
of murder and sentenced her to death (as qesas or
''retribution in kind''). The appeal court of West
Azarbaijan province upheld this verdict, as did the Supreme
Court.

Mohebbat Mahmoudi's lawyer reportedly did not represent her
adequately at the trial.

Under Iranian law, the family of a murder victim may accept
compensation (diyeh, or ''blood money'') in lieu of
execution. The family in this case has reportedly rejected
this option. However, the judiciary's Council for the
Resolution of Differences (in Persian, the Shoura-ye Hal-e
Ekhtelaf) is empowered to mediate between the families of
the victim and of the prisoner, with a view to having the
victim's family come to an agreement to forgo their right to
retribution and accept the payment of blood money. This body
appears to have not been called, though they are known to
have intervened in a number of other high-profile cases..

Similarly, the judiciary's Amnesty and Clemency Commission
(Komisyon-e 'Afv va Bakhshoudegi) is empowered to examine
cases in order to recommend a pardon or the reduction of a
given sentence. This body appears not to have been consulted
in this case.

Mohebbat Mahmoudi is married and has several children.


BACKGROUND INFORMATION
In 2006, at least 177 people were executed in Iran, at least
four of whom were women. At least four of them were under 18
at the time of the alleged offence, including one who was
under 18 at the time of execution. Two people were
reportedly stoned to death. Sentences of flogging,
amputation and eye-gouging were passed, though these have
always attracted international condemnation. The true
numbers of those executed or subjected to corporal
punishment were probably considerably higher than those
reported.


RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly
as possible:
- stating that Amnesty International recognizes the right
and responsibility of governments to bring to justice those
suspected of criminal offences, but opposes the death
penalty as the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading
punishment;
- urging parliamentarians from Oroumiye and the head of
Office for Diyeh and Assistance to Needy Prisoners to refer
the case of Mohebbat Mahmoudi to both the Council for the
Resolution of Differences and the Amnesty and Clemency
Commission, to examine whether effective defense was
provided to Mohabbat Mahmoudi at the first trial, with a
view to commuting the death sentence.


APPEALS TO:
Office for Diyeh and Assistance to Needy Prisoners:
Setad-e Diyeh va Komak be Zendaniyan-e Niyazmand
Executive Director, Yahya Soltani
Artesh Street, opposite Jihad-e Khane Sazi, Central Building
Oroumiye, Islamic Republic of Iran

Parliamentary representatives for Oroumiye:
Javad Jahangirzadeh, Mohammad Abbaspour and Abed Fatahi
Majles-e Shoura-ye Eslami
Baharestan Square
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: [phone]
e-mail: ***@majlis.ir (in the subject line, please
write: ''For the attention of Oroumiye representatives'')
Salutation: Dear Sirs


COPIES TO:
Head of the Judiciary:
His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Ministry of Justice
Park-e Shahr
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: [phone] (Mark: ''Please forward to HE
Ayatollah Shahroudi'')
Salutation: Your Excellency

Acting Director, Oroumiye Prison:
Morad Fatahi, Acting Director
Oroumiye Central Prison
Darya Street
Oroumiye, Islamic Republic of Iran

Iran does not presently have an embassy in this country.
Instead, please send copies to:
Iranian Interests Section
2209 Wisconsin Ave NW
Washington DC 20007
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: ***@daftar.org


Please send appeals immediately. Check with the AIUSA Urgent
Action office if sending appeals after 19 April 2007.

Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots movement
that promotes and defends human rights.

This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept intact, including
contact information and stop action date (if applicable).
Thank you for your help with this appeal.

Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
600 Pennsylvania Ave SE 5th fl
Washington DC 20003
Email: ***@aiusa.org
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

----------------------------------
END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
----------------------------------

[Rick Halperin]

March 9



BULGARIA:

BULGARIA'S NURSES COULD RETURN HOME EVEN IF DEATH SENTENCES CONFIRMED


Even if Libya's Supreme Court confirmed the previously issued death
sentences of the Bulgarian nurses charged with intentional HIV infection,
they could return home, foreign affairs committee secretary of the Libyan
general peoples congress Suleiman Shahoumi said.

Shahoumi met representatives of Bulgarian non-governmental organisations
to discuss the trial, Bulgarian National Radio reported.

According to Shahoumi four factors hindered developments and the fast
conclusion of the trial.

One of the hindrances was the resolution that European Parliament adopted,
calling for the freedom of the nurses and the Palestinian medic sentenced
to death on the same charges.

The You Are Not Alone campaign carried out in support of the nurses in
Bulgaria also affected the trial negatively, Shahoumi said.

Such populist media campaigns affected negatively public opinion in Libya
and the traditionally good relations between the 2 countries, Shahoumi
said.

The tragedy of the children infected with HIV in the country was huge,
Shahoumi said, and more international aid should be provided for their
treatment.

Shahoumi said that hopefully a mutually-acceptable agreement will be
found.

(source: Sofia Echo)

**********************

Senior Libyan official says medics' death sentences wont be carried out


Even if the death sentences on the medics are confirmed, they won't be
carried out, but ways to bring the nurses back to Bulgaria will be
sought," Secretary for Foreign Affairs in Libya's General People's
Congress Sulaiman Shahumi said at a meeting with Bulgarian
non-governmental organizations. Dr. Hristo Dunchev, member of the Science
Council of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, told about the meeting with
Shahumi at a press conference in Sofia, a journalist of FOCUS News Agency
reported.

Last Friday the Secretary for Foreign Affairs voiced that stand at a
meeting with Bulgarians, who were taking part in a scientific symposium in
Libya. Sulaiman Shahumi said that a few factors had a negative impact on
the trial and could lead to an unfavorable outcome for both sides. The 1st
factor is the resolution in support of the medics, which the European
Parliament approved on January 18 and which was a serious interference
with the interior affairs of Libya. The other obstacles are the trial
against the Bulgarian nurses' torturers, the campaign "You are not alone"
and the mess about the fund for treatment of HIV infected children.
Sulaiman Shahumi expressed his confidence that a favorable solution would
be reached.

"We understand quite well that death will not bring our children back,"
Shahumi said.

(source: Focus News Agency)






KYRGYZSTAN:

Judges Ignore Death Penalty Ban


Even though a new constitution passed 2 months ago abolished capital
punishment in Kyrgyzstan, judges are still handing down death sentences
because of discrepancies that mean it still exists in the criminal code.

At a meeting with the Norwegian Helsinki Committee on March 3, Kyrgyz
justice minister Marat Kayipov announced that courts must review the cases
of death-row prisoners and order new sentences in light of constitutional
changes abolishing capital punishment.

On December 30, Kyrgyzstan adopted a new constitution stating in article
14 that "no one in the Kyrgyz Republic can be deprived of life," thus
doing away with the states right to execute convicts.

The same day, President Kurmanbek Bakiev prolonged a moratorium on the
death penalty, first introduced in 1998, with the aim of removing it from
the criminal code altogether.

Despite the ban on executions, observers say death sentences are still
being passed.

On Janurary 26 this year, Bishkek's Lenin district court issued the death
sentence to a defendant charged with murder, reports Lira Ismailova of the
Citizens Against Corruption group.

"Since 2005, various courts have passed around 20 death sentences,"
Ombudsman Tursunbay Bakir Uulu told NBCentralAsia. "The death penalty has
been suspended in Kyrgyzstan, but there is no ban in [criminal]
legislation."

According to minister Kayipov, the continued practice of ordering the
death penalty reflects a lack of competence among some judges.

"The fact that judges continue to sentence criminals to death demonstrates
their ignorance," he said. "It means they haven't read the constitution."

Aziza Abdurasulova, director of the human rights centre Kylym Shamy, says
the criminal code should be brought into line with the constitution and an
alternative to the death penalty such as life sentence should be clearly
defined.

"As soon as the death penalty is removed from the criminal code, the
future of those now sentenced to death will be affected," said
Abdurasulova. "So the question of what life imprisonment means needs to be
addressed."

Despite the justice minister's call for a review of death-row cases, some
NBCentralAsia observers point out that strictly speaking, this is not
possible under current laws. Lawyer Nina Zotova explained that the right
to appeal to a higher court was abolished in February 2003 for death
penalty cases.


(source: MuslimUzbekistan.net)