Death Penalty News

Somali government is working to overturn death sentences imposed on nearly 40 Somali nationals currently imprisoned in Saudi Arabia as part of an effort to secure legal protections for its citizens abroad.  Somali Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Hassan Moalim announced on Friday that he had discussed the matter with the Saudi Ambassador to Somalia.  Their talks focused on ensuring Somali nationals have access to justice, as well as establishing judicial cooperation between the 2 countries.

Russia Releases Morocco's Brahim Saadoun After Riyadh Mediation. Saadoun received a death sentence in June. Russian authorities released today 10 foreign prisoners, including Morocco's Ibrahim Saadoun. The decision came following a mediation by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement that a plane carrying the prisoners landed in Saudi Arabia. "The relevant Saudi authorities received and transferred them from Russia to the kingdom and are facilitating procedures for their respective countries," the statement said. Russian authorities arrested Saadoun in April while fighting with the Ukrainian forces. Footage of his interrogation instantly became viral once shared online. Subsequently, The Donetsk court sentenced him to death in June. The court argued that the death penalty was the appropriate punishment for him, describing him as a member of foreign mercenaries in Ukraine. In a recent interview with Russian media RT, Saado...

Medical researcher Ahmadreza Djalali is to be moved to a different prison pending 'imminent' execution. A medical researcher sentenced to death in Iran three years ago on a charge of spying — which he denies — is under threat of imminent execution, Nature has been told. Ahmadreza Djalali , a scholar in disaster medicine who has dual Iranian–Swedish nationality, is nearing the end of a week of solitary confinement at Evin prison in Tehran, where he has been held since 2016. He is expected to be transferred to Rajai Shahr prison, west of Tehran on 1 December, where the execution could be carried out. This information is contained in a letter dated 24 November that carries the name of Mohammad Barae, understood to be a judge in Iran’s legal system. Vida Mehrannia, Djalali’s wife, told Nature she had received a telephone call from him on 25 November in which he said he was being moved to solitary confinement, and then to a different prison to be executed. “This letter looks to be a...

Despite government's frantic efforts to recruit a hangman, Zimbabweans have frowned upon the job offer even though unemployment is above 90 percent. In this Question & Answer with the Daily News' Tendayi Madhomu, the minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Ziyambi Ziyambi speaks on this and other issues. Q: How far is the Constitution alignment process from completion? A: We have some outstanding Acts and the Attorney General is coordinating the process. Home Affairs have not aligned any Acts in the past five years; the Citizens Act, the Immigration Act all need to be aligned with the new Constitution. The ministry of Information also has some outstanding Acts, like Aippa. This ninth Parliament will have to do a clean-up of the work that is remaining. We have our vision that we need to follow; of improved governance and respect for human and property rights. The Marriage Act also needs to be amended. The Constitution says...

Bali's Kerobokan Prison A PROMINENT Australian barrister has vowed to renew a fight to free Brisbane Catholic Scott Rush and the remaining members of the Bali Nine in jail in Indonesia. Scott Rush’s lawyer, Colin McDonald QC, has pinpointed a new legal avenue to fight for the Bali Nine, who are serving life sentences for their part in smuggling more than eight kilograms of heroin from Bali to Australia in 2005. Mr McDonald is also exploring a political and diplomatic possibility for the convicted drug traffickers to be returned to Australia. “I really want to see how we can get Scott, Michael Czugaj – his old classmate – and all the remaining members of the Bali Nine back to Australia,” he said. “Scott’s done twelve and a half years. If he were in Australia he would have got three.” Speaking at an Assembly of Catholic Professionals luncheon in Brisbane last week, Mr McDonald, who lives in Bali and still visits Scott Rush “quietly, on a weekly basis”, said h...

Dozens of rabbis call on gov't to implement death penalty; initiators say it would also stop citizens taking law into their own hands. Dozens of Israeli rabbis have signed a halakhic (Jewish legal) ruling calling on the government to institute the death penalty for terrorists. The letter, initiated by the Derekh Hayim organization, calls for authorities to act with an iron fist against the ongoing wave of terrorist attacks. "In these difficult times, when Jewish blood is being spilled like water, we must repeat the obvious: Anyone who wants to harm a Jew, it is imperative to preempt him and kill him before he carries out his deed," the letter reads, going on to site the Talmudic dictum that "he who comes to kill you, arise and kill him first." "It is forbidden to be negligent regarding (the Torah command) 'Do not stand idly by your fellow's blood," it continues, saying those principles also apply "after the act." ...

Senior Commissioner Djoko Hari Utomo with Myuran Sukumaran, on the plane taking Chan and Sukumaran to Nusakambangan Prison Island. Photo: Kompas TV Indonesia has rejected a last-ditch offer from Australia of a prisoner swap aimed at saving the lives of two Australian men on death row. Foreign Ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir told the BBC that Indonesia had no law to provide for such an exchange. Earlier Australia's Foreign Minister Julie Bishop confirmed the swap offer was among options being explored. Ms Bishop had announced the offer to repatriate three Indonesian convicts in return for the two Australian men in a joint news conference with Prime Minister Tony Abbott. "What we are seeking to do is have an opportunity to talk about options that might be available in the area of prisoner transfer or prisoner swap," she said. The offer was made to Ms Bishop's Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi, who "undertook to provide that informat...

Andrew Chan, Myuran Sukumaran Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has raised the prospect of a prisoner swap in a last-ditch attempt to spare the lives of two Australians on death row in Indonesia. Ms Bishop confirmed on Thursday she brought up the idea with her Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi during a phone call on Tuesday evening. "What we are seeking to do is have an opportunity to talk about options that might be available in the area of prisoner transfer, a prisoner swap," Ms Bishop said in Canberra. "Absolutely no details [were discussed] but we are seeking an opportunity to explore every option that might be available, every avenue that might be available to save the lives of these two men." Later, Ms Bishop told the ABC she hoped Indonesia and Australia could sign a memorandum of understanding should a prisoner swap occur. "I didn't go into any specific detail but I did note there were Australian prisoners in Jakarta and ther...

Law and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsuddin said on Friday that Indonesia would not swap British Lindsay June Sandiford - a narcotics convict on death row - with Rafat Ali Rizvi, a British national convicted of fraud for his role in the Bank Century scandal. The minister made the statement in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling that rejected Sandiford's appeal of her death sentence for smuggling 3.8 kilograms of cocaine into the resort island of Bali. A prisoner swap could only be carried only if there were regulations to implement it Amir said on Friday on the sidelines of an event at the State Palace. In January, the Denpasar District Court handed a death penalty to the British national despite the prosecutors' demand that she be jailed for 15 years. The Bali High Court upheld the verdict in April. Rizvi, a 52-year-old British national was sentenced in absentia to 15 years by the Central Jakarta District Court in 2010 for numerous counts of bank fraud that...

Australian parliament delegation explored a prisoner exchange program in a meeting with Indonesian People Consultative Assembly on Thursday [April 15, 2010]. Duncan Kerr, Australia's Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs, who headed the Australian delegation, said that the policy will enhance ties between both countries. He said that the delegation will propose an amnesty to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for 3 young Australians who were sentenced to death penalty by Indonesian court. "Although it would be beyond our capacity to apply for the mercy, we still want to do it. Hopefully, this will enhance our relationship," said Kerr. Yasona H Laoly, a member of Indonesian parliament, said that the prisoner exchange would be a great possibility in the future. "We have discussed the issue in parliament before and we do hope that we will have a breakthrough on it," said Yasona. After the session, Yasona told Xinhua that maybe in the future Indon...