Chronological archive
January 2021
The 99 news items published by Hands Off Cain in January 2021, in chronological order.
GAZA: SECOND DEATH SENTENCE ISSUED IN 2021
The Court of First Instance of Deir al-Balah on 27 January 2021 issued a death sentence by hanging against ‘A. Kh ‘A. (25), from Jabalia refugee camp.
JANUARY 31, 2021PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: LHC ACQUITS TWO DEATH ROW CONVICTS AFTER 9 YEARS
The Lahore High Court (LHC) on 27 January 2021 acquitted two death row convicts who had been serving prison time for the past 9 years. The court acquitted the convicts over lack of solid evidence against them.
JANUARY 31, 2021ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: FINANCE OFFICIAL EXECUTED IN BRIBERY CASE
The former head of a Chinese state-owned asset management company was executed on 29 January 2021 on charges of taking bribes in an unusually severe penalty for a recent corruption case.
JANUARY 30, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Javid Dehghan-Khold executed in Zahedan Central Prison on January 30
Baluch prisoner sentenced to death on political and security charges
JANUARY 28, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Ali Motayyeri executed in Sheiban Prison, Ahvaz, on January 28.
He was charged with being an Isis terrorist
- JANUARY 28, 2021ZambiaDEATH PENALTY
ZAMBIA: PRESIDENT LUNGU REMOVES 246 INMATES FROM DEATH ROW
Zambian President Edgar Lungu has removed 246 inmates who were on death row and commuted their sentences to life sentences, a government official said on 27 January 2021.
JANUARY 28, 2021PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: COUPLE SENTENCED TO LIFE AND DEATH FOR SEXUALLY ASSAULTING, FILMING 45 GIRLS
A local court in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on 25 January 2021 sentenced a couple to life and death for kidnapping, sexually assaulting, blackmailing and also recording inappropriate videos of dozens of girls.
JANUARY 28, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Anvar Narouei executed in Isfahan’s Dastgerd Prison on January 28
He was a Baluch with drug-related charges
JANUARY 28, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - EU Must Address Iran’s State Terrorism
an online conference hosted by the International Committee in Search of Justice (ISJ)
JANUARY 27, 2021IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: 65% OF DEATH SENTENCES IN 2020 INVOLVED SEXUAL VIOLENCE
Project 39A at National Law University, Delhi, published the fifth edition of the “Death Penalty in India: Annual Statistic Report”
JANUARY 27, 2021IraqDEATH PENALTYIRAQ: THREE CONVICTED OF ‘TERRORISM’ HANGED
Three Iraqis convicted of “terrorism” were hanged on 25 January 2021, a security source said, days after a deadly double suicide attack in a crowded Baghdad marketplace.
JANUARY 27, 2021SomaliaDEATH PENALTYSOMALIA: MILITARY COURT SENTENCES SOLDIER TO DEATH
A military court in Somalia on 23 January 2021 sentenced a soldier to death for killing a civilian.
- JANUARY 27, 2021IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Woman executed in Sanandaj Prison on January 27
The identity of the woman has not been clarified
- JANUARY 27, 2021IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Abbas Ali Hosseini executed at Zanjan Prison on January 27
He was sentenced for murder
JANUARY 26, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - IHR Warns of Crackdown on Kurdish and Baluch Citizens
Iran Human Rights calls upon the international community and human rights organisations for a stronger response
- JANUARY 26, 2021VirginiaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Virginia. Senate Bill 1165 was approved by the Finance and Appropriations Committee
the bill would abolish the death penalty
JANUARY 26, 2021United StatesDEATH PENALTYUSA - Criminal Justice Leaders Urge Biden To End Death Penalty
as 40 members of Congress already did
- JANUARY 25, 2021IraqDEATH PENALTY
IRAQ: 340 DEATH SENTENCES RATIFIED FOLLOWING ISIS SUICIDE BOMBINGS
Iraq’s president ratified more than 340 death sentences for people with terrorism and other criminal charges, state media reported on 24 January 2021.
- JANUARY 25, 2021TexasDEATH PENALTY
USA - Texas. Supreme Court Rules Favorably Toward Ruben Gutierrez
Inmate Requesting Priest at Execution
JANUARY 25, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Javad Montazerian executed at Dizel Abad Prison on January 25
He was charged with murder
- JANUARY 25, 2021ChinaDEATH PENALTY
PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR THE DEATH PENALTY IN CHINA: LESS FROM THE POPULACE BUT MORE FROM ELITES
An article published online by Cambridge University Press is the first to report the nationwide public support rate for the death penalty in China.
- JANUARY 25, 2021IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Houshang Mohammadi and Ali Angazi executed in Kermanshah Prison on 25 January 2021
for murder
JANUARY 25, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Mehdi Ali Hosseini executed in Dezful Prison on January 25
Hosseini was a wrestler. His case had received widespread support from the sports community
JANUARY 23, 2021PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: FRONTIER CORPS MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING STUDENT IN TURBAT
A sepoy of the Frontier Corps was sentenced to death on 20 January 2021 over killing of a Karachi University student in August last year.
JANUARY 23, 2021NigeriaDEATH PENALTYNIGERIA: COURT SETS ASIDE DEATH SENTENCE IMPOSED ON KANO SINGER OVER BLASPHEMY
A Kano state high court (appeal division) has set aside the death sentence imposed on Yahya Sharif Aminu, a Kano-based singer, convicted for blasphemy.
JANUARY 23, 2021IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: BROTHER, UNCLE GET DOUBLE DEATH SENTENCE FOR RAPING, BEHEADING 12-YEAR-OLD GIRL IN MP
Terming it as rarest of the rare case, a court in Madhya Pradesh on 20 January 2021 sentenced a 21-year-old man and his 42-year-old uncle to death for raping and beheading a 12-year-old girl.
JANUARY 23, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Mohammad Shakori executed at Qom Central Prison on January 23
charged with rape
- JANUARY 22, 2021TexasDEATH PENALTY
USA - Texas. Death sentence of Charles Brownlow commuted to life without parole
for intellectual disability
JANUARY 22, 2021PennsylvaniaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Pennsylvania. Anthony Fletcher has been released from prison
28 years after he was sent to death row
- JANUARY 21, 2021EgyptDEATH PENALTY
EGYPT: 14 SENTENCED TO DEATH IN TWO DIFFERENT CASES
Fourteen people were sentenced to death in two different cases, Egypt Today reported on 19 January 2021.
JANUARY 21, 2021ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: MAN WHO KILLED JUDGE OVER DIVORCE TRIAL SENTENCED TO DEATH
A man in China was sentenced to death on 18 January 2021 for killing the judge who presided over his divorce.
Show news 31–60 of 98
JANUARY 21, 2021IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: GHAZIABAD MAN GETS DEATH SENTENCE FOR RAPING, MURDERING FRIEND'S 2-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER
A special POCSO court sentenced a man to death on 20 January 2021 for raping and murdering a two-year-old girl in Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh), the verdict coming within a month of the crime.
JANUARY 20, 2021AfghanistanDEATH PENALTYAFGHANISTAN: VICE PRESIDENT PUSHES FOR EXECUTION OF TALIBAN PRISONERS
Afghanistan’s First Vice President Amrullah Saleh on 18 January 2021 demanded the execution of Taliban prisoners as violence surges in the country in spite of US-sponsored talks between the government and the militants.
JANUARY 20, 2021BangladeshDEATH PENALTYBANGLADESH: 5 SENTENCED TO DEATH IN MANIKGANJ FOR KILLING UP MEMBER
A Manikganj court on 18 January 2021 sentenced five people to death and acquitted thirteen others in a case filed over the murder of union parishad member Ashraf Ali in Ghior upazila of Manikganj in 2013.
JANUARY 20, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Abdolraouf Kobdani executed at Zahedan Central Prison on January 20
on drug (opium) charges
JANUARY 20, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hafez Abdolsattar executed in Zahedan Prison on January 20.
for murder
- JANUARY 20, 2021IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Younes Jamshid-Zehi and Shamsoldin Baji-Zehi executed on January 20 at Zahedan Central Prison.
on murder charges
- JANUARY 20, 2021IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Younes Khanshini hanged on January 20
for murder
JANUARY 20, 2021ThailandDEATH PENALTYTHAILAND: BANYIN GETS DEATH SENTENCE FOR MURDER OF CHUWONG
Former deputy commerce minister Banyin Tangpakorn on 20 January 2021 was sentenced to death for the premeditated murder of construction tycoon Chuwong Sae Tang that he tried to pass off as a car accident six years ago.
JANUARY 19, 2021Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: DRAMATIC DROP IN EXECUTIONS AFTER LAWS CHANGED IN 2020
Saudi Arabia, for years one of the world's most prolific executioners, dramatically reduced the number of people put to death last year, following changes halting executions for non-violent drug-related crimes, according to the government’s tally and inde
JANUARY 19, 2021IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: SURENDER KOLI GETS 12TH DEATH SENTENCE IN NITHARI MURDER CASE
A Special CBI court in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on 17 January 2021 awarded death sentence to Surinder Koli in yet another case related to one of the country’s most sensational case — the Nithari serial rape and murder case.
JANUARY 19, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Anwar Ali-Zehi executed at Zahedan Prison on January 19
on drug-related charges
- JANUARY 19, 2021United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Federal. Death sentence tossed for Kenneth Eugene Barrett
for deficient legal representation
JANUARY 18, 2021PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: BANNED OUTFIT’S HITMAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING THREE
An antiterrorism court on 17 January 2021 awarded death sentence to a hitman, said to be associated with the banned outfit Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, for killing three people during an attack on a shrine, the Dawn reported.
JANUARY 18, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Fateh Ghaderi executed in Sanandaj Prison on January 18.
for murder
JANUARY 18, 2021BangladeshDEATH PENALTYBANGLADESH: THREE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING MOTHER-SON IN KAKRAIL
A Dhaka court on 17 January 2021 sentenced three people to death in the case filed over the murder of a woman and her son in Dhaka’s Kakrail area on 1 November 2017.
- JANUARY 18, 2021VirginiaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Virginia. Legislation to abolish death penalty advances in Senate.
SB 1165
JANUARY 16, 2021United StatesDEATH PENALTYUSA - Federal. Corey Johnson died an "excruciatingly painful death"
felt like drowning for 20 minutes
JANUARY 16, 2021BelarusDEATH PENALTYBELARUS: MAN RE-SENTENCED TO DEATH AFTER RETRIAL
A court in Belarus on 15 January 2021 re-sentenced a man to capital punishment on murder charges, Minsk-based human rights center Viasna said.
- JANUARY 16, 2021IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - A man, identified only as Amir, hanged on January 16
for murder
JANUARY 16, 2021United StatesDEATH PENALTYUSA Dustin Higgs was executed at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana
He was pronounced dead at 1:23 a.m. EST on January 16.
JANUARY 15, 2021VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: SIX SENTENCED TO DEATH IN HCMC FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
A court in Ho Chi Minh City on 12 January 2021 sentenced six drug traffickers to death for smuggling 13.8 kilograms of synthetic drugs and ketamine from Cambodia into the city.
JANUARY 15, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Shamseddin Soleimani has been executed at Qazvin Prison on January 15
for drugs
JANUARY 14, 2021PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: ATC AWARDS TWO TIME DEATH SENTENCE IN POLICE OFFICIAL MURDER CASE
The Anti-Terrorist Court (ATC), Rawalpindi Judge Raja Pervez Akhtar on 13 January 2021 awarded two times the death sentence to an accused in the murder case of a policeman.
JANUARY 14, 2021IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: TWELVE YEARS AFTER HE WAS JAILED, SUPREME COURT ORDERS RELEASE OF DEATH ROW CONVICT
The Supreme Court of India on 5 January 2021 acquitted Hari Om alias 'Hero' who had been convicted and sentenced to death by a trial court for committing murder and dacoity (banditry).
- JANUARY 14, 2021United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Federal. Corey Johnson was executed
lethal injection at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana
JANUARY 14, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Jama Zahrozehi executed at Zahedan Prison on January 14
for drugs
JANUARY 14, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Reza Shirzadeh executed in Yazd Prison on January 14
for murder
JANUARY 14, 2021ChinaDEATH PENALTYEXTRADITION TREATY BETWEEN TURKEY, CHINA ENDANGERS UIGHUR REFUGEES
The Uighur community in Turkey could be in jeopardy after a recent agreement was reached between Turkey and China, Voice Of America (VOA) wrote on 7 January 2021.
- JANUARY 13, 2021MoroccoDEATH PENALTY
MOROCCO: KILLER, RAPIST OF 11-YEAR OLD BOY SENTENCED TO DEATH
A Moroccan Court sentenced on 13 January 2021 a 24-year old man to death penalty for kidnapping, raping, and killing Adnane Bouchouf, a 11-year old boy in September last year.
JANUARY 13, 2021NigeriaDEATH PENALTYNIGERIA: SOLDIER TO DIE BY FIRING SQUAD
A Nigeria Army General Court Martial on 12 January 2021 sentenced a soldier, Azunna Mmaduabuchi, to death by firing squad for killing an officer.
Show news 61–90 of 98
JANUARY 13, 2021United StatesDEATH PENALTYUSA - Federal. Lisa Montgomery was executed.
The woman was pronounced dead at 1:31 a.m. Wednesday
JANUARY 13, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Mehdi Feyzi and Moharam Feyzi executed at Ardabil Prison on January 13.
Arrested 5 years ago for murder
- JANUARY 13, 2021AlabamaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Alabama. Judge Keith Watkins overturned the death sentence of Richard Flowers
Flowers had been provided deficient representation at trial
JANUARY 13, 2021SwedenDEATH PENALTYPOLAND: SWEDISH LI ZHIHUI COULD FACE DEATH PENALTY IF EXTRADITED TO CHINA
Swedish Falun Gong activist Li Zhihui, 53, risks being extradited to China after he has been detained in Poland for almost two years.
- JANUARY 12, 2021United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Federal judge grants Lisa Montgomery a stay of execution
pending a competency hearing
JANUARY 12, 2021JordanDEATH PENALTYJORDAN: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR 2019 KNIFE ATTACK ON TOURISTS
Jordan’s state security court sentenced a citizen to death on 12 January 2021 for the 2019 stabbing of eight people, four of them foreign tourists, at one of the kingdom’s ancient sites.
- JANUARY 12, 2021United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Second suspension of the execution of Lisa Montgomery
ordered by the DC Court of Appeals
JANUARY 12, 2021ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: FUGITIVE WHO KILLED THREE SENTENCED TO DEATH
Zeng Chunliang, a man who killed three people within six days last year, was sentenced to death by the Yichun Intermediate People's Court in Jiangxi province on 11 January 2021.
- JANUARY 11, 2021IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 4 inmates executed at Meshkin Shahr Prison on January 11
2 of the executions maybe already reported
JANUARY 11, 2021IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR RAPE, MURDER
The District and Sessions Court of Haveri, in Karnataka, sentenced a man to death under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act on 7 January 2021, after finding him guilty of raping and murdering a minor girl in 2018.
JANUARY 10, 2021PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: ISLAMABAD ATC SENTENCES 3 TO DEATH FOR SHARING BLASPHEMOUS CONTENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA
An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on 8 January 2021 sentenced three men to death for sharing blasphemous content on social media. A fourth accused in the same case was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.
JANUARY 10, 2021JordanDEATH PENALTYJORDAN: TWO MEN GET DEATH PENALTY FOR KILLING SEPTUAGENARIAN
The Court of Cassation has upheld a June Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a street vendor to death after convicting him of robbing and murdering his 72-year-old relative in Tafileh in October 2017, the Jordan Times reported on 7 January 2021.
JANUARY 10, 2021KazakhstanDEATH PENALTYKAZAKHSTAN ABOLISHES DEATH PENALTY
The Republic of Kazakhstan formally abolished the death penalty on 2 January 2021, when President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed off on parliamentary ratification of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, a
- JANUARY 9, 2021IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Reza Nouri executed in Ilam Central Prison on December 2, 2020
One month after the execution, the news has not been reported in any media
JANUARY 9, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Majid Rigi executed in Zahedan Central Prison on January 9
For drug crimes
JANUARY 9, 2021United StatesDEATH PENALTYUSA - Federal. Montgomery Not Competent For Execution
Petition in federal court in Indiana
JANUARY 9, 2021OhioDEATH PENALTYUSA - Ohio. New law bans death penalty for mentally ill
Governor Mike DeWine signed into law House Bill 136
- JANUARY 9, 2021IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Farzad Mohammad-Noureh and Mehdi Joushani executed in Qom Prison on January 9
They were accused of carrying 135 kilograms of methamphetamine
JANUARY 8, 2021United StatesDEATH PENALTYUSA - Federal. Judge puts restrictions on federal executions
Bureau can proceed only if it shows it is taking certain COVID precautions
JANUARY 8, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Farzad Nasser Jourshari executed at Rasht Central Prison on January 8.
He had been sentenced to qisas seven times for the murder of seven people.
JANUARY 8, 2021MississippiDEATH PENALTYUSA - Mississippi. Eddie Lee Howard Exonerated From Death Row
He is the 174th former death-row prisoner exonerated in the U.S. since 1973.
JANUARY 7, 2021United StatesDEATH PENALTYUSA - Federal. Dustin Higgs Case To Be Heard 12 Days After Scheduled Execution Date
Uncertainties over execution protocol
JANUARY 6, 2021JapanDEATH PENALTYJAPAN: DEATH SENTENCE FINALIZED FOR 'TWITTER KILLER'
The death sentence for a 30-year-old man dubbed Japan’s “Twitter killer” over the serial murders of nine people in Kanagawa Prefecture in 2017 was finalized on 5 January 2021, court officials said.
- JANUARY 6, 2021BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH: TWO SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING SCHOOLGIRL AFTER RAPE IN 2012
Two people on 4 January 2021 were sentenced to death for raping and killing a minor in Madaripur.
- JANUARY 6, 2021TexasDEATH PENALTY
USA - Texas. Judge recommended that Areli Escobar get a new trial
After crime lab technician incorrectly analyzed DNA evidence
JANUARY 6, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Taher Hamel-Khoshkhou executed in Tabriz Prison on January 6
sentenced for murder
- JANUARY 6, 2021United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Federal. Corey Johnson and Dustin Higgs Say Having COVID-19 Will Increase Their Suffering During Execution.
USA - Federal. Corey Johnson and Dustin Higgs Say Having COVID-19 Will Increase Their Suffering During Execution.
JANUARY 5, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hands off Cain Year End Report: At least 284 executions in 2020
This is a drop of 14 executions compared to 2019, and 44 compared to 2018, a drop of 4.7% and 13.4% respectively.
JANUARY 5, 2021Palestinian TerritoriesDEATH PENALTYGAZA: DEATH SENTENCE ISSUED DESPITE PALESTINE’S 2018 ACCESSION TO ICCPR SECOND OPTIONAL PROTOCOL
The Northern Gaza Court of First Instance on 4 January 2021 issued a death sentence by hanging against F. N. (32), from Jabalia refugee camp, who was convicted of premeditated murder of his aunt.
- JANUARY 5, 2021ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA: EX-CHAIRMAN OF HUARONG ASSET MANAGEMENT SENTENCED TO DEATH
The former chairman of China’s Huarong Asset Management Co was sentenced to death, a court in the northern city of Tianjin said on 5 January 2021, in one of the country’s highest profile corruption cases.
Show news 91–98 of 98
JANUARY 4, 2021Congo - KinshasaDEATH PENALTYDR CONGO: PRESIDENT PARDONS TWO KILLERS OF LAURENT-DESIRE KABILA
DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi’s office said that he has pardoned two men convicted over the assassination of former ruler Laurent-Desire Kabila, the father of his political rival Joseph Kabila, AFP reported on 2 January 2021.
JANUARY 4, 2021NigeriaDEATH PENALTYNIGERIA: KADUNA GOV EL-RUFAI PARDONS 12 PRISONERS, COMMUTES A DEATH SENTENCE
Governor Nasir El Rufai of Kaduna State has granted pardon to 12 prisoners in the state to mark the beginning of 2021.
- JANUARY 3, 2021IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 3 men executed at Zahedan Central Prison on January 3.
Their names were Elias Ghalandarzehi, Hassan Dehvari (Hasan Dahvari), and Omid Mahmoudzehi.
JANUARY 3, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hadi Hosseini Mirak was executed on January 3 in Ardebil Central Prison.
The crime is not known
JANUARY 2, 2021AfghanistanDEATH PENALTYAFGHANISTAN: KABUL UNIVERSITY ATTACK MASTERMIND SENTENCED TO DEATH
The Afghan Supreme Court has sentenced Mohammad Adil, the mastermind of the November 2020 Kabul University attack that claimed the lives of 22 people, to death.
- JANUARY 2, 2021NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
NIGERIA: JIGAWA HIGH COURT SENTENCES TWO TO DEATH BY HANGING
Jigawa State High Court on 29 December 2020 sentenced two persons to death by hanging in different cases.
JANUARY 1, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - On January 1, 2021, the Coronavirus death toll passed 195,500
That is according to PMOI/MEK
- JANUARY 1, 2021United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Federal. Appeals court vacates order delaying execution of Lisa Montgomery
The only woman on US death row is scheduled to be executed on January 12.