Pakistan reaches dubious milestone of 100 executions since lifting moratorium

Pakistan has today reached the mark of 100th execution since a moratorium on executions was lifted in December 2014, human rights group Amnesty International said in a statement on Tuesday.

Pakistan lifted the moratorium on 17 December 2014 in the wake of the Taliban attack on Army Public School in Peshawar, which claimed around 150 lives, most of them schoolchildren.

Munir Hussain, sentenced to death for murder, was hanged in Vehari district jail of Punjab early morning today. He was convicted of killing his nephew and niece over a property dispute back in Year 2000.

The moratorium, in force since 2008, was initially lifted only in terrorism cases. But the government extended the order in March, directing the provincial governments to proceed with hangings for all death row prisoners who have exhausted their appeals and clemency petitions.

The government of Pakistan believes that the lifting of ban on executions will help the country in its counter terrorism drive against militants of various hues including the Taliban insurgency in the South Asian country.

Pakistan has suffered the brunt of terrorism attacks and militancy in various parts of the country resulting in thousand civilian and military deaths in the country.

The country's military has launched an offensive against militants in North Waziristan tribal region and Khyber Agency, which deemed as the bastions of militancy in Pakistan.

Amnestry International campaigning against executions in the world has criticized the rapidly soaring number of executions in Pakistan.

".... reaching the mark of 100 executions in just over 4 months, the Pakistani authorities are showing total disregard for human life. Our concerns are heightened by manifestly unfair trials in many cases that fall well below minimum standards set by international law. This conveyor belt of killing will do nothing to address the root causes of crime and terrorism, and must end immediately," said David Griffiths, Amnesty International's Deputy Asia Pacific Director.

"Executions in Pakistan have picked up pace alarmingly in recent weeks, and are now an almost daily occurrence. If the government does not immediately re-impose a moratorium on executions, there is no telling how many more lives will be lost this year," the statement said.

"Serious crimes like murder and acts of terrorism are utterly reprehensible but killing people in the name of justice is not a particular deterrent. Those who carry out crimes must be prosecuted in fair trials, but without resort to the death penalty," the rights group demanded.

Amongst thousands at risk is Shafqat Hussain, whose lawyers say he was a juvenile at the time of his trial during which evidence obtained as a result of torture was used against him.

In the world today, 140 countries have abolished executions in law or practice.

Amnesty International is campaigning to abolish the death penalty throughout the world.

Source: arynews.tv, April 28, 2015

Pakistan executes death row convict in Punjab

A convicted prisoner on death row has been hanged to death in Vehari district of Punjab early Tuesday morning, ARY News reported.

Muneer Hussain, a death row convict was executed in Vehari District Jail. He was convicted of killing his nephew and niece over a property dispute back in 2000.

Pakistan lifted the moratorium on death penalty on Dec. 17, a day after Pakistani Taliban gunmen attacked Army Public School in Peshawar and killed 134 students and 19 adults.

The moratorium, in force since 2008, was initially lifted only in terrorism cases. But the government extended the order in March, directing provincial governments to proceed with hangings for all death row prisoners who have exhausted their appeals and clemency petitions.

Source: arynews.tv, April 28, 2015

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Singapore executes three drug mules over two days

Singapore hanged three people for drug offences last week, bringing the total number of executions to 17 this year - the highest since 2003. These come a week before a constitutional challenge against the death penalty for drug offences is due to be heard. Singapore has some of the world's harshest anti-drug laws, which it says are a necessary deterrent to drug crime, a major issue elsewhere in South East Asia. Anyone convicted of trafficking - which includes selling, giving, transporting or administering - more than 15g of diamorphine, 30g of cocaine, 250g of methamphetamine and 500g of cannabis in Singapore will be handed the death sentence.

Florida | After nearly 50 years on death row, Tommy Zeigler seeks final chance at freedom

The Winter Garden Police chief was at a party on Christmas Eve 1975 when he received a phone call from his friend Tommy Zeigler, the owner of a furniture store on Dillard Street. “I’ve been shot, please hurry,” Zeigler told the chief as he struggled for breath. When police arrived at the store, Zeigler, 30, managed to unlock the door and then collapsed “with a gaping bullet hole through his lower abdomen,” court records show. In the store, detectives found a gruesome, bloody crime scene and several guns. Four other people — Zeigler’s wife, his in-laws and a laborer — lay dead.

Oklahoma board recommends clemency for inmate set to be executed next week

A voting board in Oklahoma decided Wednesday to recommend clemency for Tremane Wood, a death row inmate who is scheduled to receive a lethal injection next week at the state penitentiary in McAlester. Wood, 46, faces execution for his conviction in the 2001 murder of Ronnie Wipf, a migrant farmworker, at an Oklahoma City hotel on New Year's Eve, court records show. The recommendation was decided in a 3-2 vote by the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, consisting of five members appointed by either the governor or the state's top judicial official, according to CBS News affiliate KWTV. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Sitt will consider the recommendation as he weighs whether to grant or deny Wood's clemency request, which would mean sparing him from execution and reducing his sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Louisiana death row inmate freed after nearly 30 years as overturned conviction upends case

A Louisiana man who spent nearly 30 years on death row walked out of prison Wednesday after a judge overturned his conviction and granted him bail. Jimmie Duncan, now in his 60s, was sentenced to death in 1998 for the alleged rape and drowning of his girlfriend’s 23-month-old daughter, Haley Oliveaux — a case long clouded by disputed forensic testimony. His release comes months after a state judge ruled that the evidence prosecutors used to secure the conviction was unreliable and rooted in discredited bite-mark analysis.

Vietnam | Woman sentenced to death for poisoning 4 family members with cyanide

A woman in Dong Nai Province in southern Vietnam was sentenced to death on Thursday for killing family members including two young children in a series of cyanide poisonings that shocked her community. The Dong Nai People's Court found 39-year-old Nguyen Thi Hong Bich guilty of murder and of illegally possessing and using toxic chemicals. Judges described her actions as "cold-blooded, inhumane and calculated," saying Bich exploited the trust of her victims and "destroyed every ethical bond within her family."

Afghanistan | Two Sons Of Executed Man Also Face Death Penalty, Says Taliban

The Taliban governor’s spokesperson in Khost said on Tuesday that two sons of a man executed earlier that day have also been sentenced to death. Their executions, he said, have been postponed because the heir of the victims is not currently in Afghanistan. Mostaghfer Gurbaz, spokesperson for the Taliban governor in Khost, also released details of the charges against the man executed on Tuesday, identified as Mangal. He said Mangal was accused of killing members of a family.

Afghanistan's Taliban rulers carry out public execution in sports stadium

The man had been convicted of killing 13 members of a family, including children, and was executed by one of their relatives, according to police. Afghanistan's Taliban authorities carried out the public execution of a man on Tuesday convicted of killing 13 members of a family, including several children, earlier this year. Tens of thousands of people attended the execution at a sports stadium in the eastern city of Khost, which the Supreme Court said was the eleventh since the Taliban seized power in 2021 in the wake of the chaotic withdrawal of US and NATO forces.

Utah | Ralph Menzies dies on death row less than 3 months after his execution was called off

Judge was set to consider arguments in December about Menzies’ mental fitness Ralph Menzies, who spent more than 3 decades on Utah’s death row for the 1986 murder of Maurine Hunsaker, has died. Menzies, 67, died of “presumed natural causes at a local hospital” Wednesday afternoon, according to the Utah Department of Corrections. Matt Hunsaker, Maurine Hunsaker’s son, said Menzies’ death “was a complete surprise.” “First off, I’d say that I’m numb. And second off, I would say, grateful,” Hunsaker told Utah News Dispatch. “I’m grateful that my family does not have to endure this for the holidays.”

Iran carries out public hanging of "double-rapist"

Iran on Tuesday publicly executed a man after convicting him of raping two women in the northern province of Semnan. The execution was carried out in the town of Bastam after the Supreme Court upheld the verdict, the judiciary's official outlet Mizan Online reported. Mizan cited the head of the provincial judiciary, Mohammad Akbari, as saying the ruling had been 'confirmed and enforced after precise review by the Supreme Court'. The provincial authority said the man had 'deceived two women and committed rape by force and coercion', adding that he used 'intimidation and threats' to instil fear of reputational harm in the victims.

Burkina Faso to bring back death penalty

Burkina Faso's military rulers will bring back the death penalty, which was abolished in 2018, the country's Council of Ministers announced on Thursday. "This draft penal code reinstates the death penalty for a number of offences, including high treason, acts of terrorism, acts of espionage, among others," stated the information service of the Burkinabe government. Burkina Faso last carried out an execution in 1988.

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