Vietnamese court sentences 73-year-old Vietnam-born Australian woman to death for trafficking heroin

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij4gSfCOkrWCebVcv8e4dA0zrBWzxGmnUPGZU-xXWcEhwXJgPM56P_ixBcx63Zgmm3j6ZGtXjuAhm2jNBezfz8i8xMbR_YsOu3ImV5Je8fEnaFo9_KN-MGqrdxt9SAqrpCzxyHtC99BTw/s1600/Nguyen+Thi+Huong%252C+73.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The People's Court found Nguyen Thi Huong guilty of smuggling 2.8 kg of heroin." border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij4gSfCOkrWCebVcv8e4dA0zrBWzxGmnUPGZU-xXWcEhwXJgPM56P_ixBcx63Zgmm3j6ZGtXjuAhm2jNBezfz8i8xMbR_YsOu3ImV5Je8fEnaFo9_KN-MGqrdxt9SAqrpCzxyHtC99BTw/s400/Nguyen+Thi+Huong%252C+73.jpg" title="The People's Court found Nguyen Thi Huong guilty of smuggling 2.8 kg of heroin." width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The People's Court found Nguyen Thi Huong guilty of smuggling 2.8 kg of heroin.</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">A court in southern Vietnam has sentenced a 73-year-old Vietnam-born Australian woman to death for trafficking heroin hidden in bars of soap, several state-run media outlets reported on Thursday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Ho Chi Minh City People's Court found Nguyen Thi Huong guilty on Wednesday of possessing 36 bars of soap stuffed with 2.8 kg (6 lb) of heroin in her baggage as she was boarding a flight to Australia in December 2014, the Ho Chi Minh City Police newspaper said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Court officials and Australian diplomats in the city could not be reached for comment about the case.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was "concerned that an Australian citizen has been sentenced to death in Vietnam" but added that under Vietnamese law the woman can appeal the sentence "so there is still some way to go before this legal process concludes".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We will continue to provide consular assistance and support to the woman and her family. Universal opposition to capital punishment is a long-established policy of Australian governments," a department spokesperson said in an email.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper and news portal tuoitrenews.vn reported that Huong had said she was given the soap as a gift by a woman, identified only as Helen, while they were on a trip to the coastal city of Vung Tau.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Huong told the court she wanted to take them to Australia as gifts and was not aware of what they contained.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, the Ho Chi Minh City Police newspaper, controlled by the city's police, said Huong had failed to prove that the other woman was real.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The court ruled that the offence was "extremely dangerous to the community" and found her guilty. She now faces death by lethal injection.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Tuoi Tre newspaper published a photo of Huong covering her mouth with her hands as she was taken from the court after the verdict. Huong has 15 days in which to appeal against the death sentence.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The death penalty is applied in communist Vietnam in cases of trafficking of 100 grams of heroin or more. In late 2013, Vietnam adopted the use of lethal injections for capital cases instead of firing squads.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: Reuters, June 30, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WebDPN/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

Asia Australia Drug trafficking Vietnam Women Vietnamese court sentences 73-year-old Vietnam-born Australian woman to death for trafficking heroin

The People's Court found Nguyen Thi Huong guilty of smuggling 2.8 kg of heroin. A court in southern Vietnam has sentenced a 73-year-old ...

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As Lindsay Sandiford turns 60, supporter claims there is hope for Redcar death row gran

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDOaW5JUQsu30n5z7r-FvpIqqZz3PDX-OpkhAP4DgzyY9HfHM2pZrFWSoPInaH89qtEMg3B9-sJRwRplXaQRZOQwL4P7HpLwalV6l4SQoQyQaNdyDWrNGqW06cE7uUF7Samhgu0FAJtlc/s1600/British+grandmother+Lindsay+Sandiford+%2528centre%2529+on+Death+Row+in+Bali+for+smuggling+cocaine+has+set+up+a+knitting+venture+behind+bars+to+provide+desperately+needed+funds+for+a+final+appeal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="L. Sandiford (center) knitting with other inmate in a Kerobokan prison cell" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDOaW5JUQsu30n5z7r-FvpIqqZz3PDX-OpkhAP4DgzyY9HfHM2pZrFWSoPInaH89qtEMg3B9-sJRwRplXaQRZOQwL4P7HpLwalV6l4SQoQyQaNdyDWrNGqW06cE7uUF7Samhgu0FAJtlc/s400/British+grandmother+Lindsay+Sandiford+%2528centre%2529+on+Death+Row+in+Bali+for+smuggling+cocaine+has+set+up+a+knitting+venture+behind+bars+to+provide+desperately+needed+funds+for+a+final+appeal.jpg" title="L. Sandiford (center) knitting with other inmate in a Kerobokan prison cell" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lindsay Sandiford (center) knitting with other inmates in a Kerobokan prison cell</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">As she marks what could be her final birthday, sources close to death row gran Lindsay Sandiford say she isn't about to be executed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The convicted Redcar drug mule will spend her 60th birthday today in the squalid Indonesian prison she's languished in since she was sentenced to death in 2012.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There were fears that the birthday would be her last, with reports she may be among one of 16 people shot following the Muslim holiday of Eid.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However a supporter, who has flown to Bali to be with her on her birthday, has told the Gazette "Lindsay is not listed for execution."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Christie Buckingham of Bayside Church jetted in from Australia to spend time with her friend during what she said was a "very sensitive time" for the grandmother.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"At this stage she is concentrating on getting her appeal in place," she added.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another senior source close to the case confirmed Sandiford is not scheduled to be 1 of the 16 prisoners executed in the latest round of executions.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"She is working on her appeal and still has legal avenues left which I expect her to use," said the source.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Certainly there is no indication that she will be executed in the very near future."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sandiford has been in Bali's notorious Kerobokan Prison since she admitted trying to smuggle cocaine worth 1.6m pounds on to the paradise island.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Despite her plight, it is understood she's shunned consular assistance since 2014.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Instead she has received backing from thousands of Facebook supporters as well as the church.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There had been hope she could be spared a trip to a beauty spot dubbed "death island", where the Government carry out executions.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Indonesian authorities had halted executions for "economic reasons" [after they resumed in 2015], with 2 of the mum's Australian friends [Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan] killed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesman said: "We oppose the death penalty in all circumstances and have made repeated representations on the issue to the Indonesian government at the highest levels."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: gazettelive.co.uk, June 25, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WebDPN/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

Drug trafficking Indonesia L. Sandiford UK Women As Lindsay Sandiford turns 60, supporter claims there is hope for Redcar death row gran

Lindsay Sandiford (center) knitting with other inmates in a Kerobokan prison cell As she marks what could be her final birthday, sources clo...

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Husband of British-Iranian woman detained in Iran criticises Foreign Office

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJc6T5t3T-dItvh9v-cIwAfR2pVWT0qV41rBZprFaq6Y0gKHCill9TyGmYMfJVoHQKQwBaBcoUMWrqJ3sQBl2_J0MmfmSbdDohXs_MhmB2ybkRX9IXjUH-Ddn5i11yEOFuV1Q6ko5KgM0/s1600/London+UK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="London, England" border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJc6T5t3T-dItvh9v-cIwAfR2pVWT0qV41rBZprFaq6Y0gKHCill9TyGmYMfJVoHQKQwBaBcoUMWrqJ3sQBl2_J0MmfmSbdDohXs_MhmB2ybkRX9IXjUH-Ddn5i11yEOFuV1Q6ko5KgM0/s400/London+UK.jpg" title="London, England" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The husband of a British-Iranian woman who has been detained without charge in Tehran for 83 days has spoken of his anger over the Foreign Office's handling of the matter, saying he feels "gamed" by officials who value trade above the welfare of British citizens and objected to his going public with the case.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Richard Ratcliffe told the Guardian he felt trade relations had been prioritised over the welfare of his wife, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, and their 2-year-old daughter Gabriella. "I don't think Nazanin and Gabriella's case, nor any of the others, is a top priority at the moment," he said, referring to 4 other British passport holders he understands are being detained in Iran. "The top priority of the Foreign Office is trade."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation as a project manager, was arrested at Tehran's international airport by members of the country's Revolutionary Guard on 3 April. She had been about to return to the UK from a family visit in her home country. This month the Revolutionary Guard released a statement accusing her of fomenting a "soft overthrow" of the Islamic Republic, which her husband described as "farcical".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The 37-year-old charity worker has since been held in solitary confinement under interrogation and refused access to a lawyer. If convicted of espionage charges she could face up to 20 years in prison or the death penalty.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ratcliffe did not meet Foreign Office officials until after he had made his wife's case public in May, 36 days after her arrest, and then only at his request. "It felt almost like the Foreign Office resented me for going public. I was angry, and I felt gamed," he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We would have a series of calls and there would be a sort of strange dynamic where occasionally it felt like they were almost trying to get me on record as having said how helpful [they had been]. It's like dealing with a fucking insurance company trying to get out of paying a claim. This is a really odd definition of support, isn't it? It is a really odd dynamic to be covering your arse that early on."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ratcliffe describes the government's position as: "'This is a delicate matter, we'll hope the Iranians will be nice.' It's like, delicate? I mean, if this was your wife? They can use political capital to force the situation. But there has been no public statement of criticism by a senior politician, and the Iranians notice that."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Zaghari-Ratcliffe is 1 of 3 female dual-citizenship foreign nationals to have been detained by the Revolutionary Guard in the past 3 months. But whereas since March the US state department website has warned dual-passport holders not to visit Iran, the Foreign Office website does not.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gabriella's British passport was confiscated by the Iranian authorities, and she is being looked after by her grandparents. Under Iranian law only her father or mother can bring her home. Zaghari-Ratcliffe is being detained 620 miles from her daughter in Kerman prison.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We have been supporting Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's family since we were first made aware of her arrest. Minister for the Middle East, Tobias Ellwood, has met personally with the family to reassure them that we will continue to do all we can on this case."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The matter is understood to have been raised with Iranian officials, including by the foreign secretary with the Iranian foreign minister.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: The Guardian, June 25, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WebDPN/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

Consular assistance Espionage Iran Islamic Law sharia UK Women Husband of British-Iranian woman detained in Iran criticises Foreign Office

The husband of a British-Iranian woman who has been detained without charge in Tehran for 83 days has spoken of his anger over the Foreign O...

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Jessica Wongso, Mirna Salihin and the fatal cyanide drink

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5h6TUoCDHCWjJlNNqk7UMQ6mzNTPcXq_BMwWo5_pfA_yCkuH_sF30CTF5KjkxHuNC29wPxz6JQ5zUGqXEGqeUqdunqRNzLKsIBMRQgC0a05Nr91GVqfCfOM4YxIHq_EZVEcdjlOHryp8/s1600/Re-enactment+at+Olivier+Cafe+in+Jakarta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Police officers conduct a preliminary re-enactment at Olivier Cafe." border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5h6TUoCDHCWjJlNNqk7UMQ6mzNTPcXq_BMwWo5_pfA_yCkuH_sF30CTF5KjkxHuNC29wPxz6JQ5zUGqXEGqeUqdunqRNzLKsIBMRQgC0a05Nr91GVqfCfOM4YxIHq_EZVEcdjlOHryp8/s400/Re-enactment+at+Olivier+Cafe+in+Jakarta.jpg" title="Police officers conduct a preliminary re-enactment at Olivier Cafe." width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Police officers conduct a preliminary re-enactment at Olivier Cafe.</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">An Indonesian Australian woman charged with the fatal cyanide ­poisoning of her friend must be ­executed if found guilty to prevent copycat murders, the dead woman’s father says.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Justice Minister Michael Keenan and Indonesian Law Minister Yasonna Laoly have confirmed Indonesia gave an undertaking in return for Australian Federal Police co-operation in the case that the death penalty would be taken off the table for Indonesian-born Australian permanent resident Jessica Wongso.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ministerial approval is a necessary condition for Australian assistance in investigating crimes that could lead to the death penalty, after the AFP tip-off that ultimately led to the ­execution last year of Bali Nine ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dermawan Salihin, 64, told The Australian yesterday that this should not affect the Indonesian judges’ final sentencing decision should Ms Wongso be found guilty of his daughter’s murder. “If this girl manages to get away then the same thing can happen to other people. Somebody can just poison another person and get away with it,” the Jakarta businessman said. “This girl has to be killed as an example so nobody else follows what she has done. Everybody in Indonesia is watching this.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSPcuaDQlEcxueKzjfv4Ljya_MPKdVSXWXK6yww18wYJz3zqGVo9OjXoAXYxdjgShymGMsqR_r_k82qt86HZULnmxjdmHE_bY9L8vb-M72oPAKgr84CMiP5XVfybiui9bVuIG0aJsElqE/s1600/Salihin+and+Wongso.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSPcuaDQlEcxueKzjfv4Ljya_MPKdVSXWXK6yww18wYJz3zqGVo9OjXoAXYxdjgShymGMsqR_r_k82qt86HZULnmxjdmHE_bY9L8vb-M72oPAKgr84CMiP5XVfybiui9bVuIG0aJsElqE/s400/Salihin+and+Wongso.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ms Salihin (left) and Ms Wongso (right)</td></tr></tbody></table>Ms Wongso will face a Jakarta court today charged with the premeditated murder in January of former college friend Wayan Mirna Salihin, 27, at an upscale cafe in Jakarta. The women studied together at Billy Blue College of Design in Ultimo, Sydney. Ms Salihin returned to Indonesia in 2014 while Ms Wongso had been back in Jakarta just five months when she was detained on suspicion of murder.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">An autopsy confirmed Ms ­Salihin died of cyanide poisoning soon after drinking a Vietnamese iced-coffee ordered for her by Ms Wongso. The case has become a tabloid staple, fuelling salacious speculation over the motives for Salihin’s killing and a ghoulish boom in business for the Olivier cafe where she was killed. “Everybody calls it Mirna’s coffee; ‘I’ll have a Mirna’s coffee, but without the cyanide’,” Mr ­Salihin said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Police say CCTV footage shows Ms Wongso ­arriving at the cafe an hour before Salihin and a third friend, ordering drinks and waiting alone at the table.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Just before her arrest, Ms Wongso told an interviewer on Indonesian TV that she had no idea what was happening when Salihin became ill after sipping her drink. “I was thinking, ‘What is wrong with her? At that time I didn’t think anything more. I thought it might be a heart attack, but it’s not possible, she’s still so young.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Indonesian police travelled to Australia in February, where they are understood to have interviewed former work colleagues of Ms Wongso at the NSW Ambulance Service. Potassium cyanide is a chemical commonly used in goldmining and is cheap and readily available in Indonesia.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/foreign-affairs/jessica-wongso-mirna-salihin-and-the-fatal-cyanide-drink/news-story/86d3715edd6eb61eeb23b7277aae66df" target="_blank">The Australian</a>, Amanda Hodge, June 15, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WebDPN/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

Australia Indonesia Jessica Wongso Poisoning Women Jessica Wongso, Mirna Salihin and the fatal cyanide drink

Police officers conduct a preliminary re-enactment at Olivier Cafe. An Indonesian Australian woman charged with the fatal cyanide ­poisoning...

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Bangladesh: Human chain demands death penalty for Konika's killer

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjANSDqyTIzrxJeS2K3ssuE1CAZdE_FfWQn_dEBZFsn_8Ef-lqcHyYE3nV6Oudr9zHGqKHtWqvgrkCsPZhBWXoM33qD4kwwXF6zYP-12qkuW6XGDOOK7HP2-FQwvCOwcA1_23bYl9KZkpI/s1600/human+chain+in+front+of+Shaheed+Satu+Hall+in+Chapainawabganj.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjANSDqyTIzrxJeS2K3ssuE1CAZdE_FfWQn_dEBZFsn_8Ef-lqcHyYE3nV6Oudr9zHGqKHtWqvgrkCsPZhBWXoM33qD4kwwXF6zYP-12qkuW6XGDOOK7HP2-FQwvCOwcA1_23bYl9KZkpI/s400/human+chain+in+front+of+Shaheed+Satu+Hall+in+Chapainawabganj.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Human chain in front of Shaheed Satu Hall in Chapainawabganj</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">Different women's and non-governmental organisations formed a human chain in front of Shaheed Setu Hall in Chapainawabganj town yesterday, demanding capital punishment of the killer of schoolgirl Konika Rani.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Activists of Jago Nari Banhishikha, Bangladesh Mohila Awami League, Jubo Mohila League, Bangladesh Girls Guide and several other non-governmental organisations joined the hour long programme from 10:00am.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Addressing a rally at the venue, the speakers demanded speedy trial and capital punishment of killer Abdul Malek, who murdered Konika Rani and injured her three classmates.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They later submitted a memorandum to the home minister through the deputy commissioner in Chapainawabganj.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Among others, local women leaders Gouri Chand Barman, Nurunnahar, Shahanaz Begum, Halima Khatun and advocate Yesmin Sultana addressed the rally.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On May 27, Konika Rani, 14, a Class X student of Mohipur SM Dwimukhi High School in Sadar upazila, was hacked to death by drug addict Abdul Malek around 9:15am.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Konika's three classmates Tarin Afroz, 15, Tanzima Khatun, 14, and Moriom Akhtar, 14, also sustained serious injuries in the attack. The injured girls are still undergoing treatment at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Villagers caught Malek and handed him over to the police, Officer-in-Charge Mazharul Islam of Sadar Model Police Station said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Konika's mother Anjali Rani filed a murder case against Abdul Malek with the police station the same night, the OC added.</div><br />Source: <a href="http://www.thedailystar.net/country/human-chain-demands-death-penalty-konikas-killer-1234855" target="_blank">The Daily Star</a>, June 6, 2016<br /><br /><div><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Death-Penalty-News-206848499362906/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div>

Bangladesh Women Bangladesh: Human chain demands death penalty for Konika's killer

Human chain in front of Shaheed Satu Hall in Chapainawabganj Different women's and non-governmental organisations formed a human chain i...

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Indonesia: Govt should use human trafficking angle in Rita's defense

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN-_g5-Hb1JwaiN8y2NURUzdeAPkhtS8Wc0g7zVoxtP9FL3OvNCyQyKX5ZDBT0BH8vT4oC128U_4SCDjDf2fxCZ3oHUTA9ynyPYAJkjAWVmBRciElxo3iLAZ3FtlWASBwUUnLTTJhRxy4/s1600/Widodo+Mercy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN-_g5-Hb1JwaiN8y2NURUzdeAPkhtS8Wc0g7zVoxtP9FL3OvNCyQyKX5ZDBT0BH8vT4oC128U_4SCDjDf2fxCZ3oHUTA9ynyPYAJkjAWVmBRciElxo3iLAZ3FtlWASBwUUnLTTJhRxy4/s400/Widodo+Mercy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The government should use the human-trafficking angle in its defense strategy against the death penalty handed down by a Malaysian court to Rita Krisdianti, an Indonesian migrant worker, even though it would contradict Indonesia’s relentless commitment to the fight against illegal drugs, experts have said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Penang High Court recently sentenced Rita, 27, to death for her alleged involvement in drug smuggling. “There is a strong indication that Rita has been a victim of human trafficking, because there must be some people in Indonesia who put her in that situation and also arranged her trips and documents,” NGO Migrant Care director Anis Hidayah said on Monday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Victims of human trafficking should be assisted and protected as they could give some leads to reveal the mastermind behind the syndication.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hence, Anis called on the government to form a joint team to further investigate Rita’s entrapment in the drug-smuggling syndicate. She said the team could consist of people from the National Police, Manpower Ministry, Foreign Ministry and the Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers ( BNP2TKI ).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Meanwhile, Wahyudi Jafar, a researcher at the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (ELSAM), said that Indonesia’s firm stance against drug abuse would complicate the efforts to protect its citizens who had become implicated in drug cases overseas.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“It is going to be difficult [for Indonesia]. How can you ask other countries not to execute drug suspects if the same execution policy is still being implicated in your home country?” Wahyudi said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hence, there should be consolidation between Indonesia and Malaysia, including lawyers and advocacy groups in both countries, to revoke the death penalty against Rita, he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“The Foreign Ministry should actively work on it,” Wahyudi said. “Otherwise, Indonesia’s recent executions of drug suspects could be a boomerang that sacrifices migrant workers overseas.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rita was sentenced to death following her arrest on July 10, 2013, when Malaysian authorities at Penang’s Bayan Lepas Airport found over 4 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine in her bag.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She claimed she did not know about the meth, saying the bag belonged to a fellow Indonesian who had managed her travel arrangements from Hong Kong to Penang, via Bangkok and New Delhi. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/06/06/govt-should-use-human-trafficking-angle-in-ritas-defense.html" target="_blank">Jakarta Post</a>, June 6, 2016</div><br /><div><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Death-Penalty-News-206848499362906/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div>

Drug trafficking Indonesia Malaysia Women Indonesia: Govt should use human trafficking angle in Rita's defense

The government should use the human-trafficking angle in its defense strategy against the death penalty handed down by a Malaysian court to ...

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Iran: Two hanged in Qazvin prison

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjywqgvBJYT5vNkJV4l1XJ6eXErQMkBkZxqp_8GnDZPtNrCNyoU9K6gKXb59SVvWOp_3umuZyAQTORbuhUofMNA4TJZbLTa0pOALVLnNSsWgFvSk0CEPVrWtr3p6JfbIg_hPb6XQui0Uac/s1600/Public+hanging+Iran.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjywqgvBJYT5vNkJV4l1XJ6eXErQMkBkZxqp_8GnDZPtNrCNyoU9K6gKXb59SVvWOp_3umuZyAQTORbuhUofMNA4TJZbLTa0pOALVLnNSsWgFvSk0CEPVrWtr3p6JfbIg_hPb6XQui0Uac/s400/Public+hanging+Iran.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Iran's fundamentalist regime has hanged a man and a woman in a prison in Qazvin, north-west of Tehran.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The woman was not named, but the office of the regime's prosecutor-general in Qazvin Province said that she had been imprisoned since 2014.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The regime's local deputy prosecutor was present to oversee the execution, the state-run Borna news agency reported on Thursday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The man was identified only as Amir Q., the official state broadcaster IRIB said in its website for Qazvin Province. He was arrested on May 30, 2011.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The latest hangings bring to at least 120 the number of people executed in Iran since April 10. Three of those executed were women and 2 are believed to have been juvenile offenders.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ms. Farideh Karimi, a member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and a human rights activist, last month called for an urgent response by the United Nations and foreign governments to the recent spate of executions and the appalling state of human rights in Iran.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Iran's fundamentalist regime last month amputated the fingers of a man in his 30s in Mashhad, the latest in a line of draconian punishments handed down and carried out in recent weeks.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) said in a statement on April 13 that the increasing trend of executions "aimed at intensifying the climate of terror to rein in expanding protests by various strata of the society, especially at a time of visits by high-ranking European officials, demonstrates that the claim of moderation is nothing but an illusion for this medieval regime."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Amnesty International in its April 6 annual Death Penalty report covering the 2015 period wrote: "Iran put at least 977 people to death in 2015, compared to at least 743 the year before."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Iran alone accounted for 82% of all executions recorded" in the Middle East and North Africa, the human rights group said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There have been more than 2,400 executions during Hassan Rouhani's tenure as President. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran in March announced that the number of executions in Iran in 2015 was greater than any year in the last 25 years. Rouhani has explicitly endorsed the executions as examples of "God's commandments" and "laws of the parliament that belong to the people.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: NCR-Iran, June 3, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Death-Penalty-News-206848499362906/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

Iran Islamic Law sharia Women Iran: Two hanged in Qazvin prison

Iran's fundamentalist regime has hanged a man and a woman in a prison in Qazvin, north-west of Tehran. The woman was not named, but the ...

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