Source: SBS News (12 January 2022)
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/thou-shall-not-kill-death-penalty-to-be-abolished-in-papua-new-guinea/0efdc0db-6d4f-4a73-8cde-fe242591bbab?s=03
Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape says his government is doing away with the death penalty and those now on death row will instead serve life sentences without parole.
Mr Marape told members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church holding their 33rd synod in Port Moresby that PNG was a Christian nation and the death penalty was out of place.
"The Bible says thou shall not kill and the government has removed, by policy, the clause on the death penalty," PNG newspaper The National on Wednesday quoted him as saying.
"We are working on giving the maximum penalty to those who commit an offence and are sentenced to death.
"They will now receive life sentences without the possibility of parole," Mr Marape said.
Justice Minister Bryan Kramer last year said the death penalty would be reviewed.
Correctional Services Commissioner Stephen Pokanis told The National that 14 inmates in Bomana Prison in Port Moresby were on death row, while other prisons around the country also have death row inmates.
No executions have been carried out in PNG since 1954.
The death penalty was abolished in 1970 when PNG was under Australian administration ahead of independence in 1975 but it was reintroduced by the PNG government in 1991 for the crime of wilful murder.
Since then there has been a de facto moratorium on capital punishment.
Showing posts with label abolitionist de facto. Show all posts
Showing posts with label abolitionist de facto. Show all posts
Sunday, 16 January 2022
Tuesday, 17 April 2018
Death penalty soon to end ‘in practice’
Source: The Phuket News (16 April 2018)
https://www.thephuketnews.com/death-penalty-soon-to-end-in-practice-66779.php#hzZlc36ulrlctUgg.97
BANGKOK: Thailand will be one step closer to becoming a country that is no longer considered to have capital punishment next year, according to a definition which adopts a 10-year period for declaring a country execution-free in practice, says Amnesty International Thailand.
The group said it was pleased this criteria will likely be met, but added the country should go the whole way and revoke the death penalty entirely.
Amnesty International has recently released its 2017 global review of the death penalty, which shows its declining use in many regions around the world, such as Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, including Thailand where there has been no execution since 2009.
Last year, Thai courts ordered 75 executions, a decrease from 216 cases in 2016.
“We’re close to becoming a country that is free of executions in practice as recognised by the United Nations. If we can successfully do it, it will be significant to the country’s human rights development,” she said.
According to the Department of Corrections, as of December 2017, there were 502 prisoners in Thai jails who have been sentenced to death.
Ms Piyanut said that the country could go further by officially suspending the death sentence together with commuting the sentences of those who have received the death penalty but have yet to be executed.
Moreover, she said the country should ratify the Second Optional Protocol of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which is a binding international agreement to abolish the death penalty.
Amnesty International is committed to the unilateral abolishment of the death penalty on the grounds of human rights and humanitarianism, while there has been no correlation found between the use, or abolition, of capital punishment and crime rates, she said.
According to the Amnesty International report, there were least 993 executions in 23 countries in 2017, down by 4% from 2016 (1,032 executions) and 39% from 2015 (when the organisation reported 1,634 executions, the highest number since 1989).
At least 2,591 death sentences in 53 countries were recorded in 2017, a significant decrease from the record-high of 3,117 recorded in 2016.
Indonesia, which executed four people convicted of drug crimes in 2016, did not carry out any executions last year and reported a slight decrease in the number of death sentences imposed, the group’s report said.
https://www.thephuketnews.com/death-penalty-soon-to-end-in-practice-66779.php#hzZlc36ulrlctUgg.97
BANGKOK: Thailand will be one step closer to becoming a country that is no longer considered to have capital punishment next year, according to a definition which adopts a 10-year period for declaring a country execution-free in practice, says Amnesty International Thailand.
The group said it was pleased this criteria will likely be met, but added the country should go the whole way and revoke the death penalty entirely.
Amnesty International has recently released its 2017 global review of the death penalty, which shows its declining use in many regions around the world, such as Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, including Thailand where there has been no execution since 2009.
Last year, Thai courts ordered 75 executions, a decrease from 216 cases in 2016.
“We’re close to becoming a country that is free of executions in practice as recognised by the United Nations. If we can successfully do it, it will be significant to the country’s human rights development,” she said.
According to the Department of Corrections, as of December 2017, there were 502 prisoners in Thai jails who have been sentenced to death.
Ms Piyanut said that the country could go further by officially suspending the death sentence together with commuting the sentences of those who have received the death penalty but have yet to be executed.
Moreover, she said the country should ratify the Second Optional Protocol of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which is a binding international agreement to abolish the death penalty.
Amnesty International is committed to the unilateral abolishment of the death penalty on the grounds of human rights and humanitarianism, while there has been no correlation found between the use, or abolition, of capital punishment and crime rates, she said.
According to the Amnesty International report, there were least 993 executions in 23 countries in 2017, down by 4% from 2016 (1,032 executions) and 39% from 2015 (when the organisation reported 1,634 executions, the highest number since 1989).
At least 2,591 death sentences in 53 countries were recorded in 2017, a significant decrease from the record-high of 3,117 recorded in 2016.
Indonesia, which executed four people convicted of drug crimes in 2016, did not carry out any executions last year and reported a slight decrease in the number of death sentences imposed, the group’s report said.
Friday, 28 July 2017
Maldives: Halt first execution in more than 60 years
Source: Amnesty International (20 July 2017)
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/07/maldives-halt-first-execution-in-more-than-60-years/
The Maldives must immediately halt its first execution planned in more than sixty years and preserve its positive death penalty record, Amnesty International said today.
The human rights organization has learned that three men, whose death sentences were made final by the Supreme Court in 2016, are now at risk of imminent execution as reports emerged that the authorities have been preparing to implement death sentences. The number and names of the prisoners involved have not been disclosed.
“The Maldives authorities must immediately halt plans to carry out any executions and establish an official moratorium on the implementation of the death penalty as a first step towards its full abolition. By sending these men to the gallows, the country will do irreparable damage to its reputation,” said David Griffiths, Amnesty International’s Senior Advisor on South Asia.
“The country was a leader in the region, with an enviable record of shunning this cruel and irreversible punishment at a time when many other countries persisted with it. Now, when most of the world has abolished the death penalty, it is heading in the wrong direction by reviving its use.”
Amnesty International has been raising serious concerns about the fairness of the proceedings that lead to the imposition of the death penalty in the country. In the case of one of the three men at more imminent risk, Hussain Humaam Ahmed, Amnesty International and other human rights organizations have raised serious concerns about the use as evidence of a pre-trial “confession” that he retracted as coerced and which led to his conviction and death sentence for murder in 2012.
Ahmed Murrath was convicted of and sentenced to death for murder in 2012, and Mohamed Nabeel was convicted of and sentenced to death for murder in 2009. The Supreme Court upheld both men’s death sentences in July 2016.
Amnesty International is absolutely opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances, regardless of the crime or the method of execution.
The three men have exhausted all domestic legal avenues. They have not been allowed to apply for pardon or the commutation of their death sentences.
Last year, the UN Human Rights Committee issued a binding order to stay the execution of one of the individuals, pending the consideration of an appeal filed on the prisoner’s behalf.
“When lives are at stake, it is all the more critical that safeguards of due process are strictly observed. It is also concerning that under international law, the Maldives must ensure that death row prisoners and their families are given reasonable advance notice. But in this case, they have even been denied the dignity that is their right,” said David Griffiths.
Background
In 2014, the Maldives government under President Abdulla Yameen announced that executions would resume after more than 60 years without the death penalty being implemented.
The authorities have since amended legislation, clearing the way for executions to take place, including removing the power from the executive to grant pardons or commutations in intentional murder cases, a breach of their rights under international human rights law.
There are 20 people currently on death row, including at least five who were convicted and sentenced to death for crimes committed when they were less than 18 years old. Under international human rights law, it is unlawful to execute juveniles for any crime whatsoever.
As of today, 141 countries have abolished the death penalty in law or practice; in the Asia-Pacific region, 20 countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes and a further seven are abolitionist in practice.
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/07/maldives-halt-first-execution-in-more-than-60-years/
The Maldives must immediately halt its first execution planned in more than sixty years and preserve its positive death penalty record, Amnesty International said today.
The human rights organization has learned that three men, whose death sentences were made final by the Supreme Court in 2016, are now at risk of imminent execution as reports emerged that the authorities have been preparing to implement death sentences. The number and names of the prisoners involved have not been disclosed.
“The Maldives authorities must immediately halt plans to carry out any executions and establish an official moratorium on the implementation of the death penalty as a first step towards its full abolition. By sending these men to the gallows, the country will do irreparable damage to its reputation,” said David Griffiths, Amnesty International’s Senior Advisor on South Asia.
“The country was a leader in the region, with an enviable record of shunning this cruel and irreversible punishment at a time when many other countries persisted with it. Now, when most of the world has abolished the death penalty, it is heading in the wrong direction by reviving its use.”
Amnesty International has been raising serious concerns about the fairness of the proceedings that lead to the imposition of the death penalty in the country. In the case of one of the three men at more imminent risk, Hussain Humaam Ahmed, Amnesty International and other human rights organizations have raised serious concerns about the use as evidence of a pre-trial “confession” that he retracted as coerced and which led to his conviction and death sentence for murder in 2012.
Ahmed Murrath was convicted of and sentenced to death for murder in 2012, and Mohamed Nabeel was convicted of and sentenced to death for murder in 2009. The Supreme Court upheld both men’s death sentences in July 2016.
Amnesty International is absolutely opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances, regardless of the crime or the method of execution.
The three men have exhausted all domestic legal avenues. They have not been allowed to apply for pardon or the commutation of their death sentences.
Last year, the UN Human Rights Committee issued a binding order to stay the execution of one of the individuals, pending the consideration of an appeal filed on the prisoner’s behalf.
“When lives are at stake, it is all the more critical that safeguards of due process are strictly observed. It is also concerning that under international law, the Maldives must ensure that death row prisoners and their families are given reasonable advance notice. But in this case, they have even been denied the dignity that is their right,” said David Griffiths.
Background
In 2014, the Maldives government under President Abdulla Yameen announced that executions would resume after more than 60 years without the death penalty being implemented.
The authorities have since amended legislation, clearing the way for executions to take place, including removing the power from the executive to grant pardons or commutations in intentional murder cases, a breach of their rights under international human rights law.
There are 20 people currently on death row, including at least five who were convicted and sentenced to death for crimes committed when they were less than 18 years old. Under international human rights law, it is unlawful to execute juveniles for any crime whatsoever.
As of today, 141 countries have abolished the death penalty in law or practice; in the Asia-Pacific region, 20 countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes and a further seven are abolitionist in practice.
Thursday, 11 August 2016
UN asks Maldives to retain death penalty moratorium
Source: Time of India (10 August 2016)
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/UN-asks-Maldives-to-retain-death-penalty-moratorium/articleshow/53630372.cms
UNITED NATIONS: Voicing concern over recent developments pertaining to capital punishment in Maldives, the UN Human Rights chief has exhorted the government to refrain from carrying out planned executions and uphold the de facto moratorium that has been in place in the country for over six decades.
"The Maldives has long provided important leadership on global efforts to bring an end to the use of death penalty, so it is deeply regrettable that a series of steps have been taken to resume executions in the country," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said in a press release.
Last November, the High Court decided that the President may no longer exercise the power of commuting death sentences to life imprisonment.
In June this year, capital punishment regulations were further amended to allow for hanging in addition to lethal injections as methods of execution.
Further, in July, the Supreme Court issued an order, cancelling the stay order issued by the High Court and reiterated that its decisions on death sentences are final.
"The death penalty is not effective in deterring crime," Zeid said, adding "a judiciary that is unable to consistently apply fair trial standards and is marred by politicisation, must not be allowed to have the final say in matters of life and death."
"There are currently 17 individuals on death row in Maldives. Some cases raise serious due process concerns, with three of them at imminent risk of execution," he said.
"Maldives has upheld the right to life for more than 60 years," the High Commissioner said, urging the leaders and the people of the Maldives "to continue to uphold the moratorium on the death penalty and work towards prohibiting the practice altogether."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/UN-asks-Maldives-to-retain-death-penalty-moratorium/articleshow/53630372.cms
UNITED NATIONS: Voicing concern over recent developments pertaining to capital punishment in Maldives, the UN Human Rights chief has exhorted the government to refrain from carrying out planned executions and uphold the de facto moratorium that has been in place in the country for over six decades.
"The Maldives has long provided important leadership on global efforts to bring an end to the use of death penalty, so it is deeply regrettable that a series of steps have been taken to resume executions in the country," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said in a press release.
Last November, the High Court decided that the President may no longer exercise the power of commuting death sentences to life imprisonment.
In June this year, capital punishment regulations were further amended to allow for hanging in addition to lethal injections as methods of execution.
Further, in July, the Supreme Court issued an order, cancelling the stay order issued by the High Court and reiterated that its decisions on death sentences are final.
"The death penalty is not effective in deterring crime," Zeid said, adding "a judiciary that is unable to consistently apply fair trial standards and is marred by politicisation, must not be allowed to have the final say in matters of life and death."
"There are currently 17 individuals on death row in Maldives. Some cases raise serious due process concerns, with three of them at imminent risk of execution," he said.
"Maldives has upheld the right to life for more than 60 years," the High Commissioner said, urging the leaders and the people of the Maldives "to continue to uphold the moratorium on the death penalty and work towards prohibiting the practice altogether."
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