International Death Penalty News 2024, Issue 28: Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Malaysia, Pakistan

Egypt

On Saturday, July 6, 2024, nine individuals were sentenced to death for being members of the Muslim Brotherhood, a terrorist organization.  In 2013, the Muslim Brotherhood overthrew President Mohamed Morsi, leading to a period of conflict between the organization and state security forces.  The nine individuals were not named but were part of a larger group of 43 people being sentenced.  Other individuals were given varying prison sentences and police supervision upon being released.

Indonesia

An Australian man, 49-year-old Troy Andrew Smith, has avoided being sentenced to death when charges of drug trafficking were dropped against him.  Instead, he was charged and convicted with possession of methamphetamine.  Troy was sentenced to six months in a medical rehabilitation center.  Indonesia has some of the toughest drug laws in the world and also prosecutes tourists and visitors found to be breaking those laws.  As part of giving Troy a reduced sentence, Tory expressed regret for his actions and promised to reform.  He also confessed to being a daily drug user since 2020 as a way to relieve his anxiety and depression.

Iran

On Sunday, June 30, 2024, 40-year-old Habib Shojayi was executed in Sari Central Prison.  He was convicted of murder and sentenced to qisas, that is, retribution in kind.  Under Iranian law, all killings are classified as “intentional murder” no matter the intent or circumstance, and mitigating evidence is rarely considered.  After conviction, the family of the victim decides if they will grant forgiveness to the convicted or insist upon diya (blood money) or qisas.  Habib’s execution has not yet been announced by state officials or the media, however, in 2023, only about 20 percent of executions were officially announced.

On Sunday, June 30, 2024, four men were executed in Mashhad Central Prison.  All four men were executed on drug-related charges.  Two of the men were identified as Yasser Ghafourian and 47-year-old Mohammad Houshiar Alizadeh. The other two men were only identified as an Afghan national and a Quchan national.  Their families and lawyers were not informed of their pending executions and their executions have not yet been announced by state officials or the media.

On Thursday, July 4, 2024, Sharifeh Mohammadi was sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court. Sharifeh, a labor activist, was convicted of “armed rebellion against the state.”  Evidence against her included her membership in an independent labor organization and of being a member of a banned party.  Sharifeh’s family deny the charges against her.  She was arrested on December 5, 2023, and has allegedly been tortured while in prison in order to extract a confession.  Iran has been attempting to eliminate dissent, especially against labor activists.

On Saturday, July 6, 2024, 45-year-old Ali Ezati was executed in Zanjan Central Prison.  He was convicted and executed on drug-related charges.  Before his arrest approximately three years ago, Ali worked as a farmer and was a father of two children.

On Sunday, July 7, 2024, 28-year-old Mojtaba Karami was executed in Shiraz Central Prison.  He was convicted and executed on drug-related charges.  Drug-related executions have been on the rise in Iran for the past several years.  Mojtaba’s execution has not yet been reported by state officials or the media.

On Sunday, July 7, 2024, 41-year-old Mostafa Hosseini and 38-year-old Hatam Shahidi were executed in Gorgan Central Prison.  Both men were convicted and executed on drug-related charges.  They were arrested about three years ago.  Before his arrest, Hatam was a truck driver.  Mostafa’s occupation was not reported.  State officials and the media have not yet reported either execution.

Iraq

On Wednesday, July 10, 2024, Asma Mohammed was sentenced to death for being complicit in crimes against Yazidi women captured by the Islamic State terrorist group.  Asma was identified as one of the wives of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who has since been killed.  The Yazidi women captured by the Islamic State were often subjected to human trafficking and sexual abuse, with the United Nations claiming it amounted to genocide.  Asma was arrested in Turkey in 2018, before being sent back to Iraq in 2023.

Malaysia

Forty-five-year-old Tan Kian Ngip has been sentenced to death for murdering his adoptive parents.  Seventy-three-year-old Tan Kim Joo and 67-year-old Ng Chong Hwa were murdered at their home in Nilai on July 24, 2019.  Both were retired, as Joo used to work as an engineer and Hwa was a former teacher.  Both were stabbed to death.  The court found that Ngip, who worked as a stockbroker before the murders, was deserving of capital punishment instead of a lesser sentence because of his relationship with the victims.  He also attempted to cover up the crime by setting the house on fire.

A three-judge panel of the Federal Court has upheld the death sentence of 36-year-old  Muidin Maidin, who was convicted and sentenced to death for murdering four-year-old Nurul Nadirah Abdullah on March 1, 2012.  Maidin kidnapped Nurul while she was walking home from a grocery store.  He then took her to an oil palm plantation, where he sexually assaulted her and ultimately killed her.  He then set fire to her body.  Maidin was appealing his death sentence, seeking a lesser sentence of life in prison.  He argued that he was remorseful of the crime and has become a changed person since coming to prison.

Pakistan

Bishop Samson Shukardin, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Pakistan is decrying the ruling sentencing a Christian man to death for blasphemy.  Ehsan Shan was recently sentenced to death for blasphemy after being convicted of sharing content online that insulted Islam and the Prophet Muhammad.  Shan also received a sentence of 22 years in prison and fined.  There are plans to appeal Shan’s sentence and conviction.  Blasphemy charges are often used against Christians and other minorities as a form of persecution.  Blasphemy laws are also condemned by many nations and international groups.  Accusations of blasphemy can also lead to riots and mobs forming and killing the accused before a trial.