tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-205787022024-03-07T16:15:58.935+07:00Death Penalty Thailandเรากำลังรณรงค์การยุติโทษประหารในประเทศไทย
ซึ่งเป็นหนึ่งในเพียงไม่กี่ประเทศในโลกที่ยังคงใช้วิธีการลงโทษที่ป่าเถื่อนเช่นนี้อยู่hrdefenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02459107039196967804noreply@blogger.comBlogger418125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20578702.post-71699135212666076542020-10-08T19:54:00.001+07:002020-10-08T20:08:08.048+07:00COVID-19 Context<p><em><span style="color: #f01d2e;"><strong>*Important note on the COVID-19 Pandemic: </strong></span><br />
Since the beginning of 2020, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has
influenced how the abolitionist community is able to advocate and defend
the abolition of capital punishment. Thousands of those sentenced to
death, along with their families and support networks, are left
vulnerable as prison and judiciary systems around the world grapple with
the implications of the COVID-19 crisis. It is now more important than
ever to stay active and vigilant for abolition of the death penalty! <strong>With
any activity you undertake this year, please make sure it is compatible
with your local and/or national government’s regulations regarding
public health and safety. Use good sense in planning activities with the
aim of reducing transmission rates. </strong>This is particularly
important as policies and regulations have been changing to adapt to the
COVID-19 threat and may continue to change until 10 October.</em> <br /></p>hrdefenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02459107039196967804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20578702.post-25795661895655152020-10-07T13:15:00.002+07:002020-10-07T19:24:19.079+07:00Brothers and Sisters everyone<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfOFYUzuLEP5NvNUMLa9JmoNojnSSnprW-fPUtfGEd4Zo7LVmum2Od9sH9BMZcIq7-7c4zkJ9pAxq3v9hMQKtKxG2449VSlA7bPwLBRBg2QxE93exHDyqsW3EkZG6y_h7ZvJwM/s500/Fratelli+tutti.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfOFYUzuLEP5NvNUMLa9JmoNojnSSnprW-fPUtfGEd4Zo7LVmum2Od9sH9BMZcIq7-7c4zkJ9pAxq3v9hMQKtKxG2449VSlA7bPwLBRBg2QxE93exHDyqsW3EkZG6y_h7ZvJwM/s320/Fratelli+tutti.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p> Death Penalty Thailand presents Chapter 7 of Fratelli tutti, the declaration by the Pope on the current position of the Catholic Church on the issue of the death penalty. Surely the reflection of the successor of Jesus Christ, 2000 years after his execution, is relevant today as ever.
</p><h3 class="spip">CHAPTER SEVEN <br /><p>PATHS OF RENEWED ENCOUNTER</p>
</h3>
<p>225. In many parts of the world, there is a need for paths of peace
to heal open wounds. There is also a need for peacemakers, men and women
prepared to work boldly and creatively to initiate processes of healing
and renewed encounter.</p>
<p><b>STARTING ANEW FROM THE TRUTH</b></p>
<p>226. Renewed encounter does not mean returning to a time prior to
conflicts. All of us change over time. Pain and conflict transform us.
We no longer have use for empty diplomacy, dissimulation, double-speak,
hidden agendas and good manners that mask reality. Those who were fierce
enemies have to speak from the stark and clear truth. They have to
learn how to cultivate a penitential memory, one that can accept the
past in order not to cloud the future with their own regrets, problems
and plans. Only by basing themselves on the historical truth of events
will they be able to make a broad and persevering effort to understand
one another and to strive for a new synthesis for the good of all. Every
“peace process requires enduring commitment. It is a patient effort to
seek truth and justice, to honour the memory of victims and to open the
way, step by step, to a shared hope stronger than the desire for
vengeance”.[209] As the Bishops of the Congo have said with regard to
one recurring conflict: “Peace agreements on paper will not be enough.
We will have to go further, by respecting the demands of truth regarding
the origins of this recurring crisis. The people have the right to know
what happened”.[210]</p>
<p>227. “Truth, in fact, is an inseparable companion of justice and
mercy. All three together are essential to building peace; each,
moreover, prevents the other from being altered… Truth should not lead
to revenge, but rather to reconciliation and forgiveness. Truth means
telling families torn apart by pain what happened to their missing
relatives. Truth means confessing what happened to minors recruited by
cruel and violent people. Truth means recognizing the pain of women who
are victims of violence and abuse… Every act of violence committed
against a human being is a wound in humanity’s flesh; every violent
death diminishes us as people… Violence leads to more violence, hatred
to more hatred, death to more death. We must break this cycle which
seems inescapable”.[211]</p>
<p><b>THE ART AND ARCHITECTURE OF PEACE</b></p>
<p>228. The path to peace does not mean making society blandly uniform,
but getting people to work together, side-by-side, in pursuing goals
that benefit everyone. A wide variety of practical proposals and diverse
experiences can help achieve shared objectives and serve the common
good. The problems that a society is experiencing need to be clearly
identified, so that the existence of different ways of understanding and
resolving them can be appreciated. The path to social unity always
entails acknowledging the possibility that others have, at least in
part, a legitimate point of view, something worthwhile to contribute,
even if they were in error or acted badly. “We should never confine
others to what they may have said or done, but value them for the
promise that they embody”,[212] a promise that always brings with it a
spark of new hope.</p>
<p>229. The Bishops of South Africa have pointed out that true
reconciliation is achieved proactively, “by forming a new society, a
society based on service to others, rather than the desire to dominate; a
society based on sharing what one has with others, rather than the
selfish scramble by each for as much wealth as possible; a society in
which the value of being together as human beings is ultimately more
important than any lesser group, whether it be family, nation, race or
culture”.[213] As the Bishops of South Korea have pointed out, true
peace “can be achieved only when we strive for justice through dialogue,
pursuing reconciliation and mutual development”.[214]</p>
<p>230. Working to overcome our divisions without losing our identity as
individuals presumes that a basic sense of belonging is present in
everyone. Indeed, “society benefits when each person and social group
feels truly at home. In a family, parents, grandparents and children all
feel at home; no one is excluded. If someone has a problem, even a
serious one, even if he brought it upon himself, the rest of the family
comes to his assistance; they support him. His problems are theirs… In
families, everyone contributes to the common purpose; everyone works for
the common good, not denying each person’s individuality but
encouraging and supporting it. They may quarrel, but there is something
that does not change: the family bond. Family disputes are always
resolved afterwards. The joys and sorrows of each of its members are
felt by all. That is what it means to be a family! If only we could view
our political opponents or neighbours in the same way that we view our
children or our spouse, mother or father! How good would this be! Do we
love our society or is it still something remote, something anonymous
that does not involve us, something to which we are not committed?”[215]</p>
<p>231. Negotiation often becomes necessary for shaping concrete paths
to peace. Yet the processes of change that lead to lasting peace are
crafted above all by peoples; each individual can act as an effective
leaven by the way he or she lives each day. Great changes are not
produced behind desks or in offices. This means that “everyone has a
fundamental role to play in a single great creative project: to write a
new page of history, a page full of hope, peace and
reconciliation”.[216] There is an “architecture” of peace, to which
different institutions of society contribute, each according to its own
area of expertise, but there is also an “art” of peace that involves us
all. From the various peace processes that have taken place in different
parts of the world, “we have learned that these ways of making peace,
of placing reason above revenge, of the delicate harmony between
politics and law, cannot ignore the involvement of ordinary people.
Peace is not achieved by normative frameworks and institutional
arrangements between well-meaning political or economic groups… It is
always helpful to incorporate into our peace processes the experience of
those sectors that have often been overlooked, so that communities
themselves can influence the development of a collective memory”.[217]</p>
<p>232. There is no end to the building of a country’s social peace;
rather, it is “an open-ended endeavour, a never-ending task that demands
the commitment of everyone and challenges us to work tirelessly to
build the unity of the nation. Despite obstacles, differences and
varying perspectives on the way to achieve peaceful coexistence, this
task summons us to persevere in the struggle to promote a ‘culture of
encounter’. This requires us to place at the centre of all political,
social and economic activity the human person, who enjoys the highest
dignity, and respect for the common good. May this determination help us
flee from the temptation for revenge and the satisfaction of short-term
partisan interests”.[218] Violent public demonstrations, on one side or
the other, do not help in finding solutions. Mainly because, as the
Bishops of Colombia have rightly noted, the “origins and objectives of
civil demonstrations are not always clear; certain forms of political
manipulation are present and in some cases they have been exploited for
partisan interests”.[219]</p>
<p><i>Beginning with the least</i></p>
<p>233. Building social friendship does not only call for rapprochement
between groups who took different sides at some troubled period of
history, but also for a renewed encounter with the most impoverished and
vulnerable sectors of society. For peace “is not merely absence of war
but a tireless commitment – especially on the part of those of us
charged with greater responsibility – to recognize, protect and
concretely restore the dignity, so often overlooked or ignored, of our
brothers and sisters, so that they can see themselves as the principal
protagonists of the destiny of their nation”.[220]</p>
<p>234. Often, the more vulnerable members of society are the victims of
unfair generalizations. If at times the poor and the dispossessed react
with attitudes that appear antisocial, we should realize that in many
cases those reactions are born of a history of scorn and social
exclusion. The Latin American Bishops have observed that “only the
closeness that makes us friends can enable us to appreciate deeply the
values of the poor today, their legitimate desires, and their own manner
of living the faith. The option for the poor should lead us to
friendship with the poor”.[221]</p>
<p>235. Those who work for tranquil social coexistence should never
forget that inequality and lack of integral human development make peace
impossible. Indeed, “without equal opportunities, different forms of
aggression and conflict will find a fertile terrain for growth and
eventually explode. When a society – whether local, national or global –
is willing to leave a part of itself on the fringes, no political
programmes or resources spent on law enforcement or surveillance systems
can indefinitely guarantee tranquility”.[222] If we have to begin anew,
it must always be from the least of our brothers and sisters.</p>
<p><b>THE VALUE AND MEANING OF FORGIVENESS</b></p>
<p>236. There are those who prefer not to talk of reconciliation, for
they think that conflict, violence and breakdown are part of the normal
functioning of a society. In any human group there are always going to
be more or less subtle power struggles between different parties. Others
think that promoting forgiveness means yielding ground and influence to
others. For this reason, they feel it is better to keep things as they
are, maintaining a balance of power between differing groups. Still
others believe that reconciliation is a sign of weakness; incapable of
truly serious dialogue, they choose to avoid problems by ignoring
injustices. Unable to deal with problems, they opt for an apparent
peace.</p>
<p><i>Inevitable conflict</i></p>
<p>237. Forgiveness and reconciliation are central themes in
Christianity and, in various ways, in other religions. Yet there is a
risk that an inadequate understanding and presentation of these profound
convictions can lead to fatalism, apathy and injustice, or even
intolerance and violence.</p>
<p>238. Jesus never promoted violence or intolerance. He openly
condemned the use of force to gain power over others: “You know that the
rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are
tyrants over them. It will not be so among you” (Mt 20:25-26). Instead,
the Gospel tells us to forgive “seventy times seven” (Mt 18:22) and
offers the example of the unmerciful servant who was himself forgiven,
yet unable to forgive others in turn (cf. Mt 18:23-35).</p>
<p>239. Reading other texts of the New Testament, we can see how the
early Christian communities, living in a pagan world marked by
widespread corruption and aberrations, sought to show unfailing
patience, tolerance and understanding. Some texts are very clear in this
regard: we are told to admonish our opponents “with gentleness” (2 Tim
2:25) and encouraged “to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to
be gentle, and to show every courtesy to everyone. For we ourselves were
once foolish” (Tit 3:2-3). The Acts of the Apostles notes that the
disciples, albeit persecuted by some of the authorities, “had favour
with all the people” (2:47; cf. 4:21.33; 5:13).</p>
<p>240. Yet when we reflect upon forgiveness, peace and social harmony,
we also encounter the jarring saying of Christ: “Do not think that I
have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace,
but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a
daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her
mother-in-law; and a man’s foes will be members of his own household”
(Mt 10:34-36). These words need to be understood in the context of the
chapter in which they are found, where it is clear that Jesus is
speaking of fidelity to our decision to follow him; we are not to be
ashamed of that decision, even if it entails hardships of various sorts,
and even our loved ones refuse to accept it. Christ’s words do not
encourage us to seek conflict, but simply to endure it when it
inevitably comes, lest deference to others, for the sake of supposed
peace in our families or society, should detract from our own fidelity.
Saint John Paul II observed that the Church “does not intend to condemn
every possible form of social conflict. The Church is well aware that in
the course of history conflicts of interest between different social
groups inevitably arise, and that in the face of such conflicts
Christians must often take a position, honestly and decisively”.[223]</p>
<p><i>Legitimate conflict and forgiveness</i></p>
<p>241. Nor does this mean calling for forgiveness when it involves
renouncing our own rights, confronting corrupt officials, criminals or
those who would debase our dignity. We are called to love everyone,
without exception; at the same time, loving an oppressor does not mean
allowing him to keep oppressing us, or letting him think that what he
does is acceptable. On the contrary, true love for an oppressor means
seeking ways to make him cease his oppression; it means stripping him of
a power that he does not know how to use, and that diminishes his own
humanity and that of others. Forgiveness does not entail allowing
oppressors to keep trampling on their own dignity and that of others, or
letting criminals continue their wrongdoing. Those who suffer injustice
have to defend strenuously their own rights and those of their family,
precisely because they must preserve the dignity they have received as a
loving gift from God. If a criminal has harmed me or a loved one, no
one can forbid me from demanding justice and ensuring that this person –
or anyone else – will not harm me, or others, again. This is entirely
just; forgiveness does not forbid it but actually demands it.</p>
<p>242. The important thing is not to fuel anger, which is unhealthy for
our own soul and the soul of our people, or to become obsessed with
taking revenge and destroying the other. No one achieves inner peace or
returns to a normal life in that way. The truth is that “no family, no
group of neighbours, no ethnic group, much less a nation, has a future
if the force that unites them, brings them together and resolves their
differences is vengeance and hatred. We cannot come to terms and unite
for the sake of revenge, or treating others with the same violence with
which they treated us, or plotting opportunities for retaliation under
apparently legal auspices”.[224] Nothing is gained this way and, in the
end, everything is lost.</p>
<p>243. To be sure, “it is no easy task to overcome the bitter legacy of
injustices, hostility and mistrust left by conflict. It can only be
done by overcoming evil with good (cf. Rom 12:21) and by cultivating
those virtues which foster reconciliation, solidarity and peace”.[225]
In this way, “persons who nourish goodness in their heart find that such
goodness leads to a peaceful conscience and to profound joy, even in
the midst of difficulties and misunderstandings. Even when affronted,
goodness is never weak but rather, shows its strength by refusing to
take revenge”.[226] Each of us should realize that “even the harsh
judgment I hold in my heart against my brother or my sister, the open
wound that was never cured, the offense that was never forgiven, the
rancour that is only going to hurt me, are all instances of a struggle
that I carry within me, a little flame deep in my heart that needs to be
extinguished before it turns into a great blaze”.[227]</p>
<p><i>The best way to move on</i></p>
<p>244. When conflicts are not resolved but kept hidden or buried in the
past, silence can lead to complicity in grave misdeeds and sins.
Authentic reconciliation does not flee from conflict, but is achieved in
conflict, resolving it through dialogue and open, honest and patient
negotiation. Conflict between different groups “if it abstains from
enmities and mutual hatred, gradually changes into an honest discussion
of differences founded on a desire for justice”.[228]</p>
<p>245. On numerous occasions, I have spoken of “a principle
indispensable to the building of friendship in society: namely, that
unity is greater than conflict… This is not to opt for a kind of
syncretism, or for the absorption of one into the other, but rather for a
resolution which takes place on a higher plane and preserves what is
valid and useful on both sides”.[229] All of us know that “when we, as
individuals and communities, learn to look beyond ourselves and our
particular interests, then understanding and mutual commitment bear
fruit… in a setting where conflicts, tensions and even groups once
considered inimical can attain a multifaceted unity that gives rise to
new life”.[230]</p>
<p><b>MEMORY</b></p>
<p>246. Of those who have endured much unjust and cruel suffering, a
sort of “social forgiveness” must not be demanded. Reconciliation is a
personal act, and no one can impose it upon an entire society, however
great the need to foster it. In a strictly personal way, someone, by a
free and generous decision, can choose not to demand punishment (cf. Mt
5:44-46), even if it is quite legitimately demanded by society and its
justice system. However, it is not possible to proclaim a “blanket
reconciliation” in an effort to bind wounds by decree or to cover
injustices in a cloak of oblivion. Who can claim the right to forgive in
the name of others? It is moving to see forgiveness shown by those who
are able to leave behind the harm they suffered, but it is also humanly
understandable in the case of those who cannot. In any case, forgetting
is never the answer.</p>
<p>247. The Shoah must not be forgotten. It is “the enduring symbol of
the depths to which human evil can sink when, spurred by false
ideologies, it fails to recognize the fundamental dignity of each
person, which merits unconditional respect regardless of ethnic origin
or religious belief”.[231] As I think of it, I cannot help but repeat
this prayer: “Lord, remember us in your mercy. Grant us the grace to be
ashamed of what we men have done, to be ashamed of this massive
idolatry, of having despised and destroyed our own flesh which you
formed from the earth, to which you gave life with your own breath of
life. Never again, Lord, never again!”.[232]</p>
<p>248. Nor must we forget the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and
Nagasaki. Once again, “I pay homage to all the victims, and I bow before
the strength and dignity of those who, having survived those first
moments, for years afterward bore in the flesh immense suffering, and in
their spirit seeds of death that drained their vital energy… We cannot
allow present and future generations to lose the memory of what
happened. It is a memory that ensures and encourages the building of a
more fair and fraternal future”.[233] Neither must we forget the
persecutions, the slave trade and the ethnic killings that continue in
various countries, as well as the many other historical events that make
us ashamed of our humanity. They need to be remembered, always and ever
anew. We must never grow accustomed or inured to them.</p>
<p>249. Nowadays, it is easy to be tempted to turn the page, to say that
all these things happened long ago and we should look to the future.
For God’s sake, no! We can never move forward without remembering the
past; we do not progress without an honest and unclouded memory. We need
to “keep alive the flame of collective conscience, bearing witness to
succeeding generations to the horror of what happened”, because that
witness “awakens and preserves the memory of the victims, so that the
conscience of humanity may rise up in the face of every desire for
dominance and destruction”.[234] The victims themselves – individuals,
social groups or nations – need to do so, lest they succumb to the
mindset that leads to justifying reprisals and every kind of violence in
the name of the great evil endured. For this reason, I think not only
of the need to remember the atrocities, but also all those who, amid
such great inhumanity and corruption, retained their dignity and, with
gestures small or large, chose the part of solidarity, forgiveness and
fraternity. To remember goodness is also a healthy thing.</p>
<p><i>Forgiving but not forgetting</i></p>
<p>250. Forgiving does not mean forgetting. Or better, in the face of a
reality that can in no way be denied, relativized or concealed,
forgiveness is still possible. In the face of an action that can never
be tolerated, justified or excused, we can still forgive. In the face of
something that cannot be forgotten for any reason, we can still
forgive. Free and heartfelt forgiveness is something noble, a reflection
of God’s own infinite ability to forgive. If forgiveness is gratuitous,
then it can be shown even to someone who resists repentance and is
unable to beg pardon.</p>
<p>251. Those who truly forgive do not forget. Instead, they choose not
to yield to the same destructive force that caused them so much
suffering. They break the vicious circle; they halt the advance of the
forces of destruction. They choose not to spread in society the spirit
of revenge that will sooner or later return to take its toll. Revenge
never truly satisfies victims. Some crimes are so horrendous and cruel
that the punishment of those who perpetrated them does not serve to
repair the harm done. Even killing the criminal would not be enough, nor
could any form of torture prove commensurate with the sufferings
inflicted on the victim. Revenge resolves nothing.</p>
<p>252. This does not mean impunity. Justice is properly sought solely
out of love of justice itself, out of respect for the victims, as a
means of preventing new crimes and protecting the common good, not as an
alleged outlet for personal anger. Forgiveness is precisely what
enables us to pursue justice without falling into a spiral of revenge or
the injustice of forgetting.</p>
<p>253. When injustices have occurred on both sides, it is important to
take into clear account whether they were equally grave or in any way
comparable. Violence perpetrated by the state, using its structures and
power, is not on the same level as that perpetrated by particular
groups. In any event, one cannot claim that the unjust sufferings of one
side alone should be commemorated. The Bishops of Croatia have stated
that, “we owe equal respect to every innocent victim. There can be no
racial, national, confessional or partisan differences”.[235]</p>
<p>254. I ask God “to prepare our hearts to encounter our brothers and
sisters, so that we may overcome our differences rooted in political
thinking, language, culture and religion. Let us ask him to anoint our
whole being with the balm of his mercy, which heals the injuries caused
by mistakes, misunderstandings and disputes. And let us ask him for the
grace to send us forth, in humility and meekness, along the demanding
but enriching path of seeking peace”.[236]</p>
<p><b>WAR AND THE DEATH PENALTY</b></p>
<p>255. There are two extreme situations that may come to be seen as
solutions in especially dramatic circumstances, without realizing that
they are false answers that do not resolve the problems they are meant
to solve and ultimately do no more than introduce new elements of
destruction in the fabric of national and global society. These are war
and the death penalty.</p>
<p><i>The injustice of war</i></p>
<p>256. “Deceit is in the mind of those who plan evil, but those who
counsel peace have joy” (Prov 12:20). Yet there are those who seek
solutions in war, frequently fueled by a breakdown in relations,
hegemonic ambitions, abuses of power, fear of others and a tendency to
see diversity as an obstacle.[237] War is not a ghost from the past but a
constant threat. Our world is encountering growing difficulties on the
slow path to peace upon which it had embarked and which had already
begun to bear good fruit.</p>
<p>257. Since conditions that favour the outbreak of wars are once again
increasing, I can only reiterate that “war is the negation of all
rights and a dramatic assault on the environment. If we want true
integral human development for all, we must work tirelessly to avoid war
between nations and peoples. To this end, there is a need to ensure the
uncontested rule of law and tireless recourse to negotiation, mediation
and arbitration, as proposed by the Charter of the United Nations,
which constitutes truly a fundamental juridical norm”.[238] The
seventy-five years since the establishment of the United Nations and the
experience of the first twenty years of this millennium have shown that
the full application of international norms proves truly effective, and
that failure to comply with them is detrimental. The Charter of the
United Nations, when observed and applied with transparency and
sincerity, is an obligatory reference point of justice and a channel of
peace. Here there can be no room for disguising false intentions or
placing the partisan interests of one country or group above the global
common good. If rules are considered simply as means to be used whenever
it proves advantageous, and to be ignored when it is not,
uncontrollable forces are unleashed that cause grave harm to societies,
to the poor and vulnerable, to fraternal relations, to the environment
and to cultural treasures, with irretrievable losses for the global
community.</p>
<p>258. War can easily be chosen by invoking all sorts of allegedly
humanitarian, defensive or precautionary excuses, and even resorting to
the manipulation of information. In recent decades, every single war has
been ostensibly “justified”. The Catechism of the Catholic Church
speaks of the possibility of legitimate defence by means of military
force, which involves demonstrating that certain “rigorous conditions of
moral legitimacy”[239] have been met. Yet it is easy to fall into an
overly broad interpretation of this potential right. In this way, some
would also wrongly justify even “preventive” attacks or acts of war that
can hardly avoid entailing “evils and disorders graver than the evil to
be eliminated”.[240] At issue is whether the development of nuclear,
chemical and biological weapons, and the enormous and growing
possibilities offered by new technologies, have granted war an
uncontrollable destructive power over great numbers of innocent
civilians. The truth is that “never has humanity had such power over
itself, yet nothing ensures that it will be used wisely”.[241] We can no
longer think of war as a solution, because its risks will probably
always be greater than its supposed benefits. In view of this, it is
very difficult nowadays to invoke the rational criteria elaborated in
earlier centuries to speak of the possibility of a “just war”. Never
again war![242]</p>
<p>259. It should be added that, with increased globalization, what
might appear as an immediate or practical solution for one part of the
world initiates a chain of violent and often latent effects that end up
harming the entire planet and opening the way to new and worse wars in
the future. In today’s world, there are no longer just isolated
outbreaks of war in one country or another; instead, we are experiencing
a “world war fought piecemeal”, since the destinies of countries are so
closely interconnected on the global scene.</p>
<p>260. In the words of Saint John XXIII, “it no longer makes sense to
maintain that war is a fit instrument with which to repair the violation
of justice”.[243] In making this point amid great international
tension, he voiced the growing desire for peace emerging in the Cold War
period. He supported the conviction that the arguments for peace are
stronger than any calculation of particular interests and confidence in
the use of weaponry. The opportunities offered by the end of the Cold
War were not, however, adequately seized due to a lack of a vision for
the future and a shared consciousness of our common destiny. Instead, it
proved easier to pursue partisan interests without upholding the
universal common good. The dread spectre of war thus began to gain new
ground.</p>
<p>261. Every war leaves our world worse than it was before. War is a
failure of politics and of humanity, a shameful capitulation, a stinging
defeat before the forces of evil. Let us not remain mired in
theoretical discussions, but touch the wounded flesh of the victims. Let
us look once more at all those civilians whose killing was considered
“collateral damage”. Let us ask the victims themselves. Let us think of
the refugees and displaced, those who suffered the effects of atomic
radiation or chemical attacks, the mothers who lost their children, and
the boys and girls maimed or deprived of their childhood. Let us hear
the true stories of these victims of violence, look at reality through
their eyes, and listen with an open heart to the stories they tell. In
this way, we will be able to grasp the abyss of evil at the heart of
war. Nor will it trouble us to be deemed naive for choosing peace.</p>
<p>262. Rules by themselves will not suffice if we continue to think
that the solution to current problems is deterrence through fear or the
threat of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons. Indeed, “if we take
into consideration the principal threats to peace and security with
their many dimensions in this multipolar world of the twenty-first
century as, for example, terrorism, asymmetrical conflicts,
cybersecurity, environmental problems, poverty, not a few doubts arise
regarding the inadequacy of nuclear deterrence as an effective response
to such challenges. These concerns are even greater when we consider the
catastrophic humanitarian and environmental consequences that would
follow from any use of nuclear weapons, with devastating, indiscriminate
and uncontainable effects, over time and space… We need also to ask
ourselves how sustainable is a stability based on fear, when it actually
increases fear and undermines relationships of trust between peoples.
International peace and stability cannot be based on a false sense of
security, on the threat of mutual destruction or total annihilation, or
on simply maintaining a balance of power… In this context, the ultimate
goal of the total elimination of nuclear weapons becomes both a
challenge and a moral and humanitarian imperative… Growing
interdependence and globalization mean that any response to the threat
of nuclear weapons should be collective and concerted, based on mutual
trust. This trust can be built only through dialogue that is truly
directed to the common good and not to the protection of veiled or
particular interests”.[244] With the money spent on weapons and other
military expenditures, let us establish a global fund[245] that can
finally put an end to hunger and favour development in the most
impoverished countries, so that their citizens will not resort to
violent or illusory solutions, or have to leave their countries in order
to seek a more dignified life.</p>
<p><i>The death penalty</i></p>
<p>263. There is yet another way to eliminate others, one aimed not at
countries but at individuals. It is the death penalty. Saint John Paul
II stated clearly and firmly that the death penalty is inadequate from a
moral standpoint and no longer necessary from that of penal
justice.[246] There can be no stepping back from this position. Today we
state clearly that “the death penalty is inadmissible”[247] and the
Church is firmly committed to calling for its abolition worldwide.[248]</p>
<p>264. In the New Testament, while individuals are asked not to take
justice into their own hands (cf. Rom 12:17.19), there is also a
recognition of the need for authorities to impose penalties on evildoers
(cf. Rom 13:4; 1 Pet 2:14). Indeed, “civic life, structured around an
organized community, needs rules of coexistence, the wilful violation of
which demands appropriate redress”.[249] This means that legitimate
public authority can and must “inflict punishments according to the
seriousness of the crimes”[250] and that judicial power be guaranteed a
“necessary independence in the realm of law”.[251]</p>
<p>265. From the earliest centuries of the Church, some were clearly
opposed to capital punishment. Lactantius, for example, held that “there
ought to be no exception at all; that it is always unlawful to put a
man to death”.[252] Pope Nicholas I urged that efforts be made “to free
from the punishment of death not only each of the innocent, but all the
guilty as well”.[253] During the trial of the murderers of two priests,
Saint Augustine asked the judge not to take the life of the assassins
with this argument: “We do not object to your depriving these wicked men
of the freedom to commit further crimes. Our desire is rather that
justice be satisfied without the taking of their lives or the maiming of
their bodies in any part. And, at the same time, that by the coercive
measures provided by the law, they be turned from their irrational fury
to the calmness of men of sound mind, and from their evil deeds to some
useful employment. This too is considered a condemnation, but who does
not see that, when savage violence is restrained and remedies meant to
produce repentance are provided, it should be considered a benefit
rather than a mere punitive measure… Do not let the atrocity of their
sins feed a desire for vengeance, but desire instead to heal the wounds
which those deeds have inflicted on their souls”.[254]</p>
<p>266. Fear and resentment can easily lead to viewing punishment in a
vindictive and even cruel way, rather than as part of a process of
healing and reintegration into society. Nowadays, “in some political
sectors and certain media, public and private violence and revenge are
incited, not only against those responsible for committing crimes, but
also against those suspected, whether proven or not, of breaking the
law… There is at times a tendency to deliberately fabricate enemies:
stereotyped figures who represent all the characteristics that society
perceives or interprets as threatening. The mechanisms that form these
images are the same that allowed the spread of racist ideas in their
time”.[255] This has made all the more dangerous the growing practice in
some countries of resorting to preventive custody, imprisonment without
trial and especially the death penalty.</p>
<p>267. Here I would stress that “it is impossible to imagine that
states today have no other means than capital punishment to protect the
lives of other people from the unjust aggressor”. Particularly serious
in this regard are so-called extrajudicial or extralegal executions,
which are “homicides deliberately committed by certain states and by
their agents, often passed off as clashes with criminals or presented as
the unintended consequences of the reasonable, necessary and
proportionate use of force in applying the law”.[256]</p>
<p>268. “The arguments against the death penalty are numerous and
well-known. The Church has rightly called attention to several of these,
such as the possibility of judicial error and the use made of such
punishment by totalitarian and dictatorial regimes as a means of
suppressing political dissidence or persecuting religious and cultural
minorities, all victims whom the legislation of those regimes consider
‘delinquents’. All Christians and people of good will are today called
to work not only for the abolition of the death penalty, legal or
illegal, in all its forms, but also to work for the improvement of
prison conditions, out of respect for the human dignity of persons
deprived of their freedom. I would link this to life imprisonment… A
life sentence is a secret death penalty”.[257]</p>
<p>269. Let us keep in mind that “not even a murderer loses his personal
dignity, and God himself pledges to guarantee this”.[258] The firm
rejection of the death penalty shows to what extent it is possible to
recognize the inalienable dignity of every human being and to accept
that he or she has a place in this universe. If I do not deny that
dignity to the worst of criminals, I will not deny it to anyone. I will
give everyone the possibility of sharing this planet with me, despite
all our differences.</p>
<p>270. I ask Christians who remain hesitant on this point, and those
tempted to yield to violence in any form, to keep in mind the words of
the book of Isaiah: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares”
(2:4). For us, this prophecy took flesh in Christ Jesus who, seeing a
disciple tempted to violence, said firmly: “Put your sword back into its
place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword” (Mt 26:52).
These words echoed the ancient warning: “I will require a reckoning for
human life. Whoever sheds the blood of a man, by man shall his blood be
shed” (Gen 9:5-6). Jesus’ reaction, which sprang from his heart,
bridges the gap of the centuries and reaches the present as an enduring
appeal.</p>hrdefenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02459107039196967804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20578702.post-928775706295027972020-07-30T19:24:00.016+07:002020-07-30T19:47:06.679+07:00<div> <span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>10th October World Day Against Death Penalty</b></span> <br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHumDW7-iwigkZZNhyphenhypheny7sa4X-JD34CN_CJXA-Ewt-mG11hjKPfV7p8yE9j8lT9iu71z-H2CCVmOg_eESjcCkZlLdvYNKrOhIZk_P8qoCjORQmfedfdBO697w5AwXb5JRN8V5oa/s556/ed5c43e1d85c01200be88e2c6b7bc5c5_3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="556" data-original-width="374" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHumDW7-iwigkZZNhyphenhypheny7sa4X-JD34CN_CJXA-Ewt-mG11hjKPfV7p8yE9j8lT9iu71z-H2CCVmOg_eESjcCkZlLdvYNKrOhIZk_P8qoCjORQmfedfdBO697w5AwXb5JRN8V5oa/s320/ed5c43e1d85c01200be88e2c6b7bc5c5_3.jpg" /></a></div>hrdefenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02459107039196967804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20578702.post-36451859175970653962020-06-30T19:01:00.005+07:002020-07-01T18:15:23.441+07:00Abas Rodrgo Duterte<div> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirWtgTBknfdIZsIT8dSRmaxmfvfmK6egAHAy_BLmoCAZa0NFc0TlWOWAwhyphenhyphenbLm7QlPqiWnUS0xPe8Kor3FQaMKipgEsC3rdvOqSiEALrxYoff-QTSaETtIXsk77K3vaptD_v9o/s1600/killing+fields.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirWtgTBknfdIZsIT8dSRmaxmfvfmK6egAHAy_BLmoCAZa0NFc0TlWOWAwhyphenhyphenbLm7QlPqiWnUS0xPe8Kor3FQaMKipgEsC3rdvOqSiEALrxYoff-QTSaETtIXsk77K3vaptD_v9o/s320/killing+fields.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">"The
bloody and
chaotic campaign against drugs of President Rodrigo Duterte began when
he
took office on June 30. Since then, about 2,000 people have been slain
at the
hands of the police alone. The image above shows the location in 49
Manila killing fields where the bodies of 57 victims have been found
during 35 day investigation by a writer from the New York Times
(December 7).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">The
mania of this modern Dr. Goebbels, is shown by his recent threat to
include human rights critics who oppose his killings among his victims."</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></span></div><div>The Union for Civil Liberty, Thailand, and this website, Death Penalty Thailand unite in condemning the continuing rampage of Rodrigo Duterte against farmers, indigenous peoples, the opposition, critics and independent media in the Philippines. Have done with your violations, and answer to the accusations of independent investigation. We fully support the call of Senator Leila M. de Lima <br /></div><br /><div>From: <b class="gmail_sendername" dir="auto">Sen. Leila de Lima</b> <span dir="auto"><<a href="mailto:senleilamdelima@gmail.com" target="_blank">senleilamdelima@gmail.com</a>></span></div>Date: Tue, Jun 30, 2020 at 5:14 PM<br />Subject:
STATEMENT OF SENATOR LEILA M. DE LIMA IN SUPPORT OF THE CALL TO
ESTABLISH AN INDEPENDENT INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATION INTO HUMAN RIGHTS
VIOLATIONS IN THE PHILIPPINES AND TO EXPEDITE THE PROCEEDINGS IN THE
INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT<br />To: <br /><br /><br /><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div style="color: black;" title="Page 1"><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: "georgia,bold"; font-size: 12pt;">STATEMENT
OF SENATOR LEILA M. DE LIMA IN SUPPORT OF THE CALL TO ESTABLISH AN
INDEPENDENT INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATION INTO HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN
THE PHILIPPINES AND TO EXPEDITE THE PROCEEDINGS IN THE INTERNATIONAL
CRIMINAL COURT</b></div><span style="font-family: "georgia,bold"; font-size: 12pt;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: 12pt;">30 June 2020</b></div></span><p><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12pt;">The
doors of domestic accountability for Rodrigo Duterte and his co-
conspirators may have been closed, but the windows of international
scrutiny have remained open.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12pt;">I
wholeheartedly join the 31 UN human rights experts in their collective
call for the creation of an independent investigation into human rights
violations in the Philippines. This clamor came in the wake of the
Report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which she submitted on
4 June 2020 pursuant to Resolution 41/2 of the UN Human Rights Council
(UNHRC) that was adopted a year ago. That report have validated the
findings of the same UN Special Rapporteurs, and various NGOs,
fact-finding missions, academicians, and media outfits concerning, among
others, the rampant and systematic killings and arbitrary detention </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12pt;">in Duterte’s bloody “war on drugs”, the killings and abuses of farmers and indigenous peoples, </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12pt;">and the silencing of the opposition, critics and independent media.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12pt;">Given
the magnitude and persistence of the human rights violations in the
Philippines, the experts have renewed their call on the UNHRC to
establish an on- the-ground independent, impartial investigation into
human rights abuses in the country. They have likewise urged the
International Criminal Court (ICC) to</span><span style="font-family: "georgia,italic"; font-size: 12pt;">“expedite and prioritize the completion of its preliminary examination of the situation in the Philippines.”</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12pt;">It
maybe recalled that as early as December 2017, in my message for the
International Human Rights Day, I have initiated a similar call upon the
UNHRC to dispatch </span><span style="font-family: "georgia,italic"; font-size: 12pt;">“</span><span style="font-family: "georgia,italic"; font-size: 12pt;">an independent international commission of inquiry or an investigative </span><span style="font-family: "georgia,italic"; font-size: 12pt;">commission”</span><span style="font-family: "georgia,italic"; font-size: 12pt;">. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12pt;">In
my appeals to the preeminent human rights body in their sessions in
September 2018 and June 2019, I have reiterated such a call, and added
the request </span><span style="font-family: "georgia,italic"; font-size: 12pt;">“upon
the International Criminal Court, through the Prosecutor, to expedite
the proceedings before it on the situation in the Philippines.”</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12pt;">These
twin calls (for an UNHRC-led investigation, and for expedited ICC
process) find cogency and urgency at this time when the pandemic is
being used as a cover and excuse by Duterte and his cohorts in further
brutalizing, terrorizing and abusing the Filipino people. The mass
murder of the poor has continued; the arbitrary arrests of sectoral and
community leaders have persisted; the judicial harassment of the
opposition and even online critics has exacerbated; and the threats </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12pt;">upon the media and the church have remain unabated. This maelstrom of rights abuses continues rampaging amidst D</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12pt;">uterte’s ever rising hate language and vitriol </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12pt;">that has undoubtedly incited State agents and others to commit repeated acts of violence and abuses.</span></p></div></div></div><div style="color: black;" title="Page 2"><div><div><p><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12pt;">The High Commissioner’</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12pt;">s
Report and the joint call of the UN Special Rapporteurs are moral and
legal victories that should give impetus to the UNHRC, the ICC and other
global instruments of justice (such as the Magnitsky sanctions regime
in some governments) to commence their monumental tasks of exacting real
accountability, ensuring redress for the victims and their families,
and signaling a definitive end to the mass atrocities and other serious
violations committed by Duterte, his co-conspirators and accomplices.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "georgia,italic"; font-size: 12pt;">#EndImpunityNow #InvestigateDuterte</span></p></div></div></div><div><br /></div>-- <br /><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><b><font color="#000000" face="">OFFICE OF SENATOR LEILA M. DE LIMA</font></b><div><font color="#000000" face="">Room 502, 5th Floor, GSIS Bldg., Financial Center</font></div><div><font color="#000000" face="">Pasay City, Philippines</font></div><div><font color="#000000" face="">1308</font></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>hrdefenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02459107039196967804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20578702.post-79813459170439202062020-06-27T11:39:00.017+07:002020-07-28T14:49:18.915+07:00Update: July 2020<div> <span style="color: #f01d2e;"><b>The Death Penalty in Practice</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #f01d2e;"></span>
• <b><span style="color: #ffa942;">106 </span></b>countries abolished the death penalty for all crimes</div>
• <b><span style="color: #ffa942;">8 </span></b>countries abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes only<br />
• <b><span style="color: #ffa942;">28 </span></b>countries are abolitionist in practice<br />
• <b><span style="color: #ffa942;">56 </span></b>countries are retentionist <br /><div>
• In 2019, the 5 countries that carried out most executions were <b><span style="color: #ffa942;">China</span></b>, <b><span style="color: #ffa942;">Iran</span></b>, <b><span style="color: #ffa942;">Saudi</span></b> <b><span style="color: #ffa942;">Arabia</span></b>, <b><span style="color: #ffa942;">Iraq</span></b>, and <b><span style="color: #ffa942;">Egypt</span></b>.</div><div>(World Coalition against the Death Penalty)</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #d52c1f;">Death Penalty in Thailand</span></div><div>Prison population: Men 331,372; Women 47,971; Total 379,343<br /></div><div>Condemned to death: Men 310; Women 53; Total 363<br /></div><div>(Corrections Department, 16 June 2020)<br /></div>hrdefenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02459107039196967804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20578702.post-42070918042502240102020-05-05T11:04:00.008+07:002020-06-25T11:31:10.995+07:00HELP (message relay from a prison))<div><img alt="" data-img-highlight="1" src="https://static.bangkokpost.com/media/content/20200503/c1_3621480.jpg" title="" /> <br /></div><div><img alt="" src="data:image/png;base64,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" /></div>hrdefenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02459107039196967804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20578702.post-67631001109321182642020-04-30T11:13:00.001+07:002020-04-30T11:24:57.427+07:00Barbed wire and High Walls cannot prevent entrance of Covid-19<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWw6In2UkZtV6vyc_J74nPH-GZr5W34xuTZWRQeSCMzza03z67HW7_5MkD5NT7QHuMUhBxjTjH95iXMzl7WbSHS6e0zrfcGKebog8ktt0YbeE6cF60JvVI_chtvPZdiuIVyER4/s1600/bledsoe-county-correctional-complex-02-wtvc-jc-200428_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="558" data-original-width="992" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWw6In2UkZtV6vyc_J74nPH-GZr5W34xuTZWRQeSCMzza03z67HW7_5MkD5NT7QHuMUhBxjTjH95iXMzl7WbSHS6e0zrfcGKebog8ktt0YbeE6cF60JvVI_chtvPZdiuIVyER4/s320/bledsoe-county-correctional-complex-02-wtvc-jc-200428_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Barbed wire and High Walls cannot prevent entrance of Covid-19<br />
<h1 class="post-headline" data-remote="post:2194:title" style="text-align: center;">
Prisons Are Doing Mass Testing For COVID-19—And Finding Mass Infection</h1>
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First news: Days ago US officials began testing for Covid-19 in every inmate of a federal prison in California. 4 in 10 have the virus.</div>
.......<br />
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And now -<a class="l lLrAF" href="https://wfxl.com/news/coronavirus/over-70-of-tested-inmates-in-federal-prisons-have-covid-19"> Over 70% of <i>tested inmates</i> in federal <i>prisons</i> have <i>COVID</i>-19</a></div>
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<span class="xQ82C e8fRJf">WFXL FOX 31</span><span class="v0c3xd">-</span><span class="f nsa fwzPFf">4 hours ago</span></div>
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Over 70% of <i>tested inmates</i> in federal <i>prisons</i> have <i>COVID</i>-19 ... For most people, the <i>virus</i> causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as ...</div>
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<a class="RTNUJf" href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/04/29/coronavirus-bureau-prisons-has-1-300-covid-19-cases-30-deaths/3046668001/">More than 1500 federal <i>prisoners</i> now have <i>COVID</i>-19 as ...</a><br />
<span class="nsa xQ82C f e8fRJf">USA TODAY</span><span class="v0c3xd">-</span><span class="nsa fwzPFf f">10 hours ago</span></div>
<div class="YiHbdc card-section" style="text-align: center;">
<a class="RTNUJf" href="https://www.fox4now.com/news/national/coronavirus/over-half-of-inmates-at-la-prison-have-tested-positive-for-coronavirus">More than half of <i>inmates</i> at LA <i>prison</i> have <i>tested</i> positive for ...</a><br />
<span class="nsa xQ82C f e8fRJf">Fox 4</span><span class="v0c3xd">-</span><span class="nsa fwzPFf f">3 hours ago</span></div>
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<a class="RTNUJf" href="https://abc7.com/health/covid-19-infects-more-than-half-of-inmates-at-terminal-island-prison/6138903/"><i>COVID</i>-19 infects more than half of <i>inmates</i> at Terminal Island ...</a></div>
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<span class="nsa xQ82C f e8fRJf">KABC-TV</span><span class="v0c3xd">-</span><span class="nsa fwzPFf f">1 hour ago</span></div>
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<span class="nsa fwzPFf f">How long will it be before announcement on infection rates in Thai prisons? </span></div>
hrdefenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02459107039196967804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20578702.post-1239247666884872632020-03-02T09:32:00.001+07:002020-06-29T09:00:14.531+07:00<div class="content__headline-standfirst-wrapper">
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Banned Iranian director wins Berlin Golden Bear for death penalty film
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Mohammad Rasoulof was prevented from attending the festival but won
top award for his film There Is No Evil, about capital punishment in
Iran </div>
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Dissident Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof won the top prize at the <a class="u-underline" data-component="auto-linked-tag" data-link-name="auto-linked-tag" href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/berlinfilmfestival">Berlin film festival</a> for There Is No Evil, a searingly critical work about the death penalty in Iran.<br />
Rasoulof, 48, is currently banned from leaving Iran and was unable to
accept the Golden Bear in person. Accepting the award on his behalf,
producer Farzad Pak thanked “the amazing cast and crew who, put their
lives in danger to be on this film”.<br />
The film tells four loosely related individual stories about the
death penalty in Iran, from the executioner to the families of the
victims. Industry magazine Variety called it Rasoulof’s “most openly
critical statement yet”.</div>
Rasoulof was sentenced to a year in prison last year for “attacking
the security of the state”, and banned from making films for life.
Speaking to a news conference via mobile phone, the director said his
latest film was about “taking responsibility” under despotism. “You can
try to put aside your own responsibility and pass the buck to the
government... but [people] can say no,” he said.<br />
The runner-up jury prize went to Eliza Hittman’s teenage abortion
drama Never Rarely Sometimes Always, which had been a favourite among
critics. Sidney Flanigan plays a 17-year-old from Pennsylvania forced to
travel to New York in order to abort an unplanned pregnancy.<br />
Full story<br />
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/feb/29/banned-iranian-director-wins-berlin-golden-bear-for-there-is-no-evil<br />
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hrdefenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02459107039196967804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20578702.post-34388775851100814072019-12-27T09:28:00.002+07:002020-06-11T13:43:21.948+07:002019 Human Rights Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi4keaXZnG3mkqJo8nyPFT6RK3GWZ9xxurGVs4fjHICcqIh3dT9lZZ9QZifW0uUb4Srk4iPULGudRfTjZPSMQjhrMmao0sb7j2VyKUAd3_wXV6s9C_59yZs4kYAI0jC6exXyR1/s1600/tor-human-rights-day-blogpost.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="758" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi4keaXZnG3mkqJo8nyPFT6RK3GWZ9xxurGVs4fjHICcqIh3dT9lZZ9QZifW0uUb4Srk4iPULGudRfTjZPSMQjhrMmao0sb7j2VyKUAd3_wXV6s9C_59yZs4kYAI0jC6exXyR1/s640/tor-human-rights-day-blogpost.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />hrdefenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02459107039196967804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20578702.post-72914346548934816592019-11-16T13:24:00.000+07:002019-11-16T13:58:00.508+07:00Guilty or not, the death penalty is wrong\ <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFFduaE_R7WDyb2k_tRYdzdfVcE15L90M36ql2m1cUyrwFwBG16bvrdITgVGgmZmjfrrDTyogtyCOq1o2zAb3JTQIIFADQeXhiwOBkhvwVm4yvR6X6M8vq9sUc03s9UOJBne5x/s1600/torture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="403" data-original-width="610" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFFduaE_R7WDyb2k_tRYdzdfVcE15L90M36ql2m1cUyrwFwBG16bvrdITgVGgmZmjfrrDTyogtyCOq1o2zAb3JTQIIFADQeXhiwOBkhvwVm4yvR6X6M8vq9sUc03s9UOJBne5x/s320/torture.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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1. Murder happens: Cain slew Abel<br />
2. The death penalty is ineffective, it does not deter crime<br />
3. Execution perpetuates the cycle of violence, a further killing does not undo an earlier killing.<br />
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Yes, there is a strong argument against the death penalty that is based on failures of the justice system that result in the execution of innocents. But this should never be used to justify the execution of the truly guilty. The basic abolitionist stand is outlined above. The question of true guilt is a matter for restorative justice which must take its course in a legal system that abjures the death penalty as an aberration of a primitive justice that relied on torture, punishments such as hanging, drawing, quartering, and burned women at the stake. hrdefenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02459107039196967804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20578702.post-78866918713323934562019-11-11T11:10:00.001+07:002019-11-11T15:09:51.108+07:00ADPAN (Anti Death Penalty Asian Network) <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOPnzFWoAyhT2h8hgJ3Gjd3cS_XfY-gz5loyAkFwZ21OtjP-VPOvE-z20DLqBmJSXEfyUO5b00ZQ4le3f4-FctWVb1_XcGX4BTyXdtamy8d0X-CsfcIBaMSRMhfIAHeAlLO4Dz/s1600/adpanimage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="446" data-original-width="1118" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOPnzFWoAyhT2h8hgJ3Gjd3cS_XfY-gz5loyAkFwZ21OtjP-VPOvE-z20DLqBmJSXEfyUO5b00ZQ4le3f4-FctWVb1_XcGX4BTyXdtamy8d0X-CsfcIBaMSRMhfIAHeAlLO4Dz/s640/adpanimage.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Death Penalty Thailand has been represented in ADPAN since its foundation in 2006. Death Penalty Thailand attended the 3rd Biennial General Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 8th November 2019 as representative of the Union for Civil Liberty of Thailand. While ADPAN may be a small grouping of death penalty activists on the world scene, its area of activity is immense and of premier importance in the struggle for abolition of the death penalty. This little known grouping deserves wider recognition and the following extract from the ADPAN website introduces its aims and background. <br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
"The <span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network</b> </span>(ADPAN)
is a regional network of organizations and individual members committed
to working for the abolition of the death penalty in Asia-Pacific.</div>
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<span style="color: navy;"><b>History</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Launched in 2006 on the World Day against
the Death Penalty, ADPAN was founded in Hong Kong following a
Consultative Meeting organized by Amnesty International. It answered a
call from local abolitionists to organise regionally to end the death
penalty across Asia and the Pacific.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In 2012, at a Consultative Meeting in
Hong Kong, it was decided that ADPAN will be transformed into an
independent network, and towards that end a Transition Group was formed.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In 2014, at its first General Meeting in Taipei, Taiwan, <span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network</b> </span>(ADPAN) members approved ADPAN’s Constitution, and ADPAN’s first Executive Committee was elected.</div>
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<span style="color: navy;"><b>Why?</b></span><br />
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">More people are executed in Asia-Pacific
than in the rest of the world combined at a time when regionally and in
the world, the number of executions is declining.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">95% of the world’s population lives in countries that retain and use the death penalty.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">13 countries in the region have carried out executions in the past ten years.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Failures of justice in trials that end
in a death sentence cannot be reversed. Unfair trials in death penalty cases are known and documented across the region.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">The death penalty is not an effective deterrent to combat crime.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">The majority of those that face the death penalty are poor or from the marginalised in society.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">ADPAN maintains that the death penalty
violates the right to life and is the ultimate form of cruel inhuman and
degrading punishment.</li>
</ul>
<b><span style="color: red;">Who We Are</span><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br />
</span></b><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A growing active network with members in
22 Asia-Pacific countries, ADPAN is independent of governments and any
political or religious affiliation.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
ADPAN members are civil society groups,
organizations, networks of organizations, trade unions, lawyers and/or
judges associations, consumer groups, professional bodies, academic
groups and individual persons from Asia-Pacific: Afghanistan,
Australia, Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, South
Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New
Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Tonga and
Vietnam.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
ADPAN Partners are organizations, groups
and/or individual persons, not members of ADPAN, who are also committed
to the mission and work of ADPAN from Netherlands, Italy, France,
Denmark, the UK, USA, and Spain.</div>
<span style="color: navy;"><b>What We Do</b></span><br />
ADPAN campaigns and lobbies for an end to the death penalty across the Asia Pacific region. We do this by:<br />
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Joining in actions and lobbying against the death penalty, especially in countries in the Asia-Pacific region.</li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li>Appealing on behalf of individuals facing execution from the region.</li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li>Participating in the annual <a href="http://www.worldcoalition.org/worldday.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">World Day against the Death Penalty</a> (10 October) and <a href="http://nodeathpenalty.santegidio.org/en/cities-for-life.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Cities for Life</a> 30 November.</li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li>Issuing news releases, joint open letters, and media statements.</li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li>Producing cross-regional reports and materials challenging the need for the death penalty such as unfair trials.</li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li>Sharing information and activities using social media: <a href="https://twitter.com/ADPANetwork" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ADPANetwork" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, this blog.</li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li>Supporting the establishment of national coalitions against the death penalty.</li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li>Contributing to national and regional strategies in support of abolition.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.84px;">Attending conferences to talk about regional developments on the death penalty.</span><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>"</b></span></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
The meeting on the 8th November confirmed the vitality of ADPAN. 24 people attended. The meeting was informal and spirited, Reflected was a tidal change in the Asian region, tentative but full of hope that abolition was possible and in some cases on the way, in contrast to a creeping approval of a return to support of the death penalty among the youth of Europe. (See the 54% of young Belgians approving a restoration of the death penalty, reported in FONDAPOL, (www.fondapol.org, "Democracies under pressure", May 19, 2019). A tidal wave of change in ASIA in favour of abolition will see a global end to the ancient curse of the death penalty. Perhaps even Belarus will yield!<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />hrdefenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02459107039196967804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20578702.post-84241738042116353442019-11-03T08:42:00.002+07:002019-11-03T08:47:36.702+07:00Current Numbers of Prisoners Condemned to Death<b> Thailand. Death Penalty Statistics.</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<b> Men 251</b><br />
<b> Women 56 </b><br />
<b> Total 307 </b><br />
<br />
<b> </b> Source: Department of Corrections 12 September 2019<b> </b>hrdefenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02459107039196967804noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20578702.post-25346681400287596282019-08-07T19:20:00.000+07:002019-08-07T19:20:00.936+07:00A Voice from the Past"To prevent the abolition of the death penalty, to seek to demonstrate its goodness, is to defend it...<br />
From the moment I could feel, I have been horrified by this penalty. From the moment I could judge, I judged it to be completely immoral. I will never be known for my utilitarian solutions, but if there is one thing I know about utility, it is the complete uselessness of capital punishment."<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">José Martí, November 1871</span></div>
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hrdefenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02459107039196967804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20578702.post-37627903101444047592019-04-23T17:22:00.001+07:002019-04-23T21:32:33.316+07:00Death Penalty Statistics; Update <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFJfmooKOBc0WnJCnUrCw1AkjjbmiUhAKFcl4IzRX0J1x78vKGw0djixyeyCVuh85FlEzGg7Ap-oU1W_pOUOt8U-sEqXSdD_jdsogl3PsVGB5lo5XmQ6iSBiU-wuFAWmL1KQIA/s1600/thailand-map-clipart-4.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="645" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFJfmooKOBc0WnJCnUrCw1AkjjbmiUhAKFcl4IzRX0J1x78vKGw0djixyeyCVuh85FlEzGg7Ap-oU1W_pOUOt8U-sEqXSdD_jdsogl3PsVGB5lo5XmQ6iSBiU-wuFAWmL1KQIA/s320/thailand-map-clipart-4.jpg" width="179" /></a> <br />
Total prison population of Thailand: 382,895 (M 332,751: F 50,144) 2019 - 04 - 01<br />
<br />
<br />
Condemned to death 558 (M 471: F 87)<br />
- on drug charges 321 (M 241: F 80)<br />
- on other charges 228 (M 221: F 7)<br />
- on security issues 9 (M 9)<br />
<br />
It is noteworthy that the majority of women are condemned to death for the opportunistic crime of drug dealing, very few for crimes of violence<br />
For the first time, there is a category of death penalty for security issues. No explanation is provided.<br />
In recent days there has been news of the dismantlement of a floating "seastead", located just outside the 12 mile sea limit of Thailand's territorial waters. The two owners, a male US national, and a Thai female, have fled and, to the astonishment of the world press an announcement by theThai navy claims that they are subject to a death penalty on a securiy issue.<br />
<br />hrdefenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02459107039196967804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20578702.post-36766516094651590822019-03-19T12:07:00.000+07:002019-03-20T18:19:48.999+07:00"If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well it were done quickly" Macbeth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOreXycrjBs80Cq2JuUqShpw6JvSMp-J4NFTrDQXnTQsb5N7lzpNpsVlcvNd98lmwtx5etnpgGl-MCtI66CTCuiggEH828cDzwkbR-1ir39hXyChFMbehSnNLBeC0_wKcdhYXC/s1600/mahathir.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOreXycrjBs80Cq2JuUqShpw6JvSMp-J4NFTrDQXnTQsb5N7lzpNpsVlcvNd98lmwtx5etnpgGl-MCtI66CTCuiggEH828cDzwkbR-1ir39hXyChFMbehSnNLBeC0_wKcdhYXC/s320/mahathir.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">I</span><span style="font-size: small;">n a news item referring to the Lukman case on September 18 of last year, subject of an earlier posting on this website, Prime Minister Mahathir, obviously speaking fom the viewpoint of his earlier intention to totally abolish the death penalty, expressed a readiness to review the case. Words blowing in the wind, in the about turn recently reported and subject of the previous posting.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">"Kuala Lumpur: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir has indicated that the government should review the case of a man who had been sentenced to death for having medicinal cannabis oil. </span><br />
<div dir="LTR" id="slcontent_0_sleft_0_storyDiv">
<span style="font-size: small;">Dr Mahathir said: " I think we should review that," when asked about the case of Muhammad Lukman, a 29-year-old father of one who was sentenced to death for possessing, processing and distributing medical marijuana (cannabis oil).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">He was arrested in 2015 for the possession of 3.1 litres of cannabis oil, 279 grams of compressed cannabis and 1.4kg of substance containing tetrahydrocan nabininaol (THC). Muhammad Lukman was given the death sentence by the Shah Alam High Court on Aug 30preme light.” The Star/2018/09/18</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">However, Prime Minister Mahathir, while retaining Malaysia's attachment to the death penalty, you can invoke “General comment No. 36 (2018) on Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, on the right to life”. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The document urges strict observance conditions in international law</span><span style="font-size: small;"> on imposing executions, emphasising that the "right to life" is the supreme right from which no derogation is permitted by situations of armed conflict or other public emergencies. The consequence is that in states which have not yet abolished the death penalty, "<b>it must not be applied except for the most serious crimes, and then only in the most exceptional cases and under the strictest limits."</b> <span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Voila! No need to go through a delay prone constitutional change Apply this criterion to the Lukman case</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b>, </b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">prohibiting his execution and ordering his release. Leave it to the dogs of war who have forced retention of the death penalty on you to invalidate the triple legal bond in the above quotation from the authoritative comment on your binding international UN ICCPR treaty.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> "But screw your courage to the sticking place, and we'll not fail" Lady Macbeth</span></span></div>
hrdefenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02459107039196967804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20578702.post-25677958442441215102019-03-18T17:25:00.000+07:002019-03-19T12:42:21.232+07:00"The native hue of resolution is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought" Hamlet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
"Malaysians against Death Penalty and Torture (Madpet) is saddened by the alleged U-turn by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his cabinet members who had decided earlier to abolish the death penalty, but now will apparently only abolish the mandatory death penalty.<br />
<br />
On March 13, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mohamed Hanipa Maidin was reported as saying in Parliament that only the mandatory death penalty, which is the penalty for nine offences under the Penal Code and two under the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971, will be repealed.<br />
<br />
It must be noted that the cabinet under Mahathir had, at a meeting in October 2018, decided to repeal not just the mandatory death penalty, but the death penalty for 33 offences under eight acts.<br />
<br />
“The cabinet has decided to abolish the death penalty, and it will be tabled in the next Parliament sitting, which will begin on Oct 15, said Liew Vui Keong (Minister in charge of law in the Prime Minister’s Department)… ‘All death penalties will be abolished. Full stop.’”<br />
<br />
This decision was applauded worldwide, and even celebrated at the recent 7th World Congress Against the Death Penalty in Brussels, which also highlighted the United Nations General Assembly’s seventh resolution for the moratorium on executions pending abolition that was adopted on Dec 17, 2018, with 121 countries in favour of it, including Malaysia for the very first time.<br />
<br />
Abolition of the death penalty usually occurs as the end point of long process and depends on the firm decision of a leader endowed with strong conviction and courage. The ancient curse of vengence, the "law of the talon" is deeply embedded in our conscience and cultures; the transit to abolitionis is always contended. We are not informed of the hidden opposition and failure of Malaysia's prime minister to carry through his promise. We must wait another day, another leader. A great opportunity has been lost. The Philippines dithers, Thailand threw away the opportunity in the final year of the observance of a declared moratorium which would have achieved de facto abolition.<br />
One may salute Timor Leste which achieved independence in 17 years of struggle, and proudly declared rejection of the death penalty in its founding constitution. <br />
<br />hrdefenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02459107039196967804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20578702.post-92231938072152409042019-02-11T18:51:00.000+07:002019-02-12T08:35:11.162+07:00The Death Penalty; do all opinions have equal right of respect?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFY8w0NvtuM5pIJWf8CatTW9qnHppoK9fJuog6jKzA6awwdVkyaNtlhoS4qzFbC-zMXf_x6dYpl5ddf5UyEjm7Pq8p7XcvRsZdI7xsZUbEwFMhJaqXBbwHaW-gB2few1YGI2Yq/s1600/EU-AFRICA-death+penalty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFY8w0NvtuM5pIJWf8CatTW9qnHppoK9fJuog6jKzA6awwdVkyaNtlhoS4qzFbC-zMXf_x6dYpl5ddf5UyEjm7Pq8p7XcvRsZdI7xsZUbEwFMhJaqXBbwHaW-gB2few1YGI2Yq/s320/EU-AFRICA-death+penalty.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
“In some countries people say that the death penalty is a deterrent and it works. No, it doesn’t work because the death penalty is an act of violence and there is always the possibility of errors” Alex Mayer MEP<br />
<br />
Are all opinions to be respected equally? It is a long held liberal and democratic principle that all opinions have equal right of repect. Countries that believe in the efficacy of the death penalty, such as Thailand, should be free to retain the death penalty, execute those condemned to death, and have the right to do so.<br />
<br />
Now, it happens that the Council of Europe, with a membership of countries from the Atlantic Coast to the Pacific, imposes abolition of the death penalty on its member states, 47 in all, thus creating the largest group of abolitionist states in the world. What if a retentionist country approaches the Council of Europe for funding in a truly deserving cause, let us say for famine relief, or basic educational development? Can the Council of Europe impose as a condition of funding, complience with abolition of the death penalty to which it obligates all its own member states? Recalling the historical fact that the current poverty of African and South American countries is due to colonial exploitation and current prosperity of Council of Europe countries, does the latter have the moral right to impose human rights options on the former. In a world where advance in human rights valuation is slowly leading to advance in abolition over retentionist countries, the debate over values is likely to assume the form of might over right when a triumphant majority is faced with a recalcitrant minority who cling for whatever reason to a retentionist stance.<br />
<br />
(At this stage in the argument we invite our readers to contribute viewpoints)hrdefenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02459107039196967804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20578702.post-46421255288438451982019-02-01T13:38:00.003+07:002019-02-01T13:38:59.473+07:00Asia Bibi declared free by Pakistan's Supreme Court
30 Jan 2019 / <a href="https://www.lawsociety.ie/gazette/search/?filters=q_international"><span style="color: #5b9de8;">international</span></a> <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null">Print</a>
<br />
<h1 class="western">
Blasphemy acquittal upheld by Pakistan Supreme Court</h1>
Pakistan's Supreme Court has rejected a challenge to a Christian woman’s acquittal on blasphemy charges, according to a BBC report.<br />
The Supreme Court has upheld its decision to overturn Asia Bibi's conviction and death sentence.<br />
Asia Bibi was convicted in 2010 after an accusation that she insulted the Prophet Muhammad. Bibi spent eight years on death row. She has always maintained her innocence.<br />
Last October, the Supreme Court's decision quashing her sentence led to protests by hardliners.<br />
<strong>Dismissed</strong><br />
"Based on merit, this petition is dismissed," Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa said in court yesterday.<br />
Asia Bibi could not leave Pakistan while an appeal request was pending.<br />
Amnesty International said in a statement that Asia Bibi should be allowed reunite with her family and seek safety in a country of her choice.<br />
hrdefenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02459107039196967804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20578702.post-80642865379336732712019-01-17T19:04:00.000+07:002019-03-18T17:32:22.981+07:00Outline of talk on Execution of Women, January 14th Bangkok<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Ginggaew Lorsoongnern, Executed, Thailand<br />
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Mary Jane Veloso - sentenced to death in Indonesia<br />
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<b> </b>Asia Bibi, Death<b> </b>sentence under review in Pakistan<br />
<b></b><br />
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<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>14<sup>th</sup> January “Women, Imprisonment and the Death Penalty in Thailand”</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<ol>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“Caminante, no hay camino, se hace camino al andar”</div>
</li>
</ol>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
12 year journey, the way still unclear</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="2">
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Assent of <b>PUBLIC OPINION! </b> </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>UNGA 2018 123 countries </b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> 2016 117 countries</span></div>
</li>
</ol>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
UCL campaigns over 12 yearss</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
a. Legal arguments</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
b. Religious arguments</div>
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c. Drugs</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
d. Case histories, “Roads to Death”</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
e. Rights of victims</div>
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f. Terrorist deaths</div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>NOW: Abolition itself </b><br />
<b> </b>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"> 3.</span> Experience of Robert Badinter: “I dreamt of a justice expressed in terms of liberty, the French people wanted a justice based on security”</div>
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Spoke throughout France on the right to life, met with disagreement and objections, always the same arguments. As in Thailand.</div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“Justice of reinsertion, or justice of elimination?”</div>
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“Lethal criminality does not depend on the presence or absence of the death penalty”</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In 1981, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Mitterrand">François Mitterrand</a> was elected president, and Badinter became the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minister_of_Justice_(France)">Minister of Justice</a>. Among his first actions was a bill to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_system_of_France">French Parliament</a> that abolished the death penalty for all crimes, which the Parliament voted after heated debate on 30 September 1981</div>
<ol start="3"><div lang="en-GB">
4. Example of Ruth Ellis, executed in UK, 1954, women not to be executed.</div>
<div lang="en-GB">
Mongolia: Abolition of death penalty for women 2002. Total abolition 2012</div>
</ol>
<div lang="en-GB">
<b>Abolition of execution of women. (Date of total abolition)</b></div>
<div lang="en-GB">
Austria (1950) The last woman sentenced to death by an ordinary court was Juliane Hummel. She was pole hanged for the murder of her five year old daughter, Anna, on the 2nd of January 1900 at Vienna.</div>
Belgium (1996) The last woman sentenced to death by an ordinary court was Euphrasie-Félicie Deroux, for the murder of her child at the Cour d'assises of the province of Hainaut. She was guillotined at Mons on the 22nd of June 1846.<br />
<span lang="en-GB">Denmark (1930). The last official execution was conducted in Copenhagen on ”Rødovre Mark” when </span><span style="color: black;"><span lang="en-GB">Ane Cathrine Andersdatter was beheaded by axe on the 21st of December 1861. She had been sentenced to death for the murder of three of her five children.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span lang="en-GB">England (1969). </span></span><a href="http://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/ruth.html">Ruth Ellis</a><span style="color: black;"><span lang="en-GB"> was hanged by Albert Pierrepoint at Holloway prison in North London on Wednesday, the 13th of July, 1955 for the murder of her boyfriend David Blakely </span></span>
<br />
<span style="color: black;"><span lang="en-GB">France (1981). </span></span><span lang="en-GB">On the 22nd of April 1949 Germaine Leloy-Godefroy (age 31) became the last woman executed in France, when she was guillotined for murdering her husband </span>
<br />
Switzerland (1942). The last woman executed in Switzerland was Geneviève Guénat, who was beheaded by sword for murder at Delsberg, in the canton of Bern, on the 7th of September 1861.<br />
Ireland (1990). <span lang="en-GB">Annie Walsh was hanged at Dublin’s Mountjoy prison on the 5th of August 1925, together with her nephew, Michael Talbot for the murder of her husband, Edward.</span><br />
<div lang="en-GB">
<br />
<br /></div>
<span lang="en-GB">Thailand's 3</span><sup><span lang="en-GB">rd</span></sup><span lang="en-GB"> Human rights plan, envisaged Moratorium (“Abolition) by end of 2014</span><br />
<br />
<div lang="en-GB">
5. Current Statistics for death sentences in Thailand</div>
<div align="CENTER" lang="en-GB">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>To</b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>tal prison population 349,804 (M 303,717 F 46,087): 82% of imprisoned women are mothers</b></span><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Condemned to death 517 (M 415 F 102)<br />- on drug charges 296 (M 201 F 95)<br />- on other charges 221 (M 214 F 7)</span></span>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Currently 88 women: Totally unacceptable prison conditions, (<b>“Centres of evil”!</b>) for these, and all women prisoners</div>
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<ol start="5">
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Horror of execution of women</b></div>
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“Successful” and botched executions</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ginggaew Lorsoongnern,</div>
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Tran Thi Bich Hang, see cover</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Mary Jane Veloso</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
(see witch hunting and burning, also Thailand's intolerable prison conditions for women</div>
</li>
</ol>
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The Thai women executed since 1932 were:</div>
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1.Yai Sonthibumroong, 25 February 1942</div>
2. Ginggaew Lorsoongnern, 13 January 1979, accomplice to murder of kidnapped child<br />
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3. Samai Pan-in, 24 November 1999, drug dealer</div>
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<ol start="6">
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Women</b></div>
</li>
</ol>
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“ But how can we mechanize washing, cuddling, consoling, dressing, and feeding a child, providing sexual services, or assisting those who are ill or elderly and not self-sufficient? What machine could incorporate the skillls and affects needed for these tasks? Attempts have been made with the creation of nursebots and interactive lovebots, and it is possible that in the future we may see the production of mechanical mothers. But even assuming that we could afford such devices, we must wonder at what emotional cost we could introduce them in our homes in replacement of living labour...domestic work, and especially the care of children, constitutes most of the work on this planet, is of a highly relational nature and hardly subject to mechanization”</div>
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<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Women are irreplaceable!</b></div>
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<b>So don't execute them!</b></div>
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<b>OR MEN EITHER!</b></div>
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<span lang="en-GB"> </span>
hrdefenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02459107039196967804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20578702.post-81865618175472814832018-12-28T11:32:00.003+07:002019-01-25T08:25:35.852+07:00Women, Imprisonment and the Death Penalty in Thailand<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCZuhybsl839wwMQUXBQ4LfbnfmguXR6cGDLbmMQmekv4v5LU7klt9ZrRUO7eiuix-9DYZxnii2I5dDEXVf4vNtruCFqfBV34YyZTyYfL6rmgj8KGIAYGQ7FIrmdcqVfwPaAcf/s1600/Scan_20181228+%25283%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1177" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCZuhybsl839wwMQUXBQ4LfbnfmguXR6cGDLbmMQmekv4v5LU7klt9ZrRUO7eiuix-9DYZxnii2I5dDEXVf4vNtruCFqfBV34YyZTyYfL6rmgj8KGIAYGQ7FIrmdcqVfwPaAcf/s320/Scan_20181228+%25283%2529.png" width="235" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">งาน “ผู้หญิง การจำคุก และโทษประหารชีวิตในประเทศไทย เวทีนำเสนอยุทธศาสตร์เพื่อการยกเลิกโทษประหารผู้หญิง ได้รับการสนับสนุนจากสถานเอกอัครราชทูตสวิตเซอร์แลนด์ประจำประเทศไทย โดยมีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อยกเลิกโทษประหารชีวิตผู้หญิงในประเทศไทย เนื่องจากสถานการณ์การลงโทษด้วยโทษประหารชีวิตในประเทศไทยในปัจจุบันเลวร้ายลงอย่างมาก เพื่อที่จะยุติโทษประหารชีวิตประชาชนทั้งหหมด สามารถเริ่มจากยกเลิกโทษประหารในผู้หญิงก่อน วิธีการนี้ได้รับแนวคิดมาจากประเทศที่ยกเลิกโทษประหารชีวิตสำเร็จ โดยยกเลิกโทษประหารชีวิตผู้หญิงก่อน เช่น ประเทศฝรั่งเศส ประเทศมองโกเลีย และอีกหลายประเทศ เพื่อนำเสนอและอภิปรายถึงแนวทางดังกล่าว นอกจากนั้นแล้วภายในงานยังมีการอภิปรายถึงเหตุผลสนับสนุนเฉพาะที่ผู้หญิงไม่ควรถูกลงโทษด้วยโทษประหารชีวิต </span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">ก ําหนดกําร</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "tahoma"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif;">งาน</span>“<span style="font-family: sans-serif;">ผู้หญิง กํารจําคุก และโทษประหํารชีวิตในประเทศไทย</span>”<span style="font-family: sans-serif;">เวทีระดมความคิดเห็นข้อเสนอเพื่อการยกเลิกโทษประหารของผู้หญิง</span><span style="font-family: sans-serif;">จัดโดยสมคมสิทธิเสรีภาพของประชาชน ในการสนับสนุนของสถานเอกอั</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: small;">เอกอัครราชทูตสวิตเซอร์แลนด์</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: small;">09.30 -10.00 </span><span style="font-family: "tahoma"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif;">ลงทะเบียน</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: small;">10.00-10.10</span><span style="font-family: "tahoma"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif;">พิธีเปิด โดย ปิแอร์ฮักมันน์ หัวหน้าคณะทูตสวิสประจ าประเทศไทย</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: small;">10.10 -10.15</span><span style="font-family: "tahoma"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif;">ฉายฉาก การประหารชีวิตผู้หญิงจากภาพพยนต์ เพชฌฆาต</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: small;">10.15 -10.45</span><span style="font-family: "tahoma"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif;">ข้อเสนอยุทธศาสตร์กํารยกเลิกโทษประหํารในผู้หญิงโดย ดร</span></span><span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: small;">.</span><span style="font-family: "tahoma"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif;">แดนทอง บรีน สมาคมสิทธิ</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: small;">และเสรีภาพ</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: small;">10.45 </span><span style="font-size: small;">–<span style="font-family: sans-serif;">10.55 </span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: sans-serif;">พัก</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: small;">10.55-11.25</span><span style="font-family: "tahoma"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif;">สถํานกํารณ์ผู้หญิงที่ได้รับโทษประหํารในประเทศไทยโดย อังคณา นีละไพจิต </span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: small;">คณะกรรมการสิทธิมนุษยชนแห่งชาติ</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: small;">11.25 </span><span style="font-size: small;">–<span style="font-family: sans-serif;">11.50</span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: sans-serif;">สถํานกํารณ์เรือนจ ําไทยโดย กรกนก ค าตา นักกิจกรรมทางการเมือง</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: small;">11.50 </span><span style="font-size: small;">–<span style="font-family: sans-serif;">12.20</span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: sans-serif;">สิทธิตํามกฎหมํายของเด็กที่จะได้รับกํารเลี้ยงดูจํากแม่โดย ณัฐาศิริ เบิร์กแมน นักกฎหมาย</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: small;">สิทธิมนุษยชน</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: small;">12.20 </span><span style="font-size: small;">–<span style="font-family: sans-serif;">12.50</span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: sans-serif;">เปิดอภิปราย</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: small;">12.50</span><span style="font-size: small;">–<span style="font-family: sans-serif;">13.00 </span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: sans-serif;">สรุปและปิดการประชุม โดย ดร</span></span><span style="font-family: sans-serif;">.</span><span style="font-family: "tahoma";"><span style="font-family: sans-serif;">แดนทอง บรีน สมาคมสิทธิและเสรีภาพ</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: small;">เลี้ยงอาหารว่าง</span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Seminar on the Death Penalty for Women in Thailand on 14th January</div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The aim of the seminar, in Thai language, is to promote abolition of the death penalty for women. Abolition of the death penalty in Thailand is opposed by over 80% of the Thai population, blocking a government intention to respond to a UN declared moritorium. In such a case there is precedent, such as in the case of Mongolia, of Belarus, and of some European countries several decades ago, of abolishing the death penalty for women as a first step, which is more easily accepted by people in general. Women are rarely involved in violent crime; their crime is usually opportunistic to meet needs inherent in their special caring relationship ties with their children and families, in a society where their earning opportunity is limited. They are often enticed or tricked into crime by a male. Even facing a death penalty, their primary preoccupation is anxiety for their family rather than the horror of their own fate. The seminar will explore such arguments and propose that execution of women is especially inappropriate. The photograph above is the cover image of a study to be distributed to those attending.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Programme</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
10.00 – 10.10 Opening remarks, Pierre Hagmann, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Switzerland in Bangkok</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
10.10 – 10.15 Scene of Woman Execution in The Last Executioner: the film directed by Tom Waller</div>
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10.15 - 10.45 Abolition of Death Penalty for Women, Dr. Danthong Breen, Union for Civil Liberty</div>
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10.45 - 10.55 Coffee and tea break</div>
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</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
10.55 – 11.25 Death Penalty in Thailand, Angkhana Neelapaijit, National Human Rights Commission</div>
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11.25 – 11.50 Prison Condition of Women prisoners, Kornkanok Khumta, Political activist</div>
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11.50 – 12.20 Legal Right of Child to be Reared by Mother: Judgment of South Africa Constitutional Court 2007, Natthasiri Bergman, Human Rights lawyer</div>
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12.20 – 12.50 Reflection and discussion</div>
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12.50 – 13.00 Closing remarks, Dr. Danthong Breen, Union for Civil Liberty</div>
hrdefenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02459107039196967804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20578702.post-46423614164426877662018-12-11T12:57:00.001+07:002018-12-28T19:43:27.634+07:00Senator Leila M. De Lima<div>
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<i>Senator Leila de Lima of the Philippines is imprisoned in the Philippines for her opposition to extra-judicial killings, a death penalty without legal procedure. She has expressed support on this website for total abolition. The following message is released from her isolated imprisonment.</i></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12pt;">STAND UP FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: THE POWER AND DUTY</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12pt;">TO MAKE THE WORLD SAFER, JUST AND HUMANE</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12pt;">MESSAGE FOR THE 70<sup>th</sup> ANNIVERSARY </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12pt;">OF THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12pt;">Today, 10 December 2018, the world celebrates the 70<sup>th</sup> anniversary of that extraordinary document, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Born from the havoc of the Great Depression, World War II and the Holocaust, the UDHR was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly as <i>“a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to be promoted by education, and, more optimistically, by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance.” </i></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12pt;">For 70 years since its adoption, the UDHR has been a bedrock of freedom and equality all across the world, lifting the lives of billions of people in the planet, influencing almost a hundred national Constitutions and inspiring numerous international, regional and national laws, institutions and mechanisms. For all its gains and achievements, the UDHR, as Eleanor Roosevelt (chair of the committee that drafted it) had prophesied, <i>“might well become the international Magna Carta of mankind.”</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12pt;">Seven (7) decades since the birth of the UDHR, the work that it has set out for all of us to do is far from over. And, it will never be over as the world now faces an almost endless barrage of attacks on human dignity and freedom. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12pt;">UDHR proclaims that we are born free and equal, but millions do not stay free and equal as their rights have been trampled upon on a regular basis. We see this in various conflict-stricken places, like Syria, Yemen, Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan, and a number of countries in Central America. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12pt;">UDHR promises that we are all </span><i><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12pt;">“entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms …can be fully realized”</span></i><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12pt;">, but institutions and systems established in many countries to protect the dignity and liberty of human persons have either been mangled or undermined. We witness this in the decimation of democratic opposition in Cambodia, in the massive displacement and violence against the Rohingya minority in Myanmar, and the unabated killings and </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12pt;">disappearances of thousands of poor Filipinos under Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody and sham “war on drugs.”</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12pt;"> Now, more than ever, the 30 pathbreaking articles of the UDHR and the principles behind them have become relevant. And, it is the duty of every one – every individual and organ of society, as the UDHR puts it – to promote and protect our common rights and freedoms. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12pt;"> There is observation about the growing absence of human rights leadership in the world today. There are dissension and discord in major liberal democracies. Some governments themselves, led mostly by populist demagogues and autocrats, have actually attacked their own people. And, far too many politicians and so-called leaders – including those in my country, the Philippines – seem to have forgotten the UDHR. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12pt;"> But, causes for continued optimism remain. Still intact are the admirable legacy of the UDHR, the endurance of some relevant conventions, treaties and international law, and the resilience of a vibrant global human rights movement. Hope springs eternal for human rights.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12pt;"> The momentum and progress on the areas of human dignity and freedom now largely depend on the action and solidarity of some enlightened inter-government bodies, a number of progressive governments, and countless civil society organizations, including activist groups and individuals. This new movement for human dignity and equality has the advantages of reputational standing, institutional resources, and renewed passion. It is impervious to the partisan narrow-mindedness, selfishness and neglect of our leaders.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12pt;"> We must then come together in our common defense of human rights. We cannot remain quiet and rely passively on governments. We the people ourselves have to act – act urgently and in solidarity with one another. We must be able to demonstrate, now and always, what the UDHR’s preamble declares that indeed the <i>“the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.”</i> </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12pt;"> Let us all shine our light for dignity, freedom and equality of every one. Each has the power and the duty to make a difference – to make our homes, communities, countries, and our world safer, just and more humane for all of us. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12pt;">#Stand up for human rights!</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12pt;"> LEILA M. DE LIMA</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12pt;">PNP Custodial Center, Camp Crame</span></b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12pt;">10 December 2018 </span></div>
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hrdefenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02459107039196967804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20578702.post-35620860464316229702018-12-11T12:42:00.000+07:002018-12-11T12:59:03.105+07:00World Majority Against Death Penalty Increases Further <br />
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In a two yearly vote on a world wide moritorium on the death penalty, those in favour increase further<br />
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Today the international community offered
unprecedented support to a UN call to halt executions when the Third
Committee of the UN General Assembly considered a draft resolution on a
moratorium on the use of the death penalty.
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<i><span class="articled_by displblock margtop4"><span class="articled_by_red"></span><span class="articled_by_red"></span></span></i>A total of 123 UN member states – the highest number on
record to date – voted in favour of the proposal, mirroring recent
increases in the number of countries that have abolished the death
penalty in law or practice globally.<br />
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A minority of countries, 36, voted against the proposal and 30 abstained
at the vote. For the first time, Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Dominica and Malaysia positively changed their vote to support the
resolution, while Antigua and Barbuda moved from opposition to
abstention. Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Mauritius, Rwanda and Seychelles
once again voted in favour of the call for a moratorium on executions,
after they did not do so in 2016. Only two countries negatively changed
their votes compared to December 2016, with Bahrain switching from
abstention to voting against and Suriname from voting in favour to
abstention.<br />
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The increase in the support for the draft resolution offers yet another
indication that the world’s direction on the death penalty continues to
be in favour of its eventual abolition. Since the adoption of the last
UNGA moratorium resolution in 2016, indefinite stays of execution were
put in place in Gambia, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea and several other
countries have taken important steps to move in this direction. In 2017
Guinea and Mongolia each abolished the death penalty for all crimes and
Guatemala became abolitionist for ordinary crimes only. Burkina Faso was
the last country to have removed the death penalty from its Criminal
Code last June, while Gambia ratified the Second Optional Protocol to
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the
abolition of the death penalty, last September. The weight of the death
penalty is carried by an isolated group of countries. In 2017 executions
were reported in 22 UN member states, 11% of the total. Of these
executing countries, only 11, or 6%, were “persistent” executioners,
meaning that they carried out executions every year in the previous five
years.<br />
<i><span class="articled_by displblock margtop4"><span class="articled_by_red">Amnesty International & Comunità di Sant'Egidio</span> published on <span class="articled_by_red">November 16th, 2018</span></span></i> hrdefenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02459107039196967804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20578702.post-40930077467330497182018-11-07T13:57:00.003+07:002018-11-14T16:41:26.997+07:00Asia Bibi <b>The condemnation to death of Asia Bibi</b><br />
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The trial and condemnation to death of Asia Bibi is certainly one of the most horrifying examples of death penalty. She is a Christian Pakistani woman, convicted and sentenced to death by a Pakistani Court in November 2010. The facts of the case have always been subject to fierce debate. Yet, inconsistencies in witness testimonies and fragmented evidence did not prevent the court from securing Bibi’s conviction and from passing the death sentence. In 2014, the Lahore High Court upheld her death sentence. Nonetheless, the execution was stayed in July 2015, when the Pakistani Supreme Court agreed to hear her appeal. It was listed to take place during October 2016. Unfortunately, the appeal had to be adjourned after one of the three judges due to hear the case, Justice Iqbal Hameed-ur-Rehman, recused himself quoting a conflict of interests. Two years later, on October 31, 2018, the Supreme Court handed down the judgement acquitting Asia Bibi. The judgment indicated that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
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The decision of Pakistan’s highest court appears to matter little to the protesters. They have little respect for law and legal procedure.<br />
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<span class="Apple-converted-space">Obscurity surrounds the case. Despite the acquittal, it was announced that Bibi had not been released, and that in any event, she would not be allowed to leave Pakistan. Then it was announced that she had left for an unknown destination. Clearly, if released in Pakistan she would have been brutally murdered by frantic mobs. Her husband and lawyer, are also trying to find refuge abroad, as are two of the judges who agreed to her acquittal. Even before the acquittal, Shabez Bhutti, Minister of Minorities, and Salman Taseer, Governor of Punjab, who visited Asia Bibi in prison and argued her innocence were assassinated. The former was murdered by Taliban, the latter by his own bodyguard. </span><br />
It is clear that forcing Asia Bibi, now 47 years of age, to stay in Pakistan amounts to the imposition of a death sentence, what changes is that the execution will most likely come at the hands of an angry mob, not under the control of the justice system. This prediction is not far removed from reality, protesters are already calling for Asia to be hanged, and a mullah in Peshawar has promised a fortune, 500,000 rupees to anyone who kills her.<br />
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While details of the original offense are obscure, it relates to the alleged ritual impurity of a non-Muslim woman in an environment of fanatical religion. What was Asia Bibi accused of?<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: "arial" , "arial unicode ms" , "arimo" , "microsoft sans serif" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The trial stems from an argument Asia Bibi had with a group of women in June 2009.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: "arial" , "arial unicode ms" , "arimo" , "microsoft sans serif" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">They were harvesting fruit in the full heat of the sun when a row broke out about a cup of water. Asia herself describes the incident which took place beside a well:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: "arial" , "arial unicode ms" , "arimo" , "microsoft sans serif" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">"I pull up a bucketful of water and dip in the old metal cup resting on the side of the well. The cool water is all I can think of. I gulp it down and I feel better. I...fill the cup again, this time holding it out to a woman next to me...She smiles and reaches out...There is a cry, 'Don't drink that water, it's haram!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: "arial" , "arial unicode ms" , "arimo" , "microsoft sans serif" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">'Listen all of you, this Christian has dirtied the water in the well by drinking from our cup and dipping it back in.. Now the water is unclean and we can't drink it"</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: "arial" , "arial unicode ms" , "arimo" , "microsoft sans serif" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Prosecutors alleged that in the row which followed, the women said Asia Bibi should convert to Islam and that she made offensive comments about the Prophet Muhammad in response.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: "arial" , "arial unicode ms" , "arimo" , "microsoft sans serif" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">She was later beaten up at her home, during which her accusers say she confessed to blasphemy. She was arrested after a police investigation.</span><br />
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Whatever the details, the fault is trivial. What arose in the subsequent verbal brawl cannot be more serious than the alleged uncleanliness. There are photographs of demented crowds calling for the hanging of Bibi. This is certainly not the teaching of the Prophet whose action to save the life of a woman taken in adultery is as striking as an identical event in the life of the founder of another world religion. Such actions strike at the heart of humanity, beyond all laws, religions, legal systems and ethical standards. <br />
Details of the incident are taken from "Blasphemy, the true heart-breaking story of the woman sentenced to death over a cup of water" Asia Bibi, who is illiterate, related the event in secret to a French journalist, through her husband who alone could visit her. Hachette Digital, London 2011<br />
The book reveals her deep devotion to her husband and five children, all of whose lives are in danger.<br />
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Men call for death of Bibi<br />
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<i><b> In surat 5 of verse 32, the Koran teaches that anyone who kills an innocent person kills all mankind, and anyone who saves a life saves all mankind</b></i><br />
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<i><b>November 10: Scared of Muslim backlash, UK denies asylum to Asia Bibi</b></i><br />
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<i><b>November 14: A voice of reason</b></i><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Helmet, Freesans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1rem; text-align: start;">Prominent British Muslims, including three imams - Qari Asim, Mamadou Bocoum and Dr Usama Hasan - have</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Helmet, Freesans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1rem; text-align: start;"> </span><a class="story-body__link-external" href="http://www.britishfuture.org/articles/muslim-voices-lead-new-uk-asylum-calls-pakistani-christian-asia-bii/" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(17, 103, 168, 0.3); border-bottom-color: rgb(220, 220, 220); border-bottom-style: solid; border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: initial; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: inherit; line-height: 1.375; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">written a letter to Home Secretary Sajid Javid</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Helmet, Freesans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1rem; text-align: start;">asking him "to make a clear and proactive statement that Britain would welcome a request for sanctuary here" </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Helmet, Freesans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1rem; text-align: start;">The letter, also signed by MPs from across the political divide, goes on: "We are confident that action to ensure Asia Bibi and her family are safe would be very widely welcomed by most people in Britain, across every faith in our society. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Helmet, Freesans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1rem; text-align: start;">"If there are intolerant fringe voices who would object, they must be robustly challenged, not indulged."</span><br />
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<i style="text-align: left;"><b><b><i>November 12: </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; font-family: "georgia" , "times" , serif; font-size: 15px;">Bibi's lawyer, Saif-ul-Mulook</span><a class="icon external" href="https://www.bild.de/politik/inland/politik-inland/asia-bibi-wuerde-gerne-nach-deutschland-christin-droht-in-pakistan-tod-58350120.bild.html" rel="nofollow noopener" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: url("about:blank"); background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px -2202px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: initial; font-family: georgia, times, serif; font-size: 15px; padding-left: 18px;" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">told the <em>Bild am Sonntag</em> German newspaper</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: "georgia" , "times" , serif; font-size: 15px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; font-family: "georgia" , "times" , serif; font-size: 15px;">that Asia Bibi "would be happy if she could leave for Germany with her family."</span></b></b></i><br />
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<b><span style="background-color: white;">Bibi, who was </span><a href="https://www.dw.com/en/asia-bibi-pakistans-top-court-overturns-christian-womans-death-sentence-in-blasphemy-case/a-46096372" style="background-color: white;">acquitted by Pakistan's Supreme Court</a><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #660000;"> on blasphemy charges on October 31, is reportedly still in Pakistan despite her</span> release from jail. Her life is in extreme danger, from frantic Muslim extremists </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e;">Mulook </span><a href="https://www.dw.com/en/asia-bibi-lawyer-seeks-asylum-in-the-netherlands/a-46182121" style="background-color: white; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black;">fled Pakistan to the Netherlands</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e;"> a day after the court's decision.</span></b></div>
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hrdefenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02459107039196967804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20578702.post-33302733215049891822018-10-26T10:14:00.002+07:002018-10-26T10:14:42.465+07:00Singapore kills again, and again, and again.....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirze0Vn7HJRBGUctUd0HzJb_zgqD23zb6dA4riXQBIty3bflWyxRPXiEH91VPsqxRP_L7VFhO-pQdHcd6_mWwX1hJhxUF-6tM4bbJv_U1tPUgWFXf7s_5K8AEq1M3wpEUsuKxE/s1600/singapore2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="336" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirze0Vn7HJRBGUctUd0HzJb_zgqD23zb6dA4riXQBIty3bflWyxRPXiEH91VPsqxRP_L7VFhO-pQdHcd6_mWwX1hJhxUF-6tM4bbJv_U1tPUgWFXf7s_5K8AEq1M3wpEUsuKxE/s320/singapore2.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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In an unannounced hanging, Selemat Bin Paki was hanged yesterday in Singapore.<br />
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Two other condemned prisoners await execution, scheduled for today.<br />
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On October 25th Singapore's Supreme Court sentenced to death a 30 year old security guard, Gabi Avedian charged with importing 40.22 g of heroin, overruling an Appeal Court sentence of 15 years imprisonment and 10 strokes of the cane on a less severe charge of attempted trafficking.<br />
The sentencing judges had "grave reservations" about testimony of assurances given to Gabi when he undertook delivery, that the drugs were not heroin<br />
<b>The sentence raises a semantic issue. It would appear that "grave reservations" outweigh the standard for capital punishment sentencing, requiring evidence of guilt to be "beyond reasonable doubt". Would the scales of justice hang even for the one against the other? Are life and death in Singapore dependent on so fine an issue</b><br />
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Singapore has already execute six persons this year, perhaps eight by todayhrdefenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02459107039196967804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20578702.post-6113066578496204812018-10-05T15:43:00.003+07:002018-10-05T16:07:45.626+07:00Singapore kills again<div class="bw" data-ft="{"tn":"*s"}">
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deathpenaltythailand has long been a friend and admirer of Singapore lawyer Ravi. I am familiar with his method of engagement for those whose lives he tries to save. First, he engages with the family of the accused, learning all he can about the life of his client. He asks for some small object which was a treasured possession of the accused and keeps it before him to remind him continually of the real person involved. Then he devotes his excellent legal skills to explore every avenue of defense. I have heard all too often of court appointed lawyers who meet for the first time with the accused on the day of trial, and choose the easy option of recommending an admission of guilt, which may result in a life sentence rather than the death penalty. The tactics of defense of Ravi are often ingenious, exploiting every possible flaw in the arguments of the prosecution. His dearest clients are those most disadvantaged in society. His greatest suffering is to meet with failure and see another life sacrificed on the alter of "Justice". <br />
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"I
just received heartbreaking news from 2 lawyers representing drug
traffickers that their clients are going to be hanged at 6am tomorrow.
In total there will be three state sanctioned executions- Zainuddin,
Abdul Wahid and another - all for drug trafficking. A dark day for me as
I felt helpless when one of the lawyers asked me to help his client
whom he says is 100% innocent.I know he has done his best and is as
desperate as I am thinking about what can be done. This will be one of
the highest number of hangings in a single day in recent times. I will
be writing to the authorities to halt the executions and to impose a
moratorium on the death penalty, though I know this will fall on deaf
ears as has done before ..... I will be heading to Changi prison later
to say a prayer and to express my solidarity with the families of the 3
victims of yet more state murders."</div>
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<b><a href="https://m.facebook.com/ravi.mravi.7?fref=nf&refid=52&__tn__=C-R">Ravi MRavi :</a></b></h3>
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<b>See Autobiography <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhooFntiYhdoFBDk6C9wlEN_ta21ix1R9ywnpBlhL6rx7LjdW1qIM6D8j-W3iOqr6UABfCWxgBTGF_52CmtkMRe051gpVXAQabr48-MtV9pJcKf7jOAxjJfeBw-ZhdprzZKBZ6m/s1600/Kampong+Boy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhooFntiYhdoFBDk6C9wlEN_ta21ix1R9ywnpBlhL6rx7LjdW1qIM6D8j-W3iOqr6UABfCWxgBTGF_52CmtkMRe051gpVXAQabr48-MtV9pJcKf7jOAxjJfeBw-ZhdprzZKBZ6m/s1600/Kampong+Boy.JPG" /></a></div>
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hrdefenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02459107039196967804noreply@blogger.com0