51.   Still, the harsh sentence was seen by some as a warning by Arafat to his opponents in the Islamic Jihad and Hamas groups.

52.   Sumner said Canadians generally believe Latimer committed a crime that deserves punishment, but not the harsh sentence mandatory for second-degree murder.

53.   The court has been credited with restoring some semblance of order in northern Mogadishu by imposing harsh sentences convicted criminals.

54.   The harsh sentences apparently were meant to address the growing dissatisfaction among Palestinians with the performance of their security forces.

55.   The harsh sentences handed down in by the Intermediate Court in Taiyuan, in north-central Shanxi Province, are part of an effort to discourage that trend.

56.   The lower court that sentenced her said the harsh sentence was necessary to deter people from taking the law into their own hands.

57.   The murder trial of a Hanoi policeman last December began a string of well-publicized cases in which courts handed down harsh sentences for official crimes.

58.   They also have opposed harsh sentences for the militants.

59.   Western and Egyptian human rights groups have criticized the courts for their refusal to hear appeals and the harsh sentences.

60.   But their lawyers claim that the evidence heard in the trial was flawed and the sentences too harsh.