FEATURED POST

Communist Vietnam's secret death penalty conveyor belt: How country trails only China and Iran for 'astonishing' number of executions

Published
Image
Prisoners are dragged from their cells at 4am without warning to be given a lethal injection Vietnam's use of the death penalty has been thrust into the spotlight after a real estate tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to be executed in one of the biggest corruption cases in the country's history. Truong My Lan, a businesswoman who chaired a sprawling company that developed luxury apartments, hotels, offices and shopping malls, was arrested in 2022.

Bali Nine duo's bodies return to Australia

Published
The coffins were carried on Qantas flight 42, which landed in Sydney just before dawn, at 6:13am
The coffins were carried on Qantas flight 42, which
landed in Sydney just before dawn, at 6:13am
The bodies of executed Bali duo Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran have arrived at Sydney airport after the final leg of their journey home to Australia.

It has also been revealed the executions may have been considered illegal under international law, and an Australian request to submit the case to an international court was ignored, according to reports.

The coffins were carried on Qantas flight 42, which landed in Sydney just before dawn, at 6:13am. Chan's widow, Febyanti Herewila, Sukumaran's parents and siblings, and Australian officials were also on board the flight.

The flight was the last leg in Chan and Sukumaran's journey home to Australia, after they were killed by an Indonesian firing squad on Wednesday morning.

Australia's ambassador asked Indonesia for consent on March 10 to explore whether the execution was illegal before the international court, but Foreign Minister Julie Bishop revealed on Friday she still has not had a reply, according to Fairfax Media.

The bodies of Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan are escorted from the tarmac following their arrival
The bodies of Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan are
escorted from the tarmac following their arrival
According to reports, Australian officials were given strong legal advice by ANU academic Don Rothwell and Sydney barrister Chris Ward the men's execution were illegal under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The treaty, which was signed by Indonesia in 2006, states the death penalty can only be given for 'the most serious crimes'.

Advice provided to Ms Bishop and the Australian government reportedly stated: 'Drug trafficking does not constitute such a crime when it involves no prima facie harm or violence to another person.'

Before leaving Indonesia, the coffins carrying the bodies of the Australians were carried around Jakarta airport on a forklift, in preparation for the seven-hour flight.

Loved ones of the Bali nine duo who left the country on an earlier flight, including Chan's brother, Michael, and mother, Helen, touched down in Sydney after 10.30am AEST on a Garuda Airlines flight on Friday.


Source: Mail Online, May 1, 2015

Report an error, an omission: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com
Location: Sydney NSW, Australia
Related content:

Most Viewed (Last 7 Days)

Communist Vietnam's secret death penalty conveyor belt: How country trails only China and Iran for 'astonishing' number of executions

Published
Image
Prisoners are dragged from their cells at 4am without warning to be given a lethal injection Vietnam's use of the death penalty has been thrust into the spotlight after a real estate tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to be executed in one of the biggest corruption cases in the country's history. Truong My Lan, a businesswoman who chaired a sprawling company that developed luxury apartments, hotels, offices and shopping malls, was arrested in 2022.
Read more

Iran sentences popular rapper to death for supporting Mahsa Amini protests

Published
Image
An Iranian court has sentenced to death a popular rapper jailed for more than a year and a half for supporting nationwide protests sparked by Mahsa Amini's death, local media reported Wednesday . "Branch 1 of Isfahan Revolutionary Court sentenced Toomaj Salehi to death on the charge of corruption on Earth," the singer's lawyer Amir Raisian said, quoted by the reformist Shargh newspaper.
Read more

Malaysia urged to extend moratorium on executions until full abolition of death penalty

Published
Image
PETALING JAYA: Amnesty International Malaysia has commended Malaysia for the abolition of the mandatory death penalty and for imposing a moratorium on the execution of the death sentence, which has led to an overall decrease in the use of the death penalty by the courts. However, the rights group urged the government to extend the moratorium on executions until the death penalty is fully abolished.
Read more

Could Moscow attack suspects face execution in Belarus?

Published
Image
After the deadly terrorist attack at Moscow's Crocus City Hall, some Russian politicians are debating trying the suspects to Belarus, which still has death penalty. But it's not that simple. The terror attack on Moscow's Crocus City Hall has ignited debate about the reintroduction of the death sentence in Russia. Given that 140 people died and more than 500 were wounded at the concert hall on March 22, 2024, emotions are running high.
Read more

Iran | 9 prisoners executed in a single day

Published
Image
9 prisoners of drug charges executed in the central prisons of Kerman, Chabahar and GhezelHesar According to the Iranian Human Rights Society website, on Sunday, April 21st, 2024, 9 prisoners including, Baloch and Kurdish drug suspects were executed in the central prisons of Kerman, Chah bahar, and GhezelHesar.  
Read more

Punjab | Woman sentenced to death for kidnapping, burying toddler alive

Published
Image
Neelam sentenced to death for burying toddler alive after kidnapping her, in a rare and heinous crime. The court found her guilty of murder and destruction of evidence, causing outrage in society. LUDHIANA: Over two years after the brutal murder of a toddler, the woman who killed her was sentenced to death by a local court. The convict had buried her neighbour’s two-and-a-half-year-old daughter alive. 
Read more