Delusional British National Executed in China over Drug Smuggling

Coming on the heels of its efforts to derail climate change talks in Copenhagen and the stiff prison sentence handed over to a political dissident popular in the West, German newspapers see the handling of the prosecution and execution of a British citizen in China as the latest example of the country's "immature" behavior on the global political stage.

Few issues are as sensitive in Europe than that of capital punishment. The death penalty is banned in each of the 27 European Union member states and media coverage is often highly critical of state-ordered executions in the United States and China.

Tuesday's execution by lethal injection in China of Akmail Shaikh, a 53-year-old British national with an alleged history of mental illness who was busted in 2007 for smuggling 4 kilograms (around 9 pounds) of heroin, is no exception. But coming just days after China stalled global climate negotiations in Copenhagen and issued a stiff, 11-year sentence against Liu Xiaobo, a dissident well known in the West, tensions between Europe and China have clearly been exacerbated.

Shaikh's family, politicians and British rights group Repreive, which mounted a Web campaign this month in an effort to save the condemned man, claim that the Chinese justice system brushed aside requests that he be given a psychiatric evaluation. Helen Pidd, a journalist with Britain's Guardian newspaper, meticulously profiles the man's apparent slide into mental illness -- a world where he suffered under the delusion he was about to become a pop star with his out-of-tune song "Come Little Rabbit," which he thought could help bring about world peace.

Family and friends claim he was duped by Eastern European criminals who he believed had connections to music producers and promoters into unwittingly smuggling drugs into China. Those familiar with Shaikh -- both in Britain and where he later lived in Poland -- described a man who behaved erratically, became estranged from his wife and showed signs of mental illness, including hundreds of delusional e-mails he apparently sent to the British embassy in Warsaw.

The outrage in Europe is centered on the question of why a man who appeared to be mentally ill was not given proper treatment. Under Chinese law, the prospect of mental illness must be considered before capital

punishment may be applied.

In Britain, where Prime Minister Gordon Brown had personally intervened to seek clemency for Shaikh, the government summoned China's ambassador to a 45-minute meeting on Tuesday with Foreign Office Minister Ivan Lewis, who said the diplomat had been called to "hear of the government's regret that Akmal Shaikh's mental health had been ignored by the Chinese judiciary despite repeated interventions by those with an interest in his case." Such criticism extended across Europe, including Germany.

"To the Chinese leadership, this was about a demonstration of power rather than rule of law," said Gnter Nooke of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats, who is the government's top human rights official. For a number of years, Germany and the European Union have held a dialogue with China on the rule of law and human rights. In an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Nooke indirectly suggested those talks could be jeopardized. He said Shaikh's execution showed "what wobbly legs our dialogue about greater rule of law and human rights in China are standing on."

Meanwhile, Renate Wohlwend, an official at the Council of Europe, the powerful European human rights watchdog, criticized the execution."Capital punishment has a brutalizing effect in society," she said. "It must be totally removed once and for all from the legislation of all countries which strive to uphold democracy, the rule of law and human rights."

German commentators on Wednesday are universally critical of Beijing, with one of the country's largest newspapers accusing China of unacceptable immaturity on the global stage.

The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes:

"The execution of a British citizen in China is causing far greater disturbance than it normally would, even if it were a European getting the death penalty in the United States. In the Chinese justice system, excessive killing isn't the only problem, and the execution of Akmal Shaikh is now drawing attention to that here at home. More than anything, the system lacks transparency and that makes it seem arbitrary. In the case of Shaikh, it is especially outrageous because even in China, the fact that he was mentally ill should have been treated as a mitigating factor. Was his mental state even examined? Were dozens of petitions taken seriously? In this case, the Chinese system also showed itself to be unrelenting politically, and that will have consequences."

"It is highly unusual for the prime minister, foreign minister and even the opposition leader to make a plea to a foreign government and then to be brushed off the way they were by China. Their pleas were ignored by the Chinese government and that points to a fundamental problem that is becoming increasingly frequent in dealings with China. China is a hypersensitive behemoth. Any time the country is criticized for its foreign policy (relations with rogue states, for example) or its domestic policies (its treatment of minorities in Tibet or Xinjiang, or human rights policies), it reacts aggressively. In simple political disputes, like currency policies or its obstructive moves during climate negotiations, it responds brusquely and with hostility. In its international dealings, China shows an immaturity that is no longer appropriate given its size and importance in the world. China warns against interference into internal matters, but that's an absurd, empty phrase in an interwoven world in which domestic situations indeed play a role in decisions on investments and political cooperation."

The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes:

"China has taken a liking to ignoring Western wishes and input. At the global climate conference in Copenhagen, it was the main saboteur. A dissident who found resonance abroad received a long prison sentence. And now a British citizen has been executed, despite several pleas for mercy by Gordon Brown and his government."

"The man was condemned for drug smuggling in a hasty trial in which the court coldly brushed aside objections that the accused was mentally ill. What kind of person would come to the idea that if he smuggled 4 kilograms of heroin into China for 2 Polish drug smugglers that they would make him a pop star there?"

"The leaders in Beijing appear to be brimming with confidence, and Americans and Europeans are feeling it. And when they actually do dare to raise their voices, the Chinese comeback line is always 'respect our sovereignty.' The execution underscores the massive difference in the legal systems -- and China's contempt for the West."

The center-left Berlin daily Der Tagesspiegel writes:

"China has executed a drug smuggler and the fact that the man was British is incidental -- no foreign passport can protect someone who has crossed a border with 4 kilos of heroin. But the situation isn't as simple as it appears at first glance. It also has historical resonances. When the Brits used their power (close to 200 years ago) to destroy the Chinese empire through forced opium imports, China was powerless to act. So China's insistence to refuse to tolerate external interference today is even louder in a case where a Brit has been condemned for smuggling in enough drugs to 'kill 26,000 people.' One could even follow the reasoning there.

"But China's position highlights less of a legitimate consciousness of history than a revanchist national consciousness. If Akmal Shaikh had just been convicted as a straightforward drug dealer, the outrage in the West would have been limited. But if an apparently mentally ill man, whose culpability is questionable, was convicted as an historical scapegoat, then China shouldn't expect any understanding."

The conservative daily Die Welt, under the headline, "State Murder,"writes:

"The real reason for the outrage in London and the West is not the detestable death penalty itself but rather the lack of transparency in the case. Akmal Shaikh was no political incident. Why didn't the court allow doctors to examine him? If it is true that the man suffered from serious psychiatric problems, it also would have been a crime under Chinese law to execute him. If he wasn't mentally ill, nobody in Europe would have applauded his death penalty but they also wouldn't have been as loud in their denunciation of China.

"The answer is simple: China didn't want to set a precedent for a foreigner. The Chinese justice system issues more death penalties each year than any other country in the world. But it is too cowardly to provide proceedings that are transparent or anything close to adhering to the rule of law."

Source: Der Spiegel, December 30, 2009

Britain strongly condemns China for execution of drug trafficker

Britain and China were engaged in a fierce diplomatic argument Tuesday after the Chinese government executed a British citizen for drug trafficking despite claims that he was mentally ill and unfit to stand trial.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown condemned the execution of Akmal Shaikh, a 53-year-old father of 3, "in the strongest terms," adding that he was particularly concerned that no mental health assessment was undertaken.

Shaikh, who was caught smuggling heroin into China, was put to death by lethal injection Tuesday in Urumqi, the capital of China's westernmost province of Xinjiang. Shaikh's family issued a statement saying it was "ludicrous" that he was required to prove his own mental disability, which it characterized as bipolar disorder.

The British Foreign Office underscored its anger by formally summoning the Chinese ambassador in London for a confrontation with Ivan Lewis, one of its ministers. Lewis said after the meeting that he had told the ambassador in a "difficult conversation" that China had "failed in its basic human rights responsibilities."

British officials indicated privately that they were "realistic" about the case and did not think it would undermine the deeper political and trading relationship between Britain and China. China, however, reacted toughly, saying the British should withdraw their criticism if they did not want to damage bilateral relations.

Beijing said "strong resentment" about illegal drugs in the country was based on "the bitter memory of history," a reference to Britain's role in enforcing the importation of opium into China in the 19th century.

"It is the common wish of people around the world to strike against the crime of drug trafficking," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said. China carried out more executions than the rest of the world combined last year, Amnesty International said.

Early signs of Chinese public opinion suggested widespread approval of the execution, with most respondents on Sohu.com, a popular Web site, supporting it.

Even in Britain, public opinion was at least somewhat divided, with readers of one popular daily posting support online for a column suggesting that the decision may have been justified.

Source: Washington Post, December 30, 2009

Despite Furor Over Brit's Execution, China Curbing Use of Death Penalty

The international furor over China's execution of a British man convicted of heroin-trafficking has drawn attention to the country's harsh criminal-justice system. The execution has sparked a diplomatic row between China and the U.K., but global condemnation will do little to provoke reform. China is the world leader in the use of the death penalty Amnesty International documented some 1,700 judicial killings in China last year, but the true total could be as much as three times that and Beijing makes no apologies for its hard line. In a statement issued after the execution, a Chinese court said drug crimes were "serious criminal offenses" demanding harsh punishment.

Yet, while China often complains that criticism by foreign governments amounts to outside interference in its internal affairs, there are signs that the rapidly modernizing country is curbing its use of the death penalty of its own accord. The reforms are modest, to be sure, but some observers see them as a rare bright spot amid an overall bleak trend for human rights in China.

Such progress came too late to save Akmal Shaikh, who on Dec. 29 became the 1st European to be executed in China in 50 years when he was given a lethal injection in the northwestern city of Urumqi. The 53-year-old Brit was convicted of smuggling 4 kg of heroin into China from Tajikistan. Shaikh's family had pleaded unsuccessfully for Chinese courts to take into account his history of mental illness. The human-rights group Reprieve documented numerous incidents of erratic and delusional behavior by Shaikh, including his recording of a song, entitled "Come Little Rabbit," that he apparently believed would lead to world peace. Reprieve says that drug traffickers preyed on Shaikh's hopes of becoming a pop star to dupe him into carrying drugs on a flight to Urumqi in September 2007.

The British government made dozens of appeals on Shaikh's behalf. Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he was "appalled and disappointed" that requests for clemency were denied and that he was "particularly concerned that no mental-health assessment was undertaken." The U.K. Foreign Office also summoned China's ambassador. China's Foreign Ministry rejected the criticism. At a briefing Tuesday spokeswoman Jiang Yu called complaints "groundless" and said China expressed "resolute opposition." She added that the U.K.'s response threatened to undermine the countries' bilateralrelations.

In the past the Chinese government has cited the need for deterrence and public support of the death penalty to justify its broad use of capital punishment. In online forums on Chinese websites, opinion over the Shaikh case tends to back the official stance. "We should stick to the Chinese law no matter what, instead of bending under the pressure from Western countries," wrote a commentator in a chat room on Tianya.com. "Otherwise, we would only damage the dignity of China's judicial system."

Indeed, the case will have little effect on how China views on the death penalty. "While there's some role for international opinion and international engagement with China on capital punishment, I think that the primary motive force for change and progress in the area of capital punishment in China is going to be internal," says Joshua Rosenzweig, Hong Kongbased manager of the Dui Hua Foundation, a U.S. human-rights group.

And there are signs of change. In 2007 China's Supreme People's Court resumed reviewing all death-penalty cases following public anger at a number of questionable convictions, among them the case of a man who was sentenced to 15 years in prison for murdering his wife who later turned up alive. In the first half of 2008 the Supreme People's Court overturned about 15% of the death sentences that were forwarded to it, an official told the state-run China Daily newspaper.

Rosenzweig says the resumption of high court reviews is "probably the biggest area of progress in China in the past few years." According to a Dui Hua Foundation estimate, the number of prisoners executed annually may have fallen by as much as half from the 10,000 a year cited by a National People's Congress delegate in 2004. Even with such a decline China still puts to death more people than the rest of the world combined about 70% of the global total in 2008, according to Amnesty International.

The exact number is guarded as a state secret. Some scholars are urging more openness. Chen Guangzhong, a professor at China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing, wrote an article in the prominent Chinese publication Southern Weekend earlier this month arguing that the government should make execution statistics public. "Despite its sensitivity (the death penalty) is an area that has been able to be discussed to a certain extent within the Chinese media by legal experts," says Rosenzweig, "which is one reason why I think that's where the force for progress will come, from within China."

That's of little comfort to the family of Akmal Shaikh. On Wednesday they expressed "grief at the Chinese decision to refuse mercy" and thanked "all those who tried hard to bring about a different result," according to a statement released by Reprieve. But China's willingness to at least discuss the death penalty offers the slim hope that it in the future it will become less of a source of anger and dismay at home and abroad.

Source: TIME Magazine, December 30, 2009

Iran hangs 3

Iran has hanged 3 convicted drug traffickers at a prison in the central city of Isfahan, the government-run newspaper Iran reported on Wednesday.

The men were identified as Qodrat, Khan Mohammad and Mostafa and all convicted separately of dealing and carrying narcotics, according to the report, which did not furnish more information.

The hangings bring to at least 270 the number of people executed in Iran so far this year, according to an AFP count based on news reports.

In 2008, Iran executed 246 people, the highest number in any country bar China.

Tehran says the death penalty is necessary for maintaining public security and is applied only after exhaustive judicial proceedings.

Murder, rape, armed robbery, drug trafficking and adultery are all punishable by death in the Islamic republic.

Sources: Sapa, AFP, December 30, 2009

China executes Briton

(CNN) -- The British government condemned China's execution of a British national Tuesday on drug smuggling charges.

"I ... am appalled and disappointed that our persistent requests for clemency have not been granted," Prime Minister Gordon Brown said. "I am particularly concerned that no mental health assessment was undertaken."

Akmal Shaikh was convicted of carrying up to 4 kilograms (8.8 pounds) of heroin at the Urumqi Airport in September 2007. According to Chinese law, 50 grams (1.76 ounces) is the threshold for the death penalty.

China defended the execution in a statement issued by the Chinese Embassy in London.

"Drug trafficking is a grave crime worldwide," the statement said. "The concerns of the British side have been duly noted and taken into consideration by the Chinese judicial authorities in the legal process, and Mr. Shaikh's rights and interests under Chinese law are properly respected and guaranteed."

The 53-year-old is the first European executed in China in 50 years, according to the British legal group Reprieve.

"The family express their grief at the Chinese decision to refuse mercy," a statement released by Reprieve said, thanking "all those who tried hard to bring about a different result."

His family and the British government had asked Chinese leaders for clemency. His supporters argued that Shaikh was mentally ill, and that Chinese officials did not take his mental condition into account when trying him. Shaikh's advocates say he suffered from a bipolar disorder and that he was tricked into carrying heroin into China with promises of a career as a pop singer.

Brown raised Shaikh's case with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao during the international climate summit in Denmark earlier this month.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband echoed Gordon's concerns about the execution.

"The UK is completely opposed to the use of the death penalty in all circumstances," Miliband said. "However, I also deeply regret the fact that our specific concerns about the individual in this case were not taken into consideration. ... These included mental health issues, and inadequate professional interpretation during the trial."

Sally Rowen, legal director with Reprieve, condemned the execution.

"The death of Akmal Shaikh is a sad indictment of today's world, and particularly of China's legal system," she said. "Akmal was a gentle man who suffered from a tormenting illness ... and was betrayed and deliberately killed by one of the most powerful nations on Earth."

Before the execution, Philip Alston, the U.N. special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, said it would be a "major step backwards for China" to execute a mentally ill man.

"Both Chinese and international law clearly indicate that a person who committed a crime while suffering from significant mental illness should not be subjected to the death penalty," Alston said in a statement released by Reprieve.

Source: CNN.com, December 2009

Chronicle of a Programmed Death - 1

Texas death row inmate Hank Skinner (left) is scheduled to be executed on February 24, 2010, on the first day of the World Congress Against the Death Penalty. His wife Sandrine Ageorges, the international representative for the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, writes a chronicle of his programmed death on Abolition.fr.

Those who accompany death row prisoners in Texas would probably chose different words to talk about their experience in the “modern” Wild West. When the mask of the “new world” falls to reveal the macabre grimace of a justice system that kills, words are vain and emotions are numerous.

The road to abolition is tortuous and painful when it deals with human beings and their survival in isolation waiting for their programmed deaths. What I learned on Texas death row, and through the life of those tied to it (families and friends of the condemned, victims’ families, attorneys and investigators, abolitionists and those who work on death row) has profoundly changed me and affected me.

To fight for abolition far away from death row is a noble and essential battle, but very different from the struggle on the ground. To assist a death row prisoner is not a casual choice, it requires a sincere and absolute commitment for life and for the truth.

Never before had I imagined that the issue of guilt could be nothing else but an exception. Nonetheless this justice exists and thrives; the justice of results and immediacy, politics using justice for electoral and populist purposes, a justice system that prides itself of an “infallible” procedure, disregarding the truth and human lives.

In Texas, this “justice” system sacrifices lives on the altar of politics and perpetuates the worst lie of all with total impunity. During the past decade, the situation has evolved substantially, for better and for worse. Progress, which appears too slow, is nonetheless tangible and encouraging.

It is this better and this worse I discovered when I met with a death row prisoner almost 14 years ago. Despite a compelling case of innocence, the state and federal courts have spent the past 14 years using procedural loopholes to ensure that exculpatory forensic evidence never be admissible in a court of law and that potentially exculpatory evidence never be tested at all.

After a long tunnel of sterile appeals, the perspective of his execution has materialized as his execution date has been set for February 24, 2010. How ironic, an execution date on the first day of the 4th International Congress against the Death Penalty…

It is the story of a long path shared with Hank Skinner on Texas death row.

Visit Hank Skinner's Website.

Sandrine Ageorges, December 23, 2009

Appeals to China Intensify in Effort to Spare Briton

LONDON — Five days before a British man is scheduled to be executed in China for heroin smuggling, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has joined members of the man’s family and human rights organizations in renewing appeals for clemency.

They say Chinese courts failed to give adequate weight to the man’s history of mental disturbance or to his claim that he was duped into carrying the heroin by a drug gang.

But Chinese officials have rejected the appeals, saying that the execution of the Briton, Akmal Shaikh, 53, will go ahead on Tuesday.

Full story here.

Source: The New York Times, December 24, 2009

Saudi Arabia: man beheaded for stabbing father to death

December 21, 2009: Saudi Arabian national Khaled bin Saleh al-Owfi was beheaded by the sword in Mecca after being convicted of stabbing his father to death, an Interior Ministry statement carried by the SPA state news agency said.

Al-Owfi also injured his brother after consuming pills of banned stimulant Captagon.

Sources: Agence France Presse, Hands Off Cain, 21/12/2009

Iran: clashes with police over public hanging. Bodies taken down by crowd.

Iran Human Rights, December 22: Two men convicted of armed robbery were hanged in public in the south Iranian city of Sirjan in Kerman province early this morning, reported the state run news agency Fars.

The men were identified as "Esmaeil Fathizadeh" and "Mohammad Esfandiarpour"

According to the report, many people among them families of the two men, who were gathered at the spot, started chanting against the authorities and threw stones at the security forces. The security forces answered with tear gas and shooting in the air. But the people managed to take away the bodies of the two men. One of the men seemed to be still alive when his body was removed by the protesting people said the report.

The security forces are trying to arrest those who where involved in the clashes according to the report.

Iran Human Rights is still investigating about today’s event in Sirjan.

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson of Iran Human Rights said:" Public hanging is a barbaric act that the Iranian regime uses to spread fear among the people." He added:" People of Sirjan have shown that they will no longer accept medieval punishments and a medieval regime. Today’s event in Sirjan shows that the Iranian regime is clearly weakened." He added: We are concerned about the authority’s reprisals against the people of Sirjan."

Source: Iran Human Rights, December 22, 2009

More here: Iranian crowd stops execution and frees convicts (BBC News)


BREAKING NEWS: The two men rescued from the gallows this morning have been arrested again and will be executed

Iran Human Rights, December 22: According to the state run news agency Fars, the two men who were hanged in public in Sirjan (southern Iran) early this morning, and who were rescued by the people, have been arrested in a village outside the town.

According to the report, both men who were alive, and were arrested along with several others who were involved in their rescue. Quoting Khaleghi (the chief prosecuter of Sirjan) the news agency wrote: "Both men will be hanged in public later this evening and those who helped them escape will soon be tried and punished".

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson of Iran Human Rights said: "We ask the UN, the EU, the Norwegian government and the world community to act urgently against this barbaric act. We cannot tolerate such medieval actions in a country that is a full member of the UN and has diplomatic and economic relations with most of the countries." He added: We are also concerned about the faith of the others arrested in relation with the rescue of these two men today".

Source: Iran Human Rights, December 22, 2009

BREAKING NEWS: Public uprising against executions in Sirjan

Iran Human Rights, December 22: Following the uprising of the people in Sirjan (see above) against the public execution of two men, several people are reported to be killed or wounded this evening.

The two men who were rescued by the people after being hanged, were arrested few hours later and were scheduled to be executed this evening at the same place.

According to reports from Sirjan, clashes between the people and the security forces forced the authorities to cancel today’s executions. Some reports from Sirjan say that the security forces started shooting at the protestors and as a result as many as five people might have been killed and about 30 wounded. Several vehicles belonging to the security forces were set on fire by the crowd.

According to these reports the two men along with those arrested charged for their rescue earlier this morning have been transferred to the prison.

Iranian authorities have not published any further reports about these events.

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson of Iran Human Rights has urged the international community to condemn the Iranian regime’s use of violence against the people.

Iran Human Rights is investigating further this evening’s events in Sirjan.


Two killed in bid to foil execution in Iran: report

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian police shot dead two gunmen among a group of attackers who tried to rescue two convicted bank robbers from imminent execution in a southeastern Iranian town, a news agency reported on Wednesday.

About 25 people were wounded in a shoot-out after the assailants opened fire on security forces preparing for the execution in Sirjan town, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported, citing a senior official in Kerman province.

Police returned fire and the execution of the convicts was later carried out, it said, reporting about the culmination of a series of events after family members of the two robbers earlier foiled the first attempt to put them to death.

On Tuesday, state radio said relatives started hurling stones during the execution and in the ensuing confusion "stole the bodies" of the men, who later turned out to still be alive.

The authorities tracked them down in a nearby village, Fars said, adding that five of their accomplices were also detained.

It was when the execution was due to resume later in the day that the shooting occurred. Iranian executions usually take place by hanging inside prisons, but are occasionally also carried out in public.

"Some people attacked security forces guarding the place of execution (before the arrival of the convicted robbers) ... police forces retaliated and in this clash two of the attackers were killed," Fars said.

Source: reuters.com, December 23, 2009

The two men rescued from the gallow in Sirjan were hanged last night - 14 people arrested in connection with their rescue

Thursday 24 December 2009

Iran Human Rights, December 23: The two men, who were rescued by the people from the gallows yesterday morning, were hanged last night December 22 according to the official Iranian news agencies.

Quoting Farajollah Karegar, general prosecutor of Sirjan, the state run news agency ISNA reported that the two men who were convicted of armed robbery were hanged late yesterday evening and 14 others have been arrested in connection with their escape.

Farajollah Karegar admitted that due to clashes with people the authorities’ second attempt to hang the men in public failed and they were transferred to the prison. He also said that two people were killed under the clashes and several cars belonging to the security forces were damaged. The report didn’t mention the location where the two men were hanged. But according to unverified reports they were hanged inside the prison.

"Esmaeil Fathizadeh" and "Mohammad Esfandiarpour" were sentenced to death charged with armed robbery and were scheduled to be hanged in public in Sirjan yesterday morning. But few moments after being hanged they were rescued by the people who threw stones at the security forces and shouted slogans against the Iranian regime. Few hours later both men were arrested by the security forces and their hanging was rescheduled to early evening. But due to heavy clashes between the people and the security forces they were transferred to the prison where it is believed they were hanged.

According to our sources at least 3 people were killed and more than 30 wounded, some of them seriously.

Many people have been arrested in connection to this public uprising and Iran Human Rights is concerned about their well being.

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson of Iran Human Rights, said: "People of Sirjan turned a public hanging into a scene of battle against the authorities. The Iranian regime cannot any longer feel safe from public protests, even at the events meant for demonstration of power".

Source (picture and story): Iran Human Rights, December 24, 2009

New details about the rescue of the 2 men from the gallows in Sirjan

The state run Iranian news agency ISCA news wrote a detailed report about the circumstances around the scheduled hanging and rescue of 2 men from the gallows on December 22. in Sirjan. According to the ISCA-news reporter who was present at the spot, more than 1,500 people were gathered at the place where the public hanging was supposed to take place. The reporter writes about the anxious people, small children, and hesitant officers.

The report says: "More than 1,500 people were gathered, their number was increasing. The gallows where set up. The prisoners were brought to the spot 45 minutes later than scheduled. They had chains on their feet, and were also chained to each other. One of them fell down. It made impression on the people who felt pity for them". The report continues:" The officers were clearly hesitant about who was supposed to put the noose around the prisoner's neck. None of them seemed to be willing and each wanted to leave it to the other. Finally someone put the noose around their neck". "The prisoners stood on top of a car, but it wasn't clear who was going to drive the car". The car started, the ground beneath them was emptied and they were hanged" "Few seconds later people started throwing stones to the authorities who didn't have any other option than to escape". It continues:" I saw a woman who approached one of those who were hanged and tried to save him. Few moments later there was no sign of the hanged prisoners, and the car that had emptied the ground beneath them was burning".

The report also says that later that day 2 people were shot dead by the authorities in the clashes that evening after the 2 men had been arrested and were supposed to be hanged in public again. According to the  reporter the men were finally hanged in the prison of Kerman.

Source: Iran Human Rights, Jan. 2, 2010

Christian leader supports death penalty for gays

A far right Christian group has urged fellow Christians to support Uganda's proposed law that would make homosexuality punishable by death.

Stephen Green, leader of the Christian extremist group 'Christian Voice', remarked:

"The Bible calls for the ultimate penalty for sodomy (Lev 20:13) and for rape (Deut 22:25), and our Lord upheld the death penalty when He called for the accusers of the woman caught in adultery to cast the first stone (John 8:7) – if, that is, they were not implicated in adultery themselves.

"The contrast between our politicians and those of Uganda could not be more stark. A Parliamentarian in Uganda is trying to protect his nation's children. The House of Commons of the United Kingdom is trying to corrupt ours. Which country is the more civilised, I wonder, in the eyes of Almighty God?"

The law would impose the death penalty on those convicted of having gay sex with a minor or disabled person or someone infected with HIV.

Friends and family members of gay Ugandans who do not report them to authorities could also face up to three years in prison.

People who "promote" or assist homosexuality could be jailed for seven years. The bill would also punish Ugandan citizens who have gay sex abroad.

The bill's sponsor, David Bahati MP, has argued that it will curb HIV infections and protect the "traditional family".

It has been subject to worldwide condemnation and since the first reports emerged in mid-October and has received widespread media attention.

Stephen Green added: "What is at stake here is no less than Uganda 's status as a sovereign nation. Will they allow themselves to be bullied by Western secularists, or will they stand by their Christian values and the traditional African way of life?

"I hope and pray it will be the latter, and that the Western homosexuals and abortionists who are trying to corrupt their youth will be sent a firm message to stop their wickedness."

Christian Voice opposes abortion, homosexuality, no-fault divorce and safer sex education. Additionally it supports the death penalty and does not recognise the concept of marital rape.

On September 2nd 2006, Green was arrested while handing out what were considered by the police to be homophobic leaflets at the Cardiff Mardi Gras.

He was arrested for an alleged "homophobic incident", detained for four hours, and charged with public order offences. The Crown Prosecution Service decided to withdraw its prosecution of Green on the grounds of insufficient evidence, though the police stated that this did not "challenge the legality" of his arrest.

Source: PinkNews.co.uk, December 21, 2009

Three men hanged in Isfahan, Iran

Iran Human Rights, December 20: Three men were hanged in the prison of Isfahan (central Iran) according to the official site of Isfahan’s judiciary this morning.

According to the report the three men were identified as "Ghodrat Gh." (55) convicted of trafficking of 141,5 kg. of opium, Khan Mohammad Daraei (age not mentioned) for keeping 120 g. of Crack and 2 g. of marijuana, selling 15 g. of heroin, and drug addiction, and "Mostafa Ch." convicted of keeping 135,4 g. of heroin, 35,6 g. of opium and addiction to opium.

Iran Human Rights underlines that the charges are only according to the Iranian authorities and have not been confirmed by independent sources.

Condemning today’s executions, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson of Iran Human Rights said: "We are concerned about possible executions in the Christmas holidays. Iranian authorities often choose major holidays for mass executions in order to avoid international attention. Last year 10 people were hanged on Christmas Eve and 2 people were stoned to death on December 26." He added: " The situation of the human rights in Iran has not been as bad as today since the end of 1980’s."

Source: Iran Human Rights, December 20, 2009

Kansas: Legislature to consider end to death penalty

Kansas will consider abolishing the death penalty next year as death sentences are declining across the United States.

Fewer people were sentenced to death this year than any other year since 1976, according to a report released Friday by the Death Penalty Information Center.

The report cites 106 new death sentences handed down in 2009, compared to 111 in 2008. Both are down significantly from a decade ago, when 284 death sentences were given out.

Sen. Tim Owens, R-Overland Park, has scheduled four days of hearings beginning Jan. 19 on a new bill that would eliminate the death penalty in Kansas.

A Kansas Judicial Council advisory committee of lawmakers, judges, prosecutors and defense lawyers helped rewrite a bill sponsored last year by Sen. Carolyn McGinn, R-Sedgwick.

But Kansas' top prosecutor said this week he wants to see the death penalty continue.

"I think it's a just punishment for what those folks did," Attorney General Steve Six told The Eagle.

Read more here.

Source: The Wichita Eagle, Kansas.com, December 19, 2009

Three men hanged in southeastern Iran on December 16

Iran Human Rights, December 19: Three men were hanged in the prison of Zahedan, capital of the southeast Iranian province of Sistan-Baluchestan, reported the official Iranian news agency IRNA.

According to the report that was quoting the Baluchestan judiciary, the men were identified as "Mosa M." convicted of keeping and trafficking of 84 kg heroin and 921 kg opium, "Khaleghdad F." for trafficking and hiding 49,5 kg heroin and 98 kg opium and "Ghader M." for trafficking of 745 kg opium and 465 kg opium. All the men were hanged early Wednesday morning December 16.

Iran Human Rights underlines that the charges mentioned above have not been confirmed by independent sources.

According to our reports, at least 14 people have been hanged in the last 10 days in Iran.

Source: Iran Human Rights, December 19, 2009

Swedish Presidency Statement on the execution of Mosleh Zamani in Iran

The Presidency of the European Union condemns the execution of Mosleh Zamani (left) on 17 December 2009. Zamani was sentenced to death for a crime committed as a minor. The Presidency is concerned about the continued large-scale use of the death penalty in Iran, including the repeated executions of persons who committed crimes below the age of 18.

The Presidency recalls the EU's longstanding opposition to the death penalty in all circumstances and recalls that any miscarriage or failure of justice in the application of capital punishment represents the irreparable and irreversible loss of human life. The Presidency continues to call on the Iranian authorities to abolish the death penalty completely and, in the meantime, to establish a moratorium on executions as urged by United Nations General Assembly resolutions 62/149 and 63/168.

More on Mosleh Zamani here: Iran Executes Juvenile Offender

Source: Swedish Presidency of the European Union, December 18, 2009

China: Billionaire given death penalty for murder

HARBIN, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- Billionaire Wang Wenxiang was sentenced to death Friday for hiring two people to murder a former business partner.

Wang, 49, a native of Heilongjiang Province, was convicted of having contracted the killing to his personal secretary Bai Peng and a migrant worker Yu Yi, according to the court verdict handed down by the Municipal Intermediate People's Court of Harbin, the provincial capital.

The court also sentenced Bai to death and gave death penalty with a two-year reprieve to Yu over charges of murder and theft.

The three were ordered to pay 340,000 yuan (49,786 U.S. dollars) in compensation to the victim Zhong Yishi, who ran a construction company that began doing business with Wang 10 years ago.

Wang and Zhong had a rancor over defaulted payments for a project that ended up in court in 2004. Wang's company was ordered to pay 10 million yuan to Zhong in compensation.

In December last year, Zhong brought another lawsuit against Wang on other issues related to the construction properties, which motivated Wang to plan the kidnapping and murder.

Bai and Yu were caught on videotape strangling the man in an underground car garage and putting him in a trunk on May 18. Yu put a rope around Zhong's neck while Bai sealed Zhong's mouth and tied up his hands with tape.

They put the victim into the trunk of the car and drove to an abandoned brick kiln, where they burned the body and took 4,000 yuan they found on the body.

Bai hired Yu to assist him in the killing, while Wang was responsible for covering the fees.

Wang, graduated from Tsinghua University, a top university in China, and was the political consultative conference member of Heilongjiang province. His Xinheng Corporation was involved in a range of industries including real estate, power, wholesale and retail. According to its website, the fixed assets of the company reached over 1 billion yuan.

Souce: chinaview.cn, December 18, 2009

DPIC's 2009 Year End Report Released

The Death Penalty Information Center released the “The Death Penalty in 2009: Year End Report” on December 18, noting that the country is expected to finish 2009 with the fewest death sentences since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. Eleven states considered abolishing the death penalty this year, a significant increase in legislative activity from previous years, as the high costs and lack of measurable benefits associated with this punishment troubled lawmakers.

“The annual number of death sentences in the U.S. has dropped for seven straight years and is 60% less than in the 1990s,” said Richard Dieter, the report’s author and DPIC’s executive director. “In the last two years, three states have abolished capital punishment and a growing number of states are asking whether it's worth keeping. This entire decade has been marked by a declining use of the death penalty." There were 106 death sentences in 2009 compared with a high of 328 in 1994.

New Mexico became the 15th state to abolish the death penalty, and 9 men who were sentenced to death were exonerated in 2009, the second highest number of exonerations since the death penalty was reinstated. The total number of exonerations since 1973 has now reached 139.

Source: Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), December 18, 2009

California's death row grows as death sentences decline nationwide

In Los Angeles County alone, 13 convicted murderers were condemned, contributing to the state's 2009 total of 29, according to a national report.

Los Angeles County sent more people to death row this year than Texas, Florida or any other state in the nation, condemning 13 convicted murderers -- the highest number in a decade, according to a Times review of justice statistics.

The increase comes as a national report projects that the number of death sentences issued across the country this year will reach its lowest level since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976.

Los Angeles County helped California buck that trend, boosting the state's death sentences from 20 last year to 29 so far this year, more than a quarter of the nationwide total of 106, according to a report released Friday by the nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center. The center attributed the national decline to deepening concerns about the costs of capital punishment and the possibility of wrongful convictions.

California's increase occurred despite legal challenges that have left the state's lethal injection chamber idle for the last four years. Any resumption of executions is still at least a year off, experts said. The 2009 capital sentences have helped push the state's condemned population to 697, the nation's largest by far.

Read the full article here.

Source: The Los Angeles Times, December 19, 2009

China businesswoman gets death sentence for fraud

BEIJING — A Chinese businesswoman was sentenced to death Friday for cheating investors out of $56 million — the latest case in the country's struggle against widespread corruption.

The 28-year-old Wu Ying started out a decade ago with a single beauty salon but eventually built up a holding group, Bense Holdings, that was known around the country, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.

The report said Wu collected the $56 million from investors over two years and was arrested in 2007.

Video posted online of her sentencing had the petite, ponytailed Wu showing little emotion as she was led into the courtroom.

In China, the death penalty is used even for nonviolent crimes such as corruption or tax evasion. The country's highest court, which reviews all death sentences, this year called for it to be used less often and for only the most serious criminal cases.

The Intermediate People's Court in Jinhua city, eastern Zhejiang province, said Wu used the money for personal use and operating costs and to pay off loans.

The Xinhua report said Wu confessed but then retracted her confession in April.

Rights group Amnesty International has said China put at least 1,718 people to death in 2008.

Source: The Associated Press, December 18, 2009

U.S.: Death Sentences Dropped, but Executions Rose in ’09

More death row convicts were executed in the United States this year than last, but juries continue to grow more wary of capital punishment, according to a new report.

Death sentences handed down by judges and juries in 2009 continued a trend of decline for seven years in a row, with 106 projected for the year. That level is down two-thirds from a peak of 328 in 1994, according to the report being released Friday by the Death Penalty Information Center, a research organization that opposes capital punishment.

Read the full article here.

Source: The New York Times, December 17, 2009

Iran executes alleged juvenile offender

Mosleh Zamani is about the 46th alleged juvenile offender to be executed since 1990

Amnesty International has condemned the execution of an alleged juvenile offender in Iran on Thursday, at least the 5th such execution in 2009.

Mosleh Zamani was hanged at Dizel Abad Prison at 4am, along with 4 other unidentified prisoners.

He was sentenced to death in 2006 for allegedly raping his girlfriend when he was 17.

"Once again, despite domestic and international calls for the Iranian authorities to uphold their international obligations, they have executed someone who was under 18 at the time of his alleged crime," said Philip Luther, Deputy Director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Programme. "How many more will die before Iran stops this dreadful practice?"

Mosleh Zamani's death brings the number of alleged juvenile offenders executed in Iran since 1990 to at least 46.

Amnesty International was told that 200 people demonstrated outside the prison on Wednesday in protest at the executions.

The organization has called since 2007 for Mosleh Zamani's death sentence to be overturned.

Iran is a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Both of these prohibit the use of the death penalty against juvenile offenders, people under 18 at the time of the offence of which they have been convicted.

Iran is one of very few countries in the world that still execute juvenile offenders.

According to Amnesty International's information, Mosleh Zamani was convicted of abducting a woman several years older than him, with whom he was allegedly having a relationship, and raping her. His death sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court in July 2007. He may not have had adequate legal representation.

Previously held in Sanandaj Prison in Kordestan province, Mosleh Zamani was recently transferred to Dizel Abad Prison in Kermanshah province, where he is believed to have been placed in solitary confinement on 11 December 2009, frequently a signal that execution is imminent. However, his execution was not carried out at that time, apparently for medical reasons.

Amnesty International had also learnt that Mosleh Zamani's alleged victim had asked that his life be spared, stating that they had had consensual sex. The Appeal Court judge refused to take that into consideration, stating instead that Mosleh Zamani should be executed in order to "set an example" to other young Iranians.

"It is all the more important in death penalty cases, where the accused faces an irreversible punishment, that international standards for fair trial are observed," said Philip Luther. "Time and again we hear of cases where proceedings do not appear to meet those standards."

In many cases, juvenile offenders under sentence of death in Iran are kept in prison until they pass their 18th birthday, after which their executions are scheduled. In this period, some win appeals against their conviction. Others have their sentence overturned on appeal and are freed after a retrial. Some are reprieved by the family of the victim in cases of murder and are asked to pay diyeh (compensation) instead. Some, however, do not benefit from such measures and are consequently executed.

Source: Amnesty International, December 17, 2009


Juvenile Offender Mosleh Zamani and Four Unidentified Inmates Hanged in Iran

Iran Human Rights, December 18: According to unofficial sources from Iran, Mosleh Zamani (20) was hanged in the Dizelabad prison of Kermanshah (western Iran) along with four unidentified people yesterday morning December 17.

Mosleh Zamani was convicted of raping his girlfriend in 2006 when he was 17 years old.

In an interview with BBC-Persian Mr. Zamani’s sister Sanaz Zamani confirmed the news and said that Saleh Samani’s girlfriend didn’t have any complaints against Mosleh and they even had a letter from the forensic medicine saying there was no sexual relationship between them. However she said that Mr. Zamani was convicted of "Shararat" where only three people from the village had signed. "Shararat" is a non specific term meaning "acts of evil" frequently used for disruption of law and order or inappropriate social behaviour!

Mosleh is the fifth minor offender to be executed in Iran in 2009.

Neither Iranian officials nor the state run media mentioned news of yesterday’s executions in Kermanshah.

Iran Human Rights has no further details about the identity of the four others who were executed in Kermanshah yesterday.

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson of Iran Human Rights said: "We strongly condemn yesterday's executions by the Iranian authorities and hope that the EU and UN will condemn it as well and once again we urge UN to send a fact finding commision to Iran in order to investigate identities of the many people being executed everyday in Iran charged with "Moharebeh", "shararat" and immoral acts." He added: "Iran is one of the few countries still executing minor offenders despite ratification of UN’s Convention of the children’s rights. Unfortunately execution of children doesn’t seem to have high priority in the international politics and as long as the Iranian regime doesn’t face any practical consequences they will continue their dreadful practice of child execution".

Amnesty International condemned the execution of Mosleh Zamani in a public statement released yesterday.

Source: Iran Human Rights, December 18, 2009

Iran: man convicted of "immoral acts" hanged

Iran Human Rights, December 16: A man was hanged in the northeast Iranian town of Bojnord early Monday morning December 14, reported the official site of the Iranian judiciary.

The man, who was not identified by name, was convicted of "acts incompatible with chastity" according to the report.

No further details were given by the report.

Source: Iran Human Rights, December 17, 2009

China: woman executed over child prostitution

December 14, 2009: a woman in southwest China, Zhao Qingmei, was executed "in recent days" in Guizhou province after her final appeal was rejected, the Guizhou Daily reported.

Zhao was convicted of forcing 22 schoolchildren into prostitution from March to June 2006 and aiding her husband in the rape of a child.

The report said the other defendants, including Zhao's husband, were given sentences ranging from jail time, including life sentences, to death with a two-year reprieve, a punishment normally commuted to life in prison.

Sources: Agence France Presse, Hands Off Cain, 14/12/2009

United Nations: Death penalty almost abolished

The majority of UN members no longer practise capital punishment, the organisation said on Monday.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said around 140 of the body's 192 member states had abolished capital punishment either formally or in practice.

Pillay's remarks came on the 20th anniversary of a UN treaty, ratified by 72 countries, that aims to bring an end to the death penalty.

"In the 20 years since it (the treaty) was adopted, the number of formally abolitionist states has almost tripled, and where there was once a majority of states that wanted to keep the death penalty, they are now in the minority," Pillay said.

"In all, around 140 states are believed to have now abolished the death penalty either formally, or in practice."

Pillay said the abolition of capital punishment was a difficult process for many societies and often could only come about after a national debate.

"Until they reach that point, I urge those states still employing the death penalty to place a formal moratorium on its use," she said.

Russia's constitutional court banned the use of capital punishment in November, 10 years after imposing a moratorium on executions.

According to human rights campaign group Amnesty International, 2 390 people were executed in 25 states in 2008, with 93% of executions coming in just 5 countries: China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the US.

Source: SAPA, December 16, 2009

Carlton Gary execution stopped by Georgia Supreme Court

In a 5-2 vote, the Supreme Court of Georgia today granted Carlton Gary's motion for a stay of execution and ordered the Muscogee County Superior Court to conduct a hearing on his request for DNA testing.

Gary, who was convicted and sentenced to death in 1986 for the rapes and strangulation murders of 3 elderly women in Columbus, was due to be executed tonight at 7 p.m.by lethal injection. Gary's attorneys have claimed that DNA testing of hair, semen and fingernail scrapings found on his alleged victims was not available at the time of his conviction.

All justices concurred in today's decision except Chief Justice Carol Hunstein and Presiding Justice George Carley, who dissented.

Source: Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, December 16, 2009

Kentucky releases plan for execution procedure

Kentucky released its execution protocols for the 1st time Wednesday, and the public and legislators will get a chance to comment on the rules next year.

It's ultimately up to Gov. Steve Beshear to readopt the procedure or any changes.

The protocol covers a variety of areas, ranging from how quickly an inmate must become unconscious to when a coroner and physician are called in to certify death.

After fighting for several years to keep the protocol secret, the state released it just weeks after the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that it hadn't been properly adopted. The court barred any executions until the method was redone.

The ruling didn't challenge the technique, which is used by dozens of other states and has passed U.S. Supreme Court scrutiny in a case brought by Kentucky death row inmate Ralph Baze.

The protocol will be opened to public comment in January. Various legislative committees then review it before it goes to the governor for approval. It couldn't take effect before next May.

The release of the protocol comes less than a week after Ohio used an overdose of 1 drug on convicted killer Kenneth Biros the 1st 1-drug execution in the United States.

Parts of Kentucky's 74-page protocol have previously been made public, including the 3 drugs used to execute an inmate sodium thiopental, a fast-acting sedative; pancuronium bromide, which causes paralysis; and potassium chloride, which causes cardiac arrest.

Details made public for the 1st time include:

- A coroner and physician are nearby to certify death. The coroner checks the inmate's pupils and pulse and the physician certifies the cause of death. Neither is in the execution chamber.

- If an inmate is conscious after 60 seconds during a lethal injection, the warden must stop the procedure and order that a backup IV be used in another site on the inmate's body.

- If an inmate has not died after 10 minutes during a lethal injection or 2 minutes during an electrocution, a second dose of drugs or jolt of electricity is administered.

- Members of the execution team must be a phlebotomist, a person trained to draw blood, emergency medical technician, paramedic or military corpsman or combat medic and have at least 1 year of professional experience.

- Each execution costs the Department of Corrections $17,000.

Courts around the country have split over whether states should have to follow administrative regulation procedures in adopting a lethal injection protocol. Maryland, Nebraska and California have found that the requirement applies to lethal injection, while courts in Missouri and Tennessee ruled that it doesn't.

California is undergoing a process similar to Kentucky's and recently received public comment. Its execution method must still be approved by a federal judge, who stopped all executions there until officials eliminated deficiencies found in the original process.

Kentucky's three-drug protocol also is under attack in federal court by 5 inmates. They are challenging the protocol, the practice of giving Valium to inmates before an execution and how the state acquires the drugs used.

Kentucky has 35 death row inmates. The state has executed 3 men since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, most recently in November 2008.

Source: Associated Press, December 16, 2009

Execution date set in February for Wyoming's only death-row inmate

A judge says Dale Wayne Eaton, Wyoming's only death-row inmate, is scheduled to be put to death on Feb. 12.

Natrona County District Judge David Park set the date during a death warrant hearing on Monday.

Diane Courselle, director of the University of Wyoming's Defender Aid Program, says they'll go to federal court to ask for a stay of execution.

Eaton has been on death row since 2004 for the kidnapping, rape and murder of 18-year-old Lisa Marie Kimmell, who disappeared in 1988 while driving from Denver to Billings, Mont.

The Wyoming Supreme Court has twice rejected appeals filed by Eaton's attorneys.

Source: Associated Press, December 16, 2009

China injects "humanity" into death sentence

BEIJING - Beijing municipality's No 1 Detention Center is one of the top penitentiaries in China, but there are no signs to guide visitors there. Abandoned yards and demolished factories surround a complex that seems like an island in the middle of an ocean. If the cells had windows - that's not the case - prisoners would be able to see only construction sites in the distance.

Unlike the adjacent heavily fortified Beijing Second Prison, No 1 has no special security measures for its perimeter - only high walls and closed-circuit TV cameras. The guards are the same unarmed young migrant workers in oversized uniforms that one sees patrolling local residential areas. They even have time to play with two stray dogs that regularly wander across the main check point.

The scene is quiet, but the facility is often the focus of media attention, due to the notorious political and white-collar prisoners detained for sentencing in it. Public interest in the center is likely to grow even more next year as all death sentences for Beijing will be carried out in it.

The executions will all be by lethal injection, part of nationwide plans announced by the People's Supreme Court in February to discontinue execution by a bullet in the back of the head by 2010. To date, at least 15 provinces and municipalities have adopted the policy.

The China Daily reported on Friday that Liaoning province in the northeast had become the nation's first to adopt the policy. "Lethal injection can reduce the fear and suffering experienced by criminals," the Higher People's Court of Liaoning said in a statement on its website.

Despite a raging national debate over capital punishment, local rights groups estimate that at least 5,000 people are executed each year in China - more than four times the rest of the world combined. Since 1949, executions were carried out mainly by firing squads, but the revised Criminal Procedure Law in 1996 stipulated that "the death penalty could be executed by shooting or injection". In 1997, China became only the second country after the United States to use lethal injections.

The China Daily reported in November that "Beijing's first permanent lethal injection facility has been completed, ahead of plans to abolish execution by firing squad for criminals next year". The state-owned newspaper confirmed that "most criminal executions this year were carried out by a firing squad at various sites in suburban Beijing''.

Zhao Bingzhi, a leading member of the China Law Science Society, told the China Daily that the decision to replace the firing squad with lethal injection was fair because firing squads "horrify the public and torture the criminals, who also deserve decent deaths".

The best-selling author and dissident, Ma Jian, recounted in his book Red Dust the experience of attending a public execution:

Public executions take place throughout China in the run-up to [October 1] National Day. I have grown up reading these death notices and have attended several executions. I once watched an army truck stop, a young man called Lu Zhongjian come out, handcuffed, and two soldiers escorted him away. When he started to scream, they slung a metal wire over his mouth and tugged it back, slicing through his face. Then they kicked him to the ground and shot three bullets into his head.

Despite no official edict stopping the practice, observers have not been aware of public executions in China in recent years. However, The Washington Post reported in July 2008 that three young men were shot in a public square in the city of Yengishahar in Xinjiang - the mainly Muslim region of northwestern China - after the local government bused in several thousand students and office workers for the spectacle.

At the end of the 1990s, in provinces with high crime rates, police were given special buses to carry out lethal injection executions. Mobile executions vans, converted 24-seater buses, were distributed to many courts across the country. The windowless execution chamber at the back contained a metal bed on which the prisoner was strapped down. Once the needle was attached by the doctor, a police officer would press a button and an automatic syringe inserted the lethal drug into the prisoner's vein.

Liu Renwen, a prominent expert on the law relating to the death penalty at the Chinese Academy of Social Science, said in a 2008 interview for the newspaper The Beijing News that the use of buses had decreased because they were too expensive to maintain.

Jiang Xinchang, vice president of the Supreme People's Court, told the China Daily in February that a lethal injection "is considered more humane and will eventually be used in all intermediate people's courts".

The cost of an execution by firing squad is 700 yuan (US$102), while a single drug dose for a lethal injection execution costs 300 yuan, said Liu.

The drug used is a mixture of barbiturates, a muscle relaxant and potassium chloride, according to the Xinmin Evening News. The barbiturates are used to make the prisoners lose consciousness, the muscle relaxant paralyze the heart and paralyze pulmonary activities, while the third ingredient, potassium chloride, can lead to cardiac arrest, according to medical experts.

The lethal injection formula has faced controversy in the United States, where the Berkeley School of Law has claimed that if the anesthetic fails, the use of potassium chloride causes extreme pain: "There is no medical dispute that, if an individual is not unconscious, the intravenous injection of this drug causes excruciating pain, likened to setting one's veins on fire."

Liu admits there is a risk because "some unqualified prison staff members have been known to take too long injecting the drug".

He said that prison authorities tried to relieve the pressure on executioners. "We have a superstition here that administering a death penalty is not auspicious," said Liu. He explained that executions were carried out with "four needles with the same dosage and color ... One contains a fatal drug; one is supporting medicine and then there are two injections of saline water. Four bailiffs will choose their injections randomly. No one knows who gave the fatal drug, which is helpful for relieving psychological stress among the operational staff."

The Chinese Criminal Defense Network, a national criminal law bar, sets lawyers' fees for death sentence trials at an average of 50,000 yuan, or US$7,313. This is expensive in a country where the per capita annual income is US$6,000. At least under the new method the family of the condemned prisoner is not expected to pay for the drugs. In the past, families of condemned prisoners were sent a bill for the bullet used in the execution.

Zhao Li, a lawyer specializing in the death penalty, told Asia Times Online by telephone, "Generally, persons who commit economic crimes or crimes by taking advantage of their duty are executed by lethal injection. And for general crimes, criminals are less likely to be killed by lethal injection."

Fewer death sentences have been carried out in China since the Supreme People's Court in 2007 assumed the final say in approving the sentence. The Dui Hua Foundation, an institution devoted to defending the rights of Chinese prisoners, states that a sharp decline in capital punishment began at least 10 years ago. Then, about 10,000 people were executed each year; Dui Hua expects that in 2009 the number will drop to 5,000.

Wang Jun, director of the Forensic Division of the Kunming Intermediate People's Court, said in 2008 that one of the reasons for using lethal injections was the risk of HIV infection presented by clearing up after firing squads. About 20% of those condemned to capital punishment in Yunnan had the HIV virus, said Wang, as most were heroin addicts who used shared needles. Yunnan borders the Golden Triangle, the notorious drug-smuggling area that includes Myanmar and Thailand.

Dui Hua points out that another reason for the Chinese authorities' support of the lethal injection may be that this method better preserves the body for organ donations. In August, the China Daily reported that 65% of transplants that originated in China came from executed prisoners, who reportedly were voluntarily donors.

But Zhou Zhenjie, an expert on criminal law at the Waseda Institute for Advanced Study, ruled out the relation between lethal injections and organ donations. He said the main reason behind the change in policy was that it caused less pain to prisoners.

Zhou believes that China is taking "steps in order to limit the application of the death penalty and ensure its accuracy and transparency", but adds that the great majority of criminal law scholars want the complete abolition of the death penalty.

Cristian Segura is a European journalist based in Beijing.

Source: Asia Times Online, December 16, 2009