Capital punishment in Jordan

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Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Jordan . The country had a moratorium on capital punishment between 2006 and 2014. In late 2014 the moratorium was lifted and 11 persons were executed. Two more executions followed in 2015, 15 executions took place in 2017 and one in 2021.

Contents

The method of execution is hanging, previously shooting was the sole method. [1]

History

Between 2000 and the imposition of a moratorium in 2006 there had been 41 executions, either for murder, terrorism or sexual offences. [2]

In 2005 King Abdullah II of Jordan stated that: "in coordination with the European Union, we would like to modify our Penal Code. Jordan could soon become the first country in the Middle East without capital punishment." [3] A moratorium on the death penalty was subsequently imposed the following year.

In 2008 and 2010 Jordan abstained to vote on the United Nations moratorium on the death penalty. [2]

In November 2014 the Jordanian cabinet formed a committee to explore whether Jordan should reinstate the application of capital punishment. [3]

On 21 December 2014 11 persons were hanged, all men who were convicted of murder in 2005 and 2006. [4] [5] These were the first executions in the country since June 2006; 122 sentences of capital punishment had been handed out since. [5] Shortly before the executions Interior Minister Hussein Al-Majali had stated that capital punishment might be reinstated due to a major debate on the subject, and with the public believing that a recent rise in crime was caused by non-application of the death penalty. [5] The lifting of the moratorium was criticized by human rights organisations. [6]

On 4 February 2015, shortly after discovering Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kasasbeh had been killed by the Islamic State, Jordan executed Sajida Mubarak Atrous al-Rishawi and Ziad Khalaf Raja al-Karbouly. Both had been convicted of terrorist offences. [7]

In February 2016 local media reported that a government committee had recommended the execution of 13 offenders, out of 80 investigated cases. [8]

15 people were executed on the morning of 4 March 2017; 10 convicted with terrorism and the remaining 5 with "heinous" murder and rape of minors. Those convicted with terrorism were part of a bomb attack against the Jordanian embassy in Baghdad in 2003 that left dozens killed, an attack in Amman in 2006 in which a tourist was killed, a foiled terror plot in Irbid in 2016 that planned to bomb several civilian targets, an attack on intelligence officers in 2016 that left 5 dead and the assassination of Jordanian writer Nahed Hattar in 2016. [9]

In 2017 there were a total of 120 people on death row, including 12 women. [10]

On 4 August 2021 a Jordanian man was hanged in Swaqa prison for burning his Lebanese wife to death, being the last execution in the country as of January 2022. [11]

Capital crimes

Capital punishment is possible amongst others for murder, rape, terrorism, aggravated robbery, drug trafficking, illegal possession and use of weapons, war crimes, treason and espionage. [12]

In recent years most verdicts of capital punishment have been handed out by the State Security Court. [13] Cases in which capital punishment is sentenced receive an automatic appeal. [14]

Article 93 of the Constitution of Jordan holds that "no death sentence may be carried out unless ratified by the King. Every such sentence shall be submitted to him by the Council of Ministers along with the council’s view on it." [3]

Several categories of persons are excluded from being subjected to capital punishment. These are those under the age of 18, pregnant women, the mentally ill and mentally retarded. [1]

Related Research Articles

Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned practice of killing a person as a punishment for a crime, usually following an authorised, rule-governed process to conclude that the person is responsible for violating norms that warrant said punishment. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in such a manner is known as a death sentence, and the act of carrying out the sentence is known as an execution. A prisoner who has been sentenced to death and awaits execution is condemned and is commonly referred to as being "on death row". Etymologically, the term capital refers to execution by beheading, but executions are carried out by many methods, including hanging, shooting, lethal injection, stoning, electrocution, and gassing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital punishment by country</span> Overview of the use of capital punishment in several countries

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital punishment in the United Kingdom</span> History of the death penalty in the UK

Capital punishment in the United Kingdom predates the formation of the UK, having been used within the British Isles from ancient times until the second half of the 20th century. The last executions in the United Kingdom were by hanging, and took place in 1964; capital punishment for murder was suspended in 1965 and finally abolished in 1969. Although unused, the death penalty remained a legally defined punishment for certain offences such as treason until it was completely abolished in 1998; the last execution for treason took place in 1946. In 2004 the 13th Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights became binding on the United Kingdom; it prohibits the restoration of the death penalty as long as the UK is a party to the convention.

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Sri Lanka.

Capital punishment is a legal punishment in Iran. Crimes punishable by death include murder; rape; child molestation; homosexuality; pedophilia; drug trafficking; armed robbery; kidnapping; terrorism; burglary; incestuous relationships; fornication; prohibited sexual relations; sodomy; sexual misconduct; prostitution; plotting to overthrow the Islamic regime; political dissidence; sabotage; arson; rebellion; apostasy; adultery; blasphemy; extortion; counterfeiting; smuggling; speculating; disrupting production; recidivist consumption of alcohol; producing or preparing food, drink, cosmetics, or sanitary items that lead to death when consumed or used; producing and publishing pornography; using pornographic materials to solicit sex; recidivist false accusation of capital sexual offenses causing execution of an innocent person; recidivist theft; certain military offenses ; "waging war against God"; "spreading corruption on Earth"; espionage; and treason. Iran carried out at least 977 executions in 2015, at least 567 executions in 2016, and at least 507 executions in 2017. In 2018 there were at least 249 executions, at least 273 in 2019, at least 246 in 2020, at least 290 in 2021, at least 553 in 2022, and at least 309 so far in 2023.

Capital punishment in Iraq is a legal penalty. It was commonly used by the government of Saddam Hussein, was temporarily halted after the US-led 2003 invasion of Iraq that deposed Saddam, and has since been reinstated. Executions are carried out by hanging.

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Pakistan. Although there have been numerous amendments to the Constitution, there is yet to be a provision prohibiting the death penalty as a punitive remedy.

Capital punishment in Malaysia is a legal penalty in Malaysian law.

Capital punishment in Saudi Arabia is a legal penalty. Death sentences are almost exclusively based on the system of judicial sentencing discretion (tazir), following the classical principle of avoiding Sharia-prescribed (hudud) penalties when possible. In recent decades, the government and the courts have increasingly issued these sentences, reacting to a rise in violent crime during the 1970s. This paralleled similar developments in the U.S. and Mainland China in the late 20th century.

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in South Korea. As of December 2012, there were at least 60 people in South Korea on death row. The method of execution is hanging.

Capital punishment in Peru was last used in 1979. In the same year, the death penalty was abolished for ordinary crimes. Peru is one of seven countries that has abolished capital punishment for "ordinary crimes only." Peru voted in favor of the United Nations moratorium on the death penalty in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020. Peru is not a member state to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Jamaica. Currently, the only crime punishable by death is aggravated murder. The method of execution is hanging. Jamaica was originally a British colony. The last person executed in Jamaica was Nathan Foster, who was convicted of murder and hanged in 1988. The Jamaican Parliament had placed a moratorium on the death penalty until 2009, when it was lifted. Since 2009, capital punishment is legal and executions in Jamaica could resume; however, there have been no executions since.

Capital punishment in South Africa was abolished on 6 June 1995 by the ruling of the Constitutional Court in the case of S v Makwanyane, following a five-year and four-month moratorium since February 1990.

Capital punishment is legal in most countries of the Middle East. Much of the motivation for the retention of the death penalty has been religious in nature, as the Qur'an allows or mandates executions for various offences.

Capital punishment in Kazakhstan was abolished for all crimes in 2021. Until 2021, it had been abolished for ordinary crimes but was still permitted for crimes occurring in special circumstances. The legal method of execution in Kazakhstan had been shooting, specifically a single shot to the back of the head.

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Nigeria.

Capital punishment remains a legal penalty for multiple crimes in The Gambia. However, the country has taken recent steps towards abolishing the death penalty.

Capital punishment in Malawi is a legal punishment for certain crimes. The country abolished the death penalty by a Malawian Supreme Court ruling in 2021, but it was soon reinstated. However, the country is currently under a death penalty moratorium, which has been in place since the latest execution in 1992.

Capital punishment is a legal punishment in Cameroon. However, it has not carried out any official executions since 1997, meaning that it has not carried out any executions in the past 10 years, making it de facto abolitionist, since it also has a moratorium.

Capital punishment was abolished for all crimes in Chad on April 28, 2020, following a unanimous vote by the National Assembly of Chad. Prior to 2020, Chad's 003/PR/2020 "anti-terrorism" law maintained capital punishment for terrorism-related offenses. Chad's new penal code, which was adopted in 2014 and promulgated in 2017, had abolished capital punishment for all other crimes.

References

  1. 1 2 "Jordan". Death Penalty Worldwide. 28 June 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Amman Center for Human Rights Studies 5th Annual Report, The Death Penalty in the Arab World 2010" (PDF). Amman Center for Human Rights Studies. 2010. p. 19. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 April 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 Rana Husseini (9 November 2014). "Panel to examine whether to reinstate executions". The Jordan Times. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  4. ↑ "Jordan ends death penalty moratorium with 11 executions". BBC. 21 December 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 "Jordan hangs 11 after lifting execution ban". Al Jazeera. 21 December 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  6. ↑ "Jordan hangs 11 men after eight-year halt to death penalty". The Guardian. 21 December 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  7. ↑ Rod Norland and Ranya Kadri (3 February 2015). "Jordan Executes 2 Prisoners After ISIS Video of Pilot's Death". New York Times. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  8. ↑ Rana Husseini (17 February 2016). "No decision yet on death row cases — official". The Jordan Times. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  9. ↑ "Jordan executes 15 prisoners, 10 convicted of terror charges". BBC. 4 March 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  10. ↑ "12 women on death row in Jordan — SIGI". The Jordan Times. 12 April 2017. Archived from the original on 15 April 2017.
  11. ↑ "Jordanian executed by hanging for burning wife to death". 4 August 2021.
  12. ↑ "The Death Penalty in Jordan". Death Penalty Worldwide. Archived from the original on 13 October 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  13. ↑ Roger G. Hood; Carolyn Hoyle (2008). The Death Penalty: A Worldwide Perspective . Oxford University Press. pp.  248–. ISBN   978-0-19-922846-1.
  14. ↑ "2010 Human Rights Report: Jordan". Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor - United States Department of State. 8 April 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
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