Worldwide Wednesday International Roundup: China, Israel, Iran, Malaysia, Philippines, Qatar, Somalia, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe

China

On November 7, Chinese media reported that former primary school principal Zhang Longji was executed via lethal injection for raping five girls, age 8-12, and sexually molesting 17 girls, age 8-14. 

Sun Deshun, former president of China CITIC Bank Corporation Limited, who was convicted of accepting $1 billion yuan ($137 million) in bribes, was given a suspended death sentence by the Intermediate People’s Court in Jinan on November 10. If no new crimes are committed during the two-year probation, then Mr. Sun’s sentence could be commuted to life without parole. 

According to the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), two Filipino nationals convicted for drug-related offenses in 2016 were executed in China on November 24. “While the Philippine government will continue to exhaust all possible avenues to assist our overseas nationals, ultimately it is the laws and sovereign decisions of foreign countries, and not the Philippines, which will prevail in these cases” said the DFA. According to CNN, there are “92 Filipino death penalty cases in China in which all but one are drug-related;” 86 have been commuted to a fixed term, two have been reduced to life imprisonment, and two are pending appeal. 

Israel 

On November 20, the Parliament’s National Security Committee held a hearing regarding a bill that would make it easier for military courts to impose death sentences, which currently require a unanimous decision by three judges. The bill, initially proposed by member of Knesset, or parliament, Limor Son Har-Melech last March despite opposition by the legal advisor to the government Gali Baharav-Miara, would mandate the death penalty for those found guilty of terrorism, defined as “the purpose of harming the State of Israel and the rebirth of the Jewish people in its homeland.” The proposal was advanced by the party of far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and was met with emotional opposition from relatives of hostages held by Hamas. “You know that this law will not pass now, that there are ways to do things without making media noise. Please, there is time to argue later… Please, be with us on the side of life, not on the side of death. I beg you, remove this thing from the agenda,” said Gil Dickmann, whose cousin was taken hostage on October 7. A statement from the Missing Families Forum criticized the timing of the discussion, stating it “endangers the lives of our loved ones without promoting any public purpose.” 

Iran 

As of November 30, Iran has carried out 707 executions for the first time in eight years, according to Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IRHNGO). Since October 7, executions have spiked further with at least 176 people executed in just 54 days. Of the 707 executions in 2023, 390 were for drug-related offenses and 238 for murder. One juvenile, age 17, and 17 women were among those executed. At Ghezelhesar Prison, five group executions occurred in November. On the rise of executions, IRHNGO Director, Mahmood Amiry Moghaddam said, “The international community and especially European countries, must break their silence on the arbitrary execution of more than three people per day by the Islamic Republic.” 

In the last month alone, four political prisoners were executed: “Women, Life, Freedom” protestor Milad Zohrevand on November 23; 1980s political prisoner Ali Saber Motlagh on November 25; Kurdish-Sunni political prisoner Ayoub Karimi, after 14 years on death row, on November 29; and 2019 protestor Kamran Rezaei on November 30.  

A November 20 letter by fellow prisoner and cellmate Ahmadreza Haeri, a lawyer and human rights activist, describes torture endured by imprisoned Kurdish dissident rapper Saman Yasin, confirming claims made in leaked audio earlier in August. The letter specifically describes how Mr. Yasin was subject to a mock execution aimed at extracting confessions; Mr. Yasin was directed to write his will, taken to prison gallows blindfolded and hands tied, heard officials explain how he should be hanged by a rope, and then told he was given another chance for “cooperation” after officials received a phone call. Two days after the mock execution, a death sentence was imposed. Mr. Yasin’s appeal was accepted in December 2022 and a retrial scheduled for May has not occurred. Mr. Yasin continues to await retrial without access to lawyer. 

Malaysia

Following the passage of the Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023, which eliminated the mandatory death penalty for 11 offenses, in July, nearly 1,000 prisoners sentenced to death and life sentences submitted applications for re-sentencing. On November 14, seven death sentences imposed for drug-trafficking were commuted to life terms of 30 years in the first series of cases reviewed by the Federal Court. 

After the November 8 landmark decision in Australia’s High Court that indefinite detention for non-citizens was unlawful, Malaysian national Sirul Azhar Umar, who had been detained since 2015, was released with an electronic ankle monitor. Mr. Sirul, who at the time was part of then-deputy prime minister, Najib Razak security detail, was sentenced to death in Malaysia for the 2006 murder of Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu; his co-defendant and superior officer Azilah Hadri is currently on death row. Salim Bashir, former Malaysian bar president, told FreeMalaysiaToday that Mr. Sirul is eligible to file for resentencing review under new reforms but must do so in the next month and be present in court at the time of the hearing. In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera, Mr. Sirul claims he’s innocent of the murder, though admits he was involved with kidnapping and delivering Ms. Shaariibuu to Mr. Hadri and claims he was paid hush money in 2016 to “to protect … prime minister at that time, Mr. Najib.” When asked about returning to Malaysia, Mr. Sirul told Al Jazeera “I feel in danger there because I’m aware that it’s truly unsafe for me to return there … Whatever happens, I want to build a life with my child here in Australia.” Australian law prevents the deportation of a person to a country where they face the death penalty. 

Philippines

There are efforts to reintroduce the death penalty in the Philippines, which abolished capital punishment in 2006. On December 4, Rep. Rufus Rodriguez reiterated calls to pass House Bill (HB) No. 2459, which he initially introduced in 2022, stating “If they put our compatriots to death for violations connected to illegal drugs, let us do the same to their nationals, many of whom are caught manufacturing, peddling or smuggling drugs into the country.” Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, chairperson of the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs called for capital punishment for drug-related crimes, as well, reintroducing House Bill 1543, which would reinstate the death penalty. “While we condemn in no uncertain terms any and all illegal drug activities, we urge the two houses of Congress to take a serious look at the reimposition of the death penalty most especially on drug-related offenses,” said Rep. Barbers. “If other countries treat illegal drugs as a threat to their citizenry and the whole society, why are we so soft in treating this menace in our own territory?” he added. 

Qatar 

On November 23, Qatar’s Court of First Instance accepted an appeal by eight Indian former naval officers who were sentenced to death on charges of espionage last month. “The ex-naval officers in Qatar are veterans…and we are interested in ensuring their welfare is taken care of. I want to reassure you that the Indian government is putting all-out efforts to ensure that they are brought back,” said Indian Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar at a December 1 press conference ahead of Navy Day. 

Somalia 

On November 1, five men were executed for murder in Hargeisa. According to the Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide, there have been 55 executions in Somalia this year. 

Vietnam

Following a four-day trial in Ho Chi Minh City, two South Korean former police officers and one Chinese national were among 18 people convicted of trafficking over 216 kilograms of drugs. Of the 18, only three defendants were sentenced to life, while the others were sentenced to death, marking the highest number of people to be sentenced to death at once by Ho Chi Minh’s City Family and Juvenile Court.  

According to information collected by The Vietnamese Magazine from state media reports, at least 189 people have been sentenced to death from January to October 3, 2023. Most death sentences this year were imposed for drug-related offenses (77% or 145), while the remainder were for murder (23% or 44). Of the 44 death sentences imposed for murder, 45% or 20 killed their romantic partners or family members. June experienced the highest number of death sentences at 31, and Ho Chi Minh city is the region responsible for imposing the most death sentences at 34. 

Zimbabwe 

On November 15, Dzivarasekwa legislator Edwin Mushoriwa (Citizens Coalition for Change, CCC) introduced a bill to abolish the death penalty in parliament with support from several members across the political spectrum. “In our culture, the death penalty was never part of the Zimbabwean culture. Our traditional justice criminal system was based on compensation and restorative justice,” said Mushoriwa. In support, Harare East legislator Allan Markham highlighted the rarity of the death penalty globally, stating “My issue is, internationally when it comes to human rights, most countries have moved away from the death penalty and we should follow suit in the interest of globalization,” and Emakhadeni-Luveve legislator Descent Bajila added “The existence of the death penalty in our statutes is a sign of our lack of confidence in our correctional system. If we improve our correctional system, we will be able to correct all offenders.” The bill was referred to the Parliamentary Legal Committee on November 16, according to Veritas, a non-profit organization in Zimbabwe. 

Currently, Zimbabwe has 62 death-sentenced prisoners. Earlier in March, parliament passed a “Patriotic Bill” which prescribed the death penalty as possible punishment for citizens whose activities “willfully damage the sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe,” including boycotts, sanctions, and any act considered “subversion” by the state. President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, who was previously on death-row, is a well-known proponent of abolishing the death penalty and in 2018 commuted death sentences for those who had spent more than 10 years on death row.