Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Asean Moves Boldly To End Death Penalty (Bangkok Post, 10/10/2016)

# This was an opinion of Seree Nonthasoot, Thailand's representative to the AICHR, that was published by the Bangkok Post.
To mark World Day Against the Death Penalty today, Thailand and other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) have reason to revisit and recommit efforts to abolishing capital punishment.

Much work remains to be done. Thailand, which has not executed anyone for seven years, and a few other Asean countries with capital punishment continue to hand down the death penalty on drug-related offences, which is unlikely to deter crime. It is the ultimate denial of the right to life and a violation of fundamental human rights.

Of the world's 198 countries, 102 have legally abolished the death penalty for all crimes. An additional 32 countries are abolitionist in practice since they have not executed anyone in the last 10 years and they have a policy or commitment not to carry out executions. Six countries reserve the death sentence only for the most serious crimes of culpable homicide and murders. Of the 58 countries that have not abolished the death penalty, just 25 carried out executions in 2015. However, of those 25 exceptions, four are member states of Asean. Thailand is not among them.

Though the death penalty is still on our statutes, no one has been executed since 2009. However, we still have prisoners sitting on death row and, following a ruling by the Supreme Administrative Court in July, those on death row may be held in shackles permanently.

Thailand is among the first group of countries that voted in 1948 to adopt the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 3 of the UDHR states that "everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person", while Article 5 confirms that "no one shall be subject to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment".

About half of those on death row in Thailand and a few other Asean countries are convicted of drug-related crimes. In accordance with Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which Thailand is a party, the death penalty should only be applicable in the case of the most serious crimes. Drug offences hardly fall under that category. I therefore support the initiative by the Thai Ministry of Justice to embark on the reform of drug offences such as those related to methamphetamine.

Crime determent has always been the rationale for handing down the death penalty. Empirical data proves this wrong. For example, drug use has been steadily on the rise in the region despite the death penalty. This clearly indicates that capital punishment does not work as a deterrent and it is time to reconsider it.

Studies carried out in different countries paint a consistent picture. The overwhelming majority of people who end up on death row are poor and not well-educated. They cannot afford proper legal counsel. Many, such as migrant workers, do not even understand the charges of which they are accused.

Further, many drug offenders are duped in the first place. They are executed for crimes they were not even aware of committing, often without even knowing the kingpins who planned their downfall. Once they are prosecuted, drug barons can easily recruit other vulnerable groups who are not aware of the grim fates they will be facing.

To tackle crime, we need to find ways to reduce it. Thailand's National Human Rights Plan of Action (2014-2018) which outlines a plan to abolish the death penalty is a promising step. It suggests an opportunity and an obligation for civil society to work harder to influence this movement and to do more to develop a regional aversion to the taking of life by the state. But much needs to be done.

At the regional level, Asean governments have formally set the community on a bold and clear 10-year direction of being "people-centred, people-oriented" as well as rule-based. What is happening now seems to be the opposite. We are seeing thousands of people in the region being summarily and extra-judicially executed for allegedly being involved in drug crimes.

A lesson from this alarming phenomenon is the dynamics of politics that can equally lead to progress or regress. We cannot afford to be complacent; even countries that have ratified the Optional Protocol to the ICCPR and have thus committed themselves to abolishing the death penalty can create fanciful ways to bypass that obligation and institute state-instructed and inspired programmes to kill their own people.

I welcome the recent formation of the Coalition on the Abolition of the Death Penalty in Asean (CADPA) among like-minded persons and groups to campaign for the end of the death penalty. CADPA has launched a campaign called "End Crime, Not Life", aiming to raise public awareness of the difficulties with the application of the death penalty and to focus on improving criminal justice systems. 

It is time for all of us to stand up for a justice system that punishes offenders in a fair and appropriate manner. The region's people-centred and people-oriented vision must be underpinned by its drive towards abolishing the penalty.

# Seree Nonthasoot is Thailand's representative to the AICHR. This article expresses his personal views.

Source: Bangkok Post, 10/10/2016



Monday, October 10, 2016

Malaysiakini - Madpet hopes death penalty abolished by this time next year

Madpet hopes death penalty abolished by this time next year

 Charles Hector     Published     Updated

n the 14th World Day Against the Death Penalty, Oct 10, 2016, Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (Madpet) urges Malaysia to expedite the abolition of the death penalty, and to impose a moratorium on all executions against the death penalty.

Malaysia - on track toward abolition

Nancy Shukri, the then-minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, did say that she hoped to take her proposal to amend the Penal Code and abolish the mandatory death sentence to the Dewan Rakyat as early as March 2016. (The Malay Mail, Nov 17, 2015)

A few days before that, attorney-general Apandi Ali said he will propose to the cabinet that the mandatory death penalty be scrapped, so that judges are given the option to choose between sentencing a person to jail or the gallows. (The Malaysian Insider, Nov 13, 2016)

Malaysia was accorded a space of importance at the recent 6th World Congress Against the Death Penalty, organised in Oslo (Norway) from June 21 to 23, 2016, where the then-de facto law minister, Nancy Shukri, was expected make a positive announcement about Malaysia’s intention to abolish the death penalty.

Sadly, the minister could only confirm that Malaysia was still moving in that direction, but she could not be more specific about exactly when these proposed amendments would be tabled in Parliament.
Nancy told the World Congress that a government-backed study on the death penalty had been completed and a paper is being readied by the Attorney-General’s Chambers. The study was conducted by the International Centre For Law and Legal Studies (I-CeLLS). The consultant was then Professor Dr Roger Hood, Professor of Criminology and Emeritus Fellow of All Souls College Oxford. (The Star, June 22, 2016)

The minister also told Malaysiakini on the sidelines of the Sixth World Congress that the study had been completed about two months ago. (Malaysiakini, July 10, 2016)

Death penalty is no deterrent

Nancy Shukri had previously also said that empirical studies showed that the death penalty had not led to “the deterring effect that such a penalty was created”. (The Star, June 22, 2016)

This was consistent with the facts the then-home minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, revealed to the Malaysian Parliament in March 2012, which showed that police statistics for the arrests of drug dealers under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries the mandatory death penalty, for the past three years (2009 to 2011) have shown an increase.

In 2009, there were 2,955 arrested under this section. In 2010, 3,700 people were arrested, whilst in 2011, there were 3,845 arrested. (Free Malaysia Today, March 19, 2012, ‘Death penalty not deterring drug trade’)

Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation vice-chairperson Lee Lam Thye also did note in July 2013 that the death sentence had not deterred the drug trade.

Cases like that of Malaysian Umi Azlim Mohamad Lazim, 24, a graduate from a poor Malay family of rice farmers, and young Malaysian Yong Vui Kong who were once facing death for drug trafficking overseas, who since then had their sentences commuted, have opened the eyes of most Malaysians to the fact that many of the persons facing the death penalty for drug trafficking are really ‘mules’, many of whom are young people who have been tricked, or those who are financially disadvantaged.

They are certainly not the kingpins of drug trafficking, and certainly do not deserve to be hanged.

Mandatory death penalty

Currently in Malaysia, the death penalty is mandatory for about 12 offences, while about 20 other offences are punishable by a discretionary death penalty. Murder and Drug Trafficking carry the mandatory death penalty.

Likewise, the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971 provides for the mandatory death penalty if firearms are discharged with intent to cause death or hurt to any person, shall, notwithstanding that no hurt is caused for offences like extortion, robbery, kidnaping, house breaking or house trespass, and such mandatory death penalty would also increase the risk the death of victims and/or potential witnesses.

It is all the more important for the mandatory death penalty be abolished where no hurt/death results.
The mandatory death penalty must be totally abolished, and considering Malaysia is on the verge of abolishing the death penalty, especially the mandatory death penalty, it was most disturbing that Malaysia in 2016 have executed 4 persons, who were convicted for murder which carried the mandatory death penalty.

Gunasegar Pitchaymuthu, Ramesh Jayakumar and Sasivarnam Jayakumar were executed on March 25, 2016, whilst Ahmad Najib Aris was executed less than three weeks ago on Sept 23, 2016.

Immediate moratorium on all executions needed now

We recall that Edmund Bon Tai Soon, Malaysia’s current Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) representative, was reported saying ‘...Malaysia’s moratorium, I understand, is only for drug trafficking cases...’ (The Star, July 10, 2015). It must be noted that Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam), also did reiterate on March 29, 2016 their recommendation that a moratorium on the use of the death penalty be put in place in Malaysia.

Madpet believes that there must a moratorium on executions of everyone, not just those convicted for drug trafficking.

Why the delay in the tabling of these amendments?

Madpet notes that Malaysia informed us that the study was completed in early April or May 2016, and all that is needed if for the Attorney-General’s Chambers to draft and thereafter submit the proposed amendments to be tabled by the government in Parliament, which we hope will happen soon in the upcoming Parliamentary session this October 2016.

Therefore,

Madpet urges Azalina Othman Said, who replaced Nancy Shukri in mid-July as the new de facto Law Minister, will expedite the tabling of the much needed amendments that will abolish the death penalty.

Madpet also urges that Malaysia to announce a moratorium on all executions, not just for drug trafficking, pending the tabling of amendments, that would see the abolition of mandatory death penalty, and hopefully also the abolition of the death penalty. As of May 16, 2016, there are 1,041 persons on death row.

Madpet also urges Malaysia to vote in favour of the upcoming United Nations General Assembly Resolution calling for a moratorium of executions pending abolition of the death penalty, or at the very least record a vote of abstention.

Madpet reiterates its urging for Malaysia to abolish the death penalty, and hopes that by the next World Day Against the Death Penalty, Malaysia will proudly stand amongst countries that have abolished the death penalty.

CHARLES HECTOR is coordinator, Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (Madpet).
 

FMT News - Hoping for an end to the death penalty in M’sia

Hoping for an end to the death penalty in M’sia

October 10, 2016 
 
Despite the country being on the verge of abolishing the death penalty, it is most disturbing that in 2016 alone Malaysia executed four.

COMMENT
gantung1By Charles Hector

On October 10, 2016, the 14th World Day Against the Death Penalty, Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (Madpet) calls on Malaysia to expedite the abolition of the Death Penalty, and to impose a moratorium on all executions against the Death Penalty.

Malaysia on track towards abolition

In a news report, Nancy Shukri, the then minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, did say she hoped to take her proposal to amend the Penal Code and abolish the mandatory death sentence to the Dewan Rakyat as early as March 2016.

A few days before that, in another news report, Attorney-General Apandi Ali said he would propose to the Cabinet that the mandatory death penalty be scrapped, so that judges are given the option to choose between sentencing a person to jail or the gallows.

Malaysia was accorded a space of importance at the recent 6th World Congress Against the Death Penalty, organised in Oslo (Norway) from June 21-23, 2016, where the de facto Minister of Law, Nancy Shukri, was expected make a positive announcement about Malaysia’s intention to abolish the death Penalty. Sadly, the Minister could only confirm that Malaysia was still moving in that direction, but she could not be more specific about exactly when these proposed amendments would be tabled in Parliament.

Nancy told the World Congress that a government-backed study on the death penalty had been completed and a paper was being readied by the Attorney-General’s Chambers. The study was conducted by the International Centre For Law and Legal Studies (I-CeLLS). The consultant was then Professor Dr Roger Hood, Professor of Criminology and Emeritus Fellow of All Souls College Oxford.

The Minister also told news portal Malaysiakini at the sidelines of the Sixth World Congress that the study had been completed about two months ago.

Death penalty is no deterrent

Nancy Shukri previously also said that empirical studies showed that the death penalty had not led to “the deterring effect that such a penalty was created for.”

This was consistent with the facts the then Home Minister, Hishammuddin Hussein revealed to the Malaysian Parliament in March 2012, which showed that police statistics for the arrests of drug dealers under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries the mandatory death penalty, for the past three years (2009 to 2011) have shown an increase. In 2009, there were 2,955 arrested under this section. In 2010, 3,700 people were arrested, whilst in 2011, there were 3,845 arrested.

Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation vice-chairperson Lee Lam Thye also did note in July 2013 that the death sentence had not deterred the drug trade.

Cases like that of Malaysian Umi Azlim Mohamad Lazim, 24, a graduate from a poor Malay family of rice farmers, and young Malaysian Yong Vui Kong who were once facing death for drug trafficking overseas, who since then had their sentences commuted, have opened the eyes of most Malaysians of the fact that many of the persons facing the death penalty for drug trafficking are really ‘mules’, many of whom are young people who have been tricked, or those who are financially disadvantaged. They are certainly not the kingpins of drug trafficking, and certainly do not deserve to be hanged.

Mandatory death penalty

Currently in Malaysia, the death penalty is mandatory for about 12 offences, while about 20 other offences are punishable by a discretionary death penalty. Murder and Drug Trafficking carry the mandatory death penalty.

Likewise, the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971 provides for the mandatory death penalty if firearms are discharged with intent to cause death or hurt to any person, shall, notwithstanding that no hurt is caused for offences like extortion, robbery, kidnaping, house breaking or house trespass, and such mandatory death penalty would also increase the risk the death of victims and/or potential witnesses. It is all the more important for the mandatory death penalty to be abolished where no hurt/death results.

The mandatory death penalty must be totally abolished, and considering Malaysia is on the verge of abolishing the death penalty, especially the mandatory death penalty, it was most disturbing that Malaysia in 2016 executed four persons, who were convicted for murder which carried the mandatory death penalty. Gunasegar Pitchaymuthu, Ramesh Jayakumar and Sasivarnam Jayakumar were executed on March 25, whilst Ahmad Najib Aris was executed less than three weeks ago on Sept 23.

Immediate moratorium on all executions needed now

We recall that Edmund Bon Tai Soon, Malaysia’s current AICHR (Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights) representative, was reported saying: “…Malaysia’s moratorium, I understand, is only for drug trafficking cases…” It must be noted that Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam), also did reiterate on March 29 their recommendation that a moratorium on the use of the death penalty be put in place in Malaysia.

Madpet believes that there must be a moratorium on executions of everyone, not just those convicted for drug trafficking.

Why the delay in the tabling of these amendments?

Madpet notes that Malaysia informed us that the study was completed in early April or May this year, and all that was needed was for the Attorney-General’s Chambers to draft and thereafter submit the proposed amendments to be tabled by the Government in Parliament, which we hope will happen soon in the upcoming Parliamentary session this October.

Therefore…

Madpet urges Azalina Othman, who replaced Nancy Shukri in mid-July as the new de facto Minister of Law, to expedite the tabling of the much needed amendments that will abolish the death penalty.
Madpet also urges that Malaysia announce a moratorium on ALL executions, not just for drug trafficking, pending the tabling of amendments, that would see the abolition of the mandatory death penalty, and hopefully also the abolition of the death penalty. As of May 16, there are 1,041 persons on death row.

Madpet also urges Malaysia to vote in favour of the upcoming United Nations General Assembly Resolution calling for a moratorium on executions pending abolition of the death penalty, or at the very least record a vote of abstention.

Madpet reiterates its call for Malaysia to abolish the death penalty, and hopes that by the next World Day Against the Death Penalty, Malaysia will proudly stand amongst countries that have abolished the death penalty.

Charles Hector is spokesman for Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (Madpet).


With a firm belief in freedom of expression and without prejudice, FMT tries its best to share reliable content from third parties. Such articles are strictly the writer’s personal opinion. FMT does not necessarily endorse the views or opinions given by any third party content provider.

FMT News, 10/10/2016

* See full statement, with reference to news reports, being the basis for some of the assertions contained in the statement.

HOPING THAT THERE WILL BE NO MORE DEATH PENALTY IN MALAYSIA BY THE NEXT WORLD DAY AGAINST DEATH PENALTY

 

Malay Mail - Hoping that there will be no more death penalty in Malaysia by the next World Day Against the Death Penalty — MADPET

Hoping that there will be no more death penalty in Malaysia by the next World Day Against the Death Penalty — MADPET

OCTOBER 10 — Today, on the 14th World Day Against the Death Penalty, MADPET (Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture) calls on Malaysia to expedite the abolition of the Death Penalty, and to impose a moratorium on all executions against the Death Penalty.

Malaysia — On track towards abolition

Datuk Nancy Shukri, the then minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, did say that she hoped to take her proposal to amend the Penal Code and abolish the mandatory death sentence to the Dewan Rakyat as early as March 2016.( Malay Mail, 17/11/2015)

A few days before that, the Attorney-General Tan Sri Apandi Ali said he will propose to the Cabinet that the mandatory death penalty be scrapped, so that judges are given the option to choose between sentencing a person to jail or the gallows. (Malaysian Insider, 13/11/2016)

Malaysia was accorded a space of importance at the recent 6th World Congress Against the Death Penalty, organised in Oslo (Norway) from 21 to 23 June 2016, where the de facto Minister of Law, Nancy Shukri, was expected make a positive announcement about Malaysia’s intention to abolish the death penalty. Sadly, the Minister could only confirm that Malaysia was still moving in that direction, but she could not be more specific about exactly when these proposed amendments would be tabled in Parliament.

Nancy told the World Congress that a government-backed study on the death penalty had been completed and a paper is being readied by the Attorney General’s Chambers. The study was conducted by the International Centre For Law and Legal Studies (I-CeLLS). The consultant was then Professor Dr Roger Hood, Professor of Criminology and Emeritus Fellow of All Souls College Oxford.(Star, 22/6/2016).

The Minister also told Malaysiakini at the sidelines of the Sixth World Congress that the study had been completed about two months ago (Malaysiakini, 10/7/2016).

Death penalty is no deterrent

Nancy Shukri had previously also said that empirical studies showed that the death penalty had not led to “the deterring effect that such a penalty was created”. (Star, 22/6/2016)

This was consistent with the facts the then Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein revealed to the Malaysian Parliament in March 2012, which showed that police statistics for the arrests of drug dealers under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries the mandatory death penalty, for the past three years (2009 to 2011) have shown an increase. In 2009, there were 2,955 arrested under this section. In 2010, 3,700 people were arrested, whilst in 2011, there were 3,845 arrested. (Free Malaysia Today, March 19, 2012, ‘Death penalty not deterring drug trade’).

Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation vice-chairperson Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye also did note in July 2013 that the death sentence had not deterred the drug trade.

Cases like that of Malaysian Umi Azlim Mohamad Lazim, 24, a graduate from a poor Malay family of rice farmers, and young Malaysian Yong Vui Kong who were once facing death for drug trafficking overseas, who since then had their sentences commuted, have opened the eyes of most Malaysians of the fact that many of the persons facing the death penalty for drug trafficking are really ‘mules’, many of whom are young people who have been tricked, or those who are financially disadvantaged. They are certainly not the kingpins of drug trafficking, and certainly do not deserve to be hanged.

Mandatory death penalty

Currently in Malaysia, the death penalty is mandatory for about 12 offences, while about 20 other offences are punishable by a discretionary death penalty. Murder and Drug Trafficking carry the mandatory death penalty.

Likewise, the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971 provides for the mandatory death penalty if firearms are discharged with intent to cause death or hurt to any person, shall, notwithstanding that no hurt is caused for offences like extortion, robbery, kidnaping, house breaking or house trespass, and such mandatory death penalty would also increase the risk the death of victims and/or potential witnesses. It is all the more important for mandatory death penalty be abolished where no hurt/death results.

Mandatory death penalty must be totally abolished, and considering Malaysia is on the verge of abolishing the death penalty, especially the mandatory death penalty, it was most disturbing that Malaysia in 2016 have executed four persons, who were convicted for murder which carried the mandatory death penalty. Gunasegar Pitchaymuthu, Ramesh Jayakumar and Sasivarnam Jayakumar were executed on March 25, 2016, whilst Ahmad Najib Aris was executed less than three weeks ago on September 23, 2016

Immediate moratorium on all executions needed now

We recall that Edmund Bon Tai Soon, Malaysia’s current AICHR (Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights) representative, was reported saying ‘…Malaysia’s moratorium, I understand, is only for drug trafficking cases…’ (Star, 10/7/2015). It must be noted that Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM), also did reiterate on 29 March 2016 their recommendation that a moratorium on the use of the death penalty be put in place in Malaysia.

MADPET believes that there must a moratorium on executions of everyone, not just those convicted for drug trafficking.

Why the delay in the tabling of these amendments?

MADPET notes that Malaysia informed us that the study was completed in early April or May 2016, and all that is needed if for the Attorney Generals Chambers to draft and thereafter submit the proposed amendments to be tabled by the Government in Parliament, which we hope will happen soon in the upcoming Parliamentary session this October 2016.

THEREFORE,

MADPET urges the Datuk Seri Azalina Othman, who replaced Nancy Shukri in mid-July as the new de facto Minister of Law, will expedite the tabling of the much needed amendments that will abolish the death penalty.

MADPET also urges that Malaysia to announce a moratorium on ALL executions, not just for drug trafficking, pending the tabling of amendments, that would see the abolition of mandatory death penalty, and hopefully also the abolition of the death penalty. As of May 16, 2016, there are 1,041 persons on death row.

MADPET also urges Malaysia to vote in favour of the upcoming United Nations General Assembly Resolution calling for a moratorium of executions pending abolition of the death penalty, or at the very least record a vote of abstention.

MADPET reiterates its call for Malaysia to abolish the death penalty, and hopes that by the next World Day Against the Death Penalty, Malaysia will proudly stand amongst countries that have abolished the death penalty.

* This statement is submitted by Charles Hector for and on behalf of MADPET (Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture).

** This is the personal opinion of the writer or organisation and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.

Source: Malay Mail Online, 10/10/2016

Sunday, October 09, 2016

MP Kasthuri Patto - World Day Against DP Statement

Media statement by Member of Parliament for Batu Kawan and Publicity Secretary for Wanita DAP Kasthuri Patto on Monday 10 October 2016 to commemorate the 14th World Day Against Death Penalty campaign organised by Amnesty International in KL & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysia has 4 years left to find its moral compass to end crime, not life if it wants to be respected in the eyes of other progressive, democratic nations.

Today, 10th October is the 14th World Day Against Death Penalty and currently in Malaysia, according to a parliamentary reply last year, 629 Malaysians and 413 foreigners are currently awaiting executions on our very own soil.

To date, 103 countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes, 6 for ordinary crimes, 31 as abolitionists in practice and 140 countries that have removed capital punishment in law and practice. To date, 58 are still retentionist countries.

Malaysia, a country in its 59th year of independence, is sadly still a retentionist country along with other nations that are facing civil wars, rotting human rights standards, gross social and economic inequalities, high crime rates including sexual violence against women and children and human trafficking, slavery, corruption and mismanagement of public funds.

The most recent statement by the former law minister of Malaysia Nancy Shukri, stated that after 3 years of research by the International Centre for Law and Legal Studies (I-Cells), and the recommendations by the study would be put forth by cabinet soon. However her statement clearly shifted the goal post by now pinning the reason for delay was also that of the public opinion calling for “an eye for an eye”. This, once again has thrown the spanner in the works and the cabinet is silent (again) on abolishing the mandatory death penalty.

If the Malaysian government feels that the death penalty is a deterrent to crime, then it should reflect on the other countries that it is lumped together with, namely Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Botswana, China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cuba, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine (State of), Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad And Tobago, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United States Of America, Viet Nam, Yemen and Zimbabwe. Not shockingly, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime statistical reports, National Crime Index Reports, reports on National Corruption and reports of non-government paramilitary actions, some of the nations that have the highest crime rates also have the death penalty used with the intention to deter crimes. These countries like Trinidad and Tobago, Nigeria, South Sudan are retentionist countries and yet are listed as some of the most dangerous countries in the world this year.

The government had expressed its intentions to abolish the mandatory death penalty last year in November but it is coming to a year now and no amendments have been tabled yet including what will be in this October's sitting.

With the occurrence of crime increasing by the day, be it murders, kidnapping, drug smuggling, child abuse, rape, extortion, burglary, and terrorist-linked activities, it is high time the Home Ministry and the Attorney General's chambers put their heads together to reevaluate initiatives, alphabet-soup programmes as well as crime-combating activities to reduce crime in Malaysia.

Of course, ending crime is a rather utopian concept to many sceptics out there, but it should not deter Malaysians and the Malaysian authorities to work towards it.

After all, is Malaysia not 4 years away from being a developed nation in year 2020?

Clearly, the death penalty has NOT deterred crime in Malaysia and nether should it be a regarded as a solution to reducing crime in the nation.

Malaysia has 4 years left to find its moral compass to end crime, not life if it wants to be respected in the eyes of other progressive, democratic nations.


Kasthuri Patto
Member of Parliament for Batu Kawan
Democratic Action Party

HOPING THAT THERE WILL BE NO MORE DEATH PENALTY IN MALAYSIA BY THE NEXT WORLD DAY AGAINST DEATH PENALTY



Media Statement:- 10/10/2016

HOPING THAT THERE WILL BE NO MORE DEATH PENALTY IN MALAYSIA BY THE NEXT WORLD DAY AGAINST DEATH PENALTY
-        Waiting Since March 2016 For The Tabling Of Law That Will Abolish Death Penalty -

On October 10, 2016, the 14th World Day Against the Death Penalty, MADPET (Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture) calls on Malaysia to expedite the abolition of the Death Penalty, and to impose a moratorium on all executions against the Death Penalty. 


MALAYSIA – ON TRACK TOWARDS ABOLITION

Nancy Shukri, the then minister in the Prime Minister’s Department,  did say that  she hoped to take her proposal to amend the Penal Code and abolish the mandatory death sentence to the Dewan Rakyat as early as March 2016.( Malay Mail, 17/11/2015)

A few days before that, the Attorney-General Tan Sri Apandi Ali said he will propose to the Cabinet that the mandatory death penalty be scrapped, so that judges are given the option to choose between sentencing a person to jail or the gallows. (Malaysian Insider, 13/11/2016)

Malaysia was accorded a space of importance at the recent 6th World Congress Against the Death Penalty, organised in Oslo (Norway) from 21 to 23 June 2016, where the de facto Minister of Law, Nancy Shukri,  was expected make a positive announcement about Malaysia’s intention to abolish the death Penalty. Sadly, the Minister could only confirm that Malaysia was still moving in that direction, but she could not be more specific about  exactly when these proposed amendments would be tabled in Parliament.

Nancy told the World Congress that a government-backed study on the death penalty had been completed and a paper is being readied by the Attorney General’s Chambers. The study was conducted by the International Centre For Law and Legal Studies (I-CeLLS). The consultant was then Professor Dr Roger Hood, Professor of Criminology and Emeritus Fellow of All Souls College Oxford.(Star,  22/6/2016).

The Minister also told Malaysiakini at the sidelines of the Sixth World Congress that the study had been completed about two months ago (Malaysiakini, 10/7/2016).


DEATH PENALTY IS NO DETERRENT

Nancy Shukri  had previously also said that empirical studies showed that the death penalty had not led to “the deterring effect that such a penalty was created”. (Star,  22/6/2016)

This was consistent with the facts the then Home Minister, Hishammuddin Hussein revealed to the Malaysian Parliament in March 2012, which showed that police statistics for the arrests of drug dealers under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries the mandatory death penalty, for the past three years (2009 to 2011) have shown an increase. In 2009, there were 2,955 arrested under this section. In 2010, 3,700 people were arrested, whilst in 2011, there were 3,845 arrested. (Free Malaysia Today, March 19, 2012, ‘Death penalty not deterring drug trade’).

Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation vice-chairperson Lee Lam Thye also did note in July 2013 that the death sentence had not deterred the drug trade.

Cases like that of Malaysian Umi Azlim Mohamad Lazim, 24, a graduate from a poor Malay family of rice farmers, and young Malaysian Yong Vui Kong who were once facing death for drug trafficking overseas, who since then had their sentences commuted, have opened the eyes of most Malaysians of the fact that many of the  persons facing the death penalty for drug trafficking are really ‘mules’, many of whom are young people who have been tricked, or those who are financially disadvantaged. They are certainly not the kingpins of drug trafficking, and certainly do not deserve to be hanged.


MANDATORY DEATH PENALTY

Currently in Malaysia, the death penalty is mandatory for about 12 offences, while about 20 other offences are punishable by a discretionary death penalty. Murder and Drug Trafficking carry the mandatory death penalty.

Likewise, the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971 provides for the mandatory death penalty if firearms are discharged with intent to cause death or hurt to any person, shall, notwithstanding that no hurt is caused for offences like extortion, robbery, kidnaping, house breaking or house trespass, and such mandatory death penalty would also increase the risk the death of victims and/or potential witnesses. It is all the more important for mandatory death penalty be abolished where no hurt/death results.

Mandatory death penalty must be totally abolished, and considering Malaysia is on the verge of abolishing the death penalty, especially the mandatory death penalty, it was most disturbing that Malaysia in 2016 have executed 4 persons, who were convicted for murder which carried the mandatory death penalty.  Gunasegar Pitchaymuthu, Ramesh Jayakumar and Sasivarnam Jayakumar were executed  on 25/3/2016, whilst Ahmad Najib Aris was executed less than 3 weeks ago on 23/9/2016.


IMMEDIATE MORATORIUM ON ALL EXECUTIONS NEEDED NOW

We recall that Edmund Bon Tai Soon, Malaysia’s current AICHR (ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights) representative, was reported saying ‘…Malaysia’s moratorium, I understand, is only for drug trafficking cases…’ (Star, 10/7/2015). It must be noted that Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM), also did reiterate on 29 March 2016 their recommendation that a moratorium on the use of the death penalty be put in place in Malaysia.

MADPET believes that there must a moratorium on executions of everyone, not just those convicted for drug trafficking.


WHY THE DELAY IN THE TABLING OF THESE AMENDMENTS?

MADPET notes that Malaysia informed us that the study was completed in early April or May 2016, and all that is needed if for the Attorney Generals Chambers to draft and thereafter submit the proposed amendments to be tabled by the Government in Parliament, which we hope will happen soon in the upcoming Parliamentary session this October 2016.


THEREFORE,

MADPET urges the Datuk Seri Azalina Othman, that replaced Nancy Shukri in mid-July as the new de facto Minister of Law, will expedite the tabling of the much needed amendments that will abolish the death penalty.

MADPET also urges that Malaysia  to announce a moratorium on ALL executions, not just for drug trafficking, pending the tabling of amendments, that would see the abolition of mandatory death penalty, and hopefully also the abolition of the death penalty. As of May 16, 2016, there are 1,041 persons on death row.

MADPET also urges Malaysia to vote in favour of the upcoming United Nations General Assembly Resolution calling for a moratorium of executions pending abolition of the death penalty, or at the very least record a vote of abstention.

MADPET reiterates its call for Malaysia to abolish the death penalty, and hopes that by the next World Day Against the Death Penalty, Malaysia will proudly stand amongst countries that have abolished the death penalty.

Charles Hector
For and on behalf of MADPET (Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture)


Friday, October 07, 2016

Japan Federation of Bar Associations adopts Declaration at AGM calling for abolition of death penalty - 7/10/2016

Malaysian Bar adopted a Resolution calling for the abolition of the death penalty at its Annual General Meeting in March 2006, and now we have the Japan Federation of Bar Associations doing the same. We hope that all other Bar Associations and Lawyer Organisations especially in countries that retain the death penalty will also do the same soon.

See related post:-

2006 - Malaysian Bar adopts Resolution on the Abolition of the Death Penalty

ADPAN URGES JAPAN FEDERATION OF BAR ASSOCIATION(JFBA) MEMBERS TO TAKE A STRONG CLEAR STANCE FOR THE ABOLITION OF THE DEATH PENALTY

 




National

In historic move, Japan’s legal community takes stand against death penalty
by Alastair Wanklyn
Staff Writer



Japanese lawyers positioned themselves against the death penalty on Friday, as the Japan Federation of Bar Associations called for abolition of a punishment that critics say is uniquely cruel and vengeful.
JFBA members approved a declaration that seeks to abolish the death penalty by 2020 and to replace it with life imprisonment, a change that will bring Japan into line with most other developed nations.

The JFBA represents around 37,600 Japanese lawyers and hundreds of foreign legal professionals. In the past it has expressed unease over the death penalty but has stopped short of taking a stand against it.
Friday’s move will set the legal profession against the government, which has executed 16 people since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe came to power in 2012.

In a joint statement, the European Union and the Norwegian, Icelandic and Swiss embassies called the JFBA’s decision “timely and welcome.”

“We hope that an open, public debate on this issue in Japan will follow, allowing the people of Japan to weigh for themselves the evidence from a growing number of countries . . . that an abolition of death penalty can actually strengthen the capacity of judicial systems to effectively deliver justice and, at the same time, prevent irreversible miscarriages of justice,” they said.

The move was welcomed by activists, who say the death penalty is error-prone and leaves prisoners with no opportunity for rehabilitation.

“Capital punishment in all cases should be abolished because the inherent dignity of the person cannot be squared with the death penalty, a form of punishment unique in its cruelty and finality,” Kanae Doi of the Tokyo branch of Human Rights Watch said Friday.

“The death penalty is widely rejected by rights-respecting democracies around the world and I see no reason why Japan cannot follow the stream. I welcome the JFBA restarting the discussion in this direction.”

EU governments have been lobbying hard for Japan to end executions. British, French and Italian diplomats press the case regularly in their meetings with lawyers, legislators and journalists.

Some European diplomats privately express frustration that abolition is not even a subject of public debate in Japan.

The French Embassy in Tokyo said Friday it hopes that discussion will now emerge.

“We have been calling on Japan to introduce a moratorium for many years,” the embassy said in a statement. “In this respect, we salute the declaration of the JFBA. The death penalty is a moral issue, but it is also necessary to question its usefulness.”

Japan is one of only two Group of Seven nations that retain the death penalty.

In the U.S., figures show the trend is slowing. Executions in the U.S. this year are on track to be the lowest in 25 years, and the trend is matched by a sharp decline in the number of death sentences passed by American courts.

Japan’s death row prisoners are usually kept in solitary confinement and are required to stay silent, conditions that critics call both inhumane and excessively punitive.

Doubts about the reliability of convictions have been fueled by cases such as that of Iwao Hakamada.

He was sentenced to death in 1968 in a case based on evidence apparently fabricated by police.

Hakamada was freed in 2014 but now lives with severe mental impairments after more than four decades on death row.

In 2015 Japan executed three prisoners. That year, the case of 89-year-old Masaru Okunishi also drew attention. He died in the hospital after 46 years on death row, fighting to clear his name in the murders of five women. He said his confessions were forced and sought a retrial on nine occasions. - The Japan Times, 7/10/2016


Japanese lawyers urge country to abolish death penalty

Japan has one of the world's lowest murder rates, making the need for capital punishment unconvincing, the federation said.

By: AP | Tokyo | Published:October 7, 2016 9:33 pm

capital punishment, death penalty, japan capital punishment, japan death penalty, Japanese bar associations, japan law, japan news, world news
 
The Japan Federation of Bar Associations urged the government on Friday to introduce life imprisonment to replace execution.
  Japanese bar associations have formally adopted a policy against the death penalty for the first time, demanding the government abolish execution by 2020 when Japan hosts the Olympics and an international conference on criminal justice. The Japan Federation of Bar Associations urged the government on Friday to introduce life imprisonment to replace execution.

Japan has one of the world’s lowest murder rates, making the need for capital punishment unconvincing, the federation said. It also cited the risk of wrongful convictions and the lack of evidence that the death penalty reduces crime. Nearly 130 prisoners are on death row in Japan, according to justice officials. Crimes subject to a possible death penalty in Japan include murder and acts such as arson or sabotage that cause death, usually in the most egregious cases or involving multiple victims, as well as terrorist attacks and attempted coups.

“We should face the fact that the death penalty … is a serious and grave violation of human rights by the state,” the group said in a statement, adopted after heated debate and objection by opponents at a convention in Fukui, western Japan. The statement said the possibility of mistrials and wrongful accusations could not be denied. “Once carried out, the death penalty is irreversible and fundamentally different from other punishment.”

Four death row prisoners have been found innocent and released after being granted retrials since the 1980s, including former professional boxer Iwao Hakamada, who won release in 2014 after nearly 50 years on death row for a wrongful murder accusation. Japan and the US are the only Group of Seven members that maintain the death penalty, while 140 nations have ended the practice that opponents consider cruel.

The prospect of any change is unclear as the majority of Japanese still support the death penalty. Some lawyers favor keeping the capital punishment as a way to address the victims’ feelings. At today’s convention, a group of lawyers handed out leaflets, unsuccessfully trying to vote down the federation-wide policy. Membership in a local bar association is compulsory for Japan’s more than 37,000 lawyers, and its members include a few hundred other people, such as foreign lawyers. - The Indian Express, 7/10/2016

Japan lawyers' group seeks end to death penalty



An execution chamber is pictured at the Tokyo Detention Center in Tokyo August 27, 2010. Japan opened up its gallows for the first time to domestic media on Friday, a move that could spark public debate over executions in a country where a hefty majority supports retaining the death penalty. Mandatory credit Kyodo/File Photo via REUTERS
 
By Elaine Lies | TOKYO

 
Japan's biggest lawyers' group on Friday called for the abolition of the death penalty, a controversial move in country where a large majority of the public supports executing criminals convicted of the most serious offences.

Human rights advocates have long denounced Japan's capital punishment system, under which prisoners are told without warning they will be hanged within hours, but there has been little momentum for change.
 
Some 80 percent of the public and the core of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling party favor capital punishment. Japan and the United States are the only two members of the Group of Seven advanced economies to practice it.
 
The Japan Federation of Bar Associations issued a declaration calling for the abolishment of the death penalty by 2020, citing the possibility of wrongful convictions and international trends against capital punishment. It also said there was little evidence that it deterred crime.
 
"There's a serious risk of false charges under Japan's criminal justice system, which has fatal flaws in the disclosure of evidence and long periods of detainment and interrogation," the statement said.


The death penalty is currently used for crimes including murder, coups and arson or rape that causes death.
 
The move by the lawyers' group was expected to be opposed by a politically vocal victims' rights group, which has consistently urged that the death penalty be maintained.


"When a life is taken by crime, that life will never return," the group said on its homepage. "For the dead person's loved ones to want heavy punishment is only natural."
 
The danger, said Shizuka Kamei, a former Cabinet member who was a police official for decades before entering politics, was that an innocent person may end up condemned.
 
"Depriving an innocent, defenseless person of their life is a heinous killing on the part of the nation," Kamei, head of an anti-death penalty lawmakers group, said during a news conference on Thursday.

 
Proponents of the death penalty say it deters crime, but activists note that nearly 99 percent of criminal trials in Japan end with convictions and reliance on confessions is high. Suspects are not always guaranteed the presence of a lawyer.
 
There were 127 people on death row at several prisons around Japan at the end of 2015.
 
(Additional reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto and Malcolm Foster; Editing by Nick Macfie) - Reuters, 7/10/2016