Tens of thousands of teachers walked off the job in Los Angeles, American women gathered for their third annual march in Washington, Iowans protested abortion bans, Texans declared Donald Trump ‘not welcome’ in El Paso and students in New York City rallied around Greta Thunberg in calling for action on climate change
Continue reading...Category Archives: Capital punishment
Botswana urged to abolish death penalty after latest execution
Rights groups condemn hanging of Mooketsi Kgosibodiba and call on president to bring country into line with the rest of Africa
The new president of Botswana is facing pressure to abolish the country’s death penalty after last week’s surprise execution of a 44-year-old man for murder.
Mooketsi Kgosibodiba, a bricklayer, had been on death row since 2017 after strangling his employer in a row over stolen cement. Last week the government made the unexpected announcement that he had been hanged in Gaborone central prison.
Continue reading...Family and nun fight for retrial as man convicted by all-white jury faces death
Supporters of Rodney Reed, scheduled for execution in November, point to racial bias and questionable evidence
“He never had a chance.” That’s what Sandra Reed said at the start of a rally in front of the Texas governor’s mansion calling for a retrial for her son, Rodney Reed.
Reed, 51, has been on death row in Texas since 1998 and is scheduled to be executed on 20 November for murder.
Continue reading...Bahrain executes three people, despite human rights outcry
Human rights groups had warned against the executions, calling them ‘utterly shameful”
Bahrain has executed three people convicted in two separate cases, one a case of “terrorism” and killing a police officer, and the second related to the killing of a mosque imam, the public prosecutor has said.
Human rights groups had been warning against the execution of two men, Ali Mohamed Hakeem al-Arab and Ahmed Isa Ahmed Isa al-Malali.
Continue reading...Bahrain urged to halt imminent execution of two men
UN official issues last-minute appeal amid reports pair may be executed in next 24 hours
A last-minute appeal to stop the imminent execution of two men in Bahrain has been issued by the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings, Agnès Callamard, as pressure mounts on the country’s king to revoke the death sentences.
Ali Mohamed Hakeem al-Arab and Ahmed Isa Ahmed Isa al-Malali may be executed in the next 24 hours, according to human rights groups.
Continue reading...US justice department resumes use of death penalty and schedules five executions
William Barr announces he has reinstated a policy dormant for 16 years, following authorization from Congress and signing by Trump
The US government is set to carry out the death penalty for the first time in 16 years, William Barr, the attorney general, announced on Thursday, despite criticism of capital punishment as “immoral and deeply flawed”.
The justice department scheduled the execution of five death row federal inmates for December and January.
Continue reading...Brunei defends death by stoning for gay sex in letter to EU
Kingdom’s mission to bloc calls for tolerance and understanding over penal code
Brunei has written to the European parliament defending its decision to start imposing death by stoning as a punishment for gay sex, claiming convictions will be rare as it requires two men of “high moral standing piety” to be witnesses.
In a four-page letter to MEPs, the kingdom’s mission to the EU called for “tolerance, respect and understanding” with regard to the country’s desire to preserve its traditional values and “family lineage”.
Continue reading...RAF and Royal Navy urged to cut ties to sultan of Brunei over anti-gay law
Protests outside Dorchester hotel in London after Brunei regime passes ‘death by stoning’ law for gay sex
The RAF and Royal Navy are under pressure to cut links with the sultan of Brunei amid a global backlash against his country’s decision to introduce death by stoning as punishment for homosexuality.
The calls came after crowds protesting against the country’s new draconian penal code surged through barriers outside the Brunei-owned Dorchester Hotel yesterday afternoon, forcing the police to stand in front of its doors.
Continue reading...‘Shame on you’: protesters demonstrate at Dorchester Hotel against Brunei anti-LGBT laws – video
Dozens of protesters descended on the Dorchester Hotel in central London on Saturday to demonstrate against Brunei's anti-LGBT laws. The protest comes amid a global backlash against Brunei's decision to introduce death by stoning as a punishment for homosexuality. The hotel is one among many owned by the Sultan of Brunei Haji Hassanal Bolkiah.
Continue reading...UN joins Clooney in decrying ‘inhuman’ Brunei anti-gay law
Penal code that imposes death by stoning for gay sex is serious setback for rights, says commissioner
The United Nations has condemned “cruel and inhuman” laws set to take effect in Brunei this week that impose death by stoning for gay sex and adultery, and amputations for theft.
“I appeal to the government to stop the entry into force of this draconian new penal code, which would mark a serious setback for human rights protections for the people of Brunei if implemented,” the UN high commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet, said in a statement.
Continue reading...California governor to place moratorium on death penalty
Gavin Newsom’s executive order means 737 death row inmates will not be executed during his tenure
California’s governor is set to issue a moratorium on capital punishment in the US’s most populous state, providing a reprieve for hundreds of inmates sentenced to death.
On Wednesday morning, Gavin Newsom is expected to sign a new executive order that will put in place an executive moratorium on the death penalty, meaning 737 inmates awaiting execution in California will not be put to death during the governor’s tenure.
Continue reading...Sri Lanka advertises for two hangmen as country resumes capital punishment
Death penalties to resume as part of Philippines-inspired campaign to be tough on drug crime
Sri Lankan prison authorities are recruiting two hangmen after the president pledged to end a 43-year moratorium on capital punishment and execute condemned drug traffickers amid alarm over drug-related crime.
Interviews of the candidates will be conducted next month and two will be hired, prison department spokesman Thushara Upuldeniya said Wednesday.
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