EU Promises "Fight" If Hungary Brings Death Penalty Back

Hungary's Viktor Orban

European Union leaders are warning Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban that he is in for "a fight" if he considers restoring the death penalty, which is now banned throughout the 28-nation bloc.

EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said Orban "should immediately make clear that this is not his intention. Would it be his intention, it would be a fight."

The head of the EU parliament echoed those comments, saying the legislature's civil liberties committee would be convened urgently and noting that the EU's charter of fundamental rights prohibits the death penalty.

The issue was raised by Orban after last week's murder of a 22-year-old tobacco shop attendant in a southern Hungarian city.

Source: Associated Press, April 29, 2015

DNP does not support 'death penalty'

In line with Christian principles, Hungary's Christian democrats KDNP, which is the coalition party of ruling Fidesz, rejected the idea of reintroducing death penalty in Hungary, vice-president Bence Retvari told Hungarian online daily valasz.hu yesterday.

"A Christian politician does not back capital punishment" Retvari said following Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's comments at a press conference in Pecs on Tuesday that a life sentence is not deterrent enough and as such, the death penalty needs to be kept on the agenda.

On behalf of the party, Retvqri rejected the death penalty in 2012, when the far-right Jobbik raised the issue, saying that supporting capital punishment clearly goes against "Christian values".

Orban's speech on the death penalty caused an immediate backlash both in domestic and international circles, as capital punishment also goes against the principles of the European Union.

Martin Schulz, the President of the European Parliament, initiated a phone call with Orban regarding the PM's comment, to which the Press Chief of the Prime Minister's Office, Bertalan Havasi said that Orban is ready to receive the president's call as the PM is "at the service of President Schulz, as usual."

Source: Budpest Business Journal, April 29, 2015

Hungary PM revives death penalty debate, draws EU concern

European Parliament in Strasbourg, France

Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party, under pressure from a eurosceptic right, said on Wednesday it wanted to raise the question of a possible reintroduction of the death penalty with its European Union partners.

A European Parliament member dismissed the idea as barbaric.

Hungary scrapped the death penalty as one of the terms of its accession to the EU in 2004. Orban raised the matter anew after the recent murder of a young tobacconist in southern Hungary that stirred anger in the country.

Fidesz's Parliament caucus leader said the party was aware European rules precluded capital punishment but a debate was still necessary.

"Even in an EU member state, if that country's public wants to have the death penalty ...then a substantial debate can be raised on the EU level," caucus leader Antal Rogan told public radio.

Orban has taken a hard line on a series of issues recently, including proposals for a crackdown on illegal immigrants as his Fidesz loses ground to the far-right, euro-sceptic, anti-immigrant Jobbik party. He said on Tuesday the question of reintroduction should be kept on the agenda in Hungary.

The leftist opposition said Orban was going against European values, while Jobbik Chairman Gabor Vona said the premier was copying his party's playbook.

At the European Parliament (EP), Austrian Social Democrat MEP Joerg Leichtfried called any return to capital punishment "barbaric and an infringement of European law."

EP President Martin Schulz said he had requested an opportunity to speak with Orban on the telephone.

Orban's press chief did not say on what EU forum Hungary might raise the issue.

"Consultations are necessary on the subject on a European level, so the PM will happily discuss it with the (EP) President," Bertalan Havasi told state news agency MTI.

Source: Reuters, April 29, 2015 (wr)

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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.

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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.

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

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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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