According to a CNN report the policemen who were present at the time of stoning to death of the 17 year old Kurdish girl will not be prosecuted based on the claim that the crowd was too large to do anything. This is despite the fact in the video they did not even seem to make slightest attempt to mediate or stop the stoning.
10 men were accused of the crime, 4 of which have been arrested and 6 have fled. The primary person accused of initiating the stoning is the girl’s cousin. Doa was stoned becuase she was in love with Muslim boy while she was from a different Yezidi sect who are not supposed to marry outside their faith. Following the incident, Sunni Muslims have killed 32 Yezidi men in retaliation.
Over 5000 women and girls , some under 18, are killed every year by family members in so-called ‘honour killings’, according to the UN. These crimes occur where cultures believe that a woman’s unsanctioned sexual behaviour brings such shame on the family that any female accused or suspected must be murdered. Reasons for these murders can be as trivial as talking to a man, or as innocent as suffering rape.
Canada’s top diplomat said yesterday he fears two Canadian brothers (one 16 year old) who face beheading in Saudi Arabia for a murder they insist they did not commit may have been mistreated by Saudi authorities.
“We are very concerned about allegations of mistreatment (in Saudi Arabia),” Foreign Minister Peter MacKay said in the House of Commons. “We have made representations to the Saudi government about our concern for their well-being and we will continue to do so,” he said. “As well, we have in the past expressed our concerns (to the Saudis) about allegations of torture.”
“Consular officials of the Canadian Embassy in Riyadh are following this case by maintaining contact with local authorities,” who are visiting the two men, Foreign Affairs spokesman Rodney Moore told the Canadian Press on Wednesday.
“While Saudi Arabia repeatedly states that they are vehemently against the torture of accused individuals, allegations have been made of abuse and coercion,” McKay said. “Our officials should therefore request an immediate medical examination of Sultan and Mohamed Kohail.”
Bryon Wilfert, Canadian Member of Parliament asked the Minister of Foreign Affairs if any Canadian officials have visited these two brothers, what condition are they in and what is being done to ensure that these Canadian citizens receive due process. The Minister indicated that there have been four visits now with the boys in Saudi Arabia and they are very concerned about allegations of mistreatment there. He did not indicate the condition of the boys. “This is a very time sensitive issue and I urge the Minister of Foreign Affairs to monitor the treatment of the boys and ensure that they receive proper treatment,” said Wilfert.
Mohamed Kohail, 22, of Palestinian heritage and his 16-year-old brother Sultan are accused of killing a Syrian youth in a vicious schoolyard brawl in Jeddah.
The brothers, both Canadian citizens of Palestinian extraction, lived in Montreal for five years before moving back to Saudi Arabia, where they were born and raised, to be closer to an ill relative. A Montreal teacher who knew Mohamed Kohail said school staff were shocked and distraught at the news that their former charge is now in prison. The report “doesn’t really match anything that we know about Mohamed,” guidance counsellor Barry Gaiptman said. “We had never seen any indication of an aggressive side,” said Gaiptman, who works at Place Cartier Adult Education Centre in Beaconsfield, where Mohamed attended class. “On the contrary, I found him to be polite and a straight-up guy.” For more information visit our posts on June 3 and June 4, 2007.
Foreign Minister McKay with Nazanin Afshin-Jam discussing human rights in April 2007.
Saudi Arabia: Death Penalty/Fear of imminent execution
SAUDI ARABIA Dhahian Rakan al-Sibai’I (m), Saudi Arabian national Mohamed Kohail (m), aged 22, Canadian national
Sultan Kohail (m), aged 16, Canadian national The three named above, two of them child offenders, may all be at risk of imminent execution. Saudi Arabia is a state party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and has undertaken not to execute any offenders who were children when they committed the offence.
According to the newspaper Okaz, Saudi Arabian national Dhahian Rakan al-Sibai’ i was sentenced to death for a murder committed while he was still a child. He was held in a juvenile detention facility until he was 18 years old, when he was moved to al-Taif Prison. He has appealed to the family of the victim to pardon him: if this fails, he could be executed within days. All death sentences must be ratified by the Supreme Judicial Council, headed by the King,
before they can be carried out. However, under Qisas (retribution), which is a punishment under Shari’a law, relatives of the murder victim can pardon the offender without compensation, or they can demand diya (blood money) in
exchange for a pardon. When this happens, the death sentence is rescinded and the offender if often released.
Negotiation of a pardon in the western part of Saudi Arabia is often initiated or facilitated by the Pardon and Reconciliation Committee. The Committee is said to be mediating on behalf of Dhahian Rakan al-Sibai’i to secure a pardon and prevent his execution.
Canadian national Mohamed Kohail is also said to be facing execution for murdering a Syrian boy in January 2007. His 16-year-old brother Sultan Kohail is held with him in connection with the murder, but it is not clear whether he
too has been sentenced to death. Mohamed Kohail was reportedly beaten to force him to sign a confession.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Saudi Arabia applies the death penalty for a wide range of offences. Court proceedings fall far short of international standards for fair trial, and take place behind closed doors.
Defendants are rarely allowed formal representation by a lawyer, and in many cases are not informed of the progress of legal proceedings against them. They may be convicted solely on the basis of confessions obtained under duress,
torture or deception.
In January 2006 the Saudi Arabian authorities told the Committee on the Rights of the Child (which monitors states’ implementation of the CRC) that no one had been executed for offences committed when they were under 18 years of age since the CRC came into force in the country, in February 1996. The Committee urged the authorities to ensure that no child offenders were sentenced to death.
Two Canadian brothers held in Saudi Arabia in connection to a schoolyard brawl that left one youth dead fear they could be executed for a crime they say they didn’t commit, according to a newspaper report.
Mohamed Kohail, 22, and his 16-year-old brother Sultan — both of Palestinian origin — say they were coerced into confessing their guilt for the murder of a Syrian youth last January.
16 year old Sultan, who was attending a school popular among non-Saudi Arabs in Jeddah, had been threatened by a group of school peers after being accused of insulting a Syrian girl he knew from a Muslim school in Montreal, who, like the Kohail brothers, had subsequently returned to Saudi Arabia. . His brother Kohail and another friend came to the school to defend Sultan from the threats, which included that he was going to be kidnapped.
There are different versions as to what exactly happened next. According to one Arabic newspaper, Okaz, a brawl erupted between a group of Palestinians and Syrians. “As the physical attack intensified, one of the Palestinians grabbed a Syrian boy named Monther, punched him violently and hit his head against the school yard fence. Monther fell on the ground and died instantly,” said the newspaper.
In an interview with Canadian newspaper, The Globe and Mail, via a cellphone from inside a Saudi prison, Kohail said Saudi police forced him to confess to punching the Syrian boy. “I didn’t touch anyone. There were 13 people who were beating me up. … They used knives and sticks and bricks,” he told the newspaper. Kohail claims he suffered injuries to his shoulder, ribs and eyes, and broke his front teeth in the brawl. Kohail said police arrested him as he was being treated at hospital and transferred him to Salamah police station, where they beat him into a confession.
“There was a policeman who told me, you have to sign, because if you sign the papers, you will get out” of prison. Kohail said the policeman originally told him he risked little because the Syrian boy was still alive but after signing the confession, the man said the boy had died and that he was going to be charged with murder. “It’s going to be death for now. That is what the investigators asked from the court,” Kohail told The Globe.“I’m afraid of everything,….I really want to go back to Canada now. I like everything in Canada.”
His 16 year old brother Sultan, who reportedly suffered a broken leg while in Saudi custody, is currently being held in a youth detention centre. The boys’ father, Ali, told The Globe he is convinced that both his sons are “100 per cent” innocent. The family returned to Saudi Arabia when Kohail’s older sister became ill. As the Kohails are Palestinian, they never filed for Saudi citizenship even though all of the children were born there. In 2005, they were all granted Canadian citizenship.
The fate of two Canadian brothers imprisoned in Saudi Arabia, who could face beheading is sparking a vigorous debate in the Arab news media. The detention of Mohamed and Sultan was a leading story on the website of Al-Arabiya, a popular Dubai-based Arabic TV outlet, attracting more than 100 comments. While some praised Canada’s insistence on defending its citizens abroad, most backed the Saudi authorities and said that Canada should respect the Saudi justice system. “It’s the Saudis’ right to execute him,” one reader wrote in Arabic. “Too bad, Canada. Hard luck.” “They must be executed,” said another. Many of the comments were critical of Canadian diplomatic efforts to assure consular access, centering on the fact that Saudi Arabia is governed by Islamic laws, and that those laws should be applied regardless of citizenship. If the accused were Indian or Pakistani, one reader said, nobody would care. “Regardless of the killer’s citizenship … they deserve the death penalty and no mercy.” . Other readers praised Canada’s commitment to its citizens, particularly because the Kohails are of Palestinian origin.
The youths lived with their family on Montreal’s West Island between 2000 and 2006 and became citizens. Last year, the family returned to Jeddah and Sultan began attending Edugates International School, where the brawl erupted on Jan. 13. It resulted in the death of Munzer Haraki, a Syrian youth.
Thursday, The Globe and Mail obtained a copy of a cellphone video of the battle from a friend of the Kohail family. The video lasts just over one minute and shows the extent of the melee on a street outside the school, as a dozen youths trade punches and kicks, while younger pupils look on and a couple of teachers try in vain to break it up. Screaming and the sound of car horns from passing traffic can be heard in the background.
The grainy, jumpy video includes some images of serious fighting, including one of a young man kicking another squarely in the face. Contacted by cellphone at the Jeddah prison where he is being held, Mohamed Kohail said that he was the victim in that particular incident and that the boy in the black T-shirt delivering the kick was Munzer Haraki, the Syrian youth who later died. The Globe and Mail was unable to independently corroborate the identity of either the youth who delivered the kick or the youth who received the blow. Mohamed said he was initially attacked by Abdulrahman Haraki, Raneem’s brother, whom he then pinned to the ground. “I hugged him from the back and went with him to the floor,” he said.
It’s while Mohamed is on top of Abdulrahman that the youth in the black T-shirt delivers a kick to Mohamed’s face. Mohamed said the fight continued after the end of the video but he had no explanation for what caused Munzer’s death, insisting that he never raised his hand against the boy who died. “I don’t know who hit Munzer,” he said.
Mohamed said that he did not know Raneem himself and that Sultan had never insulted the girl, who was described as about 18. According to Mohamed, Raneem did not even accuse Sultan of insulting her directly. Rather, Raneem was told by another girl that Sultan had called her a “bitch,” sparking the dispute.
On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia beheaded two Ethiopians for murder and armed robbery, bringing the total number of executions so far this year to 76, more than double the number for all of 2006.
In prison, Mohamed said that despite his allegations of abuse on the part of the guards, his need for asthma medication and a fainting spell in the washroom several weeks ago, he still has not received any medical attention. “Here, if you die, they bring a doctor. But if you don’t die, they don’t bring a doctor.”
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Saudi Arabia is a state party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and has undertaken not to execute any offenders who were children when they committed the offence. Saudi Arabia applies the death penalty for a wide range of offences. Court proceedings fall far short of international standards for fair trial, and take place behind closed doors.
Defendants are rarely allowed formal representation by a lawyer, and in many cases are not informed of the progress of legal proceedings against them. They may be convicted solely on the basis of confessions obtained under duress,
torture or deception.
In January 2006 the Saudi Arabian authorities told the Committee on the Rights of the Child (which monitors states’ implementation of the CRC) that no one had been executed for offences committed when they were under 18 years of age since the CRC came into force in the country, in February 1996. The Committee urged the authorities to ensure that no child offenders were sentenced to death. Saudi Arabia practice execution by beheading with sword in public.
SCE Campaign call on Saudi Arabia to take the necessary steps to halt the imposition of death sentences against child offenders, as outlined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Saudi Arabia is a state party.
SCE Campaign also calls on Canadian Government to officially object to the Saudi Regime and United Nation against the execution of its child citizen.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Please send a letter aasking the Saudi leaders to exercise their powers to commute the death sentences of Sultan Kohail and other children on death row in Saudi Arabia:
King Abdullah Bin ‘Abdul ‘Aziz Al-Saud
The Custodian of the two Holy Mosques
Office of His Majesty The King
Royal Court
Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Salutation: Your Majesty
His Royal Highness Prince Naif bin ‘Abdul ‘Aziz Al-Saud
Minister of the Interior
Ministry of the Interior
P.O. Box 2933
Airport Road
Riyadh 11134
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Fax: 011 966 1 403 1185
011 966 1 403 3614
Salutation: Your Royal Highness
His Royal Highness Prince Saud al-Faisal bin ‘Abdul ‘Aziz Al-Saud
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Nasseriya Street
Riyadh 11124
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Fax: 011 966 1 403 0645
Salutation: Your Royal Highness
Two Indian boys, Asif Iqubal, aged 13, and Sahin Sk., aged 15, were allegedly taken into custody by the Indian Police and shot at close range on 1 April 2007.
The two boys Asif Iqbal (13 year-old) and Sahin SK (15 year-old) were allegedly in the process of smuggling two cows across the border between India and Bangladesh, when the Commandant of the Border Security Force (BSF) belonging to the 140 Battalion posted at Kaharpara border out post saw them and ordered to catch them. Consequently, three or four subalterns caught them and fired them from point blank range, despite the young age of the two boys and the fact that they were unarmed. Two eyewitnesses were reportedly present during the incident.
The bodies of the two boys were allegedly brought and left for hours in front of the Raninagar police station, but no medical examination was undertaken to determine their condition and to confirm their death and the cause of it.
The boys were students of the Katlamari High School. They come from a socially and economically backward community in Murshidabad district and were struggling to find finances for their study. To find some extra income hey were working as a “cowboy” to cover their education cost. In Murshidabad district, there are traders of cattle who illegally trade cattle across the Indo-Bangladesh border. Usually the trade is carried out with the blessings of the local politicians and criminals and the BSF officers stationed in the area. Often this illegal trade is left unreported and the BSF officers, local police, politicians and the traders make money risking the life of poor peasants who owing to extreme poverty in the area agree to take cattle across the border, often at night.The BSF is stationed at the Indo-Bangladesh border to prevent illegal infiltration and also to prevent illegal cross-border trade. However, they allow the illegal trade and also human trafficking across the border, provided they are paid off. But in certain occasions the BSF take into custody some of the merchandise and also the accompanying persons for the records and produce them at the local police station. However in certain occasions they murder the persons captured in case they feared that they would expose the involvement of the BSF in the illegal traffic.It is alleged that Asif and Sahin were hired by one smuggler for passing two cows from Indian side to Bangladesh in exchange of only Rs 200/- (nearly 4.5 USD). It is also alleged that the personnel of 140 Battalion posting at the Kaharpara Border Out Post were bribed Rs 5000/- (nearly 111USD) to ignore such illegal trade.
Indian Border security force also killed a 14 year old in June 2006, 17 year old in May 2006 ,
PHOTOS OF SHOT BOYS (WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES): Asif Iqbal (13) - Sahin SK(15)
Stop Child Executions Campaign is gravely concerned about thse executions and remind that India is party to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and bound to the obligation therein to “[…] recognise that every child has the inherent right to life […][and to] ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the child” (article 6). Furthermore, the SCE Campaign reiterate the concern expressed by the Committee on the Rights of the Child in its last Concluding Observations in 2004 as regards to the “numerous reports of alleged instances of killings of children by law enforcement officials” in India (CRC/C/15/Add.228, 26 February 2004, paragraph 42).
Recommended action
Please write to the authorities of India urging them to:
order an impartial and exhaustive inquiry into the killing of these two children, identify all those responsible, bring them before a competent and impartial tribunal and apply penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
ensure that, in case the allegations are proved, adequate compensation would be provided to the families of the victims;
guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards and particularly guarantee the safety and the physical and psychological integrity of all children throughout the country and adopt immediate measures to put an end to extra-judicial killings of children and youths;
Provide appropriate protection to the witnesses of these alleged arbitrary executions.
Addresses
– Raninagar Police Station, Tel: +91-3481-238038. Mr. Sunayan Basu, Officer-in-Charge of Raninagar Police Station, Tel: + 91 9732745592
– Justice Rajendra Babu, Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission of India, Faridkot House, Copernicus Marg, New Delhi 110 001, Tel: +91 11 230 74448, Fax: +91 11 2334 0016, Email: chairnhrc@nic.in
– Justice Shyamal Kumar Sen, Chairman, West Bengal Human Rights Commission, Bhabani Bhaban, Alipur, Kolkata – 27. Phone +91-33-24797727, 24791629, Fax – 24799633, Email: wbhrc@cal3.vsnl.net.in
– Shri Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India, Prime Minister’s Office, Room number 152, South Block, New Delhi, Fax: + 91 11 2301 6857
– Shri Shivraj Patil, Union Minister of Home Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, 104-107 North Block, New Delhi 110 001 India, Fax: +91 11 2309 2979.
– Justice K. G. Balkrishnan, Chief Justice of India, Supreme Court, Tilak Marg, New Delhi -1, Email: supremecourt@nic.in
– H.E. Mr. Swashpawan Singh, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Permanent Representative to the United Nations (Geneva), Rue du Valais 9 (6ème étage), 1202 Geneva, Tel: +41 22 906 86 86, Fax: +41 22 906 86 96, Email: mission.india@ties.itu.int
THANK YOU TO THE NEW MEMBERS OF THE SWEDISH PARLIAMENT MEMBERS FOR SUPPORT OF STOP CHILD EXECUTIONS CAMPAIGN: (101 MP’s have signed the petition to date)
According to the newspaper Okaz, Saudi Arabian national Dhahian Rakan al-Sibai’ i was sentenced to death for an alleged murder committed while he was still a child. He was held in a juvenile detention facility until he was 18 years old, when he was moved to al-Taif Prison. He has appealed to the family of the victim to pardon him: if this fails, he could be executed within days. All death sentences must be ratified by the Supreme Judicial Council, headed by the King, before they can be carried out. However, under Qisas (retribution), which is a punishment under Shari’a law, relatives of the murder victim can pardon the offender without compensation, or they can demand diya (blood money) in exchange for a pardon. When this happens, the death sentence is rescinded and the offender if often released.
Negotiation of a pardon in the western part of Saudi Arabia is often initiated or facilitated by the Pardon and Reconciliation Committee. The Committee is said to be mediating on behalf of Dhahian Rakan al-Sibai’i to secure a pardon and prevent his execution.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Saudi Arabia applies the death penalty for a wide range of offences. Court proceedings fall far short of international standards for fair trial, and take place behind closed doors. Defendants are rarely allowed formal representation by a lawyer, and in many cases are not informed of the progress of legal proceedings against them. They may be convicted solely on the basis of confessions obtained under duress, torture or deception.
In January 2006 the Saudi Arabian authorities told the Committee on the Rights of the Child (which monitors states’ implementation of the CRC) that no one had been executed for offences committed when they were under 18 years of age since the CRC came into force in the country, in February 1996. The Committee urged the authorities to ensure that no child offenders were sentenced to death.
The number of executions of adults in Saudi Arabia in 2007 is already double the total executions in 2006. . (76 executions in 2007 so far). Saudi regime execution are performed by beheading in public using a sword.
SCE campaign condemns the imminent execution of Dhahian Rakan al-Sibai’I, who was a child at the time of the alleged offence. Stop Child Executions Campaign remind Saudi Arabian Regime of its assurances to the Committee on the Rights of the Child that no executions of child offenders have been carried out since the convention came into force in Saudi Arabia, pointing out that the execution of children is expressly prohibited by the CRC to which Saudi Arabia is a state party.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Please send appeals to:
King Abdullah Bin ‘Abdul ‘Aziz Al-Saud
The Custodian of the two Holy Mosques
Office of His Majesty The King
Royal Court
Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Salutation: Your Majesty
His Royal Highness Prince Naif bin ‘Abdul ‘Aziz Al-Saud
Minister of the Interior
Ministry of the Interior
P.O. Box 2933
Airport Road
Riyadh 11134
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Fax: 011 966 1 403 1185
011 966 1 403 3614
Salutation: Your Royal Highness
His Royal Highness Prince Saud al-Faisal bin ‘Abdul ‘Aziz Al-Saud
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Nasseriya Street
Riyadh 11124
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Fax: 011 966 1 403 0645
Salutation: Your Royal Highness
COPY TO : EMBASSY OF SAUDI ARABIA IN YOUR COUNTRY
IN USA:
Ambassador Adel A. Al-Jubeir
Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia
601 New Hampshire Ave. NW
Washington DC 20037
Fax: 1 202 944 3113
Email: info@saudiembassy.net
According to a recent Amnesty International report Abdelrhman Zakaria Mohamed and Ahmed Abdullah Suleiman, both aged 16, were sentenced to death by the Criminal Court in Nyala the capital of South Darfur on 3 May.
The two boys have since been transferred to Shalla Prison in North Darfur. This transfer is likely to affect their ability to communicate with their lawyer who is based in South Darfur. The boys lawyer will submit an appeal against the sentence to the court of appeal in Nyala on 15 May.
Background
Abdelrhman Zakaria Mohamed was found guilty of “murder”, “causing injury intentionally” and “robbery”. Ahmed Abdullah Suleiman was found guilty of “being an accomplice”. The boys lawyer will submit an appeal against the sentence to the court of appeal in Nyala on 15 May.
On 28 February 2007 Abdelrhman Zakaria Mohamed is accused of breaking into a house in the Alwhad area in Nyala, armed with a knife. A man living in the house raised the alarm and three male members of the family rushed to the scene. A scuffle ensued between the family members and Abdelrhman Zakaria Mohamed. Whilst the family members attempted to restrain him, Abdelrhman Zakaria Mohamed stabbed two of the men leaving one fatally wounded.
Once the family members had managed to restrain the intruder they took him to a police station. At this point Abdelrhman Zakaria Mohamed alleged to the police that his friend Ahmed Abdullah Suleiman had also been involved in the crime. Ahmed Abdullah Suleiman was then arrested and charged as an accomplice. He was found guilty and sentenced to death.
Majority of Sudan’s population are Arab Muslims. The government of Sudan which has poor human right records, maintains close ties with the Islamic regime in Iran. Sudan executed two minors on August 31, 2005. Child offenders have been among several groups of people sentenced to death by a special court in the western province of Dafur since 2002. The special court’s procedures fall far short of international norms for a fair trial. The Constitution of Sudan, ratified on July 9, 2005, failed to abolish the death penalty in Sudan — particularly as it applies to those under the age of 18. Sudan ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on 3 August 1990 and is party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Under the terms of these treaties, Sudan has undertaken not to execute anyone for an offence committed whilst under 18 years of age.
Stop Child Execution Campaign oppose child Execution in all countries and appeal to the Sudanese Government to comply with it’s obligation to the United Nation’s Children Rights Covenants.
What you can do to help:
Please send a letter to: The Sudanese minister, Mr Muhammad Ali al-Maradhi at:
Mr Muhammad Ali al-Maradhi
Minister of Justice and Attorney General
Ministry of Justice
PO Box 302, Khartoum, Sudan
expressing concern for Abdelrhman Zakaria Mohamed and Ahmed Abdullah Suleiman;
stating that children detained should only be held in juvenile offenders institutions and only tried in a juvenile court with full protection of their rights as children;
remind the government of Sudan that the use of death penalty against child offenders – people who were under 18 at the time of the crime – is prohibited under international law. The Geneva Conventions, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, all have provisions exempting this age group from execution.
To date more than 91 members (26%) of Swedish Parliament have voiced their support for the Stop Child Executions Campaign. Here is the list of additional MP signatures since our last reports:
4404.
Peter Jeppsson
Sweden
Member of Parliament
4434.
Lars Mejern Larsson
Sweden
Parlamentarian
4454.
Hans Rothenberg
Sweden
Member of Parliament
4459.
Veronica Palm
Sweden
Member of Parliament, Soc.dem.
4465.
Ulla Löfgren
Sweden
MP
4464.
Inger Jarl Beck
Sweden
MP
4473.
Betty Malmberg
Sweden
Agronomist
4508.
Lars-Ivar Ericson
Sweden
member of parliament
4507.
Annie Johansson
Sweden
Member of Parliament (c)
4526.
Lennart Pettersson
Sverige
Riksdagsledamot (c )
4533.
Fredrik Malm
Sweden
Member of parliament
4747.
Hillevi Larsson
Sweden
MP
4754.
Désirée Pethrus Engström
Sweden
Mp
4770.
Stefan ATTEFALL
SWEDEN
Member of Parliament in Sweden
4798.
Inger Davidson
Sweden
Member of Parliament (Christian Democrat)
4802.
Karin Pilsäter
Sweden
Member of Parliament
4823.
Jan Ertsborn
Sweden
Member of Parliament
4830.
Marianne Berg
Sweden
Member of parliament
4834.
peter hultqvist
sweden
member of parliament
4837.
Emma Henriksson
Sweden
Member of Parliament
4843.
Torbjörn Björlund
Sweden
Member of Parliament
4861.
Désirée Liljevall
Sweden
MP
4860.
Lars Tysklind
Sweden
Member of Parliament
4866.
Nina Larsson
Sweden
MP, Liberal party
4865.
Jennifer Hacker
Sweden
4874.
Ulf Holm
Sweden
Member of Parliament
4879.
Mr. Ola Nilsson
Sweden
Political Advisor, Parliament of Sweden
4878.
LiseLotte Olsson
Sweden
Member of Parliament
4886.
Hans Linde
Sweden
Member of Parliament
5056.
Lena Hallengren
Sweden
MP, soc.dem
5091.
Hans Backman
Sweden
Member of Parliament
5097.
Josefin Brink
Sweden
Member of parlament for the left party (Vänsterpartiet)
According to today’s edition of Iran Newspaper, Iran’s judiciary submitted a bill to the Parliament of Iran to pass a law to ban execution and life imprisonment of children alleged to have committed crimes under the age of 18.
According to Iran Newspaper ( روزنامه ايران ) Alireza Jamshidi, the spokesperson for the Iranian Judiciary, stated in a press conference with Iranian and International reporters that: ”The judiciary must be considerate of children because unlike adults, children who have committed a crime, lack organized and established violence. Therefore we must have lenience to remove hard punishments from this age group.”
He added: “In this bill we have predicated special rulings for children and youth who have committed crime to implement rehabilitation instead of imprisonment, and to consider the circumstances and well as the age of the child. In this bill boys and girls are treated the same and age has been the only consideration. In this bill the punishment of execution and life imprisonment has completely been eliminated.”
Mr. Jamshidi stated that the bill suggest that: ” Children’s cases will be reviewed in special children divisions by female advisors and judges trained about children. In the bill, serious attention is given to cases of mistreatment of children, children labor and children prostitution.”
“Creating family resolution centers, centers for children defense within the judiciary districts and special training of judges are some of the important tasks that judiciary is implementing”
Nazanin Afshin-Jam and Stop Child Execution campaign consider this a major step in Stopping the Execution and life imprisonment of children in Iran. We also warn that this is still just a bill and we encourage everyone to now work even harder to raise our voice until its official approval and proper implementation. It is important to note that based on consitition of Islamic government of Iran’s constitution all the bills even after approval by parliament must be approved by the council of experts to verify its conformity with Islamic Sharia and often the bills after substantial delays get rejected at that stage.
We will continue to ask the international organizations and political leaders to contact Iranian government to comply with Iranian governments obligation with respect to the UN covenants regarding child executions and life imprisonments.
قوه قضائيه با ارائه لايحه اى به مجلس شوراى اسلامى خواستار حذف مجازات اعدام و حبس ابد اطفال و نوجوانان بزهكار شد.
به گزارش خبرنگار قضايى ما عليرضا جمشيدى سخنگوى قوه قضائيه ديروز در نشست مطبوعاتى با خبرنگاران داخلى و خارجى كه در كانون اصلاح و تربيت تهران برگزار شد، با اعلام اين مطلب درباره قوانين مجازات بزهكاران اطفال و نوجوانان گفت: نگاه قضايى بايد با آينده كودكان همسو باشد، چرا كه كودكان بزهكار فاقد خشونت هاى بزرگسالان و سازمان يافته هستند، بنابراين بايد تمهيدات گسترده اى فراهم شود تا برخى از مجازات هاى سنگين نيز در اين گروه سنى حذف شود.وى با بيان اين كه در لايحه جديد قوه قضائيه كه در مجلس شوراى اسلامى مطرح است، مجازات اعدام و حبس ابد حذف شده، گفت: در اين لايحه قانون جامعى درباره مجازات اطفال و نوجوانان بزهكار پيش بينى شده است كه در صورت تصويب با اعمال تدابير اصلاحى به جاى مجازات حبس، سعى شده است مقتضيات و شرايط سنى بزهكاران نيز در نظر گرفته شود. در اين لايحه ميان دختر و پسر فرق گذاشته نشده است و فقط سن بزهكار در نظرگرفته شده است. مجازات اعدام و حبس ابد هم حذف شده است.سخنگوى قوه قضائيه افزود: در اين رابطه پرونده اطفال در دادسراها و دادگاه هاى خاص رسيدگى مى شود و در اين مراجع قضايى از مشاوران زن و قضات تعليم ديده استفاده مى شود. همچنين در اين لايحه، سوءرفتار، بهره كشى از اطفال و هرزه نگارى كودكان از مواردى است كه در لايحه جديد به طور جدى به آن پرداخته شده است.جمشيدى با اشاره به تمهيدات در نظر گرفته شده در دادگسترى ها براى حل مشكلات اطفال بزهكار گفت: راه اندازى شوراهاى حل اختلاف، ايجاد واحدهاى حمايت از كودكان در دادگسترى ها و آموزش قضات از مهمترين اقدام هاى صورت گرفته قوه قضائيه در اين باره است
10 men were accused of the crime, 4 of which have been arrested and 6 have fled. The primary person accused of initiating the stoning is the girl’s cousin. Doa was stoned becuase she was in love with Muslim boy while she was from a different Yezidi sect who are not supposed to marry outside their faith. Following the incident, Sunni Muslims have killed 32 Yezidi men in retaliation. 
t at the news that their former charge is now in prison. The report “doesn’t really match anything that we know about Mohamed,” guidance counsellor Barry Gaiptman said. “We had never seen any indication of an aggressive side,” said Gaiptman, who works at Place Cartier Adult Education Centre in Beaconsfield, where Mohamed attended class. “On the contrary, I found him to be polite and a straight-up guy.” For more information visit our posts on 
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL 
cows across the border between India and Bangladesh, when the Commandant of the Border Security Force (
THANK YOU TO THE NEW MEMBERS OF THE SWEDISH PARLIAMENT MEMBERS FOR SUPPORT OF STOP CHILD EXECUTIONS CAMPAIGN: (101 MP’s have signed the petition to date)
THANK YOU 
alleged murder committed while he was still a child. He was held in a juvenile detention facility until he was 18 years old, when he was moved to al-Taif Prison. He has appealed to the family of the victim to pardon him: if this fails, he could be executed within days. All death sentences must be ratified by the Supreme Judicial Council, headed by the King, before they can be carried out. However, under Qisas (retribution), which is a punishment under Shari’a law, relatives of the murder victim can pardon the offender without compensation, or they can demand diya (blood money) in exchange for a pardon. When this happens, the death sentence is rescinded and the offender if often released.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
2005. Child offenders have been among several groups of people sentenced to death by a special court in the western province of Dafur since 2002. The special court’s procedures fall far short of international norms for a fair trial. The Constitution of Sudan, ratified on July 9, 2005, failed to abolish the death penalty in Sudan — particularly as it applies to those under the age of 18. Sudan ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on 3 August 1990 and is party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Under the terms of these treaties, Sudan has undertaken not to execute anyone for an offence committed whilst under 18 years of age.
