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World News Archive from 2003
- Archive
of World News
See all CADP World News links and excerpts
from the years 2000 | 2001 | 2002.
- About
Broken Links
- China
Executes Tibetan Monk
BEIJING -- Hours after rejecting an appeal,
China executed a former Tibetan monk on Sunday
for allegedly carrying out a string of bombings
to protect China's rule over Tibet. The case
has prompted international criticism of China's
judicial system and its treatment of its restive
Tibetan minority. ... The case against the
two men has prompted an outcry from organizations
committed to supporting Tibet. Last month in
Beijing, Assistant Secretary of State Lorne
Craner expressed "deep concern" about
the severity of the sentences and the possible
lack of a fair trial. ... Tenzin Delek Rinpoche,
who is a religious figure of some influence
in the Tibetan regions of Sichuan, was held
incommunicado for eight months until the day
of the trial. Two prominent Chinese lawyers,
Zhang Sizhi and Li Huigeng, were denied permission
to represent Tenzin in his appeal process,
human rights organizations said. Tibetan activists
alleged that Tenzin was tortured throughout
his detention as was Lobsang and that whatever
confessions they might have made were coerced
-- a common practice in China. (1/28/03, The
Daily Camera)
- EU Urges Worldwide End to Death Penalty
The
European Union called Friday for the worldwide
abolition of the death penalty
in a declaration issued as it marked the
first World Day Against the Death Penalty.
... The Italian presidency of the 15-nation
bloc called for all countries that still
have capital punishment to issue moratoriums,
and to ban executions for people who were
minors when they committed crimes. (10/11/03,
The Daily Camera)
- Europeans
Praise Ryan's Commutations
BERLIN -- From across the world, bouquets
of praise have been landing at the feet of
former Illinois governor George Ryan following
his decision to commute the death sentences
of all 167 of his state's death row inmates.
Former South African president Nelson Mandela
phoned the governor to congratulate him. The
Coliseum in Rome was bathed in golden light
in appreciation of the gesture. And foreign
newspaper editorial writers found an American
to celebrate as a hero. "The imposition
of the death penalty is not the mark of a civilized,
enlightened or just society," editorialized
the Age newspaper in Melbourne, Australia. "Every
time the death penalty is imposed in the U.S.,
that nation's claim to being a champion of
human rights and a repository of civilized
values is called into question." (1/18/03,
The Daily Camera)
- Iraq:
Bush Wants Saddam Death Penalty
WASHINGTON
-- Saddam Hussein deserves the "ultimate
penalty" for his crimes, President Bush
said Tuesday, putting the United States sharply
at odds with Europe and the United Nations
which adamantly oppose the death penalty.
(12/17/03, The Daily Camera)
- Mexico
Protests USA Death Penalties
There are 51 Mexican nationals on death
rows in the United States. Most are in California
and Texas. Loza is the only one in Ohio. His
case underlines a widening rift between the
United States, where many are angry over a
high rate of crime and determined to harshly
punish the worst offenders, and Mexico, where
there is no capital punishment and the government
is demanding the U.S. commute the sentences
of all 51 men to life in prison. ... "Respect
for life is too important," Gomez-Robledo
said in a recent interview. "We consider
it an inhumane penalty, and there is more and
more evidence that people are often sent to
death when they are either not guilty or there
has been strong mitigating evidence that was
perhaps overlooked by the jury or the court.
And this is the only penalty that once it is
imposed, there is no way to remedy anything." (4/11/03,
The Daily Camera)
- Nigeria:
Court Tosses Sex Stoning
(New York) -- Amnesty International (AI)
welcomes the decision today by the Sharia
Court of Appeal of Katsina State to acquit
Amina Lawal, who had been sentenced to death
by stoning by a Sharia court on March 22,
2002. ... "Obviously we are thrilled
that the life of Amina Lawal has been spared," commented
Curt Goering, Senior Deputy Executive Director
for Amnesty International USA (AIUSA). "We
congratulate the millions of activists in
Nigeria and around the world who voiced their
opposition to such a cruel and unusual punishment.
This verdict is a reaffirmation of the power
of a grassroots movement. We will continue
our work against the death penalty in Nigeria
in the hopes that others will not have to
endure such a harrowing ordeal." (9/25/03,
Amnesty International)
- Nigeria:
Lawyers Argue for Woman who Faces
Stoning
for Sex
KATSINA, Nigeria -- A tearful 32-year-old
woman cuddled and nursed her toddler in an
Islamic appeals court Wednesday as lawyers
pleaded she be spared death by stoning for
having sex outside marriage. Heavily veiled
and draped in the sweltering courtroom, Amina
Lawal appeared overwhelmed
by the crush of riot police, journalists
and rights workers as she arrived for a case
that has sparked international campaigns
on her behalf. "I've never been this
afraid," Lawal
said, tears rolling down her face as she
made her way past police ringing the courthouse
in northern Nigeria's Katsina state. "I'm
tired of all this." (8/28/03, The Daily
Camera)
- UK: No Corpse, Nor Martyr
Britain ... has rightly abolished the death
penalty; so too have all EU members. Britain
has consistently lobbied against continued
use of capital punishment in the U.S. and other
countries. ... This is not just
about making Saddam pay. It is about delivering
justice to a whole nation and, indeed, a whole
region, in a spirit not of vengeance, but of
impeccable, exemplary legality and legitimacy.
This must be seen to be done right. The last
thing Iraq needs is another corpse -
or a martyr. (12/20/03, The Guardian, London)
- UK:
Man Hanged 53 Years Ago Has Murder Conviction
Overturned
LONDON -- A court on Tuesday overturned the
conviction of a man hanged for murder 53 years
ago after a statement from another man admitting
to the crime was discovered in police files.
Judge Bernard Rix decried "a miscarriage
of justice which must be deeply regretted" in
overturning the conviction of George Kelly. ...
The last two hangings in Britain took place in
1964. Parliament passed a moratorium on the death
penalty in 1965, and finally abolished it in
1969. Treason remained, in theory, a capital
offense until 1998. (6/11/03, The Daily Camera)
- U.S. Intent on Hijacker Death Penalty
Washington
-- The U.S government is trying to execute
a hijacker for the first time,
seeking the death penalty for the leader
of a group of Palestinian terrorists who
took over a Pan Am jet in Pakistan and killed
22 people. Prosecutors are so intent on putting
the Pakistani man Zayd Hassan Abd Al-Latif
Masud Al Safarini to death - for killing
two Americans who were among the victims
- that they turned down his offer to plead
guilty and serve a life sentence. ... "It's
about his [Attorney General John Ashcoft]
belief that the death penalty should
be used in just about every circumstance
it can be used." (9/13/03, Associated
Press)
- World
Court: U.S. Must Stay 3 Mexican Executions
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) -- The United
States must temporarily stay the execution
of three Mexican citizens on U.S. death row,
the World Court ruled Wednesday. In a unanimous
decision, the 15-judge panel said the delay
was needed while the U.N. court investigated
whether the men -- and 48 other Mexicans on
U.S. death row -- were given their right to
legal help from the Mexican government. (2/5/03,
CNN.com)
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