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Zambia Il Presidente ha annunciato che le condanne a morte pronunciate nei confronti di 44 militari coinvolti nel tentativo di colpo di stato del 1997, sono state commutate in pene detentive. President announces the commutation of death sentences for 44 soldiers, who had organized coup in 1997.
Coup d'Etat avorte de 1997: peines de mort commuees en travaux forces LUSAKA, 27 fev - Le president zambien Levy Mwanawasa a annonce vendredi a la presse que les peines de mort prononcees a l'encontre de 44 militaires impliques dans un coup d'Etat avorte en 1997 avaient ete commuees en peines de 10 a 20 ans (bien 10 a 20 ans) de prison avec travaux forces. Le chef de l'Etat, auquel les militaires condamnes avaient demande une mesure de grace, a indique que la peine de mort contre l'organisateur de la tentative de coup d'Etat, le capitaine Steven Lungu, avait ete commuee en 20 ans de prison avec travaux forces. Le co-organisateur de l'operation, le capitaine Jack Chiti, a pour sa part vu sa peine de mort commuee en 15 ans de prison avec travaux forces, en raison de problemes de sante, a precise le president zambien. La Cour supreme de Zambie avait confirme en decembre la peine de mort pour 44 des 54 militaires condamnes en 1999 pour une tentative de coup d'Etat avortee en octobre 1997 contre le president Frederick Chiluba, qui a quitte le pouvoir en 2001.
ZAMBIA: Catholics Urge Govt to Abolish Death Penalty Catholic Archbishop of Lusaka Medardo Mazombwe and Zambia Episcope Conference (ZEC) general secretary Fr. Ignatius Mwebe have urged President Mwanawasa to completely abolish the death penalty. And Human Rights Commissioner John Sakulanda has said Zambia should move towards being a beacon for respect of fundamental rights of every human being. In a joint letter to President Mwanawasa yesterday, Archbishop Mazombwe and Zambia Fr. Mwebe stated that ZEC had learnt with great joy about his decision to commute the death sentences of the condemned prisoners following the attempted 1997 failed coup. "We applause this courageous decision on our part. We are further heartened by your pledge never to sign a death warrant for as long as you remain President," they stated. "Already the step you took a few months ago in constituting a prerogative of mercy committee, showed that your government was not insensitive to the cries of the people. The people cried and you listened." They noted President Mwanawasa's gesture clearly underscored the sacredness of human life in Zambia. "Posterity will remember this merciful gesture. As Christians, we believe that God is the giver of life and only God can take it away," they stated. "We salute you and your government, we urge you to take the extra mile and completely abolish the death sentence all together. We also want to acknowledge the civil society, the Church, the media, family members and friends (both local and international) who have campaigned tirelessly for freedom of people on death row. Let us not forget other condemned prisoners still languishing in Mukobeko who are not high profile and have no one to speak for them." And Sakulanda welcomed the commutation of the 1997 coup convicts' death sentences to jail terms. Sakulanda said the Human Rights Commission (HRC) considered the move as a step in the right direction for the promotion and protection of human rights in Zambia. He said in line with the recommendations to the Constitution Review Commission on the death penalty, the HRC had a position that death penalty was a form of inhuman treatment that needed to be prohibited under the international human rights standards. "Even Article 15 of the Republican Constitution prohibits inhuman treatment or punishment with no exceptional circumstances," Sakulanda said. "Zambia is a party to key international human rights standards which prohibit, in absolute terms, the imposition of inhuman punishment even under a guise of lawful punishment. "The Human Rights Commission is mindful of the fact that even though the issue of death penalty remains emotive and controversial, the trend at the international level is to move towards abolition of capital punishment." Sakulanda said even under international arrangements for prosecuting those accused of genocide, the international community has avoided the use of death penalty. He encouraged President Mwanawasa to look at other cases of people on the death row and that some convicts have been on the row for over 25 years and were kept in conditions that were inhuman and degrading. "The Human Rights Commission would like the prerogative of mercy committee to urgently review such cases so that clemency may be exercised," Sakulanda said. "The Commission reiterates its call for Zambia to consider abolishing the death penalty and joins those already calling for the scraping of capital punishment both in Zambia and internationally." Sakulanda said as President Mwanawasa stated, there was no proof that death penalty deterred crime and that the execution of a person might lead to an irreparable error for which there was no adequate compensation, monetary or otherwise.
Zambian president commutes death sentences for 44 coup plotters President Levy Mwanawasa commuted the death sentences Friday of 44 soldiers awaiting execution for their part in a failed 1997 military coup. The president commuted the sentences to prison terms that range from 20 years for the coup leader, Capt. Stephen Lungu, to 10 years for enlisted men who were coerced by superior officers into participating in the attempt. Mwanawasa said he had been moved by petitions sent to him by the condemned men, their families and sympathizers. "What I have borne in mind is the strong mitigating factors given by the petitioners," Mwanawasa told a news briefing. But he said he also took into account that the condemned prisoners had been convicted of a serious crime that created a state of insecurity and damaged the country's image in the international community. The soldiers were convicted in September 1999 and sentenced to hang for their roles in the failed military takeover of Oct. 28, 1997. Under Zambian law, the death sentence is mandatory for treason. However, it has not been exercised since former president Frederick Chiluba came to power in the country's first democratic elections in 1999. Originally, 58 people were convicted of treason and sentenced to hang. However, four have since died in custody and Zambia's Supreme Court overturned the convictions of 10 others in December. Mwanawasa said Lungu, the coup plot leader also known as Capt. Solo, would serve 20 years of hard labour. He said he was reducing the sentence of the co-leader of the plot, Capt. Jack Chiti, to 15 years because the man had shown remorse and was now confined to a wheelchair. The president also said he was against Zambia's capital punishment law and will not sign any death warrants for condemned prisoners as long as he is in office. The soldiers, mainly from the 1st Infantry Brigade, broke into the arms depot in October 1997, assaulted army officers, seized the state-run Zambia National Broadcasting Corp. studios and announced they had taken over the government. The revolt, aimed at ousting Chiluba, was quickly put down by a battalion of commandos. Chiluba, who left office in January 2002, is currently on trial on charges that he and others stole $62 million Cdn in state funds. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
the Community of Sant'Egidio
Abolitions, 
