SUMMARY: 

Oscar Pistorius has on March 3rd, 2016 been denied leave to appeal the “new verdict of murder” at the Constitutional Court in South Africa. 

 The group named;   International Supporters for Oscar Pistorius conducting its operations from Great Britain with its members in South Africa and internationally comprising of approximately 23,663 members from our joint national and international support group members on social media VEHEMENTLY OBJECT to the decision made on March, 3rd, 2016 by the South African Constitutional Court and the NPA - National Prosecuting Authority. We believe there exists disregard and contempt for Human Rights which in accordance international standards  should be protected by  Rule of Law. 

1.  CASE BACKGROUND: 

The decision by the Supreme Court of Appeal [SCA]  overturned the Culpable Homicide ( Manslaughter)  verdict in December, 2015 and a murder verdict introduced in its place. Lawyers for Mr Oscar Pistorius had appealed to South African Constitutional Court to have the new "Murder" charge overturned, however on March, 3rd, 2016 South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority [NPA] said the Constitutional Court found "no prospect for success" in the appeal for Mr Oscar Pistorius.

 The case has now been returned to the Honorable Judge Thokozile Masipa at the High Court, Pretoria in South Africa,  who cleared Oscar Pistorius of the original murder charge for sentencing on July 6th, 2016. The State Prosecutor is targeting a minimum 15 year prison sentence.

THE PURPOSE OF THIS PETITION OPPOSES;

(1) THE SUPREME COURT APPEAL JUDGEMENT OVERTURNING THE ORIGINAL VERDICT AND SENTENCE FROM CULPABLE HOMICIDE TO MURDER.

(2) OBJECTS TO THE DECISION MADE ON MARCH 3RD, 2016 TO DENY LEAVE TO APPEAL AT THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT, SOUTH AFRICA AND DEEM THIS LATEST ACTION A GRAVE MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE.

(3)  HUMAN RIGHTS HAS NOT BEEN CONSIDERED IN ACCORDANCE INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS  TO WHICH SOUTH AFRICA IS SIGNATORY. THE ARTICLES IN ACCORDANCE THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND AS DESCRIBED BENEATH HAVE BEEN VIOLATED.

2.  HUMAN RIGHTS.
HUMAN RIGHTS HAVE BEEN VIOLATED  In the matter of Oscar Pistorius,  the following violations have been activated.

• Article 3 - Has been activated. Prosecutors inhumane treatment.
• Article 5 - Has been activated.  No one shall be subjected to  cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

• Article 6 - Has been activated. Right to a Fair Trial.

• Article 7 - Has been activated. This article shall not prejudice the trial and punishment of any person act or omission which, at the time when it was committed, was criminal according to the general principles of law recognized by civilized nations.
• Article 11 -  Has been activated.   (1) Everyone has the right to be  presumed innocent until proven guilty.  (2) No one shall be guilty of any penal offense on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offense under national and international law, nor  shall a heavier penalty be imposed than  the one that was applicable at the time the penal offense was committed.

• Article 14 - Has been activated. No person should be discriminated.

DESCRIPTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS:
We the undersigned object to the following violation of the applicants human rights;
1. Trial by Media - Live broadcast of the entire trial for more than 9 months and continues to date,  especially with intense media propaganda to encourage a feeding frenzy THREE AND A HALF YEARS  after the start, unabated.
2. The applicant, Oscar Pistorius suffered with Severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder whilst under the combative and extremely aggressive manner over seven (7) days consistently repeating questions by the State Prosecutor.
3. The State Prosecutor resorted to unproven allegations to evoke emotions from Oscar Pistorius by referring to him as being a LIAR on several occasions.
4. Oscar Pistorius was forced by the State Prosecutor to view a photograph of the deceased head wounds and again evoked into a display of emotions. Because of the severe traumatic emotions Oscar became violently ill and was again subjected to abuse and ridicule by the watching media.
5. State Prosecutor militant style of interrogation, intimidation and ridicule of the witnesses for the Defence throughout the trial consequently prevented witnesses giving witness testimony for the defence.
6. Arrival of known felons inside the trial court on day of sentence 'selectively' used to intimidate the applicant and his family.

“To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity”

VIDEO PRESENTATION:   We created this video presentation to explain our reasons for this petition to the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner [OHCHR].   We believe the Constitutional Rights, Rule of Law and Human Rights for Oscar Pistorius as a citizen of South Africa has been violated and discriminated against his disability, vulnerability and anxiety from the outset.
LINK TO THE VIDEO:    Why We Believe Oscar Pistorius Constitutional Rights Were Violated. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdKkB6pmXqU&feature=youtu.be

QUESTION  1.   If the individual does not know their rights, how can they stand up for them? How can they fully respect another rights? How can they demand  that their rights are upheld?

QUESTION 2.    WHY has Oscar Pistorius been treated differently by the media, the prosecution, the public and WITH ALL DUE RESPECT the higher courts, more-so than other accused of worse or similar crimes?   Oscar Pistorius he has rights too!

Additional links to video presentations:

LINK:    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTlrSYbCbHE

LINK:   http://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Documents/UDHR_Translations/eng.pdf

3.  THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONSTITUTION.
Refer Chapter 2 of the Constitution:   The Bill of Rights. "Everyone is equal before the law" - the bill of rights is deemed the cornerstone of democracy in South Africa. This is a topic of deep concern for every citizen.

LINK: The South African Constitution: http://www.gov.za/DOCUMENTS/CONSTITUTION/CONSTITUTION-REPUBLIC-SOUTH-AFRICA-1996-1

4. CRIME STATISTICS:

Currently  there are  at least 53 Murders a Day.

When it comes to societal safety and security South Africa is rated as one of the most violent and unsafe countries in the world to live.   Is it a no wonder the home occupant  is in possession of at least one  firearm?

QUESTION 3.   HOW DOES A DOUBLE AMPUTEE PROTECT THEMSELVES AND THEIR FAMILY WHEN CONFRONTED WITH A LIFE THREATENING SITUATION IN THEIR HOME?

Statistics In accordance with;    LINK >>http://www.numbeo.com/crime/rankings_by_country.jsp

In the case of typical South African attacks during farm and home invasions and hijackings, the attacks are generally extremely violent - almost always, illegally possessed firearms are involved by a number of attackers. They usually never hesitate to use the firearms and other weapons.

Self-defence is governed by common law, and the use of force during the arrest of a criminal was governed by section 49 of the Criminal Procedure Act, No 51 of 1977.

“In the light of constitutional rights to life, human dignity, freedom and security, any degree of force or violence may be executed lawfully in limited circumstances only, for instance in the preservation of one’s own life or that of a family member or other innocent person. However, the self-defence action must be relative to the circumstances of the attack. It is also important to take the weapon used against the victim/s into consideration as well as the value of the belongings you’re protecting. The laws governing shooting in self-defence in South Africa will soon change accompanied with control over the legal requirements for a person's actions in the use of "self-defence".

5. THE CIRCUMSTANCES;   We, the UNDERSIGNED believe  in the best interests of Justice for LENIENCY  be granted whilst the undersigned will duly sign this petition and provide reason as to why the applicant, Oscar Pistorius should have this new “murder” verdict overturned.
International Supporters for Oscar Pistorius encourage signatures in favor of this petition for delivery to the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner for their intervention to put a stop to this on-going gambit by the State.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights - This file in the attached link is applicable to our petition and including every citizen in South Africa.
LINK:   Declaration of Human Rights.  http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/

If people don't know their rights, how can they stand up for them? How can they fully respect anther's rights?  How can they  demand  that Human Rights  are upheld?

As the creator of this petition, I the undersigned has provided detail for the individual to make an informed decision as reason for signing this petition.

WE Respectfully ASK FOR LENIENCY IN SENTENCE FOR OSCAR PISTORIUS.

Thank You for your review of this extremely important campaign.

Sincerely,

Sharyn  (Shar)

SIGNED:      S.  Grainger - Petition Creator Director for; 

International Supporters for Oscar Pistorius. United Kingdom

Assisted by Petition and Group Administrators.

Start Dated:  January, 27th, 2016.

Close Date:  June 29th, 2016

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