Time is running out for the Indonesian government to execute three Islamist terrorists this week for the October 2002 Bali bombing.
Attorney-General Hendarman Supandji has reportedly said he wanted the men shot before the start of Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting and forgiveness.
This year Ramadan is expected to begin at sunset on 31 August.
However it is not clear whether the attorney-general has signed the necessary orders, and whether there would be enough time for authorities to make the final preparations.
Indonesian media report the Bali police and prosecutors are working together to coordinate arrangements for the executions.
Death row prisoners in Indonesia are usually given 72 hours notice when a date is set.
Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, Ali Ghufron (also known as Mukhlas) and Imam Samudra were convicted of organising the bombing, in which 202 people died.
The men are being held in a prison on Nusakambangan Island, off the coast of Central Java.
In July 2008, two Bali prosecutors reportedly inspected a field on the island where the executions would be carried out.
If they are not executed this week, the government is expected to wait until after Ramadan, rather than risk a religious backlash.
The prisoners have said in the past that they welcomed their execution, although they would prefer to be beheaded, which they claimed was a more 'Islamic' form of execution.
Constitutional challenge underway
The three may be shot while the country's Constitutional Court is considering their challenge to the standard method of execution.
In mid-August, the court agreed to hear an application from the men's lawyers arguing execution by firing squad amounted to torture.
"The appellants have a constitutional right not to be tortured," the application said. They argued that a delay between the shots by a firing squad and their deaths would constitute torture.
The court asked them to expand on their submissions at the court's next hearing, set down for this week.
The bombers' lawyers also have sent a letter to the attorney-general requesting a delay until a Constitutional Court challenge is completed.
The application is widely seen as a further legal manoeuvre designed to delay the executions, but the government has said it would have no bearing on when the sentences were carried out.
"Preparations are continuing - we don't need to wait for a decision from the Constitutional Court. When we are ready, we will execute," a government spokesman said after the preliminary court hearing on 14 August.
Law and Human Rights Minister Andi Mattalatta said in early August that the constitutional challenge had no implication for the impending executions.
"Execution is one problem and the decision of the Constitutional Court is another," he said.
"There is no relationship."
'Foreign pressure' claim
The defence legal team also attempted to incite opposition to the executions by portraying the government as giving in to foreign pressure.
"The question now is why is the Attorney-General's office in a hurry to execute them?" lawyer Adnan Wirawan said.
"Are they under the pressure of the Australian community to execute the three bombers right away?"
'Security tightened'
The Antara newsagency has reported that security had been tightened around Nusakambangan Island in preparation for the executions.
According to the report, the head of Nusakambangan's Batu Correctional Institute, Sudijanto, issued a circular on 11 August prohibiting local fishermen from the waters around the island, citing security reasons.
Related stories:
Bali executions will inspire martyrs: expert -- 25 February 2008
Bali bombers may soon get their wish -- 10 November 2007
Bali: Execution closer for bombing leaders -- 09 October 2007
Bali bombers lodge appeals -- 08 December 2006
Execution delay for Bali bombers -- 21 August 2006
Bali bombers closer to execution -- 11 April 2006
Monday, 25 August 2008
Uncertain when Islamist bombers will die
Saturday, 16 August 2008
Australia defends selective appeals for life
The Australian government has again opened itself up to accusations of double standards over the death penalty, with the confirmation it would only consistently oppose the execution of Australian citizens.
Foreign affairs minister Stephen Smith said this week he would raise the cases of three Australians on death row in Indonesia but not the three convicted Bali bombers.
Australian newspapers reported that Cabinet recently discussed whether the government could argue more effectively -- and avoid accusations of hypocrisy in Asia -- if it opposed all executions (stories here and here).
"I'm not going to indicate what may or may not have been discussed at Cabinet, but our position is quite straightforward. We don't support the use of capital punishment," Smith reportedly told Australia's Nine Network.
"When an Australian overseas has been convicted and is subject to capital punishment as a sentence, we make representations on behalf of Australian citizens.
"When it comes to other individuals who aren't Australian citizens, we'll make a judgment on a case-by-case basis as to whether it's appropriate to make representations or to join in representations at a regional or multilateral level."
The report said Smith pointed to Australia's recent involvement in international appeals for Iran to stop executing children.
"But the Prime Minister and I have both made clear that we don't propose to make representations on behalf of terrorists who have been subject to the death penalty," he said.
"So I won't be making any individual representations so far as the Bali bombers are concerned."
New Zealand's Prime Minister Helen Clark said at a media conference on 21 July that her government did not support the execution of the bombers.
"The New Zealand Government does not support the death penalty under any circumstances," she said.
"Clearly these men are guilty of heinous crimes and those crimes, in any jurisdiction, would justify them [getting] very serious penalties available under law but the New Zealand Government will not and does not support the death penalty."
Government silence
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said last October, when he was opposition leader, that he would only speak out against the execution of Australians overseas.
Rudd humiliated his opposition colleague Robert McClelland, now commonwealth attorney-general, scolding him for public remarks that Australia should consistently oppose executions.
"When it comes to the question of the death penalty, no diplomatic intervention will ever be made by any government that I lead in support of any individual terrorist life," Rudd said at the time.
Drawing a line -- against comment
The language used by Rudd in October 2007 and Smith this week refers to no "diplomatic resources" or "individual representations" being devoted to appeals in terrorist cases.
The policy appears to mean that ministers will not draw any public link between the government's policy of "opposition" to the death penalty and the execution of a non-Australian.
In practice, it is therefore likely that the Australian government will take no consistent public position on the execution of foreigners, apart from some exceptions determined on "a case-by-case basis".
Although there have been claims a Rudd government would push for abolition of the death penalty through multilateral forums, there has so far been no public sign that the new government is doing anything new at the international level.
Amnesty International Australia has argued over several years that the country undermined its credibility in opposing the death penalty if it only took a stand when Australian lives were at stake.
Principally hypocritical
The new Labor government's position on the death penalty is similar to the policy of the previous conservative government -- with one important difference.
Under former Prime Minister John Howard, the Liberal-National government claimed it opposed the death penalty "consistently" and "in principle", but it only made representations when Australian citizens faced death.
However this inconsistency was further undermined when Howard and senior government ministers repeatedly indicated their support for particular executions being carried out.
Related stories:
'Only Australians' should be spared execution -- 06 January, 2008
No Australian government will oppose terrorist executions -- 10 October, 2007
Australia: Rudd would oppose death penalty -- 24 June, 2007
Australia 'should act against death penalty' -- 03 August, 2006
Foreign affairs minister Stephen Smith said this week he would raise the cases of three Australians on death row in Indonesia but not the three convicted Bali bombers.
Australian newspapers reported that Cabinet recently discussed whether the government could argue more effectively -- and avoid accusations of hypocrisy in Asia -- if it opposed all executions (stories here and here).
"I'm not going to indicate what may or may not have been discussed at Cabinet, but our position is quite straightforward. We don't support the use of capital punishment," Smith reportedly told Australia's Nine Network.
"When an Australian overseas has been convicted and is subject to capital punishment as a sentence, we make representations on behalf of Australian citizens.
"When it comes to other individuals who aren't Australian citizens, we'll make a judgment on a case-by-case basis as to whether it's appropriate to make representations or to join in representations at a regional or multilateral level."
The report said Smith pointed to Australia's recent involvement in international appeals for Iran to stop executing children.
"But the Prime Minister and I have both made clear that we don't propose to make representations on behalf of terrorists who have been subject to the death penalty," he said.
"So I won't be making any individual representations so far as the Bali bombers are concerned."
New Zealand's Prime Minister Helen Clark said at a media conference on 21 July that her government did not support the execution of the bombers.
"The New Zealand Government does not support the death penalty under any circumstances," she said.
"Clearly these men are guilty of heinous crimes and those crimes, in any jurisdiction, would justify them [getting] very serious penalties available under law but the New Zealand Government will not and does not support the death penalty."
Government silence
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said last October, when he was opposition leader, that he would only speak out against the execution of Australians overseas.
Rudd humiliated his opposition colleague Robert McClelland, now commonwealth attorney-general, scolding him for public remarks that Australia should consistently oppose executions.
"When it comes to the question of the death penalty, no diplomatic intervention will ever be made by any government that I lead in support of any individual terrorist life," Rudd said at the time.
Drawing a line -- against comment
The language used by Rudd in October 2007 and Smith this week refers to no "diplomatic resources" or "individual representations" being devoted to appeals in terrorist cases.
The policy appears to mean that ministers will not draw any public link between the government's policy of "opposition" to the death penalty and the execution of a non-Australian.
In practice, it is therefore likely that the Australian government will take no consistent public position on the execution of foreigners, apart from some exceptions determined on "a case-by-case basis".
Although there have been claims a Rudd government would push for abolition of the death penalty through multilateral forums, there has so far been no public sign that the new government is doing anything new at the international level.
Amnesty International Australia has argued over several years that the country undermined its credibility in opposing the death penalty if it only took a stand when Australian lives were at stake.
Principally hypocritical
The new Labor government's position on the death penalty is similar to the policy of the previous conservative government -- with one important difference.
Under former Prime Minister John Howard, the Liberal-National government claimed it opposed the death penalty "consistently" and "in principle", but it only made representations when Australian citizens faced death.
However this inconsistency was further undermined when Howard and senior government ministers repeatedly indicated their support for particular executions being carried out.
Related stories:
'Only Australians' should be spared execution -- 06 January, 2008
No Australian government will oppose terrorist executions -- 10 October, 2007
Australia: Rudd would oppose death penalty -- 24 June, 2007
Australia 'should act against death penalty' -- 03 August, 2006
Wednesday, 13 August 2008
Asia death penalty in decline: Researcher
An expert in the use of the death penalty across Asia has said that "in the long run" it will probably disappear in the region, in line with trends in the rest of the world.
Professor David Johnson from the University of Hawai'i told the Associated Press there had been dramatic declines in the number of executions in Asia, and he expected a trend towards abolition as the death penalty became increasingly seen as a human rights issue.
"I think in the long run, probably the death penalty is going to disappear in Asia as it seems to be doing in many parts of the rest of the world," he said.
He pointed to reductions in the number of executions in China and Singapore, two leading executing states, and Pakistan's proposal to commute the death sentences of about 6,000 prisoners.
The death penalty was being viewed more as a human rights issue, rather than an issue of criminal justice, which tended to undermine public confidence in it as a form of punishment.
Professor Johnson said "the frame that regards the death penalty as a human rights issue has become more conspicuous and salient in Asia than it was in the past".
"And when you frame the death penalty as a human rights issue instead of a crime issue, you invite anxiety and concern and resistance to the death penalty because, after all, it's a state killing," he said.
While the death penalty was strongest in authoritarian states, even there its use was in decline.
"The most dramatic execution decreases occurred in the rapidly developing democracies of South Korea and Taiwan, but declines have also occurred in nations such as India and Malaysia," he said.
"When development and plural democracy take root in Asia, the decline of the death penalty usually comes sooner rather than later."
A book on the death penalty in Asia, co-written by Professor Johnson, will be published later this year.
He was visiting Australia this month to speak on the death penalty at Griffith University and the Australian National University.
Professor David Johnson from the University of Hawai'i told the Associated Press there had been dramatic declines in the number of executions in Asia, and he expected a trend towards abolition as the death penalty became increasingly seen as a human rights issue.
"I think in the long run, probably the death penalty is going to disappear in Asia as it seems to be doing in many parts of the rest of the world," he said.
He pointed to reductions in the number of executions in China and Singapore, two leading executing states, and Pakistan's proposal to commute the death sentences of about 6,000 prisoners.
The death penalty was being viewed more as a human rights issue, rather than an issue of criminal justice, which tended to undermine public confidence in it as a form of punishment.
Professor Johnson said "the frame that regards the death penalty as a human rights issue has become more conspicuous and salient in Asia than it was in the past".
"And when you frame the death penalty as a human rights issue instead of a crime issue, you invite anxiety and concern and resistance to the death penalty because, after all, it's a state killing," he said.
While the death penalty was strongest in authoritarian states, even there its use was in decline.
"The most dramatic execution decreases occurred in the rapidly developing democracies of South Korea and Taiwan, but declines have also occurred in nations such as India and Malaysia," he said.
"When development and plural democracy take root in Asia, the decline of the death penalty usually comes sooner rather than later."
A book on the death penalty in Asia, co-written by Professor Johnson, will be published later this year.
He was visiting Australia this month to speak on the death penalty at Griffith University and the Australian National University.
Tuesday, 12 August 2008
Indonesia: More to die for drugs
Indonesian officials have again flagged a surge in drug executions, with comments suggesting up to 39 prisoners would be executed before the end of 2009.
The remarks raise concerns of an increase in executions generally, with seven shot for drugs and murder in the past six weeks, and preparations underway for execution of the three Bali bombers.
According to a report by Reuters, Bonaventura Daulat Nainggolan, a spokesman for the attorney general, said last week the executions would be carried out this year and in 2009.
"The president has rejected clemency for 39 people, so the next stage for them is execution," said head of the national police drugs unit Indradi Thanos.
The seven recent executions in Indonesia include two Nigerian men shot on 26 June for heroin trafficking.
Coordinating for death
Attorney-General Hendarman Supandji said in late July that his office would speed up the execution of the 57 drug offenders on death row.
The National Police Chief and Chairman of the National Anti-Narcotic Body (BNN) said at the time his agency was "coordinating closely with the Attorney General`s Office as the agency responsible for carrying out executions".
"To give them a lesson, drug traffickers must be executed immediately," General Sutanto told a function for the International Day against Drugs Abuse and Trafficking.
Related stories:
Indonesia: Seventh execution in six weeks -- 11 August, 2008
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
The remarks raise concerns of an increase in executions generally, with seven shot for drugs and murder in the past six weeks, and preparations underway for execution of the three Bali bombers.
According to a report by Reuters, Bonaventura Daulat Nainggolan, a spokesman for the attorney general, said last week the executions would be carried out this year and in 2009.
"The president has rejected clemency for 39 people, so the next stage for them is execution," said head of the national police drugs unit Indradi Thanos.
The seven recent executions in Indonesia include two Nigerian men shot on 26 June for heroin trafficking.
Coordinating for death
Attorney-General Hendarman Supandji said in late July that his office would speed up the execution of the 57 drug offenders on death row.
The National Police Chief and Chairman of the National Anti-Narcotic Body (BNN) said at the time his agency was "coordinating closely with the Attorney General`s Office as the agency responsible for carrying out executions".
"To give them a lesson, drug traffickers must be executed immediately," General Sutanto told a function for the International Day against Drugs Abuse and Trafficking.
Related stories:
Indonesia: Seventh execution in six weeks -- 11 August, 2008
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
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
Tuesday, 5 August 2008
Public executions in China's Olympic crackdown
China's security crackdown ahead of the Beijing Olympic Games included the public execution of three men last month in the western Xinjiang province.
The Washington Post reported that the local government took "several thousand" students and office workers by bus to a public square shortly after dawn on 9 July.
Three prisoners were brought out and shot dead by an execution squad, witnessed by the crowd lined up in front of a vocational school.
The three were part of a group of 17 convicted of being members of the separatist East Turkestan Islamic Movement, which has fought for independence for the region's Muslim Uighur people.
Officials reportedly announced during the execution that they were captured in January 2007 in a raid on a terrorist training camp, in which 18 other members of the group were killed.
The others captured in the raid received sentences from 10 years to life.
According to The Washington Post, the executions "went down poorly".
"It was not a good thing, what the Chinese did," said a Uighur witness on condition of anonymity.
The executions were a clear message of control in the region ahead of the Olympics, as well as a public demonstration of the harsh consequences for those with alleged links to terrorist groups.
Chinese authorities have claimed several times in recent months to have foiled terrorist plots aimed at disrupting the Olympics.
But apart from the photographs released showing this week's alleged attack in Xinjiang, the government has provided little evidence to back up the allegations of a series of planned attacks.
Related stories:
China’s deadly world record under attack -- 27 February, 2008
The Washington Post reported that the local government took "several thousand" students and office workers by bus to a public square shortly after dawn on 9 July.
Three prisoners were brought out and shot dead by an execution squad, witnessed by the crowd lined up in front of a vocational school.
The three were part of a group of 17 convicted of being members of the separatist East Turkestan Islamic Movement, which has fought for independence for the region's Muslim Uighur people.
Officials reportedly announced during the execution that they were captured in January 2007 in a raid on a terrorist training camp, in which 18 other members of the group were killed.
The others captured in the raid received sentences from 10 years to life.
According to The Washington Post, the executions "went down poorly".
"It was not a good thing, what the Chinese did," said a Uighur witness on condition of anonymity.
The executions were a clear message of control in the region ahead of the Olympics, as well as a public demonstration of the harsh consequences for those with alleged links to terrorist groups.
Chinese authorities have claimed several times in recent months to have foiled terrorist plots aimed at disrupting the Olympics.
But apart from the photographs released showing this week's alleged attack in Xinjiang, the government has provided little evidence to back up the allegations of a series of planned attacks.
Related stories:
China’s deadly world record under attack -- 27 February, 2008
Thursday, 24 July 2008
Execute corrupt officials: Indonesia's speaker
The Speaker of Indonesia's House of Representatives this week supported the use of the death penalty for corruption offences, despite the global trend towards abolishing it for economic crimes.
Agung Laksono encouraged other members of the House to support the suggestion, claiming it would help prevent the serious social consequences of corruption, according to the Antara newsagency.
"Therefore, there must be legal punishment for corrupters so severe that it will also have a deterrent effect," he said on Wednesday.
He claimed the use of severe penalties such as capital punishment had caused drastic declines in corruption in some countries, although he was not reported as offering any evidence to support the statement.
"This means, the death penalty is an effective means to fight corruption," he said.
"I hope the idea of making corruption punishable by the death sentence will be responded to favourably by House members and the government."
The Jakarta Post reported today that some parliamentarians and anti-corruption activists supported the proposal.
It said in the past six months the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) had arrested six current parliamentarians and scores of high-ranking officials, including a former governor of the Bank of Indonesia.
Governors and former ministers had been jailed for graft since the KPK was formed in 2004.
"I think we must be tough on extraordinary corruption," KPK deputy chairman for prevention Haryono Umar said.
The newspaper said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had encouraged public discussion of the death penalty for those convicted of corruption.
'Not serious enough'
The proposal would violate international law, which requires that -- where it is used -- the death penalty should be restricted to the "most serious" crimes.
United Nations human rights experts have argued that this means it should be reserved for "cases where it can be shown that there was an intention to kill which resulted in the loss of life".
Field of death
The latest discussion comes amid reports that Indonesia is continuing preparations to execute the three Bali bombers.
Antara reported on the same day that two prosecutors from Bali had inspected the site where it was planned to execute the men.
The representatives from the Bali Higher Public Prosecutor's Office visited a field on Nusakambangan Island, off Central Java's southern coast, where the men will be shot by firing squad.
Related stories:
Indonesia: Record number executed in four weeks -- 20 July, 2008
Bali executions will inspire martyrs: expert -- 25 February, 2008
Bali bombers may soon get their wish -- 10 November, 2007
Executions in Indonesia since 1995 -- 26 September, 2006
Agung Laksono encouraged other members of the House to support the suggestion, claiming it would help prevent the serious social consequences of corruption, according to the Antara newsagency.
"Therefore, there must be legal punishment for corrupters so severe that it will also have a deterrent effect," he said on Wednesday.
He claimed the use of severe penalties such as capital punishment had caused drastic declines in corruption in some countries, although he was not reported as offering any evidence to support the statement.
"This means, the death penalty is an effective means to fight corruption," he said.
"I hope the idea of making corruption punishable by the death sentence will be responded to favourably by House members and the government."
The Jakarta Post reported today that some parliamentarians and anti-corruption activists supported the proposal.
It said in the past six months the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) had arrested six current parliamentarians and scores of high-ranking officials, including a former governor of the Bank of Indonesia.
Governors and former ministers had been jailed for graft since the KPK was formed in 2004.
"I think we must be tough on extraordinary corruption," KPK deputy chairman for prevention Haryono Umar said.
The newspaper said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had encouraged public discussion of the death penalty for those convicted of corruption.
'Not serious enough'
The proposal would violate international law, which requires that -- where it is used -- the death penalty should be restricted to the "most serious" crimes.
United Nations human rights experts have argued that this means it should be reserved for "cases where it can be shown that there was an intention to kill which resulted in the loss of life".
Field of death
The latest discussion comes amid reports that Indonesia is continuing preparations to execute the three Bali bombers.
Antara reported on the same day that two prosecutors from Bali had inspected the site where it was planned to execute the men.
The representatives from the Bali Higher Public Prosecutor's Office visited a field on Nusakambangan Island, off Central Java's southern coast, where the men will be shot by firing squad.
Related stories:
Indonesia: Record number executed in four weeks -- 20 July, 2008
Bali executions will inspire martyrs: expert -- 25 February, 2008
Bali bombers may soon get their wish -- 10 November, 2007
Executions in Indonesia since 1995 -- 26 September, 2006
Wednesday, 23 July 2008
Viet Nam: Reduction in death penalty offences?
Viet Nam is considering a further reduction in the number of crimes that attract the death penalty, according to a report last week by China's Xinhua newsagency.
The Vietnam News reportedly said on 15 July that the Ministry of Public Security had proposed the death penalty be removed from 12 offences.
Xinhua's report said the proposal would amend Article 35 of the Criminal Code, which provides for the death penalty.
The changes would limit its use to "only those committing the most heinous crimes and people considered to be a serious danger to the community and the nation's security".
The 12 offences included:
The Vietnam News reportedly said on 15 July that the Ministry of Public Security had proposed the death penalty be removed from 12 offences.
Xinhua's report said the proposal would amend Article 35 of the Criminal Code, which provides for the death penalty.
The changes would limit its use to "only those committing the most heinous crimes and people considered to be a serious danger to the community and the nation's security".
The 12 offences included:
- appropriating property by fraud
- smuggling
- producing and trading fake goods and medical products
- being involved in producing, storing and circulating counterfeit money, bonds and checks
- organising the illegal use of drugs
- hijacking planes or ships
- corruption
- taking and giving bribes
- destroying army weapons or technical equipment
- being involved in an invasion
- "anti-human crimes", and
- war crimes.
Gradual reductions
Human rights campaigners have long urged Viet Nam to reduce the scope of the death penalty.
After increasing the number of capital offences to 44 in 1992, Viet Nam reduced it to 29 offences in July 1999.
In April this year, Amnesty International said there were at least 25 known executions in Viet Nam in 2007, which placed it fourth on the list of the top executioners in the world.
Xinhua said Viet Nam sentenced 116 people to death in 2006 and 95 in 2007.
Dramatic increase but positive signs
In June 2006, an Amnesty International alert said there had been a "dramatic increase in Viet Nam's use of the death penalty, especially for drug-related crimes".
"Concern about the use of the death penalty in Viet Nam is compounded by the routine unfairness of trials that do not conform to international standards," the organisation said.
However, it said there were "some positive signs that the death penalty is being discussed within the Vietnamese government".
Related stories:
Drug penalty violates international law -- 06 May, 2007
Viet Nam death penalty "not deterring drugs" -- 25 November, 2006
Asia leads the world's known executions -- 15 April, 2008
20,000 waiting to be killed -- 23 April, 2006
Sunday, 20 July 2008
Indonesia: Record number executed in four weeks
Despite what The Jakarta Post described last week as "an increasingly anti-capital punishment sentiment in Indonesia", the government has executed as many people in the past month as it did in the previous three years.
Indonesia has executed six people since June, after three convicted murderers were shot in East Java late last week.
According to reports by The Jakarta Post and newsagency Antara, a woman named Sumiarsih, 60 (also reported as Sumiasih, 59), and her son Sugeng, 44, were executed at Banten, East Java early on Saturday morning (19 July).
They were convicted, along with two other members of their family, of murdering a marine and four members of his family in 1988.
The previous night (18 July), Usep, alias Tubagus Yusuf Maulana, was executed for poisoning eight people in June and July 2007, after they had come to him as a shaman who could "multiply their money".
On 10 July, Ahmad Suradji, 57, was executed in North Sumatra for murdering 42 women and girls over an 11 year period.
Two Nigerian men were shot on 26 June for heroin smuggling offences. Samuel Iwachekawu Okoye and Hansen Anthony Nwaoysa were executed on Nusakambangan prison island, central Java.
Nwaoysa was sentenced to death for attempting to smuggle 600 grams of heroin from Pakistan to Jakarta in January 2001. Okoye was arrested at Jakarta airport with 3.8 kilograms of heroin in the lining of his luggage after flying in from India.
Several recent reports have suggested authorities may be preparing to execute three men sentenced to death over the October 2002 bombing on Bali, which killed 202 people and injured 200.
Related stories:
Indonesia: Drug offenders executed, more to come -- 29 June, 2008
Executions in Indonesia since 1995 -- 26 September, 2006
Bali executions will inspire martyrs: expert -- 25 February, 2008
Indonesia has executed six people since June, after three convicted murderers were shot in East Java late last week.
According to reports by The Jakarta Post and newsagency Antara, a woman named Sumiarsih, 60 (also reported as Sumiasih, 59), and her son Sugeng, 44, were executed at Banten, East Java early on Saturday morning (19 July).
They were convicted, along with two other members of their family, of murdering a marine and four members of his family in 1988.
The previous night (18 July), Usep, alias Tubagus Yusuf Maulana, was executed for poisoning eight people in June and July 2007, after they had come to him as a shaman who could "multiply their money".
On 10 July, Ahmad Suradji, 57, was executed in North Sumatra for murdering 42 women and girls over an 11 year period.
Two Nigerian men were shot on 26 June for heroin smuggling offences. Samuel Iwachekawu Okoye and Hansen Anthony Nwaoysa were executed on Nusakambangan prison island, central Java.
Nwaoysa was sentenced to death for attempting to smuggle 600 grams of heroin from Pakistan to Jakarta in January 2001. Okoye was arrested at Jakarta airport with 3.8 kilograms of heroin in the lining of his luggage after flying in from India.
Several recent reports have suggested authorities may be preparing to execute three men sentenced to death over the October 2002 bombing on Bali, which killed 202 people and injured 200.
Related stories:
Indonesia: Drug offenders executed, more to come -- 29 June, 2008
Executions in Indonesia since 1995 -- 26 September, 2006
Bali executions will inspire martyrs: expert -- 25 February, 2008
Thursday, 3 July 2008
Japan: Dead man recording
In a country known for the official silence surrounding its use of the death penalty, people in Japan have been confronted with an image of their execution chamber -- by a recording made 50 years ago.
The execution of the unknown prisoner, recorded at Osaka detention centre in 1955, has given people a rare and gruesome insight into their country's death penalty, which -- apart from the type of rope used -- has changed little since.
The recording, originally made to train prison workers, was aired in early May as part of a documentary broadcast by Nippon Cultural Broadcasting. (Listen to it on the website of The Guardian newspaper.)
Film-maker Tatsuya Mori stressed the importance of presenting the reality of the death penalty, particularly since the government was trying to conceal it.
"If the justice ministry masks the reality, then it is up to the media to expose it," he told the Asahi Shimbun newspaperpaper.
"There is great significance in letting the public know the truth."
According to the Asahi Shimbun, the station denied it was taking a stand on the death penalty by airing the recording.
"We aren't trying to make a statement for or against the death penalty," a spokesman said.
"Our only intention is to present the reality of executions and let our listeners decide for themselves."
The recording shows the prisoner joking with prison staff, before the trapdoor opens and the rope snaps tight. Buddhist priests are audible chanting in the background while the hanging takes place.
His death is confirmed after 14 minutes.
More hangings, in secret
Japan has executed 10 prisoners so far this year, as the current justice minister Kunio Hatoyama accelerates the pace of hangings.
In the country's notoriously secretive death penalty system, a prisoner can spend decades waiting to be hanged, often receiving as little as a few hours' notice they are about to die.
The government has only recently begun confirming the names of the people it has executed.
Human rights campaigners have frequently condemned the lack of official information about the use of the death penalty, saying it has suppressed and distorted public debate about its use.
Related stories:
Executions in Japan despite appeal plans -- 18 June, 2008
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
The execution of the unknown prisoner, recorded at Osaka detention centre in 1955, has given people a rare and gruesome insight into their country's death penalty, which -- apart from the type of rope used -- has changed little since.
The recording, originally made to train prison workers, was aired in early May as part of a documentary broadcast by Nippon Cultural Broadcasting. (Listen to it on the website of The Guardian newspaper.)
Film-maker Tatsuya Mori stressed the importance of presenting the reality of the death penalty, particularly since the government was trying to conceal it.
"If the justice ministry masks the reality, then it is up to the media to expose it," he told the Asahi Shimbun newspaperpaper.
"There is great significance in letting the public know the truth."
According to the Asahi Shimbun, the station denied it was taking a stand on the death penalty by airing the recording.
"We aren't trying to make a statement for or against the death penalty," a spokesman said.
"Our only intention is to present the reality of executions and let our listeners decide for themselves."
The recording shows the prisoner joking with prison staff, before the trapdoor opens and the rope snaps tight. Buddhist priests are audible chanting in the background while the hanging takes place.
His death is confirmed after 14 minutes.
More hangings, in secret
Japan has executed 10 prisoners so far this year, as the current justice minister Kunio Hatoyama accelerates the pace of hangings.
In the country's notoriously secretive death penalty system, a prisoner can spend decades waiting to be hanged, often receiving as little as a few hours' notice they are about to die.
The government has only recently begun confirming the names of the people it has executed.
Human rights campaigners have frequently condemned the lack of official information about the use of the death penalty, saying it has suppressed and distorted public debate about its use.
Related stories:
Executions in Japan despite appeal plans -- 18 June, 2008
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
Sunday, 29 June 2008
Indonesia: Drug offenders executed, more to come
Indonesia shot two Nigerian men for drug offences late on Thursday night, and drug officials hope more executions will soon be carried out.
Samuel Iwachekawu Okoye and Hansen Anthony Nwaoysa were executed before midnight on Thursday (26 June) on Nusakambangan prison island, off the coast of central Java.
According to a Reuters report, the head of the Central Java mobile brigade police, Dicky Atotoy, said the two Nigerians were tied to two wooden poles with their heads covered, and shot by two teams of police snipers.
"The doctor declared the two convicts dead at 00.00 following the firing squads' duty to execute them," Atatoy said.
Reuters said Indonesian prosecutors were also now preparing to execute the three men sentenced to death for their role in the October 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 202 people.
AAP reported that 40 year-old Nwaoysa was sentenced to death for attempting to smuggle 600 grams of heroin in 43 capsules, which he swallowed before flying from Pakistan to Jakarta in January 2001. (AAP story also here.)
The report said Okoye was caught at Jakarta airport with 3.8 kilograms of heroin hidden in the lining of his luggage after flying in from India. He said he was to pass it on to an Australian by the name of "Ron".
The two were sentenced to death in 2001 and their final appeals for clemency were rejected in July 2004.
More drug executions to come?
The head of Indonesia's leading anti-drugs body said in a speech during the day on Thursday that drug offenders should be executed more quickly.
"To give them a lesson, drug traffickers must be executed immediately," said General Sutanto, who is the National Police Chief and Chairman of the National Anti-Narcotic Body (BNN).
"For this purpose, BNN is coordinating closely with the Attorney General`s Office as the agency responsible for carrying out executions," he told a function at the State Palace for the International Day against Drugs Abuse and Trafficking.
He said prison didn't deter drug traffickers, and claimed international drug syndicates were being run from jails.
Attorney General Hendarman Supandji reportedly said at the same function his office would speed up the execution of the 57 drug offenders on death row.
Move towards greater secrecy
Before the latest executions, comments by one government minister reported by the Antara newsagency suggested Indonesia was planning to carry out the executions in secret to prevent any public protests.
"The date of the execution is not to be made public to prevent public controversy," said Monang Pardede, assistant deputy to the General Crimes chief of the Central Java higher prosecutor's office, on Tuesday.
He reportedly said the executions would not be publicised until after they were carried out, in order to prevent what Antara described as "undue public reactions".
"We are afraid we will face difficulties if they are announced beforehand," he said.
These comments are a worrying sign that Indonesia may be moving towards the secrecy that stifles open and informed debate across much of Asia about the use of the death penalty.
No to drugs, no to drug executions
Amnesty International condemned the use of the death penalty for drug-related offences.
"Experts in international law, including the top UN officials, have confirmed that applying the death penalty for drug-related offences is a breach of international law," a spokesperson for the organisation said.
The last executions for drug offences in Indonesia were carried out in October 2004, when two Thai nationals were shot for attempting to smuggle 12.19 kilograms of heroin into Indonesia.
Their co-accused, a 65 year-old Indian man, was executed in August of the same year.
Related stories:
Drug penalty violates international law -- 06 May 2007
Executions in Indonesia since 1995 -- 26 September 2006
Samuel Iwachekawu Okoye and Hansen Anthony Nwaoysa were executed before midnight on Thursday (26 June) on Nusakambangan prison island, off the coast of central Java.
According to a Reuters report, the head of the Central Java mobile brigade police, Dicky Atotoy, said the two Nigerians were tied to two wooden poles with their heads covered, and shot by two teams of police snipers.
"The doctor declared the two convicts dead at 00.00 following the firing squads' duty to execute them," Atatoy said.
Reuters said Indonesian prosecutors were also now preparing to execute the three men sentenced to death for their role in the October 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 202 people.
AAP reported that 40 year-old Nwaoysa was sentenced to death for attempting to smuggle 600 grams of heroin in 43 capsules, which he swallowed before flying from Pakistan to Jakarta in January 2001. (AAP story also here.)
The report said Okoye was caught at Jakarta airport with 3.8 kilograms of heroin hidden in the lining of his luggage after flying in from India. He said he was to pass it on to an Australian by the name of "Ron".
The two were sentenced to death in 2001 and their final appeals for clemency were rejected in July 2004.
More drug executions to come?
The head of Indonesia's leading anti-drugs body said in a speech during the day on Thursday that drug offenders should be executed more quickly.
"To give them a lesson, drug traffickers must be executed immediately," said General Sutanto, who is the National Police Chief and Chairman of the National Anti-Narcotic Body (BNN).
"For this purpose, BNN is coordinating closely with the Attorney General`s Office as the agency responsible for carrying out executions," he told a function at the State Palace for the International Day against Drugs Abuse and Trafficking.
He said prison didn't deter drug traffickers, and claimed international drug syndicates were being run from jails.
Attorney General Hendarman Supandji reportedly said at the same function his office would speed up the execution of the 57 drug offenders on death row.
Move towards greater secrecy
Before the latest executions, comments by one government minister reported by the Antara newsagency suggested Indonesia was planning to carry out the executions in secret to prevent any public protests.
"The date of the execution is not to be made public to prevent public controversy," said Monang Pardede, assistant deputy to the General Crimes chief of the Central Java higher prosecutor's office, on Tuesday.
He reportedly said the executions would not be publicised until after they were carried out, in order to prevent what Antara described as "undue public reactions".
"We are afraid we will face difficulties if they are announced beforehand," he said.
These comments are a worrying sign that Indonesia may be moving towards the secrecy that stifles open and informed debate across much of Asia about the use of the death penalty.
No to drugs, no to drug executions
Amnesty International condemned the use of the death penalty for drug-related offences.
"Experts in international law, including the top UN officials, have confirmed that applying the death penalty for drug-related offences is a breach of international law," a spokesperson for the organisation said.
The last executions for drug offences in Indonesia were carried out in October 2004, when two Thai nationals were shot for attempting to smuggle 12.19 kilograms of heroin into Indonesia.
Their co-accused, a 65 year-old Indian man, was executed in August of the same year.
Related stories:
Drug penalty violates international law -- 06 May 2007
Executions in Indonesia since 1995 -- 26 September 2006
Tuesday, 24 June 2008
Will Pakistan's death row be emptied?
Up to 7,000 death row prisoners may be spared the prospect of execution after Pakistan's prime minister recommended the government commute death sentences as a tribute to his party's assassinated leader.
Yousuf Raza Gilani was leading celebrations on Saturday for the 55th birthday of Benazir Bhutto, the former leader of the PPP Party who was killed in an attack on an election rally in December.
"We have asked the Ministry of the Interior to send a recommendation to the president to convert the death sentence of prisoners to life in prison," he said, according to an Associated Press report.
Media reports of the recommendation suggested President Pervez Musharfaf was likely to agree to the recommendation, although it was not clear which death row prisoners would be covered by the amnesty.
It was also not clear if the proposal would benefit an Indian national whose family claimed was sentenced to death in a case of mistaken identity.
Pakistani authorities believe Manjit Singh was sentenced to death after being convicted of involvement in bomb blasts in Lahore and Multan in 1990.
His family claims he is in fact Indian farmer Sarabjit Singh, who accidentally strayed into Pakistan while working.
President Musharraf rejected his petition for mercy on 5 March 2008. His execution was set for 1 May, although it was later delayed.
The announcement is likely to give fresh impetus to the debate about abolition in Pakistan, which late last year voted against a United Nations resolution encouraging a moratorium on the death penalty.
Related stories:
Call for abolition: Pakistan columnist -- 17 October, 2006
Pakistan: Thousands in "brutal" system -- 12 October, 2006
Yousuf Raza Gilani was leading celebrations on Saturday for the 55th birthday of Benazir Bhutto, the former leader of the PPP Party who was killed in an attack on an election rally in December.
"We have asked the Ministry of the Interior to send a recommendation to the president to convert the death sentence of prisoners to life in prison," he said, according to an Associated Press report.
Media reports of the recommendation suggested President Pervez Musharfaf was likely to agree to the recommendation, although it was not clear which death row prisoners would be covered by the amnesty.
It was also not clear if the proposal would benefit an Indian national whose family claimed was sentenced to death in a case of mistaken identity.
Pakistani authorities believe Manjit Singh was sentenced to death after being convicted of involvement in bomb blasts in Lahore and Multan in 1990.
His family claims he is in fact Indian farmer Sarabjit Singh, who accidentally strayed into Pakistan while working.
President Musharraf rejected his petition for mercy on 5 March 2008. His execution was set for 1 May, although it was later delayed.
The announcement is likely to give fresh impetus to the debate about abolition in Pakistan, which late last year voted against a United Nations resolution encouraging a moratorium on the death penalty.
Related stories:
Call for abolition: Pakistan columnist -- 17 October, 2006
Pakistan: Thousands in "brutal" system -- 12 October, 2006
Wednesday, 18 June 2008
Executions in Japan despite appeal plans
Japan's justice minister Kunio Hatoyama has now approved the execution of thirteen prisoners, with three more hangings carried out yesterday.
Three men were hanged in Tokyo and Osaka for murders committed up to 23 years ago.
Tsutomu Miyazaki, 45, and Shinji Mutsuda, 37, were hanged in Tokyo, and Yoshio Yamasaki, 73, was executed in Osaka.
Miyazaki has been infamous in Japan for nearly 20 years after he was arrested and charged with the violent murders of four young girls in 1988 and 1989. Agence France-Presse reported this week that he "mutilated the bodies of the victims, slept next to the corpses and drank their blood".
Mutsuda was convicted of murder and robbery, and Yamasaki was convicted of murdering two women in 1985 and 1990 for insurance money.
A question of sanity
The question of whether Miyazaki was sane enough to be held criminally responsible for the killings was central to his various court appearances.
Over nearly 20 years it took his case to move through the legal process, Miyazaki said a "rat man" was responsible for the killings, referring to a cartoon character he drew.
His lawyers argued he was suffering from mental illness, an argument reinforced by psychiatric assessments.
Mainichi Japan reported that he repeated incomprehensible statements during his court hearings.
"I feel as if I committed the crimes in my dreams," he said in one hearing.
"I was scared because a 'rat person' appeared. My alter ego suddenly appeared and committed the acts," he said at another time.
It said various psychiatric evaluations had returned different assessments of his mental state.
He was variously diagnosed as suffering from a personality disorder, a multiple personality disorder or schizophrenia, with different assessments of the level to which he could be held responsible.
Appeal underway
Miyazaki was executed despite the fact that his lawyer was preparing to apply for a retrial.
"I had been preparing to file a request for a retrial over the past few months," Maiko Tagusari said, according to a second report by Mainichi Japan.
"I strongly protested (to the ministry) for carrying out the execution even though they knew about my plans.
"What I had feared actually happened."
She said she wrote to Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama in late May asking him not to order the execution of Miyazaki.
Political support
India's Economic Times reported that Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said after the executions he supported the use of the death penalty.
"In Japan, the majority view is that capital punishment should be maintained, so I feel no need to change what we have continued doing until now," he said.
However he appeared to acknowledge the global trend towards abolition of the death penalty, adding: "But we also have to keep an eye on trends of world opinion."
Related stories:
Japan: Execution possible despite mental doubts -- 10 June, 2008
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
Japan finally names three executed -- 09 December, 2007
Minister wants ‘tranquil’ killing: Japan -- 29 October, 2007
Japan: New minister will approve hangings -- 04 September, 2007
Long wait, sudden death in Japan -- 28 August, 2006
Three men were hanged in Tokyo and Osaka for murders committed up to 23 years ago.
Tsutomu Miyazaki, 45, and Shinji Mutsuda, 37, were hanged in Tokyo, and Yoshio Yamasaki, 73, was executed in Osaka.
Miyazaki has been infamous in Japan for nearly 20 years after he was arrested and charged with the violent murders of four young girls in 1988 and 1989. Agence France-Presse reported this week that he "mutilated the bodies of the victims, slept next to the corpses and drank their blood".
Mutsuda was convicted of murder and robbery, and Yamasaki was convicted of murdering two women in 1985 and 1990 for insurance money.
A question of sanity
The question of whether Miyazaki was sane enough to be held criminally responsible for the killings was central to his various court appearances.
Over nearly 20 years it took his case to move through the legal process, Miyazaki said a "rat man" was responsible for the killings, referring to a cartoon character he drew.
His lawyers argued he was suffering from mental illness, an argument reinforced by psychiatric assessments.
Mainichi Japan reported that he repeated incomprehensible statements during his court hearings.
"I feel as if I committed the crimes in my dreams," he said in one hearing.
"I was scared because a 'rat person' appeared. My alter ego suddenly appeared and committed the acts," he said at another time.
It said various psychiatric evaluations had returned different assessments of his mental state.
He was variously diagnosed as suffering from a personality disorder, a multiple personality disorder or schizophrenia, with different assessments of the level to which he could be held responsible.
Appeal underway
Miyazaki was executed despite the fact that his lawyer was preparing to apply for a retrial.
"I had been preparing to file a request for a retrial over the past few months," Maiko Tagusari said, according to a second report by Mainichi Japan.
"I strongly protested (to the ministry) for carrying out the execution even though they knew about my plans.
"What I had feared actually happened."
She said she wrote to Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama in late May asking him not to order the execution of Miyazaki.
Political support
India's Economic Times reported that Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said after the executions he supported the use of the death penalty.
"In Japan, the majority view is that capital punishment should be maintained, so I feel no need to change what we have continued doing until now," he said.
However he appeared to acknowledge the global trend towards abolition of the death penalty, adding: "But we also have to keep an eye on trends of world opinion."
Related stories:
Japan: Execution possible despite mental doubts -- 10 June, 2008
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
Japan finally names three executed -- 09 December, 2007
Minister wants ‘tranquil’ killing: Japan -- 29 October, 2007
Japan: New minister will approve hangings -- 04 September, 2007
Long wait, sudden death in Japan -- 28 August, 2006
Tuesday, 10 June 2008
Japan: Execution possible despite mental doubts
Amnesty International (AI) is concerned that a prisoner who withdrew a High Court appeal against his death sentence may be executed before the end of June.
According to an ‘urgent action’ appeal issued by the organisation late last week, Makino Tadashi has had his appeal for clemency rejected and is therefore "at imminent risk of execution".
Makino's lawyers have challenged his decisions in court and made unsuccessful appeals for a retrial in three levels of Japan's courts.
AI said he was sentenced to death in the Fukuoka District Court in 1990, despite his lawyers arguing during the trial that he lacked adequate mental capacity and could not be held responsible for his crimes.
"Makino appealed to the High Court but later withdrew his appeal," the organisation said.
His lawyers "challenged his motion to withdraw his appeal on the grounds that he was not fully aware of his actions" and appealed to the Fukuoka District Court for a retrial. They then appealed to the Fukuoka High Court and later the Supreme Court.
When the final appeal was rejected in January 2006, they submitted an appeal for clemency to the Ministry of Justice, which was rejected on 29 May 2008.
Makino, who was born in 1950, was sentenced to death for murdering one woman and injuring two others. He had earlier served 16 and a half years in prison for murder and attempted robbery committed when he was 19.
Appeal for action
Amnesty International is encouraging people to write letters as soon as possible to Justice Minister Hatoyama, calling on him:
* not to execute Tadashi Makino;
* to end the secrecy surrounding the death penalty in Japan by giving advance notice of executions to death row prisoners and their families;
* to order an immediate moratorium on the death penalty with a view to eventual abolition; and
* to commute all death sentences.
Appeals should be sent to:
HATOYAMA Kunio
Minister of Justice
Ministry of Justice
1-1-1 KasumigasekiChiyoda-ku Tokyo 100-8977, Japan
Fax: +81 3 3592 7088
+81 3 5511 7200 (via Public Information & Foreign Liaison Office)
Salutation: Dear Minister
Disturbing record
Hatoyama has a disturbing record of support for the death penalty, executing 10 prisoners since he was appointed in August 2007. Seven executions have been carried out so far this year.
AI said there were currently 105 people on death row in Japan, and at least 23 people who went on trial in 2007 were facing the death penalty -- the highest number since 1962.
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
Japan finally names three executed -- 09 December, 2007
Minister wants ‘tranquil’ killing: Japan -- 29 October, 2007
Japan: New minister will approve hangings -- 04 September, 2007
Long wait, sudden death in Japan -- 28 August, 2006
According to an ‘urgent action’ appeal issued by the organisation late last week, Makino Tadashi has had his appeal for clemency rejected and is therefore "at imminent risk of execution".
Makino's lawyers have challenged his decisions in court and made unsuccessful appeals for a retrial in three levels of Japan's courts.
AI said he was sentenced to death in the Fukuoka District Court in 1990, despite his lawyers arguing during the trial that he lacked adequate mental capacity and could not be held responsible for his crimes.
"Makino appealed to the High Court but later withdrew his appeal," the organisation said.
His lawyers "challenged his motion to withdraw his appeal on the grounds that he was not fully aware of his actions" and appealed to the Fukuoka District Court for a retrial. They then appealed to the Fukuoka High Court and later the Supreme Court.
When the final appeal was rejected in January 2006, they submitted an appeal for clemency to the Ministry of Justice, which was rejected on 29 May 2008.
Makino, who was born in 1950, was sentenced to death for murdering one woman and injuring two others. He had earlier served 16 and a half years in prison for murder and attempted robbery committed when he was 19.
Appeal for action
Amnesty International is encouraging people to write letters as soon as possible to Justice Minister Hatoyama, calling on him:
* not to execute Tadashi Makino;
* to end the secrecy surrounding the death penalty in Japan by giving advance notice of executions to death row prisoners and their families;
* to order an immediate moratorium on the death penalty with a view to eventual abolition; and
* to commute all death sentences.
Appeals should be sent to:
HATOYAMA Kunio
Minister of Justice
Ministry of Justice
1-1-1 KasumigasekiChiyoda-ku Tokyo 100-8977, Japan
Fax: +81 3 3592 7088
+81 3 5511 7200 (via Public Information & Foreign Liaison Office)
Salutation: Dear Minister
Disturbing record
Hatoyama has a disturbing record of support for the death penalty, executing 10 prisoners since he was appointed in August 2007. Seven executions have been carried out so far this year.
AI said there were currently 105 people on death row in Japan, and at least 23 people who went on trial in 2007 were facing the death penalty -- the highest number since 1962.
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
Japan finally names three executed -- 09 December, 2007
Minister wants ‘tranquil’ killing: Japan -- 29 October, 2007
Japan: New minister will approve hangings -- 04 September, 2007
Long wait, sudden death in Japan -- 28 August, 2006
Friday, 6 June 2008
Abolition: Political parties fail in Taiwan
The Taipei Times newspaper has condemned both of the country's main political parties for failing to abolish the death penalty, and failing to inform public debate about whether it was appropriate or effective.
In a sharply critical editorial on 28 May, the newspaper said the death penalty was an example of governments' selective use of public opinion, which was "ignored or drawn upon" by policy makers to serve their own interests.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) reduced the use of the death penalty over its eight years in office, but it "failed to carry out one of its professed goals" of abolishing it altogether.
The DPP had claimed it could not abolish the death penalty "because a majority of the public believed the death penalty to be an effective deterrent to violent crime".
The newspaper feared the current government of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) already appeared "set to follow suit".
The current Minister of Justice Wang Ching-feng (王清峰) said shortly after the government's inauguration that she would consider abolishing the death penalty.
But "[i]n the same breath, however, she warned that she had no clue how to go about achieving this goal, as it would run counter to public opinion".
Ineffective revenge
The Taipei Times said neither party had promoted the increasing number of countries that had abolished the death penalty, leaving Taiwan "among a shrinking minority".
Furthermore, studies had not found evidence the death penalty deterred violent crime, or that it increased after abolition.
"Capital punishment can therefore only serve two purposes: to assure the public that this "effective" deterrent exists (although it is not effective) and to fill a need for retribution proportional to the crime committed," the editorial said.
"But modern justice systems have long since abandoned the "eye for an eye" philosophy as inadequate, inappropriate and inhumane."
It said the country's experience with doubtful trials had shown any claim the courts were infallible "would be laughable".
"The government must therefore make it clear to the public: Even one innocent person executed is far too high a price for what essentially boils down to revenge."
'Stop the excuses'
The editorial writers said factors such as the global trend away from the death penalty, and reassurance of measures such as regulating parole for violent criminals, could help move public opinion.
They concluded: "It would seem, then, not so daunting a task after all to present an alternative to the death penalty that both the public and government find fair.
"It is time for Taiwan's leaders to stop serving up excuses and set the ball in motion."
(Thanks to Celia at China Activist Weekly for the tip.)
Related stories:
Life Watch to save Taiwan's innocent from death --12 February, 2008
Taiwan 'improving' but call for abolition -- 11 October, 2007
Torment on Taiwan's death row -- 15 May, 2007
Taiwan limits mandatory penalties -- 29 January, 2007
Abolition debate for Taiwan in 2007 -- 12 January, 2007
Taiwan: Death penalty benefit an 'illusion' -- 14 December, 2006
Taiwan working towards abolition? -- 21 February, 2006
In a sharply critical editorial on 28 May, the newspaper said the death penalty was an example of governments' selective use of public opinion, which was "ignored or drawn upon" by policy makers to serve their own interests.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) reduced the use of the death penalty over its eight years in office, but it "failed to carry out one of its professed goals" of abolishing it altogether.
The DPP had claimed it could not abolish the death penalty "because a majority of the public believed the death penalty to be an effective deterrent to violent crime".
The newspaper feared the current government of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) already appeared "set to follow suit".
The current Minister of Justice Wang Ching-feng (王清峰) said shortly after the government's inauguration that she would consider abolishing the death penalty.
But "[i]n the same breath, however, she warned that she had no clue how to go about achieving this goal, as it would run counter to public opinion".
Ineffective revenge
The Taipei Times said neither party had promoted the increasing number of countries that had abolished the death penalty, leaving Taiwan "among a shrinking minority".
Furthermore, studies had not found evidence the death penalty deterred violent crime, or that it increased after abolition.
"Capital punishment can therefore only serve two purposes: to assure the public that this "effective" deterrent exists (although it is not effective) and to fill a need for retribution proportional to the crime committed," the editorial said.
"But modern justice systems have long since abandoned the "eye for an eye" philosophy as inadequate, inappropriate and inhumane."
It said the country's experience with doubtful trials had shown any claim the courts were infallible "would be laughable".
"The government must therefore make it clear to the public: Even one innocent person executed is far too high a price for what essentially boils down to revenge."
'Stop the excuses'
The editorial writers said factors such as the global trend away from the death penalty, and reassurance of measures such as regulating parole for violent criminals, could help move public opinion.
They concluded: "It would seem, then, not so daunting a task after all to present an alternative to the death penalty that both the public and government find fair.
"It is time for Taiwan's leaders to stop serving up excuses and set the ball in motion."
(Thanks to Celia at China Activist Weekly for the tip.)
Related stories:
Life Watch to save Taiwan's innocent from death --12 February, 2008
Taiwan 'improving' but call for abolition -- 11 October, 2007
Torment on Taiwan's death row -- 15 May, 2007
Taiwan limits mandatory penalties -- 29 January, 2007
Abolition debate for Taiwan in 2007 -- 12 January, 2007
Taiwan: Death penalty benefit an 'illusion' -- 14 December, 2006
Taiwan working towards abolition? -- 21 February, 2006
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