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Activists Call on President Biden to End the Federal Death Penalty Before Leaving Office

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A conversation with Death Penalty Action Co-founder and Executive Director Abe Bonowitz. Now that Joe Biden is a lame duck president, activists are holding him accountable to make good on his promise to end the federal death penalty during his remaining six months as president. Biden’s election campaign in 2020 had pledged to end the federal death penalty and incentivize the remaining 27 states that still allow executions to do the same. While he made history as the first president in the United States to openly oppose the death penalty, there has been no movement to actually end federal executions during his nearly four years in office.

Saudi Arabia | Pakistani Citizen Beheaded for Smuggling Drugs

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A Pakistani citizen has been executed in Saudi Arabia for smuggling heroin. 

The Saudi Ministry of Interior confirmed that Zubair Khan Hazrat Jamal was executed in Mecca after being convicted of attempting to smuggle heroin into the kingdom.

According to the Saudi Ministry of Interior, Zubair Khan Hazrat Jamal was apprehended by law enforcement officers who found heroin in his possession. 

The Pakistani citizen was charged with attempting to smuggle heroin into Saudi Arabia.

During his trial, he reportedly confessed to the crime. The initial verdict was subsequently upheld by both the Appeals Court and the Supreme Court. 

The execution took place on July 29 in the Mecca region.

This case is not isolated. On July 16, another Pakistani national, Kitab Gul, faced a similar fate. 

Kitab Gul was arrested and found guilty of attempting to smuggle heroin into the kingdom. His death sentence, like Zubair Khan’s, was confirmed and executed after going through the full appeals process.

Saudi Arabia’s anti-drug laws are among the strictest in the world and the kingdom has a zero-tolerance policy for drug trafficking. 

The country’s use of the death penalty has drawn international scrutiny and criticism from human rights organizations.

Critics argue that the death penalty is a disproportionate response to non-violent drug offenses and calls for reforms in the kingdom’s legal and penal systems. 

Despite this criticism, the Saudi government maintains that its laws are necessary to deter drug smuggling and protect society.

Source: propakistani.pk, Sher Alam, July 30, 2024

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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde



Location: Makkah Saudi Arabia
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