Death Penalty News

The Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021 has led to a surge in child marriage, as families struggle to cope with the economic and social upheaval. According to a recent report by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), reported by the Independent newspaper, the number of child marriages in Afghanistan has increased by 25% since the Taliban took power.

"The Sudan Child Act 2010 stipulated in Article 4 that the age of [adult responsibility] is 18 years old. [However], the Supreme Court has decided in recent precedents that an adult as defined by Article 3 of the 1991 Criminal Act is in fact the accurate definition which must be adhered to considering that the Criminal Act is based on Islamic sharia provisions which rely on the appearance of characteristics or signs of puberty when determining the age of the person." In mid-2017, Abbas Nur called his father, Mohammed, and said: "Dad, the prison administration has started the procedures for my execution. They measured the size of my neck and my weight. They will execute Fadl Al-Mawla tomorrow, and afterwards, I will be executed." In mid-2021 Nur and three of his fellow inmates are still awaiting execution for "crimes" committed and for which they were convicted when they were under 18 years old; when they were legally children. The death sentence remains in...

A 13-year-old boy who was handed a decade-long jail sentence for blasphemy last year will now walk free. He was convicted by an Islamic court in August for making uncomplimentary remarks about God during an argument with a friend in northern Kano state. But a secular appeals court overturned the sentencing on Thursday, saying the child was a minor. Last year's ruling by a Sharia court sparked international condemnation. The UN children's agency, Unicef, said it "negate[d] all core underlying principles of child rights and child justice that Nigeria - and by implication, Kano state - has signed on to". In September 120 volunteers, led by the director of the Auschwitz memorial in Poland, offered to serve part of the original 10-year jail sentence given to the boy. It is not clear whether the Kano state authorities that initially brought the case will further appeal. Kano is one of 12 Nigerian states practising the Sharia legal system alongside the country's secular ...

The UN children's agency Unicef has called on the Nigerian authorities to urgently review an Islamic court's decision to sentence a 13-year-old boy to 10 years in prison for blasphemy. The boy was convicted in August of making uncomplimentary remarks about God during an argument with a friend in northern Kano state. Kano is one of 12 Nigerian states practising the Sharia legal system alongside the country's secular laws. Muslims form the majority in the north. The 13-year-old's sentencing "negates all core underlying principles of child rights and child justice that Nigeria - and by implication, Kano state - has signed on to", said Peter Hawkins, Unicef's representative in the West African state. On 9 September, the boy's lawyer, Kola Alapinni, said he had filed an appeal against the judgement. "This is a violation of the African Charter of the Rights And Welfare of a Child. A violation of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,...

Amman, 2 May 2019 – “UNICEF is alarmed at frequent reports of the execution of children in the Middle East and North Africa region.  Such reports include five children who were executed in two separate incidents in the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the past two weeks. “In the Islamic Republic of Iran, according to reports, two 17-year-old boys were executed in a prison- where they were allegedly held- in Shiraz, south of the country. The children’s families and lawyers were reportedly not informed of the sentencing in advance. RELATED  | Saudi Arabia beheaded a pro-democracy protester set to attend college in U.S. “Meanwhile, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, reports were received of three children who were sentenced to death and allegedly executed on 23 April.  “This is a clear violation of children’s rights. ➤ FIND related content here “As stated in the Convention of the Rights of the Child: “no child shall be sub...

MANILA (Reuters) - Senators in the Philippines on Tuesday joined activists and child protection groups in condemning a lower house move to reduce the age of criminal liability from 15 to nine, calling it extreme and unjust. The proposal has President Rodrigo Duterte's support and is being revived by his Congressional allies, having been filed on his inauguration day in 2016 along with a bid to re-introduce the death penalty - moves touting his crime-busting credentials. The plan was approved on Monday by the lower house's justice committee, but still needs several readings before a house vote. It would then require counterpart legislation and approval of the Senate, members of which appear less supportive. "It is anti-family, anti-poor and simply unjust. Moreover, it will promote a heartless and ruthless society that has no regard for its own people," said Antonio Trillanes, one of Duterte's biggest critics. Risa Hontiveros said the idea went ag...

Feeding street children in Manila Introducing the death penalty and lowering the age of criminal responsibility could be a toxic combination in the Philippines. By age 12, Ryan had already sold crack cocaine, begged, and stolen from shops. He had been to prison five times, and was brutally tortured by police to find out where he had hidden a necklace.  “The police made me kneel on a rough floor all night and beat my legs with the batuta stick. They had no mercy, even though I begged in pain,” Ryan said. After that, he was given only a biscuit for dinner, and sent back to his jail cell, he told Unicef workers. The Philippines had its third and final reading this week of a bill to bring back the death penalty—one of President Duterte’s main election campaign promises. If the bill is passed, the Philippines would be the first country in Southeast Asia to abolish and then reinstate capital punishment. Compounding this is the likely lowering of the age of criminal respons...