THE GUARDIAN: Rico Krieger admits role in Ukrainian plot and pleads for German chancellor to save him during broadcast
A German man sentenced to death in Belarus has appeared on state television in the country, in tears and begging the German government to intervene in his case.
“Mr Scholz, please, I am still alive … it is not yet too late,” said Rico Krieger, who was pictured handcuffed inside a cell, appealing to the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz.
Authorities in Belarus, a dictatorial state where torture and politicised trials are rife, claim that Krieger, 30, travelled to the country last autumn on the orders of Ukrainian intelligence, with the goal of carrying out a terrorist attack on a railway line.
“This was the biggest mistake of my life. I admit my guilt, without a doubt,” said Krieger in a section of the interview where the original German was audible below a Russian-language voiceover translation. At several moments during the 17-minute television programme he broke down crying. » | Shaun Walker in Warsaw and Deborah Cole in Berlin | Friday, July 26, 2024
Belarus sentences German medic to death, activists say: A court in Belarus has sentenced a German medic to death after he was found guilty of charges related to terrorism and mercenary activity, rights activists have said. »
Showing posts with label death sentence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label death sentence. Show all posts
Friday, July 26, 2024
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
Friday, November 20, 2015
Saudi Court Sentences Poet to Death for Renouncing Islam
 |
| Ashraf Fayadh on YouTube. |
A Palestinian poet and leading member of Saudi Arabia’s nascent contemporary art scene has been sentenced to death for renouncing Islam.
A Saudi court on Tuesday ordered the execution of Ashraf Fayadh, who has curated art shows in Jeddah and at the Venice Biennale. The poet, who said he did not have legal representation, was given 30 days to appeal against the ruling.
Fayadh, 35, a key member of the British-Saudi art organization Edge of Arabia, was originally sentenced to four years in prison and 800 lashes by the general court in Abha, a city in the south-west of the ultraconservative kingdom, in May 2014.
But after his appeal was dismissed he was retried last month and a new panel of judges ruled that his repentance did not prevent his execution.
“I was really shocked but it was expected, though I didn’t do anything that deserves death,” Fayadh told the Guardian. » | David Batty | Friday, November 20, 2015
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Islamists Warn of Backlash over Mohamed Morsi Death Sentence
Egyptian Islamists have warned that the world should brace itself for a backlash after the country’s first freely elected president, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsi, was given a provisional death sentence nearly two years after he was overthrown by the army following mass protests against his rule.
Morsi was among over 100 men sentenced to death on Saturday for allegedly escaping prison during the 2011 uprising that toppled Morsi’s predecessor, Hosni Mubarak. Morsi and his colleagues were convicted of conspiring with Hamas, the Brotherhood’s Palestinian offshoot, whom judges decided had helped the prisoners leave jail in January 2011.
The sentence is provisional until the government’s most senior Islamic cleric gives his opinion. A final decision is due on 2 June. Even if the execution is upheld, analysts doubt that the Egyptian regime will follow through with such a provocative act. In a separate espionage case on Saturday, Morsi was sentenced to life in prison and, in a third case last month, to 20 years for incitement to violence. » | Patrick Kingsley in Cairo | Saturday, May 16, 2015
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Thursday, June 05, 2014
Meriam Ibrahim 'Should Be Executed,' Her Brother Says
 |
| Al Samani Al Hadi said his sister should be put to death if she does not 'return' to Islam |
Meriam Ibrahim, the woman sentenced to death in Sudan for apostasy, was “given a magic potion” to bewitch her into leaving Islam – and should be executed for doing so, her brother has said.
Al Samani Al Hadi Mohamed Abdullah said that he denounced his sister to the authorities because his family are “Muslim people.” He claimed that Ms Ibrahim, 27, was born as Abrar Al Hadi but changed her name when she was drugged by her husband, Daniel Wani. And he said that, if she did not return to the devout family fold, she should be hanged.
“It’s one of two; if she repents and returns to our Islamic faith and to the embrace of our family, then we are her family and she is ours,” he said.
"But if she refuses she should be executed," he told CNN.
His comments will fuel speculation that the denouncing of Ms Ibrahim was part of a family feud. An American NGO which is paying for the legal costs has claimed that Ms Ibrahim was targeted by jealous relatives who wanted to gain control of her clutch of successful small businesses - a supermarket, farm and beauty salon. » | Harriet Alexander | Thursday, June 05, 2014
Friday, May 23, 2014
Saturday, April 05, 2014
Pakistani Couple Get Death Sentences for Blasphemy
The couple, named as Shafqat Emmanuel and Shagufta Kausar, were found guilty of sending the text message to the imam of their local mosque.
Allegations of blasphemy against Islam are taken very seriously in Pakistan.
Several recent cases have prompted international concern about the application of blasphemy laws.
The imam brought a complaint against the couple last July.
The couple's lawyer told the BBC he would appeal against the sentences and said the trial had not been conducted fairly.
Pakistan has a de facto moratorium on the death penalty so it is unlikely the couple will be executed.
They come from the town of Gojra in Punjab, previously the scene of communal violence. » | Saturday, April 05, 2014
Friday, March 28, 2014
Christian Sentenced to Death for Blasphemy in Pakistan
A Christian man has been sentenced to death for blasphemy in Pakistan, according to his lawyer, following an incident last year that prompted a Muslim mob to torch hundreds of homes.
It is the latest in a string of convictions prompting calls from religious minorities for the law to be reformed.
Naeem Shakir said his client, Sawan Masih, was convicted during a hearing held in jail for fear of violent protests.
Masih, a cleaner, was accused of insulting the Prophet Mohammed during a conversation with a Muslim friend in the eastern city of Lahore. Within hours, about 3000 protesters had set light to Christian homes and churches in an area known as Joseph Colony.
His supporters have always claimed the incident was fabricated as part of a plot to seize land. » | Rob Crilly, Pakistan correspondent | Friday, March 28, 2014
Sunday, December 02, 2012
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: An Egyptian court has convicted in absentia seven Egyptian Coptic Christians and a US pastor, sentencing them to death on charges linked to an anti-Islam film that had sparked riots in parts of the Muslim world.
The case was seen as largely symbolic because the defendants, most of whom live in the United States, are all outside Egypt and are thus unlikely to ever face the sentence.
The charges were brought in September during a wave of public outrage in Egypt over the amateur film, which was produced by an Egyptian-American Copt.
The low-budget Innocence of Muslims, parts of which were made available online, portrays the Prophet Mohammed as a fraud, womaniser and buffoon. » | Sarah El Deeb | Thursday, November 29, 2012
NBC BAY AREA: Anti-Islam Film to Stay on YouTube: Judge – A federal judge denied a woman's request to get "Innocence of Muslims" taken of[f] the Internet » | Jason Kandel | Saturday, December 01, 2012
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
AFP: WASHINGTON — The United States on Monday called on Iran to release Christian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, who was imprisoned in 2009 and condemned to death for converting from Islam to Christianity.
"Pastor Nadarkhani still faces the threat of execution for simply following his faith, and we repeat our call for Iranian authorities to release him immediately," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement.
"Unfortunately, Pastor Nadarkhani is not alone in his suffering. The Iranian regime continues to deny and abuse the human rights of its citizens, in particular those of its many ethnic and religious minorities," it said. » | AFP | Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Monday, March 19, 2012
ONE NEWS NOW: Iran (MNN) ― In a March 7 press release posted on the American Center for Law and Justice Web site, Iran says there is no death sentence on Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani.
The release was made available to the ACLJ by Department of the Press, Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In it, the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran at Brasilia not only denies the report, but also states: "Article 13 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran recognizes followers of major Heavenly religions, including Christians, as religious minorities, accepting and assuring their rights as religious citizens." According to this Article, they are free to hold services and religious teachings and to practice civil rights based in their background.
It goes on to say, "Also these minorities, like the other Muslim organizations inside the Constitution, have representatives in the Parliament. It also says that a peaceful living exists in the Islamic Republic of Iran between the followers of divine religions, with a sincere fatherly spirit that is established between the State and different aspects. Also, we made sure of an independent power of the Court, reminding that the referred individual was arrested based upon laws and regulations of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He has a lawyer who is protecting all of his legal rights, including contact with his family. » | Mission Network News | Monday, March 19, 2012
Monday, March 05, 2012
Judges had found the verdict against Amir Mirzai Hekmati was "not complete" and referred his case to an affiliate court, a judiciary spokesman said.
In January, Mr Hekmati was convicted of "co-operating with a hostile nation, membership of the CIA and trying to implicate Iran in terrorism".
The US has urged Iran to release him.
It has repeatedly insisted the allegations that Mr Hekmati either worked for, or was sent to Iran by the CIA, are "simply untrue".
Mr Hekmati's family, who live in Arizona, have also said the charges are fabricated and that he was in Iran last year to visit his grandmothers. » | Monday, March 05, 2012
TAGES ANZEIGER: Angeblicher US-Spion entgeht der Todesstrafe: In Iran hat das Oberste Gericht das Todesurteil gegen einen amerikanisch-iranischen Doppelbürger aufgehoben. Der 28-Jährige hat eine illustre Vergangenheit. » | ami/AFP | Montag, 05. März 2012
Sunday, March 04, 2012
"At the request of Minister (Guido) Westerwelle, the Iranian ambassador was summoned yesterday (Friday) to the foreign ministry for the German government to convey its deep concern over the fate of Christian pastor Yusuf Nadarkhani and to demand his immediate release," a spokeswoman told AFP Saturday.
"According to several independent reports, (Nadarkhani) is to be executed soon. Instructions to that effect have been sent by the Iranian judiciary authorities to the central prison in Rasht," where he is being held, she said. » | AFP/mw | Saturday, March 03, 2012
Related »
Friday, March 02, 2012
Youcef Nadarkhani's sentence has been affirmed at the highest levels of Iran's legal system and could be carried out at anytime, according to his supporters. The sentence shows that Tehran has again "failed to uphold its obligations to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights," reads House Resolution 556.
The resolution, drafted by Pennsylvania Republican Joseph Pitts, calls for Iran to immediately exonerate and unconditionally release Nadarkhani as well as any other people who are being held or charged for religious or political beliefs. » | Perry Chiaramonte | Thursday, March 01, 2012
Related »
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
ACLJ »
Tweet for Youcef »
ARUTZ SHEVA: Iran Puts Off Execution of Christian Pastor: Iran has put off the execution of Christian Pastor Yousof Nadarkhani, but it is not clear for how long. » | Chana Ya’ar | Monday, February 27, 2012
Related links here, here, here, and here.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Related »
Verwandt »
Jodran Sekulow, executive director of the American Center for Law and Justice, said he was informed on Monday by the pastor's legal team that the final execution order had been issued. At this point, said Sekulow, the pastor could be executed without the legal team's knowledge.
The White House issued a pointed statement on Thursday, strongly condemning the reports and renewed calls for Iranian authorities to release the pastor.
"This action is yet another shocking breach of Iran's international obligations, its own constitution, and stated religious values," stated a release by the White House. "The United States stands in solidarity with Pastor Nadarkhani, his family, and all those who seek to practice their religion without fear of persecution-a fundamental and universal human right. "
Mark Toner, spokesperson at the U.S. Department of State, released a similar statement on Thursday.
"We stand with religious and political leaders from around the world in condemning Youcef Nadarkhani's conviction and call for his immediate release," read the statement. » | Dan Mercia, CNN | Thursday, February 23, 2012
Related »
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)