12 Afghans hanged in Iran

Iran has executed 12 Afghan citizens charged of drug smuggling, the report released by Afghanistan’s Embassy in Tehran said.

The embassy did not announce any exact details about the time of executions, but underlined that the execution has been carried out recently.

The Afghan citizen’s were hanged in Iran’s Karaj, Isfahan and Arak cities, the report said.

According to the report, some hundred of Afghans have been charged of drug crimes and are waiting for the execution.

Afghanistan’s government has for several times called Iran to stop the execution of Afghan citizens.

Iranian officials said that death penalty or life imprisonment is implemented against anyone who is being charged of drug smuggling.

Some 5000 Afghans are imprisoned in Iran and hundreds of them were charged on drug smuggling, the report said. (source: Trend)

Australian facing death penalty walks free Emma Louise L’Aiguille

November 9, 2012 http://www.abc.net.au

An Australian woman who has had Malaysian drug trafficking charges against her dropped says she is not taking anything for granted after her release from detention.

Emma Louise L’Aiguille was facing the death penalty after being charged along with a Nigerian man with allegedly possessing one kilogram of methamphetamine.

A Kuala Lumpur court ordered Ms L’Aiguille be freed today after nearly four months in detention.

It is understood the prosecution could not be sure the 34-year-old nurse had any knowledge of the drugs which were in a vehicle she had been driving in when arrested.

After her release, Ms L’Aiguille said the ordeal has irrevocably changed her.

“I’ll not take things for granted,” she said.

“I’m not angry at him anymore, more at myself for being stupid.

“Should have been more wise.”

One of Ms L’Aiguille lawyers, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, said the case was consistent with the findings of an investigation by Malaysian police.

“This matching indicates that there is more than a reasonable reason to believe that she has not been involved in the trafficking,” he said.

“She is a person that is innocent, had no knowledge that in the car she was driving temporarily, there were drugs.”

Her Australian lawyer, Tania Scivetti, says her client must now remain in Malaysia until the trial of Nigerian man Anthony Esikalam Ndidi begins, which, she says, could take up to six months.

Ms Scivetti says that was one of three conditions of Ms L’Aiguille’s release.

“She is to cooperate with the police if they require any further statements from her,” he said.

“She is to attend all court hearings for the second accused, Anthony.

“And the third condition is that she is to remain in Malaysia unless prior consent is given by the attorney-general for her to travel outside the country.”

Ms Scivetti says a trial date for Ndidi has not been set.

“They’ve only fixed a mention date, which is December 11, pending the service of the chemist report.

“But the way the cases are moving in Malaysia, I think the trial should be fixed around April, May next year.”

KUALA LUMPUR: The proposal to replace the mandatory death sentence for drug offences with imprisonment has been lauded by the legal fraternity

october 21, 2012 http://www.nst.com.my

Bar Council president Lim Chee Wee said the Bar Council had always been against the death penalty.

“If it is wrong to take someone’s life, then the government should not do it either. It’s ironic (to have such a law) and not correct,” he said.

Lim said records had shown that despite having the death penalty, the number of drug trafficking offences had not been reduced.

“The numbers have instead increased. This shows that the death penalty has had a zero deterrent effect.”

He said the council hailed the move as a historic moment for the criminal justice system in Malaysia as it represented a significant step in humanising criminal law.

Syariah lawyer Nizam Bashir was also in favour of abolishing the death penalty and believed it should be repealed for offences that were out of sync with the public conscience.

“The argument has been that no matter how good a system is, it will never be error-free,” he said.

He said that in light of weaknesses in the legal system, innocent people could be found guilty of the offence and sentenced to death.

Nizam explained that when the sentence was first introduced in the country, it was to ensure that the law kept pace with changes in society.

“It was to show that Malaysia was serious about acting on drug offences by imposing the death penalty, given the harm caused by these drug traffickers and the number of lives they destroyed.

“Justice can be tempered with mercy and, where appropriate, offenders should be given a second chance.”

Young woman gets death penalty for drug trafficking

June 21 2012 Source : http://www.tuoitrenews.vn

A former schoolgirl, 23-year-old Tran Ha Duy, who has been charged with drug trafficking, saw her life sentence increased to the death penalty at yesterday’s appeal hearing in Ho Chi Minh City.

The hearing was opened by the appeal court of the Supreme People’s Court in HCMC, since the Supreme People’s Procuracy had protested the life sentence given to Duy by the City People’s Court on March 27, 2012.

The Procuracy claimed that the sentence was inappropriate in light of the nature of her crime.

According to the indictment, in October 2010 Duy, then a student at HCMC-based Hong Bang University, engaged in a transnational drug trafficking ring run by foreigners.

She later lured her younger sister, 21-year-old Tran Ha Tien, also a student, to join the ring’s activities. They were paid US$500-1,000 for each international trafficking trip.

Tien was arrested at Tan Son Nhat Airport in HCMC in July 2011 after being caught carrying 4 kg of methamphetamine hidden in the bottom of a suitcase from Doha, Qatar. After Tien’s arrest, Duy surrendered herself to police.

Duy confessed that in 2007 she happened to meet a Kenyan man, named Francis, on a bus in HCMC. The man later suggested that Duy deliver sample goods, including garments and footwear, from Vietnam to other countries for his company, which would pay her US$1,000 for a delivery to Benin, a West African country, and $500 for delivery to Malaysia.

Francis said he would pay for all expenses related to Duy’s trips abroad. She said that after taking a few trips she knew that drugs had been hidden in the goods sent from Vietnam, but she continued working for Francis to enjoy the high reimbursements.

At the first instance hearing, Duy and Tien told the court that they had decided to work for the drug ring since they wanted money for their daily needs.

Tien was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment, and the sentence was not protested by the Supreme People’s Procuracy.