Delaying death penalty abolition means delaying justice in Altantuya case
LETTER
| Madpet (Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture) is saddened by
the delay in the abolition of the death penalty, which would also most
likely delay justice in the case of Altantuya Shaariibuu, the Mongolian
mother of two. She was murdered and her body was blown up in a forest
with explosives in 2006.
Sirul Azhar Umar and Azilah Hadri,
who were serving as then deputy prime minister Najib Abdul Razak’s
personal security detail at the time of the murder, were arrested and
convicted for the murder by the High Court.
In 2013, the Court of
Appeal overturned the convictions and both were released. Thereafter,
the Federal Court in January 2015 allowed the appeal by the prosecution,
and the murder conviction and death sentence was restored. Murder
carries the mandatory death penalty.
A co-accused, former
political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, a confidant of Najib, was
acquitted in 2008 without his defence being called to the charge of
abetting Azilah and Sirul. The prosecution did not appeal the
acquittal.
Najib, at the time of the murder was the deputy prime
minister, and in March 2009 he became the prime minister until the last
general election in May 2018, that saw the defeat of Umno-BN, and
formation of a new alternative Pakatan Harapan government.
Sirul,
after his release by the Court of Appeal left for Australia, and he did
not turn up for the hearing at the Federal Court, that again sentenced
him to death. Since 2015, he has been detained at the Immigration and
Border Protection Department’s facility in Sydney.
In 2015, Sirul was reported by Malaysiakini as saying, "I was under orders. The important people with motive (to commit murder) are still free."
This
raised serious doubts that the person, or persons who ordered the
killing of Altantuya or paid for it may still be at large. Australia,
which is an abolitionist state, would not send Sirul back to Malaysia,
knowing that he may be hanged if he is sent back to Malaysia.
It
is now good that the current Malaysian cabinet has decided to abolish
the death penalty, and all that needs to be done is the passing of bills
in Parliament that will abolish the death penalty, and hopefully also
result in the death sentence of all those on death row being commuted.
This would enable Sirul to be brought back to Malaysia, and his evidence
which may be vital for the successful prosecution of any other
remaining perpetrators will finally happen.
In the recent United
Nations General Assembly resolution calling for the moratorium of
executions pending the abolition of the death penalty, Malaysia, voted
in favour of the resolution for the very first time in line with the new
government’s declared position.
The Altantuya case has also made
us aware that there may be many others who have ordered or paid for some
other to commit murder who may still be out there free, and as such
justice is not yet fully achieved. All these other persons who ordered
or paid for such murders should also be identified, prosecuted,
convicted and sentenced.
In any criminal trial, it is of no use
for a person who was involved in the commission of the crime to confess
or plead guilty. Most will exercise their right to silence until all
appeals are exhausted.
These
persons may also be subject to threats against themselves and their
family members by those who ordered or paid them to kill. Those who
admit they killed because they were paid to kill are still guilty of
murder – so there is little reason to speak up and identify other
accomplices who are yet to be identified and/or prosecuted.
When
the death penalty is abolished, and better still any mandatory life
prison sentence, the courts will then have the ability to impose a lower
prison term on any or all who co-operated in making sure all others
involved are also identified and prosecuted. This would be another
mitigating factor that the courts can consider, but always ensuring that
a just sentence is imposed.
The abolition of the death penalty is
needed to prevent the ‘innocent’ from being wrongly killed, as there is
always the risk of miscarriage of justice, which could be due to
lawyers, prosecutors, police, judges, court procedures and many other
factors.
It has been shown in Malaysia, that the death penalty, even if mandatory, does not deter crime.
Further,
it is against religious values, even Islam, as the death penalty in
Malaysia is not provided for in Islamic laws but civil laws, and the
trial does not comply with Islamic evidential and procedural
requirements.
Note, that in Islam, even for murder, execution is a possibility as there is ‘diyat’(diya),
where compensation and forgiveness from a victim’s family can save a
murderer from death – this highlights that repentance or forgiveness
from victims is important, not simply punishment if you commit a crime.
In
Malaysia, for a long time, the lack of political will and strength on
the part of the government despite the global trend towards abolition
may have kept the death penalty in our law books.
The fear of the
government to do the right and just thing simply because of a fear of a
possible loss of political support is pathetic. Hopefully, this new
Pakatan Harapan, unlike its predecessor, will not weaken and backtrack
on its decision to abolish the death penalty.
Many expected that
the relevant bills leading to the abolition of the death penalty would
have been tabled at the last parliamentary session in 2018, and the hope
now is that it will be tabled in the upcoming parliamentary session
starting on March 11, 2019.
It is sad that some have been calling
for the retention of the death penalty, who may simply be those who are
unaware of the just reasons for abolition. They may simply be opposing
it because this was the decision of the current government, and as such
be merely a political strategy rather than one based on justice or
values.
They may also be people who fail to also appreciate the
sufferings of the children and families, simply because a parent or
sibling is executed. They fail to appreciate that even the mandatory
death penalty has failed to reduce murder or drug trafficking in
Malaysia.
Therefore, Madpet
- calls on Malaysia to ensure that all those, if any, who ordered or paid for the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu are identified and prosecuted. The abolition of the death penalty will also make it less likely for accomplices including those who ordered or paid others to commit the crime to escape justice, as those caught and/or convicted will more likely help make this happen, if their assistance can affect/reduce sentences;
- calls for the Malaysian government to immediately and bravely table the relevant bills that will see the abolition of the death penalty, preferably during this upcoming parliamentary session beginning in March 2019; and
- calls for the Malaysian government to immediately commute the death sentences of all those on death row, which was about 1,267 in July 2018. - Malaysiakini, 14/2/2019
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