Death Penalty News

Highly controversial and widely criticized in the EU and around the world, the death penalty continues to be legal under the Belarusian constitution and justified by the Belarusian people in cases of grave crimes. Whether it is morally acceptable or ethically wrong, the issue of capital punishment has thrown a spanner in the works of Belarusian politicians vying for a seat in the Council of Europe, with Belarus being the only European country to allow the executions of its prisoners. History of the death penalty in Belarus The death penalty has been a part of the country’s policy since it gained independence from the Soviet Union. Article 24 of the National Constitution prescribes this punishment for “grave crimes” that occur against the state or against individuals. A number of non-violent crimes can also be punishable by death. Under the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus these crime include terrorism (both domestic and international), treason, sabotage, conspiracy t...

Lawyers for the Uzbek man charged in the truck attack on a crowded Manhattan bike path that killed eight people on Halloween said on Wednesday that their client would plead guilty and accept life imprisonment without parole if prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty. The proposal came in an exchange of letters to Judge Vernon S. Broderick of Federal District Court in Manhattan, in which prosecutors were seeking a firm trial date for the defendant, Sayfullo Saipov, arguing that victims and witnesses needed closure, and Mr. Saipov’s lawyer said the best way to obtain closure was through such a plea deal. The government has not yet said whether it would seek the death penalty for Mr. Saipov, 29, who was indicted on eight capital counts and other charges in the Oct. 31 attack, the deadliest terror attack on New York City since Sept. 11, 2001. Mr. Saipov has pleaded not guilty. In the days immediately after the attack, President Trump posted messages on Twitter decla...

The main suspect in the New York truck rampage that killed eight people on Tuesday has told investigators he began planning the attack a year ago. Sayfullo Saipov, 29, said he intended to kill as many people as possible and "felt good" about the Halloween attack. The Uzbek immigrant, who faces federal terrorism charges, says he was inspired by so-called Islamic State. He was shot and injured by police at the scene. US President Donald Trump tweeted that he should receive the death penalty. The charges filed against Mr Saipov are federal, which means the government can override New York state's ban on capital punishment. What did the suspect say? Mr Saipov appeared in court in a wheelchair 24 hours after mowing down cyclists and pedestrians on a bike lane in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday. Six people died at the scene and two more in hospital. Twelve people were injured, four of whom remain in critical condition. What we know and don't know...

SHAH ALAM: Three Uzbek friends broke into tears today when they were sentenced to death for trafficking more than 10kg of methamphetamine three years ago. Dilbar Nazarova, 54, Jasur Djurakulov, 39, and Sayora Nurmukhamedova, 58, held on to each other after hearing the sentence imposed by High Court judge Datuk Nurchaya Arshad. She ruled that the court found the defence failed to raise reasonable doubt in the prosecution's case. "The defence put forward (by the three accused) were simple denial of possessing the drugs," she said during sentencing today. After proceedings, family members of the three accused were heard sobbing as police officers escorted the three out of court. Dilbar, Jasur, and Sayora were convicted of trafficking 10.015kg of meth at the baggage claim area at the International Arrival Hall of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) at Sepang, around 9.30am on Sept 7, 2010. According to court documents, Dilbar was caught...

3 July 2012 –  United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on Member States which use the death penalty to abolish this practice, stressing that the right to life lies at the heart of international human rights law. “The taking of life is too absolute, too irreversible, for one human being to inflict on another, even when backed by legal process,” Mr. Ban told a panel organized by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on ‘Moving away from the death penalty – Lessons from national experiences’ at UN Headquarters in New York. “Where the death penalty persists, conditions for those awaiting execution are often horrifying, leading to aggravated suffering,” he added. In 2007, the General Assembly endorsed a call for a worldwide moratorium of the death penalty. Since then, the practice has been abolished by countries like Argentina, Burundi, Gabon, Latvia, Togo and Uzbekistan. More than 150 States have either abolished the death pena...