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DEATH PENALTY SUMMARY – JULY-AUGUST 2019Date format day/month/yearInternational Update (from: 12.7.19 – 9.8.19)Pakistan – 12.7.19 - Statistics provided by CLAAS (Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement), which is supported by Barnabus Fund, indicate that at least 8 Christians are on death row following conviction under Islamic law of ‘blasphemy’. No Christians have been executed for this ‘crime’ but many of them have been in prison for many years. Accusations of ‘blasphemy’ against Muhammad , which can lead to vigilante killings, result in charges of ‘defiling the name’ of the Prophet, a crime under the Pakistan Penal Code carrying a mandatory death penalty. The superiority given to the testimony of a Muslim accuser to that of a Christian makes it difficult to receive justice. (Source: Barnabus Fund.)Malaysia – 13.7.19 – The bill to repeal the mandatory death penalty is expected to be tabled in Parliament in October, once the Government has decided on appropriate prison terms for 11 serious criminal offences covered by it. A task Force is to be set up to study the matter. (Source: Malay Mail.)Philippines – 14.7.19 – A week after taking office, Senators Christopher ‘Bong’ Go and Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa, have proposed the reinstatement of the death penalty. (Source: ABS CBN News.)22.7.19 – In his State of the Nation Address, President Duterte, at the mid-point of his six-year presidency, asked Congress to reimpose the death penalty for those convicted of drug and corruption-related offences. Note: The death penalty was suspended in 2006. (Source: Yahoo News.)22.7.19 – AIUK issued a press release stating that ‘President Duterte’s call to revive the death penalty during his State of the Nation address today will only worsen the country’s climate of impunity amid the government’s deadly anti-drugs campaign.’ An Amnesty report released this month showed that the Philippine government’s so-called ‘war on drugs’ remains a murderous war on the poor, with rampant killings of mostly poor and marginalised people continuing without credible, impartial and effective investigations into them. (Source: Amnesty International)Sri Lanka – 15.7.19 – Following the submission of his private member’s bill seeking to block the return of capital punishment by MP Bandula Lal Bandarigoda, President Maithripala Sirisena has said he will declare a national day of mourning if the Country’s Parliament attempts to block his proposal for its reinstatement. (Source: UCA News.)USAPennsylvania – 15.7.19 – Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, an unequivocal opponent of the death penalty, has asked the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in a legal filing to declare the State’s death penalty unconstitutional. He has cited a study, carried out by his office, showing that 72% of the State’ death sentences were overturned between 1978 and 2017, often as a result of ineffective legal representation. In addition, he is concerned that 37 of the 45 people from Philadelphia current only death row are black. (Source: The Intercept.)California – 20.7.19 – The State Supreme Court ‘essentially froze’ the death penalty trial of Jade Harris, set to start this month, as it decides whether to consider an argument by his defence attorney that he cannot get a fair trial because of the Governor’s moratorium on executions. The Court has to decide by 30th August whether to take up a matter what could result in the blocking of death penalty trials while the Governor is in post and the moratorium remains in effect. (Source: Los Angeles Times.)The Department of Justice – 25.7.19 – The Trump administration has reinstated the US Government’s power to order the death penalty for ‘federal crimes’ and has scheduled five executions, to be carried out by lethal injection. This is the first time since 2003 that the central government has been able to authorise capital punishment. The first execution, that of Daniel Lewis Lee, convicted of murder, is scheduled to take place on 9th December in Indiana, with those of Lezmond Mitchell, Wesley Purkey, Alfred Bourgeois and Dustin Honken to follow over a six-week period. (Source: Sky News.)25.7.19 – Representative Ayanna Pressley, a Massachusetts Democrat, introduced a bill that would abolish the death penalty. His proposed legislation would ‘prohibit the imposition of the death penalty for any violation of Federal law, and for other purposes.’ (Source: CNN).President Trump - 5.8.19 Following the mass shootings in Texas and Ohio, the President has called for the death penalty for all ‘mass murder hate crimes’. (Source: The Independent.)Oregon – 6.8.19 – Governor Kate Brown signed a bill that represents the first major legislative restriction to the State’s death penalty since 1984, when the constitution was amended to include capital punishment. In 2015 the Governor extended the moratorium imposed in 2011, and this bill narrows the definition of aggravated murder – the only crime eligible for a death sentence – to defendants who kill two or more people as an act of organized terrorism; intentionally and with premeditation kill a child younger than 14; kill another person while locked up in jail or prison for a previous murder; or kill a police, correctional or probation officer. (Source: Corrections One.)Morocco – Abdessamad Ejjoud, Younes Ouaziyad and Rachid Afatti, found guilty of the Isis-inspired killing of two Scandinavian hikers in the Atlas mountains, have been sentenced to death. Morocco has not carried out an execution since 1993, but the prosecution called for the imposition of the death penalty. The defence team argued there were ‘mitigating circumstances on account of their precarious social conditions and psychological disequilibrium.’ (Source: The Guardian.)Saudi Arabia – 20.7.19 – The Governor of Asir, Prince Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, has intervened to save the life of a man sentenced to death for murder. The Prince mediated between the convicted man and the victim’s family, persuading them to forgive the man who had killed their son. (Source: Saudi Royal Family.)26.7.19 – Sheikh Salman al-Awda, who previously advised Mohammad bin Saman over reforms, now stands accused of calling for reform and wider regional ‘regime change’. Ahead of a possible ruling on 1st August in his ongoing trial, Amnesty are calling on the Saudi authorities to drop plans to seek his execution, and to release him unconditionally. (Source: Amnesty International.)UK – 24.7.19 – The UK Government announced that ?21 million has been added to the Conflict, Security and Stability Fund (CSSF) – one strand of which has been linked to 350 death sentences in Pakistan. The CSSF provides funding for overseas security programmes, which include several in countries identified by the Foreign Office as having a high risk of human rights abuses. These countries include Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Egypt and Somaliland. Parliament’s Home Affairs Committee has descried the current lack of transparency around human rights assessments as ‘totally unacceptable’. Dan Dolan, Deputy Director of Reprieve, has said ‘We urgently need stronger safeguards and independent scrutiny in order to ensure UK funding does not continue enabling torture and the death penalty.’ (Source: Scottish Legal News.) 30.7.19 – The mother of El Shafee Elsheikh has challenged the decision of the then Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, to share evidence with the US authorities without seeking assurances that the two men accused of terrorist offences as members of ISIS would not be executed if convicted by a Court in the US. Reprieve have intervened in the case calling on the UK to maintain its opposition to the death penalty. (Source: The Morning Star.)3.8.19 – The recently appointed Home Secretary, Priti Patel, denied having ever supported the death penalty, despite having previously called for it to be re-introduced. In 2011, in the course of an appearance on the BBC programme Question Time’, she said that seeing prisoners found guilty of ‘the most abhorrent crimes in society’ go on to re-offend, she would ‘actually support the reintroduction of capital punishment to serve as a deterrent because I do think we do not have enough deterrents in this country for criminals’. (Source: The Independent.)Mauritania – 30.7.19 – Cheikh Ould Mohamed Ould Mkhaitir, the blogger sentenced to death for ‘blasphemy’ has been released, according to his lawyer and Reporters without Borders. He was sentenced to death in 2014 following a Facebook post, but on appeal was given a jail sentence. (Source: Al-Jazeera.) Japan – 2.8.19 – Mr Koichi Shoji and Mr Yasunori Suziki, both convicted of murder, were hanged. These executions were the first to take place in 2019, and brought the total number of executions under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration to 38. Currently there are 110 prisoners on death row in Japan. Amnesty International has again called on the country to abolish the death penalty. (Source: Amnesty International.)457200139700Indonesia – 2.8.19 – Félix Dorfin, (pictured ) convicted of drugs trafficking, has had his death sentence overturned and commuted to 19 years imprisonment. It is not at this stage clear whether the prosecutors will appeal the ruling. (Source: BBC News.)China – 9.8.19 – The Supreme People’s Court announced it is to enforce a judicial interpretation on the review and execution procedures for the death penalty to protect prisoners’ lawful rights and interests. This will come into force on 1st September. Higher People’s Courts are to notify defendants of their rights to legal representation when the SPC is reviewing their death sentences; the defence lawyer must submit relevant evidence materials and documents to the SPC within a specified period; when the review or evidence may affect the review results of the death sentence, the execution must be suspended or ceased; prisoners must be informed of their right to meet their close relatives and to record their last words; requests for meetings by close relatives should be allowed, unless the prisoner does not wish it; and requests for meeting with children should be granted, with the consent of the minors’ guardians, and be conducted in ways that would cause no harm to the children. (Source: .) Urgent ActionsYemen – UA 51/19 (Update) - On 9 July 2019, the Huthi-run Specialised Criminal Court (SCC) of Sana’a sentenced to death 30 academics and political figures based on trumped-up charges, including espionage for the Saudi Arabia-led Coalition. Amongst those is Youssef al-Bawab, a 45- year-old father of five, linguistics professor and political figure, who was arbitrarily arrested in late 2016. Amnesty calls on the Huthi de facto authorities to quash the death sentences of Youssef al-Bawab and the 29 other men and release them immediately as they are being punished for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression. (Circulated to DPLWG 2.8.19)USA – Texas – UA 108/19 – Larry Swearingen has been on death row in Texas since 2000 and is scheduled to be executed on 2st August. He was convicted on circumstantial evidence in connection with the murder of a young woman, but he has maintained that he did not kill her and several forensic experts have provided expert opinion supportive of his claim of innocence. We are asked to urge the authorities to recommend granting clemency, and to stop his and any future executions. (Circulated to DPLWG 5.8.19.)CampaigningWorld Day Against the Death Penalty – 10th October 2019 – The World Coalition against the Death Penalty have confirmed that this year their campaigning will focus on raising awareness on the rights of children whose parents have been sentenced to death or executed. We continue to await information from the Anti-Death Penalty Project regarding Amnesty’s proposed Action.12 August 2019 ................
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