death penalty - The African Mirror

Jul

11

2024

Iraq sentences wife of ISIS leader to death

WORLD

AN Iraqi court has sentenced the wife of the late Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to death, according to Reuters. The woman, who remains unnamed, was convicted for her involvement with the terrorist group and for holding Yazidi women captive in her home. The Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council reported that the Yazidi women were initially abducted by Islamic State militants in the Sinjar district of Nineveh Governorate before being imprisoned in the woman's house in Mosul. A court official, speaking anonymously to Reuters due to lack of authorization, stated, "The criminal court today sentenced Baghdadi's wife to death by…

Jul

06

2024

By The African Mirror

Soldier prosecutions underscore weakness of DR Congo’s anti-M23 campaign

NEWS

A military court in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has sentenced to death 25 soldiers accused of fleeing the front line while fighting against the Rwanda-back M23 rebel group. Several Congolese soldiers and officers were also sentenced in May to death for “cowardice” and “fleeing the enemy” after a trial in Goma, the largest city in eastern DRC. Human rights activists said soldiers are being scapegoated for what are broader systemic issues within the security forces, while army officers told Reuters the crackdown has spread fear and distrust in the military. The M23 is led by Congolese Tutsis who say they are fighting…

Jun

22

2024

By The African Mirror

China threatens death penalty for ‘diehard’ Taiwan separatists

WORLD

CHINA threatened to impose the death penalty in extreme cases for "diehard" Taiwan independence separatists, a ratcheting up of pressure even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction on the democratically governed island. China, which views Taiwan as its own territory, has made no secret of its dislike of President Lai Ching-te who took office last month, saying he is a "separatist", and staged war games shortly after his inauguration. Taiwan has complained of a pattern of ramped-up Chinese pressure since Lai won the election in January, including ongoing military actions, trade sanctions and coast guard patrols around Taiwan-controlled islands next to China. The new guidelines…

May

14

2024

By FRANS VILJOEN

Zimbabwe’s likely to abolish the death penalty: how it got here and what it means for the continent

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

ZIMBABWE is likely to abolish capital punishment, following a cabinet decision on 7 February 2024. However, its parliament still has to endorse the move and pass the necessary law enabling the change. The question is when this will happen, especially since it appears that it would require a constitutional amendment. When this happens, Zimbabwe will not only draw a line under a long-standing colonial legal import but also bolster continental and regional trends towards abolition. It will also provide certainty to – and spare the lives of – the 62 prisoners currently on death row. The change was initiated by…

May

11

2024

By CAMILLUS EBOH

Nigeria’s Senate proposes death penalty for drug trafficking

NEWS

Nigeria's Senate proposed significantly toughening penalties for drug trafficking, making the death penalty the new maximum sentence through a law amendment. The amendment, which is not yet law, replaces life imprisonment, which was previously the harshest punishment. Nigeria, Africa's most populous country of more than 200 million people, has in recent years gone from being a transit point for illegal drugs to a full-blown producer, consumer and distributor. Opioid abuse, especially tramadol and cough syrups containing codeine, has been widespread throughout Nigeria, according to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, which banned production and import of…

Apr

06

2024

By SADIYA ANSARI

What you need to know about Uganda’s anti-LGBTQ+ law

LGBTQIA+

A Ugandan court has upheld a sweeping law that introduced the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality", leaving only one legal route to challenge some of the most punitive anti-LGBTQ+ measures in Africa. The Constitutional Court on Wednesday upheld the validity of the so-called Anti-Homosexuality Act, while striking down some of its key sections, citing health and privacy concerns. Here's the big picture. What is the Anti-Homosexuality Act? The Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA) was signed into law by President Yoweri Museveni in May 2023, and its draconian measures have prompted U.S. and World Bank sanctions. While Uganda had long criminalised gay sex, the new law is harsher than its…

Mar

20

2024

By The African Mirror

Prosecutors seek death penalty for mastermind of Vietnam’s largest financial scam

WORLD

VIETNAMESE prosecutors called for the death penalty to be handed to Truong My Lan, the mastermind of the Southeast Asian nation's largest financial fraud on record, state media said. Lan, the chairwoman of real estate developer Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group, faces a trial in the economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City on accusations of leading a scam that caused damages of $20 billion, or about 4.9% of Vietnam's gross domestic product. The trial, expected to run until the end of April, is part of a campaign against graft that the leader of the ruling Communist Party, Nguyen Phu…

Mar

17

2024

By The African Mirror

DRC lifts moratorium on death penalty

NEWS

DEMOCRATIC Republic Congo has lifted a moratorium on the death penalty, citing treachery and espionage in recurring armed conflicts as the reason for allowing a resumption of executions, said a justice ministry circular seen by Reuters on Friday. The Central African country introduced the moratorium on the death penalty in early 2000. However, it has never been abolished. Justice Minister Rose Mutombo wrote in the circular dated March 13 that the death penalty was reintroduced to rid the army of traitors and curb the resurgence of terrorism and banditry acts. The decision was adopted by a council of ministers on…

Jan

14

2024

By JOSEPH AX

US to seek death penalty against white supremacist Buffalo shooter

WORLD

U.S. prosecutors will seek the death penalty against the white supremacist who killed 10 Black people at a Buffalo, New York, grocery store in 2022, marking the first time the Biden administration has initiated capital punishment proceedings. The U.S. Justice Department in a court filing on Friday said it would seek the death penalty for Payton Gendron for killings motivated by his "animus toward Black persons." Gendron, who was 18 at the time of the mass shooting, has already pleaded guilty to separate state charges of murder and domestic terrorism and was sentenced last February to life in prison without the possibility…

Oct

03

2023

By The African Mirror

Ugandan court moves toward hearing challenge to anti-gay law

LGBTQIA+

UGANDA'S Constitutional Court took a first step toward hearing a challenge to an anti-gay law that rights activists and Western governments have denounced as draconian. The Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA), signed into law by President Yoweri Museveni in May, is one of the world's harshest anti-gay laws and punishes some same-sex acts with the death penalty. Lawyers in the case met before the court registrar and agreed to reconvene on October 12, when the matter will be forwarded to the court's judges to set a hearing date, Nicholas Opiyo, an attorney for the organisations contesting the law, told reporters. "Our prayer is that…