Source: Asia One (6 May 2022)
https://www.asiaone.com/asia/japan-mass-murderers-bid-escape-gallows-revives-death-penalty-debate
A Japanese man sentenced to death for murdering 19 people at a facility for the mentally disabled in 2016 has appealed his conviction, triggering renewed debate over the death penalty in a country where public support for capital punishment remains high.
Satoshi Uematsu, 32, was convicted in March 2020 of the murder of 19 residents at the Tsukui Yamayuri-en care centre in Sagamihara city outside Tokyo, and sentenced to death. Uematsu, a former caretaker at the facility, used knives to injure another 26 people, leaving 13 of them severely injured.
Immediately after the death sentence was meted out at the Yokohama District Court, Uematsu withdrew the automatic legal appeal to higher courts.
The request for a retrial was filed with the same court on April 1, with judges to rule on whether a retrial should be granted in the coming weeks.
The reason for the appeal is unclear, although Uematsu's lawyers claimed in the original trial that he could not be held accountable for his actions due to mental incompetence, in part from his consumption of marijuana.
But court-appointed experts had deemed him mentally fit to stand trial.
Uematsu had previously delivered a letter to the speaker of Japan's lower house of parliament in which he threatened to kill hundreds of disabled people and outlined a plan for attacks against Tsukui Yamayuri-en and another facility.
He also wrote that killing the disabled would be "for the sake of Japan and world peace".
Relatives of the dead have expressed their anger at the request for a retrial, with a parent of a murdered resident telling the Kanagawa Shimbun, "I am forced to turn back time to relive it. I am very disappointed at the request for a trial."
Takeshi Ono, whose 49-year-old son Ichiya was severely injured in the attack, told the newspaper, "I am surprised. I have no words. I want to express my anger."
There has been little sympathy for Uematsu among the Japanese public, with government statistics indicating that around 80 per cent of them support the death penalty.
"That was a terrible case, to me probably the worst I can remember in Japan," said Makoto Hosomura, 68, a wine importer from Saitama prefecture in north Tokyo.
"I think most people were shocked that he managed to kill so many people, but also that he chose people who could not defend themselves.
"I think the original court ruling was correct," he said. "He showed no pity towards those people or their families, and I have not seen any remorse in anything he said afterwards. Why should anyone have pity on him now?"
Nami Suzuki, a hospital administrator from Yokohama, said: "I do not think that he will change his beliefs and he should receive the strongest punishment possible."
Online messages were similarly supportive, with one message on Japan Today that said: "This scum doesn't deserve mercy for this mass killing of the disabled."
Another read: "Please do not waste any more of our tax money on this loser", while another suggested that the final outcome will be the same and that Uematsu is "just delaying the inevitable".
Opponents of the death penalty continue their campaigns against Japan hanging inmates, with the Asahi newspaper calling for Tokyo to follow European nations and abolish capital punishment.
After the July 2018 hanging of the last six members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult that carried out a fatal 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway, an editorial described the executions as "shocking".
Abolitionists press on
A 2016 campaign by Japan's Federation of Bar Associations to end capital punishment by 2020 has made little headway. The movement proposed legal reforms to replace the death penalty for serious crimes with a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Director of Amnesty International Japan, Hideaki Nakagawa, said his organisation continues to determine reasons for Japan's still-strong support for the death penalty.
"We frequently see that public calls for the death penalty rise after a heinous crime has been committed, and all the more so when the crime victim is a child," he said.
"These calls, particularly at these emotional times, seem to be more of an expression of the anger that we all feel at the crime and frustration at the fact that such heinous acts could not be prevented."
"But we should not confuse these reactions with an informed debate on what our response as a society to crime should be, to inform government policies on effective crime prevention should be," he said.
"Studies have shown again and again that the death penalty does not have a unique deterrent effect, and that public opinion pools can be influenced by several factors."
"Our calls for abolition of the death penalty should not be confused for calls for impunity for crime," he emphasised. "The death penalty is not the solution and further brutalises us as a society - and there is much more that the government should do to prevent crime and protect human rights for all."
Nakagawa points out the global trend towards abolishing the death penalty and that he "personally would like to be optimistic" that Japan might follow that trend, although he concedes that the Japanese government "appears to be determined" to retain the capital punishment.
Showing posts with label murder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label murder. Show all posts
Sunday, 8 May 2022
Friday, 24 December 2021
Japan executes three death row inmates, a first under PM Kishida -Kyodo
Source: Reuters (21 December 2021)
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japan-executes-three-death-row-inmates-first-under-pm-kishida-kyodo-2021-12-21/
TOKYO, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Japan executed three convicts on Tuesday, marking the first time the death penalty was carried out under Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government and the first execution in the country in nearly two years, the Kyodo news agency reported.
One of those put to death was a 65-year-old man convicted of stabbing and killing seven of his relatives in 2004, according to Kyodo.
Capital punishment is carried out by hanging in Japan and prisoners are notified of their execution only hours before it is carried out. That practice that has long been decried by human rights groups for the stress it puts on death-row prisoners, for whom any day could be their last.
Two death row inmates in November launched a law suit against the government, demanding a change to the practice and compensation for the impact of it.
The United States and Japan are the only industrialised democracies that still carry capital punishment and rights groups such as Amnesty International have demanded change for decades.
The last execution in Japan was on Dec. 26, 2019, Kyodo reported.
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japan-executes-three-death-row-inmates-first-under-pm-kishida-kyodo-2021-12-21/
TOKYO, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Japan executed three convicts on Tuesday, marking the first time the death penalty was carried out under Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government and the first execution in the country in nearly two years, the Kyodo news agency reported.
One of those put to death was a 65-year-old man convicted of stabbing and killing seven of his relatives in 2004, according to Kyodo.
Capital punishment is carried out by hanging in Japan and prisoners are notified of their execution only hours before it is carried out. That practice that has long been decried by human rights groups for the stress it puts on death-row prisoners, for whom any day could be their last.
Two death row inmates in November launched a law suit against the government, demanding a change to the practice and compensation for the impact of it.
The United States and Japan are the only industrialised democracies that still carry capital punishment and rights groups such as Amnesty International have demanded change for decades.
The last execution in Japan was on Dec. 26, 2019, Kyodo reported.
Saturday, 4 April 2020
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.
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.
Advertisement
"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.
Saturday, 29 December 2018
Japan executes two more prisoners, taking annual total to highest in a decade
Source: CNN (27 December 2018)
https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/27/asia/japan-capital-punishment-intl/index.html
Two death-row inmates were hanged in Japan on Thursday, taking the number of executions in the country this year to 15 -- the highest annual total since 2008.
Keizo Okamoto, 60, a former senior member of a crime syndicate, and Hiroya Suemori, 67, a former investment adviser, had been sentenced to death in 2004 for a robbery-murder.
They stole about 100 million yen ($900,800) from the president of an investment advisory company in 1988 before killing him and another employee. They then packed the bodies into concrete.
"It is an extremely brutal case in which they robbed the precious life of the victims, indeed for selfish reasons," Justice Minister Takashi Yamashita said on Thursday.
Yamashita signed the order for their execution on Tuesday.
Conducted in secrecy
Executions are done in secret in Japan, with no advance warning given to the prisoner, their family or legal representatives, according to Amnesty International.
Prisoners often only learn of their impending execution a matter of hours before it takes place.
Capital punishment is usually reserved for those who have committed multiple murders. All executions are done by hanging.
Japan's Code of Criminal Procedure states the death penalty should be implemented within six months of the issuing of the sentence, but in fact that is almost never the case.
The controversial system made international headlines in July when 13 members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult, which carried out the deadly 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway, were executed.
A total of 36 prisoners have now been executed since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office in December 2012, and places Japan at odds with the growing international trend towards abolition of the death penalty.
Japan and the US are the only two developed democracies to have capital punishment. About 170 states have either abolished or put a stay on executions since the United Nations General Assembly called for a universal moratorium on the death penalty in 2007.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/27/asia/japan-capital-punishment-intl/index.html
Two death-row inmates were hanged in Japan on Thursday, taking the number of executions in the country this year to 15 -- the highest annual total since 2008.
Keizo Okamoto, 60, a former senior member of a crime syndicate, and Hiroya Suemori, 67, a former investment adviser, had been sentenced to death in 2004 for a robbery-murder.
They stole about 100 million yen ($900,800) from the president of an investment advisory company in 1988 before killing him and another employee. They then packed the bodies into concrete.
"It is an extremely brutal case in which they robbed the precious life of the victims, indeed for selfish reasons," Justice Minister Takashi Yamashita said on Thursday.
Yamashita signed the order for their execution on Tuesday.
Conducted in secrecy
Executions are done in secret in Japan, with no advance warning given to the prisoner, their family or legal representatives, according to Amnesty International.
Prisoners often only learn of their impending execution a matter of hours before it takes place.
Capital punishment is usually reserved for those who have committed multiple murders. All executions are done by hanging.
Japan's Code of Criminal Procedure states the death penalty should be implemented within six months of the issuing of the sentence, but in fact that is almost never the case.
The controversial system made international headlines in July when 13 members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult, which carried out the deadly 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway, were executed.
A total of 36 prisoners have now been executed since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office in December 2012, and places Japan at odds with the growing international trend towards abolition of the death penalty.
Japan and the US are the only two developed democracies to have capital punishment. About 170 states have either abolished or put a stay on executions since the United Nations General Assembly called for a universal moratorium on the death penalty in 2007.
Tuesday, 4 September 2018
Taiwanese man executed for killing ex-wife and daughter in island’s first capital punishment for two years
Source: South China Morning Post (1 September 2018)
https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/2162318/taiwan-carries-out-first-execution-two-years
Taiwan executed a death-row inmate on Friday, the first execution carried out under President Tsai Ing-wen’s government, despite ongoing calls from rights groups to abolish the death penalty.
Lee Hung-chi was executed at a jail in southern Kaohsiung city by firing squad, according to the justice ministry, for killing his ex-wife and five-year-old daughter in 2014.
Lee stabbed his former spouse to death outside the kindergarten their two daughters attended and then took one of the girls to his car, where he tried to kill both her and himself by carbon monoxide poisoning.
Lee survived after they were rescued but the girl died two months later despite treatment.
“His actions were brutal and ruthless … and inflicted irreparable harms to the victims’ families,” deputy justice minister Chen Ming-tang told reporters.
The court had ruled there was no likelihood of Lee reforming, he added.
Taiwan resumed capital punishment in 2010 after a five-year hiatus, with the death penalty reserved for the most serious crimes such as aggravated murder and kidnapping.
Some politicians and rights groups have called for its abolition, but various surveys show most people support the death penalty.
Chen said the government was gradually decreasing its use, but would not abolish it for now.
“Abolishing [the] death sentence is an international trend and a long-term goal for the justice ministry … but there is no consensus in our country,” Chen said.
There are currently 42 prisoners on death row in Taiwan.
Lee’s execution was the first since a former college student was put to death in May 2016 for killing four people in a random stabbing spree on a subway that shocked the generally peaceful island.
In 2012 the murder of a young boy in a playground reignited debate over the death penalty, after the suspect reportedly said he was anticipating free board and lodging in jail and would get a life sentence at most even if he were to kill two or three people.
https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/2162318/taiwan-carries-out-first-execution-two-years
Taiwan executed a death-row inmate on Friday, the first execution carried out under President Tsai Ing-wen’s government, despite ongoing calls from rights groups to abolish the death penalty.
Lee Hung-chi was executed at a jail in southern Kaohsiung city by firing squad, according to the justice ministry, for killing his ex-wife and five-year-old daughter in 2014.
Lee stabbed his former spouse to death outside the kindergarten their two daughters attended and then took one of the girls to his car, where he tried to kill both her and himself by carbon monoxide poisoning.
Lee survived after they were rescued but the girl died two months later despite treatment.
“His actions were brutal and ruthless … and inflicted irreparable harms to the victims’ families,” deputy justice minister Chen Ming-tang told reporters.
The court had ruled there was no likelihood of Lee reforming, he added.
Taiwan resumed capital punishment in 2010 after a five-year hiatus, with the death penalty reserved for the most serious crimes such as aggravated murder and kidnapping.
Some politicians and rights groups have called for its abolition, but various surveys show most people support the death penalty.
Chen said the government was gradually decreasing its use, but would not abolish it for now.
“Abolishing [the] death sentence is an international trend and a long-term goal for the justice ministry … but there is no consensus in our country,” Chen said.
There are currently 42 prisoners on death row in Taiwan.
Lee’s execution was the first since a former college student was put to death in May 2016 for killing four people in a random stabbing spree on a subway that shocked the generally peaceful island.
In 2012 the murder of a young boy in a playground reignited debate over the death penalty, after the suspect reportedly said he was anticipating free board and lodging in jail and would get a life sentence at most even if he were to kill two or three people.
Friday, 23 March 2018
With Death Penalty at Home, Can Indonesia Save Its Citizens Abroad?
Source: Jakarta Globe (22 March 2018)
http://jakartaglobe.id/news/death-penalty-home-can-indonesia-save-citizens-abroad/
Jakarta. The government sent a protest note to Saudi Arabia on Monday (19/03), after an Indonesian national was beheaded in Mecca. Saudi authorities did not inform Indonesia that its citizen would be executed.
Zaini Misrin, a 53-year-old man from Bangkalan in East Java's island of Madura, was a migrant worker convicted of the murder of his Saudi employer. He was executed on Sunday.
"The Indonesian government did not receive any notification prior to the execution of Zaini Misrin," citizen protection and legal aid director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lalu Muhammad Iqbal, said during a press conference in Jakarta.
Although the kingdom has no regulatory obligation to issue such notifications, since the two countries are in friendly relations, Indonesia should have been officially apprised of the decision, he said.
With nearly 200 Indonesians facing capital punishment abroad, the government has been making considerable efforts to stay their execution.
However, despite huge opposition domestically and on the international stage, and despite its non-permanent seat at the United Nation High Commission of Human Rights, Indonesia itself implements the death penalty. This, in the eyes of many, renders inconclusive the country's attempts to save its own citizens from the cruel and unusual punishment.
Since 2011, 583 Indonesians have been sentenced to death abroad. The executions of 392 have been stayed. There are 188 ongoing cases in Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, China and the United Arab Emirates.
Most of the cases involve migrant workers, but there are also drug trafficking convicts, especially in Malaysia.
The Case of Zaini
Zaini's journey to Saudi Arabia began in 1992, when he started working as a private driver for Abdullah bin Umar as-Sindi. He then came back to Indonesia, and returned to work for the same employer in 1996.
Zaini was arrested by Saudi authorities in July 2004, on charges of murdering As-Sindi. He was convicted in November 2008.
In accordance with Muslim law, in cases of killing and wounding, Saudi Arabia applies qisas, or the law of retaliation — a person who has injured another is to be penalized to a similar degree, unless he or she is pardoned by the victim's family.
Indonesia was granted consular access to Zaini only in 2008. The delay, according to Lalu, was caused by imperfections in the previous protection system for Indonesian citizens abroad.
To save Zaini, the government appointed two lawyers in 2011, while presidents Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Joko "Jokowi" Widodo requested Saudi Arabia that he be granted clemency. Jokowi raised the issue three times with King Salman bin Abdulaziz. So did Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi during her meetings with the Saudi counterpart, Adel Jubeir.
Zaini's family came to Saudi Arabia with a plea for pardon from As-Sindi's family. To no avail.
The Indonesian government requested a case review in January 2017. It was rejected. Another appeal was filed in January this year, and the case was stiil ongoing at the time of Zaini's death.
"We have summoned the Saudi ambassador to express our disapproval over the execution and the fact that it took place despite the ongoing legal process," Lalu said.
According to Jakarta-based Migrant Care, Zaini's testimony reveals he confessed the murder under pressure and intimidation by Saudi authorities.
"During his trial, Zaini Misrin had no neutral and impartial translator," the organization said in a statement.
Pardon
Under the principle of qisas, offenders can receive forgiveness from their victim's closest relatives. This in 2017 saved the life of Masamah, another Indonesian migrant worker in Saudi Arabia, who was convicted of murdering her employer's child in 2009.
An alternative punishment to qisas is diya or "blood money" — the financial compensation paid to the heirs of a victim.
In April 2014, the Indonesian government paid 7 million riyal ($1.9 million) to free Satinah Binti Jumadi Ahmad from death row in Saudi Arabia.
Satinah, a domestic helper from Ungaran, Central Java, was convicted of killing her Saudi employer in 2007. She said she acted in self-defense.
According to Lalu, in Zaini's case, the victim's family was not willing to exercise its right to pardon or diya.
More Protection
To offer more protection to Indonesian citizens working abroad, the House of Representatives passed a new law in October.
The 2017 Law on Migrant Workers replaced the 2004 Law on the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers. It establishes a framework to improve cooperation between the central government and local authorities in the migrants' places of origin, and guarantees more assistance to them, including insurance and competency training.
Director general for labor supervision at the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, Maruli Apul Hasoloan, said during Monday's conference that all prospective migrant workers will be informed about their rights and mechanisms to protect them, as well as the existing regulations on labor in their receiving countries.
The government is now also particularly careful about making sure that Indonesians willing to work abroad have all their documents and permits cleared before they leave.
"According to our statistics, 92 percent of the cases against Indonesian migrant workers are related to those who left the country without following the necessary legal procedures," said Hermono, secretary of the National Board for Placement and Protection of Indonesian Overseas Workers (BNP2TKI).
http://jakartaglobe.id/news/death-penalty-home-can-indonesia-save-citizens-abroad/
Jakarta. The government sent a protest note to Saudi Arabia on Monday (19/03), after an Indonesian national was beheaded in Mecca. Saudi authorities did not inform Indonesia that its citizen would be executed.
Zaini Misrin, a 53-year-old man from Bangkalan in East Java's island of Madura, was a migrant worker convicted of the murder of his Saudi employer. He was executed on Sunday.
"The Indonesian government did not receive any notification prior to the execution of Zaini Misrin," citizen protection and legal aid director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lalu Muhammad Iqbal, said during a press conference in Jakarta.
Although the kingdom has no regulatory obligation to issue such notifications, since the two countries are in friendly relations, Indonesia should have been officially apprised of the decision, he said.
With nearly 200 Indonesians facing capital punishment abroad, the government has been making considerable efforts to stay their execution.
However, despite huge opposition domestically and on the international stage, and despite its non-permanent seat at the United Nation High Commission of Human Rights, Indonesia itself implements the death penalty. This, in the eyes of many, renders inconclusive the country's attempts to save its own citizens from the cruel and unusual punishment.
Since 2011, 583 Indonesians have been sentenced to death abroad. The executions of 392 have been stayed. There are 188 ongoing cases in Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, China and the United Arab Emirates.
Most of the cases involve migrant workers, but there are also drug trafficking convicts, especially in Malaysia.
The Case of Zaini
Zaini's journey to Saudi Arabia began in 1992, when he started working as a private driver for Abdullah bin Umar as-Sindi. He then came back to Indonesia, and returned to work for the same employer in 1996.
Zaini was arrested by Saudi authorities in July 2004, on charges of murdering As-Sindi. He was convicted in November 2008.
In accordance with Muslim law, in cases of killing and wounding, Saudi Arabia applies qisas, or the law of retaliation — a person who has injured another is to be penalized to a similar degree, unless he or she is pardoned by the victim's family.
Indonesia was granted consular access to Zaini only in 2008. The delay, according to Lalu, was caused by imperfections in the previous protection system for Indonesian citizens abroad.
To save Zaini, the government appointed two lawyers in 2011, while presidents Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Joko "Jokowi" Widodo requested Saudi Arabia that he be granted clemency. Jokowi raised the issue three times with King Salman bin Abdulaziz. So did Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi during her meetings with the Saudi counterpart, Adel Jubeir.
Zaini's family came to Saudi Arabia with a plea for pardon from As-Sindi's family. To no avail.
The Indonesian government requested a case review in January 2017. It was rejected. Another appeal was filed in January this year, and the case was stiil ongoing at the time of Zaini's death.
"We have summoned the Saudi ambassador to express our disapproval over the execution and the fact that it took place despite the ongoing legal process," Lalu said.
According to Jakarta-based Migrant Care, Zaini's testimony reveals he confessed the murder under pressure and intimidation by Saudi authorities.
"During his trial, Zaini Misrin had no neutral and impartial translator," the organization said in a statement.
Pardon
Under the principle of qisas, offenders can receive forgiveness from their victim's closest relatives. This in 2017 saved the life of Masamah, another Indonesian migrant worker in Saudi Arabia, who was convicted of murdering her employer's child in 2009.
An alternative punishment to qisas is diya or "blood money" — the financial compensation paid to the heirs of a victim.
In April 2014, the Indonesian government paid 7 million riyal ($1.9 million) to free Satinah Binti Jumadi Ahmad from death row in Saudi Arabia.
Satinah, a domestic helper from Ungaran, Central Java, was convicted of killing her Saudi employer in 2007. She said she acted in self-defense.
According to Lalu, in Zaini's case, the victim's family was not willing to exercise its right to pardon or diya.
More Protection
To offer more protection to Indonesian citizens working abroad, the House of Representatives passed a new law in October.
The 2017 Law on Migrant Workers replaced the 2004 Law on the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers. It establishes a framework to improve cooperation between the central government and local authorities in the migrants' places of origin, and guarantees more assistance to them, including insurance and competency training.
Director general for labor supervision at the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, Maruli Apul Hasoloan, said during Monday's conference that all prospective migrant workers will be informed about their rights and mechanisms to protect them, as well as the existing regulations on labor in their receiving countries.
The government is now also particularly careful about making sure that Indonesians willing to work abroad have all their documents and permits cleared before they leave.
"According to our statistics, 92 percent of the cases against Indonesian migrant workers are related to those who left the country without following the necessary legal procedures," said Hermono, secretary of the National Board for Placement and Protection of Indonesian Overseas Workers (BNP2TKI).
Wednesday, 5 July 2017
Family claims brothers’ hanging botched, signs of strangulation
Source: Malay Mail Online (4 July 2017)
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/family-claims-brothers-hanging-botched-signs-of-strangulation
PETALING JAYA, July 4 — The family of two brothers accused the Kajang prison authorities today of botching up the hanging of two men who had been executed for murder.
The family of brothers Rames Batumalai, 45, and Suthar Batumalai, 40, alleged that Suthar’s body was found to have strangulation marks around his neck area, the neck was not broken (the neck is broken clean in a proper hanging), and his face was swelled up.
“We are not contented with the death and how they were executed. Suthar’s face was swollen. He showed signs of strangulation.
“His face was swollen, there were marks on the neck and his eyes were bulging,” sister-in-law B. Devi told a press conference this morning.
Both brothers were hanged to death on March 15 for their 2010 murder conviction despite the family filing for a clemency petition in late February. The brothers were charged with murdering a man named Krishnan Raman.
The siblings were also executed on a Wednesday instead of Friday, when hangings in Malaysia are usually conducted, which raised more questions on whether their execution was botched.
The family’s lawyer, N. Surendran, demanded that the prison authorities and Home Ministry give a detailed explanation to the family on the way the execution was conducted and also on why it was done before the clemency petition’s result was known.
“From a legal point of view, both of them were executed without exhausting all legal processes.
“A prisoner who has been convicted, has the legal right for his clemency to be considered under constituency. If you don’t allow [the] process to finish, you have breached the law,” he said.
The Padang Serai MP also demanded authorities to have an inquiry on the brothers’ execution and answers to be given immediately to the family.
“We are also asking explanation on manner hanging carried out and explanation on why the neck of Suthar was in that condition. We are entitled to these explanations as family members.
“We want an inquiry by authorities. I hope the home minister and authorities respond to this as soon as possible as it is a case of public interest,” Surendran added.
Amnesty International executive director Shamini Darshini said the brothers’ hanging raised questions on the transparency of the death penalty in Malaysia.
“Legal processes around death penalty is not completely clear. This is clear indication, it is not (transparent).
“When a person is hanged, there is a science to it. In this case, there are questions whether execution was correctly done. This seems to indicate a botched execution,” she said today.
She also urged Putrajaya to declare a moratorium to prevent such incidences from happening in other death penalty cases in the future.
“The death penalty in Malaysia needs to be abolished. We need the government to put in place a moratorium to prevent this from happening again. That’s what we calling for an immediate moratorium,” Shamini said, adding that Malaysia has over 1,068 people on death row as of March this year.
In the application of clemency previously sighted by Malay Mail Online, the family had obtained a statutory declaration from the deceased’s wife to forgive the brothers.
Rames and Suthar were sentenced to death in April 2010 under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder, after being convicted for the February 4, 2006 murder.
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/family-claims-brothers-hanging-botched-signs-of-strangulation
PETALING JAYA, July 4 — The family of two brothers accused the Kajang prison authorities today of botching up the hanging of two men who had been executed for murder.
The family of brothers Rames Batumalai, 45, and Suthar Batumalai, 40, alleged that Suthar’s body was found to have strangulation marks around his neck area, the neck was not broken (the neck is broken clean in a proper hanging), and his face was swelled up.
“We are not contented with the death and how they were executed. Suthar’s face was swollen. He showed signs of strangulation.
“His face was swollen, there were marks on the neck and his eyes were bulging,” sister-in-law B. Devi told a press conference this morning.
Both brothers were hanged to death on March 15 for their 2010 murder conviction despite the family filing for a clemency petition in late February. The brothers were charged with murdering a man named Krishnan Raman.
The siblings were also executed on a Wednesday instead of Friday, when hangings in Malaysia are usually conducted, which raised more questions on whether their execution was botched.
The family’s lawyer, N. Surendran, demanded that the prison authorities and Home Ministry give a detailed explanation to the family on the way the execution was conducted and also on why it was done before the clemency petition’s result was known.
“From a legal point of view, both of them were executed without exhausting all legal processes.
“A prisoner who has been convicted, has the legal right for his clemency to be considered under constituency. If you don’t allow [the] process to finish, you have breached the law,” he said.
The Padang Serai MP also demanded authorities to have an inquiry on the brothers’ execution and answers to be given immediately to the family.
“We are also asking explanation on manner hanging carried out and explanation on why the neck of Suthar was in that condition. We are entitled to these explanations as family members.
“We want an inquiry by authorities. I hope the home minister and authorities respond to this as soon as possible as it is a case of public interest,” Surendran added.
Amnesty International executive director Shamini Darshini said the brothers’ hanging raised questions on the transparency of the death penalty in Malaysia.
“Legal processes around death penalty is not completely clear. This is clear indication, it is not (transparent).
“When a person is hanged, there is a science to it. In this case, there are questions whether execution was correctly done. This seems to indicate a botched execution,” she said today.
She also urged Putrajaya to declare a moratorium to prevent such incidences from happening in other death penalty cases in the future.
“The death penalty in Malaysia needs to be abolished. We need the government to put in place a moratorium to prevent this from happening again. That’s what we calling for an immediate moratorium,” Shamini said, adding that Malaysia has over 1,068 people on death row as of March this year.
In the application of clemency previously sighted by Malay Mail Online, the family had obtained a statutory declaration from the deceased’s wife to forgive the brothers.
Rames and Suthar were sentenced to death in April 2010 under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder, after being convicted for the February 4, 2006 murder.
Wednesday, 18 January 2017
Jia Jinglong: Chinese villager executed despite campaign
Source: BBC News (15 November 2016)
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-37985339
The execution of a Chinese villager - despite widespread calls to commute his sentence - has drawn criticism from those who say this country's courts have one way of handling the powerful and a different way of handling the poor.
In early May 2013, Jia Jinglong was preparing for his wedding day.
He wanted to have the ceremony at his family home in Hebei Province, not far from Beijing in northern China.
However, just prior to the big day, his house was knocked down to make way for a new development.
Adding to his woes, his fiancee then called off the wedding and he reportedly lost his job.
Jia Jinglong felt it was all too much. He sought revenge for the upheaval in his life following the destruction of his house without proper compensation.
In February 2015, he took a nail gun and went looking for the village chief, the man he decided was to blame. Then the groom-to-be-no-longer shot and killed the chief, 55-year-old He Jianhua.
For this he was sentenced to death.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-37985339
The execution of a Chinese villager - despite widespread calls to commute his sentence - has drawn criticism from those who say this country's courts have one way of handling the powerful and a different way of handling the poor.
In early May 2013, Jia Jinglong was preparing for his wedding day.
He wanted to have the ceremony at his family home in Hebei Province, not far from Beijing in northern China.
However, just prior to the big day, his house was knocked down to make way for a new development.
Adding to his woes, his fiancee then called off the wedding and he reportedly lost his job.
Jia Jinglong felt it was all too much. He sought revenge for the upheaval in his life following the destruction of his house without proper compensation.
In February 2015, he took a nail gun and went looking for the village chief, the man he decided was to blame. Then the groom-to-be-no-longer shot and killed the chief, 55-year-old He Jianhua.
For this he was sentenced to death.
Class and injustice
In accordance with the rules governing all death penalty cases, his went to the Supreme Court for ratification. It was cleared to proceed.
There has been a major public campaign to have his death sentence commuted because of extenuating circumstances. Even some newspapers controlled by the Communist Party have been arguing that he should be spared.
But now word has come through from an official social media account run by the Shijiazhuang Intermediate People's Court: Jia Jinglong has been executed.
Some outside China will be wondering why the general public and Chinese media might have felt the need to campaign for somebody who admitted to murdering his local Communist Party secretary.
Well it all comes down to class and injustice in modern China.
These types of forced demolitions are routine here. It would be hard to argue against the premise that for years this country's central government has turned a blind eye while property developers, in league with corrupt local officials, have bulldozed people's houses, using paid thugs to beat up villagers if they try to resist.
It is a way of clearing out pesky residents which continues to this day.
The "compensation" paid is usually nowhere near enough to buy an apartment in the same area, forcing evicted families to move to distant, low-grade housing estates.
How can I say this so confidently? Because I've seen it first hand time and again. I've seen the houses being destroyed, I've seen the crying families and I've seen the men sent in to silence them.
Ask pretty much any China correspondent and they will tell you the same thing.
In accordance with the rules governing all death penalty cases, his went to the Supreme Court for ratification. It was cleared to proceed.
There has been a major public campaign to have his death sentence commuted because of extenuating circumstances. Even some newspapers controlled by the Communist Party have been arguing that he should be spared.
But now word has come through from an official social media account run by the Shijiazhuang Intermediate People's Court: Jia Jinglong has been executed.
Some outside China will be wondering why the general public and Chinese media might have felt the need to campaign for somebody who admitted to murdering his local Communist Party secretary.
Well it all comes down to class and injustice in modern China.
These types of forced demolitions are routine here. It would be hard to argue against the premise that for years this country's central government has turned a blind eye while property developers, in league with corrupt local officials, have bulldozed people's houses, using paid thugs to beat up villagers if they try to resist.
It is a way of clearing out pesky residents which continues to this day.
The "compensation" paid is usually nowhere near enough to buy an apartment in the same area, forcing evicted families to move to distant, low-grade housing estates.
How can I say this so confidently? Because I've seen it first hand time and again. I've seen the houses being destroyed, I've seen the crying families and I've seen the men sent in to silence them.
Ask pretty much any China correspondent and they will tell you the same thing.
'Pushed into a corner'
We are constantly approached by desperate people claiming their homes have been effectively stolen and destroyed. The BBC could do a story on one of these cases in a different location every week if we wanted to.
Because this is seen here as such a widespread abuse of power against the lao bai xing (the ordinary punters) there has been a view that - while murder is not to be condoned - Jia Jinglong was pushed into a corner; that the crimes against him should have meant commuting his death sentence to some lesser penalty.
After all, people will tell you, government officials and those in the upper echelons of society are saved from a lethal injection for much less.
These cases are posing a real problem for the Communist Party in terms of perceived legitimacy, especially when its reason for monopoly power is supposed to be delivering a more just world for the downtrodden.
In 2009, a 21-year-old woman working as a pedicurist in a hotel building was on a break, washing some clothes.
Attached to the hotel was a massage and entertainment complex called Dream Fantasy City. Offering food, drink, massages, karaoke and often prostitution, these types of establishments are popular with government officials.
When a local Communist Party figure approached Deng Yujiao asking her to stop washing her clothes and instead provide him with "special services" he fully expected to get his way.
She told him she didn't do that kind of work there. It's said he then took a wad of cash from his pocket and started slapping her on the face with it. He then pushed her onto a lounge and got on top of her. To defend herself she stabbed him four times with a small knife. One of the blows struck him in the neck, causing the director of the local township's business promotions office to bleed to death on the spot.
Deng Yujiao was charged with murder.
Her case drew huge waves of support from Chinese people using the Internet to campaign in her favour. To many, she was seen as a hero. Finally somebody was standing up to these small-town, corrupt and arrogant officials.
The social media posts were censored but the momentum could not be stopped.
Prosecutors dropped the murder charge and granted bail. She faced a lesser charge of "intentional assault" but was never sentenced. This was apparently due to her mental state.
There are considerable parallels in these two cases but certainly not in one respect.
Despite the public outcry there was to be no sparing Jia Jinglong.
His crime was committed in the new era of President Xi Jinping. Justice now appears to be more hardline and the Communist Party remains well and truly in charge of the courts and all that takes place inside them.
We are constantly approached by desperate people claiming their homes have been effectively stolen and destroyed. The BBC could do a story on one of these cases in a different location every week if we wanted to.
Because this is seen here as such a widespread abuse of power against the lao bai xing (the ordinary punters) there has been a view that - while murder is not to be condoned - Jia Jinglong was pushed into a corner; that the crimes against him should have meant commuting his death sentence to some lesser penalty.
After all, people will tell you, government officials and those in the upper echelons of society are saved from a lethal injection for much less.
These cases are posing a real problem for the Communist Party in terms of perceived legitimacy, especially when its reason for monopoly power is supposed to be delivering a more just world for the downtrodden.
In 2009, a 21-year-old woman working as a pedicurist in a hotel building was on a break, washing some clothes.
Attached to the hotel was a massage and entertainment complex called Dream Fantasy City. Offering food, drink, massages, karaoke and often prostitution, these types of establishments are popular with government officials.
When a local Communist Party figure approached Deng Yujiao asking her to stop washing her clothes and instead provide him with "special services" he fully expected to get his way.
She told him she didn't do that kind of work there. It's said he then took a wad of cash from his pocket and started slapping her on the face with it. He then pushed her onto a lounge and got on top of her. To defend herself she stabbed him four times with a small knife. One of the blows struck him in the neck, causing the director of the local township's business promotions office to bleed to death on the spot.
Deng Yujiao was charged with murder.
Her case drew huge waves of support from Chinese people using the Internet to campaign in her favour. To many, she was seen as a hero. Finally somebody was standing up to these small-town, corrupt and arrogant officials.
The social media posts were censored but the momentum could not be stopped.
Prosecutors dropped the murder charge and granted bail. She faced a lesser charge of "intentional assault" but was never sentenced. This was apparently due to her mental state.
There are considerable parallels in these two cases but certainly not in one respect.
Despite the public outcry there was to be no sparing Jia Jinglong.
His crime was committed in the new era of President Xi Jinping. Justice now appears to be more hardline and the Communist Party remains well and truly in charge of the courts and all that takes place inside them.
Monday, 3 October 2016
Pakistan’s top court upholds death penalty for mentally-ill man
Source: Gulf News (2 October 2016)
http://gulfnews.com/news/asia/pakistan/pakistan-s-top-court-upholds-death-penalty-for-mentally-ill-man-1.1902861
Islamabad: Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed an appeal brought by lawyers for a mentally ill prisoner facing execution, and a rights group said he could now be hanged next week.
Imdad Ali, who is aged around 50, was sentenced to death for the murder of a religious cleric in 2002.
He had been scheduled to hang on September 20 in a prison in the city of Vehari despite having been diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Ali received a last-minute stay of execution from the Supreme Court last week. But with that stay now expired, he could receive a new “black warrant” and face execution as early as next Tuesday.
The Justice Project Pakistan (JPP), which is providing Ali with counsel, has sent a mercy petition to President Mamnoon Hussain along with testimony from medical experts.
“It is indisputable that Imdad suffers from serious mental illness,” said Harriet McCulloch, deputy director of the death penalty team at international charity Reprieve.
“There is therefore no doubt that, should Pakistan execute him, it will be committing a grave violation of both Pakistani and international law.
“It is shocking that the system has failed Imdad at every turn — right the way up to the Supreme Court. The Pakistan government must immediately halt Imdad’s execution, and undertake a comprehensive review into how someone who is clearly mentally unfit to be executed has been allowed to come so near to the noose.”
Pakistan reinstated the death penalty and established military courts after suffering its deadliest-ever extremist attack, when gunmen stormed a school in the northwest in 2014 and killed more than 150 people — mostly children.
Hangings were initially reinstated only for those convicted of terrorism, but later extended to all capital offences. The number of those executed since then now stands at 419 from more than 8,000 death row prisoners.
A new report by JPP and Yale Law School issued Tuesday said Pakistan’s criminal legal system is riddled with errors that prevent it from adjudicating capital cases fairly.
It accused authorities of having hanged six people who were juveniles at the time of their offences, in breach of international law, and said the length of time prisoners spent on death row — 11.5 years on average — harms their mental and physical health.
http://gulfnews.com/news/asia/pakistan/pakistan-s-top-court-upholds-death-penalty-for-mentally-ill-man-1.1902861
Islamabad: Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed an appeal brought by lawyers for a mentally ill prisoner facing execution, and a rights group said he could now be hanged next week.
Imdad Ali, who is aged around 50, was sentenced to death for the murder of a religious cleric in 2002.
He had been scheduled to hang on September 20 in a prison in the city of Vehari despite having been diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Ali received a last-minute stay of execution from the Supreme Court last week. But with that stay now expired, he could receive a new “black warrant” and face execution as early as next Tuesday.
The Justice Project Pakistan (JPP), which is providing Ali with counsel, has sent a mercy petition to President Mamnoon Hussain along with testimony from medical experts.
“It is indisputable that Imdad suffers from serious mental illness,” said Harriet McCulloch, deputy director of the death penalty team at international charity Reprieve.
“There is therefore no doubt that, should Pakistan execute him, it will be committing a grave violation of both Pakistani and international law.
“It is shocking that the system has failed Imdad at every turn — right the way up to the Supreme Court. The Pakistan government must immediately halt Imdad’s execution, and undertake a comprehensive review into how someone who is clearly mentally unfit to be executed has been allowed to come so near to the noose.”
Pakistan reinstated the death penalty and established military courts after suffering its deadliest-ever extremist attack, when gunmen stormed a school in the northwest in 2014 and killed more than 150 people — mostly children.
Hangings were initially reinstated only for those convicted of terrorism, but later extended to all capital offences. The number of those executed since then now stands at 419 from more than 8,000 death row prisoners.
A new report by JPP and Yale Law School issued Tuesday said Pakistan’s criminal legal system is riddled with errors that prevent it from adjudicating capital cases fairly.
It accused authorities of having hanged six people who were juveniles at the time of their offences, in breach of international law, and said the length of time prisoners spent on death row — 11.5 years on average — harms their mental and physical health.
Wednesday, 25 May 2016
Malaysian murder convict hanged in Singapore: police
Source: Dunya News Network (21 May 2016)
http://dunyanews.tv/en/Crime/337726-Malaysian-murder-convict-hanged-in-Singapore-poli#.V0KCJ38sfkQ.twitter
SINGAPORE (AFP) - A Malaysian murder convict was hanged in Singapore Friday, police said, hours after the city-state’s highest court rejected a final bid for him to escape the gallows, sparking condemnation from rights groups.
"A 32-year-old male Malaysian national, Jabing Kho had his death sentence carried out on 20 May 2016 at Changi Prison Complex," the Singapore Police Force said in a statement.
Kho, who was sentenced to death in 2010 for the murder of a Chinese construction worker, had been due to hang in Changi Prison at dawn Friday, but was granted a brief last-minute reprieve after his lawyer filed a challenge before midnight.
The Court of Appeal heard the latest plea Friday morning but said it raised no new arguments about the 2008 robbery gone wrong, clearing the way for the execution.
"This case has been about many things but today, it’s about the abuse of the process of the court," said Court of Appeal Judge Chao Hick Tin.
Allowing Kho to continue with legal challenges would throw the judicial system "into disrepute," he added.
Singapore, one of Asia’s safest cities, takes a strong stand against crime and imposes the death penalty on offences such as murder and drug trafficking.
But human rights groups, which have called on Singapore to abolish capital punishment, condemned the execution.
Josef Benedict, deputy director at Amnesty International’s South East Asia and Pacific regional office, slammed the execution as "disgraceful" particularly as it was carried out so quickly after his final appeal was denied.
"Singapore is completely out of step with their position on the death penalty," said Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Phil Robertson.
"There’s no proof that executions prevent crime," Robertson told AFP.
After Kho was sentenced to death in 2010, Singapore amended its mandatory death penalty for murder, giving judges the discretion to impose life imprisonment under certain circumstances.
Kho’s case was reviewed and he was re-sentenced to a life term in 2013. But state prosecutors appealed that ruling and his death sentence was reinstated in January 2015.
He was scheduled for execution on November 6 last year but another last-minute appeal saved him.
Singapore’s president has rejected appeals to grant clemency to Kho.
Kho’s accomplice in the crime had his conviction for murder reduced to a lesser charge and got more than 18 years in prison and 19 strokes of the cane.
Singapore executed four people in 2015, one for murder and three for drug offences, according to prison statistics.
Malaysia also uses capital punishment, executing murderers and drug traffickers by hanging, a system which, like that in Singapore, dates back to British colonial rule.
http://dunyanews.tv/en/Crime/337726-Malaysian-murder-convict-hanged-in-Singapore-poli#.V0KCJ38sfkQ.twitter
SINGAPORE (AFP) - A Malaysian murder convict was hanged in Singapore Friday, police said, hours after the city-state’s highest court rejected a final bid for him to escape the gallows, sparking condemnation from rights groups.
"A 32-year-old male Malaysian national, Jabing Kho had his death sentence carried out on 20 May 2016 at Changi Prison Complex," the Singapore Police Force said in a statement.
Kho, who was sentenced to death in 2010 for the murder of a Chinese construction worker, had been due to hang in Changi Prison at dawn Friday, but was granted a brief last-minute reprieve after his lawyer filed a challenge before midnight.
The Court of Appeal heard the latest plea Friday morning but said it raised no new arguments about the 2008 robbery gone wrong, clearing the way for the execution.
"This case has been about many things but today, it’s about the abuse of the process of the court," said Court of Appeal Judge Chao Hick Tin.
Allowing Kho to continue with legal challenges would throw the judicial system "into disrepute," he added.
Singapore, one of Asia’s safest cities, takes a strong stand against crime and imposes the death penalty on offences such as murder and drug trafficking.
But human rights groups, which have called on Singapore to abolish capital punishment, condemned the execution.
Josef Benedict, deputy director at Amnesty International’s South East Asia and Pacific regional office, slammed the execution as "disgraceful" particularly as it was carried out so quickly after his final appeal was denied.
"Singapore is completely out of step with their position on the death penalty," said Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Phil Robertson.
"There’s no proof that executions prevent crime," Robertson told AFP.
After Kho was sentenced to death in 2010, Singapore amended its mandatory death penalty for murder, giving judges the discretion to impose life imprisonment under certain circumstances.
Kho’s case was reviewed and he was re-sentenced to a life term in 2013. But state prosecutors appealed that ruling and his death sentence was reinstated in January 2015.
He was scheduled for execution on November 6 last year but another last-minute appeal saved him.
Singapore’s president has rejected appeals to grant clemency to Kho.
Kho’s accomplice in the crime had his conviction for murder reduced to a lesser charge and got more than 18 years in prison and 19 strokes of the cane.
Singapore executed four people in 2015, one for murder and three for drug offences, according to prison statistics.
Malaysia also uses capital punishment, executing murderers and drug traffickers by hanging, a system which, like that in Singapore, dates back to British colonial rule.
Wednesday, 2 March 2016
Hanging revives Pakistan capital punishment debate
Source: MWC News (1 March 2016)
http://mwcnews.net/news/centrals-asia/57543-pakistan-capital-punishment.html
Execution of Mumtaz Qadri, who killed Punjab governor Salman Taseer in 2011, prompts muted celebration and protests.
The execution of a man who killed the head of government of Punjab province over his call to reform strict blasphemy laws has revived the question of capital punishment in Pakistan.
Mumtaz Qadri was a bodyguard for Salman Taseer when he shot the Punjab governor dead in Islamabad in 2011.
After his arrest, he told police he had assassinated Taseer because he championed the cause of a Christian woman sentenced to death in a blasphemy case that arose out of a personal dispute.
Taseer had said the law was being misused and should be reformed.
Considering him a hero for defending Islam, Qadri's supporters took to the streets of Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta and Karachi following his hanging early on Monday morning.
While there were protests in big numbers - and equal amount of muted celebration - the hanging prompted outcry from various quarters that called for a moratorium on executions "as a first step towards abolition of the death penalty".
Champa Patel, director of Amnesty International's South Asia Regional Office, said: "Taseer was a brave voice for religious tolerance in Pakistan and his murderer should be brought to justice, but carrying out more killings is a deplorable way to honour Taseer's life and message.
"The death penalty is always a human rights violation, regardless of the circumstances or nature of the crime.
"While it is positive that the government is committed to tackling religious extremism and is taking proactive steps to ensure perpetrators of violence are brought to justice, carrying out yet more killings only continues the cycle of violence."
Earlier, Qadri 's attorney said his client told him he had no regrets for killing Taseer.
"I have met him twice in jail. He said that even if God gave me 50 million lives, I would still sacrifice all of them," lawyer Ghulam Mustafa Chaudhry said.
Protesters briefly blocked the main road between Rawalpindi and Islamabad on Monday after news of the hanging broke.
Police later dispersed them and closed off the road to prevent more demonstrations.
Chaudhry predicted larger demonstrations as a nationwide strike on Tuesday has been called by Qadri's supporters to protest against the hanging.
Late in 2011, an anti-terrorism court handed down a double death sentence to Qadri for murder and terrorism. The sentence was appealed and upheld by the Supreme Court late last year.
Jibran Nasir, a Pakistan lawyer and activist, says the country needs to unite on the issue of blasphemy laws instead of it becoming a war between Qadri's fans and Taseer's fans.
"I won't call anybody's death good news but the hanging has made a claim that when the state is challenged, it would enforce its laws," Nasir said from Karachi.
"Qadri's was a terrorist act and the Supreme Court upheld that. But when we see people celebrating or protesting, those are fringe elements. We're not talking about the liberals, moderates or even progressives here.
"What we need to remember is that Qadri was made this glorified poster boy of this huge problem. He was just the trigger, a foot soldier and the ones he was influenced by and looked up to are still roaming around freely."
National media played down news of the execution and the protests on orders of the government, two senior TV news anchors told AFP news agency.
There was no coverage of crowds of angry Qadri supporters who flocked to pay their respects at his family's house in Rawalpindi where his body was laid out on a bed, his head surrounded by roses.
The funeral is expected to be held on Tuesday.
"I have no regrets," Qadri's brother Malik Abid told AFP, tears rolling down his cheeks, while women chanted nearby.
He said the family had been called to the prison on Sunday evening by officials who said Qadri was unwell.
But when they arrived, Qadri greeted them with the news that authorities had deceived them and that his execution was imminent.
"I am proud of the martyrdom of my son," Qadri's father Bashir Awan told AFP, adding he was ready to sacrifice all five of his other sons "for the honour of the prophet".
Nasir, the lawyer, cautioned against making Qadri a hero in death, saying that by the show of affection on the streets, the common man is likely to be impressed by his actions.
"Qadri was showered with petals, sent cards on Valentine's Day, called a warrior before his death and a martyr after his hanging," he said.
"We should not make him a celebratory and not give him unnecessary coverage."
More than 100 people are charged with blasphemy each year in predominantly Muslim Pakistan, many of them Christians and other minorities.
Conviction of blasphemy carries a death sentence. No one has yet been hanged, but those convicted languish in prison.
http://mwcnews.net/news/centrals-asia/57543-pakistan-capital-punishment.html
Execution of Mumtaz Qadri, who killed Punjab governor Salman Taseer in 2011, prompts muted celebration and protests.
The execution of a man who killed the head of government of Punjab province over his call to reform strict blasphemy laws has revived the question of capital punishment in Pakistan.
Mumtaz Qadri was a bodyguard for Salman Taseer when he shot the Punjab governor dead in Islamabad in 2011.
After his arrest, he told police he had assassinated Taseer because he championed the cause of a Christian woman sentenced to death in a blasphemy case that arose out of a personal dispute.
Taseer had said the law was being misused and should be reformed.
Considering him a hero for defending Islam, Qadri's supporters took to the streets of Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta and Karachi following his hanging early on Monday morning.
While there were protests in big numbers - and equal amount of muted celebration - the hanging prompted outcry from various quarters that called for a moratorium on executions "as a first step towards abolition of the death penalty".
Champa Patel, director of Amnesty International's South Asia Regional Office, said: "Taseer was a brave voice for religious tolerance in Pakistan and his murderer should be brought to justice, but carrying out more killings is a deplorable way to honour Taseer's life and message.
"The death penalty is always a human rights violation, regardless of the circumstances or nature of the crime.
"While it is positive that the government is committed to tackling religious extremism and is taking proactive steps to ensure perpetrators of violence are brought to justice, carrying out yet more killings only continues the cycle of violence."
Earlier, Qadri 's attorney said his client told him he had no regrets for killing Taseer.
"I have met him twice in jail. He said that even if God gave me 50 million lives, I would still sacrifice all of them," lawyer Ghulam Mustafa Chaudhry said.
Protesters briefly blocked the main road between Rawalpindi and Islamabad on Monday after news of the hanging broke.
Police later dispersed them and closed off the road to prevent more demonstrations.
Chaudhry predicted larger demonstrations as a nationwide strike on Tuesday has been called by Qadri's supporters to protest against the hanging.
Late in 2011, an anti-terrorism court handed down a double death sentence to Qadri for murder and terrorism. The sentence was appealed and upheld by the Supreme Court late last year.
Jibran Nasir, a Pakistan lawyer and activist, says the country needs to unite on the issue of blasphemy laws instead of it becoming a war between Qadri's fans and Taseer's fans.
"I won't call anybody's death good news but the hanging has made a claim that when the state is challenged, it would enforce its laws," Nasir said from Karachi.
"Qadri's was a terrorist act and the Supreme Court upheld that. But when we see people celebrating or protesting, those are fringe elements. We're not talking about the liberals, moderates or even progressives here.
"What we need to remember is that Qadri was made this glorified poster boy of this huge problem. He was just the trigger, a foot soldier and the ones he was influenced by and looked up to are still roaming around freely."
National media played down news of the execution and the protests on orders of the government, two senior TV news anchors told AFP news agency.
There was no coverage of crowds of angry Qadri supporters who flocked to pay their respects at his family's house in Rawalpindi where his body was laid out on a bed, his head surrounded by roses.
The funeral is expected to be held on Tuesday.
"I have no regrets," Qadri's brother Malik Abid told AFP, tears rolling down his cheeks, while women chanted nearby.
He said the family had been called to the prison on Sunday evening by officials who said Qadri was unwell.
But when they arrived, Qadri greeted them with the news that authorities had deceived them and that his execution was imminent.
"I am proud of the martyrdom of my son," Qadri's father Bashir Awan told AFP, adding he was ready to sacrifice all five of his other sons "for the honour of the prophet".
Nasir, the lawyer, cautioned against making Qadri a hero in death, saying that by the show of affection on the streets, the common man is likely to be impressed by his actions.
"Qadri was showered with petals, sent cards on Valentine's Day, called a warrior before his death and a martyr after his hanging," he said.
"We should not make him a celebratory and not give him unnecessary coverage."
More than 100 people are charged with blasphemy each year in predominantly Muslim Pakistan, many of them Christians and other minorities.
Conviction of blasphemy carries a death sentence. No one has yet been hanged, but those convicted languish in prison.
Monday, 4 May 2015
Death sentence commuted for Chinese woman who killed violent husband
Source: South China Morning Post (24 April 2015)
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1775401/death-sentence-commuted-chinese-woman-who-killed-violent-husband?utm_source=outbrain&utm_medium=outbrain&utm_campaign=OutbrainCampaign-Generic-Desktop
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1775401/death-sentence-commuted-chinese-woman-who-killed-violent-husband?utm_source=outbrain&utm_medium=outbrain&utm_campaign=OutbrainCampaign-Generic-Desktop
A court in Sichuan province yesterday commuted the death sentence of a woman who killed and cut up her abusive husband, state media reported.
The Ziyang Intermediate People's Court gave Li Yan, 44, a two-year reprieve and stripped her of her political rights, the Sichuan Daily reported.
The death sentence is likely to be commuted to a prison term after two years of good behaviour. Phone calls to the court went unanswered.
Li was sentenced to death in 2011 for killing her husband, Tan Yong. The Supreme People's Court in Beijing approved her death sentence in 2013, but following a strong public outcry, it overturned the sentence and ordered a retrial in June last year. The Ziyang Intermediate People's Court upheld the murder verdict but decided to commute the death sentence, having considered that Li's husband was also at fault and that Li been honest during the investigation, the Sichuan Daily said.
In March, the Supreme People's Court and government issued new guidelines on domestic violence cases, including recommendations on sentencing for victims who commit crimes against their abusers.
In a letter to a top judge appealing against her death sentence in 2012, Li described how she endured her husband's violence before she killed him - and how her repeated calls for help were ignored.
Tan frequently beat her, pulled her hair, banged her head against the wall, stubbed cigarettes out on her face and even hacked off one of her fingers.
After an argument on the night of November 3, 2010, her drunken husband threatened to shoot her, then he beat and kicked her. She fatally struck him over the head with a gun barrel, although she said that she did not intend to kill him. She dismembered his body and boiled some of the parts, before asking a friend to report the killing to the police.
According to a 2011 survey by the official All-China Women's Federation, one in four women on the mainland have experienced abuse in their marriage.
"The reprieve for Li Yan could prove to be a landmark verdict for future cases where domestic violence is a mitigating factor," said William Nee, China researcher at Amnesty International. "The highest court in China has sent a clear message that judges must not ignore domestic violence."
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
Japan: Three hanged during election campaign
Three killers are sent to the gallows
Seven hanged so far this year
By MINORU MATSUTANI
Staff writer
Story from The Japan Times
Three convicted murderers were hanged Tuesday, the Justice Ministry said, bringing the number of executions this year to seven and maintaining the fast pace that saw 15 people sent to the gallows in 2008.
Hanged were a double-killer and two triple-killers, including one who met his victims through a suicide Web site.
It was the third set of execution orders signed by Justice Minister Eisuke Mori, who sent four inmates to the gallows Jan. 29 and two others last October. He assumed the post last September.
"I just conducted my duty as justice minister," Mori said at a news conference following the executions.
Asked why he signed off on the executions at a time of political instability, he said, "I am still the justice minister, even after the Lower House was dissolved.
"Prime Minister Taro Aso dissolved the chamber July 21 and called the election for Aug. 30. Mori, a Lower House member until the dissolution, is expected to be busy preparing for his re-election campaign.
Human rights group Amnesty International Japan blasted the justice minister's action.
"With the Lower House election coming up in August, it is almost certain that Justice Minister Mori, the person with the supreme authority to sign off on executions, will resign. Conducting executions at a time like this is effectively the same as committing the act with nobody assuming responsibility," the group charged in a statement.
Executions have been on the rise in recent years. Mori's immediate predecessor, Okiharu Yasuoka, signed off on three executions last September even though he held the office for only about a month.
The man he replaced, Kunio Hatoyama, the older brother of Democratic Party of Japan President Yukio Hatoyama, ordered 13 executions during his 12-month stint that started in August 2007, the most hangings by a single justice minister since at least 1993.
Mori disclosed the names of the prisoners, a practice started by Hatoyama.
Chen Detong, 41, a Chinese, was convicted of killing two men and a woman and attempting to murder another man and woman with a knife in 1999 because they allegedly violently mistreated him at the apartment they shared in Kawasaki. He was hanged at the Tokyo Detention Center.
Yukio Yamaji, 25, was convicted of raping and slashing a woman and her sister to death and torching their condominium in 2005 in Osaka. He was executed at the Osaka Detention Center.
Hiroshi Maeue, 40, was convicted of killing three people he met via an online bulletin board for those wishing to commit suicide on three separate occasions in Osaka Prefecture from February to June 2005.
In all three cases, he strangled the victims — a female and two males, one of whom was 14 years old. According to a document provided by the Justice Ministry, Maeue became sexually aroused by the sight of people struggling while being strangled.
He was also hanged at the Osaka Detention Center.
Chen's death sentence was finalized July 15, 2006, Yamaji's on May 31, 2007, and Maeue's on July 5, 2007.
The number of death-row inmates now stands at 101.
Amnesty International Japan also said in its statement that more than 70 percent of countries have either abolished the death sentence or have otherwise effectively halted executions.
South Korea has staged no executions in 10 years, while Taiwan has abstained for three years, Amnesty said.
The United States, the only country in the Group of Eight besides Japan that has capital punishment on the books, has seen states carrying out fewer executions, while Islamic countries, generally considered disposed to the death penalty, also are becoming more circumspect about executions, the group said.
Until 2007, executions in China, which puts far more people to death than any other country, were trending down. However, in 2008 the figure jumped to at least 1,718 from some 470 the year before, the group said, adding, however, that since Beijing last year changed the way executions are counted, it cannot say definitively if they are on the rise or not.
Nonetheless, Japan is one of the few countries where executions are on the rise, it said.
Last Dec. 18 the U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for a halt in executions.
Related stories:
Japan: New year, more hangings -- 29 January 2009
Japan may execute before year ends -- 16 December 2008
Japan: Record toll with new hangings -- 28 October 2008
Japan: New minister faces next hanging -- 14 October 2008
Japan: New minister sends three to death -- 12 September 2008
Japan: Minister steps up rate of hangings -- 12 April 2008
Long wait, sudden death in Japan -- 28 August 2006
Seven hanged so far this year
By MINORU MATSUTANI
Staff writer
Story from The Japan Times
Three convicted murderers were hanged Tuesday, the Justice Ministry said, bringing the number of executions this year to seven and maintaining the fast pace that saw 15 people sent to the gallows in 2008.
Hanged were a double-killer and two triple-killers, including one who met his victims through a suicide Web site.
It was the third set of execution orders signed by Justice Minister Eisuke Mori, who sent four inmates to the gallows Jan. 29 and two others last October. He assumed the post last September.
"I just conducted my duty as justice minister," Mori said at a news conference following the executions.
Asked why he signed off on the executions at a time of political instability, he said, "I am still the justice minister, even after the Lower House was dissolved.
"Prime Minister Taro Aso dissolved the chamber July 21 and called the election for Aug. 30. Mori, a Lower House member until the dissolution, is expected to be busy preparing for his re-election campaign.
Human rights group Amnesty International Japan blasted the justice minister's action.
"With the Lower House election coming up in August, it is almost certain that Justice Minister Mori, the person with the supreme authority to sign off on executions, will resign. Conducting executions at a time like this is effectively the same as committing the act with nobody assuming responsibility," the group charged in a statement.
Executions have been on the rise in recent years. Mori's immediate predecessor, Okiharu Yasuoka, signed off on three executions last September even though he held the office for only about a month.
The man he replaced, Kunio Hatoyama, the older brother of Democratic Party of Japan President Yukio Hatoyama, ordered 13 executions during his 12-month stint that started in August 2007, the most hangings by a single justice minister since at least 1993.
Mori disclosed the names of the prisoners, a practice started by Hatoyama.
Chen Detong, 41, a Chinese, was convicted of killing two men and a woman and attempting to murder another man and woman with a knife in 1999 because they allegedly violently mistreated him at the apartment they shared in Kawasaki. He was hanged at the Tokyo Detention Center.
Yukio Yamaji, 25, was convicted of raping and slashing a woman and her sister to death and torching their condominium in 2005 in Osaka. He was executed at the Osaka Detention Center.
Hiroshi Maeue, 40, was convicted of killing three people he met via an online bulletin board for those wishing to commit suicide on three separate occasions in Osaka Prefecture from February to June 2005.
In all three cases, he strangled the victims — a female and two males, one of whom was 14 years old. According to a document provided by the Justice Ministry, Maeue became sexually aroused by the sight of people struggling while being strangled.
He was also hanged at the Osaka Detention Center.
Chen's death sentence was finalized July 15, 2006, Yamaji's on May 31, 2007, and Maeue's on July 5, 2007.
The number of death-row inmates now stands at 101.
Amnesty International Japan also said in its statement that more than 70 percent of countries have either abolished the death sentence or have otherwise effectively halted executions.
South Korea has staged no executions in 10 years, while Taiwan has abstained for three years, Amnesty said.
The United States, the only country in the Group of Eight besides Japan that has capital punishment on the books, has seen states carrying out fewer executions, while Islamic countries, generally considered disposed to the death penalty, also are becoming more circumspect about executions, the group said.
Until 2007, executions in China, which puts far more people to death than any other country, were trending down. However, in 2008 the figure jumped to at least 1,718 from some 470 the year before, the group said, adding, however, that since Beijing last year changed the way executions are counted, it cannot say definitively if they are on the rise or not.
Nonetheless, Japan is one of the few countries where executions are on the rise, it said.
Last Dec. 18 the U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for a halt in executions.
Related stories:
Japan: New year, more hangings -- 29 January 2009
Japan may execute before year ends -- 16 December 2008
Japan: Record toll with new hangings -- 28 October 2008
Japan: New minister faces next hanging -- 14 October 2008
Japan: New minister sends three to death -- 12 September 2008
Japan: Minister steps up rate of hangings -- 12 April 2008
Long wait, sudden death in Japan -- 28 August 2006
Thursday, 29 January 2009
Japan: New year, more hangings
Human rights campaigners have condemned the first executions carried out in Japan in 2009, following the hanging of four prisoners in three cities this morning [29 January].
The Justice Ministry reportedly confirmed the men, all executed for murder, were:
"These are heinous cases which destroyed precious human lives," justice minister Mori Eisuke said, according to a report by AFP newsagency.
"I ordered the executions after cautious examination."
Mori Eisuke has now sent six men to the gallows since he was appointed justice minister on 24 September 2008.
He previously approved two executions, with the hanging of Michitoshi Kuma, 70, and Masahiro Takashio, 55, on 28 October.
The Japanese section of Amnesty International condemned the latest executions.
"We feel strong anger over these executions," the organisation's Tokyo branch said in a statement quoted by AFP.
"The Japanese government should recognise its international obligation to establish a criminal justice system which does not rely on capital punishment"
Japan executed a total of fifteen people in 2008, the highest rate in more than thirty years.
Related stories:
Executions in Japan -- 2006 - 2008 -- 2 January 2009
Japan may execute before year ends -- 16 December 2008
Japan: Record toll with new hangings -- 28 October 2008
Japan: New minister faces next hanging -- 14 October 2008
Japan: New minister sends three to death -- 12 September 2008
The Justice Ministry reportedly confirmed the men, all executed for murder, were:
- Shojiro Nishimoto, 32, hanged at the Tokyo Detention Center
- Yukinari Kawamura, 44, and Tetsuya Sato, 39, hanged in Nagoya
- Tadashi Makino, 58, hanged in Fukuoka.
"These are heinous cases which destroyed precious human lives," justice minister Mori Eisuke said, according to a report by AFP newsagency.
"I ordered the executions after cautious examination."
Mori Eisuke has now sent six men to the gallows since he was appointed justice minister on 24 September 2008.
He previously approved two executions, with the hanging of Michitoshi Kuma, 70, and Masahiro Takashio, 55, on 28 October.
The Japanese section of Amnesty International condemned the latest executions.
"We feel strong anger over these executions," the organisation's Tokyo branch said in a statement quoted by AFP.
"The Japanese government should recognise its international obligation to establish a criminal justice system which does not rely on capital punishment"
Japan executed a total of fifteen people in 2008, the highest rate in more than thirty years.
Related stories:
Executions in Japan -- 2006 - 2008 -- 2 January 2009
Japan may execute before year ends -- 16 December 2008
Japan: Record toll with new hangings -- 28 October 2008
Japan: New minister faces next hanging -- 14 October 2008
Japan: New minister sends three to death -- 12 September 2008
Tuesday, 13 January 2009
Organ transplant after execution: Singapore
A prominent Singapore businessman reportedly received a kidney transplant last Friday using an organ donated by an executed gangster.
According to The Straits Times, police confirmed former gang leader Tan Chor Jin was hanged in Changi prison on the morning of 9 January, for the 2006 shooting of a nightclub owner.
The paper reported that retail magnate Tang Wee Sung received the kidney transplant later in the day in the National University Hospital.
Tan, 42, was executed about two weeks after his appeal for presidential clemency was rejected in the last week of December.
Singapore's president has granted clemency only six times since the country since independence in 1965.
Singapore newspapers reported in the days before Tan's execution that he had told his wife and mistress he wanted to donate his organs after his death.
Tan, 42, was convicted in May 2007 of discharging a firearm, which carries a mandatory death penalty.
The High Court was told he entered nightclub operator Lim Hock Soon's flat on the morning of 15 February, 2006, ordering him to tie up his wife, daughter and their maid. Tan fired six rounds from a pistol, hitting Lim five times and killing him instantly.
He was arrested in a hotel raid by Malaysian police after he fled to Kuala Lumpur.
The High Court rejected his defence arguments that he had been drunk, the shots were fired accidentally and he had acted in self-defence after Mr Lim threw a chair at him.
Tan discharged his lawyer and represented himself during his trial, but he was represented in his appeal by criminal lawyers Subhas Anandan and Sunil Sudheesan.
He was referred to by the media as a triad gang leader and the 'One-eyed Dragon' because he was blind in his right eye.
The New Paper claimed in 2006 that Tan was hired by a Malaysian crime syndicate to kill Lim in a dispute over gambling winnings.
Tang was jailed for a day and fined $17,000 in 2008 in the country's first organ trading case, after he was convicted of trying to buy a kidney from an Indonesian.
In the previous reported execution, Singapore hanged Mohammed Ali Johari on 19 December 2008 for the murder of his 2-year-old stepdaughter.
According to The Straits Times, police confirmed former gang leader Tan Chor Jin was hanged in Changi prison on the morning of 9 January, for the 2006 shooting of a nightclub owner.
The paper reported that retail magnate Tang Wee Sung received the kidney transplant later in the day in the National University Hospital.
Tan, 42, was executed about two weeks after his appeal for presidential clemency was rejected in the last week of December.
Singapore's president has granted clemency only six times since the country since independence in 1965.
Singapore newspapers reported in the days before Tan's execution that he had told his wife and mistress he wanted to donate his organs after his death.
Tan, 42, was convicted in May 2007 of discharging a firearm, which carries a mandatory death penalty.
The High Court was told he entered nightclub operator Lim Hock Soon's flat on the morning of 15 February, 2006, ordering him to tie up his wife, daughter and their maid. Tan fired six rounds from a pistol, hitting Lim five times and killing him instantly.
He was arrested in a hotel raid by Malaysian police after he fled to Kuala Lumpur.
The High Court rejected his defence arguments that he had been drunk, the shots were fired accidentally and he had acted in self-defence after Mr Lim threw a chair at him.
Tan discharged his lawyer and represented himself during his trial, but he was represented in his appeal by criminal lawyers Subhas Anandan and Sunil Sudheesan.
He was referred to by the media as a triad gang leader and the 'One-eyed Dragon' because he was blind in his right eye.
The New Paper claimed in 2006 that Tan was hired by a Malaysian crime syndicate to kill Lim in a dispute over gambling winnings.
Tang was jailed for a day and fined $17,000 in 2008 in the country's first organ trading case, after he was convicted of trying to buy a kidney from an Indonesian.
In the previous reported execution, Singapore hanged Mohammed Ali Johari on 19 December 2008 for the murder of his 2-year-old stepdaughter.
Friday, 12 September 2008
Japan: New minister sends three to death
Japan's new justice minister has taken time out of the country's current political turmoil to sign death warrants for three men who were hanged yesterday [11 September].
Okiharu Yasuoka approved the execution of three men, all aged in their 60s, just weeks after he was reappointed minister in August.
Yasuoka denied the executions were linked to the expected resignation later this month of the cabinet of prime minister Yasuo Fukuda.
"I screened the cases carefully and strictly, and carried out [the decision] firmly as the person responsible for protecting law and order," Yasuoka said at a media conference announcing the executions.
"The decision wasn't timed."
The justice ministry yesterday confirmed the three men were: Yoshiyuki Mantani, 68, Mineteru Yamamoto, 68 and Isamu Hirano, 61. The AFP newsagency reported they were hanged in Osaka and Tokyo for crimes including murder.
According to the Mainichi Daily News, Hirano was executed just 23 months after his death sentence was confirmed, when the penalty is rarely carried out within two years.
It also said Yamamoto's sentence was the first handed down by a system designed to speed up trials, with only three hearings before the case closed.
Killing again
When Yasuoka served a previous period as justice minister, between July and December 2000, he also reportedly ordered three executions.
Executions in Japan were resumed in 1993, after a moratorium of nearly three and four months. Mainichi reported there have been 73 executions in total since then.
Related stories:
Executions in Japan -- 2006 - 2008 -- 12 April, 2008
Japan: Minister steps up rate of hangings -- 12 April, 2008
Japan: Sixteen hanged in thirteen months -- 04 February, 2008
Long wait, sudden death in Japan -- 28 August, 2006
Okiharu Yasuoka approved the execution of three men, all aged in their 60s, just weeks after he was reappointed minister in August.
Yasuoka denied the executions were linked to the expected resignation later this month of the cabinet of prime minister Yasuo Fukuda.
"I screened the cases carefully and strictly, and carried out [the decision] firmly as the person responsible for protecting law and order," Yasuoka said at a media conference announcing the executions.
"The decision wasn't timed."
The justice ministry yesterday confirmed the three men were: Yoshiyuki Mantani, 68, Mineteru Yamamoto, 68 and Isamu Hirano, 61. The AFP newsagency reported they were hanged in Osaka and Tokyo for crimes including murder.
According to the Mainichi Daily News, Hirano was executed just 23 months after his death sentence was confirmed, when the penalty is rarely carried out within two years.
It also said Yamamoto's sentence was the first handed down by a system designed to speed up trials, with only three hearings before the case closed.
Killing again
When Yasuoka served a previous period as justice minister, between July and December 2000, he also reportedly ordered three executions.
Executions in Japan were resumed in 1993, after a moratorium of nearly three and four months. Mainichi reported there have been 73 executions in total since then.
Related stories:
Executions in Japan -- 2006 - 2008 -- 12 April, 2008
Japan: Minister steps up rate of hangings -- 12 April, 2008
Japan: Sixteen hanged in thirteen months -- 04 February, 2008
Long wait, sudden death in Japan -- 28 August, 2006
Monday, 11 August 2008
Indonesia: Seventh execution in six weeks
The Indonesian Government has executed another convicted murderer, the seventh person shot by firing squad in about six weeks.
Rio Alek Bulo was shot dead by a 12-man firing squad shortly after midnight last Friday morning (8 August), according to an AFP report quoted by the Antara newsagency.
The report said the execution was confirmed by senior prosecutor Abdul Hakim Ritonga.
"His last request to meet his wife and children were fulfilled," Ritonga was quoted as saying.
Bulo had been dubbed "Hammer" by newspapers, after he killed four people with a hammer while stealing their cars.
He was convicted of the murders in 2001, and in 2005 he reportedly killed a fellow prisoner.
Five of the seven latest executions in Indonesia were for murder and two for drug trafficking.
Indonesia executed four convicted murderers on three nights in late July 2008.
Related stories:
Indonesia: Record number executed in four weeks -- 20 July, 2008
Indonesia: Drug offenders executed, more to come -- 29 June, 2008
Executions in Indonesia since 1995 -- 26 September, 2006
Rio Alek Bulo was shot dead by a 12-man firing squad shortly after midnight last Friday morning (8 August), according to an AFP report quoted by the Antara newsagency.
The report said the execution was confirmed by senior prosecutor Abdul Hakim Ritonga.
"His last request to meet his wife and children were fulfilled," Ritonga was quoted as saying.
Bulo had been dubbed "Hammer" by newspapers, after he killed four people with a hammer while stealing their cars.
He was convicted of the murders in 2001, and in 2005 he reportedly killed a fellow prisoner.
Five of the seven latest executions in Indonesia were for murder and two for drug trafficking.
Indonesia executed four convicted murderers on three nights in late July 2008.
Related stories:
Indonesia: Record number executed in four weeks -- 20 July, 2008
Indonesia: Drug offenders executed, more to come -- 29 June, 2008
Executions in Indonesia since 1995 -- 26 September, 2006
Friday, 27 July 2007
China handed evidence for murder trial
Chinese officials spent this week in Canberra collecting evidence to prosecute a student for an alleged murder committed in the Australian capital in 2004.
Zhang Long is facing trial in China for the murder of his girlfriend, Zhang Hongjie (also known as Steffi Zhang). Her body was found in their Canberra apartment in January 2005, six months after she was believed to have been strangled.
Police in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) announced on Thursday that they had handed a brief of evidence and physical exhibits to a visiting delegation of seven police and public security officials.
The handover was the culmination of more than a year's careful negotiation with Chinese authorities.
The ACT government refused to hand over evidence in the case until China gave an undertaking the death penalty would not be imposed if he was convicted of murder. China refused to extradite Zhang to Australia to face trial.
In November 2006 The Canberra Times reported the breakthrough when China agreed to guarantee it would not execute the accused if he was found guilty.
AAP reported Zhang had been in custody in the Chinese city of Dalian since March 2005.
Under Australian law, an international request for assistance in criminal cases can be refused where that assistance may result in the death penalty.
Related stories:
No execution for Canberra murder: Report -- 15 December, 2006
Australia China talks over murder case -- 04 April, 2006
Zhang Long is facing trial in China for the murder of his girlfriend, Zhang Hongjie (also known as Steffi Zhang). Her body was found in their Canberra apartment in January 2005, six months after she was believed to have been strangled.
Police in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) announced on Thursday that they had handed a brief of evidence and physical exhibits to a visiting delegation of seven police and public security officials.
The handover was the culmination of more than a year's careful negotiation with Chinese authorities.
The ACT government refused to hand over evidence in the case until China gave an undertaking the death penalty would not be imposed if he was convicted of murder. China refused to extradite Zhang to Australia to face trial.
In November 2006 The Canberra Times reported the breakthrough when China agreed to guarantee it would not execute the accused if he was found guilty.
AAP reported Zhang had been in custody in the Chinese city of Dalian since March 2005.
Under Australian law, an international request for assistance in criminal cases can be refused where that assistance may result in the death penalty.
Related stories:
No execution for Canberra murder: Report -- 15 December, 2006
Australia China talks over murder case -- 04 April, 2006
Sunday, 29 April 2007
Indonesia: Convicted murderer shot
Indonesia yesterday executed a man for murdering a family of six in February 1999.
It was the fourteenth reported execution in Indonesia since 1995.
Ayub Bulubili, 40, was shot by firing squad at 1:30am on Saturday at a shooting range in Central Kalimantan, according to an AFP report.
AFP quoted Agustinus Siahaan, a warden at Palangkaraya jail where Bulubili had been held, who said the prisoner took part in a Catholic religious service in the prison before he was executed.
"He was executed early on Saturday morning and was buried near here before noon," Mr Siahaan said.
Bulubili would have been notified of his execution at least 72 hours before it was carried out.
Human rights organisation Amnesty International (AI) released an Urgent Action appeal last week in an attempt to prevent the execution.
AI said Ayub Bulubili was sentenced to death on 28 October 1999 by the Kapuas District court in Central Kalimantan province.
He was convicted of the premeditated murder of a family of six, including four children between four and thirteen years of age.
His sentence was upheld by the Central Kalimantan High Court and by the Indonesian Supreme Court. AI said two appeals for presidential clemency were rejected, the first by then President Megawati Sukarnoputri in July 2004 and the second by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in March 2007.
AI reports there are at least 91 people believed to be under sentence of death in Indonesia, 13 of whom were convicted and sentenced to death in 2006.
Executions in Indonesia are carried out by firing squad, although the government is considering a move to lethal injection.
Prisoners are shot by a firing squad of twelve people. Six guns are loaded with live ammunition and six with blanks.
Related stories:
Executions in Indonesia since 1995 -- 26 September 2006
It was the fourteenth reported execution in Indonesia since 1995.
Ayub Bulubili, 40, was shot by firing squad at 1:30am on Saturday at a shooting range in Central Kalimantan, according to an AFP report.
AFP quoted Agustinus Siahaan, a warden at Palangkaraya jail where Bulubili had been held, who said the prisoner took part in a Catholic religious service in the prison before he was executed.
"He was executed early on Saturday morning and was buried near here before noon," Mr Siahaan said.
Bulubili would have been notified of his execution at least 72 hours before it was carried out.
Human rights organisation Amnesty International (AI) released an Urgent Action appeal last week in an attempt to prevent the execution.
AI said Ayub Bulubili was sentenced to death on 28 October 1999 by the Kapuas District court in Central Kalimantan province.
He was convicted of the premeditated murder of a family of six, including four children between four and thirteen years of age.
His sentence was upheld by the Central Kalimantan High Court and by the Indonesian Supreme Court. AI said two appeals for presidential clemency were rejected, the first by then President Megawati Sukarnoputri in July 2004 and the second by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in March 2007.
AI reports there are at least 91 people believed to be under sentence of death in Indonesia, 13 of whom were convicted and sentenced to death in 2006.
Executions in Indonesia are carried out by firing squad, although the government is considering a move to lethal injection.
Prisoners are shot by a firing squad of twelve people. Six guns are loaded with live ammunition and six with blanks.
Related stories:
Executions in Indonesia since 1995 -- 26 September 2006
Tuesday, 13 February 2007
'Ryan was innocent': lawyer
In our piece on the 40th anniversary of Ronald Ryan's hanging, we noted that his lawyer had always claimed he was innocent, a view rejected again last week by his biographer.
Mike Richards, author of The Hanged Man: The Life and Death of Ronald Ryan, said the condemned man confessed to the Pentridge prison governor the night before he was executed.
A reader has drawn our attention to a 2002 letter by defence barrister Phillip Opas detailing the final steps in his efforts to save his client's life
"I will go to my grave firmly of the opinion that Ronald Ryan did not commit murder," he wrote.
"I refuse to believe that at any time he told anyone that he did. When all hope of a reprieve had gone and he had decided that he might as well declare his guilt (if that was the fact) there are two people whom I believe he would have told and they were Father Brosnan and me.
"I will go to my grave firmly of the opinion that Ronald Ryan did not commit murder," he wrote.
"I refuse to believe that at any time he told anyone that he did. When all hope of a reprieve had gone and he had decided that he might as well declare his guilt (if that was the fact) there are two people whom I believe he would have told and they were Father Brosnan and me.
"Father Brosnan and I have formed a lifelong friendship since the hanging, and Father has told me that Ryan never made any admission of guilt to him," Opas wrote.
He said Ryan "always vehemently denied" that he had shot and killed prison warder George Hodson.
While he planned a final appeal to the Privy Council, he believed it would ultimately fail but it would buy "time to create a groundswell of public opinion that would prevent the government from carrying out its declared intention of executing him".
According to Opus, Ryan replied: "We've all got to go some time, but I don't want to go this way for something I didn't do."
He said Ryan "always vehemently denied" that he had shot and killed prison warder George Hodson.
While he planned a final appeal to the Privy Council, he believed it would ultimately fail but it would buy "time to create a groundswell of public opinion that would prevent the government from carrying out its declared intention of executing him".
According to Opus, Ryan replied: "We've all got to go some time, but I don't want to go this way for something I didn't do."
"Then he smiled and added, "You know, mate, we're playing time on. If you don't kick a goal soon, we're going to lose this match," Opus wrote.
It was the last time he saw his client.
Contesting the fatal shot
In the letter, Opus outlined the basis for his opinion that "not only did he not fire a shot, but that he could not have fired the shot that killed the warder".
In the letter, Opus outlined the basis for his opinion that "not only did he not fire a shot, but that he could not have fired the shot that killed the warder".
It detailed facts which Dr Opas said "could neither lie nor be mistaken", including:
- witnesses claiming to have seen Ryan's shoulder jerk back and smoke coming from the barrel of the gun, when in fact that type of rifle had no recoil and it contained smokeless cartridges
- the lack of any forensic evidence that the gun was ever fired when it was in Ryan's possession
- a call Opas received a few years after the hanging, claiming that a prison officer had found the ninth round from Ryan's gun, which the caller claimed was dropped in the tower. The anonymous caller said the prison officer was forced by superiors to change his statement to omit all reference to the bullets, after he was threatened with a charge of "conspiring with the prisoners to help the escape"
- calculations that Ryan could not have shot Hodson at the downwards angle indicated by his entry and exit wounds, contrasted with
- statements that another prisoner officer had taken aim at Ryan while standing on a low stone wall in front of the jail, but pulled the gun up as he fired, a move which could have seen Hodson shot from the correct angle.
Dr Opas concluded: "Ryan was the unfortunate victim of the Premier's determination to have a hanging."
"I will always be troubled by the feeling that Ryan should have been acquitted and that I must have been inadequate for the task of defending him," he wrote.
Letter published: Victorian Bar News, Issue No: 122, Spring Edition 2002, 1/09/2002
(Anon, thanks for the tip.)
"I will always be troubled by the feeling that Ryan should have been acquitted and that I must have been inadequate for the task of defending him," he wrote.
Letter published: Victorian Bar News, Issue No: 122, Spring Edition 2002, 1/09/2002
(Anon, thanks for the tip.)
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