Death-row Kenyan in China unlikely to be executed, says lawyer

The lawyer of the family of the Kenyan woman facing execution in China for drug trafficking has said that it was “highly unlikely” she would be executed.

Speaking to the Nation on Thursday, advocate Okweh Achiando said that Ms Floviance Razan Owino was likely to have her sentence commuted either to a life sentence or a fixed-term sentence.

“Not a single Kenyan in China has been executed so far, not even those with worse crimes than Ms Owino. I can confidently say that execution is out of the question,” said Mr Achiando.

He explained that Ms Owino’s execution was stayed for two years after sentencing as a form of reprieve as is common practice under China’s laws, after which the case would be reviewed. Ordinarily, if a prisoner commits any other crime during that period, execution is carried out.

“Ms Owino’s case is now up for review because she was sentenced in 2013. The two likely outcomes are that she will either serve a life sentence or a fixed term sentence after which she will be released, given a letter of completion and brought back to Kenya,” he said.

He added that an English-speaking lawyer had been appointed for her to ensure that Ms Owino gets a fair trial during the review hearing.

NO PRISON-SWAP AGREEMENT

He, however, said that there was no possibility of the accused being extradited to be tried or to serve her sentence in Kenya since Kenya and China have no bilateral prison-swap agreement.

He also said that arrangements were being made to have her family visit her as soon as possible.

According to Tamara Owino, Floviance’s sister, the family has not seen or heard from her since her arrest in 2013. She left the country after a disagreement with her husband and efforts to track her down since then have been futile.

“We are hopeful that my sister will come home one day and we would like to thank the government of Kenya and our lawyer for their efforts to help my sister,” she said.

According to human rights group Amnesty International, China executed more people in 2013 than the rest of the world put together.

It is believed that the country executes thousands of prisoners every year, although actual figures remain a State secret.

Death penalties are commonly handed out for violent crimes such as murder, although even non-violent crimes like the drug trafficking, which Ms Owino is accused of, also attracts a death penalty.

In Kenya, the last execution was carried out in 1987. However, the death penalty is still handed out for serious crimes such as murder.