URGENT ACTION APPEAL
----------------------------------
28 January 2005
UA 25/05 Imminent Execution
PAKISTAN:
Manzoor Ahmad (m)
Muhammad Ishaq (m), his son
Ghulam Mustafa (m), also known as Papoo
Muhammad Ilyas (m)
Muhammad Anwar (m)
Javed Obal (m)
Amnesty International has learned that Manzoor
Ahmad and his son Muhammad Ishaq, Ghulam
Mustafa also known as Papoo, Muhammad Ilyas,
Muhammad Anwar and Javed Obal are scheduled
to be hanged simultaneously on 8 February. The
final hope for the men lies in the constitutional
power of President General Pervez Musharraf to
grant them clemency.
The six men are imprisoned at the District Jail in
the city of Faisalabad. The offences for which they
were sentenced to death are not known. Their
sentences were confirmed when a District Session
Judge of the Faisalabad court issued a death
warrant for them. President General Pervez
Musharraf has already rejected their official appeal
for mercy, but still has the power to grant them
clemency.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
During the first half of 2004, 258 people were
sentenced to death in Pakistan, and 14 people were
executed.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in
all cases. The death penalty is a symptom of a
culture of violence, and not a solution to it. It has
not been shown to have any more deterrent effect
than other punishments and carries the risk of
irrevocable error. The death penalty is seen as the
ultimate form of cruel, inhuman and degrading
treatment and a violation of the right to life, as
proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and other international human rights
instruments.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send
appeals to arrive as quickly as possible:
- urging that Manzoor Ahmad and his son
Muhammad Ishaq, Ghulam Mustafa also known as
Papoo, Muhammad Ilyas, Muhammad Anwar and
Javed Obal should not be executed as scheduled on
8 February at the District Jail in Faisalabad;
-calling on President Musharraf to use his powers
under article 45 of the Constitution of Pakistan and
commute the death sentence;
- calling for an immediate moratorium on
executions in the country, in line with worldwide
trends to abolish the death penalty.
APPEALS TO:
President :
General Pervez Musharraf
Pakistan Secretariat,
Islamabad,
Pakistan
Fax: 011 92 51 9221422
E-mail: [email protected]
Salutation: Dear President Pervez Musharraf
COPIES TO:
Ambassador Ashraf Jehangir Qazi
Embassy of Pakistan
2315 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington DC 20008
Fax: 1 202 686 1544
Please send appeals immediately. Check with
the Colorado office between 9:00 am and 6:00
pm, Mountain Time, weekdays only, if sending
appeals after March 11, 2005.
Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots movement that
promotes and defends human rights.
This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept intact, including
contact information and stop action date (if applicable). Thank
you for your help with this appeal.
Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
PO Box 1270
Nederland CO 80466-1270
Email: [email protected]
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: 303 258 1170
Fax: 303 258 7881
----------------------------------
END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
----------------------------------