UN: Islamic State Committing Atrocities on an "Industrial Scale"

June 22, 2015: The United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in counter-terrorism, Ben Emmerson, says people in areas controlled by the Islamic State group live in daily fear for their lives.

He cited mounting evidence the group was guilty of "systematic violations of international law that could amount to genocide, crimes against humanity, (and) war crimes", and criticised Russia and China for vetoing UN Security Council resolutions to refer the war in Syria to the International Criminal Court.

Mr Emmerson said IS was breaking international law on "an industrial scale", attacking ethnic minorities, academics, journalists and homosexuals and imposing a reign of terror in the areas it controls.

He also added that the US-led bombing coalition, which includes Australia, should do more to investigate mounting reports of civilian casualties and publish the results.

The Islamic State group hanged two youths Monday (June 21) after accusing them of eating during daylight hours in the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights said.

“Residents of the village of Mayadeen in Deir Ezzor province reported that IS hanged (see story below) from a crossbar two boys aged under 18 near the HQ of the Hissba,” the jihadist police, Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

“The children have been suspended by ropes from a pole since noon, and they were still there in the late evening,” he said.

“Apparently, they were caught eating.”

A placard was attached to the bodies reading “They broke the fast with no religious justification”.

Throughout the month of Ramadan, which began on June 18, believers abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and having sex from dawn until sunset.

Sources: AFP-JIJI-abc.net.au, HOC, June 22, 2015

Isis suspends two boys from pole in Syria for eating during Ramadan – report

Isis made two youths hang from a beam by their wrists on Monday after accusing them of eating during daylight hours in the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights said.

“Residents of the village of Mayadeen in Deir Ezzor province reported that Isis suspended from a crossbar two boys aged under 18 near the headquarters of the Hissba [jihadi police]”, Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

“The children have been suspended by ropes from a pole since noon, and they were still there in the late evening,” he said.

“Apparently, they were caught eating.”

A placard was attached to them: “They broke the fast with no religious justification.”

Throughout the month of Ramadan, which began on Thursday, believers abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and having sex from dawn until sunset.

Isis, which controls swathes of territory across Syria and Iraq where it has created a self-proclaimed caliphate, advocates an extreme view of the application of Islamic law.

This article was amended on Tuesday 23 June 2015 following a correction issued by Agence France-Presse. The original article stated that the two boys had been hanged.

Source: The Guardian, June 22/23, 2015

ISIS drowns, decapitates ‘spies’ in brutal new video

ISIS militants murdered 5 men by drowning them in a cage

The men killed in the latest video are said to be “spies”, with some of them making recorded “confessions”.

Baghdad— Daesh group video released on Tuesday showed the militants murdering 16 men by drowning them in a cage, decapitating them with explosives and firing a rocket-propelled grenade into a car.

The video, apparently shot in Iraq’s Nineveh province, was one of the most brutal yet in a series released by the militants of killings of opponents in areas under Daesh control.

Daesh has executed hundreds of people by gunfire, dozens by beheading, stoned some to death, thrown others from buildings and burned a captured Jordanian pilot alive.

Videos of the killings are a key propaganda tool of the militants, used to shock and terrify their enemies as well as to draw in new recruits seeking the most brutal and active militant group.

The men killed in the latest video are said to be “spies”, with some of them making recorded “confessions”.

First, the militants lead four men to a car and close the doors, after which one fires a rocket-propelled grenade under the vehicle, setting it alight.

A militant is later shown locking five men inside a metal cage, which is then lifted by a crane and submerged in what appears to be a dirty swimming pool.

Two cameras affixed to the outside of the cage show the men’s deaths in the murky water.

The last killings show a militant looping blue detonating cord around the necks of seven kneeling men, after which the explosives are set off and some of the men are decapitated.

Daesh spearheaded an offensive last June that overran large areas north and west of Baghdad, and also holds significant territory in neighbouring Syria.

Its military gains and atrocities drew a US-led coalition of countries to launch an air campaign against it last year, as well as to provide training and arms to Iraqi forces.

Source: Agence France-Presse, June 24, 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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