Amnesty International Fears Of More Executions in Gambia

President Yahya Jammeh

Amnesty International has expressed fears that the Gambian regime of Yahya Jammeh may resume the execution of death row prisoners currently languishing at the country's notorious Mile Two Prisons.

In August 2012, President Yahya Jammeh ordered the execution of nine death row prisoners - 7 Gambians and 2 Senegalese. The executions, which were the 1st in nearly 3 decades, were carried out in secret and without prior information to the prisoners, their families and lawyers, or the Senegalese government. Over a year later, the remains of those executed have not been returned to their families for burial, nor has the location of their graves been disclosed, in violation of international standards.

In an oral statement to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (African Commission) on the state of the death penalty in Africa, Amnesty International said although the Gambia has since established a "conditional" moratorium on the death penalty, it is concerned that more executions in the West African nation may follow.

It added: "In the Gambia, the government has established a "conditional" moratorium which would be "automatically lifted" if crime rates increase, leaving the remaining death row inmates to live in fear of further arbitrary executions as they happened in August 2012."

The rights organisation said regional civil society organisations have filed suits at the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) against the execution of prisoners in the Gambia.

It added that very often governments in the world present high crime rates or particularly heinous crimes to the general public as a reason to retain capital punishment as a crime control measure - or even to carry out executions.

It stated that while it acknowledges fully the suffering of family members of victims of murder, and recognises the obligation and duty for governments to protect the rights of victims of crime, it believes that those found responsible, after a fair judicial process, should be punished, without recourse to the death penalty.

"Governments too often invoke the death penalty as a "quick-fix" to crime but fail to invest in effective measures to address the issue of public security and crime" Amnesty International stated.

"People want to be protected from crime; but the death penalty does not make societies safer. Instead of focusing on this ultimate cruel and inhuman punishment, governments should direct their attention towards devising comprehensive crime prevention programmes to tackle root causes of crime, more effective policing, and a fair, functioning criminal justice system. Weaknesses to be addressed in the justice systems in many countries include an inadequate quality of criminal investigations and limited legal representation.

"Stopping executions and abolishing the death penalty does not mean that criminals go unpunished. But it is essential that human rights standards, including those related to fair trials, are respected in all stages of the criminal justice process, and that all punishments are compatible with human rights."

The rights organisation called on the African Commission to call on all member states of the African Charter that still maintain the death penalty, pending full abolition to put in place a permanent, binding and unconditional moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty, in line with resolutions of the UN General Assembly and the African Commission.

It also called on the African Commission to ensure that prisoners under sentence of death, their families and their legal representatives are provided, in advance, with adequate information about a pending execution, including date, time and location; to return the body of a person executed, and any personal effects, to the family for burial, without payment by the family, or inform them where the body is buried and allow them reasonable access to that location; to remove from their laws any death penalty provisions that are in breach of international human rights law, such as its mandatory imposition or for crimes which do not meet the threshold of "most serious crimes".

Amnesty International further called on the commission to ensure that trials for crimes carrying the death penalty comply with the most rigorous internationally recognised standards for fair trial and to ensure that the criminal justice system is sufficiently resourced and capable of investigating crimes effectively and supporting victims.

Source: Jollof news, November 1, 2013

Hands Off Cain Presents 2013 Report on the Death Penalty Worldwide

July 26, 2013: The presentation of Hands Off Cain's 2013 Report, ‘The Death Penalty Worldwide’, was held at the headquarters of HOC in Rome.

The worldwide trend towards abolition, underway for more than fifteen years, was again confirmed in 2012 and the first six months of 2013.

There are currently 158 countries and territories that, to different extents, have decided to renounce the death penalty. Of these: 100 are totally abolitionist; 7 are abolitionist for ordinary crimes; 5 have a moratorium on executions in place and 46 are de facto abolitionist (i.e. Countries that have not carried out any executions for at least 10 years or countries which have binding obligations not to use the death penalty).

Countries retaining the death penalty worldwide declined to 40 (as of 30 June 2013), compared to 43 in 2011. Retentionist countries have gradually declined over the last few years: there were 42 in 2010, 45 in 2009, 48 in 2008, 49 in 2007, 51 in 2006 and 54 in 2005.

In 2012, executions were carried out in 22 countries, compared to 20 in 2011, 22 in 2010, 19 in 2009 and 26 in 2008.

In 2012, there were at least 3,967 executions, compared to at least 5,004 in 2011, at least 5,946 in 2010, at least 5,741 in 2009 and at least 5,735 in 2008. The decline of executions compared to previous years is justified by the significant drop in executions in China, estimated to be down from about 4,000 in 2011 to about 3,000 in 2012.

In 2012 and in the first six months of 2013, there were no executions in 3 countries where executions were carried out in 2011: Egypt, Singapore and Vietnam.

On the other hand, 8 countries resumed executions: Botswana (at least 1), Gambia (9), Japan (7), India (1) and Pakistan (1) in 2012; Indonesia (1), Kuwait (5) and Nigeria (4) in 2013.

Once again, Asia tops the standings as the region where the vast majority of executions are carried out. Taking the estimated number of executions in China to be about 3,000 (about a thousand less than in 2011), the total for 2012 corresponds to a minimum of 3,879 executions (97.8%), down from 2011 when there were at least 4,935 executions.

In the Americas, the United States of America was the only country to carry out executions (43) in 2012.

In Africa, in 2012, the death penalty was carried out in 5 countries (in 2011 there were 4) – Sudan (at least 19), Gambia (9), Somalia (at least 8), South Sudan (at least 5), and Botswana (at least 1) – where there were at least 42 executions. In 2011 there were at least 24 executions on the entire continent.

In Europe, the only blemish on an otherwise completely death penalty-free zone continues to be Belarus, where three men were put to death for homicide in 2012.

Source: Hands Off Cain, July 26, 2013

Top Executioners For 2012: China, Iran and Iraq

Execution in China

July 26, 2013: Of the 40 countries worldwide that retain the death penalty, 33 are dictatorial, authoritarian or illiberal States.

Seventeen of these countries were responsible for approximately 3,909 executions, 98.5% of the world total in 2012.

China alone carried out about 3,000, about 76%, of the world total of executions; Iran put at least 580 people to death and Iraq, at least 129; Saudi Arabia, at least 84; Yemen, at least 28; North Korea, at least 20; Sudan, at least 19; Afghanistan, 14; Gambia, 9; Somalia, at least 8; Palestine (Gaza Strip), 6; South Sudan, at least 5; Belarus, at least 3; Syria, at least 1; Bangladesh, 1; Pakistan, 1; and United Arab Emirates, 1.

Many of these countries do not issue official statistics on the practice of the death penalty, therefore the number of executions may, in fact, be much higher.

This is the prevalent situation worldwide concerning the practice of the death penalty. It points to the fact that the fight against the death penalty entails, beyond the stopping of executions, a battle for transparency of information concerning capital punishment, for democracy, for respect of the rule of law and for political rights and civil liberties.

The terrible podium of the world’s top executioners is occupied by three authoritarian States in 2012: China, Iran and Iraq.

Although the death penalty remains a State secret in China, some news in recent years, including declarations from official sources, suggest that the use of the death penalty may have diminished compared to preceding years.

A major turnabout came after the introduction of a legal reform on 1 January 2007, which required that every capital sentence handed down in China by an inferior court be reviewed by the Supreme People’s Court (SPC). Since then, the top court has overturned “on average” 10 per cent of death sentences handed down each year in the country.

According to William A. Schabas, Professor of international law at Middlesex University in London, in 2012 “China has probably executed about 3,000 people.” “This represents a decline of more than 50% from the number only five years ago,” he wrote on his blog on 18 December 2012, after more than a decade of his participation in various conferences on capital punishment in China and many encounters with experts in the Chinese criminal justice system.

According to the Dui Hua Foundation’s estimate, “the number of executions has been sharply reduced, although in 2012 it remained high at around 3,000 per year.” The Dui Hua Foundation, a San Francisco-based group that works on behalf of political prisoners and monitors Chinese prisons, estimated that China had carried out “about” 4,000 executions in 2011, while there were “about” 5,000 in 2010, as in 2009, still a slight decrease as compared to 2008, when the number of executions “exceeded 5,000 and may have been as high as 7,000.” According to the Foundation, run by business executive-turned-human-rights advocate John Kamm – who still maintains good relations with government officials – about 6,000 people were executed in 2007, a 25 to 30 per cent drop from 2006, in which estimates reported at least 7,500 executions.

Given that the great majority – at least 90 per cent – of these cases are death penalty review cases, as the SPC doesn’t have jurisdiction over many other cases, an approximate but realistic estimate would put the number of death sentences in 2012 – between definitive sentences and those suspended for two years – at around 8,300, a sharp decrease from about 9,400 estimated in 2011.

Considering further that, since February 2010, the Supreme People’s Court has recommended to use a policy of “justice tempered with mercy,” suggesting to the courts to “suspend the death sentence for two years for all cases that don’t require immediate execution,” it is realistic to conclude that the executions in 2012, as estimated by Professor William Schabas and the Dui Hua Foundation, were about 3,000, a significant decrease compared to the 4,000 of 2011.

On 14 March 2012, China amended again the 1979 Criminal Procedure Law, highlighting the human rights protection. A phrase calling for “respecting and protecting human rights” was added to the revised law’s first chapter on aim and basic principles. The amendment further specifies the procedures for the Supreme People’s Court to review death penalty cases in order that such cases will be handled “with sufficient care”, and “legal oversight” will be strengthened.

According to the fifth annual report of Iran Human Rights (IHR) on the death penalty in Iran, in 2012 the Islamic Republic carried out at least 580 executions, a number among the highest in more than 15 years. According to Human Rights Activists in Iran, at least 587 people were executed in 2012.

Iran Human Rights emphasizes that the actual number of executions is probably much higher than the figures included in its annual report. At least 240 additional executions were not included in the report, due to difficulties in confirming some of the details. In fact, only 85 out of the 325 estimated secret executions in Vakilabad Prison were included in the 2012 report. In 2011, on the basis of these same sources, Iran Human Rights had estimated at least 676 executions.

Since the 2009 post-election protests in Iran, the number of executions, particularly public executions, has risen dramatically. According to Iran Human Rights, in 2012 there were at least 60 public executions, a number six times higher than numbers from 2009, when at least 12 people were hanged in public places. In 2010, at least 19 people were hanged publicly. In 2011, public executions have more than tripled, with at least 65 people being executed in public. The trend has continued in 2013. Just in January and February 2013 alone, at least 20 people were hanged in public. As of 30 June, at least 37 public executions were held.

The execution of child offenders continued into 2012 and 2013, in open violation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child to which it is a co-signatory. A juvenile offender was executed in public in March 2012, according to Amnesty International. Another two possible minor offenders were executed 2013 (in January and February).

The use of the death penalty for purely political motives continued in 2012 and 2013. But it is probable that many of the people put to death for ordinary crimes or for “terrorism,” may well be in fact political opponents, in particular members of Iran’s ethnic minorities, including Iranian Azerbaijanis, Kurds, Baluchis, and Arabs. Accused of being Mohareb – enemies of Allah – those arrested are often subject to rapid and severe trials that often end with a sentence of death. The punishment for Moharebeh is death or amputation of the right hand and left foot, according to the Iranian penal code. According to Iran Human Rights, at least 23 (3%) of 294 people who were executed in 2012 according to the official Iranian sources were convicted of Moharebeh (war against God).

However, the death penalty is not the only punishment dictated by the Iranian implementation of Sharia. There is also torture, amputation, flogging and other cruel, inhuman and degrading punishments. These are not isolated incidents and they occur in flagrant violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that Iran signed and which expressly prohibits such practices.

In 2012, Iraq executed at least 129 people, the highest number since 2005. They were a significant and worrying increase compared to the previous year when at least 68 people were executed.

Iraq has already executed at least 50 people in 2013 (as of 16 April).

Executions began in August 2005. Since then, as of 16 April 2013, at least 497 executions were carried out, most of them related to acts of terrorism.

In April 2013, there were about 1,400 people held on death row, according to Iraqi Justice Minister Hassan al-Shammari.

Source: Hands Off Cain, 2013 Report, July 26, 2013

At-a-glance: Capital punishment around the world

Public execution in Iran

Last year 682 people were executed in 21 countries, but figures show there is a movement away from capital punishment globally. Here's a closer look at the figures.

Globally, there is a movement away from capital punishment, but there are pockets around the world where it is carried out. We take a look at where the death penalty is practised, how often and for what crime.

(Note: These figures are from Amnesty International, and can't always be independantly verified)

More than 2/3 of countries worldwide have now abolished the death penalty in law or practice.

But the latest annual data on global death penalty rates published by Amnesty International shows that 2012 saw a resumption of executions in Gambia, India, Japan and Pakistan. There has also been a sharp rise in reported executions in Iraq in 2012 compared to 2011.

THE NUMBER OF EXECUTIONS IN 2012

Amnesty International reports the number of people executed in 2012 rose by 2 to 682 executions in 21 countries compared to the previous year. But the number of people sentenced to death fell by 10 % to 1,722 (in 58 countries) in 2012. In 2011, some 1,923 were sentenced to death in 63 countries.

But these figures represent a marked decrease from a decade ago. For example, 28 countries carried out executions in 2003.

The figures do not include the thousands of people who Amnesty International believes have been executed in China, where the number remains a state secret.

HIGHEST RATES

Year-on-year, the same countries appear in Amnesty International's list of top 8 countries with the highest number of executions. In 2012, the top 8 included:

1. China keeps secret the number of executions carried out. Amnesty International says reliable media sources and human rights groups estimate the number of executions to be in the thousands - more executions than the rest of the world put together. The death penalty has been used for drug-related offences and economic crimes.

2. Iran has the 2nd-highest level of executions worldwide in 2012, mostly for drug-related crimes. 4 people were executed in June 2012 for the "offence" of "enmity against God and corruption on Earth". Capital punishment has been used for crimes including "adultery", "sodomy" and the religious offence of "apostasy".

3. Iraq saw the number of executions almost double from the previous year.

4. Saudi Arabia often carries out executions by public beheading. Defendants are rarely allowed formal representation by a lawyer and can be held in detention for weeks at a time based on "confessions" obtained under duress. One accused man was executed by a practice known as crucifixion, where the beheaded body is publicly displayed. Crimes that are punishable by death include "sorcery" and forms of "aggravated" robbery.

Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia account for three quarters of confirmed executions in 2012.

5. USA saw Connecticut become the 17th abolitionist state in the country. Concerns about the discriminatory application of the death penalty and the possibility of wrongful convictions have led to a series of abolitions in individual states.

6. Yemen saw 2 people executed for crimes committed when they were reportedly under 18.

7. North Korea carries out executions in public as well as in secret. Death sentences have been known to be handed down for crimes which do not carry the death penalty under North Korean law.

8. Sudan is said to use the death penalty as a tool against real or perceived opposition activists.

Source: SBS, July 24, 2013

Life on death row: ‘They had no idea they were going to be executed’

Yahya Jammeh

Social activist and former Minister of Information, Amadou Janneh, was found guilty of treason and sentenced to life imprisonment in January 2012 for printing and distributing T-shirts made by the NGO ‘Coalition for Change – The Gambia (CGG),’ calling for an end to “dictatorship” in the country. While in prison, he met many people on death row, including the nine who were executed in August 2012 – the first executions in more than three decades in The Gambia.

He shared his story with Amnesty International, from his new home in the USA:

In mid-August 2012, the President of the Gambia announced that he was going to execute all prisoners on death row. We all got very alarmed. I decided to go around and collect the names of all those on death row. They were 48 individuals, including one woman, two Senegalese nationals, two from Mali and one person from Guinea-Bissau. I put that information together and sent it out quickly and CGG published all the list of names and nationalities.

A flurry of activity started and we were hopeful, but at 9:00pm on August 23, a Thursday, a large number of security personnel entered the prison yard and took eight men and one woman and just executed them.

Nobody figured out how they selected them out of the 48. There was no prior notification. They had no idea they were going to be executed. While they were being taken away, one of them screamed my name saying: “Amadou, I’m going to be executed tonight”.

Then the silence came.

Click here to read the full article

Source: Amnesty International, April 18, 2013

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Death penalty 2012: Despite setbacks, a death penalty-free world came closer

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL Press Release - Despite some disappointing setbacks in 2012, the global trend towards ending the death penalty continued, Amnesty International found in its annual review of death sentences and executions.

2012 saw the resumption of executions in several countries that had not used the death penalty in some time, notably India, Japan, Pakistan and Gambia, as well as an alarming escalation in executions in Iraq.

But the use of the death penalty continues to be restricted to an isolated group of countries, and progress towards its abolition was seen in all regions of the world.

Only 21 of the world's countries were recorded as having carried out executions in 2012 - the same number as in 2011, but down from 28 countries a decade earlier in 2003.

In 2012, at least 682 executions were known to have been carried out worldwide, 2 more than in 2011. At least 1,722 newly imposed death sentences in 58 countries could be confirmed, compared to 1,923 in 63 countries the year before.

But these figures do not include the thousands of executions that Amnesty International believes were carried out in China, where the numbers are kept secret.

"The regression we saw in some countries this year was disappointing, but it does not reverse the worldwide trend against using the death penalty. In many parts of the world, executions are becoming a thing of the past," said Salil Shetty, Secretary General of Amnesty International.

"Only 1 in 10 countries in the world carries out executions. Their leaders should ask themselves why they are still applying a cruel and inhumane punishment that the rest of the world is leaving behind."

The top 5 executing countries in the world were once again China, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and USA, with Yemen closely behind.

Methods of executions in 2012 included hanging, beheading, firing squad and lethal injection. In Saudi Arabia, the body of 1 man executed through beheading was displayed in what is known as "crucifixion".

People faced the death penalty for a range of crimes including non-violent drug-related and economic offences, but also for "apostasy", "blasphemy", and "adultery" - acts that should not be considered crimes at all.

The Asia-Pacific region saw some disappointing setbacks in 2012, with India, Japan and Pakistan resuming executions after long periods when these countries were execution-free.

In November, India carried out its 1st execution since 2004 when Ajmal Kasab, 1 of the gunmen involved in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, was hanged.

In Japan, 3 death row inmates were executed in March - followed by another 4 later in the year - ending a 20-month hiatus in executions there.

China once again executed more people than the rest of the world put together, but due to the secrecy surrounding the use of the death penalty in the country it was not possible to obtain accurate figures on the use of capital punishment in China.

But there were also positive developments in the region. Vietnam did not carry out any death sentence, while Singapore observed a moratorium on the death penalty and Mongolia ratified a key international treaty committing the country to abolition.

The Pacific sub-region continued to be a virtually death penalty-free area.

Although the Middle East and North Africa saw a few positive developments, use of the death penalty in the region is still a cause of great concern.

Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Yemen saw continued high levels of executions; 99 % of all executions in the region were carried out in these 4 countries.

In particular, there was an alarming rise in Iraq's use of the death penalty, where at least 129 people were put to death - almost double the 2011 figure of 68.

Iran once again came second behind China when it came to the number of executions.314 executions were officially acknowledged by the authorities, but the real number is almost certainly much higher as scores of other executions not officially acknowledged were also recorded.

The conflict in Syria made it impossible to confirm whether the death penalty was used there in 2012.

In the Americas, the USA remains the only country to carry out executions - the total number, 43, was the same as in 2011, but only 9 states executed in 2012, compared to 13 in 2011. Connecticut became the 17th abolitionist state in April, while a referendum on the abolition of the death penalty was narrowly defeated in California in November.

The English-speaking Caribbean remained execution-free; 12 death sentences were recorded in 3 of the sub-region's 12 countries.

In sub-Saharan Africa, there was further progress towards abolition. Benin took legislative steps to remove relevant provisions from its laws, and Ghana plans to abolish the death penalty in its new Constitution. There are no more prisoners on death row in Sierra Leone.

However, executions and death sentences imposed in the region increased substantially from 2011 to 2012, due to higher figures reported from Sudan and Gambia.

August saw the execution of nine people in Gambia - the country's 1st in almost 3 decades. Following an international outcry, President Yahya -Jammeh announced a "conditional" moratorium on executions which would be "automatically lifted" if crime rates increased. In Sudan, there were at least 19 executions and 199 death sentences.

Belarus continued to be the only country in Europe and Central Asia to carry out executions, and did so under strict secrecy, with at least 3 men put to death in 2012.

Latvia was the 97th country worldwide to become abolitionist for all crimes, after removing the last capital crimes from its legislation during 2012.

One argument frequently deployed by proponents of the death penalty is that it acts as a deterrent against crime. However, a major 2012 study in the USA concluded that the deterrence argument should not be put forward to justify the use of the death penalty.

"Governments still executing have run out of arguments to justify themselves. There is no evidence whatsoever to indicate that the death penalty works as a special deterrent against crime," said Shetty.

"The real reason for the death penalty's use can often be found elsewhere. In 2012, we were once again very concerned to see countries executing for what appeared to be political purposes "either as a populist measure, or as an outright tool of repression."

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception, regardless of the nature or circumstances of the crime; guilt, innocence or other characteristics of the individual; or the method used by the state to carry out the execution. The death penalty violates the right to life and is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.

Source: Amnesty International, April 9, 2013

Gambia Ready To Repeal Capital Punishment Law

President Yahya Jammeh

President Yahya Jammeh of the Gambia has given the strongest hint yet that his government is prepared to repeal the country's controversial death penalty laws.

Mr Jammeh who has already announced suspension of all executions of death row inmates, said changes to the capital punishment laws in the country’s constitution will only be made when the Gambian people express a desire for him to repeal the law and not through international pressure and condemnation.

“I am working for you and I’ll live for you and die for you,” Mr Jammeh told a group of youth in his native village, Kanilai, some 43 kilometres away from the capital, Banjul where he is on his annual leave.

“I will not succumb to human pressure to change the death penalty, no way, but if you the Gambian people plead with me to halt the executions, I will suspend it because whatever I do, I do it for your interest. If you Gambians want the death penalty to be removed from the constitution, it will be removed.”

Mr Jammeh added: “The death penalty has nothing to do with politics. If I am to sign 10, 000 death warrants to save 1.6 million Gambians, I will do it. If any country has a citizen in the Gambia and do not want them to face the firing squad, let them not kill any person in the Gambia. I am not a colony of European Union and I am nobody’s colony.”

The Gambian leader who has come under criticism since he announced the execution by a firing squad of nine death row inmates last months, said he took an oath of office at the beginning of his tenure to execute the functions of the Office of the President without fear or favour, affection or ill will and he will not in anyway succumb to any human pressure in the execution of his mandate.

Source: JollofNews, Sept. 20, 2012

The Gambia: Conditional moratorium on executions is not enough

President Jammeh

Gambian President Yahya Jammeh's conditional moratorium on executions of death row prisoners leaves at least 38 people at great risk of execution, Amnesty International said today.

On the evening of Friday 14 September, President Jammeh announced a moratorium on executions as the deadline he set for all death sentences to be carried out neared.

The statement from the President's office stated "what happens next will be dictated by either declining violent crime rate in which case the moratorium will be indefinite or an increase in violent crime rate in which case the moratorium will be lifted automatically."

"The President's announcement of a conditional moratorium is simply not good enough. Making the moratorium permanent, with a view to abolishing the death penalty in law, is necessary to ease some of the anxiety of the death row inmates and their families" said Lisa Sherman-Nikolaus, Amnesty International's Gambia researcher.

Their family members have been unable to access the prison or communicate with the inmates. "Research shows that capital punishment is not a more effective deterrent for crime than other punishments. Furthermore, we know the Gambian criminal justice system is deeply flawed. It cannot guarantee fair trials and the protection of human rights for all people," said Sherman-Nikolaus.

"Making the lives of those people on death row dependent on developments they have no power over is arbitrary and a violation of their right to life."

The government statement said the President would uphold the Gambian Constitution and domestic laws, but Amnesty International is concerned that so far the government has not respected its own laws.

"Now is the time for the Gambian National Assembly to review the use of the death penalty in the Gambia. The country's Constitution requires such a review, and indeed it is already years overdue," said Sherman-Nikolaus.

At least 2 of the 9 prisoners executed in August, Malang Sonko and Buba Yarboe, were killed without legal appeals according to the statement of the Ministry of Interior confirming the 9 executions 3 weeks ago, in violation of international standards and the Gambian Constitution. The Constitution mandates that all inmates sentenced to death must have their appeal heard all the way to the Supreme Court.

Amnesty International is also concerned that the judiciary in the Gambia is not independent from political pressures, the use of "confessions" obtained under duress are prevalent. And other international safeguards on the use of the death penalty are not followed.

"We are continually trying to verify information regarding those who were executed and who are still on death row but the climate of fear in the country makes it extremely difficult to get co-operation from lawyers and other legal professionals," said Sherman-Nikolaus.

The Gambia's seriously flawed, ambiguous and inaccessible criminal justice system also means that even the lawyers and the families of those on death row are unsure of the status of the legal proceedings in individual cases.

"Amnesty International calls for a transparent review of all death penalty cases without recourse to the death penalty," said Sherman-Nikolaus.

The families of the 1 woman and 8 men executed last month still have not had the bodies of their loved ones returned for burial, nor have they been informed of where the bodies are located.

"It's been 3 weeks since the executions, and the government adds to the suffering of the families by not letting them get closure. That's cruel and inhumane," Sherman-Nikolaus added.

Amnesty International welcomes the statements by the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, among others, and urges regional and international institutions to ensure the Gambian government does not carry out any further executions. The recent executions go against the regional and global trend towards the abolition of the death penalty.

Background

According to the Gambian government, until last month no executions had been carried out since 1985. Amnesty International's information showed the last execution was in 1981, and had previously considered the Gambia abolitionist in practice.

In a speech he made last month President Jammeh announced that "all death sentences would be carried out to the letter by mid-September."

On the evening of Thursday 23 August 8 men and 1 woman were taken from their cells in Mile 2 prison near the capital city, Banjul, and shortly after executed by firing squad.

The executions shortly after were carried out without prior notification to the prisoners, their families or their lawyers. The government confirmed the executions in a statement by the Ministry of Interior only on 27 August and after substantial international pressure.

Source: Amnesty International, Sept. 17, 2012

Gambia Suspends Execution Of Prisoners

President Yahya Jammeh

The Gambia has announced that it will be suspending the execution of death row inmates in the country.

The decision to put the execution of the death row inmates on hold was made yesterday by President Yahya Jammeh following a meeting with former Senegalese Prime Minister, Souleymane Ndene Ndiaye.

“President Jammeh has assured me that he is going to suspend the executions,” Mr Ndiaye told journalists after the meeting.

Nine prisoners including two Senegalese nationals have already been executed by a firing a squad since Mr Jammeh threatened to kill all death row inmates before the end of this month to curb crimes and terrorism looming as a threat to the country's stability.

"All punishment prescribed by the law will be maintained in the country to ensure that criminals get what they deserve, that is, those who killed are killed and those who deserve to be put away from the society are put away from the society in accordance with the law," he said.

"There is no way that my government would allow 99 per cent of the population to be held to ransom by criminals.”

Since the executions were announced, the Jammeh regime has been criticised by many western countries, regional groups and rights organisations such as Amnesty International which said death sentences in the country were ‘known to be used as a told against political opposition.’

It added: “Furthermore international standards of fair trials including presumption of innocence, access to lawyers and exclusion of any evidence obtained as a result of torture are often not respected.”

However, the Gambia government maintained that the execution of the prisoners was lawful and conducted according to the dictates of the 1997 Constitution of the country.

The government insisted that all the death row inmates have been tried by the Gambian courts of ‘competent jurisdiction’ and have exhausted all their legal rights of appeal as provided by the law

“The laws of the Gambia on death penalty are very clear and provides under Section 18(1) of the constitution of the Republic of the Gambia which states that no person shall be deprived of his or her lives intentionally; except in the execution of a sentence of death imposed by a court of competent jurisdiction in respect of criminal offence for which the penalty is death under the laws of the Gambia as they have effects in accordance with sub-section 2 of which he or she has lawfully been convicted in due compliance with the provisions of the law as above,” said Dr Njogu Lamin Bah, minister for Presidential Affairs.

Source: JollofNews, Sept. 14, 2012

Gambia - No Light at the End of the Tunnel

Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh

Gambia's population cannot fight and expose the corruption and other heinous acts that have occurred without fear. In this tiny country, democracy takes one step forward, one step back. What can we do? It's a damnably difficult question. And what can the international community do to rescue Gambia from chaos? Isn't Gambia still a sun-drenched holiday favorite for package tourists who don't read the newspapers? There is something the press in nearly every country should be able to do - it can care, and it can ask questions, and it can advocate for change. But not in Gambia. In Gambia, there are many extrajudicial executions, nocturnal killings and beatings and most recently, nine executions of men and women on death row, many of whom received grossly unfair trials.

Unfortunately, Gambia is no longer a place where democracy and human rights are upheld. Over the years, President Yahya Jammeh has become ever more dictatorial - and, some might even say, crazy. DeWayne Wickham rightly pointed out that 'Yahya Jammeh could well be Africa's biggest psychopath', like the late Idi Amin, the former Ugandan president who generously proclaimed himself 'Lord of all the beasts of the earth and fishes of the seas.' Wickham also said, 'Jammeh has an other worldly sense of self.'

In October 2009, Gambia's director of public prosecution was reported to have said that all prisoners who were sentenced to death would be executed by hanging. And that was no bluff; 13 people were handed the death penalty that year, and the same number were given that sentence the following year. Jammeh currently has 47 people on death row, and dozens serving life imprisonment sentences.

Just recently, nine prisoners were reportedly dragged from their prison cells without any warning or even being able to say good-bye or given the opportunity to have their last meals and prayers. They were lined up and shot by firing squad, and now the remaining 38 others on death row risk the same fate.

Many family members claim that they were not aware of the execution of their family members until they heard it from the news. They do not know when they were killed, how they were killed, or where they are buried, and whether they were buried according to Islamic rites.

The Gambian government issued a statement in support of the recent execution of the nine inmates: 'All persons on death row have been tried by the Gambian courts of competent jurisdiction and thereof convicted and sentenced to death in accordance with the law. They have exhausted all their legal rights of appeal as provided by law.'

In the days that have followed, there have been an unconfirmed 18 executions that have taken place in a second batch of brutal executions.

Click here to read the full article

Source: AllAfrica, Sept. 13, 2012

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Gambia, Iraq executions buck worldwide abolitionist trend

Human rights advocates the world over have been shocked and outraged by Gambia's first executions in 27 years and an escalation in hangings in Iraq that has already sent 91 to their deaths this year.

The rash of executions in the two countries -- nine in Gambia last week and 21 in Iraq on Monday alone -- are particularly disturbing for the targeting of prisoners convicted on what appear to be politically instigated charges in secretive and unfair trials, international law experts said.

Yet as lamentable as the recent death row purges may be to those who monitor and censure human rights abuses, they are in stark contrast to a global trend toward abolition of the death penalty and de facto moratoriums on executions in an ever-larger number of countries.

About two-thirds of the 196 countries tracked by Amnesty International have renounced the death penalty in law or in practice, the London-based rights champions calculate. That has grown from only 16 countries that had outlawed executions before Amnesty launched its global campaign to eradicate the death penalty in 1977.

"Even in countries like China, while we don’t know how many they have executed, we do know that they have reduced the number of crimes that can be punished by death and they have reduced the number of people executed in recent years dramatically," Christof Heyns, assigned by the United Nations to monitor extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, said in a telephone interview from his home in Pretoria, South Africa.

Click here to read the full article

Source: Carol J. Williams, LA Times, August 31, 2012

Gambian police defend execution of nine prisoners

Yahya Jammeh

THE Gambia’s police chief, Yankuba Sonko, has defended the execution of nine death row prisoners in the tiny West African nation, saying it would make people think twice about committing crimes.

“The tougher the penalties, the more careful people will be when committing crimes,” the police chief told a newspaper yesterday.

“The law on the death penalty was passed by parliament and they foresee the reasons for passing it. We are now at the enforcing side of it and this will go a long way in reducing the crime rate in the country.”

Meanwhile, a rights activist, Trevor Uyi Omoruyi, who is also an international scholar who in the past joined in the fight against the ill treatment of Nigerians in Libya by the then Gadaffi regime, has urged human rights groups to call on President Goodluck Jonathan to intervene in the killings in the Gambia.

No official crime statistics are released by government in the tiny country, which is surrounded by Senegal on three sides except for a strip of Atlantic coast, and has a population of 1.7 million.

Gambia’s President Yahya Jammeh on August 19 announced that all death row prisoners would be executed by mid-September. A week later the first batch of nine convicts were executed by firing squad.

The killings caused international outrage, especially in neighbouring Senegal, which counted two citizens amongst those executed.

Rights groups estimate another 38 convicts face the firing squad, however, no new executions have been announced after a volley of calls from around the world for Banjul to halt the killings.

Omoruyi, who is a doctoral researcher in the United Kingdom (UK), has written to the Nigeria Ambassador to Gambia, Ambassador Esther Audu, calling her to intervene, as the right to life and fair trial of Nigerians in Gambia is her responsibility.

He, however, acknowledged, in a statement to the envoy, the good deeds in the past and expressed expectation that she would act and make the country proud at this time.

Source: The Guardian Nigeria, September 7, 2012

Gambia: Islamic Council Supports Executions

Gambia's highest Islamic body has endorsed President Yahya Jammeh's recent decision to execute nine death row inmates.

The executions on Aug. 24 sparked widespread condemnation around the world. But a number of Jammeh's loyalists have voiced their support, including, on Tuesday, the Gambia Supreme Islamic Council.

The Islamic council said that Jammeh had a mandate to order implementation of the death penalty.

Jammeh has remained silent about his decision to carry out the death penalties. But his supporters have made frequent processions to his offices at State House to express their approval.

Although Jammeh said he planned to execute all the prisoners on death row, there has been no word about what will happen to the 38 remaining prisoners who have been sentenced to death.

Source: AP, September 6, 2012

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South Sudan: Two hanged at prison in Juba

August 31, 2012: Two prisoners were executed by hanging on August 28 at a prison in the capital of the newly-independent nation of South Sudan, the United Nations (UN) reported, adding that they may have been convicted without having proper legal assistance.

Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said during a news conference in Geneva that two men were hanged in the Central Prison in Juba. "One of the issues there is that they did not have proper legal assistance," Colville said, without giving other details.

The executions in South Sudan follow a sudden wave of executions in other countries in recent days. Nine death row inmates were executed by firing squad in Gambia late last week after they were previously convicted of murder or treason, or both. Iraq then executed 21 prisoners convicted of terrorism-related offenses between 27 and 29 August 2012.

Colville voiced his concern about the executions in South Sudan as well as the executions in Iraq and Gambia. "We urge all States, who have not yet done so, to introduce - or reintroduce - an official moratorium on the use of the death penalty aiming to abolish it," he said, noting that 150 states have already abolished the death penalty or introduced a moratorium.

South Sudan became independent in July 2011 when it officially seceded from Sudan as a culmination of a six-year peace process which began in January 2005 with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM).

The executions on August 28 are believed to be the country's first this year.

At least 150 people were known to be on death row in South Sudan as of early November, including 91 at the Central Prison in Juba, 32 at Wau Prison in Western Bahr el Ghazal State, and 27 at Malakal Prison in Upper Nile State.

Source: wireupdate.com, September 1, 2012

URGENT APPEAL for 38 death-row inmates at imminent risk of execution in Gambia

The Gambian government has confirmed the execution of nine death row prisoners by firing squad. The individuals were taken from their cells the evening of 23 August and executed shortly after. The Gambian government should immediately halt any further executions and impose an official moratorium on executions.

There are growing fears that at least 38 people remaining on death row are at imminent risk of execution following the Gambian government’s confirmation that nine death row prisoners were executed by firing squad and its public commitment that executions will continue.

Many inmates have been convicted after unfair trials where they may not have had access to lawyers or a full appeal process. Some were convicted on politically-motivated charges and/or were subjected to torture or other ill-treatment to force confessions. Others have been convicted of “treason” – an offence that does not meet the international law requirement that death sentences can only be imposed for crimes with lethal consequences.

On 19 and 20 August the President of The Gambia has stated that all death row prisoners will be executed by mid September. This statement was followed by the execution of eight men and one woman. The executions were carried out in secret and neither the individuals nor their families were informed of the executions in advance.

Conditions on death row are believed to be appalling and reports indicate that they have been made even worse by increased security since last week’s executions, with all prisoners reported to be on virtual lockdown.

Please write immediately in English or your own language:

-Expressing your deep concern about the executions and the fact that they were carried out in secret, without the prisoners themselves or their families being informed in advance, which violates international law on the use of the death penalty;

-Expressing your concern that many death row prisoners have been convicted after unfair trials where they may not have had access to lawyers or a full appeals process; and urging the government to halt any further executions;

-Urging the Minister of Justice to recommend that the government implement an official moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty;

-Urging the Minister of Justice to ensure a comprehensive review of all death penalty cases to ensure fair trials of all death row inmates.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 15 SEPTEMBER 2012 TO:

Minister of Justice and Attorney General

Hon. Lamin A. M. S. Jobarteh

Ministry of Justice

Attorney General's Chambers

Marina Parade Banjul

THE GAMBIA

Email: info@moj.gov.gm

Salutation: Dear Attorney General

And copies to:

Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad

Dr Mamadou Tangara

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

4, Marina Parade, Banjul,

THE GAMBIA

Email: info@mofa.gov.gm

Salutation: Dear Minister

Also send copies to:

Ambassador Alhaji Dr. Yahya

Embassy of The Gambia

Georgetown Plaza, Suite 240, 2233 Wisconsin Ave NW

WASHINGTON, DC 20007

Phone: 1 (202) 785 1399 -OR- (202) 785-1379 -OR- (202)785-1425

Fax: 1 (202) 785 1430

Email: info@gambiaembassy.us

Please check with The AIUSA Urgent Action Office if sending appeals after the above date.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

On the evening of Thursday 23 August eight men and one woman were taken from their cells on The Gambia’s death row in Mile 2 prison near the capital city, Banjul, and shortly after executed by firing squad. Amnesty International believes the executions were carried out between Thursday night and Friday morning. The Government, in a statement released on Monday 27 August, claimed they were carried out on Sunday 26 August.

The statement reiterated the government’s intention that “all sentences prescribed by the law would be carried out to the letter, including the death penalty”. This appears to confirm that The Gambia will go ahead with further executions despite the international outcry.

Seven of the executed were Gambian nationals, two were Senegalese.

Neither family members nor lawyers were told of the executions in advance. Amnesty International understands that the prisoners themselves were not told until they were taken from their cells. Family members of those who remain on death row have been unable to access the prison, or communicate with the inmates.

Amnesty International has noted that in the past two years the number of death sentences handed down in The Gambia has increased.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions has stated that “to conceal from someone the facts of their preordained fate” and “[r]efusing to provide convicted persons and family members advance notice of the date and time of execution is a clear human rights violation. … These practices are inhuman and degrading and undermine the procedural safeguards surrounding the right to life.” The Human Rights Committee has stated that the failure to notify the family and lawyers of the execution of prisoners on death row is incompatible with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Following the executions, Amnesty International has reclassified the Gambia as retentionist (from abolitionist in practice). This means that worldwide, now 97 countries are abolitionist for all crimes; 8 are abolitionist for ordinary crimes only; and 35 are abolitionist in practice. Therefore 140 countries are in total abolitionist in law or practice, whereas 58 are retentionist. On the regional level, 37 of the 54 member states of the African Union are now abolitionist in law (16) or practice (21).

Name: at least 38 on death row (m/f)

Issue: Death penalty, Imminent execution

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END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL