Saudi Arabia eliminates death penalty for minors

Source: Channel News Asia (27 April 2020)

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/saudi-arabia-eliminates-death-penalty-for-minors-12679054

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Sunday (Apr 26) ended the death penalty for crimes committed by minors after effectively abolishing floggings as the kingdom seeks to blunt criticism over its human rights record.

The reforms underscore a push by de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to modernise the ultra-conservative kingdom long associated with a fundamentalist strain of Wahhabi Islam.

The death penalty has been eliminated for those convicted of crimes committed while they were minors, Human Rights Commission president Awwad Alawwad said in a statement, citing a royal decree.

"Instead, the individual will receive a prison sentence of no longer than 10 years in a juvenile detention facility," the statement said.

The decree is expected to spare the lives of at least six men from the minority Shiite community who are on death row.

The were accused of taking part in anti-government protests during the Arab Spring uprisings while they were under the age of 18.

United Nations human rights experts made an urgent appeal to Saudi Arabia last year to halt plans to execute them.

"This is an important day for Saudi Arabia," said Awwad Alawwad.

"The decree helps us in establishing a more modern penal code."

The kingdom has one of the world's highest rates of execution, with suspects convicted of terrorism, homicide, rape, armed robbery and drug trafficking facing the death penalty.

Saudi Arabia executed at least 187 people in 2019, according to a tally based on official data, the highest since 1995 when 195 people were put to death.

Since January, 12 people were executed, according to official data.

Human rights groups have repeatedly raised concerns about the fairness of trials in the kingdom, an absolute monarchy governed under a strict form of Islamic law.

On Saturday, the HRC announced Saudi Arabia had effectively abolished flogging as a punishment, which have long drawn condemnation from human rights groups.

The most high-profile instance of flogging in recent years was the case of Saudi blogger Raif Badawi who was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes in 2014 on charges of "insulting" Islam.

But "hudud" or harsher punishment under Islamic law such as floggings are still applicable for serious offences, a Saudi official said.

Hudud, which means "boundaries" in Arabic, is meted out for such sins as rape, murder or theft.

But "hudud" punishments are rarely meted out as many offences must be proved by a confession or be verified by several adult Muslim witnesses, the official added.

Death penalty in 2019: Facts and figures

Source: Amnesty International (21 April 2020)

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/04/death-penalty-in-2019-facts-and-figures/

Global death penalty figures

Amnesty International recorded 657 executions in 20 countries in 2019, a decrease of 5% compared to 2018 (at least 690). This is the lowest number of executions that Amnesty International has recorded in at least a decade.

Most executions took place in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Egypt – in that order.

China remained the world’s leading executioner – but the true extent of the use of the death penalty in China is unknown as this data is classified as a state secret; the global figure of at least 657 excludes the thousands of executions believed to have been carried out in China.

Excluding China, 86% of all reported executions took place in just four countries – Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Egypt.

Bangladesh and Bahrain resumed executions last year, after a hiatus in 2018. Amnesty International did not report any executions in Afghanistan, Taiwan and Thailand, despite having done so in 2018.

Executions in Iran fell slightly from at least 253 in 2018 to at least 251 in 2019. Executions in Iraq almost doubled from at least 52 in 2018 to at least 100 in 2019, while Saudi Arabia executed a record number of people from 149 in 2018 to 184 in 2019.

Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Kazakhstan, Kenya and Zimbabwe either took positive steps or made pronouncements in 2019 which may lead to the abolition of the death penalty.

Barbados also removed the mandatory death penalty from its Constitution. In the United States, the Governor of California established an official moratorium on executions in the US state with biggest death row population, and New Hampshire became the 21st US state to abolish the death penalty for all crimes.

Gambia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, the Russian Federation and Tajikistan continued to observe official moratoriums on executions.

At the end of 2019, 106 countries (a majority of the world’s states) had abolished the death penalty in law for all crimes, and 142 countries (more than two-thirds) had abolished the death penalty in law or practice.

Amnesty International recorded commutations or pardons of death sentences in 24 countries: Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Gambia, Ghana, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mauritania, Morocco/Western Sahara, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Singapore, Sudan, Thailand, UAE, USA, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

At least 11 exonerations of prisoners under sentence of death were recorded in two countries: USA and Zambia.

Amnesty International recorded at least 2,307 death sentences in 56 countries compared to the total of 2,531 reported in 54 countries in 2018. However, Amnesty did not receive information on official figures for death sentences imposed in Malaysia, Nigeria and Sri Lanka, countries that reported high official numbers of death sentences in previous years.

At least 26,604 people were known to be under sentence of death globally at the end of 2019.

The following methods of execution were used across the world in 2019: beheading, electrocution, hanging, lethal injection and shooting.

At least 13 public executions were recorded in Iran. At least six people – four in Iran, one in Saudi Arabia and one in South Sudan – were executed for crimes that occurred when they were below 18 years of age. People with mental or intellectual disabilities were under sentence of death in several countries, including Japan, Maldives, Pakistan and USA.

Death sentences were known to have been imposed after proceedings that did not meet international fair trial standards in countries including Bahrain, Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Malaysia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Viet Nam and Yemen.
Regional death penalty analysis

Americas

For the 11th consecutive year, the USA remained the only country to carry out executions in the region. Trinidad and Tobago was the only country to retain the mandatory death penalty for murder.

The number of executions (from 25 to 22) and death sentences (from 45 to 35) recorded in the US decreased compared to 2018.

More than 40% of all recorded executions were carried out in Texas, which remained the leading executing state in the country (from 13 to nine). Missouri carried out one execution in 2019 after none in the previous year. Conversely, Nebraska and Ohio did not put anyone to death in 2019 after carrying out executions in 2018 (one in each state).

Outside the USA, the progress towards ending the use of the death penalty continued. Barbados removed the mandatory death penalty from its constitution while Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, Guatemala, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Saint Lucia did not have anyone on death row and no reports of new death sentences.

Asia-Pacific

For the first time in almost a decade, the Asia-Pacific region saw a decrease in the number of executing countries, with seven countries carrying out executions during the year.

Without a figure for Viet Nam, the number of recorded executions (29) showed a slight decrease due to drops in Japan (from 15 to three) and Singapore (from 13 to four). This regional total, as in previous years, does not include the thousands of executions that were believed to have been carried out in China and is affected by ongoing secrecy in this country as well as in North Korea and Viet Nam.

Although Bangladesh resumed executions (two), hiatuses were reported in Afghanistan, Taiwan and Thailand, which all executed people in 2018. Malaysia continued to observe its official moratorium on executions established in July 2018.

Recorded executions in Pakistan in 2019 represented the same total as in the previous year with at least 14 men hanged in the country. Death sentences in the country increased significantly to at least 632, after additional courts became operational to deal with a backlog of cases.

The number of executions in Japan was down from 15 in 2018, when the country reported its highest yearly figure since 2008, to three in 2019. Two Japanese men were executed on 2 August and a Chinese national was executed on 26 December. All men had been convicted of murder.

Singapore reported 4 executions in 2019, from a record-high of 13 in 2018.

The Philippines attempted to reintroduce the death penalty for “heinous crimes related to illegal drugs and plunder”.

At least 1,227 new death sentences across 17 countries were known to have been imposed, a 12% increase compared to 2018.

Europe and Central Asia

At least two executions were recorded in Belarus in 2019, compared to at least four in 2018. The last time another country in the region carried out executions was in 2005.

Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation and Tajikistan continued to observe official moratoriums on executions. Kazakhstan also announced measures to start the process of joining the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which commits states to abolishing the death penalty.
Middle East and North Africa

The Middle East and North Africa region reported a 16% increase in the number of executions, from 501 in 2018 to 579 in 2019, bucking the trend that has seen a decline in the region’s recorded use of the death penalty since 2015.

This was mainly due to a sharp increase in the use of the death penalty in Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Iraq almost doubled the number of executions from at least 52 in 2018 to at least 100 in 2019, while Saudi Arabia executed a record number of people – 184 -- in 2019 compared to 149 people in 2018. Together with Iran, they accounted for 92% of the total number of recorded executions in the region.

Seven countries – Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Yemen – were known to have carried out executions last year.

There were 707 recorded death sentences in 2019, a 40% drop compared to 2018, when 1,170 death sentences were recorded in the region.

Egypt again imposed the most confirmed death sentences in the region, but the 2019 number (at least 435) was dramatically lower from at least 717 people sentenced to death in 2018. The number of death sentences the Iraqi authorities imposed during the course of the year was also significantly lower -- at least 87 in 2019 compared to at least 271 in 2018.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Four countries – Botswana, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan – carried out 25 executions in 2019. Overall recorded executions in the region increased by one compared to 2018.

For a second year in a row, South Sudan saw an alarming increase in executions, putting to death at least 11 people in 2019; the highest recorded number in any year since the country’s independence in 2011. Of the people executed, three were from the same family, one was a child at the time of the crime and was about 17 when he was sentenced to death.

Recorded death sentences rose by 53% from at least 212 in 2018 to 325 in 2019.

The number of countries that imposed death sentences increased to 18 from 17 recorded in 2018.

OPINION: Recent Death Penalty Execution Undermines Taiwan's International Reputation

Source: The News Lens (13 April 2020)

https://international.thenewslens.com/article/133720

At the center of Taiwan’s efforts to ameliorate its diplomatic isolation has been an effort to promote itself as one of Asia’s most progressive democracies, especially during President Tsai Ing-wen’s term. Following the legalization of same-sex marriage, the "Taiwan Can Help" and "Taiwan is Helping" campaigns of sending medical aid abroad have been the latest successes in winning international plaudits.

A recent execution and an ambiguous stance on death penalty abolition threaten to derail these efforts.

Weng Jen-hsien (翁仁賢) was executed by order of the Ministry of Justice on April 1. It had been a year and seven months since the last execution in Taiwan. Weng was convicted last year of setting a fire that killed his parents and four relatives during the Lunar New Year’s Eve holiday in 2016.

Taiwan's anti-death penalty community immediately expressed righteous indignation at the execution. The Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty (TAEDP) announced in a press release on April 3 its decision to quit the Gradual Death Penalty Abolition Research and Promotion Team of the Ministry of Justice, citing their abrogation of the rule of law.

The TAEDP said the Ministry of Justice paradoxically continues to carry out capital punishment based on a law that it regards as flawed. "This is not implementing the rule of law. This is disregarding the rule of law and is an illegal execution," the TAEDP wrote.

Minister of Justice Tsai Ching Hsiang (蔡清祥) responded that he only did what he had to do. He said he would continue promoting death penalty abolition, but would implement the death penalty judiciously while it is still legal.

When Premier Su Tseng Chang (蘇貞昌) said, "Confirmed death sentences should be carried out," during a legislative inquiry on October 25 last year, the TAEDP criticized his remark relentlessly. At that time, Premier Su cited Weng as an example of a criminal whose act was “heinous from heaven to earth.”

The execution has also aroused disapproval internationally. The European External Action Service (EEAS), the official diplomatic arm of the European Union, released a statement on April 3 condemning Weng’s crime and sympathizing with the families of the victims, while clarifying that the EU opposes the use of capital punishment under any circumstance.

"The death penalty is a cruel and inhumane punishment, which fails to act as a deterrent to crime and represents an unacceptable denial of human dignity and integrity," the EEAS statement read. It thereupon called on Taiwan to "refrain from any future executions" and to "pursue a consistent policy towards the abolition of the death penalty."

Taiwan is not the only country in which capital punishment is carried out. Many East Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, and China are still executing prisoners and have received criticism from international human rights organizations.

However, it seems more morally inconsistent for Taiwan to keep the death penalty on the books. Taiwan has sought to brand itself as one of Asia’s most progressive democracies.

Weng was the second inmate executed under the Tsai administration. The first execution was carried out in August 2018 when a 41-year-old man was put to death for killing his ex-wife and five-year-old daughter. There are currently 39 prisoners on death row.

Since the outbreak of Covid-19, Taiwan's strong response to the crisis has helped raise its international profile, with media reports saluting its response appearing by the dozen. It has also successfully scored a public relations victory by donating over 10 million face masks to countries in need.

It seems that Taiwan has mitigated its international isolation with its "Taiwan Can Help" and "Taiwan is Helping" campaign. But while expressions of gratitude abound for Taiwan, the recent execution and ambiguous stance on gradual death penalty abolition may quickly reverse any diplomatic gains.

Rights groups lament latest Taiwan execution

Source: Channel News Asia (3 April 2020)

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/rights-groups-lament-latest-taiwan-execution-12606560

TAIPEI: Rights activists on Friday (Apr 3) condemned Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen's government for executing a convicted murderer, saying the continued use of capital punishment undermined the island's progressive reputation.

Death row inmate Weng Jen-hsien, found guilty last year of setting a fire that killed his parents and four relatives in 2016, was executed by a firing squad on Wednesday, the justice ministry said.

Weng, 53, was the second man to be executed since Tsai came to power in 2016 despite a pledge to eventually abolish the death penalty.

The ministry described Weng's crime as "brutal and ruthless".

But it added: "Our policy is to gradually abolish the death penalty."

International and local rights groups urged Taiwan to immediately announce a moratorium on executions and set a timeline for complete abolition.
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"The government said its policy is to gradually abolish the death penalty but it took opposite action to carry out its second execution," Taiwan Association for Human Rights secretary general Shih Yi-Hsiang said.

"This is certainly a regression in human rights. Carrying out executions will not solve any problem," he told AFP.

Chiu E-Ling, director of Amnesty International Taiwan, accused the government of making a "cynical attempt to bury bad news" by carrying out the execution on the same day it announced the donation of 10 million face masks to countries hit hardest by the coronavirus.

The justice ministry statement announcing the execution was released late at night on Wednesday.

DICTATORSHIP TO DEMOCRACY

Over the last few decades Taiwan has morphed from a dictatorship to one of Asia's most progressive democracies.

Some rights groups and media organisations have even set up regional headquarters in Taiwan, primarily as a base to monitor more authoritarian China.

Tsai's Democratic Progressive Party successfully legalised same-sex marriage last year, making Taiwan the first place in Asia to do so.

But the death penalty remains on the books, with most surveys showing it is popular among the public.

Taiwan resumed capital punishment in 2010 after a five-year hiatus. There are currently 39 prisoners on death row.

The first execution under the Tsai administration was in August 2018 when a 41-year-old man was put to death for killing his ex-wife and five-year-old daughter.

In 2016 a former college student was executed for killing four people in a random stabbing spree on a subway that shocked the generally safe island.

Tsai won a landslide second term in January and will be inaugurated in May.