OFW saved from Saudi death row

Public execution in Saudi Arabia

Millionaires pay blood money in exchange for Pinoy driver’s freedom

SAUDI authorities have reportedly released a Filipino driver who was incarcerated for his alleged involvement in a car accident that killed an Indian man after his bosses paid the P2.8 million “diyya” or blood money in exchange for his freedom, a newspaper in Saudi Arabia reported Saturday.

Under the Shariah law which prevails in Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia, the “diyya” is the financial compensation paid to the victim or heirs of a victim in the cases of murder, bodily harm or property damage.

Paying the “diyya” which in Arabic means “blood money,” is an alternative punishment to “Qisas” or equal retaliation. The amount of compensation is determined by the Shariah court and reportedly depends on the victim’s religion and percentage of responsibility.

According to the Arab News, the two Saudi millionaires who “donated” the 225,000 riyal blood money owned the company where the unidentified Filipino was working.

“A local court has sent a letter to the prison to release the Filipino and consider the case closed,” the report said.

The Filipino was driving a van in Al Rass town in Al Qassim province when he accidentally hit the victim who was killed instantly. It was not specified in the report when the incident took place.

Help urgently needed for OFW on death row

The mother of another Filipino who is on death row in Riyadh, also in Saudi Arabia, on Saturday renewed her appeal for help in raising the blood money needed to save her son from execution.

According to OFW rights advocate Susan Ople, Ramona Zapanta, mother of Joselito Zapanta, came to see her Saturday and pleaded for help.

“The Sudanese family is asking for P48 million, which is still a long way from the P23 million that the Zapanta family with the help of the government had raised,” Ople told The Manila Times.

The amount collected is being kept in a Saudi bank account under the name of the Philippine Embassy.

Zapanta, who hails from Bacolor, Pampanga, left for Saudi Arabia in 2007 to work as a tile-setter.

“Unfortunately, the Sudanese family has refused any amount lower than their demand of P48-million. This means that the Zapanta family needs to raise P25-million in a span of two weeks, or maybe less, considering that a royal decree had already been issued for the implementation of the sentence,” Ople said.

The Zapanta family is expected to hold a press briefing this week to publicly appeal for help, Ople added.

Ople said the Zapanta family needs to raise the remaining amount a few weeks or the Saudi authorities will impose the death sentence.

Ople said Philippine Ambassador to Riyadh Ezzedin Tago has confirmed that Zapanta’s case has become extremely urgent.

“We are talking about weeks here, hence the need for the family to go public in order to seek everyone’s help,” Ople said.

Fr. Jerome Secillano, head of the public affairs committee of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), called not only for prayers but also for donations to raise the remaining amount.

He also called on the Aquino administration to do all it can to help Zapanta.

“We challenge our government officials to exhaust all possible remedies to stay the execution and possibly gain the freedom of our kababayan,” Secillano said.

Source: The Manila Times, December 27, 2015

Related content:

Execution caught on video in Saudi Arabia, Emirates 24/7, June 3, 2012
Saudis behead, crucify Sudanese man for robbery, rape and murder, Apr 21, 2012
Saudi Arabia executes Burmese woman; secret filming reveals medieval, barbaric punishment, January 12, 2015

- Report an error, an omission: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com - Follow us on Facebook and Twitter

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.

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."

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

Kuwait | New Anti-Drug Law Introduces Death Penalty, Surprise Testing, and Strict Enforcement

KUWAIT CITY, Nov 26: Divorce rates in Kuwait are rising, with recent statistics indicating that addiction—particularly among wives—has become a significant contributing factor. In response, authorities are preparing to introduce surprise premarital drug testing as part of a broader set of reforms under Kuwait’s new drug law. The countdown has officially begun for the enforcement of this new legislation, which was drafted by a judicial committee formed by the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Sheikh Fahd Al-Yousef. The committee is headed by Counselor Mohammed Rashid Al-Duaij.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog