August 3
PAKISTAN:
2 army soldiers on death row in President assassination case file mercy
plea
2 army soldiers on death row after being court martial in President Gen
Pervez Musharraf assassination case have filed a mercy plea with the
president.
Informed sources told Online that 2 army soldiers Lance Niak Arshad
Mehmood and Niak Zafar Iqbal of Special Service Group were sentenced to
death by a military court at Attock Fort on June 2005.
7 others were also placed on trial in the same court in the President
Musharraf assassination case.
The 2 army soldiers after being found guilty of playing a leading role in
planning the assassination attempt were sentenced to death by a Major
General conducting the hearing.
The two soldiers had confessed to having links with terrorists Amjad
Farooqi and Omar Sheikh both of whom were said to be masterminds of the
attack.
However, both soldiers have filed a mercy plea with the President
Musharraf, who besides being the head of the state is also the Chief of
the Army staff having the mandate to either reject or accept the plea.
President Musharraf escaped two assassination attempts in Rawalpindi on
December 13 and December 25, 2003. Both soldiers were found involved in
the 2 attempts.
(source: Pakistan Tribune)
UZBEKISTAN:
News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty
International
AI Index: EUR 62/017/2005 2 August 2005
Uzbekistan: Abolish the death penalty immediately
Amnesty International is calling on the President of Uzbekistan, Islam
Karimov, to abolish the death penalty with immediate effect and to lift
the secrecy surrounding the application of the death penalty. Uzbekistan,
along with Belarus, are the last executioners in Europe and Central Asia.
This call follows a report that on 1 August 2005, the President Karimov,
signed a decree abolishing the death penalty from 1 January 2008 and
replacing it with imprisonment.
"While welcoming any step that leads to the abolition of the death
penalty, Amnesty International urges the President of Uzbekistan to impose
an immediate moratorium on death sentences and execution as a first step,"
Nicola Duckworth, Amnesty International's Europe and Central Asia
Programme Director said.
"The Uzbekistani authorities must make public the names of people
sentenced to death and awaiting execution as well as comprehensive
statistics on the executions that have been carried out to date."
The flawed criminal justice system in Uzbekistan provides a fertile ground
for judicial error. Amnesty International receives credible allegations of
unfair trials, and widespread torture and ill-treatment, often to extract
"confessions." Neither death row prisoners nor their relatives are
informed of the date of the execution in advance, denying them a last
chance to say goodbye. The body of the prisoner is not given to relatives
for burial and they are not informed of the place of burial.
Amnesty International opposes death penalty in all circumstances in all
countries around the world on the grounds that it is a violation of the
right to life and that it is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading
punishment.
"As long as the death penalty is maintained, the risk of executing the
innocent can never be eliminated" Nicola Duckworth said.
Background
120 countries -- more than 1/2 of the countries in the world -- have now
abolished the death penalty in law or practice. 3 countries a year on
average have abolished the death penalty in the past decade.
Take action against the death penalty! Visit
http://amnesty-news.c.topica.com/maadOTOabi9Vhbb0havb/
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(source: Amnesty International)
