Indonesia: No execution in 2009, but 98 convicts still on death row

Anti-death penalty activists welcomed Tuesday that the Indonesian government did not carry out executions in 2009, the first year it has not exercised the death penalty in the country since 2004.

It means Indonesia is the only Southeast Asian country with the penalty that did not apply the punishment last year, according to a report issued by Amnesty International, with the politically volatile Thailand carrying out its 1st executions in 6 years.

But activists stressed that more needed to be done to abolish what they called a "cruel form of punishment" in the country, with a remaining 98 people on death row.

"Unfortunately the death penalty as a punishment still features in many Indonesian laws. Last year, the Aceh local parliament passed a bylaw stipulating that adultery be punished by stoning to death," Amnesty International Indonesia researcher Isabelle Arradon told The Jakarta Post.

"No criminal justice system is immune from the miscarriage of justice and Indonesia should remove the death penalty from the books to ensure it does not execute innocent people," she added.

Papang Hidayat from the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) said the country needed to revise 11 legislations to abolish the death penalty.

The legislations include the criminal law, the 1951 Emergency Law, the 1999 Corruption Law, the 1997 Narcotics Law, the 2000 Human Rights Tribunal Law and the 2003 Counterterrorism Law. The criminal law alone classified 10 crimes, including treason and premeditated murder, as punishable by execution.

"We still have a number of draft laws that carry out the death penalty," Papang said, citing draft laws on state secrecy and intelligence.

Indonesian activists have been pushing the government to apply a moratorium on death-penalty convicts, whose number has reached 119 since 1998.

The Attorney Generals Office has executed 21 people, including the Bali bombers in 2008.

The latest criminal to receive the death sentence is Very Idham Henyansyah, who was convicted for premeditated murder in a high-profile mutilation case last year.

Poengky Indarti from Imparsial said 72 death convicts had been charged with drug offenses, highlighting the plight of foreign drug suspects who often stood trial without being accompanied by competent translators.

Arradon acknowledged that there had been a debate on the death penalty in Indonesia in recent years, adding it was "now time for action."

The Indonesian authorities should seize the opportunity and align themselves to the landmark decision of the Philippines, which abolished the death penalty in law and practice in 2006.

The government has executed 21 people since 1998, including the Bali bombers.

Source: Jakarta Post, March 31, 2010

North Africa: Not Quite Islamic Executions

The Middle East leads the world in executions after China, says an annual Amnesty International report released Tuesday.

"The Middle East and North Africa have the highest per capita rate of executions in the world, according to our figures," Phillip Luther, deputy director for the region with Amnesty, tells IPS.

The Middle East: must be Islam then, most people would imagine. Wrong.

"If you take Egypt, or Syria, or Yemen, or Iraq, the vast majority of death sentences and executions carried out in those countries have nothing to do with Islamic law in any sense," says Luther. "They are on the basis of civil codes - often inherited, and the death penalty provisions within it - from the previous colonial period." Most executions are carried out under the penal code for offences related to drugs and violent crimes, Luther says.

So are executions in non-Islamic countries such as the U.S. and India, to say nothing of China, which is believed to execute thousands a year that it lets the world know nothing about. And Amnesty acknowledges as much, challenging China this year to produce a figure rather than guessing one of its own.

But religion is not behind most executions in the Islamic world of the Middle East and North Africa - and not even in countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, says Luther. "If you look at the majority of those sentenced and executed (in Saudi Arabia and Iran), they are executed on the basis of penal codes. Those sentenced under Islamic law are very few."

In Iran, many have been charged with enmity against god, "which clearly has a religious sanction," says Luther, "but which is used in a political way against people who are perceived by the state of rebelling against the state." The motives in Iran are more political than religious because among those executed are a disproportionate number of political prisoners, or members of ethnic or religious minorities.

The sanction comes in the name of religion, but is basically a handle used by the state for its own political ends, and not because it's out to create Islam justice in society.

Amnesty International recorded 388 executions in Iran last year, but says the true figure could be higher. "At least 14 executions took place in public," the report says. "In one 8-week period between the presidential election on Jun. 12 and the inauguration of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for a second term as President on Aug. 5, Amnesty International recorded 112 executions; by contrast, in the 5 1/2 months between Jan. 1 and Jun. 12, at least 196 executions had taken place."

Many countries within the region such as Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Lebanon have maintained a long-term moratorium on the death penalty of at least 10 years.

The Amnesty report lists 624 executions across the Middle East and North Africa last year. There are no definite figures over earlier years to compare this with, but the general trend in the region is downward, says Luther. "Only 7 countries in this region carried out executions last year (Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Yemen). In terms of the number of countries, that trend is going down, as it is across the world as a whole."

At the same time there is a louder legislative debate in many of these countries to at least reduce the number of crimes punishable by death. "In Lebanon the ministry of justice itself is campaigning to end the death penalty," says Luther. "Algeria was one of the co-sponsors in the U.N. General Assembly in 2008 for a call for a global moratorium, the first Middle East or North African state to do so."

But even though executions are carried out mostly under the penal code, they are at their highest in Iran and Saudi Arabia. "In Saudi Arabia, the authorities continued to execute at an alarming rate," the Amnesty report says. "At least 69 people were publicly beheaded during 2009.

"At the end of 2009 Amnesty International knew of at least 141 people on death row in Saudi Arabia, including at least 104 foreign nationals, mostly from developing countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Prisoners are sentenced in largely secret and unfair trials, often without a defence lawyer, and so the true figures for those under sentence of death are believed to be much higher."

Source: All Africa News, March 31, 2010

Amnesty Condemns Widespread Misuse Of Death Penalty

London-based human rights watchdog Amnesty International has flayed the blatant misuse of death penalty as a political weapon in several countries with China, Iran, Iraq and Sudan topping the list.

In its annual report on capital punishment, Amnesty noted that despite an overwhelming majority favoring abolition of the practice, its extensive and politicized use continued.

"Even as world opinion and practice shift inexorably towards abolition, the extensive and politicized use of the death penalty continues," it said.

Asia, the Middle East and North Africa accounted for majority of executions with 714 people executed in 18 countries in 2009.

Of these 366 people were executed in Iran, 120 in Iraq and 52 in the U.S. and the executions were carried out by "hanging, shooting, beheading, stoning, electrocution and lethal injection."

Saudi Arabia and Iran were criticized for putting to death juvenile offenders in violation of international law.

China is believed to have executed more people in 2009 than all the countries put together, but the actual figures are not available since Beijing maintains that it is a state secret.

Even though China claimed fewer executions since 2007 after the introduction of a mandatory review of death sentences by a higher court, Amnesty maintained that "evidence from previous years and a number of current sources indicates that the figure remains in the thousands."

"The Chinese authorities claim that fewer executions are taking place. If this is true, why won't they tell the world how many people the state put to death?," Claudio Cordone, Amnesty's Interim Secretary-General asked.

The Amnesty report particularly referred to the executions of Tibetans in the wake of the political unrest there, and those carried out in China's restive northwestern Xinjiang region.

Amnesty also expressed concern over the killing of a British national, Akmal Shaikh, executed for alleged smuggling of drugs into China and people sentenced to death for financial fraud there.

Saudi Arabia, which publicly beheaded at least 69 people in 2009, was carrying out executions "at an alarming rate," while there was a spurt in the number of Iranians sentenced to death in the aftermath of the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad.

Amnesty, meanwhile, reiterated its view about death penalty being an "affront to human dignity."

However, African States Togo and Burundi became 94th and 95th countries to abolish the death penalty and was hailed for doing so and no executions took place in Europe or the member states of erstwhile Soviet Union.

Iran and Iraq which are placed 2nd and 3rd on the Amnesty list were part of the famous "Axis-of-Evil" trio described by former U.S. President George W Bush during his State Of the Union Address in 2002.

Source: RTT News, March 31, 2010

Could it be that the number of executions in China is actually far higher than we feared?

How many does China execute?The details of the executions of thousands of people a year is a state secret and it could be worse than Amnesty fears

You might have heard it said that China executes more people than all other countries in the world put together. Not just a handful, but thousands and thousands of people every single year. This, broadly, is true.

But suppose you actually wanted to find out exactly how many people the People's Republic executes annually. Any chance of getting this information? No. Try asking the Chinese authorities, and you'll get a stern "it's a state secret" rebuff. If you happened to get hold of some solid information (from lawyers in China, for example) you'd then be in possession of a state secret which it would be illegal to make public. It's basically as if there's a super-injunction on the information not just on the actual information, but anything relating to it.

Amnesty's new report on the death penalty worldwide does its best to cut through the secrecy by estimating that there were "thousands" of executions in China in 2009. Based on sources which we can't, for safety's sake, reveal this seems reasonable. But it's still a rough and ready guesstimate. Amazing, given the seriousness of the topic.

China likes to have it both ways. It's been boasting that it has reformed its capital punishment system and that execution numbers are down. But it won't give any figures.

One thing we know more or less is that there are approximately 68 offences in China for which you can receive a death sentence. Many are not for lethal crimes as we saw with the shocking execution of the British

man Akmal Shaikh in December for alleged drugs offences. China's capital crimes reportedly include reselling forged VAT receipts, causing damage to public property, and cattle rustling. 3 years ago a man was sentenced to death for selling overpriced ants.

However, I don't think a full list exists. That would be far too open for the Chinese authorities. If a proper source ever comes to light, it will be interesting to see if "revealing a state secret, including information about the People's Republic of China's use of capital punishment" is included as a capital crime. It wouldn't surprise me this Catch 22-like paradox would suit China's secretive use of the death penalty down to the ground.

But here's an ominous thought. State secrets are normally things like defence matters or intelligence issues. What, then, is China so keen to hide on the death penalty?

Could it be that the number of people in China going to their deaths before firing squads and in mobile lethal injection chambers is actually far higher than we already feared?

Source: The Guardian, March 31, 2010

Japan 'apprehensive' about China execution

Japan said Tuesday it was "apprehensive" about the imminent execution of one of its nationals in China, the first of such cases since the nations normalized diplomatic ties in 1972.

Beijing has told Tokyo that a Japanese man was soon to be executed for reportedly attempting to smuggle 2.5 kilos of narcotics out of China, to Japan, in 2006.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano stressed that the decision was up to the Chinese judiciary, but said it "affects the sentiment of the Japanese public."

Source: Global Times, March 31, 2010

*WALNUT OR ALMOND ROCA SQUARES* (GF)

WALNUT OR ALMOND ROCO SQUARES
Very yummy! Your family and friends will love these.


Snack Crackers (1 g carb ea.),
OR my Crisp Nutty Crackers - a Spin-off of the beloved Almond Thins (0.4 g carb ea.)
(see recipes to the right)
1 1/4 cups chopped walnuts or slivered almonds (300 mL)
1/2 cup butter, melted (unsalted if crackers are salted) (125 mL)
1 tbsp whipping cream (15 mL)
1/2 cup SPLENDA® Granular, (125 mL) OR
Half and half Splenda packet equiv. (I add a couple extra) and powdered erythritol (nice!)
1 cup sugarless chocolate chips, (250 mL)
OR from 70% Lindt chocolate bar

Line a greased cookie sheet with crackers. Sprinkle walnuts or almonds over crackers.

In blender, combine cooled, melted butter, whipping cream, SPLENDA® Granular and erythritol, in that order; blend. Pour over crackers.

Bake in 350°F (180°C) oven 8 minutes. Remove and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Place in oven another 2 minutes. Gently, draw tines of fork through molten chocolate in order to spread it (this is the “glue” for the walnuts on the crackers, so do it carefully, letting a bit of molten chocolate touch each walnut or almond).

It’s difficult to figure out the exact number of carbs due to all the variables, however, they will be between 2 and 3 g carbs each.

Pass the Butter ... Please.

My friend, Jan Ballas, sent this to me in an email. Some people still think that butter is bad for one and that margarine is better. For years and years we ate tons of margarine, sadly - usually the big bucket of Country Crock Margarine as we couldn't quite afford Becel, or put it this way, my husband prefers a good deal. Ian's dad, a doctor, on one of his visits from South Africa told us to switch back to butter, because margarine is unhealthy. We switched and a little while later that sentiment became mainstream. However, there are still the die hard margarine eaters out there.

Pass The Butter .. Please.

This is interesting . .. .

Margarine was originally manufactured to fatten turkeys.. When it killed
the turkeys, the people who had put all the money into the research wanted
a payback so they put their heads together to figure out what to do with
this product to get their money back..
It was a white substance with no food appeal so they added the yellow
coloring and sold it to people to use in place of butter.. How do you like
it? They have come out with some clever new flavorings..

DO YOU KNOW.. The difference between margarine and butter?

Read on to the end...gets very interesting!

Both have the same amount of calories.

Butter is slightly higher in saturated fats at 8 grams; compared to 5
grams for margarine.

Eating margarine can increase heart disease in women by 53% over
eating the same amount of butter, according to a recent Harvard Medical
Study.

Eating butter increases the absorption of many other nutrients in other
foods.

Butter has many nutritional benefits where margarine has a few and only
because they are added!

Butter tastes much better than margarine and it can enhance the flavours
of other foods.

Butter has been around for centuries where margarine has been around for
less than 100 years .

And now, for Margarine..

Very High in Trans fatty acids.

Triples risk of coronary heart disease .

Increases total cholesterol and LDL (this is the bad cholesterol) and
lowers HDL cholesterol, (the good cholesterol)

Increases the risk of cancers up to five times..

Lowers quality of breast milk.

Decreases immune response.

Decreases insulin response.

And here's the most disturbing fact..... HERE IS THE PART THAT IS
VERY INTERESTING!

Margarine is but ONE MOLECULE away from being PLASTIC... and shares 27
ingredients with PAINT

These facts alone were enough to have me avoiding margarine for life and
anything else that is hydrogenated (this means hydrogen is added, changing
the molecular structure of the substance).

You can try this yourself:

Purchase a tub of margarine and leave it open in your garage or shaded
area. Within a couple of days you will notice a couple of things:

* no flies, not even those pesky fruit flies will go near it (that should
tell you something)

* it does not rot or smell differently because it has no nutritional
value ; nothing will grow on it. Even those teeny weeny microorganisms will
not a find a home to grow. Why? Because it is nearly plastic . Would you
melt your Tupperware and spread that on your toast?

Share This With Your Friends.....(If you want to butter them up')!

Chinese Proverb: When someone shares something of value with you and you
benefit from it, you have a moral obligation to share it with others.

Pass the BUTTER PLEASE

A reader debunked some of this email here: www.snopes.com